Moving Day....

I’ve just finished packing up all of my belongings.  I am moving to my new house in mere hours.  Its kind of silly of me to be nervous about moving houses.  I already know my new mom.  I know where she lives and I’ve stayed at her house twice before.  I know I talked about saying goodbyes in an earlier post.  But I had to say goodbye to my best friend today, Ajay.  I only really knew him for about three weeks, which isn’t very long.  We lived close together and so we went out eating and hanging out a lot.  He left this morning to return to the Netherlands.  His dad is really sick.  And saying goodbye is hard.  I know I’ll see him again, maybe not in Brazil but somewhere.  And in a few hours I’ll be saying goodbye to my second family.  Everyone complains about having siblings, we all know its true and we’ve all done it.  But my three brothers that I have for the next few hours, I’ll really miss them.  When I was packing last night my brother Savio came in and saw my water pic thing.  He was really excited about it, so I let him try it out and stuff.  The next thing I know, he is yelling for help because he forgot to close the water thing.  I know they’ll be excited to all have their own rooms again, but I’ll miss them.  Waking up and all the crazy hecticness that happens when trying to get 4 teens moving and on track with everything is magical.  Someone almost always forgets something, someone is always in the bathroom, always eating, always being crazy and lunaticish.  But I can come back and visit them; they have told me that they expect me to return at least twice a week. 

I have about 115 more days in Brazil.  I know some people are crossing them off like Harry Potter does when he is counting down to September 1^st and to Hogwarts.  But I’m counting these days like Harry does when his third semester is ending and he has to leave Hogwarts.  Not that I would be returning and viewing the States as living with the Dursely’s.  Because the Dorsey’s suck, and I am not relating the States to the Dursely’s house.  Just to be clear.  But the time is flying by for me.  I ran out of the face wash that I brought with me from the States.  I’m no longer the new kid at school. 

I really like this song.  As it is in Portuguese, I don't know that many of you will understand it.  Its upbeat and I really like singing it.  I chose this version of it because it includes pictures that more or less explain what the lyrics are.  Its a bit like charades in song version with pictures instead of hand motions.  I've gotten really good at that game.  If anyone wants to challenge me, this is your warning.  Exchange students are the best and can kick some booty.  We spend about a month only using hand motions to communicate.... Bring it on :)

5 more months.......

So I still have about four and a half months left in Brazil.  This probably sounds like forever to people in the States, the people that I’m going to be coming back to.  To me, this seems like a week.  I’ve been here for about six months, and to me the time has flown by.  Some of the people that I’ve met I’ve known for a few days, or less, and everyone I’ve met has had an impact on who I’ll be when I return.  I know that people in the States think I’ve been gone for an eternity, but to me its going by so fast and I want time to slow down.  Everyday this month I’ve gotten up early and gone to bed late with all of the things that I’m doing.  I don’t want to leave anything out.  I want to do everything.  My return date is creeping up, closer and closer every time I check the date.  Some people pray for the time to go by fast, and yet I pray to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.  I don’t want to go home and think, “Man, I should have hung out with this person more” or, “ I didn’t hug that person enough or tell them that I love them.”  I don’t want to go home and have these thoughts.  I want to live my life here and leave knowing that everyone knows how much they mean to me.  I may never come back.  It’s a scary thought to leave your life knowing you may never go back.  When I left the States, I knew I was coming back.  That made it easier to leave.  I think that when I leave Brazil a part of me will always be here, in my exchange year, in Brazil.  These memories that I’m making this year will follow me for the rest of my life.  My friendships will fade, as much as I hate to admit it, not all of them but a lot will.  I’ve lost contact with some people I used to see everyday, and the same thing will happen here. But family never fades.  Family is forever, through thick and thin.  I had such a large biological family in the States, a church family, and very close friends that I consider family.  These people, I could never picture myself abandoning them.  I have made family in Brazil in the same manner.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget them.  I can see myself at college, on skype yelling in Portuguese while watching soccer.  Some people you just can’t let go.  Family.  I’ll be seeing them all in less than five months, but I’ll also be leaving my family at the same time.  It’ll be harder and easier this time.  I know where I am going and I know who I am going to see there.  But it is harder in that I’m leaving people I may never see again.  I’ll know where I’m going and where I’m from.  

I love this song.  I was introduced to it while I was here, and I think its amazing.  I think about this song when I get homesick.  But home is where the heart is, and I have had so many homes here it is impossible to keep track.  My definition of home used to be wherever I had family.  Now, I view it as a place where I can go and feel loved and be comfortable.  And that is almost every place that I've been here.