Party time.

Hey y'all. Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been here almost three weeks now and things are finally starting to fall into a routine. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have school from 7am to 5:30 pm. Yes, you read that right, 10 1/2 hours of school! It's insane! On tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays, I only have school from 7am to 12:30. On tuesdays and thursdays I have Portuguese classes for an hour. Generally AFS has some type of activity planned for us every other week. For example, this friday we're going to the Chocolate festival and a Samba concert.

I went to an amazing 15th birthday party. 15th parties are pretty much the same as Quinceaneras but they're not called that. It was the most amazing party I've ever been to and since a picture is worth a 1,000 words, here are a few.

We didn't get home until 3 am but the next day we were up bright and early to get ready for my sister's party. It was another amazing party! If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Brazilians love a good party.

Lastly, I went to a third party this weekend. It was a 3 year olds birthday party. It was pretty awesome!

The Hulk later proposed to me but I was forced to turn him down. Green just doesn't do it for me. So that's what I've been up to. I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am. 

Down south

Hey Y'all,
   I'm officially here in Brazil! It's amazing! The plane ride down was long but I made friends with several of the other AFS students and that helped to pass the time. Immediately after I got here I was picked up by my family. It was so confusing and overwhelming. I was running on almost 2 days no sleep and suddenly I was with a new family and had no clue what was going on. My first act as host daughter once we got to the house was to break down and sob. Not the best start. On Saturday my counselor came by which led to more crying. Homesickness is a very real thing which is manifesting in the form of extreme tiredness and no appetite. Before I got here I was naive and didn't think I'd be homesick. I was so wrong! All the exchange students I  talked to said the first few months were some of the worst of their lives but after that it was amazing. Some days I'm so homesick I would cut of my right hand for a plane ticket home. It's tough because I speak so little Portuguese so often I have no clue what's going on. I'm slowly starting to understand more Portuguese. My family is incredibly sweet! My host mom Sandra is diligent in teaching me Portuguese and my sister Iza helps translate when I don't understand which is often. Everyone I've met in Brazil is unbelievably nice. They're very friendly and curious. They ask questions like, "have I been to Hollywood? What is my favorite animal? What American football teams do I like? and Do I like Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato?"
       Sunday was father's day. We went to Sandra's brothers house to celebrate. We barbecued food and two of my cousins played Samba music. Iza taught me to dance Samba! They played a little bit of soccer and I played with the youngest cousin who is 5 years old. She's so adorable! She likes to jump up in your lap and babble in Portuguese. She told me I look like Cinderella. It was so much fun and a great way to spend the day.

Iza, Iago, and I playing with Marley.

A new Brazilian friend I met on Saturday.

Fathers day!

Today I started school. Everyone was very nice and willing to help me when I didn't understand. When I said I was from San Antonio they would reply, "Go Spurs!" Then ask about the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. The school is different from American schools in that it is K-high school. I and the other three exchange students (from Hungary, Germany, and Italy) were led to each classroom to be introduced. The little kids were especially excited to try their english out on us. Class was confusing because I don't understand a lot of Portuguese. I have no clue how to do my homework so for the most part I just worked on my Portuguese during class. On Mondays and Wednesdays school is from 7-5:30! But on the other days it is only 7-12:40. I already made some new friends and was invited to do something for the weekend. Overall, not a bad first day, even if it did last forever. I hope everyone back home is doing well. Tchau!

Moon over Miami.

Hey y'all! I'm officially here in the sunshine state but unfortunately it's not too sunny right now. Yesterday at 6am my mom and brother dropped me off at the airport. Seeing them waving at me as I walked through security was a little heartbreaking. It still hasn't hit me yet that I won't see my family for 11 months.

I then flew from San Antonio to Dallas. It was an incredibly short flight and I spent most of it staring out the window amazed. My next flight was from Dallas to Miami. That was almost three hours and I was able to finish a book during it. I had a minor panic attack at the baggage claim when I couldn't find my bag. So of course I called mommy freaking out. Thankfully they were able to find my bag and I got to the hotel okay. I was assigned my room and told to go up and meet my roommate. My roommate D. had not been told she was getting a roommate and was sleeping half naked diagonally across the bed, her stuff everywhere. LOL.  Notice the emphasis on the, because there was only one bed! After she woke up and realized she had a roommate and got dressed we made friends. She's also going to Brazil with a BP scholarship. I met several other people going to Brazil. I believe there are about 12 of us. 

We went to dinner and at dinner I was able to ask the AFS volunteer about the bed situation and it turns out we were put in the wrong room so we were able to get moved to one with two beds.

At the orientation, we went around and introduced ourselves and why we decided to be exchange students. Then we just played a quick trivia game. My team won and got gift cards to starbucks. Yay! Then we were dismissed. Today, orientation starts at noon and we have to be check out before that. Up until then we can do whatever we want. The students going to Brazil leave for the airport at 4 and our flight is at 8. We arrive at 5 am in Sao Paulo. I'm not sure what happens after we arrive because several people have given me different answers, but pretty much we either go straight home with our families or go straight to orientation for three days. We'll see. I hope everyone back home is doing well. I already miss you! Tchau!