Northeast Trip

If you thought any of my other blog posts were long well then prepare because this is going to be a novel. I am about to explain the last 3 weeks, day by day, hour by hour. There is so much to tell so get comfy, grab some popcorn, maybe a hot chocolate, and enjoy. :)

Day 1: Everyone met up in Contagem at the same place we had our inbound orientation. It was really awesome to see everyone that I haven't seen in months! This northeast trip was only for my district (4760) but not the whole district went. There were 42/56 of us there. 42 exchange students, 18 different countries, 2 chaperones, 10 hotels, and 2 leaders. The first day was really chill, it was just basically a reunion. Every night of the trip, we had a meeting to discuss what would be happening the following day. This first meeting, we introduced ourselves to the leaders, Nina and Lulu. Nina explained the game 'Jegue Porreta' to us. Basically if someone does something funny or stupid that day, someone tells what they did and everyone votes which story is the best. If your story wins, you have to wear a giant pacifier (Chupetao) around your neck for the entire next day. Doesn't matter what we do that day, you have to wear it. The best part is that at some point during the day, the person with the "chupetao" gets to yell "Jegue Porreta" and everyone else has to lay on their backs, flail their arms and legs in the air while screams nonsense. And yes, this happens in public places. Some people really who watch us think there are bombs going off or something so they run away. It's really quite hilarious.

Day 2: Everyone had a medical exam, then we had a 4 hour lecture on the rules of the trip. The rules were basically the same as the rotary rules. Last year apparently 8 people got sent home from this exact trip so they were really stressing the rules this time. Spoiler Alert: no one during this trip got sent home! That isn't a common thing...
Anyways, we went grocery shopping for the 16 hour bus ride ahead of us and then after dinner we had forro and funk dance lessons. Funk is basically shaking your butt with technique.

Day 3: Everyone was up early, packed the bus, and headed on a 16 hour bus ride to a hotel in Bahia. I barely slept on this bus ride because I was just way to excited. We watched some movies, had a dance party on the bus and just talked with everyone.

Day 4: Up early again for another 6 hours to Lencois. We had lunch in the city and then walked to this natural pool with a waterfall. It was right in the middle of the forest so we had to hike there. The water was so refreshing, I could have stayed there all day. We walked back to the hotel, swam in the pool, and just hung out. The food at that hotel was fantastic! I ate waay too much but it was so worth it.

Day 5: Took the bus to a place outside of Lencois where all of us went snorkeling in these fresh water caves and zip lining into the water. After, we bussed to a different spot where we hiked down a mountain to explore in some huuuge underground caves. The air was so fresh and it was so isolated that there was almost complete silence. It was truly amazing to experience. We then went back to the hotel, stuffed our faces, swam, and slept.

Day 6: Early onto the bus to go to Morro Do Pai Inicio. It was a long hike up the mountain but luckily it wasn't hot outside yet. The unfortunate part about the weather was that it was very foggy so by the time we climbed all that way, there wasn't a lot to see because everything was white. We stayed up there taking pictures with all of our flags and by the end, it started to clear up. The view was absolutely stunning, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. We then went o another natural pool in Lencois that we also had to hike to. It was so cool because it had cliffs and a giant natural slide. It kind of hurt sliding down it because it was just a huge rock but it was so amazing! We stayed there until the sun went down and then hiked back to the hotel. After dinner we had a Capoeira presentation. Capoeira is a very famous kind of dance fighting here in Brazil. The presentation was really neat to watch because they also brought in little kids who have started training as well. They got many exchange students to participate as well. At the end, they busted into some Samba!

Day 7: Woke up early to head out to Maceio but after 4 hours on the bus, the bus broke down. It broke down basically in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, a 20 minute walk away had a truck stop with a few little stores to buy snacks. We all ended up staying there for about 6-7 hours waiting for the bus to be fixed. The nearest city was 2 hours away for the bus drivers had to go there and back to get the parts they needed. Did I mention it was also suuuuper hot and no air conditioning? Yea, it was pleasant. We finally made it back on the bus and arrived in Maceio at 3:30am.

