Monday, September 24, 2012
Can't Help But Fall in Love with Brazil
Okay! So I'm going to start with Friday, and slowly make my way to today! Sorry I don't post as often as I used to.. I'm significantly busier with this new family and use my computer a lot less :)
Friday:
For whatever reason I have extreme troubles remembering what I did on Friday. But not-to-worry! This cheeka has the brain of an elephant, and I never truly forget anything *cough cough*...
I had Portuguese class! We got a new teacher, and he basically rocks my socks. He is the funniest guy in the world, and we spent a lot of time laughing. Who new learning Portuguese could be fun and frustration-free? :D
Then I got to go see the second-cutest kitty in the world... upstaged only by my man Squeakers of course. My American friend, Matthew (or Matheus), got a new kitten named Neymar. And that kitty LOVES TO PLAY! I went to the house and played with him for a solid 2 hours. It's the simplest, yet most fun thing, in the world: you crumple a piece of paper into a ball, throw it, and watch kitty-go-wild! <3
Saturday:
Rotary Meeting during the day! It was test day for all the exchange candidates... poor students looked so nervous. I, along with the other inbounds, were helping with the second-language proficiency interviews. We were split into groups that had 1-2 Rotarians or Volunteers, 1 Rotex, 1 English-Speaking Inbound and 1 Spanish Speaking Inbound. The students could decide to take their interiew in English or Spanish, and the majority chose English! YAY!!!!! And I think every student that came to my table said they wanted to go to Canada... so I obviously loved every single one of them!
After the meeting, a few exchange students hung out together! That was fun, as always. I love love love love love love love love love love them. We randomly took pictures of our eyes... and laughed a lot.
I even got to sleep at a friends house :) That was really fun... I miss having sleepovers almost every weekend in Canada. And driving. OH MY DEAR LORD... I miss driving. Who knew?
Sunday:
Woke up, had breakfast... and fell asleep on the air matress again. Well... my friends used me as a pillow as they scanned facebook, and I alternated between watching MTV and sleeping.
THEN IT WAS OFF TO GRANDMAS! As I say each and every weekend, that woman sure knows how to cook. I could eat myself silly at her house... wait. I DO eat myself silly at her house. Usually they turn on some movie or TV show in Portuguese, and we start eating... and continue eating for 3 hours. I had chicken, rice with stroganoff and pasta. Then after a brief break to let my stomach create room, I had a strawberry ice-cream popsicle dipped in chocolate.
I.LOVE.MY.LIFE.
And yes, Sunday gets better. Imagine that!
My Uncle took my cousins, Guilherme, Isabella (Guilhermes girlfriend) and myself to Esplanada Play! It's basically an arcade in the mall that has a few amusment park rides for kids (The Pirate Ship, Tea-Cups, Bumper Cars, and a little Train). And that was fun. I fell in love with my youngest cousin, he rode the Tea-Cups 3 times in the hour we were there. He is the absolute cutest boy of life.
After my nap, I went with my mom to drive one brother to his evening-class and pick up my other brother from Basketball practice. I always love driving with her, because she and I just talk. She tells me about work and her likes and dislikes, and I try and tell her about what happened in my day. It's good, because I've gotten to the point with her where I don't care if I screw up, because I know she will help me understand more and speak better. :D
Now, after watching some Wizards of Waverly Place (in Portuguese... so weird), my sister and I will watch her favourite TV show, Carrosel, eat supper, then I will hit the hay as usual!
Beijos,
Katrina
Friday:
For whatever reason I have extreme troubles remembering what I did on Friday. But not-to-worry! This cheeka has the brain of an elephant, and I never truly forget anything *cough cough*...
I had Portuguese class! We got a new teacher, and he basically rocks my socks. He is the funniest guy in the world, and we spent a lot of time laughing. Who new learning Portuguese could be fun and frustration-free? :D
Then I got to go see the second-cutest kitty in the world... upstaged only by my man Squeakers of course. My American friend, Matthew (or Matheus), got a new kitten named Neymar. And that kitty LOVES TO PLAY! I went to the house and played with him for a solid 2 hours. It's the simplest, yet most fun thing, in the world: you crumple a piece of paper into a ball, throw it, and watch kitty-go-wild! <3
Saturday:
Rotary Meeting during the day! It was test day for all the exchange candidates... poor students looked so nervous. I, along with the other inbounds, were helping with the second-language proficiency interviews. We were split into groups that had 1-2 Rotarians or Volunteers, 1 Rotex, 1 English-Speaking Inbound and 1 Spanish Speaking Inbound. The students could decide to take their interiew in English or Spanish, and the majority chose English! YAY!!!!! And I think every student that came to my table said they wanted to go to Canada... so I obviously loved every single one of them!
After the meeting, a few exchange students hung out together! That was fun, as always. I love love love love love love love love love love them. We randomly took pictures of our eyes... and laughed a lot.
The lovely eye of Francisco (Equador)
My eye
And the gorgeous Nicky! (Equador)
And my darling dearest Andrea! (Mexico)
I even got to sleep at a friends house :) That was really fun... I miss having sleepovers almost every weekend in Canada. And driving. OH MY DEAR LORD... I miss driving. Who knew?
Sunday:
Woke up, had breakfast... and fell asleep on the air matress again. Well... my friends used me as a pillow as they scanned facebook, and I alternated between watching MTV and sleeping.
THEN IT WAS OFF TO GRANDMAS! As I say each and every weekend, that woman sure knows how to cook. I could eat myself silly at her house... wait. I DO eat myself silly at her house. Usually they turn on some movie or TV show in Portuguese, and we start eating... and continue eating for 3 hours. I had chicken, rice with stroganoff and pasta. Then after a brief break to let my stomach create room, I had a strawberry ice-cream popsicle dipped in chocolate.
I.LOVE.MY.LIFE.
And yes, Sunday gets better. Imagine that!
My Uncle took my cousins, Guilherme, Isabella (Guilhermes girlfriend) and myself to Esplanada Play! It's basically an arcade in the mall that has a few amusment park rides for kids (The Pirate Ship, Tea-Cups, Bumper Cars, and a little Train). And that was fun. I fell in love with my youngest cousin, he rode the Tea-Cups 3 times in the hour we were there. He is the absolute cutest boy of life.
The Cheesey Bacon Fries... mmm mmm good :)
My new little man :P
After that, we came home to some delicious pizza (seriously, who knew Brazilian pizza was so different... yet so aboslutely mouth-watering?) and I went to sleep REALLY early.
