oiii meu amigos.

so it's been over a month. my apologies! today I have officially been in brasil for 3 months. I won't say I am always too busy to be writing on here, but i am either busy, or too tired to make the effort. lol. that's what 7 am school does to me everyday.
update-
I changed host families last weekend! I was so incredibly nervous about this, you have no idea. Here's my situation,
hello, this is my first time meeting you, but I'm going to live in your house for three months even though I know nothing about you and most of the time have no idea what you're saying.
luckily for me, me and my new host mother click really good. she's a single lady, her children and grown and out of the house, she's hilarious and is so nice to me. I already feel so at home in her house and I am loving life. shes a lawyer and travels alot, and lucky for me I get to go along! my first weekend here we traveled to a city 3 hrs away and saw a concert of a very famous rock band in brasil. we even got VIP access, it was so fun!
I am going on my beach tour of the North East in just around 12 days! I am so excited! I can't wait.
I leave on November 18 and come back the 18 of December, by the time I get back to my town it will be summer time and school will be out! It's crazy because I just came out of a muskoka summer! school doesn't go back until around February I think.
I am so happy! my portuguese is getting so much better. I can understand mostly everything people are saying, I can decently write and read, but I am still having some problems speaking. my mouth just doesn't seem to want to make the sounds! and the verbs are killing me. but I am getting better for sure.
I am definitely missing canada these days, it's so crazy to think I haven't seen my friends, family, home, school, town, country, even my continent in three months. I never thought I would experience anything like that at such a young age- I'm living in a different continent, with no family or friends, where they speak a different language, and I am only 16. intense!

for example about how awesome my mom is, she's blasting "footloose" from the other room.

tchau tchau for now, and I promise I will write again before my trip!!!

Eu amo minha amigas brazillian !

OIIIIIIIIIIIIII VOCES! 

I have been so busy lately that my mom has to remind me to blog! hehe. 

THINGS ARE AMAZING
I have been in Brasil for 2 months! wow! where has the time gone? My exchange is going to be over before I know it! waaaaaaah. 
Being here for 2 months also means that I am moving host familes in just one short month! Which sucks! I love my host family to bits! they are so nice and welcoming to me, I have so much appreciation to them. I am especially upset because I have just began to feel at home in my house, and I have to move. Oh well though! New adventures.

I have been going out with my friends alot, watching movies, going out to eatm going dancing. I have bonded with them so much already, its going o be so heartbreaking to leave them. But, I can see trips to Brasil in my future, and maybe even some can come to Canada for a short while! Who knows. 

As I have been going out and constantly meeting new people, I have made some realizations.

realization #1-
People from Canada, USA, and places I have travelled in Europe, all seem very rude and stuck up, after spending time here. For example, in Canada while meeting new people at a dance club, there is much awkwardness in the air, a quick hello, maybe a handshake, and thats the end of it. While in Brasil, even when people didn't know I was Canadian, I was instantly pulled in, hugged and given a kiss on the cheek, asked questions about myself, and invited to join the circle of friends. When you are talking to someone, its not unusual for them to hold your hand, or stroke your head. This takes some getting used to, but its second nature to embrace people I have only just met, as though I have been friends with them for years now. 

realization #2- 
As I have spent time here, I notice that I have been alot less self conscious about my body. Teenage girls are all typical self conscious, but since I have been here, I truly feel alot healthier of my body image. The girls on the posters are not disgustingly thin, but healthy and curvy. The clothes are not so small that a child could wear them, but made for a healthy body. The girls all wear revealing clothes that show off their HEALTHY curvy body. I definitely have been apppreciating this feeling, and didn't realize how much we actually are influenced by the medias portrayal of "beauty".

realization #3-  
Since I have been here, people have been saying how beautiful and pretty I am. I finally got it explained to me, seeing as Brazillian people are some of the prettiest people in the world, and I often feel very plain compared to some of the girls here. Although I have in the southern hemisphere, much of the media is still American. For instance, movies, tv shows, pictures, are all faces of Americans. So to them, beauty is what the media portrays as beauty, which is an American face! Crazy.

Update!

Hey everyone! I am sorry that I haven't blogged in forever, I have been so busy latley!
Anyways, even though I haven't been posting blogs, I have been writing lots of material down so that when I finally got a chance to do it I wouldn't be forgetting anything, so each section here is from a different date which I wrote down throughout the last weeks.

