The "I Love My Life" Post

In all honesty, this could very possibly be my last blog entry before I return home in June...I'm done making promises I can't keep in terms of updating regularly. I apologize for being such a horrible blogger...and for my writing. My English grammar has gone down the drain entirely....

So, here's my life as I know at at this point in time:

I am studying at the local university in my city--UNIFEMM, in the course of "Direito," or Law. It has been a really great experience so far, and a much welcomed change from my previous school where I spent most of my time playing games on my iPod and nodding off in day dreams. Now that I am understanding and speaking Portuguese proficiently I can participate in class more. I am studying things such as philosophy, sociology, political science, Portuguese literature, history of Law, and Constitutional Law. I quite enjoy it! Plus, the other students are my age, which makes it easier to make friends.

I have about three months left of exchange. My return date is set, which means it's now real. I really am going back. I will not get into all the feelings I have about this--the strongest being mixtures of sadness, excitement, and a little bit of fear, to be honest. I don't know if I am ready to get back to reality. Brazil has become my reality--My life, my home. I love my family here, I love my friends. I love the food, I love the warmth, I love the sun, I love the stray dogs on the streets, I love catching buses across the city, I love the flowers. I love my afternoon naps, I love doing Pilates with my mom, I love Galo, I love Cruzeiro, and I love fighting about the two teams. I love the smell of churrascos, I love the fresh fruit juices every day, I love Pao de Queijo, I love the "abracos e beijos", and the "jeito brasileiro". And more than everything, I love being happy. Because that is my reality at this point in time--I am happy. Really happy. I don't have the same stresses here as I did in the United States, and the ones I do have are small and I have learned how to manage it better than ever. I find joy in the littlest of things here, and can hold onto that feeling for hours.

Brazil is joy. Brazil is happiness. Brazil is love....That pretty much sums up my feelings at this point. Obviously, not everything is as shiny as this all the time. But, honestly, life has been pretty good to me here. It's hard to dwell too long on the crappy things when you are surrounded by all this good.

Until next time, gente (which may in fact be in June...), BEIJOS DO BRASIL!

Sete Lagoas, and a Day in the Life of Me!

Here is a quick rundown of my city, Sete Lagoas:

-Located in the state of Minas Gerais, 70 km north of the capital city of nearly 3 million people, Belo Horizonte (about an hour drive).

-Sete Lagoas has around 250,000 people, which its inhabitants consider to be small. Some people I have met call it a farm. I beg to differ.

-In a recent issue of Veja, the Brazilian version of Newsweek magazine, Sete Lagoas was named one of the "20 metropoles brasileiras do futuro," or one of the future metropolitan areas of Brazil. Called "O balneario industrial," (the industrial bath) Sete Lagoas has an annual economic growth rate of 13%--one of the highest in Brazil. The city is a big producer of automobiles (or

parts of), milk products, beer, and even some clothing.

-Speaking of dairy products, cheese is very popular. Apparently it's a regional thing. "Queijo, queijo, e mais queijo," says my host dad (translated as "cheese, cheese, and more cheese"). The favorite is "Pao de queijo", which are these little bread rolls with a hint of cheese. At first I hated them, but they have started to grow on me! The other dairy product that I was surprised to find I really enjoy is fermented milk. It's sweet and apparently good for the digestive system.

-There are so many bars in this city it is ridiculous. There are anywhere between one and five on any given street. Most tend to be small little buildings on the corners with a couple of plastic tables and chairs, however, even these small ones are full by about 8 pm.

[Pictured on the left: View of Sete Lagoas from my bathroom window, and below, "Centro", the center of the city]

Now, a day in the life of me:

On a typical weekday I wake up at about 6:20 am (my host dad knocks on my door) and am dressed and eating breakfast by 6:50. My breakfast is basically the same every day--chocolate milk, a little cafe com leite (coffee with milk), and a delicious cheese and ham panini sandwich called a "misto." My host dad, sister Isabela and I are in the care by a little past 7 and drive about eight minutes to school, which is located in the central district of the city. My school is called "Regina Pacis" and is one, if not the, best school in the city [pictured below]. My host dad drops us off and we go to our classrooms after saying "bom dia" to the door guards.

