After fourteen hours of air travel, including a layover spent entirely in Charlotte's security checkpoint, I finally arrived in Philadelphia Sunday morning. There really is no place like home, even if you have to travel through customs, immigration, and security to get there.
I truly enjoyed my six months in Brazil. It wasn't always easy to adapt to the culture or to take care of things at home while abroad, but with every challenge, I grew wiser, more resourceful, and usually more flexible. Six months was just the right amount of time to complete a fair bit of my dissertation research, delve into the Portuguese language, and begin to understand Brazilian culture.
Now it is time for me to finish my dissertation in Pittsburgh. I will miss all the friends I made during my stay in Rio, but I know that many of us will stay in touch. I will also miss walking to the beach, taste-testing all the different tropical fruits, and of course, I will miss the tropical sun. (Pittsburgh could use some of that sun!) I will not miss Rio's public transit, or lack thereof, nor the 4am street-sweepers or 10pm trash-collectors. It all balances out in the end.
This blog is now finished. You can page through old entries by clicking the "Older Posts" link at the bottom of the screen. You can also view my photos from Brazil (and other trips I've taken) on my Picasa homepage. Feel free to leave comments on both sites.
Thank you all for joining me along this journey.
Até a próxima vez. Until next time.
Briana
Amazônia
July 30, 2011
It is difficult to put the Amazon into words. You could call it a tropical rainforest, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. You could call it an agricultural opportunity for palm or soy or sugarcane, or you could call it a logger's dream (or worst legal nightmare). You could call it an international climate policy issue or an environmental activist's call to arms. You could call it a witness of cultural history. The Amazon is all of these things, and yet, none of these descriptions fully capture its essence. The Amazon is bigger than us and it becomes no less mythical once you're surrounded by it.
When I told Brazilian friends that I was going to tour the Amazon, they looked at me in surprise: "Even Brazilians don't go to the Amazon," they said. It's like the frontier of the Wild West: it's impossible to imagine what lies beyond.
It certainly felt like the Wild West as I investigated my options for tours. There are so many options, so many scams, and so many Internet wars between competing companies. I wanted to find a tour group that truly practiced the three tenets of sustainability, which means it needed to be environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially just. (Amazon tours make excellent case studies on greenwashing!)
It took a week of research, but I finally found the right group. I chose Amazon Gero Tours, run by Gero Mesquita himself. In the Lonely Planet guidebook to Brazil, Gero is described as an all-around nice guy who will go out of his way to accomodate his guests. This is absolutely true. To begin with, he gave me his phone numbers for both his office and his home, told me I could call at anytime of day or night, and even picked me up at the airport in Manaus when my flight arrived at 1:30 in the morning. I stayed in a hotel next to his office in Manaus, slept for a few hours, and started the tour at 8:00 the same morning.
The tour group started with eight people. Since people stayed for different lengths of time--I stayed four days and three nights; other people for three or two days--there was a constant ebb and flow as some people left while others arrived. The logistics were very well organized, though, so it wasn't at all chaotic. Throughout the four days, I met one guy from South Africa, one girl from the U.S., and seven people from Germany, five of whom were travelling together. (Germans travel a lot.) I also met at least ten Brazilians, all of whom either worked for the tour company or lived in the area. The Brazilians told some of the best stories about life in Manaus and in the Amazon. We had nightly storytelling sessions; the only thing missing was the campfire!
One of the common misconceptions that the Brazilians cleared up right away was the distinction between "native" and "indigenous" people. I had thought that "indigenous" was the more politically aware term to call the "native" people. Not so! The native people are essentially the locals, the people who grew up in the area, and usually, the family of whom has lived lived in the area for generations. The "indigenous" people are the people who have essentially been "uncontacted". These are the people who live in tribes deep in the forest and have no concept of today's "modern" life. The tours were always led by two people: one native person and one person from Manaus.
Throughout the four days, we stayed in a "jungle lodge," which was essentially a very simple bed & breakfast, but adapted to the jungle -- i.e. electricity and running water only for a few hours per day, accomodations in bed or hammocks (I chose bed), and all meals included. There were many different activities: hiking in the jungle, learning about medicinal plants and trees, fishing for piranhas, catching (and holding) caiman, watching the stars at night, and LOTS of canoeing. All of these activities are shown here in my Picasa album. I'm not going to try to describe each activity--that would take several more entries--but if you have any questions, leave a comment on this blog and I'll be happy to reply.
I'll leave you with some of my favorite photos from the trip:
Our amazing guide, Reuben, showing off the grasshopper he made from palm leaves.
The Caboclo family home we visited.
Caiman!
In the canoe, wind at my back.
