First Week In Florianopolis (March 5th to March 12th)

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This week is all about deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeceleration. I packed a lot into the first 10 days of my trip in Chile and Argentina. For this week and the next three, I am in Florianopolis, taking Portuguese lessons. Florianopolis is an island in the south of Brazil, and capital of the Santa Catarina province. The island is big - about 42 km north to south, and maybe 20 km east to west at its widest. There are about 370,000 people who lived on the island, but the population doubles in the summer. The island has 43 beaches, and mountains. It is beautiful.

My life here is very, very difficult. I am living with a host family in the Santa Monica neighborhood. The house is large and impeccable - everything is white and spotless, granite stairs, walk-in showers. I´ll save comments about the family to give me some material for later entries, but suffice it to say they are very nice, and there are also two other Canadian students living in the house.

Every day I wake up and go to Portguese class in the morning. We eat lunch with the instructors, usually at one of two restaurants which are buffet-style but where you pay by the kilo - rice, beans, salad, meat. Everything is weighed together. It usually costs between $2.50 and $4.00 US, including a drink. Then, I hit the beach. So far, I have been trying to hit a new one everyday. Sometimes I go with one of my Canadian housemates, sometimes I go by myself. Sometimes I bring my camera, other times just a swimsuit and a towel. That is the schedule.

On the weekend we leave for the night at 12:00. Last night I went to a club called Latitude 27, which is at the top of a large hill overlooking the Lago de Conceciao. There was a band inside, and outside there were two bars and a large balcony overlooking the Lagoa. Nicest place I have ever been to. I watched the sun come up on my taxi ride back this morning.

I can´t say I am geting much of a cultural experience here in Florianopolis - but I knew what I was getting in to. Florianopolis has the highest standard of living in Brazil. There are speciality botiques, sushi restaurants, spas, and yacht clubs. Other then the language, you couldn´t tell Florianopolis from a wealthy beach town anywhere else in the world. Every once and a while I feel guilty and think that I should have gone somewhere for these first weeks, but then I remind myself why I am here - to relax, get a tan, and learn some Portuguese. Plus, its cheap. Language lessons and housing costs me $300 US a week. Brazil is a crazy place, and I will get to see a lot of the country towards the end of my trip. For now, its nice to be somewhere safe, where I can just enjoy the beach and not worry about a thing.

P.S. There really isn´t too much to blog about here. I wanted this journal to be about the places I have been and unique experiences that I can share. I don´t think its necessary to have four weeks of entries about going to the beach every day. We will see how my time progresses here - if I do anything cool (paragliding, for example) I´ll post the pics, and as far as I note things worth sharing I will do so as well. Don´t expect much for the next four weeks, but then after that..... watch out ;-)

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