Explorar Lins...

Lins is difficult to describe, but I'll give it a shot. It is a city of about 70,000 people, literally in the middle of nowhere. Once you exit the vicinity of the city, the next city isn't for at least another 60 miles. Parts of the city are really pretty and remind me of the more tropical, resort like areas in Florida and the rest could best be described as slums. Dirt, stones and pieces of trash line the street across from Volkswagons, tropical trees and flowers. The locals can't help but stare and wonder why we are here as Rachel and I wander the streets speaking a language unknown to them.



I found this website, which is a much beautified version of Lins: http://www.curtalins.com.br/. Rachel and I have been on a search to find the water depicted on the website, but have not been successful. Hopefully we will find it soon, because it's starting to get hot already, and it's still winter.




We spotted a bus station yesterday and decided to stop by and ask for a map of the town. There was a huge map at the front of the bus station, but we wanted a miniature map that we could carry around when we walked. I am directionally challenged and have already managed to get lost at least three times. "Tienes uma mapa de Lins?" we asked. "Mapa!" the man exclaimed and got up to direct us to the giant map right in front of us, assuming we were lost. He asked where we lived and we told him the street we lived on, "13 de maio" (yep, the streets are named after dates). He could not speak English, but apparently knew how to count to three, and nothing else. "One bloco, no! Two bloco, no! Three bloco, no!" and then he pauses and says, "Sim." I guess he was trying to say it was four blocks away...

Um dia (Day one)

Due to the time we arrived and my lack of night vision, I did not get to see much of my new home until this morning. I was awoken by a shitzu (or rather a ball of fur with only eyes popping out) and an older lady whose name I later learned was Donna Katarina. Donna Katarina is about seventy years old and speaks only Portuguese. She seems like a friendly woman, over accommodating and very chatty. She smiles and continues speaking Portuguese, despite my obviously confused expression and responses in broken Spanish and English. "Quer cafe?" she asks this morning, to which Rachel and I reply, "Não, obrigado" thinking she asked if we wanted coffee. An hour or so later when we smelled chicken, we came to the realization that "cafe" had meant breakfast and I had turned down my favorite meal of the day!

I share my room with Rachel. Our room consists of a bunk bed, small desk, wardrobe closet and bathroom. The AC that I was informed we would have seems to be missing from our room, which might be a problem come the summer when it apparently reaches temperatures of 120 degrees.






Next door there is an identical room where two other girls are staying, both of which only speak Portuguese and as a result I have yet to determine why exactly they are here. The house is quaint and contains a living room, dining room and small kitchen area, all seemingly dedicated to Jesus. There are rosary beads, statues and pictures of Jesus everywhere I look.



After eating lunch, Rita (pronounced Heeta) and Erika stopped by the house to bring Rachel and me to the school we would be teaching at. Rita is the lady I interviewed with over the phone and the person who organized everything for us and Erika is one of the coordinators at the school. A young girl named Carol (pronounced Carro), who was another teacher at the school was also with them. They took us on a tour of the school which consists of two floors and about ten classrooms. I was assigned classroom number two, and given my schedule of classes for the week. I will be teaching six different classes, twice a week for an hour and a half along with one conversation only class and three one-on-one sessions. I initially had thought I would be teaching four classes, so seven is a bit overwhelming, but most of my mornings I have some free time to prepare for my classes. And I have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.

After spending some time at the school, Rita, Erika and Carol took us on a tour of the town of Lins. In my opinion, Lins would fall somewhere between a city and a suburb. There are cobblestone roads and streets lined with small houses and shops. We were told that Lins was a safe town, but in the same breath told that it would be best not to be outside after dark.



We returned home in time for dinner, which consisted of Donna Katarina, Rachel, another girl whose name slips my mind at the moment and I, my Portuguese/English dictionary and plates full of rice, beans and steak. Good thing I like rice and beans, because I have a feeling that I am going to be seeing a lot of them...

Some useful information:

Vegetarians would have a difficult time surviving in Brazil.

It is not customary to flush toilet paper down the toilet bowl. Apparently the proper way to dispose of it is in the trash, because the toilets might get clogged.

