Everyone finally arrived on Wednesday the 15th of July and we left early in the morning to check into our room at the aparthotel (that's cause it's extended stay...apartment/hotel, get it? Cute, huh? Oh, the French!). Rob, the professor in charge of the study abroad, was already checked in the day before, so he was there to greet us and help us check in. We then met for dinner that night at a Pizzeria and I had my first restaurant experience in France. I was reminded how much I love orange soda. In the States, the orange soda is very orange colored. While the Fanta in Europe is much lighter. In the states, the Fanta, Sunkist, whatever's your favorite is made with all artificial flavoring. In Europe, it's made with real orange juice! Mmmmm...many of you may have tasted Orangina...that's very much what the orange soda is like here.
The next day, my roommate was in town, so we hung out together. We arranged to meet at a Häagan Dazs near a certain stop on the metro. Unfortunately, when I got off, I realized that there were several metro exits and the one I exited at showed no Häagan Dazs nearby. So, I walked a little while until I found the Häagan Dazs at the next metro stop and no Jane. 45 minutes later, I was back around the right corner and down a small street to find a Häagan Dazs and my good friend Jane sitting with her friend Lena.
Jane and I decided to walk around the city until we planned to meet up with my classmates at the Palace at Versailles. The fountains in the palace gardens were going there only from 3 PM to 5:30 PM, so we only had a small window to see them. When we got there we waited in line for nearly an hour just to find out that the line was to get tickets to actually enter the palace and there was a separate line to enter the gardens. When we walked around to the side of the palace we discovered a line with nearly two people in front of us. Well done, Dan! It's okay, because we talked about the English language in line because we're teachers and we love talking about silly slang...plus, Jane said 'janky' and Lena wanted to know what it meant, so we talked about it and then used the word the whole time we were together! It was pretty all kinds of awesome.
So, with our little lne confusion, we didn't find my classmates, but we still made it into the gardens in time to see all of the fountains on and running, though we did hurry a little bit as it got closer to 5. We then arrived at the biggest fountain in the place and discovered that there would be a little show to music that we could watch at 530, so I saved us spots while the girls sought out a bathroom. They came back not having succeeded because they knew time was running out and they ended up taking a wrong jaunt out of the gardens so they had to show their tickets again. Regardless, we all got to see the fountains and decided it was the best ending to the fantastic gardens.
On the way back, we decided to go to Emily's favorite crêperie in France, Crêperie Beaubourg
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Bastille Day!!
My first weekend in Paris was spent couchsurfing. Now, many of you may not know what this is. My roommate and I joined almost 2 years ago when we became roommates and it's been the best experience ever. Basically, you offer your couch for travelers to sleep on when they come to visit your city. It's a cultural exchange and through it we've met the most incredibly fantastic people from several different countries: France, Belgium, Singapore, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and Texas ;-)
So, since I've hosted so many people, it was my turn to be hosted. Emily, Allen and I were hosted by this little French guy named Raphael who works as a computer programmer. He loves Anime, Japanese, and Improv comedy. He lives in a pretty cool neighborhood in Paris proper and we were able to enjoy all that Paris had to offer even though the program hadn't started and we were already in France.
The first evening was spent doing these preset walks that our professor gave us (we're required to do at least 4 of them by the end of the program). I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time and got to eat a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) in France! Mmmmm....
But, the most incredible part of the whole trip was waiting on a bridge in eyeshot of the Eiffel Tower on the evening of the 14th of July and for the firewarks show. Bastille Day is the French National Holiday and they create an amazing 45-minute long fireworks display surrounding the Eiffel Tower. The fireworks even shoot off of the tower. It was literally the most incredible fireworks show I've ever seen! I shot some videos of some of it before my camera's battery died and posted them on Youtube.
The funniest part about hanging out with Raphael was when I told him he was the "bomb-diggity" His English wasn't bad, but he had a very thick accent, so when he asked what this word 'diggity' meant, it sounded a little like an Eastern Indian accent with an emphasis on every syllable in the word. It was hilarious. From the moment I said that word, he would use it over and over again for everything. We laughed so hard. Of course we explained to him that the word 'diggity' is not used very commonly in the states. Emily actually told him "There are only 5 people in the United States who use that word. One of them is Dan, the other 4 are over 50 years old." So I use silly words...
So, since I've hosted so many people, it was my turn to be hosted. Emily, Allen and I were hosted by this little French guy named Raphael who works as a computer programmer. He loves Anime, Japanese, and Improv comedy. He lives in a pretty cool neighborhood in Paris proper and we were able to enjoy all that Paris had to offer even though the program hadn't started and we were already in France.
The first evening was spent doing these preset walks that our professor gave us (we're required to do at least 4 of them by the end of the program). I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time and got to eat a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) in France! Mmmmm....
But, the most incredible part of the whole trip was waiting on a bridge in eyeshot of the Eiffel Tower on the evening of the 14th of July and for the firewarks show. Bastille Day is the French National Holiday and they create an amazing 45-minute long fireworks display surrounding the Eiffel Tower. The fireworks even shoot off of the tower. It was literally the most incredible fireworks show I've ever seen! I shot some videos of some of it before my camera's battery died and posted them on Youtube.
The funniest part about hanging out with Raphael was when I told him he was the "bomb-diggity" His English wasn't bad, but he had a very thick accent, so when he asked what this word 'diggity' meant, it sounded a little like an Eastern Indian accent with an emphasis on every syllable in the word. It was hilarious. From the moment I said that word, he would use it over and over again for everything. We laughed so hard. Of course we explained to him that the word 'diggity' is not used very commonly in the states. Emily actually told him "There are only 5 people in the United States who use that word. One of them is Dan, the other 4 are over 50 years old." So I use silly words...
Monday, July 13, 2009
A day in Marseille!
The first full day we were in France we decided to use one of the days on our Eurorail pass and go see Marseille. When we told Raphael this, he thought we were completely nuts. Not in these exact words he said this "You've just come to Paris and instead of spending quality time in one of the most amazing cities in the world, you're wasting time on a train going all the way to the south of France just to go to the beach?" He was a little offended in his own Parisien way, and in all honesty he was wrong. We weren't just going to the beach, we were going to Chateau D'If. For those of you unaware, this is the site for the prison setting of the book The Count of Monte Cristo and Allen had recently read the book and really wanted to see the island.
So, away we went early one morning. We got there by 9:30 AM, we purchased ferry tickets for noon, found a beach within walking distance, and were on our way to spending the most perfect 9 and half hours at a beach town that one can spend. We laid out on the beach, swam a little bit in the chilly, clear waters of the Mediterranean, then took a little ride on a ferry to an island of the coast of France once used as a prison. There were dungeon-like rooms that were too dark to see down, and cavern-like rooms on the upper levels that must have been drafty and uncomfortable to say the least. There were even quarters for the priest and guards that would have been a little less unpleasant than the actual cells, but just the same, the whole Chateau was completely made of stone and quite lifeless to say the least. Despite this description, the waters around it were incredibly beautiful and the view from the top or really anywhere you could find a window was pretty amazing. It must have been torture sitting in there day in and day out without the possibility of enjoying the beautiful beaches and scenery just moments away.
Once we returned on our little ferry to the mainland, we returned to our little beach (which was much busier this time around) and laid out in the sun, swam, laid out, swam, and ate pain au lait with Nutella until it was time to catch our train back to Paris. We all forgot sun screen, so i bought some while I was there. Unfortunately it was too late and the sun had already done it's dirty work. We were all so sunburned that by the time the train ride was over, all Raphael could do was laugh at our foolish trek and ask why we all looked like red raccoons with the white skin surrounding our eyes where the sunglasses had been and our red noses and foreheads. We were peeling for days once that began, but it didn't matter. We had a great time. Sometimes, it's all worth the ride.
