I slept in till 12 today but that still was only about 6 hours of sleep. The only reason that I was able to sleep in this long is because this was the first really gray day that I have had here in Brazil and it pretty much rained all day long. This was probably for the best since I had a lot of homework to catch up on that was due tomorrow. I really enjoy my schoolwork here, but I have to say that it is more than I expected. I guess I thought I would have less because stories that other students have told me about studying abroad and how they never actually had homework but just had to show up to class. Come to think about it, I had a lot of misconceptions about this trip that have taken me a while to get adjusted to. Some of this things have panned out to be better, and some have turned into my biggest struggles. For example, I was told that I did not need any previous Portuguese knowledge to go on this trip. I think that should be changed or seriously reconsidered. I know why most study abroads require previous language now. First, because it is very hard to learn the language by listening to conversation without formal Portuguese lessons (I am learning a lot in my intensive UFES class, but the second one is pretty slow). Second, you can't really be effective or experience the culture without knowing the language (this is true to an extent, I believe I am truly immersed in Brazilian culture, but I do feel that I am taking much less away from this trip than if I had some previous Portuguese; I do not feel like I am being very effective at CADEC or I feel that I am only being a small fraction as effective as I could be). Third, this puts alot of pressure on the student and on the people surrounding the student's everyday life ( I feel really badly about the trouble that my lack Portuguese is causing my family and volunteers at CADEC) Because of these reasons and some smaller more personal reasons, I think that language studies should be a prior to departure requirement. If you would have told me this about a month ago, I would have laughed and said that I will be fine or that you are being overcautious (my parents probably warned me about this but I never gave it a second's thought). This advice could be specific to only my situation, especially because I never had much trouble getting around in Europe or Africa, but then again everyone speaks English and we had a translator, respectively. I also was pretty ignorant about what I would doing down here, but I attribute that to my lack of communication. Based on the information that I was told, I thought that I would be volunteering in a health clinic some days and volunteering by doing manual labor other days. I did know that I would be volunteering with children but I thought this was a temporary thing. My mistake was that I did not go to the source and ask Daniel. I was very busy before I left the states (graduation, publications, working 60 hours a week for spending money) and my lack of communication has had many repercussions of which I do not fault anyone but myself.
I digress, the rest of my day was filled with homework and I enjoy taking it slow and reading and writing. I really need to start doing this sooner, but I surprisingly have little time during the week. I think I need to start volunteering at CADEC for 4 hours only because I have the publication review hanging over my head and Dr. DiFazio really would like it if I completed it soon. I have discovered that most of my wasted time is spent waiting for the internet to load, so I keep my current reading material next to my computer similar to how most people keep is next to their toilet. It is amazing how a change in the speed of internet affects my life and very sad at the same time. In the words of Nina Spadora, I am a slave to technology.
The pictures really have nothing to do with today, but I turned them into panoramas while waiting for my internet to load. The first one is of Vila Velha and I live close to where the high rise apartment buildings end on the beach in the distance (hard to see, but kinda in the middle of the second concave section of beach, pass the slight peninsula in the center-right of the picture). Every night I run to the other outcropping of rock or peninsula close to the green mountain ( Most nights when I am feeling good at this point, I continue to run to the neighbor surrounding the green mountain in the left of the picture. This mountain (Morra Morena) was the one I climbed on Friday. The second picture is of Vitoria. It is actually a pretty large island connect to Vila Velha by the third bridge. The port is seen in the distance on the right and Morra Morena is on the right. The marine barracks are on the beach at the bottom.
7At 9:30 we went to the port. We drove around trying to find Nicole but it ended up that she went back to my house. She is having a lot of problems over at her house especially with her little sister borrowing her clothes, so she stays in Amanda's room during the weekends. I am really blessed to have my family and I don't have any real trouble with any of my family members. I don't know what I would do without Amanda and Sheila and I really like hanging out with my dad on the weekends.
We took a tour of the port at about 10:30 and it was very informative but completely in Portuguese. I sat next to Daniel to get the shortened translated version. This port is huge and exports thousands of tons of iron ore a day. They do not have a refinery here so they only produce iron ore clumps and then ship them to various places in the world on huge cargo ships. The process goes on 24/7 and that is why there is always ships waiting outside the port. For a large cargo ship to wait outside the port it costs $45,000 per day. These cargo ships can reach Japan and China in 48 days and have to return filled with water when empty of iron ore to stabilize themselves. The following picture is some large machine we saw in operation as they picked up the iron ore and loaded in onto a maze of conveyor beltsFor lunch we ate a a $20.00 all you can eat Arabic restaurant and Amizade paid for half. It was the first "foreign to Brazil" food I had eaten since I arrived and I loved it. I ate way too much but as had to continue my streak of making all you can eat restaurants lose money. After lunch we visited the convent. If you wiki Vila Velha, this is pretty much it all brings up, so check it out. It was beautiful and had beautiful panorama vistas of Vila Velha and Vitoria. From the top, we were still under the summit of the mountain I climbed yesterday. Rule breaker, think about it.After we got back, I went to the beach to read my book, but we had to return because Amanda was tired from surfing all day. I came back and wasted some more time on my computer. Daniel and Geli paid Sheila today so she went crazy at the supermarket and our fridge is stocked! Loving it! She also went shopping with Junior and Gabi. When Sheila returned, she wanted to party for her birthday. She bought a pretty good wine and I went to the corner bar to buy some beer for the party. Daniel bought some really good meat and we had about 3 dinners that night. Fabi and the Italians from my Portuguese class showed up and my parents were overjoyed to have everyone in the house. The party went really late and my mom and I finally went to bed around 4.
