Last Post... Ever!

I had previously written up most of what was going to be my final blog entry talking about all the ways in which my time in Brazil changed my future plans, how much I enjoyed it and learned from it, etc. However, I don't think that scrawled-out rough draft will ever make it onto the pages of this here blog, and so this post will have to do.

My plan since last summer has been to abandon IT, at least for the next few years. I want to focus full time on linguistics, though I'm sure I'll be doing some programming on the side for some personal projects. I'm going back to Barão Geraldo in July after I graduate to try my hand at getting into UNICAMP's Master's program in sociolinguistics, language policy more specifically. I'm gonna be with my lady, pursue the linguistics dream, and hopefully teach English to Brazilians to earn my daily bread (take note that tuition's free and I'm also counting on a scholarship *fingers crossed*). After the two years it'll take to get my degree... well, we'll see where we are.

There you have it, the post I should have written 6 months ago. I won't be writing in this blog anymore since my little stint in Brazil is over and I'm planning on actually moving there; this soon-to-be-fully-brazilified gringo has no more use for this blog. I'll probably start up a new one which will be more broadly devoated to linguistics with a hint of tech stuff at some point. I'd image you'd be able to find it by googling me (if and when I make it). Tschuss.  

Modern Day Photo Booth

Look at the clock!

Brotas!

So this past weekend, Ruth and I took a trip to Brotas. Brotas is well known for its raw, natural beauty and is a popular vacation destination for hikers, tree-top walkers, white water rafters, rappelers, and all order of land-and-water-based extreme sport fanatics. I was itching to spend some time in nature in Brazil, which I hadn't really done up until last weekend. And I really wanted to go to Brotas in particular because a previous Brotas trip of mine had been foiled by a mysterious sickness that made me want to sleep for 20 hours a day instead of trapsing through the wilderness and jumping off bridges and whatnot. Ruth had already been there and loved it, so we up and went.    

We left Saturday morning and did "canyoning" as it's called here on the first day. "Canyoning" is actually "rappelling," an activity that involves descending from a cliff next to/inside a waterfall using a big rope and a harness. It's very beautiful and somewhat scary; YOU are responsible for controlling the speed of your descent, and if you screw up, you can fall very far, very fast onto the jagged rocks below. It was also raining when we did this so all of the rocky surfaces that serve as footholds were very slippery, complicating matters further. However, we got a little training before actually lowered ourselves back first off the edge of a cliff, so I felt OK about it.

Badass photo. This was the 2nd waterfall we went down, 50 m (164 ft) high from the top to the water below.

   

So sexy... and so high up. The white splotch at the bottom is the guide holding the other end of the rope.

Getting gooshed with water is part of the experience (our guide dunked us all in the water below afterwards).

We all made it to the bottom! (We were with some random couple that happened to be paired up with us).

Saturday was a rainy day. During the canyoning it was pretty cold and after it was even colder...

Back at the campsite to dry off and relax. 

Here's us in the tent.

Obligatory kissy face picture. I didn't shave because, well, we were camping.

After a rather uncomfortable nights sleep in the tent, we went out and did white water rafting on Sunday. Luckily the weather was much, much better on Sunday. We even got a sunny afternoon to raft in and I got a little sunburnt. 

Our rafting crew. There were 4 or 5 other boats, all of which had DOGS in their rafts. That's right, dogs. Our motto was: "No dogs, no fear!!" (Ruth and the guy on the far right came up with that one. He was a card; went rafting and couldn't even swim!)

White water rafting, whoo!

Group shot! The raft was wedged on some rocks to get us all good and soaked.

All in all it was a very fun weekend. I feel like I satisfied my nature fix for the time being, and got some sweet photos to boot (Ruth made friends with the girl who worked at the agency and she hooked us up with photos for free). I'm actually going to use the first photo of me canyoning and a couple of the others for a Drexel co-op students abroad photo contest. I'll let you know how that goes.

Até mais. 

Poços de Caldas in Pictures

Poços is a city in the state of Minas Gerais that borders the state of São Paulo. Last weekend, Ruth, her 6 roommates, and I set off to spend a weekend in Minas.

It might seem a little strange to take a trip as a house, but there some backstory. About a month ago, a bunch of old "problem" roommates moved out and new ones moved in. Three of the seven new roommates are gringos, two from Spain and one from Chile, and the other four are Brazilian. While the old roommates were nothing but trouble -- one of them actually refused to pay back rent until she was collectively bitched out by the others -- but the new ones get along really well. Since I spend a lot of time at Ruth's, I hang out with them a lot. They're a very silly and fun bunch, prone to spontaneous song and dance, chicken fights, and gymnastics.

Here it is, Poços in pictures:

Hitting the pavement Saturday morning.



Here I am.



This is a mental defective we picked up on the side of the highway outside of Campinas. Just kidding, this is Sophia from Chile.



Feeding the monkies at a rest stop. The rumors are true, Brazil has mad monkies.



This was the monkey with the best hairdo.



Here's me and the girls (minus Laura) after arriving in Poços. From left to right it's: Teresa, Ruth, Sofia, and me. What a handsome bunch we are.



Going up a mountain in a gondala in Poços.



This is me trying to offset Ruth's enthusiasm for this photo.



Cute.



Poços in all its glory.



This is the mini Christ the Redeemer keeping it real at the top of the mountain. As Ruth noted, this city has a Rio de Janeiro complex: a much smaller city with a much smaller Christ the Redeemer atop a much smaller mountain.


Ruth and I gazing into each other's eyes at the summit.



Human pyramid next to the Christ. From top to bottom, left to right it's: Ruth, Laura, David, Jaia, and Pintor. David's trying to lift up Ruth's skirt (and succeeding). Naturally I beat his ass to a bloody pulp after this.



Ruth defending herself against David's attacks and making everyone fall down in the process. I think that's my hand coming to the rescue.



Heading back down the mountain on foot.



David, Pintor, and Sofia chillin' back at Laura's parent's house.



Teresa playing "he loves me, he loves me not" (apparently "he wants me, he doesn't want me" in Spanish)



The whole crew (minus Ruth) in Poços. In the foreground are Laura's sister and her sister's huband whom we met up with on Sunday.

Word to your mother. Have a good Wednesday.