Day 35: Leavin´on a jetplane

Its hard to believe that a little more than a month ago, I was on a plane worried sick about going to military school and learning portuguese. Now I'm sitting here missing military school and excited about learning portuguese. Within this month, I have learned so much about Brazilian culture and have made SO many friends. I think everything I've experienced here has made me want to come back again maybe next year or if I get REALLY lucky, in a few months. I really want to thank my mother for finding Partners of the Americas, the program that I am with. Also, Dennis Shaw, who recommended the program. Juliano for always looking one step ahead and making everythng comfortable here. I also want to thank Marlene and Leslie, though I didn't really spend alot of time with the two of you, I had lots and lots of fun meeting you. Collge Militar do Porto Alegre for hosting me as an exchange student. And the most important, The Vedanas. I really want to thank them for opening their home and their hearts to me. They have made my stay here easy and very pleasant. If I get the chance, I would love to come back to Porto Alegre and see everyone again. Sadly I don't have much time to talk becuase I have to pack, so this is my last blog in Brazil.

Beijos e muito obrigada (kisses and thank you),
Zora in Brazil

ps: Thank you SO much to all the people who took the time out to read this blog. I know that I was inconsistant with my blogging, so thank you for your patience and your support

Here are the pictures that didn't upload the last time I blogged

Leavin on a jetplane

Botanical garden
Botanical garden
The pitcher from the glassmaker

Day 32: The glassmaker

It seems that all has been in my favor this summer. I have been blessed with good friends, a safe home, a wonderful host family, an open mind, open heart, and a digital camera :) I swear that everywhere I go something good has happened to me. For example, Yesterday I went to the airport to say goodbye to Alejandra. As always, we laughed about everything under the sun. After her plane took off, Flávia and I went to the bontanical garden with Ana. It was soo cool hanging out and laughing about school and life and all that there was to laugh about. Then we went over Eduardo's house and had an AWESOME time having a pasta party (Its so interesting that alot of teenagers here have parties based on food that they cook themselves. Most American teens buy the food that they serve at parties) And today, Flávia and I went to the museum at Pãe's private university and I got to see alot of cool things that I missed the first time I went. At around noon, we had lunch with Pãe and got into a REALLY good conversation about a bunch of different topics, including racism, classism, politics, etc. After lunch, Pãe decided to show us around the university, so we got to see different classrooms and sections of the chemistry building. In one room, there was small man, known as the glassmaker. He took us into his lab and turned on a torch, which spewed out a long stream of fire. He took a broken tube of glass and held it to the flame calmly. It seemed to consume the tube, making it slowly melt, just enough for the glassmaker to mold it into the form of a flask. Impressed, I turned to Fllávia and said "I wonder if he could make a pitcher for my family, that would be so awesome.". And again, he took a broken tube and held it to the stream of flame. And again, it melted slowly, waiting to be molded. And so the glassmaker complied with its request. After (at most) 5 minutes, he set in front of me, a tiny glass pitcher and a glass cup. "You won't find this anywhere else" he said smiling. And it was true. I don't think I ever will find such a pitcher or even a glassmaker as original as the one from this afternoon.


