COUGAR
MY TRIP TO BRAZIL
MARCH 8, 2001 TO MARCH 26, 2001
English
The Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman/woman:
Introduction:
My name is Cougar and I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. I am 47 years old, married to a wonderful Papa Cougar and we have 2 Cougar cubs, age 17 and 15. I am employed as a Home Support Worker and love my job. I love the outdoors, camping, canoeing and studying the loons. I enjoy meeting new people, chatting, helping others, and I love my new computer and the internet. And yes, I do have a temper:
We all have dreams that we know will probably never come true. But take heart, SOMETIMES our dreams DO come true. If you want it bad enough, work hard enough to make it happen, have a little faith and lots of luck, then you have the makings of creating a dream come true. This is the diary of my dream coming true... my trip to Brazil in March 2001.
Dedications:
In March 2001, I finally had the opportunity to have one of my dreams come true... to go to Brazil to meet some of the Brazilian students I helped teach English to in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also to meet some internet friends. This web page is dedicated to my family, whom without their support and love, this dream trip never would have happened. Also dedicated to my babysitter, Corissa who helped my family with our special needs daughter while I was off tracking through the bush in the rain forest of Brazil, South America. Also dedicated to God and my church who gave me the courage and strength to fulfill my dream and for the faith in my safe return home to the family I love.
I hope you enjoy my diary. Please click on the blue links to see pictures of the places I have been and the friends I made while there. Most web pages have a picture of a Cougar paw print to use as a forward button. Click on my furry little paw print to go to the next page of pictures and press the BACK BUTTON ON YOUR BROWSER to return to this main diary page at the same place you were reading......
Don't forget to sign my guest book on the last page. I would love to receive an email from you and please advise me of any mistakes, corrections or suggestions you may have. Remember to keep your dreams alive....they just might come true....God bless and take care,
beijos e abraços para vocês........ Love: Cougar.....................
In the beginning...............Let's begin:
It all started in June of 1998 in a Geocities chat room called Wellseley. There I met a man from Brazil by the Internet name of Bahia, and we immediately became friends. My name on the Internet was, and still is, Cougar. For a long time he wanted my ICQ number and for reasons I have yet to figure out, it took me weeks to decide to give it to him. When I finally gave it to him, we began spending hours and hours in ICQ chat almost every night. I was a great one for messing up my computer and he would collaborate, using NetMeeting, and fix mine time and time again for me. It just seemed that the 2 of us were destined to become lifelong buddies for reasons neither of us understood. We spent more than one night in ICQ chat until 2:00 and 3:00 am. We made each other laugh even when we didn’t feel like being in a humorous mood. We talked about our spouses and children, life tragedies, dreams and ambitions.
Eventually we began occasionally telephoning each other. We called each other on birthdays, we called them when his wife had their third child, they called us when our oldest daughter went for surgery, on special occasions like Christmas, and sometimes just to hear each other’s voice. Then we cursed the phone bills when they came.
Bahia began teaching me his language, Brazilian Portuguese, by email and I learned how to write quite a bit of it. His English was pretty good and I thought him to be quite intelligent to be able to make lessons in Portuguese for me to do by email, plus teach school during the day, study at night, and be a family man as well. It was because of him that I began to take such a deep interest in the Brazilian culture, language, its people, and heritage. I also met many more Brazilians by going into Portuguese chat rooms and typing strictly in Portuguese to them. Before long my icq list had as many Portuguese people on it as there were English ones.
We had our pictures put on a poster with a caption saying "wanted, these two best friends are wanted for their addiction to chatting with each other via internet." Bahia posted it on his home page. I guess that was our way of telling the world that we are best internet friends forever.
After some time passed, he began inviting me to come to Brazil to meet him and his family. I have to admit that at first I thought it was a crazy idea to go half way around the world to meet him... considering Papa Cougar had NO interest whatsoever to go...and I would have to make the journey alone. But as Bahia and I talked more and more about the possibility of meeting in person, the idea began to slowly grow on me. By the time a year had passed, I was really beginning to like the idea of travelling abroad to meet him and his family...like a disease in my blood and soul I could not get rid of. It became my dream as well as theirs to meet each other.
So, I started saving my money and making dream plans for the trip... of course we all know that dreams don’t come true. So what harm can it do to save and talk about it, right? I coaxed Papa Cougar for over a year to take the trip with me but he had no interest nor desire at all to go; however, he was fine with me going alone although somewhat concerned for my safety etc. Slowly that dream was beginning to look more and more like it MIGHT possibly come true one day, and that was exciting and at the same time a little frightening also. I had never been the adventurous type.
Student Language exchange person at St. Mary's University:
I had considered going to Brazil in January or February of 2000, but plans got delayed for various reasons. And it turned out to be the best thing that happened... I waited another year, and in that year I think I became better prepared for the trip. I began volunteering as a student language exchange person through St. Mary’s University in Halifax. When they had Brazilian college students attending to further their English, I would go to Halifax and spend time with them. Together we would study my Portuguese and their English as student language exchange partners. We would go out to dinner together, shopping in Halifax, and just driving around looking at the sites.
The first student I had was a young lady named Christine from Florianópolis, Brazil. She and I spent time together during the month of February 2000 both in Halifax and in Sheet Harbour. The next student I had, in the summer of 2000, was Vanessa and her boyfriend Sandro from São Paulo, Brazil. As it turned out, we became wonderful friends and I went to Halifax in July 2000 and spent an entire weekend with them and their friends, eating Brazilian food, Brazilian drinks, music, etc. It was marvelous!!! They came to our house in Sheet Harbour and spent a weekend with us also. They returned to Brazil and were married in São Paulo in November 2000.
After 2 years of planning, hoping, dreaming, and wishing, it was finally time to start making definite plans to go to Brazil and spend time with students of mine plus also to meet my special best internet friend, Bahia, and his family. We have been best internet friends on the computer for almost 3 years now and have been hoping and dreaming of meeting each other in person for almost 2 years.
In the autumn of 2000, Sandro emailed me saying that he is coming back to St. Mary’s University in Halifax in either February or March 2001 to do a thesis and do more work in astronomy and physics at the university. So, we made plans for me to travel back to Brazil with him when he was returning home. This was the turning point that made me begin to make definite plans to go to Brazil once and for all since I now knew more people there and would have Sandro to travel as far as São Paulo with. Then I would stay with him and Vanessa for a week before travelling the rest of my trip solo. I booked the tickets so we would be sure to have seats together on the same flight, etc.
I got my passport, my visa to enter Brazil, had my money changed into American Express Travelers cheques (which I did not realize until I got to Brazil, that almost no one in Brazil including the banks would cash the traveler's cheques, only at airport exchange counters.) I arranged for Corissa (the baby-sitter) to come up in the mornings to help get Amy (my little daughter) ready for school, then after school for a couple of hours to help out...Bought the tickets, starting packing my bags and wondering what all I should take for clothes etc... Although I was nervous, there was no turning back now. Had purchased a few little gifts to take with me, and also made a few homemade things also. My mother made me beautiful homemade crocheted snowflakes to give away to my friends in Brazil for Christmas tree decorations. Bahia was as excited as I was about my finally being able to make the trip to see each other in person.
However, there were times when I would walk into my study and see suitcases etc. lying on the floor and say to myself. "This is not happening, it’s just a dream and we all know dreams don’t come true", so I had nothing to worry about, this dream was not about to come true. That seemed to calm me and keep me from losing my cool altogether.
I ordered my own special pilot:
Before I left home, I told Papa Cougar that I was not afraid to fly such a long distance because I had ordered my own special pilot for the trip. My pilot was only going to fly me about 3 ft or 1 meter above the tree tops....so if we crashed, the worst thing that could happen is I might stub my toe. And if we came to a tall tree, he wouldn’t dare try to go through it, he would go around it like on the TV cartoons. And God forbid, he wouldn’t fly me over the ocean, we were going to follow the coastline all the way down.. My mother told me to dip my fishing rod in the water, might get lucky and catch a codfish on the way down.
Departure for Brazil -- March 8, 2001....
