Brasileira Birthday Bash

I promise I'm not ignoring my blog, even though it looks like I am! So sorry!
My time in Brazil is going quickly and it's going very well. I had an awesome, very different birthday and my family and friends both here and in the US made me feel very special haha. My birthday was Oct. 20th and it was a really fun day. My classmates and I traveled to another, larger city called Riberao Preto for a college fair and then we went shopping at a big mall where we ate a lot of pizza and ice cream and we went to this American import store and we all bought a lot of chocolate. I had a reallly good time! When we got home that night I spent some time onthe phone with my family and opened the package mymom sent(thanks mom) and then i met some friends at the disco where we had a really good time. I came home around 3am and slept only a couple hours before i got up around 5am to catch a bus to Sao Joao do Boa Vista to meet some other exchangers and then travel farther to Campinas, a big city where we met some more exchangers to take our first portuguese test. dun dun dun. The test went pretty well; the written portion was fairly difficult as i kept trying to write everything in spanish-- whoops-- but the oral portion was a breeze and i got a kick out of the woman evaluating us asking me if i was a cheerlearder inthe states. haha. The rest of the day, we exchangers went to a really big mall, the 2nd largest in south america, where we ate a lot more pizza, more ice cream and just hugnout. It was really fun and it was great to see that all of the exchangers can now speak to each other with much more ease as we are beginning to pick up portuguese. Before, when we all go together, we were kind of divided between Asians, Latinos and European/Americans because of the language barriers. However, this time we were all able to speak to each other, making it a lot offun. I really like speaking with exchange students because they dont speak 100 miles perhour! haha
At the end of the day i took a bus home and just slept.. On sunday, my family had a big birthday party for me at the athletic club where we swam (first time ever to swimon my birthday) and had a big Shohashko--- brazilian bbq where the best food ever is eaten! haha It was a really good birthday.

Not tooo much else has been goign on. Just going to school and reading a lot of english books my mom's been sending. I hang out wtih my friends a lot and have been trying to work out a lot and i really want to play soccer, gosh! haha I think maybe this week, or next week. We dont have school on Thursday and Friday because of a holiday but i think i'll jsut stick around town or maybe make it up to Sao Joao do Boa vista to see some exchangers-- but probably not. haha.

This last weekend I went to a halloween camp with some other exchangers and the english school, PBF, in my city where i hang out. We went camping at a little camp ground thing and it was really fun! There were like 40 of us campers, mostly really little kids, and the idea of the camp was to practice english and celebrate Halloween because Halloween in Brazil is not a big deal--- and merely considered an American holiday. The camp was a lot of fun, we ate a lot, played alot of games, swam and just enjoyed the nice weather. I had a realy good time getting to know a few other exchanges from my city that i hadnt previously spent much time with. We also had a halloween party, of course, and i dressed up like a brazilian soccer player because im really original. haha. It was pretty fun and the food was good so of course i liked it! I didnt get a lot of sleep though so i spent most of yesterday (sunday) catching up and then today actually, we dont have school because people are ust working on the Science fair which is tomorrow, but i dont go to meeting because the only ting i have to do for the science fair presentation is give a short talk about Terrorism in america. I've already written it and so i just need to practice it now. The science fair is more like a Fair fair becuase none of the topics are really related to science-- which i find odd but thats okay. haha

I really havent been up to too much--- just enjoying myself and learning the language more and more. Today, maybe later i might play some basketball and then go to an aerobics class. I dont have many plans for the rest of the week besides going to teh science fair so I'm looking forward to reading Harry Potter #4 and catching up on my Novelas haha.

I'll try to stay in better touch from now on----
thanks for reading.
Beijos!

When in Rome...

Well hello!