I woke up as late as possible today, which was only 9:30. It is getting cooler here now, but the sunlight through my window still wakes me up very early. I caught up on some work in the morning and I am trying to delete some of my music because my computer's memory is almost full. I should have been working my journal assignments and reading, but once I get involved in this task, I wasted most of the day. I guess it is a necessary waste of time though because I don't know what I would do if my computer broke down here.
Nobody in my family really did much of anything today. Both Amanda and Gabi skipped school because Nicole was going to meet Fabi at Gloria (the cheap shopping district in Vila Velha), but instead Amanda spent 4 hours straightening Nicole's hair.
Today was my first really gray day since I got here and it made me finally appreciate all the nice weather we have been having. In summer in most places of Brazil it rains a lot, but not here. Espirito Santo is a very dry state and the weather is usually hot and sunny all summer long. I have been taking this weather for granted or even despising it because it is so hot.
Today marks one month since my departure from the states. I have learned a lot in this short time period, both about my new home and about myself. My Portuguese is still a daily struggle, but I no longer feel cut off from the surrounding world. I am learning a little bit every day and I am not as reserved when trying to speak. I know that I still sound really stupid, but I'm O.K. with that. I have also learned a lot about Brazil's people, history, culture, geography, etc. Daniel has been an awesome professor thus far and the "Brazilians" by Joseph Page has given me a great snapshot of Brazil. The subject I have learned the most about is of course myself. I don't really want to or have time to express all the knowledge I have learned from this introspective study, but this experience has already taught me much. I have been stripped of all my normal, comfortable surroundings and thus I been able to study myself without the other distractions that I have back in the states. I have already learned a lot here in just one month and I'm sure that I'll learn even more in the next two and a half months.
At about 5 I went for a run. I wanted to take a run farther than I had before but I also needed to stop by the ATM after my run. I was still feeling really good when I reached my previous turning around spot, so I decided to explore some more. I started to climb a mountain that Daniel and I had talked about, but I had no idea how long this would take. I ran most of the way up the mountain, picking trails that led to the top. I really had no idea where I was going, but making it up as I go (sound familiar, Laurel?). I ran through some really beautiful forest and eventually found myself on a very rutted-out road. The road was really steep so I had to start walking, but it was getting dark fast. I eventually reached the top of the mountain and the view was amazing. I really wish I had my camera with me, but it is too dangerous and heavy to take with me on runs. From my vantage point I could see the whole cities of both Vila Velha and Vitoria (this mountain is very overlooks the third bridge which connects the two cities) and all surrounding ocean with large transport ships waiting for their iron ore cargo. It was beautiful, but it was also getting very dark (guys, we gotta get off the mountain- George). My mountaintop time was cut short because it was getting very dark very quickly. The descent was pretty dangerous because I was running down the mountain with almost no sunlight and the trail was very rough. Just as I thought that I had accomplished a feat a strength by climbing this mountain, I encountered a guy walking back up the mountain with 6 12-packs of beer on his two shoulders. It kinda cheapened my accomplishment. The picture below is of the mountain "Morra Morena" from the top of the convent mountain.
After getting to the bottom of the mountain, I ran to Central Vila Velha to get some money out of the ATM. My planning was pretty horrible because now I had to run back to my house at night with $200R in my pocket. Thankfully, the whole way is very populated and the beach has cameras and is lit at night. It rained the whole way back home, but I really liked the refreshing shower.
After I returned from my longest run ever (about 1:40 not counting the part that I had to walk) I took a shower and got dressed up to go out to eat with my sisters, Nicole, and Fabi. Since the rain actually cooled the air a bit (probably 70 degrees) I wore my jeans for the second time since I arrived. I really have lost weight. I don't really look different or feel much thinnier, but my jeans were huge and I had to really tighten my belt to keep them on. I think I could sell this Brazilian Diet to a lot of people back in the states. Formula: rice, beans, and sweating constantly.
We went to a crab restaurant about two blocks from my house and the crabs were small but really fresh. I paid for my meal and part of my sister's meal and it was only about $17USD. Gotta love that exchange rate.
After dinner we walked back and I went hung out with my parents on the street. Its really weird to sit a a bar/restaurant and have to watch my little brother at the same time. Everyone at the bar loves him and he stayed out with us until 2:30. I guess its all that coffee!
