Let the traveling begin

This past weekend we had the chance to escape the city for a few days and meet up with our friend Lucio in a state park called Ibitipoca. Its about a two hour bus ride from the city to the town of Ibitipoca and then another 3k to the entrance of the park. We left last saturday morning at 7:30 for the town of Lima Duarte where we would take a second bus to the town of Ibitipoca. While waiting for the bus in Juiz de Fora we learned that the once in Lima Duarte the next bus for ibitipoca wasn’t until 3pm which meant we were going to have to wait most of the day in lima duarte and consequently not have time to go to the park. On the bus ride to Lima Duarte we decided that we would try to hitchhike to Ibitipoca from Lima Duarte. A little sidenote: We had our first practice as translators in L Duarte when we ran into a group of Israeli's that wanted us to ask a man for directions to the gas station....very exciting. After this encounter we made our way to a bridge at the end of the town that was supposed to be a good spot to hitchhike. We had only been hithhiking (called "corona" here) for a few minutes when a car came spending up behind us with our friend Lucio at the wheel. He had driven to L Duarte to pick us up because he realized that there wasnt a bus until later and he wanted to make sure we would have enough time to pass by the park that day. We continue to be grateful for all of Lucio's kindness and help....a true friend!

With Lucio driving we arrived in Ibitipoca in about 20 minutes, a drive that normally takes 45 minutes! Once there we asked around for a cheap hostel, finding a place for about 11 dollars a night....there are still cheap hostels after all! After checking in, we quickly changed and were back in the car on the way to the park to meet up with Lucio's friends. Since Lucio and his friends had done their research for their undergrad studies at the park for a summer they ended being great "tour guides", knowing all the great waterfalls and caves to pass by. Much of Saturday was spent lounging in the sun and swimming in the various natural pools throughout the park....much needed after being in the confines of the city for the past four weeks. That night we meet up with Lucio and his friends in the town of Ibitipoca because one of their friends that works at the park was having a book release party for photos she had taken throughout the park of Ibitipoca. After the book release we called it night because we were planning on waking up early Sunday to do a longer hike in the park.

Sunday, Lucio meet us promptly at 7:00 to take us up to the park. Several trips to the bakery later, we were on the road to the park. After getting a little late start, we were on the trail by around 9. The trail is a 16k loop that passes by arguably the most well know place in the park called "Janela do Ceu" which translates to something like "Window of Heaven". The trail traversed the hills bordering the park and offered great views of the surrounding valleys. All along the trail up to the Janela do Ceu there are various side trails that take you to different caves....the are around 50 caves spread throughout the park! After exploring several of these caves, we made our way up to the Janela where we relaxed for a while and had lunch before finishing the loop back to the park entrance.....great day/great hike! This park is a must visit for anyone passing through this part of Brazil and its possible to see a lot of the park in one day.

After spending all day Sunday in park we had to hop back on a bus back to Juiz de Fora because we had class on Monday. Returning rejuvenated back to Juiz de Fora was perfect to get in the mindset to study for our first test that we had yesterday in Ecology. The test ended up going really well and was less difficult than we expected. We are also taking the class pass/fail so this made it a little less stressful. Tomorrow, we're leaving for Belo Horizante, the biggest city in Minas Gerias, with the architecture department (still not sure why we were invited...). Were going to spend Saturday and Sunday there, which will hopefully be enough time to get to know a few places in the city.

Other exciting news! Lula, the president of Brazil, is visiting the university today and will be giving a speech. Part of his reason for passing by the university is to see the progress on the new construction that is going on all over campus. He is also passing through the city as part of his tour with a presidential candidate named Dilma that he has chosen to support in this election. The presidential elections are going to be in October and will be the first time in 8 years that Brazil has seen someone new in office because Lula has been president for the past two terms.

After a little hiatus from writing a blog, hopefully I will be able to stay a little more consistent in the next few weeks. Also, with more time spent traveling on the weekends there will be more to talk about and share. Ate Mais!

Officially a month into the trip.

