Rio De Janeiro

This past week I was given the opportunity to go and visit the beautiful city of Rio De Janeiro, and it really is worth a trip there.

To start our trip off with we took a bus from Araraquara that left at 21.30 at night and arrived the next morning into Rio at 8.30. Once we got all of our stuff we went to our hostel, unfortunately we could not check in yet so we dropped our stuff off and went and walked around the barrio that we were staying in, which is Botafogo. We visited the Praia Botafogo, which has a nice view of Pão de Açúcar, as well as Praia Shopping, which has a overview of the bay. After which we went to Casa do Rui Barbosa, unfortunately since it was a holiday in Rio, so the museum was closed but we did walk through the garden. Once we did check in we went and caught a metro and headed to Copacabana. After spending some time at the beach we decided to head back to Botafogo, where we passed the rest of the night.

View of Pão de Açúcar from Botafogo

Casa do Rui Barbosa

Copacabana

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head to Cristo Redentor. We decided to take the tremzinho, which takes you from the bottom of the mountain up through Corcovado park and arrive at the base of Cristo. Once at the base we walked up the stairs and arrived to one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It was quite breathe taking, especially the overview of the entire city. After taking our pictures we take the trem back down and headed to Jardim Botanico. It was created Dam João during the imperial period of Brasil. It was such a beautiful place, and actually quite a huge place! After walking for a few hours through the beautiful varied parks we decided it was time to head to the hostel. We spent the evening in Botafogo just walking around and hung out at the praia in Botafogo.

Cristo Redentor

Trem do Corcovado

Jardim Botanico

On Wednesday was probably one of our favorite days. We woke up and went to Pão de Açúcar, which can only be reached by a bondinho (cable car) and it shows the overview of the city. We took our first cable car to Morro da Urca, which is the first hill. Then we took the second bondinho, which got us to the higher of the two hills, also known as Pão de Açúcar. The view there was absolutely breathe taking.  Also up there is a trail that we took which took us around the hill, it was incredible to see all different sides of the city as well as the bay. Once we had finished taking pictures and were ready to head down we descended on the bondinhos and went back to Botafogo. Since some of the group was really tired, me and another friend decided that we were going to go to Ipanema. So we hoped on a bus and headed to the beach. It was definitely worth the trip, and we both enjoyed it actually more then Copacabana. We walked on the sidewalk that stretches the whole length of the beach, and then we found a perfect spot to enjoy the beach. Once it started to get late we decided to head back and we met back up with our group and went to the beach in Botafogo for the evening.

View from Morro da Urca

Onto the Cable Car to Pão de Açúcar

Infront of the Bondinho to Pão de Açúcar

Praia Ipanema

  On our last full day in Rio we ended up taking an adventure. We decided to go to the Centro of the city. So we hopped on a metro and after asking several people finally figured out which stop we should get off. Then we walked to the Saara, which is basically a street in the city that is a lot of shops with knock off goods for very cheap prices. It was a very fun experience. Once done there we walked onto the main street and passed a Cathedral in the center, that actually never belonged to the city of Rio de Janeiro (though I kind of do not remember the whole story behind it). Once we passed there we went into the Banco do Brasil where they had a museum of money and also the history of the bank. After we went to a famous street called Ouvidor, which is a street full of different restaurants. After my group figured out where they were going to eat and they had finished we headed off on our next adventure. We went to the Confeitaria Colombo, which is an old cafe shop in centro. Then we walked to Lapa, which is a barrio right next to Centro. There we saw the Arcos da Lapa and the Escardaria Selaron, also known as the colored stairs. Then we went back to Ipanema, where we went to watch the sunset. It was as quite a beautiful sunset, its no wonder people from all the world go there to watch the sunset. Once it started to get dark we went back to Botafogo and spent our last night in the area. On our last day we just stayed in the area for lack of time before our bus left.

Saara in Centro 

Ceiling in Banco do Brasil

Museum of Money

Café Colombo

Arcos da Lapa

Escadaria Selaron

Sunset in Ipanema

Our trip to Rio was definitely an incredible one, and I can not wait until I am given a chance to go and visit the city again!

