Party on, Wayne.

Party! Party! Party! This past weekend I went to my first real Brazilian clubbing experience. It was amazing! Everything you could want and more. I'm not going to go too much into my experience but I know that one of my main questions about Brazil before I came was about the nightlife. So for future exchange students, I'm going to tell you what you can expect and give you some advice. If you're interested in what party I went to here is the link for last  years video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeRVzseS2js
Basically, it's a giant costume party in a three story club. Ah-Mazing!

*WARNING*
So Brazilian men are a lot more aggressive than what most girls are used to. Guy's literally just grab you and kiss you. There are four ways that this happens; guys who dance with you and then try to kiss you, guys who ask (or in my case mime), guys who reach out and touch your arm and like cock their heads in the universal gesture of, "Wanna go?", and men that literally just grab you (around the waist or unfortunately by the back of the head/hair) and start kissing you. So keep your eyes open and remember to give a firm, "No!" if you don't want to. They're good about backing off when you say no. If you're someone who this could be a trigger for I'd suggest just not going to these kinds of parties/clubs. You can say "no" once they grab you but you can't really stop them from grabbing you in the first place. Stick to school parties, birthday parties, friends parties, and family parties if this is something that will upset you. I chose to take it as a compliment and just laugh it off and turn them down as politely as possible.

Tips and Tricks
1.) Stay sober. Hey now, don't look at me like I'm a buzz kill! You'll thank me by the end of the night when you're one of the only people not vomiting or you can simply walk in a straight line and avoid the puddles of drunk people vomit. If you truly find it so hard to be sober (you're probably from Europe) they gave out free waters and even some free snacks like cotton candy. You can also purchase heavier food such as Chinese food. Either finish your drink before you hit the dance floor or put a hand over the top so that no one puts anything in it. Be smart and stay safe.

2.) Wear flats. I swear to God I'm not a buzzkill, but this was the best decision I've made quite possibly during my whole time here. It was a seven hour party and Brazilians love to dance during all of it! Also there are very, very  few places to sit down and rest. And by that, I mean I didn't sit down once in those whole seven hours. I fell down once but it wasn't really the rest I had hoped for. By hour two almost all the girls on the dance floor were barefoot because their heels hurt so much. They then had to either decide to carry their shoes around for another five hours or risk them being stolen. Also, they had to navigate their way in the pitch black on a dance floor with cigarette butts, spilled alcohol, vomit, and pee (this will be explained later.) Remember, that your parents are picking you up from this and kids have been sent home because their parents complained they were drunkards.

3.) Be rude. This was the first thing my friend told me when we got there, "If you don't want to kiss a guy be as rude as possible as you can about it. Just be a b***h. That's the only way he'll get the message." I swear to God I can be rude (just ask my mother) but I have a problem about giggling at the wrong times and an inability to be rude to strangers (curse my mom for instilling manners). For example, a few weeks ago I fell downs the stairs in a short skirt in front of all  my friends and several teachers and administrators and immediately I started laughing so hard I cried,to which my friend laughed and said, "Thats how the Americans do it." So clearly I laugh at inappropriate times. So of course none of my No's were taken very seriously because I was laughing like a loon and rambling in English. Some of them spoke english, one as he was holding my face and I was dodging his kisses says to me, "But I speak English!", so not even the English speaking one's will take you seriously. You've got to be firm to the point of rudeness with most of them. Just give a very firm No and a shake of your head. And absolutely no laughing! Just remember that you're in charge of what happens. Lots of men will try and kiss you but you get the final say. Overall the men are nice and respectful about it. I never felt unsafe, uncomfortable, or like I was being forced. Only do what you're comfortable with and you can choose to stop at any point and Brazilian guys just are like, "Okay, cool. Bye," and walk away. It's no big deal. Just follow your instincts and do what is right for you.

4.)If you do want to kiss them have at it.  The Brazilians I know kissed between 6-10 guys each. Which seriously shocked me as a puritanical American, but is no big thing in Brazil. So go craz,as long as it's what you want, no one will judge.

