| International Youth Exchange |
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Christopher's Adventures in Brazil
Quick Facts...
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Nickname | Christopher |
| Birthday | February 11 | |
| Christopher's Website | http://pirate176.iwarp.com/brazil.html | |
| Subscribe to Christopher's Travelogue Newsletter | http://pirate176.listbot.com
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| Hobbies | Dancing, skateboarding, swimming, playing the drums/piano/guitar, painting miniatures for tabletop strategy games, computer programning, networking, electronics. | |
| Education Goals | Study accounting and business | |
| Hometown | Siloam Springs, AR USA | |
| Sponsoring Rotary Club | Siloam Springs, AR | |
| Hosting Rotary District / Club | 4520 |
Notes from Brazil...
(These are listed with most recent at the top.)
| Monday, April 16, 2001 3:31 PM |
greetings ladies and gents! it has been even longer since the last time i wrote, and i apologise. i seem to be getting neglegent with my updates. this past week was called "semana santa" (saint's week). apparently it is the celebration of christ's death and rebirth. "sexta feira do paixão" (friday of pasion) was when christ was killed, and "pascoa" is easter. i spent my saints week in a city of 200,000 people called itabeira. it was really quite pretty. itabeira has some of the largest strip mines on earth. it used to be the largest mining town for iron in brazil (maybe the world), but it's supplies are running out, and it is now the second largest (i forget which is the largest). i spent the first few days getting to know the town and a bit about it's history. friday i saw the "proseção" (procession [think i spelled it wrong]). the procession is where you don't eat any meat for a day, and at night, everyone in the town walks in a big line to church to pray holding candles. they also carry jesus's death bed, and a large mother mary. it was really beutiful. although i didn't participate, i did enjoy watching it. saturday i spent my time in the mountains (12 hours and 34 kilometers) on horseback. it was really beutiful as well. it reminded me of a scene from somewhere in montana rather than brasil. it was cold....REALLY cold, and there were evergreen trees. i learned the true meaning of saddle sores as well. and if anyone asks you to snort something called "rapê" to clear your sinuses...you won't like it, but it will clean them right out with that burning sensation that a big heaping spoonful of commet in your morning coffe would give you. it's a mix of tobacco, cinnamon, and cloves. well that's it for now. hope you enjoyed this edition of my update. and thanks for sticking with me.... regards, christopher |
| Saturday, Jan 20, 2001 3:43 PM | I apologise for the delay, but I have had a few
problems compiling the information, and sending out this letter. I
realise this one is long over-due. I also apologise for the fact
that some of the words and names in other languages (mainly
portuguese) are spelled without accents because the computer I am
using doesn't have this option. In December, I went on "Viagem de Verao" (summer trip) with exchange students from 3 districts. We went first to a town called Lencois. It was a beutiful town, very small, but beutiful. We saw many water-falls, did alot of swiming, and went to the top of "Chapada Diamantina", which was probably the largest mountain I have ever seen. I used to think the Ozarks were large...when I looked off the side of this area, I froze. It was one of the most breath-taking sites I have ever seen. I also swam in a river that was at the bottom of the mountain. The water was so clear and blue that I could see over 15ft to the bottom. Then we went to Maceio, which was where we saw our first beach on the tour. The beach (as most of them were) was very beutiful, but a little too calm for my liking. I went body-boarding, but never could seem to catch any waves. Next was Fortaleza. More beaches, parties, and fun. here we went to "Festa da Pirata" (the best monday night in the world according to the new york times). This was a large party on a port where everyone was dressed up like pirates, dancing to old pirate music. It was a blast, I really got to know some exchange students pretty well that day, and had a great time. I do remember that the next day when the entire group got into some trouble (a couple of kids threw sacks of water into the swimming pool, and one of them hit a car window), I sat up all night eating "Fandangos" (basically frisbee shaped cheetos) and watching the movie "Matador" (killer) with 3 other exchange students. That may not seem like much of a memory, but it really surprised me that night...I