Day 8: We took little sail boats to a sand bar way off the shore of Maceio. There were people selling things from floating coolers or off of their boats. We played frisby and other water games. By the end of our time out there, everyone was staring at us. We made a scene everywhere we went. When we got back to the shore, we got to do some shopping on the beach. Sandra and I were so excited that we didn't really listen o the instructions of where to meet up with the group again. Long story short, we thought we had to meet in another place and we were already late so we began to run like idiots down the street, flailing our arms for the bus to wait for us because we thought it had left without us. In actual fact, we were supposed to meet up right outside the 'street mall' but instead we finally caught up to the bus only to find out that no one was on it, the bus was actually about to pick up the whole group. So needless to say, we won the Chupetao for the next day. The later afternoon was spent at another beautiful beach down the street from the hotel. We stayed there until the sun went down then went and had dinner.

Day 9: Took a huge boat to this amazing beach with perfect white sand and filled with palm trees. The sand was incredible, the water was so clear. and I got to enjoy it all with a glass of freshly made passion fruit juice. It was the exact definition of paradise. The boat had a top floor where we blasted music and danced. The view was stunning, I couldn't believe that I was actually there. The other group of exchange students from the other tour company was there on the same day so I got to meet up with Karin from my district back at home. I haven't seen her since our outbound orientation in Canada so it was really cool to catch up about life in Brazil. What a cool place to meet up, eh?
After our wonderful day at the beach, we went back to the hotel to get ready for a night out at a forro place. This place was so authentic and so cultural. We danced all night long and lucky me, I had to wear the chupetao while we danced. I even got to go onto the stage and sing with the band.

 

Day 10: 10 hour bus ride to Natal! We all went out for dinner, had to do the Jegue Porreta at the restaurant... with everyone staring. Sandra and I ordered room service that night. It was so awesome because we got fresh juice at midnight. I love Brazil.

Day 11: Visited the largest cashew tree in the world. I am telling you, it was huuuuge! We were able to walk all around through it. It felt like it never ended. I got to try fresh Caju juice from the tree as well. After, we went to the beach, shopped a little, took lots of pictures. I also held a blow fish right from the ocean! It was blown up while I was holding it but then began to deflate because I think it was dying. My bad. I also found some sand dollars! After dinner, the leaders put on a nice dance party for us at another hotel right on the beach. There was a DJ, a pool, a table full of fruit, and a cake. We danced a ton and took lots of pictures. It was so cool because everyone dressed up so fancy.

Day 12: This day was such an amazing day. We got into groups of 4 and got to ride on these dune buggies all over the sand dunes in Natal. It really looked like a desert actually with an ocean in the background. The sand was so soft and the hills were huge. Our driver was a maniac! He drove off the trail, almost hit the other buggies, went really fast over bumps and down hills. It was great. We got to stop a lot of the time to take pictures of the scenery. It was gorgeous! I got to take pictures riding a donkey on the top of the sand dune! It was a little random at first but I was definitely not about to pass up an opportunity to ride a donkey in the desert. After that, we drove up to this one place where we got to go sand boarding! I completely failed but it was a lot of fun. We then took the buggies to the beach where we relaxed, got beach tattoos, drank coconuts, and tanned. We met up with the other group of exchangers again which was really neat! On our bus ride home the traffic was really bad so we eventually had to get out and walk to the hotel. The cool thing was that we got to watch the opening of the new stadium in Natal. We watched the rope cutting and everything. That night we had an all-you-can-eat  pizza dinner. HOLY I am telling you, it was amazing. The waiters went by with every kind of pizza you could imagine. There was no end. There was even dessert pizza with bananas chocolate, strawberries, everything! My goodness that was amazing.

Day 13: From Natal we took off on another 14 hour bus ride to a city that I am not really sure the name of... it was just to stay one night then get up to travel again so we didn't really stay there long. We stopped in Recife for lunch at this really fancy restaurant with really good food. Then someone yelled 'Jegue Porreta' and all 41 of us fell to the ground and started screaming. In the middle of this fancy restaurant. So that happened..
We arrived at the hotel at about 11:30pm. Now. All of the hotels on the trip were good, clean and reasonable for the price...except this hotel. This hotel was creepy, smelly, and basically falling apart. Our hotel room didn't even lock for one thing, the fan looked like it was going to fall and slice someone in half and the bathroom door didn't close either. It looked like an orphanage basically. The only thing in the room were beds; we literally kept the keys on the floor because there was no table or anything. But thankfully it was just for one night.

