Paranagua

Altough the Lonely Planet judges Curitiba as a 1-day city, we spent two days there and still haven't seen everything. Perhaps I'll come back in one of my weekend trips again, to see the rest. Anyway, we had a lot of fun, visiting the most important tourist attractions, which are conveniently linked by a circular tourist bus. Very practical. On the second day we met two German boys from Florianopolis, so we had some company for the rest of the day and for the day in Morretes.
Because yesterday at 8:15 in the morning we took the train from Curitiba to Morretes. A stunning trips through the tropic forest here in South Brasil with some heart-shaking bridges and abysses. Definetly worth it. For more information: www.serraverdeexpress.com.br

The day we spent in Morretes with the two Germans. In fact we walked. 7 km until coming to a river where the water was "imapriopiado" to swim. So we just tugged our feed in there and then went back. Another 7 km without shadows in the glistening 30C-sun. But the "Sundown-Sunblocker, Factor 50" does work. No burning yet.

At night the boys returned to Curitiba and we went on to the coast to Paranagua. The interesting thing here ist the island in front of Paranagua: Ilha do Mel (honey island). Unfortunately the island is totaly loaded with tourists already, so we´ll only spent the days there and sleeping here in Paranagua. The hotel this time wasn't that great. Tomorrow we will switch to the youth hostel right in the city center and next to the peer where the ship to Ilha do Mel starts off.

Up to know the trip has been exciting with lots of lots of new impressions. And already more than 220 fotos. As soon as possible I'll put some of them online. Promised.

And now ANja and me will drink another Mango-Pineapple juice (natural of course) to cool down a little bit. Beijos and Feliz ano novo (happy new year) from this side of the planet.

Christmas in family

After church we met at Danis grandmothers house for dinner and presents and talking and talking and talking and talking. This famlily is even more talkative than mine!

We got a lot a lot a lot to eat. First meat, than sweets. All very good, altough an intersting mix. Please note our X-mas-Cookies in this picture (on the right). A third of them never left the house, because they burned. Another third part didn't look like it was expected to... but the rest was really fine. And nobody complained (not knowing what real Vaniellekipferl should look and taste like) .

We didn't expect any presents. In fact we were glad to have a family to spent christmas with. But, Brazilians just love giving presents too much. So we both got this cute photo frame. For me with red (well, pink) hair and for Anja in blond. CUUUUTE. A REAL brazilian present.

This is Dani and me. This picture will end up in my photo frame ;-)

And this is the natalitiy scene, Danis grandmother prepares every year. Red light for Jesus to come....

X-mas in Church

There was no presentation of the Christmas Story, but a living 'precepio' (=nativity scene). My first catholic service. Different from lutheranian service AND different from German Church.










It was raining a little bit while we were waiting for Danieles father to pick us up right next to the recycling christmas tree

under the umbrella: Dani, Stefy and Anja.

university II

I AM ON VACATION!!!!
Which means I now have 2,5 month to do whatever I like. No homeworks to do, no exams to study for, no texts to read! YES!
But I already chose the subjects for next semester. So here you go:
Tuesday, 14-18h: Processos e Atores na Política Internacional Contemporânea (Processes and actors of contemporary international politics)
Wednesday, 14-18h: Individualimsmo e Contemporaneidade - Consideracoes sobre o íntimo, o privado e o público (Individuality and contemporanity - considerations about intimity, privacy and public)
Thursday, 14-18h: Sociologia do Desenvolvimente Latino-Americano (Sociology of latin-american development)
Thursday, 19:30-23h: Estudos de Sexualidade, Gênero e Corporalidade (Studies about Sexuality, Gender and Corporality)
Friday, 14-18h: Grandes Correntes e Tendências Políticas No Mundo Contemporâneo (Big Current and tendencies in the contemporary world)
In fact I DON'T know yet what are these classes about. But I liked the titles ;-)

university

final exams are approaching and besides cinema and theater I'm spending more and more time in my room to to the finish at least some of the mandatory reading. There is an interesting difference between brazilian readings and the kind of reading I am used to from Germany. The same difference can be found within the lessons, from students and teachers likewise.
People here refer so much more to classical literature! Of course we get an introduction to Maquiavelli, Hobbes, Locke in Germany. But we don't really READ there books. If we do the mandatory reading we get a glimps of their writing, 20-50 pages at most. If we don't we might still pass the exams without ever take a look at their 'original writing'.
Here it is VERY different.
Within the first year, students are obligated to actually read and summarize the most important books of political thought history. So, later in their studies, they are trained to constantly refer to those authors. It is very interesting how they manage to bring in, especially Hobbes and Maquiavelli, into nearly any conversation. Oh, and Weber is also VERY beloved. Sso in the end it did make sense to work myself through Weber for my 'Zwischenprüfung' (= global exam after about 2 years of your studies in Germany).
I must admit, that my theoretical knowledge is not as wide as the one of my fellow students. But on the other side it seems I am much more used to formulate my own thinkings without having to legitimate them with classical authors. But I do wonder about the reason for this difference...
Does it refer to the 'periferical self-consciousness' of Brazil as a third-world-country? Do they have to show to themselves AND the leading academic world (here: USA and somehow Europe), that they are able to work on classical authors in order to be taken serious???
Or don't they have enough 'worth-to-cite'-authors in Braszil? Of course, the University of Sao Paulo only exists for 70-80 years... and this is the most important university in this country...

