Saudades do Brasil: Top 10 Ways To Stay Sane!

My dad studied in Brazil when he was in high school, and when I was young every single time we met a Brazilian (in a restaurant, store, meeting, etc.) he would start speaking Portuguese. The listener was always charmed with this, but frequently responded in English! Anyways, I finally had the opportunity to visit Brazil in 2005, between my semesters in Chile. I had an absolutely amazing time, which I can describe in another post. Tonight, while searching for inspiration for this blog, I came across Adventures of a Gringa in Rio, Rachel Glickhouse's detailed and inspiring chronicle of her experiences teaching dance and living it up in Brazil. She graciously gave me permission to reprint this entry, which originally appeared here. Thanks Rachel! ~Leslie

Top Ten Ways To Stay Sane After You Graduate From College (Brazilian Style)

10. Drink up. Buy yourself some limes, cachaça and sugar, get some ice, and make yourself a caipirinha at the end of a long day of invoices and data entry.

9. Sign up for a dance class: exercise produces endorphins, which helps you forget about what an ass your boss is. But don't forget about your own ass--you can even take a Brazilian exercise class that focuses exclusively on the bumbum, like Leandro Caravalho's famed "Brazilian Butt Lift" class at several gyms in NYC. Samba is an excellent work-out, too.

8. Join a cause. Because how many entry-level jobs are THAT fulfilling? Volunteer in your hometown, or find an NGO worth supporting abroad, like say, in Brazil!

7. Take a hot shower with some exotic aromatic soap. Passion fruit or acerola? Cupaçu or guaraná? Soothing Amazon fruits will wash away your memories of screaming devil children.

6. Learn a new language. If you've studied any Romance language before, Portuguese is a logical and fun choice. Plus, language classes help you pretend you're still in college and help you meet new people. Vamos aprender falar português?

5. Listen to extremely upbeat music. I recommend axé. You will either love it, bop your head wildly and forget that you spent the whole morning filing, or you'll think it's absolutely ridiculous and just laugh and laugh and forget you spent the whole morning filing. A good place to start is with some Ivete and with some Daniela Mercury.

4. Go find an all-you-can-eat meat restaurant. It will really help you forget that tomorrow you have to enter a classroom filled with psychotic, back-talking children. Brazilians do churrascarias right, in New York and everywhere else.

3. Get some sun. If you're lucky enough to be near a beach, then well, you're pretty lucky. If not, take a vacation--stat! I know a good place. Or crank the heat in your apartment, turn the lights up, and put on some bossa nova.

2. Find a new social circle. It helps to mix it up a bit after you're used to your college friends. Brazilians are extremely friendly and sociable--go find some!

1. Move abroad!!! And why not to Brazil?