I have been very busy having fun, drinking caipirinhas and checking out several of Florianópolis's 42 beaches!! It is quite a rough life!
Besides working on my tan, I have also been busy with Portuguese classes. This is much more difficult than I had originally thought. For one, in class the teachers only speak Portuguese, apparently this is to help learn by immersion, but it can get frustrating quickly. It is very hard to understand concepts when they are explained with other words that you do not know. It sometimes feels like I am hearing simply noise. I also am now the only student in my class, which is a bit odd. I definitely prefer the smaller group.
JIU JITSU
I also have been busy taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes as a way to immerse myself in the culture and language. I was invited by a friend on the beach and had absolutely no clue what I was getting myself into! 1. I took tae kwon do growing up. I thought it would be similar. Nope. It is basically wrestling or as one guy in my class said "Chess of the Body". 2. It is all in Portuguese! It is hard enough to learn a new skill, even more so when you don't understand the language. I was practicing with a Brazilian girl, accidentally elbowed her in the face and said "obrigada" (thank you!) instead of "disculpe" (sorry)! Thankfully she was very understanding and just laughed!
The first day of Jiu Jitsu I was pulled aside by the instructor as I had to learn the basic moves. It was a bit hilarious as each time we had to switch from attacker to victim he would say "ok, now i dominate you." With my dirty mind, this was very amusing. It also didn't help I have been reading Brazilian Cosmo to help learn Portuguese! If you thought American Cosmomwas raunchy, pick up an issue of Brazilian Cosmo. It helps learn more common words/Brazilian slang.
At the end of the first day of class, I was given my belt. The lead instructor called me up (in Portuguese) in front of the whole class to give it to me. I had no clue what was going on and must have turned 50 shades of red. It felt somewhat like an initiation to be called in front of everyone to get my belt after training all class with my "kimono" flapping without it. I do like Jiu Jitsu and hope to keep training when I go back to Chicago.
Aniversario!
I had my birthday this past Monday. To celebrate, I treated myself to new sunglasses and a cute outfit. I also extended my trip two months!!
My itinerary is as follows:
Now until May 30 - Florianópolis
May 30-June 7: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-June 12: São Paulo, Brazil
June 12-June 17: Medellin, Colombia
June 17-June 22: Bogota, Colombia
June 23-July 3: Lima and Cuzco, Peru
July 3- July 10: Chile
July 10-July 24: Mendoza and Buenos Aires, Argentina
July 24-26: Iguazu
July 26-28: São Paulo
July 28: Chicago
This weekend I met new friends from São Paulo and Floripa. We met at one of my favorite beaches, Praia Mole (which means soft sand beach). They told me at first they thought I was Argentinian until they saw me try to order a guarda de sol (beach umbrella) and realized I was American. They invited me to join them for some cervejas. We drank all afternoon, ate pastel (fried dough w stuffing) and enjoyed the sun. Later, we moved to a cabana for my favorite, the Veuve! Seriously, drinking Champagne on the beach in Brazil, I could get used to this life!! After that I went home, went to language exchange at the school (speak 30 minutes portuguese, 30 minutes English), had my new favorite drink (caipirinha com vinho e pouco acucar - caipirinha (limes, sugar cane rum) with wine and little sugar), and met my new friends for more drinks and sushi at a place called Mumbai Taiko. Check out the below Sushi Boat! It was a great time.
The next day we went to Praia Jurere Internacional (apparently the rich people beach), which was a lot of fun. They have great music and cabanas to lounge in. This beach and Praia Mole are my favorites so far. I want to visit them all!! After a few hours here and a quick dip in the ocean, we went to Berimar shopping as I decided I needed new clothes to look like a Brasileira! I bought two new skirts, a top and some shoes. See photo below! I think I turned out okay!!
That night we went to a Brasilian country bar called Fields. It is way different than American country, but I like it. Most people know Michael Telo. As per usual, I had a great time. Several Brasilian men tried to teach me how to dance. I am not quite a full Brazilian woman yet!
At the end of the night (4am?) my friend dropped me off at we had Cachorro Quente (Brazilian hot dog!). So so so good! They have jet ketchup, mustard, mayo, corn, peas, potato chips (see photo below!) and probably some other stuff. That with a diet coke, is the best way to top off the night!!!
Tchau Tchau!! Xoxo
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