To Rio and Beyond....

Hello All.....
I realize that my blog entry as promised from Ubatuba was very long in the coming, because I was either ridiculously busy or the rest of the people in the house also had nothing to do and were using the computer......What have I done since my last entry????
Well, when we arrived from Ubatuba (earlier than expected....we came home on the 10th, we had originally been told the 15th and then changed to the 11th....) I was a bit bummed about the early arrival because there were lots of pics I wanted to take but never took, and things that I regret not buying (probly a good thing tho...as I already will end up wearing a lot of clothes on the plane back to Chile....). That was the biggest runon sentence ever, as I still technically have not finished the idea....I need help with English sometimes :) So, we arrived and my parents called me the next night and we had a great chat about what had been going on...Also, we talked about me applying for another university. Which I did....in about 2 days, we had a lot of gmail chat marathons with my mom as we got the application together. In there, we also went to Sao Paulo for a day....hit up the safari and the zoo. We were with a family from Concepcion in Chile as well. I was in the car with the fam from there (the van from chile...they drove here...only 6 days!!!!) and we had a little adventure. The van started smelling funny when we were going up an enormous hill, so we pulled over in a pull over part, and they tried to fix it. It started to rain... luckily, the other car up ahead noticed that we were no longer behind and (knowing the vehicle was skechy) told a tow truck to come look for us. Thank goodness we had a brasilian with us, 11 and shy, but i coaxed her to talk a bit with the driver.
We arrived at the safari, and again i was a bit disappointed because the animals were not free really, just the monkeys, some deer, and the emus. Other than that, everything was caged in (being in a jam ´packed van didn´t help...) After that, we headed to the zoo. The coolest part was that to me, the plants around me were foreign, and the fact that there were some monkeys up in the trees..not caged in. Also, the sight of the familiar black bear. That and the wolf were the only Canadian like animals. A lot of the animals were brasilian.
Other trips....we were meant to leave for Rio one day, but due to problems with renting a vehicle; were going to leave late. Instead, we went to the Europe of Brasil for a day. Absolutely gorgeous (and maple trees everywhere, hence I felt a bit at home....considered buying some of the maple leaf souvenirs to give as gifts from "Canada" but didn´t have sufficient funds.) It was acutally cold there, so I had bought a sweater to wear for the day, and to keep me warm in Punta Arenas. We were at an insanely high altitude, and took some cool pics. I was up next to cell phone towers and such.
Well...I am being bumped from the comp...so to put it shortly, I also went to Rio (did Pao de azucar and the Christ...altho the latter was all clouded..) And buzios....hopefully i´ll have more comp time later.

The Beach.....

Well....we have now been at the beach, ubatuba (called the surf capital, altho the waves aren~´t that huge for surfing, but lots of fun for body surfing....). What have we done??? First of all, the night before we left, johanna, lisette and I went to a bbq and didn´t sleep. Then, i travelled for my first time by bus. It wasn´t airconditioned and retardedly hot. Also, the bus driver would randomly stop for ppl on the side of the road.....it took us about 3 hours to go 150 km...Well, the first day we arrived, it was boiling hot and we didn´t have a ton of running water in the house we rented.....only one of the bathrooms had water, and we had to be careful with it. We were all wanting showers, and then it started to pour. I was like, wow, I could shower in this rain cuz it´s so strong....and then decided to actually do it!!! About 7 or 8 of us showered in the rain...pictures to prove it....you don´t have to tell me I´´m a genius..haha. (Jokes of course). The next day, we visited the beach near our house, it´s not huge, and not overly busy, especially during the week (altho this was a sunday so more ppl). We made friends with the guys who were working at the kiosk we were buying from, and they invited us to go out later in the night...which we did quite happily. When we arrived (in the rain.....) they were there with bikes..the popular mode of transport here (which i absolutely love!!! altho now that it´s saturday, there are more cars for the weekend...) We rode on the cross bar of the bikes..the other 2 girls with umbrellas, and me getting wet. We hung out with them til about 3 and then headed back. We were starving, and so bought the brasilian hot dog....interesting to say the least. It was massive, and had like potato chips on it along with.......tons of stuff....I have tried it, and don´t think i´ll buy another. Since then, we´ve been going to the beach almost every day. I have bought some more clothes, as I hardly brought anything to brasil, and even less to the beach (we packed in about 10 minutes...and i had to share a bag with Johanna cuz i couldn´t bring my massive suitcase...) I have been waking up earlier here, the first in the house now, thanx to the sun and the heat. It´s nice to have that bit of time alone as well. Yesterday we went to the bigger beach, the one with the better waves, which was nothing like sauble. There are ppl walking around selling food, water, beer, fried stuff...(of course), you can buy clothes, bathing suits etc etc. It was pretty neat. There is a promotion for a water company, and they had a climbing wall with zip line. I figued you´d have to pay...so didn´t go at first, and then when learned you didn´t, i gave it a try. The wall was super hard, and since I have lost most of my upper body strength (definitely hittin the gym when i get back to punta arenas.....) I didn´t get very far. Everyone else had to stop when they fell the first time, but the guys let me try lots of times and only let me down when i insisted......oh the joys of being the foreigner (twice the foreigner......the chilean from canada...) The people here in general like chileans, we are offered discounts in some parts, and free use of the bathrooms and showers. Its cool too, because I get asked if i´m chilean for my accent :) The house we are staying in isn´t 5 star or nething, but its got a decent amount of space, and close to the smaller beach, a good walk to the center of town, and there are grocery stores close. A good setup i´d say. The first few nights, I was sleeping on a top bunk, but with 4 ppl in the room, I couldn´t sleep for the heat. Also, my host mom gets attacked by mosquitos (or rather i think she has some type of allergy to them, so reacts more....) and therefore won´t sleep with the door open. When some of the other guests left....I stole their room and now sleep by myself. Altho today arrive a ton more visitors...so back to the heat I think.....ugh. I am understanding more and more portuguese.....but still don´t have the confidence to really speak it. I end up translating a bit for lisette sometimes when we´re out tho...she understands hardly nething. Johanna understands a fair bit as well...this is her 3rd visit here. They are talking about leaving here the 11th, but i´d prefer to stay here at the beach because we can go out when we want and don´t need a vehicle. Also.....the beach is better than the city I think....What else....oh, I think i suffered my first migraine. It was an insane pain that throbbed!!! It has mostly passed now, altho i still have pain. Oh...and for the doctor friend of my sister....thanx for the concern, but I´ve already had mono. That illness passed with some medicine. I have to go tho..my internet time has expired. Chau!!!

