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.