Real life begins...

My homestay was a bit of a hard adjustment at first but I am really love it right now. I am living with Josefa, a 73 year old Bahiana woman, and her son Russel who is 50.  We on the second floor apartment of a very connected and open 3 story building. The first floor is where a couple lives and where they run their beauty salon, the second floor is Josefa, Russel, and I and the top floor is Russel’s ex-wife who I have yet to meet and his two daughters Paloma and Paola, 23 and 26 respectively. It’s a very well kept apartment and super organized. It is very tiny but we are in a very central location. I have a very small room that is big enough to fit a bed, a small closet for my clothes, and two shelves. I am most thankful about the fan that I have and have to sleep with because the heat and humidity is intense even through the night. I wake up sweating. People in Salvador take so many showers. I take two showers a day but might bump it up to three. My host mom takes about 4 a day and its rather normal. The water is cold and it feels so good. The apartment is well-furnished and has everything I could need. It has a balcony with plants and a few flowers as well as a table and chairs. The apartment lies on a very small gated street of about 14 buildings like the one that I live in. Right off the gated street is a main city street that takes me right to downtown. I feel very safe on the small protected street. It’s really cute and rather European feeling.

I am very lucky because I get to walk to class unlike a lot of my SIT classmates who take a bus. My walk is about 10 minutes and very easy. SIT has its office and classroom in the oldest building in Salvador. We call it SULACAP. I will have to get back to you about what that stands for. The building overlooks the ocean bay and the view can be rather distracting during class. It is absolutely beautiful. For the next two and a half months I will have Portuguese class from 9 to 12 in the SIT classroom followed by a two hour lunch break. We usually go and eat at “kilo places”, which seem to be the most affordable, delicious, and popular lunch option for people on their lunch break here in Salvador. You get a plate, pile it with yummy food with lots of options to choose from, and then pay by kilo. From 2 to 4 we have seminar lecture. These seminars could be at the SIT office or at an off-site location. We are usually taught by guest lecturers who specialize in a particular health field. This is also when we do clinic and hospital visits. I have never lived in such a big city before. I definitely underestimated the size of the place and I decided it could take me the entire time I’m here to learn how to get around proficiently. Right now I am happy that I can get to class and get home on my own.

More about my homestay. My host mother is very quiet but is a bit feisty and I like it. She is very catholic and prays multiples times a day. She goes to bed early, around 8, and really lets me do my thing. I wake up to a delicious breakfast and come home to a wonderful dinner. I usually have way too much food in front of me but she never pressures me to eat. She is a wonderful cook and makes the best natural fruit juices with fruits I have never heard of. She sits with me at every meal which was something I have to get used to. 

This weekend will be my first non-Carnaval weekend in the city. Tonight, Friday night, I am going to the historic center of the city where I spent Carnaval. Tomorrow, I plan to spend the day walking around Barra, the beachside section of the city and lying at the beach. Sunday, I will be taking a trip to Projeto Tamar, a turtle project at Praia do Forte about an hour away by bus. It is a turtle rehabilitation center and works with the community to protect the turtles that live in the area and lay eggs on the beach. I should be seeing a lot of turtles. Salvador has great turtle diversity. 

FYI: I will be trying to write one blog post a week. 

Yemanja, the orixa of the sea and protector of life's, house in Salvador.

The small fisherman inlet in Rio Vermelho next to Casa de Yemanja and the fish market.

Carolyn and I outside of a Kilo Lunch restaurant that tried to rip us off. 

We are laughing because we got our way.  

End of Orientation...

This morning was the last time I would wake up at the orientation house outside of the city. I just ate breakfast and packed up my clothes. I have been living out of a suitcase for ten days so I am so excited to finally move somewhere permanent and set up my life here. Orientation has moved slowly but everything that we have covered has been very important.

Some highlights from the past week at orientation...

