Barra de Salvador.

Ah, things have been crazy (to say the least) this past week and thus explains the lack of recent posts since I have been in Bahia. I can say without hesitation that it feels soooo good to be back. Bahia literally translates to Bay in portuguese so it makes my heart hella tranquilo to be back in the Bay...get me? I just made it to the new spot where I will be living with the other interns. It is located in the center of Rio Vermelho, literally in the center and directly in front of the ocean...

Its a community center where teens from the favelas want job placement and are taught IT skills and other apprentice stuff in the fields of management, hospitality and tourism. There is also an orphanage run out of this center for kids under 7 who are HIV positive. I will be working with these beautiful children and teaching English to the managers of the house 3 days a week. My time will never be lacking in work and spending time with beautiful people who need attention, help and care. I am just blessed and happy to be here. <3

I would type more but the computer is old school, so I will provide yall with a few visuals from the past week. I have been spending time nonstop with my lovely amigos daqui and am forever grateful to have them in my life...Life is a trip, and I am just happy to be a part of the journey.

Beijos and I miss you all so much.

Salvador, Bahia

Bom dia! Its only 5:31 am and im up and awake (with a throbbing head if you can guess why..lol) waiting for the cab to come and take me to the airport. Yes, last night i celebrated mi ultima dia no rio de janeiro..and i must say, it was rough. i cried at my despedida with the kids from the surf school. i tried to stress that i would come back but just not sure when.. then having to leave all the family and friends i have made with everyone ive met here, ahh. tears central. i guess you can say a part of me is always gonna be carioca now. no doubt about it. last night we went to this siiiiiiiick reggae festival in one of the favelas (in lieu of my LOVE for reggae and all that is associated with such)..haha holy cow. a perfect way to spend my last few hours in rio ;)

I couldnt be more grateful for all that i have experienced here..and im not going to make my going away so dramatic because there is no doubt that ill return. besides, in a few hours ill be in bahia...more beautiful people, more beautiful experiences! <33

sending you all my love from brazil. beijos!

muito cansada.

sem palabras..mais com tudo meu coraçao..

sexta-feira is my last day working at the escolinha de surf...im going to miss my kids like crazy! but i know that i am going to see them again, i have to. children of bahia, i am on my way in a few days. sending my love out to all of you.

<3janelle

saudades.

so it has been awhile since i have last posted. the recent series of events have been so outrageous that i have failed to keep up. the panamerican games have recently been going on so brazil is basically in a frenzy..aka, the streets are hella going nuts. this evening i watched brazil vs. argentina at a nearby pub in LAPA where everything is just cccrrrrraaaackin. brazil won 3-0, can you believe how the streets were?! its funny the last time i saw brazil play argentina, i was in buenos aires! funny how the tables have turned and this time im in brazil...i cant believe how blessed i am..

its only about 9 pm and im already home. i took a combi (local busvan) home early by myself because i was not feeling well and a recent incident has left me hobbling around, relying on painkillers like ibuprofen and Apap for relief. whew, you dont even want to know. i do have photos from cristo, however. # 3 of the 7 wonders of the world! i went the other day, and its literally just 5 or 10 minutes up the hill from our house here in santa tereza.

i have work manana at 6 am, and i canNOT believe this is my last week in rio. ill then be in salvador, bahia for a month..whew thats gonna be crazy all on its own. ive had the most amazing dinners lately, rice, seafood and veggies galore. mmm. but im going to bed early, crazy how i miss you all so much.

hope everything is well back home, sending you all my love and thoughts from rio!

<3janelle

surf for peace

day two! ridiculously love my job, you dont even know. 7-11 surf lessons with the kids. 2-4, english lessons, play soccer-rugby, then more surfing! i love the surf students!!! and even the other surf instructors..we are like one big happy family. met a lot more local friends from rio who are trying to convince me that i should return and move to rio rather than bahia when i graduate...they just might be successful!

anyways heres some photos of my beaaautiful favela loves ;) enjoyyy. im beyond exhausted though and cant hardly move my arms. damn i told yall i have absolutely no upperbody strength! its all in the leeeegs. but chea i am so happy i dont have to come in to work tomorrow..not till quinta feira (thursday)..HOLLA!!

i miss you much! beijos pra tudo.

hammocks.

im getting darker each second. :)

i love chillen at this window..

my..wtf are you looking at face. im tired, clearly.

crazy view

Oiii..sup yall. first day back from surfing for peace & it couldnt be more fun. there werent many kids who showed up because it was heeella windy and too cold to surf..so basically we got to surf by ourselves all day. lol, the main instructor is pedro and tell me why he was surfing with me the whole time..and knew from the first wave that im from cali. go figures, eh? it was one of the guys´birthdays so we had cake at like 8am. LOL..work started at 7 and it felt soo good to be up at sunrise and in the ocean already before 730. i feel all healthier already..im pretty much 80% sure im gonna bring back a board from here...from one day ive grown somewhat attached to the long board i was using. anyways, im hungry and just thought id post some lame fotos of literally 5 minutes ago when i just walked in the door and was kickin it in a hammock.. oh!! the birthday boy had a taper fade with a crazy bape star at the side. i was like waaat thats ill..lol, i think he turned 15 or so. fun! tomorrow is ^work^again even though its NOTHING like work..at least not to me. cant wait! holla, miss you all! <3>

a ai

on a sunday afternoon..en rio, copacabana beach

my rio partner in crime..megz (from london) & jiaaaan

yes, i am cheezy.

dont gimme no bammerrrrrr... dodo!

i was eating camaraos on a stick..aka shrimp on a stick, heeella good! ima fatty, baha

copacabana

metro = bart...not really but hey i was excited

i damn near died when i saw this dacshunds..i want one!

pre-live earth...couldnt bring my camera to the concert, ya know?

kirsten from leeds, ENGLand, love her..she met me at the airport

my favorite scottish couple. kat & innez

adam from the bayyy

sup yall. not much in the mood for writing, spent the entire day at copacabana beach. literally, the whole day. our house had a bbq on our veranda on the third floor...meanwhile im chillen. i have to be up at 630 am for work manana. ahhh. should be fun, cept that i got kinda overload of sun today. curazy, i know

miss you! here´s some random shiyet. shouts to clive, baha!

and im in the process of writing postcards...i have this funny feeling that you wont get them until im almost home, but oh well im going to send them anyways! beijos y xau!!