life lessons

T-minus 4 days. Because I'm sure the next couple days will be quite hectic, I decided to go after school special on you right now as long as I have a lazy Sunday to do some blogging.

Obviously, I've learned so much during my time here. I've been making an attempt at organizing my thoughts into a list (story of my life) and I've got a decent start, but I don't think I'll ever feel like it's finished. Alas, here are some of my disorganized thoughts organized into a little list.

Some Things I Know Now
(in no particular order)

live carioca
I stress to much. About everything. Am I going to go home and be a totally carefree individual? No. Am I going to let myself spend a few hours in bed watching a movie from time to time without beating myself up about wasting time? Absolutely. Most people actually refer to that as relaxing.

be bilingual
After being here and experiencing the great number of people who know two or more languages, I feel ashamed to admit that I only know one. Rosetta Stone, here I come.

humanity ain't so bad
We received so much assistance from kind strangers. People don't have to play charades with us to help us communicate, but they did. And for that I am very grateful.

kids are kids are kids
Students are going to be different everywhere, but deep down they're all kids. Rich kids, poor kids, flourishing kids, struggling kids. They all love candy, hugs and a good game of tag.

international relations
I hate to do it, but I have to do it. I'm going to talk about relationships. I promise it will be short.
Not to sound conceited, but I think I'm a pretty cool cat for coming here. I am also a brave cat. A kind of weird cat, but I think I'm a funny cat too. Anyway, if someone cannot appreciate all of the above with the addition that I'm pretty good at baking, then you can get out.

there are more important things than things
I spent 3 months living out of one suitcase and a carry on. Was I thinking about that one cardigan that I decided to leave at home the morning of my flight? No, I was too busy soaking in everything this experience had to offer. So one of my new me resolutions is to stop spending so much money on clothes and shoes and throw that money in a savings account for future adventures.

teachers wear many hats
As I was teaching I realized that my job description was so much more than just educating. I am a hairdresser, mom, art critic, professional pencil sharpener, therapist, storyteller, doctor, actress, among so many others.
Am I ready to wear all these hats?
I'm not sure. It's a lot of responsibility and I take that responsibility very seriously. Potentially too seriously. To the point where I cause myself great distress about my performance and whether or not I'm reaching every student. No, I'm not going to be perfect but these kids deserve perfect. Some additional post-trip soul-searching is in order.

who i'm with is just as meaningful as where i go 
Being here has been an incredible experience and I wouldn't change it for the world. I was blessed enough to share this experience with two wonderful ladies that I've grown to love and I will miss very much. But I couldn't shake the feeling that it would be so great to share this with everyone at home. Thus, my future travels will be spent in the company of family and friends. As an added bonus, this plan will save money on souvenirs.

love where you are, wherever you are
I have severely under appreciated the beauty in my own back yard and the lovely bunch of people that I get to share it with. I had a moment almost every day here in which I stopped and just appreciated everything about this fantastic city. Why don't I do that at home? Ohio is beautiful too. Oh, what, you don't believe me? Spend a few months somewhere else and get back to me.

i did it
Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon, there are still a few days. But I'm in the home stretch. I did it. I also did it without a breakdown or crippling homesickness.
I lived in Rio de Janeiro for three months.
It still sounds too good to be true.

vacation in a vacation

Where do you go on vacation when you're living in one of the most beautiful cities on Earth?

Buzios.

This teeny peninsula is 3 hours north of Brazil. It's home to about 20 beaches with some of the most clean, clear water I've ever seen. The streets were paved in stone, the houses were painted colorfully and the entire peninsula seemed to be whispering "relax." The town was a perfect quiet getaway from the bustle of life in Rio de Janeiro.  The entire time we were there I couldn't shake the thought "This is paradise."

Rather than creating a gigantic blog post with a ton of pictures, I found this new story feature on Photobucket. To view the photos larger, click on the "view full story" button.

weekend away

Last weekend started with a showing of Hamlet in Portuguese. I went with the roomies, our teacher friend John and a couple of his students. The play was a little bit difficult to follow but manageable. The direction was so impressive that I didn't find myself disinterested at any time.

The play ended way past my bedtime, but after John's wife picked us up everyone decided they were hungry so we stopped to get something to eat. Upon arriving at John's house at 4 in the morning, I promptly passed out.

When I woke up and could get a better sense of my surroundings, I could see we were in a little oasis surrounded 3 sides by jungle. The view from his house was gorgeous. There were mountains and large hills nearby with teeny houses creeping up the side of them. There's something very different about the lifestyle in Brazilian countryside. Despite being slightly secluded, there were a number of small bars and eateries scattered around the area. It was common to see people walking along the side of the road and we even saw a few people riding horses. I almost felt like I was stepping back in time.

The weekend was spent exploring the area, shopping at some local quirky shops and doing a lot of talking. John and his wife are both fantastic at making conversation and we ended up talking for hours on quite a few occasions. Their hospitality blew me away. They allowed us to stay in their beautiful house, fed us delicious food and drove us around to see everything in the area. So grateful.

And now, here are some pictures of their house, also known as my dream house. Enjoy.