• A two hour afro-brasilian dance class taught by the teacher from Escola de Danca. A very well-known dance instructor worked with us for two hours. She brought a bunch of instruments and two percussionists to play while we learned a bunch of different types of afro-brasilian dance. We did some capoeira (a brasilian fight dance), samba de roda, and different moves performed by the different blocos at carnaval. We sang and also played instruments. I got to play the tamborine looking drum. It really filled me with so much life and energy. I loved how the drums were always playing. I have never done any sort of african dancing before but I now think it is the greatest thing. I'm am definitely not a natural but I tried by best. It was the best time!
• Dr. Patricia Moura came and spoke to our group about our health and safety in Bahia. She is a practicing doctor and gave us a talk about what to look out for here because there are a lot of diseases that we could be exposed to that aren't in the United States. It scared me a little bit but I know what to look out for and how to be careful. I had never even heard of some of the things. I really liked Patricia and am excited that she will be giving us 5 more talks during our seminars during the week. She was young and spunky. 
• Drop-Off Activity: We were divided up into four groups. I was the leader of the blue team with three other girls. We were given money and a destination within the city. Without help we had to arrive at the location and perform research about the area. We had to perform interviews and check out the local scenery. My group had no problem arriving at this small fishing house and prayer spot called the Casa de Yemanja about an hour away from our orientation house. Yemanja is the orixa (candomble god) of the water and of life. She brings abundance to people and especially fisherman. I interviewed some fisherman and some people praying at the shrine. There was a beautiful statue of Yemanja, a mermaid, outside of the small fishing house. We spent the day in the sun. We had to bring back a souvenir so I bought three fish from a fisherman and had him prepare them to cook for later. The freedom was incredible after being couped up in the orientation house for a few days.
• Baile Folklorico de Bahia: Last night we traveled to Pelourinho, the historic center and saw a very famous afro-brasilian dance group in a small and special theater setting. This performance was so different and definitely assured me of why I came to Brasil. The culture is beautiful and so vibrant. They performed traditional dances of the orixa (pronounced or-ee-shaw) ceremonies, including an amazing fire dance, as well as some capoeira dancing with a lot of crazy flips and stunts. 

I have received all of my school materials and the stipend for food and transportation while I am here. Everything is set to go and I cannot wait. I also received a letter from my homestay family. I will be living with an older woman Josefa and her middle age son Russel in the central part of the city, a short walk to the SIT office. 

The letter reads:

"My son and I are waiting for you. We hope that you adapt well with us and that you make the best of this opportunity that god is giving you to get to know another "world". In my house you will receive much love and understanding and we hope that you will be able to realize your goals. Be certain that you will have my support as well as my family's. We hope you will collect many positive experiences here in Bahia and Brazil to take home. -Josefa "

She is arriving later this afternoon to take me home. The next step in this adventure awaits...

The colorful streets of Pelourinho, Salvador

The Bay

Filhos de Ghandi

Carnaval and Orientation

I have been very hesitant to start my blog. It is rather intimidating actually. I have never written a blog before. I think I will keep this blog very simple but informative.

 I left from Raleigh on March 3rd. I can't believe it has already been a week. I can't decide if it has felt short or long or both. I made it to the Centro Cultural do Bispo hostal in the historic center of the city of Salvador and immediately started the Carnaval celebrations that are for the entire week leading up to Fat Tuesday, the first day of lent. Carnaval was so full of life, color, and noise.A bit of dangerous madness as well. Music was always playing in the streets and the drums did not stop.The hostal/Carnaval experience was great and very busy. Each day was filled with touring the city and beach time and dancing all night while watching the parades. Different blocos or groups would perform in the parades and everyone would dance behind them. I feel so lucky to be able to experience Carnaval. I am still a bit tired from lack of sleep and culture change. Everything is very new.

What I have seen of the city of Salvador is beautiful. Everything is so full of color and it reminds me of San Francisco a bit. I did underestimate the size of the city however. Over time it will seem smaller. I love the fact that water is everywhere. Salvador lies on the tip peninsula of a very large bay. The city is also extremely casual in every sense and relaxed. It is hard not to feel like I am on vacation.

Yesterday was the first day of my SIT program that will last until June 20th. There are 14 students in my group and all of the students are so interesting and diverse. I have spent a lot of my time talking to people and sharing who we are. I feel closer than I should for only spending less than a week with my classmates. Experiences like this create very close relationships however. We are all in an orientation house until we go to our host families on Sunday night. Each day is very scheduled because there is a lot of information to cover. Paying attention is harder than I thought it would be. The tropical heat combined with the 3 month break does not help. After feeling very unclear about the program I feel very calm today after going over an extremely detailed calendar of the entire program. I think the time is going to fly and I will be very busy. I believe that I will love the experiential learning style of my program. Today, one of our directors told us to be a sponge while we are here and that is my goal. I want to take everything in.