Gym/School Schedule

I'm going to a gym now. It's a tiny little gym with about 13 different machines and two bathrooms but I like it. There's not much else to say. Things are going pretty smoothly and normally. I'm learning a lot of interesting things about the differences between the USA and Brazil. Here no one knows about tabasco, ranch dressing, or jalapeño chips. Also everyone is curious to know why I came to Veranópolis of all places it's funny. I'm not sick anymore and hopefully I wont be for a while. The weather here is about 65 and sunny every day. School is going good. I'm starting to understand physics and math but everything else is still really hard. It's so incredibly hard to learn an abstract concept in another language. The principle told me that I will only have 1 grade at the end of the year rather than grades for each of my classes so that will help me to not fail. My schedule looks like this:

Monday: Physics-Art-Dance [Lunch] Chemistry-Music

Tuesday: Biology (two hours)-Writing-Math-Chemistry [Lunch]

Wednesday: Biology-Math (two hours)-Physical Education (which is pretty much just Futebol) [Lunch]

Thursday: Philosophy-Portuguese (two hours)-History (two hours) [Lunch] Computer Information-Math (two hours)-Futebol

Friday: English (two hours)-Physics-Literature (two hours) [Lunch]

It's pretty complicated but on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we only have half a day so it's really nice to relax or to catch up on late work. 

Field Trip

Today was a cool day. We went on a field trip to a windmill power plant and a marine biology center. It was me and 9 other kids from my class, and people from the third year classes at CETEC.

The bus left at 6am from school. It wasn't a "school bus" like the black and yellow kind, it was like a Greyhound bus with a bathroom and everything. The power plant was called "Ventos do Sul" (Winds of the South). It took 4 hours to drive there but I slept most of the way. There are some nice pictures of me sleeping that I will try to post on the blog. It was cloudy and kind of cold but there was wind so the windmills were doing their jobs. They guy said they were 100 meters high which is like 328 feet so it was pretty impressive. There were tons of windmills, so many I couldn't count. They were built in a flat, wet, swampy grassland area and there were cows everywhere. While the guy was talking a cow walked up to all of us and started mooing. We had to wear hard hats for some reason so that was pretty stylish. Then we went to a building there to see a movie about windmills. It was about 2 minutes long and was really bad. They guy talking to us was really boring and I couldn't understand anything he said but it was still cool. The guys all around me couldn't stop laughing at the guy for the whole time and they eventually had to leave the room. It was hilarious.

We went to lunch in a random small town that was very wet. We ate at a buffet that had really old Fejoada and other brazilian foods. There was a McDonalds but I had already paid for food at the buffet so I couldn't eat anything big, I still went over and got a milkshake and it was amazing. I really want to have a hamburger sometime but the nearest McDonalds is in Caxias do Sul.

Then we got on the bus again and left for the marine biology thing. That took about an hour. We got there and it was raining a little bit but it wasn't that bad. It's a place for wild marine animals that they find stranded or in need of help and they take them in and help them until they can release them back into the wild. They had lots of birds that I've never seen before, a monkey on an island (I don't know how that is a marine animal), penguins, a Lobo Marinho or "marine wolf" kind of like a small seal, and a gigantic Sea Lion called Gordo. We got to take pictures and stuff and they got Gordo to come up close to us and eat some fish. He was huge. They said that once he wanted fish and he attacked a woman who works there. But he is a nice sea lion, and he only has a small pool and a little area to stay in so I felt a little bad for him. After that we went inside the center to look at whale bones and fish. Then we had a wonderful 4 hour bus ride home and arrived around 8:30pm. We are home now watching a Grêmio game. Both the windmills and the marine center were on the beach. That's why we had to drive so long. I didn't exactly get to walk on the beach but I was near it, and I saw it from a distance. The weather was bad and the day wasn't about the beach anyway so I'll have my Brazilian beach day later.

No Grêmio Game/Olympics/Dating

We weren't able to get tickets in time for the Grêmio vs. São Paulo game. It was completely sold out. We still watched the game on tv though. Grêmio won 1-0. It was really rainy today and I have a sore throat that Bernardo gave me so if we had gone to the game it wouldn't have been too fun. The rain here is crazy, it's not like the rain in Olympia. Olympia rain is small and whimpy and constant, but Brazilian rain is sudden and furious. The drops are like a gallon each it's crazy. And then all of a sudden it stops.

In the Olympics Brazil isn't doing so good. They have 4 bronze medals and 1 gold but the 1 gold is a really big deal here. It was won by a swimmer named Cesar Cielo Filho. Every single day there are more and more highlight videos of him winning and receiving his medal and crying, everyone is so proud of him. (as I am writing this there was just another crazy burst of rain out of nowhere). The Brazilian futebol team is doing great though. Both men and women are undefeated. I learned that Ronaldinho is a Gaúcho which means he is from the same region of Brazil that I'm in right now. 