I have a LONG way to go........On March 8, 2001 I kissed my daughters, Beverly and Amy, goodbye as they left for school that morning, and then Papa Cougar and I left Sheet Harbour for Halifax. We picked Sandro up at his apartment and then we headed to the airport... .I cried so hard when it was time to say good bye to Papa Cougar... I felt so terrible. Sandro and I went to the duty free shop and I bought Bahia a 1.75 Litre of Royal Crown Whiskey as I had promised him months ago that I would do. The flight from Halifax to Newark, New Jersey, USA was only about 2.5 hours. We were scheduled to leave Halifax at 1:45 p.m. but the flight did not leave Halifax until 3:00 p.m. We were onboard a BRAND NEW aircraft that had just been put in the skies a few days earlier. Once we were in the air I was really starting to feel like this was reality setting in and that this was REALLY happening..... what a feeling!!!!
Sandro does NOT take care of me:
Sandro had promised Papa Cougar that we would take care of me, would not allow me out of his sight etc. When we arrived at the airport in New Jersey, he had to go to a security room for the next 7 hours while we waited for our overnight flight to São Paulo, Brazil. We both knew he would be detained because he had no visa to the USA, but thought I would be able to join him in the detention room also. The security guards split us up and I had to spend the 7 hours alone in the stupid airport not knowing anyone nor what to do or where to go... WOW !! what a boring time... I spent time reading, walking, etc. Ate a snack and curled up on top of my luggage and half slept half dozed off and on. I had to go outside the airport and take the monorail bus to another terminal within the airport, the place is so large and I was not impressed with being left alone the entire time. I did not see Sandro again until I boarded the airplane.
Then I told him "Oh yeah sure!! You gave Papa Cougar your word as a man that you would take care of me, I would only be left alone to go pee... yeah yeah sure you took care of me didn’t you huh??? The first country we entered, you get yourself locked in jail and left me to fend for myself. You are one dumb foreigner, Sandro.!!! And a miserable travel companion also.!!!! You are pathetic!!! But of course I feel SOOO safe with you." We boarded our plane for the upcoming 9.5 hour overnight flight to São Paulo. The rest of the trip we joked a lot with each other.
The 9.5 hour overnight flight from Newark, USA to São Paulo, Brazil
:Our plane from Newark, New Jersey to São Paulo, Brazil was a brand new aircraft that Continental Airlines had just bought and only put in the sky 4 or 5 days before our scheduled flight. During the flight you have a TV screen on the back of the seat ahead of you to watch movies (old ones that are not very good) a few TV shows such as: Home Improvement, Adams Family, etc. When you turn to channel 9 these is a map of North America, Central America, and South America with a little airplane that represents us. You can monitor the trip and the little airplane shows our exact location at any given time. It evens show the equator. You can see when we are flying over USA, Mexico, Central America, the Panama Canal, Venezuela, etc. and even the EQUATOR.
I was actually a little disappointed when we actually flew over the Equator, was expecting a special little bump or turbulence to mark the special moment of flying over the equator and that didn’t happen. I was actually disappointed. Sandro thought I was crazy!! Once we entered into the airways over Brazil, the map shows the names of the major cities in that country and you can still follow the flight path until reaching the destination. When we were flying over the Amazon jungle, Sandro kept reminding me that one mistake now would be totally fatal because even if we survived a crash, the natives would eat us alive (he was kidding) or the snakes would devour us. He knows I am terrified of snakes. I am really getting more annoyed with him as time passes.
The seats on the airplane do not recline more than a few centimeters making it uncomfortable for sleeping and there are no footrests either. The most I could do was doze off and on without ever indulging into a complete sleep. To make matters worse, Sandro snores. Dinner on the plane was not so bad. It consisted of a small piece of chicken breast in pasta and tomato sauce. Breakfast was dry bread, no butter, juice, and cheese.
Arrived in São Paulo Friday March 9, 2001
Once we officially arrived in Mooca, São Paulo, Sandro shook my hand and congratulated me for finally making the trip to Brazil. Then he proceeded to inform me that the Brazilian government has a law which states that if he kills me, (the foreigner), he will save 10% on his income tax (also kidding me). Also informed me that I am now a dumb foreigner. At the airport, Sandro said to me "now you will see how we treat dumb foreigners in my country" and he walked so fast ahead of me saying "bye you dumb foreigner! What is wrong with you that you cannot keep up?"(I was carrying more luggage than he was) Vanessa met Sandro and I at the airport. She had a little monkey for me. She knew I wanted one to sleep with while I was away to keep me from getting lonely. It is cute but I am going to look for another one a little larger. She is slightly nicer than Sandro. Hehehe
I phoned Leonard to tell them I arrived safely. Beverly is going to phone the rest of the family to let them know I have arrived. Bahia phoned this afternoon to make sure I arrived safely in São Paulo and also to make sure it was not a dream that I was actually in his country. It seemed so strange to be talking on the telephone to him from within his country instead of speaking internationally and trying to say as much as possible in a short period of time because of the expense.
My first evening in Brazil:
I slept for 1.5 hours then we went to visit Vanessa’s parents for a lasagna dinner . Before the evening was over, they adopted me as their foreign Canadian daughter. Pai and Minha Mãe are like my own parents at home and I am so happy to have another family so far from home. They adopted me as their foreign Canadian daughter.
A matter of security:
I noticed immediately that every house, store, apartment building and business in São Paulo has an iron gate in front of the entrance. It is kept locked at all times even when the people are home. I am told that this is true for every house in Brazil, and it seemed to be true because every house in every city I visited, had one to keep out the thieves. They are surprised to learn that we don't have this in Canada, that the few people who have gates in front of their homes, in my country, are mostly the wealthy ones who put the gates there to enhance the beauty of their homes.
Although there are parts of Brazil that have many flies and mosquitoes, there were none in the parts of Brazil I visited. Therefore, there were no screens on the windows because there were no flies etc. However, they did have iron bars on the windows to keep people out. Such a strange contrast - at home we put screens on our windows to kkeep flies out and here in Brazil they put iron bars on the windows to keep people out.
São Paulo is very overpopulated and they drive like idiots:
São Paulo is a city of 20 million people and they drive like idiots. Honestly!!! No one will ever stops for another car or a pedestrian. Since the city is so overpopulated and polluted from car emissions, they have a law that slightly reduces the number of hours you are permitted to have your car on the road. I.e.; if your license plate ends with an F it means you cannot drive on Wednesday night from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. This is supposed to reduce the number of vehicles on the road thus easing traffic congestion, but from what I saw, I seriously doubt its effectiveness.
There are as many as 8 lanes of heavy traffic going in the same direction you are, and 8 lanes coming in the opposite direction (toward you) at one time. Between each lane of traffic, there are many motorcycles flying by between the lanes of cars. Really is a scary thought to drive in those conditions. One motorcycle drove by us and bumped the mirror on Sandro’s side not breaking the mirror but knocking it sideways. I was thinking of the TV show back home called "Survivor"and told Sandro that they could make their own Survivor game .... just put a handful of Canadians on the streets of São Paulo and tell them to attempt to cross the street without being flattened . It is even quite common to see horse and cart along the streets in Sõ Paulo, and many streets are cobblestone.
Driving along the road there are people, even young children, coming up to the car windows trying to sell you things like little crafts, bottles of water, maps, candies, breath mints, shades for the car windows, lots of things. These are poor people who rely on this selling technique and pan handling as their only means of livelihood and income.
Saturday March 10, 2001
Sunday March 11, 2001
I awoke early about 5 a.m. to the sound of people outside pounding nails and it sounded like they were building something. I looked out my bedroom window and could not believe my eyes—next door many people had brought in trucks etc and were setting up booths to have a flea market which is called a feira in Portuguese. Later on Vanessa and I went there for breakfast and ate pastel which is like a pastry opened up with hamburger in side and you put small pieces of onion and tomato in it too. DELICIOUS!!!
Fresh coconuts:
I had my first taste of real fresh coconut. The coconuts we buy at home are dark brown, very hard and hairy. But here they are fresh from the tree covered in green leaves. The inside meat is soft not hard like the ones we get in Canada. The man bore a hole in it and put 2 straws in it and I drank the milk. Then he cut a small piece off the side of it for me to use as a spoon, took his machete and cut it in two, and I used the spoon to scoop out the coconut meat to eat. MAN OH MAN!!! It was delicious and the juice ran down off my chin. I giggled like a child eating it. Loved every moment of it. In the afternoon we went to the Universidade do São Paulo where Sandro works for a few hours and I used one of their computers to check my email and send emails home.
Visit to Zoológico:
Then Vanessa and a friend of hers, Edson and I went across the road from the Universidade da São Paulo, to the Zoologicó while Sandro was doing his work at USP. I loved this place. They had so many animals, camels, monkeys, elephants, black bears from North America, etc etc. I saw my first banana tree there. So strange looking to me. Bananas are small but there are so many growing together in one cluster. In the centre is a long vine that hangs down with a large purple flower shaped like a bulb on the end of it.