Monday:
That's today! :D
Monday:
That's today! :D
Woke up, showered, went to school and spoke Portuguese only, and had another milestone! Kind of. My friend Gabriel, who speaks abnormally fast to me for shits-and-gigs, was talking to me in his normal manner... and I UNDERSTOOD HIM! I learnt that as long as I concentrate really hard and omit English from my head (meaning no internal translating) I can usually understand almost anything! Now... the tricky part is turning off the English... cause I like to think as much as I like to talk.
Afterschool I came home, at some lunch, Skyped with my number-one-Austrian Emilie about our amazing exchanges and how much we love our new countries no matter how homesick we get, and...
took a solid 2 hour nap.
Like a BAWS.
I couldn't help it... I was so tired... and now I'm more tired because I haven't become accostomed to napping during the day. Daddy, how do you do it?!
I really should have taken a picture of this afternoon... my sister was doing her homework, one brother asleep on the floor, uncle asleep on the couch, and the other brother playing COD. It was perfect. I absolutely love this family.
Afterschool I came home, at some lunch, Skyped with my number-one-Austrian Emilie about our amazing exchanges and how much we love our new countries no matter how homesick we get, and...
took a solid 2 hour nap.
Like a BAWS.
I couldn't help it... I was so tired... and now I'm more tired because I haven't become accostomed to napping during the day. Daddy, how do you do it?!
I really should have taken a picture of this afternoon... my sister was doing her homework, one brother asleep on the floor, uncle asleep on the couch, and the other brother playing COD. It was perfect. I absolutely love this family.
After my nap, I went with my mom to drive one brother to his evening-class and pick up my other brother from Basketball practice. I always love driving with her, because she and I just talk. She tells me about work and her likes and dislikes, and I try and tell her about what happened in my day. It's good, because I've gotten to the point with her where I don't care if I screw up, because I know she will help me understand more and speak better. :D
Now, after watching some Wizards of Waverly Place (in Portuguese... so weird), my sister and I will watch her favourite TV show, Carrosel, eat supper, then I will hit the hay as usual!
Beijos,
Katrina
Thursday, September 20, 2012
A Little Something to Write About :)
But what really turned the tables was going out with my friends tonight. We went bowling! And normally, bowling isn't all that exciting. BUT. Here is was :)
I had fun playing lego with my sister:)
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Just When You Think it Can't Get Any Better...
It suddenly does. I woke up this morning only having a slight idea of what today would be like in my head. I knew it would be good, but it literally blew me out of the water. And it all started with this morning.
My host brothers had some sort of fair at the school. Kind of like what school in Canada have, the "Science Fairs". Actually... the more I think about it, the more alike they are. Every class had a different presentation. The first and second year students (so 5-7 year olds I'm guessing) did songs about plants and animals. There was this adorable little boy who was dressed up as a Crocodile who got up and sang his little heart out. My favourite part was when he smiled nice and big for his moms camera. He was toothless! A TOOTHLESS CROCODILE! Well, not toothless, he just happened to be missing his front teeth :). It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
I've taken on a new attitude of trying absolutely everything, which I think I may have mentioned in a previous blog. But back to my story, I was walking along with my host dad and we ented this little "plant walk". We passed a few small stuffed animals and the small gardens until we got to a table at the back. There sat some homemade jam and water with mint leaves in it. I passed on the ham since I had a nice big bun stuffed with Nutella for breakfast, but I did try the water :). YAY ME! I'm being all adventurous.
OH! There was also a guy who could have been close to my age who did a presentation about how Superman couldn't possibly be real, and went on to demonstrate all the reasons why. It was a physics project. I think it should have also been a theatrical project, considering he was dressed up as Superman... skin tight outfit, cape and all.
My brother is in his last year of high school, and he did one that had something to do with creating sugar crystals. The younger kids went crazy for it! I don't know exactly what was going on, but I do know it was crazy fun and I loved every minute.
GIRL TIME! Cecilie and I went to the mall and had chocolate milkshakes, bought some candy, shopped a little and talked a lot. Of course! We ran into Henry, Demi and Leticia for a bit, and ate lunch with them, before carrying on our way. I say this everytime, but god I love exchange. These people are crazy, amazing... I'd even say crazy amazing! Brazil 2012-2013 <3
Talked with the famjam again! Skyped in on Grandma Muensters 100th Birthday Bash, and the woman almost made me cry. I love her to the stars and back. And I hope with all my heart she knows it.
Evening activity: I went to a friends house to just hang out with some of my school-buds. We laughed and danced and just had fun! So nice to hang out with everyone outside of school. They're all super nice and patient with me and my Portuguese. Couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
#lovelife
Beijos,
Katrina
PS! MOST EXCITING NEWS! Today I was talking with my host mom (Marcia) in the car. She only speaks Portuguese. When I came across a word I didn't know, I explained it... IN PORTUGUESE! Yes people, I'm learning. Thank the lord almighty! AND! When she was curious about a word she recognized from a TV show... I explained the word to her in Portuguese! Success!
My host brothers had some sort of fair at the school. Kind of like what school in Canada have, the "Science Fairs". Actually... the more I think about it, the more alike they are. Every class had a different presentation. The first and second year students (so 5-7 year olds I'm guessing) did songs about plants and animals. There was this adorable little boy who was dressed up as a Crocodile who got up and sang his little heart out. My favourite part was when he smiled nice and big for his moms camera. He was toothless! A TOOTHLESS CROCODILE! Well, not toothless, he just happened to be missing his front teeth :). It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
I've taken on a new attitude of trying absolutely everything, which I think I may have mentioned in a previous blog. But back to my story, I was walking along with my host dad and we ented this little "plant walk". We passed a few small stuffed animals and the small gardens until we got to a table at the back. There sat some homemade jam and water with mint leaves in it. I passed on the ham since I had a nice big bun stuffed with Nutella for breakfast, but I did try the water :). YAY ME! I'm being all adventurous.
OH! There was also a guy who could have been close to my age who did a presentation about how Superman couldn't possibly be real, and went on to demonstrate all the reasons why. It was a physics project. I think it should have also been a theatrical project, considering he was dressed up as Superman... skin tight outfit, cape and all.
My brother is in his last year of high school, and he did one that had something to do with creating sugar crystals. The younger kids went crazy for it! I don't know exactly what was going on, but I do know it was crazy fun and I loved every minute.