I also learned a lot about Brazilian dating. The average relationship in the USA lasts about 3 months give or take, but the average Brazilian relationship lasts about a year! One of the english teachers at New Age, who is 24, has been going out with her boyfriend for 8 years and she doesn't plan on getting married. Marriage is more of a religious thing here where as in the USA almost everyone gets married and it's not as sacred.

Guto said that he will try to get us tickets to another Grêmio game, most likely a GRE-NAL game which would be unbelievable. We'll see how that turns out.

Radio Interview

Today I got interviewed by the local radio station. The guy from the station said he would email me the recording and then I will try to post it.

GRE-NAL Results

So last night when the game finally ended at midnight it was tied 1-1. Internacional scored first off of a penalty kick from a ridiculous foul called in the box. But Grêmio came back with an amazing header goal. Grêmio was using their reserve team in order to rest their starters for other games.

Also tomorrow morning I'm gonna be interviewed for the local radio. If you want to hear it it will be aired at a later date. I'm not exactly sure when but I will get all the information so you guys can hear it over the internet.

Futsal Tournament

Today instead of going to school everyone went to the Futsal court to have a tournament between all the schools of Veranópolis. Futsal is indoor soccer but with boundaries so you can't make wall passes. I didn't know this was happening until we pulled up to the Futsal court instead of school. All the players were so amazing it blew me away. I didn't play, because I would've been completely destroyed, and consequently our school did well! Both boys and girls got second place out of about 5 schools. Both lost to a school called São Luis but it's not really fair because São Luis has about 1,600 kids and CETEC only has 90. It ended about noon and I'm free for the rest of the day. It's really nice. 

At 9 there's the infamous GRE-NAL. It's the game between Gremio and Internacional who are huge rivals since they are both from Rio Grande do Sul. We are going to watch it at Guto's house and I'll be sure to say who wins. AND on sunday we are actually going to a Gremio game! They will play São Paulo at Gremio's home stadium in Porto Alegre. I'm unbelievably excited for this. My first legitimate Brazilian futebol game. It's gonna be crazy.

Saturday Party & Talking To Classes

Sorry for the gap in posts. I've been busy playing soccer, talking to english classes and partying. The party on Saturday was freaking amazing. It was more of a concert/night club. There were SOOOO many people there. I've never experienced anything like that before. There was a band playing called Cidadão Quem which apparently is very famous. They were very good and everyone loved them. The night started at 11:30 when I went to Foche's house with Bernardo to meet up with the other 9 guys. Then we all went to Gabi's birthday party at her house. That was really fun, we stayed there until about 12:30am and then we all left for the main party. It was at this huge building with a bar and a dance floor and a stage and everything. There were even security guards in suits stationed around the entrances and walking around. The band played for a really long time but they left around 3am. When they finished, the lead singer threw his guitar pick into the crowd and I caught it. It was really funny because I wasn't really paying attention and I saw this white thing falling and I thought it was a bottle cap. I was curious so I just stuck out my hand and I caught it. Then I realized that all the people around me were freaking out looking for something on the ground and then I saw the pick in my hand and realized what was going on. It was pretty cool. I still have it and I'm keeping it as a souvenir to remember the good times I had at the party. After the band stopped playing they started to bump this weird techno music. They were all American songs like "My Humps" and "Low" but with ridiculous techno beats, it was pretty funny. Me and Bernardo finally left at 4:30am but the party still wasn't over. All in all I had a great time and I cannot wait until next week for the next party.

There's a guy that goes to special events in Veranópolis and takes pictures to put on a website so I added some of those pictures.

So today after lunch I went to Lais' school to talk with her class about America and stuff like that. But what happened was the class next to hers also wanted to come out in the hall where we were and listen and ask questions. It was crazy because every one of the 50 kids had like 5 questions and they all screamed them at me at the same time. Then some of the teachers that heard the craziness coming from the hall walked by and told me that they wanted me to talk to their class too. So for 4 hours I went from class to class telling everyone my story and answering the same kinds of questions like "what is your school like?" and "do you have any siblings?" and "what is your city like?" and "what is your favorite color?" and many many more. It was so tiring and when I was done I came home and to relax I got to talk to Nana's class at her English school. It was really cool though because everywhere I went people were shouting my name and saying things like "Hello" and "How are you today?" to show off their English. It was funny.

Fashion Show

So last night I went to this fashion show in this dance hall. It was a show including guys and girls from the 4 main schools of Veranópolis. There was a band and a runway and judges and everything. We don't have anything like this in Olympia. Each school also had a bunch of students cheering on the models (who were also students from the schools). My school CETEC was totally prepared. They had a huge banner and three big signs for the three girls representing our school. The girls were Gabriella, Bruna, and Luana, and Bruna won 1st prize for the whole thing. We had so much school pride though. Almost everyone had these really intricate CETEC shirts, and pom-poms in the schools colors. And some guys brought drums and air horns and played all night, even while the band played, because no one liked the band. The drummers were really good too. I guess native Brazilians are born with amazing Futebol and drumming skills.