I couldn't sleep in so I got to CADEC extra early. I was instructed to dish out rice pudding/porridge onto 39 plates and then serve them to the students. Just as I was about to start carrying the plates into the classrooms, Aderlondia stops me and says that it needs more milk. She had just realized this after watching me the whole time? Does this make any sense? So I put all the pudding back into the pot and we added two things of milk. Then I dished it all back out again and had to clean several of the plates. It was about 9:30 by the time the kids got their breakfast and Nicole had to keep them from killing each other for this whole time.
I didn't have that great of a day at CADEC and I even tried to hide in the kitchen all day. I think its because I'm not getting that much sleep and it seems like the people at CADEC have lost their patience with my failure to communicate. I can't really blame them for this because I think I would lose patience after about a month as well. I am trying to do as much possible in both areas, but I can only absorb so much Portuguese everyday and I have been studying quite a bit lately and I try to get sleep but I have been very busy and its so hot in my room that I cannot sleep in.
After CADEC, I chatted with Laurel but my internet is so slow now that I can't even call or video call her. I go through times down here that I really don't think I can keep doing this, but then if I wait 30 minutes, I feel better. I really lose faith sometimes, but a small victory or change in circumstances can make me feel completely different. After talking to Laurel and getting a shower (always makes me feel better), I felt like a new man. I still don't know how long I can go on volunteering at CADEC, but I'll try to stick it out as long as possible and I'm sure it will get better if I do.
I am becoming much more adjusted to the heat now. I actually wear pants to my Portuguese class now (I still sweat like crazy in the sunlight), and I feel like I can breathe. The rapid change in climates was very tough at first but now I feel adjusted.
As always, the first lesson of Portuguese was very helpful, but the second one seemed to drag on. We keep getting new students every week so Glau feels that she must review and take it slow for these people. It is really holding us back from learning, but I still come away each week with more material than I can digest so it is still a very helpful class.
I thought I had finally figured out the bus system but tonight I took the wrong bus but with the correct destination. It still got us home but we rode it for an extra 30 minutes and got to see much of Vitoria (it went over the 2nd bridge not the 3rd bridge). I really like my time on the bus because it gives me time to think by myself, talk with Nicole, read my book, or just people watch. The bus is also good for sleeping as seen below. This night on the bus I had a man offer to hold my bag for me. This has happened once before and I thought that this was a ploy to rob me while I wasn't looking. However, after talking with Glau, I found out that it is common courtesy for someone who is sitting to ask someone who is standing to hold their bag for them. Even though I turned the offer down, it is still a really nice gesture. Once I got home at 9:30, I went took old bottles to exchange them for beer at a local bar. Today is my mom's birthday and I decided to have a small get together for her. Amanda and I went to pick up Nicole from her house. We met my dad at a bar on the way home and we all went back to have dinner together. I hope to make her a cake on Friday or Saturday but I don't have enough money to throw her a real party. Nonetheless, she was very happy with the beer and Nicole bought her some chocolate.
After class at 9:30, we went to a new volunteer site that takes care of children 3-4 years old. The facility was very big and but in a bad section of Terra Vermelha. The lady that runs it is pretty old, but keeps these kids in check very well. This place is very different from CADEC and I think I like it a lot. The facility is much larger and the kids seem like they would be easier to deal with. I may want to volunteer here instead, but I guess I should try it out before I commit. Daniel dropped off clothes for the local Rotary in Vila Velha and then we went to CADEC.
At CADEC I knew there was something wrong. Usually the people there are very jovial and always in a hurry, but today they were just limping around. Eventually Nicole and I figured out that CADEC is out of money and does not have enough help because they can't pay for any professors. One lady, Gesane, cannot afford to work without pay any longer and so she is very sad that she may have to quit. She and the director, Sirley, started crying about the condition that CADEC is in. This came to such a surprise to me because before Carnaval everything was great at CADEC and we were eating great food and drinking a lot of juice, etc. A lot of people who were working before Carnaval have moved on to other jobs such as teaching in the real school and the cook, Delva, is not returning. I really liked Delva because she was like the mother hen that ruled the kitchen. She kinda understood my dilemma and I felt more connected to her than anyone else. She is sick now with something serious. The language barrier really inhibits Nicole from understanding everything and most of the time I am just lost.
Since all of this drama was going on, the limited staff was in meetings all day. This of course meant that Nicole and I were in charge of all the students. Thank God there were only 16 today, but it was still very difficult. We worked out a system were Nicole had the kids and then I would take the problem kids into another room. There were about 6 problem kids and whenever you put then all in a room together, it gets crazy. I tried to teach them numbers in English but the two girls were the only ones interested. They picked it up pretty quickly but the boys were more entertained by teaching me bad words and putting things down their pants. Did I mention that I now want to have only girls for children. Josh and Heather, you saved yourselves a lot of work by having Adeline instead of having Charles Xavier (or whatever Josh's new favorite name is).
