Tenho Saudades

February 23 to May 23. Three months have passed since my first day in Brasil, and I haven’t nearly come closer to blending in, speaking Portuguese fluently, or being very confident with navigating all cultural situations, but I sure have come a long way.

Tenho saudades- a phrase I heard as one set of Fulbrighters were leaving Brasil, and I was preparing to go. I had no idea what it meant, but now it’s a phrase that hits home everyday (pun intended). I long for and I miss so many things from home, and I mean other than the obvious choices of my family, friends, and pets. There are some things in Brasil that I never realized I would encounter living without, and others I didn’t mentally prepare for.

Indoor heating- Before coming to Brasil, I of course checked the average weather for my city throughout the months that I would be in Londrina. I was ecstatic to see that the low for their winter is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Fall is my favorite season, so seeing that the fall, winter, and spring months would all be temperate made me very happy. UNTIL, the colder days of fall hit. Suddenly, the temperature shifted- all in one weekend. It feels like there are three or four months in one day. The mornings drop to about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and require some sort of jacket, and drop again to this temperature at night, but rise to 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout some days. Other days, it will stay chilly at 65 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The thing is- it’s always cold. There is no way to escape the chilly temperature by going into a building, because the buildings don’t have heat and they’re just as cold. I regret not bringing more sweatshirts or a pair of sweatpants.

Air conditioning- Normally, I’m the type of girl who likes to spoil herself with this, when I can. Whenever I have the opportunity to use AC, I take it. My first few weeks in Londrina were awful at night, and I caved in to buy a fan just so that I could sleep through the night. The 80 reais were worth the comfort of not being perpetually sticky in my room.

Having a car- It’s very easy to fall into a lul of comfort of having a car to easily get around town. Need to go grocery shopping? That’s easy to go across town and then pack the grocery bags into your trunk. Need to get to the university campus on a time schedule? You can leave whenever you need to. This privilege is something I forgot was just that- a privilege. Learning to navigate and take the public transportation has been a challenge. Buses may run late, or not pass through certain places on weekends. You always need small bills, and anything over 5 reais will be followed with an eye roll or sigh from the bus driver.

A dryer- I’m lucky enough that my apartment has a washer, just to begin with that plus side, but I’ve started to get used to hanging everything and waiting the day for it to dry. The nice feeling of burying myself under a pile of warm laundry isn’t an option, and some days it can be so frustrating to have to wait for the clothes to dry, especially as the temperature outside and inside the house decreases.

Being able to communicate easily in hard situations- Although I have not cried in a public place since my first month here, like when I broke down in the Vivo phone store, I have had difficult situations since then when I wanted to shut down and turn off. Only having mastered a few verbs in present and past tense makes it very hard to follow conversations and communicate effectively. When I’m asking for directions, get asked something by a store clerk, or am confronted by tasks when I need to immediately and quickly follow a conversations an answer then I stress out. I never realized how a small task could turn into a challenge with this one small change.

Although I do miss a lot of things, I keep reminding myself that today does mark ⅓ of the completion of my Fulbright experience and I tell myself that I need to cherish things rather than focusing on what I miss. 3 months out of 9 completed and I still have so many goals to accomplish, things to see, and lessons to teach.

Ilha do Mel Retreat

This past weekend I met up with my Fulbright mentor group for a mid year retreat, our almost three month in check in. Twelve of us from within the state Parana, from the cities Londrina, Apucarana, Ponta Grossa, and Curitiba, gathered together in Curitiba and then took a bus and boat to our destination- Ilha do Mel. We spent the weekend reflecting on the past few months, comparing experiences of learning Portuguese, our University placements, and city life. It was really interesting to see the variation in Portuguese language level, but also to hear just how different every University sets up their Fulbright experience. Our clan works in a mix of public and private universities, and the universities dictate some groups to assist in classroom time, lead cultural activities, or host office hours. Talking with the other Fulbrighters to hear their difficulties, accomplishments, and goals truly did make me feel better about my own ups and downs so far.

That Friday through Sunday we spent participating in an array of workshops, and of course bonding activities- which mostly entailed caipirinhas on the beach, hiking, and bicycling. We hiked to the top of the Farol das Conchas (the lighthouse), and even trekked there early one morning to watch the sunrise. We also hiked across beaches, up hills (which included shuffling down the muddy side hill with a rope and eventually led to a cross marking), and to the Grutas das Encantadas. In Encantadas we stopped for a lunch break, and I got a leite condensado and coco pastel- which ended up being too sweet for my taste, and that’s a hard thing to do! Half of the group went biking to the Fortaleza on our last day. We rented bikes cheaply, and got what we paid for with a lack of brakes. The freshly made fish lunch by the beach, views of the ocean as we rode on the shore, and fort art gallery made it all worth it.

One of the best things I left this trip with- two congas! My very own first conga purchases. One if dark and light blue with splashes of color in the pattern, and the other is a classic Brazilian flag on it.

The worst thing I left with- two arms filled with mosquito bites. They’re healing quickly though.

Watch this video to see a compilation of video clips and photos from my adventure!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUrZtHctkFM&feature=youtu.be

Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sol- Brasil

Many pictures and stories to come, but for now- here is a video clip and some pictures of some of the highlights from my adventures exploring one of the most beautiful ecotourism locations in Brasil- Bonito.

Click here to watch my video compilation:

https://youtu.be/PAvIWF95sLU

Sao Paulo Easter Photos

Just a few of my favorite memories in picture form from Sao Paulo-

Mercado Municipal 

Mercado Municipal 

Liberdade 

Cathedral de Se 

Rua 25 de Marco 

Avenida Paulista 

Vila Madalena 

Vila Madalena 

Sunset Park 

Sao Paulo Adventures on Easter Weekend

Delayed, but better than never! Here is a snippet of some of my best memories from my adventure trekking through Sao Paulo on Easter weekend. Some of the locations shown include-


The Municipal Market

Banco do Brasil

Liberdade

The Sao Paulo Cathedral

Braz Quintal- rated as one of the top ten pizzerias in the world

Vila Mariana

Avenida Paulista

Vila Madalena

Beco de Batman

Sunset Park


It was a short weekend, with two over night buses, but it was worth the trip to reunite with my friends placed in Sao Carlos. I got to know the Sao Paulo metro really well, and felt confident navigating the city. We ran into a lot of small fairs on the roadside, and Avenida Paulista was closed to all traffic on Sundays to allow for a band and fair to overtake the road.

Click here to watch my video from the weekend trip:

https://youtu.be/Cf-L21TCLew