Sorry it has taken me so long to write. I have been really busy. I'm going to quickly run through everything that has been going on, add some pictures, and then I have to get some sleep. I'm leaving for the beach in the morning!
So far I have been doing Portuguese classes three times a week. They help quite a bit, but not as much as regular school would. Which I am not able to attend yet because I arrived too late. There is only a month left in the Brazilian school year until summer break, so there's not any classes left I can join. Starting February I will be attending regular school. Until then I will be volunteering to help teach english classes, going on tours of Brazil, and soaking up as much Portuguese as I can!
Last I told you about I believe I was headed to the Formula 1 race to help out Rotary. Well, I did not get to go into the race. But that was FINE with me! I had the time of my life! We were just outside the race to the point where the drinks would rattle as the cars went by. And helping out rotary meant watching the race on a huge TV while handing out beers to people with the right coupons. The true party was outside on the street where I ended up finding some crazy guy on a bike with a painted dog who really liked Ferrari (Yes, the dog liked Ferrari, not him. He was a Fiat fan...), VERY pretty girls, and Santa Claus. Apparently he comes to Brazil to vacation during the off season. After the race was over the Samba dancers came out and started putting on a show right next to the Rotary tent. So naturally, the guys went to investigate. The dance was really cool, and the crowd went insane over it. After they were done, they headed backstage to get ready to leave and I noticed a group of people trying to talk to the security guards, so I asked my friend Carol what was going on. She said,"They want to get backstage to take pictures with the dancers. They're really famous here in Brazil." So of course, I wanted to also. Carol and I got to the front and all she said was: "He's from Alaska and he wants to meet the dancers." And the guard waved us through! We got back there, I talked to them for a while, got some pictures, and then left. It would have been the perfect end to a perfect day, but the day wasn't over. It was only half way done. The rest of the day was spent with a DJ blasting Brazilian music for five more hours while we all danced. After three hours it started to rain, which I thought would end the party, but it just got crazier! The DJ started playing songs that had to do with rain. And everyone went nuts. After it was all over, we went back to Dagma's (My third host mom) house and watched Tropic Thunder. It just may be better in Portuguese because of Jack Black's squeaky translation voice-over.
The next day I went to a Brazilian birthday party. It was similar to an American birthday party, except for the fact that it's a HUGE deal here. Birthdays are very important and everyone goes all-out. The party was enormous. With lots of people, music, and cake, I don't think you can go wrong.
I've eaten many strange things since I've gotten here, most of which I don't think has an English translation, and I have not left my plate with food on it once (which has been very hard for me). Until I went to a Churrasco (Pronounced: shoo-HAS-koo), where the main course was, unbelievable as it may seem, chicken hearts. I ate salad, bread, sausage, fish and chips, and picana(steak). Then it was time for the main course. I was freaking out quite a bit as everyone started chowing down on the blood pumpers of chickens (even the cute girl across from me). But I started to think, 'this is what I'm here for, new experiences. And if the cute girl can stomach it I'm sure I can.' So I took a bite, as everyone there watched for my reaction, and I finished it. My reaction was to immediately reach for the plate to take some more. It was one of the most delicious types of meats I've ever tasted. Second only to bacon. After the Churrasco we went swimming in the family's pool where I sported my first sunburn in Brazil. The sun is very strong here and I'm still not quite used to it.
Other than that, it has been a lot of the same lately. But I'm still loving it. Wildlife is always a surprise though. I have seen more creepy-crawlys than I ever would have liked to. Bugs, spiders, and other many-legged things are everywhere here. Some are interesting to watch, and some are more interesting under my shoe. I currently have twenty-eight mosquito bites(to go with my sunburn), and for some reason I have a really bad reaction to them. I had a cut on my finger where I got bit by a Macaw, and I was attacked by a frog that was bigger than my foot. When you look at the pictures, the frog is easily ten times bigger than the slug. The birds are many different colors, and they all make very different sounds. And after a sleepless night of talking with the other exchange students, I finally saw a monkey. My back was facing the window and the girls saw a face in the window. Thinking it was a reflection they turned around, but nobody was there. When they looked back it was gone. They started freaking out, we all thought they were crazy, and then we all screamed. As we were looking out the window a turd hit it going mach one followed quickly by a screaming monkey that looked at us cowering behind the couch. It then took off through the trees and didn't bother us again.
That's pretty much my Brazilian adventure so far. I will have more stories soon because I'm leaving for Guaruja in the morning to go to the beach. Tchau for now!
