aletha&brasil

Is It Really Over?

2011-09-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Is it really over? Yes, I am still asking myself that question. I have delayed this "wrap-up" post for a long time, and would still procrastinate it more if I could. My tendancy with things I really like is to leave them intact as long as I can. I use my favorite clothes less than I probably should and for greater events, I don't unpack myself because I don't want to believe I'm 'home', and I most certainly don't enjoy conlcusions-they seem so definite.

It has been almost two months since I've been back in the United States, getting used to the culture again, and figuring out how to deal with my 'homesickness'. Getting used to the culture is so strange. I watch people dance and think, 'that's so strange', or I see the way people interact to something and think that they are so 'out of the loop'. Also, I am proud of my accomplishments and my adventures and I am excited to talk about this huge part of my life but like the words of my sisters "UGGGH, again! well in brasil I...*mocking me*", people don't always want to hear about it. So I'm still trying to get used to when it's okay to touch on and how much I can share before people get sick of it. But the biggest and strangest thing is the homesickness. This homesickness is the hardest thing I've ever done.

I consider myself lucky. I spent 11 months and 10 days in Brasil and came home just long enough to realize that I was too independent to stick around until I was moving off to my apartment in Minneapolis to start college. It helps a lot that I have a huge support system both here and abroad rooting for me to be happy and my success, they all seem to believe in me more and be more willing to do what they need to help me out then I am to myself sometimes. The college experience has been a much needed distraction for a while, but I find that as my routine starts to make itself more concrete, I begin to start to feel 'homesick' even more often.

Dealing with this newfound homesickness has been hard since I set foot in Minnesota. I remember the pilot saying that we were approaching the Minneapolis airport and would be landing in 20 minutes. I looked out the window, saw a bunch of corn fields, and started bawling. The closer the plane got to the ground the more upset I seemed to get and the more emptyness took over. I remember walking down the hallway to the bagage claim all-teary eyed thinking that it was oficially over. Then of course I saw my family and the tears of joy came. It took a couple weeks to not tear up when I talked about my experience to people, especially when people looked at me knowingly and asked "so, hooow aree youuu?" and to this day if you catch me on a down day it's a very possible outcome. But I have found some wonderful outlets. I went skydiving the first week and a half back to add some excitement and I'm trying new activities and new foods. I am taking more credits than normal freshmen, so I put a lot of time into my studies, especially my Portuguese and Global Studies classes, I've joined Rotex and have been trying to participate as much as possible and reach out to inbounds, I've joined groups on campus-some dealing with Global studies and some that just meet to play ultimate frisbee, I try to have company over and go out because the more I put myself out there the more I'll get out of it, and I want something similar to what I had on my exchange. I don't want the happiness, the outgoingness, and the willingness to fade away. I got the chance to talk to Marcia Gerdin-my country officer when I was going through orientation-a few times since I've been back. I feel like she has been one of the most influential and helpful people. I will never forget the advice she gave me after the Rebound Orientation on the boat ride. She told me to let the wave of homesickness hit me full force, to take the time to cry, to listen to my music, to wear my clothes, to paint my nails, and to eat my food. I have done this and I still do, it seems to help me immensely and it's both comforting and scary to hear that this emptyness and wave of homesickness will hit me for the rest of my life. My exchange never will truly be over, today I'm just me on exchange to a different city where I'm studying at a University, after that I'll just be me, on yet another learning experience and a different phase in life. It's never going to be over, this is something that was embedded in me, the mindset, the way of life, and it isn't something that I'd change even if I could.

So all in all, I'm doing good. I'm content with where I am in life and even more excited for future plans which will surely lead me on even more adventures. I would like to thank Rotary because it would not have been possible without you. My host club, my host district, my district, and my club (WOO, go Northfield :) ), I am so happy you entrusted me with this opportunity because it has brought so much joy and understanding to my life. Thanks for taking care of me in all the phases of my experience! A HUGE thank you to my parents because I can't imagine how hard it was to give up their child to strangers for a year and hope that everything turns out well, and also to my siblings who I'm sure missed the help with homework, the car rides, and the company (at least I like to hope so ;P). If you love something set it free...and that's what you did, and I will never be more grateful for that. And of course another gigantic thank you to everyone that took me into their homes and into their hearts, it means the world to me.

Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with me!! Thanks for giving me your time, remembering me, and at least deeming me a little bit important! It has been a good time, and even a better time hearing about how my blog reached and effected people that I never would have expected. So once again, thanks so much! Your support means a lot to me!

So with that being said... my bags are unpacked, I've started the next phase of my life already, and I have no certain planned return, so... is it REALLY over? ... ... ... no, it never is, not really anyways.

Até a próxima!

Beijos:*

A.D.

Guess Who?

2011-07-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

If my being was a character of the classic "guess who" game, I'm pretty sure I'd never guess myself in the end. I am the last person with the answers to the question, "who are you?" I know myself so well now, and yet not at all.

I vaguely remember who I was before I left home 11 months ago. I was normally happy, fairly stressed out every once in a while, and I was a nervous worrywart. But the question isnt 'who were you?' it is 'who are you?'... Who am I?

Well my name is Aletha Rose Duchene, I am 19 years old, I have 2 sisters and 1 brother, and I am the daughter of Mark and Theresa Duchene. Simple enough..? No. I am also the filha of Suedir and Ederly Ribas, Carlos e Márcia Scholz, & Nildo and Maristela Queiroz. I have 2 irmãs and 5 irmãos. I have no permanent residence. I fluently speak Portguese and English and sometimes I find myself using Google Translator to translate words to english so I can speak with my friends and family back home. I am excepcionally happy, always. I am the gringa. I am more adventurous than I have ever been. I have stopped worrying and have started putting my faith into things. I have tons of friends from all over the world. I am from the United States of America, but I feel like my soul is half brazilian and always was.

When I left for Brazil and while I was living in the States, I had a very set idea on life, where I wanted to go, what was wrong and what was right, and I had very little tolerance for people I deemed hoodlums. Everything has changed. My point of views on things that I had given no wiggle room, are now things that I understand and that I have even put into practice. For example, I used to think it absurd to stay out past 1:00 a.m. because it didn't make sense to me, I mean what good comes about at that hour. I believe that the past week I have not been home before one, and if I have it has been an early night. There are also other items where I was more tolerant back home and now it just seems ridiculous to me now.

I have changed a lot, and I will be the first to admit it, but in some ways I haven't changed at all. I guess that is all part of growing up, but I also feel like it has such a deeper level to it because not only was this a year of growing like any normal young adult, but I also did it in a completely different culture. I don't know how to explain it, but I know that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to return home without having changed at all. I can't begin to imagine it. My eating habits have changed, my hair and nail care habits have changed, even my idea of fun has changed a little bit.

Overall, I don't think i'll be the most recognizable person when people are getting to know me again, but I'm sure they'l find me just as pleasant as before, or so I hope. I am happy with who I am and the process it took to get here, and I wouldn't change anything for the world.

Beijos:*

ARD

A Funeral In the Family

2011-06-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

Usually when you live in another country as an exchange student you get to experience almost all of the normal ceremonies. You go to weddings, wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, holiday gatherings, and other special cultural events. However I never thought nor hoped that I would end up at a funeral. Especially in Brasil. Funeral events are 24 hour things. The person dies, they have a wake for a long time (which I didn't get a chance to experience, but they sit and pray and visit the dead), and then they have a mass and they take the dead to the cemetery. Now being it all happens so fast it isn't that kind of thing where you can travel long distances, or where I knew many people that were dying. However as we were driving to the airport in Cuiabá to go to Paraná, my second host dad told me that his great uncle had passed away. He lived in Paraná and under normal circumstances he wouldn't have gotten there in time, but being he had died on the eve of our travel, we ended up arriving just as the casket was entering the church.

I don't know how to explain what it is like going to a funeral where I knew nobody except my host dad and my two brothers. I had never heard of the dead man and I knew little about him except that he was a relation and that he played in a band. Also, where does the exchange student's role fit in terms of condolences. I know with my parents back home I would give them lots of hugs and talk to them, but is the role the same, especially if I had never even known of this person before...? The wonderful thing before this moment is I always put this in the "what if" catagory and never thought up a good enough answer because I thought and hoped it would never happen. All you can really do is be prepared for anything because I believe that any person would be different and react differently. You have to be ready, if they want a long tight hug, that is what you have to offer them, if they want to be alone you can show them you care by taking care of other things around the house or such and offering your company. However it's not as easy as one would think, and a lot of the moments are awkward. I feel like in this sense we have the same role as beloved pets do, almost, because we don't exactly have the complete role of children (because children would know how to deal with it, would know the circumstances, and people tend to shut down when they are devestated) but because we are here to help lift their burden, to make their day better with a hug or a smile, or simply to clean up the kitchen without being asked (not that animals do). Thank goodness it wasn't a closer relative to the family, and the effect wasn't as big. However it was a strange but good experience nonetheless.

I think the weirdest thing was being in a room where everyone knew the man and was crying, which left me wanting to cry, but not knowing him or anyone else. I didn't know how to act and I was such an outsider. I spent most of my time observing people and their reactions than paying attention to things. As awful as it sounds I liked watching people cry. I liked watching people hold each other. I liked that I could tell that he was beloved without ever knowing the man, to me that is the best way to honor him. Nothing was faked, nothing was acted out, it was normal people at a funeral. I felt like it was the beginning of a movie, you know before you get to know the other characters where you just watch and begin to take in the scene.

Then I got to thinking about death and I have yet to come to a good conclusion, but hopefully I have a lot of time left. However maybe some exchange student will be lucky enough to attend my funeral, I for one would be delighted in their presence. In the sad event that you get the chance, I advise you to go to a funeral in a different country, because every culture is at least a little bit different.

tchau tchau for now,

beijos:*

Aletha

Back to the Cold

2011-06-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Well my dear friends! It has been forever and so much as changed in this time!!

First,

I moved families. I moved on March 1st to the Scholz family. In the house I was an only child, however I have 2 brothers that are 19 and 23 that live in Curitiba. My parents are owners of a chicken butchering operation, I imagine similiar to Golden Plump. Although I didn't have siblings, I got to know the godson of my mom and his family quite well. I also went to church a bunch more. 0:)

Second,

I celebrated Carnaval, which I loved!! I entered a group for people around my age that my friends were in and we went to a farm before to hang out and dance and then to the Tangará Tennis Club for the big party. This was 4 days in a row. Normally we started at about 9:30 ish and got home about 5 or 6. It was some of the most fun I've ever had because of the pure energy and exciement everyone had.

Third,

I traveled to Sinop with Maristela and Nildo. Sinop is a city in the Northern part of Mato Grosso, where the Amazon Rainforest is. I visited a park there where I got to feed monkeys, which dropped down close to my shoulders (they perferred bread to bananas). I also fed huge fish and turtles, and saw exotic birds. While I was there I met the Brasilian MotoCross Champion on the street and I stayed in a house with Divina and her husband who have 6 kids, 4 dogs, and 1 mexican. :)

Fourth,

I went to the Rotary District Conference. Here I met another exchange student from Colombia named Andres. We hung out a lot with the interactianos and I sold my bonbons. I had to make $100 for a project called Shelterbox, to give to my district. From selling my bonbons (which I made) in the rotary meeting, at school, and at the conference I ended up making about $170. After the conference ended, Alejandra and I went to the Jorge&Mateus concert, which was wonderful!!!

Fifth,

I moved again. I moved in with Maristela and Nildo, a little before the first of June. I will stay with them until the end of my exchange. They live very close to my first family, to the center of town, and Isa's house. I live there with them and their son Andre. They also have two other children who don't live at home. We live in an apartment that is two apartments, one on the second floor and one on the third, and they added a staircase to connect them both.

Sixth,

I had to say goodbye to Alejandra. Alejandra has been a big part of my exchange, she arrived about a month after me and she just left. Her family came to see her in the end of her exchange and she returned with them. It was wonderful to get a chance to meet her family, I greatly enjoyed getting to know them! I don't think I had cried so much on my entire exchange, imagine when I have to say goodbye myself.

Seventh,

I am currently traveling. I went to southern brasil with my second host parents. I left thursday with my pai carlos and I arrived that evening in Curitiba. I finally got to meet my host brothers, Gustavo and Felipe. We all went out for pizza and the next day we left for Pato Branco where the 70th birthday party of Marcia's dad would be. I also went to a FUNERAL. Now This was the strangest thing I had yet to do. I'll try and explain it more in detail some other time. Then I met my aunt and uncle and cousins (heloisa and matheus) who are super nice and I went and stayed in their house for a few nights. We all played a buch of videogames and watched a lot of movies, it was nice and reminded me of our family get togethers. At the party which was a lunch one day and then a smaller lunch the next we spent a lot of time outside lighting off fireworks or just hanging out, which reminded me of the way my cousins and siblings and I are during family gatherings. I ate pinhão (?) which is a typical snack in Paraná, that is cooked pine cones (not like our pine cones) that you open and then salt them. They are good! BUT here is the kicker, IT IS WINTER HERE. IT IS COLD. Well, it feels a lot like fall anyways. It's about 50 degrees here everyday and I am wearing sweatshirts and long socks and I love it! I don't know how to explain it, but cold has a certain smell, a certain feeling. I stepped off the airport and into the cold air and I was immediately back home. It was great!

Well I won't be home until Monday I think, but I'll try and update again soon!

Beijos:*

Aletha

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY DADDY-O!! Hope it was a great day!!!

The Perfect Ending.

2011-02-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

I had the most wonderful day today. I found it so enchanting I decided it deserved it's own blog.

First, my sister and I stayed up until 5:00 in the morning, talking about things, watching movies, and joking around. At about 4:30 we went to the fair in front of our house and I used my traveling boots for this adventure. My parents didn't say we couldn't, and we had mentioned it but never really directly asked, so it had a slight thrill of sneaking out, even though it wouldn't have been a big deal. We went there and I bought a coke, and she bought a typical juice (which I don't really like). We laughed the whole way and then we quickly returned home. We went to bed and woke up about 9:00.

I started my day kind of bummed out. I was hoping to spend the day with the interact kids visiting a orphanage for people ages 10-18. However my dad told me we were going to the farm, and I wasn't mad or upset, but I wasn't expecting it to be so amazing. I had been to the farm many times before and it is really nice and relaxing, but not exactly the fun volunteering I had planned for that day.

We took off for the day and my parents were talking about how I was going to teach them how to clean chickens the American way(because I have done it for as long as I can remember in the States). I laughed it off. We pull into the place and my dad sets up some of the hammocks. The dog my parents had once brought home and then we had taken to the farm has gotten so big! Laura and I spent some time laying in the hammocks, and it was wonderful.

Then they were preparing things for lunch and my dad said something and my mom said, "Aletha will help you kill them [the chickens], she knows how!" and my dad asked me if I really did. So he went and killed two chickens, and brought them back for us to clean. My mom cleaned the first one in a strange brasilian way. Then the second they left for my sister and I. We plucked off the feathers and my job was to clean out the insides, I thought I had gotten out of this job for a year. HA. I did my way and my father was very amused and proud that I actually knew what I was doing.

A little while later we ate lunch; chicken, rice, and beans. They taught me a different way to clean the chicken feet, it is supposedly decent tasting (we didn't cook them, just cleaned them for a lesson) and good for women's skin. They also cooked up the one heart, one liver, and one gizzard. I had already fallen in love with chicken hearts, but I didn't have that one. They had me try the liver and the gizzard, which I have smelt cooking in my Northfield kitchen many times before but NEVER had the courage to taste. Liver I could live without, the gizzard was actually very delicious, it reminded me a lot of the heart.

After that we hung out in the hammocks, on the porch, for our afternoon naps and it rained and rained. It was so peaceful and wonderful. We spent the afternoon joking around, my parents, my sister, and I. I wish I could better explain how perfect that was, but it is impossible to put my feeling of tranquility into words. I also wish I could explain the jokes to you, but some only make sense in portuguese, and the others relate to traits of people in our family down here, both of which I don't think you would find the least bit funny, it is kind of a "you had to be there" kind of thing. Everyone was happy, stressless, and it was as if the world was at peace.

We went to my uncle's farm, down the road, to drop off our mare for breeding. My mom wanted to stand there and see if the job was going to get done, but the mare was playing hard-to-get. We soon left there and went back to our farm, where we packed up our stuff, and we began our drive back home as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and peaceful, and my dad was playing his country music CD, so the sounds of Alan Jackson and Keith Urban filled my ears.

We got home and I spent a little time talking to some people on skype, and we all drank tereré together. Then we put in a movie and my mom brought out the pizza. The pizza was rotten (the cheese on it or something), so she made up the leftover chicken and mixed it with rice, and we ate that for dinner. I showed my family a video of me when I was a toddler, and we watched the rest of the movie.

It was nothing exciting, but it was perfect. I remember in my Rotary interview being asked the question, "If you had been invited by your friend to go the beach with their family and you really wanted to go, but that weekend was your host-mom's 50th birthday and there was a huge party...what would you choose?". I said that I would probably choose my mom's birthday party, because family plays the biggest role for me. As I was going to the farm I realized that I had chosen family over friends, and in the beginning although I wasn't overly thrilled, I was looking forward to spending time with them. In the end, it was one of my best days in Brasil so far. I get a little sad from time to time thinking about leaving my family for my next. They are truly irreplaceable, and without them I think my time in Brasil wouldn't be as wonderful. I have absolutely no doubt that I'll shed a few tears, I start to tear up just thinking about leaving. However, I also have no doubt that they will be a part of the rest of my life.

I think my sister and I are going to drink tereré now, and then we are going to sit around and chat. We have been sharing my room (sometimes my bed, sometimes she brings in a mattress), for the last week. I missed sharing my room with my sister, it is nice to have that again!

Until Next Time!

Até Mais!

Beijos:*

Aletha

Life as of Late

2011-02-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

I have been a very busy person over the last month and a half. I spent all of January traveling the Northeast Coast of Brasil on two buses with 100 other exchange students. It was absolutely amazing! We started in Brasilia, which was a 25 hour bus ride away from my city. Then we made our way over to Maceió, our first city on the ocean. We went to Lençois in between, which was a wonderful place to hike and explore. From Maceió we made our way up the coast, spending 4 days in Fortaleza. After Fortaleza we begin our descent hitting cities such as Recife, Natal, Porto Seguro, Porta das Galinhas, until we arrived in Rio de Janeiro. I ended my journey crying, but in a good way. I had made amazing friends over the month from all over the world and all over Brasil.

I got back home and the first night went to a graduation party with my parents. The next day my brother arrived from the city where he was moving to, to go to college. He passed in a university for Civil Engineering. After about a week (I started school again), my sister and her boyfriend came up from the same city where my brother was moving (they live there [Campo Grande]), and they announced their engagement. They are getting married in July of this year, they've been dating for 7 years. Then as they were all going to Campo Grande (even my mom to help my brother set everything up) they invited me to come. Literally they invited me about 9:00 that day, they were leaving at 2. Of course I accepted.

We spent the week there together and visiting family. My brother was moving there and my sister (whom got offered a great job in my city) was moving back with us. It was emotional saying goodbye. Within my first 6 months in Brasil (apart from January traveling) I have spent maybe 1 week away from my brother. I would consider him my best friend, we do everything together, and I feel like I've known him forever. It was hard saying goodbye, because the next time he comes back to visit, I won't be in their house anymore. We used to spend all of our free time visiting about things, joking around, drinking tereré at 2:00 in the morning, watching movies, going to the gym, or hanging out with our friends together. We were even in the same class in school. Brasil isn't/won't be the same without him, but I'll adjust.