Day 14: We drove another 4 hours to a small city outside of Salvador. We went to a beach called Praia do Forte which is famous for its sea turtle exhibit. I got to see all sorts of different sea turtles, stingrays, sea urchins and lots more sea creatures. I held the sea urchin and pet the stingray. It was pretty neat. I ate subway for lunch which of course was just an awful choice. I'm not going to go on my subway rant right now because this blog is supposed to be about the trip. I will just say it was bad...I got a ham.
Anways... we bussed to Salvador, ate supper at McDonalds, and then had a talent show. Everyone had to do something so the two other Canadians and I sang Canada's anthem. Everyone had something really random to show which was pretty cool. Then the boys took it a little further and did a strip tease. They shouldn't have called that a talent...

Day 15: We did a bus tour of Salvador then got to see the famous church with all the 'Fitas' in front. Fitas are these little ribbon type things that you tie onto the outside of the church. There are all sorts of different colours that mean different things. You tie 3 knots and make one wish for every knot. You can basically tie them anywhere and make 3 wishes. While Sandra and I were walking around, we came across these funny dressed guys holding a basket of a bunch of leaves. The guys approached us friendly and asked our names. They then began to brush the leaves on our faces, throw rice and grains on us, spray kind of a mint scented perfume and then finally powder us a little with this flour type substance. The were saying prayers while they did it and then at the end they said we were blessed by God. So I guess we accidentally got blessed in Salvador.
We took the bus to this other market where we got to shop for quite some time. We took an elevator up to a really high point in Salvador where we could see the whole city and the ocean. After lunch we had some more free time to shop and explore a really neat part of the city before we had to meet up for this show at 7:30. In Salvador that day there was a concert going on but the area was blocked off with police. Sandra and I got to go in and check it out. We left all of our things with some other exchange students so nothing would get stolen. The concert was soo packed with people and actually kind of freaky at times. There were people throwing drinks, grabbing our arms, touching our hair, doing drugs right next to us all on the way into the concert. It was freaky but once we got in, it was amazing! The singer looked like he was 65 but he was still rocking the stage. It was a really chill reggae concert and I loved it! The singer was giving away CD's near the stage so I ran there but the first round I didn't get any because everyone was crowding. I waited again and still didn't get a CD. After waiting, the singer looked at me as I held my hands out and he went and got a CD just for me. It made me so happy even though I have never heard of this band before. It's a good souvenir now.
We then left the concert to meet up with the group so we could watch an authentic dance. The dance was so amazing and so cultural! I really wish I could have taken pictures or videos. The dresses were amazing and the singing and instruments were live as well. It was a really cool cultural moment that I am glad I got to see.

Day 16: Another 10 hour bus ride to Porto Seguro! I'll tell you a little bit of what the bus life is like because we spent a lot of time on there. Basically, everyone sleeps, we watch movies, we play the CD of the music of the trip, and mostly we just converse with one another. I really got to know a lot about people after spending that much time on the bus. When we arrived there, ate dinner, and started designing our shirts for the following night. They gave us shirts and told us we had to wear them to the party the next night but they said we could cut them and tie them how we wanted to so all the girls got together in one room and helped each other. It was pretty cool.

Day 17: Woke up, went to the beach which was across the street, tanned, swam, etc. I held one of those cool sand crabs that walk sideways. It didn't pinch me which was a plus. We headed over to the stage because they were calling up people to dance. I would've gone too but I was too late getting there. There was a crowd in front dancing as well. After the volunteers, they had a group of professional guys and girls dancing. It was amazing. Amazing because they were good dancers but mainly because I have never seen so many abs all at once. Brazilian abs dancing. Holy.
We were supposed to dance along with them but to be honest I often found myself just standing there staring...maybe a little drool, I'm not sure.
Anyways, after that we went out for lunch then visited an old part of Porto Seguro. This was the first city founded by the Portuguese way back in the 1500's. There was so much history and culture there, it was really cool to learn about. We got to do some shopping, I tried a really authentic food called acaraja. It's kind of hard to explain because it had a bunch of unknown things in it but I liked it. And if you know me you will know that I generally will try things before I know what is inside.
We then got to do some more shopping near the beach, I held parrot who then began to climb me which was not okay so I kind of freaked out. I also tried to teach it to say Canada but it ended up saying something like 'rararaaa' which I think is pretty close.
After supper we all got ready and headed out to the club with our cut up T-shirts. We danced and danced and danced until our feet hurt and we couldn't dance no more. Twas an excellent night.

