Yesterday we spent about 17 hours sitting on a plane slowly counting down the hours left until our arrival in Brazil. When we landed in Chicago 30 minutes late we had to rush down to our next flight just to find out that the overhead storage areas were full!! After a few minutes of arguing and confused looks, 6 people in our group were forced by American Airlines to check their carry-on bags at the gate or we couldn’t get on the plane. The backpacks included uniforms.
The long 11-hour flight to Brazil was the perfect opportunity for some sleep so obviously we took advantage.
After a nice long rest we landed in Brazil and immediately began to notice small changes; everything was different just standing in the airport. The air smelled different, the people looked different, and the language was different. And after we got our bags, we noticed something else was different: we were missing 5 of the 6 bags we had to check in Chicago!! Unfortunately, the airport had no idea where the bags were, so we left for our hour and a half bus ride down to the beach house.
On the bus ride, we started to get a good feel for what it was like in Brazil. There was everything from small shacks to beautiful houses that came in all different colors. Most of the buildings and houses were small and packed together, which made the streets a very interesting place to look at since it seemed so busy. Also, there weren’t very many cars driven on the roads, there were more motorcycles, bikes, and people walking than cars.
Even though we were so exhausted and we barely made sense when we talked, it didn’t take us long to realize how gorgeous the beach house was. Once we got settled into our rooms and got the bus unloaded, we had a fabulous lunch. It looked as if they had cut food out of a magazine and brought it to life on our table. As we ate, we tasted very strange flavors that were completely foreign to us. That includes even the most universal foods like cheese and beef tasted different. But don’t get me wrong, the food was unbelievably delicious!! Then lunch was followed by an equally picture-perfect, different, yet tasty dessert.
After trying all those different foods we went down to the beach to swim and walk around. A few people stayed longer and took on the waves. The water is absolutely glorious!! The temperature was perfect and it was hard to get out because we loved it so much. Also, the sand was really nice to walk on since there wasn’t a lot of rocks in it and it was crazy soft.
Later, when everyone showered, we did a really fun photo shoot with Andrew that consisted of running and jumping. That was really exciting. Then we had a humongous dinner that looked just as perfect as our lunch. Our appetizer was lobster that was stacked like gourmet lobster. The main course was very similar to hot dogs. It was like a bun with chopped sausage in a really good sauce.
While we were eating we met Shelton, who is 9 years old, and later his 6-year old brothe Pedro who wee boh ADORABLE. He started to teach us some Portuguese using pictures, acting, and a dictionary while we taught him some English. We had been making some bracelets during dinner too, so he saw them and wanted one. By the end of the day each and every one of us had at least one bracelet for him, some made two or more for him. But the best part was that he said that he would keep them as a memory. So we were really glad to take the time to make all those bracelets for him, especially since every time he got one he would get a really cute smile on his face.
As the night went on our team was making bracelets and we began to sing songs together and make funny music videos. Even Shelton started to sing along and we found out that he knew a lot of American music and artists. Finally, people got tired and decided to go to bed. Jade, Sarah, and I wanted to watch The Strangers so we watched it downstairs and then we freaked out going to bed because the wind was knocking on the door which was creepy. But soon enough we all went to sleep to wake up to a fun and intriguing experience the next morning.
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