The music and art teachers finally showed up and I was relieved of my babysitting duties. They practiced the equivalent of "God is so good" for the grand opening of Banco Terra next week. They literally practiced this same song for two hours and I probably heard the four verses repeated about 50 times. During this time, I washed dishes and got the dinner ready.
We left CADEC around 5 (we're only supposed to be there till 4 but we have been staying later due to the short staff). All day Nicole and I have been thinking about how we can help CADEC. After thinking about this extensively (one good part about the language barrier, I can get into deep thought because I have very little distractions when I am not trying to understand the conversation), I don't know if CADEC is the most efficient organization for me to financially support. In the US, I support my church which supports humanitarian and missionary efforts around the world, however, the difference is accountability and sustainability. If my understand is correct, my church investigates and audits the finances of missionary efforts so that the money is being used efficiently. Also, my church back home does not make one-time donations unless that is what is needed for a building, books, etc. My church donates annuities so that the organization can be sustainable and continue their work. I don't find either of these characteristics at CADEC. For example, last week we were drinking a lot of juice and eating pretty good food with a lot of meat. This was before the school was actually in session and many random people who didn't work there were coming in to eat. This is really great that they are so liberal with their resources, but I feel that it is inefficient. The lack of sustainable is clearly seen in their small staff. There is not really many benefits to volunteering here and most people use it only as a stepping stone for teaching in
the public schools. I don't think that even a non-profit can function with these business plan. There is also a lot of waste at CADEC, especially in the area of food. I have asked why we give large portions, but of course I can't relay this question in Portuguese. We throw out a lot of beans and rice everyday, but they do have quite a lot lying around.
I think that the director would really like it if we tried to raise some money, but I don't want others to support an organization that I don't fully support. I guess this could be said about any organization that you get to know the inner-workings of, and I suppose that no organization can ever be completely efficient.
The picture is from a window at Banco Terra. It means, "I'm with Christ, and you?" Brazilians are very open about their religion and don't really seperate it from their business life.
After I returned, I took my longest run ever. I ran straight for about 1 hour 20 minutes and this was the first time I ran with my ipod. Its crazy how much faster you run when you have music to run to. The whole time I was running to Praia da Costa, I was following Geli on her bicycle. She would always stay just out of reach and I finally caught up to her at Praia da Costa when she turned around.
I studied some Portuguese when I got back and somehow got to bed very late. I gotta start getting more sleep.
Today we didn't have class or our normal volunteering, but instead Nicole and I went to the Banco Terra to help them move to their new location. Banco Terra is a small community microfinance organization in Terra Velmelha that gives small loans to entrepreneurs in District 5 of Vila Velha. I am not sure what is giving up for capital for these loans, but perhaps embarrassment in the community from defaulting is the only capital they require. What if US banks ran like this? Everyone would take advantage and default on their loans!
We moved Banco Terra from one location close to CADEC to another location that they had bought. The "Cidade Limpa" crew from Vila Velha (Banco Terra works with the city) helped us and lent us the truck. The move only required two truckloads but the manual labor in the hot sun was enough to wear me out. One employee from Daniel's Carmen Lucia Clinic named Tiago accompanied us. He and I made a pretty good team for the heavy things, and it was really nice to work with my hands again. Tiago is shown in the picture with my lunch in the foreground. One thing I noticed about this move with Banco Terra and with many Brazilian events, it was not planned ahead of time. I find it very strange that certain things are not done in preparation, but of course my language handicap inhibits me from knowing the full story.
After getting really dirty at Banco Terra, I returned home, took a shower, and watched a half episode of House which I have been downloading for the last 5 hours. I really miss some American entertainment and I wish I would have brought DVDs with me.
I left extra early for UFES and read my book while waiting at the bus stop. I really like the reading that Daniel assigns and I speed through it quickly. Currently, I am reading The Brazilians by Joseph Page and The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs (I had to read it already for my Africa Amizade course but I am reading it again and getting much more out of it this time- Sachs is still crazy though).
The following pictures are of my college UFES (University of Federal Espirto Santo). The campus is pretty nice and well spaced out, but most of the buildings look like some Communist Soviet-Bloc apartment complex (so do a few actual apartment complexes here, including the one that Nicole lives in, probably a result of Brazil's semi-communistic government under Vargas in the 50's). There are a lot of monkeys running around UFES, but I never got a chance to take a picture of one (I don't want to look like the crazy foreign exchange student overjoyed to be taking pictures of their equilvalent of squirrels, I've personally seen this happen at WVU). When I first arrived today, there was a large crowd of people in front of one of the buildings and several young men painted from head to toe. I'm not sure what was going on here but I relate it to something similar as frats' freshman pledges going through hazing.