So, away we went early one morning. We got there by 9:30 AM, we purchased ferry tickets for noon, found a beach within walking distance, and were on our way to spending the most perfect 9 and half hours at a beach town that one can spend. We laid out on the beach, swam a little bit in the chilly, clear waters of the Mediterranean, then took a little ride on a ferry to an island of the coast of France once used as a prison. There were dungeon-like rooms that were too dark to see down, and cavern-like rooms on the upper levels that must have been drafty and uncomfortable to say the least. There were even quarters for the priest and guards that would have been a little less unpleasant than the actual cells, but just the same, the whole Chateau was completely made of stone and quite lifeless to say the least. Despite this description, the waters around it were incredibly beautiful and the view from the top or really anywhere you could find a window was pretty amazing. It must have been torture sitting in there day in and day out without the possibility of enjoying the beautiful beaches and scenery just moments away.
Once we returned on our little ferry to the mainland, we returned to our little beach (which was much busier this time around) and laid out in the sun, swam, laid out, swam, and ate pain au lait with Nutella until it was time to catch our train back to Paris. We all forgot sun screen, so i bought some while I was there. Unfortunately it was too late and the sun had already done it's dirty work. We were all so sunburned that by the time the train ride was over, all Raphael could do was laugh at our foolish trek and ask why we all looked like red raccoons with the white skin surrounding our eyes where the sunglasses had been and our red noses and foreheads. We were peeling for days once that began, but it didn't matter. We had a great time. Sometimes, it's all worth the ride.
Friday, July 10, 2009
The heart of Provo, Utah
So, interestingly enough, I think this time around, I have explored more of Utah County (Provo) than I ever did when I lived here for 2 years and 8 months. In fact, Emily and Allen (the couple I’m staying with) fixed up one of their bikes and they let me use it to get to school every day. The miles were long and a little boring, though I don’t think it was too much further than my regular work commute. Though the mountains are incredibly beautiful in Utah, I think I prefer my work commute. Here’s the comparison: 8 miles with about 8 stoplights total, hills up and down both ways, but mostly flat vs. 4 miles with a stoplight for nearly every block (around 85 stoplights) with hills up and down and crazy NYC cab drivers, random car doors opening out of nowhere. What can I say? I’m a city boy at heart ;-)
So, being back in Utah allowed for some fun little visits with a random smattering of friends.
Of course Emily and Allen count, and I was able to spend a lot of time with them including visiting their respective families who live around the corner from them. The thing that I found funny was that they literally lived within a quarter of a mile from both of their parents’ houses and they always drove in their car to visit them. I’ve become such a New Yorker willing to walk everywhere ☺ We had a fun time playing “the bean game” on several occasions, and they always offered me food for lunches and they cooked me dinner all the time. They even let me borrow the car a few times to do some things or visit friends ☺ They’ve been great hosts!
I also got to visit with my friend Deborah Ann. We first took a fun little walk by Provo's little creek. I remember that the last time I came it was dried up in many places because there was a drought. In the past few weeks before coming to Provo it had rained nearly every day, so the creek looked like a river. Here are a few shots of the waterfall
We met another day and I cooked us some lasagna. None of you except for Deborah Ann will be able to fully understand what I am about to say, and I'm certainly not one to toot my own horn, but it was literally THE BEST lasagna I have eaten in my life. I ate many a delicious lasagna cooked by short, pudgy pasta mammas IN Italy, but I kid you not when I say it was amazing. Imagine, if you will, that you're emaciated and stranded in a desert with nothing but sun, sky and sand in sight! You're parched because you are so thirsty and dry. Your skin is scorched and tender to the touch. You know if you don't get something to drink soon you will die, when suddenly there in front of you is the most amazing little oasis in the desert. You're certain it is a mirage, but you approach it anyway because you know you have nothing to lose. When you arrive at the flowing water, you instantly take a sip of the most refreshing and life-saving water you have ever sipped in your life. That is what it was like eating this lasagna. No exaggeration!
I went to Steve (my older brother) and Alicia's (his wife) and had dinner with my nieces (I have 3: Hannah, Ruby, and Katy). The best part of the night was being their jungle gym after dessert. They climbed all over me. Check out the awesome pictures we took together.
If you’ll notice their mouths are a little dirty. That’s because we were eating otter pops. I think my siblings and I used to have 10 a day when I was younger. We used to keep them in our extra freezer out in the garage and we’d sneak one after another. I saw history repeat itself as my 3 nieces and I went back not for just a second otter pop, but a third. Apparently, my youngest niece, Katy is also a movies star. She did a fairly large role in a film short that was shown at the Sundance film festival this past year, so we watched that as well. I’m very excited that they’ll be moving back to Alabama (where the rest of my family lives now), so I’ll be able to hang out with them again over Christmas holidays.
So, as for class, I’ve been having a really great time. We meet every day in the morning and again in the afternoon for our pedagogy and culture classes, and then 3 times a week for 45 minutes of our lunch break for our French conversation class. The pedagogy and culture class are two separate classes, though they’ve been treated as one and the same because we’re here to learn how to integrate teaching culture along with the language. So, here’s the plan. We’re going to take pictures and collect random cultural artifacts while we’re in France in order to show the cultural differences and similarities among the Americans and the French. Our final project will include several different lesson plans including the pictures and/or artifacts that we’ve taken and collected for those particular lessons. For example, I plan to take lots of pictures of clothing stores and how they function in order to create my own clothing store in the classroom so that I can teach students how to buy clothes. I will also take several pictures of random people in France and what they are wearing so as to show them to students using the pictures to teach clothing vocabulary, and so on.
So, now that you’re completely bored by the reasons I’m actually going to France, I am totally excited about it. In fact, I’ll be taking all kinds of random pictures in NYC to use for comparing and contrasting the different countries. I’ll even be spending several days in Italy to collect artifacts and take pictures there as well! ☺
My favorite part about being in Provo though was being able to see all the beautiful landscape that exists there. I was able to go hiking in several places and just enjoy nature. In NYC, Central Park gives me a nature fix, but nothing like Provo did. It was pretty awesome...check out the pics
So, being back in Utah allowed for some fun little visits with a random smattering of friends.
Of course Emily and Allen count, and I was able to spend a lot of time with them including visiting their respective families who live around the corner from them. The thing that I found funny was that they literally lived within a quarter of a mile from both of their parents’ houses and they always drove in their car to visit them. I’ve become such a New Yorker willing to walk everywhere ☺ We had a fun time playing “the bean game” on several occasions, and they always offered me food for lunches and they cooked me dinner all the time. They even let me borrow the car a few times to do some things or visit friends ☺ They’ve been great hosts!
I also got to visit with my friend Deborah Ann. We first took a fun little walk by Provo's little creek. I remember that the last time I came it was dried up in many places because there was a drought. In the past few weeks before coming to Provo it had rained nearly every day, so the creek looked like a river. Here are a few shots of the waterfall
We met another day and I cooked us some lasagna. None of you except for Deborah Ann will be able to fully understand what I am about to say, and I'm certainly not one to toot my own horn, but it was literally THE BEST lasagna I have eaten in my life. I ate many a delicious lasagna cooked by short, pudgy pasta mammas IN Italy, but I kid you not when I say it was amazing. Imagine, if you will, that you're emaciated and stranded in a desert with nothing but sun, sky and sand in sight! You're parched because you are so thirsty and dry. Your skin is scorched and tender to the touch. You know if you don't get something to drink soon you will die, when suddenly there in front of you is the most amazing little oasis in the desert. You're certain it is a mirage, but you approach it anyway because you know you have nothing to lose. When you arrive at the flowing water, you instantly take a sip of the most refreshing and life-saving water you have ever sipped in your life. That is what it was like eating this lasagna. No exaggeration!
I went to Steve (my older brother) and Alicia's (his wife) and had dinner with my nieces (I have 3: Hannah, Ruby, and Katy). The best part of the night was being their jungle gym after dessert. They climbed all over me. Check out the awesome pictures we took together.