GIRL TIME! Cecilie and I went to the mall and had chocolate milkshakes, bought some candy, shopped a little and talked a lot. Of course! We ran into Henry, Demi and Leticia for a bit, and ate lunch with them, before carrying on our way. I say this everytime, but god I love exchange. These people are crazy, amazing... I'd even say crazy amazing! Brazil 2012-2013 <3
Talked with the famjam again! Skyped in on Grandma Muensters 100th Birthday Bash, and the woman almost made me cry. I love her to the stars and back. And I hope with all my heart she knows it.
Evening activity: I went to a friends house to just hang out with some of my school-buds. We laughed and danced and just had fun! So nice to hang out with everyone outside of school. They're all super nice and patient with me and my Portuguese. Couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
#lovelife
Beijos,
Katrina
PS! MOST EXCITING NEWS! Today I was talking with my host mom (Marcia) in the car. She only speaks Portuguese. When I came across a word I didn't know, I explained it... IN PORTUGUESE! Yes people, I'm learning. Thank the lord almighty! AND! When she was curious about a word she recognized from a TV show... I explained the word to her in Portuguese! Success!
What Went On Last Night?
Well, let me tell you, since you wouldn't know!
I had my first Portuguese class (which was actually reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally fun). The teacher was super funny, and I swear I laughed so hard I cried. I did that a lot though, I was just in a really good mood. Cecilie and I were making fun of our fellow exchange student Henry, to the point where the teacher looked at us and said "do you guys know him or are you just mean?". AHAHAHAHAHAHA. We know him, he's American, and he's really fun to tease. Being the youngest of all of us here, he's the easiest target, and he takes it insanely well. Once the teacher knew we were just being friends, he joined in on "the beaks" and class continued to be a riot.
OH! And! On the way to class, Marcia and I saw a man walking down the street in what looked like it could have been a costume from a Star Wars/Matrix movie. It was crazy! Some Brazilian just strolling along like it was no ones business. LOVE HIM. When we pulled over to take a picture of him, he posed! He even stopped to talk to Marcia, and explained to her the situation. I forget what he said to her, but it was one of those "OMG THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING" moments.
C'mon. How many people can say they've seen a guy walking down the street in a white plastic crazy get-up? It was like Darth Vador style, but white! And without the cape. (Darth Vador had a cape... right?)
We did learn things though, I promise.
After my lesson, I got ready and headed out to my friend Marceli's house. There we met some of her friends and we all went out for supper. They would speak Portuguese to me, and I would speak English back. With 5 Brazilians looking at me, I couldn't form proper sentences. It happens when I'm sitting in my class and everyone is staring at me expectantly. I just can't seem to make it work for me!
Once back at her house, we just started taking photos. That was when things got crazy! I started laughing so hard I cried (again) twice that night! I couldn't help it. When we were supposed to be taking a serious photo, I smiled nice and pretty for the camera. Then when we were supposed to be taking a smiling photo I looked serious. Then something happened, I'm not sure, and Larissa and I burst into a laughing fit. The kind where when we thought we were done, we'd look at each other, and it would start up again. I had to go to the kitchen to calm myself down, and she had to walk to the other end of the living room! Crazy. Love Brazil :)
Beijos
Katrina
I had my first Portuguese class (which was actually reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally fun). The teacher was super funny, and I swear I laughed so hard I cried. I did that a lot though, I was just in a really good mood. Cecilie and I were making fun of our fellow exchange student Henry, to the point where the teacher looked at us and said "do you guys know him or are you just mean?". AHAHAHAHAHAHA. We know him, he's American, and he's really fun to tease. Being the youngest of all of us here, he's the easiest target, and he takes it insanely well. Once the teacher knew we were just being friends, he joined in on "the beaks" and class continued to be a riot.
OH! And! On the way to class, Marcia and I saw a man walking down the street in what looked like it could have been a costume from a Star Wars/Matrix movie. It was crazy! Some Brazilian just strolling along like it was no ones business. LOVE HIM. When we pulled over to take a picture of him, he posed! He even stopped to talk to Marcia, and explained to her the situation. I forget what he said to her, but it was one of those "OMG THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING" moments.
C'mon. How many people can say they've seen a guy walking down the street in a white plastic crazy get-up? It was like Darth Vador style, but white! And without the cape. (Darth Vador had a cape... right?)
We did learn things though, I promise.
After my lesson, I got ready and headed out to my friend Marceli's house. There we met some of her friends and we all went out for supper. They would speak Portuguese to me, and I would speak English back. With 5 Brazilians looking at me, I couldn't form proper sentences. It happens when I'm sitting in my class and everyone is staring at me expectantly. I just can't seem to make it work for me!
Once back at her house, we just started taking photos. That was when things got crazy! I started laughing so hard I cried (again) twice that night! I couldn't help it. When we were supposed to be taking a serious photo, I smiled nice and pretty for the camera. Then when we were supposed to be taking a smiling photo I looked serious. Then something happened, I'm not sure, and Larissa and I burst into a laughing fit. The kind where when we thought we were done, we'd look at each other, and it would start up again. I had to go to the kitchen to calm myself down, and she had to walk to the other end of the living room! Crazy. Love Brazil :)
Beijos
Katrina
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Simple Things
Today wasn't one of those super exciting days, but it still took me by surprise and gave me an amazing experience. It's funny how the little things can become the big things when you're paying attention.
Things like going to a basketball game. Well, I guess it wasn't just a basketball game, my brothers team was in the finals. No matter how much we cheered (which was a lot - I swear between the two groups the gym was shaking), unfortunately we lost. But my brother played awesome! Marilia met us there, and we got in toruble for speaking English to each other. My excuse (which I say was a reason because it was honest) was that the gym was too loud for me to understand. But I really do speak too much English, and though I'm slowly learning Portuguese, I know that with less English it would get much better.
After the game we went to a pizzaria! It was super sweet. I seriously felt like a princess, because these waiters would bring pizzas around on saucers and you could pick and chose what you want. THEN they started bring around dessert pizzas. Just when you think you can't eat anymore, you do. When a pizza is made out of bananas, icing, and cinamon... you eat it. Chocolate? You eat it. "Leite doce"? You inhale it like there is no tomorrow. I think I ate more dessert than real food... but I'm on exchange so that's allowed :)
I did try a couple reallllllllllllllllllllly strange pizzas. One was made out of stroganoff... which was weird enough. But stroganoff here is orange. Which just added to the weird factor. It was pretty good. I also had this one that I swear was made of soley garlic, I almost had to wash it down with a whole can of Guarana. Not so awesome, but once I scraped off the layer of garlic, all was fine and dandy.