We are usually late for class (I don't actually know the exact time class is supposed to start...)

and when I get in the teacher has usually started teaching. But, this is Brazil, so it's not a big deal. No tardies here! Each class is an hour and a half long and varies day to day. Today, for example, I had math first, but yesterday it was biology. We get a ten minute break after the first class and people usually hang out in the classroom looking at magazines or listening to music. Our second class starts (today it was half philosophy and half Portuguese), and at the end of that,

around 10:20, we get a longer break. A group of us go out to the open gym area and sit in the sun and talk. The school sells food at this time too, so we all have a snack. (Note: food is incredibly cheap here! It's great.) After break it's our last class. Today it as biology again. By the end of the day everyone starts getting more and more loud. The last half an hour of class today was ridiculous. Everyone was just yelling across the classroom, and the teacher kept on lecturing, occasionally joining in on the yelling. I played games on my iPod. It was a little too much for me to handle.

At noon class is over. My sister and I walk across the street to my host dad's business, Felt (kind of like the Home Depot of Sete Lagoas) [picture on the left]. We hang out for a couple of minutes, then he comes down from his office and we drive home for lunch.

Lunch is the largest meal of the day. We have a cook (which is normal for most Brazilian households) and the meal is always prepared by the time we arrive. The entire family eats together. The meal consists of these three things ever single day--rice, beans, and some kind of meat. There is always other supplemental foods of course, but those three items are the same. Every. Single. Day. Surprisingly, I have yet to get sick of it!

After lunch, if I don't have class in the afternoon (which I do on Tuesday and Wednesday that I occasionally go to), I will take a nap, read, watch a movie, or go on the computer. My host parents have to go back to work between 1 and 2, and they come home around 6 in the evening.

Evenings are pretty laid back. Sometimes we will have a larger meal, or other times it will just be some bread and ham and cheese. I try to get to bed around 10 (which is ridiculously early for Brazil).

Weekends are more exciting! Last weekend we went to Belo Horizonte [pictured below], and parties and Churrascos are always popular as well.

Tchau e beijos de Sete Lagoas :)

A Little of Everything

Okay, so this blogging thing is going to be a little harder than I thought it would be. When I'm not at school, eating delicious meat, or being shuttled all across town meeting this person and another, I am sleeping. It's an exhausting culture, but I love it. I am typically the first person to bed at night (some time between 10 and 11pm), which I feel a little bad about since my six-year-old sister can manage to stay up later then me! I don't know where to begin in describing what has happened, so I think I will just let this flow randomly--which I apologize for, seeing as my thoughts tend to not come out very orderly.

You know what, I am going to make a list. I love lists.

• Ana Clara, my six-year-old sister, is adorable. She is hopelessly in love with Justin Bieber and continues to bring me pictures of him she has printed off the internet. Love it.
• "Exposete", the festival, finished on Sunday with a group called Exaltasamba performing. As their name indicates, they are a Samba group--a traditional dance of Brazil that I am horrible at! I am determined to learn, however.
• School continues and I have been getting to know my class much better. Communication is still hard (obviously), but they are all incredibly patient with me. We take turns grabbing the Portuguese-English dictionary to translate various words. It's been very helpful.
• There are so many American television shows here! The popular one is iCarly. Here, when I am introduced, instead of people saying "Carly Davidson, like Harley Davidson?" it's "Carly, like iCarly!" I think I prefer the latter.
• The main bonding point between my classmates and I is over music. They love music here and always ask me what kinds of music I like listening to, and we have a lot in common. "Funk", pronounced "Foonkee" (kind of..) is very popular dance music. I LOVE IT. I went to my first dance at my school last night and as soon as that kind of music came on we rushed to the dance floor and the girls proceeded to teach me how to dance to it.
• The weather is pretty chilly here right now, to be honest. During the day it is nice, but as soon as the sun goes down (which is at around 6pm) the temperature drops to the low 50's. I need to by another sweater!
• Everyone has really good nails here. All the girls have then manicured and painted and I am very envious. I have awful nails. However, this morning I went for my first manicure! I think the woman was horrified at the state of my nails...but, now they are all nice and pretty! Maybe Brazil will cure me of my nail-biting....
• I am completely in love with Churrascos. Last weekend I went to one on Saturday with Luisa and her family, and on Sunday with my host family. They are five-hour affairs in which all you do is sit around, drink beer (the adults, of course), talk (a LOT of talking...in very fast Portuguese) and eat a continuous flow of meat cooked to perfection. It's amazing, to say the least.