Day 18: Aaaand another 11 hours to Guaraparas which was another temporary stay hotel just for the night. It was a shame though because that hotel was so nice! Each room had a hammock outside! After dinner we basically all just hung out in the hammocks, talking and such.

Day 19: Another 8 hours to Rioooo! Once we arrived in Rio we went shopping on the beach, ate all-you-can-eat pizza again (OMG), then just relaxed because no one could move after all that pizza.

Day 20: One of the most memorable days of the trip. In the morning we started off with a tour of the most famous soccer stadium in Brazil called Maracana. The cool thing about this is that none of the other trips got to do this tour because the stadium wasn't ready until now. It was so new and shiny, I couldn't believe it! We got tours of all the different levels including the VIP room, the dressing room of the players, the practice room, and the actually grass itself. That stadium is huuuuge I tell you. Whenever you get the chance, look up Maracana on Google Earth, then zoom out and see how huge it is. It's crazy.
From Maracana we went straight to go see the Christ. I've already been so I knew the excitement of the others. Even though it was my second time, the view still didn't lose it's value. It truly is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. The only unfortunate part was that it was full of tourists and also 40 degrees out. We rushed to get a bunch of pictures in then relaxed. After lunch we went to another super famous tourist point called 'Pao de Açucar'. This was another mountain that you had to get to by a gondola. You could literally see everything from up there as well, including the Christ. We stayed up there and watched the sun set over Rio. That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. The colours were outstanding; I wish I had the perfect words or even pictures to do it justice. Ever have those moments in your life where you look around you, everything goes silent, colours become brighter, time stops, and your breath seems to be completely taken from you? I have. Watching the yellows, the reds, the oranges, and the darkness behind it all mix together behind the famous mountains, the same mountains I have seen in many pictures, then watch it all fade away slowly; that was when my breath was taken. I had a moment of realization that I didn't want to ever sleep because finally my reality was better than any of my dreams.

Day 21: I woke up early to go on the tour of the Favelas. For those of you who don't know, favelas are the area of the cities where the poor people live. If you look at pictures of big cities in Brazil, you will see the outskirts are made of those torn but colourful looking buildings. Those are favelas. Rio has the biggest favelas in the world so I really wanted to take a tour to see what their life is like inside those small houses. We went all the way up the mountain, did a tour between the houses, on the streets and in one of the schools. I have never seen anything like it. These houses were so small, so torn, and so close together, I couldn't imagine what it would be like living there. Whoever is reading this, take a look around the room you are in right now and just know that it is probably bigger than most of the houses in the Favelas. An interesting thing is that 90% of the people who live there, work. The construct buildings, roads, etc. The use that money to build onto their houses, sometimes they use it to buy TVs, phones, etc. It appeared that they didn't really use that money for the things that you would think. They all wear normal clothes, use cell phones, watch TV, but they have the TV in the kitchen which is generally their living room too. It was interesting because these people didn't appear unhappy at all, they were all actually very friendly and upbeat. Even though they don't have as many things as we do, they lived a happy life. I loved that tour because it made me appreciate even more the life that I live and the things that I have.
After the tour we had some free time to get some lunch, walk around Rio, etc. We all met up after and headed to Copacabana beach. We spent the afternoon just relaxing on the beach, taking pictures, did some more beach shopping. We went out for dinner again at a really good restaurant. We all hung out at the hotel after just talking and laughing. It was a really relaxing night.

