Big Birthday Bash in Brazil!

First, and foremost, sorry for not posting lately! I was sick and then my birthday was yesterday.. so posting just didn't happen:( DESCULPA!

SO. As I said, it was my exchange birthday yesterday. The big 1-8! I can't believe life is going by so fast. I feel like just yesterday I was begging my mom to buy me the 60-pack of crayons for school because that was what the "cool" kids had. If you wanted status in Kindergarten, that's how you got it. And a month ago I was in my moms office, begging for a couple dollars to buy a coffee. Now, I'm waking up in Brazil, and I'm an "adult". Quotations are present because I don't feel like an adult, so the term is used only in technical, government respects. My ID card says I'm legally an adult. The rest of my life tells me I'm still a child at heart. Which isn't a bad thing whatsoever! :)

Yesterday at school I had happy birthday sang to me in 3 different languages! English (which was the cutest thing ever), Portuguese, and Spanish! My classmates all tried singing to me in English, and it was the best thing I could have asked for on my birthday. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing! Of course I wanted a birthday in Brazil, but it was nice of them to add the little touch of home. I really appreciated their efforts.

After a few friends and I belted out a few JB and Maroon5 songs in the courtyard/cafeteria/mall thinger at school, classes went on as normal. I was wished a happy birthday and sang my songs, and it was just simple.

Until I was hit by a mob of younger students at my school that all wanted to talk to the new Canadian they had all found out about. A girl who had helped me order ice cream at the mall a few days prior had pointed me out to her friends, and they all swarmed me like a bee and honey. I couldn't stop laughing! It was very similar to what I imagine paparazzi to feel like. They were all talking at once, asking me my name and where I was from, how long I'd been here in Brasil... all that jazz. The best part was when I didn't understand, they'd start screaming at me like I was deaf... instead of speaking slower so I could understand! So cute... love them all to death :)

Then after school, Cecilie and I were off to Esplanada! There, we met up with Henry, Andrea, and Alina (an exchange student at my school from the Domincan Republic).

Of course, before the rest of them arrived, Cecilie and I had to have some ice cream, but we added some Danish decorations so we could feel like exchange students!

STORY TIME!!!!!!

I'll start by saying I'm a typical girl that loves shoes. Generally I put on a pair of sneakers and walk out the door, but like most girls I like to have the extra options for when I go out, feel like dressing up a little, or just to look at and know I have them if I ever did need them.
So Cecilie and I were walked around the mall and against our better judgement went into a shoe store. Of course I would see the most beautiful, perfect, amazing pair of shoes that I had ever laid eyes on. I though to myself : "okay, if you still love them in a week, you can buy them for your birthday".

So my birthday came along and we were at the mall, and we went into the shoe store. Cecilie and I pointed out my shoes to Henry, and jokingly I said "Guys, if you're in the mood to buy me a present, I'm a size 9"

Little did I know I played right into their plot.

As we continued down the mall to meet up with our friend, Andrea, Henry suddenly starts talking to Cecilie and then just walks away from us. Confused, I walk over to Cecilie and ask her what on earth was wrong with Henry.

"Well.. uh... he... yeah! I just didn't understand a word he said! He walked away! I think he needed to buy something".

And because I'm me, I didn't even think anything of it. It's Henry, he's a little loco, so he would just go buy something. My guess was boxers, but with boys you just never know!

After we met up with Andrea, I decided to start a hunt for Henry. He didn't have a phone and I felt bad if he was just wandering around the mall all by himself, looking for us, feeling abandoned: that sort of thing. We spotted him carrying this big red bag and I just thought it meant he bought a lot of boxers.

No. Turned out...

THEY BOUGHT ME MY SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My reaction was this:

"omg. OMG. O-M-G. You guy suck! I hate you! What the.... OMG. I... you... I'm so gullible! You suck! I hate you!"

*they laugh*  *hugs*

"I hate you! OMG I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

*more mumbling from me*

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

and then the birthday continued.

Good story? I think so :)

After I aquired my new shoes, tried them on, and decided against wearing them around the mall, we headed to the mall cinema to hit up a movie. We bought our tickets, sat down and.... the movie was in Portuguese. Normally, I'd be all for that... but admittedly I wanted to see the movie and understand everything that was happening... so we ended up leaving 20 minutes into the show....

