Monday, December 1, 2008
nova familia
So yesterday Paulo tried to keep me with him for as long as possible (he even took me to Vitoria x Palmeiras futebol game until like 6h30 which had me at the house at like 7 and me at my next host family at like 9h30... game was interesting, especially when some guy set of three bombs - apparently 'torcidores do Palmeiras' are the most violent fans of any Brazilian soccer team - they're from São Paulo...)
so now I have a new shirt from the Vitoria game, all my stuff packed in two suitcases and two backpacks (except my blazer and the two paintings I bought). and I'm sitting at the house right now. They have a pool and a really cool neighborhood and a fitness center right nearby! very cool. plus the beach is a short jaunt away apparently, so that's good.
anyway I left my thumb drive uploading photos at the Rochas house (on purpose, don't worry) so when they get that to me I'll be uploading photos quick. watch out for that.
tchau!
-- m
so now I have a new shirt from the Vitoria game, all my stuff packed in two suitcases and two backpacks (except my blazer and the two paintings I bought). and I'm sitting at the house right now. They have a pool and a really cool neighborhood and a fitness center right nearby! very cool. plus the beach is a short jaunt away apparently, so that's good.
anyway I left my thumb drive uploading photos at the Rochas house (on purpose, don't worry) so when they get that to me I'll be uploading photos quick. watch out for that.
tchau!
-- m
Sunday, November 23, 2008
only six more days
I change host families in exactly six days as of today.
Today I believe I am going to a rock concert with Greg and whoever else is with him, and maybe going to the movies and Paulo might remember to take me to prove that his boat actually EXISTS. other than that not much going on, on Friday I had a normal-yet-fulfilling day; I bought chocolate milk and wandered around with Larah, then went to Caffa's house and played some weird version of Brazilian crazy eights with about seven different people, then went to João's birthday party and ate a whole shit ton of sushi of every conceivable kind. And I made a new friend all on my own (which I still get excited about doing, even though I'm doing it a lot recently... her name was Vivian and she was a typical Brazilian beautiful friendly kid... people must think it's appealing to be really white and have an annoying sotaque (accent)
also NaNo update, I finally hit 30K words last night, which means I only need to write like 5K words a day to make it without too much stress... I think I can do it, do you? (I cheated a little, parts of it are in English cause I didn't know the words for some things, like arrow... and couldn't be bothered to check the dictionary).
I will upload some kickass pictures for those of you who don't have facebooks or orkuts when December gets here.
peace out!
-- m
Today I believe I am going to a rock concert with Greg and whoever else is with him, and maybe going to the movies and Paulo might remember to take me to prove that his boat actually EXISTS. other than that not much going on, on Friday I had a normal-yet-fulfilling day; I bought chocolate milk and wandered around with Larah, then went to Caffa's house and played some weird version of Brazilian crazy eights with about seven different people, then went to João's birthday party and ate a whole shit ton of sushi of every conceivable kind. And I made a new friend all on my own (which I still get excited about doing, even though I'm doing it a lot recently... her name was Vivian and she was a typical Brazilian beautiful friendly kid... people must think it's appealing to be really white and have an annoying sotaque (accent)
also NaNo update, I finally hit 30K words last night, which means I only need to write like 5K words a day to make it without too much stress... I think I can do it, do you? (I cheated a little, parts of it are in English cause I didn't know the words for some things, like arrow... and couldn't be bothered to check the dictionary).
I will upload some kickass pictures for those of you who don't have facebooks or orkuts when December gets here.
peace out!
-- m
Thursday, November 13, 2008
fim da escola
herro everybody!
yea the internet is kaput right now, so the next update might not come until December, sorry about that (but people don't appear to be reading to much so I'm not stressing..)
looks like I'm going skydiving, scuba diving, surfing, probably on Iguaçu Falls trip, birthday party next week, a show of some sort on the 22nd, maybe taking an English test on the 19th to humor my classmates, changing host families on the 29th (on the same day is the District 4550 outbound interviews, so we're supposed to go...)
I can't sleep lately because of NaNoWriMo and BUGS. there are bugs EVERY WHICH WAY, HITHER AND THITHER, BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. there is this one mosquito that hates me and keeps me up all night, and last night there was this mental bug that kept slamming against walls and the ceiling. couldn't sleep until like 4 in the morning, and by then the moon was all bright and pretty, so I had to go look at it...
speaking of NaNoWriMo, by last count I was 15,026 words in (almost 100% in authentic, I-checked-the-dictionary-and-spell-check-TWICE portuguese. which means today I am about 7000 words behind, AND I have capoeira today.
FUN. STUFF.