Day 22:The last day of the trip! Okay the last day of doing things.. We took a 3 hour bus ride to Angra Dos Reis where we ate lunch, then boarded the big boat. Angra Dos Reis is famous because it is surrounded by tons of islands. They say there is one island for every day of the year. That day we got to visit 5 of them. The water was so clear and beautiful. We were constantly surrounded by beautiful islands. You know the stereotype islands you think of where it's just a small island with palm trees and nothing else? Well, that is exactly what these islands were. After our island hopping, we headed back to our last and final hotel right on the water. My room was on the top floor and had a great view of the water. There was a pool, a dock, a pool table, and a lounge area outside. After dinner we had our last meeting where the leaders said their thank you's and everything. We then did a little awards ceremony. I won 'Most Brazilian', 'Funniest', and 'Best Dancer' for the girls. It was a nice surprise! After the ceremony, the DJ arrived and we had another dance party. There was a light show and everything. Our curfew that night was 3am but we danced for so long that Nina (our leader) said we can stay up if we want to. Tucker (my friend from New York), Stian (Norway), and I stayed up until the sun came up. Tucker and I ended up not going to sleep at all until the bus.

Day 23: As I said, I didn't go to sleep. I stayed up talking with Stian, Tucker, and Nina. It was really nice to relax and have some good conversations. We ate a quick breakfast then boarded the bus for one last trip: Belo Horizonte. It was supposed to be another 8 hours but the bus broke down we didn't end up arriving until 8:30 at night. I slept pretty much that whole time so it didn't really matter much for me. We arrived in BH, said our goodbyes and our hellos and headed home.

I anticipated this trip for over a year and I can't believe it's already over. Every day was filled with fun, laughs and surprises. It exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much Terra Brasil for making my dream trip come true.
If I could, I would've liked to have written every small detail about it but I think it is long enough. This trip will always be looked back on with great memories.

Thanks for reading :)

P.S The rest of the pictures are on another post.

New Beginnings

Once I arrived home from Patos, I immediately had to start packing because I was to move houses on the 27th (the next day). I was really sad packing my things and I was super lazy... I didn't realize how much stuff I had collected over the three months! Eli came over to help me then the two of us went shopping. I finished packing that night and spent the rest of the night watching tv with my host parents. I wrote them a huge letter in Portuguese saying my thanks; I hope I didn't make too many
mistakes in Portuguese haha.
The next day Sofia came to pick me up bright and early with all of my things. It was sad saying bye but I know I will visit them often (they let me keep their house key so I can return when I want)
It is bittersweet saying bye because I really felt like that was my home! I knew how to make coffee and use the oven. I even knew how everyone likes their coffee! I was very comfortable. I am now looking forward to learning how everything works in Sofia's house! It will be easy because I am already pretty much a part of the family.

The day after arriving in Sofi's house, Sofi and I travelled to a city about 6 hours away called Escarpas Do Lago. Prior to arriving, everyone had told me that Escarpas is a beautiful city where pretty much only rich people live. I arrived and every.single.house. was gorgeous. The city was surrounded by multiple lakes and cliffs. The house we stayed at was about an hour outside of the city. It was a beautiful, house with a pool, a bar, jukebox, pool table, ping pong table, multiple rooms, tv room, beautiful kitchen, and it was all located right on the lake. They had a seadoo and two boats as well. I was living in paradise for those few days, my goodness. This was only the main house, up the hill a little more there were a couple other houses just for sleeping. In total, there were probably about 30-40 people who came to the 'main house' during the day. We stayed there because Sofi's friend, Paula, was there with her family as well.
We spent our days soaking up the sun by the pool, boating, drinking fresh juice, and swimming in the pool. It was so relaxing. On the Sunday night it was the birthday of two of the kids who were staying there. They decorated the whole house, made those little chocolates, and made tons of other food as well.
On New Years Eve, Sofi, Paula, and I after a long relaxing day by the pool, got up and started getting ready for the big night. Everyone was dressed up beautifully and the house was decorated with candles and lights. Once again, the food was amazing. All 40 people gathered outside near the pool and cheered for the new year. Everyone hugged everyone and said their wishes. There were tons of fireworks and music and happiness. A little while after midnight, we hopped in the car and headed to the party. It took about an hour to get to the party so we didn't arrive until almost 3 am. This party we went to is famous in Brazil for being awesome at New Years. The venue was decorated full out in white everything. There was an outside section as well that overlooked the lake. We stayed there until about 9:30am when Paula's dad came and picked us up by boat. It was such an amazing party, I will never forget that night.

