You’ve heard of the Garota de Ipanema, right?

Well, now I think it is safe to say that I have become the Garoto de Ipanema.

I have finally moved out of that disastrous home-stay that I was in and onto greener pastures. This new apartment is located on a very busy avenue here in Zona Sul (the wealthier section of Rio de Janeiro) called Rua Visconde de Pirajá but it wouldn’t seem as such. Demarcated by a solitary wooden door nestled between a throng of stores, cafés, and restaurants, you could pretty much pass by it without ever knowing that it existed. The door opens to reveal a dark alley of gray stone and dim natural light, with brightly-painted condominiums that are vaguely reminiscent Italian villas, a retreat from the honking cars, barking dogs, and industrious street vendors of the world outside. I welcome this tranquility with open arms and with a host whose name is Felicidade (Happiness), it’s hard to come home with a heavy heart each day as I had before. Why couldn’t I have gotten this in the beginning? I wondered only a day after my arrival. This new move was a major upgrade and finally everything feels like it is coming together.

Since the last time I posted, my intensive Portuguese language course has ended. Overall, I thought that it was extremely helpful. My two professors, Adriana and Renata, were excellent at combining technical aspects of the language (such as grammar, pronunciation, syntax, etc.) with practical information for life here in Brazil (such as colloquialisms, interjections, and real-life situations). Granted, spending five hours in the same classroom each day was tedious at times, but I really don’t know what my life would have been like without it. My guess is that I would have been incredibly homesick. Learning about Brazilian culture and the complexities of the Portuguese language with people whom are very much in the same position as you are (alone, in a foreign country, etc.) took the bite off of all the negative aspects of having an international experience. It was definitely worth it.

Real university courses began today. I think that my first class was canceled, so I’ll definitely have to find another one to take its place. The whole registration process is a bit confusing, or maybe I’m just a little slow, but I’m sure that I’ll have everything together by add-drop. In any case, my schedule is looking pretty nice, especially since (if I do not change it too much), I will be free from Thursday nights at seven until Monday mornings at nine, which means that there will be plenty of room for exploring Brazil during the weekends. Although I am usually hesitant about riding coach buses for long distances–I don’t know what it is about me, but I always seem to attract …eccentric people that just insist on talking to me whenever I’m out in the streets–it seems as though riding the bus in Brazil won’t be half as bad because at least the crazy talk will be in Portuguese.

Since I don’t have internet access in this new house, I’m going to have to post while I’m in school, which also means that, since I don’t want to waste my money in Internet cafés, I’ll be spending tons of time on campus anyways to do my homework. I figure that my breaks in between classes and catching up on my favorite TV shows and cartoons will be a great time to write about the multitude of subjects I’ve been contemplating for the past month or so. So until then, enjoy the photos below.

Take care!