never thought I would be sitting watching movies with people from all over the world like I had known them my whole life. After Fortaleza comes Recife. Here we went to more beaches as usual, but one night they let us loose over the town. I worked my way through the city, and began to hear a strange music playing in the distance. It turned out to be either native, or decendants of, brasilian indians. I was really impressed by thier music, and they invited me to play music with them. I sat down and learned alot of some of the traditional music of Brasil, including music for capoera (a brasilian fighting style). Here we learned that Christopher cannot surf, and probably never will be able to (not gonna tell you guys this story, beacuse it's really embarrassing, I'll just say it involves the surf board trying to take my swim suit away from me). Salvador! Home of the most beutiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. We also went to the Oldolum festival, which was a reggae music festival. This is also where I learned how to make henna tattoos, which are very popular here in brasil now. Henna is a type of ink, and I think it is from the middle east somewhere. It takes 1 month for the ink to leave the skin once it is placed there, and I had my entire back tattooed with it. It took forever, and lasted for about a month, but it was worth it, it was beutiful. (Don't worry, it's gone now). On one of the beaches I rode a horse, that did not want to run, turn, or go down the beach, let alone move more than 5ft. But I did learn that if you kick a horse with spurs on, it will motivate it to move...ALOT!!! I ended up bolting down the beach on a runaway horse that I could not seem to controll, but eventually he simply stopped, turned around, and walked back on his own. At the same beach I "encountered" a 6 meter wave...without a bodyboard. The sea was pretty calm, it had enough waves to body-board, but I decided to go out without one and ride the waves in-shore by swimming down them. A few meters out, I saw a wave starting in the distance that I thought would be a good one, when I got close to the wave, I realised I had made a grave mistake. The 6 meter wave picked me up, tossed me around, and spit me out on shore WITHOUT MY SWIM TRUNKS!!! Needless to say, it was a bit embarrasing, but at least I'm alive. Porto Seguro. Here we visited the largest market I have ever seen. I also got to practice my haggling skills, and bought a drum. I also learned a very important lesson in life at this city...If it you don't know what it is, ask before you eat it. I bought some food that looked like cornbread with "red stuff" in the middle. I took a bite, and decided I didn't want it anymore. It turned out to be shrimp (I hate sea food), with Super Red Hot Class A10 Tobasco Sauce on it. Needless to say, I don't have very many taste-buds left. Rio de Janiero. I can't say much about Rio, because I have already been there. When we went there on the trip, It was raining, and I spent most of my time in the hotel, beacuse I got a little sick from the spicy food. Needless to say, I had a great time, and made alot of new friends, It just goes to show you how easily all races can live hand in hand on this planet. I hope you all enjoyed this installment, and look forward for more! Thanks! |
| Monday, Nov13, 2000 12:17 PM | i hope this letter finds you all in good health and good humor. seeing as how i am now moved into my new home i suppose i ought to fill you all in on the details. it is a 2 story house in sant antonio, and on top of the biggest hill i've ever seen (needless to say i refuse to walk up it, so i always have 90 cents with me to take the bus up the hill...lazy american, eh?). i live on the top story, and basically have it to myself, although people come upstairs now and then to watch tv. i have a tv/stereo room, bedroom, bathroom, and 1 water closet as well as a terrace that goes all the way around the house, and i could smoke there if i wanted, but seeing as how i don't smoke, i will refrain from that. i have 2 host sisters, 1 is 20, the other is 30. my host brother is in new jersey with !!!ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE!!! I have a wonderful mother and father here, that do anything and everything they can for me, as for pets, one of the daughters has 2 gerbils (those of you who know me well, know i love rodents), and then there is the hell spawn, the most vile of all beasts, the evil dachtsund that likes to leave presents in my room, on my bed, and in my sandals. she likes to chew on my shoes, as well as occasionally trying to use me as a chew toy. her name is chichita, and i want to lock her in the closet :). but with the exception of her, everything is peaches and cream. I am currently learning how to play the biribal (granted i spelled it wrong), it's a brasilian instrument that looks like a bow (as in bow & arrow) with half of a coconut tied to it at the base, you hold the coconut against your stomach, with the bend facing you, you hold it with your left hand at the coconut, as well as hold a rock to occasionally press against the wire (which would be the string on a bow and arrow), and strike the wire with a thin piece of wood. it makes a sound i can't even begin to describe, but i love it. they use it when people do "capoeta" which is a brasilian fight/dance. it was a fighting style amongst indians, and when the slaves from africa came, they turned it into a dance. i have seen 3 kinds of capoeta, 1 is the fight, it's very violent, but i enjoy watching it. 2 is the dance, it's very beutiful, and two people "fight" at the same time (they never make contact, which surprises me because of how fast they move). and 3 is "capoeta da rua" (street fighting), which is not as clean, but is still a dance, and is still beutiful. I plan to buy the instrument from a capoeta teacher soon (it's only R$15,00 [about US$7.50]), and plan to take some capoeta classes. well, i suppose that is it for now! hope you guys ejoyed this installment, and you can look forward to more. best regards, christopher |
| Monday, November 06, 2000 5:55 PM | Well, I realize this message is about a week
delayed, but I forgot my listbot password :). Anyhow, I am writing
this one regarding my trip to Petropolis. I went to petropolis with
an underclass in my school, and 3 other exchange students (basically
trapped 6 hours to petropolis on a bus with screaming pre-teens, 1
day 1 night in a luxurious cabin with screaming pre-teens, and 6
hours back in a bus with screaming pre-teens), other than the
screaming pre-teens, it was fine...on the plus side, I learned more
slang than I ever wanted to! Anyhow. We met at the school at 6am, and I (as always) worried about how large my bag is, was for once the person with the smallest bag. We 6 hours on the bus, stopping twice. the first time was to get some food, the second time because something in the back of the bus caught fire (i got a kick out of this, not sure why, but the screaming pre-teens headed for the front). It was nothing serious, I belive it was a lightbulb that went haywire. Then when we arrived, it was time to eat. Food in this "hotel" consisted of traditional brasilian food, which I enjoyed after not eating anything but junk on the bus. Then it was off to our rooms, we were given 4 houses, 2 for the girls and the teachers, and 2 for the boys (yes houses that's why i quoted "hotel"). Once things settled in ok, we went on the beginning of our tour, I saw "the crystal palace" which was really pretty, it was made out of cast iron, and blue and white crystal. When you walked in, everything shined and cast different colours everywhere. Then we went to the house of a man (forgot his name) who I think either A. brought flight to brasil, or B. was another wright brother (i didn't understand the teacher very well on this one). His house was small, and cozy, equipped with modern day electricity haha. His shower was interesting. Seeing as how they didn't have running water, he had a mechanism that dumped hot or cold water (or both) on him as he saw fit. really neat. After this, we drove around the city, went shopping, and ate at a really nice italian restaraunt. After this, it was back to the houses. We played some soccer after this and went to our houses. I stayed up all night with most of the screaming youngsters in House #4. I didn't see the other exchange students most of the time (and tried not to). I tried to make it a point to socialise rather than be a wallflower, and this made the screaming pre-teens easier to tolerate, because once they got to know me, they seemed to stop screaming so much. The next morning consisted of sarcasm and practical jokes amongst most of the youngsters (that of course, I participated in). The other exchange students stuck to themselves, and ended up the butt of a few jokes whether they realised it or not ;). We played some more soccer ate, and went swimming (not in that order). After the morning, we went to the Imperial Palace of Dom Pedro II. It was a massive house with 48 rooms. I learned about the imperial family, and brasil's independence from Portugal, it was all very interesting, and I wish you all could have been there to see it. One thing that I really found fascinating is that the imperial family stayed in Petropolis (some backwater town at the time) rather than Rio De Janeiro (the center of politics at the time) because of the temperature. Petropolis