If you’ll notice their mouths are a little dirty. That’s because we were eating otter pops. I think my siblings and I used to have 10 a day when I was younger. We used to keep them in our extra freezer out in the garage and we’d sneak one after another. I saw history repeat itself as my 3 nieces and I went back not for just a second otter pop, but a third. Apparently, my youngest niece, Katy is also a movies star. She did a fairly large role in a film short that was shown at the Sundance film festival this past year, so we watched that as well. I’m very excited that they’ll be moving back to Alabama (where the rest of my family lives now), so I’ll be able to hang out with them again over Christmas holidays.
So, as for class, I’ve been having a really great time. We meet every day in the morning and again in the afternoon for our pedagogy and culture classes, and then 3 times a week for 45 minutes of our lunch break for our French conversation class. The pedagogy and culture class are two separate classes, though they’ve been treated as one and the same because we’re here to learn how to integrate teaching culture along with the language. So, here’s the plan. We’re going to take pictures and collect random cultural artifacts while we’re in France in order to show the cultural differences and similarities among the Americans and the French. Our final project will include several different lesson plans including the pictures and/or artifacts that we’ve taken and collected for those particular lessons. For example, I plan to take lots of pictures of clothing stores and how they function in order to create my own clothing store in the classroom so that I can teach students how to buy clothes. I will also take several pictures of random people in France and what they are wearing so as to show them to students using the pictures to teach clothing vocabulary, and so on.
So, now that you’re completely bored by the reasons I’m actually going to France, I am totally excited about it. In fact, I’ll be taking all kinds of random pictures in NYC to use for comparing and contrasting the different countries. I’ll even be spending several days in Italy to collect artifacts and take pictures there as well! ☺
My favorite part about being in Provo though was being able to see all the beautiful landscape that exists there. I was able to go hiking in several places and just enjoy nature. In NYC, Central Park gives me a nature fix, but nothing like Provo did. It was pretty awesome...check out the pics
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
French Teacher Institute
So, here it is...I've finally come back to my blog and here's the reason why. I'm going to France for the first time in my life, and I'm doing it through The BYU, my undergraduate alma mater. I will be posting hyperlinks to websites should there need to be further explanation or if you would like to learn more about the things I blog about here. Enjoy!
For those of you unaware, The BYU is the home of the Cougars and the quintessential Mormon University. There are a few others, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii, but here in Provo, I'm at the original, so I call it The BYU. For those unaware, there is a clear and structured Honor Code that must be followed while attending The BYU. Some of you may balk at the idea of having to sign such a thing to attend college, others may say that you would never do such a thing. I personally have made the sacrifice to shave my face every day in order to receive 9 graduate credit hours and go to France for a month all under $2000.
Another good BYU-ism has to do with the housing. The Honor Code clearly sets rules which students must follow with living situations. All housing must be approved by BYU (on- or off-campus). All of the apartments approved by BYU for student living (as long as they are not living with family) must have separate bathroom and bedroom space that can be closed off to kitchens and living areas, and no student is allowed in those areas if they are in the apt of a student of the opposite sex. For example, when I lived in the French house (on-campus), the females had to go back to their apartments in order to use the bathroom.
If you look at the floor plan, there is a door before you enter the bathroom or any of the three bedrooms. Not all housing had a door at this point, so an imaginary line was created that the opposite sex was not allowed to pass.
There was also a curfew one had to obey. I’ll simply let this large poster explain the rule. It was posted several places on campus, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo.
Finally, the best part about BYU will always be the Daily Universe. This is the daily newspaper put out by undergrad communications/journalism majors. It contains several student-written articles as well as Associated Press articles to fill up 8-12 pages of a regular-sized newspaper. There is often an editorials section where students are allowed to write in their opinions of things that have happened on campus. Here is a list of the pressing topics I’ve found therein:
• The large statue of a scantily clad Native American outside the BYU library – why doesn’t he have to follow the Honor Code?
• YouTube finally allowed on campus (it was previously blocked by BYU network access on campus)
• Sarah Palin quits! (literally at least one article a day for two weeks)
• Where to sleep on campus (there are snoozers everywhere!)
• The name of the “No Shhh! Zone” in the library (it’s a place in the library where you don’t have to be quiet)
• The “No snowball throwing” law (among other strange laws) in Provo (considered a misdemeanor if the intent is to throw it at someone, to hinder movement or to scare someone)
• Whether or not to join the boycott of Pepsi because of its support of the LGBT community
You can also see a plethora of ads for diamond rings, BYU housing and various food establishments. There are also ads for salesmen seeing as how all return missionaries are generally very good at going door to door. Bringing the BYU experience full circle, I will end my blog about The BYU with the following:
Please note the promises of these ads. One will help you find your spouse (Marriage Guarantee), the other will give you a new start so that your honeymoon never ends. Gotta love it!
Wait!! I can’t forget the Police Beat!! BYU Campus police allow the newspaper to publish all incidents reported to or otherwise handled by the BYU Police. Here are some of the gems (followed by commentary in parenthesis):
June 25: Graffiti was found at the bus stop next to the law library. The phrase “There are angels among us” was written in black permanent marker. (In NYC, graffiti has become an art…in Utah, it has become prophetic)
June 14: Two bikes were reported stolen on campus. The victims saw the stolen bikes in a photo on Facebook. The person in the photo was arrested because he had “control” of the bikes. (Wow, can you be any more blatant? I wish I could find my stolen bike on Facebook, but NYC thieves have an entire system of CHANGING the way the bike looks.)
June 24: A backpack was reported stolen from a women’s restroom in the library. A female was taking a nap with her backpack next to her and when she woke up it was gone. No arrests have been made. (I hate to say it serves her right, but…it serves her right! Use the backpack as a pillow, Dim Some!)
June 16: Someone reported seeing a man in the stadium with a rifle. The police responded and found out it was a grounds employee sent to eliminate pigeons with a pellet gun. Officers stopped him. The man was not able to shoot any pigeons. (Why can’t he shoot pigeons? Seriously! What is wrong with the world?)
June 18: Three children, ages nine, six, and three, were reported missing from their mother while on campus. The children had gotten separated and were found in their car by the Museum of Art. (What really happened…Mother needs to accomplish something quick on campus and leaves children in the car. Random stranger sees children in a car alone, calls police and once they arrive, so does the mother. Mother’s response, “Oh, officer, thank you for finding my children, I’ve been looking all over for them!” Buzz beep Mother unlocks door, gets in and drives away. Children are safe…for now)
June 24: Concerned people reported someone chasing a duck around Maeser Hill with a motor scooter. Officers responded to the call and told the person not to harass ducks. The person complied. (No comment)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The first day of the rest of my blog
So I've finally decided to write a blog to keep people up on my regular life. My roommate, Jane has her own blog that she started in which she took a picture every day and posted a blog about it. I'd like to embark on a similar endeavor. So, today I begin with a mini explanation of where I'm at and where this blog will go.
I'm currently teaching at Gramercy Arts High School in Manhattan, NY. AVID is a program geared at teaching writing, reading, and organizational skills in order to get kids to go to college and succeed there. I've been asked to be the coordinator of the program, and I teach the elective class that teaches them all of these skills for success. I live in an area of Manhattan called Hellsgate...it's really the void between East Harlem and the Upper East Side.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Brazil the aftermath!
Okay, delayed reaction. I haven't had Internet access since I returned from Brazil, but I had to send this out. Enjoy:
This blog will be long and excruciatingly detailed. I thought my Brazil logs were over when I sent out my last blog post, but unfortunately the plane ride alone is worthy of it's own blog.
Background: As I stated before, we were stuck in the São Paulo airport for the entire day on our trip to Rio from Porto Alegre. The airline we were traveling on is called Gol.
Jane has stayed behind to go to the Amazon along with many other students from the trip who are staying in Brazil for as long as they can. Eleven of us are scheduled to fly Gol at 4:10 PM to arrive in São Paulo at 5:20 PM. One girl is staying in São Paulo while the other ten of us are scheduled to fly Delta at 9:40 PM on a direct flight to NYC. Kate and I are discussing every possible way to get to NYC ASAP without having to deal with Gol. Before the bus came to take us to the airport we searched for direct flights from Rio to NYC, but to no avail, we were stuck on this Gol flight. According to the website updates, it was still scheduled to leave on time.
