Foz fotos

Paraguai e Foz de Iguaçu

On Friday, my host parents, my host sister and my host cousin and I went to Paraguay and Foz de Iguaçu. This is about an eleven hour car ride, which, in a five person car was less than comfortable, but survivable. Anyways, my host dad is always going to Paraguay because it's a lot cheaper to buy a lot of things there, especially electronics and make-up and...idk, mirrors? Also fake Christmas trees. But anyways, this time they decided to take me and my host sister and my host cousin, I just had to pay for the hotel and food. Anyways, so we got to this hotel and it was honestly probably the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. That being said, the hotels I've stayed in have been incredibly clean and I therefore have pretty unreasonably high expectations for hotels, especially considering that a majority of the people staying in this hotel are only there to go buy cheap stuff in Paraguay. Also, though, I couldn't help but be a bit taken aback by the fact that this hotel was considered pretty nice, and by pretty nice, I mean more than mediocre. But it served it's purpose well, and the continental breakfast was probably the only one I've ever seen that served edible food, at least that I can remember.

Anyways, we got up at like 6 in the morning and went and parked in this garage, then took a van across the border to Paraguay. They city on the other side of the border is crowded, crazy, dirty chaos. We went and bought new phones for my host sister and cousin, and everything can be payed for in either American dollars or reais, or, basically any type of currency from the area and the dollar. It's just that it's cheaper to pay in dollars. Also, they way it works is that you choose what you want, then the people that work there print a receipt with what you want and you go stand in a line to pay. After you've paid, you take your little receipt thing that's now marked "paid" and you go stand in another line to retrieve your item(s). In my opinion, this only increases the chaos, but is kinda nice cuz I guess you don't have to walk around with 40 things you want to buy in your arms and eliminates the need for shopping carts or something like that.

Anyways, I remembered why I hate shopping, especially with other people and in a language I kind of speak. But it was overall a pretty interesting experience...

Anyways, we finally got back to the hotel thing, changed clothes, and went to the waterfalls, which are the prettiest things I've seen in Brazil, if not in my entire life. They're huge and they never cease to exist; they just keep going on and on and on. There's this one part, where you can go out over the falls and you're just surrounded by them, whether you're looking up or down or straight ahead, and at the same time there's this cold mist blowing over you, and while looking into it, there's this rainbow, so strong that you can take a picture of it and still see it. Also there're these little creature things everywhere, birds, and other things that I forget the names of, but it's really, really nice.

It was a bit touristy, but that was actually nice...I really didn't feel like a tourist there, as in like from another country. Actually, my host dad told them I was Brazilian because it was cheaper to get in by like R$25.But aside from this even, I could communicate with the people in Portuguese, and was treated by the employees as if I were Brazilian, though maybe because I was with my host family, but it was pretty cool still.

Also on this trip, I saw sooooo many things that I haven't seen since I left the US. This includes lots of things in English, certain foods (oreos, reeses, meatballs, etc...) and maybe a bit of just overall culture. There are too many pictures to post here, so maybe I'll use facebook for the first time in my life...

Exame de faixa

Well, i found something to do with my free time, sort of. These past two weeks I've been going to karate and training the afternoon to prepare for the exam that was yesterday. This was kind of cool because there's a part of the exam that consists of applications of the forms, or katas, so I trained with a friend of mine, which made it more interesting and fun. 

Anyways, the system of testing and belts is different here, it's almost like the kung fu school's new system that's actually not really new anymore I guess. But anyways, for the curious, the order is white, orange, blue, blue with black stripe, purple, purple with black stripe, green, green with black stripe, brown with white stripe, brown, and brown with black stripe, then come the series of dans and black belts. But anyways, so the younger kids have a whole lot more leeway, and often go in the order listed above. Adults, and older kids however, pften skip belts. For example, no one in the older class ever gets and orange belt; they just go right to blue. However it's also possible to jump higher. For example, my friend and I ended up earning purple. There are just different requirements for each one. Maybe his makes absolutely no sense, and maybe it makes some, but here ya are. 

Oh, and also, when they say that martial arts trains the mind and body, they weren't kidding. Here there is also a knowledge test. For example, the code of karate-do has seven parts and there are five principles. For this test, there was a written portion in which we had to write all of the code and the principles. It was kinda cool to see the emphasis on not just the physical aspects. Also everyone except for me was required to sing the national anthem of brasil, so it's really focusing on you being a good person and being aware of who and where you are.

