The Girl From....

Hey everyone!

I'm a day late posting this, eeek!  I was a tad busy the past little while.   You know how it is.  

So this week we are travelling to the lovely country of....

My wonderful friend Bruna was gracious enough to give us a tour of her town, Rio De Janeiro.  It's definitely one city I'd love to see and experience one day.  But until then I'll just day dream about it.  So sit back and grab a cup of tea/coffee...beer?  Whatever floats your boat. :D

1.  Tell us about yourself!

Well, hello everyone! My name is Bruna, but you can call me Bruni, Bru or Bruninha :) I love nicknames! I was born on November 14th, 1990, which makes me 20 years old :) I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I am a journalism student, finishing my second year (going to start my 4th semester in March). For now I work for a very small magazine as a reporter. I live together with my mom and brother (parents divorced, but dad lives near my place and he has a great friendship with my mom - I'm so blessed!) and we have an 8 y.o poodle called Yuki. I love him so much and he's my best friend! As for my personality, I consider myself a very kind and open-minded person. I am childish when I can be and mature when I have to be. I am down-to-earth and I also love to dream. I do not like parties, because I enjoy having conversations (I talk a lot :)) and you can't barely hear someone when the music is loud. I also hate drinks (though I used to drink a lot...), and I hate drunk people - they tend to come to me and say the worst lies is the whole world. Me as a friend, I am a great listener, though I don't have always the best advice - or even something to say - but my friends say that I have a nice hug and that somehow I understand what they mean. My friends mean the world to me because they've helped me get through a lot! I really take a friendship seriously and I try to make my friends happy because their happiness is mine as well.

Yuki!

2.  Can you tell us about your home town? 

A shot of Barra.

I was born in a city called Cabo Frio, about 2 hours away from Rio de Janeiro city (where I live now). Cabo Frio used to be a small town (not anymore though! It has even an international airport) and it's more like a vacation city - people in general keep a house there where they go on vacations, holidays, sometimes weekends...but of course people live there as well, I have my childhood friends that never moved from that region. Now I live in Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of the state with the same name. It's the second biggest city in Brazil (São Paulo is the first), with 6 million people living here. Totally crazy! As a consequence, you can always see lots of people on the street (and beach) all the time, and of course, the traffic is crazy. Anywhere you go, you take lots of time to get there. For example, I take nearly 50 minutes to get to college by bus, and somewhere in the world you can take this to cross a country. But what is the best about living here is the natural views such as lakes, mountains, and of course the beaches. I do find Copacabana beach the most beautiful. The Sugar Loaf mountain can be seen from there, which makes it even more cool! It's also the most crowded beach in Rio (even though it's huge), anytime of the day - I used to leave college at 10pm and pass by Copacabana beach...lot's of people walking! Apart from Copacabana

Shopping centre in Barra.

there are other beaches and places that are cool as well (people tend to forget it). I live in Barra da Tijuca, and this neighborhood is known by the number of malls we have here: there are 7 big malls and about 5 small malls. There is this specific one called Barra Shopping that I was told to be the biggest one in Latin America...not sure if it's true though! Barra Shopping has a connection with New York City Center (it has a copy of the Statue of Liberty), they are from the same owner, and most of people consider it as one, but in theory they are different...not sure if I made myself clear, haha! What I like to do around here is sit in a bar and drink/eat something while talking and laughing with friends. This is very common around here! There is this specific place near my home called Padoca, which is a bakery that suddenly became famous and now they put tables and chairs on the sidewalk and people fight for free tables, ha! I also live near lots of dance clubs, which are famous here as well. There are even dance clubs exclusively for Samba music! 

Faevela.

