Jets to Brazil

My next adventure was to Brazil on a Gira de Estudios or class trip with my school, El Colegio Aleman. The day after my birthday we gathered outside the school and united as a class for the first time in months. A lot of kids had been in Germany for a short term exchange and it was great hear about their summers. They showed a new appreciation for what I had gone through during my first months and suddenly we could discuss more meaningfully the experiences of an exchange. The name Gira de Estudios might sound like a trip with some higher educational purpose, but don´t be fooled becuase it was actually a week of vacation on the beach and "carreteando" with close friends.

From LA, we took an overnight bus to the Santiago airport to catch our first flight to Buenos Aires. It was probably clear to passing travelers that we were headed to the beach since we sporadically broke into soccer games on the airport floor and were already dressed in swim suits and bright beach colors. I should mention that the class designed sweatshirts specifically for the trip. They were all white except for mine which had unfortuneatly turned pink in a load of laundry... for ten days I suffered from coments about the gringo´s pink sweatshirt, but nevertheless I wore it proudly. From Buenos Aires we connected to Foz de Iguassu and by land crossed the border into Brasil. El Rio de Iguassu creates the borders between Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay and at the juncture there is a massive series of waterfalls. We didn´t waste too much time in this region, however, since our final destination, Camboriu, was still a 12 hour bus ride east toward the coast. Exhausted, afraid I was getting sick, and without sufficent beroca we rolled into the touristic city of Camboriu and went strait to the beach. The perfect jet lag remedy... The warm water and humid temperature were drastic yet pleasant changes from Chile´s dry climate. The next few days were spent sprawled out lazily on various beaches sipping Caipariñas, fresh coconuts, and working on that tan I never seem to get back at home. And when the sun went down we went out to the happening Brazilan discos or back to the beach outside the hotel. The boarding arrangements turned out to be very, very entertaining since some 300 Argentine girls were staying in the same hotel. Although most of them were 15, the boys in my class were pleasantly occupied making all the girls in the class jealous and bitter. Having just turned 19, I felt like I was out of place for the first time, nevertheless, it was hilarious to just watch the situation unfold. We took a trip over to the Isla de Portobello, which was my favorite destination. We hitched a ride to the isle on a "Pirate Boat", which was a thumping party boat that stopped every once and allowing us to jump of the sides or dive from the masts. The island´s beach was the best we had visited so far and everyone was entertained kayaking, snorkeling, or riding on the classic Banana Boat.

It really was a tropical vacation... although, it was neat to suddenly be imersed in a Portugese speaking country. Getting around wasn´t all that difficult since it was surprisingly easy to converse with locals in Spanish. It was a strange language to try to listen to, however, things made sense when you read store signs or Billboards. Ironically enough, while out at a disco one night, a kid came up to me and said, "Yo, whats up man hows it going?". I´d like to think I dont look that gringo, but maybe I really do stick out as a foreigner. I responded in Spanish, but later learned that he was a Rotary student from Kansas staying in Santiago and was apart of a district that my group had never come in contact with. Small world...
On the last day in Brazil, we visted the waterfalls that I mentioned earlier. If anyones seen the latest Indiana Jones flick apparently one of the ending scenes was filmed in the area- that was our tour guides favorite fact. We got soaked on a tour boat that motored us to the foot of the water and dried off afterwards walking around on a terrace between the two primary water falls and soaking in the incredible views. Niagara is cool and all, but at this place you were surrounded by rushing water since water falls crashed into the Rio Iguassu in all directions. It was awesome. The next morning, we checked into the airport to fly back to Santiago. I had just had an absolutely amazing time and while sitting exhausted on the plane I had almost forgot that my sister Molly would be in Santiago in just two days...