We went to Campo Grande by bus, we came back by car with my uncle driving. Travel was long because there was a lot of traffic, but towards night it thinned out. The only problem was that the roads in every state except mine, are wonderful. My state's roads are full of potholes and rough patches, especially the part between my town and the capital (the last 3 hours). Our time changed back from the summer hour, so it got dark very early. We ended up hitting a couple pot holes and got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. My uncle ended up changing it and we went slowly the rest of the way to not hit more pot holes and end up stranded. We also had some problem with bad connection with the battery of the car and it would throw sparks whenever we hit potholes, so we had to fix that. We should have arrived at 6:00 that night, we got in at 11:00, but we got there safe.

I went back to school today which was normal.

My english is worsening everyday, but my family considers me fluent in Portuguese, which is a good thing. I'm making new friends everyday and I switch families soon. My new family has a stay at home artist mom, two sons (one was an exchange student to Germany and they both are taking classes in a town far away), and my new dad who owns the largest chicken butchering company in the area (ironic, né?). I'm excited to experience this new family but I'm devastated to leave my family, the family that welcomed me into their home for the last 6 1/2 months. I also find it weird to call someone else "mãe" or "pai". You may be thinking, but hey Aletha you already had your real mom and dad and you had no problem calling someone else mom and dad for 6 1/2 months, what's the difference now? Well my dear readers, the difference is that I have one mom and dad, one madre and padre (costa rica), and one mãe and pai, I'm sure I'll get used to it, but in the beginning it'll be strange to have another mãe and pai, especially to have two in the same city. I feel like I'm going to be cheating on my first family.

Through all of this I've realized that I'll be home, at the latest, in 5 months. I don't want to go home, not now anyways. I'm nowhere near emotionally ready to leave. I mean don't get me wrong I can't wait to see my family again and eat home cooked meals. I can't wait to start working again and to study things I can completely comprehend. However, I can't imagine my world without Brasil. I'm having a really hard time thinking about having to go back, and of course I will, but I can promise you that I'll be visiting Brasil every time I get a chance.

Beijos:*

Até mais.

Aletha Duchene

NORDESTE'11

2011-01-06T02:45:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011 Everyone!

I don't have much time to blog you all about my New Year's experience. As we are speaking I am trying to put together my bag to leave on my one month trip to explore Brasil's northeast coast! I will be riding on buses with about 100 other exchange students for the month! I'll meet up with Mia who is also from Northfield, Killian and Ruby who are from MN, and Alejandro and Alejandra (From my district) are going as well!! It should be a fabulous experience and I can't wait for it to start!

As for New Year's we celebrated by having the same people we celebrated Christmas with over at our house. We watched the New Year's eve show, although I refuse to believe it's New Years without Dick Clark's rocking eve and the ball drop. Then we all went outside and waited until it was January 1st. At midnight fireworks went off from all around us, we live in the center of town and there were shows at just about every edge of town. It was amazing! Then my brother and sister and I got ready and we went out for the night to a New Year's club event. It was a good time with good music and lots of people, some I hadn't seen in a very long time!

Other than that I've been getting ready for my trip, which I'm going to finish doing. If you are interested in what I'm up to, follow me on Twitter @leetha2010 . That'll be easiest for me to update, and quickest as well! Talk to you later!

Beijos:*

Aletha

Wow. Update.

2010-12-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

Wow!

Sorry. It has been FOREVER! I have gotten so bad at this and you want to know what, I haven't really been up to that much! Well in a way I have. It's weird to me. For example I don't do a whole lot of different things, but I do so much.

I spend lots of time watching movies and walking around with friends, eating new food, exploring the city, visiting shops, or hanging out in homes talking.

To catch you up a little on my life:

December 4th was my birthday. I spent my whole birthday weekend hanging out with my best friends here from 12:00 a.m. until 12:30. then 3:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. the following day. My brother was traveling and so he felt really bad about leaving me for the weekend. When I returned home after going to church with my friend Isa, we were going to go out again. Then she invited me to help her get tereré ready to drink. I complied of course and we walked into the kitchen where my family and friends had set up a surprise birthday party for me! It was wonderful, I don't think I've ever been so surprised in my life and I couldn't sleep or stop smiling from pure happiness!

I've spent most of December hanging out with my friends in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I have been to a lot of "Secret Santa" holiday parties with my parents as well. These are always interesting! I've been learning to play Truco, the very popular card game here.

December 22nd we had a 50th birthday party to attend. I invited Alejandra to come with me, she accepted. We arrived there and there happened to be another exchange student there, not from our district. He happened to be from the United States, and when we talked to him, I found out he's from IOWA! What a wonderful coincidence!! It was a nice evening and it was wonderful to know another exchange student!

My sister and her boyfriend arrived here December 23rd to celebrate Christmas with us. We spent a lot of time visiting and drinking tereré. Most of the time we stay up until 3:00 in the morning just talking to each other and enjoying each other's presence. My sister and her boyfriend have been dating for 7 years and have talked about marriage together, but my "brother-in-law" had to ask my dad's permission. That was interesting to watch because he never gave them a for sure answer, he just talked around it, in circles.

Christmas without snow and without normal holiday baking definitely didn't feel the same. I didn't feel the Christmas spirit that is impossible to miss back home. It just seemed like another day to me. As much as I missed the Christmas lights on every house, the snow, the cold, the smell, the feeling, I had a pleasant Christmas/Christmas Eve.

Christmas is celebrated basically at 12:00 a.m. Right when it changes. We had a dinner with a bunch of family friends and we ate, played UNO, and talked. Then it turned midnight, we all wished each other a Merry Christmas and about 10 minutes later everyone went home. When we got home we all exchanged gifts in the home, it was a nice time! It wasn't a materialistic thing where people were upset or disappointed with their gifts, it was just pure contentment.

Christmas day we slept in, ate lunch with the same people in the same place, played BINGO, and then the "kids" (my sister, her boyfriend, my brother, a son of a family friend, and I) left and drove around drinking tereré before we returned home to watch a movie. I got the chance to call my parents and grandparents back in the U.S. via skype! That was a nice treat!! For dinner we went to the same place with the same people and when we left we picked up my friend Alejandra and at about 12:30 we went to a club to go dancing.

Mateus, the boyfriend of my sister, left on the 26th, but my sister is staying until January 3rd. I'm loving having her here!!

Overall, this was a really crappy update, but I've had a wonderful December without snow, and I'm really content here. I couldn't have asked for more!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year brings only the best for you!

Beijos:*

Aletha

Almost A Year Ago

2010-12-01T08:22:00.001-08:00

Today is December 1st. I've been thinking lately that a year ago I was getting excited to go to the Country Fair and District Interviews and get one step closer to my exchange year. Now I'm here and I still have a hard time believing it. It all seems so unreal and yet so normal at the same time. As I've been thinking, I remember the night before Saturday December 5th, 2009. It was my birthday so my family and I were eating our traditional homemade chicken noodle soup and Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake. I don't remember if I had candles on the cake or anything, but I do know that before I went to bed, the only thing I wished for was that my interview would go well and I'd be on my way to any country that following summer.

When I woke up, I don't remember being nearly as nervous as I should have been. We loaded up in the car–Mom, Dad, and me–and I remember Mom and Dad asking, "Are you nervous?" and I told them, "Not really, I should be, but if I'm not the type of person their looking for I'm not that isn't going to change now."

This seems so much truer now. The interviews people are about to have this Saturday aren't like a chapter test where you can cram the night before and pass with flying colors. It's not even like a final where if you put in a good two weeks effort and you do almost perfectly. These interviews about being yourself and who you have been for the last 15-18 years of your life. Of course there are better ways to speak to people and treat other people, but there is no reason to be nervous. We'd all been training for this day, without knowing it, just by being the type of people we'd always been.

My life here isn't something I could have prepared for. Of course I learned a little of the language, I made myself aware of some of the customs, I learned a little bit about the history, but I couldn't prepare myself for how I was going to interact with the locals, how I was going to deal with people that dislike me, or how I was going to represent my country. Sure there are times when I am more aware of what I am saying and doing and I do it more correctly and politically correct, and of course I could always fake liking people, being happy, and being perfect. However faking things tires after about a day, imagine a year.

In the end, by being here, I've realized that I'm still me, I still get frustrated by the same things. I still put my family (new and old) before just about everything, I still am horribly optimistic, I still like to do things independently, I still procrastinate too much, and I continue to make the same faces at friends sitting across the room from me. There are somethings I've adapted to, but there are some things that I can't change in the blink of an eye even if I'm aware it's a bit of a problem. I guess it's becoming more about who I was and that becoming more prominent, than some big dramatic change of being for me. I'm noticing some of the characteristics I've always had and I'm becoming happy and comfortable with them.

So I guess what I'm thinking as I think about a year ago is that I hope you guys don't get too nervous, it's not a big deal. Be true to yourself, because Rotary isn't looking to lecture you on your values, but they are looking to see if you would make a successful youth ambassador and have a successful exchange. Imagine passing every interview and orientation and arriving in a new country and not enjoying yourself because you just weren't ready as a person. Everything is going to go great and picture it: in a year, you'll be in a different country, excited for, yet slightly envious of, the people that are about to start their exchange.

Good Luck!! Boa Sorte!!

I look forward to hearing where you are all going next year!

Beijos:*

Aletha

p.s. Brasil is by far the best country... soo, put it as you're #1. Just saying. :P

Swimming with Alligators and Piranhas

2010-11-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

Like I promised, here is what I did last weekend:

Thursday: I graduated from high school again, it was a big ceremony (but not even the fun day, that was the next day when they had their dance, similar to prom/a club/a feast) where we sat around and listened to people talk, we received our diplomas and chocolates, lots of people cried (I teared up a little because when I go back to study it won't be with any of these people again!), and we went on our way. I walked in with Alejandra and my dad here and we were introduced specially as intercambistas. After the ceremony a large group of us went to a restaurant to eat and joke around more. It was a good time, just hanging out and eating pizza and not worrying about anything.

Friday: I woke up at about 9:00 and got all packed up for my weekend trip to Cáceres (about 3 hours away by car). In Cáceres we would have an orientation for all of the exchange students. We picked up Alejandra and Clovis (my chairman) around 1:00 and after running back to my house and Alejandra's to pick up our rotary blazers, we began our journey. Everything is Green now so I didn't sleep much, instead I just watched the scenery and when Alejandra was awake we talked about random things. We arrived in Cáceres at about 4:30 ish, and we met up with the other cochairman Fránsergio (who lives in Cáceres). We were early because Clovis had to be there to prepare some things, the event didn't actually start until 8:00. We ate some ice cream while everyone was visiting and then we headed out to the hotel boat where we would be staying for the next couple of days.

We were it's first trip (imagine Titanic, but in the Pantanal). We joked about it and I got to be Rose, because of my middle name, which is slightly different then my normal Jack role with the diving girls. :). We even had a moment where the kitchen windows were fogged up and a Brasilian made the car scene reference! It was amazing! Anyways we arrived on the boat. I met two journalists that were there for the event, one 20 years old and the other 21. They were a couple and they were really nice and fun to get to know. Then slowly other people and other exchange students began to show up. We had a Rotary meeting on the ship at about 10:00, took some pictures, and spent the rest of the evening playing uno, eating supper, playing uno again, and getting to know each other.

There are 7 intercambistas in my district. Starting in the back row we have Fránsergio and Clovis. Front Row: Claudio from México, Alejandra from Colombia, Alejandro from México, Darren from Australia, Patrícia from Brasil but spent a year in México, Aaron from The United States (Detroit Michigan), Marie from the United States (Eden Prarie Minnesota) and me from the United States (Northfield Minnesota). All of us are fairly new except for Darren, he's been here for roughly 9 months and will be returning to Australia in January. Aaron is the newest, he's been here for a little less than a month.

Saturday: We went to bed about 4:00 in the morning after playing uno. The boat left to start traveling down the river about 9:00 and this was also when breakfast was supposed to end, so I got up at about 9:00 (the first one from our room/first exchange student, go me!) and I went to start eating breakfast. We eventually came to a beach where the boat stopped and docked for a good amount of the afternoon, we ate lunch here and spent almost all of our daylight here. Before lunch we went down to the water and the beach to explore a bit. This area is a very wild part of Brasil, there are lost of exotic animals and lots of snakes and other things. In the river there were piranhas and alligators as well as other strange fish and snakes. Here we found these really cool plants that close when you touch them and we played a little in the water. However the little taste of water we got wasn't nearly enough for us, it was just a little teaser of an appetizer, leaving us starving to jump in completely. However we hadn't eaten lunch yet and we didn't know if we had to wait until after. So we got on the boat again and were sitting around visiting, getting really antsy for lunch and swimming, when we saw a guy checking the depth of the water around us. It was probably 9 feet deep. One of the journalists looked at me and said: "Wanna jump from the boat." and without even hesitating I seriously replied: "Lets." Of course we had to get permission, so we all changed into our swimsuits and everyone asked me to ask permission because I'm from Clovis's club and these girls always get their way easier :P. Darren and Marcio (the journalist) jumped in first from the boat to test it out for us, then it was our turn. I am pleased to say that Minnesota represented well, Marie and I were the first two girls and first two people after Darren and Marcio to jump in. We did it quite fearless, I might add without hesitation or squealing. Everyone hit the bottom but the sand was so soft and wasn't sticky at all, it didn't give us any problems.

After a few people jumped from the second floor (shown in the picture above) we decided we wanted more of a thrill. There again I was sent to ask Clovis for permission, which he granted. Then we went to Fránsergio who was a little more hesitant. He first told us no because the other rotarians would get angry, then he told us we could, but only once. I sought out my dad to make sure that he didn't have any problem with it, because after all he is the most responsible for me. He told me to be careful but he gave me permission to do it. Here I had another proud moment, where I was the first girl (3rd person) to jump from the 3rd story (after Darren and Marcio). I jumped more with excitement than fear and it was SO much fun! Marie followed shortly after and eventually everyone did it. Everyone jumped in from every level with the exception of Aaron, who doesn't know how to swim that well so he just waded in and stayed near the beach.

After we jumped in Darren, Alejandra, Marie, and I went for a boat ride around the river (think Minnesota fishing boats) to see if we could find any cool wildlife, we were mostly looking for alligators. The scenery was beautiful and it was relaxing, although we didn't have cameras to take pictures. When we got back it was time for a meeting where the owner/creator of TerraBrasil (a program that sells trips for rotary students) talked about all of his trips, and I got even more excited for the Northeast trip I'll be taking with them the whole month of January. I will for sure be with 3 other people from Minnesota and more than likely Alejandra AND ≈94 other exchange students!!!!!! After this we went on a cruise to an old farm site and we were there just in time for the beginning of the sunset, the rest we got to watch from the boat. This was the first time I had seen such a colorful sunset in Brasil, it was beautiful!

As it got dark the boat docked on a different beach for the night. We had dinner and began to play UNO again. We played with different rules that were a lot more fun than regular UNO. I'll explain it someday when I get back in the states. We played lots of music and joked around until it was midnight.

Sunday: Midnight came and the birthday of Marcela (an ex-interactian) began (the 14th, the same as my host-mom Ederly, and my beautiful sister Quinn). We celebrated by singing and people brought her a cake, which wasn't cooked, and I never saw it again. I just know I didn't get to eat it... After that all of the exchange students, the two journalists, and the 3 other people our age went down to the beach to play night games and visit. It was nice. Alejandra, Marie, and I explored the beach a little searching for animals and found a dead fish skeleton, but the fish had pointy (resembled a chainsaw) fin bones that stuck straight out and made a cross with it's spine. It was strange. Then we all got back on the boat and began to play English music and sing and dance. We played some more games, and by now all of the Rotarians had gone to bed. Alejandro was shining his flashlight into the wilderness to find animals and when he saw some glowing eyes looking back at us a couple of us got off the boat to explore. We only found a small bird, but I don't believe that was the eye that we originally saw. After that we played more games, looked at the sky, we couldn't find the southern cross which made me a little disappointed because it had been a long time since I had seen the stars and I HAVE to see that before I go. Then about 5 in the morning we made our way to bed.

7:30, 8:00 the next morning I woke up and tried to take a shower, we were out of water for a little bit. So I went to eat breakfast. Once again I was the first person from our room up (and the first young person), I'm sure my host-dad was proud because I sleep very late in our house here and they always make fun of me, but I was not that lazy on our trip. I had all my stuff packed up before breakfast and we (Alejandra, Clovis, my host-dad, and I) left at about 9:00 after the boat docked in the original location, to head for home, before anyone was really even awake.

We went straight to Tangará's RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, I think...) when we got back into town. We ate lunch there and gave a little speech about ourselves first in our native tongue, and then in Portuguese. Then we headed for home to shower, unpack, and take a nap.

I woke up to the power out and rainy cold weather. I said "oi" to my parents and they sent me to the kitchen to eat dinner. When I was eating my brother walked in and said "I'm going out to eat pizza with some people from interact, if you want to go, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to wake you." I said, "nah, that's alright, go ahead without me." He came back in 2 minutes later and asked me again and I decided I'd go. I need to be more social anyways. So we ended up going to Tia Cida's house and visiting with people from Ryla who were still in Tangará. We ate pão de queijo and pizza and people played the guitar and sang.

Monday: At about 12:30 a.m. we loaded up in a couple cars and we went bowling, this was a lot of fun as well. Although I'm awful at bowling and so was my partner, we never took last! We almost won even!!! At about 2:00 a.m. my brother and I went home and went to bed.

About 10:30 the next morning my brother woke me up and told me we were going to a churrasco (BBQ) with the same people as the night before. So we went there and got everything all set up and ready to go. The only weird thing was that the people that weren't there were my girlfriends from my interact. I did get to visit with the other people from other areas as well. The food was good and we had some entertainment from people playing music on the computer and singing and dancing. At about 3:00 we all loaded up again and took them to the house they stayed at to pick up their things. They loaded up in their van, and they were off for their homes. A lot of people were crying because they had been so united all weekend and would part for an undefined amount of time. Once they were gone we went to the casa de amizade to clean up and put everything back in order. Then we went home and watched a movie and visited.

That's all for now although I do have a highlight: I MADE BRIGADEIRO (it's not hard at all) SUCCESSFULLY ALL BY MYSELF YESTERDAY! :) and I was dubbed the translator during the intercambista trip. My family here and my friends are so proud of my portuguese, although I have my moments I'm so much better than I was. My dad told me that it is getting better every day, and my friends always tell me when people talk about me behind my back and talk about my portuguese being good (i.e. their mom's, or the guy at the post office today to the other guy after I left). I think they are all so happy because they are the ones that have been working with me everyday and it's as big of a success for them as it is for me. My parents also love the fact that I'm forgetting my English. One quick example besides the many times I forget words was when I was giving my speech in English at our RYLA. I said: "I am staying with the Ribas fa..(to start família)..[pauuuuuse]]]]]...family. :)

I'll try and update again soon!

I've been having a great time!

