2/18/13

Prelude: Here's a couple randos I snapped in the park the other day. So gorgeous.

Saturday night we saw the last of the Carnaval parades in Porto Seco, which were absolutely gorgeous to watch. The amount of time, effort, passion, and money they put in to those costumes is incredible. Just go look up Carnaval parades on Google images if you have never seen it, it's amazing. Here's a couple pictures.

Ah... but here we are in Florianopolis! Commonly known as Floripa. We got in yesterday after a long, sweaty bus ride from POA around 630 or 7. This place is refreshing, and so nice. I strongly recommend that if you're ever coming to the South of Brasil, come here. It's legit, the beaches are sweet, the food is great, yeah. I'm happy here. Did some bodysurfing in the cool clean water, drank some mimosas, got a little sunburn going... in the middle of February. Blows my mind that we're here. Plus, me, Kal, Mitch, and Dallas have a legit condo that we're staying in, which is a nice upgrade from the Eco Hostel. Here for a whole week longer... too down.

2/16/13

Time is flying lately.

I didn't even realize it's been so long since I wrote my blog, it's only felt like a day or two. As usual, it's been exciting, fun, and I've been getting a lot out of it.

I'm quickly realizing that there is not much of a point of me trying to explain the specifics of a lot of what I do here, there's just so much where you would have to be in my shoes experiencing it if that makes sense. I assume that's the same with just about everyone's study abroad experience, and probably why you don't hear too many stories from friends who go abroad.

However, I'll be happy to point out some notable moments in the past few days. Tuesday we had a fantastic time in the streets celebrating the last night of Carnaval! There would be conga lines that spontaneously formed and people would just run by, suck you in, and take you around the party. It was so much fun, I never would've expected that doing something so simple would be such a cool moment! I definitely got molested by some less than attractive girl, which was weird, but I ended up having an incredible night regardless. Everyone is so happy here during Carnaval, regardless of race, social class, etc. It's like the 4th of July... for 5 days.

Wednesday was great for different reasons. Sarah, Kasey, Kari and I went to a Catholic mass downtown for Ash Wednesday. Now, I may not be Catholic, but as a Christian I figured it was definitely fitting to go to a service. What an experience! The church was just gorgeous inside and out, and it was wonderful to go the service with those girls and have some holy moments.

Yeah, that was kind of cool.

I just want to say, the majority of the stories that make it onto the blog are partying-related, and I realize that. It just happens to be that the funny, memorable stories tend to happen while partying. My point is, don't be misconceived. I truly don't just party all the time here, I do a lot of just hanging out, working out, cooking, napping, etc that doesn't involve a party atmosphere. It's just that it would very be boring if I told all the small details of my daily life you know?

Thursday night Luis took me, Fuadi, and Vinay out to Novo Hamburgo, a city about 45 minutes away, where we had an excellent night. I neglected to bring my camera, but we had a great time at this upscale bar and later at this nightclub where they were bumping all kinds of American hip hop from like 2009 (the stuff I happen to know word for word) and the mainstream cliche electronic music that you hear everywhere here. It's like they only know of 5 electro songs, and they play them on repeat. I swear, I will never listen to Levels or Don't You Worry Child casually again after this trip.

Last night was pretty cool. Kal and I went out to Thomas Pub in Padre Chagas with these two Brazilian friends we made from Sao Paulo, which was a great time. Your typical Brazilian night out... packed bar with gorgeous ladies, good times with the friends, got home around 4 or 430. The guys we went out with are truly remarkable individuals. One, named Luca, is a lawyer here in Brasil, and we talked for a while about our passions in law, legal theory, and such. It was refreshing to have conversations about law again, made me look forward to LSJ in the spring actually. Very fun night for sure.

And now, just chillin in a beanbag chair, with no real plans today. I'll probably continue my endeavors into Game of Thrones again, God that book is good.

Praying for all you back home, hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day and such.

~ 2/16/13

2/11/13

The madness of Carnaval continues...

