Blogs from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, South America - page 7

I don’t have a burning desire to write about any of the other World Cup football matches we observed. Needless to say we were most unhappy with the referee and the whole Italian team after the debacle that was Australia’s match in the round of 16 (and just when our second wave of flags and Aussie supporter gear had arrived). The Brazilians didn’t fair much better and after an uninspiring win against Ghana were knocked out by France in the quarter finals (I didn’t join the party which never eventuated due to being sick and unable to move from the couch). The day after the Brazilian loss it was like emerging into a different city, all evidence of the existence of the World Cup and the associated green and yellow paraphernalia had vanished (not a mean ... read more

I was looking for something to do in the evenings after work. You know, I am sitting at a computer all day and eating copius amounts of rice and beans, thus getting fat. Well not quite, but anyways, I first heard about Ju Jitsu, a Brasilian martial art based on grappling and joint locking. There is a gym close to my home where they teach this, but it is only offered during the lunch hour and it was going to be expensive for me to become a member of this gym. You might have heard of Ju Jitsu if you watch UFC (utlimate fighting championship)... in other words, don´t mess around!!! Last weekend though a lady I met suggested I try capoeira, also a Brasilian martial art. Capoeira was developed by the slaves of Brazil as ... read more

On Sunday, João invited me to go with some of his friends to this go cart track on the north side of the city. There were 12 of us in all. Now these aren´t your typical kiddie go carts, no, these are high powered, blood boiling, stomach turning, adrenalin pumping machines. Top speeds are reaching 70-80 km/h and your butt is only inches off the pavement. It costs only 50 reals, which is about 25 bucks. They suit you up with racing gear... suits, gloves, helmet, neck brace thingy. First there is a qualifying race lasting 5 minutes. The cart with the fastest lap time gets the poll position etc. There are two races each 15 minutes long and the last place cart from the first race starts first in the second race. I managed to ... read more

So Monday I went out with a friend from work, Frederico. He plays keyboard with some bands here in Belo and I´m always asking him to take me to one of his show so I can see him play. I went with him after work to watch him play, but on the way there the car was over heating. We had to pull over on the freeway to check out what was wrong. The fan in front of the radiator wasn´t working. We waited a while for the engine to cool down and then had to make our way to the nearest gas station to see if we could fix it. The traffic was bumper to bumper, but we decided to see if we could make it because we were so close. We were running late, ... read more

There are currently 6 IAESTE students living in ora round Belo Horizonte. Unfortunately, Adjam, from I don’t know where and Mats, from Norway, live about a 4 hour bus ride away in Viçosa. The other two, Stefan, from Germany and Brad, from the US live close to me in Belo Horizonte. I got all their contacts from the IAESTE office in Belo and I thought it would be good for all of us to get together for a beer to get to know one another since we are all in the same situation… being in a foreign country on this exchange and not being able the speak the language all that well. I arranged for us to meet at this pub famous for its Chopp (draught beer). The place was called Maria de Lourdes (www.mariadelourdes.com.br if ... read more