Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
What I've Learned So Far
4 Months here today, and I thought I'd do something a little different! I have learned so much since I got here, from important to trivial stuff, but I wanted to just list them out for all of you(: Its a shorter post today, partially because I'm just too lazy to write a lot, and also for your sanity! So here it is:
-Portuguese! More or less haha, I understand almost everything, and can speak pretty well too. I still haven't lost my accent thoughhhh, but I'm trying!
-Handle limes carefully. Well, at the beach anyways, because exposure to sun and skin will result in a dark mark that may not fade for as long as a year. Not personal experience though :D
-Dress well to go out. While on a road trip, my family stopped at a highway restaurant to eat lunch. My sister got laughed at because she went in with her PJ pants, this isn't even noticed back home!
-Heavennnn forbidddd you place something salty and something sweet side by side on your plate (my classic feijão and bolo of the day:) Guaranteed at least one person by you will exclaim "que nojoooo!" (how disgusting), I still do this anyways though, to keep things interesting;)
-Expanding my family. Before I left, I had no idea what it would be like to just live with strangers basically, and accept them as my new mom and siblings. But it was a lot easier than I thought, and now I have family in the US, Colombia, and Brazil(:
-Appreciate America more. I swear that living abroad will teach you more about your own country. For me, it was mostly just learning how really "free" the US is in many ways, and what an influence we have in the world. I feel like this is also one of the most valuable things I could have learned, since I plan on going into foreign affairs some day, wish me luck!!
-Being careful on the street. This was a big one for me as a "gringa" since I never worry so much before leaving the house back home. Here, having a purse with you calls attention, its best to make sure the shape of your cellphone isnt visible in your pants, you should only leave with what you'll need, stuff like that. I haven't been assaulted yet here, but almost everyone I know has or knows someone!
-How to sleep. Seriously, I don't think I ever did more in my entire life. This also leads to drinking coffee, which I picked up here(:
-Trying new things. I'm mostly talking about food, but exchange definitely helps you become more open.
-Letting go a little. I don't know if its Brasil, or just time, or whatever, but I just don't worry that much about the little things anymore?
-And lastly for tonight, lots of confidence. Before I left, it wasn't like i was an introvert or anything, but i definitely didnt like having to reach out to people i didn't know (or want to), or making business calls haha. But every day I have a new situation that I have to face to keep living here, like speaking in portuguese with strangers, finding my way around, trying to figure out whats "acceptable," and then working to keep my relationships with everyone I know here and back home. I feel like a job interview or visiting colleges is going to be super easy after this!
XOXO,
~Nikitaaaaa
-Portuguese! More or less haha, I understand almost everything, and can speak pretty well too. I still haven't lost my accent thoughhhh, but I'm trying!
-Handle limes carefully. Well, at the beach anyways, because exposure to sun and skin will result in a dark mark that may not fade for as long as a year. Not personal experience though :D
-Dress well to go out. While on a road trip, my family stopped at a highway restaurant to eat lunch. My sister got laughed at because she went in with her PJ pants, this isn't even noticed back home!
-Heavennnn forbidddd you place something salty and something sweet side by side on your plate (my classic feijão and bolo of the day:) Guaranteed at least one person by you will exclaim "que nojoooo!" (how disgusting), I still do this anyways though, to keep things interesting;)
-Expanding my family. Before I left, I had no idea what it would be like to just live with strangers basically, and accept them as my new mom and siblings. But it was a lot easier than I thought, and now I have family in the US, Colombia, and Brazil(:
-Appreciate America more. I swear that living abroad will teach you more about your own country. For me, it was mostly just learning how really "free" the US is in many ways, and what an influence we have in the world. I feel like this is also one of the most valuable things I could have learned, since I plan on going into foreign affairs some day, wish me luck!!
-Being careful on the street. This was a big one for me as a "gringa" since I never worry so much before leaving the house back home. Here, having a purse with you calls attention, its best to make sure the shape of your cellphone isnt visible in your pants, you should only leave with what you'll need, stuff like that. I haven't been assaulted yet here, but almost everyone I know has or knows someone!
