Blog Quatro

A week of sun and fun has finally arrived. Well fun always had be present, but the newly acquired sunny days have finally arrived. Along with the appearance of the sun, the first Brazil sunburn has crept up on me. The burn is quite remarkable too see but quite painful to touch. The temperatures have been consistent with highs of 29 and lows of 25. Work has been very productive and new friendships have once again been established. Every week seems to bring a new friendship to explore and a party to attend. The Brazilian culture is slowly starting to attach to my values, and to have to leave in a couple months seems impossible.

            To my surprise I learned this week that Brazil official Valentines day is coming up this next week. Also, my ability to speak Portuguese is slowly progressing and I intend to get better and better as weeks progress. My goal is to bring back some part of Brazilian back to my Canadian origin. The camera has been cracked open and almost all used up. Yet I do expect to post and update more photos on a weekly basis. With the ability to jungle work, personal life, and the various forms of entertainment I manage to get involved in, I have slowly become adjusted to my new lifestyle. With a positive equilibrium, I look forward to continue to push forward with my knowledge and develop an international awareness, therefore I look forward to providing you more feedback as each Sunday approaches and I hope that my blogs will inspire people to purse an international venture and to capitalize on all there opportunities.

            Though I would like to say; happy belated to my dad, in which his birthday I was unfortunate to miss due to my absence. But all the way from Brazilian, my amigos (boys) and amigas (girls) all will have a drink on your behalf. Though from more country to the next, I always have my family in my mind and it may seem difficult to see due to my excitement towards travel but I do miss you of course. From one Sunday to the next, cheers to Canada and cheers to my fellow Brazilians.

Blog Trez: 16 days later

As week three begins I already question where time has gone. Time passes by so fast as each night leads to the next morning.  I still find it hard to come to realize sometimes where I truly am and the process of how I got to where I am today.  My placement has become my new lifestyle as I am slowly adjusting to the social norms and values of what Brazil has to offer.  The hospitality amongst the people I have encountered has been amazing, from friendly greetings and rides back home after a late evening, has been muchly appreciated.

            The camera has been unpackaged and used finally. Pictures can be seen on my facebook profile, yet more are to be come throughout the week, My disposable camera has almost been used up entirely, therefore when I eventually land back on Canadian soil those will be printed up. Due to a sudden illness upon my professor of Portuguese and miscommunication amongst students, I was able to play the tourist role this week. 2 days off of my busy learning/meeting schedules had allowed me to come to my senses and break out my camera. Portuguese has slowly been catching onto my vocabulary and the more I am around fluent individuals, the ability of understanding has slowly become more possible, Yet Portuguese is a speedy language to try to break down slowly and pronounce. But with hard determination and precise listening, words are beginning to make sense and sentence structure is becoming visible.

            I have managed to visit several bar scenes in Brazil, and I am still amazed at the majority of people present at each establishment. Everywhere is compacted with people and partying. 3 am is seen as 10pm in Canada, the drinks flow all night with no stoppage and the parties don’t seem to settle down till past 5am every night. The art of the “forro” (traditionally dance) has been taught to me several times, yet the steps still confuse me. My attempts end in laughter and jokes amongst our new fellow friends and associates.  

            Now to talk on behalf of “what I do” regarding business in Brazil. Fun is pleasure but business is business. Business exists on a Monday-Friday basis, while fun takes over from Friday at 6 till Monday at 2pm. Well here in Salvador, Brazil I work on behalf of “IFBA” to help them assist a local organization known as “ILE-AIYE”. Our job (on behalf of all 3 of us here in brazil) is to help Ile Aiye restructure there business and hopefully help to keep them financially stable and business aware. We have had 2 meetings with this organization board of directors and presidents that have lasted 3 hours each. These meetings consisted of greetings and business negotiations regarding: legal framework, marketing, revenue, and business infrastructure.  As weeks progress I will delivery updates on how the negotiations progress and where they lead to. As for now I am going to go enjoy this sunny day and waste this lovely Sunday away. Happy May 24 to all in Canada and of course “Cheers” to all my amigos and friends in St Catharines, Mount Forest and Hamilton

Blog 2 Or I should say Blog Doze

     7 days later in the world of Brazil and I still find myself in shock with the new environment that surrounds me. From late night cheers to mid day starts, my first week has concluded. 7 days of travel,work and pleasure have left me with the same smile I had on the day I arrived.  Now to put my week into a more structured format….

 The first couple days began with meeting our fellow residents in our house, fellow students at IFBA, and our landlord Fred. After this encounters we were then set off to tour the area and its beautiful sights. Google images are incomparable to the real view. The landmarks and tourist points are amazing to see and I am blessed to be able to see them in real view. My camera shy personality has not left me yet but soon I will make sure to unwrap the camera I have brought. Pictures are soon to come.

IFBA some may not know or recognize yet it is an educational institute found in the midst of Salavador,Brazil. During the day it hosts highschool students and at night it teaches post secondary students. Courses that range from Engeringing,Music,English and of course Business (they refer it as administration though). By the time Tuesday had arrived we were informed of what our daily schedule would be like. A daily 25 min bus route to IFBA daily (excluding weekends) was noted and the first couple weeks were highlighted as Portuguese,Portuguese, and Portuguese. As you can see the first thing to do was to become more familiar with the language because English isn’t very common amongst everybody. With 4 hours of Portuguese a day, the language is slowly starting to grow on me lol. But I will add, learning a language always is a stepping stone process full of headaches and the words “What was that” and “How do you say that again”.

As Friday had arrived, us Canadians were introduced to the nightlife. Lets just say I now understand the word “night-life” better in Brazil. From dancing at a fancy club to relaxing at a bar overlooking the beach, 4 am felt like 12. Yet it was not 12 lol Its hard to wake up and come to realize “I’m in Brazil” because the hospitality and the people are so welcoming and friendly, it makes it feel like home. Sunday has now arrived and as I ponder about the week that has just passed, I still feel the exicment I had the moment I stepped off the plane (which may I say, 13 hours on a plane, that’s an experience lol). As I look ahead to next week, I’d like to leave all my followers a cheers and a recommendation; if you ever get the chance to travel abroad to Brazil, take it!!! Now till next week I hope to bring photos and stories for all to read and enjoy. Goodnight Canada and Good morning brazil J Cheers….

Blog 1: My Departure Flight list

Say my farwells to friends/family/and fellow students: Check

Review portguese before I depart to Toronto: Check

Check in Luggage and go through security at Pearson: Check

Say my last goodbyes to Mom and Dad before I depart through customs: Check

Board Plane to Sao Paulo: Check

Manage to deal with the 10 hour flight: Check

Check in Luggage and board exchange flight to Salavador: Check

Deal with minor delay (an hour) on exchange flight: Check

Finish my last 2 hour flight to Savador,Bahia Brazil: Check

Met livia and fellow students I will be working with at IFBA: Check

Have a few Scols with fellow Brazilian students and browse Brazil: Check

Eat Mcdonalds: Yes I already managed to check this off the list lol

Unpack and relax: Check

15 hours on a plane/airport, one chicken dinner, one breakfast omlet, one mid flight heinken, one movie and 5 hours of sleep, concluding with a few hours of walking around brazil and meeting my fellow workers/local students: Priceless

Cheers to all my followers. I intend to update on a weekly basis and I look forward to showcasing you my life in Brazil this summer.