Until Next Time

5 Meses no Brasil

Wow it is hard to believe that I have already been here in Brasil for 5 months! In honor of being my 5 months here is an update of what I have been up to since I arrived in Matão, São Paulo.

For my first weekend here it was learning about the city, and meeting all of my friend's friends. On the Saturday we went into the centro and went and taught some English at an school my friend teaches at. For the evening we went to a restaurant with some of her friends and just hung out with them for the evening. On Sunday we decided to go and visit a city nearby, São Carlos, where we met with a friend of hers to spend the evening visiting the city. It was a very laid back trip, we just went and played soccer for sometime and went to centro to see the christmas decorations. The next day we went and got some Açaí and relaxing. On Wednesday we ended up going to the gym, we originally went to try out a class called She'ba, but since we arrived so early we also went to a pump class. On Thursday we went to Quintaneja, which is Sertaneja on Thursdays. Friday we went to a birthday party that was at a chacra, which is where they normally have a pool and churrascara. Saturday I was able to go a play soccer again as well as go to a Catholic mass. Sunday, since my friend went to take her vestibular, I went with my friends sister to met up with some friends of theirs for the evening.

On the following Monday we spent time at my friend's grandparents as well as her aunts. Friday I met one of my friend's best friend and we did a sleepover at her house, me, her friend, her sister, and another friend of theirs. Saturday we went to Araraquara, which is another city nearby. There we just did some Christmas shopping as well as went and got some chinese food. That Sunday we went to a class reunion, basically, for my friend and her classmates.

The following week was Christmas week. For Brasilian tradition it is normal to have a family dinner on the Eve and spend Christmas just relaxing. Which of course is what we did, we had a massive dinner at the house and at Midnight we opened up our Christmas gifts and wished everyone a merry Christmas. For Christmas day we went to another chacra and spend the day relaxing, swimming, and eating. On Friday we went again to Quintaneja. Saturday we went and made Brigadeiro. Sunday we went again to Araraquara, this time to go see a Beatles tribune, then went and traveled around the city some.

To get to NYE. We went to my friend's godmother's house to bring in the New Year. It was quite a nice time, we just hung around and enjoyed each others company. After we brought the new year in we decided to take a swim. The following day we spent at her house and swam and relaxed for the day.

For the upcoming weeks not much is planned, though we are looking at going to Rio de Janeiro.

Until Next Time

Brasilian Food

One thing that is always a question when one goes abroad is how will the food be. And as it is the holidays and everyone is visiting family and eating many different delicious plates of food, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about some of the typical Brasilian foods that I have encountered while here.

Probably my favorite thing to eat here is Açaí. It is quite hard to really describe what it taste like, but if you are ever given a chance to try it it is something that you can not pass up! 

Coxinha: It is basically chicken in a cone shape of fried bread. 

Churrasco is something very popular here. It is a BBQ, but with many different types of meats, and many different cuts of meat, its is much more than steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs. 

Brigadeiro: this sweet is made with condensed milk and chocolate powder. 

Farofa is cooked flour, and sometimes has other ingredients with it that is normally consumed with rice .

Pastels: these are made of some form of meat or seafood, with some sauce and then is fried. 

Pão de Queijo : or Cheesy Bread, it is bread that is has cheese baked into it. 

Suco: Although not a food, it is still a very popular thing to consume. It is not though like the juices in the states, as it comes in many different fruits.  

Arroz e Feijões aka Rice and Beans is a very typical thing to find here, and a good majority of all meals will be serviced with rice. If you mix some meats into the beans then you get feijoada

These are just some of the popular foods here in Brasil, and there are many more out there, as well as others that depend on where you live. 

Until Next Time

Brasilian Gesture of Greeting

Much like every culture how people greet each other and interact is something distinct. Here in Brasil that interaction is visible with in a few hours of arriving from a country such as the United States, where things are conducted at farther distances and very "formal". Such as meeting someone for the first time you shake hands, or just wave.