-How to sleep. Seriously, I don't think I ever did more in my entire life. This also leads to drinking coffee, which I picked up here(:
-Trying new things. I'm mostly talking about food, but exchange definitely helps you become more open.
-Letting go a little. I don't know if its Brasil, or just time, or whatever, but I just don't worry that much about the little things anymore?
-And lastly for tonight, lots of confidence. Before I left, it wasn't like i was an introvert or anything, but i definitely didnt like having to reach out to people i didn't know (or want to), or making business calls haha. But every day I have a new situation that I have to face to keep living here, like speaking in portuguese with strangers, finding my way around, trying to figure out whats "acceptable," and then working to keep my relationships with everyone I know here and back home. I feel like a job interview or visiting colleges is going to be super easy after this!
XOXO,
~Nikitaaaaa
Thursday, May 10, 2012
3 Monthsss.
Hey everybodyyy!
So let me just start off by saying AHHHHHHHH!! Today marks my third month here, and the time is flying so fast here its ridiculous. I am little more than halfway through my exchange by now, seems like just yesterday I was boarding the plane to come here! But anywaysss, since my last post, theres been a lot going on to update you about: I started off the month with a trimestral "semana de provas" or "simulados" which is a week full of testing (2 "materias" per day). It was pretty boring for me, and really stressful for my school friends who all study like crazy the entire time. But the best part was that I was allowed to walk home by myself after I finished my test, and I absolutely loveddd it! If there are any prospective exchange students reading this, you should just know how much you're going to live for these little bursts of freedom. Well, at least in countries like Brazil, which are a tad more dangerous than your average European one. At the start of my exchange, I was constantly monitored by the school security guards to make sure I made it to my pirua okay, I couldn't walk outside alone, and I had to let at least 3 people know what I was doing all the time. I still have to let at least my mother know what I'm doing that day, but after getting authorization to walk home by myself from school, things have definitely eased off.
Anyways, the rest of the month continued like normal after testing week was over, and nothing new really happened up until about 2 weeks ago when we had a little "feriado,"or break! I left that friday for São Paulo again with my family, and this time I enjoyed it a lot more. My awesome "tia" (aunt) wasn't working that day, and graciously gave up her break to become my tour guide around the old district (or "centro") of the city! She took my sister and I wherever we wanted to go, and i got to see the mini city that is the campus for the best universities of the country, the MAC modern art museum, the "Catedral da Sé" (a famous cathedral thats the origin point of the city), the municipal theatre, ride the metro (yayyy for public transportation!:) and do some shopping at Shopping Light, a cute little historic mall. It was great hanging out with my dad's side of the family too, my "vovo" (grandpa) celebrated his 77th birthday, and we sang happy birthday to him every time we walked through the door(:
That Sunday, my mom picked us up and we drove all 5 hours up to Rioooooo! There, I met my mom's side of the family, and we stayed there overnight before leaving the next day for the "interior." My first impression of Rio was a little smoggy, but super beautiful anyways, I was really excited to come back. Anyways, we arrived in Cabo Frio the next day to visit with Falvio & Heitor, one of my "cousins." It was this really cute little town about 2 hours in, but unfortunately it rained our first three days so we didnt get to do toooo much. We did get to go out to Buzios a couple time though, (which apparently is world renowned for their bars/clubbing) and it was sooo beautiful! Our first night there, the "Rua das Pedras" (Street of Stones) was all lit up with shopping/bars/restaurants and Flavio gave me a personal tour of his favorite spots(: We spent the rest of the week waiting for short bursts of sun which we took advantage of by going to the beach or visiting Buzios again, and watching all the "novelas" (popular soap operas, Avenida Brasil is myyyy favorite:D). We ended up staying until that Friday, and after driving back to Rio, I did alllll the touristy stuff! This involved taking a taxi tour of some of the neighborhoods, driving around the Copacabana, climbing up to the Christ the Redeemer statue, and finishing off the day up on "Pão de Açucar," the best lookout point in the city. Rio seemed SOOOO beautiful from up there, and it was great watching the sun start to set over the city! Plus it was the first sunny day in a while, I was so happy that everything worked out!
