Hey Blog!
I’ve been having some issues with the Wix platform, so I wrote a huge blog about the Amazon (twice) and it ended up getting deleted both times. So, since I haven’t found the motivation yet to do it a third time, I am going to list some things that I’ve been up to instead- in no particular order!
Yesterday was a full day for me!
To start, I went to the Rio Sul mall to go graduation dress shopping with Tessa! I was so excited because I ended up getting my dress from Farm Rio- an authentic woman owned Brazilian store that is known for their cultural patterns and unique pieces (full of color). We graduate from IBEA in 2 weeks which is absolutely wild, and I’m not sure how to feel about that. It doesn’t really feel like IBEA will soon not be an active part of my life, but that will probably set in when I go back to USC. :( Crazy stuff- it will be a sad but exciting day when we graduate
After that, I had a fun girls night with two of my friends! As a birthday present to me, they bought us tickets to see the symphony orchestra at the famous Municipal Theatre of Rio! To start the night, we went on a very well known tram ride in Centro, and rode that line for about 50 minutes.
We then got dinner at a cute restaurant and went to the theater! They decorated for Christmas which was fun to see, and it definitely got us in the spirit.
Today I went to “Feria de Gloria” which is a huge Sunday market really close to where I live (about a 10 minute walk). They had everything that you could possibly imagine, ranging from every type of food, to art, to jewelry, to clothes, to animals (dogs and fish for sale!). The scene was really hectic, so many people going in so many directions. I ended up buying a tapioca wrap with sausage, onions, cheese, tomatoes, basil, and spices. It was made fresh right in front of me, and it was super yummy! I also split a “pastel de carne” with my friend, and got to taste a couple other things.
The weather has been kind of weird lately. I was expecting it to be really hot by now and “full on summer”, but it’s been a little chilly, rainy and cloudy randomly. Not sure what is going on, but I’m ok with it most days because I’m missing fall and winter.
On a random Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, my friend organized a little cooking night for everyone! As I've said before, our apartment building has one communal kitchen, so we all were assigned to cook different things at the same time! We made it a big family dinner, and everyone who was there cooking got a huge meal to eat with lots of things to try. I was assigned to make Brigadeiro's with my friend Torben!
On another note: I turned 21 in Brazil a few weeks ago! It was my first birthday spent away from my family which was sad, but I am so grateful for my friends here who made the day special!! It rained my entire birthday, but we ended up doing a run in the rain, then swam in the pool at my apartment, got brunch at a cute restaurant, dinner at my favorite poke bowl restaurant, and then we went out for some drinks and a girls night after.
Before this, it was Halloween in Brazil! I had no clue what to expect, and honestly I didn’t think that anything was going to happen for Halloween here, but I was wrong! My apartment building threw everyone a big party, and there were a lot of decorations put up in grocery stores, school, and my apartment which was funny to me.
American girls dressed as princesses!
Another fun place that I discovered with friends was “O Centro Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas”! This is a huge market stall that comes alive at night. There’s bands, restaurants, arts and colors everywhere, and it was originally made as a safe space for Northeast cultural representation in Brazil. It feels a little bit like you’re walking through a carnival or a fair. It was a really cool experience and I definitely recommend it! We got to dance for a long time and split a lot of Brazilian appetizers.
Last weekend I finally got the opportunity to visit Barra da Tijuca. Four members of my cohort share an apartment there, so I saw their home, went to the beach, and then did a pizza movie night with everyone at their place! This was just an overall pure day hanging out with the cohort, soaking up one of our last weekends together. The day was super refreshing and I LOVED that area! It was so clean, safe, and welcoming. The drive there was beautiful too, and you get a completely new view of mountains and beach there.
As our semester wraps up, so does consulting. This project was a little shorter than other semesters because we started late, but we still managed to complete our scope and I’m proud of what we ended up with. I feel like the motivation levels for our consulting projects were a little lower than usual (probably just senioritis), so we’re glad to be finishing up. This past week, my team printed off all of our slides and put them in order so we could visually see (on paper) how everything was looking. This was a helpful tip we got from our USC consulting professor (Mr. Messner!!) as it helps you look at all the slides clearer, and recognize inconsistencies. We made edits, added a few more slides, and then did a mock presentation a couple days later. We got really good feedback and we’re feeling prepared for the big presentation in a week and a half!
Here's an example of what I mean:
Just a few of our slides!
A sign at our school :,)
Tomorrow I will wake up early to do my beach workout with friends and then breakfast at Zona Sul after! This week will be busy with school wrapping up soon, but I am doing my best to focus more on enjoying Brazil than getting too caught up/stressed with school. Also, I'm proud of myself because I've cooked more meals lately in the communal kitchen! It honestly takes so much time and its a little disorganized when you share a kitchen with 400 other people, but I eat better when I make things myself, so I've been forcing myself to cook at least once a week haha!
Thanks for catching up on my life, I appreciate you for reading!
Love,
Brigitte <3
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