Going to the Federal Police station last Monday to obtain our ids for foreigners marked the end of our first month here in Brazil.

Recently, someone asked me what are some of the biggest differences between here and the United States and I thought this would be a good thing to discuss after spending a month in this country. As I said to the individual that asked the question, one of the biggest differences is the popularity of religion here. I realize that a large portion of the US population is also very religious but for me, growing up in a town that is liberal and not very religious and then moving to a university whose student body is also not very religious, this presents a large difference between life here and in the United States. For instance, when people ask me what religion I am, a question that I sadly dont even know the answer to, I have usually been responding "protestant". I usually respond this way fearing that the truth, that Im actually closer to atheists, would be offensive and spark a discussion that I would not be able to provide the answers to in my limited Portuguese.

Another big difference: Eating rice and beans with every meal. I feel that most people already know this about Latin America but nonetheless it is a difference worth noting. Lucky for me, I really enjoy rice and beans so this difference has proven to be very easy to adjust to.....talk to me in four months when i have eaten rice and beans every day for the past four months and this sentiment could be different.

Third big difference: Walking everywhere! The act of walking everywhere is not a Brazilian thing and is more a function of living in a city where getting from point "a" to point "b" can often be faster by foot then by car or bus. The other three students in the ACM exchange program and I have also been walking to the university several days a week, something that the Brazilian students think is nuts because its about an hour away when walking. This decision to walk to the university originally was a result of a desire to explore the streets of the city and to get some fresh air and though these things still continue to influence this decision, part of the reason we continue walk is the irregularity of the bus schedule. Some days it can actually be just as quick to walk, as it is to take the bus, especially if the first bus is completely full which happens on occasion. Luckily, everyone else is putting up with the same irregular bus schedule and understand when you show up late.

Along with these bigger differences, there are many smaller ones as well: The Brazilian equivalent of soap operas are very popular, the delivery services here are all done on motorcycle (they call them "moto boys"), there is delivery beer, most college students live with their family while going to college, the Federal universities are free, there are still occasionally horses in the busy streets of the city, 40 degrees Fahrenheit is considered "really" cold, and obvious things like no skiing or football games on Sunday mornings.

Though the cultural differences between more sensitive topics like religion can sometimes be difficult, on a whole these changes between life here and in the US are very exciting. I even think that some of the cultural habits here may follow me back to the states like eating lots of cheesy bread (bread balls filled with cheese).

Until next time,

Garrett

Brazilians Passion for Soccer

When you first meet a Brazilian, one of the first questions they ask you is "what soccer team are you a fan of?" And the past three weeks since being here I had no answer. Upon learning this, all the Brazilians than attempt to convince you that their team is the best and that you shouldn’t listen to people who are fans of other teams. After going to a soccer game this past Sunday at Maracana Stadium in Rio, we were converted into fans of Fluminense, a club from Rio. (mostly because they beat the other team 3-0 and they are currently in first place) A friend from the university named Lucio drove us to Rio for the day which is about a 2 hour drive from our city of Juiz de Fora. Being a Sunday afternoon, I expected that the stadium would have a number of fans present but nothing that exciting.....I was wrong. By the time the game started there were 58,000 people in the stadium! Practically the entire game the fans are chanting the various cheers for Fluminese and everyone is on their feet the entire time. It was TRULY a Brazilian experience. In a country that is predominantly catholic I think that soccer is secretly the number one religion.

The same kid, Lucio, that took us to the soccer match had invited me a few days earlier to go mountain biking. I was not sure what to expect and half assumed that it would be a mellow ride but we ended riding 60 kilometers and had to finish the last 20 in the dark. After spending nearly three straight weeks within the city limits of Juiz de Fora it felt amazing to escape it. The ride passed through various farms and down through a lush valley before dropping us out on the highway 20k from town.

The next day, Lucio invited me to go play soccer at a field about 20 minutes outside the city. The field was down in this valley off the main highway in farm land similar to what we had passed through on our bike ride the day before. The field that most Brazilians play on is a lot smaller than the a normal sized field and is usually played with 6 players on each side. There also are really no leagues that people play in (besides the Professional league), instead people just meet up with friends several times a week to play pick up matches. This was my second time playing since being down here and its been great to play soccer more consistently again since I stopped playing soccer in high school.