When we arrive at 2:45 or so, Kate and I immediately take our luggage and head for the line because we're used to it being fairly long. The other 9 trail behind and we all check in. The lady at the desk tells us the flight is delayed until 5:20 PM. While sitting at the gate, an announcement is made that the flight will be delayed until 6:30 PM. We're now getting nervous and Meryl (the girl who kept Gol on their toes the last time we were stuck in the airport) goes to speak with someone who speaks English to tell them that we need to get to São Paulo in time to catch out flight. We're told that we will arrive by 7:40 with just enough time to get to our flight. Within in just moments another announcement comes over the loudspeaker explaining that the plane will not be arriving in Rio until 7:40. No weather issues, no excuses…the flight is delayed indefinitely. We're sitting, by the way, in a terminal straight out of 1972 with formica chairs and retro grime stuck in every crevice since the place was built. Meryl goes to speak with a manager. The Gol manager has no remorse nor desire to help, so Meryl asks to speak with Delta to make them aware of our plight. The Rio Delta manager gives us contact information for the São Paulo Delta manager and informs us that a Delta representative will be waiting for us in São Paulo to escort us to the plane. In the meantime, Gol has cancelled the flight altogether and placed us on another airline that's German, so for some reason I'm confident it will leave at the scheduled 7:15 PM departure. It does and we arrive in São Paulo at around 8:30 PM.
We run to the baggage claim dodging customs lines because we were traveling within the country. When we get to baggage claim all 11 of us begin to gather our luggage while Meryl goes to find our Delta representative. One girl leaves to enjoy São Paulo and a few of us who have our luggage find Meryl stressed and alone. She said that we should just get to the check in as soon as possible so at least some of us can catch the flight because it's on the other side of the airport. So, Kate and I start running. We're in terminal E and Delta check-in is at terminal A. As I dodge luggage carts and baby strollers, I finally arrive at the check-in with Kate very close behind at approximately 9:10. I speak with someone about our flight and he immediately moves us to the front to speak with a service rep. The manager is right there behind her and I tell him the other 8 of us were still gathering luggage and they're right behind me. He says that they will be placed on an 11 PM flight that flies to NYC with a stopover in Atlanta, but Kate and I will be on this flight. As we are being handed our boarding passes, a girl from our group arrives and
asks what's up. I tell her that she needs to talk to the manager because I'm not sure if she's gonna make it on the 9:40 flight.
We are then assisted by a Delta rep who tells us that the only way to make it through the HUGE line at International departures is to feign an injury and be pushed in a wheel chair. Kate and I decide that Kate should do it. She gets in the wheel chair and is briefed on how she must act. Whatever happens, she cannot walk or they will make us wait in line. We bypassed the International departures entrance fairly easily with the help of our trusty wheelchair pusher (who speaks no English). Then, we get to security and the guy at the metal detector won't buy that she can't walk at all. "No puedo," Kate says in Spanish. Finally the Delta rep tells Kate that she can walk and assists Kate through the metal detector and back to her wheelchair. At this point, I've got both of our carry-ons placed on the x-ray conveyor and suddenly as my turn approaches, the metal detector breaks. I see Kate ahead of me sitting in the wheelchair with her back to me and I'm stuck. The crowd was too great to move to another line, and I felt like this would be the end. After about 3 minutes, though it seemed like an eternity, the man fixes the machine and I jump through the metal detector as quickly as possible.
As the Delta rep continues to push Kate in the wheelchair, I notice that security is no longer in sight. Kate looks up at me and says we should walk the rest of the way, and we muffle through words but clearly state, "caminar" (to walk). He asks us if we're sure and we confirm that we are. As Kate gets up we both agree that we should continue to milk it just in case people are walking. This whole time Kate has had this drugged-up look of sickness and pain on her face brilliantly playing her part of the invalid, but when we realize that our flight is supposed to leave any moment, we quickly pick up the pace and suddenly start running to the gate which is at the very end of the terminal.
We meet one girl there from our group who left much earlier in the day to catch the 11 PM flight to Atlanta because she was going home to Texas. We describe our trip and ask her to explain what happened to the others if they make it on that flight with her. I still don't know if they did or not. Well, we finally board our plan with this sigh of relief and elated giddiness in our hearts, not because we left our group behind, but because we can finally go home and no longer be stuck in an airport for hours and hours. We are not sitting near each other, so I go to find Kate at her seat on the plane and she sitting in the middle of the middle three seats between two really fat men.
She looks like a sardine and I can't help but laugh at the irony. Chalk it up to Karma she says. Fortunately, one of the large men's wife was sitting in a different seat and wanted to sit with him, so Kate was able to sit in the very last seat in the back of the plane.
My flight was pleasant, I got to see Blades of Glory and was hit on by the both flight attendants along my aisle: "What would you like to drink? There is a complimentary alcoholic beverage tonight: beer, wine, cocktails…" she trails off in her accented English.
"I'll have apple juice," I reply. "I don't drink alcohol."
"You don't? Are you married?"
"Uh…no."
"You are my perfect man? A man who doesn't drink." She gives me this look as though I'm Prince Charming and I sheepishly accept my apple juice and turn my iPod back on. (God bless earphones when you don't want to talk to someone).
Later, the other flight attendant comes by to pick up my trash and stops at me to have a little conversation. Crouching he says, "Where are you from?"
"Originally, Las Vegas, but I live in NYC now," I reply
"How long were you in Brazil?"
"Only three weeks. I was on a study abroad."
"So you weren't able to learn any Portuguese," replies the young Brazilian.
"I learned a few phrases: obrigado, tchau, so cu (and I give him 5 followed by some knuckle or a pound, or whatever people are calling it these days), com licensa (which I used abundantly in my
flight through the airport terminals), donde o banhero , voce é muito lindo, e tira a ruopa."
(Translation: thank you, bye, gimme some knuckle, excuse me, where's the bathroom, you're very handsome, and take your clothes off.)
Now, I realize the final two phrases are scandalous to say the least, but those were the phrases I learned, and I couldn't pass up my final opportunity to speak Portuguese.
He laughs and asks, "I bet those phrases came in very handy on your trip."
"Very!" Then I told him where I learned the last two phrases and we laughed.
Basically the rest of the flight found me very catered to. My marriage proposal flight attendant made me a breakfast cocktail of orange juice and cranberry juice that she prepared special for me since I don't drink, and the other one brought me water whenever I asked. My mom always said these looks would get me somewhere some day…thanks, Mom.
P.S. It turns out that 7 other girls were stuck in the airport overnight and caught a flight on Tam the next morning. Best of luck to those who wish to fly in Brazil, and all joking aside, the runways are a bit too short as we all learned from the tragic accident only a few days after my return from the country. I would suggest you find different means of travel once you get to the country should you choose to visit.
This blog will be long and excruciatingly detailed. I thought my Brazil logs were over when I sent out my last blog post, but unfortunately the plane ride alone is worthy of it's own blog.
Background: As I stated before, we were stuck in the São Paulo airport for the entire day on our trip to Rio from Porto Alegre. The airline we were traveling on is called Gol.
Jane has stayed behind to go to the Amazon along with many other students from the trip who are staying in Brazil for as long as they can. Eleven of us are scheduled to fly Gol at 4:10 PM to arrive in São Paulo at 5:20 PM. One girl is staying in São Paulo while the other ten of us are scheduled to fly Delta at 9:40 PM on a direct flight to NYC. Kate and I are discussing every possible way to get to NYC ASAP without having to deal with Gol. Before the bus came to take us to the airport we searched for direct flights from Rio to NYC, but to no avail, we were stuck on this Gol flight. According to the website updates, it was still scheduled to leave on time.
