Ariel Dunster -- Brazil

March 16, 2010

Rotary District 4420, Santos- Boqueirão
Current Family Address: Rua Alberto Bacarat nº50 apt 21Boqueirão, Santos, SP, Brazil11050-050

In the past month I´ve done a lot. It began with Carnaval here in Brazil. My family and I went to an island just off the coast of Santos. At night they had samba/pagode bands along the beach. I had a head cold for a little over a week, but a lot of rest helped me to get better quickly.

My American sister and her fiancée came to Brazil from March 6th- March 14th. It was good to see them. I was able to do a lot with them while they were here. I ran a 10k, and was able to visit a lot of turistical places that I hadn´t been to before. We visited the old historical part of Santos, including going to the top of one of the morros surrounding the city, as well as passed through the coffee museum. There were several interesting facts in this museum, such as that there were competitions to see who could walk with the most bags of coffee beans on their back. The champion could carry 5 coffee sacks, which altogether weighed about 300kg.

One of my favorite things I did with them was learn how to surf. All of us succeeded in standing up and balancing on the board after only 1 hour.

One of the most difficult things about this month is that 3 more of my good friends left to go to college in different cities. I felt like I had a going away party for a good friend practically every weekend.

This month has been one of my favorites because of all the opportunities I´ve had. I now go to Santos soccer games on a regular basis, and I´ve learned the portuguese chants. I learned how to surf, and I´ve seen some of the greatest views of Santos possible. It was also a month of hard work and training with running in order to complete the 10k. This will be one month I´ll never forget.