Something to know about New Years in Brazil: every colour that you wear on New Years, has a meaning. White= peace, blue= responsibility, pink= love, red= passion, purple= mystery, gold= money, green= hope, grey= changes/innovation of life, and many more. Basically you don't want to wear black. If white is peace, you can imagine what black is.
The most popular colour to wear is white so it was really beautiful to see the whole party in pretty much white.

After lunch that day, we headed back home to BH. It was a long 6 hour drive in the heat and everyone was exhausted but my oh my, it was so much fun.
Escarpas is a really beautiful city.

I am now all settled into my new home. Jane (my new mom) taught me which buses to take to certain places. And woohooo, guess what? There is a huuuge mall right near my house. Oh happy days!
I went quite some time without seeing my exchange friends which is kind of good in some ways because I didn't speak English for over a week. I am often finding myself thinking in Portuguese; it's super cool. It only keeps getting better!

                                                   Us on the way back from the party

                                       The beautiful view of the lake at the party venue

                                                           One of the dance floors

                                                        New Years decorations! and food

                                                               The house we stayed at

                                              The group of kids! (not even all of them)

Packed my bags to move to Sofi's. I collected a lot of things in 3 and a half months!

Christmas!

For Christmas my family took me to Patos de Minas again to celebrate Christmas with the whooole family. We left for Patos early Saturday morning (dec 21). That night, one of my host cousins was having her 15th birthday party. This doesn't sound like a huge thing, I know, but it is. Here in Brazil, turning 15 is the big birthday. You get to choose between having a huge party with all your friends and family, or you can travel (most who travel go to Disney World). Also, most girls do a huge photo shoot day so many houses with teenagers are filled with giant pictures of their kids on the wall. My host cousin, Yara, chose to have a party. The invitations were fancier than wedding invitations. Everyone got dressed up as if they were going to a wedding. The party was amazing, there were security men there who helped people out of their cars and escort them to the party. Yara was standing at the entrance in this magnificent dress greeting everyone who walked in. The party was located at their family's farm but I honestly could not tell it was a farm because of how decorated and fancy it was. There was a huge buffet table, a table with just candy, an open bar (the bartenders were also doing a fire show), a pool, tons of tables, waiters going around with food and drinks, a huuge display of little Brigadeiros (chocolates), and a dance floor with awesome lights and a cool DJ. This party was incredibly well-done. People easily spend about $3000 almost on these parties. There was also a station to do face-painting with neon paint. This party also has it's own instagram tag page. It was insane.
We got to sleep at around 5:30am.
The next day we had to get up early because there was another fancy party to attend to at noon. It was an engagement party of one of my other host cousins, Thais. The party was held in the back yard of Thais's house. Once again, the whole family dressed up nice, went to the party and met Thais's fiancé and his family. There were waiters bringing food and drinks around again and not to mention a hired group of people to do a Churrasco (BBQ). The food was amazing! There was also a table full of chocolates again. Every party here in Brazil has brigadeiros (mini chocolates made with condensed milk and chocolate powder).
On the Monday night, the whole family got together and went out for Pamonhas. Patos de Minas is famous in Brazil for their pamonhas. I really don't know how to explain what they are... They are made from corn and you can really much stuff anything in them. They are soo good!
Tuesday, Christmas Eve! December 24 in Brazil is the equivalent of the 25th in Canada; it's the big day! After lunch, Clarice and I went to Aunty Lourdes house to decorate with the other host cousins. We made stars, hung pretty pinecones with ribbons, etc. The house looked amazing! Once again, everyone got all dressed up and arrived at the party. There was so much food, drinks, sweets, cake, more food, and more food again. This family is so big, there was about 30 people there I think and that's not even all of them. At midnight, the whole family circled in the backyard, held hands, some said prayers, some said thanks. It was a really beautiful moment that I was so honoured to be a part of. After was present time. Since this family is so big, it's hard for everyone to buy a present for each individual person. Instead, they do 'Meu Amigo Segredo' (Secret Santa). When you go to give your present to your 'Amigo Segredo', you first have to stand up and say some things about the person and everyone has to guess who it is. The present I received is this beautiful (totally hand painted) jewellery box. It has the Brazilian flag on it and a colourful bird from the Amazon. It was also filled with candy when I opened it. After, my host family came up to me with presents as well. Clarice got me a beautiful necklace with tons of colours (it's so unique, no one will ever have the same), Pai got me a really pretty bracelet that they said is a famous type in Brazil, and Mae got me a super colourful and beautiful shirt that coincidently goes perfectly with my necklace and bracelet.
They all hugged me and told me how much they liked having me here and how it was so nice that I spent Christmas with them. They are the sweetest people ever, I actually almost started crying right then. It was such a beautiful night.
Something I forgot to mention: the whole 'Santa' thing is a little different here. In Brazil (or at least in my family), Santa comes to each house at midnight while the kids are still awake and hands out their presents directly to the kids. In my family one of the cousins dressed up full-out as Santa and came to the door. Santa passed out candy, took pictures with the kids and gave out presents. It was really cute.

