Ilha Grande

I'll write more later when I have time, but I thought I'd post these pictures for you to enjoy/feel envious!

We did a 6 hour boat tour of 4 little lush islands off the coast. We swam, we ate, we suntanned. I think it was pretty much perfect.

I am happy. What a nice morning.

Minus my room mate having to leave this morning, Angie. I'm going to really miss her. She was so good to me while I was sick. Patient, caring, and attentive. I know the nursery where she volunteered for 11 months will miss her dearly as well.

The picture below is of Timothy and Angie and I at the 'going away' dinner we held for her the other night.

Back to this morning. Yes, it was satisfying. I slept in until 9:30, hung around by the pool and suntanned, then I swam for about a half an hour (the first real exercise I've had in over a week!- highly unusual for me, it's because I've been so sick), and then met up with Steph. We went and got our nails done. It was an awesome cultural experience. Extremely cheap too! Like $5 for a full manicure. Crazy, I know.

We walked around a bit, then I came back and had a grilled cheese sandwich and fresh watermelon. Scrumptious.

Off to my project now. It's only a half day on Tuesdays.

I think I'm becoming quite accustomed to living here, finally. And, I'm becoming a little more assertive about trying to speak Portugese with strangers. It can be fun!

Just another Monday

Not exactly! Due to Brazil playing in the World Cup, our project was cancelled and everyone headed to Copacabana to watch the big game.

Brazil won 3-0 against Chile and a good time was had by all.

Perfect weather, fun people.

One thing I'd really worried about before leaving for Rio was being lonely. While I have experienced some other unfortunate events (being sick, losing my credit card), I have been incredibly blessed to not feel lonely once.

I find it fascinating how easy it is to connect with complete strangers, and feel comfortable. Here is my analysis of the situation:

- People are naturally drawn to others who can communicate fluently in their native language.

We like to form communities based on primal abilities, such as conversing, and then we choose to feel secure in those relationships, even if we have only just met.

- However, this isn't always the case, as I have loved hanging out with the French crew. Their English is good, but it's not perfect. Sorry guys! ha

So the second facet must be that we are drawn to people who are in roughly the same life situation. We form a common bond through circumstance. We are all foreigners, living on the same street, experiencing similar things.

- And lastly, I think our shared demographics connect us. Us volunteers are all youngish, with the desire for a little adventure and life experience.

I'm blessed to be a part of such a great group. English, Australian, Irish, American, and me, the Canadian.

I'm going to try and head to bed early tonight but since Brazil won today, the crazy loud music that comes from God knows where will be playing until late tonight. Rio de Janeiro is without a doubt the noisiest city I've ever been in. It's like it's in their DNA to be ridiculously loud. It's great : )

The top photo is of this alley I passed by with the French crew the other day.

And the bottom one is of Ray Ray (Rachel), Vicki (Victoria), and Dani (Danielle) at Copacabana.

Sunday photos

I thought today was Saturday, so I missed church this morning. Instead, I went to the Botanical Gardens with Tonya (the Texan) and had a blissful afternoon. After the garden tour, we checked out a neat little market and had a delicious lunch- 4 cheese lasagne, which looked more like cheese soup - delightful nonetheless.

I bought a vase for my house (the place I will be moving August 1st) and picked up a new purse, to replace the one I lost.

And to my complete relief, my debit card works at the HSBC bank! Now I don't have to worry about getting the emergency credit card. Thank the Lord.

Just as a side note, I felt completely content today. Still coughing but 100 times better.

Tonight for dinner I made two of the French boys, Ben and Gabi, their first egg and cheese and ketchup sandwich. They graciously said they liked it : )

Out with all the volunteers tonight.

Best of times/worst of times Part Deux

Saturdays seem to be the day I'll have it all.

Like I posted earlier, feeling seriously ill is no fun at all, but once you are in the mindset that you are going to get better, all things are possible.

I ended up having an absolutely wonderful afternoon and evening (minus the Christ mis-hap) and it's not over yet. Highlights of today:

- having one of the best, if not the best, moments by myself, standing in a town square, marvelling at the reality of being in Rio de Janeiro. I came here alone, and have met some of the most hilarious, welcoming people in my life.

- I'll inform you of the French crew. There's Jules, who I'll call the 'lover'. His girlfriend, Christie, just arrived today and they haven't seen each other in 3 months. I'm sure you can imagine ha : ) Then there is Gabi, the 'silent one'. Next is Pierre, the prototype of a 'passionate Parisian'. There is also Ben, the 'nice/funny Jew'. And lastly, there is Lucy, who is actually Belgian, but since she speaks French fluently, I'll categorize her as the 'honorary Francais'.

