OI ALL!
Here´s my weekly post. First, explaining the title of this entry, people here use the word SHOW, to mean COOL! It´s pretty funny.
OK recap of this week:
On Friday night we went back to Lapa to the street food and drink fair which was a lot of fun, and we walked around talking to jewlery vendors, bought some earings. OH! there was this fantastic circle of people practicing capoeira right on the street, so we watched that for a bit and it was great!!
On Saturday a 3 of my friends and I went to Barra shopping which is the biggest shopping center in Latin America and it was HUGE. I bought some shoes and we walked around there and it was pretty interesting. The mall is a random mix of normal mall stores, and mattress stores, and washing machine stores, a few food courts, and then there is a fancy designer section with fancy american and european clothing, shoe and jewlery designers. then that night we went to a dinner at a churascarria paid for by the program, where they have about 8 side dishes on the table and then they continuously bring around meat and u can choose if you want it or not. that went on for about 2-2.5 hours, which was a lot of fun and you get sooo full. then on saturday night, some friends and I went to Lapa, and we went just with the intention of going to a bar to sit and hang out. and we did that for about an hour and half. but then, one of my friends ran into some of her other friends and we ended up going to a club called Manifesta. and they had a great mix of music including Brazilian funk, MPB (musica popular brasileira), forró, and some american music. and, we ended up staying at the club until it closed until 5 am! it was so crazy, and by far my best night here yet.
Then, on sunday we just spent the day lounging on the beach and went to an art fair, called the hippie fair in Ipanema.
Not much happened this week. This my last week of portuguese classes and then I am leaving for salvador on Saturday. OHHH, last night, my friends and I went to this thing called Cachaça Cinema Clube, where you pay for a ticket $2.50, and you watch some short films, and then there is free cachaça after, and then it turns into a night club. so, we went and it was really fun, but for SOME reason, and we dont have a clue why, all of the films last night had some aspect of sex or nudity or both in them. aka it appeared to be amateaur porn night in short films. but it was hilarious and definitely a random experience we will remember for a long time.
OK, thats all the news for this week.
Tchau tchau,
Hannah
P.S. i tried to upload some photos but it didnt work so ill try again later or when I get back from salvador.
This blog initially recorded my amazing adventures in Brazil, Chile, Budapest, Spain and Portugal. Now it is being resurrected to once again tell the tales of a year abroad in Brazil!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Long time no post,eh?
Oi!
This week was quite busy, and I never had the chance to update, so here's a summary of this week.
1) went to petropolis on sunday. It was quite neat and it was a cute mountain town. Pedro the emperor's palace was really neat, and you have to wear slippers to go through it so you dont scratch the floor. It's pretty funny. I also went to to the house of the guy who invented the airplane (it's not actually the Wright Brothers) and it was quite neat. I also went to the emperor's church which was beautiful. I have some pictures of the trip which I will upload and post soon, perhaps this coming week.
2) This week was quite busy, with random and fun activities. I went and saw Superman and it was not bad. All students get 50% off on the movie tickets, so our tickets were about $3.50. not too bad. Also, I started a new routine this week where I go to the beach in the morning before school for about an hour/ hour and a half and its great. I just lay out and read and tan. Also, it seems (though this is just an observation) that kids in Brasil dont go to pre-school. They just go with their parents or nannys to the beach. But, I LOVE living 2 minutes from the beach, and I think I'll be going everyday from now on. It's hard not too.
3) I got my visa fixed and I registered with the federal police! YAY. I no longer am here on business, so that's excellent.
4) 2 of my friends and I bought tickets to Salvador Bahia, and we are going next Saturday. We will be there for 5 full days, and I think it will be an excellent excellent trip. I will take pictures and SURELY post them.
5) Living here gets better and better. I am really settling into a routine and way of life here, and I love the city a ton.
6) I've started to go shopping here, and definitely need to be doing more of that, becuase its reasonable and cute!
Alright, I hope you all are having fabulous summers and great times. Let me know how you are all doing if you get the chance.
Beijos,
Hannah
This week was quite busy, and I never had the chance to update, so here's a summary of this week.
1) went to petropolis on sunday. It was quite neat and it was a cute mountain town. Pedro the emperor's palace was really neat, and you have to wear slippers to go through it so you dont scratch the floor. It's pretty funny. I also went to to the house of the guy who invented the airplane (it's not actually the Wright Brothers) and it was quite neat. I also went to the emperor's church which was beautiful. I have some pictures of the trip which I will upload and post soon, perhaps this coming week.
