I'm in the Times of Adam and Eve

Like I said earlier, I arrived in the Azores on June 14th, two weeks before my internship started. After a month of non-stop walking and learning more about about Ancient Rome than I ever wanted to know, I   hopped on a flight to Sao Miguel island to rest/play for two weeks before I would have to start work again. I arrived in this tiny little airport, walked down the tiny little hall, and realized that after a 30 second walk,  I was already released onto the street. I desperately searched for anybody who spoke some English, asking them where customs was. I really thought I had accidentally committed some crime by skipping through any sort of formal passport check process, and I really did not want to have to be kicked off the island and sent home when they found this out. However, my naive self learned that you don't need to go through customs when you travel within the European Union. Figures! Although I was definitely relieved (and embarrassed by the desperation in my voice when I asked the stranger), I was so disappointed I couldn't get my passport stamped!

On the taxi ride to the dorms, I already had the feeling I was really going to like this place. Even though we were driving through the not-so-nice part of town, I couldn't help but smile. There were cows on the side of the road, I could see the ocean to the right and the hills to the left, and I had this feeling that inside these little homes were people who were very different than any I've met before. After 10 minutes, I arrived to the dorms and met some of the Session 1 students who were playing basketball. Little did I know these people would become such good friends!


Saturday June 15th- Daytime
On the first weekend here, I got to go on two tours of the island with the session 1 students. The little city of Ponta Delgada was nothing compared to what I was about to see. The bus took us through the mountains displaying the most spectacular views I have ever seen. The land looked untouched. There are literally cows everywhere in Sao Miguel. They're not even fenced in, and sometimes they'll just start walking down the street. (I have yet to take any pictures of the cows though because I felt like I needed the perfect cow picture. I did take a horse picture though!)

After stopping at some lookouts on the side of the road, we went to a tea factory. Sao Miguel produces its own tea and pineapples. For anyone who knows me well, you know that these are absolutely in my top five as far as foods and drinks go. I got to see how they make the tea and even got to try some! I tried some green tea (my favorite kind) and orange-black tea. Although they were good, I kind of thought it didn't taste like tea. It was just really watery. Nevertheless, a cool experience!

We continued on our journey to go for an hour hike on one of Sao Miguel's many trails. I got to take in the nature and meet some more of the other students. Although the group had already been here for four weeks, I was welcomed with open arms. I was seriously so lucky to come into a group with such great people. On the tour, our tour guide Danny showed us where there is supposedly holy water in the mountain. I don't really think you're supposed to drink holy water, but Danny did anyway. Danny also played with all the machines at the tea factory. He thinks he owns half the island and always reminds us that. I love him.

We got to the part of the hike where you could see the water. I really can't begin to explain how beautiful it is. I just constantly kept thinking that this is what the Earth looked like in the times of Adam and Eve. There are wild flowers everywhere. They're the kinds you find nicely kept in our gardens back in the States. I know this is obvious, but I just never realized at one point those flowers were wild. I just never thought about it before.

After the hike, we went over to see a waterfall but unfortunately didn't have much time to explore. I would have loved to hike some trails around there and to climb to the top.

We then made our way over to the restaurant for lunch where we met the leader of the program Joao. The students of session 1 have a strong distaste for Joao, and I felt kind of sorry for him. He's a nice guy, just really disorganized. After lunch, we went inside the first church in the Azores. It was small, which was nice after seeing the beautiful but overwhelmingly gigantic churches of Italy.

Saturday, June 15th- Night time

That night, I went out with the students to this beach concert at Villa Franca. Villa Franca is this tiny island off of Sao Miguel. I haven't seen it in the daytime yet, but I've heard it's beautiful. I really didn't feel like dressing up so I threw on jeans and a tanktop and as soon as I saw the other girls, I knew I was wildly underdressed. But for some reason, I didn't care too much. I also didn't feel like perpetuating the American stereotype at that moment, which is that American girls are easy. When we got to the concert, I had my first introduction to what Azorean guys can be like when you go out at night. Obviously, they really believe the American stereotype. Two guys came up to my one friend and one said, "My friend wants to touch you" in his Azorean accent. I didn't know whether to be repulsed or laugh really hard. It was so blatant that it was funny. Apparently it's always like that since their English is broken. They really get straight to the point. (On a side note- one time when my friends went out, this midget went around pinching their butts. Her telling the story was priceless because at first she didn't see him there.) (**Also as a side note to any family members reading this, I swear the Azores are safe! There are creepy guys anywhere when you go out! And I'm smart, I promise.)

The music was really fun. It was all in English, but a lot of it I didn't recognize. Still, it was fun to dance and be in a whirlwind of Azoreans. Corinne May and Homa Boms, if you're reading this, I just want to personally tell you that without you two, I go back to my awkward white girl dancing. I just couldn't break it down without you. I went home dead tired but content.