No more new posts

Now that I'm back I feel that the blog isn't necessary anymore so I'm not going to be posting anything new. I will still leave it up but there wont be any new posts from now on. Thanks everyone for reading and keeping up on what was going on in Brazil, it was amazing and I'll never forget it.

I'm Back

I finally got back yesterday at around 10:30am. On sunday we went back to the airport with the same paper the police originally said was outdated, was actually not outdated at all. It was the policeman that talked to us that looked at the wrong date and earned us a $200 dollar fine for nothing. So I managed to get on the plane and finally I'm back in Olympia.

Brazilian Law Troubles

Right now im still in Sao Paulo on our friend Marcelo's computer at his house. We couldn't leave last night because I didn't have adequate authorization for me to travel internationally since I'm still a minor. This is extremely frustruating and absurd but for now I'm stuck in Brazil until I can get the authorization. The problem is that the international travel laws changed a few months ago so my authorization to travel from CIEE is no longer valid and now to travel internationally I need authorization papers from both my mother father. Since my dad isn't here he needs to fax us the papers and then me and my mom need to go to a judge to accept the papers and then finally we should be able to leave. Even if I go on the same flight as my mom we still need the papers. Yesterday we were denied access to the check-in and were sent to the Police inside the airport to see if we could get authorization. The police denied us and sent us to a judge today. We got to the court at 8:40am today and got in line with a bunch of other families in the same situation. Unfortunately the court where they sent us was only for minors with both parents present and for juvenile criminals. It was a complete dead end. The judge didn't even talk to us at first, after a half hour of us waiting outside in the cold she sent a random woman out saying that we wouldn't be able to get authorization because our paper was in english and we needed papers from my father. We managed to barge into the judges room and talked to her but she was extremely stubborn and wouldn't help us. She kept saying that we didn't have the correct papers and that we were at the wrong place. She sent us to another location that we need to go to tomorrow at 1pm to try and get authorization there. In the meantime my dad will try to send a fax authorizing me. Then before 5pm today we need to go to the airport to change both my flight, which I already changed and payed $200 dollars in fines, and my mom's flight to a later date hoping we get the authorization from the other judge. We just finished searching all over the neighborhood for a fax, we found one but who knows if it will work, or if tomorrow the judge will give us authorization, plus we are looking at around $500 dollars or more in fines from changing flights and who knows when we will finally get back to the US. If EVERYTHING goes perfectly we will get on the plane tomorrow night. But that's only if everything goes right. Let's pray it does.

Birthday!

Today I had a WONDERFUL birthday! Unfortunately I have too many photos to post here but we took a small tour of the city, and had a great family dinner with some friends as well and I said many sad goodbyes. It was still a very happy occasion though. I can't write very much right now though because it's very late and I need to go to bed so I can pack tomorrow. I've been up for hours uploading photos to my computer, music from Bernardo, and responding to birthday messages from friends on orkut. I'm especially going to miss my family here Ivania, Paulo, Bernardo, and Laís. They were so wonderful to take me in and they will always be in my heart as my parents, brother, and sister. I love them very very much. Tomorrow, me and my mom will be interviewed on the radio at 8:30am, we will say our last goodbyes, and we leave for Porto Alegre a little before noon tomorrow. I received many wonderful gifts including books, clothing, and photo albums with tons of notes written from family members, friends, and students from around the city. The people of Veranópolis couldn't have been more hospitable and I will always remember them. I love so many people here and they will remain in my heart forever.

Piano Performance

I just got back from performing piano at the "Casa da Cultura" or (house of culture) with my classmates Taís and Greg. I played the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue, Prelude III by Gershwin, the Mozart Concerto in C Major, Waltz in C# minor by Chopin, Prelude in B flat minor by Chopin, a classic Brazilian piece "Tico Tico no Fuba", and the official Grêmio Football Porto - Alegrense Anthem. There were about 50 people there including family, Nana's students, my classmates, and friends. It was a really great way to say goodbye to a lot of them. Then afterwards my class had a goodbye dinner at a restaurant called "Rab's". We took a lot of photos and said some tough goodbyes. We had a really good time though, like we always do. They even gave me a really great package with a book that Nana and Paulo say is really good, a bowl of candy, and a really sweet card from the whole class. Tomorrow me and my mom will be interviewed by the local radio station, and we will have a special dinner at "Rigo's" with many other people who want to say goodbye. I'm definitely gonna miss Veranópolis very very much.