Saturday night was an unexpected blast. It started with us running off to see this parade that was going on down the street, which was more or less a group of 500+ commonly dressed Brazilians drinking beer and dancing behind a van with giant speakers strapped to it while a band played. From the outside, we weren't too impressed... until we decided to join the party! For a while it was just me and most of the girls from our group, but then we ran into Dallas and Kal who joined us in samba-ing down the street, lightly drinking and having a grand old time. Knock that one off the bucket list: dance in the streets during Carnaval- check.

Later that night, we went out to Padre Chagas, the rich district, with Mitch's cousin Bruno and his girlfriend Bianca. They are a great couple, and super nice people. It was a pretty chill night, we just made some extended conversation in Portuguese and had a solid time at the bar. We went back to their apartment where Bruno and I played some music where he was on the guitar and I was singing. That was an unforgettable experience, it brings a smile to my face to remember it.

Yesterday was incredible, for several reasons all revolving around the Tiesto concert.

Dallas, Rachael, and I took a bus out to Atlantida and got in around 830. From there, we just hung out around the town, got some food, and waited for the rest of our troop to arrive. What really impressed me is that 100% of our group decided to go to this show, even though none of us were obligated to. I don't know if it's a bandwagon thing, or whatever, but I'm cool with it, I'm really glad they realized how cool of an opportunity that was. I just know that when I saw on Facebook that Tiesto was coming to a sweet outdoor beach club during Carnaval, there was no way I was missing that.

I have mixed feelings about the show, even though overall it was a great experience. I'll start with the good: Tiesto was incredible, we got to be really close to him while he played, I made a couple cool Brazilian friends, most of the people we were there with (in our group) were a ton of fun to be around, and the women anywhere you looked were drop dead gorgeous. The bad: babysitting/ dealing with people in our group who get too drunk is a buzzkill (no pun intended), the whole group traveling dynamic is always a clusterfuck, and the most disappointing part of the night (for me): Brazilians don't know how to rave. Simply put. I couldn't believe it! We showed up, and literally every girl was dressed to impress, heels and all. Not like they were going to an awesome sweaty rave party like we do in the States. But they would just stand there, sip on their drinks casually, and TALK with their friends while the #2 DJ IN THE WORLD was playing a killer set. WHAT?! That, and Dallas and I were the only dudes wearing colored shorts and tanktops. It was like we dressed to the theme of the party but walked in to the wrong one, I was so confused. That being said, we still went hard and had a great time- American style.  And we found some Brazilians to party with us like that, which was great. Makes me miss that scene back in Seattle.. I had never been so oddly disappointed in a crowd like that before.

Notice, in each of the three pictures above, that you can notice a bunch of Brazilians NOT going hard. UGH

Anyway, we were up all night at this club, then took taxis to the beach to watch the sunrise. I hadn't seen a sun rise on the ocean since I was a boy in New Zealand, and it blew my mind. I had only seen the sunset over the Pacific Ocean from the West Coast of the US. It was easily one of the most therapeutic moments of my life, spiritual even. You can't just sit there, in complete silence, watching God conduct his symphony of the sunrise, without getting to some thinking... and it was exactly what I needed. I thought first about how I had only seen sunsets over the ocean, and how they are equally yet inversely just as breathtaking as the sunrises. Reminds you that the world keeps spinning, regardless of what you do while you're on it. Waves will always keep rolling in, the wind will always keep blowing, and the sun will always rise off the East Coast and set in the West... it was a beautiful moment. That got me to thinking about myself critically, what makes me tick, why I do what I do during the day, why I surround myself with the people I do and why I do/don't like them, etc.

*A fair warning- I'm about to rant about life, so if you're sensitive to that, skip to the end *

I always come to the same conclusion: I do life with the intention of maximizing every day, and to open doors to walk through in the future. This counts on many levels: spiritually, academically, socially, morally, athletically, physically, healthily. I choose to do what I do by asking myself how I can benefit from this, or how someone I care about can benefit from this. Shit, even a complete stranger. I always find myself asking "why not?" and "would I regret not doing this?" as reassurance. That is why I have stepped out of my comfort zone so many times in my life, in so many aspects... and why I have made it a primary goal of mine to be skilled and proficient in many different areas of life where many people only pride themselves with one or two life skills.