I'm writing postcards right now to be sent in a big bundle home and then scattered to the winds. If you want one, you should scurry like bunnies and give me your address so's I can send ya one.
school is pretty much out for me because no one expects me to take tests (though I DID pass the Literature test oddly enough...can't say the same for the Portuguese chemistry test...)
so...this year has been on and off, but all together it has been "all that and a bag of chips" (I've been itching to use that expression for a while, so there you go). end of school means no more drawing commissions which distract me from class (which is sad, I'm getting pretty good at them...)
my next host family apparently has a 14 and a 10 year old and a dog and live close to the beach. looks like a good summer coming up, hmm?
Christmas approaches...we'll see how that goes!
Skype might be out of the question Sky and Dad, but feel free to try calling me to see if the web is back up. probably won't be because brazilians are notoriously undermotivated to get stuff done, but you never know.
peace!
--- m
(also this might be obvious, but no pictures for a while either...sorry!)
yea the internet is kaput right now, so the next update might not come until December, sorry about that (but people don't appear to be reading to much so I'm not stressing..)
looks like I'm going skydiving, scuba diving, surfing, probably on Iguaçu Falls trip, birthday party next week, a show of some sort on the 22nd, maybe taking an English test on the 19th to humor my classmates, changing host families on the 29th (on the same day is the District 4550 outbound interviews, so we're supposed to go...)
I can't sleep lately because of NaNoWriMo and BUGS. there are bugs EVERY WHICH WAY, HITHER AND THITHER, BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. there is this one mosquito that hates me and keeps me up all night, and last night there was this mental bug that kept slamming against walls and the ceiling. couldn't sleep until like 4 in the morning, and by then the moon was all bright and pretty, so I had to go look at it...
speaking of NaNoWriMo, by last count I was 15,026 words in (almost 100% in authentic, I-checked-the-dictionary-and-spell-check-TWICE portuguese. which means today I am about 7000 words behind, AND I have capoeira today.
FUN. STUFF.
I'm writing postcards right now to be sent in a big bundle home and then scattered to the winds. If you want one, you should scurry like bunnies and give me your address so's I can send ya one.
school is pretty much out for me because no one expects me to take tests (though I DID pass the Literature test oddly enough...can't say the same for the Portuguese chemistry test...)
so...this year has been on and off, but all together it has been "all that and a bag of chips" (I've been itching to use that expression for a while, so there you go). end of school means no more drawing commissions which distract me from class (which is sad, I'm getting pretty good at them...)
my next host family apparently has a 14 and a 10 year old and a dog and live close to the beach. looks like a good summer coming up, hmm?
Christmas approaches...we'll see how that goes!
Skype might be out of the question Sky and Dad, but feel free to try calling me to see if the web is back up. probably won't be because brazilians are notoriously undermotivated to get stuff done, but you never know.
peace!
--- m
(also this might be obvious, but no pictures for a while either...sorry!)
Monday, October 27, 2008
pantanal/bonito: the condensed version
things I did:
waterfall/water-war rafting
zip lines into the river
swimming in six or seven waterfalls (lost count)
safari in the Pantanal wilderness
ate alligator meat
horseback racing
clear-water snorkeling
quasi-spelunking (not really I just love that word)
tree climbing
so much hammocking
bird spotting
night-time capybara/alligator adventure
wilderness walking
piranha fishing
and that's just what I can remember
my brain is slightly addled from all that dicking around we did in Belo Horizonte waiting for our plane.
also:
I was published! check it out! http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/10/23/coverstory3.html (guess I was wrong Ian; Eugene is small enough to care about one exchange student...though Bandon takes the proverbial cake still...)
I have a stupid tanktop sunburn
I got bit by a mysterious black bug which hurt like the dickens and my leg swelled up
I have cuts all over my legs from tree climbing and horseback riding
I caught nine piranhas while fishing
I danced YMCA, Eye of the Tiger, and Best Days of My Life with a bunch of exchange students (along with Créu and Piriguete but that's obvious)
held an alligator's tail
I found out cigarettes are apparently not counted as drugs amongst Terra Brasil folk, I guess cause Europeans love their smokes
I watched five movies on the bus ride to Belo (1408, the Illusionist, Love and Other Disasters, Shrek the Third and Blood Diamond... all pretty crappy movies but who cares?) also watched Crash, School of Rock and American Pie: Beta Version
learned a few words: 'mit sahne' in German, 'hygge' in Danish, 'ti wu don don' in Taiwanese, 'du er fiks' in Danish ('with cream', 'comfy/familiar', 'suck my balls' and 'you are cute')
I sang parts of 'Colors of the Wind' from Pocahontas in English and Spanish (with Becca and Andrea, the American and Mexican girls)
Tried roasted açaí ice cream
bought gifts for people
got insesently teased about being American (by two Canadians no less)
we had kids from Germany (seven), Denmark (eight), Canada (five), the States (four), Taiwan (two), Thailand (one), Finland (one), France (four), Mexico (one), Australia (two), Belgium (one), Hungary (two), making 38 in total.
