As Promised

The Date
As promised in the last post, I will give you my brief analisis of Brazilian dating.
My friend from samba class class took me on a date to a club that holds themed dances every Saturday. This friend of mine drives a motorcylce, however, my host parents were not comfortable with me riding the motorcycle at night, so they drove us. From the American aspect of this...I figured this would make him uncomfortable, but it didn't. He talked with my host parents very comfortabley. If he didnt like the situation...I didn't pick up any hints.
We danced and talked much of the night and had a really good time.......
He paid for everything...
He was not shy there wasn't awkwardness.....
What else is there to say?
Brazilians seem to be good date companians.

CHristmas.
So much food. Too much food. My host mother was concerned about having enough...so she requested that I made double of everything. So, in addition to my three dozen cookies, I made two apple pies, two pumpkin pies, two pumpkin rolls and bananna nut bread. And...my host mother made two dishes of moose maracuja (really good) and my host mother's mother made a really good pinapple dessert and another family brought ice cream. That was just dessert. There was too too much for only fourteen people.....an aspect of the Brazilian Christmas similar to our own. The family stayed Christmas Eve night until very early Christmas morning and then returned Christmas day for left overs.
Main Events:
Food
Drink
More Food
Me Singing
Food
Short Exchange of Gifts

Things I've Noticed:
-many Brazilians wear scapulas
-Brazilian woman are many times the dominant in a relationship...atleast more so here than in the US
-Brazilians use lots of pattern
-Holidays are less fun with out family

Christmas Time Update

The Show
The show went well. I danced the foha...a brazilian folk dance. My partner, Vini, and I did not make any mistakes big enough to ruin the show.. My performance of Once Upon a December went all right too. I actually was accompanied with a violin...so even if the sound system wasnt the best..the vision was strong. I lived my dream that night...and I had my friends Andrea, of Columbia, there to witness it. She was with me the first time I encountered this theater..and was there to hear me say I wanted to perform in it...and was there in the end to see it happen. My host parents and the mother of my host mother was there as well. They seemed to have enjoyed the show.. My host father had teary eyes when I returned to there table after the show. After the show was a baile...or a dance. This baile was especially fantastic because it consisted of dancing with actual steps and movements..and actual people who knew how to dance. It was so much fun for me. My feet hurt so bad at the end of the night.

Feet
Yes my feet hurt that night...but they looked good. My host parents bought me a very very chic pair of black stiletos as an early Christmas present. My host mother is a very intelligent woman.. Along with her knowledge in law and motherhood and common sense is her knowledge and passion for shoes. In my room exists a closet containing probably 60 pairs of heels. All of them (the ones I have seen so far) were purchased in good taste. It is a very cool experience for me to know someone like this..femine, stylish, and a power house.

Dreams
I dreamed in Portuguese. I was at a dream version of my Aunt Char's house with my friends and some cousins. The dream version of my Aunt's house had about four stories and balconies on each floor...as well as a huge basement with lots of doors and a large in-ground pool. I was with my friends talking to them in Portuguese...making an effort to talk to them in Portugese...and didnt realize I was doing so until my cousin Arron...with very uncharacteristic hair (mullet) asked me why I was doing so and told me not to. Because of this I spoke in english..until my 7th grade teacher came and told me I should speak in Portuguese..

Life
There are ups and downs here..just like there would be at home. Its not always easy being away from the people who mean the most in your life. I do not want to go home. I have nightmares about being home early, not fluent and with out a way to return. No, I have not wished to be back in the states but, there have been times when I wished I was with my family.

Holliday
My plans to see my sister in Peru fell through..but there is still hope. My sister plans on coming to see me after the holliday passes. I am excited for this. After a very annoying, unnescessarily extended amount of time searching for answers from the right people...I was told , only a little bit less than rudely, that I did not have permission. Honestly I knew it was a long shot, but the suspense pulled me in...so I was dissapointed, but now theres hope of Lauran being in Brazil...which makes me very happy.

This year, my host family will be having a well sized Christmas gathering here at the house. I have been assigned the duty of baking Christmas cookies and treats..very excited about this..
The plan for the new year...is that the family will go to the beach..a brazilian tradition that will be carried out by, I am assuming, the majority of Brazil..It is going to be um festa grande.

