Brazil 2008-2009

No more new posts

2009-07-31T02:26:00.003-03:00

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

2009-07-14T16:22:00.002-03:00

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 On sunday we went back to the airport with the same paper the police originally said was outdated, was actually not outdated at all.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

2009-07-12T12:40:00.005-03:00

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 The problem is that the international travel laws changed a few months ago so my authorization to travel from CIEE is no longer valid and now to travel internationally I need authorization papers from both my mother father.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!

2009-06-23T23:35:00.004-03:00

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

2009-06-22T23:20:00.003-03:00

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

2009-06-21T19:36:00.002-03:00

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

2009-06-19T12:37:00.002-03:00

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

2009-06-15T18:57:00.002-03:00

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

2009-06-13T17:54:00.002-03:00

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

2009-06-12T14:17:00.003-03:00

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

2009-06-01T12:08:00.002-03:00

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

2009-05-16T10:55:00.003-03:00

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

2009-05-11T21:30:00.003-03:00

My Special Brazilian Friends

2009-05-11T19:41:00.002-03:00

Once Again...

2009-05-07T19:21:00.006-03:00

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

2009-05-02T20:23:00.004-03:00

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!!

2009-05-02T12:02:00.003-03:00

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!

2009-05-01T20:14:00.002-03:00

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

2009-04-29T13:17:00.006-03:00

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

2009-04-21T17:37:00.006-03:00

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

2009-04-11T15:34:00.009-03:00

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

2009-04-10T20:59:00.003-03:00

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

2009-03-17T13:30:00.003-03:00

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

2009-03-12T14:45:00.003-03:00

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

2009-03-11T14:24:00.002-03:00

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

2009-03-04T23:14:00.002-03:00

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

2009-03-04T12:49:00.002-03:00

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

2009-03-01T21:01:00.002-03:00

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

2009-02-25T13:07:00.002-03:00

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

2009-02-22T16:21:00.003-03:00

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

2009-02-19T17:31:00.012-03:00

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

2009-02-05T11:44:00.004-02:00

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

2009-02-01T23:05:00.014-02:00

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.

Nana and Paulo's 21st Anniversary

2009-01-30T14:17:00.002-02:00

Today is Nana and Paulo's 21st Anniversary. It is a special day for them so Congratulations to them!

Inauguration of Barack Obama

2009-01-20T15:44:00.000-02:00

Today I feel so proud to be American. I watched the inauguration with Nana and Paulo as they got to see a traditional and historic american event. At first they weren't very interested, but seeing Obama's speach and watching the reactions of almost 2 million people really caught their attention and they stayed to watch it. This is a great day for people all around the world.

Yellow Fever

2009-01-18T00:50:00.003-02:00

Recently in Brazil there has been an outbreak of Yellow Fever. I was worried at first until I remembered that I was vaccinated against it. No one I know has it, because it's only in the central and northern regions of the country. At the airport we saw a map of where travelers should be aware of potential danger. (I know this says 2003 but this is the map I saw in the airport).

Back from the Airport

2009-01-17T17:52:00.008-02:00

We got back from Porto Alegre today at about noon. I was very tired so I took a nap and I woke up a little while ago. We left yesterday morning to go to the airport. Bernardo filled his bag to the brim and put it inside of my gigantic luggage bag because he plans to bring a lot of stuff back including a new computer. We got to the airport around 1pm and eventually we met up with the rest of the group.

Then everyone said their good-byes and the travelers went through security.

After that we all went up to the second floor where you can see the airplanes loading and taking off.

We waited for a while and we actually got to see the people get on the plane since the tunnel leading to the plane was glass. Then everyone left and went their separate ways. We went to our aunt Idilia's apartment. Then we went to a new mall in Porto Alegre. It was gigantic. We walked all around and ate McDonald's which was very good. The McDonald's had a huge line and the food court was packed. Everything about the mall was huge. I even got to see the new apple iMacs which are enormous. Then we went back to our aunt's house and had a pizza dinner while watching the soap opera, or novela "A Favorita". It was the final episode. Everyone in Brazil watches the novelas. When I went downstairs to get the pizza, the night guard for the apartments was watching it on a little tv. I don't like them because they are so overly dramatic, predictable and cheesy. They are really addicting though, even though I didn't like watching it, I couldn't turn away because I wanted to see what was going to happen. It was over and we all went to bed. The next morning we woke up early to go home. We stopped at a grocery store along the way and then we drove all the way home. The trip takes about 2 and a half hours but I slept a little along the way. We got home and had lunch and I took a nap. Yesterday and today I have seen that my family missed Bernardo very much. They have talked about him very much. They called him twice to see if everything was alright and he's doing good. He said the snow was taller than Lala. He is staying in a house with a mom and two sisters of 12 and 18. Our friend Gregorio is also living in the same house as him.

Trip to Canada

2009-01-15T19:13:00.003-02:00

Tomorrow Bernardo and a few others will leave for their trip to Canada. They are going to stay there for one month. Today we went to mass at the local church, the priest blessed Bernardo and Sílvia, our cousin who is also going. Then Bernardo said good bye to Sílvia's parents and brother, and later to his other aunt. Tomorrow at 10am we are going to Porto Alegre to say good bye at the airport.

