*LONG OVERDUE*
We touched down in Rio at about 4 am. All of us feeling the double G’s. Groggy and grumpy. My hair was a mess, and my stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten in nearly a day! Due to the fact that I, for a few years now boycott the (in my opinion) revolting food the airplanes serve. After a long hassle to get us a small cramped car. We weaved our way through the outskirts of the city. What I saw through my foggy window was not pretty, and when the inevitable bathroom break had to be made my parents gripped us tight afraid someone nearby might hurt us. I thought it was a bit paranoid but went along. We were all tired, and I didn’t want to get my parents in a mood. After that bathroom break my brothers and I nodded off. Occasionally drifting awake for a few minutes before returning to a deep state of slumber. I don’t remember much of the drive, but when I awoke I was greeted to a wave of heat and what seemed at first as an earthquake. Bumpy bumpy bump we went my brothers and I tumbled about in the back as we traveled across an unpaved and muddy road. We laughed as we bounced off of each other being a bit more light hearted now that we were well rested.
We came to a stop in front of a huge house, All the doors to it were a sort of a basket weave so it was open to the outside. A nice pool and and outdoor kitchen and churascoria, Portuguese for barbecue, finished the house with a traditional Brazilian look. The house is located just outside of the small surfer town of Uba Tuba. An area which we later realized seem to have no other foreigners roaming about. We talked to the nice owners of the house in broken english as she gave us a run-through of anything we need to know about the property, and the area. She recommended a kilo restaurant to us, something we became very familiar with during our stay in Brazil. Tired as we were, we managed to all pile into the car and drive back on the bumpy road into town. On the short walk from the parking area to the restaurant I saw multiple soccer fields. All of its players barefoot. The restaurant in question was empty when we arrived, because of the strange timing of our meal. A kilo restaurant is basically a buffet, but you pay by the kilo, and it is unbelievably cheap. The food was hearty, and I no longer felt hungry afterwards. While I stuck to the buffet, the rest of my family went as well to the churascoria, to get cuts of meat. We all rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and after a short walk around the town, we went back home to rest.
Our first night in brazil was restless, the time difference nagged at our bodies as we tried to sleep. At the crack of dawn we all gave up and reluctantly trudged into the kitchen for an early breakfast. After that we all ran across the beach sweaty but happy, the waves rolled over our feet as we made our way to a small surf shop we had seen earlier. Tucked away behind a few trees, a shack stood. A few surfboards littered out front, some tanned surfers sitting on the deck. We greeted them, and before I knew it they began to demonstrate how to do it.
The instructors nestled a board into the sand and explained us the techniques. Lie down, toes in the back, but not too far you will tip backwards, but not to close either. Now paddle with long strides, feel the wave under you? Good now stand up, don’t jump, gently… Feet in the middle, knees bent, look up steer with your arms… Wait what? I got lost in all the explanation. My sleep deprived brain was slow to pick up. So we went through the process again. We weren’t even in the water yet. My brothers and I picked up our boards after we understood the technique and headed, not to the ocean but to a small lake out back. No waves rocked the waters, it was smooth like a piece of silk. We went in and I immediately felt my senses waking up. We went through the steps again, only falling once.
Then we headed to the ocean. As soon as we got in we began to surf. At least we attempted to, I would lie down, paddle feel the wave stand and? Slip, under the water I went tumbling though the waves until I reached the shore. I felt the salt scratching my throat and I coughed a bit. This was harder then I thought… I soon went back in, once again went through the steps, and fell. Again, and again. Meanwhile I saw Yanai speed past me, his board dancing on the waves. My instructor gave me tips, stay in the middle, look up keep you hands straight. I felt pressured and annoyed that my younger brother was succeeding in something that I tried so hard but to no avail. We had 20 minutes left in the lesson and I decided to give it my all, and I managed to surf all the way across the wave. I filled with pride as I managed again and again stand up and surf the waves. But soon the lesson was over, we reluctantly paddled ourselves out of the water and helped bring the boards back to the surf shop. With a little wave we turned and walked back to our home.
The next morning I raced to the shop, exuberant and ready to start as soon as possible. But my fire was burned out when Yanai was handed a smaller board, for more experienced surfers, the instructor explained. Hadn’t I done just as well as him at the end of the lesson. I grumpily made my way to the water and set off. My mood definitely effected my surfing, the water was warm but I was icy. It just wasn’t fair. At least not in my mind. But I am not one to give up. Once again my brother succeeded in riding the waves gracefully not falling once but I didn’t. Fellow surfers stopped to remark at his talent. This frustrated me. I am the oldest after all. Up I went again and again but it was obvious my frustration was getting in the way. At the end of the day I stormed out of the water but my bad mood didn’t last all day.
We went now to the recommended kilo restaurant which was delicious, and had twice as many options. The cherry on top was definitely the sushi bar. I was reluctant to try it at first, not sure if the fish would be fresh. But my hunger for sushi won out, and anyway we were near the ocean it must be fresh.
After that we went for a visit at the small local aquarium just on the main street. I saw lobsters as big as my arms and lots of sea horses. Two people working there were taking two seahorses out of the water. I wrongly suspected they didn’t speak english, like most of the staff in the aquarium and I wondered out loud why they were doing this. I got an answer in immaculate english. Turns out those to seahorses looked sick. Which I confirmed as I glance at them again.
It began to rain cats and dogs as we stopped for a shopping trip at the supermarket. We gathered ingredients for a special meal for our special guest the next day as well as the ingredients for a Brazilian cocktail, Caipirinha that my parents wanted to try. As soon as we arrived home I began to craft a sign for Bart. A dear family friend who I actually call Uncle Bart. We had shared a home in Redwood city until I was 4 years old and we moved out. He has always taken care of our mail and finances this year while we have been gone. “WELCOME TO BRAZIL BART!” The sign read. I taped it up to the wall of his room and we all lounged around for the rest of the day. Playing some soccer and swimming a bit.
The rain was on and off and before we knew it my dad had to leave to pick bart up from the bus station. Turns out there is more than one station in our small beach suburb so after a bit of confusion my dad found him and they drove back in a hurry. By now it was late and after a hug we all set off to bed.
The next day the sky looked stormy and the water even more so. Huge grey waves spread out across the ocean, rolling on eternally. Bart joined my parents to watch us. To my surprise I was also given a small board today, (though the whole ordeal seems silly now, but I was very proud at the time). It was immediately evident that todays surfing wouldn't be as pleasant as the rest. My dad joined us in the water to help the instructor push us through the crashing waves. I managed to surf much easier this time but I was often crashed down by an unsuspected second wave from behind. My arm and leg got scraped as I was dragged across the sand and my board game me a deep cut on my thumb. But I persevered and all in all had a good time on the waves.
I was glad I hadn’t given up on the second day. I would have missed out on this great experience. It definitely taught me not to compare myself as much to others. To be proud of my accomplishments and to follow through on everything I start. To persevere. One thing I have tried to do this trip, is not to say no to experiences, because I might miss out. Like scuba diving in Thailand. I was scared but did it anyway. I am glad I did because otherwise I would have missed out. I am trying to make the most of this year which is very close to coming to an end.
We came to a stop in front of a huge house, All the doors to it were a sort of a basket weave so it was open to the outside. A nice pool and and outdoor kitchen and churascoria, Portuguese for barbecue, finished the house with a traditional Brazilian look. The house is located just outside of the small surfer town of Uba Tuba. An area which we later realized seem to have no other foreigners roaming about. We talked to the nice owners of the house in broken english as she gave us a run-through of anything we need to know about the property, and the area. She recommended a kilo restaurant to us, something we became very familiar with during our stay in Brazil. Tired as we were, we managed to all pile into the car and drive back on the bumpy road into town. On the short walk from the parking area to the restaurant I saw multiple soccer fields. All of its players barefoot. The restaurant in question was empty when we arrived, because of the strange timing of our meal. A kilo restaurant is basically a buffet, but you pay by the kilo, and it is unbelievably cheap. The food was hearty, and I no longer felt hungry afterwards. While I stuck to the buffet, the rest of my family went as well to the churascoria, to get cuts of meat. We all rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and after a short walk around the town, we went back home to rest.
Our first night in brazil was restless, the time difference nagged at our bodies as we tried to sleep. At the crack of dawn we all gave up and reluctantly trudged into the kitchen for an early breakfast. After that we all ran across the beach sweaty but happy, the waves rolled over our feet as we made our way to a small surf shop we had seen earlier. Tucked away behind a few trees, a shack stood. A few surfboards littered out front, some tanned surfers sitting on the deck. We greeted them, and before I knew it they began to demonstrate how to do it.
The instructors nestled a board into the sand and explained us the techniques. Lie down, toes in the back, but not too far you will tip backwards, but not to close either. Now paddle with long strides, feel the wave under you? Good now stand up, don’t jump, gently… Feet in the middle, knees bent, look up steer with your arms… Wait what? I got lost in all the explanation. My sleep deprived brain was slow to pick up. So we went through the process again. We weren’t even in the water yet. My brothers and I picked up our boards after we understood the technique and headed, not to the ocean but to a small lake out back. No waves rocked the waters, it was smooth like a piece of silk. We went in and I immediately felt my senses waking up. We went through the steps again, only falling once.
Then we headed to the ocean. As soon as we got in we began to surf. At least we attempted to, I would lie down, paddle feel the wave stand and? Slip, under the water I went tumbling though the waves until I reached the shore. I felt the salt scratching my throat and I coughed a bit. This was harder then I thought… I soon went back in, once again went through the steps, and fell. Again, and again. Meanwhile I saw Yanai speed past me, his board dancing on the waves. My instructor gave me tips, stay in the middle, look up keep you hands straight. I felt pressured and annoyed that my younger brother was succeeding in something that I tried so hard but to no avail. We had 20 minutes left in the lesson and I decided to give it my all, and I managed to surf all the way across the wave. I filled with pride as I managed again and again stand up and surf the waves. But soon the lesson was over, we reluctantly paddled ourselves out of the water and helped bring the boards back to the surf shop. With a little wave we turned and walked back to our home.
The next morning I raced to the shop, exuberant and ready to start as soon as possible. But my fire was burned out when Yanai was handed a smaller board, for more experienced surfers, the instructor explained. Hadn’t I done just as well as him at the end of the lesson. I grumpily made my way to the water and set off. My mood definitely effected my surfing, the water was warm but I was icy. It just wasn’t fair. At least not in my mind. But I am not one to give up. Once again my brother succeeded in riding the waves gracefully not falling once but I didn’t. Fellow surfers stopped to remark at his talent. This frustrated me. I am the oldest after all. Up I went again and again but it was obvious my frustration was getting in the way. At the end of the day I stormed out of the water but my bad mood didn’t last all day.
We went now to the recommended kilo restaurant which was delicious, and had twice as many options. The cherry on top was definitely the sushi bar. I was reluctant to try it at first, not sure if the fish would be fresh. But my hunger for sushi won out, and anyway we were near the ocean it must be fresh.
After that we went for a visit at the small local aquarium just on the main street. I saw lobsters as big as my arms and lots of sea horses. Two people working there were taking two seahorses out of the water. I wrongly suspected they didn’t speak english, like most of the staff in the aquarium and I wondered out loud why they were doing this. I got an answer in immaculate english. Turns out those to seahorses looked sick. Which I confirmed as I glance at them again.
It began to rain cats and dogs as we stopped for a shopping trip at the supermarket. We gathered ingredients for a special meal for our special guest the next day as well as the ingredients for a Brazilian cocktail, Caipirinha that my parents wanted to try. As soon as we arrived home I began to craft a sign for Bart. A dear family friend who I actually call Uncle Bart. We had shared a home in Redwood city until I was 4 years old and we moved out. He has always taken care of our mail and finances this year while we have been gone. “WELCOME TO BRAZIL BART!” The sign read. I taped it up to the wall of his room and we all lounged around for the rest of the day. Playing some soccer and swimming a bit.
The rain was on and off and before we knew it my dad had to leave to pick bart up from the bus station. Turns out there is more than one station in our small beach suburb so after a bit of confusion my dad found him and they drove back in a hurry. By now it was late and after a hug we all set off to bed.
The next day the sky looked stormy and the water even more so. Huge grey waves spread out across the ocean, rolling on eternally. Bart joined my parents to watch us. To my surprise I was also given a small board today, (though the whole ordeal seems silly now, but I was very proud at the time). It was immediately evident that todays surfing wouldn't be as pleasant as the rest. My dad joined us in the water to help the instructor push us through the crashing waves. I managed to surf much easier this time but I was often crashed down by an unsuspected second wave from behind. My arm and leg got scraped as I was dragged across the sand and my board game me a deep cut on my thumb. But I persevered and all in all had a good time on the waves.
I was glad I hadn’t given up on the second day. I would have missed out on this great experience. It definitely taught me not to compare myself as much to others. To be proud of my accomplishments and to follow through on everything I start. To persevere. One thing I have tried to do this trip, is not to say no to experiences, because I might miss out. Like scuba diving in Thailand. I was scared but did it anyway. I am glad I did because otherwise I would have missed out. I am trying to make the most of this year which is very close to coming to an end.