Christmas...

... is drawing closer. So Santa Claus just takes a nap before the real stress starts. How lucky he can be, that there is a shadowy place for him in the 'hamaca'. Because running around in winter outfit while outside the sun is shining brightly at 35°C is really NOT funny.

I feel really sorry for the many students who are behind the living Santas around town.

PD: Christmas with 35°C just doesn't feel like it. And the fake snow in the shopping malls doesn't help either.

prince, frog or....

...a giraffe?
No, I won't kiss you. Who knows, you'll turn into a liquidificadora...
Although... we COULD need a new mixer in our kitchen ;-)

Embu das Artes

Embu is a nice little town where you can buy everything imagenable, as long as it is handycraft. I went there last weekend together with Kimberly (USA) and Jacobo (Spain). Interesting how it is always the foreigners who are exploring grand Sao Paulo.

Nice little houses, not those huuuuge skyscrapers I'm used to in Sao Paulo. Actually it is quite nice to see the sky from time to time...

pobreza

Even in fancy Embu there are kids who have to make a living by cleaning other people's shoes. Well, the picture has been taken on a saturday, so he probably isn't even missing school, but nevertheless...
I'm still not used to see the kids working on the streets.

Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is BIIIIIIG. Just in case you didn't notice yet ;-)

Piscina Natural

Parati has not only prayas (beaches) but also trilhas through the forest to get from one beach to the other. This one was specially challenging, bur definetly worth it. At the end of the trilha there is a so called natural swimming pool. Big stones build a circle into the ocean, so the water inside the circle stays rather calm and invites to enjoy some swimming without being crashed back into the beach by the waves.

Greetings from the sunny side

Yes! There we go... enjoing a little more of the sun. Wishing you all the best there in cold, windy Germany (or whereever you may be at the moment). At least ou will feel like Christmas. I am shocked every time a meet a Santa under the blue 34° sky we currently enjoy in Sao Paulo...

the boat tour

We also made a 'Escuna'-trip, visiting four islands. To get some sun, to do some swimming, to see some nature...

So I tested how much sun my skin was able to absorb without getting burned (Factor 50!!! does help), especially because the first day we did already get a little too much sun. But it has turned into a nice honey-shade by now.


Later the day some clouds were coming up, so it became a little cold. Luckily Anja and me had bought two of those really cheap tourist-t-shirts, originally to protect us from too much sun, but it helped against the cold as well. But people did kind of stare at us wearing the same shirt (and later on the same kanga as well).

Result: Dori

I wrote about my new hairdresser in my last update, didn't I? Anyway, here you get a good impression about how I look now. Shorter, and more red. Although the colour is basicely due to Juliana, my language partner.

Ok, and I am trying to absorbe as fast as possible the most important touristic attractions in Parati before getting up and strolling with Anja through the town.

Parati

First thing to do when arriving in a new town: going to the tourist office and get some flyers, including a map to get some orientation (orientation only applies to me. Anja just follows me, trusting that I somehow might find the way).
Just in case you have never heard about Parati: it is one of the first portuguese settlements and had his high phase during the gold rush in Minas Gerais, because the gold was shipped to Portugal via Parati. Today it is a touristic town above anything. But as Luiz (the guide) told us: enjoy the center and when you get hungry try to get something outside of it. That makes the money last a lot longer.

adaption

Hi everyone,
inspired by Anja's update I decided to compile a little list how far my adaption efforts have brought me... while I am waiting my friends to get ready for the disco (it's only 22:00, so we still have two hours before we leave the house)

• ... I talk about a quiet weekend when I stay home Friday OR saturday
• ... I don't plan more than two days ahead (apart from weekend-trips)
• ... I leave the house at midnight and catch the first metrô to come back home (that's six in the morning) without complaining
• ... I actually posess enough handbags to match any outfit I choose (OK, to be frank, a blue one is still missing)
• ... I invest 1 hour to get to the hairdresser (one way), only because my friend told me, he is the absolutely BEST in town (by the way: he is)
• ... I sign the lists in class for friends who didn't make it in time (hey, they have only four hours to show up and sign in)
• ... I don't feel guilty any more for not reading all of the 'must-read'-texts. In fact, by reading half of them I am still ahead of everyone else.
• ... together with Giulia and Ligia, I order 'beirute' (you could compare it with Döner) at 1:00 in the morning.