The Beach and New Years

2009-01-09T21:45:00.012-02:00

Today we just got back from our two week long vacation to Capão da Canoa. We left on January 29th. The trip took about 4 hours by car. Me, Bernardo, and Lala all took anti-nausea pills which made us all really drowsy so when I got there I pretty much just wanted to sleep. We were staying at my cousin Guto's beach house which is two stories and is about 10 blocks from the beach. We were there with Guto, his sister Alice, and his mom and dad, Leonides and Ilírio. The weather at the begging was a little bit cloudy and overcast but we still went to the beach.

The beach was pretty dirty though. The water was dark dark brown with something but it wasn't just sand, I don't know what it was. I've never seen a beach like that before. There was also a lot of garbage on the beach. Guto was very angry at the condition of the beach. Apparently there was a new city mayor who didn't care for the condition of the beach or city very well. On the days when the weather was bad we stayed home and played cards or guitar. They played one card game "Canastra" almost non-stop. Guto's house also had a hammock, a soccer ball, a football, and a paddle game called "Fresco ball". When new years came around we celebrated at Guto's house for a bit until the power went out, and then we all went to our aunts house (tia idília) where the whole family was gathered to celebrate.

We had some traditional brazilian New Years food that is supposed to bring good luck, and then we all went to the beach to see a fireworks show. The show was really short but literally everyone was shooting off huge fireworks all around us all night long so there wasn't a shortage. There were so many people on the beach it was crazy. Brazilians LOVE New Years, everyone was so happy and enthusiastic. The entire city was outside partying by the beach. Then we walked around down town a bit more and later went back to Guto's house to sleep. On this trip I have discovered that I snore quite loudly, to the frustration of everyone that was sleeping in the same room as me. Guto and Lala even took a few videos of me. Each day was pretty similar, we would wake up late, eat lunch, go to the beach, then walk around down town, eat, and go home and play cards. Once while me, Bernardo, and Rafinha were downtown we went to the mall and there was a gigantic crowd around the escalator. All the glass from the handrails was broken and there were police and paramedics crowded together in the middle of the escalator. We went up to the second level using the stairs and what happened was a little kid, about 5, got his fingers stuck between the moving part and the side of the escalator. They had to stop the machine, break all the glass, and use a crow bar to pry the kid's hand out. The poor kid looked pretty bad but he was taken to a hospital and I'm sure he's fine. I never saw his hand though, it was wrapped in bandages but there was blood. There were tv crews there too and while some guy was being interviewed I walked behind the camera, trying to get on tv, but they never aired the interview. I was disappointed but it was a very exciting event.

Alice, Guto's sister left to go back to Porto Alegre to work, and my family and I moved out of Guto's house to live with our cousin Sílvia at her beach house. It is a really nice apartment that is only about 3 blocks from the beach. We got a great view from there.

We stayed there until the end of our trip. Each day we would get up early (9:00) and go to the beach. Then later we would go down town again. There are hundreds of food stands that sell a type of food called Kreps, which is like a hot pocket on a stick, with many different types of filling inside of a pancake-like shell, all on a stick. They were really good. Another thing they sell there, which I thought was really weird was corn. They just sell ears of corn on the beach and everyone buys them. It's weird.

Pretty much the experience sitting on the beach is, your in the hot sun, sitting on a beach chair, surrounded by people, in front of you is the sea and all the people who are walking up and down the shore, and every 10 seconds a vendor walks by with his cart of ice cream, or cashews, or cheese, or popsicles, and he keeps honking his horn and yelling. The guys who sell cheese always yell "Olha o queijo!". I even saw vendors as young as 10.

We visited our cousin Marina's house in a small city not too far away called Machiné. She lives there with her husband Luís, they are both doctors. We also visited the houses of this really incredibly rich guy who lives in Capão. He has like houses all in the same place and they are amazing. He also has porches, a lamborghini, a ferrari, and many other cars on display. He even has his own turf soccer stadium on his property and a fleet of security guards. Then the next day we went to a go kart place and raced around the little track for a while. It was really cool and really fun. Everyone wanted to do it more and more but it was pretty expensive. The guys that own the track said that they have another location in Bento, which is a town pretty near Veranópolis, that is cheaper, is outdoors, and has a bigger track. We will definitely do that more often.

Going to the beach was awesome. I never went in the water deeper than my knees, but I got extremely tan, I played soccer barefoot in the sand with Brazilians, and I had a great time exploring Capão da Canoa. It's really good to be back though. Bernardo leaves for his Canada trip on the 16th and he'll be gone for a month. During that time Guto says we should go visit Porto Alegre for a few days. We could stay with his sister. Also "Planeta Atlantida" is gonna happen. It's like the biggest party on earth. It's basically two nights on the beach with tons of famous bands playing, and upwards of 60,000 people. Hopefully I can go to that with Guto or someone.

Here are some more photos of the beach:

Capão da Canoa

2009-01-04T17:24:00.001-02:00

I haven't updated the blog lately because there is no internet here. Right now we are at the beach at something called a "Lan House" which is like an internet café. I will post when I get home. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Going to the Beach!!

