Brazil! =)

Brazil is incredible. The first day we arrived at port I was a little bit nervous. Walking around town was very unnerving and I felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulder. That feeling did not stay long, though. Every day I am feeling more and more comfortable here! We went on a tour through Semester at Sea called Amazon Explorer the first day. We all boarded a riverboat and traveled about 30 minutes upstream to the “meeting of the waters”, which is where the Amazon river meets with the Rio Negro. What is incredible about this place is that the two waters do not mix. It looks like there was a massive oil spill and the black water of the Rio Negro was completely separated from the brown waters of the Amazon. But the water is not black (and trust me it is VERY black) because of pollution, it’s simply a matter of the composition of the water.  It is truly a fascinating phenomenon! After seeing the meeting of the waters we traveled through a small inlet and went to see some floating villages. The guide told us that people love to live in floating villages because if they ever get into a fight with their neighbors, they just move their house upstream. We ate at a floating restaurant and tried some delicious fish, including Piranha and Pirarucu. Of course I really had no idea what exactly we were eating until we actually saw a Pirarucu. It is the world’s largest freshwater fish (if any of you have seen “River Monsters” you have probably seen it), and I’m just glad they waited until after we finished eating to show us one! We they walked a little ways into the jungle to see the giant lily pads. There were alligators and monkeys and quite a few rustles through the leaves that we weren’t sure about (stories of anacondas in the area had us all on edge). We then got into small canoes and went to see a family in one of the river villages. They had a display of some really big fish right there next to their living room. They also have a very, very big tree near their house. Apparently the water level is often high enough that the only way to see the tree in by canoe, but we got to walk. One of the daughters had a pet sloth that we all got to hold (so cute…can I have one mom and dad?????). We returned to the big riverboats and fished for some piranhas. I wasn't very lucky, but quite a few people caught some! It was really an amazing experience and I loved every single second of it!
Then there was Samba. What can I say about samba except that it was the most fun I think I have ever had in my life. It was a giant block party with lots of samba music. The best part about it, though, was that the music was not only being played live and broadcast on speakers, but the musicians were also throughout the crowd. It was quite literally a whirlwind of music surrounding you. We met a local girl named Anisi, who was amazingly nice and we all did our very best to communicate to each other even through the language barrier. She taught us some words and introduced us to her whole family. We even got to bang the drums for a while!
The next day we explored Manaus. We found ourselves at a shopping center and we met another very nice local who spoke some English. He learned everything he knows from watching ‘Friends’! His name was Marcos, but he said we could call him Chewbaka, because he could understand English but when he speaks he feels like Chewy. He was very funny and we learned a lot about Brazilian culture just from spending the day with him. I also successfully ordered a pizza for the whole group in Portuguese (along with a lot of hand gestures). That night we went to Brazilian Barbeque, which was delicious! You have a little card on each table, one red side and one green side. When its flipped to green they come around and give you different kinds of meat (everything from fish to chicken heart). I tried almost everything and it was all very delicious! The chocolate here is unreal, we all had to force ourselves to stop eating it!
We spent another day exploring Manaus, but this time we went to the outdoor market. We started at the fish market, which was great fun. Everyone wanted to be in our pictures and apparently they don't normally see a group of American girls walking through there cause we got some funny reactions. I could walk around those markets for hours! It was so much fun! We got some incredible espressos and some great souvenirs! We also met another local who was studying English and was very excited to be able to practice with us. He even took us shopping and helped us pick out some clothes! We ended the day with a very intense sunset over the Rio Negro.
The next day Erica and I had our service visit. We went to a home called “Abrigo Moacyr Alves”. It is a place for kids (ages 0-38) with special needs. It is technically an orphanage, but they kids are not adopted. The director said “there is no need, this is their home and we are their family and we are all very happy”. Our guide explained to us that 15 years ago no one saw these kids and other people in similar situations as their problem. They figured it was God’s will and they should not mess with God’s will. However, since the last president, Lula (sp?) was elected, the mindset throughout Brazil has changed. The home, which used to be moldy and missing walls in some places, is now a beautiful, clean, and warm home with plans to expand. We took a tour of the home and met some of the kids and staff. We met one very special little boy named Gabriel. He is about one year old and he is being cared for in the nursery. His mother could not afford an abortion, so she tried several times to abort the pregnancy using drugs and alcohol. But he really, really wanted to live and he survived all of that. They call him their little soldier, and there’s really no better name for him, you can tell by the way he was smiling. We were told to do our best not to cry in front of the kids, but you can imagine at that point it was nearly impossible. None of the kids had ever been to the zoo before so we all got on a bus and went to see it. They were all so happy! There was a clown to greet us and hot dogs and popcorn, they were very excited to try American food! At the end of the visit, two other girls along with Erica and I were fortunate enough to present the “One World Futbol” to them. Our guide translated for us that we were giving the home an indestructible futbol as a symbol of our friendship with them. The reaction was better than I ever imagined. They immediately started playing with it and giving us all kisses and hugs. One of the girls’ names was Juju, and she was beautifully inspirational. She gave every single one of us a big kiss, and brought us over to meet the staff, who she called her mother. Her mother translated what she wanted to say for us, which was “if I could talk to you I would tell you that you are all my friends and I am so happy to have met you, I will never forget today”. It was wonderfully fulfilling, and I know in my heart that someday I will be back there to see those kids. Overall Brazil has been fantastic! There is so much life and color and I definitely plan on coming back soon! Obrigada (hehe thank you in Portuguese)!


Love you all!


Slideshow is below!
Brazil Slideshow!