Salvador, Bahia
July 22, 2011
A few weeks ago, I visited the city of Salvador in the Northeastern state of Bahia. Click here for a photo tour of my trip.
Farewells & New Journeys
July 21, 2011
I know you are all anxiously awaiting news from the Amazon and for my overdue post from Salvador--they're coming!--but I wanted to take this opportunity to blog in the moment [for once].
I just returned from a farewell lunch with my good friend Dani, a Carioca who took me under her wing and showed me her city for these past six months. Dani is leaving at midnight tonight for two weeks in England. Since I just returned from Manaus yesterday and she leaves for England tonight, today was literally the last possible day we could say our good-byes. (We didn't want to say them too soon!)
We decided to go to an organic buffet restaurant in Leblon, one that I had passed many times and had never tried. It was worth it! Afterwards, we walked further into Leblon--almost to the beach--for dessert at a cute little café. I like the café for its "homey" atmosphere and friendly waitstaff. Today they had telenovelas, or Brazilian soap operas, playing on TV. We tried to get the check during what was apparently a dramatic scene, so we had to wait a few minutes, but we weren't in too much of a rush, so it was okay.
Dani and I also brought gifts for each another. My gifts for Dani combined the practical with the cute. On the practical side, I brought her a notebook from the University of Pittsburgh (where I study in the U.S.), and on the cute side, I brought her a miniature woven-fiber purse that I had bought in Bahia. We were apparently thinking along the same lines because she also gave me a purse--this time with the wave pattern that covers many of the walkways and beaches in Rio--and she also gave me an adorable brigadeiro keychain. (Brigadeiros are the Brazilian chocolate delicacies that really are one of a kind.) In addition to the purse and keychain, Dani's father also recorded two DVDs of the televised Carnaval parades for me--I can hardly wait to watch them!
Dani and I both agree that my six months in Rio passed more quickly than either of us could have imagined. It seems like just yesterday we were making plans for Carnaval at the Sambódromo. Now we are both embarking on new journeys: Dani to England (her first transatlantic flight!) and me back to the U.S. for my final year of grad school.
So it may be time for us to go our separate ways, but I for one, will never forget my time here in Rio. It would never have been the same without you, Dani! Obrigada por tudo e até a próxima vez!
I just returned from a farewell lunch with my good friend Dani, a Carioca who took me under her wing and showed me her city for these past six months. Dani is leaving at midnight tonight for two weeks in England. Since I just returned from Manaus yesterday and she leaves for England tonight, today was literally the last possible day we could say our good-byes. (We didn't want to say them too soon!)
We decided to go to an organic buffet restaurant in Leblon, one that I had passed many times and had never tried. It was worth it! Afterwards, we walked further into Leblon--almost to the beach--for dessert at a cute little café. I like the café for its "homey" atmosphere and friendly waitstaff. Today they had telenovelas, or Brazilian soap operas, playing on TV. We tried to get the check during what was apparently a dramatic scene, so we had to wait a few minutes, but we weren't in too much of a rush, so it was okay.
Dani and I also brought gifts for each another. My gifts for Dani combined the practical with the cute. On the practical side, I brought her a notebook from the University of Pittsburgh (where I study in the U.S.), and on the cute side, I brought her a miniature woven-fiber purse that I had bought in Bahia. We were apparently thinking along the same lines because she also gave me a purse--this time with the wave pattern that covers many of the walkways and beaches in Rio--and she also gave me an adorable brigadeiro keychain. (Brigadeiros are the Brazilian chocolate delicacies that really are one of a kind.) In addition to the purse and keychain, Dani's father also recorded two DVDs of the televised Carnaval parades for me--I can hardly wait to watch them!
Here's everything together:
Dani and I both agree that my six months in Rio passed more quickly than either of us could have imagined. It seems like just yesterday we were making plans for Carnaval at the Sambódromo. Now we are both embarking on new journeys: Dani to England (her first transatlantic flight!) and me back to the U.S. for my final year of grad school.
So it may be time for us to go our separate ways, but I for one, will never forget my time here in Rio. It would never have been the same without you, Dani! Obrigada por tudo e até a próxima vez!
Updated Travel Plans
July 10, 2011
[Click on the calendar for a larger, clearer image.]
I made a few changes to my travel plans. Some changes were forced (i.e. dropping Peru from the itinerary), while others I made to preserve my sanity (i.e. choosing the Amazon over the Pantanal instead of trying to visit them both). With this new schedule, I end up spending more time in Rio than I had originally anticipated for the month of July, but I am choosing to enjoy quality over quantity. I am still leaving on Friday for four days in the Amazon jungle, and needless to say, I am super excited!
I'll write more about each trip as I return. Tomorrow I will write about Salvador, the historical and cultural city where I just spent the last three days. For now, sleep is the next item on my agenda. All this travelling and organizing makes for a very sleepy blogger!