BUT I did learn quite a bit in those 20 minutes :)

Came home, at chips and drank some grape drank (ACCA, miss you!), and just hung out for the rest of my birthday. NO, I didn't go breaking any D's for my birthday, even though it was the 1-8. Rotarians, let your hearts rest; I was in bed, sober, at 11:00 (I rebelled and stayed up late, I hope that's okay!)

 

Unless this counts as drinking...


THEN TODAY.... SKYPE MEETING WITH MY CANADIAN ROTARY CLUB! Yeah man! That was fun, just to see everyone and have them be genuinely interested in my exchange. They asked questions and I gave answers. It was nice to talk to people back home and know that they're supporting me and believe in me.

Beijos Amigos,


Katrina!

p.s because it was my birthday... I turned into a unicorn out of pure... exhausted hyperism. Or becuase this is what my hair looked like when I got out of bed this morning. I thought it was too funny to keep to myself :)

* mm mm * Went the Little Green Frog One Day...

Cecilie has a strange obsession with this common childrens/camp song and she makes me sing it every time we are together! She is the craziest Dane around, let me tell you. Her frog faces are so priceless I'm going to start taking pictures for you.

The reason I thought of this was because today I was at Andressas "festa despideda" (I think is how you spell it) and Cecilie was making me sing the song for the Brazilians. They didn't understand a word, but seemed to think the actions and faces were hilarious! We were at Andressa's uncles farm where we got to eat, swim, talk, and eat more :) I forgot to take a picture of my lunch, but I did take a picture of the peanuts that Cecilie and I can never seem to stop eating.

 

 

Oh, did I mention Cecilie magically broke a chair today? She sat on it and it broke... she blaims the "exchange weight" (which doesn't exist because she is still as tiny as ever...).





I Like to EAT EAT EAT... Apples and Bananas

 

Future exchange students: don't kid yourself. You will not go home the same weight you were when you left. You will not lose weight. Don't even bother trying.

Cecilie and I were having another one of our conversations about exchange weight. Then we decided the best cure was...

TO EAT MORE!

 

Ice Cream 1

 Ice Cream 2 (Frozen Yogurt)

 Shortly after: Big Mac time.. to the max!

 That was all in the timespan of 2 hours. We are champions. And this girl is cray-cray.

After that I came home and tackled a wasp attack. Well, after eating more of course :) A family friend told me that wasps sense fear and I am inclined to believe she is right. At first there was one, which I outsmarted and locked in my room. Then I come out to the living room and close the blacony door thinking I will keep any unwanted intruders out. *Buzz*. What the... OMDKANFDGKANGIRENGSDKFBNAKDHNAEIRGNADKGNEKG!!!!!!!!! Two of the scariest wasps I have ever seen attacked my face! I ran and locked myself in the bathroom. The buzzing dimmed until I could hear them smacking their little bodies repeatedly at the glass balcony door in a desperate attempt to find freedom once again. Thinking I was in the clear, I held my breath and opened the door to have them begin flying around the room like crazy creatures as soon as I laid eyes on them!

NOT COOL.

After an hour of filing my toe nails, showering and doing my hair, I decided my best bet was to make a run for the kitchen.

And that's what I did.

I swear I have never run so fast in my entire life! After closing the door and eating some more chocolate and cookies I decided to think of a plan. A strategic plan. A plan no one has ever planned before.

I grabbed the broom and let out a battle cry.

I guess that's not entirely honest; it was more of a battle whimper that lead to me quickly opening the door, seeing the bees starting their decent on me, and locking myself back in the kitchen. I sat there and thought to myself. And thought, ate some more, and thought some more. When the buzzing died down I had eaten enough chocolate to make my stomach hurt and I knew I had to swallow my fear and open the balcony door. I could hear the light thuds of their dangerous little bodies on the door, and this time when I opened the door they didn't even look at me. As scared as I was I knew I had to save them. Give them back to the world. I took the broom, stretched it out, latched it on the handle, and with my super-human strength opened the door and set them free!