2008-12-29T11:07:00.005-02:00

Today we all woke up "early" to drive to the beach. We are going to a beach called Capão da Canoa and we will be staying at our aunt's house and then later at our uncle's house. We will stay with members of our family and the trip will last about 11 days! I'm very excited. Right now I'm downstairs writing this while Bernardo is still upstairs sleeping and the rest of the family is out shopping I guess. At least that's what the house cleaning lady (Iní) said. Anyway I'm very excited, this is like my dream come true. I'm finally going to a Brazilian beach in the middle of summer.

Here's a map:

Exibir mapa ampliado

Obrigado Mãe!

2008-12-27T13:48:00.002-02:00

Hoje o pacote chegou. Muito obrigado! Era muito bom para ver as coisas e ler as cartas. Minha familia gostou da carta para eles também. Eu precisava todas as coisas então eu quero te agradecer muito e falar que eu te amo e tenho muitas saudades.

Beijos e um abraço bem forte!

Christmas In Brazil

2008-12-25T23:37:00.001-02:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!! Today was a fairly normal day, we woke up late, had a Churrasco lunch, and went to the club. Christmas Eve is when Brazilians celebrate and it's a little different. They don't put up stockings or put presents under the tree. Yesterday we had lunch and dinner at Paulo's parent's house with his side of the family which is quite big. After we ate, Santa Claus himself actually came into the house and gave presents to everyone one by one. I got a pair of sandals and some deodorant. Afterwards, as a family tradition, almost the whole family stripped down to their underwear and dove in the pool. They even dragged unwilling family members in with them. I was very close to being dragged in too but luckily I escaped.

After that we went to Nana's sister's house to visit with her side of the family which is equally large. There we all got in a circle and played secret santa. My person was one of Bernardo's cousins Sílvio. We had to bring an object that represented the person and then everyone had to guess who it was. Sílvio works at the "Caixa Federal" which is like a bank, so my object was a box (or "caixa" in Portuguese) with $5 in it. My present for him was a buttoned shirt that he could use at work. My secret santa was our cousin Mario who gave me two really nice shirts. One was perfect for me because it was a Veranópolis shirt and the other was a normal t-shirt. I really liked them. We all had a lot of fun there and it was a great family experience. That ended around 2:30am. Then we went home, and then to the club for a special Christmas party that lasted until the sun came up. Literally.

Here are some photos:

Paulo's Parents

More Christmas Photos

2008-12-25T23:30:00.000-02:00

Gramado

2008-12-19T21:36:00.001-02:00

Canela

2008-12-19T21:30:00.000-02:00

Natal Luz

2008-12-18T23:50:00.001-02:00

Yesterday me, my family, and a few other people from Veranópolis took a bus to two cities about 4 hours away to see their christmas decorations and a parade called Natal Luz. The first city we went to was called Canela. It had a huge catholic church, and many many christmas decorations all around town. We got there around 4 and just walked around exploring the church and the town. We got to see Santa and he even speaks Portuguese! I felt bad for him though because it was very hot and he was all dressed up in his heavy red suit. After about 2 hours we got on the bus again and went to the other town, called Gramado. It is a really stylized town that looks like the set of a christmas movie. It was very beautiful and there were decorations everywhere. We walked around, took pictures, and ate Brazilian hot dogs which are really different. The actual sausage is the same but the bun is gigantic and rectangular. Plus they put in not only ketchup and mustard, but corn, peas, mayonnaise, sauce, and small crunchy french fries. We also bought some chocolate because Gramado is famous for it's chocolate. Then at 9 the parade started with a big light show and some fireworks. The parade itself was really extravagant. There were people skating, dancing, on stilts, on floats, and everything. There was also artificial smoke, snow, and lights. The streets were crowded and we had to stand up the whole time but it was worth it. It ended with Santa on his sleigh and a small fireworks show. Over all it was a really cool experience. It felt like being at the north pole, except it was in the 70's. We got back on the bus and arrived at home around 2am.

The drive up was actually really nice though. I got to see the Brazilian landscape which is really beautiful. I took many many pictures.

The trip to Gramado and Canela

2008-12-18T23:37:00.003-02:00

The trip to Gramado and Canela

2008-12-18T23:23:00.003-02:00

Gift Package!

2008-12-15T12:49:00.003-02:00

Dad the gift package came today! I'm very very happy. My family really liked the card you sent and I REALLY love all the food. My family thinks the Jalapeño chips are WAY too spicy and that I'm crazy to actually like them. Bernardo and Lala are afraid to try them after they saw Nana's reaction. Lala really likes the Fruit By The Foot though. It's so funny, she treats it so carefully, like it's a small bomb. She carefully unwraps it and rips off the tiniest little piece. Then she carefully places it on her tongue and stares at me like it's a prank I'm playing on her. She asked me if she was supposed to chew and if it was ok to swallow. haha. It's something new that none of them have ever seen. Nobody in my family likes spicy foods and they can't understand why I can stand eating those chips, let alone actually like them. Thank you so much Dad! I love you!

