First Day in the Amazon 1/21

Today was our first day on the boat! We left the dock in the morning and cruised down the Rio Negro to the "meeting of the waters" - where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon River. In the afternoon, we headed out on smaller boats to fish for piranha. Once it got dark, we went back out on the boats and spotted alligators!
-Chris and Sarah

Rio Scenarium

Saturday, January 31st, was an eventful day for all of us back in Rio. We kicked off the day by presenting our final presentations in a conference room that made us feel seriously professional. The presentations consisted of our group and individual projects. The group projects included multimedia presentations and demonstrations featuring topics such as Parks and People, Private Gardens, Healing Plants, and Tourism in Brazil. A couple of the presentations really blew us away. The individual presentations included the Sense of Place assignment, where students chose to observe over time a specific area of the Brazilian landscape and explain its significance to human culture. Individual presentations also included our Andy Goldsworthy assignment, which allows us to construct our very own piece of ephemeral art made from natural objects.

The evening included a trip to Rio Scenarium, a place that is hard to describe in words. Burrowed discretely in the back alleys of downtown Rio, I did not expect to encounter this huge establishment. Decorations were abundant, with artistic pieces emphasizing Brazilian culture scattered all over. Three floors of seating were available for those looking for a nice dinner. Additionally, the first floor included a stage with a live Samba band and a dance floor, the second floor a large techno nightclub that was popular with the younger crowd, and in the center a large indoor balcony for those who like to simply observe the action.

Rio Scenarium will definitely stand out in my mind as one of my favorite experiences in Brazil. I dare say I hope to open a place like that of my own some day...

Thanks from home!

It was hard to leave Brazil but fun to wake up to a light snow covering the ground and branches this morning. I love my Brazilian yoga towel and will treasure it along with the card from all the students. Thanks so much to everyone who made this program special--I will also treasure all the memories we made during January 2010!

January 22nd a little delayed

We were supposed to get up super early to bird watch in the Amazon. Unfortunately due to the rain the bird watch was cancelled. We all hung around the boat playing cards, reading, sketching, etc until the afternoon when we all got into canoes and took a tour of the river. It was a very nice ride. We were able to see various plants and a number of birds which made up for the missed bird watching experience earlier that morning. We also were able to see river dolphins swimming in the river. Some of us always missed siting them and so we had to continuously keep silent because they tended to stay away. Very cool when we finally caught site of them. We were able to see other little communities along the river as well as people traveling from one place to another on the water. We saw the people who live along the river in their natural state and we had a great time together.

Fasano

One more thing...Today a few enthusiastic students took the tour I scheduled with Fasano of Rio de Janerio. I would love to tell everyone how amazing this place is - but clearly, it is best seen in photos. Just one tid-bit - Madonna, Sting, Lenny Kravitz....just to name a few - stay here when in Rio. What a treat!!

and then there was one....

Me (Jules)!! Left in Rio.

The amazing force.....(that is this group of students), left on a coach bus at about 7:30 pm for home. I was so thankful for Matt Hope's parents tonight! They kept me company for about an hour and a half - they bought me a few drinks - and they decided to take Mike's luggage home with them!! (Mikey, how did you leave your luggage behind?? Really funny, right?? So, thanks Mom and Dad Hope!!

While hanging out with the Hope's.... I was very tempted to read the "Love Note" (aka, thank you note) that the students handed me while they were on their way home. I figured I would be less emotional if I read some of it in front of others - so I pulled out my gift - (the way amazing necklace seen above) and the note below. All I can say is I am so proud of this cohesive and wonderful group.

I would love to be able to blog about the amazing night I had (post-students!!) but I am relaxing tonight!! While some of the students found House on TV - I think I will curl up with a good book, Outliers by Gladwell, to be exact (thanks Travis!) and just chill!

Last Day

It has been a truly amazing trip. We all made connections with so many unique people in which we shared unforgetable memories. On January 31, we all went to the hippie fair for last minute souvenir shopping. Later in the day, we all went to a soccer game. It was Flamengo verse Fluminese. The fans went wild, as well as some of our group. It was really nice to be together enjoying a soccer game on our last night. When we got back to the hotel, everyone had to pack and finish last minute sketches. However, we can all honestly say this trip has helped us grown and mature further in life. We will remember how difficult it is for foreigners and communication skills. We are happy to have shared this experience with such an amazing group of people.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=561136&id=1337970081

Class and Christ

Today was our last day at the classroom. I know everybody shed a tear when we were leaving the classroom. After class we headed to Rio's most famous landmark, Corcavado. We took vans up to the top of the mountain up to the Christ the Redeemer statue. The views were absolutely breathtaking. Corcavado offers a three hundred and sixty degree view of every part of Rio. It was a great way to cap off the trip. For the past month we have been traveling around seeing pieces of Rio at a time. It was amazing to get a chance to see everywhere we have been all at once. As great as it was it was also a little sad to know we had just made our last excursion of the trip.

I think we speak for everyone when we say that the past month has been nothing short of spectacular. The things we have experienced and seen are things many people don't get to see in a lifetime. It's sad that it has comer to and end but we can only look back and smile on our time here in Rio.

Chris R and Travis

January 27th Traveling day 3

January 27th "Traveling Day 3"

Before we up and left for the airport, many of us got up to explore the city of Manaus. We walked for a good hour before we found some interesting street vendors selling all sorts of interesting souvenirs. One of us even bought a machete, even though we got a chance to see the street life, there was not enough time to get a really good idea of the city.
We left for the airport at around noon, and travelled to Brasilia and then back to Rio. The flight to Brasilia was an extra hour due to a horrible storm that we needed to travel around, however we were still on time for the flight to Rio.

It was a long day, the flights took a lot out of us and by the time we got to our new hotel most of us were glad to see the sheets and pillows of our new plush beds. tomorrow would be a new day for exploring, and even though we already new the city, the new area would surely prove an exciting experience.

-Jason and Oren

Last day on the boat

1/25 was a totally packed day. We woke up on the boat with pink river dolphins right outside our windows. After breakfast we all went out to feed the dolphins and some of us even swan with them.

We relaxed on the boat for most of the day until we docked at a small secluded island, where most of us worked on an art assignment which was making Andy Goldsworthy inspired art out of the nature we encountered on the beach. The two of us an Oren made a 2d tree out of wood scraps and branches we found on the beach, which came out pretty awesome.

Back on the boat we realized that the water was deep enough to jump off the boat. Everyone took turns jumping and diving off. Some of us (Mikey and Sam) did not have very pretty landings and were definitely feeling it the next day.




That night we had a farewell cookout on the island and had a great time sitting around for hours talking and eating. It was a great ending to a great week.