5.) Go prepared.  We had a signal with our group so that if we were finished with a guy and they weren't letting go our friends could yank us away. But I would suggest having a hand signal (like a peace sign or something) ours was an upturned wrist but sometimes your wrist is simply upturned and some girls unfortunately got yanked away from guys they actually liked. Oops. Also walk through the crowds in a chain holding hands so that no one gets lost (like kindergarten all over again just with more booze). If you do separate from the group take at least one other person with you and have one meeting point that you all know about. Keep your friends in sight, even the ones necking with random guys, so that no one is dragged off and you can see their hand signals. The girls pretty much end all the kisses so you'll use that hand signal quite a bit. It's also good to have a friend that speaks English if you're not yet fluent so she can explain to random guys grabbing at you to leave you alone because you don't speak Portuguese. This will result in them miming kisses, speaking English to you, or (my personal favorite) replies like, "I don't care. I don't want to talk to her. I just want to kiss her!"

6.) There are certain things you shouldn't do (Boys I'm looking at you!) No licking faces, sniffing hair, or peeing on people. Unfortunately all of these happened to me *shudders*. 1) Licking. Unless you're comfortable enough with a girl that you're a 100% sure she'll be ok with you licking her face (hint, most aren't!), just don't do it. My first thought was, "Wait, did my face just get licked? Was his tongue just on my cheek?! Why did this happen?!" 2.) Sniffing random people hair is usually a no no. I got yanked out the crowd by a guy who, though he took my no kissing thing well, then felt the need to stick his nose in my hair and take a big whiff. Now, I know I smell like rainbows, sunshine, and unicorns all in one but please, please keep your nostrils to yourself. 3.) Peeing on people. This is really just never ok. Unless you've asked and they've agreed (weird but hey, whatever floats your incredibly twisted boat) don't pee on other people! I don't care that you're that you're wasted and the bathroom lines are ridiculously long! This is no excuse to scar people by whipping it out and peeing right there on the dance floor. I am now scarred for life! I have been peed on!! This is horrifying and I had to dance through several more hours telling myself that if I pretend there wasn't pee on my foot there wouldn't be. So please boys, unless otherwise asked, when it comes to girls you don't know, it's best to; keep your tongues off of cheeks, nostrils out of hair, and boy parts in your pants. From all women, we thank you.

So there's my advice for all of you coming to party in Brazil. I would highly suggest it. I had an amazing time! Probably the best night I've ever had in Brazil and definitely a top 5 in my life. Come party in Brazil, it's the best! Just try not to be licked on the face, sniffed, or peed on. Or do any of those things to unsuspecting things to girls. Besides that, just be safe and have the time of your life! Tchau!

AFS Orientation Otherwise Known as Free Time Part 2

So where did I leave off... Oh yeah, we'd just arrived at the Orientation site. The AFS email we received said that we would be staying at a hotel in the city of Americana. AFS is a big fat liar. What they meant by "hotel" was cabin and by "city of Americana" they meant farm behind the city of Americana. Thanks for that heads up, AFS. Even though it wasn't what I was expecting, I was thrilled it be there. It was gorgeous

These pictures don't truly do it justice. It was a gorgeous property with a lake, several soccer fields, and basketball courts. Our leader informed us that lunch wasn't for an hour so to take our minds off of it we played soccer. Most of the girls sat on the side lines but Germany and I jumped in much to the chagrin of our teammates. We were really no help at all. I'm pretty sure I ran away from the ball a couple of times. Oops. Clearly I'm not going to be the next Hope Solo. Next we had lunch and moved on to orientation activities. These activities pretty much consisted of talking about the differences between Brazil and our home countries and debating who had the best beer. America gracefully bowed out by saying,"We just import ours," and Denmark won by declaring, "We have the best milk." So go to Denmark for the milk and Belgium and Germany for the beer. Which do you think is better Belgium beer or German beer?

Remember how I said we had six Italians? Only two of them spoke any english so they formed their own little gang and interacted as little as possible with the rest of us.The leader actually talked to the rest of us in english and then went to the Italian group to talk to them in Portuguese. So in return we might have made a lot of Italian jokes. For example, why do Italian men grow mustaches? They want to look like their mothers. It was all in good fun. There was holocaust jokes for the Germans and dumb jokes for the Americans. Somehow the Belgium and Denmark kids escaped being made fun of. Most of the weekend was free time, hence the title. The leader was like, "Free time for the next three hours!" To which we'd reply," Well duh, we've already had free time for the last three hours."

