Orientation Weekend

Yesterday I just arrived home from the most amazing week with the other exchange students in my district. It started last Sunday (September 29) and all the exchange students met at the Rotary building at 7am. There were 56 of us. I already knew a couple of them but the rest were absolute strangers. We all boarded the bus and started talking with one another. They made each of us speak into a microphone introducing ourselves (in Portuguese of course). Our first destination was Ouro Preto. The bus actually stopped about 30 minutes outside of Ouro Preto and we got to take a train through the country side to get to the city. The cool thing was that I had already been to Ouro Preto but this time we went to a different part of the city that I had never been to. All 56 of us and our chaperones walked around the entire city for the whole day. We got to go into these caves as well which was really neat. The path was very narrow and the walls were made of clay.
After a long day of walking and meeting new people, we went back to Contagem where we were going to stay for the week. I stayed in a room with 11 other girls, it was so big!
This resort place had 2 huge pools, and tons of basketball/volleyball/soccer courts, a bunch of playgrounds, multiple huge buildings for lunch/games, classes/I don't even know. That night we all got together and played a bunch of group games to break the ice. We were split into groups and had to make up a short skit in Portuguese. It was really neat to start getting to know each other. Mostly everyone spoke English so that was basically our only way of communicating. There were only 3 out of 56 that didn't speak English and 2 of those 3 could speak Portuguese. We did the pin and card trading that night and my goodness I have a lot now.

The next day we began our Portuguese lessons. Before we started, we had to do a little presentation about ourselves then we were split into our groups. I was put in the easy class for Portuguese and then found out that it was actually waay too easy. Surprisingly I knew more than some people that have been there for 2 months. It was okay though because they figured out quickly that some people were at different levels than they had thought so they moved me into the harder class.
A typical day would general go like this: 7am breakfast, 8am Portuguese, 10am snack break, 10:30am more Portuguese classes, 12:30 lunch, 2pm, activity/rules, 4pm snack, 4:30 more games, 7pm dinner, 9pm games\dancing. Notice how I did not put a time for bed? That is because there is no sleeping that occurs when with exchange students.
One of the activities they made us do that day was split into two huge groups, everyone gets a dance partner and you have a dance competition kind of. It didn't really work out because they just gave us partners, put on music and said "go". Most of us didn't know what kind of dance or how to dance so we just did our own thing. By the end everyone was on the floor dancing and no one really cared about the competition. They put on Brazilian music and all of us just had the most amazing time making fools out of ourselves. It was at that moment when I realized how much I love where I am and how lucky I am to be here. Looking around at all the different faces and knowing that these faces are going to be the ones we will miss most is really quite an extraordinary feeling.

On Tuesday we did our normal routine with the Portuguese lessons and everything. They spent another 2 hours explaining the rotary rules and most of us were falling asleep. Outside of our classroom where we were learning the rules, there was a huge hall with a stage. During our lesson, there was a huge group of old people doing dancing and stretching exercises being lead by a couple of younger people. It looked like so much fun so Kristian and I (the boy from Slovakia) decided to join in on the dancing. Next thing you know everyone follows behind us so we had a huge group of old people and exchange students dancing. It was such a great time, everyone loved it.
After supper that night there was a group of people around our age who came to teach us how to dance Forro. The guys stood in a circle and a girls stood in a circle inside of them so we could all rotate partners. This is a very intimate and difficult dance if you are doing it right but of course we were all just learning so we probably looked really funny. I think I got the hang of it after a while, it was so much fun. I'm going to hopefully be taking Forro classes nearby my house a couple times a week. They also taught us samba... ugh. It looks amazing and I really wish I could do it but it is so hard! I think I need to practice alone in my bedroom first so I can actually get it. I will not go back to Canada without knowing how to Samba.

