Another Brick In The Wall.

Today was a real revelation in 'My Life' you may say. I was preparing a CD for my Brazilian Mother with all types of Indian music as her Christmas gift. Youtube, Youtube to Mp3 convertor, me and a fast download speed started working in harmony (pun intended) to get that CD done. What followed was magic.

I started my Youtube search with Ajay-Atul. Found some of the best music which also depicts Indian culture quite well. No surprises, quite expected. I don't know what caught me but suddenly I turned to Indian Classical music. That's when I was absolutely astonished. We have the most peaceful music Ever. My first search took me to Anoushka Shankar playing the sitar. That's when I knew that my CD was going to be a great gift. Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Taufiq Qureshi, Amjad Ali Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Pt.Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma....... I did not stop! Listen, download. Listen, download. That's all I was doing. I was in some other world while doing it. Then, I turned to some fusion. Shakti, Prem Joshua, Baba, Advaita brought me back to earth with some real fusion. Where was all this before? Why wasn't I listening to this tuff before? I don't understand anything about 'Sur and Taal and Raagas and all those details'. But they often say, Music is a language which everybody understands. That is true.
I got my preferences of Indian Classical music as well. My favourite raaga is Hansadhwani, without a doubt. Also, I prefer instrumental music rather than vocals. (Maybe because I don't understand a thing about sur) I won't listen to Indian Classical all day. I know that. I am not a fan of Classical music as such. If given a choice between Indian Classical and Coldplay, I WILL choose Coldplay. But, If given a choice between Indian Classical and Heavy Metal, I will choose the former. Just because it is more peaceful than anything I have ever heard (and Brasilian life is all about peace). It tells stories about nature, about this wonderful world we live in, about the people we have around, about life, love and peace. All of this without words.
It's not only about the Classical range but also the culture our country has! Lavani, Gondhal, Dhol-Taasha are some of the 'genres' I have added in the CD. Just Maharashtrian. I am not very sure about adding Punjabi, Gujrathi, Rajasthani or even South Indian stuff. Ganpatichi Aarti commences the CD while Jana Gana Mana ends it.
Just as I thought that this was the end of my Musical day, there was more to follow. Just 2 days to Christmas. The church beckoned. There was a performance by the church orchestra. Might have been a 30-35 piece Orchestra. A 23 year old conductor began the proceedings. Violin, Cello, Double Bass, Trumpet, Tuba, Saxophone,  Drums, Piano, Xylophone, Harp... They had all the ingredients to put up a great show and put up a great show they did. This was the first time I ever heard a live harp and it was one of the best things my ears have perceived. By the way, the theme was the birth of Jesus Christ and the show was called, 'Who is the boy?'  The evening was a great one. I could not help myslef from smiling at the musical excellence I had witnessed. All's well that end's well. And hell yeah, All is well !

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.  -Bob Marley.

 That sums up all I have written. :)

The Perfect Week.

    11-18 December. I experienced something which I was very lucky to experience and maybe will never experience in my life again. That 'something' is called 'The Perfect Week'. Everybody has had perfect days, two days, three days, max. 7 days of pure perfection is something to savour.

 *I'm trying to keep it as brief as possible, so I can fit the whole week into one post'

Pandharpur!

Fondue. So Fond of you! ;)

It all started on a Sunday. I was going to leave for a city called Campos do Jordao with my second host mother, my aunt and my Taiwanese brother. Fun times ahead, eh? There were. Half of the day went in travelling. We also stopped in the 'Pandharpur' of Catholics called Aparecida do Norte where they had an ENORMOUS church. We continued on our journey after having lunch at ADN. (Yes, I am lazy.) We reached CDJ (Lazy, again.) at about 5. Believe me, it is THE most beautiful place. Tucked in amidst mountains, temperature ranging from 15-20 degrees, houses designed as you saw in fairytales and there was a little train running through the town. What more could one ask for?! Nothing. But, there was more! The chocolates here come second only to Swiss ones. It was just heavenly. We sat down at a restauraunt, a street side restaurant for a little chat which lasted almost 2 hours! So many stories to be told! We went to the hotel to have dinner. The dinner was an UNFORGETTABLE one for me. Just because of two tiny details. The waiter gave me nine pieces of cutlery. NINE.4 Forks, 3 knives and 2 spoons. Secondly, when he lifted the lid off my plate, he said, 'Bon Apetite'. I could not stop myself from grinning that time. I mean, he said Bon Apetite! That made me feel so royal!! *Blush* The first day of my perfect week came to a peaceful end with a good nights sleep.

