saooooo pauuuulloooo

I realized today it had been a while since my last post. The truth is that work has been keeping me pretty busy.. However, I will say that I'm doing a pretty good job of balancing the hard work with having a social life (that is when I'm not obsessively cleaning my apartment.. ha)

Last weekend I took a trip to Sao Paulo with Lisa, Janelle, and Myles. We were invited to stay at a new friend's place in SP, whom I met in Ilhabelha (that superamzingmostgorgeous island ever). We were both enjoying the really great band that was playing at a bar there one night, and started speaking in a mix of English, Spanish, and my terrible Portuguese. The attempt at communicating worked though, and we were able to get to know each other pretty well by the end of our second visit to the same bar. This ended in making plans to visit Sao Paulo, his hometown, and a super cool city too.

We got to SP a week later on a Saturday and spent the morning touring several museums in Parque Ibirrapuera. We wandered into the Afro Brasilian museum to ogle at some pretty sweet artwork, and a room dedicated to Pele and his World Cup achievements. We also learned about a folklore icon here named Saci. He's a one legged youngster who smokes a pipe and lives in the forest. He plays tricks on people and he can be pretty malicious. He also can appear and dissapear whenever he wants.... AND he has just one leg. If you steal his cap, you get to make a wish, too.

I think he tops Argentina's Raton Perez when it comes to extremely inventive children's story personalities. By the way, Raton Perez is essentially Argentina's version of the tooth fairy. However, instead of a fairy it is a rat, and he takes your teeth when you place them under your pillow and turns them into pearl necklaces!

back to our sao paulo adventure:

We also visited a Brazilian art museum at Parque Ibirrapuera, where all of us fell in love with the hundreds of artifacts from native tribes in the Amazon. I also really like figas, charms in the shape of a fist that are supposed to bring good luck to those who wear them:

I need to get one of these:

After our day at the park, we partied with our new friends at Vini's apartment. He made chicken soup for us all because he's an incredible host. We also bought delicious cheeses, wines, and bread and snacked and laughed and listened to great music all night.

The next day we went to a really beautiful house which belonged to two of Vin's friends. One friend was nicknamed "Mozzarella" because he's a vegetarian. I loved him. super nice guy!

In fact, everyone at the house was really sweet, and talented too. I met a contemporary dancer, yoga teacher, printmaker, & an actor/mime! The food was great too. We barbequed pretty much all day and had salad, grilled zuchinni with melted cheese on top, chicken, home made bread (in a round outdoor stove) and pão de queijo. By late afternoon everyone had an instrument in their hands, for some improvisational music making. I didn't want to leave!

But we had to leave :(

We came back to Campinas at 8:30 PM, just in time for sleep and then work. I want to go back though, I had such an excellent time.

Sabado

herbs on the balcony :) seeds and nuts from the hippie fair.

Last night I had dinner with Lisa. Really great company, she makes me laugh so hard I can't breathe sometimes. We got a little lost, asked for directions a lot (with no success), and then finally Ju found us in front of the grocery store. Not having a cell phone can be tricky... I think it's finally time to get one (my main task today). That also means I'm becoming more social. It's a very good sign that a cell phone is now necessary.

Juliana took Lisa and I to a bar where a band played Journey and Bon Jovi cover songs all night. SO Awesome! The band was called "Hollywood Way"

We danced a lot & made some friends. 4/5 of the band had super long hair. I also praticed Portuguese by speaking to tons of strangers, which is a plus considering my class had to get canceled this week because of Brazilian Independence day.

I have to give up sleeping in this country because if I even try to get 8 hours a night, I'm missing something terribly fun.

----I'm deep cleansing my apartment, and then posting pictures of it when its had its makeover.

Ilhabela

Last weekend I made some new Brazilian friends (two super cool Julianas) and traveled to the island of Ilhabela along with Lisa and Janelle( super cool American lady friends). I wish I could put into words just how AMAZING this place was.. but it's very hard. It was the epitome of beauty.

Some highlights:

- mountains at the beach

-drinking out of coconuts

-buying a whole freshly caught fish and grilling it with eggplant and peppers for din din

-Meeting Junior, a family friend of Juliana's, and Muni, his tiny shitzu dog

-Going on a hike to see three waterfalls and tons of exotic plants

- seeing a palm tree with bright red roots coming out of the ground like tiny snakes

-Visiting the same bar three nights in a row for a mixture of live samba music, surf rock, and 90's alternative rock.

-Making tons of friends at said bar, practicing Portuguese, and getting invited to sing in English on stage with the band.

-a very long car ride back (6 hours of traffic) yet spending it with good company, and laughing a lot.

I wish every weekend was like this. It totally recharged my batteries.. it makes me so excited to see more of Brazil :)

Lisa and Janelle

eu e MUNI!

two Julianas and one Camilee

oceannnn

we kayaked while the sun set

this is Ilhabela!