Brazil 101
- parties here start at the same time when parties end in the states.
-Brazil has 12 national hollidays..and there are parties for all of them
-For the new year there exists the tradition of buying new panties. The color you purchase represents your goal of attaining in the new year. White-peace Yellow-money Green- health Red-romance


My Next Update
In the next update of "B-zil" you can look forward to learning about the cultural aspect of Brazilian dating..:)

Lots to talk about.

Yes yes lots and lots to talk about.
For starters, last night I changed houses. I am now living with Sergio(Father), Lee (Mother) and Rodrigo (brother). The change is a typical rotary change. Through out the year exchange students are required to live among three different families and these changes take place about every three months. Wow, time flies. We're told (exchange students) that changing houses can be difficult and what not, but I have known this family since my first day in Brazil. If you recall from my earlier posts, I have traveled with them a couple times before once for my first Brazilian wedding in Sâo Paulo and also my first trip to Guaruja. My things are not yet put away, but I am already feeling a comfort within my new home. As for the Valdrighis, they were a perfect beginning family and I feel like I will miss them. But there are already plans for them to be at my future wedding and I will be seeing them often, especially Lucy, through out the rest of my stay here.

So, with in this past month, it was impossible to keep a routine. Between Palavras Crusadas (the play) and Guaruja and just typical "intercambista" things, the almost usual routine of dance classes, and Portuguese classes was ignored. Last Thursday I returned to my Samba class after atleast three weeks of missing it. The class ended a little bit early and more people started showing up to practice for a performance they will be giving on the 12th of this month. I had known about the performance before hand, and was invited to participate but declined the offer because I knew I would not be able to participate in all of the practices. Well I waited behind to catch a glimpse of what my fellow dancers would be performing and to my suprise my name was called by my teacher and I was directed to a spot on the dance floor. Honestly I did not really have a grip of what was going on. I was thinking that for some reason he just randomly put me in the show. Life here as an intercambista is all about embracing randomness and ignorance so like always I just went with the flow, not attempting to ask questions in my broken Portuguese that would be sure to cause confusion among the Brazilian dancers. I practiced with them, easily using the steps that I had learned before and putting them to a new sequence, impressing many...possibly discouraging a few. The practice ended and Lucy was there, so I asked her if she could ask someone what was going on. In ended up being that I was just filling in so that one of the dancers could have a partner...but then it happened that the dance teacher asked me to be in the show. He asked me to attened a practice on Sunday...with the thought of paying for costume I gave him an indefinate answer and left. I decided later that night that I wanted to participate and so on Sunday attended another dance practice and then attended to on Monday. The early practice on monday was a private lesson with my dance teacher. He decided that I would be dancing the Foha..(I would have preferred samba or waltz). After the lesson, when Lucy came to pick me up she mentioned to him, as she mentions to almost everyone we meet, that I sing. With just the right amount of cohersion I sang for them Oh Holy Night. After hearing me sing he pulled up the programs for the show on his computer and asked if I would sing for free or if I required payment. Ofcourse I told him for free...hoping in the back of my mind for some free dance classes...and he got all excited and wrote me into the program making for an international show. Yay. So I will be singing, Once Upon a December from the movie Anastasia for the performance..and on top of all this excitement is the location. All of this is going to take place in an old(leaks when it rains), but beautiful Ball room theatre. The first time I saw this theatre I said to myself that I wanted to perform there...and now I get too. I am very very happy about this...very happy.

The third big news..well the above definatly takes the cake, but I find it worth mentioning that school is over for me until Feburary. I am very happy about this as well. I am excited for Christmas here....and I am hoping to go see my sister in Peru during Christmas time as well.

Lots and Lots of things..

Thinking of my loves back in the states.


