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