Although I loved traveling to Rio, I was also really happy to come back to school this monday and see everybody again. I've had a great week so far; hanging out with all my friends again, finding an awesomeee buffet, getting to know my teachers better, and reading outloud for my first time in class, which almost made me tear up a little because everyone clapped for every time i finished a sentence :3 I feel like I'm getting so much closer to everyone, and I try not to even think of leaving these days because its too sad a thought. But thats enough of thatttt, here are some pictures!
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| My sister and I in one of the shopping areas of São Paulo's old district |
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| By Cabo Frio's waterfront |
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| One of the coolest looking bars in Buzios! |
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| Copacabanaaaa! |
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| My sister, mom, cousin Caique, and I at a lookout by one of Rio's favelas |
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| Everyone hasss to take one of these pics with the christ statue! |
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| At the top of Pão de Açucar!!(: |
And thattssss it, more later! Beijos, tchauuuu~
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
And a Few Pics :D
I just remembered that a lot of people reading this out there don't have me on face! & they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you are:
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Jen-ni-fer, Me, Cori, and Nevo (missing Sylvia) at orientation in Miami! Even though I only spent about 30 some hours with them, we all got really close, and I miss them lots! Saudadesss guysss <3
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| The group out at Ana's churrasco! Picanha is now one of my most favorite foods everrrr :D |
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| The view from my apartment, I absolutely looooveeee going out to my balcony and getting to see this on a regular basis!! <3 |
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| My family and I out at a sushi place for dinner! It's one of my new-found passions thanks to my irma!(: |
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| Meeting Santos FC after their practice! Although it isn't Neymar, Ganso is the next best thing, and I'm pretty sure this is my first pic with a famous person! |
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| My friends and I out to see "Vidas Secas" with my school. We later did a lit project on it, which i think turned out beautifullll. |
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| And lastly, my class picture which just arrived today! (I WAS the blindingly pale one) All of them have been so welcoming, I love them lots! <3 And thatsssss it, hope you enjoyed :) |
A Month in a Paragraph!
2 MONTHS TODAYYYY, but let me backtrack a bit(:
Soooo, when I was still considering becoming an AFSer, I read blogs of exchange students abroad at the time. And I never understood why most wouldn't update often! But now that I'm the one abroad, I get it, because you get so used to your life here that you don't remember that for other people its still very different! And thats my semi-apology for taking so long to update again, sorry everyone!
But anyways, its been a pretty eventful month for me, and for so many reasons. I'll start off with attending my first "churrasco," which is preeettyyy much the best thing the brazilians ever invented :D Its a delicious meat tasting party, and this was an extra special occasion, because it was one of my good friends from school's birthday celebration (parabens outra vez ana, ameiii!!:) It was held at her grandparents house, which i absolutely adored, and there was one moment where Ana presented the first slice of cake to her "Vovo" that I will never forget :3
Later on, David, Takaya, and I visited a good public school (ETEC) for the day in the neighboring city of Sao Vicente. It was a very rewarding experience, because we got to see another side of the Brazilian educational system, and we were really warmly welcomed by the students and staff there! For everyone back in the states, public Brazilian high schools, or "Ensino Medios," tend to have a bad reputation for being easy, unorganized, etc. But this was a really nice school with a demanding curriculum, I was very impressed! Later on in college, or "faculdade," the system switches, and the public schools are the best ones to be in, the private colleges tend to be the worse ones.