So, as every big city, Rio has its bad parts. Crime, violence, pollution, noise and poverty. You might've heard about the Favelas, which are irregular houses constructed on the hills, by people who came from the country in order to find a better job in the big city.  So people who live there are poor, and there are also drug dealers there. In recent times, there was no police there, no strict laws, which means that the dealers were leaders. It is a really sad reality in the Favelas because there are also honest people who just wish for a simple and safe life, working to survive, but they just can't go back to their houses and feel like they're at home, because fear also lived there. The last governor elected, Sérgio Cabral, decided that it's time to stop, so he started putting permanent Police unities in the Favelas in order to make them a better and safer place. The dealers, of course, were against it. They came to the street and started setting cars on fire, kidnapping and mugging, because they had to find another way to make money. It happened last November. So the government decided to fight against this mass crime, putting lots of cops and also the navy and army to invade the Favelas and arrest the crime chiefs. It was a very tough battle and unfortunately innocent people died, but many dealers were arrested and now the governor's goal is to install permanent Police unities in every Favela.  Perhaps many of you saw (or at least heard of) the movie "City of God", which was about the Favela with the same name. Indeed that favela was one of the most dangerous in Rio, but it was also the first one to host a permanent Police unit. My aunt's manicurist lives there and said that she lives another life now. She's no longer afraid to sleep or walk on the streets :)

(Note from Erin:  I loved "City of God" and highly recommend it to everyone.) 

3.  Rio is a huge melting pot for different cultures, correct? 

Barra.

Rio indeed has lots of different people. You can see blondes with blue eyes, skinny and with very pale skin and also black women with curly hair and curves. It's rare, but also Indians who sell products made by themselves like bracelets, purses and also small furniture! They sell it mostly on the beaches where there are also lots of tourists.  The blondes/caucasians may have ancestors traced back to Europe. But here in Rio the most common are the Africans or those who are a mix between African and Caucasian people. I have to say that there's a lot of prejudice with African people, EVEN THOUGH it's a crime. It's been rarer but this terrible behaviour still exists. 

4.  What are some holidays and traditions you celebrate in Brazil? 

Samba!!

I guess besides the classics like Christmas, Easter...It's Carnaval! It consists mainly of people [women] barely dressed and dancing Samba for hours in a row... They are divided into schools and every year they fight for a prize. There are different sections that receive good or bad feedback by the judges, like costumes, soundtrack, dance...the winner is the school who gets the best score. The school I cheer for is called Portela, which is known by a huge and beautiful eagle! Besides Carnaval, most of holidays here are celebrated just like in the rest of America and mostly in the rest of the world, except for... 

Portela

1) Easter...we don't really celebrate it. People buy chocolate and that's all.

2) Thanksgiving here exists, but we don't celebrate it AT ALL. I hear it's a really big deal over there!

3) Our Valentine's Day is celebrated on June 12 :) It is not a real holiday. People work and study, but couples do celebrate it! 

 

5.  How did you start penpalling and what does it mean to you?

I started penpalling when I was 11, with the girl that became my best friend. We grew up and changed to internet, but I've always liked writing, decorating papers, putting stamps on an envelope and of course, getting a letter in my mailbox. Then in 2009 a friend of mine introduced Interpals to me and I found it amazing to write letters to foreigners! It was so different from what I've experienced with the other girl, because people put much more effort into their letters and also it's so interesting to learn about other cultures...I have to confess that I've never been interested in it before I started penpalling. But the reason I love penpalling the most if because it was proved being possible to build TRUE friendship via mail. I consider my penpals my true friends and I do care for them! They make me happy with their letters and also they can make me happy when I'm sad just by writing a few words. There is some kind of magic around it that I just can't bring it to real words! :)

6.  Give us a sneak peek of your home and of Rio!

Below are a few photos Bruna was able to provide for us.  Thank you so much Bru!

Bruna's bedroom.

Bruna's living room.

Barra.

Cabo Frio.

Carnaval!

I would like to thank Bruna for letting us take a glimpse into life in Rio!  Next week we'll be traveling to the Northern Hemisphere...stay tuned!

~E

Road Trip 2010...Day 3 (continued)

If you missed Day 1 of my Road Trip story, click here.

If you missed Day 2 of my Road Trip story, click here.

We woke up to the sounds of a train passing us by on the morning of our 3rd day.  It was beautiful out...I mean, how often do you look out your window and see a stunning view of the mountains?  I was so glad that we had opted for a hostel to stay overnight...I felt refreshed, plus showers are always a bonus.