2) This week was quite busy, with random and fun activities. I went and saw Superman and it was not bad. All students get 50% off on the movie tickets, so our tickets were about $3.50. not too bad. Also, I started a new routine this week where I go to the beach in the morning before school for about an hour/ hour and a half and its great. I just lay out and read and tan. Also, it seems (though this is just an observation) that kids in Brasil dont go to pre-school. They just go with their parents or nannys to the beach. But, I LOVE living 2 minutes from the beach, and I think I'll be going everyday from now on. It's hard not too.
3) I got my visa fixed and I registered with the federal police! YAY. I no longer am here on business, so that's excellent.
4) 2 of my friends and I bought tickets to Salvador Bahia, and we are going next Saturday. We will be there for 5 full days, and I think it will be an excellent excellent trip. I will take pictures and SURELY post them.
5) Living here gets better and better. I am really settling into a routine and way of life here, and I love the city a ton.
6) I've started to go shopping here, and definitely need to be doing more of that, becuase its reasonable and cute!
Alright, I hope you all are having fabulous summers and great times. Let me know how you are all doing if you get the chance.
Beijos,
Hannah
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Ipanema & Lapa!
Today was the first time I went to the Beach in Brasil. It was quite an experience.
I went to the beach at Ipanema. So, most people lay on sarong like fabrics instead of towels. And, if you dont have one, dont worry because people will be walking by and selling them. The beach is FULL of vendors. people sell everything from earings, to ice cream, to barbecued cheese to mate tea. These vendors are never-ending, and it is never quiet because they are always hocking their wares and goods. But it's fun because you can always grab a snack and it's just part of the culture down here.
It got a tad windy today, but I will definitely be going to the beach more in the future. It is SO close to my house that I really have to start taking advantage of it more.
But, one of the best places I have been to so far in Rio is an area called Lapa. It's Rio's new booming night life area.
On Thursday night we went to this amazing place called Rio Scenarium. Its an old factory, turned into an Antiques store mansion which is a dance club at night. They have a live music band and tons of fantastic dancers go there to show off their stuff. It was a bit expensive compared to other places, but definitely a gorgeous place with a great atmosphere.
Then, last night we all planned on going to Lapa, but we didnt know which club we were going to go to. (we took the metro bus and metro which are incredibly cheap, safe and efficient). as we were walking, we stumbled upon this thing. i dont know what you would call it, perhaps a food and drink fair. it had lots of bbq things, lots of meat on a stick and what not. also, amazing drinks. fresh caipirinhas, normal drinks and also these things called caipifrutis where you pick a fruit and blend it up, kind of like a smoothie. later, some people told us there was stuff going on a few streets down, and low and behold we walked down these quiet streets and all of a sudden we come across a HUGE live samba concert. it was a packed block party and really fun and crazy.
the night life here so far has proved to be pretty spectacular. when i come home at night, even if it is late, my street and neighborhood is still totally awake.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, my lady at my apartment has almost entirely chilled out. she's sweet and doesnt mind me coming in late and doesnt wake up or anything. At this point in time, I dont really see myself moving out, because it seems like a lot of work and responsibilty. Also,I definitely couldn't pay what I am paying now to live in the same neighborhood in my own apartment.
alright, I think those are all of my stories up to date.
Petropolis tomorrow.
Tchau
I went to the beach at Ipanema. So, most people lay on sarong like fabrics instead of towels. And, if you dont have one, dont worry because people will be walking by and selling them. The beach is FULL of vendors. people sell everything from earings, to ice cream, to barbecued cheese to mate tea. These vendors are never-ending, and it is never quiet because they are always hocking their wares and goods. But it's fun because you can always grab a snack and it's just part of the culture down here.
It got a tad windy today, but I will definitely be going to the beach more in the future. It is SO close to my house that I really have to start taking advantage of it more.
But, one of the best places I have been to so far in Rio is an area called Lapa. It's Rio's new booming night life area.
On Thursday night we went to this amazing place called Rio Scenarium. Its an old factory, turned into an Antiques store mansion which is a dance club at night. They have a live music band and tons of fantastic dancers go there to show off their stuff. It was a bit expensive compared to other places, but definitely a gorgeous place with a great atmosphere.
Then, last night we all planned on going to Lapa, but we didnt know which club we were going to go to. (we took the metro bus and metro which are incredibly cheap, safe and efficient). as we were walking, we stumbled upon this thing. i dont know what you would call it, perhaps a food and drink fair. it had lots of bbq things, lots of meat on a stick and what not. also, amazing drinks. fresh caipirinhas, normal drinks and also these things called caipifrutis where you pick a fruit and blend it up, kind of like a smoothie. later, some people told us there was stuff going on a few streets down, and low and behold we walked down these quiet streets and all of a sudden we come across a HUGE live samba concert. it was a packed block party and really fun and crazy.
the night life here so far has proved to be pretty spectacular. when i come home at night, even if it is late, my street and neighborhood is still totally awake.