 

2nd day began with a quick breakfast and then we were off to Tarundu (I hope I remember the name properly). That place was a ranch where they had a lot of activities. I ended up doing Tirolesa from almost 150 metres high. Was scary as hell. Then, I did some jumping on the trampoline, ice skating, horse riding the orbitball (twice), ate french fries and drank a lot of water. Almost 6 hours of adventure filled activites. Doing the orbitball twice apparently was a mistake because I started feeling dizzy and uneasy later but a little nap brought me back to normal. Dinner and Sleep concluded the day.

Matter zhaala re!!

3rd day began with waking up late. Going for a drive to the highest point in Sao Paulo, then to the governor's house. Reached home at 4. My laptop wasn't back yet, so I watched some TV. Just chilled for the rest of the day.

4th day, I woke up really late. Ate. Went for a little walk.Roamed around a bit, listening to music. Feeling happy about myself. Reached home a tad late. Was fine though. Slept like a log.

5th day, Woke up late again. Had to go to football, got ready. Was the last day of this year. Played a game, had LOADS of fun. Got to know that the club had a party tomorrow. Bought new headphones and greeting card for christmas, roamed around a bit today too. Got home at 6. Prepared ham sandwiches with some grape juice when my parents arrived with Pastel (My favourite food in Brasil) and my laptop (My best friend in Brasil). No need to tell how the rest of my day went. (The answer is, Laptop)

With my American Dude

6th day. I woke up at 8 in the morning to attend the party of my football club. Oh My!! What a wonderful world this is. I went alone to a family party but ended up having loads of fun! I played football with unkown people and made friends. Those friends included 40 year olds as well. I then went to see the games of the 5-7 year old kids. Football games. They were superstars that day! Proper coaches, proper jerseys, parents shouting Go Go Go.. Kick, Pass, look there, look here, what are you doing?!... With all the energy they had. I was standin between the parents of Joao and some guy from 'M'. The parents of Joao, especially the mother cracked me up! She was like,'Go Joao, Go Joao' All the time! While shouting she suddenly stopped and asked here husband, 'Where is Joao?' Oh! There he is.. Go Joao Go Joao!! SO FUNNY! Joao's team managed to win and I was happy for Joao as well. *Smiles*. I reached home for lunch and in an hour had to go to A mexican girls house to hang out with the other exchange students who were visiting the city. We went to a park which had Hippo's, lions, panthers and such animals. I even saw a Tapir, a baby Hyena and an Anteater! We talked a lot, joked a lot, laughed a lot... Just had a good time. The three guys who had come from Sao Paulo were going to stay at my place. We got home at 12. Chatted for a little while and went to sleep really late.

7th and the final day. Woke up late. Naturally. Had lunch. Watched Liverpool win 2-0. I had to go to the graduation of my aunt which was a big event and the whole family from my mothers side was there! The ceremony was nice and later we went for a Barbeque. We went back home at 8. A little 'Thank You' to God and I was under my blanket in no time. What followed was a nice sleep.

    I call THIS 'My Perfect Week' because it was flawless on the important aspects of life.

Family Ties :)

    Friends. Check.

    Family. Check. 

    Football. Check.

    Fun. Check 

    Feeling good about myself. Check.

You don't need anything more to be perfect. Perfection is quite achievable. Another thing Brasil taught me. :)

Viva La Futébol.

A nice Saturday morning. Woke up at 6:30. Got ready and before I knew it, we were off to São Paulo. The group was full of 7-9 year old kids. I considered myself a volunteer ( though I really was not) We reached the museum at about 9. The museum was in a stadium called Pacaembu. It is the home ground of Corinthians. My first trip to a real football stadium. I was extremely excited, even more than the little kids with me but I was ‘too mature’  to show  it.

After completing the formalities we entered the museum. Official footballs used for the World Cups from 1970-2010 greeted us. Then, there was a 3D screen which had the great Pele welcoming us into the museum. The first exhibit was overwhelming. A dark room with  hanging glass screens with Brazilian greats on them. Garrincha, Pele, Socrates, Zico, Romario, Jairzinho. Wow. Impressed.  Later, there were kind of boxes in which you had to stand and could choose between some of the important moments of Brazilian football. E.g.  The Roberto Baggio penalty miss in 1994 with Brazilian commentary (It’s a whole new thing).  Then there were more boxes which were made like a radio and you could tune in to famous Brazilian commentators. Wow again.  

