January 13th
We left Curitiba at 9:30 in the morning, everyone was so excited to see a new city. After our first hour flight was delayed, we still got on our second flight on time and made it the two hours to Iguacu by 3:00pm. When we landed in Iguacu we walked off the plane right outside. It was like a scene out of a movie as our class walked directly off the plane onto the tarmac. It was extremely hot, humid and sunny. I was so happy. We met our host, Joelton and were pleased to have wifi yet again! It was nice to be able to message my mom and let her know that we were safely in a new city. While not using or having our phones on us was quite refreshing, after awhile of being completely disconnected it gets annoying. We got in a van and soon arrived at the Hostel Manga Rose. The hostel was such a vibrant place. The building was open to the outside. Inside was a little living room with a desk and big speakers playing Latin music. To the left was a bathroom and two larger rooms filled with bunk beds. To the right was the outside patio area. The yard was grassy and there were hammocks for us to lay around in. There was also an area with a balance rope and what we made into a dance floor. The hostel had three dogs, two of which were in a pen most of the time and then there was my favorite, Einstein. While petting Einstein I noticed that there was a hard chunk in his chest. I asked Joelton if he was aware and he said yes. He found Einstein in the street after he had been shot and hit by a car. The bullet was still in his chest. I continued to pet the poor little dog. I was so happy to have dogs because I love them and I missed my puppies at home. I enjoyed that the hostel had a pull up bar so I could do pull ups and leg lifts to work out a little bit. I had been running up to seven miles a day before I left and weight lifting twice a week. During the two weeks here in Brazil I was only able to work out twice at the gym in Rio and I had been feeling really out of shape. Soon our Professor came back from the store with meat and fruit for dinner. The amount and variety of fruit was like a dream. I tried everything and mixing them all up together tasted great, too. We spent our time for the next few hours bonding and catching up on reflections. There was a soccer game going on which was hilarious because our professor fell while playing twice! We tried walking across the balance rope or slack line without falling off. I taught a yoga class out on the lawn as the sun set and as I put them into savasana the stars came out. It was so beautifully energetic. The hostel had such a nice vibe about it. You couldn’t help but feel relaxed, even though we slept in tight bunks in an unlocked building with people we didn’t know at all. Something just felt very right at that place. There were a few guys practicing karate and boxing techniques. They showed us all the cool knives and weapons they had with them on their travels. After trying to samba and singing along to music we ate some spicy meat I was so tired I fell asleep as soon as I laid down. The Hostel Manga Rose
Playing soccer in the back yard
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Landing in Iguacu
Einstein the hostel dog
Class bonding time
Sunning ourselves every chance we could
Trying to balance on the slack line
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Iguacu Falls
Jacalyn and I standing in front of the falls
Practicing yoga every chance I got on the trip
The water fall we hiked to
Our class kayaking to Argentina
Kayaking near the water falls
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January 14th
We were supposed to be ready to go by 8:00am, but then we changed it to 10:00 am which was great. I had time to walk across the street to get water and snack for the plane ride the next day. I made some oatmeal for breakfast and pet Einstein while I waited for everyone else to be ready. We took a van to Iguacu falls. The falls were part of a large amusement park. We got to ride on top another double decker bus which I really enjoyed. It was so nice to feel the wind in our faces and breathe in the fresh clean air. It was a sunny and humid day again and I love that type of weather. We got to the falls and stared at them. They were so magnificent. As we followed the stair pathway closer and closer to them they just got bigger and better. The path down was full of beautiful butterflies and little Brazilian raccoons called coatis. We also saw some really big lizards which I liked a lot. It was great to be out and moving about again. We came to one area where you could walk out under the falls but it was so crowded with people I didn’t stay out there long. We were completely soaked after a few minutes of being in the mist. The water may have been a little gross since so much of Brazil’s sewage is dumped right into their waterways. Anyway, it was still beautiful. After the falls we exited the park and took a short walk to a hotel where we met with another guide. The guide took us for a walk into the woods that was very fun. We got to walk through the woods and mud. One area smelt so strongly of citrus it was amazing. Eventually we came up to a waterfall where we put our feet in and some people went under it. I didn’t really