On the Farm

PUC organized a day trip for the international kids last Saturday, to a hotel that's located on a huge farm in Barra do Piraí, which is in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state. It had lots of varied activities to keep us occupied, from hiking and horseback riding to ziplining and lounging by the pool. It was a really fun day - the perfect chance to just relax and get to know all the exchange kids a little better.

the hotel

Soon after we got there, all of us went on a hike throughout the land surrounding the hotel. It's a very mountainous area, so there were lots of excellent photo ops. The more I travel around this area, the more I realize just how mountainous it is. I had no idea Brazil had so many mountains, but there have been mountains in almost every place I've visited.

made it to the top of the climb!

in an area full of cool-looking rocks

Just as we were all dying for a drink of water, a man from the hotel appeared, leading a donkey that brought us drinking water and life jackets. Excellent timing. And why life jackets? Because we were about to cross a small lake on the most rickety "boat" ever constructed. We made it to the other side, but only barely. Of course, when we were in the middle all the guys decided it was the perfect opportunity for a water fight, which meant that everyone was soaked by the time we made it to solid ground. Nothing like being soaked in nasty lake water. Boys will be obnoxious boys, no matter what country they're from.

I think everyone was relieved to be on solid ground again!

Back at the hotel area, there was a leisure area set up with a pool, obstacle course suspended over water, and a zipline. I thought the zipline looked fun, so I decided to try it. I wasn't convinced the safety measures were quite on par with US ones, but I figured the worst that would happen to me would be that the line would snap in the middle of the lake, and I'd fall in the water - no big deal. Wrong. At the far end of the zipline, the line dipped low over the water, and the zipliner was supposed to be slowed by the water to coast to a stop near the landing area. For whatever unknown reason, the water didn't slow me down nearly enough, and I crashed almost full-speed into the wooden landing area. Ow. I seem to have a real knack for getting injured here in Brazil. As soon as they helped me out of the water, all the attendents clustered around me - "You're hurt! You're hurt! Oh no!" I wasn't in that much pain, so it really freaked me out that they were so worried. The nurse whisked me away to patch me up, as I realized that I had a big scratch across my back and another long scratch down my arm (which later developed some wonderfully colorful bruises). I was bleeding, and I all I could think of was my high school friend who, after getting pushed into a stream and cutting his knee, got horrifically sick from the bacteria in the water, and had to have IVs and everything. I didn't expect this lake water to be any better, especially since there were lots of farm animals around, which further degraded its purity. Though the nurse was very nice and attentive, all I received in the way of first aid was ice for my back and some antibiotic spray on my scratches - not exactly reassuring. I turned out to be perfectly fine, but I'm pretty sure this would never fly in the United States. The hotel would be too afraid of lawsuits. The landing area would have to be far more safe - or at the very least come equipped with padded cushions covering the hard, wooden areas! Yay for substandard Brazilian safety measures... Ah well, it was fun before I landed, at least!

right before I crashed...

lunching with friends from Portugal, the US, and Sweden

with another Portuguese friend, wearing almost-twin kangas

Kangas are about the closest approximation to any sort of national, unique cultural dress that exists in Brazil. As is fitting, kangas are worn on the beach (or by the pool). They actually serve a double purpose. Kangas are made of very lightweight material (I can see through mine if I hold it over my eyes), and they are used as the Brazilian version of a beach towel. They dry quickly, so in addition to be used as a towel, they make for a convenient beach cover-up (one crosses the kanga over oneself as though wrapping up in a towel, and then ties two ends around one's neck to make it into a sort of dress). I quite like the style - it's comfortable and lightweight. Plus, I love all the bright colors that kangas come in!