Hello Goiânia! Tchau Rio!

The last two weeks have been a lot of fun spending time with my friends and family in Rio. It’s hard to believe that two weeks have already gone by and I am now already in a new place. I felt at home in Rio. I was comfortable and felt as though many things hadn’t changed. I did a lot in those two weeks. I had to opportunity to go to Rock in Rio, which is a big music festival they have every few years there. It was a 6 day festival and had a very interesting mix of artists. I went on the day that was considered “soul” music. I saw Joss Stone, Ke$ha, Jamiroquaiand Steve Wonder along with Brazilian artists Diogo Nogueira, a tribute to the band Legião Urbana (was really amazing and everyone in the crowd went CRAZY)

I celebrated my 26^th birthday with my Rio friends of 3 years! Went dancing, parties, went to the beach, got my tattoo (kidding it’s fake), visited with my friend in Rocinha and students from the art school and explored the city as I always love to do!

Yesterday I arrived in Goiânia. On the plane ride here I was nervously and anxiously awaiting my arrival. As I looked out the window of the plane, I saw so much green space.

I landed and was greeted by a student from the university named Korran. (Kohan) He immediately recognized be with my gringa appearance and the excessive amount of luggage. I packed two HUGE suitcases and one small…not really sure what I was thinking…

The university set up housing for me and it seems very comfortable. I met everyone from the house and they are all foreigners as well. Three of the students..actually I think 4 are from South Africa I believe Cape Verde. They speak Portuguese and Creole. The other student living here is from another state in Brazil along with her daughter who is 10 years old. No one speaks English, which hasn’t caused too many problems yet. It’s good for me. A great challenge I guess. One I really need!

I met with the professor from the Art Faculty and was given a tour of the Art Center they want me to assist in during the weeks. It’s great. I am pretty excited about everything and there is so much opportunity. Everything is pretty open and they want me to do whatever I want with the community. So this weekend I am going to spend some time traveling around the city. I am thinking of taking the bus to various points and just observing. The city is average size. Easy to navigate through..so I don’t think I will have any problems and it feels pretty safe. The culture here is very different than Rio and the language. I had comment today about my Carioca accent! (which I liked J) The tend to elongate certain words here. I think it is actually easier to understand Portuguese hear and the people seem so nice.

I noticed a bunch of access wood scraps down the street from my place…possible material I am thinking…I also need to work on finding a space where I can develop some work for a while. .Lots to do this weekend and next week. Everything is a new experience and a way for me to grow. Progress!