When we arrive at 2:45 or so, Kate and I immediately take our luggage and head for the line because we're used to it being fairly long. The other 9 trail behind and we all check in. The lady at the desk tells us the flight is delayed until 5:20 PM. While sitting at the gate, an announcement is made that the flight will be delayed until 6:30 PM. We're now getting nervous and Meryl (the girl who kept Gol on their toes the last time we were stuck in the airport) goes to speak with someone who speaks English to tell them that we need to get to São Paulo in time to catch out flight. We're told that we will arrive by 7:40 with just enough time to get to our flight. Within in just moments another announcement comes over the loudspeaker explaining that the plane will not be arriving in Rio until 7:40. No weather issues, no excuses…the flight is delayed indefinitely. We're sitting, by the way, in a terminal straight out of 1972 with formica chairs and retro grime stuck in every crevice since the place was built. Meryl goes to speak with a manager. The Gol manager has no remorse nor desire to help, so Meryl asks to speak with Delta to make them aware of our plight. The Rio Delta manager gives us contact information for the São Paulo Delta manager and informs us that a Delta representative will be waiting for us in São Paulo to escort us to the plane. In the meantime, Gol has cancelled the flight altogether and placed us on another airline that's German, so for some reason I'm confident it will leave at the scheduled 7:15 PM departure. It does and we arrive in São Paulo at around 8:30 PM.
We run to the baggage claim dodging customs lines because we were traveling within the country. When we get to baggage claim all 11 of us begin to gather our luggage while Meryl goes to find our Delta representative. One girl leaves to enjoy São Paulo and a few of us who have our luggage find Meryl stressed and alone. She said that we should just get to the check in as soon as possible so at least some of us can catch the flight because it's on the other side of the airport. So, Kate and I start running. We're in terminal E and Delta check-in is at terminal A. As I dodge luggage carts and baby strollers, I finally arrive at the check-in with Kate very close behind at approximately 9:10. I speak with someone about our flight and he immediately moves us to the front to speak with a service rep. The manager is right there behind her and I tell him the other 8 of us were still gathering luggage and they're right behind me. He says that they will be placed on an 11 PM flight that flies to NYC with a stopover in Atlanta, but Kate and I will be on this flight. As we are being handed our boarding passes, a girl from our group arrives and
asks what's up. I tell her that she needs to talk to the manager because I'm not sure if she's gonna make it on the 9:40 flight.
We are then assisted by a Delta rep who tells us that the only way to make it through the HUGE line at International departures is to feign an injury and be pushed in a wheel chair. Kate and I decide that Kate should do it. She gets in the wheel chair and is briefed on how she must act. Whatever happens, she cannot walk or they will make us wait in line. We bypassed the International departures entrance fairly easily with the help of our trusty wheelchair pusher (who speaks no English). Then, we get to security and the guy at the metal detector won't buy that she can't walk at all. "No puedo," Kate says in Spanish. Finally the Delta rep tells Kate that she can walk and assists Kate through the metal detector and back to her wheelchair. At this point, I've got both of our carry-ons placed on the x-ray conveyor and suddenly as my turn approaches, the metal detector breaks. I see Kate ahead of me sitting in the wheelchair with her back to me and I'm stuck. The crowd was too great to move to another line, and I felt like this would be the end. After about 3 minutes, though it seemed like an eternity, the man fixes the machine and I jump through the metal detector as quickly as possible.
As the Delta rep continues to push Kate in the wheelchair, I notice that security is no longer in sight. Kate looks up at me and says we should walk the rest of the way, and we muffle through words but clearly state, "caminar" (to walk). He asks us if we're sure and we confirm that we are. As Kate gets up we both agree that we should continue to milk it just in case people are walking. This whole time Kate has had this drugged-up look of sickness and pain on her face brilliantly playing her part of the invalid, but when we realize that our flight is supposed to leave any moment, we quickly pick up the pace and suddenly start running to the gate which is at the very end of the terminal.
We meet one girl there from our group who left much earlier in the day to catch the 11 PM flight to Atlanta because she was going home to Texas. We describe our trip and ask her to explain what happened to the others if they make it on that flight with her. I still don't know if they did or not. Well, we finally board our plan with this sigh of relief and elated giddiness in our hearts, not because we left our group behind, but because we can finally go home and no longer be stuck in an airport for hours and hours. We are not sitting near each other, so I go to find Kate at her seat on the plane and she sitting in the middle of the middle three seats between two really fat men.
She looks like a sardine and I can't help but laugh at the irony. Chalk it up to Karma she says. Fortunately, one of the large men's wife was sitting in a different seat and wanted to sit with him, so Kate was able to sit in the very last seat in the back of the plane.
My flight was pleasant, I got to see Blades of Glory and was hit on by the both flight attendants along my aisle: "What would you like to drink? There is a complimentary alcoholic beverage tonight: beer, wine, cocktails…" she trails off in her accented English.
"I'll have apple juice," I reply. "I don't drink alcohol."
"You don't? Are you married?"
"Uh…no."
"You are my perfect man? A man who doesn't drink." She gives me this look as though I'm Prince Charming and I sheepishly accept my apple juice and turn my iPod back on. (God bless earphones when you don't want to talk to someone).
Later, the other flight attendant comes by to pick up my trash and stops at me to have a little conversation. Crouching he says, "Where are you from?"
"Originally, Las Vegas, but I live in NYC now," I reply
"How long were you in Brazil?"
"Only three weeks. I was on a study abroad."
"So you weren't able to learn any Portuguese," replies the young Brazilian.
"I learned a few phrases: obrigado, tchau, so cu (and I give him 5 followed by some knuckle or a pound, or whatever people are calling it these days), com licensa (which I used abundantly in my
flight through the airport terminals), donde o banhero , voce é muito lindo, e tira a ruopa."
(Translation: thank you, bye, gimme some knuckle, excuse me, where's the bathroom, you're very handsome, and take your clothes off.)
Now, I realize the final two phrases are scandalous to say the least, but those were the phrases I learned, and I couldn't pass up my final opportunity to speak Portuguese.
He laughs and asks, "I bet those phrases came in very handy on your trip."
"Very!" Then I told him where I learned the last two phrases and we laughed.
Basically the rest of the flight found me very catered to. My marriage proposal flight attendant made me a breakfast cocktail of orange juice and cranberry juice that she prepared special for me since I don't drink, and the other one brought me water whenever I asked. My mom always said these looks would get me somewhere some day…thanks, Mom.
P.S. It turns out that 7 other girls were stuck in the airport overnight and caught a flight on Tam the next morning. Best of luck to those who wish to fly in Brazil, and all joking aside, the runways are a bit too short as we all learned from the tragic accident only a few days after my return from the country. I would suggest you find different means of travel once you get to the country should you choose to visit.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Brazil Part 3
This is my third and final e-mail since I leave Saturday night for NYC to return on Sunday morning. Airlines have been a bit crazy lately, so it's probably pretty tentative when I actually get home :-)
Friday night we went to this club with live music and three floors of rooms to enjoy, and it was a really cool place. Each section of every room highlighted some sort of object such as telephones, cash registers, tools, trays, etc. They were placed on the walls or in display cases as decoration. Outside was the main party strip in Rio where several bars, clubs and restaurants are filled with people and music. There was a main stage on the ground floor with a great band, but the dance area was a bit limited. Another floor had another live band playing and there was a much larger dance floor so a group of us danced there for most of the time since it was hopping. We got there pretty early, and stayed until nearly 1 AM soaking it all in. That was enough club for me though...I had to hand wash the cigarette smoke off of my clothes later that night. The club was very open though, much different than any club I've ever been to in America. There were open windows and open ceilings everywhere.
