SAS Travelogue-Salvador, Brazil

SAS Travelogue-Salvador, Brazil

by Rebecca Smith

Olá from Brasil!!! OK, so what have I done here? Well, I have shopped, gone to the beach, and shopped some more. Every day we have gone to Pelourinho, or the old town section of Salvador or Bahia. In old town, you can shop or you can shop. It’s lovely and historic. The people are very nice but no one speaks English here. Some speak a bit of the other Romance languages, but no English. So I have been employing a mix of Spanish and Italian and the few Portuguese words I have been able to figure out. And still I have trouble. Most of the time they can understand me, but I have no idea what they are saying back to me. And a lot of people will just talk to you in Portuguese and keep repeating themselves after you tell them you don’t speak Portuguese as if eventually you will understand. I love that. It’s so funny. Anywho, so the first night, Shawn and Erin and Roy and I tried to go out dancing with a few of the RD’s and we took a half hour cab ride to a mall, and we got to the club and it was closed for a private function. So they told us to go somewhere else called Fashion, so we took a cab there and they wouldn’t let us in because Shawn and I were wearing flip flops. So first we tried to appeal to their sense of national pride. I said, but mine are Reefs. By wearing these, I am supporting the Brazilian economy and boosting trade for your country. Also, since I love Reefs, I tell other people about them. Thus, I am doing a service for you on an international marketing scale. That money pouring in from the US for these sandals is due in part to my efforts. The taxes that the Reef company pays helps support your social systems. Thus, my money and my efforts helped to build your country, so let me in to go dancing. This was not a successful tactic since he had no idea what I was saying. So we stormed around the parking for a minute, then tried a new tack. We attempted bribery. We offered to pay more money to enter. Pagamos mais. Pagamos mais a tu. Well, that was a no va situation as well. Finally, some other SAS students showed up with their Brazilian friend. They were also wearing flip flops, but their friend had an in with the bouncers and was going to try to work out a deal. Since he spoke Portuguese, it was a bit easier. Finally, the manager came out and was gonna let us all in, but one of the boys with that new group was wearing shorts and sneakers. Well, he screwed us all over. So we hung out in the parking lot waiting for another cab to come get us to take us home after our failed attempt at a night out. OH well. No bailamos. So the next day we went to the beach. It was an interesting experience. People walk up and down the beach trying to sell you everything from fried cheese to bikinis. Jewelry and something called capalinheas picoles, agua minerale, Coke Light, sarongs, and sandwiches all are pushed in your face in the attempt to entice you into buying any or all of the above. I, being the whitest of he white girls, reapplied sunscreen (waterproof, sweatproof, 8 hr, SPF 30) like it was going out of style, and still I got burnt to a crisp. I guess that’s what happens when you have a vampire-like pale complexion and are exposed to daylight for more than 5 seconds at 12 degrees away from the Equator. Thank God for Aloe!!!! So we went to the mall yesterday because we were all at least a little burnt and wanting to avoid sunlight and craving an air conditioned environment. We did a bit of shoppy shopping, ate a little Pizza Hut, bought some more junk that we don’t need, and discussed possibly going to see the new Harry Potter movie, but decided against it as it was dubbed in Portuguese. Then we went to the supermarket and bought coffee and chocolate. Yay for souvenirs from Brasil. OK, today we went on a cruise to the island of the two brothers (“Isle do Dos Frades”) and Itaparica. Beautiful, tropical, lovely. By the way, the Simpson’s is so right. Music is always playing in Brazil. The weather is HOT HOT HOT, with a 100% chance of Passion. You can take a conga line to anywhere you want to go. Soccer is an obsession here. And “I’m in Rio, and I’m walking on the beach, I’m in my Speedo.” Ewwwwww gross, Speedo’s are unfortunately the norm, and the rumor that Brazil is the land of the beautiful people is very false indeed. Rather, Brasil is the land of big, large, tubby people with an excessive amount of body hair and teeny tiny Speedos or dental floss and coconut shell contraptions that are called bikinis, but I think it’s a conspiracy. I wish I could be here for Carneval, maybe I’ll come back. I don’t know. It is beautiful here. Now, just because there are a lot of yucky people wearing unsuitable swimwear here, that is not to say there are no beautiful people. Au contraire. The men who do capoeira at this restaurant we went to, ooooooooh we!!!! If I could put a couple in my suitcase, well I would be a happy girl. My goodness, and what they could do, WOW!!! Amazing, I am signing up for capoeira when I get home. So awesome. OK, so today after we got back from the islands, we went shopping again, you know, to round off the day. Well, anyways, earlier, Randi (one of the girls going to the islands with me) was discussing how she wanted to take pictures of mullets in every country. Well, in a store there were these two guys with amazing mullets and they were just totally fabulous examples a weird guys anyway. They were talking to each other in some foreign tongue, and since we had yet to encounter anyone who spoke English, it didn’t occur to me that they might. So, despite being a quiet and reserved, demure young lady, I could not quietly let this opportunity pass. So I yelled across the store to Randi to come over (which was so against my nature). She asked why, so I told her there were some mullets she had to see (which is so obnoxious and unlike me). Well, another girl behind me was intrigued and asked where. Someone behind me said “right here” before I had the chance to answer. When I looked, I realized it was the two guys with the mullets. OH crap!!!! Well, no one spoke English when we needed them to, so when I least want someone to understand me, of course they understand me perfectly. If my face weren’t already red with sunburn, it would have been tomato red with embarrassment. In the end, Randi didn’t even take a picture, even though all the other SAS kids in the store did. It turns out the guys were from Iceland, and mullets are all the rage there, and they couldn’t understand why mullets amused us. Well, I wish Randi had taken the picture, since I sacrificed my dignity for it. OH well, maybe someone else has a copy. OK, that’s all from Brasil!!! Obrigada for listening. Ciao!! See you in Cuba!!!