The Beach.....

Well....we have now been at the beach, ubatuba (called the surf capital, altho the waves aren~´t that huge for surfing, but lots of fun for body surfing....). What have we done??? First of all, the night before we left, johanna, lisette and I went to a bbq and didn´t sleep. Then, i travelled for my first time by bus. It wasn´t airconditioned and retardedly hot. Also, the bus driver would randomly stop for ppl on the side of the road.....it took us about 3 hours to go 150 km...Well, the first day we arrived, it was boiling hot and we didn´t have a ton of running water in the house we rented.....only one of the bathrooms had water, and we had to be careful with it. We were all wanting showers, and then it started to pour. I was like, wow, I could shower in this rain cuz it´s so strong....and then decided to actually do it!!! About 7 or 8 of us showered in the rain...pictures to prove it....you don´t have to tell me I´´m a genius..haha. (Jokes of course). The next day, we visited the beach near our house, it´s not huge, and not overly busy, especially during the week (altho this was a sunday so more ppl). We made friends with the guys who were working at the kiosk we were buying from, and they invited us to go out later in the night...which we did quite happily. When we arrived (in the rain.....) they were there with bikes..the popular mode of transport here (which i absolutely love!!! altho now that it´s saturday, there are more cars for the weekend...) We rode on the cross bar of the bikes..the other 2 girls with umbrellas, and me getting wet. We hung out with them til about 3 and then headed back. We were starving, and so bought the brasilian hot dog....interesting to say the least. It was massive, and had like potato chips on it along with.......tons of stuff....I have tried it, and don´t think i´ll buy another. Since then, we´ve been going to the beach almost every day. I have bought some more clothes, as I hardly brought anything to brasil, and even less to the beach (we packed in about 10 minutes...and i had to share a bag with Johanna cuz i couldn´t bring my massive suitcase...) I have been waking up earlier here, the first in the house now, thanx to the sun and the heat. It´s nice to have that bit of time alone as well. Yesterday we went to the bigger beach, the one with the better waves, which was nothing like sauble. There are ppl walking around selling food, water, beer, fried stuff...(of course), you can buy clothes, bathing suits etc etc. It was pretty neat. There is a promotion for a water company, and they had a climbing wall with zip line. I figued you´d have to pay...so didn´t go at first, and then when learned you didn´t, i gave it a try. The wall was super hard, and since I have lost most of my upper body strength (definitely hittin the gym when i get back to punta arenas.....) I didn´t get very far. Everyone else had to stop when they fell the first time, but the guys let me try lots of times and only let me down when i insisted......oh the joys of being the foreigner (twice the foreigner......the chilean from canada...) The people here in general like chileans, we are offered discounts in some parts, and free use of the bathrooms and showers. Its cool too, because I get asked if i´m chilean for my accent :) The house we are staying in isn´t 5 star or nething, but its got a decent amount of space, and close to the smaller beach, a good walk to the center of town, and there are grocery stores close. A good setup i´d say. The first few nights, I was sleeping on a top bunk, but with 4 ppl in the room, I couldn´t sleep for the heat. Also, my host mom gets attacked by mosquitos (or rather i think she has some type of allergy to them, so reacts more....) and therefore won´t sleep with the door open. When some of the other guests left....I stole their room and now sleep by myself. Altho today arrive a ton more visitors...so back to the heat I think.....ugh. I am understanding more and more portuguese.....but still don´t have the confidence to really speak it. I end up translating a bit for lisette sometimes when we´re out tho...she understands hardly nething. Johanna understands a fair bit as well...this is her 3rd visit here. They are talking about leaving here the 11th, but i´d prefer to stay here at the beach because we can go out when we want and don´t need a vehicle. Also.....the beach is better than the city I think....What else....oh, I think i suffered my first migraine. It was an insane pain that throbbed!!! It has mostly passed now, altho i still have pain. Oh...and for the doctor friend of my sister....thanx for the concern, but I´ve already had mono. That illness passed with some medicine. I have to go tho..my internet time has expired. Chau!!!