This next exhibit is my favourite of all time. Surely. A dark under-construction stadium with the smell of soil filled with screens. The  celebrations of the supporters. Makes you feel like you are in a real stadium. Hearing them chanting their songs, watching them lighting flares, screaming at the top of their voices made the hair on my arms stand. The vibrations sent shivers down my spine. I could have stayed in that room for the rest of  my life without getting bored. My utmost respect to the man who concieved the idea and a big hug to the man who created this thing. That room gave me the most amazing feeling of my life. It’s probably the only thing that can give me this feeling. I know it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XDajXhGL_I&feature=relmfu (Imagine this in a drak room, with full bass, vibrations on your feet. What you can imagine is just the beginning of what I experienced.) Here is more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXmB0xENsDo 

The following exhibit was all related to the World Cup. They had blocks with TV's on all sides. 360 Degrees. Each block was given two World Cups's. For e.g. 1970 and 1974 were in one block, 1978 and 1982 in another.. So on. I experienced an amusing experience at the 1982 World Cup block. Brasil needed 1 point to qualify for the Semi-Final's. They were playing against Italy.Now Italy had a striker named Paolo Rossi who was involved in drugs, mafia matters and all the wrong things before the World Cup. His selection for it was a shock to most people.. All of the people to be honest! This guy, Paolo Rossi pops up and scored thrice against Brasil. His first goals in the tournament. Final Score 3-2. Brasil out of the World Cup. Mind you, The Brasilian team of 1982 is regarded as one of the best teams to grace the football field. Now, a woman behind me randomly comes up and says, 'O esse filho da puta Paola Rossi né? Deveria ter morrido, Babaca' I was laughing SO hard on hearing that. The sentence translates as,' This son of a bitch, Paolo Rossi, isn't it? Should have died, asshole'. Now, leave all the abuses and stuff. The love for their team is what amazes me. I mean, A woman randomly walks up to you and abuses a guy. That's passion. Passion for football. Absolutely amazing.
Moving on, I watched a REAL football stadium for the first time. Estadio Pacaembu. The home stadium of Corinthians. (Who went on to become the champions this year) They were going to have the championship game the next day. If they had won or drawn against Palmeiras the next day, they are the champions and they did exactly that. Too bad. Nobody I know likes Corinthians. Me neither. The following activities were general fun. They had virtual football, then the info of ALL the teams in Brasil. All info that too. They also had a place where you shoot a penalty and they measure the speed of your kick. 88 kmph, I got. Not bad.

That was the last of it. At 11, we were out of the museum. Too bad we couldn't stay for longer. This is one of the places where I can spend a full day without getting bored. A musuem which I will never forget.           Viva La Futébol.

50 Things I learnt about Brasil and Brasilians.

So, It's already been three months. Seems like yesterday I was that scared little, curly-haired kid. It's been fun till now. Hope for better times ahead. This is my 'Observations and Conclusions' of Brasil in the 3 months I have been here.

This is just a random list. Not based on specific subjects and stuff.

1. To begin with, Brasilians are the most friendly people I have ever seen. People you have never seen before treat you like best friends.

2. Brasilians LOVE to eat and feed others.

3. Brasilians love sports. All kinds of sports and ,of course, football especially.

4. Special mention to my mother here who knew Zlatan Ibrahimovic was Swedish. She is almost 50. *Bows*

5. Brasilians are very patriotic.

6. They also like thteir meat a lot. All meals include some or the other type of meat.

7. Brasilian teenagers have no respect for girls. ( The ones that I have been with)

8. Brasilian girls need to have some more respect for themselves.

9. It's generally very hot here but it can rain anytime and then it's very cold.

10. The Barbeques are addictive.

11. If you want to hang out, the first place they suggest is the mall.

12. Brasil is very beautiful. May it be the cities or the outskirts.

13. They have almost NO English here. Just Portuguese.

14. Son of a Bitch is a really strong abuse here. (In portuguese, of course, which is Filho da Puta.)

15. Brasilians LOVE to party.

16. I was pretty disappointed by the music here. Not very good.

17. Students treat teachers as friends.

18. Girls will not hesitate to make the first move.

19. Brasilian women are overhyped. They are not THAT beautiful. With the clothes they wear any woman will look good. I prefer Indian girls to Brasilian.