Aren't I just an angel! :)

Then I settled on the couch and studied Portuguese.

Now I'm going to get ready to go to Applebees for supper with Hanna, the exchange student from Brazil I met at a meeting in Canada!

Then, as I was reminded to mention, I have a skype date with Tianna Nason, the girl with amazing hair rocking up the Wal Mart in Sylvan Lake :)

Beijos!

Katrina

I Love You like a Fat Kid Loves Cake

Today I went to school like every other school Friday, attempted to learn like every other school day, and had fun like EVERY OTHER SCHOOL DAY :D As I always say, the early mornings suck, but I love my friends. Today we were building paper airplanes and throwing them at each other! We had some pretty epic planes built too, until Julia started to morph into the hulk and start smushing them when they flew her way. It was brilliant! Almost worth filming! Actually, it was worth filming, I just didn't have the brains to pull out my camera.

After school Cecilie and I went to the mall! Girls day for the win :) We basically went shopping and talked about boys and other things girls generally talk about. And we talked about our Portuguese frustrations and all the other things that come with exchange.

Next to the language barrier, the biggest topic of conversation was the gaining of exchange weight. We can already feel it building on our stomachs!

So what do we do to make ourselves feel better?

We eat.

 

 

And this is when you know you're a true exchange student.

Beijos!

Katrina 



CRAZY TRAIN!

I didn't take a crazy train today, but I had no creative name for todays post and I was thinking back on Jasper and I belting out that song together in horrible melody... and having a blast doing so. So that's why the title is what it is.

As for today, this morning when I got to school instead of reading on my Kindle I decided to go for a walk. My friend Julia showed me around the school yesterday so I retraced our step and took pictures. I go to the rad-est school ever!

They grow their own bananas:

Have a garden:

 

A greenhouse:

 

A birdhouse:

And this cuuuute-bum playground:

 

 

 

 

Yeah :) I think I like it here. Besides the ridiculously early mornings that make me want to gauge my eyes out and crazy glue myself to the bed.


Tonight was also my Aunt Sheila's birthday! FELIZ ANIVERSARIO! (I hope I spelt that right), and I met more cousins and such. They're all super nice! One of them went on exchange a while ago to the USA so it was nice for him to speak English. I'm starting to understand more Portuguese, but occassionally a fluent English speaker is embraced. I love my native language as much as I'm sure I will love my host language... once I get the hang of it. Maybe more watching Twilight in Portuguese will help me... or more Disney :D I'll have less complaints with constant Disney than constant Kristen Stewart.

Anyways! Tchau meu amigos, e boa noite.

Beijos!

Katrina 

Let's Sing a Song... A Sing-Along Song!

So I can't say I remotely enjoy math class. BUT. I could stand it if every math class was like todays!

After and admittedly horrible morning (it was a battle with my brain to just stay awake during class) I was begging for something to make todays school day worth writing about. And by golly, by some miracle, it did!

My class all joined the teacher in a song! AND I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS TEACHING THEM! It was math class, so the fact that I could follow what he was teaching was a miracle on it's own; but, he was teaching the sin/cos graphs and the cirlce thing that we learnt about in Canada (In our last year of high school might I add, in Brazil I'm in Gr.11 currently) and then without warning he started singing a song. Then slowly, the whole class joined in! I just sat there with a big, goofy grin on my face.

I still can't believe that happened! THEY SANG A SONG IN MATH CLASS!! How rad is that?!


And now that I recounted the exciting event of the day, I want to thank everyone who is reading my blog :) I know that there are a ton of grammatical errors that I make in my rush to write this before bed, but it means a lot to me that there are people who care about me and my exchange enough to take the time to see what I'm doing. There was an all-time high of views today! Thanks for all the support guys because knowing that there are people back home cheering me on definitely helps me through the tough moments.

Beijos Amigos :)

Katrina

Rio!

Sorry if I got your hopes up. I didn't go to Rio de Janiero, that's the summer trip, but I did watch the movie Rio with Portuguese subtitles! My thought it I'll watch in one more time with just the subtitles, theeeen I'll try with Portuguese voice overs and subtitles. THEN... I'll go subtitle free. Subtitles have become my training wheels for TV and movies and I'm terrified to take them off!

