Christmas is coming :)

So there past few weeks have been very hectic.  Last Saturday I helped collect food for Rotary, and then I attended a Rotary luncheon on Sunday.  It was to celebrate for Christmas; from Santa I received a very nice smelling bar of soap.  It smells like a typical fruit of Brazil, I’ll show it in a video I plan on doing for next week.  Speaking of Christmas, I really miss cold weather.  It doesn’t feel like it should be Christmas right now.  It feels like summer, which it is.  Next year for Christmas (this is everyone’s warning) I will be going all out, think of Buddy from Elf.  That will be me next year for all holidays.  And, I’m missing out on all the Birthday parties that my family will be having, since all our birthdays are in the winter, or summer for Brazil.

I have been doing some baking here with my brother Gustavo.  To say that we are terrible cooks would be an understatement.  We made coffee today, and it was nearly a disaster.  I am generally a good cook, but I don’t know what it is with cooking with Gustavo.  We made Brigaderio the other day, and it turned out terrible compared to other Brigaderio.  I thought it was pretty good, but in comparison it was bad.  The only thing we can make and it turn out alright is scrambled eggs. 

Everyone, I’ll be starting to randomly email people through the next few weeks or so.  I miss you all so much.  Life is so different here.  When I get back, everyone brace yourself for hugs.  Lots and lots of hugs.  And kisses and good food.  I really like this song, I feel like its a good song for me right now.  Listen to it, and think about how much I miss and love everyone in Shelby.  Spread the love and give everyone lots of hugs.  You can close your eyes, and pretend the other person is me :)

December

I moved into my new house 12 days ago.  Its been an adventure to have three brothers, after being an only child for four months.  Savio is 12, Gustavo is 14, and Will is 18.  They are all really sweet, and I love them a lot.  My new host mom is great, she is a Portuguese teacher at a nearby school, and my new host dad is a farmer.  Which means that we always have fresh fruit and eggs.  I also have a new cat and dog in my large family.  I have countless brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers, and too many cousins and aunts and uncles to count.

 Since school has finished my friends and I go out and eat açai many times during the week.  And since my new house is close to the only movie theatre in town, I have been a few times.  We also go swimming, shopping, and movie renting. 

On Saturday I will be going to help out at a local grocery store, Bretas, to collect canned goods for the community.

I really miss cold weather and being close to my family at this time of the year.  It just seems to get hotter everyday, and I really miss wearing sweatshirts and long pants and fuzzy socks.  If I did that here, I would probably pass out from a heat stroke.  I also really miss hot chocolate, cake, and bathtubs.  I miss having food that doesn’t involve corn or rice or beans.  This year, for Christmas, all I really want are emails from people.  I really miss everyone.  If you email me, I’ll email you back.  And each email that I send will be filled with hugs and kisses and other lovely feelings that I wish to share with everyone. 

Goodbyes

Goodbyes have always been really hard.  I’ve had to say loads of goodbyes in my life.  Some have been long term, where I wouldn’t be seeing the person for a very long time; some have been short term, where I’ll just be seeing the person later.  I’ve said more long-term goodbyes than I can count in my preparation to come to Brazil.  There are too many short-term goodbyes to count; I say them everyday to nearly everyone that I see.  The last person that I said goodbye to in the USA was my mom.  She came back with me, and waited for about an hour with me.  She, at first, was not going to be allowed to, but she ended up getting to anyway.  We shared a cinnabon and more goodbyes.  It was really hard to watch her walk away from me that day.  I knew that I would be seeing her again.  In 11 months.  That’s a really long time.  I know that when I leave Brazil and come home, it’ll mean even more goodbyes.  And no one will be able to walk back with me and wait with me until I get on the plane.  This goodbye will be more permanent.  Saying goodbye to people in the USA was difficult, but we all knew that I would be back in a year.  Last Saturday night I said my first long term goodbye in a really long time.  It was bad.  It was rushed, the goodbye only lasted about 15-20 seconds.  My friend had left to go and get some water, and my mom showed up to get my friend, and me so I called him and told him to run back.  Which he did, and I hugged him and said everything that I wanted to really fast and said goodbye.  He told me that with technology these days that he would always be there for me, no matter what.  And then I had to go.  I actually teared up on the car ride home.  And I won’t be seeing my friend for at least 11 months.  Goodbyes are different for everyone.  Some people prepare for goodbyes, others just let them happen.  In my time here, I’ve learned that not all goodbyes are permanent, some of them really just mean, “I’ll see you later, we aren’t over, and me not being here isn’t going to change our friendship.”  Saying goodbye is hard, but it’s not the end; it’s really just a new beginning.  Saying goodbye to one person is just opening your heart up for more people.  And I’ve spoken to my dear friend since then, and I’ve spoken to people in the USA, and I have this blog.  Goodbyes aren’t really goodbyes.  All of my goodbyes have turned into “I’ll talk to you later!”  