My favourite part was when the whole family was playing "hangman" on the tables. Like Montana's, this place had paper for a table cloth, so we used that to our full advantage. Most of the words were Portuguese, but I did a few words in English for my youngest brother to practice his English on. It just felt extremely normal, and I felt a lot more at home at the time. It's simple things like joking around with my brothers, pushing each other around, playing little pranks on each other... those things that make this all seem more real and exciting and... and like home.
Beijos
Katrina
Things like going to a basketball game. Well, I guess it wasn't just a basketball game, my brothers team was in the finals. No matter how much we cheered (which was a lot - I swear between the two groups the gym was shaking), unfortunately we lost. But my brother played awesome! Marilia met us there, and we got in toruble for speaking English to each other. My excuse (which I say was a reason because it was honest) was that the gym was too loud for me to understand. But I really do speak too much English, and though I'm slowly learning Portuguese, I know that with less English it would get much better.
After the game we went to a pizzaria! It was super sweet. I seriously felt like a princess, because these waiters would bring pizzas around on saucers and you could pick and chose what you want. THEN they started bring around dessert pizzas. Just when you think you can't eat anymore, you do. When a pizza is made out of bananas, icing, and cinamon... you eat it. Chocolate? You eat it. "Leite doce"? You inhale it like there is no tomorrow. I think I ate more dessert than real food... but I'm on exchange so that's allowed :)
I did try a couple reallllllllllllllllllllly strange pizzas. One was made out of stroganoff... which was weird enough. But stroganoff here is orange. Which just added to the weird factor. It was pretty good. I also had this one that I swear was made of soley garlic, I almost had to wash it down with a whole can of Guarana. Not so awesome, but once I scraped off the layer of garlic, all was fine and dandy.
My favourite part was when the whole family was playing "hangman" on the tables. Like Montana's, this place had paper for a table cloth, so we used that to our full advantage. Most of the words were Portuguese, but I did a few words in English for my youngest brother to practice his English on. It just felt extremely normal, and I felt a lot more at home at the time. It's simple things like joking around with my brothers, pushing each other around, playing little pranks on each other... those things that make this all seem more real and exciting and... and like home.
Beijos
Katrina
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
English... Portuguese... Enlguese.
That's what I'm calling the new language I came up with today. I can't seem to always speak in Portuguese, and I feel really terrible if I speak in English... and because of the difficulty to speak... I generally mix the two languages together and end up making no sense to anyone but myself. Now. Because the jumble is composed of two real languages, I don't know if it qualifies as jibberish. So... Engluese it is :)
Afterschool today, Cecilie came over to my new house! It's pretty big for a Brazilian house, and she was in awe at the fact that I live in the small "guest house" in the back. We talked and talked... in English. Then my brother came home and he ate with us and talked. After a small failed attempt at a Portuguese conversation, we spoke in English. BUT. When Cecilie left and my mom came home, I was back in Portuguese mode. And from there it went!
Honestly, didn't do anything overly exciting today. It was just a nice day :) Oh! A cool thing (or what I thought was a cool thing) was on the way home afterschool I was looking out the window and we were following this really cool vehicle. I felt like I climbed into a movie... but not one with Ferraris. One where a rusted old truck has a back that was turned into a streetside stand where bags and scarves decorated the old wooden beams with splashes of color. Brazilian-y kinds of things. LOVED IT. I wished we could have gotten him to pull over... that would have been so sick.
Beijos!
Katrina
Afterschool today, Cecilie came over to my new house! It's pretty big for a Brazilian house, and she was in awe at the fact that I live in the small "guest house" in the back. We talked and talked... in English. Then my brother came home and he ate with us and talked. After a small failed attempt at a Portuguese conversation, we spoke in English. BUT. When Cecilie left and my mom came home, I was back in Portuguese mode. And from there it went!
Honestly, didn't do anything overly exciting today. It was just a nice day :) Oh! A cool thing (or what I thought was a cool thing) was on the way home afterschool I was looking out the window and we were following this really cool vehicle. I felt like I climbed into a movie... but not one with Ferraris. One where a rusted old truck has a back that was turned into a streetside stand where bags and scarves decorated the old wooden beams with splashes of color. Brazilian-y kinds of things. LOVED IT. I wished we could have gotten him to pull over... that would have been so sick.
Beijos!
Katrina
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Fame and Fortune
Or just fame. We all know that exchange students, at least here in Brazil, are broke.
But we sure get a lot of attention.
Afterschool today I was riding home in the van, and I was beeing oggled at by all the other riders. The best part was when I spoke in Portuguese.... the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless! I'm not very good at Portuguese... at all... but the fact that I was able to answer a question with a decent answer was pretty phenomenal for me. And I guess they shared in my excitement.
After I ate, did some homework, and napped, I came into the house and watched the remainder of a movie with Isabella. When that was finished I read some of my Portuguese books and talked with Cecilie. It's almost been a week since I saw her! ITS RIDICULOUS! I think I'm going into withdrawls... so thank goodness gracious she is coming over tomorrow.
I love my new host mom. She is super sweet, and just talks to me. If I don't understand, she does her best to make me understand. Or when I say something wrong and make a complete idiot out of myself, she just laughs with me.
My favourite example of a small difference in a word can make an entire conversation go from great to making no sense what-so-ever is "lunch" and "German". "Almoco" and "Alemao". I was trying to explain that the new comic books she brought home for me where the same ones that my German friend read to learn Portuguese. BUT. When I said "German" I said "lunch". Needless to say, we were utterly confused until we pulled out google translator and figured ourselves out. He didn't lunch of the books, or eat anything, he just read them in Germany.
Yesterday was pretty much a typical day. At school it was interesting, because we all went around taking photos of everything! It was crazy. I have a bunch of new photos of my school friends. Again, I'll upload those when I have the time :)
Beijos!
Katrina
But we sure get a lot of attention.
Afterschool today I was riding home in the van, and I was beeing oggled at by all the other riders. The best part was when I spoke in Portuguese.... the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless! I'm not very good at Portuguese... at all... but the fact that I was able to answer a question with a decent answer was pretty phenomenal for me. And I guess they shared in my excitement.
After I ate, did some homework, and napped, I came into the house and watched the remainder of a movie with Isabella. When that was finished I read some of my Portuguese books and talked with Cecilie. It's almost been a week since I saw her! ITS RIDICULOUS! I think I'm going into withdrawls... so thank goodness gracious she is coming over tomorrow.
