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Oi!!!!!!!!!! So I think updating every couple of weeks is not too bad...lol. Okay so here we go.
Friday, March 26:
I went to Mustang Sally's with Nick, Keri, Carlos, and Stefanie, Keri's friend from her Portuguese class who is American as well. We had a good time and afterwards went and hung out at Keri's apartment for a bit.
Saturday, March 27:
My day started off really great and I was so excited because God showed me His goodness here on earth. I packed my two good size bags up for my trip to Rio and then I was taking them with me on the bus and going to leave them at Keri's until I left for the bus station at night. So, as I was getting off the bus 6 blocks or so from her house a old man who got off the bus the same time as me started talking to me and wanted to help me carry my bags. It was the sweetest thing. I was so touched an amazed at his kindness. He helped me carry my bags a couple blocks until we got to his destination which was another bus stop. He told me good bye and hoped I had a great trip in Rio. It was so awesome to experience this. It was definitely God. Once I got to Keri's house, we met up with Carlos, Nick, and Israel, Carlos' nephew, and we took a trip to Colombo, Parana, which was 40 minutes or so outside of Curitiba. We went there to go to this Cavern. It was really cool. The same time there were a trip of scouts (boy and girl) having a field trip. Yay for being with a bunch of little children in a cavern. haha. It was fun though and afterwards we went into the city part of Colombo (small town) and went to this bakery that was very nice. Great food. We had dinner afterwards at Keri's and then that night Keri and Carlos took me to the bus station. Ruth and I boarded the bus and spent 12 12 1/2 hours riding. It was not too bad because the bus left at 1130 at night, so I slept for most of the time and was awake maybe for 4 hours of the trip.
Sunday, March 28:
We got to Rio safely and it was soooooooo hot. Beautiful weather yes, but really hot. We took a bus to Ruth's apartment which was not too far from the bus station and then we got settled. Ruth's sister Maria came over and then we went and got a bite to eat at this really amazing restaurant a couple blocks away from Ruth's apartment. We had to wait a good 20 minutes or so, but it was worth it. It was so much food and for a very good price. We had roast chicken, rice with broccoli, beans, and french fries. Also, I had super fresh orange juice. Soooo good. After lunch we went to the beach! Copacobana. We rode the metro and then walked the couple blocks from the metro station to the beach. I saw Copacabana palace and it was quite pretty. The architecture was really amazing. Ruth said that apparently the hotel only takes American dollars or something like that. I was quite shocked at this. So we got to the beach and it was quite crowded but tolerable. The waves were super strong. I was very surprised at this. And they broke right near the shore. And to me the water was quite cleared compared to the water at OBX in NC at home. So I thought it was really great. Also, it was so beautiful to be at the beach, but then look behind you and to the side of you and see green, green mountains. Amazing... Once we were in the water for a bit we decided to walk down to the other beaches. The walk was really great because I got to see all sorts of cultural things going on such as people doing Capoeira, sand sculptures, other international people talking different languages, etc. We walked over to Ipanema, walked onto these huge boulders, and just watched the water and other people. When it was getting dark we walked more and went to check out this theater that plays current movies as well as plays and such. We were going to watch a movie, but it was a little expensive and we went properly dressed. We ended up taking a bus home and going to bed pretty early.