It was encouraging to talk with my host mom and understand almost all of what se was saying. We talked about Julia being in Canada, exchange students gaining weight, and how good the food is. Typical conversations always come to food. Anything else would be disappointing :P

Beijos!

Katrina

Can't Run from McDonalds

Because it will find you. It doesn't matter where you are in the world... it will always be there. Tempting you to eat it. I admit it, I ate it today. And it tasted SO.DAMN.GOOD.

Pardon my French :)

Other than that today was a typical Monday: slept in a little, went to school, came home from lunch. The only thing I did differently today was go to the mall with my friends :) Which is where the McDonalds comes into play.

I also tried speaking mostly Portuguese, which lasted all of 2 minutes, but I would try if I knew how to say something. I'm realizing more and more I should really quit the English. If only I didn't have this need to talk. :S

But that was my day in a nutshell! I'm kind of keeping this blog as an itinerary of the things I do, so I apologize if they get kind of boring... this is for my own refernce as well as keeping you guys informed on my life.

Beijos and durma bem :)

Katrina

Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy the Show :)

I had one of those days today. I love Brazilian weekend mornings... because they aren't existent! My host mom lets me sleep right through it! So brilliant. She is still in her PJs until at least noon, and if I wake up we just hang out anyway. No need to leave the house until 1 since almost everything is closed.

Today was one of those simple days that was relaxing and amazing. I woke up late (I won't disclose how late) and after a quick shower headed over to my aunts house. We had lunch and I played with my cousin, Henryco, for awhile. Then watched some Motor-racing with another one of my cousins, had some ice cream, and just lazed around. No better way to spend a Sunday. :)

Wal-Marts here are weird! but oddly space-saving. The parking lot is under the store, eliminating the need of a "parking lot". AWESOME!!! Then you ride these funny escalators to the store... it was neat!

Hot dog time, skype time, then sleep time.

Beijos!

Katrina

Exchange Students and Glass Doors

Picture this: it's 2 o'clock in the morning, there are 5 exchange students (outbound, inbound, and rebound mix) that have had their fill of an amazing Danish cake and a Brazilian chocolate concoction, and the innocent laughs have turned into complete giggle fits because exhaustion has transformed into "hyper-ness". As fate would have it, the 2 inbound girls wanted to go read their childrens book, "Branca de Neve", since there was no room at the sink to help with dishes. While trying to sneakily sneak out of  the kitchen like ninjas, they almost come face first into an invisible obstacle. What was the obstacle? It was none other than... a glass door. After nearly coming face first with it our own reflections startled us and we stumbled backwards away from the door. Needless to say, that lead to a whole new set of giggles from the two of us and concerned faces from the other 3.  We couldn't explain what happened without bursting into another fit! The more I write about it, the more I realize it was only funny if you were there... but it was just... so perfect!

This girl is crazy... 

CAKE!

But mooom... I don't wanna share...

Danish food... :)

It was just THAT GOOD

Last night was Gabriela's Farewell Party. :( Another goodbye to another friend! I just got here for goodness sakes.

At the party, there were 3 distinct groups: the exhange students, the non-exchange students, and the other non-exchange students. Obviously the best group was the exchange students! We all danced, sang, laughed, and overall had a good time. Everyone was giving us strange looks and laughing at how ridiculous we were acting but none of us bothered to care because we were having too much fun. We're exchange students! We are ridiculous and outgoing and will stop at nothing to have fun. If that means making ourselves look a bit like idiots in the mean time then so be it. :) I'm an exchange student and proud of it.

And what's a party without the classic silly faces?

Today was pretty easy-going. Woke up to Cecilie being called to leave and all of the other girls shuffling with early morning laziness. I don't think any of us wanted to get out of bed to see Cecilie out, so she gave us our goodbye hugs and we continued to sit on the couch/bed thing we had made our nest out of the night before. I stayed for an AMAZING lunch with Gabrielas family and got the super awesome chance to hang out with Gabi some more :) She's pretty awesome and I know Taiwan will adore her as much as us Brazilian inbounds do!