This is the cafe outside my classroom. This is where I am becoming addicted to Guarana... so good. The following picture is of the language center. My classroom is inside. Pretty much the only languages taught here are Portuguese for foreigners and a lot of English, but please notice that there is no American flag out front. Someone probably already stole it and either covets it or has destroyed it in some horrible way. At least these are the two sentiments that I think Brazilians have towards USA. The following picture is of my professora, Glauciane. She is a German descendant, but only speaks Portuguese. She is only 23 years old, but she seems to have been teaching for a while and her teaching style is pretty effective. I have her for two classes in a row. The first is "intensive" and is only with me, her, and Nicole. The second is "basic" and includes people from around the world. The first one is very helpful, but the second one is so slow and basic. I know I need the basics, but sometimes I wish I could hit FF.
I had class today at the clinic at 10. We went Brazil's Political Structure and other related topics. They have a very similar bicameral legislative system like the US on the national level but with many more representatives. Also, keep in mind that their are about 30 political parties... I don't know how they get anything done! They have similar "coalition" governments like in Europe and apparently people switch parties very often. Since there are not strong party lines, politicians are more bipartisan and use their votes to secure future elections by voting for popular bills even though they might not be fiscally responsible. They also have three branches of government and the judicial branch has quite a lot of power. The state government depends on the state and some municipality governments can be as big as Maryland. We also talked about grant writing and I think I will do mine on Doctors without Borders so that I can learn more about the organization. I also have to make a grant for CADEC which will be hard since acquiring information across the language barrier will be challenging.
After class, we went to CADEC for our first real day of school, but the cook was sick so they canceled the afternoon classes. I thought about how this would never happen in a more developed country, but I guess you have to remember that this is a volunteer organization and not a school with paid teachers. The picture is of me and Andre who is now too old to come to CADEC. I met him the first day and since he was older than most the kids, he understood that he had to speak slowly to me.
We ate a quick lunch at CADEC and then boarded the bus for home... a short Monday! Once I got home, I worked on my Journal of Heredity Publication and then went to the beach to read my book. My sisters were not home since this is their first day after their summer vacation. Amanda came home and asked me to help her with an English class because if she is in the top 6 students then she will get to stay with a Canadian family for a semester for free. I told her that she didn't want to stay with a Canadian family because they don't speak real English anyways and she would learn incorrectly (just kidding Heather).
The following pictures are of my house. I am really starting to feel home here and I really want to buy some things to decorate my room. Currently, I feel like I am living in a prison cell because the walls are totally white. I guess if my Laurel's and my mom's packages ever get here then I'll decorate the walls with pictures. The first picture is of Lobo or "wolf" he's only two years old but huge. I really like him but they won't let me run with him because he would scare everyone on the beach. The other picture is Bobby and the blind cat Pandora. I don't like Bobby because he begs and I don't like small dogs in general. Pandora is really nice but its so funny when she runs straight into things. The third picture is of my house. We are in a three house enclosure and are the middle house. All things considered this house is amazingly nice for here. I am only 1 block from the beach! My family is very rich and blessed to have such a nice house.
So I just said that my family was rich, but that might not be true. Yesterday my mom was telling me to ask Daniel when the check for my room and board will come in. I feel that they got the short end of the stick by having to feed me rather than Nicole (I am now eating a lot because I am exercising and accustomed to the food). My mom told me that she was broke and needed to go to the market. I wanted to give her money but I figured this was an issue for Daniel. Today I told her that the check would be coming soon but she pulled money out of her bra and said that she didn't need it and "Thank God." I not really sure where she got the money but she did exercise with her niece today so maybe its a loan from her family. On the topic of money, my family's fridge is always empty but we always have pretty good meals (today I only had bread and butter for breakfast because she couldn't go to the store). However, I think that my family lives paycheck to paycheck and probably has very little savings. They do have health insurance at public hospitals through my dad's work (Banco do Brazil), but it is apparently very inadequate. I do know one way they waste a lot of money... Beer!
I took a short run around 6 and then went to the supermarket. I only took $20 Reals which was a mistake. I bought shampoo, a soft drink, and some Tabasco sauce and it cost $15. I couldn't even buy soy sauce. I am starting to get tired of the same beans and rice everyday, but these small condiments make the meal amazing. I could really use some Frank's Red Hot right now!
I tried to sleep in today, but to no avail. The sun is very strong and makes my room an oven very quickly. After breakfast, I worked on my computer when I should have been doing homework and learning Portuguese. I really accomplished nothing today, but it was nice to finally catch up on things that have been hanging over my head since the states.
My family fed everyone lunch and I felt bad that they had to make extra for my friends but they said it was no problem. On Saturdays I have been trying to make it a habit of washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. I don't really mind doing this and my mom really appreciates it. She and the rest of her family also think it is really weird. Amanda jokingly called me gay today for wanting to do this and I can tell that this is not normal here. Come to think about it, I have never seen my dad even take his plate to the sink, but he does help out with the cooking. I know that my dad thinks that my mom is doing a really great job at the house and he even told me that her job is harder than his, however, the gender roles here are much different than those in the states.