From Left to Right: Greg, Taís, Marcela (Greg's sister who sang along with him), me, and Regina, my teacher.

My teacher Regina

My Mommy Is Here

What else can I say? My mommy is here with me and we're leaving to explore the Amazon on the 24th. For now we're gonna stay here and see the city.

School Is Over

I just got out of CETEC for the last time. I said sort of preliminary good-bye's to my teachers and classmates. I'm still gonna come back and say good bye on Monday but I wont be able to see some of my teachers again. Now I have 2 and a half months of break ahead of me, my mom is coming on Sunday, and we will both go see her side of the family in Amazonas on Wednesday! I'm very excited, but it's incredible to think that I will soon be thousands of miles away from all the people I got to know, hung out with, joked with, played soccer with, learned with, and got so close to for almost 11 months. Today someone told me that I don't even seem like an American anymore, we've all gotten that close. My class was so great. I'll never forget them.

History Class

Today at school I taught history class about western expansion and the Civil War. It was cool because my classmates didn't know very much about it and even my history teacher learned a few things. Also some things were very similar with Brazilian history so it was interesting to compare U.S. history to that. That was my last history class in Brazil.

My Class

As much as I hate to say it, this week will be my last week in school with my class. I love them all very much and we've made memories I will never forget.

Dia Dos Namorados

Today in Brazil it is "Dia Dos Namorados" or Lover's Day which is basically like valentines day. It's a weird day for this holiday because it's not on February 14th like the rest of the world, and tomorrow is a holiday for the saint of love or something like that. But anyway, today is "Dia Dos Namorados".

Also we've been out of school since yesterday for a break and next week will be my last school week in Veranópolis.

June First

Today I celebrate 10 months in Brazil and my last month here in Veranópolis. It's crazy to think that I only have 3 more weeks until I leave.

It Is VERY COLD

Like three days ago it got REALLY cold here and since we don't have a heater the house is always really cold. Today at around 8am it was 4 degrees Celsius (39 Farenheit) while at the same time in Olympia it was 4am and it was warmer than here. I've never really experienced this type of cold before Brazil. It's the kind of cold that creeps into your bones, it's horrible. I sleep with 5 covers and today I went to school with shorts, two pairs of pants, two shirts, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a jacket and a hat. Here's what I wear when I'm indoors:

Me Zip Lining

My Special Brazilian Friends

Once Again...

Grêmio has achieved another great victory in the Libertadores tournament. Last night they played as the away team against San Martín in Peru and won 3-1 starting off with a beautiful goal by Souza and two great headers by the Argentinean, ex-Barcelona player, Maxi Lopez. The next game will be against San Martín again, but at Olímpico, Grêmio's home stadium. San Martín will have to beat Grêmio by a margin of 3 goals or more to avoid being eliminated, and with the home field advantage things are looking good for Grêmio. Here is a video:

Zip Line and Rappelling

Today I went with Guto's family and a group of other people to a park deep into the Gaúcho wilderness, that has a zip line, rappelling, and rafting. To get there you have to drive for about an hour on dirt roads far from any civilization. We even drove across a river on a "ferry" which looked like it was from the 1800's. It had room for two cars and was propelled by a man with a stick. When we finally got there we did the zip line first. There were about 10 people in our group that actually did everything. We each got to go down the zip line twice. There were two parts to the zip line. The first went across a huge valley and stopped at the other end, then you got hooked up to another line which went back across the the other side of the valley where you would get unhooked and hike back up to the starting place. It was really amazing. It was just like flying. And the view was amazing, there were no buildings in sight, just endless Brazilian wilderness. The second time did it I went horizontally, like superman, which was really awesome. After the zip line we all went to rappel down a waterfall. It was 35 meters high (115 feet) and very slippery. I didn't slip but Guto ended up flipping upside-down right in the middle of the waterfall. There wasn't much water and he got back up again so he was alright. The rappelling was really cool too. It was really high and very tropical, with water and moss and algae everywhere. We went down two at a time, roped together. I ended up going down with the tallest guy there. Right at the beginning (which was the scariest part) he started slipping and sort of running sideways away from me. I was fine except that I was roped to him so he kept pulling me and I kept struggling to keep my balance! But it was alright, just a little scary. The guide told us that we were totally safe. If we let go of our rope, we were attached to our partner, if our partner's rope broke there was the third security rope attached to the rock, and if that rope happened to break, it was really our time to go anyway. The guides were all really cool and they loved to joke around. After all that we went back to the main building where they had a snake, a lizard, and a GIGANTIC spider. It was literally, without exaggeration bigger than my hand. I don't know how but I got convinced to pick it up and let it climb on me. It wasn't dangerous because this type of spider doesn't have venom and is very calm but it was such a weird feeling. I had to use two hands to hold it. It was really light and fuzzy, it kind of felt like a bunch of pipe cleaners. Even at the ends of it's legs there were little poky things to grab on to stuff. It was crazy.