Take care,

Beijos:*

Aletha

There's No Place Like Home

2010-11-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'm sure almost everyone has experienced the feeling you have when you are away from home and all you incredibly miss your bed, your shower, your home cooked meals, and every other little thing. I'm sure you all remember the refreshing breath you take as you set your bags on your floor after ending a trip of any amount of time and looking around the house you remember and nothing significant has changed while you were gone. Everything is calm, everything is right, everything feels at peace. Even if you had the best vacation of your life there is always something nice about coming home. There is absolutely no way for me to explain to anyone the feeling you get when you realize you are missing home so incredibly much, when you arrive home and you are so glad to see everyone and everything, and then you realize that you are finding this comfort in a place that you never imagined. A place that you left your home to come to three months before. This place where you didn't know the language, the customs, or the people living there.

It isn't something where you wake up one day and everything is perfect, it is something that happens over time. But for me it was something where I stepped foot in my house and realized that this change that had been happening without me noticing actually occurred. It was everything come together at once. And think I'll soon be switching homes.

Being we are talking about homes. I still don't know who my second family is. I asked my chairman and he said it is a secret. I also asked when I would be changing families and I was told that they still didn't know. My family here talked to him and told him that they'd like to keep me for Christmas and until after I get back from my trip to the northeast (Jan 5-Feb 5) because it doesn't make sense to celebrate Christmas with people I hardly know and it doesn't make sense to move until after I get back because they don't want me getting back from my trip to a family I have only spent a week with. We're just not ready to part yet but it's inevitable and that makes me sad. It helps that I'll be in the same town for the year and I'll see them over and over again, but I also find it weird that I'll have to call another person "mom" and "dad". Now you're thinking, hey you did this when you arrived in Brasil, however for some reason it feels different. When I arrived I didn't have a family here, and now I do and it's going to be so strange having another one. I'm very lucky to have this experience and to have amazing relationships with lots of people but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous nor feel strange.

Like my dad (my real father:]) continues to tell me: home is where the heart is. This has never been more true for me until this exchange experience and never have I had so many homes, so far apart from one another, until now. I can't wait for the day I will be reunited with my family, sleeping in my bed, and eating mother theresa's home cooked meals again, but I am also dreading this day extremely and afraid that it'll come too soon because that means I'll be leaving my home here. My thoughts about this are bittersweet already and I'm not even half way done, I can't imagine how torn I'll be in 9 more months.

I have many stories and realizations to tell you about and being I'm on summer vacation I'll try and post tomorrow or the day after. I had my orientation for rotary this past weekend and I caught the end of RYLA here, plus I have some interesting discussions to tell you about, interesting point of views.

Until Next Time,

Aletha

Beijos:*

Small Victories

2010-11-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

On one hand I can be one of the most lazy people you know, on the other I can work really hard to create fairly decent results. With my schoolwork I always had a tendency to do more than average, never anything fantastic, but definitely worthy of the notes I received. So while I was putting together my presentation for rotary my super-nerd work ethic kicked in. The result was nothing miraculous, but it was well rehearsed and put together well. Let me tell you my process.

First, I was a young girl of 18 years and 3 months (vs 18 years and 11 months). I was on my way to the final rotary meeting, nervous as could be. I had been told a few weeks before that I had to create a power point presentation for people that didn't know anything about the U.S., Minnesota, Northfield, the Duchene family, or me. I spent time creating mine, starting at the U.S. and working my way down to me. We presented ours (or as far as we could get in 5 minutes) and we tucked them away to bring to our countries to fix up here and present for our rotary clubs. I forgot mine, or it was deleted when the computer crashed, either way I only had the notes people left me and my memory.

When I arrived here my mom told me that when I was speaking portuguese better I'd present my slideshow or the next time my club had a party night rather than just a meeting, whichever happened first. There was a close call the second week I was here for a family night, but I snuck by that one. About a month ago my dad here told me that I would be presenting when the governor of rotary for our district came to visit our club. I had a month, how awesome. I didn't worry much at all, I have a knack for leaving things until the last minute, this is the not-so-amazing quality of (---insert word here because I can't remember the word, in any language, just the feeling and that I put things off until the last minute---) that I have perfected over the years. So I procrastinated [[THATS THE WORD :)...seriously after 5 minutes of thinking about it]] like normal and I started working on it Saturday when I had nothing to do until today (Wednesday) when I was to present it.

I worked slowly collecting photos, of the millions I have on my external harddrive, putting together slides in an order that made sense, and deciding what was most important to express about my life and the culture in the U.S. to the people here in Brasil in 30-40 minutes. I spent Monday night, Tuesday morning and afternoon, and this afternoon finishing the slides while working steadily, meaning without facebook, msn, orkut, or skype. Then this afternoon I began to practice. I practiced once all alone, reciting what I would say for sure, then my brother came home and told me to practice for him. I did my presentation for him and he helped me with words, pronunciation, and spelling. I had also thrown in a couple slangs that weren't formal enough for this, but how was I to know? Then he left and I practiced one more time all alone, to work out all of the kinks.

I showered, got dressed up and went to the meeting. First, my MAC of a computer doesn't connect to things down here because everything in this world is geared towards PC's. Luckily I had saved on my external harddrive, but no one brought a laptop. My brother and another guy ran to get a laptop, but this laptop didn't work because when we went to restart it, it never restarted it just remained with a black screen. Then my brother went to another person's house and borrowed another laptop. (This all occurred while the meeting was in progress). We got it to work and then all eyes were on me.

My presentation had some errors in the words, but overall it went very very well. I had a small note sheet with random words I needed to remember how to pronounce, or remember in general, but I never once used it because I talked around things I forgot and it just felt nice to have it there, just in case. It was about 40 minutes which is getting a little long but I didn't lose everyone's attention so that wasn't a problem. I began with the basics on the U.S. our president, the flag and what the symbols represent, then I talked about the culture there (our typical food, the fast paced life we live, our love for sports, movies, and music), and then I went on to talk about our holidays (I mentioned of course one of my personal favorites May Day). After that I talked about Minnesota, where it's located, what we do for fun, typical food in Minnesota, our sports teams, the weather and the seasons, the State Fair, the Mall of America, and how our school system operates. I went on to talk about Northfield after that, our town, the colleges, its location, and Jesse James Days. Then came my family. I explained my parents jobs as well as my brother and sisters', where our house is and what it's like, the fact that my family has always hunted deer and bear (a lot of people poke fun and are curious about the process of hunting because here the jail sentence is worse if you kill an animal than if you kill a person), our animals and pets, and what responsibilities I have to gain certain privileges. Then I talked about myself, what kind of things I enjoy doing, what I was like as a child (I had a video here of my riding a bike but it didn't play), what schools I went to, the sports and activities I did, where I worked, and what programs I participated in. I went on to talk about why I chose to be an exchange student, my fears, expectations, and hopes I had before I arrived in Brasil, and then I talked about my life here in brasil. I talked about the amazing family I have, where I was studying, and what types of things I do in my spare time (i.e. the gym, dance class, spinning class (this is new!), and interact). I finished by talking about my plans for the future which quite frankly came out like this: "I have no idea anymore, honestly. When I arrived I was so sure of what college I'd return to and what classes I'd take, and no I have no clue." That is where it ended to applause and a few whistles from my interact friends who knew I was nervous and came to support me.

I received hugs from a few people, Clovis (the chairman who helps organize the inbounds and outbounds), my dad, and some other rotary members. The meeting continued for an hour and a half more because the governor continued to talk and talk and talk. While he was talking my friends were telling me that I did well and that they understood me and that now I am one of the few people from the United States that speaks Portuguese. We also talked about a few things I said incorrectly. One was when I was talking about Minnesota's teams. Everyone asks me about our soccer team which I didn't even know we had until I arrived in Brasil, I told them all the name and that quite honestly I didn't even know the name until yesterday when I was researching for this. However the funniest thing occurred when I was talking about my family. I was talking about my sister Quinn and how she is the most outgoing. Then I went on to say that she was always doing bad things with my brother when she was younger, however the way I said it in portuguese made it sound that they were doing things naughty in a sexual manner. People came up to me afterwards saying: "So, your youngest sister is a naughty/dirty/wild one eh?" Sorry Quinnie. I still love you.

Other than that everyone was pleased. Many people came up to me and told me that it was wonderful and that I did well. Clovis told me that everyone understood everything I said. My dad talked to the president of our club and he said it was one of the best he's ever seen. Not because it was extravagant, but because it told a story. It was organized and had a beginning, middle, and an end. It was direct to the point (not too much extra none-sense or details) but yet explained enough so that everyone left knowing 'Who Aletha Duchene is'. My dad told me to bring it to the exchange student weekend in Caceres this weekend, just incase. Being Clovis is from my club and him and my dad are going and have seen this presentation, I know that if they need an example they will more than likely ask me, but this isn't bad either.

Now I'm no professional speaker, I have mind blanks, I say the wrong things, and I have technological errors. However, finishing this and hearing good reviews as well as sharing my culture and my life with people (for once without questions directing me) felt really good. It is this small victory that will keep me on a high for the whole weekend and into next week, and every time I set foot in the House of Friendship (casa de amizade, where the rotary meetings/interact meetings are held) I will remember how nice it felt and a part of me will always be happy with myself.

I just can't imagine that 3 months ago I spoke basically nothing of Portuguese and tonight I gave a 40 minute presentation that the whole world understood.

Like I said in the beginning, I'm so thankful not only for rotary here that chose to receive me as their exchange student, but also my district in the U.S. and the Northfield Rotary Club that chose to give me this opportunity and entrusted in me the responsibility of strengthening existing connections while creating others and creating a positive image for the whole world back home. I am also greatly thankful for all of the orientations. They prepared me more than I could have ever imagined, and all because of this I had a small victory tonight and my exchange is becoming more and more successful everyday.

Well if you don't hear from me, I'm graduating tomorrow night, then I'm off to a House (Hotel) Boat for the weekend, be back on Sunday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUINNIE [and know that if you were here it'd be the biggest party of your life because 15 here is our 16 there]. :)

Beijos e boa sorte with your presentations to come :)

com amor,

Aletha

Camp

2010-11-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

It has been quite awhile since I last posted here. I have been ever so busy enjoying life down here but I do feel a tad bit guilty.

Anyways, last weekend (over Halloween), from Saturday to Tuesday my interact club hosted a huge camping district olympics event. It is called ODIC. Most places host ODIC at the end of October as well, however they have about four months to get ready. We found out that there wasn't going to be an ODIC if we didn't accept, 3 weeks before the date it was planned. Being the interact club we are, we accepted and got to work straightaway. Now this is where I sometimes feel like a deadweight. I don't understand completely everything and I don't give much advice. However I've always been one of the best for setting up tables and chairs, taking down tables and chairs, washing dishes, setting up tents, or anything that is involves less verbal communication. This also happens to be the area where a lot of brasilians like to skip and 'rest'.

So Friday I went there to help set up our tents and get things cleaned up. Originally I was to return home (even though I had packed my things) because I was to pick up Marie, the other Minnesotan exchange student, and two other girls from her city at the bus stop Saturday morning. However my friends here were a little frustrated and wanted me to spend the night camping with them. It was great to hear their excuse. "Aletha, you have known her for what, 2 months? and you have known us for your whole life!" I must say this was one of the greatest things I have been told for persuasion because it is so incredibly untrue and it was hilarious because we all knew it, yet for some reason it felt so truthful, these people I see everyday that I feel like I've known forever and that I can't imagine life without. So I told them, alright I will spend the night and try and get a ride back in the morning. We went out there and explored the view (finally grass and green space) and we set up our tents. Then I had to go home and get my stuff to bring out, but when we got home we couldn't get a ride back out, so I slept in my bed one last night.

The next day I waited until my brother picked up Marie and the other girls from the bus stop (there wasn't a lot of extra room for me in the car). They were 2-3 hours late arriving here. Then we took them out for lunch and after that for ice cream. It was nice to show a little bit of my town to Marie because the last time she was here to visit I didn't know a whole lot and we didn't go to normal hang outs. Eventually we all loaded up into my dad's truck and we headed to the campgrounds.

I got there and my best friend, Isa, who I was to share a tent with wasn't there. People told me that she had gotten frustrated with another girl and left and possibly wouldn't be returning. My really good friend, Hiago, had returned to the city with her because he was going to practice with his church band. Isa's tent had fallen down because one of the rods had broken and so I was tentless, without my closest friends, and in search of company. Of course I was with Marie so that was nice and I had all of my interact friends to hang out with and I made a bunch of new friends as well, but there is something about being with people that you click instantly with. I set up plans to sleep in another tent with my friend Jianny and my friend Camila. Later Hiago and Isa showed up and the only thing my weekend was missing was Alejandra (the Colombian exchange student).

The first night we ate dinner after setting up our tents. It was incredibly windy and starting to drizzle while we were setting up everyone else's tents that it was an insane adrenaline rush to beat the weather. We had an opening ceremony a little before dinner as well. Then dinner began. After dinner we had a little bit of free time to readjust things in our tents and visit with other people. That night we had a show of a sertaneja duo (similar to country) from our Interact club. It was the same duo I had watched, and mentioned, from the first week I was here at the Rodizio, Ricardo & Luis Felipe. They were really good, they played a few songs in English too!!! They played for a while and we danced and I was proud of myself to know a lot of the songs they were playing. Then after they were done a DJ played for a little while longer and I attempted to dance funk. About 12:00, everyone was sent off to get ready for bed, except for us. We were the organization crew, not there to participate in the fun and games except for the night parties, we had a meeting.

The next morning our group was to get up at 5:00 a.m. and get everything ready for the rest of the day. My tent and my brother's tent got up on time and went to take showers so that we were all ready for the day at 5:30. Due to the insane usage of showers the day before by ignorant campers, the water had been shut off (we used our ration) the night before so we didn't get to take a shower. It was still shut off that morning. Lovely. So getting ready for the day went a lot faster than expected. At 5:30 when everyone from Tangará was supposed to be preparing things for breakfast the walk-up fire works were set off. They weren't supposed to be set off until 6:00. So we spent the rest of he morning telling people they couldn't leave their tents yet, we didn't have water yet, and it was an accident.

First test: After breakfast the first Olympic challenge took place. Everyone was split into their team which was based on shirt color. Each team picked one competitor to represent them. Each competitor would have to eat 5 bananas as quick as they could. The person to eat the fastest won this challenge for their team. The funniest part was, as organization, we were judges. We were B.O.P.E., the highest armed forces in brasil, who usually dealt with favelas (slums). In the movie Tropica Elite, they show a B.O.P.E. training session and this was what our camp was based off of. With this being said everyone was yelling ridiculous things at the competitors about how they wouldn't succeed and half the time the comments made no sense and everyone burst out laughing.

After this we had lunch and I was put on guard duty with some other people to insure that no one (especially couples) snuck off into the tents or onto the trails. We basically spent our lunch telling people to go back to the cafeteria area. I continued on this job during the next test as well.

Second test: There were a bunch of balloons in the pool. Every team could send in one person at a time. This person would grab a balloon and set it in a pail on the side of the pool and then jump out of the water while the next person jumped in. The team with the most balloons won (I think).

Now this is where our weekend got even better. See being the Minnesotan I am, before leaving for camping I checked the weather. The weather forecast indicated rain everyday of the camp except tuesday when we were leaving. Now I love rain, but campers don't. So during this aquatic test it began to rain. It started drizzling, then it began to pour. It was the best rain I have seen in a long time. Being on guard duty I got the privilege of helping campers cover up their tents and get all of their clothes and towels inside their tents. Then I got to send them all to shelter and I got to stay in the rain to help other people. This was a perfect set up for me. Everyone here knows by now that I love playing in the rain. So a bunch of my girlfriends were searching for me to play with me and I had made a bunch of new friends that came out to play as well, and there were a couple other people playing tag and tackling each other. This was probably one of my favorite moments.

After dinner, well every meal, we have to wash our plates and if the veterans ask the 'newbies' to wash their plate for them, the 'newbies' have to accept. It's a hazing-type thing. So I had snuck away with just my plate and I was in line to wash it with a girl who had four plates. I offered her my help and she declined. Then she asked if I was a veteran and I replied "Nope, I'm an exchange student so I'm a 'newbie' forever." We got to talking about where I was from and she was excited to use her English, she called over a bunch of her friends and my favorite friend of hers said this comment: "Oh really, I saw you speaking English to Gabriel earlier (there is a joke in my interact group with all the english gringas, they are always greeted with HI, HOW ARE YOU?) and I just thought you were really good at it." Some people didn't know there was a single exchange student present until close to the last day of the camp.

That night we finally got to take a shower and we got ready for another sertaneja show from another group in our interact club from Tangará (we are musically talented). This time it was a regionally well known brother duo, Diego & Junior. They were really good as well! They played a lot of dancing music, so I attempted time and time again to dance, but I can't say I was extremely successful. After they ended the DJ picked up where they left off, but by then I was too tired to even attempt to dance, so I just sat there and watched. At 2:00 everything stopped and we all went to bed.

That night it rained. An extreme amount. Many people, like my brother, woke up to swimming pools inside of their tents. It was cold, there was no sun the next day, and a lot of people got moved to the chalet rooms. My tent was fine, the only problem was I got up at 7:00 instead of 5:00. Due to the rain we had a slow moving day.

Third test: An obstacle course. A trek into the forest, more like an army march. A race around an obstacle course that was basically a mud pit (yeay!) was completed by 5 people from each team, and then a lucky two other people got to break open a cow eye to finish everything off. I was dubbed the photographer. However being a "newbie" I was also prone to some hazing. The hazing for all of the "newbies" was to run this course. I love mud and I love obstacle courses like this so I thoroughly enjoyed this. We also ran out of time before lunch to have all of the "newbies" do the course so it ended up just being the ones from organization. It was basically a mud fight and it took forever for the stains to come out of my too-pale skin.

After lunch we had a speaker come and present types of difficult people to us, people that you have to use different technics to deal with in life; people that get really angry and explode, people that always say no, people that think they know everything. We did a few activities and then we broke off for a little rest time.

My rotary club was in charge of dinner that day so my mom and dad came. I had missed them a lot and we talked about how everything was going. My mom introduced me to some friends of hers from São Paulo. They had lived in Michigan for a while. It was nice to talk to them about the states and about my life here and there. They are returning to the states, this time to New York, to spend the new year. They will get to watch the ball drop in Times Square.

After dinner there was a Mr./Miss. show. Each city chooses the prettiest girl, cutest guy, and two cross dressers (one for each gender) to participate. Sadly Organization didn't get to participate because we have some very attractive girls and guys and the best cross dressers in town ;). I would have been Miss Gay (dressed up as a guy) and my friend Luis Otavio would have been Mr. Gay (dressed up as a girl). We would have won for sure ;). I was once again put on camera duty. [Most of all of my pictures will be on facebook. Feel free to add me if you want to see them, just let me know why you are adding me, otherwise I won't accept. I'll also have some videos up eventually]. It was a hilarious event.

The hazing ritual: Every year there is one test that all of the 'newbies' have to do, no matter what team, that the veterans come up with. It was supposed to be the dirt trail and then something else, but only our group did the obstacle course. The real ritual that took place was as follows. A piece of a banana was ripped off. The girls were in a single file line, and the boys were in a single file line next to them. Starting with the boys. They were given the piece of banana and had to pass it from mouth to mouth until they made it to the end. If it dropped they were given a new piece and had to start over. Now the piece wasn't that big to begin with (less than half) and bananas when pressed to hard break, if a piece broke off, you kept going just with a smaller chunk. The girls had to complete it after the boys successfully completed it. My only bit of luck was that our veterans felt sorry for us, we were all exhausted, and we had done the obstacle course (which wasn't that hard or repulsive) so they let us get out of it and just watch.