trust the water quality there because there was a dead fish floating in the clear water. There was nothing else swimming in the water either. In a forest like that there is a lot of fecal matter that finds its way into water that can make it unsuitable for drinking. I didn’t want to chance being sick for our last few days here. After the waterfall we continued to hike through the forest and came to a spot where we saw the Iguacu river. We put on hard hats and life jackets and got in kayaks. I kayak quite frequently at home but I had never worn a lifejacket or hard hat while doing so. Apparently there were rocks they may fall and hit you while kayaking. Once I got in the water I took off down the river, it was so wide and beautiful it needed to be explored. I passed a group of fishermen and instinctively asked if they had been catching anything, but then I realized they had no idea what I was saying so I just smiled and waved. The guide and I soon realized we were very far ahead so we slowed down and waited for the class. The water smelt like human waste. I took care not to get the water in areas where it may enter my body because it really smelt like it had fresh wastewater mixed in in large amounts. We kayaked until we came up to a waterfall that some of our class kayaked or stand up paddled in. There were some locals in their boats and jetskis that soon came by to crash our party. On our way back, we kayaked across the wide river and stepped onto land. We stood in Argentina. I stole a few rocks from the riverbank to look at back in Brazil. We kayaked back and then hiked back to the hotel. I found a hose and hosed off my body with clean water just in case I had any bad bacteria on me. There was a small garden area near the hotel where fruits were grown. It was interesting to see the large variety of fruits and vegetables they could grow in such a small area. We eventually went back to the hostel and everyone worked on their reflections because our notebooks were due. My notebook was pretty well done throughout the trip so I wasn’t too worried about it. I laid out in the grass and soaked up as much sun as I could get before we had to leave getting up occasionally to do pull ups and leg lifts on the bar hanging from the patio roof. Later in the evening I went to bed and tried to go to sleep but my Professor had us all meet very late to discuss the entirety of the trip. There was a pretty chocolate cake that said “Happy Birthday Andy and Erika” it was so sweet. I thought it was so nice of our Professor to think of us and the cake was really good. I was so tired by this point I stood up to avoid falling asleep during reflections. I still almost fell over quite a few times. After discussing all the fun adventures we had on the trip and recommending changes for next years trip, we finally went to bed after an exhausting but fun day in the sun. Coatis at Iguacu falls
The entrance into the forest behind the hotel
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January 15th
Our last day in Brazil started with us packing our suitcases. After packing we got in the van to head over to the Itaipu dam. The Itaipu dam creates more electricity than any other hydroelectric dam in the world. Getting into the dam was quite a process. For safety we were not allowed to get on the bus to the dam unless we had pants and sneakers on. Almost all of us had shorts on, so the workers had to find pants for us to wear which became quite comical. Some of the girls ended up in pants that were big enough to fit two of them in. After getting our clothing issue settled, we went through security and then boarded a bus to go to the dam. Again our wardrobes were adjusted as we got fashionable hair nets and hard hats to wear inside the dam. The dam is owned and operated half by Brazil and half by Paraguay. Similar to stepping foot in Argentina on this trip, our class also stepped foot in Paraguay technically. The dam was absolutely enormous. We got to take a tour of the inside and see a turbine that was spinning incredibly fast to help generate power. The turbine was very large and the plant was very hot inside especially when you are wearing pants and a hard hat. Walking inside the dam made me realize how large it really was. There was an elevator that had feet below sea level in place of stories. Only half our class could fit inside, so we got to tour different areas separately. One of the coolest parts of the dam was the operating center. It reminded me of the operating center inside the girl’s brain from Disney’s new movie Inside Out. There was a little room with lots of buttons and screens. We were informed that half of the workers were Brazilian and half were Paraguayan at all times. As we continued our tour we came outside and saw the flood gates. All I could think about as we stood there staring at them was about how years ago people came from all over the world to watch as the gates opened for the first time right where I was standing. It was an astonishing moment. The dam was actually very beautiful for a man made energy plant. It made me happy to think that so many people were receiving electricity from the plant instead of from more environmentally degrading sources such as fossil fuels. When we got back