Time to Travel!
July 2, 2011
Behold my travel route for the next three weeks!
I plan on taking the bus for Routes 1 and 3. I will fly for Route 2, due of the sheer distances involved. Along the way, I will stay in various eco-lodges, employ local guides (mainly for Route 2), and of course blog about the whole adventure. Stay tuned for the details!
The Beginning of the End
June 30, 2011
People have been telling me for months that my time in Brazil is drawing to a close. I've laughed at the notion, but in the past few weeks, the next "generation" of IGERT students have been visiting Rio to plan for their research semesters next year and so the beginning of the end is now taking a more realistic form.
As I showed the students around the university campus and parts of the city, I realized I know these areas better than I thought. Between walks on the beach, endless pay-by-the-kilo restaurants, and bizarre street-sign explanations, I realized that while I may still be an estrangeira, I still know Rio better than most tourists and I now have my own stories and soundtracks to supplement the typical city guide. And yes, I have thought to myself that if there weren't people to see and places to be back home, I could surely stay a while longer ...
In the next few days, I will have two final university meetings: one with each of my Brazilian advisors. I didn't get nearly as far as I had laid out in my pre-semester research plan and I never did get to present my research progress to the department (my fault, not theirs), but I am still relatively content with what I did accomplish. I learned how engineering research is conducted at a typical Brazilian university, I learned about the state of life cycle assessment and other sustainable engineering analyses in Brazil, and I learned more than I could have ever imagined about sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil. While I could have gathered much of this knowledge in the U.S. by poking around online and finding the pertinent contacts, one of the biggest advantages of working directly on a Brazilian unviersity campus proved to be my colleagues' desire to make sure I understood. Perhaps they didn't want me misrepresenting Brazil in the U.S., but for whatever reason, I am truly thankful. Several times, people started spewing forth as many names as I could possibly write down at once: "X is interesting, and so are Y and Z. In São Paulo, A worked with B, who then conducted multiple projects with C, D, and E [...]" and so on and so on. E-mail is a poor medium for such spontaneity.
Today I am preparing my semester summary for my Brazilian advisors, detailing what I have accomplished while under their guidance and describing my plans for the next few months. (I intend to finish this PhD by April 2012!) After my final meeting Tuesday afternoon, I will leave the campus island of Fundão and set my sights on the greater South American continent. For the month of July, I have the distinct pleasure of being a nomad (of the graduate-student thesis-writing type). My only restriction is that I return to Rio by July 30 for my flight back to the U.S. There are so many possibilities, many of which pull me in completely different directions, so expect a travel calendar in one of my upcoming posts. Tchau for now!
As I showed the students around the university campus and parts of the city, I realized I know these areas better than I thought. Between walks on the beach, endless pay-by-the-kilo restaurants, and bizarre street-sign explanations, I realized that while I may still be an estrangeira, I still know Rio better than most tourists and I now have my own stories and soundtracks to supplement the typical city guide. And yes, I have thought to myself that if there weren't people to see and places to be back home, I could surely stay a while longer ...
In the next few days, I will have two final university meetings: one with each of my Brazilian advisors. I didn't get nearly as far as I had laid out in my pre-semester research plan and I never did get to present my research progress to the department (my fault, not theirs), but I am still relatively content with what I did accomplish. I learned how engineering research is conducted at a typical Brazilian university, I learned about the state of life cycle assessment and other sustainable engineering analyses in Brazil, and I learned more than I could have ever imagined about sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil. While I could have gathered much of this knowledge in the U.S. by poking around online and finding the pertinent contacts, one of the biggest advantages of working directly on a Brazilian unviersity campus proved to be my colleagues' desire to make sure I understood. Perhaps they didn't want me misrepresenting Brazil in the U.S., but for whatever reason, I am truly thankful. Several times, people started spewing forth as many names as I could possibly write down at once: "X is interesting, and so are Y and Z. In São Paulo, A worked with B, who then conducted multiple projects with C, D, and E [...]" and so on and so on. E-mail is a poor medium for such spontaneity.
Today I am preparing my semester summary for my Brazilian advisors, detailing what I have accomplished while under their guidance and describing my plans for the next few months. (I intend to finish this PhD by April 2012!) After my final meeting Tuesday afternoon, I will leave the campus island of Fundão and set my sights on the greater South American continent. For the month of July, I have the distinct pleasure of being a nomad (of the graduate-student thesis-writing type). My only restriction is that I return to Rio by July 30 for my flight back to the U.S. There are so many possibilities, many of which pull me in completely different directions, so expect a travel calendar in one of my upcoming posts. Tchau for now!
You never know where the path may lead. (Parque da Cidade)