Portuguese is very different from Spanish. Even if it is spelled the same, it sounds completely different.

There is an animosity that exists between Brazil and Argentina, solely over the debate as to whether Pele or Maradona was the better soccer player.

Guarana is the tastiest soft drink I have ever drank.

Brazil has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries, meaning that whenever prices and restrictions are applied to Brazilians visiting a country, Brazil adopts the same measure for that country's visitors.

New York adeus!

Leaving the house at 2:30am is one of those awkward times where you are faced with the tough decision of whether to go to bed really early the night before, or skip out on bed entirely.  I made the decision to go to bed around 10pm and consider it a nap that would be continued later on during my fourteen hour flight to Sao Paulo.  Unfortunately, my poor father was forced to drive me and begin work before the sun came up at 4am.

My flight to Panama City went very well, which means I slept the majority of the time (despite waking for a delicious sausage and egg breakfast).  The layover was just an hour and before I knew it I was on my way to Sao Paulo.  Luckily, once again I managed to sleep and only wake up for my chicken raviolis and chicken wrap.

I arrived to Sao Paulo right on time (8:35pm) and made my way through customs and baggage check in a matter of ten minutes. I exited the airport where I was told that I would be met by a man holding a sign with my name. Yep, here I was in a country where I knew not a word of the language, waiting for a random man to come pick me up. I figured I was a bit early, so I wasn't too worried when it was 9:00pm and my name was nowhere in sight. Around 9:15pm the nerves must have kicked in and my sweat glands let loose. What if this was all a scam? I had no cell phone and wasn't sure what to do. I approached a man who seemed friendly and tried my best to communicate with him in the little Spanish that I knew, hoping that some of the words might be the same in Portuguese. "Tienes un telefono para mi?" I made my fingers into a telephone like shape and placed them up against my ears. He looked at me strangely. "Telefono," I repeated, and pointed at the number of the person I had been communicating with. He looked at the number and replied, "Muitos números," meaning "too many numbers." Shoot...

Just then I noticed a man briskly approaching me with a sign that read my name. Apparently my blonde hair, sweaty forehead and look of confusion in my eyes must have given me away. He walked me to a corner, pointed at a spot and mumbled something that ended with "aqui." I stood there for about five minutes as he ran off somewhere to do something and then came back to get me. "Falla Portuguese?" he said. "No, pero falo espanol un poco." That was the extent of our conversation. We got into the car and drove to a hotel to pick up Rachel, another American girl from California who was another native teacher that had arrived today. Rachel and I chatted most of the ride to Lins (at least until I passed out once again). Around 3am we arrived at our new home, unpacked some of our belongings and went to bed.

"If you've got time and a tent...you're a wealthy man"

Cross Country Road Trip: Twelve days, 4000 miles, $475 bucks and plenty of peanut butter and nutella...

I have always wanted to drive cross country. So when my boyfriend, Dan, was invited to a wedding in San Francisco, it seemed like the perfect excuse to take a road trip. Unfortunately, we discovered a few weeks before that there was no plus one on the invitation. Oh well, I decided to do it anyway...

Day 1: Arrival in San Francisco

There is a first for everything, and this day just happened to be the first time in the past year that I had a confirmed ticket for a flight to California almost a full hour before boarding time. The six hour flight gave me plenty of time to compile a list of my favorite parts of flying.

Staring at the "Cleared list" and noticing that my name has been added

The feel of being pushed back against my seat during takeoff and the moment when I can finally adjust my seat from its upright position

Discovering the Suduko and crossword in the airline magazine have not yet been filled out by a previous passenger

Finding space in the overhead compartment and not having to wait for people to shove their overstuffed and no longer carry-on sized bags into the compartment

Surpassing airport security right after the "one-in-ten" who was chosen to be uncomfortably groped by an airline employee.

Waiting for my flight and people watching in an attempt to determine who is arriving, stopping over or departing

Discovering that the hysterically crying child is not in the seat next to you...and neither is the morbidly obese man

Two words. Airplane food. I don't know what it is, but peanuts are always better on a plane.