For example, one aspect of my personality that I am confident in is that I know I am socially gifted. I mean this in the sense that I have a lot of friends from many different walks of life, of different ages, who carry themselves with completely different personalities and moral values. Not many people have as diverse of a friend group as I do, and I don't mean that judgmentally; it's just a legitimate observation. So many people only surround themselves with people that remind them of... themselves. People with the same color skin, the same God, the same upbringing, the same passions or hobbies, etc. The way I see it, why are so many people like that? Why do so many people compartmentalize themselves, only make one type of friend, only let one influence drive them, and let themselves get so closed minded? Why does it seem like I'm one of the only people I know who likes to branch out, always participate in various activities, travel to foreign/previously unknown places, make new friends everywhere I go, spend time with and get to know wonderful girls, be open about my thoughts and feelings to people, be the leader in a group, and indulge in just about every random adventure that presents itself to me? If you have one life to live, why sit back and not realize your potential as a human being, or the potential of others?

I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR: I'm not saying this because I think highly of myself, or am putting myself above anyone else. I have my faults, just like anyone else, and I'll be the first to admit that. Rather, I am making a fair and unbiased observation about what makes me tick as a person in comparison to the thousands of other people I know who live their lives by different, more closed-minded philosophies. That doesn't make them wrong, but it leads me to question why I am different. Why I'm never bored, never scared of stepping out of my comfort zone, never alone unless I want to be... whereas I see a lot of people every day who close themselves off to the world, are too nervous/anxious to try anything risky, are constantly worried about what other people will think of them, or will judge a person before they get to know them on any kind of personal level.

While you're on this planet, you have so much at your fingertips any given day: countries to explore, cultures to appreciate, foods to eat, romances to enjoy, languages to learn, jobs to work, music to listen to, pleasures to indulge in, friends to be made... and only one life to live. Why not get the most you can out of this adventure we know as life? Why the fuck not.

That's just who I am: a guy that actually lives by carpe diem and believes that enriching yourself with friendships is one of the most valuable things you can possibly do in life.

If you have any feedback about that assertion I just made, I would really love to hear it and/or have a discussion with you about it, positive or negative. Email me at gtruschel@gmail.com or hit up on Facebook.

Getting to bed- watching the live footage of the Carnaval parades in Rio and it's completely blowing my mind. One of the most impressive visual spectacles on this Earth, definitely on my bucket list to see at some point in my life.

Last day of Carnaval tomorrow, vamos lá!

~2/11/13

2/9/13

The first night of Carnaval was pretty cool... not as epic as I was expecting by any means, but cool nonetheless. I think, actually, I know, it was because we were stuck in Porto Alegre, and all the locals who make this place as much fun as it is leave for beach towns and such during Carnaval. That being said, it was still culturally exciting, and I enjoyed myself.

We went to go watch the traditional parades at this complex slightly outside of town last night around 10, and stayed until around 1 before we left. It was an impressive set up, with this avenue going in between bleachers for about a quarter of a mile where the different samba schools would give their presentations they had worked for months on. They were very elaborately decorated and well choreographed, and it was definitely a visual spectacle. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Only downside to the night was we went to a club afterward as a big group, and not only was it severely lacking attractive women, it was full of gay dudes, and I've never felt like such a piece of meat. It was seriously awkward. Now don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a homophobe! I could care less if my friends are gay, it's whatever to me, do your own thing. But the second I start to get hit on by a dude, or multiple dudes, or get super gay looks... like any other straight guy, I'm gonna freak out a little bit. I had never been so uncomfortable in a club setting.

Had a good nightcap though with the homies. And today has been chillin, we're about to go out again soon to go check out some parades which should be cool!

Then tomorrow we leave for Atlantida to go see Tiesto at Maori Beach Club! I'm too ready. I am expecting greatness. Hope all is well in the cold/snowy/rainy US!

~ 2/9/13

2/8/13

I have to admit, I've definitely been getting lazier when it comes to taking pictures and writing this blog. It's not because I don't want to, just seems that there aren't enough hours in the day. And, I hate feeling like a tourist snapping a bunch of pictures left and right. That being said, I'll try to sum up what I've done the past few days and supplement it with the few pictures I've taken.