Things that I have Noticed
-I am beginning to forget how Americans dress
-Brazil does not really have a film or tv industry...TV here consists of US made movies..US based series and about 4 or 5 Brazilian soaps...with ofcourse Local News

Guarujá

I spent this past weekend on a beach in thr city of Guarujâ. Lucy has a very wealthy older cousin who lives in Sâo Paulo city who owns an apartment (four bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, complete kitchen, dining and living space, with laundry area and balcony facing the Atlantic) there. I met the man, Lionz, the owner, one time at the wedding I went to with my first host family in the big city. The day after the wedding my host parents and I had Lunch with him and some other cool looking family members. After dinner I gave a little concert and after my performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" the man extended an invite for me to encounter his other homes. One in Guarujâ and the other in Florida..I think Orlando.
My weekend was perfect all except for me stepping on a crab...which isnt even all that bad because it makes for a good story. The beautiful apartment was only steps from the beach...where I spent most of the my time with my family. For the first time in my life I body surfed waves and watched actualy surfers do their work. I was served coconut water from a man with a corn and coconut stand. Everyday our chairs and umbrella would be set up next to his stand and I would watched him vigorusly hack open the coconuts with a two foot long machete knife...thinking..this would so not happen in the states. I averaged about two coconuts a day...after drinking teh water sometimes I would have the man with the large knife chop it open and carve out the coconut meat for me to eat. I had to pull my mind away from the situation to realize that it was happening. Although the apartment had four more beds than we needed, I chose to spend to of the nights on a couch. Why you may ask. The apartments living area had a huge glass door that we kept open at night, that faced out towards the oceas capturing a majestic panorama. When the ocean breaze and song wasnt rocking me to sleep, I could simply open my eyes and witness something more beautiful than dreams.
Sometimes all the new things are overwhelming and it takes a while for me to realize the situations I am in, the beauty in front of me. I feel like I've been on a vacation for the past three months. Its all gone by so fast. Its another seven months until I go home, but its already going by too fast. I feel like I do not have time to recongize all the things I am learing...they're just coming...like all these wrapped gifts are flying at me and I am grabbing them...but they wont stop coming so I have to wait to open them.

Things I've Noticed:
-I saw a group of people outside a Pizzaria eat pizza with gloves
-it's really late and I should sleep

Update

Hard to believe its been over a month since my last post. Time flies here.

Since I last wrote I have performed in the play "Palavra Crusadas" two times. My performance simply consists of singing a few verses of Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind" while my friend Vini plays guitar. The performances are not yet over. The cast is expected to have another show in Sâo Paulo. A lady who attended one of the previous performances saw the play and liked it so much she wanted to bring in to the big city.

I have traveled to my host family's farm in the state of Moto Grosso...a short 18 hour drive from Piracicaba. On the farm I experienced many new things. I herded cattle, ate from the adundant fruit trees, kind of helped with cow stuff...I dont know..Swam in the river on the farm, swam in two different natural hot springs..it was great. I never like living out of a suit case though...so it was great to be home after a week.

My Portuguese is coming along. The 22nd of this month will be my 3rd month here and they say after three most people are fluent. I haven''t dreamed in Portuguese yet...but when I do I am going to write about the dream here.

Things I've Noticed:
-Milk comes in square cartons that are not refridgerated until opened.
-People to not drink from tap...everyone has the upside-down water jug things
-I havent been to a house that has carpet
-guitar is a very popular instrument..many young people play
-Music is huge here. That had a concert at school where a bunch of local bands and talents performed

Another Year Older

Lets start this off with a random fact: Today in Brazil is the beginning of Day Light Savings Time...this is funny to me..just last year around this time I asked my friend if day light savings time exsisted in other countries...

As of Sunday October 11, I am another year older. I spent my birthday weekend in the city of Garuja..a place famous for its beaches. I spent four nights and two complete days there with my second family and their friends. Friday I went to a sushi restaurant for the first time...I was assured by a man named Chico that there was a very good hospital near by..so it was alright to try everything... :) Saturday I was given a tour by car of the town and its scenic locations. I was taken to a very nice restaurant..(Food is very very significant here..everthing is good. Not everything..but 9 out of 10 new foods I try I love..I have never had an unsatisfying meal and I am starting to show signs of that) After food there was shopping and birthday presents. Much later my friends Lucas(Brazilian) and Aleck (Tiwainese) called me up...they just happened to be in the same city located at least four hours away from where we all live...and invited me to hang out with them. I got dressed with the help of the two daughters in the household...borrowing their clothes and jewlery..and then before Lucas and Aleck arrived I spent some time with the two daughters and their friends while a very handsom Brazilian guy played guitar.

