Weekend Note

I am now heading out of the house for the weekend. I will be going to a birthday party tonight, followed by a barbecue. Then I will go to Dagma's house (My Portuguese teacher and third host mom) where I will spend the night, wake up in the morning, and go to the Formula 1 race in the morning. I won't get back home until late Sunday night. Have a good weekend everyone! Don't forget to comment! I'll read them all when I get back. Tchau for now.

Pictures and a Rainstorm

This is like a Brazilian barbecue. It's called a Chuhasco. (I think that's how you spell it.) On the forks are sausage and Picanha(Pretty much steak). I just had this for lunch along with rice(arroz), cheese (queijo), and tomato (tomate). I had thirds. Then for dessert, we had the jelly and cheese thing again. It was really good. Afterwards, we sat around for about 15 minutes drinking espresso and talking. I'm proud to say a lot of it was Portuguese!

These are just a few pictures of the night life of Sao Paulo.

This kind of storm has been going on for almost five hours now. Luckily, we are on high ground. But not all of Sao Paulo is as lucky. The lower parts are most likely flooded with over a foot of water. It does not look like it is going to let up for a while, but that's okay. The thunder and lightning show is amazing.

Tchau for now!

Taxes, Language, and Racing

The last couple of days have ultimately been paperwork, and not much else. I have spent over $350 US on necessary documents and we're still not done. It's really starting to tick me off that I finally got here and I was only half way done with paperwork. But, the bright side is, I am here.
Everything is very different here, but I love it anyway. The only car brands I recognize are Honda and Volks-Wagon. And there are no trucks either. Only small cars, buses, and the trucks you use to move goods like food.
Today I went to the post office, bank, and market in the morning. Then came home and had lunch (almoço), which was pork, rice, and salad. Pretty typical meal. But dessert was this melon jelly/jello stuff that was really good. You eat it with Quezo Fresco (KAY-jzoo FREZ-coo), which is like day old cheese fresh from the cow. It has a very light, very sweet flavor to it. Together it makes a creamy, fruity flavor that is very delicious. I will get a picture soon.
One other thing I have fallen in love with is a drink called guaraná.(The picture of the bottle in the last post). It's a flavor that I've never had before and I really like it. No alcohol, but it's not really like soda either. I'm not really sure how to explain it. I guess all you have to know is it's very good.
After lunch I went to my first portuguese lesson with my new teacher Dagma Ovca, who has been helping me out a lot since I arrived here. Today we learned to conjugate verbs, tell our address, tell our phone number, pronounce the different portuguese letters, ask age, tell age, ask how you're doing, respond to how are you doing, and an entire list of bad words was previewed once to be given to us and thoroughly studied next week. There WILL be a test. Best class ever...
After "school" I went to the gym (academia) and was there for three hours with the other exchange students from Denmark, Mexico, and Ecuador. It was a lot of fun, but tough work since everyone in the gym is assigned a complimentary personal trainer. I am glad that most of the muscles are the same in portuguese, only with a different pronunciation, varitation, or emphasis on the word. (Ex. Bicep= Beesep) I need to gain muscle fast, because I will hopefully be joining brazilian jiu jitsu class next month.
That was pretty much one day for me. This coming Sunday I will be going to the Formula 1 Race at the Sao Paulo circuit. I will be helping out by volunteering to sell drinks at the race for Rotary. It will be really neat because I get to meet the other exchange students and see a real F-1 Race! I will take lots of pictures. Here is a link to the sight. http://www.formula1.com/races/in_detail/brazil_822/circuit_diagram.html

Keep in touch and don't forget to comment! It really makes my day to hear from you guys. And thanks to those who already do. Tchau for now!

Pictures

Brazil

I MADE IT!

I am finally here! I am very tired and I have not gotten very much of a break since I got here, but I am still loving it. I just wanted to give a quick update before I went to bed, but it won't be a long one because it's 2:45 in the morning right now. My host dad is very cool, and music is his life. He speaks little English, which makes me glad that I studied as much as I did beforehand, and mad that I didn't study more. The weather (to me) is very hot. I think it is just from the humidity though. I saw a REAL rainstorm today, and it was like a wall of water just landed on the city. The city is a whole other subject. IT'S HUGE!! I can't believe the size! Flying in I was able to look out the windows on either side of the plane, and the city never stopped. Horizon to horizon, it was building after building. Very cool. I have to go to sleep now. I have another big day tomorrow. A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Hopkins. Even though it doesn't seem like it, you helped me a lot. The first meal I was served they said cogumelo, and I recognized it. Thanks again. Until next time, tchau!


P.S. Harrison, the toilets flush the other way! Haha.

The Trip

Well everyone,
I'm leaving tonight. In two hours to be exact. I'm very excited, nervous, and every other emotion possible. It's going to be a long journey, but one that will definately be worth it. I'm arriving in Brazil at 8:10am Sunday morning. Wish me luck, and I'll see you all when I get back!

P.S. Please post comments. It will really make my day to hear from all of you. Thank you!

I'm Going to Miss This