Wednesday we did our routine once again in the mornings. Now I know it sounds like everyday is the same but it really wasn't! Everyday was so awesome because each day I talked to different people. The nice thing about this group of exchange students is that there are no 'cliques'. Everyone can talk to everyone and you sit with a new group of people all the time. I can honestly say that I am friends with each person on some level in that group. Later that night we had kind of a 'talent show' which wasn't really a talent show because people just stood up and did a cartwheel or something but it was still really entertaining. After that we played a really intense chair game that basically involves tackling. We all came out alive so I guess it was somewhat successful. Funny how the most popular games among this group all have to do with inducing pain on one another. I learned some defensive skills in jujitsu and how to do kill people with their pressure points... I just hope I won't have to use those techniques on anyone. On Wednesday during the afternoon however, some people got sick. I still don't know if it was a virus or food poisoning but I am just thankful I didn't get it. It spread for a couple days to different people. By the end of the week there was between 15-18 people who got sick. Sick as in throwing up, and having diarrhea. More than half of the people I shared a room with were sick. I felt so awful, I am glad they are okay.

On Thursday we took a bus to a place called Inhotim where we visited a very famous museum\gallery thing. I call it a museum\gallery thing because it wasn't really either. It was the biggest gallery I have ever been and it apparently takes 3 days to see the whole thing. Essentially, it was a very large forest with many different buildings filled with modern art. You just walk down a trail in the forest and it leads you to different buildings. The galleries were very messed up to be honest... in a cool hipster kind of way. There was one building where you had to take your shoes off before you went inside. Then inside the building there were different rooms. One room was all foam and it was so thick that it was difficult to walk; you could only jump. Another room was just a pool to soak your feet. One was a room with a bunch of hammocks, and another with a bunch of beds on the ground. Each room had a projector going with creepy hipster music and creepy dead people pictures. I felt like that artist was on drugs when they thought of that. But that is okay because it was very interesting. Also that forest had some of the most beautiful lakes I've seen. I really wish I could explore the whole gallery one day.
When we got back from the trip we ate supper and played a game of soccer and just hung out. It was very unfortunate that many people were sick and had to miss out on the trip. Later that night the dancers came back and we practiced more and more dancing. I can honestly say that I suck at Samba... for now. It was so much fun, I am really looking forward to taking the classes.

On Friday we woke up early for our last Portuguese class. In total, we took 20 hours of Portuguese that week. It helped a lot I think. After the lessons, we had lunch then went to this building for a presentation on all the different trips that are offered to our district. I would really love to go on all of them but obviously that is not going to happen. Thankfully I get the opportunity to go on at least one! I am really praying that I will have a spot reserved for the Northeast Trip. This trip is my dream. You get to travel to all the most amazing beaches in Brazil, learn how to dance, stay in Rio, learn the culture and taste the cuisine. It is a month long and it is with many of the other exchange students from my district. I also am dying to go on the Amazon trip. It's shorter but you get to boat down the Amazon river, sleep in hammocks in the jungle, meet Amazonian tribes, swim with pink dolphins and play with sloths. I would actually use all of my college money and give my right leg to do that trip. I can't even explain. So if anyone wants to get me a really awesome Christmas present.... *wink wink*
Anywho.. after the presentation we ate food (surprise surprise) and then waited to meet the other outbounds and rebounds. These were the outbounds that would be going on their exchange in January. It was really good to talk to them because I got the chance to speak in Portuguese again. (I have been bad because the exchange students really on speak English).
After dinner we all gathered in this 'bar' area and listened to a live band play Brazilian music. After a couple songs everyone started to get up and dance. I absolutely love Brazilian music so I was right in there dancing the whole time. The live band was so good! And they all got really into what they were playing. It was such a great night.

On Saturday I got to sleep in until 11!! That never happens! That whole week had been no sleep at all and having to wake up at 6 or 7 everyday. So 11 was amazing for me. We ate lunch and then packed up our stuff to head back to Belo Horizonte. We toured around Pampulha for about an hour. There were a few shops set up so we went looking around. ALSO I saw an alligator! IN THE LAKE! Holy man I was excited. I also saw a tarantula the night before. I am loving this wildlife in Brazil.
After Pampulha, they brought us to this famous 'Praça' in BH called 'Praça da Papa'. It was a place where you could see the whole entire city. I have been there before but only at night. It was such an amazing view. And it was the perfect opportunity for taking selfies.
Then it was time to say goodbye. It was weird saying bye to people that you just spent every second of a whole week with. It was sad but I know I will be seeing them again soon.

I love this group of exchange students. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to share the same experiences with. I know these will be the friends I will have for life.
Thank you Rotary for making this possible :)