We packed up our things and began exploring the town again.  The previous night, as we were checking out the bookstore, I had found a little outdoor kiosk that sells wooden earrings and jewelery.  I love wood earrings, because for some odd reason my skin hates any metals.  I get the itchiest rash.  So, wood earrings I am a huge fan of. 

Fun Fact #11:  Always have cash on hand.  I always forget. 

I was so relieved that the kiosk was still open.  I was planning to pick up a few goodies the previous night, but sadly only had my debit.  It never occurs to me to keep a $20 in my purse or wherever.  So, I nabbed a couple pairs of these babies.

(Psst...this photo was taken after we came back from vacation, as you can tell by the blue hair ;)

Feeling more than content, we decided to leave Canmore.  I plan on going back there this summer.  Hell, I would retire there if I could.  It's such a gorgeous little town, I regret not taking any photos while we were driving through it.  Next time... 

We made the mistake of wanting to go to Banff, which is basically known as THE PLACE to go when you're in the Rockies.  Bad idea.  Really, really bad idea.  Maybe in the winter it's a precious little winter wonderland, but in the summer it's hell on earth.  It's so touristy that I wanted to gag.  There was no parking, the streets were filled with tourists, and the whole town is cheesy as hell.  There's major restaurant chains and stores that were built to look like log cabins/mountain chalets on the exterior.  When I think of having a dinner date in the mountains, I don't think of going to Chili's or Smitty's.  That really drew me away from wanting to check out the town more.  So, nuts to Banff.  We headed out.

 Fun Fact #12:  When road tripping, allow yourself to get lost.

I got a bit lost trying to find my way back to Highway 93, and we ended up seeing a sign for a place called Lake Minnewanka...being the curious folks we are, Brendan and I decided to head in that direction.  

How pristine is this?  This was stunningly beautiful.  This is what I had in mind when I said that I wanted to take a drive through the mountains.  The mountain water was so clear and cold in the lake, just like what you'd expect.

Does this landscape look familiar at all?  If  you're an internet junkie like me, you probably have seen the photo of the couple with the squirrel that suddenly popped up in the foreground of their picture (click here to see it)...Well, this is where it was taken.  Ain't it purdy?

I decided that I wanted to wade around in the water for a bit.  The water was so bone-chillingly cold (as you can see by my reaction in the photos), but at the same time very relieving.  Late July is always so hot out and this was the perfect place to spend the afternoon...for a bit at least.

We probably could've stayed there for hours, but we had other places to check out and a limited amount of time, so we finally left.

Our next destination would take us a few hours to reach.  We were now driving down a section of highway known as the "Icefields Parkway."  I veered off the main road for a little bit and opted to instead take a secondary highway through the mountains.  The landscape was beautiful, and at one point we drove past what looked like the remnants of a forest fire.  In a way, it broke my heart slightly...what if there was a huge fire one day that took out a huge chunk of this beautiful scenery?

After a couple hours, we had finally reached our next destination...Lake Louise.

Fun Fact #13: Frame your photos carefully to remove pesky strangers.

You can't tell by these photos, but this place was packed with sight seers and kayakers.  I strategically framed my photos so you can't see them.  Clever, huh?

The water was so incredibly clear.  There's a hotel on the shores of Lake Louise, and one day I'd love to stay over-night there.  (If Brendan is reading this...Honeymoon idea?? *wink wink nudge nudge*)

Again, this is somewhere I could spend forever just staring at, but we headed out.  We still needed to be in Jasper by nightfall, and we had miles to go before we could sleep.

Fun Fact #14:  It's almost impossible to really want to drive fast through the mountains...usually.

We still had a ways to go, but I didn't want to speed at all.  The temptation was there...I drive a Mustang and that car begs me to go fast, but I wanted to savor in all the scenery.  Driving through the mountains can be a bit intimidating as well.  There was one point that the road suddenly twisted and went up the side of a mountain.  It scared the crap out of me.  There were no guard rails, and my ears were popping from the altitude change.  I didn't dare look out the passenger side window, as I knew it was a straight drop.  There's some sections of Highway 93 that are completely closed off in the winter, and this was one of them. 