There is only one gorilla in all of Brazil and they have him at the zoo. We took video of him but the still pictures I took of him didn’t turn out. Vanessa said that if they put the gorilla and me in one cage, that only Karen would survive. The gorilla would not be able to cope. Then all the Brazilians would come to the zoo to see ME in the cage. Outside the Zoológico I bought a lovely craft from a gentleman. It is a picture in a frame that is made of sand, water, alcohol, and oil. Everytime you more the picture, it makes the sand fall in a different direction making a new picture everytime you touch it. I LOVE IT !!!
Monday March 12, 2001
:Vanessa had to go back to work today so Sandro took me shopping in many of the small store venders along the streets not far from his house. I bought men’s belts and wallets for Papa Cougar, my father, and my sister’s husband and sons. Also found a few magazines in Portuguese to buy, and some other small souvenirs.
I don't like sleeping alone:
I have been here in Brazil for several days now and really miss having Papa Cougar in bed. I hate sleeping alone, so I found myself a bed partner. He is drop-dead gorgeous and very cuddly. I love him to death! Found him in São Paulo and later when I arrive in Eunapolis, Bahia and I bought him his Brazilian sandals and gave him the name "Babaca".
Tuesday March 13, 2001
Pai took Sandro and I to the Universidade do São Paulo where Sandro works. Pai and I sat at a desk in the Astronomy and Physics Department and wrote to each other in Portuguese. It is our only means of communication since my knowledge of the spoken language is very limited. Pai took me for a walk down the street to some shops. I felt so safe with Pai when we crossed the street he held my hand and had our arms interlocked someway that there was no way we could get separated. And when walking along the streets, he had his hand on my shoulder the entire time. There was no way he was going to lose the foreigner. I felt like I was 6 years old again and couldn’t cross the street alone. But what a wonderful feeling of security knowing there was no way I was going to get lost.
I have the most beautiful monkey:
We went back to Sandro’s apartment. He had work to do at home so Pai and Minha Mãe babysat me for the afternoon. They took me to the Museu da Independência and then shopping at a mall... it was there that I found the macaco (monkey) I was looking for. Also, at the mall they had a store called Karen Presentes... so Pai took a picture of Minha Mãe and I standing under the sign. I also purchased a gold chain for myself, one for Beverly and one for my mother.
Wednesday March 14, 2001:
I grew up a little today in São Paulo:
I think I grew up a little bit today. For the first time, I went out alone. I walked next door to the feira and shopped there alone. One of the ladies I had bought crafts from on Sunday recognized me, and she and I had quite a conversation in Portuguese. She asked me in Portuguese if I would be there again this coming Sunday and I had to explain to her that on Saturday I was flying to the state of Bahia. We had our picture taken together. She is a lovely person." While I was at the feira, Pai called the apartment to speak to me, and Sandro told him I went out alone to the feira, so Pai got in his car and went there, then telephoned Sandro to say he could not find me, Sandro said to relax because I had just come through the door.
Sandro drew me a map to follow so I could go to the side streets and shop at the little shops he had me to the other day. I bought toothpaste and other toiletry items, map of Brazil, VHS tapes, and blank cassette tapes. On two separate occasions, a person tried to give me back the wrong change by keeping an extra $1.00 for himself but I managed to get my correct money out of him (in Portuguese speaking of course) before I left. Told Sandro and Pai about it when I got back and they laughed and said "Good I am proud of you. I had forgotten to take my English/Portuguese dictionary with me. I communicate with the merchants using the limited spoken Portuguese I had. But I was surprised that I made out quite well. I managed to ask for and get what I wanted to buy how much it cost, and to insist on getting my correct change back also. It really was quite a challenge today but I am pleased with the results.
I gave Canadian lapel pins to everyone I talk to i.e.; merchants in the shops, police officer on the street, people in coffee shops, magazine shops, waiters and waitresses, leather shop, vendors at the feira, etc.
Vanessa has a cream cheese in the refrigerator that I love. It is called Requeijão Cremoso and I am going to buy 6 containers of the Requeijão Cremoso to take back to Canada with me. And she also has a juice I love called Tanjal. You only put a little of it in a glass and add water. It is really delicious!!!
The poor monkey almost met his death:
The dear little monkey Vanessa gave me when she met Sandro and I at the airport fell almost to his death today. At home in Canada we have screens on our windows to keep out the flies. In the parts of Brazil I was in, there are very few flies so there is no need to have screens meaning that the windows are open. However, most people have IRON BARS on their windows to keep people (thieves) out. Seriously.!!! (I think I already mentioned that earlier hehe ) At Sandro and Vanessa’s apartment, they have nothing on the windows. They are 4 floors above ground so there is no need for iron bars or anything on their windows. Being used to my home where you can put a book, etc. on the window sill and it doesn’t fall out, I was reading on my bed one day, reached up and sat the monkey on the window sill and it fell out the window landing in the parking lot 4 floors below on the pavement. Well, I screamed for Sandro to come quick. I think I half scared him. He said, "Let’s hurry up and go down and get your monkey before some child comes along and takes him." I said, "YES HURRY! I would feel terrible having to beat up some poor little Portuguese kid to get my monkey back." We got the monkey back and of course Sandro had to put some foolish statement in about the dumb Canadian foreigner.
Thursday March 15, 2001
Sandro and Pai took me to an aquarium in Santos. Minha Mãe and Pai lived in Santos for 11 years while Vanessa was growing up and I saw the elementary and high schools Vanessa attended. We stopped to the beach in Santos and I got a little sand in a bottle to take home with me. Sandro videotaped me splashing in the water and running in the sand, got my shorts wet but didn’t mean to. The sand is so warm compared to home that I would actually call it hot sand. Even the water was warmer than our water on the hottest days of summer back home. Every bar on the beaches in Brazil has a round shaped thatched roof. There you can get a beer, snack or full meal, soft drinks, various fresh fruit juices, sandwiches, potato chips, nuts, fresh coconut, etc. etc. Music plays continuously and people dance. One of the dances I loved to watch them do is called the Samba. Everything shakes when they wiggle to that dance.... love it!!! Hmmm
While still in Santos, Sandro and Pai took me on a gondola up the mountainside. As you are going up, another gondola is coming down the mountain on the same train track. There is a circle in the middle of the trail that the cars pass each other on. At the top of the mountain you have a lovely view of the city of Santos. The largest harbor in South America runs through the city of Santos. The Governor of the state of São Paulo passed away a week before I arrived in Brazil and we could see his grave in the center of the city. It is a beautiful cemetery surrounding with tropical trees and fences.
Sandro, Pai and I had a beer at the lunch counter at the top of the mountain. We had the waitress take a picture of the 3 of us drinking beer, because I was sure my Papa Cougar would never believe I drank beer with the boys unless I had a picture to prove it.
Also, at the top of the mountain, there is a very old and majestic looking church called St. Vincent. We went inside and I knelt down and said a prayer for my family back home. Also for all my Brazilian friends, and a prayer for the rest of my journey to be happy. I also asked for a safe trip home to my family.
We went back down the mountain and started walking along streets in Santos looking for a place to have lunch. While walking down a side street, Sandro put his hands on my shoulders and said: "stand here, just stay here ok? Just stay here.." and walked away leaving me in the middle of the street. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that he was making fun of the dumb foreigner. At first I was so stunned I just stood there wondering what to do next. Hehehehe He and Pai laughed out loud at that one.
We took a ferry across the city from Santos, to another city called Guarujá. There we went to another aquarium called Acqua Mundo .
I noticed that in the city of Guarujá many people ride bicycles on the roads amongst the traffic there. I turned around in the car and videotaped them coming towards us, while I was looking out the back window of the car. It turned out awesome on the video. They had sea turtles, penguins, many different corals from the coral reef and sea life in abundance.. I bought a stuffed toy turtle for Corissa, and one for Amy and also T-shirts in the gift shop there.
Driving back to São Paulo that night was stormy. Rain, thunder and lightning. We had to drive through 11 tunnels and there were many diesel trucks passing through the tunnels. The smell of diesel fuel was so strong it made me feel half sick. In various places in the tunnels there were homeless people sleeping on the ledges inside the tunnels. It was so noisy from the echoes of the traffic. I feel so helpless when I see these people. My heart goes out to them. I don’t like to see poverty but realize it is in Brazil as in all countries of the world. Although it is difficult for us to see, I think it builds strength within us. At the same time it also weakens us and makes us humbly realize just exactly how vulnerable we really are. Our own peace of mind really is a fragile commodity.