Thanksgiving and Moving

I now know when I will be moving to my second family.  December 1^st is the date that I will be packing up everything that I own and shoving it all into my suitcases and hope everything fits.  In my three months of living in Brazil I have come to own numerous shirts from my sister, cups, concert shirts, and shoes.  When the time comes, and I start packing, I’m hoping that everything will fit.  December 7^th is the last day of school, and the beginning of my first summer in Brazil.  Since my last update, I attended my school’s Formatura.  This is the graduation ceremony/ formal dance for their graduating class, the Class of 2012.  Since I am in the 2^nd grade right now, I will miss my class’s Formatura next year. 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US.  I, obviously, won’t be there.  I’m going to be missing out on seeing all of my family and friends.  For as long as I can remember, I always saw more family members on Thanksgiving than I did on Christmas.  I’m really going to miss seeing everyone tomorrow.  I have so much to be thankful for right now.  I won’t bore anyone with listing, because that would take too long and who really wants to read a list? 

Last Sunday in Paracatu there was an all day Rotary event.  It involved a horse parade in the morning around town, then a buffet style lunch with a band and bingo, and it ended with a young girl winning a microwave.  It was really strange to see about 100 horses on the streets in the morning.  The food was great, and I ended up with a long sleeve button up shirt from the event. 

  On a sadder not, my dearest friend will be returning to his mother country soon.  And as of Saturday I will not be seeing him until either he visits me or I go and visit him.  And, soon after that another friend will be returning to his country as well.  Paracatu will be left with only female exchange students.  As sad as this is for all of the people involved in this viagem, we all knew that this time would come.  And “all good things must come to an end.”  And this is the Brazilian song of the week, it also happens to be my favorite song right now.  Its about how great Chocolate is and the chocolate is TERRIFIC. 

Orientation

Hello everyone for this week!  This past weekend was Orientation for the Inbounds 2012 and 2013.  We started with a tour of Ouro Preto, which is a very old and historic town of Brazil.  We got to go on tours of numerous churches, and museums.  While we were there, a pottery festival of sorts nearby that we went exploring in.  We got to go into a gold mine and eat some good food (like most Brazilian food.)  The place we were staying was like the typical Brazilian clube, a place for families to go and eat, do sports, and relax.  It was very similar to a country club type place.  We traded pins and took loads of photos in our blazers and with our flags.  My blazer is now mostly full on the front.  On the last day when we traveled around Belo, it started pouring rain while we were at a monument.  Yesterday I had my first strawberry juice, and to go along with it I had some strawberry tic tacs.  Neither of them were as good as I was expecting them to be.  I hope to try watermelon juice this week as well.  Today I went to the gym, and I ran/jogged for about an hour and a half.  Since the end of the school year is coming we have tests on Friday, next Wednesday, and the whole week after that.  I still haven’t gotten my grades back from the first tests I took about a week ago.  Hopefully by next time I’ll know some or all of them.

Halloween- except it isn't really

So, this is the first Halloween where I haven't dressed up, and I haven't gotten candy to eat, and I haven't spent it in front of my cousin's super scary house eating.  Halloween in Brazil is kind of laughed at a little bit, no one celebrates it.  My class had a Halloween party last year, so they didn't have one this year.  Speaking of school, I have had none of it this week.  And last Thursday my classmates told me not to go on Friday, but I went anyway.  And it was only me and Samuel in my class.  The other second grade class had two people as well, so what we did was learn animals, colors, numbers, and such in different languages.  It was really fun.  Tomorrow I will begin the long travel to Belo, the capital.  It is a six hour drive, so I'm bringing plenty of reading material.  I made another video with pictures I took.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwRjztooWdU  Things that I have done today include relaxing with my mom with tons of fans and lots of water.  Its so ridiculously hot today.  My sister left last night to travel, so I'm using her fan.  It is supposed to rain tonight, and we both really hope that it does.  Next week I'll have more to share due to orientation starting on Friday, and soccer practice on Monday, and there being school.  So, email or comment if you want to know anything.

