Engaging the World with AIESEC Yale: Dylan in Salvador (weeks 3-4)

Watching Brazil - Colombia on the big screen at Barra
... on the Fourth of July... oops

Wow it´s been an unforgettable couple of weeks. Due to the recent conjunction of two religious holidays -- Sao Jaoa (Saint John´s) and the World Cup -- our work at the Instituto was put on hold for about two weeks and me and a few other AIESECers went on some adventures. First we went to San Antonio where we (25 people) rented a tiny apartment for the week and went to the live concerts every night. All the newbies like me had to rapidly learn to dance Bahia´s famous dance, the Forro, because apparently it´s their only dance. After returning from that week we got a good night´s sleep back in Salvador before heading off this next day to Chapada Diamantina, one of the most beautiful natural areas in Brazil which is about a 6 hour bus ride from Salvador. We were there for 4 nights. Using a hostel as base camp, we hiked around on nearby trails, explored caves, swam in beautiful lakes, slid down water falls, and, of course, watched the World Cup. Then, the day after we returned, me and 3 friends decided to try to get tickets for the US-Belgium game in Salvador. Sure enough, we ran into an American selling 4 for 1600 reais and we nabbed them. The result of the game wasn´t pleasant but it was an incredible experience going to a WC match. Since then I´ve been recovering my lost hours of sleep and doing a little reading and eating. Today we returned to the Instituto, and tomorrow Brazil plays.. enough said. That is the briefest of summaries of the last couple weeks. I´ve provided a lot of pictures to compensate for this lackluster post!

About to go cave exploring, flashlights in tow

The inside of the Fonte Nova before kickoff

Pelourinho -- one of Salvador´s many late night attractions.
From left to right: me, Mickael (French/Portuguese), John
(Egyptian), Felipe (Mexican), Ruy (Brazilian), Oscar (Ukrainian)