One month???

Me and the girls in class. Clockwise: Monica, Raquel, Maria, Me, Maisa, Viki.

I can't believe I've been here for one month already. I feel like I've been here forever and yet at the same time I have so much more to experience. I am hardly ever homesick because if I was at home I would be in the same position, without my parents or my friends, only in a place that spoke English. But I wouldn't trade this for the world.

Tuesday (September 8)-

I don't think I will ever get used to this lifestyle, because I once again wanted to sleep in this morning. But against my conscience I got up and had a normal day at school with Biology, History, Geography and Chemistry. The best part of the day was when Carlos (Chemistry teacher) was 20 minutes late and we just sat in class, talking and taking pictures. We all got a ride home with Ylana's mom. She dropped us off in Fred's normal spot and we walked to Vó's house. The only problem with this was the torrential downpour that was happening at the moment. We walked across the street and up two houses to Vó's but were soaking wet by the time we got there. Lunch was rice and beans (excellent as usual, I like Vó's maid's beans the best) and fish from the weekend (not so excellent). After that we all headed back to the house in the rain. João and I finished up the Law and Order we had started at Vó's and then I continued to watch the end of Big Fat Liar, Big Bang Theory, Zoey 101, Drake and Josh and the O.C. (most of which had portuguese subtitles, so I didn't feel so bad). It rained the entire day, with thunder and lightning. We ate a normal dinner and I talked with a friend on the computer who is in Japan. We are 12 hours different. Mãe called Ylana's mom to tell her she didn't like it that we were dropped off in the rain. Ylana's mom then proceeded to put on the blame on Fred saying if he didn't want to be dropped off there he should have said something. Then one thing she didn't know is that Fred doesn't like either of them so he avoids talking to them when possible. Brasilian drama!

Wednesday (09/09/09!)-

Nothing exciting to start off my morning except that it wasn't raining as much. School was Biology, Chemistry, and Math. Of course Perrenoud, my biology teacher, had to find a way to embarrass me. He called me out in the first class saying hello and if I was understanding things (in Portuguese of course) and also tried to say stuff in English. The second class with him was even funnier. He was labeling his drawings on the board and he drew a rectangle and forked tongue, labeling it "Cobra". Everyone laughed including me and he saw me laughing so he labeled it again "Snake". Then he drew an arrow and labeled it "Veneno" but claimed he didn't know the word in English so he wrote it in French, "Poison". Then he drew a cavalo and someone from the back of the class said "HORSE!" and he labeled it again. It was just me that went home today, and of course I choose the wrong direction to walk, walking up the street instead of down. Then we went back to Vó's house to get Álvaro because he was instructed to eat very fast and get a ride with tia Nani, but he had sat down and watched tv instead. After dropping him off Mãe, João and I went back to Vó's again to eat this time. We had the same fish, and mãe explained to me that when they have the same meal as the day before they say that they have met the meal before and sometimes call it grandpa. Well the fish today we knew very well and decided it would be great-grandpa. I ate meat instead with rice, beans and mashed mandioca plus the best limeade that Vó always has. Then mãe had to go to work again, interviewing people to get hired to work at a school, so João and I walked to get him a magizine. Then it was time to take a big step and try Forma Fisíca, my gym. João had class at 4 and we hitched a ride with Janaina so we wouldn't have to walk (sneaky us). I talked with the receptionist in Spanish because she didn't speak English and neither did my trainer, Lincoln, who resembles Micheal Weston from Burn Notice. It's very different from gyms there, Lincoln showed me what to do and kept by my side most of the workout. We attempted to communicate, though it was mostly with signals. I met someone there who is Brasilian but was in Gavelston last year so we spoke English. I discovered that once again the people here are so friendly. Once João was done we waited for mãe and got bread for dinner, she made me go order it! I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (some things never change) and a glass of water then Maria was there to pick me up for tennis classes. We drove to this really nice place, with clobberstone parking lot, lots of glass, clay courts and a tv lounge area. I felt so fancy there. We had class with the teacher and one other guy for an hour. I don't know how much my skills improved but we had a lot of fun. I am now going to be a regular there as well. When I got back I ate a piece of French bread and more water while reading some stories on the internet. Mãe got done at work and came out to tell me to take a shower. I told her I was just waiting for her motivation and promptly took one. Then Álvaro and I watched Drake and Josh in portuguese while eating frosted flakes (sucrilhos). Then mãe wanted to watch her novela, Caminhas das Indias, and Álvaro wanted to watch a different show so of course there was yelling and Álvaro went upstairs to watch his show. Always eventful and loud here. :)