Feeling at peace,
Zora in Brazil

Day 30: If only

Olá folks. Its so weird, I've been here for almost a whole month and I've learned SO much about the people I've met and about Brazilian culture. I REALLY REALLY miss CMPA right now and I'm kinda sad that we're on vacation becuase I would love to have a few more days to just be with people at school. Over the weekend we went to Gramado, which was pretty ok, except I was EXTRA tired from the night before (Golden Night). Gramado was different for me becuase everyone had blonde hair and blue eyes. Gramado is a town that was colonized by Germans. Gramado is a town mostly known for its chocolate, which I tried and didn't really enjoy. It was a little too sweet for my taste...lol oh unintentional puns :) ANYWAYS I took a few pictures, sadly my battery kept dying, so I missed a few things. On Sunday, Flávia, John, Laura, Julia, Felipe, Pati, and I hung out downtown and watched the sunset on Guaiba. Once again it was gorgeous, but it was kind of sad because we all knew this was the last week that we would be able to hang out with each other :( We had ALOT of fun though :) Yesterday Flávia and I went to the mall with John, Alejandra and Ana and we all watched 'What Happens in Vegas', which turned out to be better than we all expected. Today we went to the daycare and got to play with the kids and take care of the babies. QUE LINDO!! Ale and I spent the time cuddling, craddling and tickling the little kids who spoke better portuguese than me lol. They were so cute, but everytime I looked out the window at the streets filled with mangy dogs, trash, and homeless people, my heart broke a little more. "They don't have a yard or a backyard so they barely haave places to play." said one woman. But still, every child had a smile on their face or a laugh that could make your heart melt. All the children were so kind, which made it easier to be around them, even the boys, who acted out only a little bit( but thats just how little boys are lol...no offense to all the males reading this) A little while ago I had one of the biggest scares of my summer so far. My piercing came out! Luckily we power walked our butts off to Edu Tattoo and just before the shop closed, we got it put back in. I found out that on the fourth day is common for piercings to act up. So now I'm at home and tomorrow I'm going to see Ale off at the airport becuase she's leaving tomorrow :( so now there will be only one American lol She has definitely been a great friend here are we have ALOT of great inside jokes :)

Missing Brazil already,
Zora in Brazil

Day 26/27: caution, don´t get your nose pierced and then go to the club...its kinda bad luck

First, please don´t ask why I´m bloggin so late or so early. I just got back from a party and I wanted to give all of you the wonderful details of my day since I´ll be traveling tomorrow and Sunday. So, my day started quite well with the volleyball championshhip. There were about 10 teams or two that played. I took ALOT of pictures, though sadly, it was hard to becuase it was so sunny outside(yes thats my only beef with sun...it can ruin some REALLY good pictures) It turns out that the teachers ALSO went and made metals for the volleyball competition, so we had more about three of each metal. Sadly, Flávia's team (Flávia and Artur) did´not get to the finals, thought they played a good games against Cicero and Nai, who totally played with no mercy. The three champions were the Cauduro siblings (Eduardo and his sister), Cicero and Nai, and another team who I did not know. So after the games were over and Flávia played MORE volleyball, we went home and had lunch. It was on ther way there when we decided to get my nose pierced today. Please understand that my parents said yes to this so this is no surprise to them.So We walked up the long steep hill that we usually do to go to the mall or downtown or anywhere(I hate that hill...its evil), turned to the right and started walking. At first I was excited, so pumped up to finally get my nose pierced. Then we kept walking and my mind began to wonder"Why is it taking to long to get there". Then we kept walking and about a mile later, I knew we were lost. Flávia and I stopped in some small looking mall and called Mari, a good friend, for directions. Thats when Flávia turned to me and said"We have to turn back. We went in the wrong direction" So I smiled, accepted and walked towards the place