1 Month Down Already!

Today makes 4 weeks since my arrival here, and omigoodness the time has FLOWN. Since my last post, I've seen carnaval here in Santos, met so many new people, and have learned to live, and love, the city life! Like I described before, there's always something going on at all hours of the day, and I am lucky to live in one of the (what i believe to be) most beautiful cities on earth (: My portuguese also keeps improving every day, and I was told during my second week that I was "practically fluent"! While I know I still have a ways to go, I understand so much more now, and my vocabulary has really increased. I am also happy to report that I have kinda-sorta developed a daily schedule here, and I want to write this post like I'm walking you through my day. So here we go!
6:10 am- Wake up, shuffle to the bathroom, and contemplate the mysteries of the universe during my shower.
6:30- Dress, hair, and a light breakfast, before saying bye to my sister who has probably just gotten up(:
7:00- Take the elevator downstairs to wait for my "pirua," something like a little specialized school bus.
7:05- Milton arrives! Milton, my driver, is one of the friendliest, most chattiest people I have met during my time here, and I could probably attribute around 50% of my daily news/hugs/new vocab to him. I spend the next 15 minutes either watching Harry Potter with the other kids or having a nice little conversation with him.
7:20- Arrive at school, climb the two flights up to my classroom, and greet all my friends with beijos and "oi, tudo bom?" The teacher arrives, and class usually begins after a few minutes of getting everyone to quiet down.
8:10- This marks half of the class time. Depending on what subject I'm learning that day, I'm either doodling, struggling to stay awake, or enjoying the lecture. The former usually occurs during my math, chemistry, or physics classes, the latter during portuguese lit, geography, sociology, or english. Theres a really strong focus on the math & science classes here, artsy/musical classes are only offered outside of school as an optional activity.
9:00- Break time! I usually rush downstairs with Fefa and Bea to get a good place in line to buy my daily, delicious "pão de queijo" (cheese bread), and spend the next 15 minutes socializing in the awning/courtyard area.
9:15- Another class starts, and the former (100 minute classes, 15 minute breaks) is repeated until 12:50, when one of two things can happen. On a Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday, I say goodbye to my friends, and go catch my pirua back home. But on a Monday or Wednesday, I have to stay in the school area because I'll have to come back for afternoon classes, so I usually eat out at the nearby mall with a group of kids from school, or stay at Jean Piaget to get a pretty good lunch from the cantina, which is 109,388,574 times better than the american idea of a "lunch." Its a balanced meal with some sort of "carne" (meat), "legumes" (veggies), "Feijão" (rice and beans), "suco" (daily fruit juice), and some "sorvete" (icecream). So lets keep pretending its a Monday or Wednesday.
2:20- Classes start again, and I either take my weekly "prova" (exam), or have labs/classwork to do.
4:50- School's out, and I can either stay behind to do "jumping" (an intense excercise class) or Milton comes back to find me and take me home! We drive a different route almost every day depending on who's taking the pirua home that day, and I've gotten to see a lot of Santos (and portuguese HP) from my spot in the front row.
5:30- Say "boa tarde!" to the doorman, arrive home, and fling myself on my bed after saying "oi!" to my family. For the next 6 hours, I'll spend time doing my homework, or watching TV, or going to the beach, or out shopping, it changes from day to day. And on the weekends, I'll usually go out with some of my friends, or my sister's, and eat a lot of new foods. Carla, our help, makes the most delicious "bife" (beef) in the entire world, and I know it's going to be a good rest of the day when I have some of her food!
10:00- My family usually hangs out in the kitchen or eats a light snack around this time, and its like our family talking time.
11:00- Get ready for bed, kiss my family good night, and think "I can't believe this is my lifeee!". And then I go to sleep!(:
So I hope everyone enjoyed my schedule! Theres just so much to describe, I feel like I can only show you a little portion of what its like to be me, but if you have any other questions, just leave me a comment and I can respond later! Então boa noite gente, e até logooo!
Beijosssss,
~Nikita