Reais (R$) is different than our Canadian dollar
: ( so funny)
The other night, Sandro showed me the new Brazilian $10,00 bill. It is made of plastic and you can crumble it up into a small ball, drop it on the table and it will open up again as good as new. So, tonight I had a $10,00 bill (not realizing it was an OLD bill not a new one) so I thought I would be smart. I went up to Sandro and started crumbling up the $10,00 bill saying "I just love your money here in Brazil...... crumble it up and it unfolds so nicely." and dropped it on the table to see it just stay all balled up into a ball. Sandro laughed and laughed and laughed and said to me "you dumb foreigner, I told you it only works with the NEW $10,00 bills!!!
He is such a torment, sitting in a restaurant eating lunch with him and him saying very bad vulgar words in English, knowing fully well that no one has any idea what he is saying except me. Of course, I was gasping for breathe, trying to shut him up but it only made him more vocal. I was so embarrassed "thinking" people could understand the dirty things he was saying, forgetting no one spoke English and had no idea what he was saying. Sandro loves to embarrass me and then laugh his head off at me.
Friday March 16, 2001
Pai came over to visit and help advise me how to pack some things in the suitcase that were breakable. He bought me some bubble paper to wrap the beautiful sand picture in that I had purchased from a street vendor outside the Zoológico. We didn’t do much exciting today, just stayed around the apartment and went over to Pai and Minha Mãe’s house for awhile. I packed everything up so I would be ready for the flight to Salvador and then to Porto Seguro in the morning. We have to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow and leave at about 6:15 am for the airport. My flight leaves at 8:00 am and I have to be at the airport by 7:00 am for check-in.
Saturday March 17, 2001
Aboard an airplane on VASP Brazilian airlines in a lightning storm and no one speaks English OH NO!!:
Today was the day I was supposed to meet my long time best internet friend, Bahia. But as you are about to read, it didn't turn out that way.... I left the airport in São Paulo at 8:00 am aboard a HUGE airplane called the AIRBUS heading for my scheduled flight to Salvador then to change planes and go to Porto Seguro to meet Bahia . The day started out beautifully. Clear skies, you could see the trees, ground and buildings for a long time after we were way up in the air. The AIRBUS was a fantastic machine....2 seats then an aisle, 4 seats, an aisle and another 2 seats. The staff appeared to be pleasant although they could not speak English... We were flying over Salvador and by that time it was storming pretty bad. We were in the middle of a rainstorm with thunder and lightning. It is not much fun being up in the air in the middle of a thunderstorm! Our pilot could not make contact with the Salvador airport nor the control tower due to electricity being completely cut off. So we circled the Salvador airport several times then they flew us to Recife. I was not impressed!!!! No one on VASP airlines spoke any English, nor did anyone at the airport in Recife. I was the only person on the flight and at the airport who spoke both English and a little Portuguese.
Met new friends (an American couple):
There was an American couple there and they heard me speaking English plus some Portuguese, so they came over to me and asked if we could stay together. I said "of course." Since my Portuguese English dictionary was packed in my checked-in luggage, I had to rely on memory and the limited speaking skills I had acquired in Portuguese but I was surprised that I made out well enough to find out that they were sending us to the Litopak Hotel in Recife for the night, supply taxi and meal tickets, and a Porter to bring us back to the airport the next day at 5:00 am to catch a flight to Salvador then to Porto Seguro. I also managed to get rooms at the Litopark Hotel in Recife, side by side for myself and the American couple.
I had also made arrangements with VASP airlines so the American couple could phone their relatives who were supposed to pick them up in Porto Seguro and for myself to phone Papa Cougar in Canada, Sandro in São Paulo, and Bahia on his cell phone. I was so upset when I was talking to Bahia on the phone. I was tired, afraid, not sure just where I was etc. I even told him I hated it here and just wanted to go back to Canada now. We talked for awhile and he said for me to call him back once I was in the hotel with my luggage, the doors locked, and was safe. I did that once I was settled in my room. He and I both agreed that it seemed like someone somewhere was trying to keep us from meeting each other.
The American couple knocked on my door later that day to come down to dinner with them because they could not read the menu and wanted me to assist them. We went back to our rooms and they tried to phone their daughter in law in Porto Seguro but couldn’t get the area code to work so I telephoned Bahia on his cell phone, gave him the number of the person they were calling, he called and relayed the messages to them. I set up the video camera and recorded a message to my family at home. Had a shower and went to bed about 10:00 p.m. Slept with my macaco (monkey) cuddled up to him and went to sleep. Bahia phoned to check on me just as I was going to bed. Surprisingly, I slept pretty good until it was time to wake at 4:15 am and get ready to leave the hotel at 5:00 am.
Although being detoured was frightening, upsetting and nerve-wracking, I have to say that VASP Brazilian airlines took excellent care of us. We did not have to lift our luggage. There were people assigned to put them in the taxi cab, a Porter at the hotel to take them to our room, we had room service provided, and a Porter at 5:00 am to take us back to the airport. There was a man at the airport waiting to take our luggage out of the taxi and check them in for us.
Sunday March 18, 2001
Woke up in the hotel, went next door to wake the American couple, then showered and packed my stuff. The Porter was at our doors at 5:10 am and took us (the American couple, myself, and the other passengers who were aboard the flight yesterday) to the airport and checked our luggage in. Our plane was delayed and did not leave Recife until 6:45 am instead of 6:00 am. Eventually we were on our way from Recife to Salvador, changed plans in Salvador and finally arrived in Porto Seguro.
I was so excited at the prospect of finally meeting Bahia in person and also a little nervous at the same time. Finally we made our way to Salvador, arriving at about 8:00 a.m. and had to wait at the airport until 11:00 a.m. for a plane to Porto Seguro, arriving there at about 12:35 p.m. Bahia was waiting at the airport for me with a big hug and kisses on the cheeks. (he was there yesterday only to discover that the plane was going to be 24 hours late so he had to go home then come back today for me.)
It is so difficult to describe the feeling of a dream coming true and finally meeting a person who you have loved as your dear friend on the internet for the past 3 years. The person with whom you had shared part of your life, your dreams, sorrows, triumphs, ambitions, fears and failures. Having planned the trip for 2 years and knowing that dreams do not come true, this was quite an emotional event for both of us as we realized that THIS dream of ours had come true. We stopped at the beach in Porto Seguro and sat at one of the bars and watched the people dance. He ordered a beer and I had a soft drink. Then we drove to Eunápolis to the house of Jonas and Silvia whom I will be staying with when Bahia and I are not travelling. I put my luggage in my room then we went to his room at the school to check my email then back to Silvia’s house. Silvia, Jonas, their 5 year old son, Bahia and I went to a corner restaurant for burgers then home and sat outside on the deck talking until long after sunset.
Monday March 19, 2001
Teaching school in English and Portuguese in Eunapólis, Bahia:
Slept well last night considering it was my first night at Silvia and Jona’s house. Bahia came over this morning to pick me up at 6:30 a.m. to go to teach class at his school beginning at 7:00 a.m. until about 11:45 a.m. Teaching in both English and Portuguese, I wrote in Portuguese on the chalkboard and allowed the students to correct my Portuguese. We had many laughs and the students loved my company as much as I enjoyed theirs. They asked if I had children and I said yes I have 2 daughters age 17 and 15.
The boys were yelling YES YES YES and the girls seemed so disappointed; so, I said I also have a son named Bryan and he is 16. They were so happy and insisted I gave them my email address so they could correspond with Bryan... Bahia said I will be busy for the next few years answering emails from "my son Bryan" hehehe (I don’t have a son) hehehe One boy gave me his necklace to give to Beverly. She is not allowed to wear it to school because of the marijuana leaf on it. I was impressed with the intelligent questions some of the students asked me besides the normal ones such as your name, where you live, is it still cold in Canada, etc.
After lunch we lie on the 2 sofas in Silvia’s living room studying English and Portuguese. I fell asleep for an hour or more. We went to his apartment at the school and he connected me to the internet so I could communicate with Beverly and Sue in ICQ while he went for his dental appointment. Mom went up to Sue’s to see us typing to each other. On ICQ mom said she bought a ham today to make me a pot of pea soup for when I come home. It sounds so good I can almost taste it now. Reminds me of when I was younger going to Vocational School in Dartmouth and she would make it for me when I came home on the weekends.