Saturday night was probably the coolest night here in Rio. We went to the Live Earth concert. There were 8 cities around the world hosting a concert on all 7 continents including Antarctica (the scientists there put together a band to play their own little concert) in order to raise awareness for global warming. It was so packed with close to a million people, so we snuck around the beach side of the concert and watched from the side. There Pharrell, Macy Gray, and Lenny Kravitz performed along with several other Brazilian performers inclidung O Rappa, who the crowd cheered for the most. Pharrell was awful! He's a recording artist and not a live performer I guess, and the fact that he called the audience mother f@%&ers about 15 times really made the whole experience not such a delight. Macy Gray was cool, sexy and smooth. I enjoyed her the most. Lenny was Lenny and rocked the house. People enjoyed him, but they were dancing and throwing hands in the air mostly for O Rappa.
One of the girls in my group is getting married shortly after her return from Brazil, so all the girls decided they wanted to throw her a Bachelorette party at a nice restaurant near the hotel. Since I was the only guy available that night, they wanted to invite me as well, and you know me, I can't resist a party. An hour or so before the event, I received a phone call from one of the party planners asking me to make her a man...for some reason I assumed that she wanted to dress as a man or have male clothes, so I said I'd see what I could do and to drop on by. She knocks on my door with a big poster board and asks me to draw a man so she could play pin the speedo on the hot stud. My artisitc ability leaves much to be desired, but I decided to accept the challenge. (check out the picture). There were 19 girls and me, and we had delicious food and played Pictionary with wedding related terms and another game with clay that you'll have to ask me in person or on the phone to describe so as to avoid a scandalous e-mail ;-). The best part of the whole event was the waiters who stripped for the girls after dinner was over, and even made out with one of the girls (not the bride to be).
I have spent much more time at the beach of course and my tan is slowly developing. It's been way too long since I've actually gotten sun, that my skin is working very slowly. I'm still the whitest guy on the beach most of the time. One increasingly annoying feature of Brazilian beaches is the presence of hundreds of vendors that walk up and down the beach selling sarongs, beer, sodas, ices, hats, shirts, etc. I'm not familiar with all beaches in the world, but I do remember last year in Italy this was not the case, so my suntanning is frequently interrupted by people in my face or blocking my sun while pushing their product. I did get my spidey tattoo this way, but now with the Pan-American games here, they've increased by hundreds more. In fact, at our final dinner inside a restaurant and several blocks away from the beach, this vendor came by the large window trying to sell us these zip-up purses. He was relentless.
This morning, as I was walking, I noticed this American walking with two other guys with a soccer ball in his hand. He was tossing it up a little bit and accidentally dropped it in front of this street cleaner who immediately caught it with his foot, dribbled it like a pro and knee-bumped it right back to the American's hands. The look of shock on the American's face was priceless. EVERY guy in Brazil can play soccer. Several of my classmates went to a game the other day and when they got back, we laughed about how much testosterone they had to bear while they were there. However, they were fortunate to learn every profane expletive that exists in Portuguese.
Last night my friend Jane and I performed our YouTube-worthy Karaoke song for the entire study abroad group to tears and laughter. The funniest part was that the restaurant had 3 South Africans, and a crazy Brazilian who spoke English only in idiomatic expressions. So, we started the song, (we brought speakers and an iPod), and after the first line, he yells out, "Oh, I want to DIE!" with an expression of, "What torture are they putting us through?" It almost threw me off my
game. Fortunately, we got it all on video, and as soon as I upload it, it will be available on YouTube.
Friday night we went to this club with live music and three floors of rooms to enjoy, and it was a really cool place. Each section of every room highlighted some sort of object such as telephones, cash registers, tools, trays, etc. They were placed on the walls or in display cases as decoration. Outside was the main party strip in Rio where several bars, clubs and restaurants are filled with people and music. There was a main stage on the ground floor with a great band, but the dance area was a bit limited. Another floor had another live band playing and there was a much larger dance floor so a group of us danced there for most of the time since it was hopping. We got there pretty early, and stayed until nearly 1 AM soaking it all in. That was enough club for me though...I had to hand wash the cigarette smoke off of my clothes later that night. The club was very open though, much different than any club I've ever been to in America. There were open windows and open ceilings everywhere.
Saturday night was probably the coolest night here in Rio. We went to the Live Earth concert. There were 8 cities around the world hosting a concert on all 7 continents including Antarctica (the scientists there put together a band to play their own little concert) in order to raise awareness for global warming. It was so packed with close to a million people, so we snuck around the beach side of the concert and watched from the side. There Pharrell, Macy Gray, and Lenny Kravitz performed along with several other Brazilian performers inclidung O Rappa, who the crowd cheered for the most. Pharrell was awful! He's a recording artist and not a live performer I guess, and the fact that he called the audience mother f@%&ers about 15 times really made the whole experience not such a delight. Macy Gray was cool, sexy and smooth. I enjoyed her the most. Lenny was Lenny and rocked the house. People enjoyed him, but they were dancing and throwing hands in the air mostly for O Rappa.
One of the girls in my group is getting married shortly after her return from Brazil, so all the girls decided they wanted to throw her a Bachelorette party at a nice restaurant near the hotel. Since I was the only guy available that night, they wanted to invite me as well, and you know me, I can't resist a party. An hour or so before the event, I received a phone call from one of the party planners asking me to make her a man...for some reason I assumed that she wanted to dress as a man or have male clothes, so I said I'd see what I could do and to drop on by. She knocks on my door with a big poster board and asks me to draw a man so she could play pin the speedo on the hot stud. My artisitc ability leaves much to be desired, but I decided to accept the challenge. (check out the picture). There were 19 girls and me, and we had delicious food and played Pictionary with wedding related terms and another game with clay that you'll have to ask me in person or on the phone to describe so as to avoid a scandalous e-mail ;-). The best part of the whole event was the waiters who stripped for the girls after dinner was over, and even made out with one of the girls (not the bride to be).
I have spent much more time at the beach of course and my tan is slowly developing. It's been way too long since I've actually gotten sun, that my skin is working very slowly. I'm still the whitest guy on the beach most of the time. One increasingly annoying feature of Brazilian beaches is the presence of hundreds of vendors that walk up and down the beach selling sarongs, beer, sodas, ices, hats, shirts, etc. I'm not familiar with all beaches in the world, but I do remember last year in Italy this was not the case, so my suntanning is frequently interrupted by people in my face or blocking my sun while pushing their product. I did get my spidey tattoo this way, but now with the Pan-American games here, they've increased by hundreds more. In fact, at our final dinner inside a restaurant and several blocks away from the beach, this vendor came by the large window trying to sell us these zip-up purses. He was relentless.
This morning, as I was walking, I noticed this American walking with two other guys with a soccer ball in his hand. He was tossing it up a little bit and accidentally dropped it in front of this street cleaner who immediately caught it with his foot, dribbled it like a pro and knee-bumped it right back to the American's hands. The look of shock on the American's face was priceless. EVERY guy in Brazil can play soccer. Several of my classmates went to a game the other day and when they got back, we laughed about how much testosterone they had to bear while they were there. However, they were fortunate to learn every profane expletive that exists in Portuguese.
Last night my friend Jane and I performed our YouTube-worthy Karaoke song for the entire study abroad group to tears and laughter. The funniest part was that the restaurant had 3 South Africans, and a crazy Brazilian who spoke English only in idiomatic expressions. So, we started the song, (we brought speakers and an iPod), and after the first line, he yells out, "Oh, I want to DIE!" with an expression of, "What torture are they putting us through?" It almost threw me off my
game. Fortunately, we got it all on video, and as soon as I upload it, it will be available on YouTube.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
The adventure continues
Are you ready for another installment of Dan does Brazil? This week's episode finds me in Rio de Janeiro!!! Thank you to those who complimented my amazing Portuguese. A week later, I'm proud to say I can do more than ask where the bathroom is and tell someone to take his clothes off.
Preface: I came to Brazil with 22 other NYU students and 3 professors (one brought his daughter). One professor left with his daughter after Porto Alegre, leaving us as a group of 25 – 22 + me + 2 professors (F and G). Of the 22, 3 others are from my program: M, J and K, and only one other student is male. This is important as I will mention names this e-mail so now you have a point of reference. J and I have hit it off amazingly well. Our personalities mesh very well, and though we've attempted to avoid being cliquey or exclusive, I'll admit we've spent an abundant amount of time together.