20. Brasil is wonderful to walk around alone with a Mp3 player.

21. Brasil is not extremely unsafe. It's Ok.

22. Brasilian footballers are exactly what you have heard of them. They are crazy. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.

23. Indian and Brasilian humour is almost the same.

24. Brasilians are very talkative as well.

25. There's a lot more to Brasil than Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

26. P.S. Rio de Janeiro means River of January.

27. They had a TV show which was about India.

28. They have a lot of unique foodstuffs like Pastel, Brigadeiro.etc. and a drink called Guarana.

29. The rivalry between two local football teams is dangerously high.

30. They play 'Futsal' more than actual 11 v 11 football.

31. The day in Brasil starts very early... At 7 most people are out of their homes.

32. Exams are very easy. Just a little worksheet. I don't know why they make such a big deal about it.

33. If you get a Brasilian angry, you have done something really bad.

34. Brasilians love to drink.

35. The bus system is very organized.

36. They have sex shops on the road.

37. Should have told this one a lot earlier! The general form of greeting women is a kiss on the cheek.

38. The general form of greeting a boy is a clap and a punch on the knuckles.

39. They have left-hand drive.

40.Brasilians are generally very happy people. They like to enjoy life rather than sulk about stuff.

41. Brasilians are also pretty sentimental. That's good, to be honest. You can talk to a friend about serious, deep stuff withoug being made fun of.

42. Brasilians are the most polite people ever

43. Brasilians will love you no matter how you are.

44. Brasil will treat you as it's own. This country has a vibe or rather an aura which makes you feel like her son.

45. Miracles happen in Brasil.

46. The colours of the sky are one of a kind.

47. Brasilians love their God.

48. Brasil is all about Peace and Love.

49. Quando você quer alguma coisa, todo o Universo conspira para ajudar você a conseguir isso. " - Paulo Coelho. Brasilian. One of the best thought ever.

50. Te Amo, Brasil. :)

So, That's it. 3 months. in 50 points. Seems easy. Believe me, it is not. Reading this is fun. Experiencing it... Orgasmic. Amen.

Bonito and Pantanal. Down To Earth.

                      1st November. Tuesday . Where Beauty Lies.

So, I'm already onto the third instalment and so much more to come still. It was a normal morning for me but the activity was one which I was looking forward to even before the start of the trip. Snorkelling! I have always wanted to do Snorkelling and this was my opportunity to do it finally! The place where we went to Snorkel was again type of a resort, it was a big place and lot of things to do. This time, our group went first. After getting on the rather uncomfortable snorkelling suit and acquiring all equipment we had to learn HOW to snorkel first! We did that in a swimming pool. On our walk to the place we were going to snorkel we got to know some really interesting facts about the place. The guide told us that the water spring pumps out 5000 litres of water per minute! I was really amazed by the water here. So Clear! We could see the fish even when we were standing! We entered the water and I was blown away. Completely. Large fish, small fish, weird fish, colourful fish, dull fish all scrambling around. The seaweed added to the beauty... After a nice 15 minutes we were off to the real river. It was very very, I mean seriously, very beautiful. Schools of fish around looking at you, lot of shells and the best part of all was that you can hear your own breath, the whole time. Just your breath and you. No other voices at all. 1 hour of pure bliss. Wading through the water lazily, thinking about stuff, watching nature engulf you in it's beauty. Wow.
Later, we saw some animals like the wild boar, the cayman.etc. which were being preserved in that area. I was still getiing out of what I had just experienced. I got out of that mood when food was served. I ate a lot that day I remember. The next part I remember was going to the place which was full of pillows. BIG pillows. Everyone just lay down there and all of us were asleep in a flash. Woke up two hours later.
Our next activity was going to the local Orphanage. We went to the city first to buy some toys for the kids. I manged to buy a truck (toy truck), a HUGE ball and bubbles!  It was late afternoon when we got to the orphanage, the kids became so happy! Kids aged from 1 to 14 were there, waiting to recieve us. Little things made them so happy and even we, the exchange students got lost in them. Some were colouring with the kids, some were playing football, cards, talking, joking around. I played football for some time and the rest of my time was spent in talking. Time passed by fast and we were on our way back in about one and half an hour. We had the rest of the evening to ourselves.Some of us went swiming and some of us went to play football. (Obviously, I was in the football group) We had to return for dinner and then we had a trip to the city  which I am going to tell you about, later. Oh yes! A canadian guy joined our room because the Mexican left. Slept at 1. Beautiful day overall.