After that we went back for the party of the night. It was just a DJ. I was so exhausted so my brother, Isa, and I went and slept in the kitchen on an air mattress the entire night, until the rightful owners came and kicked us out about 2:00 and sent us to our rightful beds.

I didn't sleep well that night. The tent was stuffy and I hadn't eaten regularly (some days we ate at noon and the next day at 3 for lunch) and I had such a small amount of sleep and I used a lot of energy during the day that I was having problems with my stomach. I ended up waking up about 4:00 that morning and going to the bathroom. I was so dizzy that half way there I threw up, then I felt a little better and returned to bed. At 7:00 I woke up again (no one was up yet either) and I wen to the bathroom. I got really dizzy and I ended up throwing up twice more. I didn't feel good the rest of that day, but it was the end so I packed up my stuff (it was mostly ready) and when we got home my mom gave me medicine and I slept on and off that afternoon. I went to bed at 9:00 that night and went to school the next day, I was more energized than some of the other kids even! (Although there was one kid who went to bed at 1:00 p.m. when he got home and woke up at 6:30 a.m. to go to school) WOAH.

Either way it was an amazing weekend! I saw my first snake (people have medicine on hand for snake bites down here, scary), I got to play in the rain, I played in the mud, I made new friends, and I strengthened older friendships as well!

Next weekend I'm off to a house boat to spend the weekend with exchange students, through a rotary planned event! I still don't know my second family and it'll be three months in a week, but I'm not worried because I'm happy and it'll all come in due time. I graduate again on Thursday of this coming week but it's only finals now so I don't have to go to school. So just incase you aren't in the southern hemisphere. I'm on summer vacation until February, be jealous. :)

Beijos:*

until next time.

Aletha

Novidades.

2010-10-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

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! :)

Decisions.

2010-10-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I blogged so I figured I'd type up something quick. When I am frusterated I always put it in writing and by the ending I feel better, with that being said this is more for my personal need but feel free to read it. ;P

I hate making decisions. The only decision I've made recently without second guessing myself was deciding to apply to the rotary program. I had the hardest time choosing colleges to apply to, choosing my college in the spring, deciding if I was going to participate in a sport, even deciding where to eat. Ask anyone these are tough decisions that take a lot of time for me to make because I don't like to miss out on anything and I want to be able to try everything.

Lately I have been doing wonderfully, but it seems that everyone around me is getting stressed out. The end of the school year is approaching quickly and many people are on the border of passing the year, or even graduating. This means everyone is a little crabbier and quieter. However just for a little while longer. Now I'm beginning to get a little stressed out, nothing bad compared to balancing family, friends, church, school, work, volunteering, college decisions, sports, and rotary during my senior year, but it doesn't help because I am in a foreign country without all the comforts of home.

So knowing that stress is in the air and the honey moon stage of course is wearing off, although I love it here and feel very much at home, I was bound to catch some sort of bad mood disease. This isn't affecting my interactions with people or how I'm behaving but it's leaving my mind racing with thoughts and decision making. First I was working on a really cool school project with Alejandra yesterday. I ate lunch at her house, we worked on our project, we went to academia, and I didn't arrive home until about 7:30 p.m. The cleaning lady disappeared for about a week without notice and my family hadn't been cleaning the house because they didn't know when she was coming back and they didn't want to have her show up and get paid for doing nothing. So my mom called her and she had broken her arm and was going to have surgery, none-the-less I came home and everyone was cleaning yesterday and I felt bad for having been away all day and not doing too much, so that was weighing on my mind. Then my brother had to switch to private classes (leave my school) in order to graduate and continue onto his exchange year in January, this made me sad because I love having class with him. He's taking classes all day now so he can be down with school in about 10 days, so I won't get to hang out with him as much.

Then last night I received an email about an exchange student orientation type thing. It was late and I forgot about it until lunch today. It happens to start the exact same day as my graduation dance. Now this wouldn't be a big deal except that graduation is a HUGE thing here and it is a lot of fun and it is overdone and it is like prom mixed with a wedding mixed with thanksgiving. This would be with all of my friends, the orientation would be with all of the people I have been dying to meet since I arrived here. I'm pretty sure the orientation is obrigatorio, but there is always some wiggle room. I'm pretty sure I know what I am going to do but the fact that I have to miss out on one makes me a little sad. It is like suddenly everything is starting to come together quickly but some smaller things are diminishing as well. On one hand I am obligated to attend the exchange student event, and I am here through rotary so they come first, and I have never been more excited in my life because I get to meet new people and make new friends and have a weekend to let loose and play games. On the other hand I'm also here to experience everything about the culture here and I will be missing my own graduation which is going to be amazing from everything I've been hearing.

Well, I'm all better now. That was nice. I've made my decision, 99.9% postitive (although it was kind of made before I even started this, it's just more clear now), and I feel good about it. I also had my brother, Henrique, to vent to (via messenger because he is in school). Nothing big but now I can take a deep breath. I think I'll write you guys and update about what I've been up to... :)

Beijos:*

My family's tips

2010-10-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

I often sit down and just visit with my family here, similar to my family in the States. We sit around the living room or around the kitchen table and talk about things like the justice system, politics, cultural differences, and other things. It is never a super grueling conversation where I feel like I'm in school. It is always a discussion about the way their country is and what aspects they agree with and what aspects they don't. With the election that had passed (October 3rd) politics have been a big issue here. Their voting system is very fast and had no major flaws. It is all electronic, the polls close about 6:00 or 8:00 I don't remember and the brasilians take extreme pride in the fact that they have their results by about 10:00, 11:00 that evening. Everyone in my family is eligible to vote, and when you are 18 or older it is mandatory an you will be fined if you don't. So they all went off to vote, however the night before and on other random occasions they would talk to me about who they were voting for and why. For the presidency no one got the majority so there will be another voting day held at the end of October. Dilma, is the chosen successor for the party of the current president, who can't run again because he's already served 2 4-year terms. Similar to John McCain however she was chosen more directly my Lula than by the people. If she wins she will be the first woman president. Now an important sidenote that I noticed was that no one told me they disliked her because she was a woman. Also no one pointed out too much of their personal life, or the person life of their children. When people explained things for me it had nothing to do with the person themselves, not their gender, their color of skin, or that they come from a family who is a little out of control. All of their reasons were based on the politics of the person and the party they belong to. Now I can't say the same for everywhere else in Brasil, but for me it was a nice breath of fresh air in comparison to the U.S. where everyone points out things about the candidates that have nothing to do with how they are going to run the country, just to deter people from voting for them. I must say though, the political advertising here is much worse. Everyone here has things in their lawns, windows, on their cars. There are hours of television where every channel (on regular tv) is about the election and the candidates. There are millions of commercials as well (most of them promoting the candidate, very few completely bashing the opponent). However the day after every thing is gone, or in the process of being taken away. You won't find a 'vote Obama' bumper sticker on anyones car a few years later. Of course there were more parties and such the night of elections, there were parades of cars and fireworks that were fun to watch from our veranda. But I kind of got sidetracked, this was just something I found interesting, back to my family.

So, I am the second exchange student my host family has received in their home. They have been giving me, throughout time, attributes that they think every exchange student should have to be successful.

1. Open-minded. Reasoning: You are an exchange student, you might not like eggs in your home country, but eggs are not the same in your host country. You have to try everything (food, activities, trends), within reason, to know if you like it or not. You can't refuse things based on previous ideas about them and get back to your home country and have done nothing. Also on the food, my sister told me "what happens if you try something and really like it? If you try it early then you can eat it time and time again before you leave, if you try it the last day and like it, well, you are out of luck." My experience: I dislike eggs on anything, they're really good on sandwiches here. I have tried pudding (is like really mushy pancakes) time and time again and I can eat it but I would never choose to make it for myself or buy it, but I have tried it so I have reason to not like it. I tried sushi for the first time ever and enjoyed it and now I've eaten it multiple times. I took a dance class and I'm really enjoying it. My brother is teaching me guitar and making me sing, as much as I dislike singing to anyone but myself and my sisters, I am getting over that and enjoying myself.

2. Be Patient. Reasoning: You are an exchange student, things are not going to happen at the speed you expect and you have to be patient. You won't always understand the language and you have to be patient with yourself and the person explaining things to you. You can't drive and not everything is at your reach, calm down, everything runs on the time of your country. My experience: It's been taking me a while to learn to speak. I definitely speak well enough to survive and that's not a problem, but it is slang and when numerous people are speaking at one time that I get a little lost. I can't get frustrated and give up because I need to learn, sometimes it takes five minutes to explain what one word is and then we can't remember what happened. This happens a lot with jokes they tell me, they aren't funny after they've explained them for a minute or so. Also we now have two cars for our family, however my brother can't drive and my parents work all the time. There is a lot of waiting around, or walking. Either way you have to be patient and not freak out because in reality it's not a big deal. You get there when you get there, there is nothing you can do to change it at that time.

3. Adapt to your country. Time and time again my family has told me and their friends that although exchange students bring important cultural aspects that they leave with their host family and friends, the student must adapt to their host country and host family, not vice-versa. Of course anyone would be thinking, yes obviously, but I suppose it's different when you have someone that is extremely uncomfortable and not in the mood to change. My experience: I haven't held on to too many American traditions. The one I held on to the longest was our trend to wear tank tops underneath shirts because we never show our stomach or want that awkward moment where your underwear are showing while you are sitting down. Everyone thought I was crazy. After a while I decided, I'm in Brasil, I'll do it their way. I've also adapted to their joking-ness, and I'm working on understanding their sense of humor. All in all my parents keep telling me I'm becoming more brasilian everyday. I take this as a good sign. However I have been spreading a couple things I brought with me, candy and cookies, how to solve the rubik's cube, hemp jewelry, and some games we play when we are bored.

4. Don't be shy, say what is bothering you. Reasoning: People can't help you if you don't tell them what is wrong. If you are hungry tell people that you are, if you are sad let someone know. Nothing can be fixed if no one has any idea what's wrong to begin with. My experience: This is the on I struggle with the most. I mean when major things are bothering me I do tell people (like the week I had really bad headache on and off, and the huge puss filled bump on the back of my leg) but I don't worry too much if I'm a little hungry, or if I'm a little cold. These are things they'd like me to let them know as well, but I have a hard time seeing them as anything but annoying things that don't bother me all that much anyways. I've got to work on this area a lot.

5. Be outgoing. Reasoning: If you are a outgoing you'll make friends easier, you'll try out just about everything, and you'll have a great time. My experience: I don't think this is something you can completely change. Some people are naturally more shy and reserved, but being in a different country definitely helps you open up, especially if you are in a country where there is no embarrassment. I'm still working on saying things that come to my mind and dancing and singing in public. For example it takes me some time to get into the groove of dancing here, because these people are amazing dancers and I'm, well let's just say I'm not. They try to teach me time and time again how to move my feet and my hips, and every time I pick it up a little quicker. I also have a Colombian friend here who stands on tables and dances and sings in school. I'm not to that point of outgoing but I sing with her sometime, so that's a start.

Anyways, sorry about it taking so long, it's just that things are becoming more and more normal here (in the sense that it seems normal and not as strange) so I find less and less things out of place and have no need to share them with you if they are seemingly normal.

Beijos:*

Aletha

Outcomes.

2010-10-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I loved the idea of Rotary Youth Exchange from the start. A year in a foreign country, living with a family, learning the language, learning the culture, and making new friends and family. However the most important aspect to me know, but wasn't at the time, is the fact that I don't think I could ever do anything awful to Brasil.

My family had the Colombian exchange student over the other night and my host father (ex-president of rotary) was talking about the fact that when we participate in rotary we build national relations. If we do a good job, the people in Brasil we leave our marks on will never want to go to war with our country or make unfair business deals. Every person that we impress is one less enemy to us and our country, even if they are only acquaintances. This wasn't the first time I had heard this, and I had agreed with it the first time as well, but here it hit home. I have been in this country for a mere month and a half, yet I have made amazing friends and I have family here. I don't think I could ever want anything but the best for my new countrymen. I absolutely love the people here, I have learned so much, and to deprive someone from experiencing this culture by ruining it through war or faulty treaties is absurd to me.

With ever person I meet through rotary, be it an exchange student in my home town, or an exchange student (or person) down here, I am exposed to a new culture and I begin to think differently of the countries around the world. I have friends from all areas of the world, so now when people are poking fun at their countries I feel a little defensive. Some people don't understand other cultures and so it is easy to make fun of something that seems absurd. However what I am doing here is building friendships, opening my mind, and gaining knowledge and experience so when I return I can try and open the minds of others. It's not easy and sometimes I think things they do here are crazy and pointless, but I'm trying to understand and that's the difference. If I can understand then I can explain for other people. I find it all about making the unknown known and dealing with our differences to make our differences smaller and make them weigh less on our decisions.

In the end, the outcome is the same. I love my home, I love my friends, and I love my family. I would do anything to make their lives more comfortable, to help them deal with what is going on with their lives, and to protect them.

The Other Exchange Student

2010-09-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

The day I arrived home from my trip, María Alejandra a colombian exchange student who is through rotary as well, arrived in Tangará da Serra. The next day she was in school with me and we instantly bonded. Now there is always a warning of caution that we must be careful not to spend all of our time with other exchange students because we need to make friends with actual brasilians. Being the only exchange student for a month and a half I have some really amazing brasilian friends and "Alejandra" (as she prefers) fits in just right.

She is studying in my class and she doesn't speak any portuguese, only spanish. She speaks a little english too, more than she does portuguese and she instantly dubbed me her translator. This I find hilarious because although I speak decent english, okay spanish, and okay portuguese, I don't understand some things anyways so I can't explain it if I don't understand it either. We are learning together. I am just glad that when I arrived I had taken a little bit of a portuguese course and learned some slang and naughty words because it is so easy to say "repeat this: @#*)$@#*" and it is repeated. Example A: "Alejandra, profesora is idiota in portuguese" Had Alejandra not spoken spanish (which is similar to portuguese with these words) she would have raised her hand and asked "Idiot, may I go to the bathroom?" Either way it is a lot of fun.

The first day of school for her we invited her over afterwards to eat popcorn and tereré, then we took her to our gym and asked if she wanted to join. It's a common thing for exchange students due to the different lifestyle and food. Afterwards we dropped her off at her house. She is very outgoing and talks more than I do here. I find it really easy to understand her though because she speaks spanish and to me it isn't that difficult, everything here is a mix of all three languages and sometimes I speak the wrong language for the wrong people on accident.

The next day I went to an Interact meeting for the first time in 2 weeks due to my travels. I was going to bring Alejandra but her brother was throwing her a party at their house (practically a mansion). So of course I was invited to attend after my meeting was over. I went to my meeting and said my hellos to everyone there and then left for Alejandra's house. There we ate hotdogs, popcorn, and cake. We played around with a soccer ball, learned how to dance samba and salsa (samba is from brasil, Alejandra taught us salsa) however neither were completed perfectly by me. Then I got thrown in the pool clothes and all, that was fun however because the water was warm enough and we played pickle in the middle. Eventually I dried off and went home.

The next day I went to school and Alejandra wasn't there because she was watching a baby be born. Her dad is a doctor, and I'm still not sure why she was invited to see this, but she was excited. She even took lots of pictures that I got to see later. I went to Isabella and Ricardo's house to eat polenta which is like mashed potatoes but it's corn based instead of potatoes. It was delicious. Isabella and I went swimming a little and watched Gossip Girls. Their mom made a banana cake which was also delicious and we ate it with ice cream. I returned home long enough to get ready for a festa of the Rotaract club. Rotaract is like Interact except for people 18-25(?). Our Rotaract club completed 20 years so they were throwing a huge party. We went to the party and there were belly dancers and other dancers for entertainment. There was a couples dance where they danced to the portguese version of "Eso No Es Amor" by Aventura. I got really really excited and started talking excitedly to Alejandra about the song because I knew it and because it was a part of my Costa Rica experience. Sadly the words are changed a little bit to translate to portuguese but Alejandra and I sang the Spanish version together. Later a bunch of people talked and we all joked around, then we ate dinner which was a bunch of different pastas. It was delicious as well. After dinner a DJ started music and Alejandra and I were taught how to dance sertaneja, funk, and other strange things. I'm not a pro dancer but it was an incredible amount of fun. Alejandra is a lot of fun and brings out the crazy fun loving outgoing side in me. It's so much easier to make a fool of yourself with another person that has no idea what they are doing and being in Brasil helps too because the whole world here doesn't care what others think, they just want you to try. I love having another exchange student around to be on the same level with, plus she is an amazing person and we get along well. The only bad thing is that we talk all of the time and in the 3 days of class we have had together we have gotten in trouble every day. Oops. Eventually around 2:30 in the morning the DJ stopped and we were all sent home. We piled 6 people in the back of our car (rental from insurance). Isabella, Alejandra, and I sat on down and Henrique, Vinicius (the brother of Alejandra), and Ricardo sat on our laps. It was interesting going over speed bumps because we about bottomed out every time. Although I was tired it was a great evening with a great group of people.

Today (Sunday) I slept in a little, then Henrique woke me up and we went to the farmer's market right outside of my house. There we ordered pastels, tapioca (not like our tapioca at all), and another corn based treat (it is like mushed corn packed together in a ball with a little cheese). I didn't eat much because I can't eat much when I'm tired but I tried everything. I cleaned my room eventually and skyped home. Then we had Isabella, Ricardo, Larissa, and José over to drink tereré. Isa and I made it together and we had music playing and it was a lot of fun. Here I experimented with some new things as well which were different but not bad. I was once again taught how to dance sertaneja (it is similar to our country and is really popular in my area). Then Isa and I went inside to make popcorn and decided to make cookies too. So we made cookie dough from a bag (something I never did in the U.S. but I had brought down because it was easy to bring down) and we ended up making half of the cookies and saving the rest of the dough to eat. We also made popcorn. I brought down some Runts, Hot Tomales, Jolly Ranchers, and Twizzlers for everyone to try as well. Twizzlers are a big hit here!! I taught them how use them as a straw. Then everyone left and Henrique and I had about ten minutes to get ready to go to church with Isabella and Ricardo.

They came by the house and picked us up and I went to a Presbyterian church. It was so different than anything I've ever experienced. There was a lot more music and the Reverend didn't stand and preach. There was a little bible time where there was a sermon but it was nothing like the Catholic or Lutheran churches I had ever attended. Different but good as well, although I don't plan on converting. When we arrived everyone in the middle of mass walked up to Henrique and I and welcomed us to the church, afterwards I was told to come back often. There was no Communion or prayer that everyone said in unison, it was just a bunch of people hanging out and praising God.

After Church, a bunch of people from my school that were in the choir (band) and us went out to eat at the mall. I ate sushi and yakisoba, both of which I had never tried before coming to Brasil and both of which I have come to like very much. We all sat around and joked a bit and then we were off to our homes. That's when I ended up here and decided to tell you how my life is going.

Overall I have had an amazing weekend, made an amazing new friend, and everything has seemed to fall into place. I'm enjoying it more and more everyday and everyone is really good to me here, I couldn't have asked for anything better and I can't thank Rotary enough for this experience. It is truly amazing and I'm incredibly sad that a month and a half has already passed, but I'm excited to live what is to come as well.