Before we left Porto Alegre, we had one final dinner with everyone in the group and some of F's family because he's from Porto Alegre. It was a great night with way too much eating and drinking, but still lots of fun. My camera is waterproof up to ten feet, and no one believed me, so I filled a large glass with water dipped my camera in to show everyone at my table that it still worked. They all were shocked and appalled that I would do such a thing, and I was so amused that I decided to play a prank on my professor, F. I walked over to his table with my friend J as my accomplice. I was holding the camera while she brought the large glass of water and placed it on the table next to him without him realizing it. I came up to him asking to take a photo with him and then "accidentally" dropped the camera in the glass of water. Everyone at the table screamed! It was hilarious…I took the camera out trying to calm everyone down saying it's okay, but they were all so shocked that they didn't know what to do (I have a picture of F's brother with the most disheartened and flabbergasted look on his face which I'll gladly share). So, I dropped the camera in again and the entire table screamed again and looked at me as though I'd gone insane. I therefore couldn't resist dropping it in again just to see if the scream would be as loud.
After the third time, F made me stop because he almost had a heart attack thinking I'd ruined my camera. I love practical jokes.
Airport Hell: Cold, redundant Porto Alegre left the entire crew wanting for sunny Rio, so we all hopped into the van at 6:30 Saturday morning in order to catch our direct flight at 8 AM out of the town and into Rio within about 2 hours. When we arrived at the airport we waited in line for nearly an hour to discover that our flight to Rio was cancelled, so they'd redirect us on a flight around 10 AM to Sao Paulo and then to Rio from there. (geography lesson: that's like flying from Chicago to New York through Texas). So in our elation we drudged our tired bodies to the waiting area to sleep and wait on airport-comfortable benches. When we finally got to Sao Paulo, our connecting flight, which was supposed to leave at 2:30, was cancelled as well. So, we were pushed to another flight leaving at 9 PM. The wait was excruciating, as I'm sure you all can imagine, but fortunately I had Jane. We arrived in Rio around midnight, exhausted and bitter toward airports. We told everyone that we got to Rio from Porto Alegre and it only took 2 Brazilian hours.
J and I decided in Porto Alegre that we wanted to go to a Karaoke place, but never got around to it. In our desire we decided to practice a duet that we could sing together at a Karaoke place just to pass away the time. So, I went online to research the worst duets of all time and narrowed it down to about 5, and I downloaded them onto my iPod. Now, in the airport J and I needed to fill our time with something, so we chose one of the songs to practice. We have spent the entire week in our free time practicing our choreography and harmonies. Don't worry, we're going to record it when we perform it and post it on YouTube for the whole world to see.
Rio is extremely beautiful and all the beaches are open to the public. Our hotel is a block from the CopaCabana beach and about a 15-minute walk to Ipanema (yes, being surrounded by women, I've sung "the girl from Ipanema" about 100 times, and I only know 2 lines). We visited Sugar Loaf (two tall mountains/hills on the edge of Rio with beautiful views of the ocean and the city). I've been soaking up the sun's rays since we got here and literally spent 6.5 hours at the beach on Friday and about 4 hours on Saturday. J, K, and I have become excellent body surfers. When we time the waves just right, it's smooth sailing all the way to the shore. I've got the most incredible picture J took of me sailing right in on a wave. It's worth all the sand in places sand shouldn't be for that wave alone. Gotta love the beach!
On the fourth of July there were no fireworks, but Jane and I marched up to the roof where the hotel has a pool and a place to party singing the national anthem and waving mini American flags. We swam in the pool and played chicken fights in blow up donuts while chatting and taking pictures galore. I brought my camera along and dropped it in the pool (it's also shock proof) just to give F another little jolt. Needless to say, I'm becoming the prankster everyone wishes was not so mischievous. *devilish grin*
The week was spent visiting schools and attending lectures. This week hasn't been as eventful as Porto Alegre or admittedly as moving. But it has been slightly unnerving. We visited a high school that was literally like a prison. The whole place was concrete and nothing was posted on the walls in the classrooms. They all had fans in each room because there was no A/C. The teachers were dressed like they were going to the beach, and the students wandered from classroom to classroom with no discipline whatsoever. It was interesting to see an example of what doesn't work.
We also visited a free school where students in favelas (Brazilian shantytowns) could go to learn a trade. They teach languages (Spanish, English, and Portuguese), computers, and arts. In the Arts school they teach students how to make costumes and stage scenery, and to put on make up for TV, film, or the stage. After their schooling, they find jobs in theaters and TV studios all over the city. I was extremely impressed with the Carneval costumes all over and the frames
welded for floats in the Carneval parade.
Preface: I came to Brazil with 22 other NYU students and 3 professors (one brought his daughter). One professor left with his daughter after Porto Alegre, leaving us as a group of 25 – 22 + me + 2 professors (F and G). Of the 22, 3 others are from my program: M, J and K, and only one other student is male. This is important as I will mention names this e-mail so now you have a point of reference. J and I have hit it off amazingly well. Our personalities mesh very well, and though we've attempted to avoid being cliquey or exclusive, I'll admit we've spent an abundant amount of time together.
Before we left Porto Alegre, we had one final dinner with everyone in the group and some of F's family because he's from Porto Alegre. It was a great night with way too much eating and drinking, but still lots of fun. My camera is waterproof up to ten feet, and no one believed me, so I filled a large glass with water dipped my camera in to show everyone at my table that it still worked. They all were shocked and appalled that I would do such a thing, and I was so amused that I decided to play a prank on my professor, F. I walked over to his table with my friend J as my accomplice. I was holding the camera while she brought the large glass of water and placed it on the table next to him without him realizing it. I came up to him asking to take a photo with him and then "accidentally" dropped the camera in the glass of water. Everyone at the table screamed! It was hilarious…I took the camera out trying to calm everyone down saying it's okay, but they were all so shocked that they didn't know what to do (I have a picture of F's brother with the most disheartened and flabbergasted look on his face which I'll gladly share). So, I dropped the camera in again and the entire table screamed again and looked at me as though I'd gone insane. I therefore couldn't resist dropping it in again just to see if the scream would be as loud.
After the third time, F made me stop because he almost had a heart attack thinking I'd ruined my camera. I love practical jokes.
Airport Hell: Cold, redundant Porto Alegre left the entire crew wanting for sunny Rio, so we all hopped into the van at 6:30 Saturday morning in order to catch our direct flight at 8 AM out of the town and into Rio within about 2 hours. When we arrived at the airport we waited in line for nearly an hour to discover that our flight to Rio was cancelled, so they'd redirect us on a flight around 10 AM to Sao Paulo and then to Rio from there. (geography lesson: that's like flying from Chicago to New York through Texas). So in our elation we drudged our tired bodies to the waiting area to sleep and wait on airport-comfortable benches. When we finally got to Sao Paulo, our connecting flight, which was supposed to leave at 2:30, was cancelled as well. So, we were pushed to another flight leaving at 9 PM. The wait was excruciating, as I'm sure you all can imagine, but fortunately I had Jane. We arrived in Rio around midnight, exhausted and bitter toward airports. We told everyone that we got to Rio from Porto Alegre and it only took 2 Brazilian hours.
J and I decided in Porto Alegre that we wanted to go to a Karaoke place, but never got around to it. In our desire we decided to practice a duet that we could sing together at a Karaoke place just to pass away the time. So, I went online to research the worst duets of all time and narrowed it down to about 5, and I downloaded them onto my iPod. Now, in the airport J and I needed to fill our time with something, so we chose one of the songs to practice. We have spent the entire week in our free time practicing our choreography and harmonies. Don't worry, we're going to record it when we perform it and post it on YouTube for the whole world to see.
