So the journey continues

Well it's officially been a week now that I've been in Brazil! I can't even believe how fast time is going! The first few days did seem to drag a bit and I was getting worried that would be the feel for the entire month here but luckily things have picked up and I've started to feel more comfortable here! Over the past week we've been busy as a group going on group outings but also finding time to explore a little on our own. Since the hotel we stayed in the first two nights we've since moved to a hostel down the street. The girls rooms are rooms of 6 people and each room has 5 girls living in it. It definitely gets a little hectic with so many people in one room but we've all kind of found a rhythm now. It's starting to feel more like a slumber party that I had when I was 10 than a dorm room!

We've begun our two classes as well, one about Alternative Energy and one about Brazilian Culture. Both subjects are very different yet very facinating. We take classes at a local University near the hostel called ESPM and have one class taught by Prof. Pfluger from Northeastern and one that will get taught by Gus Gus (yes thats the nickname I gave him, it's not his real name!). The culture class also has a lot of field trips and guest speakers to fill some class time!

One day we took a trip down to the metro stop called Se which Gus-Gus informed us is one of the more dangerous parts of the city. As a group of about 28 people I never felt uncomfortable myself but there was definitely a lot of poverty in the area that I haven't noticed as much of elsewhere. Joe and I did realize that these people living on the streets or living with no money were not begging us for money like you see in America so much. An explanation that was given to us is that people here can't afford to give so the poor have given up on even trying to ask. Its quite sad to see however, whether in America or here in Brazil.  As we walked around this area Gus-Gus was telling us that a lot of money has been spent to re-do this area and try and make it nicer. But because of the reputation it has no one wants to live there. There are these tall beautiful apartment buildings that all sit in this square empty, and completely used. Just amazing to me. After we walked around some more we were at a spot that one of the larger protests happened and he showed us where things became violent and protesters broke into a store. There was definitely more of a police force around that day then I had seen previously.

 To end our day we then ventured over to a younger part of town to get beers and eventually dinner. We all sat around drinking and talking for a few hours. We had dinner plans in another part of the city but word reached us that a protest had began exactly in that spot. Since the school has lots of restrictions on us being near or around these protests we decided to stay in the area and get food there. We went to a pizza place that had amazing pizza! Here are some of my old and new friends that I ate with! As you can see the restaurant has a lot of plants around and made you feel like you were outside!

This weekend brought lots of fun events for us all! On Friday night we all went to Samba night at a club/bar about a 45 min train ride away! The clubs/bars here have a different way of opening a tab which is much nicer and safer than America. When you enter a woman gives you a card with your name on it and the amount of the cover. It then has all the drinks and foods listed on it with the prices next to them. Every time you order something the bartender or waiter just checks off what you ordered. This way at the end of the night you go to the pay area and pay for everything at once and they stamp your card to let you out! There were a few people at the club when we got there but the place filled up more over the course of the night. It took me a little while to get up the courage to dance because let me tell you, Brazilians now how to samba. Ever single person there looked like they belonged on Dancing with the Stars! However, Joseph is a dancing queen and quickly convinced me to samba! We all had a great time and did our best to fit in (which I assure you none of us did). At the end of the night we all took cabs back and ended our night talking on the patio together.

Well this is all the time I have for now to tell you about my trip! I'll try to blog again soon about the rest of our busy weekend and this week! I have today off from classes because it is a holiday down here. Today we are venturing to an art museum which should be pretty cool! Ciao everyone!