Also, and perhaps most importantly, my lady at my apartment has almost entirely chilled out. she's sweet and doesnt mind me coming in late and doesnt wake up or anything. At this point in time, I dont really see myself moving out, because it seems like a lot of work and responsibilty. Also,I definitely couldn't pay what I am paying now to live in the same neighborhood in my own apartment.
alright, I think those are all of my stories up to date.
Petropolis tomorrow.
Tchau
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Observations about Rio and the life of a Carioca.
Hi all,
I'm here at PUC and loving Rio more and more. also, my homestay lady isnt so bad anymore, she seems to have chilled out, but I am still slowly looking at apartments. Nonetheless, my living situation is going well now.
Last night I caught my first episode of a telenovela called Paginas da Vida (pages of life). I actually missed the first episode, but last night was the second one and I was able to understand most of what was going on. At first, I didnt really get what was so interesting about it, but by the end it was FANTASTIC. i'm so hooked. from 9-10 monday-saturday for the rest of my time here, dont talk to me.
ALSO: i forgot to mention that the author of the novela lives in my neighborhood leblon, and they have been shooting various scenes for it here in Leblon! now i have to continue watching so I see my area on TV!
Observations about Rio:
-it is cheaper to be a woman than a student when paying for the entrance fee to a club.
-people here like to go to clubs with live samba music more than djs, it's fantistic. (i went to this great live samba club in an area called lapa, and it exists in an old democrats club building. It was called Democraticus. sooo neat.)
-people LOVE dogs here, especially in tshirts. as do I.
-alcohol is cheaper than school supplies
-if someone is standing in your way, no matter how many times you say excuse me, they wont move. you just need to push kindly.
I cant think of anything else at the moment. but i will continually add to that list.
Classes here are going well. generally they start at 1:30 until 3 and then 3:30 until 5. then once in a while we have a culture class from 11-12:30. these classes that i am talking about arent the regular puc classes. these are just portuguese classes that I am taking for 3 weeks, to bring me up to speed on portuguese for the school year starting in august. im not sure what those classes will be like yet.
tomorrow my class is going to the Museu de Beles Artes which should be fun and interesting. every thursday we go out on a passeio which is like a field trip, so thats very exciting.
this weekend on saturday, I am going to Petropolis with my group. i heard its a really neat place. then, on sunday i might meet up with a stanford friend who is here until to the end of july and go to the beach. I HAVENT been to the beach yet. i must go this weekend!
I think that brings you all up to speed on everything.
happy summer (or winter here, which is like a california summer!)
<3
I'm here at PUC and loving Rio more and more. also, my homestay lady isnt so bad anymore, she seems to have chilled out, but I am still slowly looking at apartments. Nonetheless, my living situation is going well now.
Last night I caught my first episode of a telenovela called Paginas da Vida (pages of life). I actually missed the first episode, but last night was the second one and I was able to understand most of what was going on. At first, I didnt really get what was so interesting about it, but by the end it was FANTASTIC. i'm so hooked. from 9-10 monday-saturday for the rest of my time here, dont talk to me.
ALSO: i forgot to mention that the author of the novela lives in my neighborhood leblon, and they have been shooting various scenes for it here in Leblon! now i have to continue watching so I see my area on TV!
Observations about Rio:
-it is cheaper to be a woman than a student when paying for the entrance fee to a club.
-people here like to go to clubs with live samba music more than djs, it's fantistic. (i went to this great live samba club in an area called lapa, and it exists in an old democrats club building. It was called Democraticus. sooo neat.)
-people LOVE dogs here, especially in tshirts. as do I.
-alcohol is cheaper than school supplies
-if someone is standing in your way, no matter how many times you say excuse me, they wont move. you just need to push kindly.
I cant think of anything else at the moment. but i will continually add to that list.
Classes here are going well. generally they start at 1:30 until 3 and then 3:30 until 5. then once in a while we have a culture class from 11-12:30. these classes that i am talking about arent the regular puc classes. these are just portuguese classes that I am taking for 3 weeks, to bring me up to speed on portuguese for the school year starting in august. im not sure what those classes will be like yet.
tomorrow my class is going to the Museu de Beles Artes which should be fun and interesting. every thursday we go out on a passeio which is like a field trip, so thats very exciting.
this weekend on saturday, I am going to Petropolis with my group. i heard its a really neat place. then, on sunday i might meet up with a stanford friend who is here until to the end of july and go to the beach. I HAVENT been to the beach yet. i must go this weekend!