Here's the ferry we went on. (Notice the 60 year old guy that powers it)

Here are some pictures of the zip line:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCIEN!!

Happy Birthday Buddie!!! I'm so happy for you. 10 years old! That's an important birthday. I can't believe you're growing up so fast. I can't wait to see how big you are when I get back! I hope you liked the Sounders jersey! I miss you and love you very much.

Congratulations!!

Paulo's Birthday!

Happy Birthday and congratulations to my Brazilian dad Paulo! Today he turns 49. I'm very happy for him. Also, today is my 9 month anniversary in Brazil! We went to explore Bento Gonçalvez, a nearby city, and later had a small family gathering at home.

Grêmio vs. Boyacá

Grêmio ends the first stage of the Libertadores tournament as a powerhouse, 7 points ahead of the teams in their group. If you don't know what Libertadores is, it's the biggest tournament in all the Americas. The best teams from each country's individual championships qualify and the best club wins. Grêmio has won twice. In this tournament, besides qualifying in the first place, Grêmio has the best attack and defense out of all competing teams in all of South and Central America with 11 goals for and only 1 against. The last time they started out the tournament this way, in 1995, they one the championship. The game started out with an amazing goal by Souza in the 13th minute. Me and Bernardo went to the local Xis place to eat and watch the game. Here is a video with highlights from the game. (It's in spanish because I couldn't find another video in portuguese)

Porto Alegre

We just got back from spending 4 days in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, for the 4 day break at our aunt Idília's apartment. Almost the whole family was in Porto Alegre too but they stayed in different places, including Alice's apartment (Guto's sister). We left saturday afternoon and got back today. I really liked Porto Alegre. It kind of reminds me of Portland only a little dirtier. It's really big and beautiful though, especially the areas around lake "Guaíba".

Sunday was a rainy day and we went to the mall to eat burger king and pizza hut and pretty much just stayed at Idília's apartment. She just bought it and it is very nice. It is on the 6th floor of a new apartment complex with an amazing view of almost all of Porto Alegre. She lives there with her little lap dog "Mikey". Monday was a beautiful, sunny day so we went to explore the city. Me, Laís, Bernardo, Idília, and aunt Iuva went to explore an old public market, kind of like the farmers market. It was really cool for me because it really felt like an authentic Brazilian experience with the smells, the stand, vendors, shoppers and everything. I had to hold on to my camera so no one would steal it and I only took one picture. It was a great cultural experience since all the shopping malls we went to are just imitations of American culture. After that we all drove to the shore of lake Guaíba and around some more of Porto. Then that night me, Bernardo, Guto, Alice, and our cousin Mario went to a mall for dinner and to see Fast and Furious 4. It was a very American experience except that there were Portuguese subtitles for the film. It was also the first time in almost 9 months that i've been to a movie theater. Then me and Bernardo took a taxi home.

Today we had a big family churrasco at Idília's apartment which once again reminded me of the short time I have left to enjoy great Brazilian churrasco. We're back home again and there's school tomorrow. Here are some pictures:

Views of Veranópolis

Today we woke up early to go travel around the outskirts of Veranópolis to see some scenic places like waterfalls, cliffs and rivers. Me and Bernardo got to climb up on the bridge on the border between Veranópolis and another city, Bento Gonçalves. We even explored inside a cave and got scared by some bats that we didn't know were there. It was a really beautiful day even though it is technically autumn. And I saw the biggest spider I've ever seen in the wild. Here are some pictures:

Good Friday

Today school was out because of Good Friday. We celebrated by doing a traditional march through the city to the church square with the rest of the town. It was only about 3 blocks but practically the whole town was there. They had cars with speakers parked along the way playing religious music and, later, the priest's speech over the radio. At the front of the march some guys were holding up a statue of Jesus' body in Mary's lap. We got to the church square and watched a small play about the crucifixion. The priest gave a sermon and then everyone lined up to eat the small round thing out of the bowl, I don't know what it's called but in portuguese it's an "óstia". It's cool to see because literally everyone here is catholic and they think it's really weird that I'm not religious. My history teacher asked me in front of the class what religion I followed and when I told her she reacted like she just saw a ghost or something. Tomorrow we are going to see some touristic spots around Veranópolis and then sunday is Easter.

