Buzios!

A couple weekends ago, April 11th-13th, we finally made it outside the city of Rio. We traveled alone to a beautiful city about 3 hours east called Buzios. Our first night there, we were exhausted from the school week so we went straight to sleep at the Catavento Guest House. There was some confusion in finding the guest house at night, but we made it safe and sound. First thing in the morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast of coffee, ham, cheese, bread, papaya, and watermelon. Then, of course, we got ready to go to the beach!

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was warm and sunny with a fresh tropical breeze blowing all day long. The main street of downtown Buzios is called Rua das Pedras. It’s a quaint little street running parallel to a beach. The road is paved with cobblestone and lined with little shops and restaurants that open and close whenever they please. For a tourist destination, we found many good bargains for souvenirs and things to bring home. After walking around aimlessly looking for a good beach to swim at, we met a man offering buggy tours around the island. I'm so glad we agreed to go because it was an amazing opportunity to see the entire peninsula, its gorgeous views, and colorful neighborhoods.

The land was very open with rolling hills, tall trees, flowering bushes, open fields, and rocky cliffs. The traffic was also refreshing compared to the cut-throat drivers from the big city. The buggy man dropped us off at a beach called Ferradura and agreed to pick us up again around 3pm. The water was cool and calm because it was in a cove which blocked most of the tide. It was so clear that we could see straight to our feet and a few fish swimming around. I probably looked like a crazy person playing in the sand, but it was so clean and soft that I couldn’t stop running my fingers and toes through it.

After returning back to the guest house to shower and change, we went back downtown to shop and find a place to eat. The restaurant we went to had the most amazing fresh fish I’ve ever tasted. And our waiter spoke English because he used to be an MMA fighter in California! We ended our perfect vacation by walking around, enjoying the night life, listening to music, and watching street performers. We walked to Ferradura one more time the next morning to get some sun before heading back to Rio on the bus around 4pm.

 Breakfast at the guest house

 Rua das Pedras

 Our wonderful buggy tour guide

 One of the best meals I've ever had

 All wearing our Brazilian outfits :)

View from the guest house

International Festival

On March 29th, the school had it's International Festival. I've attended similar events at the mosque in Perrysburg, Ohio. Many tables were set up around the school's courtyard- each one had traditional foods and decorations that represented a different country. We, the student teachers, were asked to represent the United States! The school's cafeteria made us brownies and hot dogs to hand out to people. We also had a football, US currency, a 50 states slideshow, popular children's books, pictures of important US monuments, and t-shirts from BGSU decorating the table. It was an honor to represent our country and share our culture with the people here! I also enjoyed trying EVERY kind of food from the other countries. My favorite tables were Israel and Columbia. Mexico was also right beside our table temping us with their mini burritos and chips and salsa. The whole festival lasted from 2-6pm. We had a great time but were exhausted by the end. On our way home afterwards, we ran into one of our neighbors in the villa. He is a frail old man that lives with a couple of women that take care of him. We've seen him walking to the end and back of our villa street before but have never been able to communicate with him. Luckily, one of the teachers from school was with us to translate. We learned that the man's name is George and he used to be a famous horse jockey when he was younger! He had an ancient photo album to show us some pictures of his past horses and races. Such an amazing man!

 The children were taking over our booth :)

 Felipe and his beautiful son, Bernardo

 George!