that would change my nose forever. Only problem is that was the wrong shop. You see, we went to Edu Tattoo, but we went to one where you had to have an appointment to have anything done. Plus the woman told Flávia that she didn´t want to do it anyways because I´m a minor. So she gave us a card with the address to the other shop...which was on the same street that we had been on the first time. By this time the sun was setting and it was about 6:00pm. Edu closes at 7:00pm. So we walked once again on the quest to get my nose pierced. After the first two times, I was used to walking and didn´t even feel tired. Finally we got to the shop, which looked like a little townhouse in the middle of a big city. A woman with multiple moons around her eyes, four freckle piercings, and a stup in the middle of her lip answered and opened the gate for us. Inside, was a long narrow brown staircase. The walls were painted white and it felt more like a a comforting place than a hardcore tattoo shop.This was something that I liked about it, the comfortable and assuring feeling not only the rooms gave you, but the people inside them as well. I´m pretty sure everyone knew it was my first time ever getting a piercing on my face. The woman with the facial tattoos and pircings took me upstairs past two people getting tattoos done, into a small room that looked like a local doctor´s office. It was also white, though it had a medium sized blue bed, the type that you see in a doctor´s office. The woman began speaking and Flávia translated things like"I´m going to clean the area and stick this small tube up your nose to keep it in place. You may feel like sniffing in, which will tense your muscles, so if you can, please don´t sniff in" She asked which side I wanted to get peirced. I decided my left. She opened up an individual pack of alcohol wipes, clean the left side of my nose, and immeadeatly threw away the used alcohol wipe. She then took out a fine point marker and put a dot on the crease of my nose. After that she told me to lay down on the table and relax. And so I did. I closed my eyes, held my breath, took Flávia´s hand, and relaxed. She stuck the small tube up my nose and a second later I felt a small localized prick on my nose which later was followed by a pulsating pain and the words "Your nose is too thick, we´re going to have to take it out and try again."...I´m just going to say that my thoughts on that sentence will remain in my mind this time because they surely would have caused a scene had I said them anyplace other than under my breath. Instead I asked for a tissue because I kept feeling like I was going to sneeze. But when I blew my nose, it was not what I expected. I was having a short and quick nose bleed. I lied back down and breathed. I noticed that this time, the woman straightened out the hook on the stud. Trying to freak out, I repeated the same relaxation steps I had tried before. And just like before, the woman stuck the tube up my nose and I felt that quick prick followed by that pulsating pain in my nose. But this time the words were different,"Done." One simple word with four plain letters sent a total rush of joy through me. I was FINALLY done! It was finally over and my nose would never be the same again. So I showed off my little stud to one of the tattoo artist. I felt bigger than mount everest until he asked the simple but humbling question"did it hurt?" and like a little school girl, I blushed and replied yes. There was no point in acting tough at that time. So, we went downstairs and got some papers informing me how to keep my piercing clean. For example, don´t touch or let other people touch your piering. At around 11:00 pm, that became one of the hardest rules for me to follow. After getting my nose pierced, I went to the school dance which was held at some club. At first it was really boring and terrible becuase only little kids were there, but after a while, more people Flávia and I knew came and began to socialize. One of the most common subjects that night was my nose and if people could touch it. I said no, but it harder to resist yourself than other people. For example, rubbing your nose when you´re wiping off your face in the bathroom or in the middle of the dance floor. It was not easy remembering to avoid the left side of my nose, but I suceeded and had LOTS of fun dancing with friends. AND learning that I DO indeed know how to samba :) tri tri legal