A little further down this stretch of highway we had made it to our next major pit-stop...the Columbia Icefields.

It's pretty amazing.  And it's also a testament to global warming...on the path leading to the glacier, there's markers indicating where the edge of the glacier reached and what year that was.  Let's just say it receded a huge amount during the 20th century.  Sigh.  (Damn you back combing and hairspray.)

Fun Fact #15:  High altitudes + excessive exercise = potential for passing out.

The trail leading to the Icefield was extremely vertical and extremely tiring.  I had to take a few breaks in order to catch my breath.  My head was swimming and I started to get paranoid that I was going to suddenly fall face first and not get back up...and then I saw a group of old people whiz right past me.  Damn whippersnappers.  I'll show them.

In the photo below, you can see the path leading up to the glacier (left), and the path leading back down to the parking lot (right.)

FINALLY!  We had reached the top.  It was hilly with chunks of ice and somewhat hard to walk on, but it was pretty damn cool.  There's actually a vehicle that takes you right out onto the glacier, but we had just missed the ride.  Nuts.  You aren't allowed to walk directly on the glacier either.  About 10 years ago a little boy made that mistake and tragically died when he fell into a crack in the ice.  

We did a walk around, then hit the road again.  Further down the highway the landscape changed yet again...it went from endless trees to almost meadow-esque.  There were a few rivers and streams running through the flatland.  We pulled over the car and decided to take a walk around it.

We're guessing that this has something to do with the Athabasca River, possibly, maybe?  We're not too sure.  

Again, we hopped back in the car and were off to our final destination...Jasper.  It took around 2 hours to get there, but we finally made it before the sun set.  We opted to camp just south of the town.  The camping fee was $30, and as we were driving to our site I noticed quite a few signs up warning about bear encounters in the area.  Oh great.  Thanks for that.  I really felt safe sleeping outdoors now.  

After a few "Hostel Bear" jokes, we made our tent and once again explored.  We could hear a river running through the trees, and found another section of the Athabasca River.  

This was by far the prettiest camp we had stayed in...keep in mind we had only slept outdoors one other time before this. 

On the way back to our campsite, we came across some elk roaming through the grounds.  Everyone was quietly snapping shots of them as they grazed.  I think this is the first time I had been up close to an elk.  I'm from the country and we've had deer and moose in our backyard, but never elk.  You can see on the right photo there's a red mark on the elk's leg.  I'm not sure what that is.  At first I thought it was maybe a tracking thing, but then my friend who saw these photos after thought maybe it was a paintball mark.  I sure hope not.

Fun Fact #16:  Trips to the bathroom outdoors is always an experience.

Just before we hit the hay I decided to take one last potty break.  It was getting dark and I thought, well, I'm a big girl, I can walk down there myself.

Yeah, right.

I went half way down the path when I came across more elk, this time a bull, munching on grass along the path.  I saw his antlers, freaked a little bit and went to grab Brendan.  Not like he could do anything about it, but still.  Moral support, right?  Heh, heh....ha... :(

That night I had a hard time staying asleep.  Every little noise made me nervous.  Maybe there was a bear lurking about?  Who knows.  Can you tell I'm an inexperienced camper?  Oye.

The next morning we rose bright and (somewhat) early, with the sun shining through the trees onto our sleepy little heads.  We packed up, ate breakfast in Jasper, and headed out home.

As for the 4th day of our trip, it was mainly just driving back to Edmonton, which is roughly a 4 hour drive.  We stopped by Maligne Canyon just east of Jasper, but I neglected to take photos that time.  Sorry folks.  

And that was our Road Trip.   In a way I wish I would've taken a few more days to really check out the different sights and such, but I can't really complain.  We had an amazing time, lots of memories were made, good times had.  I'm hoping this summer we can take another trip.  Maybe to the west coast or something, who knows.

