Hello everybody!
Sorry it has taken so long to update, this has been a very hectic week for me. I had had to write 4 papers, take 2 exams and do a presentation.

Brazil was, in a nutshell, “crazy”. Carnival was going on the entire time that we were there, so we didn’t get to do a lot of the “touristy” stuff because the whole city pretty much closes down.
The weather in Salvador (Brazil’s capital city) was really hot….it is very humid there and for the most part, it was pretty sunny. Additionally, the city is very dirty. The first thing that I saw when I got off of the boat was a dead black mouse, also, people urinate everywhere….I saw this throughout my entire stay in Brazil…Because it is carnival, there are porto- potties everywhere and this still did not help with the public urination problem.
Brazil (as with any other country) can also be a bit dangerous…especially for tourists who aren’t careful. On our first day there, a group of girls were robbed at knife point….their cameras and wallets were taken, but aside from being shaken up, they were ok. Not to make Brazil seem all bad…..we had a lot of fun here, I just don’t have many pics to show because I hardly ever took my camera…….a decision I really regret!

Day one:
Upon getting off the boat, we were greeted by wonderful live music and Brazilian women who were dressed in very elaborate traditional costumes. They gave each of us a “wish bracelet”….these bracelets are given as gifts all over Brazil…once they are around your wrist they are tied in 3 knots. You are supposed to make a wish for each of the knots and then let the bracelet fall off on its own. When that happens, your wishes will come true.
We then made our way to the Mercado Modello. We did some shopping and had lunch…a strange shrimp stew type of dish with beans and rice. We were also able to watch some capoeira dancers. Capoeira is a type of martial art from Africa that had to be disguised as a dance when the people of Africa were brought across the Atlantic and enslaved. It is really neat to watch. On the back side of the market are more venders trying to sell their wares…As we browsed around looking at the various things, we were approached by some traditionally dressed barefoot women who took our hands and wrapped them around the beads that they wore around their necks………they began saying some kind of prayers or blessings and then tried to hand us some small wooden chips from inside of their coin purses…we didn’t want to accept them, and the women became were very aggressive insisting that we take them and then pay them money. This was really scary because they were speaking in Portuguese with elevated tones and I surely didn’t want to pay these women any money….Finally my roommate gave the women a $5 bill but they still wanted more…I refused to pay and finally the women walked away angry- then I was scared that they had put a curse on me and so I had to say my prayers!
I didn’t end up going out on day 1 so I returned to the ship and got some much needed rest.


Day two
On day two, we went to a different market in the upper part of town…you can either take the elevator (a huge elevator that takes people from the lower city to the upper city…it costs one “real” which is the currency in Brazil. One real is equivalent to about .50 US. ) or taking a taxi, which is what we did. We got to do some more shopping and seeing the city. Brazil has beautiful architecture the buildings are all really beautiful, but also extremely run down….everywhere you looked you saw broken windows, chipped paint, and crumbling walls. The upper city is where a lot of the Carnival action happens. The clean up crew does a pretty good job of cleaning up the garbage from the previous night’s festivities-which is good because it gets really dirty! While we were shopping we got stuck in a massive rain storm and had to take shelter underneath a woman’s dress…….actually it was a huge umbrella that looked like a woman’s dress. It was really funny! In the evening, we went to Baha, another city in Brazil where carnival is celebrated. Baha reminded me of the Taste of Colorado a little bit. There were vendors everywhere selling food, crafts, and beer…..SKULL is the official beer in Brazil….I don’t like beer, but this one wasn’t that bad! I also bought some good .25 earrings….they are really pretty for only a quarter!
Later we made our way back to the upper city and went to a reggae club where we met a local named Zek. He was really nice and he danced with us all night long….he seemed to get along really well with Greg and Sam (two guy friends of mine). Outside the club we were waiting for some of the group to use the bathrooms and this little boy dressed in a huge baggy t shirt and sunglasses came up to us….we thought he wanted money, but instead he just started dancing with us and showing us all his moves. He was really funny. He couldn’t have been more than 9 years old. He had no shoes on and was clearly very poor. We danced with him for a while and then when it was time to go we gave him some of our extra cash. He looked surprised, but accepted it and gave us the “thumbs up” sign, in Brazil the “ok” sign is equivalent to the “F” word!

Day three:
We kind of wasted the day today. We woke up late and then went to lay out on the pool deck. We were able to catch a few rays before coming in for lunch…later on in the evening we met in the union of the ship to get ready for our carnival experience. We were participating in the Afros Blocos Carnival. The Afros Blocos are traditionally an African group which represents each year in the Carnival parade. We were given traditional costumes, which were blue and white and very authentic…….they were kind of funny, we had to wear little bennie caps with red feathers sticking out. We danced all night long in the parade to some great African drums and music. All over carnival, boys walk around with beads and give them to girls who give them kisses in return….A cute boy tried to kiss me, but I wouldn’t let him…I covered my mouth and ran…..it was funny! On this night we stopped to eat from one of the street vendors….we had a huge burger called a CALABREZA….it had sausage, egg, ham, corn, potatoes, cucumber, lettuce, cheese and hamburger….and a whole lot of grease……they were sooooooo good!

Day four:
We woke up and headed to Flamingo Beach…it wasn’t very sunny, but it was nice enough….we laid out our towels and stuff and settled down. After a while, I began taking a small nap…the space between the ocean and the beach wasn’t very large, and the tide had already started coming up by the time we got there. A few minutes into my nap, I was awakened by shreeks and a rush of cold water….the tide came and washed us away…..I jumped up and saw my shoes being carried back to the ocean, so I started running to grab them and ended up falling into the ocean and getting even more wet. It was really funny! These Brazilian people next to us laughed and laughed because we acted so crazy!
Now that we were nice and wet……everything, our shoes, clothes, towels, purses, everything…we decided it was time to go home. We packed up and headed back to the ship. Later on that evening, we attended another carnival celebration this one was called the trio electrico. It was crazier than the Bloco carnival. We got to dance to more pop sounding music, and again we were in the parade. There were so many people in this particular group, and every little while people would start pushing and we would get pushed around for a little while…it was kind of fun, but also kind of scary. We ended up meeting this nice Brazilian named Andre who helped watch over us and keep our group together. Later, Adrienne exchanged e mail addresses with him….it’s funny because he speaks only Portuguese and she speaks only English….even more funny is the fact that they actually had an internet conversation a few days after we left.
This carnival reminded me of NYC on New Years (well at least from what I’ve seen) we got to dance though all this silver confetti and people were in buildings and along the streets cheering us on! It was lots of fun.

Day five:
Today we left Brazil, Today we were supposed to have beach day but it was raining! So instead, we made one last trip to the market, and I made some last minute phone calls home and sent post cards…nothing too exciting. Over all Brazil was a lot of fun…I would have liked to see Rio….I have heard really great things about Rio and how beautiful it is there. I also wish I could have seen more of the sights and had a better beach day…..there are supposedly some really pretty beaches and we missed out on them…things to remember if I ever come back!!!

This week The Archbishop spoke to us in class, he is so cute and funny! He reminds me of a little old grandpa....everyone knows how much I love little old men! Everything he says is so profound and wise. He is a really good person, and I feel very lucky that I have been able to hear him speak. I thought I would be more intimidated by him, but his personality is so fun and laid back....I really like him!

I will arrive in Cape Town S. Africa in less than 8 hours, and I am so excited, I will be going on a 4 day safari and will also visit Robben Island to see the jail cell of Nelson Mandela, so that should be neat.

I can’t wait to see what the other countries have in store! I miss everybody and love you all very much!
Next stop- Cape Town S. Africa…..
~Valerie