A run, the sun, the sea, goodbyes

I was anticipating today and I wasn't disappointed.

I managed to get up early at 7:15, and went for a long run at Flamengo beach (the closest one to my guesthouse). I am not normally a 'morning person' but after falling asleep at 9pm the night before, I was ready for some action.

I particularly enjoyed feeling like a local - jogging along with hundreds of other Brazilians, in the soft morning sunlight.

Then, I met up with Rachel and Dani and we slowly made it to Ipanema Beach. We found Haley and James and I finally got to swim for a while. Every other time I've been to the beach I have been wearing makeup, preventing me from swimming with my head under because mascara and contacts don't mix well. This time though, I planned ahead, and didn't wear any mascara. It was superb. The water is fairly warm and exceptionally clean and the waves are a lot of fun to play in. Yes, that's right, I said play. Whatever! I hope never to be too old to be able to frolic in the sea : )

We all stayed at the beach until it was time for Rachel to go, as she is flying home this evening. It was sad, having to see her off. It's funny how attached you can be with someone you've only just met a couple of weeks ago.

Anyways, highlights of today:

- sitting at Big Nectar, waiting for Dani and Rach, and having a little conversation with a pre-teen girl waiting for her Mom. My Portuguese may be limited, but it's still workable.

- recognizing people on the streets. I had this one really nice waiter at a restaurant stop and say hello to me this morning, because he remembered me. The friendliness of the people is unbelievable.

- buying sunglasses from a vendor on the beach and managing to haggle down the price. I never usually have the guts to do that!

Photos above: of Rachel : ) "It's good, but it's bad, you know"

Picture Time!

I got a bunch of great photos so I thought I'd post them now while I'm here.

I'll write about my day later tonight.

Photos above: At Ipanema Beach. The adorable couple is Haley and James. It's winter vacation here, hence all the people at the beach on a Tuesday afternoon.

Full Day

Today was a regular Monday - as normal as it gets while working in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

Highlights of today:

- having Haley along for the project today. Her Portuguese is better than mine and it makes things so much easier with her around : )

- painting the wall murals in the favelas. I can't wait to get a picture. Honestly, they look terrible, like a 4 year old did them. It's hilarious. I will not be signing my name or country underneath, that's for sure.

- having a nice long lunch with Dani, Haley and Jordan (another new volunteer, from Texas).

- doing arts and crafts with the kids this afternoon. I love the hugs they give. I also love it when they call you Tia, which means Auntie.

I'm tired, but a good tired. A worthwhile day.

Beach day tomorrow!

Photos: old ones, since I didn't get any pictures today. I apologize for the blurriness of the first photo, it is that way because I snapped it while we were rocketing along in a bus. Not bad in my opinion!

Some of the awesome volunteers: (Left to Right) Fleur, Shane, Me, Victoria, Rachel, Danielle, Lucy.

Cutting my own watermelon

Today was another marvelous day.

I'm sitting here, in my room, with the dull pounding of music that is coming from somewhere in the neighbourhood, thinking: I don't deserve to be this happy. I almost feel guilty for having such a good time here in Rio. Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Ha!

I guess it's that I don't want people to think I'm bragging on my blog, how every day is fantastic and I'm having the time of my life. Yes, while that is correct, I also have down times.

It can be exhausting trying to converse with people in Portuguese, I get cranky with some of the volunteers occasionally when I am hungry and tired, and I very rarely get the sleep I need.

So don't get too jealous when I post about today. My life here is not perfect by any means.

However, life is a lot of fun right now, and I want to share my experiences. I do appreciate you reading. : )

Today then - Sunday.

Evan, Lauri and I made it to church this morning, even though we were half an hour late. We accidentally caught the bus going the wrong direction. I was glad we went though, because it was a neat service to attend - we took communion. Apparently Baptist churches are the same around the world: grape juice is the communion drink of choice, and not wine. I had to laugh : )

After church, we headed to Ipanema Beach. Lauri and Evan and I managed to find the rest of the volunteers and we all chilled together.

Highlights of the beach:

- sitting in the hot sun but not getting burned because it's winter sun here. Absolutely divine.

- running into this local Brazilian guy that Dani and I had met before. He is 18, and from the local slum neighbourhood. The special thing about him though, is that he is quite smart and has taught himself English so that he could find a decent job, to try and escape the drugs and poverty of his peers. I was not only impressed by his motivation but his natural friendliness and generosity. I especially liked it when he gave me a bag of traditional Brazilian cookies, with no strings attached. Just because. (Turns out the cookies were kind of gross, but it was the thought I'll remember).

After the beach, we hit up the market. I loved walking around, looking at the beautiful jewellery and art and clothes and bags. I will definitely be back next week, with more money.