Nicole, Fabi, and I went to the beach after lunch and I finished up my reading for class (Nicole reminded me that we had more). The waves were especially strong today and looked like those off of the coast of Maine. After an hour or so at the beach, everyone went their separate ways and I took my longest run yet. I ran for about 1 hour 10 minutes and then did a short workout. I don't think I have ever exercised this much in my life, or at least since freshman year. I again got pretty dehydrated and spent ten minutes by the water cooler when I got back. These pictures are just of my view from outside my window. Next door you can see the construction site that wakes me up everyday, including weekends.
I finished up my homework and then was able to talk to mom, dad, Josh, Heather, Adeline (didn't do much talking), George, Abby, and Laurel. I'm not sure if this makes it easy or harder when I think about home, but I do really enjoy it.
Needless to say, I tried to sleep in as late as possible. My computer is on the edge of crashing and I've gotten the blue screen of death a few times so I worked on it for a few hours. Nicole and I had plans to go to Vitoria to visit with Fabi from our UFES Portuguese class, so I made the mistake of taking a run in the middle of the day. Usually it always extremely hot here, but the midday sun amplified the heat and for some reason I decided to run really far again. I found myself in the middle of Vila Velha on the edge of dehydration. I even hydrate before my runs, but I have never sweated this much in my whole life. By the time that I return from my runs, my entire mop of hair is soaking, I have to wring my shirt out (I take it off halfway through my run to wipe the sweat out of my eyes), and there is literally a puddle in the bottom of my shoes when I take them off. This day was no different. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but I am soaking from head to toe. It takes me no less than an hour after my run and a cold shower to finally return my body temp to normal without sweating.
Nicole and I left for Vitoria around 3 and finally made it to Jardim da Penha by 4:30. This is a different world from where I live. It reminds me of Europe and I actually feel really safe on the streets. We ate sushi at a small shopping center and then walked to the beach where I just relaxed. I didn't get in the water because Geli had warned me about the beaches in Vitoria. The raw sewage of Vila Velha is dumped beneath the third bridge (shown in this picture) and there is a very dirty foundry directly across the bay from where we were. Again, this was a different world. The beaches of Vila Velha are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen, but there is the houses are not as nice and it is a little more dangerous. The beaches of Vitoria are dirty with trash and brown water, but the apartments are modern and there is much more access to options. I guess this is the classic tradeoff. Fabi's "sister" (Gabi) drove us back to Vila Velha so that we wouldn't have to ride the bus. Also, Gabi is a lesbian and lives with her partner. Apparently Vitoria is a very large gay community in Brazil. Maybe this would explain one reason why Vitoria is a much cleaner, safer oasis in Brazil.
When we got back to my house we bought some alcohol and went to the beach. I really enjoy the no open container law, but I still have the habit of looking over my shoulder everytime we drink in public. I just doesn't feel right but it is so nice. I ordered a pastel (deep friend shell with cheese and chicken inside) from a local padaria and then took it to where Amanda and Nicole had ordered food on the beach. This is so weird for me. You can eat other food and mix drinks at a restaurant where your friends are eating. In America you pretty much have to order something just to sit down.
After dinner we walked out to the "pedra" or rock which is a peninsula out into the water. I really like this place because you can watch the huge container ships go into the Vitoria port, star at the stars, and people watch the fisherman. The only thing that could make it better is if there was less light pollution and you could see the stars more clearly. I really miss being able to drive out into the country and star at the stars. I guess I'll just make up for it in Yellowstone!
We walked back around 2:00 and of course it started to rain. It actually felt really good but we got soaked. All in all, pretty great day.
Today was my cleaning day. I cleaned my bathroom, room, and washed my clothes. It has taken me a while to convince my mother into letting me do these menial tasks, but I think she understands that I want to do them for myself. After eating lunch I went to the beach to find Amanda and her bodyboarding buddies. I finished up my required reading on the beach and I am trying to get it done early so that I can focus on my Portuguese and read some of the books that I brought with me. We hung out of the beach till about 3 and then I went for my longest run yet at 4. I really enjoy running because it gives me time to think (in English) and get away from Portuguese for awhile. Normally I do not exercise this much because I do not have time and I just get bored with it. Now I look forward to exercising every day and feel really crappy if I don't. However, I think I am running a little too much on the sidewalk next to the beach because my knees are starting to hurt sometimes at night, guess I'll just have to run in the sand.