is in the mountains, therefore is pretty cold. I recall wearing a jacket almost the entire time. The trip home wasn't so bad, because the majority of the students left me to sleep, and picked on the other exchange students for a while :). And so ends my tales of Petropolis, pre-teen struggles and imperial families, how much art can you take? I just want to inform you guys that I change families friday (yes I know it was supposed to be thursday, but it was delayed a day so that I wouldn't miss school). I am looking forward to it, and my current host mother has been talking to my new host mother, she seems like an ok gal. I hope this letter finds you all in good humor and good health, and yet again, please don't worry too much about me. Feel free to copy and distribuite this as you see fit. Also, Keep in mind there are public archives of the messages at http://pirate176.listbot.com if you miss any of the fun!!! With Love And Best Regards, -Christopher |
| Wednesday, Oct 25, 2000 5:48 AM | Well ladies and gents, how are things out there all
over the world? Things in brasil are wonderful for me. I missed the first trip to pantanol and bonito because 1. I HATE BUGS, and 2. I didn't sign up quick enough, but I suppose that is life. I am having a wonderful time still. I still dj, and was accepted into one of the moste exclusive international dj clubs "tuffcub" (they are based in the uk, but have dj's all over the world working for them). School is going wonderful, in fact, I am sending this message from school. I have so many things to say, but I can't seem to remember them all, so you guys may end up with quite a few messages in a row. Today I plan to shave my head, but I don't know that I will. I want to do this because it is so hot down here. I really like the heat though, it feels good most of the time, and as much as I hate the sun, if I so much as look out the window, I get an instant tan. My hair is also turning semi-blonde from the sun. I have had many people mistake me for a brasilian, and everyone says now I speak portuguese almost fluently. So far, I think the only problems I have had is I got into an argument with one of my friends, but that is solved now, and now every day I take a different route to school, because there are some kids who harassed me yesterday after school on my street. They didn't do anything but call me bad words as I walked by, but I simply ignored them and now I am just avoiding the problem. I suppose this is just part of growing up. I change host families on November 8, and I know who my 3rd host family is, but I don't know who my second is! Soon, I am going on a trip with my school for exchange students, and I believe it is on november 7, so we will see how this works out. |
| Sunday, October 08, 2000 7:44 PM |
greetings boys and girls! today is my 2nd month
aniversary in brasil. i have met my 3rd host family, but have no
clue who my 2nd host family will be. school is going wonderful, this week we have school olympics, and although i am not allowed to participate, i plan to go anyhow to watch. portuguese class went ok, i think everyone really learned alot. 2 nights ago, i got to dj in the largest night club i have ever seen. i played 5 songs (john secada's "make it through the night without you", mariah carey's "always be my baby", 2 brasilian rap songs, and then ended with a 9min trance song), it was really neat to see people down below me dancing, and having other dj's around me getting into my music as well. they say that any time i want to go to that club, it is free (food and drink included). i also now have a cd out with 4 of my songs on it (2 origionals, and 2 remixes). if you guys would like a copy, email me, and we'll work something out. as for my host family, everything is going great. the other day i tried sushi for the first time, it was...well...interesting :). i have a little "host neice" here, i believe she is just over a year old, and she is the cutest thing that has ever walked the earth (those of you who know me well, know i don't like little kids, but i'll make an exception for this one). i've not had any striking revalations or anything like that in the past time that i've been here, just that i am in another country, simple as that. i am sorry about nuking the web site, but it was just a hassle to update, and this is much easier. there are only 7 people on the list right now, so tell your friends, family, even the neighbor's dog! i hope this letter finds all of you in good health and good times. please don't worry too much about me, i know how some of you get :). With Love And Regards, Christopher |
| 9/11/00 | Greetings yet again friends. Last weekend I took a