Hello WORLD!!!!

Hello fellow Americans, and various others who follow my blog.  In Brazil, loads of things have been happening.  Julio finally left for his exchange in the US.  I got to attend my first International Music Festival from my school.  My new class in school threw me a party, and we throw parties for people's birthdays and on random days.  I will be staying in the house where I am right now until after New Years, and I love my family and I can't wait to get to spend the holidays with them :)

I have been missing in action for about a week due to a major sinus infection and hacking cough.  Which, if you know me, this is very common and normal for me.  But I have been feeling much better these past couple of days. 

  Two weeks ago I traveled to the beach with the 3^rd grade class at school.  We went to Porto Seguro, for what is known as Forma, which is basically their graduation trip.  It was really awesome.  The beach was beautiful, the weather was great, and I got to have my first coconut water straight from a coconut.  One of the parties that my class went to was on an island.  And we had to take a ferry to get there.  It was not an ordinary island, there was an aquarium on this island and we got to see all kinds of fishes, sharks, and stingrays.  I went to four shows, which are concerts, and one if them was for Tomate.  

On this coming Friday I will be going to see Tomate here in Paracatu.  I’m really excited about it because he is really good performer.  This is a link to one of his famous songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyXce3vkdTs.  

Tomorrow afternoon I will be taking provas, which are exams in all of the subjects that we study at school.  This all said, Wednesday is now going to be known as "update your blog, Emma!" day :) so expect a new entry sometime every Wednesday!

LUNA

First of all, I got a new puppy.  Her name is Luna and she is adorable.  My sister brought her back from Brasilia yesterday.  She is the cutest puppy, and she tries to eat my face. 

As I am sure, most of the people that read my blog are aware that my grandfather, Bill Ross, died last Monday night.  I wasn’t there, and I missed the funeral.  I want to thank everyone who has been supporting my family in this time.  I also want to thank everyone who has emailed me, and offered me encouragement.  I am doing fine, and my family and friends here in Brazil have been great.

Last Friday night I went to the Gusttavo Lima concert that was in Paracatu.  It was great. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjYWzhoS5eY

Last Tuesday Ananda, an exchange student who is an outbound for district 4760, she arrived in Canada.  The other outboud, Julio, has not left yet for the United States.  And my brother, Matheus, is doing good in Belgium.

New stuff

Brazilians are so relaxed and chill about everything.  They are almost never on time, which if you know me; I’m always at least ten minutes early.  It’s so nice to not have to worry about things.  School is supposed to start at 7AM but we don’t actually start until 7:20AM so everyone can get there.  Parties that start at 9PM, no one shows up until 11PM.  And every time you go over to someone’s house, they offer you food.  And the food is always amazing.  The other week I went over to my friend Natalia’s house to watch a movie, and she made the most delicious chocolate thing for us to eat.  It was condensed milk (or something like that) and some kind of chocolate mixed together.  I’d never had anything chocolate that was that good.  Another really amazing thing I had this past weekend was this peanut butter thing, it was about the size as a stack of ten quarters.  It was amazing.  I spent the weekend with my Aunt and cousin, who will be my mom and sister later in the year.  My sister and I went to see Batman in Portuguese in the cinema, and it was really good.  I had seen it before in the US, so I knew what we going on, and it was cool to see it again.  My sister and I also got these bracelets on The Square in Paracatu.  You make a wish, tie it on, and when it falls off, your wish comes true.  So I will be wearing this bracelet for about seven years until it falls off.  I also updated some pictures on facebook for people to see.

