Brazil post 2

Arriving in Sao Jose do Rio Preto was interesting because the airport is so small, you get off the plane onto the tarmac. I felt cool walking from the plane into arrivals on the ground. Then Gustavo and his father were there to pick me up and we went for a snack. Coxinha! Since I hadn't slept all night, when we arrived to his house I took a short nap. When I woke Gustavo took me on a walk around his neighborhood and around a little lake. Surroundin the lake is blocked off because it is over run with Capybaras! Capybaras are the size of a medium dog and are adorable! They have the second or third largest mouths in the world on any mamal so you should not get very close. They are like giant rodents and are the modt adorable creatures I have ever seen. We explored and saw many Capybaras and pretty birds! He took me to an Acaí shop and we had kiwi and strawberry acai. That evening we went for burgers and I tried a brazilian style pulled pork burger. It has three types of cheese, BBQ sauce and I added tomatoes! They serve it with fresh potato chips (not fries), they are so good! I also had Gaurana, of course. In the evening Gustavo and I were watching comedies, big mouth was one, but he didn't understand many of the references in the English version. So we also ended up watching That 70s show, Two and a half men, and Brooklyn 99.
On Friday we woke up early and headed to Olympia, a huge water park! We spent the day on extreme water slides and in huge wave pools! It was not all that sunny of a day, which is good when you are as white as I am! Most of the rides were with tubes and for two people, so it worked out quite nicely with the two of us. His parents continued to remind to to reapply sunscreen, and I don't have any more burns! The most fun ride started out by blasting you both (on a tube) up a huge hill then going in loops and bumbs till the bottom. Another one was like a U and you get dropped from one side and flown up the other then back and forth until you reach the exiting part. We tried lay down surfing as well, I only lasted a second, literally. There was also a part of the park with a small petting zoo. There were many adorable animals, lhamas, peacocks, a donkey, mother and fawn deer. My favourite though was the few tucanos! They are beautiful creatures with orange and yellow beaks and their eyes are very intense. One had deep blue eyes and the other had gorgeous purple eyes. I am obsessed, I wish I could stare at them forever, they are so mesmorizing.
We had lunch and dessert, our dessert was an ice cream cone, but inside was bregadeiro and chocolate! No ice cream! Delicious but very rich. That night we ate delicious stroganoffe with rice and strips potato chip. Soo good! I love stroganoffe, every kind!
Saturday morning Gustavo had to go to his school and afterwards his parents and I picked him up. We then went to a famour restaurant in his city, known for very Brazilian dishes. I had lemonade, which is slightly different than ours, and steak with beans, rice, tomato, onion and other Brazilian topping to which I do not know the name. We began talking about Feijuada, a traditional Brazilian meal and said it was si.ilar to what we were eating. We went grocery shopping with his parents and explored all the Brazilian things in the store and they bought me the cutest Havianas (Brazilian flip flop brand) that have a small Brazilian flag on them. For the rest of the day we relaxed, watched movies and hangout with his adorable dog, who is terrified of rain. Gustavos mother made us a yummy noodle soup dinner, again with a topping that I do not know the name of.
Sunday morning we woke up early and went to a breakfast buffet where I had many delicious fruits and bread. Pao de Queijo was one of my favourites. As well as a sour dough with very good cheese. For lunch we headed to Gustavos Grandmothers house. She has chickens that lay eggs every morning, but the monkeys always try to steal them! There were many tiny monkeys stealing food from the chickens and we got to feed them bananas! They are so cute but obnoxious it seems. His cousins and aunty and uncle were also there, his family is so sweet. Some of the nicest most welcoming people ever. I only met them once and already miss them. For lunch we ate Feijuada, and it was so good that I ate way too fast and got so full but only wanted more! I hope I will eat it again while I'm here.
In evening Gustavo and I went to Giovanas house to hangout and have drinks. Giovana is so sweet and incredibly smart. She will move to another city in March to start studying at a medical school to become a doctor. Her brother though, seems like he should move to the Kootneys and start a farm, if you know what I mean. It was so fun getting to know them. I hope to see them again one day.
The next day Gustavo and I spent some time together and then had to say goodbye. It will never get easier.