SAS Travelogue-Archbishop Desmond Tutu

SAS Travelogue-Archbishop Desmond Tutu

by Rebecca Smith

I can´t believe I forgot to tell you about this!!!! OK I guess, I can believe it, I must still have been high from skydiving or something. Anywho, in South Africa, we met the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He was so cute. It was super cool. He gave a short speech, it was more like a sermon. He gave us the general love your fellow human being speech, "God only helps those who help themselves" you know the type. but he was so adorable and very animated. And he´s like a historical figure. It was soooooo cool. I got a picture of him, and was in a group shot with him, but since I was in it, I didn´t get a copy, I am in the process of trying to find someone with a copy. Anywho, I thought that was cool and you should all know about it. So I am in Brazil now, and I am congested. There is a parade outside right now for Black Awareness. Lots of music and dancing. I will leave you now, so I can go join the festivities. Write again at the end of the week. Love ya. miss ya. And for those of you at school, I want to come for a visit. I want to PARTY!!!!! Tell me when to come and who has a place for me to sleep and who has a party for me to attend. I get back on the 10th of December. See ya soon. Byeeeeee

SAS Travelogue-Capetown, South Africa

SAS Travelogue-Capetown, South Africa

by Rebecca Smith

Well, I don’t know how to say hello in Kwazulu, Kosa, or Afrikans, so just deal with it. Anywho, Capetown, South Africa, ummmm it freaking rules. I love it here. Too bad we have to leave tonight. It’s gorgeous. TJ, Sam, and Sylv, this is the surf mecca of the world. There are beautiful beaches and because this is the point where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet, the waves are awesome. I did not go surfing though, because it is spring time here and still rather chilly, not to mention I don’t know how to surf. So I did what I do best. I shopped. So first day in port, I stepped off the ship into the most beautiful waterfront ever, also backed by a lovely view of Table Mountain. The whole scene only made better by the presence of a rather large shopping mall. YAY!!!! I must be in heaven. I love Capetown. So we spent the day shopping. I bought some South African music. We went to Green Market Square, which was cool, but they had a lot of the same stuff they had in Kenya. Then we went to The African Music Store, which was right between the African Pot Restaurant and the Hemp Store. All of which were neat stores, and the music store was especially cool. On the way back to the ship, some man followed us and shouted at us, “Why do tourists carry around so much luggage?” So I looked down at my small bag and said, “We’re not.” And he said, “Relax, I was just saying hi!” And I kept to myself the myriad of ways to say hello, and how that was no such greeting. So he told us how lovely our energies were and our auras were so positive. He invited us to a party where we could “put our feet on the ground and smoke up a little” with people who also had nice energies. We declined and tried to escape, but he was intently staring at my friend’s chest until she was like “Are you looking at my necklace?” Which was good, because I thought he was either ogling her or tripping. We eventually got away and returned to the ship. The next day I woke up at the butt crack of dawn so we could leave early to go to the winelands of Stellenbosch. We didn’t actually leave the ship until 8:30am and didn’t actually get on a train until 10:10 and didn’t actually arrive until like 11:30 and didn’t actually start cycling until like 1:30pm. So good thing I got up early. Cycling through the winelands, whose stupid idea was that? Oh yeah mine. Well, for about 3km I was trailing like 1km behind the rest of the group and having a hard time of it. All I could think of was man am I out of shape. Then I realized I had the gears at the highest resistance and I was trying to kill myself. After I figured that out and fixed, I was exhausted and huffing and puffing, so then we hit a hill, a big one. What did I expect, wine country is a mountainous region, of course there will be hills. So WHY DID I SUGGEST CYCLING?!?!?! On the way up the hill I passed a