In Belem in time for Carnaval!

I have been in Belem for about ten days now although it definitely does not feel like it has been that long. This is where I am meant to be at this stage in my life. I feel much more at peace here than I did in Lavras. The day after I got here I went to my new university - Universidade Federal Rural da Amazonia (UFRA) and looked at the possible courses that I will be taking...in Portuguese of course. I choose to take Parasitology and Control of Microbiology which are both disciplinas (classes) for Medicina Veterinaria (Veterinary Medicine) because I figured these should go well with my internship with the Evandro Chagas Institute where they study tropical and infectious diseases. Anyway the day after I had to register for my classes and then I went on my first hike through the forest!

It was freshman week so at the end of the week they have the tradition of going on a hike which includes crossing a small river on a fallen tree. My host sister, Joely, was helping with freshman week so I went along with her. During the hike there were a couple mud fights that I almost avoided but the last one involved running in order to get away which I was able to do until I got to some very muddy spots and the apprehension with my knee caused me to slow down a bit and caught in some of the crossfire. Ha! It was still fun. Unfortunately I do not have pictures because I didn't want to ruin my camera. We were supposed to have a little forró (a type of music and dance) festa afterward but due to all the mud, we wanted to shower first. Then it started pouring and we decided just to go home and not return...there will be more forró opportunities in the future.

On the 18th of February we left for the town Mosqueiro for Carnaval. Carnaval is a nationwide holiday that takes place before Ash Wednesday and Lent. I think it is actually a really neat concept. For five days everyone relaxes...granted some people relax in other ways than others. I think across the world most people associate Carnaval with Rio de Janeiro and the parades that include many schools of samba with intricate floats and costumes. However, in other places of Brazil it is a bit more low key and I was able to experience a little of both sides of carnaval. I was in a large house with at least 20 other people and we all stayed in three rooms, sleeping on air mattresses and hammocks.

The house that we were in also had water issues so the upstairs bathroom did not have water at all and the downstairs shower sometimes didn't work. So imagine over 20 people needing to shower using one bathroom and some buckets...somehow we managed just fine and no one complained, it was lovely. People here are very relaxed and just go with the flow...it is great!

Anyway, so the activities of Carnaval...

For me, I spent many hours playing card games. My first interaction with many of my new friends was through card games. When we first arrived at the house, they were starting a game of mentiroso (liar) which is similar to BS. I won the first two games and so began the the week of cards! We also played a few games of poker and a Brazilian card game that I had learned in Lavras called Truco...I actually had to help teach some of them how to play and now I have played many many games of Truco. I enjoyed playing cards with my friends, it was a way for me to be actively among them and listen to them speak Portuguese and try to pick up on what they were saying. I learned quite a bit during that time. What is nice is that many of the students here have studied English so they are able to help me as I strive to learn Portuguese and I am able to help them a little bit with their English. During our many hours of playing, I was able to feel a little more comfortable with asking questions and practicing my Portuguese.

A few of the nights, we went to the villa which is at the center/square of the town. On one of the nights they had a parade of a few samba schools but unfortunately I wasn't really able to see any of it because we missed them when they passed by. However, that night I was able to try Tacacá which is a soup specific to the amazon region of Brazil that consists of tucupi, the gum of mandioca, shrimp, jambu, and other things. That probably doesn't explain anything but it was a yellow broth with shrimp, a green sort of foliage and people eat this extremely hot and one of the ingredients has an anesthetic effect on your mouth and lips that makes them go a little numb. It was very interesting... apparently the tacaca that I tried was weak which was probably good for my first time trying it. Another thing that I tried was tapioca...they do many things with tapioca here and you can have it with cheese and ham or more like a dessert with coconut and condensed milk. It is delicious both ways. During this adventure of tasting native foods, I was with 3 Brazilians that did not speak English at all and I really enjoyed my time with them. It was neat to see how much they loved showing parts of their culture to me and communicating with me in ways that I could understand...if I did not know the definition of a word, then they would try to explain things in a different way so that I could understand what they were meaning. It is experiences like these that I enjoy...there is a struggle but when you are able to figure things out it is so much more rewarding.

Another day we were going to go to the villa and everyone was getting ready...how did they do that? Well the males dressed as females and some of the girls dressed as guys. It was quite entertaining to see how the mannerisms of some people change when they are in the outfits of the opposite sex. As I was watching and enjoying this, I was asked several times to join in and dress as an homem (man)...after several times of refusal I thought to myself, well why not...I'm in Brazil and it's Carnaval! My mom had told me that while she and my dad were living in Brazil they both dressed up for a Carnaval party in the attire of the opposite sex. So hey, I went for it and now I can say that I have done so and never need to again! Hehehe...oh the crazyness of Brazil at Carnaval.

          

So on our way to the villa, we were walking along and came across another group of he-shes and she-hes who were walking behind a car with music. We joined them in their walk and called to other parties of people to join as we went along. The "leader" of the other group was like a Brazilian Richard Simmons, he was hilarious. For every song he would lead the group in some sort of choreographed dance...it was very entertaining. Anyway, we walked toward the villa and then as we got closer I realized that we had become part of the parade. We were even announced by the men above the stands and danced in front of many people sitting on bleachers. What started out as our house of about 20 people turned into a huge group of easily 60 or more people. It was wild but oh so fun! There were moments during the whole thing where I just laughed to myself thinking...wow, this is real life! Ha, only in Brazil! I will never forget that experience.

I truly enjoyed my time during Carnaval and the opportunity to meet so many people and make new friends. Being around so many people for 5 days in a row also helped expose me to the culture more. People here seem to show their general love for each other more than in the US, whether it be strangers, friends, or significant others. They kiss each other on the cheek when they greet each other or say goodbye. I don't know exactly how to describe it but there is a greater feeling of love and less barriers that are put up here. It is an interesting contrast and maybe I'll be able to better describe it as I become more exposed to the culture...I'll keep you updated. Abracos e Beijos!