I think that brings you all up to speed on everything.
happy summer (or winter here, which is like a california summer!)
<3
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Oi from Puc Rio!
OI from Puc-Rio. I am at the big computer lab at PUC which is pretty nice. Today was one of those days in international living where I just had to go with the flow. First, I was sitting on a bench in front of the river that runs through PUC, and I had my sunglasses on my head, and someone said something funny, I laughed, threw my head back, and splash, there go my favorite ebay-bought-versace sunglassses into the PUC River. I looked down and couldnt see them, and also, its pretty impossible to get down to the river, so I said goodbye to my dear sunglasses. they did me well. I had them a good 3 years after buying them on ebay, and now they´ve met their end in a Rio in Rio. Perhaps its is quite fitting. They lived a goodlife.
THEN, we had to go to the policia federal to register ourselves, since we will be in Brasil for a long time, and low and behold, my mismarked visa that says I am in Brasil on BUSINESS, didnt fly...at all. SOOO, now I have to go to some office (with a nice lady from PUC) in the Centro do Rio, to get a NEW visa, that correctly says I am a student. Then I have to go BACK to la Policia to register with the proper visa. So, that all has to happen next week. But, I am going with the flow of it all.
Overall, Rio and everything is great. The kids in my program are nice and I'm getting close with a few of them. My room in the apartment I am staying in is great but the woman is a bit cray cray. She's kinda old and nutso, so we'll see if I move to an apartment or not. The problem is that the apartment is in a fantastic location, and I can walk to school, which I love. I'm currently considering different options, including one apartment with 3 other students where I would have my own room, and has a swimming pool, and is 2 blocks from the beach, but its not in the area I am in, and I'm not sure I want to move areas. Decisions decisions. (and its only $25 more than I am paying now for my room in the cray cray apartment.) hmmm.
I am LOVING Rio now more everday and I love walking to school and seeing the city. Saturday I am going on a city tour and next saturday we are going to Petropolis!
More later!!!!
Tchauuuuu!
THEN, we had to go to the policia federal to register ourselves, since we will be in Brasil for a long time, and low and behold, my mismarked visa that says I am in Brasil on BUSINESS, didnt fly...at all. SOOO, now I have to go to some office (with a nice lady from PUC) in the Centro do Rio, to get a NEW visa, that correctly says I am a student. Then I have to go BACK to la Policia to register with the proper visa. So, that all has to happen next week. But, I am going with the flow of it all.
Overall, Rio and everything is great. The kids in my program are nice and I'm getting close with a few of them. My room in the apartment I am staying in is great but the woman is a bit cray cray. She's kinda old and nutso, so we'll see if I move to an apartment or not. The problem is that the apartment is in a fantastic location, and I can walk to school, which I love. I'm currently considering different options, including one apartment with 3 other students where I would have my own room, and has a swimming pool, and is 2 blocks from the beach, but its not in the area I am in, and I'm not sure I want to move areas. Decisions decisions. (and its only $25 more than I am paying now for my room in the cray cray apartment.) hmmm.
I am LOVING Rio now more everday and I love walking to school and seeing the city. Saturday I am going on a city tour and next saturday we are going to Petropolis!
More later!!!!
Tchauuuuu!
Monday, July 03, 2006
Pão de Açúcar
OI!
Today we went to Sugar Loaf, the big mountain you use cable cars to get to. It was pretty great and we got fantastic views. In this case I think pictures speak louder than words. Enjoy!
Tonight I'm fully moving into my room in the apartment so I wont have internet except at school. Feel free to still e-mail me whenever, as I should have access at the university. I walked around my neighborhood more today, and its quite fabulous full of tons of stores and restaurants and 24 hour bookstore and places, so I'm really excited!!! More on life in Rio later!
TCHAU!
Today we went to Sugar Loaf, the big mountain you use cable cars to get to. It was pretty great and we got fantastic views. In this case I think pictures speak louder than words. Enjoy!
Tonight I'm fully moving into my room in the apartment so I wont have internet except at school. Feel free to still e-mail me whenever, as I should have access at the university. I walked around my neighborhood more today, and its quite fabulous full of tons of stores and restaurants and 24 hour bookstore and places, so I'm really excited!!! More on life in Rio later!