I love my new host mom. She is super sweet, and just talks to me. If I don't understand, she does her best to make me understand. Or when I say something wrong and make a complete idiot out of myself, she just laughs with me.
My favourite example of a small difference in a word can make an entire conversation go from great to making no sense what-so-ever is "lunch" and "German". "Almoco" and "Alemao". I was trying to explain that the new comic books she brought home for me where the same ones that my German friend read to learn Portuguese. BUT. When I said "German" I said "lunch". Needless to say, we were utterly confused until we pulled out google translator and figured ourselves out. He didn't lunch of the books, or eat anything, he just read them in Germany.
Yesterday was pretty much a typical day. At school it was interesting, because we all went around taking photos of everything! It was crazy. I have a bunch of new photos of my school friends. Again, I'll upload those when I have the time :)
Beijos!
Katrina
Sunday, September 9, 2012
You've Got a Little Something on Your Forehead...
... a word, to be more specific. And if you'd like more detail, it's a Portuguese words. And now, you get to ask me questions about said word and try and guess what said word is. Good luck you foreigner!
Yeah, today I went to a birthday party, and my family members showed me this game where you all sit in a circle and place an unknown-to-you word on your forehead. Then, one-by-one, you ask questions about your word. At first this was really hard for me because it was all in Portuguese, but as the game went on the Portuguese part got much easier :) They were teaching me the kinds of questions to ask, such as "Eu sou um objeto?", "Eu sou um animal?", or "Eu sou um fruta?". I even got to learn new words!
The birthday was a churrasco, in English it means barbeque, and it was so good! Normally, I'm not the worlds biggest fan of lamb, but it was actually really good here. So was the other food, and the ice cream... and the cake... and the other cake... and the list goes on. As I said, Brazilians love food, especially when it's on a plate infront of them.
I really need to start writing my blog in chronological order... because I'm probably confusing you readers by jumping all over the place. My bad!
So this morning, BEFORE the birthday, I woke up and (shamefully) read a little bit of a book (which was in English). BUT after that, I came inside and spent the rest of the morning with Isabella, who was teaching me Portuguese words. Afterwards, we went into my little "house" and played games like mini-blowing, mini basketball, and a Harry Potter board game. We are cheaters, and through most of the games we played tricks on each other to give ourselves more points. Bad kids, I know.
OH! AFTER the churrasco/birthday, Isabella was reading me my Scooby Doo book. HOPEFULLY her reading to me will help my Portuguese even more. Everyone tells me not to be ashamed and to try, so starting tomorrow I'm going to squish the little voice of fear that builds up inside my head and just try. No harm in it. :)
Beijos!
Katrina
ps. With my new family came a new van time. 6:00. YAY. -.-
Yeah, today I went to a birthday party, and my family members showed me this game where you all sit in a circle and place an unknown-to-you word on your forehead. Then, one-by-one, you ask questions about your word. At first this was really hard for me because it was all in Portuguese, but as the game went on the Portuguese part got much easier :) They were teaching me the kinds of questions to ask, such as "Eu sou um objeto?", "Eu sou um animal?", or "Eu sou um fruta?". I even got to learn new words!
The birthday was a churrasco, in English it means barbeque, and it was so good! Normally, I'm not the worlds biggest fan of lamb, but it was actually really good here. So was the other food, and the ice cream... and the cake... and the other cake... and the list goes on. As I said, Brazilians love food, especially when it's on a plate infront of them.
I really need to start writing my blog in chronological order... because I'm probably confusing you readers by jumping all over the place. My bad!
So this morning, BEFORE the birthday, I woke up and (shamefully) read a little bit of a book (which was in English). BUT after that, I came inside and spent the rest of the morning with Isabella, who was teaching me Portuguese words. Afterwards, we went into my little "house" and played games like mini-blowing, mini basketball, and a Harry Potter board game. We are cheaters, and through most of the games we played tricks on each other to give ourselves more points. Bad kids, I know.
OH! AFTER the churrasco/birthday, Isabella was reading me my Scooby Doo book. HOPEFULLY her reading to me will help my Portuguese even more. Everyone tells me not to be ashamed and to try, so starting tomorrow I'm going to squish the little voice of fear that builds up inside my head and just try. No harm in it. :)
Beijos!
Katrina
ps. With my new family came a new van time. 6:00. YAY. -.-
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Thor... the Mighty Thor...
Likes to eat me. I guess I should probably mention that my new family has a Golden Retriever puppy named Thor, and he likes to chew on my shoes, pants, feet, sweater, hands... you name it, he has chewed it. We also have a little Yorkshire Terrier named Ozzy, who is as sweet as cake and cute as a button. Love them both :) I realized how much I missed having dog-company.
A little bit about my new family: I have a host mom (Marcia) and dad (Silvio), and younger sister (Isabela, 8), younger brother (Guilherme, 15), and another slightly younger brother (Gabriel, 17). They are so cute! This morning/afternoon I spent playing with Isabela in her room. We pulled out the Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop pets and set to work. We spent most of our time sliding objects down a plastic playground with the objective of knocking all the creatures over. At one point we placed a giant horse of the top and let it roll down the miniature slide, and in the process it completely demolished all the innocent creatures at the bottom. It might not have been so good for them if they were alive, but for us giants it made us champions!
After a while, we heard rap music comes from downstairs and decided to come see what the boys were up to. As I suspected, they were playing their MBA video game with listening to some Eminem and such. To occupy our time, Isabela and I had a drawing contest. We took turns drawing random objects, and at the end we judged them. First, we drew the hanging lights about the table, then a remote, a tic-tac container... then came the tough ones: we drew Gui and Gabriel. We ended up laughing more at how ridiculous the drawings were than actually judging who had the better one.
Then I went and met my new host-grandmother. She is such a sweetheart, and such a good cook! Oh Meu Deus... seriously. I could have eaten her food for the rest of my life. Chicken, Beef, Potatoe/Pasta Concoction, Rice, Cream Corn, this amazing vegetable pie thing, noodles... then after I thought I could not eat any more she brought our ice cream popsicles, THEN she brought out peanut ice cream.. THEN she bought out coconut and banana candies...
And while I was eating all this good food, I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix... with Portuguese voice overs. Can anyone say weird? They don`t even pronounce the names right! My mom was asking me if I liked Hermione... which lead to a whole entertaining conversation about how to pronounce her name in English. AND RON! Since R`s sound like H... and H is silent... the names are all messed up. Thankfully, this doesn´t mess with Harry´s name. If it did I might have actually had to turn it off.
