I’ve been living in Brazil for over a month now, so I guess it’s as good a time as any to give you guys an update. I landed in Rio de Janeiro for a fun-filled four day tourist jaunt around the city. Staying the Ipanema Guest House just a couple blocks from the beach, I met some fantastic European and American traveler-types who were mostly doing the South America circuit (and therefore complaining bitterly about how expensive Brazil is!) Despite its reputation as a dangerous place (and yes a couple of girls and a Brazilian hostel staffer did get robbed at knifepoint one night) in my mind this is superseded by the city’s inherent beauty. Climbing up Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer’s mountain) at sunset and flying high above Tijuca rainforest, Rocinha Favela and Leblon beach in a hang glider both offered spectacular views (although there may have been some intermittent assault rifle fire coming from the favelas behind Copacabana when the sun went down).
However, the majority of my time—and indeed the reason I am here—has been spent in the gorgeous island city of Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina state, 463 miles south of Rio. Just to give you a snapshot of where I live, Floripa is on the 50 mile long island of Santa Catarina that hugs the Brazilian coast bursting with 40+ beaches and connected only by one short bridge. In addition to my university (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina) of approximately 30,000 students, the island is littered with other smaller faculdades. The New York Times called Floripa the party capital of the world for 2009 because of its beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and its abundant undeveloped wilderness. Before I arrived here, whenever I told a Brazilian I was going to live here unfailingly they told me: you are so lucky! Floripa is the best place in the world! Many say that it is practically another country altogether. That said, the population can double or triple in the height of tourist season (mostly domestic and Argentian tourists) and so can prices.
In my month here I have been living in a República, a student house, with 6 Brazilian guys aged 23-28 and our pitbull, Lara, in the chic Parque São Jorge neighborhood a few minutes ride from UFSC. Four of them are engineering undergrads, one just finished an engineering graduate degree, and the other is working on a master’s in physical fitness. I found the house on the UFSC classifieds listings and it was wonderfully fortuitous. Coming to Brazil not knowing anything or anybody…or any Portuguese, I was immediately introduce to six cool guys (gente boa) my age who are well rooted in Floripa. Since arriving I’ve hit the ground running and haven’t looked back. Someone is always going somewhere or doing something and wants to know if I want to tag along. And in this way I’ve already met a lot of people on the island. Also, I was assigned a “padrinho” by the university, sort of a Brazil liaison. From the day I met Gustavo he and his wife, Silvana, have been unflappably friendly and helpful in dealing with the Brazilian bureaucracy and settling in. They took me out with their friends on my birthday (both nights) and brought me on a trip to his brother-in-law’s brewery in Gaspar (near German-centric Blumenau) and to their beachfront apartment in Camboriú.
As for my Portuguese all I can say is…porra gringo! (Mom, don’t Google translate that). The first few days it was painfully difficult to understand anything anybody said—I could hardly believe this was supposed to be so similar to Spanish. But through the magical powers of semi-immersion (the guys all speak very good English for better or for worse) within two weeks I was conversing in Portuguese. Now, a month in I can understand a lot and express myself somewhat freely—albeit littered with grammatical errors. When classes start in about 2 weeks I should be in relatively good shape although I don’t think I will be able to entirely follow fast-paced, accent-infused class discussions for at least another month.
Speaking of accents, Brazilian women love hearing a gringo speak Portuguese…or English…or anything really—or as I like to say: a vida do gringo é bem fácil (the life of the gringo is very easy). Moving on…
Saturday I am off to Curitiba – Paraná for some cheap, delicious churrasco and a Sunday derby match between Atlético Paranense and Coritiba FC in the 40,000 seat Arena da Baixada. Monday I am flying off to Manaus, 1850 miles away cozily situated on the Amazon River deep in the rainforest. More on that to follow of course. I return to Floripa on the 28th of July, classes start the 3rd of August and my friends from GW, Micah and Jackie, arrive the 8th of São Paulo (I’m flying out to meet them and catch a SPFC game at the 80,000+ Morumbí Stadium).
Well that’s my life, sem tempo pra respirar. I love it here and can’t wait until the summer sun comes out and Floripa begins to show its full potential…
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