Monday, March 29:
I hung out at Ruth's apartment for a while until my friend Gary from Virginia Tech (studying in Rio through same program as me) was done with his classes. Then, I took the metro to meet him in Cinelandia which is an area in Rio with very beautiful architecture. I met him and his friend Danilo, who studied at NCState for an exchange program last year and who is super good friends with my friend Nick, and we went and rode a trolley for 60 centavos. It was so cool! The trolley went up a mountain to a place called Santa Tereza, which is where my friend Gary lives. The view was amazing. We were going to go to a really cool park of ruins (old building you could explore is in the park), but sadly it was closed. So we just sat and talked at this really awesome viewpoint on the mountain. After Gary took me to the metro, but before we went there we stopped and ate at McDonalds. haha. I thought the fries were comparable to the ones in the states, but the hamburger was not the best. Also, it ended up being like $6 or $7 for 2 hamburgers from our dollar menu, a large fry, and a medium drink (our small). In Brasil, our fast food chains are quite expensive and more "chic". Afterwards we got McDonalds ice cream which tastes amazing here and only costs like $ .75/$.80 for a small cone. Its very nice. We said bye after finishing the ice cream cones and then I took the metro back to where Ruth lives... and of course I took the wrong one. There are only two lines which is good because I could have gotten more lost and further away from my destination. Thankfully, it was easy to back track and I made it to the station near her apartment with no more problems. However, at this time it was around 930/10PM and she had told me to call her when I got there so she could come and get me. It is not safe to walk at night by yourself. Definitely not. So I called... and some Portuguese speaking machine responded and started saying things I did not understand. I called again and that same voice came on. I started to panic... I probably called between 6 and 7 times with the same result. I decided I needed to know exactly what this automated woman was telling me so I found a safe and clean looking young girl probably in her mid or late 20s and I asked for her help. Come to find out Ruth's phone was either out of credits or turned off. I started to panic more... the girl asked me where I needed to go and I did not know the name of the street or what direction it was from where I was in the metro station. There were legit four exits/entrances. I knew how to get to Ruth's when I was outside, but getting and being outside alone was the scary part. The amazingly nice girl asked the security guard there and tried to help me the best she could, but did not know what to do. Then, as we were standing near one of the exits, a girl was walking out and the girl I was with stopped her and asked her where she was going and if she could walk with me. The girl was hesitant at first and asked lots of questions to the other girl, but thank God she finally said yes she would walk with me and help get me home. So, we walked out together and I realized where I was and told her which direction I needed to go. I learned her name was Jessica. Jessica walked me all the way to the entrance of Ruth's apartment and I was again just in awe of the situation. God was definitely looking out for me and watching over me. It was amazing. So that night I got home safe and learned Ruth had been out of credits and had not realized this. We played Rummy that night and listened to Certanejo, which is Brazilian country music. It is like our country music but in Portuguese. Same subjects more or less and similar instruments more or less. I really like it. Especially the one band we listened to called Christian & Cristano. The funny thing about their country music is that it is predominantly men AND these men are in duos. hahaha. No really. Anyhow still quite good though. :)
Tuesday, March 30:
I went to Corcovado, statue of Jesus on a mountain, with Ruth and Gary. We took a bus, walked a good distance, then I took a shuttle bus to the top where the Jesus statue was. Gary and Ruth thought they had to buy a ticket to be able to use the shuttle... an hour later after walking up the mountain and going the wrong way at one point, they find out this is not the case and were able to take the shuttle bus back with me down the mountain. Then, it was super cool because as we were on the journey down the mountain via walking, a tourist police car pulled up and asked if we would like a ride. I was quite relieved as I am sure Ruth and Gary were as well. The police guys were funny and wanted to say the 5 words of English that they knew to us. Then apparently the police guys were talking about me to Ruth and saying that I was very pretty and not skinny. haha. They meant that I was not too skinny and not too fat, just right I guess. I dont know. And as they drove away after dropping us off one of the guys said beautiful or something. Then Gary and Ruth laughed and said thanks to you we got a ride. We walked to Gary's place and it was really cool. It is on the side of a mountain and has an awesome view of part of the city (the city of Rio is enormous). There are many fruit trees behind his place and the owners said we could have some, so Gary climbed a tree and got us some fruit that Ruth really likes and you can only find in the North of the country. Then we were also able to get two papayas. After this Gary made us some lunch of rice and veggies and we had an apple milk smoothie thing. Quite a day.