Rio is extremely beautiful and all the beaches are open to the public. Our hotel is a block from the CopaCabana beach and about a 15-minute walk to Ipanema (yes, being surrounded by women, I've sung "the girl from Ipanema" about 100 times, and I only know 2 lines). We visited Sugar Loaf (two tall mountains/hills on the edge of Rio with beautiful views of the ocean and the city). I've been soaking up the sun's rays since we got here and literally spent 6.5 hours at the beach on Friday and about 4 hours on Saturday. J, K, and I have become excellent body surfers. When we time the waves just right, it's smooth sailing all the way to the shore. I've got the most incredible picture J took of me sailing right in on a wave. It's worth all the sand in places sand shouldn't be for that wave alone. Gotta love the beach!
On the fourth of July there were no fireworks, but Jane and I marched up to the roof where the hotel has a pool and a place to party singing the national anthem and waving mini American flags. We swam in the pool and played chicken fights in blow up donuts while chatting and taking pictures galore. I brought my camera along and dropped it in the pool (it's also shock proof) just to give F another little jolt. Needless to say, I'm becoming the prankster everyone wishes was not so mischievous. *devilish grin*
The week was spent visiting schools and attending lectures. This week hasn't been as eventful as Porto Alegre or admittedly as moving. But it has been slightly unnerving. We visited a high school that was literally like a prison. The whole place was concrete and nothing was posted on the walls in the classrooms. They all had fans in each room because there was no A/C. The teachers were dressed like they were going to the beach, and the students wandered from classroom to classroom with no discipline whatsoever. It was interesting to see an example of what doesn't work.
We also visited a free school where students in favelas (Brazilian shantytowns) could go to learn a trade. They teach languages (Spanish, English, and Portuguese), computers, and arts. In the Arts school they teach students how to make costumes and stage scenery, and to put on make up for TV, film, or the stage. After their schooling, they find jobs in theaters and TV studios all over the city. I was extremely impressed with the Carneval costumes all over and the frames
welded for floats in the Carneval parade.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
My adventure begins
So, it all started with a fairly simple plain ride to Sao Paulo. It was an overnight flight, so I slept most of the way. Once we got to Brazil, the delay was in the flight to Porto Alegre (it's in the very south of Brazil). We arrived around 4:30 and after unloading our stuff and checking in we went to a grocery store to grab some food and things to keep in our fridges in our rooms. Everyone has a roommate except me because the only other guy on the trip opted to pay the extra for the single room leaving me in a single room without having to pay extra. ☺ Anyway, at the grocery store, as we were leaving, we were all in the van that was rented to drive us around and these two guys walked by one of which caught the attention of several girls on the bus who yelled some "woohoo"s and "ow ow"s out the window at him. He turns and starts blowing kisses and drawing air-hearts and as soon as the professor returned so we could leave they asked him how to say, "take your clothes off" in Portuguese. So, that's one of the first phrases I learned. :-)
That night we went to this buffet style pizza place where they keep bringing out different kinds of pizzas and give you a slice if youwant to eat it. After the dinner pizzas were the desert pizzas, and they were DELICIOUS. My favorite was painted with chocolate and topped with fresh strawberries. I was also introduced to a very delicious drink called guaranà. It tastes a little like gingerale with a hint of strawberry or some other fruity flavor. Maybe it's most like a shirley temple, but a little sweeter. Guaranà is a fruit. The label mentions nothing of caffeine, so I felt there was no harm in drinking it especially when I discovered guaranà zero was just as delicious, so I began to drink it like water. Two days later I came down with the worst diarrhea right when we got to a preschool in the outskirts of the town. Three times in 2 hours I visited the restroom and on the 3rd time they directed me to my own private stall. The embarrassment continued to mount as the LBM issues continued for the next three days. I avoided dairy altogether drugged up on Immodium, pepto and tums, but still couldn't kick the problem until one of my other professors tells me that guaranà is loaded with caffeine and probably wouldn't be good for my bowel issues. Basically, this drink is a much better tasting Red Bull. I immediately quit drinking it and suddenly returned to normal…but I did have to suffer through the caffeine withdrawal headaches…it was a veritable Mormon detox. Don't worry, Mom…I survived ;-)
Porto Alegre is not like most of Brazil. It's a bit more liberal and much more politically active than the rest of the country. We visited schools and programs that were very indicative of this fact, but one in particular I would like to share. An old factory that made corks for wine bottles was converted into an art gallery for people to browse for free. All of the art is politically driven and right on the outside is a very tall tower (probably about 500 feet tall) that every year on AIDS day they wrap in a very large condom to make a statement about safe sex. I don't know how they get it on, but Fernando (the Brazilian professor in charge of our program) tells us it's really made of rubber because he touched it one year.
I've wasn't quite livin' it up down in Porto Alegre. It was kinda like being in Provo, UT with no car. There's not much to do at night, and nothing is in walking distance from the hotel. Also, it's close to 40 degrees and all I brought was beachwear. We were originally told to bring a light jacket cause it might be cold, after all it is winter down here, but none of us were prepared for the need for scarves and gloves.
Fortunately, everything I got to see was worth the trip. The poverty level in the country is immense but there are amazing programs for turning that around, and some incredibly driven and courageous people who started them. One in particular started a recycling program collecting all the recycling materials from the city and sorting them to be taken to recycling centers. The money raised goes to the women who work there and to programs for educating those women and their children. Most of these women were prostitutes who were taken out of their situation in order to learn to be strong women instead of weak and subservient to men. It was a very moving and inspiring visit.
That night we went to this buffet style pizza place where they keep bringing out different kinds of pizzas and give you a slice if youwant to eat it. After the dinner pizzas were the desert pizzas, and they were DELICIOUS. My favorite was painted with chocolate and topped with fresh strawberries. I was also introduced to a very delicious drink called guaranà. It tastes a little like gingerale with a hint of strawberry or some other fruity flavor. Maybe it's most like a shirley temple, but a little sweeter. Guaranà is a fruit. The label mentions nothing of caffeine, so I felt there was no harm in drinking it especially when I discovered guaranà zero was just as delicious, so I began to drink it like water. Two days later I came down with the worst diarrhea right when we got to a preschool in the outskirts of the town. Three times in 2 hours I visited the restroom and on the 3rd time they directed me to my own private stall. The embarrassment continued to mount as the LBM issues continued for the next three days. I avoided dairy altogether drugged up on Immodium, pepto and tums, but still couldn't kick the problem until one of my other professors tells me that guaranà is loaded with caffeine and probably wouldn't be good for my bowel issues. Basically, this drink is a much better tasting Red Bull. I immediately quit drinking it and suddenly returned to normal…but I did have to suffer through the caffeine withdrawal headaches…it was a veritable Mormon detox. Don't worry, Mom…I survived ;-)
Porto Alegre is not like most of Brazil. It's a bit more liberal and much more politically active than the rest of the country. We visited schools and programs that were very indicative of this fact, but one in particular I would like to share. An old factory that made corks for wine bottles was converted into an art gallery for people to browse for free. All of the art is politically driven and right on the outside is a very tall tower (probably about 500 feet tall) that every year on AIDS day they wrap in a very large condom to make a statement about safe sex. I don't know how they get it on, but Fernando (the Brazilian professor in charge of our program) tells us it's really made of rubber because he touched it one year.
I've wasn't quite livin' it up down in Porto Alegre. It was kinda like being in Provo, UT with no car. There's not much to do at night, and nothing is in walking distance from the hotel. Also, it's close to 40 degrees and all I brought was beachwear. We were originally told to bring a light jacket cause it might be cold, after all it is winter down here, but none of us were prepared for the need for scarves and gloves.
Fortunately, everything I got to see was worth the trip. The poverty level in the country is immense but there are amazing programs for turning that around, and some incredibly driven and courageous people who started them. One in particular started a recycling program collecting all the recycling materials from the city and sorting them to be taken to recycling centers. The money raised goes to the women who work there and to programs for educating those women and their children. Most of these women were prostitutes who were taken out of their situation in order to learn to be strong women instead of weak and subservient to men. It was a very moving and inspiring visit.
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