Amy’s Thoughts

Well, I’ve had an eventful second week.  Moved to Vitoria by bus, which was a hellish 8-hour bus ride, with the woman in front of me reclining in my lap…  Apparently, in Brazil, they do not have the same concept of personal space as we do in the U. S.  The seats were made to recline, and recline bem mesmo!  I literally could have rested my arm on the top of her head, as it is, I used the top of her seat (thus providing shade for the top of her head which rested upon my lap) as a book prop!  I was unable to move, because any shift in movement resulted in my driving a knee into her back (and receiving a disgruntled look as a result).  It was quite interesting I must say…

I arrived at the bus station, where my family was waiting for me, and immediately received a huge hug from my little “sister,” Mariana, who is 8.  I have a “mother” who is 3 years younger than me, a “father,” two younger sisters (Mariana and Darah, who is five) and two younger brothers (whom I haven’t met yet, but who are 10 and 14).  Darah and the boys are off traveling with relatives, but will be arriving on Sunday, so the house should be exploding with people in another week.

And speaking of the house… I have my own room with own bathroom (!!!), a large bed that is not a mattress on the floor (so I’m feeling quite privileged here) and plenty of space for the tiny amount of clothing that I brought (in comparison to the other women I traveled in Rio with, who each brought a minimum of three giant suitcases/duffle bags/etc.)  Actually, every room in the house has its own bathroom, which means that there are SEVEN bathrooms total, and there’s a swimming pool!!  Plus, I’m a couple blocks from the beach.  I’m living right, yes, I am.

This weekend, we had our first excursion.  Went to Biriricas in the mountains, stayed in cabins in the woods, and went on an unbelievably adventurous river rafting trip Saturday morning and afternoon.  More about that in a separate email later, when I have more time to descrive the incredible events of the day (a warning to all those who might be disturbed by images of Amy almost drowning in the rapids of Brazil:  don’t read that email!!)  Sunday we had a crappy day of too much sun and too much sickness (envision no less than 3 girls at any given time puking out the windows of our bus as we rocketed down the mountain at nauseating speeds) and late Sunday night was convinced I was dying of some dread Third World disease, as my system expelled everything it has consumed all weekend long and my legs went up in flames due to the thousands (okay, maybe 30) of mosquito bites they had suffered.

Basically, it’s been fun!  Classes start this week and they’re intense as well.

I hope all is well with everyone else.  Just a word of warning:  if you ever travel to Brazil… take PLENTY of bug spray along and use it LIBERALLY!!!

Well, I have survived my first week in Rio.  I haven´t had much luck with my research so far, but I´ve given it the effort it requires!  I have attempted to contact my organization, including stopping by personally a couple times (no one seems to ever actually be in the office!) but I´m not too worried as the bulk of my research actually takes place in Vitoria (where I´m headed on Wednesday).

I´ve been to the beach several times, I´d forgotten how much I miss the beach living in Kansas.  It´s especially beautiful in Rio surrounded by hills and mountains.  I´m taking an endless number of photos, of course.

I also found myself incapable of visiting a foreign city without visiting a local movie theatre, which is how I am able to tell you with absolute certainty that Rio de Janeiro has absolutely the most comfortable movie theatre I have ever had the pleasure of sitting in, bar none. 

The seats were so comfortable, it was like sitting in an armchair in your own home (although the aisles were extremely close, the chairs were high enough, you could actually stretch out with your feet under the chair in front of you).  Even more amazing, at the front of the theatre directly to the right of the movie screen was… a women´s bathroom!  The men´s was located at the back of the theatre.  I only visited the women´s of course (out of pure curiosity) and it was like walking behind the stage.  The door led to some stairs that led up to another door which opened into one of the cleanest movie restrooms I´ve ever seen (with several stalls).

Everywhere I go people ask me “voce e portuguesa?” (are you Portuguese?)  I have to laugh and explain.  Maybe it´s a compliment, maybe not, I´m not really sure!  All I know is everyone knows I am most definitely NOT Brazilian (they do such weird things to their vowels!)

Amazingly enough, I am not having any problems remaining vegetarian here.  Yes, their meats are supposedly a specialty, but they also have the most amazing veggies and fruits.  I´m eating quite well (perhaps better than in the U.S.!) and am loving their food. 

I visited several street fairs with the most amazing crafts, wood work and clothing.  I am of course resisting all temptation (although the used bookstores are especially hard to resist — I actually found Artemis Fowl in Portuguese!)  So far I´ve resisted the Lord of the Rings in Portuguese (after all, they´re hard enough to get through in English!)

Well, I have made it safe and sound to Rio.  I arrived around 11 a.m. this morning (or about 9 a.m. K.C. time) and met up with my friend Noel in the airport.  We then called a couple hotels from the airport, found the best deal, and caught a bus to Copacabana.  We had to walk a couple blocks from the bus stop (gotta love those suitcases on wheels) but are now staying in a lovely (though extremely small) room at Hotel Canada, which is two blocks away from the beach. The room is about $16 a night per person and really does qualify as a hotel room (rather than a hostel) as it is equipped with a full bath, fridge, a/c, etc.  In fact, it’s quite a bit nicer than the $300 plus room in NYC Mark and Lynnette treated me to on our last hurrah before I left them for greener pastures in KS.

I’ve already explored the area, purchased a watch from a street vendor for approximately $3.50 and found this lovely internet shop which offers a full hour of internet access for 4 Reais (about $1.33).  I’ve also found the local bookstore (only a block away from our hotel) and am already in trouble.  You wouldn’t believe how many wonderful books there are available in Portuguese!  Well, maybe you would, but it was like walking into heaven.  An entire store of foreign language books (not that they’re foreign here, but you get the idea).  I already had to resist purchasing the entire Harry Potter series in Portuguese (although I did allow myself to buy the first one), not to mention the Lemony Snicket and Junie B. Jones series — I never even made it to the adult section.  I decided the kids’ section was more than enough temptation for one afternoon! I’m thinking I may be able to read the newest HP book before going back home after all.  

What else can I tell you?  Tomorrow I will embark upon my quest to make contact with the children’s organization here in Rio (seeing as I’m now required to fulfill those research commitments I made in order to receive the grant money that brought me here!)