I hope everyone is doing well, and best wishes to all of the Outbounds who have just left and those who are following shortly! It truly is one of the craziest, most bizarre experiences, but so incredibly worth it. Brazil is a very different culture, and I am enjoying learning more about it each day. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. Right now my real issue is the language. As soon as I can master having a conversation in Portuguese, everything will fall into place ( I hope).

I miss you all, and please stay in touch!

Tchau e beijos.

Sete Lagoas :)

Churrasco!

My one true love.

The crazy "vacas", or cows that they have here. This was at Exposete.

The rodeo at Exposete. The winner won a trip to compete in Las Vegas. They're serious about their rodeos here!

At my grandparents' house celebrating Father's day last Sunday.

Learning how to make this delicious chicken stuffed with cheese and sun-dried tomatoes with my uncle!

One Week Later...

...And I am finally updating this blog! I apologize for the lateness of this, but the transition into Brazilian life has been a pretty crazy one. I will attempt to take you through the past week as best I can by dividing it into some nice little categories.

The "Getting There" Part

Goodbyes were hard, enough said. There were

five of us exchange students leaving for Brazil on

the same day--Beret, Killian, Frank, Paige (who we met at the gate) and then myself. Killian had a separate flight itinerary, but Beret, Frank, Paige and I all traveled together. Our journey went like this:

Our flight from Minneapolis left for Atlanta at about 2:45 in the afternoon on Friday, July 30th. We landed in Atlanta at about 6 in the evening and had a bunch of time to kill before our 9:30 flight to Brasilia, Brazil. We ate our last American meal at a Mexican restaurant before boarding the rather small 757 plane. The flight was an uncomfortable, very bumpy (I don't think the captain ever turned off the seatbelt sign...) 8 and a half hour flight to the capital city of Brazil. However, we finally arrived and then it was a matter of claiming our bags and getting through Immigration--which, thankfully, went smoothly. After that we had to recheck our bags through our domestic airlines. I was very thankful to have had Beret with me to navigate the airport with (Paige was staying in Brasilia and Frank had had an

earlier flight to Sao Paulo)! Beret and I said our goodbyes as she boarded a plane for the Northeast and I to Belo Horizonte.

I arrived in Belo Horizonte at about noon, Brasilian time--a solid twenty-four hours after boarding that first plane in Minneapolis. I was exhausted

and hadn't quite realized I was actually in Brazil, just minutes away from meeting my new family. It was a surreal experience claiming my baggage (which, thankfully, made it through) and then walking out to meet them. I was met with the loudest of welcomes I have ever experienced! My new family, Luisa and her family, and some friends were there waiting to give me a big hug. It was a great welcome, and it was so awesome so see Luisa there!

Sete Lagoas, and my minha familia

This is my new family: Eduardo, my host dad, works for a company called Felt. Luciana, my host mom, works for a transportation company called Sete Lagos (not to be confused with Sete LagoAs, the city). Isabela, my host sister, is 16 and goes to school with me. Ana Clara (or Clarinha), my other host sister, is six years old and absolutely adorable. My family is very loving with each other...which, seems to be pretty characteristic of Brazil. Everyone is very friendly, and whenever you greet someone it is with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I am having trouble remembering to do this!