Bahia came back to his apartment to pick me up at 6:00 p.m. and we went back to Silvia’s so I could shower and pack a backpack. We are going travelling for a few days. We got motor taxis which are taxi by motorcycle...OH MY!! I burnt the lower inside of my right leg on the exhaust getting off the motorcycle, am used to wearing long pants instead of shorts that I had on that night. My driver passed Bahia and his driver on the road so I yelled BABACA !!! at them and put both arms up in the air, thumbs up in the air, and yelled WOOO WOOOO !!! Bahia took a picture of me on the motorcycle with my driver. We rode the motorcycles to the bus station then caught the bus to Porto Seguro. Once we boarded the bus and got our seats, Bahia laughed and said he thought I was crazy when he saw me on the motorcycle yelling with my arms out-stretched. It was so funny !!! if only Papa Cougar could see me now. hehehehe
Porto Seguro:
We got off the bus and took a "real" taxi, this time, to the center of Porto Seguro, checked our backpacks into a hotel at about 10:30 p.m. and went shopping among the many many shops along the waterfront. It was wonderful... Bahia was so patient with me, looking for gifts for people back home, bought lots of little souvenirs and also T-shirts, and a pair of sandals. Bahia and I got a pair of Brazilian leather sandals in baby’s size for the macaco (my monkey who we named "Babaca"). Bahia asked the girl to burn-write into the leather: Porto Seguro, Bahia and also to put the monkey’s name, BABACA on them. She said "what?? Babaca?"" we laughed and said yeah, Babaca ----- so she honored our request. I also bought a pair of Brazilian leather sandals for myself with a ring on them to put your big toe in and Bahia had the lady burn my name "COUGAR" on them.
We found so many nice musical instruments called the Berimbau. It is the musical instrument symbol for the necklace that Bahia mailed to me 2 years ago. It is used for a traditional Brazilian dance called the Capoeira. I wanted to buy the musical instrument so badly but they are so large they will never fit in my suitcase to take it home. The shorter ones are painted different colours but I like the plain wooden ones better. Bahia asked the man to make a smaller one for me out of the natural wood without painting it and we will pick it up on Sunday when he takes me to the airport. WOW!!!! I was so happy!!! Bahia is really nice to me.
Who’s the foreigner?
It was so funny !! In Porto Seguro, walking along the street full of vendors, etc. there were people coming up to Bahia giving him tourist papers, advertisements, etc. At one point he looked at me and said: "Am I the foreigner here?? Everyone giving ME these darn papers! Do I look like the foreigner?? " It was so funny I doubled over laughing.
Hotels, Motels, and Sex:
OH MY GOD!!! Bahia keeps correcting me all the time about Motel and Hotel... in Canada we just say motel and it means motel or hotel a place to stay for the night. But in Brazil, there is a HUGE difference... a Motel is for sex only and you rent the room get a porno movie included, etc. but nice people go to Hotels... I keep saying Motel and he says, "COUGAR!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU IT’S HOTEL NOT MOTEL??" so funny ... I say "MOTEL" every time without thinking.
I had a wonderful evening, loved shopping in Porto Seguro. The shops were open until midnight and its so nice by the river especially after such a hot day we had today and the bus trip tonight etc. What a beautiful little town. I just love it here !!!!! After I was finished my shopping ,we sat at one of the outside bars, had a beer and watched the people dancing to the music and just talked. I begged him to climb a coconut tree with me but NO WAY !! LOL Then we walked along the water and then went to the hotel to have our showers and get some sleep.
Tuesday March 20, 2001
Got up at the hotel and had breakfast then went by ferryboat to a beach called Arraial D’Ajuda. We walked from one restaurant to another along the beach having snacks, drinks etc. Bahia bought me a HUGE straw hat and I refused to wear it. For the first time since I arrived in Brazil, I FEEL like a foreigner. After arguing with him for some time, I ended up wearing the stupid looking large hat which I have to admit did cover my shoulders with its very wide brim. We sat at the outside tables and chairs and talked for hours. Ordered a fish dinner which was expensive but tasty. Although I was not impressed with them serving it to us on a platter with the head still attached and the eyes looking at me. GROSE EWWW disgusting to look at but very tasty.
Cougar gets a tattoo:
Bahia convinced me to get a tattoo.. OH NO!!! Am sure Papa Cougar will kill me when I get home. Bahia chose a tattoo of a turtle and I had the young man put it on my left breast so it won’t show for going to work. The tattoo is a temporary one painted on that will wear off in about 2 weeks. Then Bahia got a tattoo on his wrist. He even videotaped me getting the stupid tattoo saying, "I tried to tell her not to do it, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Told her over and over, Cougar, don’t do this!!! It's not right! " I think he was trying to cover his own skin for when Papa Cougar sees the video of me getting the tattoo. Tsk tsk tsk
I told him that when Papa Cougar sees the tattoo and divorces me, there is a nice little house down the road right beside the beach and has a little stream beside it. Nice little spot that I saw when we were coming here. I can perhaps live there, go check with the owner to see how much the rent is going to be.
So funny – Cougar upsets her chair in public:
We were sitting at a table at the beach just relaxing and talking. Bahia had just ordered a cold beer and it was sitting on the table along with the video camera, advantix camera, our hats, shirts, sunglasses, etc. We were having a wonderful chat and I started to adjust my chair in the sand and all of a sudden the chair went backwards, upsetting me. My feet came up and caught on the end of the table upsetting the umbrella too. Everything including the video camera and beer went in the sand. Bahia rescued the video camera first then he and another guy helped me up to my feet. Of course, everyone around was laughing at the "dumb foreigner," including me. Bahia’s beer was ruined so we laughed a lot and bought another one.
Several times he reminded me to put more suntan lotion on, and firmly TOLD me to "get that hat on, Cougar!" It was a very hot day and that hat was a good answer to sun protection even though I hated it with a passion. (I brought it home with me and it got a little squashed in the suitcase. I put it in the shower to let the steam at it and it came back into original shape then hung it on the wall in my study. I also promised myself that I would NEVER wear it again.)
Stuck in the washroom at the beach:
I went to the washroom at the beach and couldn’t get the door open to get out. I was yelling and screaming at Bahia to let me out but he couldn’t hear me because the bar was playing loud music. Eventually I did get the stupid door opened only to find him standing there with the camera taking my picture as soon as I walked out. I was not impressed! I would have told him to stick the camera, but it belongs to me. Hehehe
At about 4:30 p.m. we started walking up the long hill towards the bus station. It will be dark at 6:00 p.m. We caught the bus back to the ferry terminal, took the ferryboat back to Porto Seguro, then went by bus for 1 hour then by taxi back to get back to Eunápolis.
I was talking to Beverly and Sue on computer in ICQ on the computer tonight, and wished Sue a happy birthday for tomorrow. When I want to go on internet to check email or ICQ chat with my family, we have to go to Bahia’s room at the school where his computer is, then he walks me back to Silvia’s place where I stay at night. Bahia and I are leaving tomorrow night after we teach the last evening class, to go by bus to Itamaraju. I won’t be on internet to communicate with my family again until Saturday night and that makes me a little sad. I am feeling homesick tonight for the first time since I arrived here over a week ago. Just the thought of no communication with them for the next several days makes me lonesome inside.
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
Today is Sue’s birthday and although I wished her happy birthday in ICQ last night, I hope she knows I am thinking about her. Today I am so tired.. Bahia was supposed to wake me at 6:30 am so I could be in class for 7:00 am to teach with him but he didn’t come by the house to wake me up. Silvia woke me at 8:00, had coffee and breakfast then Jonas drove me to the school to be ready to teach the class that started at 9:00 am. Bahia phoned just as we were leaving the house to see if I was on my way yet. We video taped the students in the classroom and outside playing on the swings etc. Bahia also videotaped me teaching the class. The students loved it!!! And what an experience for me to teach class in both English and Portuguese.
After lunch Bahia and I walked back to Silvia’s house for a shower and rest. Bahia had told me on the telephone to get all my travelers cheques cashed in Porto Seguro at the airport when I first arrived there because the banks in his area would not cash them. But oh no ! I wouldn’t listen and now I am running out of money and the nearest place to get them cashed is in Porto Seguro. He was kind enough to take me back there today to go to the bank and get my money exchanged. Another bus trip about one hour each way. It was about 6:00 p.m. when we arrived back in Eunápolis. I was tired and did not feel like teaching class tonight at 7:00 so he went and did the class alone while I rested at Silvia and Jonas's place.