Also, you don't learn what belt you've earned until later. There was bonekai, or a little party today, they say after, where the Shihan announced all the results. Talk about suspense, haha. 

On a completely unrelated note, it was pretty interesting because today a friend asked me if I think in Portuguese or English. And honestly, aside from the conversations I have in English, I think in portuguese. and sometimes I'm conversing in English and realize how much easier it is to communicate what I want to say on Portuguese and have to reverse translate. So that was a pretty cool revelation, actually.

Unfortunately I have little more to say as my life has been pretty much karate lately. But oh, in January my third host mom is taking me to some beach. I am spending Christmas with my cousins' cousin's family and New Years at some ranch with my third host family. Then in February I am going to Rio for a few days and in May I am going on an Amazônia trip. So I'm getting some traveling on, which I'm super excited about.

This is all I can think of for now, so tchau tchau, até mais tarde.

100 Days

Well, according to IYWT's website, today marks 100 days that I've been in Brasil. It's kind of weird, honestly though, because by the 100th day of school it feels like you've been there for a millennium and a half whereas now I feel like I've been here about 2 months maximum. Though I guess maybe that's because you don't get to count weekends to get to the hundredth day of school.

Anyways, there is not too much to do on vacation. I've been going up to the downtown on foot a lot, especially to the bank. The exercise is nice, as is my increasing knowledge of the city. 

On Friday there was a Rotary meeting at the waterpark in Olímpia, about 45 minutes from Mirassol and that was super fun. It's all natural water and it's like really warm, but it's also pretty cool - nothing compared to the dells, but still up there. But also it was strange to speak English at a normal speed and be understood. I almost forgot I had that capability.

Anyways, there was this giant half-sphere like thing with ropes and you could climb up it and shove people off the top, which I found as a pretty big highlight; I went on it 3 times. Also though, the refeesment areas are in this like glass tank filled with water and so you don't have to stand on hard pavement just to drink some water or something.

Also here's our Christmas tree:

3 Mêses

Well, yesterday marked three months since my arrival here in Brazil. That's crazy, especially considering the fact that my last blog entry occurred one month and seven days into my exchange. And, without a doubt, lots has happened since then. I don't even know where to begin, to be honest. I guess, no one celebrates Thanksgiving, (obviously), or Halloween here. However, due to the fact that I am not a fan of Thanksgiving, I was none too upset. Though perhaps some candy on Halloween wouldn't have killed anyone.

I can confidently say that I am learning, and learning quickly, through doing stupid things.

Another thing I've been pondering lately is school. I think I can pretty confidently say that I am not a fan of school here. I am becoming more and more grateful for the quality of the public education I have received in my life, especially compared to the private school education I am receiving here, and considering that Coopem is ranked in the top 50 schools in the region. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I don't like about school here, but I definitely felt that I was offered a wider variety of opportunities in the US, both in terms of class choices and my future, such as Math Modeling and extra-curriculars. Though I suppose it is worth the pain of getting up at six every morning to have a free afternoon. And the fact that a majority of the tests are in the afternoon, while a pain, are nice so as to not waste teaching time. P.S. I'm on summer vacation until February as of this past week.

But this being said, I also spend a lot of time pondering ethnocentrism a lot, and have been trying to pinpoint, in my own opinions, when I actually think something is better with good reasons, or when I prefer what I am familiar with, simply because it has been the norm for a majority of my life. However, it's not just me, I can feel ethnocentrism everywhere here, especially within my family. Sharing cultures, at least in my opinion, is not about changing your ways, but by at least acknowledging the validity in a way that is different from your own.