Things I do not intend to change:

• ... never challenge my green tea habit!
• ... I actually show up in class on time, having read some of the literature
• ... my weekly telephone chat with Anja in Rio.

how do I look

...posing in front of a traditional building (a fake one, but nevertheless).
Strange, but I felt a lot more German in Blumenau than I ever did in Germany. Perhaps because I was always wondering: is this due to German influences or result of the hybridization of the place? Like: no dogs, no dirt in the street, cars actually stopping when you try to cross the road (which definetly NEVER happends in Sampa).

Anyway, I'll say 'chaozinho' for now. And I'll try to post more regularly from now on, though I can't promise ;-)

the christmas tree of my dreams

exposed in the glass museum. You just have to polish it once in a while.

my padaria

Ok, this is not really Blumenau, but Sao Paulo. Anja came to visit me and here she is in my favourite padaria (bakery). They have this huge amount of self-serve-food and up there where we are seated no one disturbes you trying to sell some more coffee etc. So we spent about three hours there sipping one cappuccino after the other just talking talking talking.

o desfile

OK, in total I took about 150 pictures of the desfile, but I won't put you through this. So I selected just a few pictures so you can get a first impression (and come over here next year).

signs in the street

Ok, just in case, you don't know where you are going, check out the second and third line of this sign. Nice isn't it?







And of course some of the streets still remind you of the German colonization. Like the Antiga Wurststraße, which today is namend XV de novembro. That's where the desfile will take place.

Oktoberfest = festa da cerveja (beer festival)

Which means that beer is definitely involved. Either in the beergarden or in one of the brewerys (here: cerveja Eisenbahn) . They are very proud about brewing their beer following the rules of the Deutsches Reinheitsgesetz (German law of purity for beers), which dates back to... I don't remember, but its VERY old (older than this country anyway). Pleas note the nice flowers we are wearing while tasting the Eisenbahn ;-) Well, while Anja tastes the Eisenbahn.



Of course all beverages are served by traditionally dressed young ladys. Although some of them don't look THAT German after all. But that's the special charme of Oktoberfest in Blumenau. To see proper Bavarian Girls you just will have to stay in Munich.

Blumenau: as German as it gets

This is one of the typical German houses in Blumenau, namely the tourist office. And what do you see in front of it? Baianas (Brazilians from Bahia, a north-east province) selling baiano food to the Blumenauers. That's very typical for the European-Brazilian mixture present in south Brazil.






And this is Vila Germanica. On the Oktoberfest-location they built up this line of typical houses to host tourist stores and of course the annual Oktoberfest.

Rio ... remember?

Hello everybody. Just a short hi with two new fotos. On the left you see Anja and me in Rio de Janeiro, observing Copacabana (trying not to blink into the sun). On the right you see Nando and me. He was a YFU-exchange student in my parent's house in 2003 and his family invited us over for dinner. We had quite a nice time and Anja even got some high-school books about Brazilian history so she could polish up her knowledge for university (sometimes we both lack some background-information in classes... like what was the famous 30-revolution about? And when did it take place? 1830? 1930? Or just 30 revolutionaries giving name to the event?)

beijinhos de Sao Paulo

So, that's all for today. I'm sending you my best greetings from far away Brasil and hope you are enjoying life at least half as much as I do!

Don't hesistate writing me, I always enjoy getting news from all of you (although I might not be the fastest one in answering emails). So keep in touch.

Beijos, Valentina.

more photos

Ok, that's Franco. Franco wanted to be in the picture with me by all means. He's the guy who sells us fruits every wednesday on the market. And yes, compared with the normal fruit buyer, he does make good business with me. That's because I enjoy being able to choose between about 10 different fruits every morning before deciding what I'll have for breakfast today.


And HE definetly wanted to be in the picture with Susann. She payed me a visit last weekend and we had a great time together. On that picture we are in Embu das Artes, a little village living apparently only on crafts etc. The clown we met during lunch break and spent about an hour chatting with him.

university "em greve"

This is the building of my faculty, the FFLCH (Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas). Last week, when this picture was taken, this part of the university declared a strike. That's why you don't see any students in the picture, but only this huge poster over the entrance.
The problem was a veto of the minister of Sao Paulo. He vetoed against a rise in university finances. Then the assembly of Sao Paulo State has about two weeks to veto that veto and get the rise through anyway. To put some pressure on the parlamentarians the students and employees (but not the teachers) decided to strike. I didn't see too much sense in that, but at least that way I gained some time to catch up with my readings...

living in Sao Paulo

Here you get a first impression of my room. In fact it is not much bigger than what you see on that picture. I'm living on about 5-6 qm at the moment. But for a year that's quite OK (less space to accumulate stuff I won't be able to bringt back after all). And, as you see, even a room as tiny at that one can be used as sleeping room, dressing room (although it's hard to reach the cupboard over the bed) and study hall (note the tea pot on my desk!). Oh, and it can turn into a guest room as well. On the floor is just enough space to squeeze in another matress (although part of it ends up in the bathroom). So, if anyone plans to stop by in Sao Paulo... just give me a call.