I packed another backpack and he picked me up at 10:00 p.m. We headed out on another bus this time headed for Cumuruxatiba beach to visit his parents for a few days at their beach house. First we had to get a bus to Itamaraju and stay at his fathers other house overnight (arrived there about 1:00 am). I slept in the room that was his room when he was growing up and he slept in the living room. We were both afraid that we would not hear his wrist watch alarm in the morning to wake us up since neither of us had an alarm clock with us. I put his watch in a metal plate and sat it by my pillow so it would echo when the alarm went off and it would wake me up. We only had about 4 hours sleep last night then were up and on the road again.
Thursday March 22, 2001
The alarm did wake me at 5:00 am. I woke him up and we walked in the light rain to the bus stop for "breakfast" (all they had to sell us was cake and juice). I told him I am beginning to feel like a hobo wandering around the countryside living out of a backpack eating wherever I can find a bite to eat and sleeping wherever I can find a place to sleep. We both laughed a lot. Then we were on another bus at 6:00 am for 2.5 hours to Cumuruxatiba. Arrived in the village of Cumuruxatiba and walked most of the way to his father’s beach house. We met a friend of his who gave us a ride the rest of the way and arrived at his dad’s house about 10:00 am. Stayed there the rest of the day, overnight and the next day with his parents. Met some of his friends there, walked the beach, and spent time talking with his mom and dad. They are nice people and made me feel very welcome.
The hummingbirds
The Bible
When Bahia took me shopping for things to take back home to my family, I mentioned that I was looking for a bible written in Portuguese. We were unsuccessful in finding one. At the beach house, he showed me a bible (new and old testament) that his best friend Helena’s mom have given him back in 1986. He said he wanted me to have it. At first I refused, since he had it for such a long time, but he insisted and wrote inside it: From Bahia, To Cougar with love, Cumuruxatiba, Bahia, Brasil 22/03/2001. That bible means the world to me and I will treasure it always. I told him it means a lot to me but am not sure he really understands how dear it is to me. I think it is the most wonderful gift he could have given me.
Later in the day it started to rain hard but didn’t last long. I did the dishes for his mom and then she told me to lie down and sleep. I think she could tell I was pretty tired. I slept for about 2 hours then got up and had mosquito bites all over my left arm and hand.
Homemade corn bread baked in banana leaves, topped with Nova Scotia Maple Syrup:
I awoke to the smell of corn bread. Bahia's mother was making his favorite bread (corn bread) – she lined her bread pan with banana leaves and put the bread mixture in, wrapped the leaves around the batter, and baked it. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!! And it seemed so strange to me to be sitting at the beach house in the tropics, eating corn bread that was baked in banana leaves with Nova Scotia Maple Syrup poured on top of it... DELICIOUS DELICIOUS DELICIOUS (I had brought some maple syrup with me for them to try and they liked it but found the maple butter was too sweet) Bahia got his mom to tell him the recipe and he wrote it down in Portuguese and then translated it to English for me . I am going to try to make it at home but will have to use waxed paper to line my pan since I won’t get any banana leaves here.. hehehe I also ate another kind of bread that was as hard as a rock, you dip it in your hot coffee to soften it and eat it.
We borrowed his dad’s truck and went to a restaurant for lunch. The owners have pet parrots there. They are beautiful colors of green and yellow. They took pictures of us with them.
Beautiful look off:
We went to a bar at the top of a cliff with a marvelous lookoff. This is one of the most beautiful spots I have seen so far since coming to Brazil. I think it would be beautiful to sit here and watch the sunset. Another lady and her 3 year old daughter were there. The little girl was shaking the coconut tree and I took video and pictures of her doing that. She also danced on top of an old boat that was there. She is so gorgeous!!
We had a drink and Bahia ordered me a coconut knowing how much I LOVE them.. I LOVE sucking the milk out of it and then eating the meat from inside it. I am going to miss the coconuts a lot when I go home. I told him I will miss the fresh coconuts more than I will miss him. He said, "Gee, thanks Cougar!" oooops I was just kidding. The lady and her daughter came back to the beach house with us for his mom’s cornbread and coffee then they had to leave.
The roads in Cumuruxatiba are miserable:
The roads in this village leading down to the beach and around the village are miserable to walk over yet drive over. There are large stones in the roads and gullies where the water has washed parts of the roads away. They are so bumpy when driving over that I couldn’t get a good shot with the video camera. Mud holes everywhere and chickens running across the roads. Children playing in the streets.
So sad:
Some of the children are thin looking and walk barefoot. And some of the houses are made of mud. I saw one man walking along the road on crutches with only one leg. Another man walking along the road appeared to be crippled and he had a heavy looking back pack on his back. I think it is very sad to see people like that either in my own country or down here. Quite a few people in this village (as well as other villages) use bicycles for transportation. There was a new hotel under construction and it looked like the men were doing it all by hand. They were laying the foundation when we went by and I didn’t see any machinery around like we use at home. Just men with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows.
Chopping a SOMBRERO tree with a machete
:As we were walking through the village of Cumuruxatiba, we came across a man who had cut down a SOMBREIRO tree in his yard and was in the process of hacking the branches off it with a machete. I was so interested I just had to stop and watch the man. Then I went over to him and talked to him a little in Portuguese. I took his machete and hacked a few branches off the tree while Bahia video taped it telling me to "Be careful, Cougar!" He thinks I am totally crazy hehehehehehe. When I see something interesting, I say things like, "aww can we go back and look at it, can I see that, can I touch that, I want to do that, can I try it? Wow!! That’s cool.!! Just wait for me, I won’t be long, just wait for me, I'll be back soon."
We sat on the edge of the beach under a fruit tree called a CASTANHEIRO tree. It was so strange, the seeds of the fruit are so large and they kept falling all around us as we sat there talking.
Friday, March 23, 2001
Woke up this morning at the beach house to the sound of pouring rain and it reminded me of being back home at the camp in Sugarhill with my family. I love the sound of rain on the roof especially when you are camping.
For breakfast we had more of his mother’s WONDERFUL cornbread baked in the banana leaves and poured the good ole’ Nova Scotia maple syrup on it. We also had FRESH RAW milk from the cow that was boiled on the stove and served hot. I drank three cups of it.
It stopped raining so about 9:30 Bahia and I went down to the beach to walk around and sit at one of the bars. The place is quiet this morning, not many people out yet so we videotaped and just walked along the low tide looking at all the different shells, etc. it was so strange to see a small tree growing out in the mud flats which was completely immersed in water when the tide was high. We walked out to it just for the fun of it. I said to Bahia, "I would love to have a walking stick, I love walking the beach dragging a stick behind me." What luck!! He bent down picked up a stick and passed it to me. Naturally, he had to tell me of his magical powers being able to magically find the stick the moment I asked for one. Some people have no idea what the word LUCK means.. hehehee We sat at the bar and had a beer then went walking again on the beach.
Octopus
At one point while we were walking along the beach, Bahia said to me, "Cougar!!! look at what that guy has in his hand." I looked and coming along the beach was a man with an octopus swinging from his hand. The man was still wet from where he had just come out of the water to catch the octopus. I had no idea what my host family was serving me for supper that night, but was praying it was NOT octopus... that thing looked totally disgusting to me!!!!
Seashells
While walking on the beach in Cumuruxatiba, Bahia and I decided it would be nice to find a seashell to give to each other to put beside our computers as a reminder of each other once I am gone home. I found a nice one for him but the one he found for me still had the little sea animal in it so I said, "that’s pretty! I’ll see if I can get the animal out of the shell and keep that one to take back home with me." OH MY!!! It was a mistake. Bahia told me it wouldn't work, but OH NO !! Cougar is too stubborn to give up without trying.....When we got back to one of the bars, the owner lent me his jackknife and I tried to get the animal out but it just buried itself deep within the shell and put up a hard shell as a barrier to prevent me from digging him out of his home. So I took the shell with me back to the beach house and put vinegar in it and his mom put it in the sun. That didn’t work so his dad took the shell out to the shed and put something inside it an lit it on fire that burned the animal out but there was still little pieces of the animal in it that we could not get out. So I put it in my backpack and was determined to take it to Canada with me to put beside my computer as a memory of Bahia. I didn’t realize then how badly it would smell and that I would eventually have to throw it out. His mom gave me one of her beautiful seashells and that is the one I brought home to put by my computer.
