Holiday Weekend

Portuguese Words of the Day
- Praia = beach
- Perto = close
- Caneta = pen
- Bolo = cake
- Arroz = rice

(L-R) Priscila, Christophe, Armando, Andrea, Ruhy, me, Kevin in Florianópolis

This weekend was a four-day holiday weekend. The holiday (which we are still unsure of what the actual holiday was) itself was Thursday, and then the Institute was closed on Friday. With four days off, a group of seven of us "pegamos uma carona" Wednesday night for a weekend trip to Florianópolis, the capital of the Santa Catarina state. Florianópolis is more commonly known as Floripa, which is a perfect since there are numerous beaches on the island and is kind of like the Florida of Santa Catarina. In total, there were seven of us--three from the States, two from Brazil, one from France, and from Italy, and we stayed at our friend Armando's beach house, about a two minute walk from the beautiful Atlantic.

On Thursday, we stayed around the neighborhood and went to the beach. For the first time, I really felt like I was actually in Brazil and not in the rainy Joinville. Of course, Thursday happened to be the coldest day of all and there was not another soul on the beach, except for one man who was trudging through the water with only a towel wrapped around his body. But it was great to be at the beach and touch the surprisingly warm water. I may be a little bias as any water that isn't the numbingly cold water of New England is warm.

On Friday, we took the Onibus from Armando's house to the city center. On the way there, there is a mosaic of colorful houses built on the mountains. Then you enter the city center, and there are skyscapers and everything is located close together. The buildings in the center are also colorful, and there are little stands on the side of the road that sell all sorts of wares. After walking around the center, we walked down the path by the waterfront to watch the sunset. That path is perfect for running, and there are little "exercise playgrounds" on the side. Armando says that for physical education class, he used to run down that road. I wish we had those in the U.S.

For dinner, we went to the mall and disproved the stereotype that Americans only eat McDonald's all day and night. Of course, dessert is the most important meal, and with the Italian's help, we bought a nice bottle of wine and chocolate. So great. One thing I've realized that with AIESEC and travelling with such a diverse group is that everybody makes fun of the other's about cultural stereotypes, but we all laugh it off. It's kind of fun being Asian, since you are associated with things related to efficiency and common sense, instead of never showering or only listening to that wannabe music they call hip-hop. After dinner and walking around the city, we were ready for mil sete.

By Saturday, everybody was a bit tired, and we all slept like none other. The original plan was to wake up at 8h to take a ship to the other Coast, which is supposed to be the most beautiful place in Floripa. Instead, we all slept, except for the Frenchman, who somehow was up and ready to go by 10h. We made a visit to the grocery store to get food for the barbecue at night.

The barbecue on Saturday night was fantastic (also because the boys did all of the work). They started a fire in the yard to heat the chicken wings, sausage, and onions on coals. After that, we went to the beach and relaxed...now that I am writing this post, I realized that we did a lot of relaxing, but it was much needed.

On Sunday, Armando's family came and prepared a traditional Brazilian barbecue. In addition to the sausages, chicken, beef, and every type of meat in between, there was also some salad, vegetables, and cake. We were also able to experience real Brazilian hospitality. I offered to help Armando's mother to prepare the food, and she said absolutely not. Then there was no way that she would let any of us clean up the kitchen nor the house, which was not quite as clean after the four days as it was when we arrived on Wednesday. To thank them for their hospitality, we bought them a small gift. Then Armando's father said that he couldn't accept it since he feels like the family didn't do enough to help us.

As we were about to take our 20:30 bus, it started to rain, and we knew that it was time to leave the beautiful "awesome" island paradise and return Joinville. We said our goodbyes at the rodoviária (bus terminal) and boarded the bus bound for Joinville/Curitiba. Surprisingly, the bus was extremely comfortable, and if flights were like that, then flying coach wouldn't be so bad. As we arrived to Joinville, it was of course raining, and we went home.