Final of the Brazilian Championship

2008-12-07T19:14:00.010-02:00

The last round of games in the Brazilian league championship or "Brasileirão" was today. Grêmio was in 2nd place with 69 points and São Paulo was in first place with 72 points. For Grêmio to win the championship they needed to win their game against Atlético-MG and São Paulo needed to lose their game against Goias. This would give Grêmio and São Paulo 72 points each but since Grêmio has more victories they would be the champions. Grêmio won 2-0 but São Paulo beat Goias 1-0 from a goal that was clearly offside. (that's the player from São Paulo in white about to receive the ball)

The championship is over with Grêmio in second place but they still qualified for the Libertadores tournament which has the top teams from all of South and Central America. (The top 4 teams in the Brazilian league qualify for this tournament). Unfortunately the bottom 4 teams are lowered to the "Serie B" or B league. We were watching the end of all the games and a fan from Vasco, one of the teams being lowered, was so upset that he climbed to the roof of the stadium and was threatening to jump. He had both legs off the ledge and was only hanging on by his hands. His friends and the police were up there trying to convince him not to jump. This was all live on the tv. No one knew whether he would jump or not. Finally the police got close enough to pull him back fully onto the ledge, but it was pretty scary for a minute or two. That's how much people love their teams here in Brazil. Soccer is no joke. Click here to see a video of the guy.

Thanks Grandma!

2008-12-05T19:07:00.003-02:00

The advent calendar came today and my family really liked it! Especially Lala. She's really excited to open the 6th window tomorrow. We put it up on a window where everyone can see it and it looks great. Nana also wants to show it to her english students. Thank you very much grandma. This is a very unique and special cultural object that a lot of people here will enjoy.

And thanks for the deodorant too!

Pool Pictures

2008-11-28T20:11:00.003-02:00

Here are some pictures of the Club we go to. Today it was about 85 degrees. This is only the pool though, the club also has a futebol field and beach volleyball.

From Left to Right: Gico, Bernardo (on bottom), Nicolas, Me, "Ale" (Alesandro).

More Pool pictures/Veranópolis

2008-11-28T19:59:00.003-02:00

From Left to Right: Bernardo, Gico, Ale, Nicolas

Christmas Decorating

2008-11-22T13:28:00.003-02:00

Yesterday we did our christmas decorating. We set up a little artificial tree, and decorated the rest of the house. Lala set up a small manger at the bottom of the tree. The whole town has already been decorated. It's so weird for me to see all this christmas stuff when it's sunny and hot outside. Plus it seems very early for christmas things right now. But it's nice. Here are some pictures.

SCHOOL'S OUT

2008-11-21T12:48:00.001-02:00

I was wrong about 3 days left. School got out today, and it doesn't get back until March. I'm very happy.

Life Story/Summer

2008-11-20T19:02:00.003-02:00

I just finished a big assignment for Philosophy class and it was all in Portuguese! It was short story of my life and it was about 13 pages long. I'm very proud of myself because I didn't think I could do it. I did get a lot of help from Nana though. We spent a lot of time translating and editing so I'm very thankful for her help. It was our final assignment for Philosophy class since the school year ends on Tuesday! I'm really happy. Summer here is going to be amazing.

My Health 2

2008-11-16T22:36:00.004-02:00

Now I am feeling totally normal again. The doctor says that it's ok to go back to playing soccer and everything. The only problem is that I hurt my foot today tossing around a football at Guto's. I hurt the bone in my heel, but I think I just bruised the bone so it shouldn't be too long before it gets better.

Summer!!

2008-11-15T19:33:00.004-02:00

Today felt like a real, legitimate summer day. It was in the high 70's Fahrenheit, around 27 Celsius, blue sky and sunny with a nice breeze blowing in the palm trees. We woke up at 11 and then went to Guto's house for a Churrasco lunch. We ate, played with Guto's dog Pongo, tossed around an American football and finished editing a movie for a school project; all in Guto's garage with the garage door open. Then we went to a place called "Clube Caça e Pesca" which is sort of like a small country club with two pools, one outdoor and one indoor, a waterslide, futebol fields, churrasco pits, volleyball, futsal, and a snack bar. In the summer everyone goes there almost every day and today was the opening day so it was filled with people. The weather was perfect. Later we walked to the town square, relaxed in the shade and had some water and a plate of french fries. Veranópolis is so beautiful in the summer and everyone tells me it will only get better from here.

Halloween Party

2008-11-09T21:26:00.004-02:00

Over the weekend New Age English had a Halloween party. Here are some pictures:

Piano Lessons

2008-11-09T19:27:00.002-02:00

I'm going to start having piano lessons on Wednesday. Two of my classmates play piano and they both go to the same woman. Her name is Regina de Moraes. I met with her on Saturday and I played some things for her. She said I was a bit too advanced for her because she didn't study piano in college, she just teaches and plays for fun. But she is still a good teacher and I'm happy that she's willing to help me. She has two upright pianos. It was so wonderful to play a real piano again and not just a little keyboard. She says I can come back when she's not teaching and play for fun. She's a really nice woman. So far what I'm working on is a Chopin piece from the romantic book I brought, Rhapsody In Blue, the Gershwin Preludes, and a book of classic brazilian pieces. They are easy to play but they sound really good, and they're fun to play. She says she will find me some Samba and Jazz to play too so I'm excited for that.