In Brasil the first time you meet someone, whether the first time or they have seen several times you greet them with a kiss on the cheek and probably (depending on the person) give them a hug, which for me I enjoy. Then when it comes to just talking with someone they will have conversations at a much closer distant than that in the states. Another thing that is very noticeable is that people here are much more touchy-feely. In a sense that they give hugs, the kisses on the cheeks and just all around hold closer contact. This closeness also contacts greatly with the Brasilian hospitality, where they are very open to letting someone come to their house and not wanting the person to feel left out.

As a foreigner coming here I have greatly enjoyed this close contact. I feel like it gives more life to the culture and that is really fits the Brasilian way quite well, as they are also very open and super friendly. It will definitely be an interesting experience when I return back to the states and I have to go back to the distant contact and the shaking of hands with people I met.    

Until Next Time

4 Meses No Brasil

Although a few days late here is an update of how my past month has been in Brasil.

The first week ended up being an adventure. One of the days after class had finished I went with some other students to Carnivereses, which is a beach in the north part of the island. The next day me and some of the students went out to a club called Fields, which is where they play Sertanejo. We went to go and celebrate one the girls birthdays, it was a really fun time and I really enjoyed dancing the music. The day after we went to Parma, which is an all you can eat pizza place, and there are like 40 different options of pizza and pizza doce (sweet pizza). For the weekend I went to Jaragua do Sul. The weekend was quite nice, I got to go to some Brasilian birthday parties and even got to experience a funeral. Although it was not something that was happy it was quite an experience. I also got to see some of the city, such as Malwee, which is a park in the city.

The following monday was laid back. I ended up meeting with a friend and we hung out for sometime, then I had to head home and relaxed for the day. The next day I went to Costa de Lagoa, which is a fisherman village in Lagoa, that can only be reached by walking or by taking a boat to. It was such a beautiful place, and it was really nice to visit. The next day my business class took a field trip to basically a Brasilian version of Silicon valley. The next day was a feriado, it was a holiday on the formation of the republic. I ended up going with a friend and we did a trail to Lagoinha do Leste, with some of her friends. It was a really nice time, and although the trail was long it was worth the walk. When we finally arrived to the beach we laid our towels out and relaxed. Then we met her parents at the beach and headed back home with them, as me and her had to get ready to leave to Dream Valley, which was a music festival in Beto Carrero (which is the largest amusement park in Latin America). The festival was a really fun time, but after about 3 hours of the same type of music our whole group was exhausted and ready to go, but as we took a van we had to wait. So we ended up just chilling at the festival until our van showed up. The following day was not the prettiest outside so we just sleep in and chilled at my friends house. Then I went to met up with some other exchange students and we went and saw the 2nd movie of the Hunger Games (a week before it even came out in the U.S.A. may I add). After that we went to Guacamole, which is a "Mexican" restaurant. The next day I went to Campeche, which is a beach near my house. I ended up just relaxing there for the day, then returned home for the evening.

On the monday my class took a field trip to the south of the island, where we got to visit a project about otters. We also got to see monkeys that were chilling by the late the project was at. On Wednesday me and the girls went to the favela one last time. This time we showed the kids the  movie UP. It was a really nice time and I was happy that I was able to do some volunteering while here. For that night I went with one of the other exchange students to go play futebol (soccer) with a team of girls here in Brasil. It was such a fun time, even though I am not the best at it, I really enjoyed being able to play and to get a little work out in. On the weekend I went to a friends house in Ingleses and spent some time there. We ended up making dinner, which was pasta. After dinner we got dressed and headed to a Rockin' roll party that was hosted by UFSC. The next day was just a day of resting as it was not that nice outside.