Just when I thought I couldn´t eat anymore... we went to my host cousins birthday party. There was food galore... and then after everyone had managed to get me to try 2 of everything, they brought out 2 cakes and 2 kinds of brigadeiro. So I ate more! I can try and think-deny it all I want, but at the rate I´m eating, I´m going to be a bowling ball when I go back to Canada.
At the party, I met this awesome girl name Marilia, who is my Italian-Japanese cousin. She spoke English, so shamefully I was speaking with her a lot. BUT! To make up for the lack of Portuguese speaking, I had her teach me a few basic questions that people will ask me. So that was good :)
Now I am thinking I need to sleep, because after a day of mostly Portugese, I am exhausted. Who knew concentrating could be so exhausting?
Beijos!
Katrina
A little bit about my new family: I have a host mom (Marcia) and dad (Silvio), and younger sister (Isabela, 8), younger brother (Guilherme, 15), and another slightly younger brother (Gabriel, 17). They are so cute! This morning/afternoon I spent playing with Isabela in her room. We pulled out the Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop pets and set to work. We spent most of our time sliding objects down a plastic playground with the objective of knocking all the creatures over. At one point we placed a giant horse of the top and let it roll down the miniature slide, and in the process it completely demolished all the innocent creatures at the bottom. It might not have been so good for them if they were alive, but for us giants it made us champions!
After a while, we heard rap music comes from downstairs and decided to come see what the boys were up to. As I suspected, they were playing their MBA video game with listening to some Eminem and such. To occupy our time, Isabela and I had a drawing contest. We took turns drawing random objects, and at the end we judged them. First, we drew the hanging lights about the table, then a remote, a tic-tac container... then came the tough ones: we drew Gui and Gabriel. We ended up laughing more at how ridiculous the drawings were than actually judging who had the better one.
Then I went and met my new host-grandmother. She is such a sweetheart, and such a good cook! Oh Meu Deus... seriously. I could have eaten her food for the rest of my life. Chicken, Beef, Potatoe/Pasta Concoction, Rice, Cream Corn, this amazing vegetable pie thing, noodles... then after I thought I could not eat any more she brought our ice cream popsicles, THEN she brought out peanut ice cream.. THEN she bought out coconut and banana candies...
And while I was eating all this good food, I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix... with Portuguese voice overs. Can anyone say weird? They don`t even pronounce the names right! My mom was asking me if I liked Hermione... which lead to a whole entertaining conversation about how to pronounce her name in English. AND RON! Since R`s sound like H... and H is silent... the names are all messed up. Thankfully, this doesn´t mess with Harry´s name. If it did I might have actually had to turn it off.
Just when I thought I couldn´t eat anymore... we went to my host cousins birthday party. There was food galore... and then after everyone had managed to get me to try 2 of everything, they brought out 2 cakes and 2 kinds of brigadeiro. So I ate more! I can try and think-deny it all I want, but at the rate I´m eating, I´m going to be a bowling ball when I go back to Canada.
At the party, I met this awesome girl name Marilia, who is my Italian-Japanese cousin. She spoke English, so shamefully I was speaking with her a lot. BUT! To make up for the lack of Portuguese speaking, I had her teach me a few basic questions that people will ask me. So that was good :)
Now I am thinking I need to sleep, because after a day of mostly Portugese, I am exhausted. Who knew concentrating could be so exhausting?
Beijos!
Katrina
Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker-jacks...
... Or just some Aguá e Sorvete.. that works too. And instead of a ball game, why not a Futebol game? And while we´re doing something really awesome, let`s just make it a Brazil-Africa game? Yeah!!!! My new host family has reached the limits and pushed to the beyond. My first day with them and we were off to Sao Paulo to a Futebol (soccer) game.
At the game, we were sitting on the center line on the top section, so we had a good view of the game! Initially I was just casually watching it, but by the end I had my host moms arm and we were squaling and screaming at the game. At one point, we were both on the edge of our seats, awaiting the goal we so badly wanted from Brazil, and in the last seconds of anticipation we stood up ready to scream in congradulations... only to be disappointed by a major miss on a wide open shot. We were not impressed what-so-ever.
Lunch! Marcia, Silvio, Isabella, Isabella (Guilherme's girlfriend), Guilherme, Gabriel & I (no particular order)
To move around chronologically, on the way to Sao Paulo for the game, we were all listening to music in the car, getting to know each other a little bit since I had literally put my bags in my room that morning before we left, when a Bon Jovi song came on. And not just any Bon Jovi song: It`s My Life. My moms song. Oh yes, I was a superbly happy camper! And It was even better when my host dad turned up the radio and we started to belt out the notes like crazy people.
To confuse you yet again in the time department, AFTER the game we all met up and I saw 3 really fantastically amazing things on our walk back to the car:
1) Brazilian Mounted Police. I was so excited I had to take a picture!
2) A glowing multi-color bicycle. It was a win.
3) A mini churrasco... a man had a small barbeque and was cooking up some sort of meat for the passers-by.
On our way to the pizzaria we were going to for supper, a little boy was juggling out in the middle of the street in Sao Paulo, and it broke my heart a little bit. The fact that a young boy (whos brother was waiting on the sidewalk to store the money this boy earned) was so poor he needed to juggle for money to survive on the streets... it just seems wrong. He could not have been older than my sister. I would say he was closer to the age of 10-12. He was good at what he did, and my family gave him some money, which made me feel a teeny-tiny bit better about it. We might not have been able to completely save him from his situation, but at least we gave him something.
While I am on the topic of non-happy things, 3 of the songs I refer to as my Whitney Songs came on the radio consecutively on the way home: What Makes You Beautiful, Set Fire to the Rain, and Somebody That I Used To Know. Saudades!
BACK to the happy things. Once we met up with a few of the families friends, we went to this adorable pizzaria that I believe was called Mercanto. Or something along the lines of this. The pizza was so good! They even had these chips that were so salty I thought I was going to die, but I couldn`t stop eating. SO GOOD. I wish I could have asked for the receipe... (they were homemade, forgot to mention that)
After that I basically slept the entire way home, and unpacked a little! I might be at an entirely new house, but unpacking a little bit has made me feel a little bit more at home.
Beijos!
