Brasil, Baby!

Oi Everybody!   So sorry for not posting more often, but I've fallen back into my habit of being busy every second of every day! I also heard that the pictures on my previous post were not showing up for some people. I'll attach some to this post, and if it doesn't work then I will try to figure something else out.   My first day of school was August 20. I'm not gonna lie, I was so nervous to start school. I knew no one at the school, spoke virtually zero Portuguese, and didn't know how to be "normal". It turned out that everyone was right, making friends was easy. I started my first day with an English placement test (hahaha), and people were coming into the office and interrupting my test just to introduce themselves! I quickly found a group of friends to eat lunch with and still eat with them nearly everyday. These girls have taken me out on the weekends and have already shown me so much love. Most of the teachers at my school speak English and

     Hey there! I am beyond excited to say that I am writing this post from the couch in my current home in Brazil!       Saying goodbye to my Colorado friends and family was difficult, but we made light of the situation like we always do (making funny faces while crying). My flight to Chicago was pretty quick and painless, but then I got to the gate for my connecting flight to São Paulo. I showed up sporting a USA t-shirt and a very pale complexion... I immediately stood out among the 100+ Brazilians waiting for the flight! That was my first taste of the culture shock I was about to experience. On the ten hour flight, I sat with a young girl and her grandma, (Brazilians) neither of them knew any English. We still got along just fine with the few words I was able to say to them in Portuguese. Flying over São Paulo was the most AMAZING experience. I've never seen or even imagined such a big city! However, that meant the airport was quite an adventure. I was fortunate enough

Hi Everybody!      Welcome to my blog. I'm so excited to have this platform to share pictures, stories, and updates on my exchange with everyone back home! As of right now, I'll be leaving in less than a month (August 9th). The reality of packing has started to kick in, so I've been making lists and packing what I can recently. I'm going to try, and hopefully succeed, in fitting a year's worth of belongings into one large suitcase, a duffel bag, and a carry on backpack (thank God for school uniforms!). I haven't taught myself as much Portuguese as I would have liked, but I will have a five month language class to help me out once I'm there. I can read it very well thanks to my five years of Spanish, but I still have a very hard time understanding and speaking it. I'm very excited to improve my language skills this year.      I've been texting and emailing with my first host family for over a month. I'll be living with Luciana (Mom) and her 2