Novidades.

What have I been up to?

Well I've been continuing at school, of course, but we've also had a huge vacation (2 days of school in the last week and a half) due to "Children's Day" (dia das crianças) and "Teacher's Day". My sister came to visit the past Saturday until Tuesday and my cousin Igor came from Campo Grande and stayed from Sunday until this past Saturday. We went to Salto das Nuvens with them Alejandra and Hiago. Salto das Nuvens is a huge waterfall with a swimming area and smaller waterfalls hidden in the forest. It was beautiful, even though it wasn't at it's most beautiful point because we are still in the dry season. We had a lot of fun with it, playing in the water and joking around. We also went bowling one night, we watched a bunch of movies together (one of them being Paranormal Activity for the first time) and our week was filled with tons of interact meetings as well as tons of time at Alejandra's house.

Interact has been helping prepare a group of rotary women (a club for only women) prepare for their ice cream fundraiser. Every night for about a week at about 8:00 p.m. a bunch of us would get together and set up and bag cups for these ladies. I went almost every single time to help out. I also attended my rotary meeting, and the actually interact meeting. Interact was also invited to eat dinner with a different rotary club so I attended that as well. Then this past weekend yet another rotary club's (there are 3 different ones not including ASR [the women's club] in Tangará da Serra) fundraiser. They asked for interact's and rotaract's help, for volunteers to be waiters and to help set things up and put things away. So of course I decided to help set tables up one day. This was from 1:00 to about 6:00. Then they served us dinner at 7:30 and we were all hanging out and goofing around. After dinner it began to rain so I grabbed a few friends and we went and playing the rain. It was amazing!! Then we returned to the building and I attended the beginning of the Rotaract meeting.

The next day the time changed. We are now in "Summer Time" meaning we jumped forward an hour. My brother's clock didn't change like he thought it would, so we were a little late for being waiter's at the fundraiser, but we were still there before it started. We ran to the farmer's market to get breakfast (pastels, it's becoming a sunday tradition), and then we went to CTG (where the fundraiser was being held), and had lunch there before we started working. I was put in the position of waitress. This was extremely scary for me because it meant talking to complete strangers who had no idea I was foreign and taking their beverage orders and bringing them their beverages as well. After I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad. I once forgot where I was supposed to take some drinks and they always pay before you bring them the drinks, so I was a little flustered. It was so nerve-wracking because I'd have to remember the drinks and the location (it wasn't zoned off with certain tables per person, it was just whoever called you over) and some people would stop you on the way, coming or going, from the beverage stand to ask for something and then you had to remember their order as well. Everytime I went to get their beverages, the guys who were handing them to me across the counter would make fun of how I said coca, or a certain type of beer, then they'd ask me to repeat phrases, or ask the band to play a song, or they'd ask me if my eyes were always that color. All in all I would get extremely confused. When I took the "lost" drinks to the table I thought it was they told me that they had not ordered them. I was almost positive it was that table because I had no idea what other table it would be. Meanwhile other people kept ordering beverages and I was running back in forth. Eventually I went back to that table and asked the other end if the "lost" drinks belonged to them. They said no again, so I got even more frusterated. About two minutes later that same table called me over because the drinks were theirs. Nossa. That was an experience. Then after that I helped clean up (a lot of people get lazy and go hang out outside sitting around visiting, so the clean up was a lot more work than it should have been, but it was okay because I like helping and I missed out on my church festival this year so I was making up for it ;) .

I've been returning to academia (the gym) almost every day, but I'm also eating so much more now, so I'm not even sure if they are evening out. I keep getting invited to hang out with friends and do things, and I love this, but I also feel bad when I'm not home in the evenings with my family. It'll all balance out eventually.

Upcoming events: this weekend I feel like there is something I'm doing with interact, or another orginization but I don't remember what it is...OH YEAH I'm working at the icecream fundraiser. The weekend of the 30th, we have ODIC. It is an Olympic style Interact camp for everyone in the district, just about. It is going to be in Tangará this year so there is a lot of planning going into it. There is a slight smell of hazing in the air for the newbees, but its all fun and games. There are a lot of challenges for groups, and there are shows every night by people in my interact group (they are amazing performers) so it'll be a good time. Plus I'll get to know a buttload of more people. It's like the Triwizard Tournament with people coming from all over to partcipate and special events every day. As the Goblet of Fire would have it, I was chosen to be our representative for the Mr&Miss Gay pageant, as well as my friend Luis Otavio. This means he will be dressing up as a girl and competing against other guys and I will be dressing up as a guy and competing against other girls. The weekend after that we have a youth leadership meeting in Tangará that I will help at if I don't attend, it is another RYLA (I think, or else it is two weekends after). Then the week after that my classes come to an end, I graduate, I have an exchange student orientation :]:]:] and I return home on November 14th, Happy Birthday Mãe (host mom) and SISTER QUINN ELIZABETH. Little rest will be coming my way and with the time change it'll be harder to talk to people in the states, but I'm sure I'll have some good stories and some good pictures.

Well I'm going to go iron my laundry, so I have clothes to wear tomorrow, then I'm off to the gym.

Tchau. Beijão :*

Aletha.

P.S. I am being told more and more often that I am obtaining their accent here. I am also having troubles "pronouncing things in English" for example: people give me portuguese words or names and say "say this like they would in English" but I have a really hard time because I read it in portuguese and it just seems right that way. I'm also forgetting words and sayings in English, of course I still understand them but sometimes my mind draws a blank. This excites me to no end!! I love portuguese, and hopefully soon I'll turn pro, just give me a few more months! :)