They are an awesome group and I'm lucky I got to know them...

- having a going away dinner party for Angie, my room mate. There is nothing like having a huge home cooked meal in a foreign country. What a delight.

- Attending Angie's friend's samba birthday party. I was absorbed for the entire time, watching the fluid movements of the dancers. It was incredible. I even got asked to dance several times, but for one guy, all I had to say was

"Eu sou Canadense" which translates "I am Canadian". He laughed and walked away.

Saturdays in Rio are memorable, that is for sure.

Photos are: 3 of the French crew, after realizing we didn't make it.

Went to the hospital and almost saw Christ...

ha ok, ok I'll explain... before you start thinking I've had a 'divine' experience.

I'll start way back with last night.

I went out with the French crew again, and was enormously pleased I decided to tough it out to have the experiences that I did.

We hung out at this one particularly hip place for a bit, and people watched. I tried to savour the moment and the visuals of the crowd - drunk, rowdy Brazilian women, sophisticated young men eyeing up the available talent, openly affectionate lovers, the warm night air, the smiles and the easiness of it all.

Then we headed to a very memorable restaurant - a champagne bar of sorts. The French guys knew someone who worked there and we sat on a balcony, sipping delicious champagne for a couple of hours. It was glorious.

I knew the alcohol probably wouldn't be the best for my throat, but I decided it was worth the risk.

In the morning, I woke, drenched in sweat and it hit me hard: whether it was the alcohol's fault or not, I was worse. Waaay worse. Like oh my gosh get me to a doctor. Now.

I sat there for a minute, freaking out. 'Everyone is still sleeping. I don't want to have to bother Ingo [the volunteer co-ordinator]. I don't want to make a big scene. I hate going to the doctor at the best of times, and going in Brazil?' Plus, I'm ultra cheap and the thought of throwing down a bunch of money for medical services was not very appealing.

And then I thought, 'Claire, you are a big girl. Get a hold of yourself. Get up. Wash your face and go over there and wake him up. It's not the end of the world'

So I did. And we went. And it cost 300 Real but praise the Lord, I should be fine within a week. I just have really infected (gross, I know) tonsils and with regularly taking the anti-biotics I bought, I will be healthy in no time.

I know for a fact that it's the placebo effect, but I think I feel better already. Simply knowing that I have the ingredients to make myself well, makes me feel happy and lighthearted.

I think that's why I had such fun with the French crew today, even though we had a major disappointment.

And my major disappointment, I mean we arrived 5 minutes before closing to see the massive Christ statue, but they had closed the ticket window. We had spent loads of cash on getting a taxi there and it was lost...

I mainly felt bad for them because they have to leave soon, whereas I hopefully will have a chance to see it before I come home.

I will post more later... with pictures too. My camera needs to charge : )

Sickness not over but definitely better

I decided not to go to the doctor after all this morning, as I didn't really feel like paying 100 Reals to hear a doctor tell me I need rest and honey (which is what my co-ordinator advised I would probably be told).

I decided to go to the beach with everyone and watch the game! And by watch, I mean lie on the warm sand, and then occasionally take a dip in the cool, clear ocean, and then come back and lie around some more. It wasn't too strenuous and I feel substantially better now. However, I might pay for it later tonight...

I managed to catch these pictures from a balcony tonight. No matter where you are in the world, the moon is always gorgeous.

I can't believe I only have two weeks left!

Day 2 of feeling like I got hit by a truck...

Ok so it´s 7:30 pm here and I can´t tell if I´m better, worse, or the same because I´m so out of it. I slept until 1pm, then hung out by the pool for an hour and went back to bed around 2:30 and the next thing I know I wake up and it´s night. How is that possible? I´m quite disoriented.
I think I must be a little better because I haven´t taken any pain pills in a while and I´m surviving. I´ll see how I feel tomorrow and head to a doctor if nothing is different.
I´m going to try and stay up for at least an hour...

I´m really sick..

Ugh I think I must have the flu - a particularly horrible type, since I haven´t felt this bad in a very long time. This evening, I was actually starting to lose my voice because my throat hurt so much. The last time I honestly can say I lost my voice was after an N*Sync concert, at aged 13, from screaming all night long.