Other noteworthy things that I done include going to the Rodeio and the Formatura da Coopem, neither of which I found incredibly fascinating, but both of which were good experiences to take advantage of here. I also went to a Karate tournament close to here, which was actually really cool and quite a bit different from Karate tournaments in the US and if you're interested, here's my analysis of similarities and differences:

First, this tournament was not only limited to just Karate, but to just this style of Karate, and the different branches of the same school in the region. Because of this, I guess it was a lot easier to judge because it's more a comparison of apples to apples rather than apples to oranges. Also it cost me R$15, rather than like $60 (about R$120), so that was cool. And also, there are divisions based on age and belt color, just like in the US, but your division does kata and sparring at the same time, so you only have to get called once. And there are no weapon divisions. And while you're going, there is another person in the ring, also doing his or her own kata. And there are blue flags and red flags that the judges have. You and your fellow competitor wear either a blue or a red belt. After you both finish, instead of getting a score, the judges hold up the color of the belt of the person they think should win. It's also kinda cool because if you win you go again (get to, have to, depends), but with the kata, you can repeat the same one, or do a different one, which introduces more and more complexity and skill and makes you look a lot more competent, which is pretty cool, though I guess also more tiring. Especially in the sparring when you have a giant division.

I forget what else I've been thinking profoundly about lately, but I suppose this shall suffice por enquanto.

Beijos, atéee...

Missa e Sorvete

Since the last time I've written, I'm pretty sure a lot has happened. I started taking karate classes at a school kinda near my house and it's super nice to be able to get out and do that. I can walk there and the students are very nice, and don't know my host sister, which is a major plus. Because all of my friends know my host sister, and I was beginning to think that there was no one in this city who she didn't know. But I've been doing that Monday, Wednesday, and sometimes Friday. Fridays are harder though because there are churrascos and other stuff going on and the class ends a bit late to still go do other things.

Last Sunday, I went to mass with my host sister. The church is really pretty but I didn't understand much of the service and we got there late so there was only room to stand, which made it feel a little long. But overall, it was nice. And we ate cachorro quente afterwards, which I enjoy quite a bit, though it was with my host sister's friends, who sometimes are pretty intimidating. 

Friday evening, we went to my host sister's school for a gincana, which I guess can be described as a dance competition. Basically the whole school is divided into two teams and then they have to it together a number of predetermined pieces and each team has a turn to perform each dance, then after each team has gone, some professors choose a winner and majority gets the piece, then in the end, whoever has won the most pieces wins the whole event thing and that team gets the trophy. My host sister's team won, for the record. 

Then yesterday, also Sunday but not the Sunday I went to mass, I went and had ice cream with friends from school. It was really nice to hang out with people who aren't my host sister or the other exchange student. Especially since these people are really, really nice and include me in conversations despite the fact that they know they'll have to repeat things about 500 times before I'll understand what they said and then I'll only maybe get it in the end. But we ate ice cream, like I said, then hung out on the...I guess what's the equivalent of the square and watched some people mess around on a slack line. Then we went to someone's house kinda near mine and ate Japanese food. In the end, I'm pretty sure that's the most fun I've had here since arriving, and it's not like I was the least bit discontent before.

Aniversarios e Mais

Since the inbound weekend, I haven't done too many overly exciting things. I went to a bunch of birthday things with my host sister this past weekend and those were fun. 

I also went swimming in the pool here the other day for the first time the other day. Unless you count the time I fell off the raft thing because my host sister and her friend made me laugh. But actual swimming was a bit more fun. It's getting hotter and hotter and I'm beginning to appreciate the cold a lot more than I ever thought possible.

Today we finally applied for our temporary stay licenses with the federal police which is probably a good thing considering we only have 30 says to do so without some pretty drastic potential reprecussions like getting kicked out of the country. It wasn't that exciting. They took a bunch of fingerprints and the lady spelled Chicago like Chigaco and I didn't correct here but that's about it. But speaking of this, it's so weird to think that I've been here almost 30 days and if every month passes this quickly then I'll feel as though I haven't been here for hardly any time. 

There are things that I miss, like quality cheese and familiarity but it's so much less stressful here, even when I remember that I have to college applications like everyone else. But I like this language, despite how little I speak of it. And the people here are crazy. In the best way possible. Well, some of them are a little intimidating but I really like them. Honestly, Brazilians like to talk so much about themselves and about each other. But not like gossiping. Mostly they just like to know and share things for the sake of everyone having lots of information. They're not so judgemental; like they make fun of people but not to be cruel. It's interesting.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, last Thirsday I went with two of my friends from school and watched a muay thai class that they usually take. Then we went and ate hot dogs. Hot dogs here are sooooooo much better than in the US; I don't think I can ever eat another one of those after having eaten them here. But it was super cool getting to hang out with people besides my host sister, just because I have other friends besides her and her friends.