Até Mais.

Beijos.

Aletha

To Campo Grande and Back

2010-09-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week or so in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. It is the capital of the state underneath my state. They used to be one big state and when they broke off Campo Grande took over as that capital and Mato Grosso's capital remained Cuiaba. The culture is very similar between the two areas due to close proximity and similar climates, however it was a different adventure as well. In Campo Grande I stayed in an apartment with my tío (uncle) João (John) and tía (aunt) Sandra. My sister, Laura, lives with them, and they have two adopted kids Helen (17) and João Paulo (15). [[Sidenote of Interest: I asked where they were adopted from and everyone kept telling me 'here', thinking there was a misunderstanding I repeated the question explaining that I had adopted cousins from Russia and Guatemala, and they told me that in Brasil kids are adopted from Brasil, from the cities nearby or other states, not from other countries. This is because they have too many orphans here and need to find homes for them first.]]

First the bus ride. The bus ride was long. My mom and I left Tangará da Serra on a Friday afternoon (2 p.m.) We arrived in Campo Grande on Saturday at 7:00 a.m. Now during this time there are about 5 or 6 maybe 7 stops. One is 30 minutes for dinner, the others are ten or so minutes. I didn't take the precaution of not drinking a lot of liquids (I was dying of thirst most of the trip so I'd drink some water). There was a bathroom on the bus so I didn't worry too much. About 2 hours in I had to go to the bathroom and the bus was breaking down so we were stalled on the side of the road. I thought 'PERFECT' it's not moving I should have no problems. I walk back to the bathroom open up the door and the smell just about killed me. There was toilet paper thrown everywhere, used toilet paper, and the floor appeared to be sticky. Well I plugged my nose and decided I had to go anyways, sometimes you can't help it. Then the minute I stand up in there, lock the door, and am avoiding touching anything except the toilet seat, the bus lurches forward. Let's just say that lots of hand sanitizer was needed. Also, apparently this bathroom door locks in a very false manner. It looks locked, it feels locked, but it isn't (or wasn't for me anyways). Some old guy came back and yanked open the door while I was using the bathroom, then I grabbed it and reclosed it and relocked it. I also held onto the door this time just incase it wasn't locked, good choice because it wasn't. Another guy or maybe the same guy about 15 seconds later yanks on the door, but I was holding it thank goodness. So this is where I learned to NEVER drink liquids when you are going on a bus ride. Just don't.

The first afternoon I met my grandma, she is the biggest sweetheart in the world. She made me miss my grandparents even more. Her food was delicious but I must say I prefer the cakes, cookies, and other desserts at my grandmas' houses. I met some aunts that are divorced and live with her (there are two houses on the lot), and I met my cousins Thalita and Felipe. Thalita is nice by any standard and she was wonderful to visit with although the similar names confused me often. She is around 17. Felipe is 8. He is a ball of energy, reminding me a lot of my cousins in the states. He always wanted to play and was a lot of fun to spend time with!

The first night I went out for Sobá which is Japanese.

There was a huge immigration of Japanese people to the Campo Grande area, so not only are there thousands of Japanese-Brasilians, but there is a high demand for Japanese food. Sobá is a soup with beef or pork, noodles and vegetables. It was delicious.

Then I went to a barzinho, which translates to little bar. It is a mixture of a club and a bar, except it's all open (similar to being under a lean to). We went to Miça, which believe it or not sounds like Mass in portguese. So the new friends of my cousin I had made invited me to what I thought was mass and I thought, sure I haven't been there in a while and every church is different, so I was like "ok, that sounds good", then they said "It's a barzinho." and I said "OH. That's SO cool, I haven't really gotten the chance to know places like that." Everyone found the retelling of this story hilarious and now everyone in my family there knows it.

The next day Marie, the exchange student from Minnesota, arrived in Campo Grande to spend the week with us. This was nice because we had each other to lean on for the language and for everything that was strange and new, however we took too much advantage of English. One thing I learned was that we can both be speaking Portuguese and understand each other almost completely, when other people can't. This is because we speak some things incorrectly, however it's incorrect in a way that we both understand (it translates well to English or it is a word we made up, this means its English with a poor portuguese accent).

Now instead of day-by-day replays I'll list off some of the bigger things.

We met some cousins on my other side, they are body-builders. Ages: 15 and 20. They are half Japanese. Their dad lives there and their mom returns there often to work. Many people in Campo Grande look for work in Japan because the money is better there, however you must be married to, or be Japanese to enter (at least from Brasil), so my mom told me that many people marry Japanese so they can work there. I like to believe that there is love there first and it just reinforces the fact that they should be together, but I didn't think to ask. Anyways the mother (my aunt) told my 15 year old cousin to take us to his gym (a lot smaller than mine) and then we went to a park and walked around.

The new group of friends went to the mall and then to the movie Amor a Distancia, sadly I don't remember what it is called in english (long distance love?) It has Drew Barrymore who meets a guy (the actor from accepted) in New York and then moves to California and they date long distance. It was in english with portuguese subtitles, it was funny and nice to be able to compare translations. Translations for movies and songs are awful here. This is due to the heavy use of slang that doesn't translate both from portuguese to english and english to portuguese. [[Sidenote: I learned from a girl named Thaisa that People magazines and magazines like that cost roughly $20 here, and they are in english so people can't even understand them anyways.]]

With the same group of girlfriends Marie and I went to an memorial park of the indigenous people. It was just a large park with a walking path and a lake on one end. It was green and beautiful although the water was a little dark and not cleanly looking. There were also capivaras there, a lot, like our squirrels here. In one area there were roughly 50, just hanging out. It was so strange.

Shopping, nails, hair, and waxing. My mom took Marie and I to the mall. We both have cellphones (although my battery lasts literally two hours and dies and my mom knows this so it is for emergencies only), so we asked my mom if we could stay while she went to a doctor's appointment. She said we could and that she would call for us when she was back in the building. We first got ice cream, Marie got a McFlurry and I went somewhere that had a product similar to Dippin' Dots. I was allowed to pick 4 flavors, I only wanted chocolate. That was a fight with the guy selling it. So i settled for two flavors and it was good, although not as delicious as ours in the states. [[Ice cream here is not as good by far, although I've had some that tastes pretty decent]]. Then we walked around and looked at clothes and jewelry, we purchased a few things, and then we came upon a book store. Now for any of you that don't know me, I buy books before clothes, before shoes, before just about anything with the exception of food. Books, movies, and music are staples in my life, even here. I am constantly downloading new songs (in portuguese because the music here is amazing) watching movies, both familiar and from Brasil, and of course I had to be missing books (with the exception of the buttload I brought down). So entering the book store for me was very similar to how I enter them in the United States, except imagine a lion that hasn't eaten in weeks and comes upon a group of sleeping campers or some zebras. Anyways I looked at many many books and found some translations from english to portuguese and I was very excited. I eventually settled for buying a couple that had been translated from english that I had already read to help me settle into the swing of reading portuguese books. Then Marie and I walked around and shopped some more. My mom eventually called Marie's cellphone but there was some confusion about where we were meeting, however when we tried to call her back we couldn't because we didn't have the proper area code. [[Now before I left my brother, Henrique, made me a list of all the numbers and what provider they belong to and all the area codes I would need, how to call people collect from my cellphone, and other things, however who carries a notebook shopping with them]] So remembering that we needed area codes we went to a near by store and asked for help. They gave us the area code for the other half of Mato Grosso, not my half, therefore we called someone else and tried to explain that they were our mom and we didn't know where to meet them. Then we continued to wander for another ten-20 minutes and eventually saw a lady that looked exactly like my mom who we creeped on, but it wasn't her. So we got bored and sat in front of a shop (our understanding was a yellow shop on the first floor) which was yellow and on the first floor and gave up, waiting for my mom to come. We tried calling her one more time changing the area code this time and it went through and as Marie said "we're lost", my mom tapped us on the shoulders. Then we spend even more time looking for our car because there are two similar parking lots so we checked all over the wrong one first. What an adventure. Nails are a weekly thing here, they cost between $10-20 to get done, and EVERYONE has nice nails here. It's a staple of life which I am not accustomed to, because not only do I dislike having nailpolish on, the last 3 years of my life I haven't been allowed to wear it as of work. So we got our nails done which was an adventure as well because my aunt picked tons of colors that go well with my skin and tried to persuade me into some I had no interest in. They ended up a medium dark pink/red. Marie went with dark blue. Getting your hair washed is common here also, washed and styled, just because. We didn't partake in this either. Now Brasil and waxing. Everyone here waxes everything. Legs, eyebrows, armpits, chests (guys), everywhere. My aunt believed that my eyebrows needed fixing up so we went and got them done. The biggest change now is that I live in a society where everyone worries about how they look and I grew up on a farm as a tom boy. I'd rather play in the mud and have dirty feet than be in a beauty pageant and some people in my family are only trying to get me to try harder on my self-image.

We went to one of the largest farmer's markets in the area, lots of shops and good food. It is well-known in the area and it was a very cool experience. Helen, Marie, and I had a caricature drawn while the whole world watched and we also creeped on anyone that looked foreign. It is really exciting to see foreign people because Marie and I both haven't met any other foreign exchange students (well I met one today but that's a different post in itself).

Acid Rain here is common because it doesn't rain for months on end. The first rain after a long dry-spell is always a bit acidic. Marie and I didn't know this. We woke up, noticed it was raining, asked for permission to go down to the main floor where we could get outside, and we ran and played in it. Oh I had missed rain so much. It was a common thing for me to do in the states, sometimes I even was late for class or delayed because the rain had kept me outside. When we returned to the apartment we were told that it was acidic, and that my hair would be gross for a while. Little did they know, divers are accustomed to this. Oh well I'll learn how to deal, it isn't that awful. I did get the go ahead to take a bath in the rain during the rainy season. From what I've heard exchange students from Minnesota in Brasil like to play in the rain.

We had a churrasco (BBQ) the first Sunday we were in Campo Grande. It had delicious food, but the funniest thing is that there were so many appetizers and I thought it was just food coming at random times. Nope, just appetizers, appetizers that were chicken wings, sausage links, and chicken hearts. Enough meat to make me full before we even at lunch. Chicken hearts, DELICIOUS, when prepared correctly. These were marvelously prepared. They were amazing. Now, I also come from a family that raises chickens, and cleans them by hand. My job is to clean out the inside, it has been my job since I was old enough to handle a knife, so I am not afraid of chicken hearts and am completely familiar with them in their raw form. I also come from where eating soups with squirrel or cow tongue, or eating chicken hearts, livers, and gizzards, isn't a strange thing at a family get together. My mom had prepared them in my house and they always smelt good but I never wanted to try them. Well, when in Rome...or Brasil.

On the topic of food, we went to a Rodizio, this time it was a pizzeria and not a fundraiser for anything. The pizza was delicious I tried bits of everything, one (two) with corn, one (two) with cheese, egg and balogna, one (two) with ice cream, one with chocolate and strawberries, one with banana, one with stroganoff, and one with chicken hearts. When I heard the word chicken I was like okay it's safe after I accepted it, it clicked in my brain that he said heart before chicken, Marie pointed this out as well. It wasn't bad if I must say so.

Shameless brasilians are everywhere. No one here is ever embarrassed and they are very loose. They dance and sing, even when they obviously can't. They aren't afraid to tell you straight up that you have a huge zit, even though you've been trying to forget about it all day (I have seen friends do this to each other, and acquaintances too). They aren't afraid to point out that they don't like your hair or that you've put on a couple pounds. It is taking getting used to and I don't take criticism that harshly anyways, but I don't know if I'll be able to completely copy them in this area. Although I have been becoming more talkative, more jokey, and more willing to do things on the spot (like handstands in class). My family all tells me that I am becoming more brasilian, but we still joke about how I wake up American.

Marie and I celebrated our one month anniversary of living in Brasil by going out to eat and hanging out with our family, and our new cousin/friend Helen who we spent every day with. It wasn't a big thing, but it was fun to realize that one month before we were freaking out on the airplane because we were going to be living with complete strangers, and now those strangers are family.

September 11th was the day I arrived in Campo Grande. I thought about it randomly throughout the day, but I didn't see much on it until that night when we were watching television. There was a show talking about the Twin Towers and it replayed the news clip from that day over and over again. We talked about how it was so long ago(we=my sister, my mom, my sister's boyfriend, my uncle, my aunt, and me) and how I was so young. My sister's boyfriend and I shared the same memory of being in a classroom at the time and everything kind of stops and they clue you onto what was going on. I got to watch part of it on television. I watched the clip and got really somber, and everyone talked about how it was sad, but it was a weird emotion sitting around people that didn't have the same connection with it, they weren't from the same country. Kind of like how I can feel compassion for the people in Haiti, but I will never share the exact emotion they have towards the earthquake.

On a happier note, I ate feijoada again. I ate more rice and beans, more beef. I tried really delicious drinks as well. Juices of fruits that don't even translate into english. I showed off some pictures I have on facebook and orkut to my aunt and uncle who were in love with the land my house sits on. They like the country and the fact that in the U.S. people can have big free space and no walls or gates or fences.

It is a joke around here now that I am an animal killer, all because I have hunted a few times before and have been successful, and because I chose to share this with them. Everytime we see animals or talk about animals they tell me to put away my guns and that I can't shoot and eat it. For example we were sitting on my aunt's porch one night and my uncle was holding a turtle, he then set it on the ground and let it run loose and the comment "watch out for Aletha. Aletha-you can't hunt this." shortly followed.

I learned some old folktales from Brasil as well, but I am too afraid to screw them up so I am going to look more into them before I retell them. My uncle also taught me new words. Piranha=hair clip, the fish, and a person that has lots of boyfriends. Capivera=[of 4 legs] animal, [of 2 legs] ugly woman. Dragão=ugly man. Vialão=Guitar, beautiful woman. There were more but I'm struggling to remember them.

Last but not least, living with a family has its ups and downs. I get along with every single person in this family well, but on the day we arrived at the bus station my dad sent Henrique to pick us up. Henrique doesn't have his license and he got into a small fender bender. Everything but $500 is covered by insurance. However being the truck still ran and Henrique was fine, the worst part for me was that everyone was tense for a while. They seemed to want to yell at each other, but were holding everything back because I was there. I hate witnessing people yell at other people, or at me for that matter. So I retired to my room to unpack my clothes. Although I'm certain that they weren't happy with one another and I'm sure some unpleasant words were used in unpleasant tones were used, the next day the air cleared a bit more. No one is holding a grudge and although it isn't quite what it used to be everyone is beginning to act the same. This I think is amazing because what is done is done, we all have to move on with our lives and no one is remaining angry. Man that was an awkward night though, because I didn't know where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to say or do, if anything, but it all passed and everyone and everything is okay.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and I had my mind opened even more. I learned more music, tried more foods, and watched more brasilian soap-operas. Conversing with different people has brought me new perspectives and has made me a better speaker because it has broadened my vocabulary. I returned to Tangará and everyone was amazed at how much I'd improved, although there is a long ways to go yet.

New post soon. I may add more pictures eventually to this post, or in another. They'll for sure end up on facebook and they are already on my orkut, but I'm getting really slow at uploading things and really busy with life here so I'll let you know.

Beijos

Aletha

The Quickest Update In The World

2010-09-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I've had a few people ask me recently and yes, I am still alive.

I am still in Campo Grande, we are leaving on Monday at about 10:15 p.m. and I should arrive home at sometime the next afternoon.

Marie, the other exchange student from Minnesota, came down the day after we arrived. I have been meeting tons of people from schools, many aunts and uncles! I come from a big family here as well!! This is exciting for me, however on my hostmom's side there is only one great-grandchild and one grandchild that isn't in highschool. Definitely not as many cousins, but just as much noise. It definitely made up for missing both the Duchenes and the Biseks. Although of course nothing comes close to replacing the 'bagunça' (mess/loud/rowdy-ness) we call a family back in Minnesota.

Well all in all, without the gym I'm sure I am gaining weight here, the food is more delicious everyday. I'll post a full update about my week, one month anniversary, and pictures when I get back home, or a couple days after. Believe me, I have some very amazing stories to tell you about. Sneak preview: stories about shameless brazilian boys, one month anniversary, acid rain, and bus bathroom doors that apparently don't lock when I'm inside will be included. Stay tuned.

Beijos.
Tchau.
Aletha

Exposerra and Farms and Finals.

2010-09-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Smaller than the State Fair, larger than the Rice County fair, a few animals (mostly cows and goats), a rodeo (the professional one starts tonight), tons of DELICIOUS food, $0.50 to use a dirty bathroom, sketchy carnival rides, opens at 7:00 p.m. and people stay until 6:00 a.m., thousands of drunk people, country (sertaneja) music concerts free excluding price of entry, cow auctions, a night club, tons of music, all rolled together you could call it EXPOSERRA.

Exposerra is my towns festival, like their Jesse James Days or their county fair. It started earlier this week, I think Saturday. However we couldn't go the first day because it was too dangerous. We didn't go the second day because people our age weren't attending that night, we did however go the third and fourth night, and my parents went last night but my brother and I didn't because it was an auction and not many teenagers would be present. The third night (Monday) Marie, the exchange student from Eden Prairie living six hours away, came over to visit because her family was visiting people about an hour away from my town. She got dropped off and we made my family sloppy joes, mashed potatoes, and peanut butter bars for supper and dessert. Oh how a little slice of home was nice. Then we got dressed up for exposerra.

This was my first night in attendance so I was a little nervous because my brother had told me how he gets in a fight almost every year because either he or one of his friends are talking to a girl and the girl's guy friends don't appreciate it. He also threw in the line "I win everytime. I throw one or two punches and then run as fast as I can." I don't know if that qualifies as winning, but it didn't make me feel any better especially because being foreign draws a lot of attention. Marie had some previous experience with this because she had attended her city 'fair'. She advised me on what to wear (boots and nice shirt with jeans) because that would be what most of the other people wore. Thank goodness for that, I blended in a little bit. Either way we got ready, my dad gave us some cowboy hats to take pictures in, and we left for the evening.

We arrive at the fair grounds and there is a line about 30 minutes long to buy a ticket and a shorter line to take your ticket and enter the grounds. We waited for a while, then my brother ran ahead to see if he knew anyone or could find someone selling them so we could get in quicker. He eventually found a friend who took our money and ran ahead jumping in line with a friend and bought our tickets, we were set and only waited about 10 minutes.

We ran into a bunch of people I knew and even more that my brother knew but I had no idea who they were. None-the-less I was introduced to even more people whose names, and some faces, I can't remember. I really enjoyed being able to introduce Marie to some of my friends though, because more than likely they'll all run into each other at some district rotary event.

We started at the rides, after barely looking through the animals, because there isn't much to see. The rides are a bit sketchy. Many don't have proper safety equipment, no seat belts, no pull down bars. One didn't have anything, you had to hang on for dear life. I think that is what made it my favorite. We started on the safest ride we rode all night. It reminded me of the school bus at Camp Snoopy. It wasn't bad but it wasn't Valleyfair, and we were laughing the entire time because some middle-aged woman in front of us was screaming like she was dying the entire time. Then we went on the roller coaster "Russia Mountain". It was a lot like the mad mouse ride at Valleyfair except that instead of seat belts we had two belts that went over each shoulder, sure to dislocate our arms in case of derailment. Last we were going to go on the Ferris wheel, but my brother prefers fast spinny rides. Being I get a bit motion sick I was a tad nervous, but we chose one that involves sitting down holding on to bars behind you, because there are no belts of any kind, while it spins round and round and tilts at insane angles meanwhile jerking and bumping (I'm not sure if that was part of it when it was new). Either way the worker of the ride walked around in the middle and I swore he would fall to his death, and people were squished up against one another due to gravity and one girl almost fell to the other end because she happened to be quite drunk and if it weren't for my brother grabbing her as she dangled she probably would have hurt more than just her arm. All in all, that was my favorite ride.