So, in order to make today at least somewhat interesting (I literally have slept for 17 hours and watched Mad Men on my laptop) I ordered McDonalds to my guesthouse. It was quite exciting, the process of trying to translate what I wanted, and then when he came I didn´t have the right change and everyone was in a tizzy trying to find the proper amount of money to give the delivery guy. I am covered in sweat. But I do have a McFlurry!

I also got the kids in the house a large fries. I managed to get these pics before they devoured them...

: )

I really hope I get better soon... pray for me? I don´t want to have to go to the doctor.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

I´ll keep it short tonight for 2 reasons: one - my day was not very exciting - and two - I have a sore throat so I think I should head to bed pretty soon.

Highlights of today:

- Visiting with the French crew this evening. Their guesthouse is just two doors down, so I popped by. It´s fascinating meeting new people, hearing about life in other countries. Plus, I think I´ve made my first ever Jewish friends : )

- Watching the rain pour down with one child, silently, as we stood at the window together. It´s beautiful how children are naturally open and willing to share moments, without explaining or feeling awkward.

And random Rio info:

- If you love McDonalds and have a bunch of money kicking around, Brazil is the place to be! You can actually order McD´s from your house and it is delivered to your door, for an extra cost. Could it get any easier for a lazy person? I think not! (I haven´t done it yet, but I´m definitely contemplating it ha)

-there is street art/graffiti absolutely everywhere. The city is a very colourful enviroment. Very vibrant, very loud.

The picture above is of art on the street I walk up and down every day to get to my project. Thought I´d give you a litte taste...

And the tide has turned once again

Just like my Mom wisely predicted, this trip is full of ups and downs. Last night, unfortunately, happened to be a bit of a down time. I think the reason was that I was exhausted and slightly cranky due to a lack of sleep and the place we went to made me feel highly uncomfortable. I honestly likened the World Cup street party all of us volunteers attended to a ocean, swarming with men sharks and us girls were like tasty little fish. Thank goodness we had a couple of guys in our group to fend off the particularly aggressive ones.

Anyways, I was still a tiny bit cranky this morning, but progressively, the day got better and I feel back to normal. : )

Let´s get straight to the highlights then:

- designing the murals for a couple of walls in the favela. We will paint them with the kids on Wednesday. I did learn though, that apparently I am not skilled at drawing a large scale landscape, consisting of a rainbow and clouds. I feel a little embarrassed that my bad artwork has to be stuck on their walls as a reminder of that really light skinned Canadian who visited for a month. ha oh well

- making dinner with Stephanie and sharing in the community atmosphere of the guesthouse

- chilling with the volunteers at the local hangout. ~

And now on to tidbits of information about life in Rio:

- If you ever want to travel to a city where you might actually lose weight, Rio is the city to do it in. Spend 3 or 4 days walking around and you will have buns of steel. These hills here are killer.

-red lights don´t necessarily mean stop while driving in a taxi. It´s more like... hey if there´s no other cars immediately in sight, proceed even faster.
(Don´t worry Mom, I am safe!)

The photos tonight are of us volunteers, down at the local hangout. Special photo dedication to Preena, who had her last night here. Miss you!

It was the best of times and the worst of times...

Yesterday turned out to be quite an interesting day, one that was filled with unadulterated fun and real frustration.

I'll explain: long story short - I had a perfect beach day morning, had a blast watching Toy Story 3 with Timothy and Ange and Tonya (another volunteer) at the movie theatres, then realized my purse had been lost/stolen, then frantically searching for 2 hours, then going through the process of cancelling my credit card, ordering a new one, and then mustering up energy to go out, and in the end having probably the best night out so far.

Summing up my day brutally minimizes the emotions and intensity I felt, so I'll pick out certain highlights that I think I will remember years to come...

- Playing in the clear blue ocean and getting thrown around by the current

- People watching on the beach and feeling immersed in a new cultural experience. All the men actually do wear those tiny booty swimming shorts. ha!

- Meeting a group of Brazilian/American guys

- Being so touched by one scene in Toy Story that I almost teared up. Oh and I watched the entire movie in dubbed Portuguese. I felt proud to understand the majority of it. ok ok I know it's a kid's movie, but still! I've learned a lot, in a short amount of time : )

- But then, forgetting any words in Portuguese I know to try and explain to the movie theatre staff that my bag was missing. ( I had tucked it under my seat, and when I walked out I realized I'd forgot it, so I went back to get it, and it was gone already.) I felt lost - thank goodness Angie, my room mate came with me to explain.

- Realizing that it was only money and my credit card gone. I could have been much, much worse.

- and lastly, going out with Dani and Rachel to this fairly exclusive restaurant, and having the best night ever. I was so glad I got to experience this 'other' side of Brazilian culture, one of wealth and distinction and taste. Rio is such an unusual city, and I've never seen the blatant mix of poverty and wealth so openly before. It makes me appreciate Vancouver, that's for sure. Oh and there was this one American/Brazilian guy....

; )

Thoughts...

The day isn't over yet but I thought I'd post now since I'm going out tonight with all the other volunteers : )

Highlights for this Friday:

- Helping at a health awareness kiosk inside the local high-school in the favela. It was fascinating to witness the interactions and actions of the students, teachers, and random people who Stephanie and I could not figure out why they were there. These were our main thoughts:

a) teenagers are teenagers, no matter where you are in the world. They joke about sex, they wear funny clothes, and they try to be cool.

b) it felt a little intimidating entering a school with massive locked gates and a guard. This was during the middle of the afternoon, too. I think it was good to be reminded of the dangers we face in this area, because it is easy to get complacent, feeling like we are protected due to our connections with high profile community leaders.

c) the flow of Brazilian life is much much different than Canadian life. Time runs on a different schedule - the students seemed to move with fluidity - passing through, not too worried about making it to class on time.

Did you know in Brazil it's only considered late if you are more than 2 hours past the planned meeting time? Half an hour late is perfectly normal.

- and feeling blessed to be working and living with such nice people. I had no idea coming into this project that there would be as many other volunteers, and it's been such a wonderful surprise to make new friends. It's funny though, since I haven't had to make new friends in a while, I'd forgot the work it takes to put yourself out there. After this experience, I think it will be a breeze moving to downtown Vancouver, and meeting new people.

Turns out I'm posting now, at 3:30 in the morning. All of us volunteers went downtown to a fabulous samba party and I had a lot of fun meeting people, but especially I enjoyed hanging out with the French boys again. Hilarious. Good times.

The bottom photo is of my room-mate, Angie, Tiago (a Brazilian student who lives in the guesthouse) and me. The other is of Stephanie and a nice French man we met tonight : )

Best Day Yet!/ The "Fixer"

Oh my gosh today was unreal. I honestly can't sum up the 'amazingness' in one short blog but I'll give it a go (as my wonderful British/Australian companions would say)...

- Dani, Stephanie (who is a new volunteer) and I painted walls in the favela this morning. I was the translator and we happened to make friends with this group of pre-teen girls watching us. I think the moment they decided they liked us was when I could sing Justin Bieber's song "Baby, Baby" along with them. They bought us a can of Coke to share. It felt pretty neat, that connection and friendship we made, through something as ridiculous as Bieber Fever.

- Playing with the children again this afternoon at my regular project. Like Dani said, you leave the project as though you are filled up. It's hard to explain - the joy these children possess is contagious and you can't help but feeling a 'high'. It's absolutely exhausting and yet so incredibly worth it.

-Meeting up with Guto!! Long story short: he's a relative of a woman I work with in Canada, and she got me connected with him so I could know a local in case of an emergency.

I had hoped that he would be willing to show me around but I didn't want to expect much from him. That's why I was really pleased when he said he would pick me up tonight. And the best part- Not only did he take me to the mall to get a dictionary, he got dinner for us (thank you again!) and then he sat with me as I used his phone to call my credit card company to make sure it would work here (I forgot to let my bank know I was in Brazil. oops.).

He was like my personal Brazilian "fixer"!

Another full day tomorrow. I'm dead tired but happier than I've been in a long time. : )

Goodnight!

A day at the nursery...

Today I went and volunteered with a different project, a community centre that takes care of babies and toddlers. There were only 8 or so children today though, because most of the parents who normally drop off their kids were hung over from partying (due to the big Brazil soccer game).

Then, in the afternoon, Evan (an American volunteer) and I went to a different community centre and taught some English to a bunch of little girls. We came up with lessons on the spur of the moment. : )

Highlights:

- reading books in Portuguese to a little boy. I wonder if he actually knew what I was saying...

- walking up these GIGANTIC hills to get to the favelas and down to the buses.

-making myself a huge and healthy dinner, bought fresh from the local supermarket. I felt like a local.

