Take it Easy

This morning I didn't do much except blog and catch up on some emails. It was really nice to have some time without anything on my schedule. At about 3 I walked an hour to central Vila Velha to get withdraw some money from the ATM. It took about an hour and I walked along the beach most of the way. This gave me time to think and to take some pictures along the way. I thought a lot about what I am missing by being here: Laurel, the birth of Adeline, the fam, friends, parties, snow, etc. On the other hand, I thought about all the new unique experiences I am having here: Carnaval, new launguage, different people, beautiful location, the beach, volunteering with kids, etc. Before I left, Laurel and I weighed the pros and cons and we determined that the balance in favor of Brazil. When I first arrived here, I thought I had made a mistake in coming. Now, I know that this is where I am supposed to be. Everything about this trip has been different and has stretched me in new ways, but I am learning more here than I could ever learn in a classroom at WVU. This has been true in many aspects of this trip. For example, I am very quiet here because I am not yet confident in speaking the language. At home, I rarely stop talking. This "vow of silence" has been very different but has taught me a lot about myself and about others (especially in their body language or non-verbal comm). Another way that this trip has been beneficial is that I am getting a lot of exercise and I am not under my normal level of stress. I feel more healthy now than I have since freshman year.

During my walk, I had time to take a few photos. The first one is on the small fishing community I was talking about in a previous blog. You can't see very well, but I think these fishermen look like modern day pirates (I was a little apprehensive about taking a picture up close). The second picture is of the coastline of central Vila Velha taking from the shade of a coconut tree on the beach. The buildings you see in the background are not hotels like on a beach in America, but they are all apartment buildings. I suppose Vila Velha/Vitoria is not a large tourism location but more of a business city.

The third photo is an accident that I witnessed happen while walking the beach. I'm not sure but I have a feeling this was a teenage driver. Then again, all drivers in Brazil are crazy! I really mean it when I say that there are not many traffic laws here and not many people obey them. The drivers here are crazier than anywhere I have seen in the States, Europe, or Africa. The fourth picture is of a "quioseque" or beach bar. These are strewn all up and down the beach. They are usually busy and my family frequents them every Saturday and Sunday.

After returning to my house, I ate and listened in on my families conversation. For me to understand what is going on, I have to really concentrate, and even then I only get the gist of the conversation. Most of the time I just listen, and when they slow their speech down, I know that they are addressing me. I have been trying to understand their accent and I have come to two conclusions. First, whoever came up with this language had a cold at the time. Many of the words are not intelligible unless you end the word in a nasal "ou." It is very difficult for me and apparently very hard for them to understand if it is not used. Second, everyone in Brazil has something in their mouth while they talk. They talk like they have a gobstopper in their mouth and there are not many hard consonants. This is especially fun for me when they say English brand names or sing English music (which I found that they know more of than I do). For example, the brand "Rip Curl" sounds exactly like "Hip Cool"

After I ate, I went for another long run and then came back and ate some more. We went to Nicole's house but she wasn't there. So I had to fill in as the American and I talked with Arthur (sounds like "Octu") and Jardel for a few hours. We talked a lot about American music (hippy hoppy) and they knew all of these artists from back when I was ten. Apparently, older American music is still popular here because they thought that Ja Rule and Tupac were the greatest rappers ever. Very funny conversation..