The rest of the evening we walked around and ran into more people I knew. I got the pleasure of introducing my Interact friends to Marie, many of them were asking about where she was the next day and many made comments about her to me. The most common, she was a cutie :). Now by about 2:00 a.m. almost everyone was drunk. Teenagers carried around bottles filled with alcohol and they would just walk up to a stand because apparently they don't I.D. here and order whatever they wanted. Brasilians are very animated funny drunk people and they kept me entertained. Although when we were with certain groups of people I felt like Marie, my brother, and I were the only sober ones. It was an interesting experience. It also gets really crowded after the show ends and so to make our way through the crowds we all had to be hand in hand.

I also had an awful bathroom experience because after I paid $0.50 to enter, I ended up in a dirty stall that had a very unclean toilet seat. Let's just say that half my toilet paper I was given (they give it to you when you pay) was used to clean it. Other than that we eventually went home at about 3:30 because Marie had to get up at 7:30 to catch the 8:30 bus back to the town where her family was staying.

Exposerra experience number 2 for Aletha wasn't as exciting. There were less people I knew there although I got to meet a girl named Talita (I met her the night before, but I actually spent enough time with her to remember her name this time). She was really nice and when my brother would go talk to people neither of us knew we would tell jokes and talk. I went and watched the show this time. It was Victor e Leo, who are pretty big sertaneja singers down here, so that was cool. They reminded me of Rascal Flatts because everyone knew all the words to every song they played. People tried to teach me how to dance, of course that doesn't work well for me, but I'm trying and I'm sure I'm slowly getting better...or not, but it's fun. I did however eat an open Krep which is like a pancake taco almost. It was filled with cheese and stroganoff. It was the most delicious thing I've eaten down here so far. When we return tonight I might just have to get another one. After the show we went home about 2:00, because we had school bright and early at 7:00. Let's just say I was exhausted and it was finals at school which was kind of a nice break, I didn't even have to go, but I did and upon my return home I took a 3 hour nap.

My family owns a fazenda (farm) about an hour away for a day or weekend getaway. We went there this past Sunday so that I could visit it. The day was pretty relaxing. We left a little after 8 a.m. and spent the whole day away. It was a lot of eating watermelon, fried chicken, drinking coca and juice, and laying around in hammocks. My brother and I bonded quite a bit as we have now begun to talk about anything we want. He tells me about pranks he pulls at school, stories about people we both know, and about anything else that pops into our heads. He's really patient with me and we are even fighting like brother and sister now which is a nice too being it's all a big joke, my family claims I'm becoming brasilian because of this:). Anyways besides soaking up the slow life I got to visit their old house on the site and the new one they are building (they don't live there nor have they ever, they just have it as a hobby), I got the chance to ride horses (which I turned down that time because the horse was a little jumpy that day), I got to visit their cows, and Henrique and I also shot cans with his pellet gun, and one or two shots with a very weak shotgun. Either his sights need to be redone, or I need lots of practice, probably both. It was nice to just slow things down for the day. Then we went to my Uncles house for a while, who lives in Tangará also, but has the farm for hobby as well. He had the most beautiful horses I've ever seen and tons of shade. The day was wonderful, just like walking onto the set of an old western. I couldn't have asked for a better change of pace.

Finally, Finals. Every day from this past Wednesday until next Tuesday we have 3 finals a day at school. They are just like regular tests, not even bigger (like the longest one I've taken was 3 response questions of roughly one sentence, defining 2 words, and answering 8 multiple choice questions). You get two hours to finish them and if you finish them earlier you just leave the class and do whatever you want. Also if you finish the last one early, you just go home. I've been home around 11:00 everyday this week. I have taken 5 so far, one is this afternoon (math) I'm going to watch Gossip Girl at someone else's house instead because as much as I try everything is worded different and I don't understand any of the tests, I just put in a good effort until 3 or so people have finished, then I call it quits. I took a writing one where my understanding was to right about equality and if it is possible or something along those lines, so I tried. I'm still not sure what it was on, however apparently after I left the room the teacher read it to the class and there were lots of errors, well things in spanish, oops. I took philosophy which was crazy, I could only answer one or two questions on John Locke. I took physics which was a joke because I didn't like, understand, nor take physics in high school. Our teacher handed out a formula sheet (I'm pretty sure everyone in Messer's class would have aced it), so I took a couple problems and guessed what meant what and used whatever formula the first letter of what they were asking for matched. I took history today which was the longest one yet, I answered everything except for 2-3 questions but that was because it's really easy to do multiple choice. ;P There was another one but I don't remember which one it was. Either way it's a lot of down time and joking, or sleeping, or studying. Tomorrow I have English and some other ones I have no idea about.

Tomorrow evening I also leave for Campo Grande until the 20th (around then). My sister lives there as do the families of both my mom and my dad. I hear my cousins are already planning everything down to the day, I'm extremely excited to meet them all and explore the capital of a different state!! My mom and I are going down by bus (12-16 hours) so it'll be an interesting trip I'm sure and I'm also excited to miss my house here, and my school here, and my friends, because I like the feeling of having things to miss here. So if you don't hear anything from me for a week or so, I'm probably still alive but having an amazing time so that I have more interesting things to blog about later.

Beijos,

until next time.

Aletha

Adjusting and Being the Exchange Student

2010-09-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Adjusting.

There are ways to tell that I am becoming very at home here. The first is that I am starting to eat a lot more, not at one sitting of course I'm still without a Brasilian stomach, but I find myself eating more in between meals because I am hungry now in between meals. It's a few more cookies, treats, bread, or fruit, this excites me to no end.

I'm starting to run into people everywhere I go that I know. Even when I was at a mall 3 hours away from home I ran into two girls I know. This tells me that I'm at least starting to know people and remember faces. Although the other day I was eating with friends and I went to the bathroom with a girl I had met that evening and as we were walking in some girl ran up to me and gave a big hug, like she was so happy to see me again...she didn't even look familiar. Oh well. I even ran into one person that only I knew! It made me so happy to know that I had made one friend (although no one approved that I was talking to him because he is a little flamboyant) and I had an inside story with him (he accidently spilt worm blood on me), that no one else witnessed that no one else knew about. I'm starting to befriend people even my brother doesn't know!! :)

Another way to tell I'm adjusting is that I have started joking around more with my family. I always did at home in the states but here I more or less lack the ability to speak my thoughts out loud, so as I'm learning more I am joking around more. It's a lot of fun.

I have started moving around a lot in my sleep. When I sleep over at new houses I tend to sleep in one position the whole time, where as in my own bed I'm all over the place. For the first couple of nights I didn't move at all, now I wake up sleeping sideways or all twisted in my sheets, just like the good old days. I'm sure if my family was awake I'd probably be talking in my sleep too. (Sidenote: I've made my bed here everyday Mom, even though there is a maid here that remakes it anyways...be proud)

I also have stopped looking well kept with my family in our house. Before I tried to look at least half decent because they weren't used to seeing me all grungy, and now I don't worry a thing about it, because how I wake up is the way it is. Although I still try and look nice when going places, but let's just say my hair has been in a lot of ponytails lately.

I'm growing more and more used to the heat although somedays I swear I'm going to die anyways, but at night it gets a little chilly, where in the spring it would be sleeveless shirts and shorts, here I feel like I need pants and sweatshirts.

I'm also slowly figuring out my way around town which is exciting for me. Although I have a long way to go until I can do everything by myself, I think I could successfully make it to school and back alone, and to the gym as well. I'm also getting used to what street my house is on, and the bank, and the central park.

Being the Exchange Student.

I always get shotgun, I always get the best seat, I always get to choose the music, I always get the only fan, and I always get the last dessert...why you may ask...because I'm an exchange student in Brasil.

I'm incredibly guilty of wondering what the new exchange student in school is like. Back in Northfield the thoughts running through my mind were: "Are they nice? Where are they from? Boy or Girl? Are they attractive? Are they good at sports? Are they fun?" Well the strange thing now is that I am the exchange student. EVERYONE knows my name and things about me, and I have never met them before. The other day in school my brother was looking at the facebook page of the Colombian exchange student that will be coming here, all the boys gathered around and were discussing what they thought about her. I can't say this is entirely rude because people are curious and I'm sure many people all over the world do the same thing.

I get a lot of special treatment because I'm the exchange student. The other day I was hanging out with a friend from school and she introduced me to her best friend. Her best friend and I went for ice cream as she was shopping for clothes. Her best friend paid for it. Now this is something I would do for my friends back at home, but it was still the fact that she didn't even ask if I had money, she just ordered. Because I am the exchange student I also get to meet anyone I want. I talk to my friends that have uncles and aunts and grandparents that would like to meet me, so I make plans to visit them. I have friends that have friends that would like to meet me, after I meet them they introduce me to even more friends who introduce me to even more friends who's names I can't even remember in the first place.

I have some friends that don't go to my school and so one day I didn't have to go to school because they were taking a big standardized test all day. I went and spent the day switching between 4 classrooms at a public school. I met a bunch more people and the experience was insane. I was used to 2 classes per year, here there were 6 or 7. It was huge and there were a lot of people, and the teachers cared even less because it was a free education, the kids could do what they want with it seemed to be the popular theory.

The other day my brother took me to his old private school (is similar to Holy Angels in niceness of facilities) here I was introduced to even more people, all of who were wonderful and showed me around the school. I met some adults that told me to come around whenever I wanted and I ran into a guy friend of mine who also went there who made sure to introduce me to some of his classmates. No one seemed to be upset that I was there, they were all excited to share their school with me and get to know me.

I joined a gym. I love it, I miss sports so much and this is a nice compromise, it gives me something to do in the evenings. All of the trainers go out of their way to make sure I am doing okay and that all of the machines are fit for me and they give me way too much attention. They also know I don't speak portuguese to an incredible extent. Yet they all find other ways to make sure I understand and they are patient with me. I also met this little girl at the gym who must have been the niece or daughter of my trainer because she was taking to him about buying something from her (I thought of girl scout cookies, but I'm sure this was not the case), he then introduced us and explained that I was American. She followed me around and made small talk about where I was from and that she is planning on doing an exchange program in 2015, or some time around then. She even went out of her way to say goodbye to me.

The other day our school participated in a parade in celebration of their country (Independence Day is tomorrow the 7th) It was burning hot out and way too sunny. When we finally came to a stop, everyone made sure I had shade and water. On the walk to the place a bunch of people made sure that I didn't get lost, and on the bus ride to the drop off location even more people made sure I had a spot to sit. People go out of their way for exchange students here, not that they don't for other people as well, but they spoil me too much.

Along the lines of meeting whoever I want, the other day I went to the "Mister/Miss 29" contest, for the public school I visited a couple days later. Now I had seen a real cutie (one of the cutest guys I've seen down here) at this event. He was running for Mr. Now my friends decided (because they wanted to have an excuse to talk to him) that they would introduce us. It didn't bother me, they got to talk to him and I got to meet him, win-win. :) But I find it entertaining that I am an excuse for many people to do things they normally couldn't/wouldn't do. Like staying out later is more common now because they are helping me out or hanging out with me. They also use me as a "meet my american friend, I have one you don't" kind of thing, but I don't mind because I like meeting people down here, I'll never know who is super awesome if I don't spend time getting to know a random mix of people.

I have given two English classes already while I've been down here, one to a very poor school and one to a tutoring center. They all ask me to come again and again because they want to practice their English and they also want to learn more about me. I get asked to do a lot of things and meet a lot of people.

Other than that I know people talk about me and tell stories about me and often they make fun of me for doing something strange or saying something wrong. The other day I was out to eat with friends and my brother and the boy across from me dropped his french fry so I gave him the "tsk tsk" motion and he thought my brother had told me to do that to make fun of his skin color (he's tanner than most people here). Another example was I was asked if I had any paper clips. Said 'Clipsees'. The movie eclipse is said very similar. I said "nope I haven't seen it yet." They laughed at me and passed on the story to everyone in class. I find it entertaining though, knowing that I'm comfortable with them making jokes about me, and they are comfortable with not offending me that they don't.

It's also really weird to be introduced as 'the exchange student, from the U.S.' I feel like they have it wrong, like I'm just someone visiting and that there isn't anything different, I still haven't come to terms that I will always be the exchange student. It feels so weird trying to realized that that is what I am. I stick out like a sore thumb too, I'm incredibly white (although I met one person more white than I am ;P) with light eyes and strange colored hair.

Over all I couldn't be any happier with the way people treat me and how I'm adjusting here. It's nice to know that people are excited to know me because it makes spending time with them easier, and running into them later easier as well.

Hope to write more quickly this next time around.

Beijos:)

Aletha

Taken For Granted

2010-08-31T15:38:00.001-07:00

There are so many things I'm realizing I miss having in the United States. Not things like clothes or books, but things we don't think much about having because they are parts of our lives.

The first thing I have taken for granted is my cellphone. Although I never had it glued to my face and I couldn't even remember where I put it half the time, it was still nice to have something in case of emergencies, to get together with friends, or to call home for a ride. Here I don't have a cellphone, yet. My only way of communication with friends is face to face (the best kind), messenger, or orkut (brasilian facebook). None-of-these tend to be as efficient for a quick let's hang out situation. I make them call my brother. People now joke that he's my secretary, but I don't think either of us mind, because he comes on every outing I go on anyways. However I realized I was completely stranded twice over the last two days. The first was when I was at school and my brother left early because he was sick. He told me they'd come get me after school, but what if they had forgotten, what if something came up and I had to walk home? They didn't, but it was still enough for me to be thankful back home that I had a cellphone on me. The next time I noticed this was today. My brother was taking me to a public english class given by volunteers for lesser fortunate children. I was there to answer questions and help them use their English. We couldn't get a ride with our parents because they had the truck somewhere else so we called a taxi. Correction, two taxis (they were moto-taxis a.k.a. motorcycles). Before I got on the guy asked me where to, I wasn't sure exactly so I asked Henrique. Henrique said where we were going so we were off. I had trouble getting my helmet strapped so we lost sight of them, but that shouldn't have been any big deal. Then the guy asked me again, where to. I started to get worried, I told him everything I knew, I told him where it was near, what it was, everything Henrique had told me earlier that day. However it didn't seem to be enough and he didn't seem to understand. So he drove around and was like, "is it here?" and I had no idea, so I repeated "It's near the Rotary Club, Its a masonaria" or something along those lines. He stopped the bike and we waited from 5 or so minutes while he called around to find where the other driver had dropped my brother. Eventually we made it, but I didn't have a cellphone, nor did I know the number of my brother so I couldn't use the driver's. All I know by heart here is my address, but we just came from there so that didn't serve me well, although my plan was to go back if we couldn't figure anything out. I think they'll be getting me one soon. Tomorrow I'm visiting a public school without my brother. Let's hope it goes well.

Along with cellphones, I miss the freedom of driving. Very much taken for granted in the States. I have been driving since I was 16 years and 7 days old. I could get anywhere I needed because I always had a car. Here is not so. I can't drive, and our family shares one vehicle. It's frustrating sometimes, however I'm getting used to having my host parents drive me everywhere.

Laundry is another thing I have taken too much for granted back in the United States. Here we have a maid, she cooks, cleans, and does our laundry. This should be awesome right? Right. However, if I give her my dirty laundry on monday I don't get it back until Wednesday, granted it is washed, air dried, ironed, and folded, HOWEVER I don't have much clothes here to begin with and over the weekend I wear a lot. I left her all of my dirty clothes on Monday and was planning on keeping what I was wearing and what I wore to bed until I got my other clothes back. She is sneaky though and now knows where I keep my dirty clothes, so she grabbed all of my dirty clothes today as well, leaving me with the pair of jeans I have on, some nice jeans in my drawer, and sweatpants. This means as of right now I have no shorts to wear around town, and no shorts to wear to bed. With hot weather I may just perish. I also only have one uniform shirt for school because I don't want to buy another one just yet, since it takes two days and she's not here on weekends I'm going to have to, because it'll get gross (especially since we have school on saturdays too). So sorry mom for not being that great with my laundry before, but I do/did really appreciate having laundry done with a quick turn around multiple times a day!

Home cooking is something I thoroughly enjoy here and there, and it is something I live for. However in Minnesota it was a given. We are at home every night and we have a homemade sit down meal. Here is about the same, however the menu is different. It is delicious don't get me wrong, but there is something comforting and perfect about eating my mother's food, in our own kitchen. Even on other vacations with my family, the food always tasted better at our Northfield address. I have had delicious foods here, unbelievably delicious, but there is still a part of me that yearns for homemade chicken noodle soup, or chicken and mashed potatoes. I know I can probably get ahold of stuff to make it here, but it isn't the same when it's not at home. Thank you for spoiling me dear family, because now I'm forever comparing stuff to "Bisek" food and "Duchene" desserts.

I have been able to express my thoughts in words since I was a young child. I have always had someone that would understand when I spoke to them. Yes, here I have freedom of speech, in fact socially it is more acceptable and less rude to interrupt people and to say slightly rude things about people as well. It's all in a joking manner and it doesn't offend many people here. However, I have less ability than ever. I'm slowly learning enough portuguese to throw in my two cents and to send around witty comments as well. I also am becoming better at understanding other people so that I can understand more jokes now and don't have to give a little giggle just because everyone else is laughing. Today in school I talked almost too much, I think some of the teachers will get sick of me disrupting their other students (but most of the time they start the conversation!) As awful as that sounds, it's good for me, because the more talking I do the more I learn and the more outgoing, friendly, and normal I can be. However I think it is too taken for granted by anyone in any country that everyone understands them. I don't want to be silent here and I want to understand everything, and it is coming, but it's rough when you have no idea what is going on. (Although sometimes it does give a good excuse for not taking tests or doing homework ;) ) [[[sidenote: I scored better on my history test (still failed...passing is a 7/10, I got a 4) than another boy in my class (he got a 3.5). I felt bad because the teacher made fun of him/yelled at him in front of the whole class saying that I didn't even know portuguese and he does and I did better. It was multiple choice on some stuff I had learned in AP World History. I'm not that bad at reading portuguese. I felt really sorry for him.]]]

Free water is also something not common here. If you get water it is in a bottle, or distilled at your house. Our school has a drinking fountain but I haven't managed to work it without getting sprayed in the face. (It shoots water straight up instead of sideways.) I miss free water.

I also miss free green space to run and play and do whatever. On 5 acres in Northfield we did just about anything and we could do anything outside we imagined. We dirtbiked, made homemade water slides, played sports, camped, and did just about any other thing you can do in the country. Here I live in what they call an apartment, because it is above their shop. It was raining today for about 2 minutes, I heard it and lit up like the 4th of July. Now everything here is locked for security purposes (the need to not have to lock your doors and to not have walls all around your property is another thing I have taken for granted) so I couldn't get outside quickly (I have no idea where the keys are...if they left me for a weekend, I'd be locked in here forever. haha). So I rushed to unlock the porch door even though our porch has a roof over it. I couldn't get it and my brother then helped me. I rushed outside hoping to be able to reach it, all I craved was to run around barefoot in it, but I couldn't even reach it. All I could do was smile, smell it, and watch it pour on people that probably didn't want to get wet. I miss that freedom and the green space.