I´m deaf, tired, and hungry,
Zora in Brazil

ps: no blog tomorrow or sunday sadly

Day 25:Bask in it

Once again it is a beautiful, warm, lovely day in bust Porto Alegre :) And once again eu esto feliz(I am happy) Por que (why?) Becuase I can communicate and understand portuguese better than ever :) I had a great conversation in the sun with Peixe (I can´t remember her name, but thats her nickname), Bonza, Bonza´s boyfriend,Nessa, Cicero, and Kati. It was so funny becuase everyone spoke VERY little english, but we all were able to communicate with each other and laugh and have a good time. Tomorrow is the final party before vacation, sadly Chico´s party got canceled because some jerk forced him to help with the school party, which he had arranged to be on that Friday for a reason lol. So now everyone´s going to the school party. I talked to a small group of english students today, which was kind of fun becuase people actually asked questions and lightened up a bit after a few minutes. We had a little discussion about the result of not going to college and how that plays in Brazilian and American lives. It was very interesting becuase one of the students kept trying to persuade the teacher that Americans still had opportunities even if they chose not to attend a college or university. Tomorrow I´ll be helpng out with the volleyball championship so thats going to be tri legal making signs and keeping track of revenues.

Boa sorte para mi(good luck for me),

Zora in Brazil

*This is not a day blog, just some specifics: The interview

Recently I´ve recieved emails requesting more details about my 4th of july interview and I´d like to give tell the rest of my 4th of July tale (unfortunately I wrote at about 11:30, so I was tired and not in an extreme mood for details...mostly just for a bed) Anyways, Flavia and I arrived at the theatre at 9:00pm, where we found out that we were actually a little too early for the interview. A man, unfortunately I can´t remember his name right now, told us that the host, Rodrigo Lopes, was fluent in english and would be the man interviewing me that day. The other host was Katia Suman. While waiting for our interview to start, other Americans showed up and we all introduced ourselves. There was a Brazilian man who had attended the University of New Mexico, an American woman who had lived in Brazil for 8 or 9 months, an American man who had lived in Brazil for 4 years, two more Brazilians who had visited the US, and a Brazilian woman who had come to New York on September 11, 2001. It was a shock to hear that story becuase whenever I hear stories about 9/11, its usually on a TV screen. Our interview started at about 9:30 pm. Rodrigo began talking in portuguese, turning to the NY woman in portuguese, and then he turned to me and ask the awkward question :Where were you when 9/11 occured. In my mind I thought, 'Thats none of your business! This has nothing to do with the 4th of July!' But I replied "I was in class, in the 4th grade" Rodrigo then turned to the camera and in Portuguese said "she was living in the 4th grade" (I later found that out from Flávia) most of the time people were speaking in portuguese, which is normal for me now, and either Katia or Rodrigo would turn to me and ask me a question. "When did you get here?" "Whats the most fum you´ve had?" How old are you?" "Are you for Obama or McCain?" Simple questions that could be answered quickly. And I think thats all they wanted from me, quick quotes in english to show a bit of diversity. The interview ended within 30 minutes, which is pretty good for such a large group of people to interview. Yesterday I found out that some of my classmates saw me on Camarotte, the TV show on which I was being interviewed. I need to get ready for school and I have to pack up some clothes. Maybe tomorrow or some time, I can talk more about the cultural differences I´ve experianced here in Brazil.

Beijos,
Zora in Brazil

Day 22: Fun in the sun

Today was a beautiful day. Unfortunately I had to experience that late due to a laundry malfunction :(. But either way I was so happy to have another beautiful day. I came to school late, but I got to chill with Flavia, Cicero, Laura. and John. It was great just sitting around in the sun and laughing andhaving a good time :) then Flavia and I went home and had lunch and got ready to go out again. We went to the park and drank chimarrão with Felipe, Polenta, and Pati( Polenta´s girlfriend, not the other one) It was so funny becuase Pati was learning how to knit and when she pulled out her yarn, it was the exact kind that I had used to knit my scarf! We had tons of fun sitting and talking with each other about school and life and lots of stuff. I also got to meet another American, his name is Colin. He seems pretty cool, though he was jogging with his host brother, so when he shook my hand, it felt like an overly moist towlette lol. He was really nice though and apparently he know Alejandra (6 degrees much?) So after all of the fun of the afternoon, we decided to go home becuase it was starting to get dark. We ended up going to Zaffari´s, this popular grocery store, and getting sone candy lol Then we came home :) I really wanna rent a movie, but apparently they´re expensive :( o wells. I´ll be over Barreta´s house tomorrow, so I don´t think I´ll be able to write for day 23 :(

Wishing I could stay another week,
Zora in Brazil

Day 21: A super star

Continuing July 4th: So, I went to the theatre where TV Com was being held and I got to meet other Americans, who had beent here MUCH longer, so I didn´t feel bad when they spoke fluently in portuguese. It was awkward because the first question the man asked was "So, where were you when 9/11 happened?" It was VERY awkward becuase I was expecting to talk about 4th of July...that never really happened. The interview wnet well and after the cameras turned off I thanked the host for the opportunit and said good night. It was so cool becuase afterwards the Vedanas took me out for pizza to celebrate :)

July 5: Went out with Flavia, Julia, and Fernanda. TRI LEGAL. After walking around, shopping, and what not, we went to this pizzaria, where this waiter kept eye stalking Julia. It was hilarious! But I´m glad Strada wasn´t there because that might have been less funny lol. I think Julia has been out with us more than any other of my CMPA friends.

July 6: Today I went to a BBQ again :) very very fun becuase it was Flavia´s Aunt´s AND Uncle´s birthday, so we ate good food and talked and laughed. And there was this adorable baby. I don´t know her name, but she was SO CUTE and would laugh everytime she saw Flavia. It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside so Flavia and I decided to sit outside and chill and talk. Then we went back and had this really nice dessert. Sadly I don´t know the name of it :( and some chocolate ice cream. Sadly I´m too tired to finish the amazing story(Which you will hear about tomorrow), so I decided to upload some photos I took today. Flavia, Fernanda, Henrique and I all went tout to Impanema and watched the sunset...AMAZINGNESS. So here are some photos to prove just how beautiful it really was

Hoping you love the picture :) Good night/ Boa Noite.