Wednesday, March 31:
Ruth and I got up early to go shopping at this giant market that had really really cheap things. I was able to finally get some souvenirs. After the market we took a 1 1/2 bus ride to an area called Barra, which is a very ritzy neighborhood of Rio. It is where all the rich Brazilians live and tourists do not really know about this place. They had a Hard Rock Cafe so we went there for lunch. This is actually the main reason I wanted to go. haha When we were at Corcovado I saw a man with a Hard Rock shirt from Rio and I had not known that there was one. We asked where it was and he said Barra and it just so happens this is one of Ruth's favorite places in Rio because its so nice and has an amazing deserted beach which we got to visit after an amazing meal. It was like R$23 per person but there was so much food. I mean really there was a lot of food. Especially, by Brazilian standards. I thought it was a lot of food, but I am American and I realized we eat a lot. Here in Brazil the majority of people do not eat as much regularly like Americans do, so I am sure to Ruth it was a whole lot of food. So, yes a lovely and much needed 20-30 min walk to the beach and then just relaxing for a bit before getting back on the bus for an hour or so. I left Wednesday night from Rio around 8PM and arrived in Curitiba around 9/10am Thursday morning.
Thursday, April 1:
I went grocery shopping and relaxed. Very exciting.
Friday, April 2 - Sunday, April 4:
I went to meet Keri and Carlos at Keri's apartment in downtown quite early, and then we took a bus to our church for the church retreat! We carpooled with a lady named Beth, who actually owns this bakery at the German park, and we rode about 30/40 minutes outside of Curitiba to a little town called Piraquara. The church retreat was held at a lodge/camp place in the woods. There were little cabins as well as two main buildings with bunk beds. There was also a little pond, a dining place, hammocks, volleyball net, soccer field, pool table, ping pong table, and a meeting area for church service.
Overall, it was an absolutely incredible weekend. I got to learn a lot about God's word through our many services about chapters from Romans, Hebrews, Isaiah, and Acts. I really like the pastor at this church because of his charisma, attitude, sincerity, passion, and style of teaching the word. I learned so much, made new friends, got to play spades, learned new card games, got to play volleyball, got to eat really good and healthy food, got to wake up for a 6am service Sunday morning, got to do worship in Portuguese, got to relax in a hammock, and got to watch people from church get baptized. I definitely took a lot away from this weekend and was so thankful to have been able to go.
Monday, April 5 - Thursday, April 8
I had classes like normal during this time and ran errands most of the week. My second engineering test in Portuguese was on Monday for my Planning production inventory control class. I studied pretty thoroughly for it and felt so so about it. I ended up getting a 7,2, which is like a 72 more or less, which is passing... which is good. haha. Here though if you get below a 70, that means you fail. I think I said this before, but in order to pass all my classes I have to have at least a 7. Anyhow, so also on Monday I went to the orphanage with Keri and had a great time with the girls, doing my best to teach English as well as practice my Portuguese.
On Wednesday, I got lunch with Roman at this really awesome vegetarian buffet we have been going to. We were going to go see How to Train a Dragon, but it was only in Portuguese and I felt like I could not get the full effect from watching it that way. So, I will have to watch it when it comes out on video.
Friday, April 9:
I went to the Shopping Estacao, mall, and saw Shutter Island, solo. I thought I would get some treats outside the movie place so I got some candy from a candy booth where you pick what you want and then it gets weighed. I spent R$8... which is like $5... and it was not that much candy. lol. Then, I got these coated nuts from this little booth where you pick which ones you want and pay one price for the size container they are put in. I am not sure the coating exactly, but its sweet and amazing and they were warm. A little on the pricey side yes, R$10, but I think it was a great cultural experience, so it was worth it. After the movie, I went and met Nick, Keri, and Carlos for dinner. We went to a Churrascaria called Jardins Grille, which I had been to before with Tatiana and her friends from Japan. It was amazing. Very very delicious, and of course I ate way too much. They had pita bread and hummus, which made me very happy. They also had this amazing french bread that I buy all the time now. Its like R$1.10 from 4 pieces and they are good size pieces and amazing. Also, they had incredible ribs that were more like roast to me because of the texture and appearance, but they were so tender and awesome. After dinner we walked around for a while to help out stomachs digest all that we had consumed, and then we went to Keri's to hang out and talk. I ended up staying the night.