Ok, and here you see our cleaning plan. I mean, we are four girls and one boy living together. And suddenly without a housemaid or a dearly caring mother at hand to do the dishes and whatever cleaning needed, our apartement tended to be quite a mess. 'till the german girl came. Because she organized a plan how to do the cleaning and even created a poster in the kitchen so that no one might forget: everyone cleans his/her own dishes, every week one of us is responsable for cleaning the whole apartment, once a month the windows are due as well (Sao Paulo is reeeeaally dirty). We'll see how the plan works out. Up to know no one complained (or are they afraid to?).

Internet

Hahaaaaa,
my neighbour has an unprocected w-lan connection which spreads just into our living. So I am sitting here on the floor using clandestinely the connection to share some fotos with you...
there we go.

This is Ligia, Giulia and me in the city center, about a week ago.

And this is the view I have from my bedroom. Well... the bedroom in itself has only about 4 qm, but the view does make up for it...

That's for now!


Valentina

don't worry... just wait...

... waiting for my university-ID to be issued (meanwhile I can't eat in the university restaurant, use the internet with an own sign or buy the cheaper transportation tickets)
... waiting for the visa to be legalized
... waiting for the prof to come
... waiting for the students to come
... waiting for the class to start
... waiting...

My mum would be very proud of me, because I am actually learning just to sit around, contemplating my surroundings not beeing stressed by university work or anything else. I'm becoming patient... bit by bit.

But wanted to tell you shortly about university:
seems to be a BIG BIG park! Hosts about 60.000 students, if I got it right, studying either morning, afternoon or night. Every day one lesson (which takes 4hours by the way). For me the next four months will look as follows:
Monday, 14-18h: Sociedade Multiracial Brasileira - o Segmento Negro (the multiracial society of Brasil - the negroe segment)
Tuesday, 14-18h: Pensamento Politico Brasilieiro (Political Thinking in Brasil)
Wednesday 14-18h: Institucões Politicas Brasileiras (Political Institutions in Brasil)
Thursday 14-18h: Relacões Sociais de Genero (Social Relationship of Gender)
Friday 14-18h: Topicos da Moralidade Politica (Themes of political moralty)

All teachers are very friendly and helpfull and most of the students seem to be as well. But the first week was only presenting the program and the mandatory reading, so I haven't had any proper 4hours-class yet. In about 1,5 hour I'll have the first one. We'll see if my attention gets through such a long time...

Oh, and by the way: today winter actually arrived. Temperatures dropped!!! to 15C during daytime. But hopefully it will only take two or three days until the sky clears up again returning to its usual 25C bluishness.

Beijos!

here we go...

I have finally arrived here in BIG BIG Sao Paulo. Just imagine the biggest city you have ever lived in and then multiply until you get tye 20.000.000 habitant mark. Then you may have a slight idea.

Anyway... the fligth was really cool. The flight to Rio which I was supposed to be on with Anja was helplessly overbooked. So they asked if anyone could switch flight and go first to Sao Paulo and then to Rio. Of course I did! And I got off in Sao Paulo, thus saving me a tiring bustrip from Rio to SP. Well... my luggage didnt get the changes that fast, so it was delivered to me yesterday at midnight. Which was a fairly great, because that way I didnt had to go around Sao Paulo with the whole stuff.

Got to the apartement at about 11h. Got to know Giulia, Ligia and Daniela. Loved them all. My room is ... cosy 2,50 x 2,50, but really nice. Elisa, a friend here in sao paulo lend me a mattress for the year, so I was able to actually sleep that night.

And this afternoon I will be going to university with Ligia to find out what the h... I am supposed to do in order to be a proper student at Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP).
Ohh, and by the way... I just got the confirmation for an internship at the general consulate in Rio de Janeiro in August/September/October... so dont expect me back before October 15th...

this is me... then

Oh, before I forget! Here you get a picture of mine as I look currently. Bright red hair, rather short. This one has been taken about two month ago during the orientation week for YFU students going of to Brasil/Chile/Argentina/Ecuador. As you can see a rather relaxing orientation, seeing me laying around thus comfortable having nothing to do than do conversation with my fellow teamers ;-)
Anyway, got to go to my mala to pack some more stuff in there, or better to try to get the whole thing beneath 20 kg... did I already mention I hated this restriction?