Well, it has been just over a week and a half since I arrived in Brazil and I already feel at home. Apparently in Brazil, you dont even think of going to the bars or clubs until 1am and the party dont stop until the sun rises.
One our third in Brazil, me and Cameron took a 7hr bus to Belo Horizante to stay for a week with camerons friend Joao. Joao lived with his mom and brother as most Brazilians live with their family. They had a great apartment on the 10th floor of this massive complex and were very hospitaable. Joao took us on numerious tours around town, and to Oreo Puerto where 1/2 of the worlds gold was mined back in the mid 18th century. It is a picturesc colonial town with breathtaking vistas and amazing churches that were very ornate and covered with gold. We went out a couple of nights in Belo Horizante and had a good time. Everybody smokes cigarets here, and smoking is allowed everywhere. People here are more laid back than in Mexico, and the standard of living is higher. That being said, there are tons of poor people everywhere, but they really dont hassle you too much. The flavelas are massive, but are best viewed from a distance. So far i have found the hype of violence and crime in Brazil to be just that. Remember, the media thrives on sensationalsim, often times reality is more boring than what you see, hear, or read.
I am now in Franca, which is a city in Sao Paulo state to see my friend
Pauls wedding. They have a nice house in the country 15minutes outside of town. Me and Cameron have been crashing at their place, which is ajoined to his wive's family home. Me and Cameron have been treated very well here. They feed us 5 times a day and load us up with booze every night. The wedding is this evening and something like 200+ people will be there. After
this wedding, me and Cameron will go to Florianopolis to do some surfing and chillin on the beach. Florianopolis is a very popular holiday destination for Brazilians and Argentines, so Florinopilis is completely booked up and
rather pricy. Either way, we are going to wing it. I think Cameron has a friend from Argentina that has a house rented on the beach where me and Cameron can crash. We have about 9 days down there, then it is a 18hr bus ride to Rio, to Samba all week for Carnival. After Carnival, Cameron meets up with his friend Jessica (also from Dallas) and we go to Sao Paulo for a few days until we catch our flight to Montevideo, Uruguay.
Also, I think I may have found a job in Barquisimeto, Venezuela teaching
english. The job will last 10 months. If I get this job, then it will be a
little over a year before i return home, but the experience of teaching and
learning spanish will be very valuable to my development and overall goals.
I am weary of such a long term assignment, especially if the town sucks. But why not, it seems like a good opportunity. The job is being lined up through AIESEC. It will start at the 1st of March, so if I want to see Patagonia before I start work, I will have to book it down there.
Sorry for not loading any pictures onto the site. I have been having a hard time getting them up there. They seem to take 4 ever to load on the page, and by that time someone else wants to use the computer, so until I get this shit straight, yall will have to settle for written accounts.
Peace!