Fun Fact #17:  Road Trips are awesome.  Try it.  Soon. 

Later gators,

~E 

Road Trip 2010...Day 2 (continued)

If you missed Day 1 of my Road Trip story, click here.

Click on images to enlarge.

The first night of our road trip was something I will never forget...not visually so much, but through sound.  We were camping, all nestled in our little tent, when a major storm rolled through.  If you recall I mentioned that Drumheller is situated inside a canyon.  The sounds of the thunder echoing against the canyon walls seemed to go on forever, it was amazing and very eerie in a way.  The wind, on the other hand, was little to be desired...I thought we were going to blow away.  Kinda scary.

Fun Fact #5:  Erin's bladder hates her (sometimes.)

The morning we woke up to beautiful sunshine, and I woke up to a bladder infection.  SURPRISE!  Just what I needed on this road trip.  You see, I needed to use the potty in the night, however the howling wind and thunder deterred me from wanting to walk alone to the public washrooms.  Plus the thought of walking there by myself in the dark freaked me out.  I expect the worse...potential kidnapper?  Freaky animal?  Gross unclean bathroom?  So, I paid the price.  The only medi-centre in town wasn't open until 1 pm, so Brendan and I decided to check out some of the sights we came to see...me with a bottle of cranberry juice in hand. 

Our first destination was the Suspension Bridge located just east of town, in a little hamlet called Rosedale.  The feeling of walking across it was unnerving slightly...especially when random kids decided to jump or run.  You feel like you're going to fall.  And seeing a river flowing directly underfoot doesn't help either.  Still, 'twas nifty.

The whole landscape looked as close to desert-like as I've ever seen in my life.  On the other side of the bridge was hills, and supposedly beyond were abandon coal mines.  We didn't venture too far though, as I wasn't feeling the greatest.

Fun Fact #6:  The "Badlands" area of Alberta has some of the most incredible scenery EVER.

Next up we went a little further east to the Hoodoos, which are an incredible natural phenomenon.  Whenever I think of Drumheller, I think of this landmark.  I'm not sure where else in the world hoodoos are, but if you get a chance to check them out, GO.  What's unique about this place is that you're able to walk amongst the hoodoos and see how the sand formed these structures.  The first time I ever saw these were on a school trip when I was 9 or so.  I can't wait to show Ben the Hoodoos!

I wanted to stay longer, but the sun was blazing hot and I desperately needed shade.  Back to the Mustang and the miracle of air conditioning.

On the way back to Drumheller, we came across a landmark in Rosedale we had somehow missed during the first drive through...a huge miner "statue".  As I've mentioned before I love campy roadside attractions, so I pulled over for some photos.

There was also a giant saw statue.  Brendan thought it'd make a great/saucy prop for a picture.  HA!  Tool indeed. ;)

This sign was located by these attractions.  I love old, worn out signs.  They have so much character...I wonder how many eyes have read these words.

After that bit of fun, we went back to Drumheller and to the medi-center.  Forty-five minutes later I got my antibiotics and we were back on the road.  Bye bye Badlands! (sidenote:  the bladder infection was gone in a couple days.  Hooray!)

We headed west down the highway, farmer's fields stretching as far as the eye can see.  Keep your eye out though, as  you may drive past yet another amazing landmark, Horseshoe Canyon.  

Fun Fact #7: The best landmarks are off the beaten path.  Keep your eyes peeled.

Horseshoe Canyon was the greenest I've ever seen.  Again, I came here as a child, and I remember swarms of tourists being led down the paths into the bottom of the canyon.  Nowadays it looks like they don't allow this anymore.  I've heard it has something to do with rattle snakes.  So, that kinda blows.  Still, it was breathtaking just being able to see the landscape.

Ain't it purdy?  Thought so.  They also provide helicopter rides over the canyon...we didn't go, but maybe next time.  Could you imagine the photos you could take?

We hopped back into the car and were on our merry way.  Again we were greeted with endless fields of yellow canola on all sides of the road.  I never really understood what people meant by "endless prairie sky" around here, until that day.  The blue sky goes on forever.  I savoured in it.