After returning from my run, I wanted to go to the movies for a little American entertainment. Nicole, Amanda, and I walked to the Shopping center in Vila Velha and caught a the Valentine's Day movie at 9:30. I made the mistake of going to a mall with two girls so we pretty much caught the last movie of the night once they were done window shopping. The movie was pretty good but I couldn't stop thinking about two things the whole time. First, the movie of course made me miss Laurel horribly. I go through really hard times everyday with missing Laurel, my family, my friend, and America; but then I just put it out of my mind and it usually passes quickly. The massive influx of spoken-English into my life distracted me from this during the movie, but it hit me hard after the movie. Second, I felt somewhat bad for taking Amanda to an all-English movie and sympathized for her for having to hear straight English for 2 hours. The movie had Portuguese subtitles and the movie theater was packed with Brazilians, but still I felt very egocentric watching a English movie (even though all the movies here are total English movies). I wonder if my family ever feels like this? I know that I feel really bad when I am speaking English to Nicole while around Amanda or my family because I feel like I am keeping them in the dark. I don't think that my family, co-workers feel the same way. A lot of times they don't even slow their speech down while around me. I guess I have to take this in context that this is their country and I am a foreigner, but still I wonder if they have the same feelings.
After the movie we walked back to the house and my dad and I drank out on the driveway. I really enjoy talking with him and I like how he tries to use the little English that he knows. He thinks that we can learn from each other since I need Portuguese and he needs English for his job. We talked for a really long time and I found a lot of new things out about his family and his past. It was 3:00 by the time I got to bed, and I was planning on trying to catch up on sleep this weekend!
Woke up really late for class today because Amanda was using my phone and I think she put it on silent. Anyways I was about 10 minutes late to class and this is the second time this has happened. We were supposed to help move a microfinance bank to another location today, but they are not ready to move yet. I figure they partied a little too much during Carnaval and got behind on their work. We had a short class session with Daniel at the clinic about the economy of Brazil. I really enjoy our class sessions especially because this was the first spoken English I had heard for 6 days (didn't have Skype at the sitio, and no one spoke any English). The Brazilians have a very strange way of paying their bills and I'm still not sure if I really understand it. They do all their bill pay through ATMs. Also, each utility may use a different bank so you must go to that bank's ATM to pay for each utility. This seems so time consuming. There is no such thing as electronic bill pay and if you write a check then it can be cashed by anyone. I also learned that Brazil is the number one exporter of sugar and coffee, and number two in soy and corn. Also, prostitution is legal here, but it is illegal to be a pimp.
After our class we returned home but then had to leave at 2:00 for our 4:20 class at UFES. I didn't realize until today how much time I spend in commuting now that I don't have my truck. I think I finally figured out an easier way to get to UFES, but today it took about two hours to only travel maybe 10 miles. I started to think about how busy and stressed I would be if I were back in WV right now. I would probably be working 20 hours at the USDA, and picked up another job for some extra hours. I would be spending a lot of time with friends and probably still be really busy even though I had a easy schedule lined up for this semester. Here, on the other hand, I have very little responsibility and somehow it doesn't even bother me to ride the bus for 2 hours and not be able to do anything but people watch. My language barrier also inhibits me from being the one to plan everything which is typically my role back home. I put this picture of my little brother here because this is what I sometimes feel like. Please notice that he is reading my English book.... upside down. However, he is very happy about it. I draw a parallel with him.
Another thing that Nicole and I talked about today was how obsessed these people are with English music, clothing, movies, etc. I really don't like it because I feel like I am experiencing my own culture but in Portuguese. Brazilians do have a lot of their own TV shows, music, movies, clothing brands; but a lot of the popular things here are of English origin. I even watched a little of the movie "Stomp the Yard" (that's how bored I am for visual entertainment, I can't stream any TV shows here) but like all the movies it was completely dubbed over in Portuguese. I do think it is pretty funny when the people listen to music so much that they memorize the lyrics and sing them back in a very distorted accent. I know that a lot of time they have no idea what they are saying and that makes it so much funnier when they sing perverted lyrics of rap songs.
I am enrolled in two classes at UFES. The first one starts at 4:20 and ends at 6:00. It is the intensive class and Nicole and I are the only students. This class is very challenging and I find myself tired by the end. The second class is the basic class and I am in it with people from around the world. There is one other American, Fabi, three British, three Canadian, one Italian, one Argentinian, and one funny guy from Turkey. It is really a motley crew and I will have to get a picture of them for my blog. My teacher is named Glauciane Strey and is only 23 years old. She is a Brazilian citizen but of German descent and doesn't speak a lick of English. This makes class very entertaining. Since Nicole is so much better than me, it makes me look like the dunce in the first class. Then in the second class, the older people are really struggling to learn the language and make me look a little better.
We made some plans with Fabi for the weekend and then barely made it on our bus. It is only about a 40 minute ride home and I was starving by the time I got to the house. I think this was the first time in Brazil that I stuffed myself. The beans and rice are really deceptive and make me feel really full.
Tonight, it actually rained for the first time since I arrived in Brazil. We have had a few sprinkles but before now we had not had a real rain. The picture is horrible but I tried to capture the amount of rain from my window. This is looking out my window to the beach one street over. It really poured and I was excited because I thought that it would make the night a lot cooler but I was wrong. That's another way I am like a little kid. I wake up every morning in a wet bed not because I "peed the bed", but rather I "sweat the bed" every night.
