Finally starting to get really settled down here in Rio. Classes have been going great. Each day I’m amazed at how many new things I learn. Had a 20 min oral presentation earlier in the week that went pretty well. My spoken Port still stinks but it’s getting better little by little. What I like most about the classes is that the material is not at all dumbed down. While the book obviously is centered around specific concepts, everything is presented in an accessible and practical way. I look forward to seeing how much I improve over the two weeks that are left in the intensive.
My homestay has continued to go well. My host mother has been away for the past week or so visiting her son in Sao Paulo so I’ve been more or less on my own for a while now. Since my last blog post I’ve really gotten to know the city better. I’ve been to just about every major neighborhood in Zona Sul by now. Nevertheless each day I’m still taken aback at just how beautiful this city is. Nothing like riding the bike path along Leblon and Ipanema at night with all of Vidigal lit up like a thousand little candles on the horizon.
In other news I have taken two more steps towards becoming a carioca by buying a sunga as well as a bicycle. The bicycle I managed to buy for the bargain price of R$100 or about US$55. The bike has already saved me bus fare more times than I can count.My cellphone is unfortunately still busted although I’ve been getting by with just texting.
- My Awesome Sunga!
This weekend I’m going on a 3 day camping trip with a bunch of friends in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia. Itatiaia is about an hour and a half by bus away from Rio. The park is known for the great number of endemic animals as well as some of the tallest mountains in all of Southeastern Brazil. Really looking forward to finally be able to do some real hiking. Trip has been rather disorganized so here’s to hoping that everything goes off without a hitch!
After coming back from my trip I’m hoping to get my CPF number from the Receita Federal. Getting a CPF will allow me to avoid a lot of the problems with thinks like buying bus tickets and opening a bank account. This week I had my check-in with the federal police, so I should be receiving my temporary ID card in about 3 months or so. Shockingly my check in went pretty quickly taking ONLY 5 hours for the entire group to be processed (as opposed to the 7+ hour waits of some of my friends.)
My Bike!
Well I think that’s it for now, until next time.
Mike
hi Mike,great idea to do a blog about your stay…i’m able to follow your adventures.yeay.have fun and enjoy.My cat ” Flatu” looks at the screen while i write and says miaou to you…bisous de Suisse Carol