The big party is tonight and I'm very excited. It's gonna be really fun. I hear native Brazilians are also born with amazing dance skills so I'm curious to see what that's like.

First Day Of School

            Today was the first day of school. It was really interesting. The school building is 5 stories and is very old. My class has 28 people in it. There are many interesting differences between Brazilian school and American school. To change classes the teachers move, not the students. So you have the same kids in your class the whole day. Also the schedules are different and complicated. Today we had 5 classes but every day is different. Lunch is at 12 and we get to go home for an hour. Some days that’s it, but today I had more classes in the after noon. Then after school, which got out at 3:30, we went to Nana’s English class and I told the class about American culture, fast food, George Bush, slang, and other things. My class is cool. There are two girls for every guy. The coolest part was there was always a big swarm of people around me wherever I went. Everyone is really nice too. They all think my Portuguese is really good and they were really surprised I didn’t take Portuguese classes. I’m excited for school tomorrow. Haha. As for the schoolwork, I don’t have any homework yet but I’m not looking forward to it. Its incredibly hard to learn a new subject in a different language. I can hardly understand the teachers because they talk to fast during the lectures and they always use really complicated terms which I haven’t learned. I think it will get better. Plus all I have to do is pass the class and my GPA will stay the same. So I’m just going to enjoy the experience and not worry about getting a perfect grade. Plus the teachers are really nice and they understand the position I’m in. And they have Pão de Queijo which is very good.

Gremio vs. Vitória

            This was a big day. Today I watched my first true Brazilian futebol game with crazy Brazilian fans. The local team is Gremio. They are #1 in the Brazilian league. Today they played a team called Vitória. We watched the game at Bernardo’s cousins house with his cousins and about 7 other people. It was amazing. Just imagine the emotion you would feel watching your favorite team play in the final of the world cup and multiply it by 10. That is how crazy these guys were. They also happen to be some of the same guys I played Futsal with the other day. Every foul or shot or offsides call or interception they went crazy, cussing in Portuguese and screaming at the screen. They would get up and walk around yelling and punching things. It was awesome. I plan on becoming just like them by the end of the year. Gremio won 2-0 so they were satisfied. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like if they had lost.

             I had more Churrasco (shoo-ha-scoo), which is like Brazilian BBQ. It is amazing! It’s so much better than American BBQ. I got to meet Bernardo’s grandparents and some more of the family. School is tomorrow, and I’m really excited.

GREMIO! The best futebol team in Brazil and the world!

http://ducker.com.br

There are videos and pictures. It is the local futebol team.

Exporing the city and chillin with Bernardo: From August 2nd 2008

            So today was my first full day in Veranópolis. Today I was woken up at noon and my family showed me the town by car. It is pretty small about as small as the west side and down town Olympia mixed together. Almost all the streets are made of bricks and all the drivers are very aggressive kind of like in Canada. Then me and Bernardo went to play indoor futebol or Futsal with two of his cousins and some other guys. The place we played was really cool. It’s part of a complex with a park and a playground and a pool. This building is just for indoor soccer, with a goalie zone, a half way line, and penalty spots. The court is about 50 feet long and 20 wide with little goals about 6 feet tall and 9 wide. There were boundaries and a netting around the whole thing on all the walls and the ceiling so there was no wall passes. It was 5 on 5 and those guys were amazing. They were all probably about in their mid 20’s except for me and Bernardo and they were SO much better than me, it was crazy. It’s so cool to play with people like this. It brings the game to a whole different level and it pushes you to perform better. Hopefully they will help to bring my skills up. Plus every missed shot or foul is the biggest deal in the world; the game is everything to them. Also I got to meet some of Ivania’s family. She has 8 brothers and sisters in total but Paulo tells me I only met 20% of them today. Apparently Bernardo has about 20 cousins.

            Then after that Bernardo took me to hang out with some of his friends. I got to meet Rafael, Gutu, Gabriela, and Tib (chee-be). Basically what we did was sit at the bottom of Rafael’s apartment building and drink Chimarrao, which is kind of like tea. We talked and in the beginning messed around with Gabriela because she doesn’t know English at all, we even taught her a new frase. They call Rafael “Emo” because he sort of looks emo. Tib has a girlfriend and I learned that in Brazil when you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend you wear a ring kind of like a wedding ring but your not engaged. Tib went to his girlfriends house and we all went to eat xis at a restaurant. Xis is kind of like a hamburger only it has some different fillings and the bun is thin and the whole thing is cut in half. I also learned that in Brazil parties start around midnight and can go until 5am, it’s unusual for parties to start before then. Also everyone stays up late all the time. I came home at midnight and the whole family was watching National Treasure dubbed in Portuguese. The town is really cold in the winter too. It was about 44 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time but Bernardo tells me that it gets pretty hot in the summer.