Katrina
At the game, we were sitting on the center line on the top section, so we had a good view of the game! Initially I was just casually watching it, but by the end I had my host moms arm and we were squaling and screaming at the game. At one point, we were both on the edge of our seats, awaiting the goal we so badly wanted from Brazil, and in the last seconds of anticipation we stood up ready to scream in congradulations... only to be disappointed by a major miss on a wide open shot. We were not impressed what-so-ever.
Lunch! Marcia, Silvio, Isabella, Isabella (Guilherme's girlfriend), Guilherme, Gabriel & I (no particular order)
To move around chronologically, on the way to Sao Paulo for the game, we were all listening to music in the car, getting to know each other a little bit since I had literally put my bags in my room that morning before we left, when a Bon Jovi song came on. And not just any Bon Jovi song: It`s My Life. My moms song. Oh yes, I was a superbly happy camper! And It was even better when my host dad turned up the radio and we started to belt out the notes like crazy people.
To confuse you yet again in the time department, AFTER the game we all met up and I saw 3 really fantastically amazing things on our walk back to the car:
1) Brazilian Mounted Police. I was so excited I had to take a picture!
2) A glowing multi-color bicycle. It was a win.
3) A mini churrasco... a man had a small barbeque and was cooking up some sort of meat for the passers-by.
On our way to the pizzaria we were going to for supper, a little boy was juggling out in the middle of the street in Sao Paulo, and it broke my heart a little bit. The fact that a young boy (whos brother was waiting on the sidewalk to store the money this boy earned) was so poor he needed to juggle for money to survive on the streets... it just seems wrong. He could not have been older than my sister. I would say he was closer to the age of 10-12. He was good at what he did, and my family gave him some money, which made me feel a teeny-tiny bit better about it. We might not have been able to completely save him from his situation, but at least we gave him something.
While I am on the topic of non-happy things, 3 of the songs I refer to as my Whitney Songs came on the radio consecutively on the way home: What Makes You Beautiful, Set Fire to the Rain, and Somebody That I Used To Know. Saudades!
BACK to the happy things. Once we met up with a few of the families friends, we went to this adorable pizzaria that I believe was called Mercanto. Or something along the lines of this. The pizza was so good! They even had these chips that were so salty I thought I was going to die, but I couldn`t stop eating. SO GOOD. I wish I could have asked for the receipe... (they were homemade, forgot to mention that)
After that I basically slept the entire way home, and unpacked a little! I might be at an entirely new house, but unpacking a little bit has made me feel a little bit more at home.
Beijos!
Katrina
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Jitterbugs, Jabawalkies, and other Jibberish
Initially, my day began as it usually does: I regretfully leave the comforts of my bed, throw on whatever clothes happen to smell half decent, and sling my backpack over my shoulder as I head out the door.
But after that things became a whole lot more interesting.
I get to school and give my friend her birthday gift: a bunch of Canadian things! Included was a Maple Candy, Canadian bracelet, Canadian notebook, Canadian flag, and a package of Maple Cookies! I think she liked them... or at least I hope she did.
THEN! We all put on some music and danced around while we blew up balloons for the suprise we had in store for our History teacher, whos birthday is tomorrow. The other students wrote "Parabens" on the board and blew up balloons to decorate the entire place, and the event was even complete with a Brigadeiro Cake :) mhmm mhmm good!
Afterschool I came home and got ready for the big event: Cecilie coming over to help me pack. We raced through that so we could get to the part we really wanted to do... WATCH ALICE IN WONDERLAND! We may be on exchange, but we are really just typical teenage girls who love chocolate, chips, movies, and lots of laughs. At one point I think I took a picture of her when she wasn't expecting it, and we just burst out into continuous, gut hurting, such-a-good-laugh-it's-almost-silent laughing fit. We'd finally compose ourselves, look at the other to make sure they were okay, and it would happen all over again. At one point I even slid off the couch and ended up laughing on the floor! Not completely out of character for me, but that gives you the mental image of how crazy it was and how exchange students are crazy.
But if you know me at all, you knew this already.
Maybe glasses will make me smart.... tehehehe
No one said we took attractive pictures on girl-afternoons.
My move was postponed until tomorrow, so until then I will have no photos of the new house and things like that :)
BUT! TOMORROW IS GAME DAY!!! VAI BRASIL! <3
Beijos,
Katrina
But after that things became a whole lot more interesting.
I get to school and give my friend her birthday gift: a bunch of Canadian things! Included was a Maple Candy, Canadian bracelet, Canadian notebook, Canadian flag, and a package of Maple Cookies! I think she liked them... or at least I hope she did.
THEN! We all put on some music and danced around while we blew up balloons for the suprise we had in store for our History teacher, whos birthday is tomorrow. The other students wrote "Parabens" on the board and blew up balloons to decorate the entire place, and the event was even complete with a Brigadeiro Cake :) mhmm mhmm good!
Afterschool I came home and got ready for the big event: Cecilie coming over to help me pack. We raced through that so we could get to the part we really wanted to do... WATCH ALICE IN WONDERLAND! We may be on exchange, but we are really just typical teenage girls who love chocolate, chips, movies, and lots of laughs. At one point I think I took a picture of her when she wasn't expecting it, and we just burst out into continuous, gut hurting, such-a-good-laugh-it's-almost-silent laughing fit. We'd finally compose ourselves, look at the other to make sure they were okay, and it would happen all over again. At one point I even slid off the couch and ended up laughing on the floor! Not completely out of character for me, but that gives you the mental image of how crazy it was and how exchange students are crazy.
But if you know me at all, you knew this already.
We like to eat... eat... eat....
My jabawalkie impersonation
Maybe glasses will make me smart.... tehehehe
My move was postponed until tomorrow, so until then I will have no photos of the new house and things like that :)
BUT! TOMORROW IS GAME DAY!!! VAI BRASIL! <3
Beijos,
Katrina
Monday, September 3, 2012
One Foot Infront of the Other
Today was a relaxing day, because I took a walk! (Hence the title... hehe)
Because the sidewalks look like they were built by a 5 year old, you have to concentrate on where you are placing your feet. It's super unever and just an adventure on it's own to navigate.
Because the sidewalks look like they were built by a 5 year old, you have to concentrate on where you are placing your feet. It's super unever and just an adventure on it's own to navigate.
This is across the street from my appartment building..
A cool looking rock wall that surrounds a house!
Minus the advertisement, this house just looked cool :)
Romeo & Juliet? <3
BRAZIL!!
Simply looked pretty
One of the appartment buildings in my little community.