A couple weeks back, I also had the opportunity to visit Sao Paulo for a weekend! While I was there, I could not believe the immensity of the city, and decided that "megatropolis" was the only right way to describe it. My sibling's dad showed us around the wealthy residential area (Brooklyn), the SPFC stadium (Estadio Morumbi), the most expensive street in Brazil (Oscar Freire), their "Central Park" (Parque Iberopuera), and the famous "Avenida Paulista," the street where most of Brazil's economy is managed/bought/traded/etc. I loved sightseeing there, but decided I like Santos' feel more, SP is so spread out that you almost feel insignificant in the scheme of things!
This is a good time in my blog post to just like entirely shower my host family in the praise and thanks they deserve! From the beginning, they have been nothing but welcoming, loving, and understanding people, and I feel the luckiest AFSer to be hosted by them. My sister and I have become really close, my brother is always open and joking around with me, and my mother is one of the most kind and caring people I have ever met. I love them very much, and I thought things couldn't get any better! Until a few weeks back when I was mysteriously pulled out of school during the afternoon for a "surprise"I knew it had to do something with Santos FC, because my siblings were dressed in their "torceador" gear, but you could not imagine my amazementttt when we pulled up to the "Rei Pele Training Facility"! In case you're not a soccer fan, let me give you a quick run-down. Santos has produced some of the best players from the South American league throughout it's history, but no one compares to Pele, who played for Santos before going to America. He is the king of soccer, undisputed. And this training facility, which is named after him, is where the Santos FC players go to practice their stuff and is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. Except for ussss, because somehow, my sibling's dad was able to get his hands on inside access to watch the entire team practice and meet them later! I was soooo happy to have the privilige to be one of the few allowed inside, and loveddddd taking pics with the team later. Even though I still don't know "futebol" that well, it was still amazing! Unfortunately, my favorite player Neymar, got injured during the practice, and was the only one who wasn't able to take pics afterwards! :( But not all hope is lost, I'm sure I'll meet him some other day!
In other news, I keep enjoying going to school here, and keep getting to know everyone better! I just want to talk a little here about the amazing girls that I have become friends with, I don't know how I would even begin to enjoy my experience here with out them: Fefinha! She and I have bonded over our love of food since day one, she's super funny, and she makes a wonderful man in portuguese lit projects ;) Bea! She's been so helpful and understanding with me getting adjusted to school/life here, and she has great taste in books and picking awesome boyfriends (oi Du!:) Erica! She has a dangerous laugh when there's food involved, the best hair ever, and is great company at the beach. Aninha! This girl makes me laugh so hard just by twitching her eyebrows at me, and don't even get me started about when she starts saying things! She also laughs sooo much, and you feel better after hanging out with her!:) Giovannnaaaaa! Even though I met her a little later on, she's probably one of the most grounded, coolest people I have ever found, and totally gets what its like to be an exchange student! Ana! She's so sincere, loves her little Diva & MJ, and has the coolest family (and cutest Vo ever!:D) And lastly Clara! She's super sweet and a good student, always laughing with Ana in the back, and a great video editor(: There are so many other people I wish I could name and thank, but that would take an eternity, so just know that eu amo voces! :D
So after all that excitement, I just also want to let everyone back home know that I really do miss them, and think about them every day (there was a huge tear stain on the couch to prove this a few weeks back, the first and only time i ever cried here haha) But as you can see I'm doing good, and so thankful to be here!! Hugs from Brazil, until next time!
~Nikita <3
Soooo, when I was still considering becoming an AFSer, I read blogs of exchange students abroad at the time. And I never understood why most wouldn't update often! But now that I'm the one abroad, I get it, because you get so used to your life here that you don't remember that for other people its still very different! And thats my semi-apology for taking so long to update again, sorry everyone!