Zora in Brazil

Day 20: If you are what you say you are

July 3: VERY awkward the night I talked about the 4th of July. My head seemed to just out off my body as I saw the crowd of people that came in. It felt like a crowd buit I don´t know how many people were actually there. More people asked about American politics than the main topic: how to celebrate 4th of July! It was cool though because in the end, some people came up and shook my hand and were very kind. I even got a box of my firrst Ferrero Rocher chocolates. It was cool to come home and lay down on the couch with Flavia and some Burger King and watch some episodes of "The Office" becuase that is probably the funniest show I´ve seen in a long time, minus the few shows I´ve been watching lately. Like Power Puff Girls cuz I haven´t seen that since I was like 7 or 8!

July 4: Yesterday I got to go to a little surprise birthday party for Flavia´s volleyball coach! After laughing, joking, eating and what not, we came home changed into regular clothes and relaxed. And then the phone rang. Flavia picked up her cell and then gave it to me, saying some woman is calling for me. So I answered, but the woman was only speaking in portuguese, so I politely handed the phone back to Flavia. The ladt hung up and then called the house phone.So Flavia asked if I had given anyone our number and I definitely said no (one: becuase I didn´t know our number and two: becuase I still don´t fully know numbers in portuguese) So Flavia talked to the woman. Afterwards she turned to me and said "That was TV Com, and they want to do a live interview tonight!" (CONTINUING TONIGHT)

Zora in Brazil

Day 17: Not as fun as yesterday but still very awesome :)

I GOT TO TALK TO MY FAM!! That was definitely the MAJOR highlight of my day :) Today I went to an vegetarian restaurant which was VERY cool. its called Equilibrium and it had some pretty cool food, like quail eggs(which taste like boiled eggs with a hint of vinegar). But then we got to the desserts...and i tried the jello...which turned out to be diet jello...that should explain itself. But if it doesn´t, the thing tasted like flexible soap. In the end I just got dark chocolate ice cream, which tasted pretty good. In school, I didn´t get to hang out with everyone, but I DID teach some of the seniors how to do the soulja boy. Very Very Very Very funny. Though my dislike for the song is beginning to rise again since everywhere we go, Flávia´s like " SHE KNOWS HOW TO DO THE SOULJA BOY!!" Tomorrow I´ll be talking with an english class about 4th of July (yay!) so I gotta find some photos or somethin. Its getting late, so I´ll try to find more to say tomorrow.

Beijos!

Zora in Brazil

Day 16: Oh joy...its July

TODAY I GOT A NOSE PIERCING! Just kidding, I just felt like scaring my mom :) No, I went to shcoolat 9:30 again and this time I got to socialize with this guy (Cicero) who never really talks to me though we see each other like everyday TRÉS LEGAL :D Sadly he barely speaks english so there was ALOT of translating. Flavia, a bunch of other people, and he will be doing a volleyball tournament for fun, I´m gonna have fun watching and making signs and what not. SO awkward though when Julia and Strada(this couple) came along because the whole conversation seemed the revolve around sports (everyone I know is apparently an athlete) For those of you who don´t know, I´m not the biggest sports fan. I got to talk to alot of people though which was really cool and we didn´t leave until about noon. Then we went to downtown and I looked around for somethings to buy...not much of a success :( but it was lots of fun! I´m still practicing my portuguese though its not really that easy. BUT I SHALL LEARN!

