3/8

Well, I have to say that this experience has been great for me. About half a year ago, I had no idea that right now I would be making a blog entry in Brazil. This experience has really opened my eyes to a different side of Brazil that I didn’t get to know while on my mission. I don’t regret a second of it, and I know that from the photos you can tell that this is true.

You might also think from the photos that all we did was have fun and visit tourist places, but for me at least, I believe that this experience has strengthened my communication skills and has increased my appreciation for Brazilians. I hope that I can appreciate my own country a little more now, knowing the luxuries that I take for granted don’t even exist in other places. Thank you for accompanying me on this wonderful journey, and I hope that it has been of some benefit to you!

I will spend the next week in Bahia, Brazil where I will revisit some places that I passed by on my mission. I hope that I can apply what I have learned here and make the most of the time I still have!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

2/8

The last full day of the official study abroad program. What a great conclusion to an awesome experience! Today we went to O Encontro dos 2 rios, or “the encounter of the two rivers”. It’s where the Amazon ALMOST starts when two rivers converge. Something that’s interesting is that when these two rivers meet up, they don’t mix for several miles because of differences in density, temperature, and speed. It was an impressive sight to see.

This is a picture from yesterday. It's still cool!!

After this, we traveled to a floating restaurant where we ate food AND  fed monkeys!! I hope that the monkeys haven’t become completely dependent on the food from the restaurant, but in truth I doubt that this place will be going anywhere even though it floats.

We went on a hike in the jungle close to the resort. Our guide showed us how the natives caught and trapped animals. They’re definitely a lot more in tune with nature than we are!

We finished off the day with dinner and a goodbye party. It’s awesome that everything ended on such a good note!

Thanks for reading!!

1/8

Wow! Our trip has almost come to an end! I can’t believe how fast time passes! Today, like every other day these past two months, was awesome! We set out once again on the Rio Negro to go for a little swim…WITH DOLPHINS!!!!

Talk about a once in a lifetime experience! It was honestly one of most surreal experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve never been a huge fan of animals, especially ones which are my size or larger. However it was interesting to see how tame the dolphins were. One even nibbled on my foot as I was treading water. I was screaming like a little baby as they brushed past me under the water… for like 3 minutes and then I had to go back to get a noodle to float on or I would have died!

After this we visited a Rubber Museum where a little over 50 years ago people were basically enslaved and forced to make rubber for food, without the option of leaving or receiving pay. Hundreds, if not thousands of rubber workers died in those conditions. It made me really think about how lucky I was to be from the United States and have the privilege of not having to worry about that kind’ve thing.

Right now, I’m outside on the resort grounds, trying to not get eaten alive by mosquitos. They seem to attracted initially to my computer screen and then subsequently to my succulent flesh. Another great day!!

Thanks for Reading!

31/7

Today, the completely unexpected happened, well kinda. We went on the Amazon River, okay well actually it was the Rio Negro(Black River) and crossed it to the other side to the resort where we will be staying. We have a guide named Washington who is from Guiana.

Today after we got unpacked we set out on the Rio Negro. Our objective: catch piranhas! We split up into 3 boats and our boat ended up having the most success by catching more than 30 fish. I only caught one but it was still fun!

After this, we set off on the hunt of caiman, a small crocodile. I wasn’t expecting anything when our guide got down on his belly on the boat and reached out and grabbed a live caiman! We all got to hold it and take pictures with it.

What a great introduction to Manaus and the Rio Negro!

Thanks for Reading !

30/7

Today, we left Fortaleza and arrived at our final destination: Manaus. Immediately after we got off the plane, I got the familiar feeling of being back in San Antonio, Texas. It was sunny, hot, and humid. I’m thankful for the time that I spent in Texas because I feel like it prepared me for Manaus.  Today, although we didn’t do a lot in particular, we DID visit the opera theatre very close to the Go Inn, our hotel. After a lovely tour where we learned a little of the history of the theatre, we found out that there would be Korean performers singing jazz music. It turned out to be opera, but I enjoyed it immensely! I feel like now I really have come to appreciate vibrato after hearing it live. Hearing a recording is one thing, but hearing it in real life is another.

They sang in Italian, Mandarin, German, and some other languages that I couldn’t recognize. I’m really glad that I ended up going. I feel like this study abroad experience has taught me that although sometimes I don’t want to go to things, it usually ends up being worth it.

Thanks for Reading!!

28/7

Well, I woke up a little later today because several people from our group went to see Batman last night and we didn’t get home until about 3 in the morning. Totally worth it in my opinion. Today, here in Fortaleza, we split up into smaller groups and went to visit a couple historical and modern sites here. I went with Jonny, Michelle, and Sara. Mercado Central, Catedral Metropolitana de Fortaleza, Teatro Sao Jose, e Centro Dragao do Mar de Arte e Cultura (The Dragon Center of Art and Culture of the Sea) were the places that we visited.

 I really liked the Cathedral because of Roman Gothic design, and how much it was illuminated. It gave off a different feeling then the cathedrals which I saw in Recife. I learned that  it was built in the 1930’s, which probably explains the difference between it and a lot of the other Brazilian Cathedrals I have seen.

Some of the stained glass art which we saw at the Cathedral. Michelle taught me that blue is
the most expensive color to make, so these guys had some money...

The Mercado Central(Central Market) is probably one of the coolest "malls" I have been to.

It gave off a really urbanized feeling and I really appreciated the structure.

That doesn't mean I bought anything though.

A picture of me having a philosophical discussion with a Brazilian Poet
whose name I failed to memorize/ take a picture of.

I enjoyed everything, but definitely what attracted me the most were the structures of the Central Market and the Cathedral. It is interesting to see how building styles change with the times, and I wonder where we'll be  in about 100 years. Will stadiums be different? Will they look at our public libraries and compare it to their own? We can only speculate now, but we can see how history has gone through different phases.

Hopefully, our "phase" will be looked on as a good, prosperous time in history. That's how I view my stay in Brazil.

Thanks for reading!!

26/7

We set off from the hotel at 7:30 and made our way to the docks of Salvador. When I found out that we were taking boats to island a ways away, I got a little nervous. The last time I was on a boat was when I was in middle school in the San Fransisco bay, where I basically barfed my living guts out. It was quite a memorable experience. Anyway, this time was completely different for me! I didn’t throw up, I think because the waves were smaller and also because the boat was bigger. It was interesting to see that quite a few people lived on the island, and that a lot of the tourism business were family-owned by the locals. The best thing was just relaxing and I think that my opinion of going to the beach has changed because of this experience.