Resting my head against the window, closing my eyes (and apparently opening my mouth) only to wake up and discover that it is time to return my seat to the upright position


Day 2: World Cup Final in San Francisco

The day was devoted to eating In-N-Out Burger (Animal Style- I highly recommend it if you've never tried) and watching Spain win the World Cup. And oh yeah, a delicious Burmese dinner that followed...


Lesson learned:

Animal Style with well done fries is the way to go at In-N-Out Burger

Burmese food is delicious, especially when home cooked by a Burmese mother

Iker Casillas (the goalkeeper on Spain) is both talented and beautiful (I actually knew this already, but felt the need to state it anyway)


Day 3: Pick up car and Depart for Yosemite

Thanks to word of mouth, I found out about Autodriveaway (www.autodriveaway.com), a company which transports cars to new locations, by allowing random people to volunteer to drive the car wherever it needs to go. I called up the San Francisco office a few days prior to ask whether or not there were any cars available that needed to go towards Chicago or New York. The original plan was to drive from San Francisco to Chicago (where Dan lives) and fly back to New York, but the only car they had available was a 1999 Jeep Cherokee that needed to be relocated to Pelham, New York. I reserved it. We would have ten days and 3500 miles (500 additional miles) to get the car across country.



On Monday morning I called the Autodriveaway company at 8:30am to confirm that we were on our way to pick up the car. The phone call went something like this...

Diane: "Hello, I'm calling to let you know that I'm on my way to pick up the 1999 Jeep Cherokee."

Autodriveaway: "Umm, yeah, about that...The Jeep was broken into last night and the stereo system was stolen. We know that you specifically asked if the car had a CD player."

Diane: "Alright, so I guess the two audiobooks, three Portuguese language CDs, and ten burned CDs we brought will be of no use."



Figuring that this might be a slight setback to our 65 hour roadtrip, Dan and I convinced the company to repair the stereo system before we left, rather than pay the owner the cost and have her repair it on her own. Luckily, the company took our advice and less than two hours later, we were on our way, stereo system and all.

And so our roadtrip begins...

We arrived to Yosemite about four hours later and spent the night exploring the giant redwood trees and camping there.

Lesson learned:

A stereo system is an important part of a 65 hour roadtrip.

Starting a camp fire even with a lighter is harder than I thought.

Never pop into the campsite next door in an attempt to ask for a piece of wood from their fire, without checking to see if they are making out first.

Constructing a tent is amazingly easy.

Day 4: Yosemite to Los Angeles



We spent the morning hiking through Yosemite Valley and up towards giant waterfalls. By the time we made it to the top, we were drenched from the midst.

After a few hours of hiking we made our way towards Los Angeles where we spent the night with my overly accommodating, friendly, yet tad bit crazy friend, Vanessa.

Lessons learned:

Yosemite Valley is beautiful.

Los Angeles is not a city; it is a huge, sprawling suburb.

Day 5: Los Angeles to San Diego




We left bright and early from Los Angeles and spent the entire day exploring San Diego, which has joined the list of my top ten favorite cities in the US. Imagine a clean city, with at least 300 days of sunlight and walking distance from the beach.

Lessons learned:

Street mimes can be really good if you actually sit down and watch them.

You cannot visit San Diego without making sure to visit a Mexican restaurant.

Time spent watching the sunset is never wasted time.


Day 6: San Diego to Sedona, Arizona



After taking some advice from a native Arizonian, Dan and I took what we thought would be a more direct route to Sedona, Arizona, in an attempt to avoid Phoenix traffic. Looking back, this might not have been the best decision. When the gas light came on in the middle of the desert and the nearest gas station was 40 miles away, we came a little too close to being stranded in the desert in 111 degree weather. Luckily, the Jeep pulled through and puttered its way to the gas pump.

We splurged for a motel that night, purely for the air conditioning.

Lesson learned:

Always fill up on gas before beginning a 100 mile journey down a desert road.

Sometimes it is worth it to spend the extra $20 to sleep in an air conditioned motel room.

Be prepared to scrub your car window in an attempt to remove the hundreds of bugs that have been killed by your windshield while driving on long, barren roads.