- skyping with my Mom and sister and Leah

And then two tidbits of interesting information regarding life in Rio:

- If you want to take the bus in some parts of town, you don't need to find a bus stop. You just stand on the street, wherever, and wave it down. It felt slightly strange, the first time, getting this huge bus to stop for only Evan and I as we stood on a random street corner.

-Everyone drives here like it's the movie Italian Job or Fast and the Furious. Even the buses. I swear we have whipped down cobbled back streets at like 80 to 100 kilometres per hour. If a bus drove like that in Vancouver, I would pretty much assume the driver had a death wish.

That's it for now : ) Thanks for reading...

And Danielle... here's a picture of my room just for you! The other pictures are: me reading a book in Portuguese, Evan playing soccer with a kid who was waiting for his turn to be cleaned (we shower and feed each child one at a time), and one of those friggin hills we trekked. I'm not tilting my camera one bit. Ugh.

Timothy: The most fun and useful semi-handicapped 14 year old boy I've ever met

He's special but I'm not exactly sure why - maybe some form of autism? Anyways, he's incredibly smart with languages and it's been quite entertaining learning from him. Timothy's grandmother is the caretaker of the guesthouse where I am staying (a guesthouse is like a massive bed and breakfast) and that's the reason he is around regularly.

Learning another language can be tiring and almost embarrassing, as you struggle to pronounce a single word for the 10th time, and the adult looks at you, like 'seriously? why can't you get it? are you retarded?'. But because he's different, there's no judgement. I think he's my favourite teacher yet : )

Last Night I Was a Little Low, But Today is a Party!

Yeah, last night I had a bit of lonely evening, but I should have seen it coming, since it was on my third day in Europe I had a good cry too. The first couple of days are overwhelming and then by the third day all the emotions come out, you know? It's been built up in me for the past 3 months basically! ha

Today on the other hand though, was a wild Brazilian partaaay! We (and by we I mean 10 or so other volunteers ) went to Copacabana, which is the big main beach. It was quite similar to the Olympic venues, set up by FIFA. My project, and everyone else's, was closed for the day. Literally, the whole country shuts down when a game is on.

We ate and danced and watched the game. Brazil won of course : )

I'm a little sunburned but otherwise fantastic.

I'm headed to the nursery project to volunteer tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Here's pictures of the game and 3 of the volunteers: Danni (who's on my project), Chris, and one other girl, which is terrible that I can't remember her name! haha sorry!

Simply Incredible

That's the only way I can describe today.

I think I'm still on a bit of high, really.

It was my first day on the project, the community centre in the favelas.

I can hardly break it down into highlights but I'll try:

- Looking over the entire city of Rio, perched on this mountain where my favela is located. I can't believe how beautiful it is. I'll post pictures tomorrow hopefully.

- Sitting, eating lunch and watching birds and animals I've never seen before. The girl I am working with agreed that it felt like we were watching a scene from Avatar.

- speaking Portuguese all. day. long. Oh my goodness I don't think my brain has been so tired.

- Working with this really sweet British girl named Danielle! She's so nice, and wears really short shorts and has blond hair so she draws all the attention. The men don't even notice me! I feel much more comfortable walking around ha.

- and most of all, working with the kids. They were amazing, loud, joyous, hilarious and loving. We played games, made music, and did art. My favourite kid is nicknamed Buddy Spike.

- Coming back to the hotel and going for a swim, under the stars. It's winter here (still quite warm though) so it gets dark early - like 5:30pm.

I'm going to sleep easily tonight. Praise the Lord. I am so thankful I'm here.

The photos above: The pool, the streets, decorated for the World Cup.

Sunday Memorable Moments

-Attending a traditional Baptist church service at this ancient, massive, white pillared church downtown. I was introduced to the congregation, around 800 people, as the special Canadian vistor. Basically, that meant people had a license to stare.

-I had a personal translator for the whole service, which made things much more enjoyable. (The only downside was that I couldn’t zone out parts of the sermon like I normally do -hey! everyone does! - because she was whispering English in my ear constantly).

-I was taken out for lunch by the main pastor and his American wife, Peggy, to a local restaurant. I particularly liked the “cheese balls” and the freshly squeezed limeade.

-Being driven home and seeing all the decorations for the World Cup soccer.

-And making myself dinner tonight. Even though I had to contend with mosquitos and a lack of measuring cups, it turned out alright.

And lastly, here are 2 funny things I learned today:

1.When it’s too cold out, many people don’t come to church, as was the case this morning. It was 20 degrees Celsius. HA!