My birthday started very early with the singing of Parabems...at 12:00 am on OCT 11...in a car full of people I didnt know and didnt speak english...It was cool..beyond that the night was uneventful...and I returned the the house where I was staying and stayed up late talking with the daughters and their friend.

MY BIRTHDAY DAY!!! I went to the beach. The beaches here are different. This beach stretched at least a mile and a quarter and all along the beach are venders and cantinas and ...There were tons of people...but not in the water. Practically the only people in the water (Atlantic) were the sufers because it was a bit chilly. The thing to do on the beaches here when you are not drinking, playing some sport or in the water is parade up and down the beach...and at some point in your day at the beach...everyone does it. Theres so many people..it reminded me of traffic. All you do is walk. It is nice.. Another nice thing about beaches here is that really know one cares...I was the whitest person on the beach...no one even came close to my transparent color...but no one cared.. No one cares...no one judges..no one looks anyone else up and down.. The Brazilians really seemed to be content with themselves at the beach and nothing else mattered nothing else phased them...

After my beaching, there was time for relaxation and then a little later a BBQ birthday party. The daughters invited their boys and their friends and Lucas, Alick and family came and of course my second family was there...so it was a nice part with good people..Later there was a huge, beautiful chocolate cake..(however..I think they over do cakes here with multiple fillings and different flavors...I prefer cake in the states I think)

My birthday did not stop there however, just yesterday was the third singing of Parabems(Congradulations..brazilian version of Happy Birthday and for Hes a jolly good fellow all wrapped into one) with candles set in icecream.. Ohh Icecream...I found my favorite type of icecream here..Milho...or corn. Seriously, it is amazing.

Things I have noticed:
-Girls do not shave above their knees
-Homes do not have basements
-Almost all young girls have long hair
-People of all ages are wearing braces
-Brazilians love the TV series "House"and "Friends"
-Futbol..Soccer...is practically a religion

Typical Day

Sometimes it just hits me..I am living here. I am starting to feel the rythm of it all and a comfortable routine is falling into place. On the weekdays, Segunda feira though Sexta feira, I wake up at six o'clock with a knock on my door from my host mother and the words "bom dia". After my primping and prepping I go to the kitchen for breakfast which almost everyday is mamao, a type of melon, freshly made orange juice and toast. Lucy makes the toast on the stove in a skillet and uses bread from the bakery.
My school, Liceau, starts at seven o'clock, but not a day goes by that student walks into class a bit late. There are no detentions given. The student gives a polite excuse me and then goes to his seat. The normal days at school seem to last for much longer than in actuality. I still cannot understand the teachers and so I will make vocab sheets, go over old vocab, look at work from my Portuguese class and when I am not doing that I am day dreaming.
After school everyday I am given a ride home from Fernando's (Tiago's best friend) mother. I enter my apartment first through two security gates. I say "oi" to the security guard on duty and make my way to the elevator which I take to the top floor, 16. When I come home I greet my parents with a hug and a kiss to the side of the face. I set my school things in my room and then we eat lunch.
My midafternoon life has a good variation to it. There really is no exact schedule to it and I do not think there will be one. I like it like this.

This weekend I went to a wedding in Sao Paulo. This wedding like the other one was not in a church. instead it was at a really nice house. The music for the actual ceromony was not at all traditional. Again there were waiters brought around food and drink. The dancing was again great and the main event. As in the first wedding I went, hats and masks and glow lights were passed out on the dance floor.

I actually met another "gringo" from New York at the wedding. He, a graduate of Columbia, and a man with a really interesting life story, explained this to me. Things are more expensive here because Brazil is a third world country...Here exists the extremely poor and the very wealthy. The poor do not shop in stores and so stores are made for the wealthy. The wealthy can afford higher prices and so items are more expensive. It is true. Clothes, shoes, electronics are all more expensive here than in the states. I spent 22 raeis this afternoon on a bar of cetaphil soap.
However, produce seems to be less expensive here.