Love and beijos

Zora in Brazil

Day 15 pt II: the sibling rivalry

TOO MUCH BICKERING! Everyday Flavia and Fernanda have gotten into at least one verbal altercation about something stupid. And I undestand thats what siblings do sometimes, but for crying out loud! Its getting so ridiculous but I don´t want to put my voice into it becuase I´m a temporary resident. I´m sorry for the outburst :( I just had to get that off my chest. Today after all the tests were finished, there was a school assembly about the dangers of the internet. Not too fun becuase they discussed all the things I already know. Like don´t give your password out. And don´t put all your personal info out on the web. This week we might go see a movie at the cinema. I´m hoping for Wal-e cuz that looks like a cute movie. That or Iron Man (yes, sadly I still haven´t seen it) Still knitting and what not. I think tomorrow I wanna go downtown and look for more things to take home. Maybe a gord for chimarrão (pronounced shim-a-how, but the how is like in the back of your throat) which is a traditional grass tea. I tried it once and it was pretty good. The straw is made of metal and has this filter so you don´t drink the grass. Trés legal (leg-ow) (for those who don´t remember or are first time readers, that means very cool)

again, keepin it short,

Zora in Brazil

Day 15: counting sheep

Lately I´ve been experiencing something like a delayed jetlag over the weekend. I´ve either been sleeping, knitting (So far I´ve been doing well with my purple scarf), eating, or once again sleeping. Though I did go to the town market and bought something special for my little sister :) I´m not telling what because I´m not sure if she´ll read this. I´m still loking around for gifts and other things. The reason I´m blogging so early today is because of testing. For the next two weeks, Flavia and all my other friends will be taking tests (even on Saturdays) and studying like crazy. Minuses: NO TIME TO HANG OUT! Pluses: More time to read "Life of Pi" which is a pretty good book. I´m thinking that there´ll probably be a part two of day 15 later on this afternoon, so keep your eyes open :)

Beijos and lots of love,

Zora in Brazil

I don´t really feel like talking today so I decided to just post some pictures

Flavia took me to the cathedral



This is the military school, CMPA







Friends from school!

I took this photo on my way to school on morning

Day 11: How classic

Ola folks! Tudo bem? Cuz all is good in Brazil. Well, almost all. It´s so weird for me becuase I see ALOT of poverty everyday and its starting to become normal. For example, seeing people sleeping on benches or asking for money in the streets. MANY people have shopping carts full of cardboard and cans because the garbage system pays money to people that recycle. Today was calm once again due to rain. Flavia and I went to the art museum and then we went to the salon. I got my nails painted and Flavia cut her hair (it looks really good) Today in school we learned about the anatomy of plants which was rather hard to understand olnly becuase the lesson was in portuguese. Speaking of, Flavia is teaching me more portuguese so it´s easier to understand what people are saying.

Keeping it rather short today,

Zora in Brazil

Day 10: becuase 7 8 9

I´m really sorry for all those who have been patiently waiting for another post. Things have been pretty busy lately. Lately I´ve been hanging out more with Ale than with my Brazilian friends so I´m trying to find a way to balance the two. Today Flavia, Ale, and I went to the mall and laughed about everything. I like that about Brazil, I can laugh even at the stupid things. Lately I´ve been VERY tired and have fallen asleep as early as 6 or 7pm, which is why I haven´t really been updating my blog. Sadly, I still haven´t heard about where I´m going to volunteer so I´m just waiting for a phonecall or something :( School has been pretty ok lately. Now that I know people, alot more students are asking me to come the their classrooms. Its kinda cool except for today when I found out that this kid(no idea what his name is but he annoys me soo much) was in John´s class. This kid has been trying to talk to me since about day two and everyday I ignore him not to be rude but because he´s crazy! For example, he comes out the classroom today looks at me and the first thing he does is say "touch my body" repeatidly. Quite irritating. On the other side of the spectrum, I´ve been having ALOT of fun hanging out with Artur. On Monday, Flavia, Ale, Artur and I all hung out in downtown, where I bought some cool earrings. I think I wanna go back and buy some other things. Today I watched my friend John make biodiesel which was sooo cool. It took a long time but sadly I didn´t get to see the results :( It was still pretty awesome though.