3 hour bus tour to Timoteo (I think the spelling is wrong, sorry). I
stayed a couple days in another exchange student's house. Lucas, the
YE student, is currently studying in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. I
arrived a bit haggard due to my stress from the busses, but
otherwise I was fine. His family was very nice to me. The first day we walked to a club (a sport club I believe), and I played ping-pong and foozeball with some of the kids there. Needless to say, we now have discovered that Christopher couldn't play ping-pong if his life depended on it. After the interesting hour or so of chasing a small plastic ball, we went back to the house. That evening we went to "Beer Fest", and heard a band play. I have no idea who the band was, but it was latin music. I danced so hard that night, It was great. There were two boys there about my age that was with the group, and they said that I danced very good, so I know I didn't look like a complete fool. The next day, we went to a local shopping center, and had something to eat. That night (saturday night), we went back to Beer Fest. 3 bands played. The first band I don't remember, we only saw part of thier show, but they played alot of rolling stones, and they played oxigenio by jota quest (don't know if any of you out there know that song). The second band was a band from my city called "Skank", they were pretty good. They are sort of a pop band. The last band was my favorite. It was 8 guys, 1 with a guitar, and 7 with percussion instruments. They played a latin music of sorts, and I danced samba ALOT. The next day we ate at a bar-b-que, and then I took a bus home followed by a cab to the house. Oh, and rumor has it that steppen wolf (spelling?) will be playing here in Belo Horizonte on Saturday :). |
| 9/5/00 | Boa Tarde! Yesterday I went to Rio De Janiero to go
to the American Consulate. My host father and I went by air-plane.
It was a 1 hour flight. When we got to the consulate, they were
closed because it was an American holiday (Labor Day I assume), so
my father said "Why don't we take a tour of Rio, and stay the
night?". We went to Copacabana, and stayed in a 4 star hotel (i
didn't think it was that great). It was really rainy in Rio
yesterday, that just seemed to worsen things. I already didn't like
Rio due to my first experiences there when I was flying to Belo
Horizonte on August 8th, but I told myself that maybe it wouldn't be
so bad. My father and I hopped a cab to a shopping center. He asked me if I wanted to go to "Serra Açucar" (seh-a asuc-ar, loosely translated to sugar mountain). I said sure, and we drove in the taxi for what seemed like days up a large foggy mountain. We stopped in a parking lot, told the taxi driver goodbye, and began walking up large marble steps. After a few minutes of walking through fog and rain, there it was...The big Jesus Christ statue thingy. It was huge, and looked out over all of Rio. I was stunned for a moment, not becuase it was jesus christ (those of you who know me very well, know i'm not all that religious to begin with), but because of the massive size of the thing. I don't believe I've ever seen anything so large in my life. About that time I looked out over the edge of the mountain and saw Rio. When I realised how high up I was, I almost had kittens. I told my host father I would like to leave (yet again, those of you who know me know that christopher+hieghts=sissy girl). We left and went back to the hotel after grabbing some personal items for the night. At about 4 or 5 o'clock, I walked by myself down Copacabana to the sea-side. I sat on the wet, rainy beach for about 3 hours just staring off into no-where, taking in the fact that I'm not in Kansas anymore Alice. But that's ok, I don't mind being away from home, I really enjoy the adventures I have here, and enjoy how much the Rotary clubs have done for me. After my sit-down by the ocean, My host father and I walked for a few hours around Rio and grabbed some chow before returning to the hotel. The next morning we woke up at 7:30 and headed for the consulate general. When we arrived at the building, I saw an 8 foot stone seal of the United States of America. It almost wanted to make me cry, not because of home-sickness, but because of the fact that it was a piece of home in another country. 1 step closer to world peace. After that nice thought, I was quickly reminded how friendly feds can be. We stayed in the consulate general from 8:30-1:30, just to change my parents names (they were abriviated), and to make an amendment to my passport (my birthday wasn't correct on the passport). After the consulate we rushed to the airport, and onto our plane (an F-100, basically a levitating tuna can), and flew back to Belo Horizonte, where I am writing this. In a few minutes I'm going to head to the federal police and get everything straightened out. And that's that, the big update you've been waiting for. Thanks for caring enough to read this far :). |
