Brasil Day six

So far the first week of this adventure has seemed like months. From the moment I wake up, 7:30am, to the time I fall asleep I am bombarded with thousands of pieces of this foreign culture. From the language, to how the bus system works, to what Brazilians eat. At the end of each day my head feels like it is overloaded and numb.

Since arriving I had not gotten a good night sleep. I don’t know is it was the hard bed, the foreign setting, or my nervousness but until this morning I would sleep lightly waking at any noise. I think it is the first sign that I am settling in. Thank God.

Today was also the first day that I felt confident on getting to school and home without getting lost and walking an extra mile, which (as I have failed to mention before) has happen several times already. Belo Horizonte is a very confusing city. It is probably on the same level as being stoned in Amsterdam. The city is designed in a circle, with ruas (streets) running north and south and avenues running 45 degrees to the ruas. If you can’t visualize the layout just imagine an American city, add some of the craziest drivers in the world, put streets coming from all angles, multiply the confusing factor by 10 and you have an idea to what it is like here. It is the most disorienting place to navigate. In addition to all of this, none of the bus stops are labeled. It will take weeks for me to master this Brazilian city.

On the positive side, the sun is shinning bright, the people are cool, and I am learning a lot. We went to a beautiful museum that was full of Brazilian history, pretty cool. It is crazy that a country that has more resources than any other place in the world in not the richest country in the world. They had a gold rush that dwarfed California’s, they have more trees, more minerals, and a huge amount of land. It’s weird how things work out.

I’m over hump day (Wednesday), and it is all down hill from here till the weekend. I can’t wait to sleep in and hopefully have time to get a little exercise and give my books a bit of rest. Boa noite e ate amanha. Tchau

Brasil Day four

Today was the hardest day on my trip so far. In addition to having to wake up at 6:30am, I was not able to sleep last night. It was as if I couldn’t find my way from reality to my dream world, waking several times before morning. After my wakeup call I went to my first day at school. It felt like a mixture of my first day in Paris and my first day in kindergarten. I have found that living in a place where almost no one can understand you brings a feeling similar to that of a small child just learning to speak. I guess because that is about what level I am at speaking Portuguese.

I was filled with both excitement and fear. Fear of the challenges ahead and excited for what I would learn. We took the bus titled UFMG, number 5102. The route winded around the center of town finally arriving a the university 50 minutes later. The campus is huge, with big gaps between each building as though the designers planed for a huge expansion. There are over 30,000 students attending UFMG with people studying almost every subject. Again, all of the buildings are concrete, I suppose because in the wet and humid climate it is the cheapest and most durable material. Walking up to my building, titled ‘Lestras’, I was reminded of a scene from jungle book, concrete stained with black moss and vines hanging from ledges. This is to be my second home for the next five months.

The orientation was completely spoken in Portuguese. I understood about half, I think… All of the professors seem very nice and excited to teach, something that I rarely see. They gave us our schedules for the week accompanied with a chique bag and literature about the university. After the introductions we broke for pao de queijo, sandwiches and cookies. Brazilians seem to love sugar as much as they love salt. We then proceeded to take several tests placing our academic worth. I have a feeling that I will be with the beginning group. It is crazy the size headache one gets when concentrating on each word said. I realize how nice it is to take a language for granted.

In our last class we tested our speaking skills. A group of 20 students packed into a small room made for 10. Our teacher was not much older than me, being probably 25 years old. He had small glasses and the traditional college grad attire, knit sweater, khaki pants and a new pair of Puma shoes. I had to concentrate very hard to catch the drift of the discussion, especially when a ceiling tile feel and almost landed on a Florida student. All I could do is cover my mouth and laugh hoping the air wasn’t filled with asbestos. Only in the Jungle. Brazil is definitely third (terd) world, although it has something that most of the USA has lost or never had at all. People here have less, their cars aren’t nice, the city is dirty, they don’t have many things, but they seem to very optimistic. Everyone seems to know how to let lose and have a good time, their lives are not all about work…

I finally made it home. I did very little physical exercise but I feel dead tired. Mental fatigue I call it. I love you all. Tomorrow awaits me with who knows what.