Bowling

We went bowling yesterday for the first time. The nightclub that we go to, Soal, just got a "bowling alley". I put it in quotations because there are only two lanes. It's interesting to play there since the bowling alleys in the US are different. Here the lanes are shorter, a lot less smooth and greasy, and there's no bumper for kids. The way the pins work are different too. Each pin has a cord attached to the top of it so when you knock them down, the machine pulls them all up by their cords and sets them back down again. Sometimes the machine actually sets down less pins that it should, but there's a button you can press to add more pins. The good thing is that it's free to go play however many games you want as long as your a member of Soal.

German Couple

Today I'm still home from school but we had a cool surprise today. A german couple named Lili and Ingo. It was very interesting to talk to them. They spoke english very well. We talked about Their lives in Germany, German culture, American culture, Brazil, soccer, rugby (which Ingo plays), food, and school in Germany and the USA. It was very interesting. They are going to stay here for 5 more days in Veranópolis and then they are going to tour almost all of South America. We even gave them Chimarrão which they had never seen in their lives. Ingo said he liked it but it looked like Lili was having trouble drinking it since it was so hot. I think she burned her lips a little bit. But it was interesting to see another person being introduced to something I didn't even know very well until a few months ago.

Sick Again

I'm sick again, for the first time in many months. It really sucks but there's nothing I can really do except take medicine, which by the way was free thanks to the Brazilian healthcare system. I'm getting better slowly and maybe I'll go to school tomorrow.

Ronaldo

Ronaldo, the Phenomenon, top world cup goal scorer and one of the best forwards in history, has been contracted by the Brazilian team Corinthians after playing on the worlds best teams including Barcelona, Internazionale, Real Madrid, and Milan. He hasn't played for a year because of knee complications but right now he is on the reserve bench and he will most likely play later on in the game being played right now (2-0 for Corinthians). This is a very important event because Ronaldo is a huge icon for Brazilians and his return to Brazilian soccer is very special. Bernardo and Paulo don't have any ties to Corinthians but we are watching this game even though it's 11:20 on a school night.

Right at this moment he is warming up. The cameras aren't even on the game anymore, just him warming up.

Water Problems

For the past few days we have been having some water problems. You turn on the faucet and it there's no water. The same thing with the shower. But it's on and off, I can't take showers in my bathroom but I can in Nana and Paulo's bathroom. It's a little annoying but we are gonna get a guy to come and fix it today. Hopefully it'll get all fixed.

School Is Back

Monday, school is back. This year is going to be different since I understand a lot more portuguese. I think I'm going to be graded normally now too, unlike last year where I had an overall grade based on how well I tried and payed attention. Now we're in the third year, which is the last year of Brazilian high school. All my classmates are now gonna be worrying about the "Vestibular" which is a big test to get into college. Here they have private and public colleges just like in the US except here public colleges are free. All you have to do to get in is pass the Vestibular. The school year doesn't end until December so I'll be leaving half way through and year, and I don't have to take the Vestibular. Plus today is my 7 month anniversary being in Brazil. Time went by so fast. It doesn't feel like 7 months at all, and I'm starting to feel like I'm leaving too soon. Maybe school will make time slow down a bit more.

Carnaval Is Over

Carnaval ended yesterday, or technically today at about 5am. Me and our block had our last day partying at our concentration, at Soal, and on the street. Carnaval was amazing, I don't really know how to describe it but I loved it. I've never really seen an event where every single person you see is smiling, happy, dancing, and full of life and joy. It shows how even though Brazil has many problems it's people are so joyful, and they celebrate together whenever they can. They are always looking on the bright side, willing to help each other, party together, joke together, and laugh together. I am definitely going to have to come back to relive this again, without a doubt.