My Health

2008-11-07T12:46:00.002-02:00

So now I pretty much feel completely normal. No more sore throat, swollen tonsils, fever, weakness, and I can hear now! The only thing left is that I can't play soccer or go to the gym until the monday after next because the doctor says my spleen and liver are swollen and a blow to my abdomen could cause them to rupture which could be lethal. So I might gain some weight until then but that would actually be good since I got pretty skinny from having Mono in the first place. I'm eating all my good food groups and drinking healthy fruit juices and everything. By the way Mom I tried Açaí juice and it is horrible. haha. But thanks for the suggestion anyways.

Day Of The Dead

2008-11-02T22:16:00.002-02:00

Today in Brazil it was Day of the Dead or "Dia dos Mortos". In the afternoon around 5 we all went to the cemetery where about 250 people were gathered to hear the Catholic Priest give a sermon. Then everyone went their separate ways to look for the grave sites of their family members. Grave sites in Brazil are very different than in the US. They have little "houses" of different sizes depending on how many coffins are inside but they are roughly about 8 to 11 feet high and about 10 feet on each side. They have shelves to put pictures of the dead, flowers, candles and other things inside the house with a window and metal bars to protect them. Sometimes they have doors to walk in. The actual coffins are embedded in the cement, of which the house is made. Each house has a plaque telling the name and birth/death dates of the person. We visited Nana's family gravesite which held her father, brother, and mother; and later the site of Paulo's grandfather, and Bernardo's cousin who was tragically hit by a drunk driver in 2006.

Formula 1 Racing

2008-11-01T16:59:00.002-02:00

Today Paulo and Bernardo watched Formula 1 Racing which happens to be really popular here in Brazil, I had no idea. A Brazilian guy named Felipe Massa won first place as he usually does. Just a random note of something I didn't know about Brazil and maybe you didn't know.

International Blog

2008-10-31T17:38:00.002-02:00

Having a blog is a new experience for me, and it's really interesting being able to share my experiences with the whole world. The "whole world" being Olympia pretty much, so I thought. One of the most amazing things about this is that I can see who is looking at my blog and where they are from. It turns out that not only do I have visitors from Olympia and Veranópolis, but I have visitors from 25 different US states and 37 different countries!! In fact 15.6% of all my visitors are from outside the US and Brazil. Countries like Canada, The United Kingdom, Indonesia, Germany, Poland, Guatemala, Italy, New Zealand, Romania, Greece, The Netherlands, Iran, and Slovenia just to name a few. Knowing this is so amazing, and it really makes the world feel smaller.

Ranch Dressing!!

2008-10-31T17:23:00.002-02:00

Nana's friend Salete, who speaks wonderful english, and her American husband Tony, who speaks no portuguese, recently went to the US to deal with Tony's bank closing. They came back recently and Salete was nice enough to buy me some Ranch Dressing while she was there!! It was a wonderful present and I'm so thankful to her. I'll have to ration it though but I'm still very happy to have it. Thank you so much Salete!

Official

2008-10-30T14:42:00.002-02:00

We got the results from the blood test and it's official that I do have Mono.

But don't freak out anybody because it's completely under control!!

My Diagnosis

2008-10-29T16:48:00.003-02:00

We just got back from an ENT (ears, nose and throat) Specialist. Ironically all of those areas are bothering me so I had good hopes when we entered the office. He thinks I have Mononucleosis. They took some blood and they will get back to us with the results. My options right now are basically just to wait it off. I need lots of water, juice and good nutrition to help the recovering process, and also lots of rest. He did give me Ibuprofen which is supposed to help and he says that antibiotics wont. Which explains why all the previous times we used antibiotics wouldn't stop my sickness from coming back. We got 6 different droppers of Ibuprofen for me to take doses every 8 hours. It comes in these weird thick white drops, kind of like elmer's glue and they taste pretty good. I've done a lot of research and I'm pretty much an expert on it now. Apparently I've already had this for about 2 months so the doctor told me I should be back to normal in about 5 days. I pray to God, Muhammad, Jesus, and Buddha that he is right because I am so ridiculously tired of being sick. We will see what happens during the next 5 days...

Sick Again

2008-10-27T21:28:00.003-02:00

Believe it or not I'm sick again. I got another sore throat which turned into very swollen tonsils and possibly another virus. My throat doesn't hurt to swallow now but my tonsils are so swollen that they affect my talking. I sound a little different. It's crazy. Plus I got that weird thing again where I lose hearing in my left ear. I've definitely improved from this weekend though. I was super swollen up, feverish, and weak. We went to a throat specialist who gave me these three "magic pills". They were very powerful and my body couldn't take the first one. But they helped put down the swelling. I was improving, but still too sick to go to a very special party called Debut which is like a royal ball. I even chose a tuxedo to rent but I couldn't use it. I've been sick since last thursday and it's added to a chain of many many colds and sicknesses I've had so far in Brazil. But I'm still having fun here. I knew that there would be challenges and I'm determined to get through them. Plus with every cold I get, I develop antibodies so I wont get that particular disease again. I think the reason I'm getting sick so much is that I'm in a new environment with all new diseases that everyone here is immune to, but I am not. Oh well, that will change over time. As for now I'm looking at the bright side. I'm getting better, summer is coming, and I can still hear out of my right ear.