One last thing I took for granted in Minnesota was the air conditioning. We had a system that cooled our whole house and was on all of the time in the summer. Our house was always my perfect temperature (more or less). Here there are only fans and a few air conditioners in bedrooms. I took a nap on the couch today and my brother had to put the fan on me because I was sweating so bad. In fact I am almost dripping in sweat now and it's 7:30 p.m. and I haven't done much. Cold may get annoying, but sometimes it sure would be nice.

Beijos.

Dear Miley Cyrus,

2010-08-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

I hate to break it to Miss Miley Cyrus, but just like the facebook group suggests: the party really is better in Brasil. I'm not talking about teenage parties like are typically seen in American Pie videos, I am talking about parties in general. They really know how to kick back and enjoy themselves down here. So first and foremost if you are going to graduate from college, you might as well graduate from a Brasilian college.

Earlier this week my family and I went to a graduation ceremony for Bruno, a guy that works in their shop. The graduation ceremony itself wasn't that special, and I thought that was it. Then a few days later we went to a mass for the graduates. Once again I wasn't thinking anything special, because when I graduated from high school my church had a mass as well. The only difference was that every step of the way, here, they had a thousand cameras and video cameras to document everything! At the mass I asked my sister Laura, what all graduating from college meant here, besides the obvious degree, new life aspect. She told me that it is five days of partying. It all starts with the actual graduation, then there are different things every day until it completes itself with a huge formal dinner and dance.

So of course we not only went to the mass and the ceremony itself, but we spent all of Saturday getting ready for the dance/feast. It didn't start until about 8:30. My mom painted my nails and had a lady come and wash and dry our hair (which was probably something I could have done myself, but I wasn't going to complain). We all put on nice dresses, make-up, and high heels were a must. We arrived and handed the people at the doors our tickets and this was how the evening started.

We were seated and they had servers coming around with unlimited amounts of water, guaraná, coca, and beer (of course). Some nice music was playing in the background and there was a video slideshow of all the past days events. At about 8:45 we were told we could go eat, I was a little confused by the fact that all the food that was set out was appetizer type food. However I grabbed different sandwich meats, salads, and breads. Then we returned to our table.

I began to lose track of time but sometime later, however early in the evening, they announced each of the graduates. Then the announced graduate would make an extreme entrance through a gauntlet of family/friends/strangers, and make their way down to the front (sometimes backtracking so they could be in the limelight longer). The entire time they were followed by video cameras and people taking pictures. There were tons of noise makers and lots of jumping up and down and dancing.

After this dinner was set out and we went to eat it. Everything was delicious of course. Then the DJ started up the lights, turned down the lights from dinner, and turned up the music. In the beginning it was a lot of remixed American music, but I must say everything they played (whether I understood it or not) was amazing. They even played the typical American wedding songs (like Brown-eyed girl). We got up and danced for a little bit, they didn't remember the macarina and seeing as it's about the only thing I have the ability to dance, I gladly taught them. They taught me some dances, one involved the phrase "now let me see you get sexxxxy" or something to that accord. They also liked to laugh at the fact that I couldn't dance. Some of them even tried to teach me how to partner dance, I might be able to get the hang of that.

After that we sat and visited for a while and I'd figure we'd be leaving for home soon. However then they served dessert! So of course we had to go get some dessert. It was delicious as well. Then Henrique, Laura (my host-siblings) and I went down near the DJ and danced to a bunch of songs. It's really amazing how everyone here, my age, dislikes Justin Beiber just as much as I do. Eventually my feet were hurting so Laura and I returned to our seats (I was also getting creeped out by one of the guys dancing with us, and I don't deal well with creepers). Now

my dad had had his fair share of beer and he was dancing and having a good old time and it was fun to watch him.

We sat around some more and then funk music came on, but I was too tired to get up and return to the dance floor, and once again I fear awkward creepers, so I stayed put. Even when "Creu" played. I watched my dad on side of the table and a little girl on the other attempt to dance it. It was unbelievable entertaining. Yet of course this still wasn't the end of the evening.

Then they set out soup for us to eat. By now I was too past tired to think about eating soup, and I wanted them to continue enjoying themselves so I tapped my feet to the music and let my thoughts take over. Eventually we decided it was time to go, so my family went off to find my brother. He was nowhere to be found, and about 10 minutes later he showed up. We left and although I ended up exhausted it was so much fun. It was a lot of fun to be around people that were there having a good time, not embarrassed of themselves, not worried about anything, just taking advantage of the time. It was like a Duchene wedding mixed with Prom mixed with Thanksgiving. We returned home at the early hour of 3:15 a.m. and I was off to bed.

It was a fun Saturday evening :)

Love,

Aletha

Tchau e beijos.

A Policia Federal

2010-08-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the Federal Police Station, to register so that I don't get deported. The nearest one is in Cuiabá, a roughly 3 hour drive from my house. We wanted to get there at 8 a.m. when it opened, so we all woke up at 4:30 a.m, and left by 5:00. We were running early (the speed limit was 80 km/hr, we only drove between 100km/hr and 160km/hr), so we stopped by a pastel shop and I got a delicious chicken pastel. I remember eating these in London [NADS and KATIE:)] I hadn't eaten them since so this was a delicious mix of old and new. We got to the police station and they started filling out my paper work. We then went on a mile walk through the city to make copies of my passport for them (they conveniently didn't have a copier we could use). Now I am not fussy and I like to explore cities on foot, just not in 44 degrees celsius weather. For all of you not familiar with how hot this is, it converts to around 111 degrees fahrenheit. Now I am becoming accustomed to the heat slowly, where I live it is always 37 degrees (99 ish), but I was not prepared for this! Let's just put it this way, I strongly dislike extreme heat. After that we returned and I got my finger prints taken and I turned in a sheet (with a picture for my identity card, a very awful picture) so that everything was complete, however they marked me as masculino. So some of the paperwork had to be redone. None-the-less we were finished by 9:00 am.

Finishing early wasn't a problem except we were also in the city to pick up my sister Laura from the airport (she lives in a different state/city and is visiting for the weekend). She was to arrive at 1:00 p.m. So we killed time by going to the construction mall and the regular shopping mall, where I ran into some girls I knew from school (they were skipping). I ate a baked potato filled with chicken stroganoff for lunch, it was delicious. They also found my weak spot, Coca, although I LOVE guaraná (the typical brasilian soda), the coke here is soooo much better than that in the United States and we don't have pop in my house, so I don't feel bad when we go out and that is what I have. They will buy me one even after I have turned down the offer because they know I will drink it.

We eventually went to pick her up. She is always talked about with so much pride and love from her family and I was so excited to meet her! She is FABULOUS! She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and I can understand her when she talks, major plus! We then continued to make our way home. Like before; they don't follow speed limits, they don't stay on their side of the road, they like to pass everyone, and it is pretty much the same as playing frogger.

Once we were home we sat on the porch for a while drinking tereré, which my father told me is the only type of water he is accustomed to. It is common here, it is an open cup with a metal straw in it (kind of like the cups/bowls that were around when I was a kid, built in straw) and you fill it with some herbs and pour cool lemon water over it. It wasn't my favorite at first but I keep trying it and am growing accustomed.

On water. I love water. I crave water. I drink lots of water here. My family noticed this and pointed out the fact that they really don't drink plain water, and they think I have extremely healthy eating and drinking habits. Like I said before, the only water they drink is tereré.

On sharing. People are always offering me things, and most of the time I accept. However sometimes I don't want to impose and so I kindly decline. One kid was offering me candy in class, he offered me two different types and I wasn't in the mood for candy at the moment so I told him no thank you and he looked at me and said "so in America you don't accept anything from anyone else?" Strange assumption, but I understood it. It is also the most normal thing in the world to share drinks or food with other people. For example, when we drank tereré today, there were five people, one cup, and one straw. I'm still growing accustomed to this idea, seeing as the people in my family share but we also share the same DNA. It isn't just family though, I've noticed it is everyone, no worries about other people's germs.

On assumptions and observations. A have a round face and because of this my brother and everyone who had looked at my pictures/videos on facebook (our spanish one.... ;P) thought I was 'gordinha' aka a little fatty. Then I showed up and now they think I'm anorexic and don't eat enough. Truth is, I eat so much, I'm always full and well fed, but compared to them I eat little and slow! I eat less than them but take double the time, talk about food eating contest champions! I also can only eat about one small sweet here every once in a while, because their sweets are extremely sweet--delicious, but too much for me at times. When we went to a churrasca (BBQ) I ate my weight in watermelon (one of my favorite fruits and delicious down here). I also ate a bunch of other fruit because the only fruit we have at my house is manga (which is also delicious). Today my pai came up to me and told me that I have great eating habits and that I only eat small portions and little sweets, then he told me I had a beautiful body (not in a creepy manner at all, that's just how it translates and I find it amusing). They all assume I'm watching my weight and that I am trying not to become fat, I try and explain it to them but they don't take "no thank you, I'm full" to mean anything other than "I want to stay slim". It is rather hilarious to me but it gets kind of old after a while. I also want to join a gym so I can go swimming and actually get some what in shape (ya know? six pack abs ;)), I'm hoping they'll let me! :) Another assumption from everyone is that because I speak English and am American, I MUST know all lyrics to every song in english and I must be able to sing them. They are incredibly wrong. They also point out the fact that people in brasil are very hospitable and people in the U.S. aren't always as welcoming. I try explaining to them that it is only in certain circumstances and that we just have different cultures. People might view them as loud and rowdy, where as they might view us as quiet, arrogant, and stuck-up. They also ask me quite often if our high school parties are like that from American Pie and if our high school is similar to Mean Girls. Oh what great examples have been set of Americans.

On Recent Happenings. Yesterday I went to some friends' house (Isabella and Ricardo) with my brother after school for lunch. They have a beautiful home with two dogs (Wendy-Maltese, and Hannah-golden retriever) None-the-less I filled the much needed dog void I had been having. I got to sit by them and pet them for hours and play fetch with Hannah. They are wonderful dogs. They also have a pool and a bunch of tennis balls, rackets, and american footballs. We played around for a while. For lunch we had feijoada. Typically in ancient times this was a dish of the random unwanted pig parts (nose, ears, feet) however more commonly now it is just a soupy mix of pork, put on top of rice and sometimes vegetables. I have no idea what parts of the pig it contained but it was delicious (even though Ricardo told me that he didn't like one of the pieces of meat I ended up scooping onto my plate). Everyone watched me for my reaction and I wasn't anything other than completely pleased! Their parents asked me many questions and they were some of the nicest people I have met thus far! Everyone did make jokes about me and my strange habits and facial expressions. They told me I was patient and a wonderful person and I am really hoping to get more time around them. We also created a home-made fire cracker. They normally work when they make them, this one was a fail. EPIC FAIL. That is what I am teaching them:) It was fun never-the-less and I walked around barefoot which I haven't done since I got here! Man have I missed that!! We then went to take my picture and try out my debit card for withdrawls (there are miscommunication errors). After that we went to a college graduation, long and not all that interesting, but good to experience.

On Tuesday I went to the special language school, where people of all ages take spanish and english classes. The lady who teaches it is a brasilian who lived in London for nine years. She has a british accent, I love it! I went to her class to have a conversation with her advanced classes about my life and what it is like in Minnesota. It was a lot of fun, although I probably spoke too fast for many people, I feel there pain on both ends. It is hard to speak slowly and it is hard to understand people that speak fast. They asked lots of questions and I tried my best to give them answers. Then I showed them pictures, the seasons especially amazed them because they have but one, summer. One lady was extremely shocked when I showed a picture of our German Shepherd and said "This is our dog Josie", her name is Josie and she didn't care for sharing a name with a dog. They were also amazed that I had hunted/killed deer before. Here owning a gun is illegal and you can't kill anything wild. I gave them Smarties and Jolly Ranchers. Apparently they have Smarties here, but they loved them anyways. Jolly Ranchers blew them out of the water though, they were all grabbing more, some for themselves so they could try more flavors, and some for their family members to try. They served me guaraná and a delicious caramel cake! After class Isabella, Larissa, Lays, Henrique, Hiago, and I went to an ice cream shoppe. The ice cream here isn't as delicious by far. It tastes a little freezer burnt, but I never pass up ice cream. That is about all of the interesting things that have been happening lately. I'm getting better at school, making many friends, remembering more names, and having an infinite amount of fun!

Well, Miss Wordy is going to go try and use some words in Portugues.

Beijos:)

Aletha

P.S. The bubblegum here is quite good!

P.P.S. People ask me to say "Trident" over and over again.

P.P.P.S. Halls (the coughdrops) are sold every where and eaten by everyone as candy. I refuse them often because they are exactly the same as the medicine we have [Clair-you would like it] and I have also been told that if you are going to hook up with someone, halls are a must (for good breath of course).

The American Curse

2010-08-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

One of the main differences I have noticed from Brasilian culture to American culture, is that in Brasil they never sleep. I swear they don't need more than four hours a night to operate on full speed. They are always happy, even with no sleep, and they are always running on full speed. Now I on the other hand can't function on that little amount of sleep for very long, I am often found taking naps after school and going to bed at a relatively early brasilian time (10:00). When I was at Northfield High School, I would often find myself staying up until 12:00, 1:00 a.m. to work on projects or catch up on reading, or even just to relax and watch a movie. Then I would wake up as close to 6:00 as I could (normally 7:15) and get ready for school. I wake up at 6:00 here for school so it could be assumed that I would be fine, however the culture here is exhausting. I never stop smiling or laughing, and my mind never stops running. We are all over the place here and it gets very tiring. In comparison in the United States when I would stay up late and get up for school it would be low key most of the day. Wake up, go to school, try and pay attention and stay awake during classes (sometimes a test or two), sports or work (these weren't very intense either), go home and procrastinate homework by relaxing and doing nothing, start homework, give up on homework and leave it for 1st period the next day, go to sleep, repeat. Here my day involves school, lunch at home, (I try and steal a nap here), some outing with friends or family, dinner, sometimes another outing, home, sleep. It probably doesn't help that life is always harder when you have to try really hard to understand everything that's going on, and you have to think before you speak (not because you are being polite, but because you can't remember how to say a word or conjugate a verb or both).

The last couple of nights we have been out until late evening and I was doing okay, especially with my naps. Then last night we had an Interact (Rotary for teens) pizza feast, where we spent the last two days preparing the vegetables, making the pizzas, and cleaning and setting up. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed being able to help out. It turned out to be a huge success! I worked a lot during the days but I didn't have to help to much at the actual event, I just got to enjoy the pizzas. We made a brasilian supreme one (corn, sausage, tomatoes, cheese, olives (whole olive), oregano, onion), a shredded chicken one, a bacon one, a brigadeiro chocolate one, a banana one, and something else I'm not sure about. Now I'm a sausage pizza kind of person and I don't eat very exotic pizzas, but brasilians really know how to make pizza! Every kind I tried was delicious!! Now as awesome as this event was, we prepared from 1-6 (I was only there from 3-6) and then it didn't actually start until 7:30, this would be no problem if brasilians weren't such big visitors. So my mom, dad, and I got there around 7:45 and started eating and after I was done, I went to help everyone else and hang out with the people my age. We started dancing (they attempted to teach me) and then someone went and got a guitar and we had singing and dancing entertainment!! All of the brasilians seem to be born entertainers and amazing with music! They made me sing "I'm Yours" or the first part of it anyways. It was a lot of fun. So the evening continued like this and we cleaned up here and there. Then it turned 12:00 and it being my brother's birthday today he was pig piled, had raw eggs smashed on his head (tradition), and we sang happy birthday. Now about 1:00 we all piled into a couple different cars and moved the festa elsewhere, someone's house. Here there was more singing and guitar playing, more joking around too and I got to meet some pretty cool adults that I can go to with any problems. Now me being exhausted from the move, school, and the new culture, I was going to go home at 1:00, but I was persuaded otherwise. I didn't mind too much besides the fact that when I'm tired it is much more difficult to focus on paying attention. We were supposed to be at this person's house until 5:00 a.m. and I had school at 7:00 a.m., however one of the great ladies I met was leaving and offered me a ride, so my brother and I left with her. We arrived home at 2:00 a.m. to no furious parents, no questions, just a tired mom who opened the door and we all went to bed. My brother went to school this morning to help with the festa da familia we have today (they didn't wake me up, so I didn't go...it wasn't real classes today anyways). I slept in until about 8:00 and then layed in bed trying to go back to sleep, I eventually did and now I'm plenty awake. :)

Some new faces to make yourself familiar with, you'll probably see a lot of them.

.................................................... ^^Larissa

.............................................. She decided we are best friends.

........................ She's pretty cool, I think we'll get along quite wonderfully.

Oh yes..

Rua Celso Rosa Lima 233-N Centro

Tangará da Serra Mato Grosso Brasil 78300-000

Well I'm in for an exciting day today too.

Beijos!

P.S. I dreamt in Portuguese, don't know what was going on, but in portuguese none-the-less :)

More on School

2010-08-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

So I've almost finished my school week, I'll officially be done on Saturday at noon. Then I'll start again 7:00 Monday morning. How awesome. I don't understand much at school, but I've grown very fond of my classmates, they are enthusiastic and nice too me. They speak slowly and teach me what words mean, both good and bad. I decided I must know all the bad words as well, of course only so that I know when other people are using them or telling me to use them. Anyways, school can be awesome and not at the same time. I've met some really cool teachers. One of the teachers, I don't remember what subject, goes by the name Batata (Potato) I'm still confused as to why, but he's really cool!

Tests. Students freak out the same way here as they do in the states before tests, quick cramming and last minute asking each other questions to clarify information. I have been asked to take the last 3 tests that were given, two yesterday and one today, one was only multiple choice which means I could have gotten some right, and it was on ancient world history up to the renaissance, so I knew a little bit. The other two, let's just say it's a good thing I already graduated. [[Anya...APWH. No joke, I thought about you and that class the whole time, hitting myself in the face figuratively because I couldn't remember half of the things but I knew we knew them when we were studying for the exam, I should have asked for the help of CN.]]

Cheating. Cheating happens all the time, and there is a lot of talking during tests, I've only seen one teacher shush everyone harshly during the test and not allow talking. People make cheat sheets and slip them up their jackets, and they talk while the teacher is right next to them practically. Someone told me that if you don't cheat, you aren't brasilian. Well, I don't know enough to cheat at the moment, and since grades don't matter I don't think I'll put in the effort to develop that habit.

Classes. All of the classes are lectures. I have them on different days at different times then the day before. It lasts from 7:00-12:00, but some people just show up whenever and sleep the entire time. For classes I have: Math, Spanish, Chemistry, English, Literature, History, Biology, Physics, Writing, Philosophy, Geography, Art, Religion, Portuguese, and Sociology. I've had all of the classes except for the last two. We also had a free period today, but then we had an afternoon class. This happens every thursday. During the free period everyone ran around crazy and I talked about music with a couple classmates, it is weird how much we have in common. During art, we did absolutely nothing. During religion we had an intense conversation about homosexuals. This was because one of the boys in my class went to see Eclipse by himself, apparently that is enough for people to call him "Gay", then the teacher told stories about homosexuals she knew and she talked about the religious aspect and the social aspect. I actually understood quite a bit of that class. I'm pretty sure we got in trouble today, I'm not sure why though. Then some people went wild and were going to jump from our floor to the ramp below, certain hospital trip.

