Easter!!
- hannahedull
- Apr 3, 2018
- 6 min read
Hello! Thanks for still reading my blogs even though they are generally the same every week. This blog is different though because I actually traveled to the beach for Easter! But that comes later. I'll skip straight to Monday since I didn't even leave the house on Sunday.
Monday I ran errands for two hours. It was actually way more successful than I thought it would be. I found a print shop, I got some information on getting a SIM card, I refilled my bus card with money, and I got groceries. Everyone was super helpful and didn't really judge me for not knowing Portuguese. The lady explaining SIM card plans even talked slower and used more common words for me so I mostly knew what was going on. Once I got home, it started to rain and this was where my day got a bit more interesting.
The plan was to dye Easter eggs in class that night, but for some reason the stove wasn't working. Picture my reaction when I learned that. I had to microwave the eggs, which I had never done, but I think it turned out all right. One of my students dropped an egg later and it was actually hard boiled so at least we didn't have to clean that up. I brought dye kits from the US so I threw all of my supplies in my bag and brought two cartons of eggs to school since there are 23 first year students. However, on rainy days, fewer people come to class so I really only needed about 18 eggs. I got 8 different colored dyes set up before class and then it was time to begin the fun activities.
I told my students that I was thinking about doing pen pals. I asked my Facebook friends if anyone would be interested and I had about 35 people respond. However, two teachers thought it would be fun to involve their classes so I now have about 100 people interested. And I thought only five people would respond so I was pleasantly surprised. My Brazilian students were so excited to hear that people wanted to be their pen pals and almost all of them said they wanted to do it. If you're reading this and didn't see my Facebook post, let me know if you want to be a pen pal and I'll add you to my list.
After that, I had them all sign agreement forms that I can use their picture on my blog. I will also be featured in an International Studies Abroad newsletter sometime and want to use a picture with my students, but I'll talk about that when it comes out. But now I can share pictures of them with you! Once the paperwork was done, it was time to actually get to the dyeing. I talked about the history of Easter and religion, how bunnies and eggs became part of Easter tradition, what my family does for Easter, and then showed them how to dye an egg. They were all excited because they had never done it before but I think all of the eggs turned out great! Take a look for yourselves:
Tuesday I didn't leave the house again because it was a rainy day. There's always more errands to run and things to find, so I went to a bunch of stores again on Wednesday and then I had my conversation class. It went alright, but I feel like everyone is still getting used to each other and some of them find my activities boring. I'm going to try to mix it up this coming week though.
Thursday I left for Florianópolis, a beach town in the same state that I'm living in. My first bus left at 8:00, 20 minutes late, and I arrived in Curitiba to get my bus at 2:08. My second bus left at 2:10, so I had to get my ticket and was late for my bus. They put me on another bus going to Floripa (short for Florianópolis), but the driver kept telling me to sit in a seat and then someone else would get on the bus and tell me that was the seat they bought. I had to move to a new seat a few times, but finally I got settled in. We hit traffic on the way to the next bus stop and I ended up getting to Floripa around 11pm instead of the scheduled 7pm. I got a taxi to my hostel, which took 45 minutes, and went straight to bed.
Friday was an awesome day. I began by making my way to an airbnb that one of the other Fulbrighters had found and asked if anyone wanted to stay there with him. We ended up with a group of 9, but the airbnb had room for 15. It was beautiful. They had a terrace and a patio and a whole second building to do currascos (barbecues) in. We all went to the beach together and met up with other Fulbrighters who had come for Easter weekend as well. All together, I think about 35 Fulbrighters came to Forianópolis out of the 120 Fulbrighters in Brazil. That night, we had a currasco and invited everyone over to drink and eat and hang out. There were so many people, but somehow we had enough food to feed everyone and people brought their own drinks and had a great time. Around 12, everyone left to go to a club, but two of my friends didn't have their IDs to get in, so I went to a little restaurant and had a few beers and fries with them before we went home for some much needed sleep.
It rained all day on Saturday. There was maybe one hour it stopped raining all day. We still went to the beach though, and had a lot of fun. There were some "natural pools" we went to that was just a little cove with some rocks and a little swimming spot in the ocean. It wasn't what I expected, but it was still fun. We then hit up the beach and played volleyball before we headed back to get ready to go to dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Taco Real and it was amazing. There was a live band and one of my friends even sang Wagon Wheel while another American played guitar. We all had a lot of good food and a lot of drinks before heading out. Most people went back to their hostels to get some sleep, but me and four of my friends went to a club. It had three stories and three different bars. It also had live music and we had fun dancing a chatting the night away.
Sunday was a beautiful, sun-shiny day. We went to the beach all day and then went to a Peruvian restaurant for dinner. I had Lomo Saltado and a Pisco Sour, both staples of Peru (pictured below). Alexa and I left to catch our 2:15am bus and then finally got home Monday afternoon around 3. On our way home, our bus rear-ended a car. We stopped at a restaurant/quick shop place to eat and so the bus driver could talk to the guy he hit and get some things figured out. I don't know if they have insurance or if anything ended up getting figured out, but I ate at a nice buffet and then just chilled until we were ready to go. One of the guys working at the restaurant was taking people's statements, but I didn't really see anything except us hit the car. I also speak very little Portuguese so they didn't ask for my statement. Apparently a truck swerved in front of our bus so the bus swerved into the next lane and didn't have time to slow down or stop before hitting the car. The car had a 2 or 3 year old in it, but he was giggling and messing around at the restaurant so I think he was okay. I was told later, however, that the mother was taken to the hospital, I'm assuming for whiplash because she was also walking around holding her son after. I hope everyone is okay.
After getting home, Alexa and I got ready for class that night and then I did two loads of laundry. Everything was sandy, musty, kind of damp still, and overall disgusting so I even washed my backpack I brought everything home in. Class was fun; we went over family vocab with the first years and I think they had fun. It wasn't as fun as dyeing Easter eggs, but that's okay.
Today I've felt sick all day. I think I'm getting a sinus infection from all of the change in weather and being out in the rain a few days. I'm also exhausted from not getting enough sleep over the weekend and I think that's playing a part in how crappy I feel. I took it really easy today and tried to rest up so I feel better.
Sorry the blog is so long this week and thanks for reading!!
Comments