My time of the year

Today is the first of October, my favorite month. October holds the two best days of the year, my birthday and Halloween. In Ohio around this time of year, I can feel the season in my soul..and I love it. The love the erieness it has to it. If I was a month, I would be this month...
Here, however it is not Auntum. For Brazilians, Octobro means the beginning of summer. Recently the weather has been unusually chilly but it feels like home to me.

Last night I performed "I Could Have Danced All Night" for a group of business people who were giving presentations of their work. I was the opening for the night. After my performance I had to leave for my dance class and some people were openly dissapointed that I couldn't sing more. It felt good. I have been singing a lot lately. I cannot imagine how unhappy I would be had I not brought my music.

I have much planned for the weekend. Friday I will be going to some musical performance, I do exactly understand what it is, but I know that the show sold out. I am going with photogrophers from my rotary club, so I will be watching from back stage. As I said, I am not sure what will be going on, but I have a feeling I am going to love it.
Saturday I believe I am going to another wedding. So when I return for my next blog I should have something entertaining to write about.

Somethings I've noticed:
-On Wednesday when I came home from school I was in the lobby of my appartment building waiting for the elevator when I here blaring classical music from outside. Where was this music coming from? It was coming from a huge truck that was collecting peoples recycling...like an icecream truck it blares music so that people know it is coming. Recycling and classical music. Isn't it perfect?
-I of course noticed this along time ago, but I do not recall if I wrote about it. Here, toilet paper goes into the trash can, not the toilet.

A little home sickness

A little home sickness...I think that is what you would call it. This week my mind was definately in Ohio with my family. I did not want to go home, I just wanted to be with my family.



But things are still going strong here. I am understanding much more Portuguese. I am really going to focus this week on trying to understand my teachers. They speak very fast and in the past I have beens unable to understand what they are saying... It is truely exausting to focus all of my attention on a sound and try to recognize words. Last week I was reconginzing a good majority of the words but was unable to actually understand content. Last week my brain became fried after my first period(1 and 15 minutes) and so for he rest of the day I would look up words in my minidictionary, day dream and write poetry.



Last weekend I spent Saturday and a good portion of my Sunday with other intercambistas...I mean exchange students. I met students from Germany, Denmark, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Tiwain, Canada, and other Americans. We spent two days and one night in the very cool city of Botucatu (Boat-two-catch-oo). There, we bonded, ate great food, played games, had a pizza party at a very nice home of a Rotarian. For the night all the students we split up and sent to the homes of rotarians to spend the night. The family I stayed with was friendly and had a very lovely home. The next day we were told of the city's history..but in Portuguese...so I cannot really tell you what they told us. All the exchange students met the mayor or Botucatu, were were given books about the city and all were autographed by the author. Then we boarded a bus and drove to the country. Our first stop we ate lunch on..kind of a side of a moutain...It is really difficult to explain. Our second stop was at a waterfall, but before we got to the waterfall we had to hike a rough path for about 3/4 of a mile. The waterfall was beautiful..but my camera died..so I will have to steal pictures from other exchange students facebooks/orkuts..
A rotarian from Piracicaba, Rosali, gave me and some other exchange students a ride home from Botucatu. The drive was kind of long and at some point it was necessary for us to stop for gas. However, the gas station we stopped at did not have any gas...and Rosali did not have enough gas in her tank to make it to the next gas station. Sounds bad...but not in Brasil. With in twenty minutes there were two guys cking gas out of their own tank and putting it into our car. Of course Rosali payed them for teh gas...but only in Brasil..I dont even know of people in the loving town of Monroeville would do that.