Saturday, April 10:
I relaxed for most of the day and then met up with Keri, Carlos, and Nick to go to the youth group service at Carlos' church. It was bad timing because that night the leaders wanted to talk about concerns of the members and there was this one guy that was really upset about this field that they wanted to use for soccer or something, but couldn't. It was a huge ordeal that lasted for like one hour I am not kidding. I was bummed because there was no word... only talking about this soccer field. Then, at the end one of the older guys, who I assume was some sort of leader, he shared some of his stuff and apparently he is going through a divorce with his wife and I think it was her decision and not his. It was really sad because he was obviously very upset about the whole thing. I am sure God will get him through it. I ended up spending the night at Keri's again and we just hung and played games before going to bed.
Sunday, April 11:
I went to the house of the Brazilian family Ruth is living with for lunch. It also happened to be the birthday of the mother of the house, so there were lots of family and friends there. It was a really great time. There were people my age, so I was able to talk with them in Portuguese and English. I also got to eat some amazing new food. It was this stew with salmon and vegetables in it. There was a plethora of desserts and I tried a wine that I actually liked. I am not a fan of wine because all the ones I have tasted have done nothing for my palette. But there was this Italian wine and it was actually sweet and just very lovely. Ruth and I helped do dishes because there were a ridiculous amount and then we went to the nearby mall. I really wanted to buy a candle because I miss having smell good things in my living area. I ended up getting a blueberry one and sadly it was not strong enough for my liking when I burned it. I miss American candles even though I doubt they are made there. In the evening, I had church and it was really great because we started Romans 8 due to the success of the Easter service, pastor John wanted to really spend more time on it before getting back to Revelations. The theme we focused on with Romans 8 was living by the Spirit.
Monday, April 12 - Thursday, April 15
Again mainly a week of errands and classes. I had lunch at Keri's on Monday and then we went to the orphanage and had a great time as always... except the first time when we had the young girls. That was insane.
On Tuesday, Keri and I went to get our hair cut at this really nice mall. It ended up being more than we anticipated because apparently here they charge for using products on your hair...The guys that cut our hair were really nice and they offered really amazing cappuccino, but overall I really was not impressed with the cut because the guy did not take enough off nor do I think he realized I had layer in my hair. However, he styled it really well and made it super, silky straight with only a blow dryer and brush.
On Wednesday, I had my third engineering test in Portuguese in my favorite class, Logistics. I studied really hard for this test and still am not sure what I got because the teacher has not gotten around to correcting them and distributing grades.
Friday, April 16
In the late afternoon, I met up with Keri and we walked to Passeio Publico, which is a mini zoo downtown. It was a very nice walk and the place was awesome. There were all kinds of birds and there were some monkeys. The birds were beautiful though. I will have to go back to take pictures because my camera was not on me at the time. I saw toucans, parrots, peacocks, flamigos, ducks, etc. After this we met up with Nick and Carlos and went out to dinner. It was this really down home place that was super cheap with plenty of food. We had ribs (tender pot roast kind) with lots of cooked veggies and salad. Afterwards, we had dessert at Keri's and had a game night. I spent the night at Keri's again.
Saturday, April 17:
In the morning, Carlos made pancakes for us and Nick joined too. I love pancakes. We did not have syrup, but they were quite sweet with the ingredients that were used. In the late afternoon, I met up with Tatiana and went to Parque Barigui! My favorite park in Curitiba. We just walked around and talked. Then, when back to her apartment and had dinner. She had a birthday party so I helped her get ready and then went home for a relaxing night. Unluckily though, I woke up at like 3 in the morning really sick and miserable. It was quite awful and even now I have no idea what it was. We pretty much ate the same things for dinner and Tati had not gotten sick, so I do not know what got to me.
Now to date, I had a pretty easy going day. I slept in because of last night and then went to the grocery store. Then, this evening I had church and we continued discussing Romans 8 and were able to finish the chapter. We are going to get back to Revelations which I am super excited about because its very interesting learning about it.
Until next time!
AG
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