I'm coming home!

Here I am. Flying Home.  Back to the states. What an amazing experience I’ve had these last three months.  I feel I have learned so much about people, myself, and my priorities. It has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  I’m heading home now with a greater appreciation of my life and the amazing family and friends I have.  I’m also lucky enough to say I’m heading home with new friends and family in Brazil.   It has hard to leave these people.  I’m filled with a mixture of pure excitement to get home and despair to be leaving Brazil.  There is so much here I haven’t seen yet!  How can I leave Brazil and not have seen Rio De Janeiro!?!?!  I probably should have scheduled that one into my trip.  Oh well.  I guess this means I’ll just have to return!  ;p

I find myself comparing my experience here to my experience in Africa. But these two places are incredibly different and how I’ve spent my time here has also been very different.  I think I was pushed further out of my comfort zone in Brazil.  I had a language barrier, I lived with a host family, I only hung out with two other Americans, I traveled solo and I volunteered on a fazenda for almost a month.  Africa was my first love and therefore it will always stand on a pedestal and be special to me, but Brazil challenged me to analyze myself and pushed me to grow.  I am leaving with gratitude for all that I have seen, done, and accomplished. 

And so I’m heading home.  First stop, South Carolina where I plan to plant myself on my dock at the lake and pretend I don’t have a thing to do in the entire world.  Next, I’ll be heading to Athens where I’ll be running around like a crazy person.  I may or may not now regret only giving myself a few days before school started.  It’s time to get organized and accomplish all the things I need to do before I jump on the tight rope that it vet school.  But I refuse to stress.  As my host pai, Luiz, says,  “Vida Leve”.  Live a light light.  It’s too short to stress.  Keep what’s most important to you as your top priority and everything else will work itself out. 

Thanks for reading! 

Lots of Love!
Kaylee Q

Porto Alegre

After Foz Do Iguacu, I was able to spend a day in Porto Alegre with my friend Wilia.  It was wonderful to see her again.  She showed me even more of Porto Alegre.  I'm so lucky to have had her  as a home base in Porto Alegre and to have had someone to show me around.  We had some fun adventures!

 I was able to hang out with Luna.

 I discovered their are parking garages with lighting systems indicating which spaces are free.

 I stocked up on erva for chimmarou, coffee, and wine.  The important things. 

Sightseeing 

 More Sightseeing

We visited a large, bustling market. They had meat, bread, cheese, and other products.  I loved seeing everything. It's a way to feel connected to your food! 

We went to a cool coffee shop!

And had delicious, delicious coffee!! 

Foz do Iguaçu

What a place!  I arrived to Foz do Iguacu with the help of three different buses after leaving Miranda.  I splurged and took a taxi to my hostel, Flavela Chic.  It was one of the cheaper places in Foz but had a great atmosphere. After getting settled in, I walked to the grocery store where I stocked up on things for lunch and dinner.  My groceries consisted of yogurt, granola, bananas, crackers and nutella.  A perfectly balanced diet!  I had been without yogurt for a month and was craving it.  Now, after eating yogurt for every meal for the last 2.5 days, I can say I’m satisfied!  

Picture from the hostel! 

So anywho,  after lunch I headed to the main attractions!  Foz do Iguacu is one the seven natural wonders in the world.  The falls are absolutely incredible and you can see them from both the Brazilian side and Argentina side.  I went to the bird park first because I was in a bit of a funk and I knew that me being surrounded by birds would be like putting a kid in a candy shop.  My great grandmother passed away recently and I was upset that I wasn’t able to be with my family.  I had tried to arrange to go home earlier but the cost of flights wouldn’t allow it.   After a small pep talk with myself and  100’s of parrots in the park I was good to go.  I whistled my way through the different areas and ended with a cappuccino.  

The park was amazing and I had to force myself to leave so I could go see the falls.  I walked to the park, bought my 50 Reis ticket, and got on the bus that took me through the Brazilian park.  The falls were incredible.  I knew they were going to be amazing but I was still caught unprepared.  I dumbly followed the path in awe, with my mouth hanging open, as I took in more and more of the powerful falls.  I swear, there’s just something magical about the place.   

I arrived back at the hostel and met the new people who had arrived.  I stayed in a bedroom with 17 beds but only had to share the room with two other guys, one from Israel and one from Texas.  We hung out that night with the guy working at the hostel, played cards, and drank caipirinhas. 

