J-Term Diaries: Madeleine Forrest

Ok, so I realize I am playing some serious catch up, but I hope you all appreciate the effort!!  Just sit back, relax, and pretend that these blogs showed up when they were supposed to!

Today we got up and had breakfast at the hotel.  It was heaven to wake up in a big bed without any new bug bites!  The view from our room is incredible.  We are on the third floor and look right out on the beach.  I may never leave!

After breakfast  (there was granola cereal!) we got on the bus and drove to the base of the mountain that the Christ the Redeemer Statue is on.  We took a 20 minute train ride up to the top.  There were beautiful views on the way up and people have actually built houses right into the side of the mountain.  Once we got to the top, we had to climb some steps to finally get to the statue, but let me tell you, it was definitely worth it!  The statue was absolutely breathtaking and you could see all of Rio from the top!!  However, I have to admit, one of the best things was that there were people up there speaking English!!!  It was definitely a shock when I realized that I could understand the people next to me! 

After taking my fair share of pictures, I wondered through the shops and then sat down with some of my equally warm classmates and ate ice cream.  I am a HUGE fan of warm weather, but hot definitely takes on a new meaning down here.  After we left the mountain, we had lunch.  The lunch place was a lot like the place we had dinner the night before.  Apparently, in Brazil, instead of all-you-can-eat buffets, they have these places where they literally weigh your food after you pile everything on your plate.  The price of your meal is determined by how much your plate weighs.  Basically, if you ever want to go on a diet, go to Rio.  Seeing how much your food weighs definitely makes a difference.  The same process occurs with dessert as well.  The food is really good, and so our plates tended to weigh on the heavy side!!

The best part of the day was the afternoon.  Several of us ventured out to the beach and had a great time!!  The water was a perfect way to cool off from the day and it was just great to sit and people watch.  I have never seen a beach so packed in my life!!  Another plus was that we managed to avoid getting sun burned again.  Hanging out on the beach was incredibly relaxing and made us reluctant to go back to the hotel.  However we had dinner reservations, so it was back to the Olinda Othon (our hotel) before too long.

Hope all is well in VA!!

Madeleine

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   So, this morning at breakfast I was sitting a table with Luke, Lindsey, Lauren, Katherine and Anne and I happened to look up above the door.  When I looked a little closer, I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life!  Now, I have a BIG fear of spiders, so this was not a good thing.  Especially when it was right above my head every time I walked through the door.  Well, I pointed it out to everyone at my table and Luke aptly nicknamed him Rocky.  We also found several family members who are scattered throughout the ceiling in the cafeteria.  I am now scared that I will wake up and found Rocky in my bed. 

            So, after all that excitement we went to get ready for the kids.  Today, I got to work inside which was extremely nice!  It was definitely a lot cooler.  The skit we did for this morning was the story of Noah.  Mr. Gochenour was Noah and we all had different parts.  Some of the kids were the animals.  After our skit, the younger kids stayed with us.  We taught them some English songs and they taught us some Portuguese songs.  It was a lot of fun!  Portuguese is a fun language to learn.  The kids are good teachers.  After they left, we had lunch and a nap time!  One of my favorite things about Brazilian culture is that they break at around 1 and start work again at around 2:30.  It’s the hottest part of the day, so it is nice to have a little break.  When the next group of kids came at 3, we did a skit about the story of Daniel.  When we were done, the younger kids left and the older kids stayed.  It was fun to hang out with kids that are closer to our age.  We sang more songs and learned some more Portuguese.  After the kids left, we watched some our guys play soccer with some of the Brazilians that work at the camp.  We have all gotten a lot better!

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   We finally arrived!! It was a long trip, but definitely worth it.  We are staying in a paradise.  Nova Almeida is a cute, little beach town that is filled with vacationers.  The camp is about a 10 minute walk from the town.  It has its own little complex.  The girls are staying in the newest dorm, which is incredibly nice.  The bathroom is amazing!!  There are about 3 girls to each room.  The guys are in the older dorm and are all in one room.  There is a big meeting room and a cafeteria, as well as office buildings and a house.  The best part of the whole complex is that there is a sand volleyball court, swing set and, true to Brazilian from, a soccer field!!  Needless to say, we have gotten a lot of exercise.

            Today was our first day of the camp.  I am in the music/drama group and every morning and afternoon, before the kids break off into groups, we do a little bible lesson.  Today we acted out the Creation story.  I was day and Anne West was night.  J.D. played God.  We had a good time and I think the kids liked it.  After the skit, some of us went outside to work.  Our group had split in half; with some of us working one day, and others working with the kids, and then switching.  The other groups did the same thing.  Today I was outside with Lindsey, Anne, Ryan, Adam and John.  We were sent to clear away a trash pile in front of the unfinished girl’s dorm.  The dorm that the girls are staying in now is actually supposed to be the boys and they are working on finishing the girl’s.  They have the foundation and the walls up.   We were clearing away brush and debris.  It was hot!!  But, we had a great time just talking and laughing.  We tried to see how many songs we could remember to help pass the time.  It was definitely a great way to get to know people better! We got a lot done and managed to get rid of the trash pile and make a dent in the brush that had grown up in what will be the second set of rooms in the girl’s dorm. We are exhausted!!  But, tomorrow we get to work with the kids so that is exciting!  Oh, and about my title, the coffee here is incredible!!! I have been drinking it all the time.  They have it out all the time which is nice.  Coffee is grown in this state, so that is one reason it is so good.  Starbucks definitely has rivals down here at the Nova Almeida Shade and Fresh Water Project!!     

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Hi Everyone!

Well, I survived our week of class and let me tell you, I know everything about Brazil that it is possible to know.  Any question you have about the country, I am fairly certain I can answer!  One of my sorority sisters decided to take me up on that challenge and she finally stumped me, but it did take awhile!  I really enjoyed everyone's presentations;  I really feel prepared to go to the country.  However,  I am a little nervous about how dangerous it supposedly is.  But, my roommate and I promised each other that we would never leave each other!!  I think we will be fine, but it's still scary since we've never been there and we don't know what to expect.

During one of the presentations, we learned some Portuguese which was really interesting.  I have only ever taken French, so it was hard to get the accent right, but hopefully I will get better!  I can't wait to go to the beach and enjoy the 90 degree temperatures!!

Well, I need to go finish packing.  We leave tomorrow at 12:30pm from the Campus Center and fly out from Dulles at 6pm.  I can't wait to get there!!  Our total travel is about 30 hours, so we will be very glad to get to Vitoria on Monday evening!  That bed is going to be incredible!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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I hope that everyone had a great holiday!!  I have really enjoyed being at home; there is plenty of time to catch up on my sleep!  However, I can't wait to go to Brazil.  I love warm weather and the fact that it is in the 90s down there is so exciting!!  It would be more fun if it was absolutely freezing up here, but thats ok. 

We have to write a paper and make a power point presentation before classes start, so I have been working on that.  My topic is the history of Methodism in Brazil, so for a history major it's pretty interesting.  Everyone in the class has different topics and we will present them to each other so that by the time we leave on the 14th, we will hopefully know more about the country we are visiting.

We are working at a Methodist summer camp in Vittoria, which is on the southern coast of Brazil.  We don't know exactly what we are doing, but hopefully we will be able to play with the kids a lot!!  From the pictures I've seen of the camp it looks absolutely beautiful.  The area around the camp is apparently a big vacation spot, so I'm sure it will be very nice.  After we work at the camp, we are spending a couple days in Rio, so that should be fun as well!

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their break!

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