Summer vacation in Brazil is called "ferias de verao" and , similar to the USA, summer vacation comes after fall, marking the end of a school year. The biggest difference with our summer vacation and "ferias" is the time of year. Summer in Brazil starts in December and ends in February, which means that Christmas and New Years can be spent on the beach, creating a completely different atmosphere to experience. My exchange to Brazil was timed perfectly to allow me the opportunity to experience "ferias" and freedom from school to travel all around the country. This post will be dedicated to my travels.
Foz do Iguaco, Parana; Paraguay; and Argentina
AFS Brasil offers several extra trips during exchange through a tour program called Belo Brasil. I picked this specific trip because of the opportunity to visit Paraguay and Argentina. Participating in this tour were other exchange students from the following countries: Thailand, Czech Republic, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Finland, and Japan. One week spent visiting all of these new places with people from all over the world really showed me the heart of AFS; the fact that one week spent with a stranger and ending up being friends, possibly for the rest of your life, is incredible.
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| Day 1: Good bye to my beautiful city Vitoria and hello to Parana |
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| My roommates for the trip: Shizuka(Japan) and Sandra(Germany) |
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| Day 2: We got to see all types of exotic animals in the park of birds. This is a Toucan. |
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| Cameras of exchange students= abused |
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| Iguassu Falls! This is the Brazilian side. |
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| And the Argentinian side. |
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| Churrascaria= all you can eat BBQ plus more |
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| Argentinian flag |
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| This is a point in Argentina where you can see all three countries(Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil) at the same time. |
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| The whole group at Itaipu Dam... this Dam is one of the seven wonders of the modern world, supplying 19% of the energy consumed by Brazil as well as 90% of the energy used by Paraguay. |
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| Paraguay's flag |
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| Aline(Germany) |
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| Paraguay |
Porto Seguro, Bahia
In Brazil it is completely normal to travel to the beach during summer vacation... Even if you already live 5 minutes away from one. This year my family and I went to the historical city of Porto Seguro in one of the most cultural states, Bahia. The eight hour car rides, there and back, made for excellent memories and I learned many new Brazilian nursery rhymes.
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| Ready to go |
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| At our resort |
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| Me and Bea make an awesome team at card games |
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| Beautiful Bahia |
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| A replica of one of the ships used by Cabral |
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| Shopping in Porto Seguro |
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| Family |
Sao Paulo and Minas Gerias
Sao Paulo is one of the most populated cities in the world, the most populated city in Brazil, and the capital of the state of Sao Paulo. As my family and I were on our way to visit my host sister in Minas Gerais, we passed through Sao Paulo to get in some tourism. This trip had a very special twist; after thirty years without contact, I got to meet my father's old host family, visit the house he lived in while he was an exchange student here, and visit his host city.
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| Tapioca |
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| My host dad and I playing in waterfalls in MG |
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| My dad's host sister |
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| My dad's host family |
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| Sao Paulo |
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| Sao Paulo cathedral |
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| 25th of March Street |
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| Mercadao is like a huge super market with lots of strange foods |
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| A lot of Brazilian fruits that I had never seen before. |
The end of "ferias"...
Up next, Carnaval