            I also learned that I start school on Monday! I’m pretty nervous but hopefully it will work out. Bernardo is in my class so hopefully he will help me. Bernardo’s friends are really funny. They were interested to meet me too. They told me that I’m “the new face” here in Veranópolis and everyone is excited to meet me. I’m excited to meet them too and there’s a party next weekend that Bernardo tells me will be very fun. Hopefully I can make it through the first week of school and have a good time. Hopefully I can stay awake at the party too! Haha.

Finally Arrived: From August 1st 2008

I am finally in my new house!! I am so tired and dirty and grimey. I am writing this on the couch of my new house while watching a soccer game (Brazil vs. Viet Nam). It is very very cold here. The rain is pouring down, there is lightning and thunder, and very strong winds but I’m still very happy to be here. I hate flying so much. Over 3 days I flew a total of 17.5 hours, waited in airports for 12 hours and slept only in my Boston hotel and for an hour on my 9.5 hour flight from Newark to Sao Paulo. So I don’t care how cold and rainy it is I am happy to brush my teeth again, take a shower and sleep in a bed. It was even worse because I was supposed to get off my plane in Sao Paulo, wait 8 hours and fly to Caxias do Sul where my family would pick me up but the weather in Caxias do Sul caused the plane to land in Porto Alegre. So, they had to pack us all up into a bus and drive us for 3 hours to Caxias do Sul where I met my family and they drove me another hour and a half to their house. I probably wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for this really nice woman I met in Sao Paulo. She had 3 daughters that were about 6, 10, and 14. She helped me keep from getting lost all the way until I found my family so I’m very thankful to her!!

            I’m really happy to finally meet my family! They are really nice and kind, classic Brazilians. Their house is really nice too. Its 4 stories: the first is the English school that my mom Ivania or “Nana” runs, the second is the living room, dining room, bathroom, and kitchen, the third is the bedrooms and another bathroom, and the fourth is my room! Apparently they like Charlie Chaplin because I have like 10 posters of him in my room. My mom is Ivania, my dad is Paulo, my brother is Bernardo (who is out at a party right now, I was too tired to go), and my sister is Lais or “Lala”. Ivania kind of runs the house and is definitely the most talkative. Paulo is nice but quiet. He is next to me right now playing computer chess… Bernardo is cool, he’s 15, he loves futebol and plays many musical instruments. He also loves to hang out with his friends who I am really excited to meet. Lala is really cute. She’s 10 and loves to play The Sims and chat online with her friends. She’s always full of energy and is showing me things around the house.

            Right now I’m going to go to bed because it’s 12:30am and I need sleep. It’s really cold. I need slippers but they are way too big and I look like a clown. Hopefully I can post this quick because my computer is dying and I’m afraid to plug it into these Brazilian outlets. Boa Noite!

First Post: From July 30th 2008

Hey everybody here’s the first blog post! Leaving was very sad but I want to thank Joe, Joelle, Travis, Reed, Chris, Sarah, and Sydney for coming up with me. That was really nice. I also want to thank Tom Wright and Dan Leahy very much for their generous donations to me on my trip.

I’m having fun in Boston. My flight was very long and tiring! (11:30pm to 4:40am). Jet Blue was pretty nice though. There was a good amount of leg room, they supplied ear plugs and an eye cover, they had Mythbusters and in the morning they came around with orange juice, water, coffee, and a warm towel to wake up. I arrived in Boston at 7:40am eastern time and I met Carol Campos and her friend Kaley. I was very tired and I went to my room in the Midtown Hotel and slept from 8:30 to 2:30. Then we had the orientation at 3pm where me and two other girls talked to Carol and Kaley about culture shock, our host family, what to do in certain situations and other stuff. One of the girls is named Katie, she is from West Virginia and is going to Brazil to a town near Sao Paulo for one semester. The other girl is named Claire, she is from Brooklyn and is going to Costa Rica for one semester also. After the orientation we took the subway and the bus to a Brazilian restaurant in downtown Boston. We all got stuffed and then walked over to check out Harvard University and Harvard Square. I saw three kids break dancing and I took a video. They were really good. Hopefully I can post the video on my blog, I’m dedicating it to Travis and our dance crew. After that we took the subway back to the hotel and tomorrow we will get up at 8:30 for more adventures! My flight to Brazil is tomorrow as well. I fly to Newark airport in New Jersey and then to Sao Paulo from there. Then from Sao Paulo to Caxias do Sul where my family will pick me up and take me to their house! I will keep you all updated on how it goes and there will be many pictures.