Keyboard

2008-10-18T14:17:00.001-03:00

Guto just gave me his electric keyboard so now I can sort of play piano while I'm here. It's not a piano but it's better than nothing.

New Car/Fred

2008-09-27T17:25:00.004-03:00

My family just bought a new car! It's a Fiat Palio Weekend. It's very nice. It even has a DVD player! Here's a picture:

Bernardo's aunt also got a new puppy named Fred. Here he is:

Me in the Local Newspaper

2008-09-25T12:12:00.005-03:00

There was a short article about me in the newspaper today. They spelled my name Whitensell!! But here it is:

Marina Domeneghini's 15th Birthday Party

2008-09-21T13:25:00.005-03:00

Last night was Marina Domeneghini's 15th birthday party. Here in Brazil when a girl turns 15 it's her coming of age and her family puts together a huge party for her. It's like a girls "sweet 16" in the US only here it's a much bigger deal. The party started at 8:30 at the town club called Soal which was the same place where the Cidadão Quem concert was. Almost everyone wore suits including me and Bernardo. When we got there we met up with Rafinha, Tib, Felipe (Rafinha's brother), Julio and Bruno. There was a huge security guard with a list of the people who were invited and we had to check in with him before we could go in. The walk up the stairs was amazingly decorated with flowers and lights and banners and many many more beautiful decorations all over the place. Then at the entrance to the main dance hall we were greeted with a kiss on the cheek and hug from Marina's mom and sister, and and handshake and hug from her dad. The whole greeting process was filmed by 3 or 4 different camera men. Then a woman with another list told us where our table was. The dance hall was so amazingly decorated I could never fully explain it here on my blog. It felt like I was at a royal ball at Buckingham Palace. There were candles everywhere with banners all over the walls and ceiling. There were plants set up everywhere and amazing lighting that set the mood like you were a billionaire at a billionaire gathering. There were tables set up on both sides of the dance hall with beautiful flowers, plates, glasses, chairs and table cloth. There was also a dance floor in between with lights, lazers, speakers and a disco ball. At the front there was a huge screen showing a slideshow of pictures of Marina with her friends and family. There was music playing from the huge speakers. The tables on one side were for friends of Marina and the ones on the other side were for adults close to Marina. We sat at our table and waiters in white tuxedos walked around offering us food and drinks. Then after a long wait Marina emerged onto the dance hall, or should I say the Royal Ballroom, in a beautiful white dress that looked like a wedding dress, everyone stood up and clapped as she walked over to her family and gave them all hugs and kisses. Then the huge screen started showing video testimonials about her given by Marina's close friends, and family members. They were very sweet and emotional and after each one Marina would go and hug the person who had been in the video that just finished. Two days earlier was Marina's dad's birthday so there were a few videos dedicated to him as well. After the videos they brought out two huge cakes, one for him and one for Marina. Then everyone ate, there were many little Brazilian things to eat, as well as small dessert treats. After that it was dance time. The lights went down, there were lazers, tons of artificial smoke, the disco ball was doing its thing and it was amazing. The music was blasting and the whole atmosphere was incredible. Everyone was in their fancy clothes and dancing amazingly like all Brazilians do. I was the only foreigner and I must have looked ridiculous trying to dance like a Brazilian but I had a great time. There were also these weird guys called "Barmen" who came out with these flame thrower things and started dancing, spraying their fire and serving drinks. They were like borderline strippers, it was funny. After a while it was getting late and me and Bernardo walked home in our suits at around 3:30 am. The party was amazing though. I've never been to anything like that in my life. I can't thank Marina enough for inviting me it was incredible. I will never forget it. Plus everything was free so I just want to say MUITO MUITO OBRIGADO MARINA, E FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO!!

My Family!

2008-09-20T13:01:00.002-03:00

I took this on my first full day here. My portuguese is pretty rusty in the video.

Haircut

2008-09-18T17:13:00.002-03:00

Yesterday was a historic day. I had my first Brazilian haircut after years and years of getting my hair cut by Dan Berry at Bellus. It'll never be the same Dan!

