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.