| 8/26/00 | Today I went to another soccer game. *OAY, OAY, OAY, CRUSEIRO*. This time it was cruseiro vs. vitoria. Cruseiro is my favorite team down here, and it should be yours too :). The stadium was bigger this time, and cruseiro won 3 to 1. Last night I went to a bar with some friends, and drank somewhere around 10 bottles of water and 5 guadanas, needless to say I was up all night :). I went to a rotary dinner today, and it was the best. I really like the rotary club here. I met some exchange students that are rebounds (rotex in america). They were really nice. It seems like every rotarian I've met has been quite nice. Right now I'm on my way to D.J. a friend's party, so Tchau. I know this one was real short, but I'm pressed for time right now. Tchau again. |
| 08/21/00 | On Friday (08/18/00), I went out walking with 2 rotary students, and 2 of my friends. We sat down at a pub and had some pizza, nothing very eventful, just walking, talking, and enjoying the food. Saturday, I went with my host father to a futèbol game! If you think crowds are wild at American football games, "you aint seen nothin' yet." There were military police with batons, pistols, automatic rifles, and dogs all over the place. I saw one man carried off by a police oficer, and it didn't look very pretty. As for the game, it was great. Amerìca vs. Fluizmente (don't quote my spelling on that last one). I prefer Cruisero, but since they weren't playing, I went for America I really enjoyed the game. The way the fans acted reminded me of a roman pit fight. They were screaming obscenities, and yelling, cheering, having a good time :). The refs had to be escorted on and off the field by 6 military police. That's three refs, 6 police, about a 2/1 ratio. Needless to say, I had a blast. The hot dogs are interesting, they put corn (maize), something red that slightly resembles catsup, something yellow that resembles mustard (but they arent), some cream goop with red specs, and yellow things that look like crushed ruffles with raisins. It wasn't half bad, in fact, I kind of enjoyed it. I also ate Corizon do Frango Chicken Hearts) they were GREAT! You gotta try em':). That night I went to "Idaho Pub" (a really good disco) with some friends at about 9:30pm (7:30pm us central), and did not return home untill 4:56am (2:56am us central). It was a friends birthday party, and it was the best! I've never danced so much in my life. Today back at the federal police (for my id card, and my visa check) I met 4 rotary exchange students! It's insane how many there are. I think that the students really have been setting a good example about the rotary motto "service above self". I haven't heard of any probelms with any of the (rotary) exchange students around here at all. I think if any of you are looking at a year abroad to study, you should go with rotary, it's great! (No that wasn't a plug, that was straight from the heart). Two weeks from now I'm entered in a fingerboarding contest at the local sk8 shoppe, I'll let you know how that goes when the time comes :). Well, I'm off to eat dinner, Tchau, Beleza! |
| 08/16/00 | Greetings yet again Last night I went and saw x-men, complete with portuguese subtitles and all. It wasn't half bad, the theaters are odd, because they over-sell the tickets, and alot of people just sit on the floor. I went to the theater at the Diamond mall. Don't ask me where it is, I just followed my friends onto the bus, and took off :). After that we went and sampled the mall cuizine. A few words of wisdom...don't eat a whole "quatro queijo pizza" (4 cheese pizza) from pizza espresso. Needless to say, I came home sick last night, but it's ok, It was only temporary, by the time 6am rolled around, I was ready to go :). School today was pretty fun too (yes, I found my way =P). There were 3 new exchange students, 1 from alaska, 1 from norway, and 1 from whereever they speak danish :). They are all with the rotary youth exchange too. The 2 not from the U.S. are in the class next to mine, as for the other one, I'm not sure. I spent most of the day translating for the two that are in the class near mine (pardon my rambling, estou cansado (i am tired)). Tomorrow I am going to an english school to help some of the students learn english, and saturday so someone's birthday party (I'm not sure who's, my host mother just now told me I'm going :)). Well, it's Tchau for now...even though it's been slow, it's still all so very exciting! I don't think that the exciting part will ever leave! |