held a tarantula and 'sapão' (big frog)
I have so many pictures it's ridiculous
waterfall/water-war rafting
zip lines into the river
swimming in six or seven waterfalls (lost count)
safari in the Pantanal wilderness
ate alligator meat
horseback racing
clear-water snorkeling
quasi-spelunking (not really I just love that word)
tree climbing
so much hammocking
bird spotting
night-time capybara/alligator adventure
wilderness walking
piranha fishing
and that's just what I can remember
my brain is slightly addled from all that dicking around we did in Belo Horizonte waiting for our plane.
also:
I was published! check it out! http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/10/23/coverstory3.html (guess I was wrong Ian; Eugene is small enough to care about one exchange student...though Bandon takes the proverbial cake still...)
I have a stupid tanktop sunburn
I got bit by a mysterious black bug which hurt like the dickens and my leg swelled up
I have cuts all over my legs from tree climbing and horseback riding
I caught nine piranhas while fishing
I danced YMCA, Eye of the Tiger, and Best Days of My Life with a bunch of exchange students (along with Créu and Piriguete but that's obvious)
held an alligator's tail
I found out cigarettes are apparently not counted as drugs amongst Terra Brasil folk, I guess cause Europeans love their smokes
I watched five movies on the bus ride to Belo (1408, the Illusionist, Love and Other Disasters, Shrek the Third and Blood Diamond... all pretty crappy movies but who cares?) also watched Crash, School of Rock and American Pie: Beta Version
learned a few words: 'mit sahne' in German, 'hygge' in Danish, 'ti wu don don' in Taiwanese, 'du er fiks' in Danish ('with cream', 'comfy/familiar', 'suck my balls' and 'you are cute')
I sang parts of 'Colors of the Wind' from Pocahontas in English and Spanish (with Becca and Andrea, the American and Mexican girls)
Tried roasted açaí ice cream
bought gifts for people
got insesently teased about being American (by two Canadians no less)
we had kids from Germany (seven), Denmark (eight), Canada (five), the States (four), Taiwan (two), Thailand (one), Finland (one), France (four), Mexico (one), Australia (two), Belgium (one), Hungary (two), making 38 in total.
held a tarantula and 'sapão' (big frog)
I have so many pictures it's ridiculous
Thursday, October 16, 2008
hoje
I have too much I can do. Today I don't have school, but I could go to Rotary, capoeira, bible study with Marcus, and a show tonight with Larah. I can only do one... the show or the others. I also need to go to a bank. Friday I have pretty much free, but Saturday I have to be at the airport by 3 at the latest, then by 11 I'll be in Belo (after a stop over in Rio).
Pica Pau (Woody the Woodpecker), Tom and Jerry in Portuguese, the debates in Portuguese and Brazilian soaps (which seem to just be makeout sessions on beaches and couches for the most part). I also watched Ocean's Eleven (Onze Homems e Um segredo - 11 men and a secret, translated...why it couldn't just be 'o onze do Ocean' is beyond me), Johnny e June, and the Pursuit of Happyness are the only movies I've watched so far. So there's the media update.
Rotary update: Last weekend was the Rotary club Interact Forum meeting, which started out pretty tedious (sitting around sweaty in plastic chairs wondering what the hell was going on) but then we had the festa brega, it's a party (obviously), and 'brega' is a brazilian word for things that are not often used, kind of retro, except not cool... kind of an obnoxious dress party. I know, but it was cooler than it sounds. it was pretty sweet (pics soon... it should be noted that Brazilians love to gather for giant group pictures so there's tons of those now). they are all on orkut though (orkut is basically a Brazilian facebook), so I'll see about getting 'em up here. We have two boys from Canadá (Macall and Greg), several Americans (Zoe, Sherise, Kelsey, me, Cambria, Kyle, Alexember), lots of Germans (Sandra, Kevin, Sven, Michael, Leonie, Anna, Marieke), some danes (Sofi and Mathilde), one Taiwanese girl (Ivy) and one Bermudan (Capri).
we had another American, but she got sent home.
Also I'm changing host families on the 29th (Sandra will be moving to the Rochas). As such, soon my address will be invalid.. I'm sure Paulo will forward mail to my next family though, so no worries.