TCHAU!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Picture Post from Rio! (it's a big one)
So the last two days in Rio have been really fun!!!!
Yesterday, I went to Corcovado (the huge Christ statue). While it does look small from far away, its pretty huge it person. It's at the tip top of a mountain, so the main way to get up there is on a train through the mountains. It's a really nice train ride up, through the forest, but one of the silliest things, is these huge paper mache bugs and people, that you find along the way on the train.
Here are some of them:
So, those are some pictures of those wacky paper mache animals on the train up to corcovado, pics of christ the redeemer, and some pics of overall Rio.
Then, at night we went to watch the Brasil vs. France futebol game at a famous bar called the Academia de Cachaça. It was really fun to watch the game in such a crazy atmosphere, and obviously, it was sad when it was over and they lost. The overall sentiment seems to be that people are really sad that the team lost, but also agree that Brazil wasn't playing very well.
Then today, we saw a lot more of Rio. We went to this area called Barra which was really nice. It's the new part of Rio where people are expanding to live. We then went to Floresta de Tijuca, which is this AMAZING huge forest inside of Rio! Then we went to this beach Sao Conrado where we saw tons of people hangliding and you could get coconut juice straight from a coconut. Then we went to the Centro of Rio, which has a lot of old European (specifically Portuguese) architecture. It is very businessy now and is completelty deserted on the weekends. We went to this one hidden old Portuguese church which was really beautiful and had great wooden carvings. After that we went to this great and diverse fair in Ipanema called Feira Hippie. I'm definitely going back again as they have great crafts, jewlery, bags etc.
Here are some great pics from today!
Double click on this photo and look into the hills. You can see one of Brasil's biggest and most famous favelas, Rocinha.
So far, I really like Rio as a city, because it has such a nice balance of city-ness, but is also surrounded by nature, including the forest, beach, lakes, and mountains. I have never felt unsafe in the city, and people just say to keep your guard up (like in any big city) and dont flash around jewlery or money. I just went to my apartment where I will be staying and it is less than half a block away from the beach which is great. Also, I'm a block and a half away from the main shopping street in Leblon, so so far I'm really loving everything about Rio. At the place where I am staying I dont have internet, so I will probably just update from PUC-Rio, which means I probably wont have many picture posts often, but I'll try as best as I can. Oh ya, winter here is amazing!!! the weather was sunny today and gorgeous!
Yesterday, I went to Corcovado (the huge Christ statue). While it does look small from far away, its pretty huge it person. It's at the tip top of a mountain, so the main way to get up there is on a train through the mountains. It's a really nice train ride up, through the forest, but one of the silliest things, is these huge paper mache bugs and people, that you find along the way on the train.
Here are some of them:
So, those are some pictures of those wacky paper mache animals on the train up to corcovado, pics of christ the redeemer, and some pics of overall Rio.
Then, at night we went to watch the Brasil vs. France futebol game at a famous bar called the Academia de Cachaça. It was really fun to watch the game in such a crazy atmosphere, and obviously, it was sad when it was over and they lost. The overall sentiment seems to be that people are really sad that the team lost, but also agree that Brazil wasn't playing very well.
Then today, we saw a lot more of Rio. We went to this area called Barra which was really nice. It's the new part of Rio where people are expanding to live. We then went to Floresta de Tijuca, which is this AMAZING huge forest inside of Rio! Then we went to this beach Sao Conrado where we saw tons of people hangliding and you could get coconut juice straight from a coconut. Then we went to the Centro of Rio, which has a lot of old European (specifically Portuguese) architecture. It is very businessy now and is completelty deserted on the weekends. We went to this one hidden old Portuguese church which was really beautiful and had great wooden carvings. After that we went to this great and diverse fair in Ipanema called Feira Hippie. I'm definitely going back again as they have great crafts, jewlery, bags etc.
Here are some great pics from today!
Double click on this photo and look into the hills. You can see one of Brasil's biggest and most famous favelas, Rocinha.
So far, I really like Rio as a city, because it has such a nice balance of city-ness, but is also surrounded by nature, including the forest, beach, lakes, and mountains. I have never felt unsafe in the city, and people just say to keep your guard up (like in any big city) and dont flash around jewlery or money. I just went to my apartment where I will be staying and it is less than half a block away from the beach which is great. Also, I'm a block and a half away from the main shopping street in Leblon, so so far I'm really loving everything about Rio. At the place where I am staying I dont have internet, so I will probably just update from PUC-Rio, which means I probably wont have many picture posts often, but I'll try as best as I can. Oh ya, winter here is amazing!!! the weather was sunny today and gorgeous!
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