The night before we left, we were told we couldn't leave the camp site. We were all disappointed because former AFSer's had told us they'd been allowed to go dancing. To make up for it our leader gave us woods and a lighter and told us to have a bond fire. I was slightly concerned about giving a bunch of teenagers matches but I guess he figured we were next to the lake and hopefully smart enough to jump in if something happened. There were a few close calls but nobody actually caught fire. We just hung out and talked and sang around the bonfire. The next day we had ,you guessed it, more free time! We played some soccer and then were taken to the bus station. It was an amazing weekend and I can't wait to see everyone again in June. Tchau!

AFS Orientation Otherwise Known as Free Time Part 1

Last weekend was our first AFS orientation at Americana. So at 6 am on Saturday everyone from ABC chapter arrived at the bus station half asleep and ready to get this over with. Of course something immediately went wrong. Everyone except Germany, (FYI I'm going to be referring to everyone by their countries), had a large bag or a medium bag and a backpack but Germany just had one small backpack. So I asked her how she had managed to pack so little especially when we were told to also bring sheets, pillows, and towels.
Germany says, "We don't have to bring bed sheets."
Everyone else, "Umm.. Yeah you do."
G," I read it three times!"
Me," You got it wrong three times."
G," But I put it in google translate and its says sheets of paper... So I just have paper."
Instead of sheets and blankets to sleep with she had brought just sheets of paper. Oops. Oh well, what can we do? So, we board our bus and everyone immediately falls asleep. Except me cause I can never sleep on anything moving. Not buses, cars, planes, boats... Nada. After three long and incredibly boring hours I start seeing signs for Americana. As soon as the bus stops at the next station we all immediately run for the exit. Mistake #2. Our first sign should have been that it wasn't really a station, It was more of a shack in a tiny town selling drinks but we'd been on the bus for three grueling hours and just wanted off. So I didn't give it much thought. We collected our bags and then our senses and had Italy #1 ask the bus driver if it was Americana. Nope. Next exit. So Hungary, Germany, and I all jump back on the bus with our jumbo bags and her small backpack. The bus starts pulling away and I look out the window and see Italy #1 and #2 just standing there at the drink stand. Whoops...
Me, "Um.. You guys we just left the Italians behind..." (Starts laughing hysterically.)
Everyone else freaks out. Germany calls the Italians and I text our chapter President (AKA Yoda.)
Me: Don't panic but we left the Italians at the wrong bus stop.
Yoda:WHATT?? U WANNA KILL ME???!!"I AM HAVING A HEART ATTACK! THE ITALIANS ARE ALL TRYING TO KILL ME!!"
Yoda happens to be in the middle of teaching a class and immediately stops to call the boys who of course don't answer. So he's freaking out and Italy #1 calls to say,
"It's ok. There's this guy who's offering us a ride."
Yoda: "WHATT???!!! DO NOT GET IN HIS CAR!! DO NOT GET IN HIS F*****G CAR!! I'M COMING TO GET YOU!!"
It's important to know that the first rule of AFS is no hitchhiking and you will be sent home  if you do. So Yoda cancels all his classes and meeting and calls his wife to tell her he's making the three hour drive to Americana because, "THOSE DAMN ITALIANS ARE TRYING TO KILL ME!!" Thankfully, the Italians called him back to tell him they caught a bus to Americana and he doesn't have to come get them. The rest of us that were able to get back on the bus have arrived at the bus station. We've been given the instructions to retrieve the boy's bags. The problem is that they have the tickets that we have to exchange for their bags and we don't speak enough Portuguese to explain (ironically, the italians are the only ones that speak portuguese.) Germany is freaking out,
" How are we gonna get their bags?! We don't have tickets!! We can't explain!! (begins to hyperventilate)."
So here's how we did it,
Me: "Shut up and smile and follow my lead." We go up the guy passing out the bags.
Me: *Smiles, tilts head, and points to the two bags.*
Guy:"Portuguese (asking for tickets I assumes)."
Me: *Shrugs* "No Portuguese." *Begins to pout and points at the bags again. German stands behind me smiling.*
Guy: *Looks conflicted for a moment but then smiles and hands over the bags.*
Me: *Smiles big* "Thanks!"
German: "That was amazing."
Success, but it doesn't say much for the security in Brazil. Thankfully it worked in our favor this time.

Sad faces cause we lost the Italians.
I love that Hungary looks like he's trying not to smile!