Tomorrow will mark the end of our second week of classes. With a limited understanding of Portuguese, I have still been able to understand about 60% of the material that the professors are lecturing about it. It also helps that many of the words are similar to Spanish, and a few, especially in science classes, are very similar to English. For example, the word for "reptile" in Portuguese is "reptil". What the professor says about these "reptils" is a little more difficult to understand.

I have ecology in a few hours so I will end here because we are going to grab lunch at the university cafeteria which is about 90 cents per meal (rice, beans, salad, a meat dish, and fruit) A great deal!

Classes Begin....sort of

Ive successfully moved into my new house and spent a week with my new family. I have an aunt named Marlene and a grandma named Cesa. It took me a while to learn how to say their names and they’re still learning how to say mine....i even wrote out a breakdown of how it sounds phonetically. This new housing arrangement was set up by the roommate of Cameron, one of the other students on the program. The two women that I am living with are the aunt and grandma of Cameron's roommate named Felipe.

So far the host family experience has been great! The language barrier is relatively large because they do NOT speak any English and my Portuguese is still not very good....though it continues to improve every week. Every morning i wake up, I have coffee and breakfast with family and if i wake up late they leave my cup and plate out on the table. Ive offered to help with dishes or cooking in exchange for their hospitality but I have had no luck with them accepting this offer. The new house is located right next to the center of downtown. The location is great but has put me about a forty five minute walk away from the university. As a result I will likely take the bus to class a few days a week. Three days out of the week, Carolyn (another student from Colorado College) and I are fortunate to have a ride with one of our professors, Carol. She lives right across the street from me and has offered to carpool to class. Carol, was the same person who helped all of us find classes that suited our interests and introduced us to professors in our field. She has been a great resource this first week of class and orientation and I’m sure she will continue to be in the weeks to come.

I will hopefully be able to post some photos on the next post. I have been unable to post photos at this point because my backpack was stolen which had my camera and ipod inside. I had left the backpack inside Felipe's car while we were inside the indepedencia shopping mall and we came outside to find the rear window broken and my backpack gone. First lesson of the trip and a good lesson for any big city anywhere in the world: DONT leave valuables in the car! Luckily there were no important documents inside like my passport or visa. These would have been far more difficult to replace and possibly just as expensive.

The theft of my backpack aside, the majority of the experiences so far have been positive. We began classes this week but apparently the first week is not important and the majority of students do not show up to class until the second week. My first class yesterday, ecology and the preservation of the environment had a total of five students present out of a thirty person class. My classes this semester are as follows:
Ecology and the preservation of the environment
Introduction to environmental science
Portuguese for Foreigners
Water quality and rights
Ecology of populations and communities

We were all signed up for a soccer class as well but we found out that it is soccer theory and not actually playing so we dropped it.


Until next time!

Settling in...

Ive been in Brazil for about a week now but arrived in Juiz de Fora on Saturday afternoon. After spending only a few days in this city, that will be my new home for the next five months, I have already met lots of really nice and helpful people and been able to explore a lot of the city. The three other students in the program and I started our portuguese language course on Monday and will take the course for the next two weeks. The course is intended to help us with communicating around the city but more importantly prepare us for our first day of class at the university on August 9th. Right now I am living in an apartment about halfway between the downtown and university. I have two american roommates who are here to take a computer science class at the university but they will leave in the next week. Since I do not have the opportunity to speak portuguese while at my home I am trying to move in with a Brazilian family or get an apartment with a Brazilian student. This sort of language immersion would help me a lot with learning portuguese....help that I could definitely use at the moment. The portuguese language has a lot of similarities with spanish so my background in spanish has been helpful but the accent is proving difficult to pick up. I can only hope that my accent improves by the time classes start in a few weeks. Other than the difficulties with the language, the experience thus far has been amazing. Im very excited for the next five months!

Garrett