Hello Everyone!!! :)

So, as many of you may know, I have been a little homesick recently.   I really appreciate all of the emails that I received.  It means a lot to me that people back home are thinking of me.  Brazil is truly amazing.  Yesterday I went and watched my school, Dom Elizeu, and out main rival, Atenas, play Handball.  Arenas won every game that morning.  I had never seen Handball before, and I think it is defiantly something we should have in the United States.  When I get back, I will show everyone how to play It was like soccer, but with hands.  Today I went for my first time volunteering here.  It’s at a daycare type place.  Today I cut, glued, and hole punched flowers to be used in December.  It was nice to get to do something to give back to the community.  And everyone knows that I love anything to do with little kids.  The food is so amazing.   I tried Pastels for the first time last weekend with my sister, and it was with no doubt the best thing I’ve ever eaten.  The next time I go, the owner said that she would teach me how to make them.  They are like pouches of fried dough with anything you could imagine on the inside.  I had one with ham and cheese and one with guava and cheese.  Both were amazing.  Yesterday I had my first Brazilian hot dog.  They are cooked the same as in the United States, but before you eat them they are put in a sauce made up of corn, tomatoes, beans, and cheese.  They were incredibly messy, most Brazilians eat them in a little bag to reduce the mess.  Last weekend I went to my first party in Paracatu, and we had these French fries that were delicious.  I have no idea why, but they were.  Some other interesting facts that I have picked up include; Brazilians have no sense of time, flip flops are worn for all occasions, Brazilians eat like Hobbits, everyone naps in the afternoon, sports are more important than school, and it seems like everyone takes an English class on a weeknight.  Speaking of English classes, I was invited by the Number One English class to come on Monday to help with conversation. 

School

School.  School is very different.  If I had to imagine what it was going to be like, I would have automatically failed.  I mentioned school briefly in a previous post, but really, school is so much more than that.  Teachers are friendly and always willing to help, and they have a great relationship with students.  My first day of school, I was late, and I didn’t know anyone.  Things were done differently, and I had had no way to really prepare for it.  To signal when a subject is finished, music is played from the speaker system.  It was shocking for me to be sitting there, and all of the sudden here music from the United States playing.  I have three classes in the first half of morning school, and three in the second half of morning school.  There is about a twenty or twenty five-minute break in between them.  This break is for students to buy food or drink, to hang out, and to basically relax.  School ends at 12:20 so students can go home for lunch.  Afternoon school is everyday, but Tuesday and Thursday are optional and for students who want extra help.  In total they take nine classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and six classes on Tuesday and Thursday.  Every Friday at 3PM they go and take tests on all of their subjects, and they take 14 subjects total.  My class is really nice, and I have been with them for only about six days.  They help make sure I understand what is going on, instead of leaving me to fend for myself.  My class is at the same level that I was at when I was at Shelby High.  Brazilian school is much more intense and if you don’t study, you will fail.  Universities are hard to get into as well.  Most students study all the time in order to do well on a certain University’s test. This is a picture of my class from last year, last week we took this year's pictures. 

First week :)

I am updating from our farmhouse.  There is no internet at my casa  yet, and I do not have a phone yet.  I should be getting a phone next week, and I am not positive about the Internet.  I live in a house perto my new school.  I am in the 3^rd grade, which is similar to being a senior in the United States.  I really like it, and I have made many friends already.  Acai is still my favorite doce so far in Brazil.  It’s a kind of fruit drink thing, similar to a smoothie but a lot better.  I went to my first Rotary meeting last night, it was very different.  We met. Had our meeting, ate dinner, and then we played bingo.  I got to meet the other exchange students as well.  Berke from Turkey, Tasha from Canada, Tom from Australia, and Lara from Germany.  We hung out this afternoon and had lunch at a friends house (most lunches consist of rice, beans, vegetables, lasagna, and a doce.)  Then we went for Frozen Yogurt, another very good doce.  Doce is what dessert is called.  My Portuguese has increased tremendously; everyone says that I am brilliant for learning so much so quickly.  A friend from escola has been helping me during escola.  Escola (school) is very different.  I go from 7AM to 12:20PM, and then we go home for lunch and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays we come back at 2:10PM until I think 5PM (last Tuesday I left early with Lucas because he walks me home everyday.)  On Tuesdays we g at 3PM until about 6PM I believe.  On Wednesday we have P.E. from 5:40 until 6:30, although yesterday no one stayed for it.  Lucas has walked me to and from escola everyday this week, starting on Tuesday because I was not in Paracatu in Monday, it is very easy to get to escola from my casa, but somehow I have gotten lost twice trying to get there.  The roads are not in a grid formation like in the US, more like random roads everywhere.  Everything is different, and going well.  I love everything, and everyone is very nice and willing to help me.

Finally in Brazil!!