Bonito and Pantanal. Don't Worry, Be Happy.

             30th October. Sunday. Waterfalls, Alligators, Snakes and Friends.

Waterfall.

Had to wake up at 6 today because we had to leave at 7. Woke up at 6:45, got ready by 6:55. 5 minute breakfast. Ready at 7. Advantage of being a boy! We had an hour's drive to get to the waterfalls or Caminhoes as they call it in Portuguese. Again, we were divided into groups. These waterfalls were somewhat different. There were 6 waterfalls within a 300 metre radius. The first one was normal. Just a little waterfall, nothing special. The second one was quite interesting. There was a little cave inside the waterfall and we had to swim to get to it. Another thing at the same place was the 'Masseur' It was a waterfall where you swim beneath it and it gives your back a wonderful massage! Very nice, indeed. Free Massage! The third one was a waterfall with a platform 6 metres high and you can jump from there if you want to. I won't lie. I was pretty scared when I reached the top. But, who cares? I just jumped! WHOOOOSH. SPLASH. That's all I remember from the first time. Was fun! Went atleast 5 times more.. Taught me to overcome my fears. It's weird how EVERY little thing teaches me something. Something worth learning. Something to treasure for my lifetime. Moving on...

The Leap.

The fourth waterfall was kind of different. Swim to a rock and a wonderful scene awaits. I got a really really 'In The Moment' picture on this waterfall which I'm never going to forget. I'm not being lazy but everyone was so tired that we just glanced at the 5th and 6th waterfall and we were on our way back, hungry and happy.

SSSSSSSSSSSSS

After a rather wonderful lunch of black beans, sausages and rice, we had some time to spend with the alligator. His name was, get ready, Tony. Yes, the alligator was named Tony. (Which later, a lot later, became the reason for laughter which made me cry) So, after all this we were off to meet snakes. It was a project to preserve the snakes in Pantanal called Project Jiboa. We ended up watching a snake eat a rat, snakes having sex (!) and taking the big, smelly reptile on our necks. (I also gave it a little kiss. Dont worry aai-baba, was a female.) The rest of the evening was spent playing in the swimming pool. Dinner. Sleep at 12:30.
                           
                                    31st October. Monday. A New Motto

Tubing!

This morning was different yet similar to yesterday's morning. I mean, we had to wake up late but I woke up 15 minutes before departure time. Had a quick breakfast and was off for a new adventure. Tubing or Boia Cross as it is called here was the event. It was a wonderful place, like a resort really. They had archery, swimming pool, general river for swimming. We had to plit up into groups of 11 and the group I formed at Tubing automatically became my best friends. 2 girls 9 boys. (Talk about equality) I should probably mention their names... But, I shall save that for later.  Our group was to be the last one to go so we had time to flex our muscles a bit by trying Archery (The Canadians were really good at it) and then just have fun by jumping into the river! Tubing was kind of hard! Everyone was told to fit in one big tube like thing and you had to manage yourself. Half of us were holding on to each other to get a tireless, peaceful ride. The rapids were quite nice and we did manage not falling off. It was almost a 90 minute ride through water. With friends. With nature. All these activities make a person really hungry! And food was next. We had some time to chill later. Well, chilling meant playing Beach Volleyball even though we had a tiring activity lined up for us later...

Volleyball amongst 10 countries.

Some Icelandic dance move called The Crab.

This tiring activity could be called a 'Obstacle Course' between the trees 30 feet above the ground. Was scary at the beginning, but got easier, you know. ;) No, seriously, it got easier. Then, we had to zip-line into the river. 45 minute course all-in-all. So tired, yet so much more fun to have! The evening was spent in playig football and then we had to attend a party. 80 people. 80 exchange students partying sounds AMAZING. But, it just sounds amazing, not at all what was expected. 12:30, the lights were out. The people from the other bus (you would know if you have been paying attention) were leaving the next day for Pantanal and the Mexican guy (Alfonso),who I had grown quite fond of, was leaving with them. Probably never going to see the guy again. Sad, I know. Thus, ended another wonderful day.

