Day 1: I started the day by taking a city walking tour. We went to the Opera House, which was beautiful. The details were very European influenced. They even call Manaus the “France of Brazil” because most of their architectural materials were brought over to Brazil from Europe. Next we went to an Indian museum where they told us about the Indian influence on the culture. Lastly we went to the local fish market. This was by far my favorite part of the tour, besides the fish smell (yuck!). It was so cool to watch the workers prepare the fish, the adults catching up with one another, and the children all playing and laughing with each other. After the tour I spent a good amount of the day walking and exploring the city with some friends. For dinner we went to a local restaurant and then to an ice cream shop that had the BEST ice cream I’ve ever had.
Day 2: Today was the day to accomplish one of my life long goals-to swim with dolphins! And with any goal there were a few hurdles to jump along the way. When I think swimming with dolphins I think going to the nearby zoo, getting in the pool, do some tricks with them, etc. Ha, NO! SAS failed to tell us that we would be traveling 2 hours by boat to get to our destination, which was fine, just would have liked a heads up. They also failed to tell us we would be doing a two hour hike in the rainforest, again, very cool, just would have liked the heads up! So thinking I was going to some sort of pool I dressed in a swimsuit, shorts, and tank top. The tour guide saw half of the group dressed like this, frowned, and said “I’m really nervous for all of you with shorts on, there and fire ants and poisonous snakes along the path we’ll be taking.” Oh goody… So for the next two hours I spent what was supposed to be an enjoyable hike through the rainforest in a panic with my heart racing every time I saw a fire ant. Which was often. After that lovely experience I regained my normal pulse rate when we approached a local restaurant along the edge of the rainforest. Lunch was so amazing and delicious! I even tried their local fish, which I actually liked since it was breaded and drenched in hot sauce. After lunch it was finalllly time to get to the dolphins! It did not disappoint! We arrived to a dock of a family’s home, got a noodle (great safety gear, huh?) and jumped right into the lake that was right out of the Amazon River. Then it hit me, we were going to swim with the wild dolphins that lived in that lake! Obviously, they were not trained so we weren’t able to do tricks and whatnot with them, but it was still amazing! I got to pet and swim alongside the dolphins. It was such a cool experience! And to make it better, the Amazon dolphins are pink! :D After playing with them for what seemed like 15 minutes, but was probably more like 2 hours, it was time to head back. On our way back to the port we got stuck in a big storm on the boat. It was actually pretty cool to see. The crew got us all back safe and sound and I was ready for some dinner! A group of us went to a traditional Brazilian barbeque. It was an experience getting to the restaurant, I’ll just leave it at that, but it was worth it! Not exaggerating, that was the best meal of my life!
Day 3: Today was another explore day. I explored the city and the many markets with some friends for a good amount of the day, about 9 to 5. After dinner we went to a samba school. It was amazing! I feel like I can’t put into words how awesome it was. Carnival is just around the corner, so we got to try on the costumes for this upcoming carnival. After we got acquainted (the best we could trying to speak Portuguese) we went to watch them practice. They had a few of us join them in learning their dance and soon all of the SASers were out on the street practicing their dance with them. They even let a few of us play the drums while they were rehearsing. This experience was so incredible! What struck me most was how hard it was to communicate in the beginning when we were trying to talk to one another and then as soon as we started dancing it was like we all spoke the same language. All of us together were dancing, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. This night was so cool for me because I took a class last year about Brazilian music and culture. It was awesome to apply that knowledge to my experience tonight and be a part of what I learned about in class.
Day 4: I went to a children’s center/foster care today. It was hard in the beginning with the language barriers, but soon we started a game of soccer and tag and everyone was having a good time. We were only there for about an hour and a half because traffic was so bad and we had to get back to the ship in time to leave. I was happy to put a smile on a few kid’s faces though even if it was a short amount of time.
Reflection: At this port I definitely was put out of my comfort zone. Manaus is not a tourist city, so some were not particularly welcoming and it is one of the most dangerous cities in Brazil so I had to constantly be watching my surroundings. The language barriers were harder than I thought to deal with. I tried speaking Spanish and that helped a little bit, but most people were not able to understand us. Even when they did understand what I was saying in Spanish they’d reply in Portuguese and I had no idea what they were saying. I don’t think I’ve used this much hand gestures in my life. It was hard for me because I wanted to respect them and their culture but it was impossible to not stand out of the crowd being the only white people speaking English. This port reminded me of the book A Small Place that was required for us to read before we came because I could definitely feel the unwelcomed view from some. As much as I tried to not come off as an ignorant American, I’m sure we all did. I tried to keep myself in check and look at us from their point of view. We are invading their space, everyday life, and culture. I know for a fact, since I saw some classmates do this, some were acting like we were superior and they were just the them for us to look at and take pictures of. This is my pet peeve when foreigners take a bunch of pictures close up of the people on the street living their life like it’s a showcase or something. Tonight at dinner I was complaining about this to a friend that I went to the Samba school with and his story made me feel a lot better. He said that one of the drummers pulled him aside and had someone translate to my friend what he wanted to say. The drummer said, “We have never met American’s and we all had this idea that you were all stuck up, ignorant, and self-centered people. After tonight you all have changed our views on American’s and I thank you. You have all been very kind and loving towards us.” This put the biggest smile on my face. I’m glad I at least made a little difference while here. Another moment that was pretty eye opening was visiting the children’s center. Not necessarily for the position they’re in, only because I have been to orphanages before so I knew what to expect. On the way to the orphanage I was sitting next to a girl named Dee who lived in Uganda for a year working at an orphanage and has her own nonprofit. Our conversation was very interesting to me because we were talking about if we are really making any difference in the world by taking a few hours out of our day to do some form of service towards others. Her view was no, because people do a few hours here and there to help out but no one ever commits to one place/group of people. My view was yes, because at least we are putting in some effort, granted most of us could afford to spend more time helping out, at least we offer a hand of help when we feel we are able to. Unlike some of the students who are staying at 5-star hotels at each port we go to. And at least are able to make most of the people happy for the time that we visit and just have fun and forget about their life situations for a while. It was interesting to hear her believes because she made some good points. A lot of people donate money, but what most places need are people’s time and love. I think we are taught that donating money is good enough, and while that is a good thing, it is also important to give back to others with your time and love.
“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.” – O.W. Holmes
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