But anyways, its been a pretty eventful month for me, and for so many reasons. I'll start off with attending my first "churrasco," which is preeettyyy much the best thing the brazilians ever invented :D Its a delicious meat tasting party, and this was an extra special occasion, because it was one of my good friends from school's birthday celebration (parabens outra vez ana, ameiii!!:) It was held at her grandparents house, which i absolutely adored, and there was one moment where Ana presented the first slice of cake to her "Vovo" that I will never forget :3
Later on, David, Takaya, and I visited a good public school (ETEC) for the day in the neighboring city of Sao Vicente. It was a very rewarding experience, because we got to see another side of the Brazilian educational system, and we were really warmly welcomed by the students and staff there! For everyone back in the states, public Brazilian high schools, or "Ensino Medios," tend to have a bad reputation for being easy, unorganized, etc. But this was a really nice school with a demanding curriculum, I was very impressed! Later on in college, or "faculdade," the system switches, and the public schools are the best ones to be in, the private colleges tend to be the worse ones.
A couple weeks back, I also had the opportunity to visit Sao Paulo for a weekend! While I was there, I could not believe the immensity of the city, and decided that "megatropolis" was the only right way to describe it. My sibling's dad showed us around the wealthy residential area (Brooklyn), the SPFC stadium (Estadio Morumbi), the most expensive street in Brazil (Oscar Freire), their "Central Park" (Parque Iberopuera), and the famous "Avenida Paulista," the street where most of Brazil's economy is managed/bought/traded/etc. I loved sightseeing there, but decided I like Santos' feel more, SP is so spread out that you almost feel insignificant in the scheme of things!
This is a good time in my blog post to just like entirely shower my host family in the praise and thanks they deserve! From the beginning, they have been nothing but welcoming, loving, and understanding people, and I feel the luckiest AFSer to be hosted by them. My sister and I have become really close, my brother is always open and joking around with me, and my mother is one of the most kind and caring people I have ever met. I love them very much, and I thought things couldn't get any better! Until a few weeks back when I was mysteriously pulled out of school during the afternoon for a "surprise"I knew it had to do something with Santos FC, because my siblings were dressed in their "torceador" gear, but you could not imagine my amazementttt when we pulled up to the "Rei Pele Training Facility"! In case you're not a soccer fan, let me give you a quick run-down. Santos has produced some of the best players from the South American league throughout it's history, but no one compares to Pele, who played for Santos before going to America. He is the king of soccer, undisputed. And this training facility, which is named after him, is where the Santos FC players go to practice their stuff and is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. Except for ussss, because somehow, my sibling's dad was able to get his hands on inside access to watch the entire team practice and meet them later! I was soooo happy to have the privilige to be one of the few allowed inside, and loveddddd taking pics with the team later. Even though I still don't know "futebol" that well, it was still amazing! Unfortunately, my favorite player Neymar, got injured during the practice, and was the only one who wasn't able to take pics afterwards! :( But not all hope is lost, I'm sure I'll meet him some other day!
In other news, I keep enjoying going to school here, and keep getting to know everyone better! I just want to talk a little here about the amazing girls that I have become friends with, I don't know how I would even begin to enjoy my experience here with out them: Fefinha! She and I have bonded over our love of food since day one, she's super funny, and she makes a wonderful man in portuguese lit projects ;) Bea! She's been so helpful and understanding with me getting adjusted to school/life here, and she has great taste in books and picking awesome boyfriends (oi Du!:) Erica! She has a dangerous laugh when there's food involved, the best hair ever, and is great company at the beach. Aninha! This girl makes me laugh so hard just by twitching her eyebrows at me, and don't even get me started about when she starts saying things! She also laughs sooo much, and you feel better after hanging out with her!:) Giovannnaaaaa! Even though I met her a little later on, she's probably one of the most grounded, coolest people I have ever found, and totally gets what its like to be an exchange student! Ana! She's so sincere, loves her little Diva & MJ, and has the coolest family (and cutest Vo ever!:D) And lastly Clara! She's super sweet and a good student, always laughing with Ana in the back, and a great video editor(: There are so many other people I wish I could name and thank, but that would take an eternity, so just know that eu amo voces! :D
So after all that excitement, I just also want to let everyone back home know that I really do miss them, and think about them every day (there was a huge tear stain on the couch to prove this a few weeks back, the first and only time i ever cried here haha) But as you can see I'm doing good, and so thankful to be here!! Hugs from Brazil, until next time!
