Part(1)ing Thoughts: Brazil

• I may have mentioned this before, but just to recap: I LOVE LOVE LOVE Brazil!!!
• I´ll be heading back for Carnaval in February, but I wanted to get down some of my feelings on Brazil thusfar:
• I think everyone should visit Brazil at least once in their lives.
• Brazilians are AMAZING. So warm, so friendly, so kind, and happy and FUN!
• Brazilian Portugeuse is gorgeous. It sounds like singing. The language is literally spoken melodically, which is lovely. But it´s hard to understand, and learn, and read. A "d" is pronounced like a "j"... sometimes. A "t" is pronounced like a "ch"... sometimes. An "r" is pronounced like an "h"... sometimes. Other times it´s rolled, or it can also be pronounced like an English "r"... You get the point.
• Brazilians love to dance. And BOY, can they dance!!! I have never seen so many men and women with so much rhythm in my life! Samba is huge there, and it´s SO MUCH FUN!!! I picked it up quite easliy, and spent many a night dancing and delighting until the wee hours.
• Brazil is HUMONGOUS. It takes ages to get around, and there´s so much to see! So much variety, so much beauty, so much nature, so many options!
• The Amazon is inconceivably massive, and has loads of bugs. I left covered in bites of all sizes, shapes, and varieties. It´s pretty gross. Avoid if squeamish.
• There are dolphins in the Amazon River and it´s tributaries!!! Grey ones and big pink ones! They´re so cute, and so playful!
• There´s no such thing as a "Brazilian look". The people here are so mixed, and it´s gorgeous. But I did find that the stereotype of bootyliciousness is warranted, for the most part. And the women here love themselves. It´s such a healthy way to be. No ridiculous eating disorders or crazy gym freaks. Just women comfortabe in their natural shapes. The rest of the world really should learn from them.
• People sleep in hammocks all the time. They´re really fun to sleep in! The secret is to lie diagonally. Ta da!
• Traditional Brazilian breakfast (which most of the hostels provide for free) consists of rolls with cheese and ham, fresh fruit, coffee, fruit juice, and cake. Cake for breakfast! How fabulous!
• Brazilians eat a lot of meat. A lot. And it´s TASTY. And cheap. I loved the food in Brazil.
• Brazilians will speak to you even if you tell them you don´t speak the language, and don´t understand them. They´ll continue speaking to you, making huge efforts to explain what they mean. Unfortunately, this explanation is also in Portuguese. :) But they smile a lot, and gesticulate, and even if you have no idea what´s going on, you still end up laughing together at the end.
• Brazil is an amazing, amazing country. I feel so blessed to have spent 6 weeks there. I am SO EXCITED to go back in a few months!!! For the Carnaval, no less!!! It´s going to be BRILLIANT!!!

Love, love, love until next time! xox