The next day I played it lazy and lounged around the hostel until noon.  I walked around the town of Foz and contemplated what I could/should buy.  I had to call my credit card company and figure out why it wasn’t working.  My debit card had expired and I was out of cash so I was playing with fire.  Thankfully, the compnay helped me and my card was good to go.   I eventually ended up buying a few things such as a new pair of funky pants.  For those of you familiar with my bright, hippy pants from Cape town then you’ll understand why I bought this new pair. Don’t worry, these are a wee bit less in your face.  I’m pretty much in love.  So excuse me if I wear them everyday for the next several months.  I also bought a hammock.  Yep, that’s right.  I fit that baby in my suitcase.  I just couldn’t leave without one.   All in all the town of foz is pretty cool.  I enjoyed exploring it.

Pao de Queijo  
(Of all the food I'm going to miss.  This cheesy bread sits at the top of the list!) 

That night, I met more people who had arrived at the hostel.  I also got the opportunity to tell someone about rabies.  The guy from Texas had been scratched by one of the Coati’s at the falls that day when it tried to steal his fries.  Coatis are similar to raccoons and are rabies vectors.  He was advised to get exposure shots.  We were discussing the need for him to actually get the shots because he wasn’t bitten and the thing was more just a nucience then rabid.  Yet, rabies is not a disease you want to play games with!  Since it was free to get an exposure shot in Brazil, he went ahead and got one. He needs to get around four more to complete the post-exposure vaccination series.  Aye aye aye.  Man.  1) I’m glad I have my rabies pre-exposure shots.  2) You never know what could happen on vacation.  3) Stuff like this happens when people feed animals and alter their environment.

So yep.  That’s my adventure at Foz do Iguacu.  I flew out the next morning to Porto Alegre.  I can see why it’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  If you get a chance to go, you should do it!

The End of Meia Lua

Well. My month at Meia Lua is completed. I'm not sure how to describe my time.  I can't really decide how I feel about the overall experience.   It's hard to say.  Don't get me wrong, I had an amazing time.  I'm grateful for my experience.  I'm just not sure I would do it again if I had the chance.

My last week and half at Meia Lua I was the only person working there that spoke English. I therefore was the only person the guests turned to when they needed something.  I waited on those guests hand and foot.  Let me tell you, working with tourists is hard.  I guess it more depends on who you are working with.  Some people are a pleasure to help and don't have any issues.  Other people make you wonder why they decided to leave their houses in the first place.  It was a difficult experience because the guests expected me to know things but I really had no idea of what was going on.   This left me constantly running between the guests and the staff to try and figure stuff out.  I also had to deal with their complaints about the place.

 "There's a frog in my bathroom"  -> Yes ma'am.  You are in the middle of the Pantanal.
"My bed is uncomfortable.  I can not possibly spend another night there."  -> I'm so sorry about that.  Maybe if you had told us that this morning instead of now at 8pm at night, we could have done something about it.
"I don't like my cheese and meat mixed together. I only eat them separately." -> uhhhh. okay?
"You mean I have to pay for the capirina I drank last night!? Well how much was it!?" -uh yes. Sorry, about that.  I'm not sure how much it is because you see I never have time to drink them so I wouldn't know.  But I'll find out for you right now!
"Why would you talk about trees on the bush walk?"  ->  Because flora can be just as cool as fauna.  ~ignores the laughter from the guests~

Oh man, do I have a few good stories.  Lets just say I have a whole new appreciation for people who serve others every day.  I've never experienced feeling like a second class citizen.  The guests were gods and I was there to serve them. I ate after they finished eating.  I cleaned up their messy dinner table.  I rode up front in the car so they could ride in the back.  I don't know.  It was an eye opening experience.  

I don't want to sound whiny or angry.  I just want to be honest.  Working for your keep isn't all rainbows and butterflies.  I worked my butt off and I would have to think twice about signing up for that program again.  I do see why other people sign up for shin digs like that often.  You learn so much about the area, animals, plants, and the people.  I made good friends and became close with the people there.  I was forced to use my portuguese and became more confident in my ability to communicate.  I also met some pretty cool people who came to the fazenda.  I loved more than anything to hear their travel stories, where they had been and where they were going.  On top of that I saved THOUSANDS of dollars.  Between staying on the resort, getting free food, transportation, and tourists activities, it was a ton of money.  There is no way I could have done so much experienced without doing the volunteer work.  So yes, I worked hard, but I got a lot in return.
Plus, It wasn't all work, work, work!  I got to go on several more night safairs at Fazenda San Francisco as a translator.  I went horse back riding quite often! You can pretty much call me a cowgirl now.  He he (Just kidding).  I got to go to a birthday party where they tried to teach me to dance. Not that was a show!  It was fun though.  I wish I actually could dance!  I also took time to lay by the pool and drink from several coconuts my last couple of days!

