Packing- that sometimes dreadful chore you must do before
traveling where you do not know what to bring but you know that you want to
keep it light and yet you end up packing 50 pds worth of stuff anyway. Of course I was given a list of suggested
items to bring, some of it seemed unnecessary and some seemed like common sense
to me. But I was going to be in Brazil
for a month where the average temperature in Joinville for this time of year
was 60 degrees. That seemed rather cool
and yet rather warm. So I packed a light
jacket and a raincoat and an umbrella. I
also packed a few outfits to wear, quick drying pants as I was going to a
semi-tropical climate and apparently it rained a lot in Joinville in July. I also brought enough socks and underwear to
last me most of the month in case we had no access to laundry. I also packed a kite, books, my yoga mat and plenty
of tampons as I know most foreign countries either do not have them or they are
really expensive. I am not sure of the
exact weight of my bags but they were heavy.
Thank goodness that when you fly to Brazil you get 2 bags at 70 pounds
each on the plane so there were no overweight charges for me.
Travel Day- I was excited and nervous all wrapped into
one. I am thrilled to be meeting members
of my team during the several layovers I had, I was nervous about traveling to
a new country and figuring out where I needed to be when in an airport that I
did not know and had know idea how to even ask in Portuguese. I honestly did
not learn any Portuguese prior to leaving the country- Ha! I was
also really excited to experience Brazil.
So far the students and our local contacts all seemed wonderful and my
team was really geared up and ready to go.
It was a long travel day though. I left Denver at like 1:30 pm in the
afternoon on a Saturday and arrived in Joinville at like 5:00 pm the next
day. I flew from Denver to Atlanta,
Atlanta to São Paulo, São Paulo to Florianopolis and took a bus from
Florianopolis to Joinville where we checked into a different hotel from the one
we were told. At that point I did not
care what hotel I was at as long as I had a place to sleep I was happy.
The first few days- The first days in a new country
sometimes are a struggle for me as I am getting used to how things work, new
foods, new smells, and not understanding most of what people are saying since
it is all in another language. Plus you
add being jetlagged on top of that! No
wonder my emotions seemed to be a little high.
I was feeling vulnerable, a little lost, excited, overwhelmed and eager
to enjoy as much as I could. As I
reflect back on that time I also recognize how I wanted the comforts of home, I
was feeling culture shock and I was surprised by it.
Joinville is an amazing city, nestled in between mountains
with a thick German feel to the landscape and architecture. I was not sure if I was in Brazil or in
Europe but the view from my hotel window was amazing and it gave me a lot of
peace at times just to look out and soak it all in. I struggled to eat vegan though as most meals
were meat and cheese and they put both in everything. I could not live off of salads the entire
month but I am was frustrated at times when I felt like I could not eat and
supply my body with the nutrition it needed.
Once I figured out where the grocery store was and had access to a
kitchen I was good to go on making sure I had enough to eat and plenty of good
protein.
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