| 8/14/00 11:05 here, 9:05 US Central. |
Greetings and Boa Dia (good morning), I recently realised that there is no central heating or air ANYWHERE in Brazil, but for some reason the temperature is regulated very well, sometimes it gets a little cold, but for the most part it's very comfortable. I don't have school today or tommorow because it is a holiday here in BH. I woke up at 6, ate breakfast, left the house at 7, and walked all the way to school (15 minute walk), and had to walk all the way back :) because school was closed. Over the weekend, I went with a rotarian (Paulo), his 2 kids, his wife and inlaws to his wife's sister's house :). I had a blast, it was so fun. On One of the days Bruno (Paulo's son) and I found some people skateboarding, and I asked if i could use thier grind rail. They asked me how, because I didn't have a skateboard, and when I used my SoapShoes, they were fascinated because they don't have this in Brazil. Every house I've been in here, the head of the house said that thier house was my house, that I was part of thier family, and any time I wanted to come back, I could. What's funny is that they mean this, they honestly mean this, and get a little angry if you don't visit :). And when they say you are part of the family, they mean that too, example, I went to my brother's girlfriend's house for a party, her father came to me and told me I was part of the family, he was my uncle, his father was my grandfather, his sons and daughters were my brothers and sisters, etc... and they say "brother, come here". It's wonderful. If you aren't a touchy feely person, brasil is not for you :), here they are always hugging, kissing (on the cheeks), when you talk, they put their hand on you shoulder or on your back, there's never a time when you're not close to someone at a party, or gathering. Well, I'm off now, I'm going to go down to the newstand and buy a magazine. I hope you all enjoyed this installment :). |
| 8/11/00 | Boa Tarde! (good afternoon), It is 14:56 (12:46 US
Central), and I am updating the
page now,
because I will be leaving this afternoon to go with a rotarian and
his family to a vacation house for the weekend.
|
| 8/10/00 | It's is now 17:38 (5:38, 3:38 U.S. Central Time),
and the day is far from over! My host father usually goes to work at
11:00am, and comes home at 7:00pm, then we eat dinner at about
8:00pm when my host brother comes home from work.
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| 8/9/00 | Today was my first day at school. I go to Coligio de Padre Muchado. It's so different than American school. The kids talk, listen to radios, use thier cell phones, etc...during class, but they are learning at the same time. I have been focused on the teacher though (as hard as it is to believe). I love school here. The teacher is always willing to help. My coligio is open air, except for the class-rooms. I made so many friends today, it was wonderful! School starts at 7:15am, and ends at 12:00noon. Sort of odd, but I like it. I think one of my favorite things about my host family right now is everyday, my mother takes me to the Pãodaria to buy pão (bread shoppe, bread). It's hectic, people running around, getting bread, talking about today's gossip :), tasting free samples, it's so wonderful. Every street other than "Rua(s)" have shoppes, and they are all open air. There are so many sites to see! Today I found a skate shoppe, and bought a half pipe for my fingerboards. Childish, I know, but here it cost me R$hold_dollarhold_dollar10,00 (about .00). My host mother took one look at me fingerboarding and yelled "LEGAU!" (cool!) :). |
| 8/8/00 | I have arrived in Brazil!!! It is so beautiful here. My house is 8 stories above Belo Horzonte (BAE-LOW HORDI-ZONCH), I live in the mountains, and it's pretty hot, but by now I'm used to it. Everyone is so nice here. You walk just about everywhere you go, and if you don't walk, you ride the bus :). Those who do have cars have little two door specs :). Usually a "FIAT", "TOYOTA", or a "VOLKSWAGEN". They drive about 60kmh down streets barely big enough for 1 car :). They come within inches of each-other and don't even think twice about it! It's so liberal here. My host family is wonderful! Meu Pai (my father) is Antonio (tonio for short), Meu Mai (my mother) is MariaLucia. I have 3 host brothers, but only 1 lives here, he is 25, and his name is Fredrico (fefa for short). My parents are 56 and 55. We have a dog named "Dalilia", she is a dachsund. I love the food here, beans and rice, mmmm, with some wierd white stuff that tastes like raw malt -o- meal :). ALL of the food is fresh, esté bon! (it's good!). |
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