On Wedensday (quarta-feira) this past week I skipped school and traveled to Sao Paulo to be with my sister Natalia at her university. I went with her to some classes and she gave me a tour of her "campus" and some labs. In the past she had told me about the rats she works with (bio medicine) and how cute they were. In one of the labs she took me two she chose a box/cage of 4 test rats and set it on the counter of a small room that only the two of us were in. She opened the box/cage and picked up the biggest rat. To both of our surprise the rat took off running around the counter that stretched around two walls of the room. I figured I would be helpful and assist my sister in catching the rat so I grabbed it. The rat with lightning speed crawled up my arm on to my chest and got to my neck before my sister grabbed it off of me and threw it back in its box/cage. She said that had never happened before and later referred to the rat as the rat from hell. hahaha.

Somethings I've Noticed:
-The soil here is a dark red
-It is not uncommon to be in a random place..like school, or on the street, or a church and find a tree with fruit and just eat right off of it.
-All gas stations are service gas stations...drivers do not even have to get out of there cars...but they do to make conversation for enjoyment.

Fun Weekend

After Bella e Feta, I went to an over night Interact meeting. The meeting was at a location that could be compared to a campground, but thats really not what it was. There were probably about 60 people there. At practically any moment you could here someone playing guitar and singing. (sometimes that person was me. Since I've been here I have given quite a few performances). At Interact there was constant access to food. At night there was a dance.."ballada". I loved it. It was perfect. Saturday night I probably got a total of 1, 2 at the very most, hours of sleep. It was the job of some of the Interact students not to let others sleep. Sunday night, when I got home I crashed around five in the afternoon and slept until 6 this moring.

I've meet so many awesome people. One of the hardest things I have had to deal with so far is the task of remembering peoples names. I think I almost know everyone in my class. I know most everyones name on my host mothers side of the family... Its like when I meet knew people there names are kicked out of my head with in a couple seconds....My brain gets all scrambled and all my focus is on listening to what they are saying and trying to translate.

The day I am fluent in going to be a great great day.

This weekend I went to see a performance in Sao Paulo of Beauty and the Beast (Bella e Feta). It was sweet. I stayed the night at a Rotarians apartment with two other exchange stuudents..I returned earlier this afternoon, and now have to prepare for a weekend with Interact students..

Things are going very well.

Since We Last Spoke...

As I expected, computer access is inconsistent...so I apologize to all those who have been waiting for a new update (mom, Lauran). Things are going well. My Portuguese improves daily. I am getting good with comprehension, but my speaking still confuses most people. It is funny to think about how rediculus I must sound to them.
Since I last wrote, I have continued with my dance classes. My weekends have been busy. This past Saturday and Sunday (sabado e domingo) I went to a Brazilian wedding. It was hands down the coolest wedding I have ever been to. The party was in the same place as the actual wedding. The entire fest, wedding and party took place at night. The food was never ending, and in multiple locations. The service was amazing, the drink was great, the people were so happy. I had a great time. I went to this wedding with my second host family. Before hand we went to a huge mall in Sao Paulo( the wedding was in Sao Paulo also) and my second host mother and myself got our hair done. It was really cool. It was especially nice to get mine done because I do not have a hair dryer so my hair hasn´t looked too great for some time. ha.

Somethings I have noticed recently:
*not too many people have blue eyes here.
*People do not stop at stop signs.
*Most people drive stick shift
*Almost all the kids in my class wear nikes

How do people my age get around?
Here, the driving age is 18, so it seems that if those younger than that want to get around, they ask for rides. Honestly, there is not a whole lot of walking long distances...and I have seen bikers, but only on the high way on my way to Sao Paulo.

Today, I fell asleep in class, the first time in my life I have ever done that. When I woke up, there was a spider on me... Taught me not to take naps in school...:)

An End to my First Week

Oi,

Tudo Bem.

This week was intense. There is so much going on that everything seems to just blur together.

Since I last updated, I met my father Miguel. He is very nice. I had my first day of school this past Tuesday. My school, Liceau, is very cool. Like most places here, the school building was built to be open. In the middle of the building is the Cantina, where during any of the three breaks we have, students can go and buy whatever they want. In this same area, there in no roof. Theres patio furniture and ping pong tables all in this court yard. I believe on Thursday, during lunch students on the second level were thowing chalk at the students in the courtyard, Cantina area. There were no teachers to stop them, they didnt really care. haha..this are so layed back. Eventual, a janitor/hall monitor person came and told them to stop, but no one got into trouble.