Thursday (September 10)-
Today was an average day. I had a normal breakfast but there was a change up in classes. I had the normal, Da Matta (Chemistry), Hélio (Physics), Rafael (Math) but I had Delço (Physics) today and we never have him on Thursdays. Other than that school was uneventful and I went home with Fred. For lunch we had potatoes, stroganoff (again...), rice and beans. I got to try a new juice from Northeast, and it was pretty good. I helped clean the table and put stuff away, also shaking the tablecloth. See Mom, your upbringing did rub off on me. Then I talked to my parents on Skype for a loooooong time. We had a lot to catch up on and I was avoiding the list I had written myself to do that day. Mãe left for work and João was at a friend's house for school so I was all alone at the house. I worked on what I needed to do, gym schedule, SESC schedule, trip paperwork, etc. João came and left, and mãe got home around 4:30. I got to try a new bread too, and it kinda tasted like potato bread. But it was still really good. Caminhas das Indias was on again (it's in the last episodes) but I was on the computer, I think I spent too much time on here today. I went to be a little bit earlier than everyone else so I got to fall asleep to a loud tv, random yelling here or there and my host mom talking loudly to Mima online. I somehow feel asleep.

Friday (September 11)-
I didn't realized the significance of the day till I wrote it down in Portuguese class. Today was kinda weird. We had Geovana (Portuguese) as normal but instead of having Fernando (Portuguese Lit.) everyone went outside. For some reason, I never did figure out why, Fernando was not at school so during his class time I just sat and talked to everyone. I always wondered what happened when a teacher was sick. During the first break I talked with my normal group of friends, then someone on my Orkut that's in my class came up and introduced me to his friends and we talked. Then he left to go study and 4 more guys from 3rd year came up and started talking to me in okay English. Then we had to go back in for Physics with Delço and Portuguese with Geovana, then we got another hour break. This time I talked with João, Gue, Argentine, Micheal, and then slowly the groups started merging together, my normal friends and the other group. By the end we were all talking together and laughing at the pet Argentine. :) And arguing about soccer of course. I was dissappointed I had to go back in for Physics. Also I got a ride home from tia ma with marie, fred and thaá. For lunch we had meat, rice, beans and some kind of egg, bacon, mandoica thing. I also got the best juice today, Pear! I'm sure there was no artificial flavoring. Then it was time for gym! João and I had to walk there and back, but it was nice. We held hands the entire way. :) I am starting to know more people there and I met even more people today, 3 guys who spoke English. A old hippie looking guy that grew up in Florida but lived in Brasil for a long time, another guy that works for IMPE (the space research place here) and he's organizing a trip to São Franisico Xaiver to go on a hike, and a guy who decribed himself as handsome, going to college, looking for a job and lives down the street. He was 19. I feel like I am finally starting to really branch out and meet new people and have connections. I just wish I could speak Portuguese better so people were not so afraid to talk to me. I somehow banged my knee at the gym and gave myself a huge bruise. Good thing my family is prepared and i rubbed some cream on it and got a spray for my toe where I had banged it last weekend causing it to bleed. For dinner we had delicious wheat bread and cinnamon apple strudel. Nothing could top that, along with some pear juice. Best dinner yet. Then the final episode of the novela was on, everyone has been talking about it all day. So we ordered pizza and sat on the couch to watch it. Tomorrow I am going to the supermarket and a sertanejo concert! \o/
Tchau for now!
beiiiiijos.