On monday I took a small class field trip, well me and 3 other classmates, went to an other university in Floripa to talk with some tourism students about our experiences in Brasil, and of course it was all in Português. It was a really great time, and a great experience. I also had a surprise, when one of the girls there told me how she did an exchange to this city that is 10 minutes from my house in Indiana, the same year that I went to Italia. The world is really incredible small. On Wednesday I spent the day with my family as they were leaving to go spend time in Argentina, and I wanted to hang out with them some because when they came back I was going to leave to go to São Paulo. In the night time I went and played soccer again with the girls team that we played with the week before. It is such a good time, and I really enjoy learning to play better. On Thanksgiving day I really did not do much during the day. At night though I had a movie night with my host sister (as it was just us two in the house for the week). We ended up watching 50 first dates, but all in Português, so I could learn some more. On Friday I went with some of the exchange students to Fields, for one last time together. It was a nice time just dancing and enjoying each others company. On Saturday I went and met up with a friend and we ended up going out with some of her friends to a club called 1007. It was a really great time, as before we even went, we went to a one of her friends house and chilled and even played some video games. Then we all packed into a taxi and went to centro to go out. Since the next day was a rainy one, me and my friend just went to a shopping mall near her house and went and watched a Brasilian movie called "Meu Passado Me Condena." It was a comedy about this couple who gets married after knowing each other for a month and then proceed to go on a cruise, where they met the girls ex-boyfriend, and the boys childhood crush. Then a bunch of different things happen, but the movie was truly hysterical. On the monday following I hung out with my host sister and we made Brasilian hot dogs.

Now I am starting my vacation. I will be spending it in Matão, which is a city in the interior part of São Paulo with one of my friends that studied abroad to Indiana. Not much has been planned out yet as to what we will be doing, but I will keep update when things occur.

Until next time.

Making the Most of the Time You Have

As the first semester in Brasil is starting to come to an end, and my fellow students that are studying with me are getting ready to head back to the states I decided to dedicate a blog to suggestions for future study abroad students so that they can have the fullest of their time.

1. Probably one of the hardest things to accomplish, and I am fortunate to have learned it while I was in Italy, is to keep an open mind. When one first goes to an new country a lot of things you hear is, "oh this is stupid", "why do they do that?", instead though trying to look at why they might do a certain thing is better. And if you are not willing to accept the difference, or you dont want to take part in that culture aspect, thats fine, but try to at least respect the cultural difference.

2. Take every opportunity given to you. Even if that means you have to skip out on your favorite club/bar, that you have been to a dozen times to go to a Brasilian soccer game (or what ever the experience might be), thats fine. The club/bar will be there next week, but you might not get another opportunity to go to a game (or a churrasco, or what ever the opportunity might be).

3. If you can travel all around the country, or to different countries, while you are abroad, GREAT, DO IT! But if you can't thats fine too. Instead of sulking, go visit another city near by, get to know your area, hang out with locals. Ya you might not get to mark another country off your list, but you get to know the area, and you might discover some untapped beauty, or you really get to learn about the culture that you are in.

4. If given the opportunity to live a host family do it! Ya its nice to have an apartment and you do not have to follow rules, but host families are a great way to learn about the culture and to learn the language. They also can be your life support, if you become homesick. Also for the freedom, chances are they are very understanding, and give you the space you need.

5. A really big one that I learned while in Italy was NOT to expect ANYTHING! No matter what you do there will always be things that you imagine will happen, but if possible try not to expect to much and do not assume something will or will not happen. As chances are what you expect will not live up to the dream or will not turn out how one expects. Plus another positive to not expecting is when something happens out of the blue, it could end up being even greater than that expectation one had.


If you can try to do these few suggestions, in my personal opinion your study abroad will be one of the best times of your life! After all you will be home soon, so why not live it up and enjoy the time you have!

3 meses no Brasil!

Today marks 3 months that I have arrived here. Here is a recap of what I have been up to for the past month.

The first weekend I had an excursion with my program where we went to Agua Morros, which is a hot spring hotel. We spent the weekend there just relaxing, and eating our hearts out. The following week my class took a field trip to Fortaleza de São Joao da Ponta Grossa, which is a fort in the north of the island created by the Portuguese to stop the Spanish from using the channel between the continent and the island. After we visited the fortress we spend some time on the praia (beach) that is next to fort and then returned back to center. The following day me and one of the other student that is studying here with me went to a favela on the continent to start our day of volunteer work. There we are showing videos to the kids and afterwards we talk about what they learned, as they are movies that have life values in them. The first movie we showed was Pocahontas, and talked about how it doesn’t matter of someone’s color of skin, background, or even culture, we all are humans. Upon returning home I was invited to a futebol game of Flumenese and Vasco da Gama, which are two rival teams from Rio, who were playing in the stadium near my house.