High school is structured differently here is comparison to the states. Here, there are three grade levels of high school. They are called grades 1, 2, and 3. I am in the second grade at the begining of 2010 I will be starting a new year in the third grade. My class is made if up kids who are 15 and 16. Really, they do not look so young. Most of the guys already have facial hair, something that did not develop for most of the boys in Monroeville until Senior year. My class mates are very nice. I made friends with a boy named Ettore who will be leaving on Monday for boarding(spelling?) school in Switzerland on Monday...his choice. Ettore is fluent in English and in Samba. This past week I spent much time with him. He took me to his dance class where I learned how to Samba.(this was actually my second dance class of the week, the first class I learned how to Foha...not sure of spelling...another traditional brazilian dance) Apparenltly I was born to dance hahaha I picked up very quickly on the steps. Ettore introduced me to many of his friends...my age, who he happend to know through his english class. Language classes are not through schools here. Many students pick up languages as extracurriculars at language schools. Very cool. Most people here know at least a little bit on english as well as some other foreign language. I am so excited to be learing Portugues. Anyway, with these friends I went to a bar, and then a dance club. Both places were so much fun. Yesterday with these same friends I went to a birthday party of a girl named Jesica. This girl, along with most of the people I have come to know, has an awesome house. Her downstairs was also part of her outdoors and only half had a ceiling. The food their was amazing, it was actually a fondu party. Mmmm....i am going to be fat.

There seems to always be something to do here. Everyone you see is happy. Brazilians know how to live. Piracicaba is also a very romantic place. It reminds me very much of Italy in that respect. Roads are not very smooth here, but there is business every where you turn unlike towns like Monroeville and Bellevue and Norwalk or Sandusky and Toledo where it is easy to find an empty building. Something like Walmart would ruin Piracicaba. I hope it never comes here....

Well, the weather is getting warmer. For a while I regretted not bringing my favorite sweater, but now I believe it was right of me to leave her at home.

24 de agosto 2009

Oi all,
Today is day three in Brazil. My first family, the Valdrighi family, is wonderful. I have yet to meet my father Miguel, but will soon. I learned very quickly that Brazilian food is very good (muito bem). The culture is welcoming.
It is a bit colder here than I expected, but the air is very nice. Homes in Brazil are very different. They are very cool. In Piricicaba people do not have from yards. homes sit right on the side walk. Homes are all gated. All the ones I have seen have porches...and unlike in US, the porches are used just as often as the rest of the rooms in the house. Closets are also very different here. They are much more convenient. Mine, and all the ones I have seen are like closet-cupboards. they already have all teh organization elements in them; shelves, drawers, walls. In my room/Tiago´s room (My host brother who is currently in Bellevue) an entire wall is devoted to a closet...very nice.

The architecture of the city is hard to explain. There are many different types of textures used on houses and buildings....one does not often see the same type of texure of side walkes and walls. For example..you may be walking 5 meters on concrete...and then on brick. I have even seen mosaic side walks.

Piricicaba seems to have lots to offer people my age. People my age are welcome at bars, they have many places to shop for clothes and food. My host mother (Lucy) showed me a place to go and play pool....it was cool because the place was just open...no doors...like a guarge with out doors. One can see many places like that.

Rights now I am in a shop where behind me are boxes for presents and to the other side of me christmans flowers and animal cermanics with clips for picture. Directly behind me is a couch....very random.. very cool. Shops here seem to be a sybol of Brazilian culture, layed back, welcoming (with out doors), and in a way random.... We shall see in time if this analygie(...spelling..I know....)will hold true.

Ok, I do not know how often I will be able to update this blog. I would like to extend a welcome to all followers...except creepy old men.

Hello to Monroeville. Oh and if anyone has a chance to meet my host brother from Bellevue, try and show him a good time. His family is treating me very well so I would like you all to do the same.

Tchau for now,

Katie

Test Post from Sistah

Hey, Katie! Welcome to your blog! Erase this post and give us a cool one. I can't wait to read about your observations, emotions and adventures. Please write often and post some photos, too.

With much love,

Lauran