Do you men wax your birds?? This'll crack you up if nothing does:
I had a nap in the afternoon, then spent a lot of time on the patio with Bahia lying in the hammock and me sitting at the table writing. We helped each other with words in English and Portuguese, and told stories about when we were young. He loved the story about when I was a kid and our doctor was like a horse doctor. He kept saying things like, "when you need new shoes you go to the vet, huh?" I was sorry I told him about that doctor because he teased me about it so much. Hehehe Later on, Bahia was lying in the hammock at his fathers beach house and I was sitting there at the table writing. Somehow we got talking about girls waxing their legs and he said he has a friend who waxes his bird !!! what??? OH MY!!! My first reaction was, "Huh?" So he repeated it and I said, "I don't think your friend waxes his bird" and I started to laughed. He assured me it was true and I just laughed all the more. Finally I asked him to SPELL it, and he spelled b e a r d .... well, at that point I laughed so hard I almost fell off the chair and he was wondering what was so dam funny to begin with. So I told him the correct pronunciation for the words "beard"and"bird" , that they don't sound the same. However, to him they DO sound the same and that is why he was having a difficult time expressing his thoughts. To make it more understandable, I pointed to ummmm you know , and said that is bird. Then I point to his face and said, "That is beard." He said, "I know that Cougar, SHUT UP " and we both started laughing so loudly that his parents came out on the deck wondering what the joke was and what they had missed. So he translated for them and they had a laugh also. I am not sure if I recommend that you men out there wax your bird, ok?? That was so funny, I LOVED it!!!! Needless to say he didn’t find it as funny as I did. He just kept smiling and saying , "Cougar, shuuuuuuuuut up!"
We packed our backpacks up and his dad drove us to the bus stop in Cumuruxatiba to catch the bus for the 2.5 hour ride back to Itamaraju.
Bahia used to teach English to a young man by the internet name of Casper. I became his internet mom and since he went to the USA as a student language student, we telephone each other once in awhile. He gets homesick for his family in Brazil and I step in as his substitute mother. His parents wanted to meet me while I was in their city of Itamaraju. We dropped our luggage in his father’s main house in Itamaraju and arrived (pre- invited) to Casper’s parents house for dinner. They have a beautiful house. We were served hors d’oeuvres and drinks then went for a tour of the house. They have a swimming pool outside with beautiful lights all around it. Quiche with ham, egg and sausage for dinner then rice and another casserole containing shrimp.. OH MY! It was delicious!!! And dessert were small homemade chocolates. I ate FOUR !!! WOW they told me that Casper (Henrique) is an expert at making them.
Gem stones and a gift for Cougar:
Casper’s father works in the mines there, and they gave me 3 genuine authentic stones all refined and polished. One is amethyst, one is jade and one is quartz. They are beautiful. Just before we were leaving, they presented me with a gift. I opened it up and inside was a peach colored towel that she had embroidered flowers on and my computer name "COUGAR". I started to cry, it was so wonderful to be sitting here so far from home and have these lovely people do that for me. I had talked to the father on computer quite awhile ago when his son, Casper was living at home (he is presently in Washington, DC with a student exchange program) and called the father, "BABACA" thinking it was Casper. The father naturally corrected me saying it was HIM I was talking to so at the time I just laughed. Tonight he reminded me of it and I was so embarrassed I could have crawled under the rug. They all had a good laugh at that one. Bahia took pictures of them with me. Their other son is very nice also. I talk to their daughter on ICQ and we were hoping she could have been home to meet me in person while I was there in Itamaraju. They invited Bahia and I to come back in the morning for breakfast and a swim in the pool, but we graciously declined because I have more people I plan to meet and then have to leave tomorrow after lunch to go back to Eunápolis.
We left there and walked to Helena’s house to visit her. She also has a huge beautiful home. Helena and Bahia have been best friends since kindergarten school, and I have been her friend on ICQ for quite awhile also. We went back to his father’s house in Itamaraju and slept there again tonight. I was so tired by the time I finally got to bed, that I fell to sleep right away.
Saturday, March 24, 2001
Went to visit Elda (Bahia’s ex wife) and the children this morning. I gave them the gifts I had brought for them, and Hannah seemed to love the cry baby doll I made her. Bahia and Elda have beautiful children, especially Hannah. She is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. We took some pictures and videos then went back to his fathers house to once again pack our backpacks and get to the bus stop in time to catch the bus to make the 2.5 hour trip back to Eunápolis.
The "Hoosters"(I almost died laughing at Bahia):
One little stop we made along the way from Itamaraju to Eunápolis was in a tiny little town with chickens running around. Bahia was looking out the window and said to me, "see the Hoosters???" I had to have him repeat it several times before I realized what he was talking about. OH MY!!! So hilarious!!! He was talking about the Roosters. HA HA HA HA I laughed so hard my sides hurt.
Our last evening together:
We arrived back at Silvia and Jonas’s house and he went out with his friends for awhile then came back for me to go to a barbecue with him and his friends. At first I wasn’t anxious to go but he wanted me to and since it is our last evening together I decided to come along. I had a good time, people were very interested in me since I live abroad and I made new friends. I spoke in Portuguese to his friends and was getting along very well then all of a sudden he sent me home to Silvia’s house with her son, Macaco (monkey – I cannot spell nor pronounce his real name hehe) and I didn’t understand why. I was hurt and confused.
About an hour later Bahia showed up and it was then that he explained to me that he sent me home with Silvia an Jonas's son, a safe drive home then looked for a way home himself. We argued a little and then with the help of Silvia, we hugged and made up as friends again. Before I went to bed, I opened my backpack and what a stink!! OH MY!!! That seashell with the little bit of the animal still in it, stunk so bad I had to throw it out my bedroom window. WOW PHEW
Silvia, Bahia and I sat outside on the patio and talked for a couple of hours then I went to bed. Bahia went to his apartment and came back in the morning to take me to the airport.
Sunday March 25, 2001
Got up and showered, changed and had the rest of my packing done when Bahia came to pick me up at 9:30 to go to the airport in Porto Seguro. A friend of his came with us. He is such a nice guy. I said good bye to Silvia and her family. Many hugs and kisses and a few tears. Silvia gave me 3 T-shirts and a towel to use to cry on during the trip home. Honestly!!!! It was so cute.. Bahia took group pictures of us. Bahia remembered to stop in Porto Seguro at the little shop that sells the replica of the musical instrument the Berimbau which is used for the dance called the Capoeira. We packed it in the suitcase and took off for the airport. Bahia is so sweet to me, I had a wonderful vacation and hate to leave but will also be glad to be home with my family. I cried like a baby when we got to the airport, hugged OUR monkey and cried. Bahia gave me lots of hugs and a couple of kisses on the cheek and told the monkey not to let me cry on the way home. ( haha that didn’t do any good - I cried anyway!) His friend who had come with us took 2 pictures of us as our good-bye pictures. While waiting for the plane, a little boy was playing with my monkey.
The journey home
Left Porto Seguro on Vasp Brazilian Airlines at about 1:00 p.m. (plane was delayed) for Belo Horizonte. As we flew out of the airport at Porto Seguro, I could see Bahia and his friend waving to me but I only waved back one little wave because I had my head buried in my monkey and was crying.
There was a man was sitting beside me who did not speak English and he was from São Paulo. After I stopped crying I struck up a conversation with him. We talked a lot in Portuguese even in bad words that I knew. We flew to Belo Horizonte and then to São Paulo. That man was so funny. He did mimes and made me laugh and forget a little of the loneliness I felt for leaving my friends. When I started to cry again, he would make me laugh. He really made the 2 flights from Porto Seguro to São Paulo bearable. When we were getting off the plane, the man who had been sitting in front of us the entire trip said to us in Portuguese: "I really enjoyed the 2 of you on this trip, I had a lot of laughs listening to both of you." Well, I was just a "little" embarrassed, especially at the BAD words I had been teaching the man beside me to say in English since I already knew them in Portuguese. At the airport in São Paulo, he gave me a hug and wished me luck for the rest of my journey to the USA and then to Canada.