Happy birthday again Sky!
I will put more pictures up when I get back on the other computer.
Clacilda Souza Moura Andrade - Praia da Armação 40 QA10 - Res. 3379-7805 / 3379-0824 Tel. Com.3249-9284 / 3249-3507
that's my new host family
:)
oh and dad if you read this, yesterday was "Dia dos Professores" (Teacher's Day).. tô com saudades de você, pai...
escutei na música se chama 'pai e filha' de novo (Father and Daughter, from Wild Thornberrys). it made me want to cry. :( miss you (you too mom and evan and jade)
and I just figured out where Marcelo put all the music he gave me. about 500 songs, all of them in Portuguese. gonna have fun going through that lot...
"tchau, I have to go now" (those are the lyrics of a song here, and for some people their english is limited to that and 'the book is on the table' <-- hahahaha)
-- m
Pica Pau (Woody the Woodpecker), Tom and Jerry in Portuguese, the debates in Portuguese and Brazilian soaps (which seem to just be makeout sessions on beaches and couches for the most part). I also watched Ocean's Eleven (Onze Homems e Um segredo - 11 men and a secret, translated...why it couldn't just be 'o onze do Ocean' is beyond me), Johnny e June, and the Pursuit of Happyness are the only movies I've watched so far. So there's the media update.
Rotary update: Last weekend was the Rotary club Interact Forum meeting, which started out pretty tedious (sitting around sweaty in plastic chairs wondering what the hell was going on) but then we had the festa brega, it's a party (obviously), and 'brega' is a brazilian word for things that are not often used, kind of retro, except not cool... kind of an obnoxious dress party. I know, but it was cooler than it sounds. it was pretty sweet (pics soon... it should be noted that Brazilians love to gather for giant group pictures so there's tons of those now). they are all on orkut though (orkut is basically a Brazilian facebook), so I'll see about getting 'em up here. We have two boys from Canadá (Macall and Greg), several Americans (Zoe, Sherise, Kelsey, me, Cambria, Kyle, Alexember), lots of Germans (Sandra, Kevin, Sven, Michael, Leonie, Anna, Marieke), some danes (Sofi and Mathilde), one Taiwanese girl (Ivy) and one Bermudan (Capri).
we had another American, but she got sent home.
Also I'm changing host families on the 29th (Sandra will be moving to the Rochas). As such, soon my address will be invalid.. I'm sure Paulo will forward mail to my next family though, so no worries.
Happy birthday again Sky!
I will put more pictures up when I get back on the other computer.
Clacilda Souza Moura Andrade - Praia da Armação 40 QA10 - Res. 3379-7805 / 3379-0824 Tel. Com.3249-9284 / 3249-3507
that's my new host family
:)
oh and dad if you read this, yesterday was "Dia dos Professores" (Teacher's Day).. tô com saudades de você, pai...
escutei na música se chama 'pai e filha' de novo (Father and Daughter, from Wild Thornberrys). it made me want to cry. :( miss you (you too mom and evan and jade)
and I just figured out where Marcelo put all the music he gave me. about 500 songs, all of them in Portuguese. gonna have fun going through that lot...
"tchau, I have to go now" (those are the lyrics of a song here, and for some people their english is limited to that and 'the book is on the table' <-- hahahaha)
-- m
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
eu fiz...coisas
piercing the old rabbit ears (old picture)
pedro and me at ItacimirimIn the next few weeks: I am going to an Interact forum from the 10th to the 12th, then on the 15th I am taking a PSAT test at "Escola PanAmericana". The 18th is the beginning of the Pantanal/Bonito trip, which goes until the 27th... then on the 1st of November I am going to a big concert just outside of Salvador.
Portuguese update: I still have no Portuguese class but no one seems to care... I am functionally able to communicate difficult concepts to my host parents (peanut butter was a bit of a challenge without an example), and I can carry on conversations in Portuguese (mostly by the good grace of those who have to put up with me).
I am watching TV in Portuguese, and trying to keep up with the USA elections. I hope things are going great, you guys better elect Obama or I'm going to have a tough last half-year here...
you know what's really good? coconut popsicles. they are always out of 'amendoim' (peanut) but I will try it! castanho is good too. I have a long list of things I love here, too many for right now... later.
Que saudades Lara!! Tô c/ muito tristeza sem você...cê precisa visitar aos Estados Unidos...especificamente ao Oregon!!! o próximo ano, certo? Tá bom??
--tchau galera
-- m
ps. mom and dad, you should visit when you're allowed to. I want you guys to meet Pedro, Paulo and Rosa. :)
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