We waited around for about an hour before the AFS volunteer showed up with the other exchange students. There were a total of fourteen of us, 6 from Italy, 3 from the USA, 2 from Denmark, and 1 from Belgium, Germany, and Hungary. Then we had to wait for the Italians and at this point we weren't in contact with them and didn't know how they were getting here. And did I mention that a woman on the bus told us that the place we left them at is very dangerous? Double whoops. Thankfully the Italians show up without any visible wounds and we quickly departed for the orientation site. We weren't even there yet and already I was done for the day. 

Stay tuned to find out how crazy it gets once we arrive.

5 things I wish someone had told me.

So I know most people who read my blog are friends and family but when I was wondering whether I was insane to go on an exchange I read as many blogs as possible from my future host country. So if you're wondering if you're insane, this post will shed some light on what you can expect if you make the decision to move around the world.

1.You'll be more tired than when you're cramming during finals week.
Or whatever you're version of exhaustion is. It's not even close to how tired you'll be on an exchange. You'll develop the unique ability to fall asleep doing anything anywhere. You'll fall asleep leaning against a wall, during any type of test at school (and you'll wake up with lines all over your face, not this happened to me...), and you'll even sleep during breakfast. Think of it as your new superpower. You are now the girl that can sleep through anything, no plane, train, or demanding teacher can wake you.*

2. Everything about your food and appetite is gonna be wonky.
When I first got here my host mom had several conversations with my counselor about how I wouldn't eat. If you know me, you know how strange that is. I love food! The only reason I wake up in the morning is breakfast. I keep hoping that someday I'll wake up and mom will have made pancakes, no dice so far but I still wake up to see if today is the day. It's not that the food is bad, in fact the food is delicious, but I had no appetite at all. None. Zip. Nada. Even thinking about eating made me feel ill. Once I got my appetite back I still didn't eat much. I still don't. They say exchange student gain weight but I lost ten pounds in 5 weeks. Just make sure you're eating enough that you're not hungry and I'd call it good. 

Acai. My new favorite food!

3. You're new family won't immediately feel like your family.
There's a bit of an unrealistic expectation that everything will immediately be butterflies and rainbows. Well let me tell you, my first act as host daughter was to burst into tears. Everything is overwhelming when you first arrive. If you're like me, you couldn't sleep and had been up for 30 hours straight and it suddenly hits you that you won't see your mom for ten months. And this new family,that speaks little to no english, is staring at you like you're a trained seal about to bounce a ball on your nose.  No ball just sobbing. Even after the first day, they're not going to automatically be your family. Don't expect them to. You just met them and like any other strangers, it'll come slowly. Your siblings will be easier than your parents. Haven't you ever wished your bff was your sister? If you're lucky, like me, that'll be the case. 

  

4. You'll dream of being popular will come true, unfortunately.

Seriously, if you ever wished for this, take it back right now! I'll wait while you do. Now that you've taken it back I can tell you that automatic popularity is not all it's cracked up to be. Everyone stares at you and talks about you. Of course because of the language barrier, you only know they're talking about you based on the pointing (Brazilians love to point) and the words "Texas" and "Americano." Now a whole school is staring at you like you're a seal that's going to bounce a ball on your nose. You will be invited to everything. Everything.  I was invited to spend the weekend at someones beach house, I didn't even know their name! It's nice that you'll get to attend all the parties but because of the exhaustion ( see #1) you'll pretty much just want to stay home and sleep or binge watch netflix. 

5. You'll make the best friends ever. 

These weird, crazy, foreigners you meet will become some of the best friends you've ever had. They tell you not to hang out with your fellow exchange students but just ignore them. I hang out with the other exchange students and we each bring our friends and siblings and just have a grand old time shouting over and at each other in different languages. The other exchange students are some of my closest friends and they've introduced me to all of my best brazilian friends. You form a group made up of exchange students and the brazilians willing to put up with having no clue what you're saying. Some how you still manage to have a great time despite not always knowing what anyones saying. 

Me and this crazy German. 

      Almost all the exchange students and our Yoda.
This photo includes people from Hungary, Italy,
Germany, Brazil, and America, 

My weird Brazil friends and one weirdo from Hungary. 

Someone told me before I left that it would be the best and the hardest thing I've ever done. They're right. So if you're wondering if you're insane, yes you definitely are and you should do it anyways. Tchau!
*FYI this post was originally supposed to be 10 Things but I was just too tired. More proof for #1.

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!