dead frog and wished I was it, and then a flattened snake and wished I was it, just so I wouldn’t have to be cycling up the damn hill. Then I reached the top, and discovered, hey we missed the turn, we didn’t have to go up the hill. Well, that’s just great!!!! Arrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!! We finally reach the first vineyard, and lo and behold there are two flights of stairs before we reach the top, there is a collective groan from the group. Needless to say we indulged in a rather long wine tasting. By the time we were done “sampling” and talking with our new friend Martin, we’ve been there nearly two hours. We only had time to hit one more vineyard. Here we met Natasha and some people from Austria. Natasha was cool and gave us lots of info on South Africa and wine and music. Stellenbosch is a university town as well as wine country, so both Martin and Natasha were students at the university, with part time gigs at the vineyards. It was beautiful, but exhausting. Next time I will take a motorized vehicle of some sort with a driver so I can sample my heart out. My friend Steve said the whole fun of cycling was weaving back and forth on the way back after much sampling. I thought that was the part that made it an extreme sport. Speaking of extreme sports, the third day, I again got up at the butt crack of dawn, and again, my valiant effort was thwarted. Shawn and I were to go skydiving at 9, so we were to catch a shuttle at 8. Well that never came. So we tried to get on the 9, but there were 20 other people waiting for a van with 16 seats. So that didn’t happen. So then the driver told us another one would be there in 10 min, and 2 hrs later, that still didn’t happen. So then, we found a girl to bitch to and she called and finally at noon we got on a shuttle to the airfield. Well, good thing we got there so early, because we had to wait another 3 hrs before we could actually skydive. The whole time before this day I was picturing myself having a Road Rule’s wussy girl-esque freak out session in the plane where I cry and demand to remain on the plane for descent. That didn’t happen. I actually did just fine. Egon, my tandem dive partner told me that when we reached the jump point, he would open the door, we would turn around and fall backwards. What actually happened was he opened the door told me to put my feet out, and next thing I knew I was flipping through the air at 120 mph. Soooooooo COOL!!!!! We did a couple of tricks and then the chute opened. He let me steer (well I don’t have enough upper body strength, so he pretended I was steering while he was actually doing all the work) and we did some spirals and some sightseeing, and a little nosedive (I don’t know if that’s what its called if you’re not in a plane, but you get the point). It was so awesome, and then it was over. I wish I had brought my camera, but I would have lost it during the free fall. Oh well. Totally awesome. I will do it again one day. That night we went to the university section of town for dinner and a bit of fun. Dinner was so cheap and very good. Then we went to a pool hall cuz they were playing rocking music and had cheap drinks. Me and this girl Erin played pool, horribly I might add. So when these boys challenged us to a game, all we could do was laugh, because we were so bad, it could hardly be called a challenge. Surprisingly, these boys were worse than us. If it was because they actually sucked or were just more drunk than us, I don’t know, but we beat them. Heh, whatever. Then we had to leave because Shawn was slightly incapacitated. She didn’t play pool, because she was helping hold up the bar, and buying every drink special they had. So we all piled in a cab and sang “Lean on Me” and other songs all the way home. So much fun. Love Capetown. Must return. Afrikaner boys are beautiful, am determined to marry one and live here. OK last day, did a service project called Operation Hunger. We did not do any service work. Don’t know whose organization screwed that up, but it sucked. The kids were cool though, and the high school choir performed for us and they were AWESOME!!!! They put all other choirs I’ve ever seen to shame. RULED!!!! And now I must jet to finish my shopping. Talk to you all again from Brazil!!!!