September 3-
I've decided to starting writing blogs on paper when thing are actually happening, compared to waiting once a week and trying to jam everything into my mind. Thanks to my Argentina exchange student for this iea!
So  school is probably one of the best things about coming here, although I am not getting any credits while I'm here, school is so easy for me. But yet while being here my Potuguese improves so much because I am constantly hearing it. MY family has started limiting using English for me, as well as I am trying to limit speaking English. Even though that's what my friends speak to me. I can't believe I have already been here a month. If the rest of my exchange goes as quickly as the first month, I will be home much too soon. With a whole different attitude and personality, I hope.
I have made many friends here already and luckily my host parents are very good regarding letting go out at night and allowing my friends to come over to my house. I have 4 host familys this year, which means 3 months at each house. I am already not looking forward to moving. I move November 6th, exactly 3 months after I arrived here. I am going on a school trip to Uberaba next week! Uberaba is a city about the size of Barrie, about 45 minutes away from my home town Sacramento.


September 10th- 
I have been super busy latley! Yesterday I went on a school trip to Uberaba, whcih is a fairly big city. We went to a play, which unfortunatley I didn't understand much of. After the play we went to the mall which AMAZINGLY had a Mcdonalds! Which I had given up hope on finding in this country haha. this Saturday is my Rotary orientation. Tomorrow actually! Which I am both nervous for and very excited for. I am nervous because I won't be able to understand much Portuguese, and also won't no anyone. But I know that everyone else had the same experience of portuguese and no one will know each other, seeing as we're from all different countries! I am very excited because I know that exchange students ALWAYS connect, since we are al going through the exact same thing. The Rotary students I met in Canada have been made my friends forever by this experience, so hopefully I will be able to make some more good friends.!

"at one point, everything you did was exactly what you wanted"

September 13th- 
This weekend was the best wekend yet! It was lots of fun. onFriday, I went to my friends house with all my friends and we made a pizza and watched some movies, it was very fun. On Saturday was the Rotary Students orientation. I met all the exchange students in my district, 4770. This happened at a town about 2 hours away from my home town. It was very fun to meet all the syudents that are going though the same thing that I am. The meeting was mostly in English, although we all chose to speak a little Portuguese. We had group excercises to get to know each other and had to learn all about the trips that we are offered to take while in Brasil. On Saturday night after the orientation I went to a birthday party with my friends and met alot of new friends. It was awesome!
I am very happy to say that I will be going on a trip in November, this is a NortH East trip! It is one month long and I get to go to many beaches and capital cities. I am very excited for this, I am sure it will be the funniest experience ever!

thats all for now! I promise there won't be so much of a wait next time!
mutio amor amigos <3

weeelll heelloo!

Im so sorry I havent been blogging!
I thought my account was deleted but it just let me back on!

I have been soooo busy latley! every night going out with friends, or just been so tired and passing out right away!
On the 26th, Wednesday, my host brother Natan, 17, went on his own exchange to USA Michigan! This was very sad, especially since he was the only one in the house who could speak any english!
Although, his plane left from the airport of none other than the largest city in South America, Sao Paulo, so I got a chance to visit and stay over night in this huge city!
Sao Paulo has a population of 20 million, which makes Canada's ENTIRE population of 32 million seem a little small! It was definitely a city though, the polution and the smell doesnt change no matter what country you're in!
It was very sad to say good bye to my host brother, especially since it reminded me of when I had to say goodbye to my own family 3 weeks ago back in Canada.
I didnt get to see much of the city, only what we saw when we drove around, seeing as we were at the air port all day and its a five hour drive back home. But, what I could see from the windows was definitely amazing.
Ive been really happy latley. Last weekend was the birthday of my city, Sacramento, so it was a holiday and I didnt have to go to school the Monday OR the Tuesday!
There was a big party for 4 nights in a row, with popular Brazillian artists performing. I went on the Monday night and it was very fun! Met lots of new people!
Things just keep on getting better and better here, and I love it so much, I've already been here for 3 weeks!
Definitely doesn't feel that long. Next Friday it will be a month!
I was supposed to have Rotary orientation this weekend, but unfortunatly it was cancelled due to all the exchhange students not being in Brasil yet. So it has been changed to next weekend instead. I am very excited to meet all the exchange students. I know from how much I loved them in Canada that I will love everyone here too! They are great to have as friends because they are going through exactly what I am going through so they can definitely understand.

