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My oh my.... 2 weeks and 1 day until I leave for the states and home!!! I cannot believe how the time flew by. Incredible. Now let us get to some updating...
Tuesday, June 1:
I hung out with Nick and we went to the Cafe do Paço where Sarah and I had gone a month or so ago. I had a Brazilian cappuccino. It was amazing. Then, Nick and I also went to this lanchonete (snack place) and had cueca virada, which translated means inside out underwear... I am very serious. However, do not be alarmed, cueca vidrada is like a donut just in a different shape. http://www.acucarcaravelas.com.br/imagens_site/receitas/20070803_Cueca%20Virada%20241.jpg
The above link has a good picture of this pastry. Anyhow, they were amazing good and amazing cheap. I definitely ate way too much. Just to give you a better idea of this food, here is a recipe.
Ingredientes:
1 egg
2 cups (tea cups) of wheat flour,
½ cup (tea cups) of Caravelas refined sugar
A spoon (tablespoon) baking powder
A pinch of salt,
Milk gradually to give consistency of dough.
Oil for frying.
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and add
milk gradually to make consistency of dough. Knead well
until dough is smooth, open it with a roller to a
thickness of 1 cm. Cut into squares with three slits in
middle, putting the two ends inside the middle slot.
Fry in oil over medium heat. With the pastries fried and golden, cover them in refined sugar mixed with cinnamon.
Wednesday, June 2:
In the morning I worked out with Keri, then had lunch with Keri and Sarah. We went to this really good restaurant near where we had our Portuguese class together. It was very chic and had really good food. It was a really great girls time. That night I left for Rio by bus at 9PM with my friend Pedro.
Thursday, June 3:
Thursday morning Pedro and I arrived in Rio safely. It was much cooler than the last time I had been there. We met up with Ruth and went to her apartment. We settled in, got changed, and went and caught a bus to go to Barra da Tijuca. If you do not remember, this is a really nice area of Rio where all the rich Brazilians of Rio leave and its where the Hard Rock Cafe is. We went to the beach and it really was not that warm. The breeze of the water was intense and the water was definitely not as warm as last time. However, with some peer pressure, I got into the water for a very little bit. It was really cool because that day like last time was not crowded at all and unlike last time there were so many people wind surfing or wind gliding... I am not sure exactly what the sport is called. But there is a board, like a surfboard and then there is a huge kite. It looked really cool. Overall, good day
Friday, June 4:
Pedro and I went to Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. It was a beautiful day! Barely any clouds in the sky, the beach was not crowded at all, and it was not too hot. Just perfect. I started off the day by buying a beach wrap... I forgot the name in Portuguese... but I had really wanted one, so finally bought one. I was so excited because the guy was asking 20, and I said no I dont think so, then he said 18, and then I said 15 and he said ok. I was so excited and proud of myself for bargaining in Portuguese. With my new beach wrap I was able to lay out and enjoy the warmth. I was also able to witness quite a display at the water's edge about 60 - 80 feet diagonally from me. So, Pedro and I had been digging in the sand with the intentions of building a sand castle... which actually did not end up happening. So, as we were digging my attention came to this woman walking along the shore near us. This woman was probably in her mid to late 30s and in this woman's hands was a wooden box. Quite a sight.. a regular dressed woman carrying a wooden box on the beach. I was hooked and had to keep watching to see what she was doing. And of course I had to call Pedro's attention to her and her activities as well. Over the next 20 minutes this women proceeded in doing the following: Opening the wooden box, taking out a pair of scissors, messing with something inside the box, pulling out the top of a closed plastic bag, cutting the plastic bag, taking a handful of the contents from the plastic bag and then throwing them into the water... when I saw her pulling out the top of the plastic bag, I knew what was up. This woman had cremated remains of someone and she had the intentions of laying that person's pieces in the ocean at Copacabana beach. Moving on with her activities... taking the whole plastic bag of cremated remains and dumping them into the ocean at the shore which caused the water in that area to turn this dark gray color, throwing the plastic bag into the water, throwing the top of the wooden box into the