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.