My Videos From The Game

2008-09-16T22:06:00.000-03:00

Geral do Grêmio

2008-09-16T12:45:00.000-03:00

Independance Day Parade/School Play/McDonalds

2008-09-16T12:05:00.000-03:00

Sunday we had the town parade for Independence day, and I was in the parade. The real Independence day is September 7th but it was too cold and rainy for a parade so the moved it to Sunday. The parade itself was pretty cool. I was surprised that this little tiny town could still manage to put together such a complex and impressive parade. There were many bands which played very well, mostly from each of the schools. And there were also different clubs and public groups that did something for the parade. I think the whole town was there to watch too. It was kind of like the procession of the species only smaller. I was with 9 other people from my class in a little group. We had this ridiculous little routine that was probably put together in 2 minutes by our dance teacher. It was so terrible. We dressed in all white with these white poles about 4 feet long and we marched down the street doing our routine. It was probably one of the most embarrassing things I've ever done. Everyone knows there's an American boy here in Veranópolis but many haven't seen me yet so I think that was many people's first impression of me which is not a good thing at all. Every once in a while someone would yell "Aee Americano!" or "Look it's Lucas!". It was cool. And then finally we finished and I could relax and watch the rest of the parade which included more bands (including Lala's school band which was very very good considering they are so young), some sports groups including the town volley ball team and futsal team, and a huge polluting caravan of tractors.

And today my class and the first year class went to a tiny little town called "Villa Flores" (Flowerville) to perform a play and some dances for the people there. It was very good and also very funny. The dancing was the best part. They were really good and they all had really elaborate clothes. It was just like Dirty Dancing. Then we went home for lunch and that was the school day! A pretty nice monday. Now my family and I will go to Caxias (a big city about an hour from here) to go shopping and most importantly go to McDonalds!! I'm so excited because I haven't tasted American food in so long and I really need to eat some. I'm not being stubborn or unwilling to try new things, I love Brazilian food but I just really need to eat some McDonalds and Caxias is the closest one. We'll see how it compares to McDonalds in the USA.

GRÊMIO VS. GOIÁS

2008-09-14T12:49:00.000-03:00

Yesterday was the game. It was incredible. We left the house at around 1 with a van of Grêmio fans to Porto Alegre where Estadio Olimpico (Grêmio's Stadium) is. We got there about 2 hours early and walked into the complex of Estadio Olimpico, we weren't in the actual stadium yet but we were just outside where there were a ton of people and some food stands and a Grêmio store. Every single person was wearing Grêmio jerseys and hats and coats and scarves and pants and everything you can imagine. Probably 95% of the crowd was for Grêmio. I didn't see a single person rooting for the other team, Goiás, the whole day. I saw a Goiás flag and a banner at the other end of the field but that was it. Then we entered the stadium which surprised me because it looked smaller than from what I had seen on TV. It was really beautiful though. There are two levels. The top level has all seats just like a stadium in the US. The lower level has two big sections, one has benches and the other has cement steps because no one there is sitting. The sections are separated by a tall metal grating to hold back crazy fans. At the base of the stands there is a wall so people don't jump onto the field but not only that, past the wall there is a 15 foot deep cement trench which has barbed wire all along the rim so no one gets onto the field. We were two hours early but there were still a lot of people there. The stadium kept on filling up until it was almost completely packed, it was pretty incredible. Me, Bernardo, Guto, and Arthur were in the Geral do Grêmio which is behind the goal on the lower level and is where all the craziest fans are. No one ever sits down there. It was a crazy fanatical party the entire game, even before the players were on the field. The most amazing thing about Grêmio fans is that they are ALWAYS singing their team songs. They have so many songs and everybody knows them by heart. You are just surrounded by thousands and thousands of people all wearing the same jersey, jumping up and down in synch, waving Grêmio flags, and singing the same song all together. They also have a band that plays along to the music. This all creates the most unbelievable, empowering atmosphere and experience I've ever been a part of in my life. At first I only knew like two or three songs but during the game I picked up more. When it got dark people all around us started shooting off fireworks toward the field. The Geral is the most crazy thing in the world. But the single craziest thing about it is what they do when Grêmio scores a goal. They call it "Avalanche". Everyone in the Geral runs to the bottom of the stands in an "avalanche" of people. It doesn't sound that crazy but to be in one is insane. My friends kept telling me the whole game "as soon as they score, run. It doesn't matter who is in front of you or who falls over just run". When they finally did score it was at the other end of the field so it was hard to see what happened but it was easy to know that they scored when the avalanche started. It was like being in a mass panic attack and every single person had to get to the bottom of the stands or they were going to die. I was being pushed from the back like hell so I pushed the person in front of me like hell. I can't believe I didn't trip and fall but if I had I don't know what would've happened to me. Even when there wasn't any more room to go forward, the ocean of people collapsing down on you from behind pushed you even harder into the people in front of you. It felt like being in the worst dogpile of my life but I was standing up. A huge section of people next to me started sinking down and I was being dragged down too but I fought back and stayed on my feet. Then the climb back up the stands was almost equally as chaotic. I was just using people all around me to climb. And then the chanting and singing began all over again. It was indescribable. After the first half we moved to a less crazy section because we had been jumping the whole time, Arthur's shoulder was bleeding because someone stabbed him with a flagpole during the Avalanche, and we actually wanted to watch part of the game. Everyone was still standing up but there was no risk of Avalanche. We got a good view of the goal that Grêmio was attacking but sadly they didn't score in the second half. Goiás won 2-1 and everyone was very angry. But we didn't stop singing and we left the stadium singing "O Grêmio vai sair campeão!" which means "Grêmio will emerge the champion". It was amazing and I will never forget it.