We went on a boat cruise of the city earlier this week, which was chillin. I just sat there in the same place on this boat, shades on, checking out the sights. Porto Alegre is a pretty interesting port city, with some nice upscale island living off in the bay. I could see myself getting a house there someday if I end up with a ton of money... haha.

That night, we went out to PretoZe again, and kinda got jipped out of paying a large cover after I had worked out a deal with a guy who worked there to get us in for free. That, and I swear there was something wrong with their caiparinhas. Maybe it was just me, but I don't know if I'm heading back there. It's whatever, I mean I still had fun, but there are better clubs and bars around.

The next day was rough in class. The routine has generally been, on nights we go out, to come back around 4-6 AM, wake up at 930 for class, then pass out for a while after. It works out just fine though, I still get a lot out of class and what not (don't worry mom). Might as well do it while I'm young...

Got a great dinner with Mitch at this pizza place the other night. Got a large, pretty dank pizza, two beers apiece, and a delicious dessert for a total of 40 reais each (the equivalent of $20 American)! Gotta love how cheap it is to live the high life here, I could get used to it. The dessert you see below is a passionfruit mousse... enough said. I'm addicted to maracuja flavored anything here. I'm yet to be disappointed by any fruits or vegetables, they're all ridiculously delicous.

Wednesday night was epic! Luis, Mari, Patrícia and I hung out for a bit at the beginning of the night, then they had to work early in the morning so we took them back to their places. Those girls are such sweethearts. Later, Luis and I went out to a hole in the wall bar, then to a club called Cafe de La Musique, an electro club where our homie Gui was DJ'ing. His stuff is great, check him out on Soundcloud-> LoPressure. I was impressed! We were there for a while, super nice venue, and hung out with some really cool Brazilians. If I had more time right now I'd go into more detail, but here are a few pictures from the night

Yesterday was basically spent recovering, aside from an excellent barbecue that one of our Brazilian academic staff hosted for us last evening, named Leticia. Her, her husband, Rafael, and Giuliano hosted us, and served us a seriously delicious typical Gaucho cuisine. I loved it, and if only I wasn't feeling sick, I would have been in heaven.

Gotta go now, heading to go celebrate the first night of Carnaval! I'm really looking forward to this weekend, should be incredible! Not to mention, I'm gonna go see DJ Tiesto in Atlántida on Sunday night at an outdoor beach club... way too excited!

Also, got to Skype Landon and my momma today. Super happy about that! Looking forward to catching up with other friends from back home!

Bottom line: still just loving life here in Brazil. Couldn't be happier

~2/8/13

2/4/12

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We just had a long weekend, and I didn't have access/ care to have access to my computer at the time. Let me just start out by saying that I just love being disconnected from the real world on some level or another. It is relieving not to be constantly carrying around my iPhone, or always checking my Facebook/email. It gives me time to enjoy the world I live in, in the moment I'm living it. I almost feel bad for the people on this trip who are still just as connected to their iPhones or social media sources. Not that it's a bad thing at all, or that I'm looking down on them, but I just feel that in order to get fully immersed in this new culture, you gotta cut the umbilical cord from home/parents/friends/social media. I have gotten so much out of carrying around a camera instead of a phone.

That being said, time to recap on the long weekend which seemed to even extend into tonight, Monday. I'm going to save a lot of the details for the sake of brevity, so if you have further questions, just ask.

So, Thursday night, I went on my first Brazilian date! A double date nonetheless, but it went great. My date, Patrícia, was just a sweetheart to hang out with again, and the other couple was great company as well. We went out to this great sushi place in the rich district, then after to a bar on the other side of town. Looking back on it, it went great. It is so much fun for me to get thrown into these situations where I am forced to speak Portuguese, especially for prolonged periods of time. Looking forward to another experience like that with that group, Brazilians are awesomely romantic and fun to say the least.

Friday morning, Dallas and I left to go to Torres, a beach town about 2 hours away by car, 3 by bus. It was so much bigger than expected, I loved it. Worked up a solid sunburn chillin on the beach with Dallas Friday. Ruby was there too, and we spent some time with her later that night and a little bit during the day too. For the most part, just had a great day staying on the beach, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand... haha. Here are some pictures of the city/beach. I took these the next day before a giant rainstorm, but I'll get to that story in a bit. That's just why the pictures are cloudy.