Sete Lagoas is very different from Northfield...which, obviously, I had expected. All the homes here have walls or gates in front, so you can't actually see the house most of the time. There aren't any large, manicured lawns like in Northfield. My house does have a backyard, but it's all

walled-in. Everything is made out of stone or clay--no plastic siding here! In general, it seems like a nice city. The streets are very confusing and I still have no idea where I'm going, but I think it will get better. There are a couple of large lakes

in the central of town, but not for swimming.

This past Wednesday night was the opening night of the big "Exposicao" festival thing. The best way I can try to describe it is like this: MN State Fair + Jesse James Days + LOTS of Brazilian craziness. I went Wednesday night with Luisa and my family. The actual concert didn't start until about 1 am. I am serious. We got home at about 3 am and I woke up three hours later to go to school! I was going to go last night, but I was too exhausted. I am planning on going again tonight, and Saturday and Sunday, too....Wow. Brazil is tiring!

Oh, and a note on the language. It's HARD. There's a lot of pointing, "que?" (what?) and me just nodding and smiling. I think I'm getting better though!

School

School is interesting. The people are super nice and friendly and I am able to communicate with them by a mixture of Portuguese and English. The really different thing here is that instead of moving around to different classes, we are all in one classroom with the same people all day and the teachers are the ones who come to us. I don't think I like it all that much, however, it is nice not to have to try and find my way around! Also, we have a different schedule of classes every day. For example, yesterday I had Physics, Math, Philosophy, and Biology. Today I had Philosophy again, then Religion, World History, and Portuguese. The teachers are pretty cool here and a few have been incredibly nice and helpful!

School starts a little past 7 am and we get done at noon, at which time Isabela and I walk across the street to my host dad's shop, and then get a ride home for lunch. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have classes in the afternoon.

Food

Meat, meat, and more meat. Meat is the staple of the Brazilian diet, along with rice and beans, which are served every day. Lunch is the main meal in Brazil, and my family has a cook (as do most families here) so the meal is always waiting for us when we get back fr

om school. For breakfast it's bread, cheese, and coffee. I've been having a hot ham and cheese sandwich, and it is pretty delicious. Dinners are kind of random. It's usually something light like soup or a pasta. My family will also eat or have milk right before bed. My host dad and sister were eating a dinner when we got back at 3 am the other day! It's kind of odd, but okay!

Sundays in Brazil means Churrasco--the great Brazilian barbecue! I experienced my first one on the Sunday after I arrived. We went over to a family friend's house and it was a solid four hours or so of eating delicious meat cooked to perfection. "Carne do Sol" is my new favorite food.

Futebol

This is another very important aspect of Brazilian culture. On that same Sunday as the barbecue there was a soccer game in the Sete Lagoas between the two largest rivals of my state: Cruzeiro and Atletico Minero. My family supports Cruzeiro, but the people at the barbecue were Minero fans. They kept trying to make me say all these things in support of one team or the other. Only Atletico Minero fans were allowed to attend the game to avoid violence. I kid you not. Two hours before the game started there were police forces out and a helicopter in the sky. These people are serious about their football here!

We watched the game at a fellow Cruzeiro supporter's house. When Cruzeiro scored everyone leaped up and yelled and cheered. It was awesome! Oh, and Cruzeiro won :)

Driving

The driving is ridiculous. No one pays any attention to the "Pare", or "Stop" signs. Thankfully, they stop at the red lights. Also, they drive very very fast. It's like Rachel Wille-speeding times ten (Rachel, I love you). At one point we were driving down a street marked 40 km/h and we were pushing 90. And, we passed a police car. I wonder if a Brazilian police car has ever pulled over someone for speeding....

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Alright, well I am going to go take a nap in preparation for another late night! I hope to try to update this at least once a week...so, we'll see. Thanks for all the well wishes and e-mails. I really appreciate it and PLEASE stay in touch! I miss you all!

Tchau e beijos.