First weekend in Brazil

I am in love with Brazil already. I flew in and one of my best friends was waiting for me at the airport. We drove 2 hours from Sao Paulo to her city, Indaiatuba. We stopped for a snack at a bakery, which sold everything from sandwiches, ice cream, alcohol, groceries, everything you'd need. Much better than other convenient stores in my opinion. I had a fancy grilled cheese on a French bun, you know the ones Canadians have on the side of pasta bowls? Very similar. We arrived in her gated community and I fell in love. It is the cutest area, like little Cabana homes side by side. Yet all unique to themselves and very green. Grass and plants and palm trees everywhere! Beautiful. Bia started university my first evening here so I relaxed and tried to catch up on sleep... I was not successful. I didn't fall asleep until 5am the first two nights in Brazil. Jet lag sure is a bitch. 
I woke my second day and video called my mom to update her. Bias mother made delicious pasta and meat balls with a tomato sauce for lunch and then we started on our errands. I needed sunscreen, Off, which I don't know how I forgot considering what I experienced in Taiwan, and a sim card for my cell phone. I bought $50 reais of data, hopefully that will last me the month. The rest of the day we relaxed and started packing for our roadtrip! We were off to Guaruja, a city with a beautiful beach! Bia and her family own an adorable beach house with 5 bedrooms and a pool in the back. The walls at the front slide open and the windows are made of wood and very old, they open like barn doors. The keys for the rooms are also very old style keys, very long, I have never actually seen one used until now. Everything is vintage, the whole house! All around the beach house there are hand painted plated and pottery, dried gourd art, knit lamp shades, its adorable.
After waking up for breakfast we changed and walked two minutes to a gorgeous beach. On the walk I noticed that the roads were torn up and the cars use cardboard to keep the sun from going through the windsheild. The beach is big and full of people and umbrellas. People walk around carrying hand fulls of various things to sell, sun glasses, beach blankets, paintings (I bought one for like $15), and all kinds of food. We relaxed and drank Gaurana which is a delicious Brazilian pop made from red seed fruits. I swam for my first time in the Atlantic and got pushes and swept around by the current and the giant waves. We had to swim back to the left of the beach since the current took us further right. I like the ocean, it is very warm, though i could do without all the salt. The sun is so bright I need to be wearing my sun glasses all the time. Thank goodness they have uv protection. Bia and I then went back to the beach house to relax and swim in the fresh water pool. The pool was warm on the surface but got chilly the deeper you went, to me this was very refreshing, though Bia prefers warm water. Not sure I will ever understand that, cold water it just so refreshing in comparison. In the evening we had a BBQ, which was absolutley delivious. There was beef, chicken, sausage and my favourite, BBQ cheese! I'm not sure what kind of cheese it is, since they just call it BBQ cheese in Portuguese therefore I cannot translate the name to find out. Either way I am in love with it. Most similar I have seen in Canada would be cheese curds I believe. We ate a ton of meat, cheese and salad while we were rocking out the The Who, and various other english rock bands! After a fun day we head to bed since we were up for the beach again in the morning. And if you're wondering, yes I am already sunburnt. Aloevera is my best friend.
Sunday we spent at the beach, roaming, snacking and drinking Gautana! I learned that when a child gets lost, a helpfuk adult will put him/her on their shoulders and clap and everyone around them will clap until their parents are found. We ordered the most delicious Calimari I've ever had, with onion rings and a delicious sauce, similar to Big mac sauce actually, but fresh and better. We also ordered deep fried pockets, one kind full of ham and cheese, the other with ground beef. We relaxed and lazed at the beach for many hours before heading back to the house. Another interested thing they have on their beaches are giant trucks that go inti the water to pull boats in and out. They have huge wheels and are extremely tall so they are able to drive into the water. When we got back to the house I decided to jump in the pool since I was hot, so was the ocean, but the pool was not. Everyone else joined before heading to the shower and packing up. After packing up the cars we went to a small market where I bought a cute necklace (very inexpensive) and I finally got to try rolled ice cream! Rolled ice cream is made in front of you. They poor ice milk and which ever topping you choose onto a freezing flat plate, then they chop and mix and chop and mix and so on. At the end the spread it all evenly and make sure its all frozen, they roll it up into different pieces and off you go! It was delicious! Very fresh ice cream. I got fresh strawberries and chocolate in it. Currently we are driving back to Indaiatuba and when we arrive it will be time to hit the hay. Cheers!