Ilhues

The next part of my excursion was traveling to a city that is smaller than salvador, but still a city, it is called Ilheus and is further south. It had a very different feel from Salvador, it was much cleaner, much quieter and seemed safer, less crazy. We stayed in a hotel all together, I stayed with my two roomies Emily and Jess. We seemed to be more on a vacation at this point than actually studying.

We went to a cocoa factory and saw how chocolate was made, and how the cocoa was harvested and got to sample some delicious chocolate and chocolate milk. that was really exciting, on the property there there was also a safe house, or program for sloths that had been living there and been hurt. It was a rehabilitation center for them, I have never really seen sloths up close however so that was really cool to see. the lady who talked to us, was holding one while she talked to us, so cool. Later that afternoon we went on a tour of the historical district and got to see a little more of downtown, followed by ice-cream for everyone! haha definitely the highlight.

the next day we visited a PSF in town. It was a lot of fun because we got to go off in small groups with a community agent and learn some more hands on questions. We also were able to go on a few house visits and see and talk to some different people. The agent I worked with was very nice and very invested in his work and the community which was really nice to see. Afterwards we visited an after school program where kids can learn all sorts of things, mostly artsy and crafty. We got to hear them play music for us, but they also have a dance program, and there was an arts and crafts room. We also got to see what the kids had made and buy some of the things. I wish we would have been able to spend some time with the kids, but we didn't have the time.

Saturday we spent the day on an indian reservation, with a small indigenous tribe that resides in Ihleus. They were so welcoming and very interested in talking to us and showing us their culture. We participated in a ceremony with them, learned about some different medicines they used, and we all received seeds that will bring us protection. We got to walk around the reservation and meet people, and spend time at a river, and they picked coconuts for us so we could drink and eat some coconut, I will miss fresh coconut so much! It was all in all a wonderful day.

The last day we spent there was a free day for students, and there is this one beach that apparently you must see before you die according to the NY times. so we got the driver to all bus us out there and we spent the day on the beach, playing in the waves, and climbing on hiking across rocks. It was pretty gorgeous  and nice to have a day just at the beach. I am blanking on the name of it right now, but I will try to add it when I remember.

That is the end of my excursion however, and now I am back in Salvador and getting ready to start another trip, with a new host family while I do my research with an Indigenous tribe in Porto Seguro. I hope to head out tomorrow or sometime this weekend, it will be hard to say goodbye to my host family, but I am excited to see a new place and have a new adventure!

Remanso

The best four days of my life were spent in the little village Remanso, it is a quilombo community meaning that it was created as an escaped slave community. It was full of the sweetest people who were full of so much life and spirit. They worked so hard every day of their lives, and yet they still found time to celebrate and teach and host us for four days. They live very humbly, only containing a school up to the primary level, and travel to the big city for school when they are older. they live in small brick houses, that rain leaks through slowly, and no running water. They have had electricity for about a decade though, but clean water is hard to find. The water we washed with was brought from their one river. And the whole community works together as a whole to create what they need and help one another.

I stayed with my friends Bri and Alice, in a small home that usually housed a mom and dad along with their three kids. The kids were older so they live in the city during the week, and only come home on the weekends. The parents stayed with us while we were there though, and had everything all set up for us. They only had two rooms, and Bri and I shared a bed in one, while one little bed was for Alice and the parents slept on a mattress on the floor in the living room. The kitchen was in the back of the house, and it was one of the best parts. It was a cozy little kitchen, and I have never had such wonderful food! Our host mom, Nice, made us so much good food every day, and all of it so fresh. She also made us so much bolo, and fresh juice with each meal. It was so good. 

We learned about the whole community, went to the school, learned projects about the community. My group got to walk through the forrest that they have around them and see and find medicinal plants that the community uses. The next day we also met a really sweet lady who taught us how to make fishing nets. There is  a river close by to the community and they use it for everything, washing clothes, dishes, and themselves, as well as for fishing. It was really cool to learn how to do, but much harder than it looked. The lady had to help us out many times. We also sat around a bonfire one night and people took turns telling stories, it was really cool, and appropriate for being close to halloween, since some of them were scary stories. 

The last day that we were there the whole community took us out in canoes, and we went to a waterfall, and on a 10 mile ride. Our host sisters who were back from school, took the three of us up and down the river, rowing the whole way. They brought all the food and everything, it was so nice to have a little picnic, and they all shared the food and took the time out of their day to bring us. It was a wonderful day, and it was so peaceful just floating down the river. 

It was just a magical, slow moving place, that had a wonderful sense of community that was a great escape. I hope one day that I am able to go back and spend time with my host family there again.