Came home to nap because my brain was in serious need of some TLC after the lack of sleep due to the girls night. I wouldn't take back not sleeping because we had so much fun, but thank goodness I had teh extra time today to have my katnap.

I think my favourite part of today was the little restaraunt my family took me to. My aunt, cousin, and host parents took me to this little restaraunt that was open to the street. There weren't any walls that seperated the inside from the outside, just frames that had blind-like structures to be pulled down at close or due to rain. It was adorable! Old band and movie posters lined the walls, what looked like an old vintage radoi sat in the corner and a miniature black violin hung beside a door. It was a place that was not like any place I've ever been! I wish I would have had my camera. I know I'll go back to that place though and get my pictures. It was so cute and charming I won't be able to resist!

Another great day in this amazing country. I can't even imagine how I ended up being this lucky!

Beijos!

Katrina

Eu sou a Pequena Sereia :)

I finally conquered "The Little Mermaid"! It's only 6 pages and it doesn't have many words, but my poor brain can only handle so much all at once... and it took me over an hour to get through. But I did it, and to be all cute and Canadian, I took pictures of my afternoon activity.

I'm a BAWS. I basically should be the real live version of Ariel -just saying.

The shark was coming! I think that this was a perfectly natural reaction!

What do Scooby-Doo, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid All Have in Common?

They are the first books to my Portuguese childrens books collection! Last night, Cecilie, Henry, Andressa, Matt, and I went in to a bookstore in the mall. The first thing Cecilie and I went for? The childrens books of course!

Yes, that is the Little Mermaid :) No big deal or anything.

After buying our books we just walked around the mall, trying on the occassional pieces of clothing or pushing around the Americans. Did I ever mention Cecilie boxes? Yeup. Coolest.chicka.ever. She is pretty rad. And she's Danish so that's just an extra bonus to how cool she is.

Beijos!

Katrina

House of Cards

All the houses here remind me of the card houses my sister and I would build when we were kids. Stacked side by side, one on top of the other, until we had what could be called a mansion- as far as card houses go. Each Brazilian house is pretty much connected, and they are squished together like the card houses. It's as though they hold one another up. There usually isn't a front or back yard, and if there is it's usually pavement. I've seen small grass patches that people could pass for being their lawns in the bigger suburbs, but that doesn't seem as common.

But that's not the strangest part.

The glass that lines the top of the concrete walls that surrount the house is. It's for safety, of couse, but it still caught my attention immediately. Broken glass keeps people from scaling the walls to get inside. For people who can't afford the electric fence or barbed wire, it's a perfect solution. Break bottles and stick them sharp side up in drying concrete. I couldn't believe my eyes! It actually looks not too shabby, like odd decorations :)

The reason I noticed this especially today is because I went to a family picnic and the house we were at had the glass as it's protection. Just so I clarify... I love my host family! They are ridculously funny, helpful, and too kind. They always get me to try the food their cooking and it always tastes delicious! Admittedly, they had chicken heart skewers today and I couldn't bring myself to try it... but everything else was superb!

On our way home I had a moment where I just fell more in love with Brazil. We were driving, and on the left there was a little dirt playing area with two worn down goals on the end. And on it there were kids, age 5-18, playing a friendly game of soccer. Turned the corner and there was a beach volleyball pit and two girls were playing a game. A family gathering in a parking lot where a little girl was running towards someone I suppose was her mom, all smiles and laughs as she clumsily put her feet one infront of the other. A mother and daughter held hands on their way home from a grocery store. A bunch of boys playing baseball in a makeshift field...

Brazil might not be the richest as far as money, but I think they have neighborly conduct down to a T.

Living Life in the Fast Lane

Or I will be! This post is going to be really quick! I haven't really been up to all that much the last couple of  days. Just studying Portuguese, reading the Hunger Games, and dragging my bottom to school.

But I guess I could mention my first van trip!

So here, instead of busses, they have vans that take you to school. They work the same as a school bus: they pick kids up and drop them off in a route. Then repeat it after school. GOD BLESS my driver, as he picks me up at 6:15, drops me off at scholl at 6:30 to go pick up the other kids. THEN. After school he does his rounds, then at 1:30 he comes back and gets me, as my school runs the latest.

