Last IBEA Weekend: A Getaway in the Mountains of Brazil
I cannot believe I am writing about our LAST IBEA Weekend!
Every semester, we have one designated weekend when our cohort gets away from school, assignments, and everything else to spend time together. In Germany, we went to the Black Forest. In the U.S., we went to North Myrtle Beach. In Singapore, we traveled to Besar Island in Johor, Malaysia.
And for our fourth and final IBEA Weekend, we traveled to Resende, Brazil!
This semester, we only have one Brazilian student in our cohort, so he basically planned the entire weekend himself, and it turned out AMAZING. We are all so grateful for everything he did to make our last one so special.
A Mountain Escape
We started by taking a bus from Rio de Janeiro to Resende, where we stopped for lunch. From there, we took a private bus farther into the mountains to this adorable property outside of Visconde de Mauá. The drive itself was absolutely beautiful. We were surrounded by mountains and greenery, and the farther we drove, the prettier the views got.
When we arrived, I immediately loved where we were staying. The property was so colorful and cute, with a bunch of little houses spread throughout it. Since there are around 30 of us, we split into smaller groups and stayed in the different houses together.
We were also right next to a creek and completely surrounded by nature. It was such a peaceful change from being in the middle of Rio.
A Weekend Full of Brazilian Food
And probably one of the best parts… we had private chefs cooking for us the entire weekend!
I don’t even know the names of half the Brazilian food we ate, so the pictures will have to speak for themselves, but everything was SO good.
Every morning, they had homemade yogurt with all kinds of fresh fruit, including mango, kiwi, bananas, different types of oranges and limes, melons, and so much more. They also made scrambled eggs and had fresh pão francês with honey, butter, meats, cheeses, and all kinds of toppings. Everything tasted so fresh, and it was the perfect way to start each morning.
Each meal was something special. We even had a Brazilian barbecue one night that lasted several hours, with all kinds of chicken, pork, steak, rice, beans, farofa, and so many different sides.
We also had tons of desserts, including chocolate fudge treats, lime cake, and plenty of other things that I don’t know the names of but happily ate.
Slowing Down and Soaking It In
Honestly, a huge part of the weekend was simply eating good food and hanging out together. We spent our days enjoying the sun, listening to music, playing card games, sitting by the creek, and enjoying each other’s company.
There was even a sauna on the property, so of course we had to take advantage of that too! Some people went horseback riding, hiked into the nearby village, and swam in the creek.
Unfortunately, I was still wearing my two walking boots at this point, so I couldn’t participate in most of the physical activities. Definitely not how I pictured spending our final IBEA Weekend, but I still had such a good time.
If anything, it forced me to slow down and enjoy just being there with everyone.
Campfires, Card Games, and a Little Competition
At night, we had a campfire, played games, listened to music, and stayed up way too late hanging out together.
There was actually supposed to be a blood moon around 1:00 a.m. one of the nights, which would have been so cool to see from the middle of the mountains. Unfortunately, it ended up being too cloudy to see it, but I still think it’s so cool that it happened while we were there!
We played President, trivia games, our infamous “Russian card game” that none of us ever seem to call by its actual name, and Truco, a Brazilian card game that we all learned that weekend.
One night, we even paired up and had an entire Truco competition after everyone learned the rules. It got competitive.
A Spider Surprise and a Dog Mystery
And then there was the spider.
One day, we found the BIGGEST spider we had ever seen in person inside our house. Eventually, some brave people from our cohort came over, managed to grab it, and released it somewhere else. I was perfectly fine letting them handle that situation.
We had taken pictures of it and decided to look up what it was afterward. We thought it might have been a Brazilian wandering spider, though we couldn’t confirm that. Either way, we were very grateful it was no longer in our house!
There were also dogs roaming around the property all weekend, which led to one of the funniest misunderstandings.
A few people had run into the village and came back with this white dog following them. Since most of the dogs on our property were darker, everyone thought this random village dog had followed them ALL the way back.
The poor thing was even limping, so we were sitting there thinking this dog had somehow limped behind them for miles just to come home with us.
Turns out… he literally lived on the property. So that entire dramatic story we had created in our heads was for nothing.
Four Countries, So Many Memories
The whole weekend was just so much fun. There wasn’t some crazy itinerary or a million things we needed to see. We got to eat, play games, listen to music, enjoy the mountains, and spend uninterrupted time together.
And I think that’s what made it so special.
It’s crazy to think about how much has happened since our first IBEA Weekend in the Black Forest. Since then, we’ve lived together in four countries, traveled all over the world, completed consulting projects, sat through countless classes and presentations, and created so many memories together.
Now, somehow, we are already in Brazil having our last one.
It definitely feels bittersweet knowing that so many of our IBEA “lasts” are starting to happen, but I couldn’t have asked for a better final weekend together.
From the Black Forest to North Myrtle Beach to our own little “IBEA Island” in Malaysia and finally the mountains of Brazil, these weekends have been some of my favorite memories of the entire program.
What an incredible way to end the last one.
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