I forget everything else I did, but it's been pretty fun.

Esqueci

Evidently I'm not too great at keeping a blog but as it happens, everytime I'm in the mood to write something, the wifi is out. I don't think that's a coincidence. Whatever. I have now been to two churrascos and those were fun. 

Also, we got cards for a sport club like 10 minutes away that's super nice and I can finally exercise. Also, today my YEO and second host dad took me to a karate place in this city and I'm gonna watch a class on Wednesday and maybe try one out on Friday or something. More on martial arts, I am going with one of my friends from school on Thursday to watch her muau thai class, which I don't really understand yet because I don't understand quite that much Portuguese.

But, speaking of Portuguese, we had out Inbound Orientation for my Rotary district this weekend and that was cool but it was mostly all in English. It was interesting to see how varied people's levels were and I was pretty proud of my Portuguese considering I didn't really study before coming and I'd only been here two weeks then. But it was pretty cool; we had this weird talent show thing so I kinda did kai men, but also it was kinda not of a very high quality but whatever, I won a Brazilian flag and some other thing from it and that was pretty cool.

I'm already starting to forget the things I've done that I haven't written down and I can't decide whether that's bad or good. Because I kinda like just living life and rememberibg what I remember without feeling the need to document every hour of my year here, but also, I really don't want to forget things that I know I will since I'm two weeks into a nine or ten month journey. We'll see.

I don't know what else to write now either. Maybe I'll add more later. For now, até mais.

Aii, Desculpa

Oops, I didn't write for awhile because we didn't have wifi for a few days and then the normal internet went out too but also I kinda was just having fun not writing, though I know I'll regret that later when I look back and can't remember some of the cool things I've done. 

Anyways, we went to a Rotary meeting on Tuesday or Wednesday and that was kinda fun. It's a really small club but also not many people were at that meeting. They had us go up and talk about our cities and that was a challenge considering I'd been there all of three days. It was fun though. And that night and the next I stayed at my second host family's house with the other exchange student because my family went to São Paulo to get a Mexican visa for my host brother who leaves tomorrow.

Also we have been going to school and all the kids are still into the picture taking and facebook adding, but then they like to also chat on facebook... This is weird but kind of nice. At least it was til this one kid told me I write like a six year old. First, I don't know the kid. Second, is that a compliment, an insult, or a fact?? Whatever.

Also, yesterday we went to Monte Libano, which is a sport club that's pretty fancy and had a churrasco and lots of family and other people were there including some of these crazy girls who like to obsess over the mexican exchange student so that was funny because we learned that he was the background of one of their phones, but also we did the cup song thing and that was nice; connecting without needing Portuguese.

Later me and the other exchange student and my host sister went to a churrasco for a guy in out class at school and it was super fun because I got to talk to some of my classmates that I don't talk to as much in school.

Today we had churrasco here and lots of people came over aka the grandmother and aunt and uncles and cousins on my host mom's side of the family and also some neighbors and my host sibling's friends and at one point when the family was leaving, everyone was crying except me, the neighbors, and the other exchange student and let's just say that was awkward.

But whatever, it's been fun and after tomorrow I guess my Portguese will have to improve because there will be no more English speakers. This, however, is for the better.

Ok, tchau tchau.

Day Two of 15 Minutes of Fame

Okay so first, I lied; this school starts at like age two or something. Instead of most classes we went around and introduced ourselves to all the younger kids and answered their questions. On the bright side, this meant that I knew every class I was in because it was basically only math, more math, and English. 

In English the teacher lady studied abroad and she made us come talk about ourselves in English and now she thinks we don't speak any Portuguese which is fine with me, I guess. Oh, but when we were going around to the classes, the person who I presume is the principal kept telling the kids they could come talk to us and they didn't have to giggle and stare from a distance anymore. I also saw my host aunt and cousins except for one because he's in one of the only two non-high school classes we didn't go to.

In other news, I have come to realize that of everyone, the only person I never understand is my host mother. This is unfortunate. Last night she told me to get a coat because today would be cold and it took about 15 minutes for me to understand and their neighbor just kinda sat there and watched our interaction amusedly.

Also though, I stayed at my second host family's house last night so my host mom and brother could go to São Paulo so my brother could get a Mexican visa but I didn't really understand that either for quite some time. On the bright side, that got cleared up.

