by admin | Jul 2, 2015 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
Clink! My glass is well over half full
Sip. Ruminating in the past year
Set. Breathing in the possibilities
Laugh. Life is good
My 23rd year began with a best friend, a mimosa, and endless potential. I was standing in my kitchen in my own place- I had achieved my goal of living alone for years. I was completing my two degrees, and had several options for where to go after graduation. Standing amidst my achieved goals and gas station orange juice containers, I was lost.
Possibilities were uncertainties. Potential was an uncomfortable word. The future was a whirlwind of haphazard ideas, goals unwritten.
If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.
I was lost because of passion. I embraced my adrift ideas as I pulled back my bow and prepared to launch into the great unknown. There was more inside of me than what I was currently offering to the world, and it was brilliant.
If I’m never lost, how can I be found?
I rarely know where I’m going, but I know that I’m on the right path. I know that where I’ve been is beautiful, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the journey.
Year 23 is nowhere near finished, but why wait for a birthday to acknowledge a remarkable period?
by admin | Jun 29, 2015 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
How do I take my coffee?
Very Seriously.
Touring Newport
As far as living in different places around the globe goes, Rhode Island living is the closest feeling I’ve had to home. Rhode Islanders speak the same language, are used to similar weather patterns, and everything is so close together. Of course there’s no place like home, but this area will be my home soon enough.
How’d I get here?
I’ve asked myself this question so many times. In all reality, the two weeks leading up to my first day were such a whirlwind. I left Seabra, bused to Salvador then to Praia do Forte, then spent time in Salvador, came home, watched Shane walk to get his Doctor of Chiropractic, bought a car, drove across the country, visited family, found an apartment, moved in to it, and showed up to my first day of a ‘big kid job’. No easy feat.
I really love my job and the people I work with. The people make it, right? People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. And mine are all pretty great!
It’s only two hours
Seriously, everything is close. Our friends from Palmer are an hour away, my aunt and her family are less than two hours away, as is the Cape. New York is a hike at 3.5 hours, my friends in New Haven are just shy of two hours drive, Boston is an hour and a half by public transport, and Providence is only 30 mins. The beach is 15 mins by car, and Newport is a long 20 minutes to get to. Baltimore and DC are only 4-5 hours by train, and ski holidays in Vermont will be an easy 3-4 hour drive. I have friends out here already, and plenty of friends I have yet to meet.
I have airport options close by, too! Boston Logan is an hour and a half, and Providence is only 25 minutes.
“Regular”
Nothing here is too polarized. People are overall well educated, and hold popular opinions. The one thing people take quite seriously is their coffee. There’s a thing called coffee milk out here. It’s a syrup added to water or milk that adds a coffee flavor. People add it to ice cream, too! But when one orders an ice coffee, cream and sugar come standard. Most people will order it ‘Extra Extra’ which means extra cream extra sugar. If I want it plain, I have to ask for ‘no cream, no sugar’.
I do love it out here! I plan to do plenty of traveling around the northeast, so I’ll continue to update my blog as I go.
Peace and Love! xo
by Samantha Burmeister | Jun 1, 2015 | Sam's Thoughts
And mosquitos do too.
More satisfying than a bath in this country is the act of alternately ‘bathing’ in calamine lotion and OFF! spray.
The beauty of the tropics comes at a higher price than just spotty legs, though.
The town where it (most likely) all started.
Early last week I woke up achy and with a headache so deep that my eyes hurt. I went and got adjusted, downed a few bottles of water, and retired to a hammock for the afternoon. For the next two days I was achy and tired, and finally felt up to going to the gym for a light workout.
There is no shortage of stares for foreigners on this town, so I didn’t think much of it Thursday morning until I finished cardio and faced myself in the studio mirrors. When I was a kid I didn’t sweat when I was really hot, but I turned really red. This was NOT the same kind of flush. I was… spotty. Blotchy.
I was worried, so I went home, kept drinking water, and asked that Shane come home early for lunch.