Day 7: Red Rock National Park to the Grand Canyon



We spent the morning exploring Red Rock State Park, whose name is a description in itself. The red rocks were beautiful, but due to the hot weather, I managed to work up enough of a sweat to keep the cacti hydrated for weeks to come.

Lessons learned:

Despite their versatility, peanut butter and nutella sandwiches have a tough time surviving the 110 degree heat.

Cacti spikes can be tough to pull out when they are stuck on the side of your calves.

Sometimes elk decide to leisurely stroll across state highways, so always be on the lookout.

Day 8: The Grand Canyon to Boulder, Colorado



I'm not going to lie, I had pretty high expectations for the Grand Canyon and it managed to live up to each and every one. Although it was too cloudy to see the sunset, the canyon was gorgeous. It seemed surreal walking along the edge and then down into the canyon.




That night we made our way through Utah, the most gorgeous state to drive through. We stopped along the way to enjoy the best green chili in the state of Utah, and ended in Boulder, Colorado where we met up with Sean, our couchsurfing host for the night. Sean was laid back, friendly and one of the most unique people I have ever met. He talked about his travels in South America, showed us his cardboard wallet, taught us the best hitch-hiking techniques and explained to us how to make a stove out of beer bottles...After I returned I told my mom that I had met my idol and you can imagine her reaction.

Boulder was a great city; biker friendly, clean, convenient and surrounded by mountains and creeks. It's hard to imagine that I once was unaware that cities such as Boulder even existed.



Lessons learned:

Italian sausages make for great dinners by a campfire.

Even if you are fearless, walking within five feet of the edge of the Grand Canyon gives you an exhilarating feeling in your stomach.

Juggling is harder than it looks.

Day 9: Boulder to Denver, Colorado



Denver was a lot smaller than I imagined it to be, but otherwise fit most of my expectations: clean city, friendly people, mountains in the distance, tons of bikes, etc...definitely joins the list of potential places to live. We spent $5 to rent bikes for the day that could be picked up and dropped off at various locations throughout the city.

We couchsurfed again in Denver and spent the night enjoying delicious taco salad, good company and tons of puzzles.

Lessons learned:

Sometimes it's nice to live in a city and know that nature still exists not too far away.

Biking is the cheapest, healthiest, and funnest way to get around a new city.

Eating a chili pepper can give you the "chili hiccups," which judging by the color change in Dan's face, are not something I ever want to have.

Day 10: Denver to Chicago, Illinois
Drove 15 hours straight. Not much excitement aside from the delicious Mongolian dinner we decided to stop for.

Day 11: Rest day in Chicago

Self-explanatory and much needed.

Day 12: Chicago to New York

Since I knew I would be making this 14 hour drive alone, I posted an ad on Craigslist rideshare in an attempt to find someone to share the ride with. I was surprised by the overwhelming response of phone calls and emails I received from travelers looking to join in on the trip. I chose a Chicago native named Tricia to join me for the ride, and luckily we hit it off right away and the hours were filled with chatting. Unfortunately, the backseat of the Jeep was folded up so I was unable to fit any other travelers, but I was paid to transport a box of stained glass across the country from a father to his daughter. Oddly enough, I would have profited from my drive from Chicago to New York, if there was not a slight setback...Indiana police officers.

Before leaving for my trip, my mom told me that she would give me $100 if I made it across the country without getting a ticket. I guess she assumed the odds were in her favor since I would be driving almost 4000 miles in just ten days. She was right. The conversation went something like this...

Police officer: "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Diane: "I am going to assume it was for speeding?"

Police officer: "Yes, were you aware you were in a work zone?"

Diane: "No"

Police officer: "Well you must have missed the six signs that signified this was a work zone with a 45mph speed limit. You were going 72mph."

Diane: "OK"

Police officer: "License and registration, please"

Diane: "Umm, this isn't my car"

Police officer: "Whose car is it?"

Diane: "It's a car I am driving across country through a company that relocates cars."

Police officer: "So its a rented car?"

Diane: "No, it's different."

Police officer: "Well since you are a professional driver, you should know not to speed in work zones"

He didn't seem to understand.