~Nikita <3
Friday, March 9, 2012
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
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
Monday, February 13, 2012
I'm Here!!
I stillllll can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm here in Santos, and everything is better than I could have even dreamed of!(: But maybe I should back-track a little, it's been a ridiculously crazy week. This time last monday, I received terrible news that the brazilian consulate could not locate my visa anywhere due to a computer system failure. I was told then that I might have to wait another 2 weeks to go to Brazil, because AFS-USA wanted to make sure I got oriented properly. But by tuesday afternoon, after many hectic hours and phone calls, I found out I would definitely be leaving early wednesday morning for Miami! So after saying goodbye to my cats, my family, and Berea, I boarded my plane and arrived there right on time. Orientation was held wednesday afternoon and thursday morning, and it was GREAT(: All the other american AFSers going to Brazil and Paraguay were there, and we had a ton of fun! The hotel we stayed at was amazinggg too, so that was definitely a perk. After a really awesome 24 hours together, we all boarded our 8 hour flight to Sao Paulo, and arrived around 5:30 Friday morning! The paraguay kids went their way, and we went ours, and at 8:30 my host family came to pick me up! And since then, I can't stop laughing and learning from them, they're wonderful people (: This weekend, I've seen a lot of Santos, watched my first soccer game, gone out shopping TWICE, eaten as much delicious food as humanly possible, and laughed a lot. I really love this city, its very lively and loud, and people are very friendly here. Soccer is HUGE, there are so many signs up for Santos FC, the local team (which is very good, Pele played for Santos, and Neymar does now). The food is also SO good, I have a feeling I'll come back 20 lbs tubbier due to excessive tropical fruit juices, steaks, rice & beans, and amazing desserts like cakes of all different kinds, something like flan, and ice cream all the time! And communicating is surprisingly easier than I thought- I was a little nervous at first because I hadn't studied portuguese very well, but having a spanish background definitely helps. And today I started my first day of school! I was a little lost at first, but made some new friends during our intervention time (school is divided into sessions of 100 minutes, 15 minute breaks, and on Mondays and Wednesdays, lunch breaks too), and the girls are really funny too. People here laugh so much harder and realistically than in America, I love it! But enough of summarizing, I thought I'd let you know the differences between Ohio and Santos, Brasiiillll!!
You know you're in Brasil when:
1) Kissing people's cheeks, even the first time youve met, is the norm. Boys with girls, girls with girls, adults with children, kisses all around!
2) Men will comfortably go out in nothing more than a speedo. I live very close to the beach, and in the last 4 days I've seen my fair share of balding, middle aged men strutting their stuff.
3) The heat. I constantly feel moist, showering twice a day is pretty common.
4) Getting used to being able to see in people's lives easily. Since most people live in closely packed apartments here, I can see about 50 family's living rooms from mine! And everybody knows everyyboddyyy here, it amazes me still that in a city of 300,000, somebody's cousin knows that person's sister who married their uncle.
5) People, especially women, are very fashion-forward here. I'm guessing the one-piece jumpsuit is going to hit american markets in about a year or so? And clothes are also VERY expensive. And when I say expensive, i mean something that would cost maybe $25 in the US, can be upwards of $100 here!!
6) Telephone #'s have 8 digits, and almost everybody has a phone (or 2) here.
7) Brazilians don't really have a sense of personal space, bumping into each other is nothing big, cars pack in close, people get in your face during a conversation to show interest.
8) Maids among the middle class and up are very common, manual labor here isnt worth as much as it is in the states.
9) When the food is delicious. Seriously, its soooooo good.
10) Loud explosions and sirens doesn't mean a war-zone or anything, its just carnaval preparations or a passing cargo ship.
So thats allll for now, & sorry for the novel, theres just so much I want to share! I miss you all very much, but I am very happy here so no worries(: I'll update again later, tchau!
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