 Just imagine that, but blue skies. I've generally been pretty good about bringing a camera to the right instances, but this time I spaced. I enjoyed myself though, great day.

That night shit got weird though. There is a ceremony that they celebrate every year, that I really don't remember the name of. It's like a mix of African/Brazilian/Catholic rituals put into one ceremony to celebrate the sea goddess or something like that. All I know is that it was one of the most culturally impressive things I had ever seen. Look up Brazilian ritual February 2, maybe that can explain it better than I can. Plus, it was dark, and very hard to take pictures of. In a nutshell, imagine several hundred people watching a very particular, spiritual, and intense ritual conducted by about 12 people on the beach to a candlelit altar and the sea. I would be happy to explain in person if you have questions. All I know is that neither me or Dallas had been so confused in all our lives. And we totally just happened upon it; we thought it was a candlelight vigil or something at first.

Here you can kind of see the group crowded around the semi circle of religious actors, dressed in light blue and white, being led by a blue-dressed woman.

After we got sensory overload from this, Dallas and I dipped to go Bear Grylls it and find a place to camp. We hiked for about an hour down the beach, around a cliff, down another beach, then up a cliff. We hiked around up there, in the moonlight, on the edge of the water, with our uncomfortably heavy backpacks on. Was honestly one of the coolest moments of my life, I love that outdoorsy stuff. We made camp at this perfect location on the cliff, and enjoyed a great conversation until we passed out up there in the tent. Here are some pictures of our campsite taken the morning after when there was some light. I really, really enjoyed myself though. What an incredible experience.

 One of the pictures from the beginning of this entry is from the cliff as well, looking over the city of Torres from the South. That wasn't quite at the campsite, but it was close.

Saturday was pretty fun. Dallas and I roughed it for the first part of the day, got some coffee, hiked, lugged our luggage around, etc. We hung out in Torres for a while, and I caught up on Game of Thrones (the book), which I'm falling in love with. If you haven't gotten on your Game of Thrones game, get on it. We got hit by a massive random storm that afternoon, and stayed in a really cool family's restaurant while we waited out. They were very hospitable, and gave us free dessert and coffee while we waited. And took a few Reals off our bill. Que ótimo! But yeah, as Ollie from Family Guy would say, "it's raining sideways!"

We caught a bus to Xangri-la, where my new homie Luis was staying for the weekend with his family. The bus ride took a really long time, but the bus staff girl was really nice and fun to hang out with for a little while. The bus system is kind of fun to deal with here, it's remarkably easy to catch a reasonably cheap bus anywhere within an 8 hour drive. I might take one to Uruguay next month, we'll see.

While in Xangri-la, Luis introduced us to his really nice family. Dallas can't speak too much Portuguese, so I did my best to be a translator for him while Luis was mine. Funny dynamic, you'd have to have been there. There were a few young-middle-aged couples with kids there, and Luis's aunt. They were so hospitable and nice, and made us an amazing churrasa while we downed some Polars and Heinekens, getting ready to go out that night. I love Gaucho hospitality, reminds me of the South.

 Us before we went out, notice that we're tanner than the brasileiro! Jussayin. Actually though, there are tons of white people down here. That's another subject altogether, but yeah. Throwing that out there

The night was great, and got to be semi blurry for my man Dallas. Got some cool drinks in Capao de Canoa and Atlantida that night, and hung out with some cool people. Luis is becoming a fast friend. Truly exceptional guy who's got his head on straight, and he and I share a lot of life philosophies. Great night though, a lot like the one in Atlantida last weekend except we actually knew what to do this time around. We ended up staying out until about 530 am with this group we met, playing this drinking game until the wee hours of the morning. Excellent times.

I want one of these. Hate to seem like any type of alcoholic, but I think any college kid or beer lover can appreciate that giant dispenser. That would be dangerously popular in America, I fear.

Woke up the next day around 1, had a lunch with Luis' family, then headed back. Had a great convo with Luis about cultural/life differences and such, told him all about fraternities. Never realized how hard the concept of American fraternities is to explain to someone form another country, but I think he gets it/ maybe will make a cameo appearance at some point next year! So he says.