So the first weekend that I am in Brazil has been amazing!  The food is fantastic and I love it all.  I have spent the weekend in Brasilia and I could not have asked for a better family.  They are truly amazing and accepting and open about everything.  They try to feed me every second of every day and the food is great.  I got a tour around Brasilia today and ate some really awesome acai.  It was awesome.  The toilets here are square shaped, the cars are very small and compact, families are very close, and Brazilians eat all the time.  

Thank You

I am so close to my exchange year beginning.  I cannot wait to get on the plane on Friday.  I am so thankful to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today.  I could go on and on thanking people.  I feel as prepared as I could be.  I started eating meat again, and I have learned some Portuguese, and I have graduated high school.  I don’t know how often I will blog, but I am planning on about once a week or so.  I will be uploading pictures on facebook and posting links for them here.  I will miss everyone tremendously, but you can email me and I will respond as soon as I am able.  I am very grateful to come from such a supportive and loving community. 

DONATIONS

I have raised about $2500 so far this summer.  I have sold cupcakes at one of my church’s Fellowship Suppers.  My parents’ Sunday School class hosted a Spaghetti Luncheon for me and from that alone we raised almost $2000.  My church, Aldersgate United Methodist, has been really generous to me.  They have been supporting me throughout this endeavor to be an ambassador.  However, my plane ticket, visa, passport, and expenses such as school uniforms and the Customs fee are expected to cost between $5000- $6000 so I am still looking to raise some more money before I leave.  If you would like to donate money to support my trip, you can take it by Aldersgate UMC which is located at 1207 West Dixon Boulevard in Shelby, NC 28150 OR you can email me at emmainparacatu@gmail.com to inquire about donating.  If you have any questions you can also email me there as well.  I want to thank everyone who has helped to support me and I look forward to being able to represent Shelby, NC in Paracatu, MG in the following year.  

July 26, 2012

Updates on things that have been happening with my exchange;

1. I do indeed have my business cards, blazer, and pins to pass out next year
2. I leave in two weeks (16 days to be exact)
3. I cannot wait to get on the plane
4. I’ve never been on a plane (except when I was 5, but that doesn’t really count)
5. I graduate high school in 8 days
6. I am already planning what I will be wearing when I leave

Life has been hectic lately, but its great knowing that so many people have worked so hard to help this happen for me.  I don’t think I can ever properly convey how thankful I am.  Being gone for 11 months may seem daunting at first, but I am really excited to get it started.  I know I’ll miss my family and friends; but it won’t be the end of the world.  It’ll be the start of a whole new part of my life.  My English class is nearly over, and I almost have all the documents that I will need to board the plane in a few weeks.  The hard part is now, the waiting.  The anticipation for what will come is making me more thankful for what I have now and helping me appreciate all the people that I surround myself with. 

Ohio

This past weekend was orientation for all outbounds in my Ohio-Erie district.  There were about 90 kids total leaving the United States to go someplace else.  9 of which, including me, will be going to Brazil.  It was hosted by Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.  It was really nice, we stayed in the dorms with no air condition but we were always waling somewhere, eating, or in an air-conditioned room together.  We get to see many presentations.  One was solely on Culture Shock and we learned about the 4 stages of culture shock pertaining to exchange students.  We also learned about Reverse Culture Shock, what will happen when we come back to the United States.  Another presentation was on safety.  This presentation was about how the rules that we have are put there to keep up safe.  In both of these presentations there were video clips from Ace Ventura and Outsourced.  Both of them were really funny.  I watched Outsourced when I got home, and it was great.  We also played this awesome game.  I can’t really talk about the rules and because someone who wants to be an exchange student could see it.  But this game was really great and lots of fun.  That Friday morning, district 7680 got our blazers (Erin, Hailey, Natalie, and I).  And we also got the pins that we will be passing out in our host clubs and to other exchange students that we meet.  The drive up to Ohio was not bad, we had two Rotarians that were willing to answer all of our questions, Dale and Vinny, and they were pretty good drivers too.  The drive back to North Carolina was good too.  We also got the option to ask the rebounds, people who had gone on exchanges before, questions and hear about their exchanges.  It was really interesting to hear how different everyone’s story was, even if they went to the same place. 

How I got into Rotary......