Carnaval

Today is the second day of Carnaval, which is a 4 day festival for the entire country that happens every year. I'm in a block called "Os Bartira" which has 22 people and is one of the largest in the city. Carnaval blocks are groups of friends that rent a place to stay and stick together for all of Carnaval. They even have shirts kind of like a team jersey with a name and number on the back. We rented a garage and a yard behind some houses. Every night we go hang out at the block, go visit other blocks, and later go to the club Soal which is all decorated for Carnaval. A lot of people come visit our block. We stayed out last night and the night before, even though Carnaval only officially started last night. It's really fun. Here everything stops and the entire town and practically the entire country is out partying. Everyone you see is happy and having a great time wherever you go.

Back from the Beach, Planeta Atlantida, and Bernardo's Back

We just got back from the beach a few hours ago. I was there since the 5th so it's good to be back. I went there with Guto and his family at his beach house in Capão, and went out that night with some friends that were also there. The next day was Planeta Atlantida. Pedro, our cousin, and his family bought the tickets and we all met up before the party. Planeta Atlantida is actually 2 days but the parents thought it would be better if we only went to the first day.

We got there around 6 o'clock and it was already full of people. There were tons people outside, a lot of them drunk. We passed through security which was very tight. There was an ID check, a pat down, a metal detector, and another pat down. Brazilians have a specific ID card and all I had was my drivers license. I showed it to the guy and he was very suspicious. Pedro was behind me and he said that when I passed through, the ID guy said "I could make one of those in one afternoon". We passed all security and we were in. There were tons of littler stages from different sponsors like "Vivo" and "Renner" that had a DJ and rave music. The main stage was where all the big bands played. First there was a sort of emo band called Fresno. The best bands of that day were Chimarruts, which is a reggae band, Marcelo D2, a rapper, and Ivete Sangalo, a female singer. There were so many people there. They said that the two nights together had around 100,000 people. I wasn't really familiar with the bands but they were really good. The party was so tiring though. By 3:30 or 4 am we were pretty much dead. There were tons of people just sitting on the ground and a few passed out which was pretty funny. We met up with a lot of people from Veranópolis there and everyone stayed in a big group. It was like a mini-Veranópolis in the middle of this gigantic party. We took a bus home with a bunch of other exhausted people. We also had these really really loud and obnoxious neighbors at Guto's house. They were a group of about 6 or 7 guys and two women who had these gigantic speaker systems in their cars and blasted their music literally 24 hours a day. Guto's dad didn't like it at all. It was actually kind of nice sometimes to have music. They drank so much beer that they made a huge pyramid with the empty cans. I counted and it was somewhere around 200. They only stayed for 2 days though because on the night of Planeta one of the guys got robbed twice. The first time he hid his cell phone in his underwear but he lost everything else. He escaped the robbery and called his buddies to tell them when he was robbed again, this time they literally took everything. The poor guy had to walk home naked to his house which also just happened to get robbed! The guys lost almost everything and they had to go. 

On sunday Guto and his family left and I stayed the night with Pedro and his family at their apartment. Nana, Paulo, and Lala came on monday with two of Lala's good friends, Gabby and Carol. We went to the beach which was the most beautiful I've ever seen it. We went to the beach everyday, sunbathed, swam, and boogie boarded. I got so much tanner than I've ever been in my life. I even got some sand in a jar to take home with me.

On the 13th Gabby and Carol's parents came to take them home but first we all went to a water park called "Marina Park".  It wasn't very big but it was fun. We went on all the rides in about an hour and then relaxed in the indoor heated pools.

Then on the 16th we went to Porto Alegre to pick up Bernardo from the airport and went back to the beach. Unfortunately after he got back it rained non-stop until we left. He bought a new laptop, an ipod nano for him, an ipod shuffle for Lala, a season of Family Guy for me, and many other gifts for people. He showed us some of his pictures and told us stories about walking in the snow, snowboarding, seeing an NBA game, going to Niagra Falls, going to school and everything he did.

Later in the rain we were pretty much stuck at home. Sometimes we went to our aunt's apartment which has tv, and internet. We did go to another city called Torres. We went to the top of some cliffs and on a little bus tour of the city. It was rainy and cold but at least we got to see it. We also went to a little suspension bridge that leads to another state called Santa Catarina but we couldn't go there because there wasn't enough time. We finished the tour and went back to Capão to eat Xis do Fofo which is the best xis restaurant in Brazil. Bernardo was very happy to be able to eat there again. Then early this morning we filled the car to the brim with stuff and drove home. It is very nice to be back.