Leaving was difficult, no matter how hard or frustrating the work was sometimes.  I made some great memories at Meia Lua!  I will always be able to look back at "that time I worked as a translator in Brazil" with humor and appreciation.

Gratitude Lately

So many things to be grateful for!  Here are just a few....

 Looking up and seeing toucans chillin like villains. 

 Watch towers to escape to. 

 Sunsets that take your break away. 

 New sprouts in the garden! 

 Plenty of coconuts for the taking.

 Friends that keep you company. 

 Times to act like a tourist. 

 This face.

Life in slow motion.  

 Protection from bugs! 

Opportunities to ride.

Animals that belong in fairytales. 

Time to relax by the pool. 

Life is Sweet. 

People who Rock your Socks Off

The world is good. Yep, that’s right.  When traveling it’s easy to meet others who prove how  awesome people can be.  Lucky for me, I encountered a group that went above and beyond all expectations. They provided me with entertainment, lots of adventures, lessons about children, a place to belong, and a group to call my own.  They went from being a group of strangers to my adopted family.    The group consisted of an American family and a Canadian family, in total four adults and four children.   Each family is currently living in Curitiba for a total of two years for their jobs.  They are using their time off wisely to explore Brazil.  I think it is so cool that the children have such a unique opportunity

They arrived to Meia Lua on Sunday and I guess it’s true that first impressions don’t mean everything because my first encounter with them was our day walk around the ranch.  I think it possibly felt like one of the longest walks of their lives.   The poor kids had been traveling all day and were not up to a 1.5 hour walk through the Pantanal.  On top of that, one thing to learn about kids is that what would be 1.5 hour walk for you is going to be more than a 2.5hr walk for them.  Yep.  It’s a good thing they didn’t hold the walk against me!  Over the next week, Mirjam let me accompany them on several really cool activities.  We went to Estrada Parque for a full day where we did a driving safari, a walk through the jungle, lunch and a boat ride.  We saw armadillos, coati, parakeets, macaws, storks, herons, kingfishers, anhingas, lots of caiman and more.  Later in the week, I accompanied them to Fazenda San Francisco.  It was a very upbeat and busy Fazenda.  We arrived just in time for a snack and then we boarded the jeep for our night safari.  It was one of the coolest things I’ve done.  We unfortunately didn’t see any jaguars but we did see two other small cats, marsh deer, capybara, and more.  Plus, we had our own lighting show in the distance. After the safari we ate a delicious meal and headed home.  It was awesome! At the farm, I was able to help with other activities such as fishing and a night safari.   Both of these went much better than our first walk.  The boys caught a few fish and we were even able to use a go-pro to see the fish nibbling on the bait.  Now that’s cool.   We strategized how to make the night safari more kid friendly and shortened it so we were able to enjoy a stroll to the lake where we saw capybara, camin eyes, and frogs.  We ended the night with flashlight sword fighting and the song “what does the fox say” creatively changed to “what does the poo say.”

In the meantime, I was working out how long I would stay at Meia Lua.  Mirjam wanted me to stay longer than my original two weeks to help out why she was away.  I wanted to see Bonito.  So we worked out a plan.  I would accompany a group to Bonito to help them with translating and after I would return to Meia Lua to stay.   It just so happened that my new friends were headed to Bonito!  Mirjam called to make plans and I tried to figure out a way to tell them I was again tagging along with them. 

Lucky for me, they graciously accepted me without hesitation! I’m telling you these people rock.  We headed out early Thursday morning to Bonito.  It was a cold and rainy morning so we were unsure of how our activities would play out.  We arrived to our first place, Rio do peixe (fish river), and found it closed.  We said hello to their pet tapir and loaded back into the van.  We relocated to another place where they informed us we would be taking a walk to see the waterfalls.  We again asked about how kid friendly it was.  Quinn, the youngest, is only three but he’s a champ. I was so impressed because he took on every activity like a pro.  So our “kid friendly hike” ended up being a little longer and more difficult than planned but never less it was fun!  People usually swim but with the rain and cold it wasn’t on our list of things to do.  That is, until I saw the jumping platform.  Then I couldn’t resist a good adrenaline rush.  We ended our walk with lunch and dessert… and then more dessert.  It was the best dolce de leite ever.  Afterward, our driver took us to our Pousada. 

