Orientation- Starting Thoughts

I've been in Brazil for a whole week and have started to get to know my 11 new friends and Salvador, my new home city. Orientation ended today, and in half an hour our host families come to pick us up.

Rewind to my first thoughts and impressions of Brazil. The airplane ride was long and arriving here was a little chaotic. Some members of the group were lost and arrived the next day. I was lucky enough to have Kristen, one of my good friends from Gettysburg, on the trip so everything wasn't new. I've come to know my fellow members of the group and I like them all, and can see myself staying friends with these people for a long time.

Brazil is HOT! The summer is ending and Carnival ended the week before we got here. I think that's one of the main reasons that my program started so late- Carnival would have been WAY too big of a distraction. Remnants still remain in the streets. After Carnival, everything shuts down for a few weeks. Unless you are preparing to be a Samba Queen for next year's festival, in which case you start dieting, exercising, and practicing now. My Academic Director's name is Damiana: a very attractive, intelligent Afro-Brazilian woman who has a Ph.D. in anthropology and is a physician with experience in mental health, psychoanalysis, and management of health facilities. She works closely with two other very smart, helpful Bahians.

My first impressions of Bahians are that they are layed back, super hospitable, and people who like to have a fun time. One of the directors, Francisco, told us today that if Bahians are faced with a dilemma of doing their work or going to a party, they will do their work in a party-like fashion. We have used the public buses to get back and forth from our orientation house to the city, and almost everyone on the bus is very happy to tell you how to get from point A to point B, and striking a conversation is very easy. As we drive along the white sand beaches, people of all different sizes, shapes, and colors are strutting their stuff in the famous Brazilian bikinis. People are beautiful here, not because of their BMI, but because they carry themselves with confidence and are very comfortable in their own skin.

Salvador is big and rich with history. It is the first capital of Brazil and has lots of history of the original Tupi Brazilian tribes. The colors are vibrant, so between that and the sun, sunglasses are needed at all times. And sun block- the sun is very intense. I have decided to embrace my constant state of sweating. There are bunches of street vendors selling anything from water, to pills, to ice cream, to fruit. We have been warned to stay away until we build up a tolerance, and if we can't resist to try things on Friday's so we have the weekend to recover.

During orientation, we learned about all the possible diseases we could contract (there are many), as well as culture, a detailed outline of the semester, how to get around the city, what to expect from host families, etc, etc. One of the last lessons was a Samba dance lesson. The guys drumming were rediculously attractive, which is the case with most Brazilian men and women. The dance was intense, but now I feel more prepared to go out dancing. It's the thing to do here.

Final thoughts are that Bahia is one of the most hospitable and relaxed place in Brazil and probably in the world. People will stop what they're doing to help you out or show you around. They also are very obsessed with making sure that you have eaten enough and do everything they can to make sure you are comfortable. The first morning I was a little freaked out that I was committed to staying here for 3 1/2 months, but now I think that 3 1/2 months is not going to be nearly long enough. Ciao for now.