Getting to school 40 minutes early is the downside but I'm not going to start complaining. He was the only van who even came near our area and the busses scared even Sorocaba citizens away. Not because they're scary, but because they are confusing.

That's really all I have to say! I'm sorry that my blog is a little dry right now, but I promise folks, as soon as life starts speeding up, you'll be the first to know :)

Beijos!

Katrina

Live.Laugh.Love

I've been in Brazil one day short of two weeks... and I can't imagine being anywhere else! The hard part is the language barrier because it definitely puts a limit on the things I can and can't do at the moment. That will change though. The learning process is slow, but I will learn. Maybe not as quickly as I would like, but I will learn and I will have a good year!

Tonight I whipped out some of those "first night questions" (a little late, but better late than never) and got all that shinanigans sorted out. YAY!

Today, I said goodbye to my friend, Sergio :( NOOOO! He's going to Chicago and I know he'll have a blast, but he was awesome! And had an adorable accent (just admit it Sergio, Brazilian accents are awesome, deal with it :D) Now a few photos of my friend:

I'll miss you, Sergio!!

After a short skype date with the parentals I was off for lunch with some of my Brazilian family! There was my favourite Brazilian dog, Johnny! And the rest of my awesome new family, of course. They were so kind and make delicious food. Again, not surprised!

Anyways! School tomorrow, so I better get to bed so that getting up doesn't completely suck in the morning!

Beijos!

Katrina

Already Back in the Airport

But not because I'm being sent home. That would not be something I would post about.

We went to the airport because today is the day that Julia leaves for Red Deer! And Canada better watch out because they have one fantastic Brazilian coming their way!

I was told that the other day I screwed up in my blog. I said :

"met the other american inbound. He seems like a pretty chill dude"

And I was informed by a little bird (any guesses on who?) that it should have gone more like this:

"I met Henry, an American inbound. He is really awesome! I can tell we're going to hang out a lot and have lots of fun! Did I mention he's awesome?!"

Because clearly he is! Love that guys sense of humor, we will get along juuuust fine!

Yesterday I couldn't post because I was out super late with Julia as it was her last night in Brazil, and we had a going away party for her! More silly pictures happened of course, it wouldn't be any fun without them :D

THE COOLEST THING HAPPENED. Well, it wasn't THE coolest, but it was up there. On our way home from Sao Paulo (the big city where the airport is), we stopped somehwere at this little Portuguese store, and I loved it. So cute and old-fashioned and adorable... I could have lived there and survived off cheese.

LOTS OF CHEESE :D and some fish in the second photo from the bottom... but I was paying attention to all the wonderful cheeses that were before me...

That was my last couple of days, and now I must sleep.


Beijos!

Katrina

Party like a Rock... Party like a Rockstar

Or an exchange student, which is much more fun :) Today we had a get together! A few outbounds and inbounds (the ones in the Sorocaba area) got together and had a good time. I met the Danish inbound, and she is a super sweet girl! The last of the American inbounds got here today, and he seems like a pretty chill dude too. They're 16 and 15 respectively. I felt so old! We ate good food (are we suprised? NO!), talked, and just hung out. I don't think I stopped laughing through the entire thing, which was crazy! I haven't laughed that much in a while. We were making silly faces, taking funny photos.. and they were teaching us all Portuguese... it was crazy!

But that was tonight, today was another day where I robotically dragged my bottom out of bed, somehow managed to get my hair to keep from frizzing out, and went to school. Not the highlight of my day, but that's okay. School itself was fine, as always. Every one, starting tomorrow, is going to speak in Portuguese. I am determined to learn the language, and that's the measure I have to go to to do so. Wish me luck!

After school I was picked up by my host family, and we all went out for lunch. It was Julias uncle restaurant and the food was, not surprisingly, delicious. If only I could cook like a Brazilian! Unfortunately, I'm the kind of cook that magically burns water... but I can make some mean KD.

That's it! Again, sorry guys; I won't be overly adventurous until I get my Portuguese up to speed, so bare with me!

