Salvador, Brazil

Sorry about the delay in the blog posts by the way! I’ve been busy studying for finals and everything. I’ve also been procrastinating because I don’t want to think about the fact that I only have one country left to write about.

My first day in Brazil was spent in Salvador (once again walking around). We started off with a large group of people and ended up with just Catherine and I. About an hour passed with hardly any excitement, but then it started pouring. The rain came out of nowhere, but it was marvelous. It stopped raining after a few minutes, and then we saw a cat and a tiny kitten on the sidewalk and (yes I know we probably shouldn’t have, but just go with it…) stopped to pet them. They immediately ran and sat between our feet, and shortly after they did this it started to rain again. Catherine and I stayed for quite a while just standing in the rain, soaking wet, and protecting kitties. Another one came up to us and jumped onto Catherine’s bag. All of the people around were looking at us like we were crazy; I guess I don’t blame them. That night, a few of us went to a restaurant where they served meat on a stick! I don’t remember what it’s called, but it was AMAZING!!

In Brazil, I went on my one and only overnight trip. I find it kind of funny that the only nights I slept off of the ship were spent on a riverboat… The Rio de Negro was a lot of fun, but I woke up sick on the second day and didn’t get to go on the secondary jungle walk. I did go to the community visit, but halfway through I started to feel sick again. I told one of the trip leaders that I was feeling ill, and an older woman from the community let me lie on a rug in her house and put two fans on me. She was SO sweet! She didn’t speak any English, but the tour guide translated for us. She actually said that if I wanted to, I could leave America and come live with her and learn Portuguese, but I told her I would miss my mom too much. I felt better on the last day and got to go on the primary jungle walk. I can now say that I have walked through part of the Amazon Rainforest! We went to the airport around 11 pm that night, but our flight didn’t leave until 2 am, and we didn’t get back to the ship until 2 pm. I was extremely embarrassed to be associated with some of the people on my trip. Granted it was the last night in port for the entire voyage, but they were unbelievable. I understand that some people feel the need to get drunk to have fun, and people enjoy drinking with their friends, but I can’t believe how irresponsible and stupid they are sometimes. Getting drunk and sitting in an airport for several hours with other people around and being loud and obnoxious to the extent that they were is simple frustrating beyond belief.

Well, as you know I am on my way home now. There are only 3 or 4 days left until we get to Florida depending on how you look at it. I am having the worst case of mixed emotions that I have ever had. I don’t want to get off the ship and leave all of my new friends. I definitely miss some of the people at home, and I can’t wait to see a couple people, but I could definitely use another week or two…or three. On the bright side, the Alumni (or Ambassador or Adventurer, or whatever the hell they are calling it now) Ball is tomorrow and we get a fancy pants dinner and prom-like dance thing. Not to mention, I am now completely done with finals and projects. It is safe to say that I have finished my sophomore year of college.

-KW-