Fun Fact #8:  THE CUTEST skunk is in Alberta.  Don't argue it.

Yet another roadside attraction was on our list...this one in Beiseker, about 2-ish hours west of Drumheller.  You see, when Brendan and I planned out this trip, we researched were there would be interesting little pit-stops we could partake in.  Seeing as this one was roughly on our route, we both somewhat premeditated going there.

 Damn.  I wish Squirt was available in plush form.  Oh, almost forgot...

Fun Fact #9:  Beiseker Campgrounds has THE CLEANEST public washroom ever known to man.

I'm not even kidding.  They are so quaint!  I was surprised.  The caretakers of the property put in thrifted flower vases, rugs, a couple stools...I wanted to take a photo, but with my luck a mom and her kid walked in and were taking forever in the bathroom.  I really didn't want to appear creepy.  Heh, heh... :(

We left, and headed to Airdrie, which is just north of Calgary.  I needed gas, as well Krispy Kreme donuts.  You see, not many places in Alberta sells them.  When I was a camera(wo)man a few years ago travelling all over this province, I came to discover that a gas station in Airdrie sold these little greasy delights.  As a joke with Baby Daddy and his friends I'd always come home with a huge box of Krispy Kremes.  I could eat one without wanting to puke.  So, out of curiosity I decided to gas up at that particular station.  Sadly, the jerk owners had removed them.  He actually looked at me disgusted when I asked if he still sold them.

"Those things?"  he exclaimed.  "No good.  Very unhealthy."

"Thanks," I replied, as I walked past the gas station sandwiches.  "Unhealthy, alright."

I gassed up, looked at our map, and we hit the road again.  I wanted to bypass Calgary all together.  Their major artery, Deerfoot Trail, is always hell on earth turned parking lot, and the day was starting to get late.  We just wanted to put up our tent and sleep.

The further west of Calgary you go, the more foothill start to pop up.  Have I mentioned how much I love the changing landscape?  Fields to foothills.  I could see myself possibly living in this part of the world.

Fun Fact #10: Refer to Fun Fact #7. 

I continued driving down Highway 1x when I noticed an old church off the road.  At first I drove past, but then was overtaken with a feeling of curiosity.  I wanted to explore it.  Something spoke to me.  So I turned the car around and we decided to check it out for ourselves.

 We had stumbled upon an historic landmark.  It was quite charming.  This little church nestled in the foothills on the banks of Ghost Lake...I felt so at peace there.  I said to Brendan this is where I want to get married.  We'll see.

We explored the land further, and found what looked like a tomb, dedicated to past priests who lived and died in the area.  I couldn't help but look around and feel a bit jealous.  Just imagine, living at the turn of the century in beautiful landscape like this.  No cars whizzing past, no garbage littering the ditches.  Wow.

We finally left.  I'm sure I'll come back though...I look at these photos at least once a day.

Foothills began to give way to mountains.

After a couple more hours we had finally reached our destination for the night, the city of Canmore.  If you ever get the chance to go through the Rockies, skip Banff.  Fuck Banff.  There's waaay too many tourists.  Stay in Canmore.  It's gorgeous.

Initially we were going to camp, but in all honesty I wanted a real bed.  And a shower.  So we opted for a hostel.  "Hostel Bear" to be exact.  Get it?  "Hostel", not "Hostile"?  Ahhh...bad humor.  Anywho, $80 bought us a whole suite with a fire place, no other travelers were allowed in.  It was great.  However, what wasn't great was the fact that this hostel is right beside the railway tracks...that sucked a bit.  But I digress...

Brendan and I are bookworm folks, so our first stop while exploring Canmore was the used bookstore.  I made a haul with language books (I love learning languages): 2 Polish books, a Nepalese book, and a Thai book.  Pretty stoked.

We finished off our adventures with sushi and headed off into dreamland.  My dreams involved trains.  I wonder why...

I'll post photos with the third day of our trip tomorrow.  

Ciao!

~E