Portuguese is definitely getting easier to understand! I can't speak much, but I can now pick out words when I hear people talking!

tchau ameigos! mutio amor <3

OIII

helloooo all.
I have been very busy this weekend, enjoying not having to wake up at 6 am hehe.
So far my weekend has been very very good.
Thursday night I went to a barbeque,
Friday, watched a movie with friends then went to a serenade!
Serenades happen when someone turns 15 years old.  You wait a few days after their birthday and then go to their house while they are sleeping and play music right outside their window surprising them. There was about 30 people there! Then there was a little party in her house after wards. It was so fun and she was definitely surprised!

I discovered that girls here ALWAYS wear heels, which was a plesant surprise to me because I lovvvvee heels and I never get to wear them at home. So Saturday called for some shoe shopping, on sale of course mom ;)

Saturday night, last night, I went to a place called Mealnios with some friends, it was very fun. Then went for a walk around the town and met some new people.

Things have been very good and I think its safe to say that I am adapting very well.
I am beginning to understand what ´people are saying, well some things!
although i think one of the weirdest things is hearing people dicuss you and not being able to understand hah!
well, muito amor ameigas. <3

oh- and here is my facebook picture link, it should work even  if you dont have facebook.

Fooood

Okokokokok i finally figured out how we eat here.. Since its different then canada and each day has been slightly different.

Breakfast at 7 am. Includes hot milk, and bread with ham.
School snack at 9 am. Weird bread thing with meat and cheese in it.
Lunch, 1 pm. Always rice, and some kind of meet.
Snack, 4 pm. Usually bread.
Dinner, 8:30, 9 pm. Not as big as lunch.

This is very different frim at home, seeing as i wouldnt eat breakfast, eat lunch at 12, and a big dinner at 5:30.. Lol.

:)

I just got home from my third day of school and thought i would do some updating.
Things have been gooing bery very very good.
I went to a rotary meeting on monday night, meet all of the rotarians and my youth consellors in Brasil which was very good. I sat at the front of the room, hehe. Everyine seemed thirlled to meet me.
At the end end of the rotary meeting, as i was driving to my new house with my host mother, and my 2 host brothers, i found myself laughing and giggling like i would if i was at home and i realized that Brasil is a place that suits me so perfectly, i cannot describe it.
Schoooool.
School has gotten much much better since the first day. i have made some friends and everyone in my class is very nice to me.
Last night, i went out with some new friends. We went shopping, got ice cream, and watched one of my favourite tv shows, Pretty Little Liars. They try hard to speak in English, but otherwise i do not understand a word they say, what with all the slang they use lol!
Today, my teachers started to take time and teach me some portugese. I learned all the pronouns, as well as some verbs and how to congigate them!!!
It is sooooo hot here. But i love it. Its going to be hard to go back to the snow in a years time.


Muito amor.

my life exactlyyyy

I found this on another exchange students blog.
If anyone wants to know what it's like to be an exchange students, this honestly defines it ALL! 
I've bolded the ones that are my favorite and I find myself doing most.


TOP 10 REASONS YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN EXCHANGE STUDENT:

1. You're better than your teacher in your foreign language class.

2. You do something wrong, people look at you weird, and your excuse is: 'Well, that's how we do it in my country,' even if it isn't.

3. Your dreams are bilingual.

4.You have gone in to greet someone with a handshake and found yourself being pulled into an awkward hug/double kiss on the cheek.

5.You spend a lot of time smiling, nodding, and pretending you understand what's going on.

6. It becomes a habit to introduce yourself by saying: 'I am from (country) and my name is (name).'

7. You've tried so many different foods only because you can't understand the person asking you what you want. You just nod your head, and pray that it tastes half-decent.

8.You sometimes walk around school during breaks to act like you're doing something because you don't see anyone you recognize and don't want to stand there awkward.

9. You've said something like 'oh yes' or 'no thanks' only to have everyone laugh because your answer made no sense compared to the question.

10. You actually got a high-five when you understood what someone said to you. 

School time!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=13942758&l=6763338c52&id=791335060


Today was my very first day of school here in Sacramento, Brasil!
School here is berry different from school back home, for instance, they start school here at 7 am, meaning that I had to wake up ever so early at 6 am. Holy early! 
This was a big shock to me, considering that i just got in the habit of sleeping in until 3 pm back home.