Brasil Day one

This is the first time that I didn’t have a burning urge to leave for a trip abroad. My life back home seemed perfect. I am in love, I could hang out with most of my friends and money was easy to be made. I almost felt like I was being kicked out the front door when the time came to pack and drive to the airport. The support was there from my family, my girlfriend and my friends, something that I was more than grateful for. Now that I am gone I must focus on the time here, learning Portuguese, making friends, learning Brazil.

I left my cousins house early in the morning, waking with a short lived pang of worry thinking that I had over slept. But to my surprise it was sunny at 7:28 am in the San Francisco hills, something that I had never experienced before. I then ventured to the Brazilian consulate with Jonathan taking in little bits of advise about traveling, like ‘don’t bring a towel’ and ‘when I travel and need to catch a plane that is the only thing I have planed for that day’. And I realized that my life is never like that. Take the day that I leave for six months, today. Up until the last minute I had things to do, including picking up a visa that would either let me in the country or waste all of the money spent on school and air tickets with a polite rejection note and a small smile. But to my relief when I picked up my passport both Kelib and I had the stamp proving that this trip was for real. “You are going to Brazil, where?” the working attendant asked with a thick Portuguese accent. “Ah, Belo Horizonte the best city in Brazil, it is where I’m from.” This was my first taste of Brazilian pride and culture. All Brazilians seem to know that Brazil is the best country in the world, with the warmest people, best food, best soccer, most beautiful beaches, and best music. I have found that out of any country I’ve been to, they have the most pride and love for their country. I then left for SFO and the stuffy dry air that waited for me.

Surprisingly, my life after leaving the comfort of my dad’s car was relatively without stress. I arrived with plenty of time, meeting Kelib and checking my bags in with ease. For some reason I felt very calm and collected. To tell the truth all I really wanted to do was sleep. We flew to Washington DC in 4 hours 44 minutes with some of the worst turbulence I have ever experienced leaving me with a huge headache and a feeling that at any moment I might vomit. To my rescue off the plane was 1000mg of Tylenol and the bag of organic food bought the day before. Kelib seemed to be unaffected, which did not surprise me.

We finally arrived in Belo Horizonte 25 hours later. What a long ass trip. I have never felt so thankful to be somewhere and not have to get on another plane. The air was perfect. BH actually had the most pleasant airport I had seen the whole trip. The scenery around the city reminded me off the African savanna, red dirt and crazy trees surrounded by lush grass and vegetation. Jose, Jennine’s host family, was there to greet us all with a warm smile and broken English. We got on an over crowed bus full of long stares and awkward looks headed toward our final destination, the center of Belo Horizonte.

26 hours… And finally I am close to my new home and bed. Luiza, part of my new host family, directs the taxi through the crazy streets and even crazier drivers of this South American city. I was full of mixed emotion. Fear, excitement, nervousness, but most of all, fatigue. At last, we stop in a quiet neighborhood close to downtown. The building is very similar to many that I’ve seen in Brazil, concrete everywhere with clay block walls and tile floors. I live on the third floor in a three bedroom apartment with four students, two guys and two girls. And yes, I get my own room. Luiza, Paula, Paulo-Andreas (girino), Joao. Girino is Luiza’s brother and Paula is their cousin. Joao, from what I understand, is just a family friend. They are all extremely nice, trying to understand my broken Portuguese with patience and welcoming me into their home. No one really speaks English well, which is a plus if I am to learn this language.

After getting to know everyone a bit I ask to retire to my new room and settle to sleep. As I laid there the shock hit me. Shit… I am thousands of miles from everything I know. I am virtually alone on my adventure, trying to sleep in a foreign land filled with people that don’t speak English. It was the first time that moving to Brazil became a reality. I am here and must now make the best of my new life…