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.