It all started this past summer.  This couple from my church, the Starnes, were hosting an end-of-summer party in their neighborhood.  I did not even want to go for some reason.  Looking back I can't remember why, but for some reason I did not want to go.  It was all by chance.  We went and it was a cookout with great food.  UNTIL it started to rain.  Which was dreary, but we all went inside and ate ice cream instead of leaving.  I am thankful of this so much.  We decided to leave about an hour later, after the rain had passed.  Somehow on our way out  of the house and to the car we got stopped by this couple.  I do not remember how or why.  It all worked out for the best.  A man named Sandy and his wife were leaving at the same time.  Somehow we got to talking, it was totally random and by chance.  He and I talked for almost an hour and we got to talking about Rotary, as he is a Rotarian.  I was really interested.  The spring before that, in 2011, I really wanted to go to Australia.  So badly.  I was sure that this was where I wanted to go.  It was the only place I thought that I would be happy.  As I got into the process of applying, we go to choosing countries.  Australia was not on the list.  To say the least, I was kind of sad.  But then I started researching the other countries.  I came to the conclusion that ALL the countries were awesome and that I would love to go to any and all of them.  When I finally found out that I had been chosen to go to Brazil I was thrilled.  I could not wait to go.  I knew from my research that it was tropical, and I love warm weather.  I thought to myself, "this is perfect!"  And now I can't see myself being chosen to go somewhere else.  Brazil is the country for me and I am so excited about it.  When I look back on it, it is absurd that I am doing this.  It all started with a random conversation and everything just kind of happened and fell into place.  I have met so many people in my quest to learn more about Rotary and Brazil.  Everyone is so nice and willing to share their knowledge.  I can't wait to learn more!

Rotary District 7680 Conference!!!!

So this past weekend I went and attended a big time Rotary meeting.  It was way more fun than I had thought that it would be.  For starters, there are four outbounds in my district (I'm not going to use last names); Natalie is going to South Korea, Erin is going to Germany, and Hailey is going to Argentina.  There are seven inbounds; Elisa and Eliot are from France, Timo is from Germany, Bruna and Marina are from Brazil, Inaki is from Spain, Valentina is from Chile.  We got to meet each other and hang out, and we got really close.  Along with making some great friends, we also got to talk about the challenges that the inbounds faced, and that the outbounds would face.  It was great because they got to share advice and offer suggestions about what to do.  We had the most fun when we got to walk around Asheville and just relax.  We ate at the Mellow Mushroom and introduced the inbounds to cool stores.  The other place that we had the most fun was the pool, we could relax there without having to be dressed up.  It was a time for us to be real with each other and have fun getting to know one another.  The pictures are all on facebook if anyone wants to see them.
 We got to go to "break out sessions," the one most of us attended was called Rotary 101, a basic history class.  I learned that Rotary was started in 1905 and today is one of the most well-known civic organizations in the world.  It was really interesting,  we learned about the five different areas of service (club service, new generation service, community service, international service, and vocational service) and what different clubs were doing about them.  I also learned that Allen, the District Governor for this year helped achieve the goal of eradicating polio from India, which is awesome!
 This weekend was really great.  I met many people, learned about Rotary, and got my first glimpse of what life will be like next year.  It was a wonderful experience, and I am glad that I got the chance to go.  If you have any questions about Rotary, or the exchange, or Brazil; feel free to ask.  I'll do the best I can to answer them correctly :)  

Rotary Youth Exchange

My name is Emma Blankenship and I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to Brazil for this upcoming school year.  I will be going through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.  This program has been in existence for 75 years and I am one of five girls from my district  to be going this year.  I will be living in Paracatu, Minas Gerais for a year.  I applied in September for this opportunity, and I was notified of my acceptance in January and found out I was to be going to Brazil in February.  I am incredibly excited about this.  In order to be able to do this I will be graduating in August, so I will be in Paracatu late July or early August.  I had my first orientation this past Saturday in Asheville, NC and it went really well.  I am right on track with my passport and other various papers, getting my student visa is next in line.  As well as learning Portuguese and learning about a new culture.  I feel so blessed to be able to do this, not everyone gets a once in a life time chance like this.  This blog will be my main way to stay connected with friends and family in the United States next year.  I'm going to try and update whenever I get some great news or do something really cool.  I also plan to use this blog to upload pictures so people can see what I am doing. I hope that everyone will read my blog next year and email me if they have any questions about what I will be doing.