Now, you guys must be wondering what the title of 'This day' means. A New Motto? Makes no sense! Well, I'm going to tell you all about it now. There is a certain guy called Bob Marley. There was, I should write. Most of Brasil LOVES this guy and I got addicted to him too. I knew him since India but the addiction started here. So... Without any rhyme or reason, I generally started singing the tune of the song Don't Worry, Be Happy. I couldn't get that tune out of my mind and I was CONSTANTLY singing it. Instead of it annoying people, they hung on to it as well. So, I became (inevitably) the Indian Bob Marley and everyone was soon enough majority of people were singing the song. Hence, the title.
May Bob's Soul Rest in Peace. (:

The E-PIC.

Bonito and Pantanal. The Beginning.

Okay. So this blog is about my trip to Bonito and Pantanal with the rest of my exchange student friends in Brasil. It would be very hard to write about 10 days in one single blog, so I prefer to divide it into three parts for a more detailed description.

27th October 2011. Thursday. The Beginning Of A Wonderful Journey.

Finally the day had arrived. I was going to leave for a 10 day excursion to Bonito and Pantanal today. I had to make the trip to Sao Paulo from my city and stay there for the night. Me and two of my fellow exchanges in my city, Paola (Mexico) and Hailey (USA) were at the Bus station after lunch, expecting a kickass time. It took 2 hours to reach Sao Paulo and more 90 minutes by a creepy, black van to reach the hotel. We had to wait another half an hour just to learn that the hotel we had reached was wrong and hence another journey to another hotel! WHAT A START! Paola, Hailey and me were reall hungry by then and after chatting a bit people from other countries like Italy and Denmark went to a Pizzeria! People from USA, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, Iceland ( Yes! ICELAND!) joined in and I accompanied them for dinner. We talked a lot,Watched the Brasilian women's football team lose to Canada and returned at about 12. Sleep.

  28th October. Friday. The REAL Beginning.

 Got up early. Breakfast. Got ready to leave for almost a 20 hour journey by bus. Met old friends on the bus, made new friends. The whole world was cramped in that 50 seater bus. USA, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, India ( Of Course!), Thailand, Austria, Norway, China, Hong Kong and what not! We made two stops. One for lunch and the other for dinner. Watched three films and some stupid Brasilian cartoon. The bus journey was quite boring for me because I really did not talk to many people and was on my own. At about 12 we reached Campo Grande which was supposed to our stop for the night. I had Jonas (German) and Alfonso (Mexican) in my room. Alfonso was on the other group going to Pantanal but we bonded really quickly, dont know how. It happened. Slept at about 1.
                        29th October. Saturday. The REAL REAL Beginning.
If you think that the journey was over, it wasn't. After a real quick breakfast in the morning, we boarded our respective buses for another 8-9 hours. We reached the city of Bonito (Finally!) at lunchtime. Boy, I was famished! Also, it was too hot to think! So, I just went to the restaurant and ate to my heart's fill. What a feeling! Beef steaks, Macaroni, Rice and Watermelon to top it off. WONDERFUL. After eating we were supposed to get into our rooms in the hotel which was about a 10 minute drive away. Hotel Tapera. We were then briefed about the days schedule... Rafting in the evening, an address by the owner of the tour company and then sleep at 12.
The evening did not take time to arrive and we were on our way to rafting. My first time. Pretty excited. We were divided into groups of 11 and that was it. Go Raft!! It was not the best thing ever but it was quite fun! Specially because of the little water battles between us rafters. Throwing water into other rafts, mocking them when we overtook them, cheering and jeerin.. Everyone was having a merry time! We swam for a while in the river and then we had to go back and this was a race! Our raft ended up second. Not bad, eh? Two hours went by real fast. We went back to the hotel and swam in the hotel swimming pool. After changing and getting ready and stuff, we had dinner. I am always going to remember this. I sat with Jonas (German), Blake (Canadian) and John (American). This was the time when I really started breaking out of my shell. WE talked that day... It wasn't "they talked and I listened". We talked about life in Brasil so far, Bob Marley, shared some experiences and stuff. Was fun! :) We had the address of Bernardo, the owner of Belo Brasil and then at 12 we had to go to sleep. Slept at 1. A Good Day.