Ouro Preto

Hello fans! Long time no see! I have been as busy as ever these past weeks with the beginning of finals at school while simultaneously house-hunting for next semester and continuing my two internships, Throw in some baby-sitting here and there, training for and running a 10k, and trying stand-up paddle boarding for the first time last week-end and well, you get the idea... there just hasn't been much time for updating my blog!

I have been meaning to write a post about the UC trip earlier this month to Ouro Preto, a quaint colonial Portuguese town in Minas Gerais state (the state just to the west of Rio in the Brazilian interior) who's name means "Black Gold." The town's once-thriving gold-mining past is evident by the abundance of churches with ornate gold interiors throughout the small, sleepy town. The town is known today for having a large student population and thus one of the most festive carnivals in Brazil. Walking around the town on Saturday night reminded me a bit of Isla Vista (for all of you that don't know that's the infamous student party town adjacent to UCSB) because of the sheer number of college students filling the streets, preventing cars from passing by every now and then. Every other house in the town seemed to be a Republica, which is like a co-ed fraternity or club that hosts student parties.

All the streets in Ouro Preto were cobblestone, and there is a building code that stipulates all the buildings there have to be in the original Portuguese colonial style the town was first built in!

Igreja São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. The altar inside is covered in gold.

The character of Ouro Preto and the Minas Gerais region was worlds away from Rio, even though it's only a 7 hour bus ride away. The whole place had such a rural farming feel to it, and the dairy industry is really strong there aka the cheese was AMAZING!! I ate so much delicious food there including lamb, feijão tropeiro (beans cooked with cassava flour, onions, eggs, and bacon) and pão de batata com queijo minas (potato bread with minas cheese, a mild and salty white cheese). One night we also did a typical Brazilian "rodizio" in which waiters constantly brought various savory crepes and pizzas to our table with the wierdest but still delicious combos (crepes filled with pumpkin and cream cheese or pizza topped with boiled eggs and dried cod anyone?) the whole night until we couldn't stuff any more food into our mouths. Then, as if that was not already enough, we were also allowed dessert pizzas--i got mine with chocolate and strawberries on top! It was a very indulgent trip indeed food-wise, and the best part was that it was all already paid for in our UC fees so I definitely didn't hold back haha!

Because the state is landlocked, there is no beach in Minas Gerais but we were able to go swimming on the last day in the caves of a gold mine in Mariana. We rode a tiny little trolley that was held by just one cable down more than 100 meters into the earth (I felt like one of the dwarves from Snow White!). Once in the mine, we explored the caves and swam in one of the pools down there even though there was a big sign saying it was not allowed... We  made sure to ask permission from one of the women working at the park and she said it was fine (woohoo for the jeitinho brasileiro....I kept thinking this kind of situation would not fly in the US).... but we just had to be careful not to swallow the water because it had arsenic in it. The water was absolutely freezing but so clear and beautiful!

Getting ready to descend into the abyss!

There's nothing quite like swimming in clear, dark waters underneath the earth!

Look at all these happy campers! Here is the UC group in front of Mina da Passagem, an old gold mine in Mariana, Minas Gerais

I can't believe this semester is already coming to an end...By Wednesday night of this week, I'll be done with finals! Tonight my friends and I are having a thanksgiving potluck and tomorrow we are going to the Lagoa to watch the annual tree-lighting ceremony of the enormous Christmas tree that floats on the water there every Christmas season. It's supposed to be a big deal so I'm excited...there's going to be fireworks and live music, and there's even a livestream of the whole thing on the internet too!

Muitos beijos to all!
Marie

Never a dull moment studying abroad in Rio de Janeiro...

I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I had studied abroad somewhere else other than Rio de Janeiro. The chaos around me in this city is sometimes a lot to handle. Just last week, the favela just above Ipanema and Copacabana that is two blocks from where I live was overflowing with police due to a  drug-related shootout that resulted in a death and an injury (just to clarify the shootout was at 3 AM and I was completely safe far away and sleeping in my apartment---this line is for you mama =) ). Rio is already the most militarized/police-heavy city I've ever been to but for a couple of days it seemed as if there were cops on ever street and corner of my neighborhood. I've also been recieving e-mails about  terrorist threats to the upcoming World Cup, the latest ones coming from a prison gang network headquartered in São Paulo in response to some of its members facing re-location to maximum security prisons. Considering I just applied for World Cup tickets this information is particularly unsettling...

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the chaos happening around me in this city, and it does not help when I have the odd misadventure every now and then such as my apartment catching fire(!) although that is a whole other story...Thankfully it was a small fire in the entryway and aside from a charred floor, an exploded fan (what started the fire...) and smoke traces on the walls, me and my housemates are all OK. Big thanks to my housemate Blair for putting out the fire when he got home and big no thanks to my doorman who just called the apartment (when clearly no one was home) when neighbors complained of the smoke and then did nothing when no one answered.

the aftermath of our fire :(

I love my life here in Rio but sometimes, for the reasons described above and more (the incessant traffic, the aggressive juxtaposition of extreme poverty with extreme wealth, superficiality of a vain beach culture, etc.) I am grateful to be able to get away from it all every now and then. A couple weeks ago we had a long weekend because PUC was closed so that Brazilian high schoolers could use the space to take their annual vestibular tests (mandatory in order to go to college). I decided to take advantage of the time off to go to Ilha Grande, a remote island off the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro State that opened up for tourism less than 20 years ago as it was the site of a high security prison until 1994. There are no cars or roads on the island and less than 3,000 people live there in total. The quiet serenity of the island was just what I needed to recharge after midterms--I ended up only being there for one full day but I definitely made the most of it by doing a sweaty hike from my hostel to Lopes Mendes Beach (2.5 hours each way!), swimming in the ocean, eating delicious seafood at the cutest beachside cafes where the tables were literally set up in the sand, and walking around the tiny shops and streets in the island's only sleepy town, Vila do Abraão.

This is the boat I took from Angra dos Reis to Ilha Grande. The boat ride was about 45 minutes. The bus ride from Rio to Angra took another 3 hours.

One of the amazing views during my hike to Lopes Mendes beach

Here I am with Elizabeth and my friend Andrea. Elizabeth was a Brazilian friend we met at our hostel who is a teacher from Niterói. She kindly showed us the trail to Lopes Mendes and we ended up spending the whole weekend hanging out with her and (practicing our Portuguese woo!) as she was traveling alone.

Our hostel---adorable right?!

 Last weekend PUC organized a fieldtrip for the international students to a farm/coffee plantation in Barra do Piraí, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro state. Again, I was able to enjoy some hiking and fresh air out in the lush green countryside, this time among rolling green hills far from the beach. I also got to play soccer for the first time since I got to Brazil with other exchange students and some of the Brazilians who work in the International students office at PUC--we got eaten by mosquitos and fire ants (OUCH the bites still itch even today a week later!!) but it was so much fun catching up with other exchange students I had not seen in a while and playing in the sun. We did not get back to Rio until about 10 that night (after having left PUC at 6:45 AM) but it was so worth it, especially because the excursion and food (buffets on buffets!) were all paid for in our study abroad fees already. 

Hiking around the fazenda (farm)

More hiking =) 

Week-end getaways for the win!!!--- I honestly think they help keep me sane in this crazy place I now call home.

Beijos,
Marie