After I went for my walk, I skyped with my Austiran girl Emilie to catch up, and we (along with our Teddy Bear besties) had ashort chat just to catch up on how exchange was treating us. In Canada she was my go-to girl with exhange things. We just understood exactly what each other was feeling and it is no different now :)
Then I was hurried out of the house by an unexpected trip to the mall! Cecilie, Henry, Matthew, Andressa and I all went to Esplanada and ate lots of chocolate... of course! It was just a good day with friends. After such a crazy weekend with all the exchange students, it was nice to spend a normal day doing what we do on a normal day. It was a good way to ease back into the realities of exchange. Not to mention they are my favourite people; they make me feel at ease and at peace. No pictures of that expedition though.
OH! And I have the single-most amazing host mom ever. After a big "heart-to-heart", she bought me a new pair of shoes. She'd always get frustrated when I would wear a cute outfit... and then "ruin" it with my rainbow sneakers. So today she took me into the shoe store, found a cute pair of black ballet flats, and after a argument over who would pay she bought them for me! Ridic. love love love!
Beijos!
Katrina
Then I was hurried out of the house by an unexpected trip to the mall! Cecilie, Henry, Matthew, Andressa and I all went to Esplanada and ate lots of chocolate... of course! It was just a good day with friends. After such a crazy weekend with all the exchange students, it was nice to spend a normal day doing what we do on a normal day. It was a good way to ease back into the realities of exchange. Not to mention they are my favourite people; they make me feel at ease and at peace. No pictures of that expedition though.
OH! And I have the single-most amazing host mom ever. After a big "heart-to-heart", she bought me a new pair of shoes. She'd always get frustrated when I would wear a cute outfit... and then "ruin" it with my rainbow sneakers. So today she took me into the shoe store, found a cute pair of black ballet flats, and after a argument over who would pay she bought them for me! Ridic. love love love!
Beijos!
Katrina
Sunday, September 2, 2012
A Little Bit Brazilian Already
OKAY! So here is the moment where I write down all the things I've done since I last wrote a blog!
I'll start with Friday :)
After school I had a bit of confusion with my mom on what my plans were. Originally, I was going to go out with a friend of mine to Applebees for supper. THEN I was supposed to go out with my Aunt to a pizza party. But then my mom caught wind of an exchange student gathering and she decided to take me there instead. I'm glad she took me, becuase I got to meet a bunch of the other exchange students before our orientation (which started Saturday) in a more relaxing setting.
I'll start with Friday :)
After school I had a bit of confusion with my mom on what my plans were. Originally, I was going to go out with a friend of mine to Applebees for supper. THEN I was supposed to go out with my Aunt to a pizza party. But then my mom caught wind of an exchange student gathering and she decided to take me there instead. I'm glad she took me, becuase I got to meet a bunch of the other exchange students before our orientation (which started Saturday) in a more relaxing setting.
Germany (Mattias) & Indonesia (Fillipe)
ROTEX Indonesia (Giovana) & Taiwan (Demi)
Indonesia (Fillipe) & ROTEX Indonesia (Giovana)
Saturday:
FIRST DAY OF ORIENTATION! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Honestly, maybe the whole meeting wasn't super exciting, but seeing most of the exchange students from District 4620 in one place was kind of really exciting. Finally getting to see the faces of the people we'd been talking to on facebook for the longest time was surreal. We talked about the rules and all those other technical things... but then the real treat came: the speaker about the Brazilian trips!
After a DVD and an explanation of each of the 4 trips, I finally decided on one: The Nordeste.
Bet that wasn't what anyone was expecting!
I know I'd talked about the Amazon for the entire period leading up to going on exchange, so I will explain my reasoning behind choosing a different trip.
A) The Nordeste is 22 days of beaches, museums, dancing, culture, and covers the biggest part of Brasil.
B) It costs just a little more than the Amazon trip, which is only 10 days.
C) Most of my other exchange friends are going on this trip.
D) The different sites and things we get to do on the trip literally took my breath away.
So yeah :) Some pictures of orientation....
I promise we take being exchange students seriously..
we just don't take photos seriously :)
Me, USA (Henry), Canada (Jenna)
Equador (Francisco), Canada (Jenna), Taiwan (A... don't know how to spell) & Germany (Mattias)
Cecilie and I are professional hair stylists... obviously
After the meeting my mom took me to the place where she gets her nails done because I hadn't been there since I first arrived in Brazil. The ladies were really impressed with my Portuguese... but not so impressed with the severly damaged state my nails were in. As a result, they painted me up with some polish that tastes like rotten eggs and pepper. Which is awesome, because my nails are slowly improving... but when I licked chocolate pudding off them today I got a nasty pepper taste... and suddenly the pudding wasn't so appetizing.
Then I went to an exchange student pizza party :) We ate pizza, played soccer, fooled around at ping pong.. generally had a good time. Mattias, Cecilie and I discovered that I'm a horrible ping-pong player.
Sunday (Today):
The last bit of the orientation meeting was today. We had a motivational speaker come in and talk to us about how an exchange to Finland changed his life and what his life was like now. He has a daughter who is 8 and can already speak 5 languages pretty well. Amazing girl right there.
The Rotex had some activities for us, we talked about the different trips we would do with our district in Rotary, and then it was time to go home!
After my mom picked me up from the meeting, we went to my aunts house for some ice cream at futebol. I was feeling pretty good, and I had to take a picture of my cousin just lazing on the couch. It was the perfect "lazy day" photo.
The last bit of the orientation meeting was today. We had a motivational speaker come in and talk to us about how an exchange to Finland changed his life and what his life was like now. He has a daughter who is 8 and can already speak 5 languages pretty well. Amazing girl right there.
The Rotex had some activities for us, we talked about the different trips we would do with our district in Rotary, and then it was time to go home!
After my mom picked me up from the meeting, we went to my aunts house for some ice cream at futebol. I was feeling pretty good, and I had to take a picture of my cousin just lazing on the couch. It was the perfect "lazy day" photo.
iPad, socks off, and a cute dog: perfect Sunday set-up
Then! I met my new host family! I'm moving on Thursday. It's a little early, but it will be really good for my experience. Currently my family works a lot, and as much as I love them and hate to leave them, it will be good to be able to go out more and have people around. I will have 3 host siblings and 2 dogs, and my room is seperate from the rest of the house to give me some privacy. I'll be coming back to Jamila and Roberto later in the year.
I might be 8000 miles away from Canada, but I'm starting to feel more and more like I'm at home. It's weird what one month in a country can do to you. I might be Canadian now, but I will be part Brazilian by the end of this year :)
Beijos!
Katrina
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