O Paraiba do Sul

Boa tarde a todos! :)

I have been in Brazil for 12 days now and I have to say since my last post not much has changed. I am still trying hard to study Portuguese and while it is a pain at times, sometimes it is fun at the same time. After more than a week of me being VERY awkwardly silent and feeling really stupid during every lunch spent with my boyfriend's parents, I finally managed to speak more than 2 consecutive words of Portuguese. Though also very awkwardly, using my bit of Portuguese vocabulary, some Spanish and my hands and feet, but believe it or not, they understood what I was trying to say and we started a real conversation. A real success! :) So things are looking up. 

Plus this week I have discovered quite a few lovely Brazilian songs, that are a big help in my learning process and I am starting to really love the sound of Portuguese. It is a very beautiful language and I am really keen on learning it. 

Here is my current favorite song from Brazil. It is called "Alegria, Alegria" ("Joy, joy" in English) and sung by Caetano Veloso. He wrote it in 1967, when the Brazilian government was a military dictatorship, so the people have been going through a bit of a rough time. It's a really beautiful anthem of freedom and I instantly fell in love with it the moment I first heard it.

Another good thing: I got a bike. Yay! My boyfriend's aunt lent me hers as she didn't use it in 4 years. That's really awesome as we'll be able to go on bike tours to the neighbor town Penedo or to the Itatiaia National Park, where we can swim in a waterfall and cool down from the heat of the Brazilian sun. Plus I can take some nice photos there. So I am excited! :)

So far I feel really safe in Resende and like living here.  As mentioned in a previous post, it is a relatively small city in the country side of the state of Rio de Janeiro, thus there's not much violence happening and traffic is not so bad. Plus my better half takes really good care of me, hence tudo bem - everything is alright.

For now let me take you on a little photo walk along the river Paraiba do Sul! :)

A sunken boat at the river bank

If you cross the bridge, you get to the centre of town. It's called Campos Eliseos

Another bridge to the other side of town - this one is called Ponte Velha (old bridge in English)

Que linda!

The mountain in the back is the Pico da Agulhas Negras - Hope to be hiking there soon :)

There's a family of Capivara living along the river. The Brazilian readers will know what I am talking about, for those of you who don't: Capivaras are water pigs. They look a bit odd, kind of like a mix of a guinea pig and a hippopotamus. Really funny! And you find them all over South America, sometimes even in cities like Rio de Janeiro. Crazy! Unfortunately whenever I carry the camera with me, they seem to be hiding. But I will do my best to get a shot of them soon to share with you. 

Now I will go on a little run and then back to my studies. Next time I hope I can share some Capivara or monkey photos with you. :)

Um beijo,

Dani