Campinas – Danny’s farewell.

I arrived back in Campinas after a very long bus journey. I think it was about 24hours in total and I travelled on 4 different buses. The walk from the bus station to Paulo and Lorena’s house was one of the fastest I have ever done. I think it was due to the looks I was getting from various peoples and the questions I would be asked along the way. I think one guy asked me for money and when I said I didn’t understand him he gave me a very angry look. He followed me for about 100m, but I think his friend called him back.
It was great to be back in familiar surroundings. The boys were happy to see me and it was great to be able to spend time with Danny before he was to return to Chile. He had been here learning Portuguese, as he wants to study Medicine at University and to be able to do that in Brazil, you need to be proficient in Portuguese. He was returning to Chile to sit an Examination in both written and spoken Portuguese. (Post writing: from what I hear he went quite well). I think it will be sad to see him go, as he has been a companion for my time here in Brazil. We have talked most nights until late, as we have almost always slept in the same room, hung out, spoken about things, even the differences he notices with the culture of Brazil and how it varies from Chile. At first I thought that they were very similar, but as time goes by, I have noticed the differences. Honestly, I think some here can be very two faced, they say one thing, while thinking and doing another, and they can turn on you in the blink of an eye. However, I think that is similar to people in the rest of this world… human nature and not God nature!
We had a “Goodbye Party” for Daniel, were most of the family came to eat and drink and spend time with him before his departure. Something that I find a little embarrassing here is that everyone gets a chance to say some positive and negative thoughts about the person leaving. I am not sure why you would say bad things at someone’s going away party, but you do. Basically everyone spoke about how they had noticed some changes in Daniel from when he first arrived in Brazil, how he had matured in his thoughts and actions. I just know that I will miss our times of talking and discussing various issues from family to love lives to what we would do when I visit him in Chile. I know that I had difficulties understanding him at the start of my time in Brazil but I think that we have developed a good friendship over the time.


Saudades Amigo!

I drove Danny to the bus station at 4am and made sure that he was on the bus by 5, as he had a flight at 9am. The airport in Sao Paulo is terrible, so you need to allow 3hours to get through check-in, security and customs and then your plane may be delayed because of the Air Traffic Controllers and you have to accept it. I have heard stories of people spending 3 nights in the airport because their domestic flight has been delayed. It was a lonely drive back to the house, a feeling that I had not had for some time.

I had also met another guy a few weeks earlier and he had become friendly with Daniel too. His name is Raphael and his Dad is English and his Mum is Brazilian. We started to hang out a bit, which was great, as I could speak to another native English speaker and not have to choose my words, as he understood what I said. I met some of his Brazilian friends in a bar one night, as he is in a church group that is reaching out to non-Christians, through discussion groups and pub visits, meeting with them, at their level, like Paul in Athens. I guess it is an extension of the concept of ‘Counter-meal Friday’. It was great to be able to chill out and talk about differences in culture, as he can see it from both sides, having a mixture of both in his own family. After discussions with his Mum, it turns out that she is 2nd cousins with the parent’s of my friend Mylana in Brasilia. It is such a small world. She actually started to describe Mylana and her family in detail. It is a small world.
During this time I also branched out and spent time with some local Brazilian people that I had met. Hanging out and having ice-creams, juices, going to the various Shopping Malls around Campinas (note: people use the Shopping Malls for social gatherings as they are safer than meeting in the streets. There is less of a chance of muggings, theft, etc.) We would also went to the centre of town, where I had my watch battery changed and a new wrist band put on, all for the price of 7 Reais, about $4.50 Aust. Now where can you get that done in Australia?

I also went to the local theme park, called Hpoi Harry, with Alex, Karen and Andrea. I had a load of fun, but as I am a little scared of heights, ohh, some of the rides were not good for me. There is one rider, where they strap you in and you go vertically up for about 70metres, very slowly. Once you reach the top, you are there for what seams to be an eternity, when they just let you go. You fall for about 2-3 seconds reaching a top speed of about 90Km per hour. I am still trying to find my stomach and all my muscles are still aching. I dreamt for a week that I was falling and would wake up in cold sweats... However it was a very enjoyable day. That's a photo of the tower.
I also spent time researching information for my upcoming trip to the Amazon, the North and the North-East regions of Brazil. I like to be prepared, especially when you are travelling solo. I wanted to make sure that I had the right information before I left, so I cross-checked the facts that I found. Some was a little bogus, while others, it seems, was spot on. I can’t wait! It has been a dream of mine for many years to travel to the Amazon, to go to “The Lungs of the World”