TTYL,

Zora in Brazil

Day Seven: BBQ, Brazilian style

As you know I went to a party at Artur´s apartment yesterday, which was LOTS of fun. What you didn´t know was that is was a cheesy bread party. Artur and his mom made baskets and baskets of a traditional cheesy bread while a few friends, Mello, Mari, Julia, Felipe etc listened to music and danced around like 6-year-olds :) no shame in that though. We danced until the early morning and today I went to a BBQ at Anna´s house, she´s the girl who´s hosting the other American, Alejandra. Since BBQ´s are mostly about beef, Flavia´s dad was nice enough to stop at the store and pick up some chicken. At the BBQ, I got to hang out with Ale and eat chicken sausage (YAY). I had ALOT of fun just chillin and eating and talking about all the different stuff thats been going on this week. Like how last night I taught Flavia and others how to crank that soulja boy lol After the BBQ, Flavia and I went to Nai´s house where we just sat down and talked and watched "The Golden Compass". I tried Chimarrão today and it was pretty good. I tasted like a tea at home, but I can´t remember what kinda :( oh well. Tomorrow is school and then afterwards Flavia and I may be going downtown with Alejandra!

Beijos(kisses),
Zora in Brazil

Day Five and Six: Busy Busy Busy

Sadly I was unable to tell everyone of my Brazilian adventures because of a very special event...FESTA!!!! Yesterday it rained which apparently happens EVERY year on the day of festa. Luckily, by around 3 or 4pm, the weather lightened up and we just got lots and lots of wind. At the beginning, it was kinda weird becuase i didn´t really know anyone around. Only Flavia and Pati . But after a little while, more people showed up and the party got better :) They played ALOT of funke, which is kinda the same as hip-hop. I danced ALOT and learned some cool dances which I can show to the chosen few when I come back lol I danced with this one boy named Cicero who said I dance REALLY well which made me happy becuase I had only learned the dance a few minutes before I danced with him. lol once again I have proven mysself to be a true Brazilian :) Once again I wiil be out and about partying like a rockstar :) a very polite, well behaved international rockstar

Once again I must go,

Zora in Brazil

Day Four: Guess What!

Update on the birthday party last nice. WOW I had absolutly no idea how cool Brazilian pizza is! So, last night at the pizzeria, waiters came around the table with what was known as salt pizza. Some of the flavors were broccoli, palm flesh, tuna, salmon, onion, and chicken heart. At first I was REALLY REALLY REALLY scared to even know that people eat something like that, but I decided that every country has different types of food. For example, someone may think that becuase I like wheat thins with vanilla yougurt, I´m disgusting. And so I tried a bite of the chicken heart, which actually didn´t taste so bad. It didn´t taste like chicken though. Then, out came "sweet pizza" which had flavors like chocolate, white chocolate, banana and cinnamon(SO GOOD), etc...So yes all who are reading, I dared to try! And I survived :) so today was very calm. It rained today which made everything kinda different. Alot of people were surprised when I said "tudo bem?" which kinda like saying "how are you" or "Everything´s good?" lol ALOT of girls said " OOOOHH QUE LINDO!" (oh how cute) which actually made me feel good becuase everyone could understand me. It seems so odd that in almost a week, I have learned the basic words to strike up a conversation, so I´m hoping that when I come back, I´ll be able to talk in portuguese. Speaking of, I used the word ba! hoje. it´s a funny word. Like for example, if someone gets dissed, in the US, people would say OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! In CMPA, the military school, people say Ba! Another word that is pretty legal( pronounced leg-ow...it means cool) is Meza! which is used only when something is REALLY REALLY excited. For example, I got invited to a party today and I said Meza! It was funny becuase everyone turned around and smiled and lauhged. One boy even said I was a true Brazilian :) I´m liking Porto Alegre and CMPA more and more each day...Mom, I´m I´m moving in with Flavia (just kidding, I love you too much) Tomorrow is festa!!!! so I am extre excited about that!

