Christmas in Brazil

Thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas emails or greetings! It is always so nice to hear from people and know that even though I'm far away, people are still thinking about me. This Christmas was an interesting one for me. It was the least christmassy Christmas has ever felt; it's hot here, making Christmas decorations feel very out of place, and I am far away from my family and friends. I have been missing my family and friends a lot this week, and wish I had planned to go home for Christmas and new year's for a few weeks. But it is what it is. In the last week, my work on the farm has consisted mostly of my new favorite activity: sweeping, or it's close relative, raking (note the sarcasm). My hands are building calluses or have open blisters in various places, but they will be made of hard leather when my time here is over I think.

In the afternoons I go to the Barracão, the capoeira studio. I sweep that space and then attend capoeira class. I'm not as sore as I anticipated from capoeira, but I feel like I'm slowly gaining strength and stamina. Last Saturday, there was an African-style dance class with a visiting teacher, which was very fun. I'm enjoying being more active in general, but I'm also starting to look forward to going back to school and learning things and using my brain more, which was part of the goal of this gap year.

Barracao de Angola OuroVerde

Anyway, back to Christmas: on Christmas Eve in the evening some guests arrived, and we sat together and played music and sang. I'm glad to have brought my ukulele, because it makes sure I can be a part of the activities. Afterwards, we had a very late dinner of traditional Brazilian foods, and Pudim de Leite (approximately flan) for dessert. That night, Nina went to my family's house for tea, and I called them and we talked until late that night, which was a great way to end my Christmas Eve. On Christmas day Cabello and Tisza have a tradition of hosting a big party. Around 25 people came over, and we had a great potluck lunch and spent the rest of the day swimming and playing and singing samba. I played till I had blisters on my fingers. This went on for hours, but eventually, the noise overwhelmed me and I went to my cabin, put in earplugs, and lay in the hammock reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Portuguese.

Potluck lunch!

Overall, it was a pretty good, if unchristmassy, Christmas. I want to add a note about my Portuguese: I'm at a very frustrating level. I am fluent enough to most of what people are saying, but not fluent enough to join in a conversation. I can, however, hold a decent conversation when someone is speaking directly to me, because then they speak more slowly and clearly if they are aware of my level. When I start a conversation with someone in a store, for example, they perceive my level to be higher than it is and often speak quickly and unclearly, resulting in awkward moments of me trying to understand what they said and asking them to repeat themselves. I hope my Portuguese continues to improve so I can join into considerations instead of just listening.

I am making this post from a bakery in the downtown area of Serra Grande, where I am able to access Wi-Fi, which is why I can upload pictures! Here are some more pictures of the Fazenda OuroVerde. (The last picture is from a beach we visited).