We watched the Super Bowl, streamed live here in Porto Alegre. It was pretty fun, even though no one other than us really appreciated it. Except for Luis, he came to watch it with us as I explained rules of the game to him. Anyway, I was really happy to see Ray Lewis get his title... don't you just love how sports can be romantic? A true athlete can agree. Last night was one of those moments for sure.

Today was a really good day. Refer back to my article on last Monday, and it was basically that. School, food with the boys, worked out with Mitch and Chris, made some dinner, hung out with the crew and drank some wine... now I'm just chillin' out. Having some alone time can be hard to come by when you live in a house with 18 other Americans. Taking advantage of it while it lasts.

Hope all is well back in the states! By the way, my little brother just got accepted to OSU! I'm very proud of him, but I'm still holding out to see if he gets in to UW... Liza, on the other hand, I'm just very excited to see where she chooses. She has some incredible opportunities ahead of her... if you're reading this, Liza, I'm counting on you to become successful billionaire so I could just travel and do life big. Love you two.
~ 2/4/13

1/31/13

Every day I feel myself getting more and more in the swing of things here in Brazil, and still no complaints.

Finally got a new camera again! Even though it was the equivalent of another $125 I wasn't planning on spending, it's definitely worth it to have these pictures. A necessary expense. And it was quite an adventure for me, actually. I think it was Tuesday that I went to go get it. I was able to navigate my way downtown from Cidade Baixa, and I came upon a bunch of stores down by the market. And by a bunch, I mean an absolutely ridiculous amount, on small streets just packed with people. After some clever and patient shopping, I was able to locate the cheapest decent Canon camera I could find. I'm pleased with my purchase, but you'd kinda need to be in my shoes to appreciate the search and strategy behind shopping here. Also bought two cell phones as a favor for the professors, got them programmed, etc. What made this so profound is that no one speaks English, and it forced me to continue my journey to fluent Portuguese. Gotta love it

That being said, here's a gem from the night my old camera got broken, now that I could retrieve it. Notice the dirty stache on Mitch... I have no idea who this guy is but it's before we made it to the club last week, and one of the last pictures that camera would ever snap. RIP Nikon.

Other than that, the past couple days we had our last two Portuguese classes at PUCRS (our university here), and they gave us a warm goodbye and certificates and everything. They were so nice and wonderful, it was a treat to have them send us off like that. Learned a lot from our teachers. If you are reading this, muito obrigado profesoras, foi um plazer.

Had a couple really fun nights out, the first one being Tuesday night. We went back to the place that serves excellent caiparinhas, and had a few as we celebrated Rachael's birthday. Later, we went to Woodoo, which was a good time as well.

Last night, we went to this Irish pub a short walk away called Shamrock, and I was very pleased to enjoy a couple great Guinesses that were served in the correct fashion, according to my granddad. We went there to meet up with our former teacher Barbie, the stone cold fox, Leticia, and Rafael. While we were there, we met our first other American, a very cool 50 year old guy hailing from Texas here in Porto Alegre for business. It was refreshing to meet a Southern gentleman down here, and we enjoyed a few beers together. He left for the states today, but God willing, I'll meet up with him for a beer in the future.

After that, Mitch, Kal and I went to Aline's house (who is Mitch's cousin Dora's good friend), where we were treated to a bunch of homemade caiparinhas by a lovely girl named Luciana. There were probably five dudes in total and about eight girls, just hanging out by the pool and in the kitchen, enjoying each other's company. It was a good time for sure. I love making new friends here, especially now that it's getting easier and less stressful to conversate. To my friends back home, I will gladly host a caiparinha night for you guys. They're delicious, strong, and taste like summer.

Had class in the park again this morning, and now we're off for a three day weekend. Me and Dallas are going on an adventure this weekend to Torres, a beach town about 3 hours away by bus. Just bringing some boardshorts, a tent, some beer and food, and our only plan is to rent surfboards and rough it on the beach. Too down, too excited! That being said, don't expect to hear from me the next few days, and don't worry. I will stay away from pyromaniac filled nightclubs.

Hope you all in Washington are enjoying the drizzle! It's 97 here right now, jussayin.

~ 1/31/13