I was nervous about my first day,
What were the people like? 
Would they be mean?
What would they think of me?
Will my work be hard?
Even though I had all these worries, I had a very good day. Everyone was very friendly, they weren't mean at all, they are all very interested to know me, as they say. My teachers understood that I didn't speak one word of portugese and didn't expect me to do any work at all! It was a breeze.  
Some of my girl class mates told me that they could read and write English better than they can speak and understand it, so for one of my classes we passed around a note where they asked all about my school back home. 

Here are the main differences between my new school, and my school back home in Canada.

- the school houses all grades in one very small building.
- only grades 10-12 are considered highschool grades.
- they have six classes a day, with a break between every 2 classes.. They have no lunch break. (my school at home has 4 classes a day, ten minute breaks between each one, with an hour long lunch break.)
- since all classes are mandatory, you stay with  your class in the same classroom for the whole day, switching teachers. Much like public school.
- there are no pa systems
- they're are no computers, only chalkboards.
- school ends at 12:30 pm, compared to 3:10 pm.

My uniform is: jeans and a Rosseau College, shirt. Although I don't have a shirt, so I can practically wear whatever I want.

Also today, I went shopping with my host brother and my new friend. I bought jeans, seeing as I have to wear them everyday but didn't think to pack any.. And some shirts.

I love life.

Muito amor! 

Muito amor!

Today was my first day in Brasil.

I woke up to a breakfast on the table, unpacked all my clothes and then spent the morning with my family in the family room. I still don't understand anything, so mostly I just sit quietly and smile.
Then I went with my host brother to meet all his friends and watch a movie. I met about 6 girls and 2 boys. We made a desert that is kind of like fudge, they didn't give me a name for it. It was very good and very sweet. It is very common here and they eat it with just about every desert. I am happy that I met a few of my classmates before I got to school on Monday.
They are all very nice and very welcoming! One of the boys I met knew how to speak French, so we had a short conversation en Francais! It was nice to finally undertstand and be understood! Lol.
I am slowly learning to language, I can say a few words already.. Understanding my family is getting easier too, as they have began to use hand signals haha.
After the movie I met my host brother's girlfriend's family, then went to a restaurant and to get ice cream. At the resturant we ate French fries with cheese and bacon on it.. Seemed very Canadian to me!
They listen to a lot of the same music that I listen to, like Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber. Minha iramo (my brother), who is 10 LOVES Justin Beiber! Hehe.
It is so beautiful here. I am in love with the atmosphere, everyone just seems so happy and celebrated, it is like a breath of fresh air.
Although it is very hot in the day time, at night time it gets quite cold, which I wasn't expecting.
I am very happy here. Even though I can't understand a word anyone is saying, lol.
<3

The first day!

I have finally made it to Brasil! I love it here already, even though I was only able to stay conscious for about 3 hours before I had to sleep.
Eveerything here is different from Canada. Even the ground is a bright orange, compared to our earthy brown.
My family is so nice. I have two host brothers, one who is leaving on exchange on August 26. He is the only one in the house who speaks English.. So looks like I'll have to start learning portugese as soon as possible. I have only met my host mother for a brief ten minutes.. As she was not able to come to the airport to get me. They are all overly nice and I love them already.
I can't understand a word any one is saying, which makes things hard but mostly I just nod my head and smile and say obrigada! Which means thanks you. I thought the language barrier would bother me more.. But so far I am ok with it.
Everyone in my town is excited to meet me, according to my family. Many of them have already added me on Facebook and are writing on my wall. Luckily they all study English. My host brother has invited people over tomorrow to watch a movie so they can all meet me. I am both excited and nervous about this!
My host father calls me "minna filla" which means my daughter!
So far everything is good. Tomorrow is fathers day and also youngest brothers birthday.
I can already feel how amazing of an experience this will be.

First Post- the airport.

I Am currently sitting in the airport in Miami. Ive been meaning to start a blog before I go.. So I decided why not start while I have 3 hours of boredom facing me. I was really scared about my flight, as I had four airports and three connecting flights to catch.. And having to do it solo isn't the easy thing when you're sixteen, but so far all has been smooth except for a few little scares.
It's still like this hasn't set in.. Still feels like it's not all real.. Maybe when I'm on my last flight it finally will be. Right now it feels like I'm taking a vacation. Although I'm so excited! People have already been adding me on Facebook from my hometown in brazil and they all seem so friendly already! Which eases some of my worry. I've only really freaked out once, which is when I first said bye to my parents and headed through customs and security, at that point I actually thought 'what am I doing' but then I soon remembered that this will be the best time of my life.. Hopefully!