The following weekend was full of events as well. Saturday I spent the day in Blumenau, which is a city on the continent of Brasil with a rich heritage of German decent, even until the 40’s (WII) there only spoke German there, and even today you can still here German from the locals. There we visited some museums that talked about their heritage. We also went to the Villa Germanica, which is where the World’s 2^nd biggest Oktoberfest is held every year. After we went to the Oktoberfest parade. It was quite an experience, as during the parade basically everyone that was participating in the parade was drinking, and the floats all had Tubs of beer for the participants. After seeing some of the parade I headed back with the other student who was not going to stay for the Oktoberfest festivities that were going to be held that night. That night I returned back to Floripa and went to festival with some of my friends that study at UFSC (which is the federal university here). I spent the Sunday just relaxing as from all the traveling I had done I was in need of day off.

On Monday we did not have school, since it was a holiday for professors. So instead me and two other students with my program went and took a trail called Costa Santinho, which starts on praia Santinho and ends on praia Moçambique. It was a beautiful trail, and we even saw some old inscribitions from natives that use to live on the island 1,000 years ago. On Wednesday since it was not such a nice day outside, me and one of the other students in my program hopped on some buses and just kind of took a tour of the island/surrounding area. On Friday began on my adventures to Blumenau again, this time though was to go and participate in the festivities of Oktoberfest. I stayed the weekend with one of my friend’s family, along with two other friends of mine. It was an experience as her family had strong German heritage, that when I first arrived at the house I was greeted in German. During the whole weekend we ended up going between Portuguese, German, and some English, I even learned some German words (though nothing to extensive). Because of her families heritage though I was able to use her mom’s German outfit since she was not going to Oktoberfest. At Oktoberfest it was quite interesting as the music was in Português, with a German kind of flare. Friday night there were more people that were from Blumenau, so it was common to see people dressed in typical German costumes. On Saturday night though it there was way more people and it was more people from other cities who were visiting for the festivities. On Sunday since we woke up early to head back to Floripa and it was a beautiful day out we decided to go to beach. Though we ended up getting ahold of a friend and going to a churrasco/pool get together.

Tuesday my class had another field trip. This time though was to an indigenous village that exists here in Santa Catarina. It was such an amazing experience, and it in a sense took me back to when I was in Ecuador, just how simple their life was, but how they were so open and friendly. Wednesday my family and I went out for pizza to celebrate my host mom’s birthday. It was so good, especially the pizza dulce (sweet pizza). For the weekend I went to a costume party that was hosted by a major at UFSC. Then I Sunday I went to Jurêre International with one of friends and her family. We ended up spending the whole day there just taking in some rays, sleeping, and enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

On Tuesday one of my classes, yet again had a field trip. This time we went to Portobelo Island, which was established in the 1990’s as a place that is for Ecotourism. Meaning that only a limited amount of people can visit the island everyday, and that everything they do there is to preserve the natural wildlife that exists on the island. The island itself was so breathtaking and it was quite incredible what they were doing with the island, and how they preserved it. The next day I spent the entire day at Jurêre, this time with some aunts that were visiting from the West part of Santa Catarina. When we finally returned home, after about 6 or so hours at the beach, my whole family went out for dinner to a restaurant called Boka’s.  There they are known for having good fried shrimp, which I cannot argue with, it was quite good. The next day after my class I met up with my aunts, and this time we went shopping for the entire day. It was quite fun, though seeing the prices on all the clothes was quite a shock, as it cost way more then it does in the USA. On Friday my family went out to celebrate one my aunts birthdays. We ended up going to an all you can eat pizzeria, again my favorite pizza was the pizza dulce. On Saturday night I ended up going to a birthday party celebration with my host mom and sister for one of my host dad’s aunt. Then Today (Sunday) I went to a classic futebol game between Avaí and Figueirense. It was such a great experience, the entire stadium was packed full, and the competiveness was interesting to see.

For the upcoming month, I have not planned anything in particular yet, we will see what comes up. As for my language acquisition, it is coming along quite well. There are still many things that I must learn, but I am able to get around without problems, and I can understand a good majority of conversations.

That is about all I have for now. Until next time.