World's Biggest Party

Today I woke up at 10 and packed to spend a few days on the beach. I am leaving today with Guto's family. We will go for Planeta Atlantida which is most likely the biggest party in the world. It is two nights on the beach, from 6pm to 6am, of famous bands and musicians with 60,000 people there each night. It's going to be crazy. Then after the party Guto and his family will go home and I will stay with Bernardo's Aunt until my family gets here and we will spend a little more time on the beach. We will get back on the 19th so unless I go to a Lan House, I probably won't be able to post anything until then.

Big Countryside Churrasco & Veranópolis Game

Today we went farther into the countryside or "interior" to where Nana grew up for a gigantic community Churrasco lunch. It is an annual tradition with southern, countryside Brazilians to have Mass and then lunch all together. Everyone from all around the interior was there. We drove about 20 minutes down a small, windy road surrounded by the beautiful Brazilian landscape. It was very hot and sunny today. We got to the lunch hall which was built where Nana's school used to be. It is a big brick building next to a small church.

Mass had just gotten out and there were a lot of people standing around and talking. Then we met up with our family members and got our throats blessed. It sounds funny and random but it's a serious blessing. Everyone lines up and one by one walks into the church where there are about 3 women holding two candles each. Then she crosses the candles across your neck like she's gonna cut your head off with a gigantic set of scissors, recites a prayer in portuguese and that's it. I'm happy I got blessed, hopefully this will eliminate my sore throat woes.

After that we entered the lunch hall. To go inside the lunch hall you have to pass by the most gigantic churrasco pit I have ever seen. It is literally about 100 feet long and it was filled with meat. To about every 10 spits there was a gigantic, red, sweaty, southern Brazilian man, also known as Gaúcho, tending to the meat. It was already hot today but standing next to the churrasco pit the heat was unbearable.

We walked into the lunch hall and it was full of people. We found our seats and waited to be served. The first thing that came by was bottles of Guaraná, which is a tropical fruit flavored soda, and a platter of pastelzinho and canudo. Pastelzinho is a little fried snack filled with meat or cheese or whatever. It's like a small calzone. Canudo is something that I had never had before, it is a cone, sort of like an ice cream cone only thinner, and is filled with sweet cream or orange cream. Then later came a traditional soup called "sopa de capeleti" which is a lot like dumpling soup. It has broth and little ravioli things with filling. Finally came the churrasco meat which was delicious as always. Since this was a traditional gathering the churrasco was cooked on wooden spits instead of metal ones. The men come through serving each person at a time. They let you choose what part of the meat you want and they cut it off right in front of you. It's not very formal but it keeps the meat very fresh, moist, and flavorful.

We finished eating, chatted for a while with the family, had desert, and left.

Then we drove to the house where Nana grew up. No one lives there now but it looks like it was a nice place to live. It is surrounded by trees and nature, away from the road.

Then we went to a nearby river where people can go to have churrascos, hang out, and swim. They built a small wall in the river to make it more like a pool. Paulo and Nana used to go there to swim when they were kids, before there was the club to swim at.

Then we went a little ways up the river to see a bridge that Paulo's grandfather, Ricardo Capponi, built. It's still safe to drive across even though there is a newly built, bigger bridge that everyone uses now. Next to the bridge there is a small spout where water that filters through the earth comes out extremely clear and clean. Paulo says it has been there since he was a kid. We drank some water and then I showed them how to play "pooh sticks" which was funny.

Later Grêmio played another round in the Gauchão, which is our state's tournament, and won 5-1. After that our own home town team of Veranópolis played their game in this round of the Gauchão but saddly they lost 1-0. It was still cool to go to the stadium and see the game even though it was drizzling. There were probably about four to five hundred people there, and there was even a "torcida" with guys singing, waving flags and flares, and jumping up and down.

Our cousin Samuel has his own radio show and was up in his booth commenting the whole game. It's amazing to me how a town of 20,000 people (a little bigger than Centralia) has it's own professional soccer team and stadium and everything. That's Brazil. Next week Veranópolis actually plays Grêmio at home. That's going to be an interesting game because people here will have to choose between rooting for their beloved Grêmio or their home town team. Guto says he won't cheer for either, he's just gonna sit and stay quiet. Now I am watching the good old American Superbowl after a day filled with Brazilian tradition and soccer. It's nice.