Peru!

Standing in front of the flag wearing our new Peru garb.

Lima.

Vania and I at the zoo.

Goodbye Murilo!

Machu Picchu

While in Peru, we took a bus from Lima to Cuzco (only 30 hours), took a bus and then a train to Aguas Calientes (only 4 hours), spent the night, and got up at 4am in order to see the glorious Machu Picchu. It was totally worth it.

Entering the city.

Machu Picchu is awesome.

We climbed Wayna Picchu to go to the Sun Temple. It is very tall.

Llama!

Hooray!

On the train ride back, this guy danced for us. Everyone felt slightly uncomfortable.

Goodbye Salvador!

On my last few weeks in Salvador, I tried to spend as much time as possible with my closest friends. Murilo had left for Argentina so I spent a lot of time with his girlfriend Camila, with whom I became very close.

Camila, her little cousin Ian, Tiago and his Ukranian girlfriend Tatyana

Camila

Tiago

Matheus

Salvador on my last morning.

Duck Face

In June, I got into a fight with a refrigerator and had to get three stitches on my upper lip. My friends sent me flowers with a note that said, "Everything for your beautiful smile."

The Continuation of Fun!

See? I study!

My studies are interrupted by an important Aguarraz band meeting.

I sing Happy Birthday to myself.

The Fun Continues!

After Dad left, I was able to return my focus to school, home, and friends. I continued to take piano lessons at the Catholic university and also picked up guitar (no, I didn't learn how to play anything). I took a linguistics class with Murilo who had begun his first semester at the Catholic university as a Publicity and Advertisement student (lame!). I also took three courses at the federal university: Bahian History (very hard), Anthropology III (very easy), and Political Organization of Brazil (very impossible). Besides studying, I continued to enjoy a warm home life and a busy social life.

The fam and I on Teca's birthday.

Danna and I on Katie's birthday.

In April, I also traveled to Recife with some other students from the exchange program. We spent a long weekend at a cool hostel with a lot of other young people and were able to see just about everything Recife had to offer, as far as I could tell.

A view of downtown Recife from Olinda, the historic district.

At Porto de Galinhas, the nearby beach town.

Dad Visits

My philosophy is that it's never too late to update one's blog, even if one's readership has dwindled to nothing. A true blogger goes down with the ship. With or without comments, the posts must continue!

I know my father shares my philosophy on updates which is why I would like you to check out his own account of his time spent here in Salvador during March of last year.

http://mrkurtzhedead.blogspot.com/

Tudo bem, tudo bom!