General Update - Capoiera, School, Gym, Weekends

I worked on this for a few days in a row, so some of the stuff might seem a little out-dated or weird. Sorry about that. Hey, at least I finally got it posted, haha. This pic is from a churrasco with some of the Brazilian ex-exchange students and current exchange students - there were more people there, but I liked this pic.

So the other day I saw a car with plates for Paraguay (which is kinda like how it’s cool to see Alaska plates, except a little cooler, haha), and I thought, ‘how neat – I need to put that in my blog,’ and then I realized that it has been like a month since I have even written in my blog – SORRY GUYS. Thus, you will be getting a less detailed post than usual, which is fine, anyway. We actually don’t have internet at the moment, which is killing me, so I am doing this in good old Word 2003; it’s mad at me, though, because it speaks Portuguese and I am writing in English (obviously). I think I will try to fix that. Ah, much better – far fewer squiggly red lines. It finally started raining for real, which has been just lovely, in my opinion, but the down side is that it somehow knocked the internet out. Hopefully we will get that fixed soon, because I actually have some things to take care of other than chatting (mainly in Portuguese, of course, although my written Port. Is not so great).

There are only a few main things that have really been going on lately, and they are as follows (we’ll do this 10th grade thesis statement style): I started going to the gym and Capoiera regularly; Gerardo moved schools, so I am now alone in my class, and that ended up being way better; good weekends and bad weekends; getting geared up to go on the big trips – SOOOOO EXCIIIIITED.

Capoiera: I feel like I need to explain this a little bit before I get into it. Some of you know what it is, and some of you have no idea, I imagine. Capoiera, in short, is a Brazilian martial art that originated in Africa, and was brought over by the slaves and converted to look more like a dance than a martial art, as they were forbidden by their masters to actually practice martial arts. It looks a bit like break dancing, actually, but we listen to the traditional music in class, which is drumming, singing, and playing this instrument that looks like a bow (bow and arrow kind of bow) and makes a sort of twangy sound. There are tons of Youtube videos, which I think I said in my last post. The movements and stances are very different from Kung Fu, so it has been a little bit hard for me to shake old habits in terms of body placement, etc. In fact, sometime the teacher just yells at me, “AI, Alanna, você está pracicando o Kung Fu - Isso é a Capoiera, não é o Kung Fu!” or something like that (ai alanna, you are doing kung fu – this is capoiera, it’s not kung fu).

The teacher’s name is Delei, he’s 20 or 21, and has been doing Capoiera for 10 years, and he doesn’t speak any English, really, so he makes fun of me for saying ‘ok’ when he’s showing me something (they say ‘ta’ or ‘ta bom’); he isn’t the real teacher, actually. The real one only comes Fridays, I think (that’s the only time I’ve seen him, but I’ve only gone once), which are special because we run class differently, and I have only met him once. He is probably like 30 or so. Everyone there is very like-able, and very good. Almost all the people in my class are right around my age, and have been doing it for multiple years, but they are cool about it. Brazilians are just cool in general, really.

I go to class on Mon, Weds, and Fri. Mondays and Wednesdays are more like training days, where we learn new things and practice them, and Fridays are solely for ‘fighting,’ although a lot of the time we fight for a few minutes at the end of the other classes to. I say fighting, but it’s really not like fighting. They use the verb for ‘play’ when they talk about it, but it’s not really like playing either. It’s like play-fighting. The point is to learn from the other person and practice the movements. It’s like a slower version of the sparring we do in Kung Fu, but it keeps going, and people step in and out about every 30 secs to 1 minute, and pick one of the fighters to challenge. I hate that part because I am shy anyway, and because I don’t know very much, and because when I am actually looking at someone I tend to forget the little that I’ve learned. I will get there eventually, I suppose, but I like the system we have of randomly selecting fighters in Kung Fu because it takes the pressure off me.

Fridays are cool because the real teacher, Nelson, comes and teaches a Samba class to old people, which is rather entertaining, we play the instruments ourselves (the beat is really simple, so I can play the drums and tambourine, but not the weird bow instrument), and it is nothing but fighting, which is neat to watch. I took some pics last Friday, and posted them on my Flick. I took a lot of Nelson and Delei because they are the best, so they do they do the coolest stuff. Once I get more used to it I will have them take some of me so you guys can see.

I don’t know that I’ll actually test to get belts or anything – probably not. They have some sort of belt system, but I don’t really know how it works. I should ask… haha. Anyway, that’s about it for Capoiera. Any questions?

In addition to Capoiera, I have been going to the gym most days of the week. I do both at an “academia” called Tênis Club, which is like a YMCA. They have a lot of academias here, but I go to Tênis because it is the most popular, and because I was able to get a membership with a family from my Rotary club. I pay about $15 a month to go to the gym, and had to pay an extra $15 for an initial exam. With that, though, you get a personal trainer who assesses you and makes out a personalized schedule, so that when you go in they tell you everything you need to do. There are a few that work there, and they split up the people who are there at the time, so you just ask them what the next thing on your schedule is and they tell you. Not everyone uses them, but I am happy to, because I really would have had no idea where to start. I have a different schedule for Capoiera and non-Capoiera days, which differ in the intensity of the leg workouts, since doing Capoiera is a lot like doing squats for an hour and a half.

They told me after my exam that to be ideal I need to lose 9kilos, which is almost 20lbs. I think that is pretty much BS, but I have lost 2kilos (2.2lbs) so far (the 2 that I had gained from the first month here), and I think like 3 or 4 more would be nice. I think they told me 9 because the girls here tend to be a good bit smaller than I am in build and muscle mass. I have rather big legs and broad shoulders according to their standards, but I am a real, live “loira” (blonde), which is rare, so at least I have that going for me, haha. It’s weird, because I think that their dark color and long black hair is really beautiful, but I am finding out a lot of them tend to like people who are blonde with light eyes – I am exotic for them, I guess, haha. It’s like opposite from home, where everyone thinks exotic, dark women are beautiful. I was talking to Aunt Melissa and the family one day, and I was telling them that was going to get a haircut, and they said not to get some crazy brazilian do, to which I replied, “Well, the brazilian ‘do’ it long, straight, and black, so I don’t think there’s much danger.” I’m not really a blonde, as you know, but here anything that’s not black is blonde, haha.

School is still pretty crappy, but it has improved because Gerardo, who was the Mexican guy in my class, moved houses, and had to move schools. I was scared at first to be on my own, but it ended up being a real blessing. Literally the day after he was gone some of the girls came up to me and asked me to sit with them, and since then we talk everyday at school, and I have gone out with them a few times. There are a lot more girls than guys I my class, but the guys that are there definitely make their presence known. As I said, I am in the slacker class, so most of them are really loud, class-clown, types, and they have started picking on me more, which means they like me, haha. It’s not like we’re good friends, but it’s sort of an acceptance thing. One bad thing that has come from it, though, is that there is this guy in another class who wants to take me out on a date or something, and he comes in like everyday and bugs me about it. I have told him no over and over, but he just keeps re-phrasing the question. It’s really getting on my nerves. Of course that has been a subject of abuse by the guys in my class – they told me I am “conquistando coracãos” (conquering hearts – an expression), and they are like “alanna and eeeeeelvis” (his nickname). Anyway, that’s a thing. If nothing else I am leaving to go on the trips soon, so he won’t be around to annoy me.

Oh, I figured you guys might think this is funny: I was talking to Johanna the other day in English (the other ex. Students and I try to speak Port. with each other as much as we can, but sometimes we cheat), and she was like, “From you I am learning to say this word, ‘like’ all ze time. It is good for me because when I don’t know what to say I can just say ‘like’ like you do.” Haha, I didn’t think my habit was THAT bad, but apparently it is.

I have obviously done a lot of hanging out and going places sine I last wrote. I went to a wedding with my host parents one Saturday, just to see what it was like, and that was pretty exciting. I lied. It wasn’t. It was like going to a catholic wedding that you can’t understand and with really cheesy American love songs in Port., haha. It was just one, though, I’m sure they aren’t all the same. Plus I didn’t know anyone, so I just hung out with my host parents the whole time. It was nice to see, though; the family was all weepy and hugging each other all over the place – the men were crying just as much, if not more, than the women - and the noivos (bride and groom) were young, smiley, and cute together. The really big difference between weddings here and there is the timing. They get married at night, rather than in the daytime. My host mom said it’s because they like to wear things that are sparkly (tiaras, etc.), and that’s not as beautiful during the day, but I suspect it has more to do with the fact that it’s really hot, haha. They also had a live band playing a style of traditional Brazilian music called sertaneja (I think that’s how you spell it), which is like the equivalent of country here. My host mom doesn’t like it, but I do. It really just depends on the person. It’s fun to dance to, even though I have failed at every attempt, haha.

I went to a costume party last weekend. They have Halloween here to a small degree. They are having Trick-or-treat (like no one came – only a few kids and Paula’s - my sister - friends), but it’s not as big of a deal in terms of everyone dressing up and having parties, etc. I think it has been getting more popular in the last few years, but it’s almost 100% generated by American movies and culture. The party I went to was a birthday party, actually, and I didn’t know very many of the people, but it was still fun. I went with some of the other exchange students, and since we didn’t want to rent costumes we just used our own clothes and the stuff my host sister has from ballet. It had to be a costume from a movie, so Tania and I went as Moulin Rouge girls, and Annia went as a Disney fairy. There was a little less dancing going on than we would have liked, but hopefully we will make up for it this weekend.

Oh, speaking of movies, there is this really awesome Brazilian movie that you should try to see if you can. I don’t know that it will come out in the states, but in English it is called Elite Squad, and in Port. it is called Tropa de Elite. It is set in Rio, and is based on true events surrounding the federal police in Brazil and how they deal with the drug trade and favelas (ghettos) in Rio. It is very realistic, and very intense. To me it was sort of like a somewhat more docile mixture of Children of Men and Full Metal Jacket. It was excellent. The version I saw was pirated and had no subtitles, so I only really understood what was generally going on, not the dialogue, but I am going to see it again when it comes out in the theatre, I hope, (yea, they all have it already even though it hasn’t come out yet – people here tend to have more downloaded movies than real movies), so hopefully I will understand it a little better.