“You don’t see this? I look like a leper! Everyone was staring at me!”
“Everyone always stares. I don’t even see anything, you’re probably just irritated from something.”
“Shane, it’s everywhere. My face, my legs, my palms…”
I felt fine enough, and kept sleeping and drinking. I was super tired. My eyes were still sore.
Friday we were planning to go to Shane’s boss’ to hike and hang out for the weekend, so I grabbed an antihistamine at the pharmacy on the way out of town thinking that if it was an allergy, I would be prepared. The rash had gotten worse; even Shane admitted it was odd.
I slept on the roller coaster bumpy bus ride- a feat, trust me. In Seabra, I had already done what anyone rational would do and googled my symptoms. Bad idea. By the time we arrived at Ian’s kitchen table, I had cycled through thinking I had hay fever, allergies, TB, worms, and cancer. The second Ian (Shane’s boss) saw me, he knew.
He looked at me and said, “You don’t look so hot. You know what that is, right? (Pause.) You have dengue.”
Well poop.
Staying strong
At the end of the day, I’m really proud of my body. With a little rest and water, the rash is almost gone and I feel fine. I’m already over the exhaustion and pain! I’ll be able to travel to the coast tomorrow night. (Bye, Seabra!) I could go for a walk today and watch the sunset without eye pain yesterday. How awesome is it that our bodies not only perform the same tasks every day, but have the power to beat down tropical diseases and stay immune to them for the rest of forever after one exposure?
Say what one may about vaccinations or drugs, my body is AMAZING on it’s own, and I think that’s pretty rad.
Can you see my spots?
The power that made the body heals the body.
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by admin | May 25, 2015 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
Where to start? It seems like life has gotten away from me as I’ve fallen into my Brazilian rhythm.
I came to a harsh realization the other day that I will be home in less than three weeks, and start work in less than a month. Where has the time gone!?
TL;DR: Somewhere in this lost time, I’ve lost touch with a few people, so I’ve had several people messaging me this week asking how Brazil is. How do I begin to answer that? Great! Hot. The people are wonderful. The buses make me nauseous. The food is amazing, and relatively healthy. Haven’t gotten Dengue yet. I kinda learned to surf!
Fun Fact: Shower Shock is a real thing. The water heaters are at the shower head, so to get a hot shower you have to turn on the heater. Even then, ‘hot’ is a relative term. But if we take a step back and think about putting an electrical appliance in every shower in the country, usually with live wires sticking out of it, you soon realize that wearing rubber flip flops does very little in preventing electrocution. see example here Other gringoes have been known to call them suicide showers. The trick is to a warm shower is to turn the water down to almost no pressure so that the heater can work at it’s own pace. How Brasileiro.
Longer version:
I promised Shane I’d spend time getting to know Seabra before deciding to travel. I spent my first few weeks there doing little things like going to the library to read children’s books to learn Portuguese, trying to teach an English class, going to the market to interact with people, etc. I enjoyed getting to know a few people such as our landlords, the people in my water aerobics class, and the people that Shane works with.
After those few weeks of only traveling into the national park on weekends, I decided it was time to head out on my own. I went to a city called Itacare for what I figured would be 3-6 days. I fell in love with the beaches, people, and food so quickly, that suddenly I had been there for over two weeks! I learned to surf, met incredible people, learned to cook, new dances, and did tons of hiking and swimming.
Shane was ready to have me back, so I headed back from paradise about a week and a half ago. We met in the national park and spent a weekend relaxing and doing some short hikes.
Then, we went back to Seabra. We were able to help a friend teach his English classes, and visit his family’s home. It was so great to meet a whole new group of people, and see the way that people who live outside of the city live. He also took us to a dance practice that is in preparation for the next holiday festival. It was a dance that lasted almost an hour! Can you imagine practicing that?
I’m quite ready to head back to the coast again. Sunday evening I went into the park and stayed in a hostel with friends, then spent the day on my own doing some hiking and reading by a river. I’ll head back to Seabra tonight.