Things had been a little iffy about the pousada and where I would stay.  Originally, I was supposed to have my own room. Then they told me that wouldn’t work and I would have to share a room with the driver.  I guess this is where I should input that I have a yes man attitude here.  Whatever people offer to do or see or eat I say yes to.  So when they told me that to go I would need to share a room with the driver I immediately said yes.  Sure, whatever, I’ll juggle fire and jump in the lion pit to go to Bonito… Later in the afternoon I started thinking about that and that maybe it wasn’t a good idea.  Maybe sharing a bedroom with some strange guy who doesn’t speak English isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had….  So early that morning before we left for Bonito I quickly asked for other arrangements.   They called the hostel across the street and said I could stay there. 

Okay… so back to my story.  We arrived at the Pousada, they get all checked in and I went across the street to check into the hostel.  As I laid there taking a nap, I was beating myself up about not planning better.  Surely, I could have asked for a room at the Pousada.  What was I thinking?  Did they not have a room available or was there just not one for a reduced price?  Sure I was traveling on a tight budget but I could surely afford to stay with my new family.  I lay there thinking that my mom would kick my ass if she could see me now. 

After a quick shower, I went back across the street to hang out with my peeps and get ready for dinner.  They had two surprises waiting for me.  The mama bears were not happy that I was across the street.  They told me to get my stuff and that I would be staying there with them.  I was in awe of their generosity.  It was not just that they had arranged a room for me there but that they had swooped in and fixed the problem I had created, recognized and decided to do nothing about.  In one simple action, they made me feel loved, included, and worthy.  I only hope that one day, I can pass on this favor to someone else. 

So after Frank, the owner of the Pousada, got me all tucked in we headed to dinner.  We ate at a delicious restaurant called Casa de Jao. I tried a Caipirinha with sake and sampled several yummy plates.   That night I was able to hang with the fams around a good bottle of wine. (The wine and coffee here is to die for!)

The next day, we woke up to the hope of sunshine!  Woo hoo!   We all loaded up into the van and headed to Rio Sucuri  (Anaconda River).  There we got our wetsuits on, grabbed our snorkeling masks and headed to the river.  We floated down on our stomachs for 45 minutes!  It was stunningly beautiful.  The water was very clear and it was easy to see the fish.  The tour guide asked if all the kids would be floating and we replied of course they were.  When you have kids that are this cool, they do it all!  After lunch we headed over to Praia de Figueira  (Fig Beach).  You could tell that it could be a hopping little place, but in the cold we were pretty much the only ones there.  We enjoyed the trampoline, slack line, water, and zip line (kind of).  

Back at the pousada, I got to hang out with the kids and color.  Did you know how much effort goes into making a treasure hunt!? Iso lucky to have been able to hang out with such a cool group.  They impressed me with how much stuff they were willing to do and try.  They also taught me so much.  Like for instance, sometimes trying to understand a three year old’s story in similar to trying to understand Portuguese.  He he.  But really,  they thought I was looking after the kids but really they were looking after me.  After pizza, I had to say goodbye to everyone.  It was hard to leave them.  They showed me what being a family is all about.   

I woke up the next morning and ate breakfast alone.  It was quite and boring!  I was able to talk more with Frank and Maria, the owners of the Pousada.  Speaking of people who rock your socks, they are awesome.  They have owned the place for seven years and are originally from Germany.  They have a farm outside of Bonito where they grow vegetables and keep bees.  They even sold their honey at the pousada!  Too Cool.  I could easily spend a lot of time there!

I caught a ride to Miranda with a transport van that contained about seven guys from Australia who were backpacking through South America. Now they had some… uhhh… interesting stories.  I arrived back at Meia Lua to a lot of rain.  I spent the day relaxing and thinking about my cool journey!

A big thanks goes to my new Curitiba friends!   You guys are amazing! J

(Sorry about not having more pictures.  The internet here is SUPER SLOW!)