I have had mostly good weekends lately. It’s sort of annoying, because they don’t care as much about making plans and schedules and things as we do, and, as last minute and disorganized as I tend to be, it’s a little trying when you are trying to figure out what to do. Like we were invited to do stuff, but then they aren’t sure if they still want to do it, and then they will call you back in an hour and they don’t, so it takes a few hours to even figure out where you are going. It wouldn’t be too bad, except that our parents are more protective than theirs, so they want to know early what we are doing etc, and we are limited on means of transportation.

I went to another concert Thursday night because Friday was a holiday and we didn’t have school. It was not really a big deal holiday – it was like Memorial Day or Dia dos Muertos – a day to honor those who have passed. Dia dos Muertos is a really big deal in Mexico though, so the Mexicans were missing it like I was missing Halloween. Anyway, the concert was a type of music called Pagode, which was bouncy Brazilian music about kissing and love, etc. The guys in the band were all young, and they played a whole slew (am I allowed to use that word?) of instruments – lots of drums, trumpet, trombone, guitar – and bounced around the stage. It’s kinda like a version of Samba, and it’s a lot of fun to dance to. My feet were killing me by the end, which has a lot to do with the fact that they are already all covered in Capoiera blisters and I wore a pair of my friend’s high Brazilian platforms.

Tuesday evening I went with a guy named Tiago that I had met at a party, and who Johanna knows from church (I will talk about this in a minute), to one of the universities here. There are 4, I think, and this is one of the big ones. I don’t know how many students it has – I would guess around 5,000 or something like that. Maybe more. He goes for Educação Física (Physcial Education), which is a common major here, but it’s hard to make much money doing it because the personal trainers make nothing, as well as the teachers. The campus was a lot like an American college campus – lots of big ugly buildings, people hanging out all over the place, and a little area in the middle with places to eat. The classes were more interesting than the ones at my school, and his started at 7. I really want to go to college here, not high school. Lucie, the French girl, goes to college, as well as a few others in other cities, I have heard, and my next host brother is in his last year of high school now, so maybe if he goes to school here next year I can go with him. I am supposed to just go to the 3rd year of high school again next year, but college would be sooo much better. I am going to inquire. We shall see.

About the church group thing – Johanna knows a bunch of people from church because she goes there with her sister every week, which is funny, because she thinks she’s atheist. I went last night because Tiago had invited me, and I thought I’d try it out. On Friday nights they have like a youth mass thing (it’s Catholic, of course), and it was a lot of singing and hopping around to music some of the kids played. Tiago talked the whole time – I don’t know if he always runs it or not – about faith etc, which was rather interesting. He was very good, I think, although I didn’t understand all of it. The fact that he could stand up there and talk for like 40 mins, though, is pretty impressive.

After that they had a party, so I went. They taught Johanna and me to dance Aché, which is very lively and bouncy with some weird specified movements depending on the song. The Babado Novo concert I went to was Aché. It’s about the easiest form o Brazilian dancing there is since all you really need to do is keep bouncing and follow along – they just like to be in constant motion. I am starting to get Samba a little bit too, but it still needs work.

Ok, I think that’s about enough. That’s a lot. I think I covered enough about little pieces of the culture to suffice.

I am leaving for a week in the Amazon on November 8th, and then we will travel North Eastern Brazil, which is mainly beaches. I don’t remember the last time I was this ecstatic. I can’t wait. We had a meeting this week about it, and I couldn’t keep from smiling the whole time. I am soooo ready to leave. The guy we are going with is a Rotary official, and he will be posting his pictures as we go on some website. I will put the link on here if he ever send it to us. He is also supposed to send a list of links to hotels and cities we will be staying in, but he is infamous for his lack of communication, so we’ll see. I will post them on here when/if he does. I, myself, am eager to take a look.

I doubt I will be updating while I’m gone. I might put a few little ditties up when I stop at internet cafés and such, but I have no doubt that there will just be wayyy too much to say.

As of now I know that the Amazon trip will consist of 3 days living on a boat, sleeping in hammocks, showering together in river water, stopping off at a few native villages (with a tour guide), seeing freshwater pink dolphins, and eating grubs out of coconuts. Sounds perfect. The Northeast trip will be traveling around to various cities, mainly touristy, doing fun stuff like parasailing, and going to beaches and lots of famous sites like Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana in Rio.

It should be incredible. I’ll let you know. There are 24 of us going to the Amazon, and 35 going to the Northeast. I will be stopping at internet cafés to check my e-mail and such, and a few of my friends have laptops that should work in most of the hotels, but I still won't be around all that much.

Just for those of you that don't know - my mom's pregnant! I'm excited, so I'm telling everyone. I will have a 3 month old brother/SISTER (I hope) when I get home. That will probably be my biggest motivation for coming back, actually, haha.

I am great. I hope you all are too. I know this was a long one. I know I am bad about updating. At this rate there will only me like 15 posts by the time I go home.

E-mails and comments are always appreciated, even if not responded to :-D :-P.

New pics are up at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alannainbrazil.

Muito Amoooor

Alanna