water, and finally throwing the whole wooden box into the water. She was not crying, she did not seem anxious... acted just like she was throwing shells into the water. And of course the whole time Pedro and I, and other people walking along are staring at this woman. She totally knew we were staring too, but she was making her peace and afterwards.. she just walked away. I told Pedro he should go talk to her, but he did not know what to say. She walked right by our spot on the beach and I just smiled at her because I did not know what to say either. Just fyi, Pedro was just as surprised as me that this happened, so this is not necessarily a cultural difference. It was interesting to find out though that it is cheaper to bury people here in Brazil, and it actually more expensive to have them cremated. Just a little fun fact. As far as my thoughts on the whole matter, I respect the woman's right to say her last goodbyes and spread the ashes of her loved one at the beach... however during the afternoon on a Friday when people are in the water, I was not so supportive of that. Anyways, after Copacabana Pedro and I went to this restaurant for lunch... and I did not think it was very good. Pedro really liked it. I tried things, but just was not feeling it too much. After food we went and walked over to Ipanema taking lots of pictures along the way. It was really cool because Pedro had never been, so I, the experienced American, was like a tour guide. :) Very nice.
Saturday, June 5:
So Buzios did not end up working out, so instead Pedro, Ruth, and I took a bus to Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas . It was really cool walking around the lake (lagoa) and just taking in the sights around it. You could see the Jesus statue from the lake and many other mountains as well as aspects of a city. Just really cool. After we walked around the lake we walked over to the Botanical Garden. We found out it would cost R$5 to get in, there were no student discounts, and the place was closing in like 30 minutes or so... I was super disappointed because I heard it was really amazing and I had really wanted to see it. So the three of us were just standing there at the entrance with disappointed faces when the security guard looked at us and said "Just go in." We were like omg really (in Portuguese) and he said "yes." So, we ran inside and were laughing and just in disbelief at our luck and blessing. It was so awesome and funny because Pedro said something along the lines of "This is Brasil." haha. So, it was a really beautiful garden, even more so than the Botanical Gardens in Curitiba because of all the green and tropical plants as well as the different layouts and sceneries. I am so glad we were able to go.
Sunday, June 6:
We got up early and took a bus near Pao de Azucar (Sugarloaf Mountain). To save money, be healthy, and enjoy nature we walked up the first mountain called Morro de Azucar. It was quite steep and intense. I am really glad we did though because when we got to the top I felt awesome. The view was incredible and the view was even more incredible when Pedro and I took a cable car up to the top of Pao de Azucar. It was really awesome to look out over the bay and see Copacabana and many other places of Rio from the coast. After Pao de Azucar we walked to Leme, which is an area with a beach right next to Copacabana. We laid out on the beach and Pedro and Ruth got in the water. When the sun was not behind a cloud, it felt amazing, but when it was in hiding it was quite chilly. It got chillier as the day progressed. I was so excited because I was able to meet up with my friend Raquel there. I met Raquel back in Fall semester 2009 because she was an exchange student at Tech. She is from a different city, but happened to be in Rio that day, so we were able to plan and meet up. It was so cool seeing her and getting to hang out for a bit. I met her sister, boyfriend, and her sister's boyfriend. Then, all of them Ruth, Pedro, and I met up with Gary, Nick, and Danilo. Gary is my friend from Tech who is studying in Rio, Nick is Nick from Curitiba, and Danilo studies with Gary in Rio, but he studied at NC State and met Nick there last year or last semester. So yes it was so awesome being with everyone on the beach and just sitting and talking. After we said our goodbyes and parted, Pedro, Ruth, and I went back to Ruth's and packed then headed for the bus station. We met Nick at the bus station and he took the same bus back as Pedro and I. My being sick started on the bus with a runny nose and such, and it was not a very great ride back trying to sleep and having a runny nose. But overall the past 4 days definitely made it worth the trip.
Will continue updating soon....
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