Then, this evening I made myself a huge healthy dinner. I felt so proud, to do it on my own. And it got me thinking...

these past couple of weeks have really changed me as a person. I honestly feel like I've grown up enormously. While I was sitting at the table, cutting up watermelon for dessert, it dawned on me - I'm doing this on my own. Entirely.

I've always had my dad or mom or brother or boyfriend to cut my watermelon (I'm generally useless at cutting large objects) and this is the first time I've done it by myself. I could go find the gardener if I was desperate but that would be pretty lame. So I suck it up and figure it out. And it is awesome.

I knew coming here would be a new chapter in my life, but I didn't expect how happy it would make me.

Praise the Lord.

: )

The pictures above: At church - A lady I met who can speak English and translates, Evan and Lauri and I. And Ipanema Beach.

Saturday

Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.

This is what it entailed:

I woke up late, because I'd been out late the night before with everyone, at this posh place, called 00 (Zero Zero). It was fun, although highly expensive. I think the most memorable part of the night was when Steph and I stopped in at Big Nectar on the way home (roughly the equivalent of a Tim Hortons, but Brazilian) and we got told by a stranger that we probably shouldn't eat too much if we want to remain pretty. I told him we could eat whatever we wanted, thank you very much. He didn't say anything after that.

So this afternoon I hung around by the pool and swam for a bit. Then, I was slightly adventurous and caught my very own taxi for the first time in my life as I had plans to meet up with some Canadians. Yes, hard to believe but true. I've only ever caught taxis with other people. Luckily, the cab driver knew where I was headed, and no awkward baby talk questioning in Portuguese was necessary.

I met Haley and her boyfriend, some fellow university students from Vancouver who are doing thesis research here. Long story short, Haley will be coming with me to my project on Monday for research, and we wanted to meet up and hang out before she came to the favelas. We had a delicious late lunch in a neat, retro restaurant.

Afterwards, I met up with the rest of the volunteers for dinner at an all you can eat pizza restaurant. The best part, by far, is the desert pizza at the end. Oh wow it is good. Strawberries, chocolate, ice cream, candy, everything yummy you would like to put on a crepe (that's essentially what the dessert pizza was like). I definitely got my money's worth!

Now on to random thoughts/comments:

- I officially have decided that I do not enjoy watching soccer. I think the men are kind of weenie. They dive, they whine, they exaggerate and it's boring/frustrating. Plus, the pace of the game seems slow and I can't stand how the players are tiny on the screen. Not nearly as interesting as hockey in my opinion. Sorry Dad!

- Rio is a city of dogs. True fact. It seems like everyone here owns at least one dog as a pet, if not two. Sadly though, it doesn't seem like pet owners in Brazil are diligent about grooming and walking. I don't think I've ever seen the two dogs at my house or the other volunteers' houses get a proper walk.

Anyways, I'm going to head to bed early, because I plan on going to church tomorrow morning.

Thanks for reading!

Photos above: us at the pizza place and me walking up the 187 stairs we have to do everyday. I did them 3 times today.

Quick update

Even though Brazil lost in the Fifa World Cup of soccer this morning, the city remains quite upbeat. I think most people had expected to party today, and are going to continue to be festive, regardless of the score.

We watched it at the beach again. I managed to get one of these pictures by holding up my camera behind me. Love it!

After the game I came back and went for a run at Flamengo beach. Running by palm trees and feeling the warm ocean breeze was like a dream for me. It felt so good to exercise, since I've missed a week due to being sick. I think it's probably been over 2 years that I've gone that long without running.

Sometimes the days feel extremely long here, and sometimes one day feels like a couple of hours. Yesterday, I had to be reminded that it was Canada Day - I completely lose track of dates and live by the sun - literally. I don't have a watch so either I ask people the time, or just estimate based on how low the sun is in the sky. I like it that way : )

Going out tonight with everyone. I'm excited!

One of those days...

that you rarely get the chance to have. A day that you will treasure, one that you reminisce about. When you are sitting at work, looking out the window into the grey cold and you think, oh yea, there was that time when I was content with my life, with everything. Happy.

Three reasons why today is a day to remember:

- I got to see the Christ the Redeemer statue with a great group of volunteers

- This afternoon at project, I experienced one of those moments that I had prayed for - true connection and beauty with the children as we laughed and played soccer and danced and talked.

- Going grocery shopping, making myself a nice dinner, talking with my room mate, Lucy, and skyping with my friend James. Seems simple, but it is hugely important for me. It's about learning how to be independent, making new friends, and keeping old ones. It's a shift in my life that I am navigating, with God's blessing.

Here are some photos:

(See Dad, I actually do work!)

: )