I’ll be in Seabra until Friday, when we go visit his boss’ house again for the weekend next weekend. After that, I’ll head to the coast Monday on my own. Shane will work for the week and then come meet me, we’ll spend the weekend and a couple of days in Salvador, and then head home! Where has the time gone?
Of course, you’ve just scanned over the things I’ve done. I’m still waiting to take a step back to realize the things I’ve accomplished by taking a gap between school and starting to work.
But I suppose that will just have to wait.
by admin | May 15, 2015 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
Leaving Itacaré wasn’t easy, but it was time to go.
I’m a woman of my word, and when people asked when I’d leave, I said one of two things: “When my sunblock runs out”, or “The next time it rains”. Both ended up being true.
Itacaré still felt like it was calling to me in the pouring rain this morning, but I boarded my bus anyway, happy with the promise of another pousada waiting for me down the road in Lençóis.
R$40 a night in Lençóis got me a private room with a bathroom and mini fridge. Plus, any good pousada comes with a small balcony with a view, clean hammock and complimentary home cooked breakfast, right? I booked a shared room, but I guess this will suffice.
Fun and games to boot, my first bus left late, meaning I had to catch the later bus to here. This is a hiking community, so everyone was asleep by the time I got in at midnight, and there want anyone to meet me at the bus terminal. So, I began doing what any smart traveler would do in the pouring rain. Start wandering around looking for a place to stay. I remembered a gazebo from a few weeks ago if none of the hostels could take me, plus I slept some on the bus…
As my luck tends to have it, 4 men with machine guns (military or civil cops) showed up and offered me a ride. Wedged in the backseat with my backpack on my lap and their guns on theirs, we casually chatted about the rainy season and why traveling is necessary. They also woke up the owner of my hostel to let me in 🙂
I got here safely, and am back in the interior of Brazil for a few weeks until we head to the coast then home in June. Time is flying! I love Brazil, Portuguese, and beaches. I just can’t get enough.
Now, for some proper sleep… in my own room! What a treat!
This is my preferred bus sleeping position. I had the bus to myself for the first hour of travel today. There's about twice as much foot room as a coach passenger as there is on the average plane. Yet another win.
Bus to myself, pinkies up!
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by admin | Apr 30, 2015 | Destinations, Sam's Thoughts
There are some things I chose not to worry my parents with. Then sometimes I forget and worry them anyway.
Here's me in my own room. 12 beds, one window, two fans, R$25 a night. Win.
Want some examples? Sure you do.
I went to a town I’ve never been to before, then gave a stranger hundreds of reais upfront to teach me to surf for the next few days. He took me to a remote island alone on the first meeting.
A hostel in the capitol (now I sound like the hunger games!) Was broken into from the roof, the residents were all put in the bathrooms and robbed one night. Turns out several inmates escaped from the state prison last week.
A few friends and I rented a boat and went up a river to find a waterfall today. While we were there, it poured down rain for two hours and the tide came in.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!”
-famous last words
This post is mostly for shock value here’s what really happened:
I decided to do some independent traveling. I headed to the beach town of Itacaré to do surf and dance lessons. Rather than booking in advance, I got here and talked around and found a private surf teacher for about a third the price of the group lessons I found online. I got up on the first try and have two days of lessons and bigger waves in front if me!
I’m about 400km from the capitol, but the travel world is shaken by that one. Everyone at my current hostel is super relaxed because it’s an ‘everyone knows each other’ kind of town. We’re all fine, as are the travelers that were in the assaulted hostel.
We danced in the rain, played in the most beautiful and gentle waterfall, and lived in the moment rather than from behind a camera! We experienced the jungle canopy at it’s soppy finest, and the boat guide even took us on an extra little tour of the area afterwards.
See guys?
Strangers are only strange until you get to know them. I accept only kindness from friends; it’s been an amazing experience.
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