I recovered from my tonsilitis (spelling?) on Saturday with enough time to enjoy a normal saturday night - a relief to all, i am sure. I dont know what hit me last week but i was very sick and stayed at home all day and watched random american movies on tv and watched a few that mymom rented and just did a lot of nothing. I went to the doctor though, and he gave me some antibiotics and so I was better in no time. This week is another short week at school because Brazilians sure do know how to have long weekends..... 3 is just not enough so seems like we always have 4 day weekends! horray! this means that i dont have school tomorrow or friday. Im disappointed that i couldnt escape to the beach for my small break but am actually looking forward to some good fun in town with friends and shopping and the works. I may also be going to a concert festival on saturday with my mom and herboyfriend but am not clear on the details yet. On Monday i started off the week on the wrong foot when i chose to take part in a dance class. This dance class was a special one as it was the 2nd of many classes the girls from my school will take part in to prepare for our Science Fair that apparently includes more than just science! we will perform some random hiphop/modern dances along with many other girls from school for the parents later, at the end of this month.. Now if you know me very well you know that i am one fantastic dancer (oh wait) and so this class came natually. and by naturally i was like not on count and didnt know the steps and felt very very stupid--- but thats not new to me as mcuh of my time in brazil is spent wearing the wrong thing, doin gthe wrong ting speaking the wrong thing-- so it was nothing new! haha it was a lot alot of fun and my other exchange friend is doing it as well and we are seeing it as something we'd neverrrrrrrr do back home so we will do here! haha I was actually able to get the dance down for the most part by the end of the class--- but i still was kind of off... i think its bcause i didnt understand the teacher and had to do everything based on watching the other girls which puts me a step or two behind them. It was really fun thougha nd i felt like it was a dream come true as when i was in like 6th or 7th grade--- when Center Stage was popular (maybe just to me and Kerry) i watned to be a ballerina. so there i go, one step closer. haha

I had a great bonding moment with my family yesterday when i gave them gifts id brought from Yakima that i hadnt given them. They reallllly liked them and realllly love Chukkar Cherries! whew! and so itw as lot of hugging and kissing and it made me realy happy. so horray for that.

Later today I will go to my school to watch some playoff games of soccer, basketball handball and the likes, yet im not sure if i will be playing or not. it should be fun though, and then later after that i think i will go to the cinema because movies are in english.. yessss.

Portuguese continues to be the hardest thing about Brazil but i feel like im understanding a lot more and can speak okay---- but i still have a hard time with questions and when people say too much too fast.... so i guess i still have al ot of problems but have been feeling pretty good about it lately. I also juuuust found out i have a portuguese test put on by rotary later this month. Whyyyyyy are they doing this??? I seriously think its a bad idea--- its not like thee xchange students are trying not to learn we all just learn at differetn paces and to test us like we are all the same is kind of stupid. BOOO im just worried because ill probably fail! but what can you d0--- whatre they gonan do --- send me home? NO haha or will they give me a teacher--- okay good because i want one! haha

whew anyways

Its time to go.. Im at an internet cafe again because a thunder storm knocked out the internet at my house :(

beijos, thanks for reading!
Katie

For some crazy reason...

... my right tonsil is ridiculously swollen and the right side of my ribcage is bruised... WHATS HAPPENING???? hahaha

Seriously.. strange problems down hurr in Brasil. Either way, I stayed home after lunch and have just been catching up on my computer habits and am chatting with an aussie as we speak, a fellow inbounder/intercambista who always thinks im canadian so i always ask if hes from new zealand and he seems to understand the difference. haha. Anyways...


yesterday brasil voted for president, governor, senator and ect. As far as I can tell, Lula didn't outrightly win the primarys--- so there will be another election which brasil will be so happy to have! Even if he still wins the elections when we vote again in November, i believe, he will get the picture that Brasil is unhappy with the (little) progress he has made after promising so many things for so long. Apparently, Lula never went to college, and he basically gets the brazilian vote from the poorest people because he gives them a lot of money (instead of jobs) so that they can keep surviving in the poorest parts of the country. I had this whole conversation with my mom last night.. and its really interesting because i think the more i learn about Brasil, the more i learn about America in comparison. Another interesting fact about Brazilian voting is that it works like this: when you are 16 you can vote, but when you turn 18 you HAVE to vote.. That idea is crazy to me. Other news in Brasil.. im sure you all read or saw on tv about the plane crash in the amazon. Soooo awful!


Today, school went well as i was able to recount the weekend with my friends which includes mostly a lot of giggling--- its really entertaining. My weekend went really well and I had a reallllly great time at my cousins birthday party!

Well, i need to be givin the computer to my broham now...
Hope all's well!
Take Care,

beijos,
Katie