The Finale

It is finally here! The last day in Brazil.  Our activities for the day were jam-packed.  It began with a trip to a restaurant/park.  It had only been open for 3 weeks, but was already awesome.  It had trails for hiking through, a little lake to canoe in, and a delicious restaurant.  Most of us were unprepared for this type of place because we had not been to a place like this the whole trip.  I was wearing a sweater and flip-flops.  Dan, Sarah, Raul, and I were the adventurous ones to first attempt the trails.  We went on a short one that led to a lake, then we headed back.  There were bugs all over the floor of the forest that crawled onto our feet and bit them.  Most were really little, but I had 2 that were huge.  One of them bit my big toe, but nothing happened to it, so I guess I'm okay.  Then Dan, Sarah, and I took the longer trail.  It went uphill most of the time.  It actually went pretty far into the forest.  After a while, we were wondering if the trail made a circle around the lake or if we would have to walk back the whole way we had already walked.  Just when we were about to give up and turn around, we saw the restaurant through a clearing.  We made it through!  I only wish I was wearing shoes because I would have walked the trail again.  Then Karla, Kendra, Dan, and I went coneing in the lake.  I had never been canoeing before this, so I didn't really know how to navigate it.  Dan was in the back steering, but it wasn't going very well.  I was in the front of the boat, but since the boat wasn't going in the direction we wanted it to, I jumped onto the very front point of the boat and steered from the front as well.  We definitely had the best steered canoe.

The most beautiful sights I saw on the whole trip was the sunset witnessed over the Amazon River.  It almost looked fabricated because it was so breathtaking.  I'm really glad we got to go on the boat again and watch the dancing  They were such good dancers.  After the boat ride, we went out to dinner.  Dan and I once again went all out with our meal.  We split the shrimp in champagne sauce with wild rice and caviar.  It was delicious, and I am not even a fan of shrimp.

This trip to Brazil was the best decision I have ever made.  It was the best two weeks of my life, and I definitely will be returning to Brazil someday.  The culture is just so welcoming.  Many of the people we met on the trip even invited us back and said we could stay with them.  I made some friends that I know I'll have for a long time.  Even though we all have our own paths, I'll keep in touch with everyone.  So thank you to Professor Reis and CSULB for the opportunity to participate in this study abroad program.