Today, the group got to participate in more classes at the school and then went on a hike to a beautiful waterfall hidden in the depths of the Whitestone Rainforest. We started the day off at 8am and went to mainly English classes in which we helped the Brazilian students practice and improve their English. After classes we had lunch at the school then went on a hike with one of the teachers at the school to a pristine waterfall. After walking for a half an hour up the trail, we arrived at the waterfall. We followed a winding path through the jungle foliage until we arrived at an opening of the jungle where water cane spouting from the cliffs above. The boys all swam in the pool below the falls and even stood under the waterfall. We then returned to school and had dinner and went to bed. It was a great day. Check out this photo from the falls!

Tuesday was our first day going to classes in Brazil. It was difficult to understand some of the classes. The english classes were great because we could understand those. We could see the dynamic of the teachers and students. It was very interesting. They would laugh and talk to each other like they were friends. We spent the rest of the day walking around the school. We met a lot of new people. They were all very welcoming and they wanted to talk to us at every chance they had. After walking around we played played and lost at fooseball. They were insanely good. Then we got back to our room, and we played a Brazilian card game. Then we fell asleep after the long day.

Today, the gang geared up for a long trip into the heart of Rio to visit Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana Beach. We started the day bright and early at 8:20, even though most of the group didn’t arrive to our meet up spot until 8:30 *cough cough* the boys. We headed out with our friend (and English teacher) Ligia and traveled east towards the great statue. After about an hour, we arrived at the base of the tourist spot where we would take a train through the hilly forest to the site. We boarded the red train at 10:30 and arrived to the top in about 10 minutes. After climbing many flights of stairs, we reached the top and was greeted by this huge and amazing statue. Check out this photo!

After spending time at Christo taking pictures and admiring the 38m tall statue, we started our descent back down the train. After reaching the bottom, our next stop was lunch. We drove over to Copacabana and entered “Forte Copacabana” to eat. After a filling meal, the group headed towards the beach for a bit. The boys all immediately jumped in to the relatively warm water, where the group stayed for around 30 minutes. After that, we started our long trek back to school through Rio traffic, which would take around an hour and a half. We safely arrived back to school exhausted and enjoyed a bit of relaxation time before bed.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton