Capoeira, Wedgies and Language Mishaps

January, 2014

Oii Amigas!

It has been a little over a week since I have moved to my new home in Florianopolis, Brazil. My Swedish roommates and I were in for quite a shock when we moved into our apartment only to find that it was not really an apartment at all. The USAC staff drove us up this steep and windy hill (basically a casual mountain) and finally dropped us off at our apartment or should I say, construction site. Basically our apartment was shit city, ladders and tools everywhere, men coming in and out to do construction, no air conditioning, windows with wooden planks covering half of the window… oh and my bed was a babies crib. I know I’m small but no need to rub it in. Anyways, we moved into the disaster zone and were told to hang tight because the work would be done by the end of the week. Needless to say, we're running on Brazilian time and after a few weeks we moved out of the death trap and onto bigger and better things, a nice little house with a Brazilian granny downstairs (bless her soul).

Despite the apartment fiasco, life as a Brazilian wanna-bee has been fabulous. The area that we live in is really lively and is only a 5 minute walk from UFSC, our host University. Florianopolis is more beautiful than I imagined, It has large green mountains, massive hills and clear blue oceans. I’ve been to 6 out of the 42 beaches ( I know, dreamy) and already I am starting to get the hang of the Brazilian beach styles. As I have written before, its all about the booty in Brazil and women wear next to nothing at the beach. Not gonna lie, I occasionally give myself a discrete wedgie on the beach so I can fit in a little more. Brazilians call our regular bathing suit bottoms, “diapers”. There is also one nudist beach on the island that we may check out if we're feeling extra wild. My favorite part of the Island however, is the way it lights up at night. As soon as it gets dark out, the hills light up with all of the lights in peoples houses and It is really a beautiful sight (the hills are definitely alive with the south of music).

On another note, I have officially started my classes at UFSC

and have begun my intensive Portuguese and surfing classes

(oh yeaaaa!). My Portuguese is slowly improving and I can now introduce myself to people and ask how they are doing (I still get some blank stares but its a work in progress!). Thankfully I was paired off with a Brazilian conversation partner to help me improve and become less gringa (not sure if that is possible),

her name is Marina and she is incredibly sweet and helpful. The other night she took me to this alternative club, alternative actually being an understatement. The club had clowns, pole dancing and people passing out popcorn…the perfect combination! My surf classes on the other hand have been rocking!! Really one of the highlights here is the fact that I can take surfing class for college credit, taking the traditional classroom to the next level.

Today we had an optional Capoeira class which is Afro-Brazilian martial arts infused with dance, acrobats and music. It was invented by the Afro-brazilian community and is an incredibly popular art form around the country. Our teacher taught us the different chants, movements and kicks that are crucial for Capoeira- it reminded me a lot of the West African dances I learnt at Collii Park. Heads up, I have signed up to take the Capoeria class every week so yall better not mess with me when I get home…. arms of steel, no big deal.