I was actually able to sleep in today till 9, but I quickly found that this was a mistake. I had about 20 minutes to eat, shower, and pack. Once again it was the "Get there fast, but then take it slow" mentality. We quickly left for the bus station, but then my uncle decided that he wanted to drive us all the way back to Vila Velha.
After returning, I had to catch up on all the blogs that I didn't do at the sitio (one reason that my writing has been crappy). While I did this work in my room, my family slept the rest of the day. It kinda funny how they go away to rest and relax and end up partying too much and sleeping when they return. I guess Carnaval is not really a time to rest and relax as much as they say it is. Its more of a time to party before Catholics abstain from carne and cerveja.
I don't think I have expressed yet how much these people sleep. They do it like its their job. No wonder they look young into their fifties, they for probably half of their life! Rodrigo and Amanda are teenagers so they sleep almost all day. While at the sitio I wouldn't see Rodrigo until about 3 every day and he would still be able to go to bed before everyone else! Amanda goes surfing almost everyday at about 7 in the morning, but then she returns at 12 and sleeps until 5 or 6. Then she goes to bed before me at about 11 every night. Ridiculous!
I didn't do much today except blog and read my book. It still is really hard for me to do homework here because of the noise level, but I am adjusting. Also, someone is always in my room talking or just staring at what I am doing on the computer. Pretty much no privacy, but I don't mind.
I took another long run and it was pretty hard after taking it easy during Carnaval. I am getting in better shape, but it is still really hard to run in this tropical humid air.
Tonight, Jardel, Arthur, and Nicole came to the house and we walked out on the beach. We tried to go buy chocolate, but the store closed just as we got there- 9PM. Everything except for the bars and some restaurants close down very early here. We walked to a nearby park and then back to the house. On the way home Amanda saw a dangerous man beside the road twice so we had to circle the block and walk in from the beach which has cameras throughout its length. She has been robbed twice, both times right in front of her house. I guess I would be a little paranoid as well. However, when she sees these "dangerous men" she screams and runs in the opposite direction. This is kinda opposite of what we do in America, we are taught to kinda remain calm and just avoid the area. I guess its just another way that vida brasileira is very different
Today was more of the same- total relaxation. I say this but chuckle at the same time. I can never really relax here. I am always trying to understand what people are saying or trying to talk to them in my broken Portuguese. Therefore, only if I am completely alone can I really relax. Today we stayed by the pool for the majority of the day. I was able to sleep inside last night on a couch that was about half my size, but I still got a good night's sleep so I didn't take a nap today. We played a few different games on the small field beside the pool which included the Brazilian equivalent of capture the flag and dodge ball.
One thing that I have noticed about my family is that they don't plan ahead much. We will be resting and eating one minute and then the next minute everyone is in a fury trying to leave. I has seen this on many occasions including our trip to the beach last night and our hike to the "Tatatuga" today. One minute everyone was in the pool and then the next everyone is yelling at each other to hurry up and leave. They have the "Get there fast, but then take it slow" mentality. Very different from my family back home, but both methods are equally stressful.
This night was the last of Carnaval so we kinda just relaxed outside under the stars. I had a really good, funny conversation with everyone and its this small victories that make me feel better about my Portuguese. At the end of the night we shot off fireworks (probably not a good idea since it is so dry here) and lit brillo pads on fire for homemade sparklers. Now that I look back on my Carnaval experience, it was kinda redneck.
Woke up again very early due to the fact that the sun made my tent an oven. After cafe, I went to the banana fields with Carlos and Andreza to harvest some bananas and other fruits. The first pic is of Carlos cutting a banana cluster from the tree. After cutting the bananas free, they cut down the tree so that the "son or daughter" can grow in its place. This seems counterproductive to me but I'm sure that they know what they are doing. The second picture is Carlos's daughter Andreza holding papayas that we got from one of his assorted fruit trees.
After this short hike, it was more relaxation. We chilled by the pool and I read my book for a majority of the day. I usually never take naps in the US, but here I have learned that I must get sleep any possible time. I took a nap by the pool for about an hour, but I was awoken by my family coming to party by the pool. The rest of the day consisted of eating by the pool and playing futebol.
At dusk we all went to a nearby beach. The water was very cold but I felt like I was back home. All the Brazilians thought I was crazy for liking to swim and even crazier for wanting to jump off the rocks. Eventually I talked them into jumping in which you can see in this picture. After returning to the sitio, Rodrigo, my dad, Carlos, and I went to downtown Guarapari to attend the Carnival parade. We walked along the beach and people watched for the next few hours. The people were going crazy in their outrageous Carnaval outfits. The downtown was so loud that it was difficult to understand Rodrigo when he was right next to me. I was able to meet a few of Rodrigo's friends and one of them spoke a little English. The fun thing about people who can speak English is that they stop speaking English as soon as they think I can speak Portuguese.
