Since the last time I posted I have experienced so many new things and reached a much higher level of Portuguese proficiency. I was not excited to be trading host families because I had such a great relationship with the first one but the trade did occur at the perfect time because I traded families a few days before Carnaval and my new host sister lives in a city famous for its great Carnaval! I also have been to five soccer games since the family trade and it's always an interesting experience because Brazilians truly are crazy about soccer. CRAZY. With all of the police barriers between opposing fans and foul language used even by children and the fireworks and flares lit up you almost feel as if you're in a war zone! One of the games I saw was between Brasil and Uruguay and that was definitely the most entertaining of them all.
I'm currently now with the high school
"seniors" since here the school year starts in January and they have a
ton more class and studying to do so that has been a bit of a bummer for
me because nobody is willing to do anything during the week and there
are no school sports activities or clubs I can get involved in. However,
I have been making the best of this situation throughout my exchange by
killing my free time listening to Brazilian music. I know all the words
to a ton of popular Brazilian songs which has really impressed and
surprised a lot of people but more importantly it has helped me so much
with my Portuguese. Music is so great to adjust to the speed as well as
picking up on slang. One big piece of advice I would give to future
exchange students is to listen to a ton of music in your host language!
I would also like to share some details from the best
experience/trip of my entire life, the Amazon Expedition! The trip
consisted of 9 days, 3 boats, 60 exchange students, and numerous
memories that I will always hold close. I had the chance to visit an
indigenous tribe, see the encounter of the Rio Negro and Amazon River,
and trek through the forest during the day and night. I also saw so much
amazing wildlife which involved me watching monkeys swinging through
the trees, fishing for piranhas, swimming with the rare "pink dolphins",
and holding an anaconda/sloth/alligator all in the same day! Not only
will I leave with these new experiences but I now have friends from all
over the world that I hope to visit one day.
Thank you rotary for making all of this a possibility!
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