Tonight we go to a Rotary meeting. Haha, too bad I forgot to grab nice shoes before I left last night. But the again, also too bad I didn't understand what was going on for most of last night. Also there are lots of mosquitos and I have so many bug bites which is fine, whatever, but the one making my eye swollen is mildly annoying. 

Oh, I also finally learned the word for "slow" so this is a plus in terms of communication.

K, tchau!

A Casa

A Escola

Today I went to school, in this place called Coopem on the other side of the town and there are lots of kids from probably like kindergarten or something all the way through the third (and last) year of high school. Basically, we were like celebrities there and everyone of all ages knew who we were and would come up and say hi in Portuguese or English and want to talk a lot. 

I was in the second year of their high school with the Mexican exchange student and we had like our 15 minutes of fame except it was actually a lot of hours. Honestly, so many kids sleep that I probably learned as much as they did and I don't speak Portuguese. Also everyone talks the entire time and basically the teacher either teaches to those who are listening or doesn't really teach much at all. I have yet to figure out what the first hour was today.... And Mondays have way too much physics.

But I made some friends, whose names I don't know but that's not particularly relevant. They also were major fans of origami and my pencil spinning habits. Also Arabic. They were nice and spoke really slow Portuguese except in some cases where they realized I was never going to understand them and they made one of their friends translate for me.

All in all, I like going to school because the people are cool and I don't have the stress of needing to do well...or do anything, really. And we left before some biology class started, so that was another plus. Also the dog named Hanna really likes the swimming pool. She swam all day yesterday, which is more than anyone else thus far.

Primeiro Domingo

Today I woke up at like 8:30 which is weird because that's like 6:30 in the US and breakfast was bread or something that starts with an m with mayo and cheese that was in that thing that's kinda like a grill. As it turns out, getting food early was good because I'm pretty sure the dog ate the rest of the bread food that starts with an m.

Then I went with my host parents and brother to the store and bought food and also havianas. Afterwards, we drove around and went to my host mother's sister's house and I met an uncle and aunt and grandparents and also a bunch of cousins and that was fun, but I didn't know what they were saying; only that they were talking about me.

Then I think we drove around and looked to see if their friends were home but they weren't so we came home and ate lunch.  Then I took a nap for like an hour but that was unintentional. 

I hung out with my host sister and her friends and probably understood three words in like two hours and that was because she looked at me and spoke super slowly but they were all nice and one probably speaks better English than I do.

Dinner was more lasagna and lettuce that tasted like olives and salt and rice. 

Okay well I got bored yesterday and didn't finish writing anything but the cousins et al came over and that was fun because they're all younger kids and they're cool. I forgot some of my random revelations from yesterday but it was good.

Chegado

Today I finally arrived in Brazil, which was pretty exciting. I met two other Brazil-bound Rotary students in Dallas and that was fun but São Paulo was their last stop so my eight hour layover was me, myself, and I. Since I had my checked bag with me for the first four hours of this layover I basically sat and listened to lots of Portuguese that I did most definitely not understand. Then after that, I went through security and listened to different people speak Portuguese that I also didn't understand.

In my flight from São Paulo to São José do Rio Preto, they kept changing the gate, which was a bit annoying but in the end it was worth it because we got to ride this weird shuttle bus thing that had seats facing all sorts of directions at seemingly arbitrary heights. Then we got to walk up a bunch of stairs to get in the plane instead of walking through the tunnel thing so that was exciting-ish too.

Anyways, finally getting to São José do Rio Preto with all of my luggage and belongings for the most part intact was a pretty big accomplishment. I was met by my host family, some Rotarians, and an exchange student from Mexico who got here like two days ago.

Since arriving here, I have eaten pão de queijo, pizza, drunk guaraná, learned that stop signs don't mean stop, but rather don't stop but also make sure not to get hit by oncoming traffic, and been surrounded by a combination of English, Portuguese and Spanish. Between the three languages everyone ends up on roughly the same page.

But my family is great and very nice and they have a very nice home as well. Finally, it seems as though I will start school on Monday which will hopefully improve my Portuguese. My pronunciation is improving; now it's just understanding and talking at a normal brazilian speed...easier said than done, unfortunately.

Até mais!!