The ramp. We have a ramp, no stairs. You may be thinking "how handicapped friendly". No, it's not. It's a steep ramp that would take forever and a lot of muscles to get up in a wheelchair, however it would be a wild ride down. Maybe I'll take a picture of it, to better explain it. Let's just say, I get a work out going up and down it 2-3 times a day.

Teacher Student Relationships. Everyone jokes around, always. Even during tests. Teachers aren't an exception. Most of the time the teachers spend more time joking around with the students than they do teaching. It's very personal which makes me stick out like a sore thumb, but I'm sure by the end of the year I'll be buddies with them all as well.

Cellphones. Everyone here has a nice cellphone; internet to look up things during class and tests (cheating of course); mp3 player for all their music and nice speakers, sliders/touch screens. Their phones are much nicer than what remember seeing in the United States. They use them ALL the time during class, no exceptions. Most of the time they don't even try and hide their cellphones. It's strange, there are no signs or set rules against it, although some teachers will take them (I haven't witnessed this yet though).

I have so much more to say, but I can't exactly tell you every detail about everything, I've started a list for when I have less to say. Be in touch soon-ish.

Beijos:)

Aletha

Church and School

2010-08-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

Last night I went to Church with my family. They happen to be Catholic and being a Catholic myself made the mass a little easier to understand, and it gave me something to compare it to. First of all their church was packed full of people and mass started at 7 p.m. as compared to 8 or 10 a.m. with only half the church filled. It was more full than my church on Christmas or Easter, and their church was a little bit wider and about the length of my church and a half. It took us forever to find a seat for all four of us to sit, we ended up sitting in folding chairs. Now if you don't have kneelers in the churches I've attended back home, you don't kneel you just remain seated, however even on the hard tile ground, you kneel. They likewise had the stations around the church but didn't have stained glass windows, however they had a huge cross window (stained-glass style) on the ceiling. They have no booklets but do have a projector that shows the song lyrics and readings on the front wall. However these differences weren't that big of a deal. However they sing and dance for almost every part of the mass, my brother joked about how it was like the high school musical of masses. I only knew what part of mass it was because of a phrase or two I could translate or the actions being made. Everything was animated and being as I have NO experience in dancing in church, I awkwardly copied everyone else. I do that a lot here, copy other people, they could easily do something wrong just so they could laugh at me when I do the same action. Anyways in church there were ushers with "construction" type vests, who helped people find seats. All went well because mass pretty much followed the same pattern as it does in the United States. However at the end of mass before the final blessing, they call up all the new people or guests to the church and they are blessed and are supposed to give a small introduction, nonetheless I turned that down for this week, perhaps next week.

Today while everyone was waking up to start Northfield Sports, I started school. My mom woke me up around six and I showered, ate yogurt, and left my house about 5 minutes to seven. School was interesting. First we had a meeting where I had to stand up and introduce myself in front of the entire school, that was lovely. But it really did go over fine. In my school there are 15 other students and we all stay in one class while the teachers move around, we are in 3rd year B. I went with my brother to our class where I was reunited with Daniel, a brasilian who was an exchange student to our district in Minnesota this past year. It was nice to finally have someone who spoke fluent English and could explain almost everything. We had math first. I didn't do much during math because I didn't have any books, so I read my portuguese dictionary. They were learning about mean, median, and mode. As easy as that sounds/is, it is far more difficult in a different language. After that class was over we had spanish. Spanish class insisted of this laid back young teacher who talked had us read one section aloud, it looked similar to the ACT Reading areas, (once I again I didn't have books to participate), and then he spend the rest of the time talking to one of the girls in the front of class. I was expecting myself to at least be able to do something in Spanish class, but most of the time they spoke in Portuguese anyways and then when they switched over for a sentence or two I was confused because I wasn't expecting it. Then we had lanche "snack". We all went outside to the little snack stand and I got passion fruit juice, it was good, but I don't eat much in the morning nor drink so I just sipped it here and there. After that was over we went back to our classroom and started chemistry. I got interrupted to go receive ALL of my material, this consists of one master book, 16 other books, and 4 pamphlets. In chemistry they corrected a test and then we worked on problems. Everything looked familiar from my Wiebe Sid the Science Kid days, but I needed a small refresher on how to do somethings, so I watched and had a very nice girl and guy explain in portuguese how to do it. After a couple times of explaining, I remembered. By the end of that class they were checking my work with theirs to make sure they got the right answer ;). [more or less]. Then we had the much anticipated, English class. I had been warned about my English teacher and how she was awful and wouldn't like me, but I thought well I've yet to meet a teacher that hates me before they know me or once they get to know me, now I have. She spoke above me and told me that we learn proper english not that coloquial stuff we speak everyday, she thinks I'm an idiot. About 20 minutes in she asked me some questions in portuguese and my brother responded for me, she got mad because she was talking to me not him. Then later she was writing examples of the present perfect on the board "Lisa has read Harry Potter". But before I could figure out where the lesson was going she was yelling at my brother for using my dictionary. I still am confused. Where the other teachers didn't care that we talked and goofed around the entire class, she was the strict "Mrs. Neibuhr" type, except I get along and enjoy Mrs. Neibuhr. So she kicked my brother out of class and then she followed him for the rest of the class. Once the teacher was gone EVERYONE was all over the room doing whatever they wanted. Some kids were sniffing chalk...yuck, but it seems to be a popular habit among the guys. I visited with the more quiet studious people, the ones that helped me with my chemistry, one said I could swim at her pool whenever and the others helped me carry my books when I needed to go. Also in English class, even with the teacher there, the most common phrase in actual English (because it is mostly in Portuguese) was "mothafuckas"...pardon my French. Many times someone would be saying something and one person would yell "mothafuckas" and everyone would repeat shortly after "hahaha mothafuckas". They really enjoy using our swearwords. During lanche one of the kids went on an English rant pertaining to nothing using the 'f' word. "I'm gonna go to my f'ing home and sit on my f'ing couch and watch my f'ing movies and...." Overall though I was greatly entertained and I'll slowly start learning names I'm sure. School ended at 12:00 and we had about a 15 minute walk home.

Tonight I might go to the gym with my brother and then an English class with him as well. My mother and I are also going to go buy flip-flops which I happened to forget.

All is well here! Hope everyone is having a great time, be it at home or somewhere new!

Beijão :)

Lessons Learned

2010-08-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

Where to start? I suppose the beginning would be a good idea. I suppose you are all interested as to how the trip went, and all I have to say is I'm here in Tangará da Serra writing this.

First I left my house a little after 11:00 a.m. on Friday August 13th after a half hour of working with my dad to reorganize all of my bags so that none of them were over the 70lb limit we get for Brasil. We drove up to the airport, nothing out of the ordinary except that just as I leave they open Hwy 19, just my luck. We shared some laughs in the car and I realized that that is one of the things I will miss most, the way we all understand each other's sense of humor and make each other laugh.

While checking in the lady was going to make me pay for excess weight on both of my bags because they were between 50-70 and the normal limit is 50, however I had printed off the sheet that stated the 2 70lb bags rule and she checked them after apologizing. Lesson #1 print off anything that could be controversial.

We then said our goodbyes before I went through security, we all balled our eyes out but we made it. I was awkwardly carrying my two super heavy carry-ons all around the airport when i realized that one had wheels and the other could sit on top of it. Lesson #2 always have one carry-on with wheels...or a backpack. I think everyone thought I was crazy because I would all of a sudden start tearing up while huffing and puffing my way through the airport.

I got to my gate where I sat around and was met by Marie, an exchange student going to my district, about 1/2 an hour later. I got a mighty kids meal at mcdonalds and we boarded our plane.

On the flight down Marie and I sat next to each other as well as a lady named Amy Murphy who had just been to the Mayo Clinic and was told her tumor was benign and all would be okay. She talked to us about accounting and told us that when we get back we must go into secure job fields, ones that are being recruited for. She is the graduate counselor for accounting at Aubu

rn University in Alabama. She also told us that she has a lake house, and when asked how many lakes there are in Alabama she replied "probably four or five". Lesson #3 Don't move to Alabama if you love boating. She also told us some interesting stories about her childhood, it was a pleasant flight.

Next Marie and I made our way to our gate in Atlanta, we had to switch areas from domestic to international. We arrived in Atlanta around 6 and we were set to leave about 9:30. We got through everything with no problems, got dinner (mine was chicken strips...surprise there) I gave away the toy I had from McDonalds and it made some girl's day, and called home. Then we sat around our plane to board. At this I noticed we were flying with about a thousand little children, some couldn't even walk. On a 9 hour flight this was superb. But actually. Everyone was so relaxed and the little boy sitting behind us (1 1/2 ish) would just crawl whereever he

wanted and everyone would be friendly with him and play games. Behind me was a 3 year old girl named Isabella, she was officially my first Brasilian friend because her mom introduced us as friends so she wouldn't kick my seat, she did...but her mom was training her so she didn't do it often. There was also this lady who got an entire row of three seats because the flight was so empty it was spacious (Marie and I had three seats for the two of us, as did most people), and we befriended her as well as avoided a creeper who stared at us whenever he was awake. I slept about an hour because I was so excited and nervous, yet I didn't do anything productive either.

When we got out in Brasilia we had to switch to a domestic flight and first we went to the wrong airplane check-in, then we went to the right one but the line was incredibly long and slow moving, luckily the lady in front of us on the plane with three seats to herself, got as through a shorter line. Lesson #4 Be Friendly to everyone, you never know when it will help you out. Now we may have got through quicker but when my bags were rechecked, one weighed over 20 Kilos, it was about 30 and for domestic flights (not with Delta) the previous rule didn't apply. So I had to go through the drama of coming up with about $125 in Reais. I used my debit card but that was denied 3 times (we never told the bank, oops) then they ran a credit through and it got passed. Now Marie had a bag the same weight as I did, but she happened to go to a male attendant who was too excited with the fact that she spoke English, was American, and was too busy giving her his contact information that she snuck through without a fee. Lesson #5 Go to male attendants if you are an American girl in Brasil. We got through and waited at our gate (Gate 12) as it is boarding, later than expected we get to the front of the line and we were at the wrong airplane so we had to race to our gate because they had started boarding when they were scheduled too, thank goodness the airport wasn't that huge.

On the plane Marie sat in front of me and it was empty

enough that no one sat directly next to either of us, I slept the hour and a half flight, thank you Dramamine and exhaustion.

Marie and I arrived in Cuiaba around 11:00 a.m. and waited for our bags, mine had kind of spilt open due to the over stuffage, but nothing was lost. We then met our families for the first time they were waiting and clapping as well as taking pictures of us coming towards them. Then we went out to eat together, that was a nice transition to have someone in my shoes with me for a couple extra hours. We had a buffet, I had chicken, mashed potatoes, arroz e feijão (rice and beans..my mother pointed out that it was soo brasilian.) I also had guarana a typical drink here, and this type of pork where the pig is on the table whole (the whole apple in its mouth thing) and the back is peeled apart to create a bowl for this pork and stuffing, it was delicious.

Then I left Marie and drove for 3 1/2 hours to Tangará da Serra, where I live. My family finds it funny that I speak spanishportugueseenglish, I throw in some words from each without knowing it sometimes. They also like to tease me by saying things like "Welcome to Tangará da Serra" then I go, "wow, is this really it? It's beautiful here." and then they reply "hahaha não it's a little farther." This happened twice, then I stayed awake to wait for signs and eventually came to one that said "Bem-vindo a Tangará da Serra" (Welcome to Tangará da Serra). They also joked about how our house had 2 bedrooms total, and about that fact that their white daughter with freckles has tan parents. Lesson #6 Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself because it's far less embarrassing that way. I'm getting the hang of their jokes though, they happen often and I buy them way too quickly, but they are fun wonderful caring people. My house is huge and I have a beautiful bedroom.

After we were home for about 10 minutes, my mom fed me abacaxi (BERET) e lemão geletin aka pineapple and lemon jello. Now I've never liked jello nor either pineapples or lemons, but I tried it and it was delicious! As well as some strawberry yogurt (I'm not a huge fan of yogurt in the States either), however it was quite good as well! Lesson #7 Try a little bit of everything, things taste different in different places.

Then my mom helped me unpack and organize everything, it was so sweet of her! My brother and my dad fixed the lock on my door as well. So I was all moved in by 6:00. I also took a journey to the supermarket that was quite interesting, but I'm too tired as of it is 11:00 and i've gotten maybe three 1/2 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours.

I remember landing and freaking out wondering why I even decided to do this, I was terrified and I was so unsure of myself and it finally hit me that it was a year of being gone, but once I met my family and spent time with them and moved in, I became comfortable and at home here and everything is wonderful one day in. Lesson #8 Don't quit and run, everything takes time (including my portuguese skills, which are enough to survive but will hopefully be amazing in a month or two).

Well I'm off to bed. Boa Noite e Beijos.

Aletha

(pai[dad], mae[mom], eu[me], Clovis[chairman of our district--he lives in my town], Clovis's wife, Marie's mae, Marie's pai)

7 days...

2010-08-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

7 days. I like to say this in the same manner as the caller on "the Ring", however I will not be dying in seven days, but doing something much more awesome. Seven days ago I was supposed to board a plane with the other students from my district and make my way to my new home in Brasil. Today I received my Visa in the mail (my departure was delayed due to some late paper work) and in seven days I will be boarding the plan along with another exchange student, Marie (who was also delayed for the same reasons and who will fly with me the entire way because we live in the same state/district about 5-6 hours apart), and starting my journey.

Every day I announce the remaining days to whomever I happen to be around, most of the time my family, and I get varying results. In the beginning I'd get a "hmph. okay, well you still have to clean your room". Now I get an "are you sure you really want to leave?".

I started packing July 30th, the day I was originally supposed to leave, because I figured it would be best to start organizing early. This has proved to be helpful because my remaining seven days are heavily planned, seeing as I have to spend as much time with as many different people before I disappear for a year. Thank goodness I have less shopping and packing left to do.

I've never had an insane need to hang out with friends and be busy every day of my life, although I do enjoy company quite often. I've also never been this busy and away from home as I have been the last week. Granted most of the time I'm with people my sisters are involved but I am missing out on the peace and quiet of being able to curl up in a chair and read a book for half the day, there just isn't enough time. I feel like I'm trying to get done everything that has every been dreamed up in our minds, all of the things that have been procrastinated over time, as well as things I have to and should get done. However this does seem fitting, I am and always have been a procrastinator-it makes my life a little more exciting.

As for the language, I've been doing everything except preparing. I remember telling myself I would study more with my extra two weeks, and I try but it's hard to focus on especially with no one to speak it to. I try and study vocabulary and I also attempt to talk to my fellow exchange students already in Brasil and all the people I know in Brasil only in Portugues, but this sometimes requires me to use a translator to check my sentences. Too bad I can't use a dictionary, my 501 verb book, or a translator when I'm there.

Something I don't truly comprehend, and probably won't until I am a good week or two into Brasil, is the fact that I have already said goodbye to people and I won't see them for a year. I've never liked goodbyes, they seem to definite and they make me sad when I shouldn't be. I said my first official goodbye to my brother when we left his home in Wyoming around July 20th. Ever since then I have been saying little goodbyes to friends and family, sometimes I know it'll be the last time we will see each other and other times we just part without realizing we probably won't run into each other for another year. I used to think 'oh, don't worry I have a month and 1/2, of course we'll hang out and see each other' but due to busy schedules on all parts I'm slowly realizing that it just isn't possible anymore. I definitely don't enjoy this new realization. However, as sad as I am to be saying goodbyes and to not get the chance to personally say goodbyes to some people, I have never been more excited to throw myself into something where I only know a handful of people, something with no guarantees, and meet tons of new people whom I will share my next year's experiences with.

I'm in for an adventure :)
Beijos.

So Many Questions

2010-07-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

Brasil. Just at the mention of the word my lips curl upwards into a smile and my eyes shine with excitement. I can’t get through a few hours without being greeted by the pleasant thoughts of my year abroad. After things surrounding graduation and colleges slowed down, my exchange year has began to take full control of my mind. I have never been more excited and more terrified at the same time to do something completely different and on my own. I’m thrilled by the fact that I will soon have a new lifestyle, and new friends and family. However I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I will no longer be able to fall back on the safety net that has been built in my life. I’m leaving a lot of great things and people behind for a year, getting on a couple planes and a little less than 24 hours later pulling into my new home, with people I have never met in person, and I will live there for the next 12 months.

People often ask me how I decided to do something

they deem terrifying. Well once I returned from the London and Paris trip with the English department I looked for every chance I could get to travel again. I had heard about the Rotary program and decided to go to a small meeting the summer after my junior year of high school. I came home from the meeting with my mind made up, I was going to become an exchange student. I never thought about starting college, I was determined to go abroad for a year and so I began the application process. People often comment about how they could never imagine doing it, and I understand it completely. It isn't for everyone, but it always felt right for me.

Another question I receive often is: “Why Brasil?”. Well, quite honestly, Brasil wasn’t my first choice. Out of the 7 choices I put down on my

paper, the day of the country fair and my big interview, six of them were countries in Europe and the other one was Brasil. Brasil was my third choice, and hadn’t even been in my mind until I met the brasilians at the country fair, they were extremely friendly and welcoming and I could sense the pride they had in their country. I believe any country on my list, or available to me, would have been a great experience for me, but I have never been so thrilled to not have everything go exactly how I imagined it. It’s open-mindedness and the ability to find positive aspects in everything, which is really important to being a part of Rotary, because things don’t always happen the way you expect them, or at the rate you expect them to and who wants to spend the arguably greatest experience of their life, sulking.

The last and possibly most common question of all is: “When do you leave?”. This is where my confusion and nervousness set in. This is also where flexibility plays a big role in keeping me calm. My scheduled departure date is Friday July 30^th, because my high school in Brasil resumes classes after winter break, early the following week. However as the date began to get closer, I watched all of my fellow future brasilians receive important guarantee forms, used for filling out the Visa Applications. As my application was due last Monday, to be processed in enough time to leave on the 30^th for sure, and I still haven’t received my guarantee forms to help me fill out my application, my actual departure date could vary. There is the exciting possibility that it will all work out in time, and there is also the chance that it won’t and I’ll get to spend more of the summer with friends and family. On the bright side, the later I leave, the later I can stay…and I know I’ll get there eventually so the rest is just small details.

Other than that I can’t wait to arrive in my new home of Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brasil (The Montana/Wyoming of Brasil). It is located in the far west of Brasil, and boarders Bolivia. The northern part of the state is made up of the Amazon Rain Forest, and the southern part is part of the Pantanal, which is a biodiverse wetland that floods during the rainy season. After a flight to Atlanta, then Brasilia, then Cuiaba, and a 2-3 hour drive to my town I will unpack my belongings for a while. My first possible host family lives on a farm with chickens, cows, horses, and dogs, so I’m sure I’m in for a unique experience. I’ll miss my home and family, but I’m overly excited to begin this new journey in my life.

Beijos, Aletha