Iuna

Even though I only got to spend one day with the people in the village of Iuna, it was a wonderful day full of so many things. They were so welcoming and forthcoming, even though they do not have a lot themselves, they cooked us a huge delicious lunch and gave us a snack before we got on the bus to head to Remanso.

They played music for us, and we danced throughout the village to the school. We met the kids that go there, and as typical of Brazil danced samba for an hour to celebrate our arrival. It was so much fun, and even more fun to dance with the kids.

Then we separated and went to different houses for lunch. I was in a group of five and went to the a ladies house who was so sweet. She made us so much wonderful, and so many veggies!! I was so excited to see so many wonderful vegetable things :) haha I am struggling with all the meat intake, but all of the food has been so delicious.

Then we got to learn certain things that the community does, or makes for a living. Our family makes these special coconut candies. They were a type of coconut that is really small, and is orange. we went out to a field to pick them, and see how you pick the ripe ones. We brought back a really small bucket, I guess the lady who showed us how to do everything, usually carries a lot more everyday, and it is a long walk from her house.

They the coconuts are soaked in water, they had soaked some for us already, which was really nice. They you peel the skin off, since it cannot be used. And then all the fat, which is orange, and completely died our hands, is used to make the actually candy. The pits are what is left afterwards. The dough made from the fruit, is used to make popsicles and sweet doces (which are just candy). It was so good, and the ladies were laughing at us because we were so bad at making them, and worked so slow. granted they have been making these for a long time, but still we were struggling quite a bit.

Then we got to go to another house, and learned how to make mats (mattresses) that are made with string and leaves. The leaves are long branches, that are weaved together to make these mats. I cannot imagine they would be too comfortable,  but I guess if you put them on the cold concrete on a really hot day, they are wonderful and help soak up the cold. It was a pretty cool skill to learn regardless.

At the end of the day they made us delicious juice, and cake! So good! and talked about our experience and all the things we learned before heading out. It was a wonderful day, and made me want to learn all I could about how they live and what they do, and really excited to go live in Remanso.

Excursions

So the end of the semester has come, I cannot even believe it. I have taken my Portuguese final, and turned in my last assignments, and now we are off to our excursions for the end of the year before I enter the research part of my semester. We are going to Remanso, Iuna for a day, Lencois, and Ihlius. Remanso and Iuna are very rural villages, that live in poverty so that we can experience a home stay in that type of environment and compare and contrast.

We stayed in a hotel in Lencois, all together, I have two lovely roomies :) And we got to have two free days, which was really nice. We took full advantage of the nature and went on hikes both days. The first day we went on a guided hike, where we got to go up mountains, snorkling and exploring through caves, as well as visiting and jumping off of waterfalls. We it wasn't quite jumping off of the waterfall, but I got to jump around 30ft off of a cliff into water, it was so much fun.

I am a little scared of caves, since I am claustrophobic, but it was a pretty cool experience. I got to snorkel for the first time which was fun. And half way through the cave, we stop swimming turn off our lights, and have a minute of silence, it was so freaky. I did not know that happened when I got myself into this. but I got to see some cool fish and caves as well, so it made up for it.

It was so nice to see so much nature since we have been just living and experiencing the city lately, and I was getting a little tired of all the noise, and sounds and people. It is a nice time to relax and chill out before I head out to do research on my own.

I will try and post pics soon! they are gorgeous. Brazil has more to offer than just beautiful beaches :)

Futbol!!

Hey guys,

sorry it has been so long, it seems like life has just gotten crazy lately, and unfortunately I am in a place where I do not have enough internet to load photos. But from when I got to speak to you last, I have gotten the amazing Brazilian experience of going to a futbol game. I have never seen so many people so crazy. It was insane, insane is a little bit of an understatement. It was a huge crazy stadium, and there was just black and red everywhere.

The team we were rooting for is Vitoria, which stands for Victoria, all of Bahia is split between rooting for the Bahian team and Vitoria. Vitoria's colors are red and black and I thought I was prepared by wearing a black and red outfit. Only to find out that even though I was wearing the right colors, me and my friends all stood out, because we were not wearing jerseys, but it all worked out.

We cheered till we had no voices, for me literally, I lost my voice for the rest of the night. And we made some Brazilian friends that told us what was going on, since there are no announcements, or timer to show how long they have been playing. And we got to share some popcorn and water, which was pretty exciting at half time. There are not really enough seats, so we just all stood, and then sat in a mosh pit of one another, a sea of red and black. It was so much fun and I am so glad that I got to have that experience, futbol is such a huge part of life here.