Beijos,

Katrina

Light up the City Sky

I don't mean with streetlamps or stars, I mean with fireworks. My appartment is in the middle of Sorocaba and out in the parking lot they are setting off fireworks. HOW COOL IS THAT?! Brazilians just got another bonus point for being ingenius. Some Brazilian came up with the brilliant idea of using cars to exuberantly convey a message to someone you care about. Screw flowers, chocolates were so yesterday, the new is trend someone casually calling up one of these cars to bid their lovers or friends an "I love you" or "Happy Birthday". They're utterly embarassing, and they use a loud speaker to announce your name and what they're there for to the entire neighbourhood, but that's what makes them perfect! They're absolutely, ridiculously hilarious!

So that was the major event of the evening. No big deal or anything.

That, and another gigantic hot dog couresty of Jamila! Can anyone say omnomnom? :)

The only downside to today was having 4 math classes (the equivalent of an entire morning of classes in Canada). I mean, it was split half and half between Geometry and Algebra, but that doesn't mean I like it anymore than I did. Needless to say, I whipped out the dictionary and alternated between doodling mindlessly in my notebook and learning new words. Coruja, anyone? Just kidding, owl for supper isn't exactly an ideal meal no matter what country you live in.

Well, that's it for today folks, but tune in next time for another glimpse at the day in the life of an exchange student.

Beijos!

Katrina

Just A Spoonful of Sugar

YEAH RIGHT! That remedy might work for medicine, but Brazilian coffee requires so much more than just one measly spoonful. If you ever need an instant pick me up, go to Brazilian coffee. That has enough caffeine to keep my mother going for weeks. But, even though it's as strong as Iron Man, it's SO GOOD. Muito bom!

I have exciting news! I'm staying with this family! I was supposed to be moving in with Maggie, but we were having troubles with school transportation, so to solve the problem I get to stay at Julias. Her parents didn't want to give me up, and since I love them a ton already Rotary had no troubles letting me stay with them. So, this tiny, loveable appartment is my home until the end of November :)

I guess I should mention that today was my first day of school. No big deal or anything... it's not all that different. Kids were always talking, teachers were always teaching, during Physics I was sleeping.. OH! I mean paying attention. On a serious note, any Rotarians can be assured that it wasn't a deep sleep, I just dozed off while my teacher was explaining some extremely complicated Physics concept in Portuguese. I didn't do well in Physics in Canada, so how I'm supposed to do it in Portuguese is beyond me. On a brighter note, Chemistry and Biology had my full attention!

Other than that, we just ran some errands and had a meeting with a Rotary representative to solve some host family comotion. Pretty low key afternoon as far as excitement goes.

I'll keep you posted as my year unfolds!

Beijos!

Katrina

Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight

The old wives tale could be truth or fiction, but either way it gave me peace today. Tomorrow, I start school. And it doesn't matter how many times you move, how many new schools you go to, there are always those butterflies of uncertainty fluttering around inside you. And to top the whole thing off, it's in Portuguese. There are so many "what-ifs" racing through my mind that I can't even think straight.
And this is the mild form of what I had earlier this afternoon.
I seriously couldn't even sit still! I don't know what got my knickers in a knot, but I just couldn't stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Then, as Jamila was driving us to her sisters house for coffee, I saw the red sun setting on the horizon, coloring the sky in beautiful shades of pinks, oranges, and reds. I thought of the day my dad taught me that saying, and how at night it meant sailors delight. And yes, I know the saying was refering to the weather, but for tonight it's mpre than that. It's there to remind me that no matter what's happening now, there are always constants that can tell me that everything will be okay. For tonight, that red sky doesn't just mean good weather, it means that I'll have a good day.

But I don't know if it could even possibly measure up to how much I liked today! But you never know, Brazil is a bundle of surprises.

I slept in... until noon. Yeup. Bad Katrina. BUT. It was a much needed sleep! And honestly, I probably could have kept sleeping if Julia and I weren't going to Gabis. Gabi is another outbound exchange student, and a few of us went to her house to hang out. We played video games! I love hanging out with everyone. They only spoke Portuguese to me, even though they can speak English, and we still had a ton of fun! I conquered Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs when Andressa and I battled during this game where you slide around on the ice collecting berries. Super-intense, let me tell you. Then I somehow managed to win the race on Cars 2, surprising everyone (including me) considering how badly I bombed the training portion.