In my defense, there were no workers, no cones, no signs of construction at all.

It just so happens that as of July 1, 2010 Illinois enacted a new law to cut down on speeding in work areas, stating that the minimum fine is $300. I am going to call next week once the ticket is processed, suck up my dignity, and beg for the lowest fine.

To make matters worse, when I was ten minutes away from my final destination and completely out of cash, I noticed toll booths and the Throgs Neck bridge up ahead. Unsure what to do, and somewhat curious what happens in this circumstance I lined up and awaited my turn at the booth. I explained the situation to the lady in the booth who gave me a nasty glare along with a form to fill out as cars behind me produced a somewhat melodious tune of honks. Turns out I have to pay the toll by mail with an additional $2 fee. I guess it could have been worse.

Lessons learned:

You can learn more about a person in a 14 hour car ride than you can by knowing someone your entire life.

Craigslist is a great way to avoid the middleman and work out a deal that benefits both parties involved.

Don't ever speed in a work zone. The potential fine is not worth saving the extra time.

Make sure you have plenty of cash available to pay for tolls.




The roadtrip went amazingly well, especially for our lack of plans and cash. Our typical diet consisted of fig newtons for breakfast, dollar store snacks, peanut butter and nutella sandwiches for lunch, and dinner at a cheap restaurant. We stayed with friends, couchsurfed, camped, and spent two nights at a motel and one night at a hostel. We ended up spending about $475 each, the majority of which went to gas. Sadly, the ticket I received might end up costing more than the entire trip!

Next stop, Brazil...

Yesterday I accepted a job teaching students English at a university in Brazil. To some, this might seem a bit unexpected or dare I say it, a tad bit crazy, so I'll attempt to explain myself...

I have been considering the possibility of pursuing a career in teaching for a while now. I might not be the quinntessential teacher, sporting bumper stickers with slogans like, "If you can read this, thank a teacher" or "Save our schools!" But, I have concluded that there are not many other careers where you can actively make a difference in people's lives, and spend two months a year traveling. However, with a marketing and journalism degree, jumping into teaching is a long process. Before engulfing myself into classes and certifications, and the debt that is bound to come with it, I figured I should give teaching a try. I have been tutoring for a few years now, but I am aware that tutoring one-on-one is very different than teaching an entire classroom of students. And I might as well give in to my irritable little travel bug that has built itself a nice little home with me.

I completed my TEFL certification a few weeks ago. With a TEFL certification I am certified to "Teach English as a Foreign Language." I opted for the 120 hour online certification to save both money and time (and to be honest, because I thought I would breeze through it!) The certification was a bit more difficult than I imagined and I was surprised to learn how many rules of the English language I am still unfamiliar with.

Upon completion, I began applying to jobs everywhere in the world...literally. Okay, I am stretching the truth a bit. My mom made me promise not to teach in a Communist country or a country in war or on the brink of it, which oddly enough eliminated the possibility of me teaching in America, and in her opinion, a fair share of other countries.

It is fairly difficult to get a position teaching in Europe without any experience or EU citizenship (would you believe I am STILL waiting for my German citizenship?!). However, native English teachers are a hot commodity in Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. It seems as if the day I completed my certification, it made headline news in Asia and I've been receiving emails and telephone calls non-stop. I would love to teach in Asia, but unfortunately most of the commitments were for a year and I was looking for something a bit shorter. 

So, Brazil it is.

The university is called Centro Cultural Brasil Estados Unidos (http://www.ccbeulins.com/), and I have been hired as a teacher of upper level to advanced students. The job begins on August 2nd and I must arrive to Brazil on July 28th to begin preparations (yes, three weeks from today). I will be working with university students 26 hours a week, with Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays off to travel. The university is located in the town of Lins, which is apparently a university town four hours or so outside of Sao Paulo. My accommodation, food and Portuguese lessons are provided and I receive a whooping monthly stipend that would make me rich in Brazilian's eyes, but a pauper in America.

When asked if there is anything I need to bring with the reply was "Most Americans like to bring their own bathing suits, because they find the ones in Brazil to be a little on the smaller side." Should be interesting...