When I arrived in São Paulo, Sandro and Vanessa were not there to meet me and it took them another hour to arrive. They took me to the "BIG"(a grocery store similar to Sobeys here) to buy the cream cheese (Requeijão Cremoso) I wanted to take home with me. I bought chocolate bars for the girls and also a package of Brazilian coffee. WOW it is strong. Then to MacDonald’s for burgers and then to their apartment. It was raining out and Sandro and Vanessa said it was chilly but I found it still very warm. At the apartment I went on the internet to talk to Beverly for a short time telling her I was back in São Paulo at Sandro and Vanessa’s and leaving for the airport here in about one hour to come home. Would see them tomorrow afternoon in Halifax. I also sent an email to Bahia’s cell phone telling him I was with Sandro and Vanessa and was fine, not to worry about me. Had a shower then it was time to go to the airport.
Overnight flight from São Paulo to Newark, New Jersey, USA
Again I cried when it was time to say good bye and hugged Sandro and Vanessa tightly. MAN!! I do a terrible job of saying goodbye to people! Boarded the plane for a 9.5 hour overnight flight with Continental Airlines. My heart is so heavy to leave so many wonderful people behind but it is also very comforting to know that I have a wonderful family waiting for me when I finish the rest of my long journey.
The overnight flights are not comfortable at all. Cannot sleep because the seats only recline about 5 cms (2 inches) and there is no leg rest etc. I wish I would afford to fly first class. Their seats are more comfortable. Only dozed off and on all night. Went to the washroom about 5:00 am and had a wash, change my clothes into jeans and a long sleeve shirt because we will be in the USA soon and it is still winter time there . I also took Tylenol for a headache I’ve had for hours now. Breakfast on the airplane consisted of a roll, piece of cheese, juice and coffee. We arrived in Newark at 6:10 a.m. and were supposed to be there until 10:10 a.m. (four hours only) but the plane was delayed until 1:30 p.m. The plane was coming from Rochester, New York and had mechanical difficulty so they had to do repairs on it. We finally arrived in Halifax and the temperature was 3 degrees C under clear skies.
Customs at the Halifax International airport:
Two customs officers at the Halifax airport stopped me stating they were going to check all my luggage because I had just arrived from a country far away, is this case, Latin America. Before he took everything out, he asked me if there was any chance of someone having been able to get any sort of parcel into my suitcase without my knowing it or if I had any reason to suspect my luggage had been tampered with. I showed him the security loops I had made out of fishing line and the plastic ties I had on them and that none of them had been broken. They asked if there was anything in any bag that could be used as a weapon, or anything explosive in the luggage. I assured them there was not, even though I was tempted to say I was carrying bombs and rifles and hand grenades.
Well, I was tired, sweaty and hungry from 2 flights yesterday, an overnight flight last night, and another flight today so I was not in the best of moods. I told both customs officers that I had packed, repacked and repacked over and over again before I left Brazil. I also told them that if they were going to take everything out of MY luggage, I expected them to help me put it all back!!! I also told them that if they wanted the large suitcase up on the table for inspection they would have to put it there themselves. They both claimed that they could not lift it because they both had bad backs. (My large suitcase had a tag on it that said "Continental Airlines, HEAVY". They said that it was MY responsibility to put the suitcase on the table for inspection. I simply replied to them, "Well isn’t that too bad now? Two of you with bad backs and working here in a job you know you have to lift things and telling me to do the lifting for you. Well, if you cannot get it up on the table then you have two options: either you leave it on the floor and open it up to inspect it, or get someone else in here to lift it up for you because I am NOT lifting it up on that table. They lifted the suitcase up onto the table and one of the customs officers looked at me and said, "How did you manage getting this off the carousels at the different airports?" I replied, "this is always a man around, another passenger who doesn’t mind giving a person a helping hand. I had no problem.".
Then I opened the suitcases and they proceeded to take everything out and inspect it. They THOUGHT they were going to take the 6 containers of cream cheese I brought home from Brazil. They said there is foot and mouth disease in South America now and that they had to take my cream cheese. I said, "NO NO!!! Foot and mouth disease is in South America all right but it is in Argentina not in Brazil! So there is NO reason to keep my cream cheese!!!" He argued a little then another man came along from customs and we asked him to check the files. He came back and said. "the lady is right, no foot and mouth disease in Brazil, she can keep her cream cheese." I smiled and said, "well, thankkkkk you, boys!" they also were going to keep some wooden pieces I was bringing back because of danger of insect eggs in the wood. I pointed out to them that those pieces of wood have been varathaned and I was allowed to keep them. They were really getting on my nerves!
Honestly, I didn’t think much of those inspectors. It appeared to me that they were trying to keep things that were of no danger. Things like small bottles of sand from the beach that a person would think could possible contain insect eggs etc, they just put aside and said nothing about it. Anyway they finally helped me pack everything up I and walked down the rest of the hall and opened the next door where my family was waiting for me.
Leonard, Beverly, Amy, Mom and Sue all there waiting for me. I grabbed them one at a time and hugged and kissed them. They looked so beautiful to me and I was so glad to see them. It seemed like I had been away for along time. They had a beautiful arrangement of flowers for me and my favorite candies, Cadbury’s caramel eggs. YUMMMMMM !!! At the airport I took the white seal out of the suitcase and gave it to Beverly because I knew she would love it, and took the turtle out for Amy to hug. We went to Sobeys so Sue could get a few groceries, then we went home. Arrived in Sheet Harbor at 7:15 p.m. What a long trip considering I left Silvia and Jonas’s home in Eunápolis, Bahia, Brazil at 9: 30 Sunday morning and didn’t arrive home until Monday night at 7:15 p.m. Unpacked some of my luggage tonight and will finish unpacking tomorrow. I have Tuesday and Wednesday to rest up then start back to work on Thursday.
My modes of transportation: (during 18 days in Brazil)
9 airplanes (4 international flights from Canada to Brazil, and 5 national flights within Brazil)
4 ferryboats (2 in Santos and 2 in Porto Seguro)
Motorcycle
Taxi car
Normal residential cars
By truck
Backpacked for 3 days and two nights
Almost travelling by horseback
Other activities while in Brazil:
Taught school in both Portuguese and English
Went on Safari
Helped a man cut a SOMBREIRO tree using a machete
My health while I was away:
Considering I travelled to a foreign country and ate many new and different foods and drinks, I consider myself to be very fortunate. I did not suffer from travelers diaherea, jet lag, nausea nor any other forms of illness or sickness while I was away nor when I returned home either. Although I had medical insurance coverage while I was away, I did not have to use it once. I didn't even catch a common cold nor any other illness of any kind. Of all the different foods and drinks that were offered to me,the ones I enjoyed MOST were the fresh coconut and the cream cheese called D'allora Requeijão Cremoso
Injuries I sustained while I was away:
Mosquito bites on left side of my body
Burn on inside bottom of right leg from the exhaust on the motorcycle
Bruise on upper right arm
Bruise on inside of my left arm
Tattoo on left breast
Knees torn open from falling getting on airplane carrying Bahia’s whiskey
Bruises and scratches on my legs from walking through the bush
My only cultural shock of Brazil:
The only major cultural shock I suffered was the fact that most people in Brazil have a maid. I could not adjust to someone else cooking and serving me, and doing my laundry. At home, I am the maid, cook, laundry girl, mother, wife, student, employee, etc. etc. etc. and there is no one to wait on me hand and foot. I would often go to the kitchen to help the maid only to have her chase me out of the way with a vengeance. I bet you readers feel sorry for me having a maid to do everything for me and not being able to accept it huh? That was the hardest thing for me to accept in Brazil, more than the differences in food, water, drinks, language, culture, skin color, or anything else.
Conclusion to a wonderful dream come true:
I think this part of the diary is going to be the most difficult to write. There are so many mixed feelings and emotions before, during, and after a dream comes true. There is hoping, wishing, disbelief, excitement, nervousness, gratitude, and appreciation. You have an opportunity to make memories that will last a life time, to show your family and loved ones how much you appreciate their support in helping you to make your dream come true. Also you reflect on your religious faith and thank God for giving you the opportunity to fulfill a dream and to have made it home safely to see your loved ones again safe and sound.
Trust me when I say that I was never one to believe in dreams coming true. But after this dream trip of mine actually coming true for me, I am still at awe when I stop to think that sometimes, dreams do actually come true. Never give up on your hopes, desires and dreams. You never know when they just might come true if you work on them long enough, work hard enough and plan long enough. I wish each and every one of you a little happiness in your lives. May God bless you, Love Cougar....Beijos e abraços !!