Grêmio Game

2008-09-11T18:33:00.000-03:00

Now I can officially say that I AM going to a Grêmio game. This saturday in Porto Alegre vs. Goiás. It's going to be amazing.

Virus

2008-09-10T21:00:00.000-03:00

So since Sunday night I've had this really bad virus that completely drains me of liquids and sucks out my energy. All I could have the first day was small sips of water but even those made me throw up. Then the second day I tried juice with the same result. By the end of the second day I could successfully eat crackers and tonight I had my first real meal of rice and beans. By now I'm almost fully recovered but I haven't been to school or out of the house in the past 3 days. Apparently it's been going around the city and I was already weak from my sore throat so I got it. I'm all good now but it was an interesting experience because I've never had such a nasty sickness before. I'm really glad I got vaccinated for all those worse diseases like yellow fever and such.

Terço

2008-09-05T21:40:00.000-03:00

Tonight is a horrible, freezing cold, rainy night, but we had an excellent Churrasco at Bernardo's grandparents house. But before dinner me, Nana, Bernardo, Paulo and Lala went to the house of one of their relatives for a Catholic ritual called "Terço". My family here is Catholic as is most of Brazil. There were about 20 family members there. We all sat together in kind of a circle and one by one people passed around the rosary beads and said prayers. I couldn't understand what they were saying but it was definitely important. There were all kinds of emotions from laughing to crying all at the same time. It was very cool.

Presentation at São Luis

2008-09-03T22:30:00.000-03:00

Last friday I went to São Luis Gonzaga which is a public school here in Veranópolis. It is much larger, with about 1,600 students. I went there to talk with all the english students which was a lot because here in Brazil english classes are mandatory. So I had a crowd of about 100 students and a few teachers. At first they were all shy and there weren't any questions but after I talked a little about who I was and what I was doing here in Brazil people started to have questions. Nana told me afterwards that one of the teachers that was there told her that she was so nervous to ask me a question that she was shaking. I think people don't really understand that I'm just a regular kid that likes to talk and is very understanding and open. Nana said that many people are afraid to talk to me because I'm from so far away I'm almost like an E.T. and it's scary to ask. But since I know this now I try to make them feel comfortable asking questions and joking around with me. I ended up having to leave before I could answer all the questions so I might be going back sometime. I want to because I really like talking to crowds like that and sharing information about our culture and my life because every time I do, I learn tons of really amazing things about Brazilian culture, opinions about the US, cultural differences and many many other things. Plus at the end of the "speach" as a thank you present they gave me a basket of Pão de Queijo and a book of Brazilian poetry.

Beggining of Independance Day Celebrations

2008-09-01T18:37:00.000-03:00

Independance Day in Brazil is September 7th and the week leading up to it is called the "Semana Da Patria". Today was the first day of celebration. On the seventh there is a big parade through the city and I will be in it too. Me and some people in my class have to do this awkward dance with these poles, it's so ridiculous and I really don't want to do it but I have no choice.

Today after 1st period we all went to the town square right in front of the church for a big event. All the local schools were there and each had a small group of dancers that performed. Everyone dances here in Brazil and almost all of them are good. CETEC danced Samba and Salsa. There was also a stage set up where a few important men and women stood and talked on microphones but I didn't understand what they said or who they were. They also had a flag raising ceremony and everyone sung the national anthem which is really beautiful. I think it's interesting that everyone was singing where as in the US almost no one sings the national anthem, or even the flag solute. After school there was a very nice birthday ceremony for our classmate Luana which included eggs and flour which is apparently a tradition in Brazil.

Concert

2008-09-01T17:39:00.000-03:00

On Sunday me, Bernardo, Nana, and Lala went to a concert at the Cultural Center of Veranópolis. Like everything here in Veranópolis the Cultural Center is very small and so was the Orchestra. It had 23 people who were mostly high school students with a few adults. It was called "Orquestra De Sopros De Veranópolis". The concert was a "Concerto De Cinema" so they played the themes from some popular movies. The interesting thing was that 10 of the 11 movies were american just like many forms of media here. Almost all the popular movies here are american, same with TV shows like Lost, CSI, Gossip Girl, The Simpsons, and Prison Break. The orchestra started out by playing the "Century Fox" theme which was pretty funny for me because I thought I was going to a classical concert. They also played the James Bond Theme, The Circle of Life, The Lord of the Rings Theme, The Indiana Jones Theme, Pirates of the Caribbean Theme, The Pink Panther Theme, The Peter Gun Theme, The Theme from Titanic, The Good The Bad And The Ugly Theme, and the theme from 1492 - Conquest of Paradise. They played pretty well. It was kind of like a small high school band. While they were playing they had a screen showing a montage of scenes from the movie that the music was from.

Gym/School Schedule

2008-08-29T19:05:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-21T21:11:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-17T18:42:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-15T13:37:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-14T20:22:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-13T13:24:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-12T20:31:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-09T14:01:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-04T20:19:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-03T21:35:00.000-03:00

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!

2008-08-03T21:21:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-03T01:08:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-02T15:27:00.000-03:00

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

2008-08-02T15:24:00.004-03:00

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.