to the hostel after the tour I laid out in the yard with some other girls to capture every last ray of sunshine possible before leaving the ninety degree humid weather. After some time we had to scrape ourselves off the lawn and walk down the street for lunch. The town we stayed in was so similar to any town in Florida, except that the houses all had such Portuguese style infused within them. The flowers and brightly colored houses reminded me of San Diego, California. When we got to the restaurant it was quite different from any place I had ever eaten before. It was called a churrascaria. There was a big line like a buffet, where you grabbed a plate and utensils. However, instead of the plastic covered, labeled buffets back in the states, this buffet looked like an overcrowded Christmas family dinner. There were crock pots and large bowls full of identifiable concoctions. Many of the platters had meat of some sort, there was a salad section, roasted vegetables, potatoes done every way imaginable, breads, and pretty much any food you could think of. I’m usually the person who takes a small amount of everything at a buffet, but it took me three trips to finally try almost everything. And then on top of that there was another section just for desserts. Of course I tried everything they had to offer there, too. The restaurant was so beautiful. We sat outside at a large wooden table. The table was one piece of wood for the top and it was absolutely magnificent. Wood like that is extremely expensive back at home and I thought it was crazy that we just nonchalantly sat down at this table outside at a restaurant. It was so sunny and warm and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. After most of us were finished eating we started to congregate outside the front of the restaurant. I took a trip to the bathroom and I noticed that throughout the entire trip every bathroom was extremely neat and clean. I thought about all the cities in America and our bathrooms and noticed that they were never as clean as what I experienced in Brazil. I realized that the difference must be a cultural issue. In America, we treat public places much different than our own privately owned areas. In Brazil, they seemed to treat public places with the same respect and cleanliness that they would in their own homes. Standing outside the restaurant a rooster walked by and Heather picked it up. We all laughed and I went around looking closely at all the flowers that were blooming nearby. On our walk back to the hostel I made sure to stretch out well for the long flight ahead. After spending just a few more hours with the dogs in the sun I had to shower and put on warmer clothes. We headed to the airport around 3:00pm. We departed Iguacu at 7:00 pm and landed in Sao Paulo about two hours later. After grabbing our last Brazilian snacks for the ride home we entered the plane for another ten hour flight that would land us in New York at 7:00am on January 16th. Jacalyn, Anna and I soaking up every bit of sun we can
Flowers at the restaurant
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Our class touring the Itaipu dam
About to enter the dam
A view of the dam from the outside
The control center of the dam
A view from on top of the dam
Heather holding a rooster
Me in front of the flood gates of the dam
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January 16th
We landed in JFK airport and walked out into snow. I missed the warm sun on my skin and the green trees and vines all around me. I missed the odd smell of the rain forest when an anaconda was nearby in Manaus. I missed the swinging of the rope bridge from hiking in Rio. I missed the wind in my face as I took in the astonishing views of Curitiba’s train ride. I missed the sweat running down my back as I paddled up the Igaucu River. The cold New Jersey temperatures hit me harder than a brick. I barely even got used to the idea of being in Brazil and before I knew it I was back in the states with nothing but memories. Our professor had to leave promptly from the airport to take care of his next duty. Our class slowly said good bye and soon enough I dropped my friend off at her house and was suddenly all alone. The friends I had made in the past two weeks were oddly gone from my life, just as the sun and warmth was gone from the sky. Soon I would be back at school, waving to them in the halls and reminiscing about our good times. We had all had an important role in one another’s learning throughout the trip. We are all extremely grateful for our Professor, Dr. Tait Chirenje. He put in so much work to make this trip special for each and every one of us. He handled every exciting hiccup we encountered along our journey with sophistication and dealt with our crankiness for two full weeks. He overworks himself teaching classes at the University while also taking groups abroad every year. His skill as a professor is almost as amazing as his dancing and I am lucky to have had the opportunity to take his class. I am so thankful for choosing Stockton and taking advantage of all it has to offer for my education and growth as an individual. I will forever cherish my experiences abroad in Brazil, Obrigada. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt |