Bonjour!
So I had quite the eventful weekend last weekend. Friday night, I went to a concert with some friends. The band was called Rappa, and I didn't know any of their songs ahead of time. To be honest, I still probably can't identify a Rappa song if I heard one, but I was in good company and had a lot of fun. We left our house after 10:30pm to go to the show. The plan was to get there after the opening band. Even though we left late, and hung out outside for 20 minutes talking to friends, we still were there with enough time to use the restroom and buy drinks before the opening band came on. That's Brazilian timing for you. It was funny how most concerts in the US are done around midnight, and the main band here didn't come on stage until then. The show ended around 4am. You have to have endurance to party like a Brazilian!
On Sunday, I went to a town called Sana with friends: Bruno, Louise (Bruno's girlfriend), and Joao. It's actually technically still Macaé, but we drove for an hour to get there. We went hiking on this mountain to go see the many waterfalls there. It was absolutely gorgeous! The trail was really rough and steep sometimes, but the scenery was amazing. There were tropical trees, giant bamboo-looking plants, and all the time you could hear the river running down the slope. The second waterfall we found had multiple stages, and we were able to climb behind part of the waterfall!! It was so cool. There are a bunch of pictures at picasaweb.google.com/Jessica.J.Schulte. At one point, we decided to do a little exploring, so were climbing around a less-traveled path. I ended up slipping on a muddy bank trying to follow crazy Joao. Don't worry, nothing but my pride was injured. :) Soon after that, we realized we had to turn around because the path was impassable. Then I got to climb up the steep, muddy bank I just climbed/slid down. At another waterfall, there was a big, flat, sloped rock at the bottom. We were hanging out there, and I was walking where the rock went from being dry to wet. Yes, I slipped and fell again. This time, I actually slid for about 5 feet before coming to a stop. Everyone around was gasping and I just bust out laughing. I struck a rockstar pose and carefully got back on my feet. Four days later, I still have a very sensitive bruise on my left hip from that fall.. it's a very pretty shade of purple. We headed back down the mountain a different way than we came. It required climbing up wet boulders using ladders and ropes, and the whole time I was so worried about falling again. I did fall once more, and was subject to ridicule (mostly from Joao) about my lack of dynamic equilibruim. Oh well.. bruises and muddy shorts never hurt anyone, and I had a blast. :)
So, I'm leaving for France on Saturday (May 24). The ten hour flight will be my new longest flight record. I'll be attending my technical school in Melun, which is outside of Paris. I'll be there for nine weeks. I'm excited to travel, see more of Europe, learn some French, make some new friends, and learn more for my job. My class will be around 10 students from all over the world who work in Well Completions- Sand Control. I'll be living in a place called MySuite Village (practice saying it in your best French accent... it's more fun). It's like a long term hotel kind of place. I'll be able to describe it better when I get there. I'll take a bus to school every day. The commute is about an hour each way, but hopefully I'll find something productive to do during that time. I'll have class from 8-5:30 or so every weekday and some Saturdays. The rest of my time will be spent studying, going out in Paris, going to Disney World Paris, and traveling to Spain, Amsterdam, Germany, Italy... who knows?!?! If you've been to Paris, please let me know your favorite places, and I will try to visit.
After my course is done in France, I will be heading home for a glorious two weeks!!! Yes, I'M COMING HOME!! I'll be arriving in Michigan on July 27 and going back to Brazil on August 10. You should plan on being in Michigan sometime during that time. I would love to see as many folks as possible. The year 2008 is my year of summer. It's getting cooler here in the southern hemisphere, and I'm about to go spend June and July in France where they don't have much air conditioning, and then coming back to Michigan for half of August. Just when it's warming back up here in Brazil, I'll come back. Sigh... I miss winter just a little bit.
Oh, exciting news.. my apartment just a little better. I walked in last night, and found a new refrigerator (with a real freezer) in the kitchen and two more love seats in my living room!! Too bad it happened just as I'm leaving for three months. But oh well, when I get back, they will be waiting for me :-) I'm still holding out for an oven and shelves or cabinets for my food.. but I have hope :).
Alright.. that's enough news for now. I always love to hear back from you!
Au revoir,
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