After the video-game escapade, we headed to our coffee date with Julias family. Her cousin and Priscilla were there, along with Johnny (the cutest dog EVER), and we ate. Again, everyone spoke Portuguese to me even though I couldn't understand very much. Even Julia, which was a pleasant surprise. They spoke slowly, and I could actually understand some of what they were trying to say. Just the basic simple things, but that's still an accomplishment on it's own! Jamila and I were talking in the car too. Still just the basics, but it was a good feeling none-the-less.

To end the night I'm going to have a big famjam skype date. I'm not homesick just yet, but I'm sure that feeling is on its way.

Beijos!

Katrina

Pinch Me, I Must be Dreaming

Ever been sared that something in life was too good to be true, and one day you would wake up and realize that you're mind was playing a cruel game of dream vs. reality? I've been living like that since I found out about exchange. I never truely believe I would be able to wake up every morning and think "Oh my, I'm in Brazil". But now I sit here with my Brazilian sister, in our Brazilian appartment, listening to Brazilian music while we eat Brazilian chocolate and watch Brazilian soap operas, and it's finally hitting me. Everything that has been sitting on the surface is finally sinking in. I'm actually on exchange.

Today, I was at a farewell party for Gabriela (a wonderful girl who is on her way to Mexico). We ate Feijoada: basically the best concoction of beans and meat ever.I got to listen in on more Portuguese jabbering, but that's good! It means I'll learn and that's what I want. I want to be able to speak to everyone in their language, not have them cater to mine.

What it looks like outside Gabrielas *-*

And I want to be able to understand Brazilian music... because Bruno (I think that's how you spell it) played the guitar and attempted to sing, and it would have been nice to understand what was going on! But it was fun to hang out with him. Julia and Jamila were getting their nails done, and he was there to keep me company with Sabrina. They couldn't speak English at ALL, so we basically listened to music. I got to play guitar for a bit too. It made me miss it a little bit, but I will stay stong!

After the nails were all painted, we went to the mall and did some shopping, got a phone set up for me, the normal things that happen in life...

Beijos!

Katrina

Wake Up in the Morning Feeling like P-Diddy...

That is, if P-Diddy feels like 6 in the morning is way to early to function. Yes, magically I drug my little bottom out of bed at that ridiculously early hour, and will do so every weekday to get ready for school. In Canada this simply would not happen. But because it's Brazil, I'll be okay with it. I'll live. Possibly. Pray for me?

But! Moving on to todays events. I toured my school today, and I absolutely adore it! The neatest thing about it: the classrooms are seperate buildings and you have to walk outside to get from place to place. Not that you move a whole lot, the teachers move classrooms and the students just stay put. Crazy right?! Canadian teachers have it good, let me tell you. A nice comfy chair (if they so chose) and a big desk... here they get a desk the size of a students, stand the majority of the time, and have to move all their things from room to room. Everyone is really friendly though! I walked into my class just to be introduced, and everyone was smiling at me. A girl leaned around the door just to enthusiastically wave at me. What a sweetheart. I didn't stay, I will admit that I was a little scared to. I didn't know how I would have gotten home if I stayed, Roberto and Julia would have left, and without a cell phone I would have just been freaking out. Better to stick with the original plan of starting on Monday.

Which worked out just fine for me, because Julia and I came home and... TOOK A NAP! :D That's right. We pulled a child-move and took naps on the couches for the remainder of the morning. Classy.

After the much needed nap, Julia played chef and made us a delicious lunch. Then we went to the mall to catch a movie with some of the other outbounds and inbounds. There were 2 other inbounds there, one from Equador and one from the USA. We went and saw Batman, which was in English, but also had Portuguese subtitles! YAY!!!

Supper was AMAZING. Muito bem. Brazilian hot dogs are huge!

NOMNOMNOMNOM? :D bon apitite!
I couldn't finish it.
Dessert anyone?

Now I'm watching Brazilian soap operas with Jamila, so funny! More of the entertaining jibberish rages.

Tchau!

Katrina