2.I asked Peggy why I heard fireworks last night, and she responded, “Oh no reason really. Everyone just likes fireworks”. Whaaat? So random! She explained that it’s not uncommon to hear fireworks everyday - I’ve already heard 2 bangs this afternoon.

Ok that’s it for now. The real stuff starts tomorrow!

Lots of firsts

Today has been busy and wonderful.

Like I promised, I'll try to stick to the highlights.

- I had my orientation this afternoon, sitting by the pool in the sunshine with wild parrots flying overhead. I felt quite relaxed about my choice to be here.

- was walked to the grocery store and left there to do my own shopping. It took me FOREVER (and talking in Portuguese for the first time!) to figure out that the eggs were placed with the vegetables. For Brazilians that is the obvious place to put eggs I guess.

- had an delicious BBQ at a house just up the street, hosted by my volunteer co-ordinator. I met like 20 people and after about 2 hours my brain became numb from trying to follow conversations in Portuguese, French and English.

- I particularly liked the bathtub bbq and these 2 boys who reminded me of a comedy duo, like Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Only these guys were French, skinny, and smoking non-stop.

Church tomorrow! Good times. Praise God : )

Arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Wow I made it. I need to get changed and crawl in bed, and then I'll post more in a couple hours.

I feel good, just a little hungry. : )

Made it to Houston, Texas

I'm here sitting on the floor outside the women's washroom because it's the only place with an electrical outlet. I'm not ashamed- there's another woman beside me : )

The flight was surprisingly fast and nice. I sat beside a lovely elderly couple from Florida, who were just returning from an Alaskan cruise. I enjoyed talking with them, but I noticed that my speech changes when I'm conversing with Americans. I speak more slowly and at a 4 to 5 year old verbal comprehension level. Oh well - they didn't seem to mind - I think they liked it actually.

Now on to my long haul flight - 10 hours to Rio de Janeiro. I plan on taking some sleeping assistance pills and praying for no screaming babies. Fingers crossed!

The adventure has really begun...

I'm a little sweaty but otherwise good

Here in the airport, and I successfully made it through customs. I had the privilege of doing a full body scan for the first time because someone thought I looked like a threat. Ha! I was given a hard time by the ticket checker because my passport is sort of misshapen (I dropped it in a puddle once) and she even said I might not be allowed entry into Brazil because of it. Greeeat. Just what I wanted to hear. As I said goodbye to Joy we smiled- a trip without drama isn't a normal trip at all. : )

So I'm here at my gate, with some Tim Hortons. I think this will be amazing.

I can't believe I'm going alone!

I never thought I'd do an international service trip by myself at aged 23. But then, life doesn't always turn out quite like you've expected. It can turn out much more exciting and wonderful than you would have ever guessed : )

So, for company, my awesome friend Leah has let me borrow Scrubs, Mad Men and season one of How I Met Your Mother. I think those should keep me entertained for a while!

Special thanks to James

I have one awesome friend who has been particularly good to me these past couple of months as I've prepared to go to Rio. He's had to endure daily updates and a constant barrage of "Brazil this, Brazil that". From the first few excited days of planning back in March to these last couple of slightly cranky days (waiting for the flight day to hurry up and come!) he's been wonderfully supportive. So for that, James, thank you.

One thing I'm particularly excited for:

Is the Fifa world cup of soccer. Brazil has a real chance of winning, and from what I've heard, the country celebrates like we did when we won the gold medal in men's hockey at the Olympics this year.

And the nervous excitement has set in!

In order to keep my day busy, I went and helped some seniors play Bingo at a local nursing home (where I have volunteered for the past couple of years). They are hilarious - what a great way to spend the day before I take off in the morning tomorrow : )

Apparently, to fit in culturally as a woman in Brazil...

I need to have my nails done every week! So I got my first ever manicure and pedicure by a lovely Vietnamese man (which was slightly weird and unexpected) and a woman in Aldergrove

: )

I am blessed!

I feel extremely blessed to have so many special people in my life, who are willing to pray for me while I experience this adventure. I am truly thankful. It means a lot, to have all of you supporting me.

Here are my best girlfriends. Love you : )

Ah, sun...

I just checked the weather forecast, and it looks like straight sun and warm weather: between 22 and 26 Celsius. Perfect : )

I'm semi-packed

It's only Monday but I wanted to do a trial pack, to make sure everything fits. Because it's not just clothes I'm bringing, you know. Protein bars and high heels have to make it to Rio as well

: )