Here’s my second post on Brazil. This one is Salvador. Notes:

There are a lot of things I din’t take a picture of because I was enjoying them instead (or was advised to leave valuables at the hotel)

I hope you enjoy this post. I could work on it forever but of course time is limited.

Don’t forget you can click on the pictures to enlarger them so you can get the full effect!

Salvador

Beach 1

Playing soccer with some guys on next to the beach. I played soccer more times in Brazil than I have in the past five years. This time we played a game that was essentially monkey-in-the-middle. The group stood in the circle passing the ball to each other as the person in the middle tried to get the ball (all he had to do was touch it). The people in the circle could not touch the ball more than two times before they passed it or they became the “monkey”. If the monkey touched the ball twice than whoever’s pass was intercepted on the second touch became the “monkey”

In the picture below I’m the monkey.

A picture of the guys who played soccer…

The girls were sitting down playing guitar and singing. I asked could I play with them…they didn’t understand but eventually they figured out what I was saying. Then I asked them to sing and play while I played . The girl standing up in this picture sat down and sang/played Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. At first I was just enjoying her performance, before I remember I was supposed to be playing along. It was already near the end of the song and boy was I rusty…

A hotel back in the village near the beach.

In another part of the village I watched a mother sitting down with three children (two playing at her feet and one laying on her lap). Then she said something in Portuguese and I heard a noise behind me. I turned around to see this little girl coming to join the family.

Continue reading →

I’m finally getting a chance to post about my trip a few weeks after getting home. I get excited even thinking about it. For those of you who don’t know, its been a looong journey, beginning with adding Christ the Redeemer to my vision board at a point when I had never been out of the country and had no idea when it would happen. Less than a year later…I did it! Who knew it would happen so quickly?

I will be short in my description of the journey because I could go on about it for days. Here are some highlights:

Sao Paulo

First we stopped in Sao Paulo, but only for a 2 hour layover (that ended up becoming 8 hours when our flight was canceled). Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to leave the airport. 😦

Recife:

I finally got my first taste of Brazil when we landed in Recife. After handling basics like exchanging money, securing hotel rooms (essentially beach front), and going over what my group’s itinerary for the next day.

First things first: we had to eat. My professors took us to a mid-prices buffet-style restaurant (Brazil has plenty of buffets–not the all-you-can-eat kind though). Afterwards we were free to do whatever we pleased so a few of us left dinner early and walked along the beach. Here, I had my very first Caiperina (instantly my favorite alcoholic drink) from a stand on the beach. While walking along the beach we ran into other students who were in our program watching a group of guys play soccer on the beach. It was night time but the beach was well lit. One guy wanted to join and I went with him. They welcomed us with open arms and it was amazing. First of all I hadn’t had the pleasure of playing soccer in easily over 6 years. Secondly, I was playing…Brazil! With people I had never met before. I truly saw the power of sports to bring people together. As a lifetime athlete I can probably recall small moments that resembled it but this was different. We could not understand each other whatsoever, but when we played…we knew exactly what each other was saying. Simple eye contact could mean so much and by the end of the game I had new friends.

Also there was an amazing market right outside of our hotel where locals came and enjoyed music, street performers, street food and simply relaxed. We also went to a Brazilian college’s class where students were learning about business in the U.S.. These people were all locals. Our entire time in Recife we were pretty much the only foreigners we saw.

Salvador

Salvador is my favorite city I visited by far. It is incredibly beautiful and welcoming. It feels like a completely different world. As in Recife, there were pretty much no tourists. The few that were there were visiting from other parts of Brazil in the way many people go to New York and L.A. in the U.S..

We went to the square where Michael Jackson shot his video with the world famous Brazilian the world famous Olodum drummers who operate in the area. Both days we visited the square we danced in an open, joyous and freeing way I have never experienced. The entire square seemed to light up. It was awesome. The first occasion there was an impromptu performance by an older group. They sat down playing a variety of instruments and singing. Most of the people in the square circled around watching, dancing and eating. There was a great spirit in the air and it was infectious. I was taken by the music and completely submerged in the present.

Rio

Rio was our last stop. Unfortunately we were only there for a little over a day I made the most of it. Of each city Rio had the most tourists by far. Still, it is such a global hot spot which interesting dynamic. It was a cultural melting pot for tourism. Many people only knew there native language and maybe some Portuguese. If someone was not speaking English, German or the 9 words of Portuguese I picked up on the trip, pantomime had to be used to communicate. Being surrounded by so many cultures of people all out of their element, in a land that was foreign to me as well was a unique experienced I had never considered.

Annnnd, of course the highlight was *drum roll please* Christ the Redeemer!

For those who care to see, especially those who have been following my journey, I have a small gift for you in a follow-up post: PICTURES! (I took the thumbnail photo myself btw)

Sorry if this post was a little sporadic. I don’t have time to look over it as I usually do. I have a lot of exciting things going on, meaning I have a lot to post about!

Stay tuned!

Sean