I've been a little bit slow with my blog and for that I do apologize. Last week I went on the best trip I've taken in Brazil (so far)! I traveled to Aracaju, Sergipe and visited one of my best exchange friends, Sylvia for 6 days!
The night before the trip I could barely get any sleep. One, because of how excited I was, and two the bus left Feira at 1:30 a.m.. That's ok though becuase I took an express bus (which had surprisingly comfterable seats) to Aracaju and I was able to sleep during the six hour bus ride. I arrived in Aracaju at about 6:10 and waited anxiously to be picked up by Sylvia's family and Brenner ( a family friend who I stayed with). When I met Sylvia's family, I was greeted with hugs and kisses. From that moment until the moment I left I was treated with so much kindness and I thank them for that so much! After freshening up at my new temporary home I went to Sylvia's apartment. We decided that to start off my visit with a day at the beach! We went to a really nice beach called Parati and spent almost the whole day there. We ate, talked, laughed, and even went on a two hour walk! After that we continued our way to Orla a beachfront neighborhood that has many good restaurants and a market with touristy crafts, shirts and such. We had a tasty dinner and then strolled through the market. We then met up with Manga, Sylvia's boyfriend who we hung out with the rest of the night.
The beach in Aracaju!
Sylvia and me at the beach!
On the second day we enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Lara ( Sylvia's host sister) and Brenner at Brenners apartment. That was followed by a visit to Jardims Shopping to meet up Anna, a fellow Afser from Germany that had already been living in Aracaju for almost a year. The girls decided to go shopping so I just sat on a bench and so time to reflect so far on the great things I had done so far. We planned to meet up with Michael and Paula (Sylvia's friends) and Anna later at Orla for some Caranguejo (crab) one of the foods Aracaju is best known for. Instead of only Michael, Paula and Anna showing up, half of Sylvia's class was there! At first I was kind of shy, but once I felt more comfortable it was really good time. Also, I learned how to smash crabs to be able to eat the meat! At about midnight we took a taxi, I returned to Brenner's apartment and Sylvia and Lara returned to their apartment.
Smashing Carangeujo!
The third included visiting many cool parts of the city! We (Sylvia, Manga, Brenner, Lara and I) first went to Parque da Cidade (the city's park), there's a lift (pretty much a ski lift, but without the snow obviously) that takes you above the zoo and through parts of the Mata Atlantica that have been left in Aracaju. The central market came next, it also had many touristy things such as statues, hats, shirts, magnets etc.. After that we met up with Michael at the Sergipe museum. The museum was all about the state's history and culture. It was really cool to get to know so much about Sergipe, because in some ways it's really similar to Bahia but in other ways it's totally different. We rested a little bit and then made our way to McDonald's for a real "American" dinner. We then finished the night off at a Forro at one of Lara's friends house. For those of you who don't know what that is, A Forro is a big party (and a type of dance and music) always thrown around Sao Joao. Sao Joao is holiday which is celebrated throught out Brazil, but is most popular in the Northeast. Usually people dress up for the Forros, guys in plaid shirts, and girls in traditonal dresses or plaid shirts as well. The Forro has many traditonal foods and liquors. It also has a lot of dancing, like the Quadrilha (which is similar to square dancing) and Forro (a couples dance). I know its really confusing but hopefully you got a little feel for how it works. So now I know how to dance Forro, and I'm not gonna lie I dance well for not being Brazilian. I'm proud of myself for knowing how to dance Forro, Arrocha, and Pagode. I love Forros and I can't wait to go to more!
Me, Manga, and Sylvia at the Market!
Yeah McDonalds!
One of the unfinished venues that many Forros will be held at during Sao Joao.
View from Parque da Cidade.
The fourth day was dedicated to our international lunch. Sylvia made American Pancakes and I made Latkes (Jewish potato pancakes) and Brigadeiros (Brazilian Chocolate Truffles). Sylvia's family made Brazilian food. It took us a while to make everything, but in the end everything was delicious and everyone enjoyed sitting together and talking.
Our international meal!
Cooking with Sylvia's host mom!
On the fifth day I went to school with Sylvia. At first they didn't let me in because I didn't have the school uniform and you have to wear one to be able to get in. After an hour of negotiating later, the school headmaster let me in. I was brought up to the classroom and greeted with applause. Again I was really shy in the beginning, and yet again things were great when I started talking to everyone and singing and dancing all the music and dances from Bahia. Everyone in Sylvia's class was really cool and I wish I got to hang out with them longer. After school, we left to go eat lunch at Brenner's house.
During the evening we went to Jardims again and ate sushi for my last dinner in Aracaju.
The sixth was pretty much just me sleeping and packing for the trip back to Feira. I had some huge problems on the way back but that's another story. I'll be posting about school soon, hope you liked hearing about my trip.
Ate Mais,
Nevo