hungry and going to eat something yummy,

Zora in Brazil

Day Three: Portuguese and the awkward welcome

Today has been a very interesting day for me. I got invited to way too many parties, I´m going to festa junina on friday(ajune festival where men dress like women and women dress like men), AND some teacher asked me to talk about what its like to live in America. But, that is not what made it so interesting. The interesting day began around 9:00 when I woke up with my dried contact in my bed (Flavia and I were watching ´The office` last night and I fell asleep and then Flavia´s mom woke us up and I forgot to take them out) After eating 7 boys, which is like a mini hot dog bun, and mango (YAY) I went to school with Flavia. Today she had a test, so I ended up going to Patricia´s class ( reference in day one and two...I think) where they discuss today´s crisis, the modern world and its lack of values. Though I didn´t understand a word that they said, it was interesting because it all made sense when Patri translated. Afterwards, there was a geography class where they watched a video about WWII (world war two)...I decided not to watch after the two men in the video got shot...don´t ask :( After listening to my Ipod when the movie was playing, I went out for a walk when some kids that wanted to know more about me. One kid was pretty rude and said things like "We speak portuguese here, not spanish" and "do you think carnival is all about girls and butt?" It made me uncomfortable that this kid had engraved in his mind that all Americans were not internationally informed. Another kid, who walked with me and Artur´s sister didn´t speak english, so it made it hard to understand anything he said (it was a nod and smile moment for those who understand) I´m off to a birthday party so I have to go.

tchau (this is how to spell caio in portuguese)
Zora in Brazil

Day Two: Popularity

Today was my first day of actually attending school with Flavia. there were SO many people that wanted to meet me. To be honest, it was overwhelming at first because I´m not used to hundreds of kids staring, pointing, whispering, and talking to me in portuguese. All of Flavia´s friends are really nice especially Patricia, Ana L. , Hanna, Felipe, Arthur, and others (unfortunately my brain´s memory card is full) Unfortunately today Arthur called someone the N word today, but I think in Brazil it´s used as a diffrent term. To Americans, it´s a racial slur and I´m not sure if it just means idiot in Porto Alegre. So, I explained to him that it was an insult and he apoligized :) ALOT of people have questions about American politics and all of the people I have met have said that they want Obama to win. I don´t really wanna talk about American culture though becuase I want to learn about Brazil. Hoje(today) I learned bits of portuguese which made is SOOO much easier to understand what people are saying. Some things I learned

Falar: To speak (many people say speak english when I´m around)
Amor: To love
Agustar: To like

As I learn more portuguese, I´ll write less in English, so beware lol


I have to go,
LOVE,
Zora in Brazil

PS: FLAVIA´S MOM COOKS CHICKEN!!! (that is a joke for my vegetarian mother whom I love with all my heart)

Brazil: Day one

Today is my first day in Porto Alegre. It was kinda cold in the morning but luckily I was well prepared for that. I woke up at about 12:00pm and had lunh with Flavia, her mother, and her older sister Fernanda. It was really cool because I got to practice a mix of spanish, french and portuguese because Flavia´s father speaks french, her mother understands spanish, and in Flavia´s school, english is common, but not used very often. I got to go to Flavia´s school, which is BEAUTIFUL. It´s over 100 years old and is still in a good condition. At school I met some of her friends, Patricia, Lucas, Anna, Nathan, Strada, etc. So after visiting the school, Flavia, Patricia, Anna, Alejandra, Lucas, Nathan, and I all went out paddle boating (it was my first time) and then we went out to a small cafe in a public college. I can´t remember the name of the college right now, but Fernanda and her boyfriend go there together to study law. In the cafe, I tried passion fruit juice, which was really good. Afterwards, we went to a library in the school and from there we went home. Day one has been amazing and I think I´m going to really love it here.

Ciao,

Zora in Brazil

The Day Before!!!

Today is going to be EXTRA busy...no lie. I've got this play I have to do, called Disguise the limit, and immediately after that I'm driving up to New York with my family so that I can take a plane at 9am to Sao Paulo. AND THEN, I take another plane, where I'll finally be in the lovely town of Porto Alegre. Yesterday Alejandra came home (she's the girl I'll be traveling with) and sadly, I didn't get alot of time to talk to her and hang out because of my absolute favorite thing, tech rehearsal :( I'm so excited about going to Brazil for more than one reason. 1: If I get to volunteer in hospitals, it'll be an awesome experience(unless they have me in the morgue on something...that'd be just be terrible lol) 2: I have some friends who live in Sao Paulo. I met them years ago with this program called Children's International Summer Villages. 3: This will be my first time in, not only Brazil, but South America in general! So I'm super excited and I'm hoping for the best.


Crossing fingers,
Zora

AKA Queen B