Christmas Day, the whole family gathered at the grandparents' house for lunch. The day before, I had made two giant ice cream cakes for dessert. After we ate lunch, the dessert didn't stand a chance, it was gone so fast. Two giant cakes. Gone.
We gathered in a circle again, held hands, and said more prayers. I sang 'The Christmas Song' (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire for those of you who don't know). After the food was gone, we packed up and headed home for Belo Horizonte. I hated saying bye to everyone because I knew I wouldn't be going back as often since I would be changing families.
People say that the holidays are the hardest part about exchange because you're not with your family. If I am being honest, yes I miss my family and there was a part of me that missed being with my family for Christmas. However I am so blessed to have had the chance to spend Christmas with such a sincere and caring group of people. I truly love that family so much, they welcomed me into their family the very first time I met them and I feel closer every time we get together. Thank you so much, everyone. Eu tenho muito amor para cada um de voces. Voces fizeram meu intercambio muito melhor. Muito Obrigada por tudo!

Merry Christmas/ Feliz Natal! I hope all is well from where you are reading this. Lots of love

Holidays are the Good Days

I guess I last left off on my 3 month anniversary with Brazil (Friday, Dec 13). That Saturday morning I woke up and my Aunty Monica asked me if I wanted to go to a wedding with her that night. It was really last minute but I mean, I had a dress so I said ' of course!' I've barely been to weddings in Canada let alone Brazil so it was a really cool opportunity. So basically the whole day was spent deciding what everyone is going to wear for Christmas, the big birthday party the following week, and the big engagement party also the following week. Mae, Clarice, and Monica raged my closet and started giving me ideas of what to wear on what day with which shoes and accessories. It was great because I probably would have had no idea what to wear otherwise. After lunch my mom did my nails for the wedding (I felt so fancy).
I wore the same dress I wore to my prom earlier that week so it worked out perfectly.
The wedding was at this really beautiful church in BH; I will never get over how amazing it is.
The wedding was of a friend of Monica so I didn't know anyone except Clarice and Monica obviously but everyone looked stunning. The wedding had basically the same traditions as they do in Canada but I think this one had more things about God. My favourite part was watching the Groom's face; he had the most sincerely happy face I could have cried. After the wedding we went to the after party! There were waiters bringing amazing food and drinks all night. It was so fancy that the shellfish was literally served on a shell. The best part was singing along to the English music and people looking at me funny because they don't know what I'm singing.
Okay I lied, the best part was when the bride went on the stage to throw the bouquet. All the single ladies gathered around, pushing and shoving. The bride throw up the bouquet (of 7 flowers), and all of the flowers dispersed into the air. If you caught a flower, you will be the next to marry. The best part about this little story is that yes, I caught one of the flowers. I was so excited, I always wanted to catch the bouquet at a wedding!
Sunday afternoon I went out to lunch with my family at a nice little 'self-serve' restaurant. (those are my favourite)
Sunday night I went with my mom to the 'Graduation' of Beatriz's (my host sister who is in Germany) school. It wasn't really a graduation though, it was more like a church service dedicated to the grads from that school. It was really interesting to go to, everyone was dressed up, the priest gave out those cracker things, everyone sang, and everyone prayed. It was completely confused the whole time but it was nice to spend time with my mom. At the end she gave me a huge hug and told me how much she really liked having me. It was so sweet!

Monday I walked to the center of the city to drop off my dress. I was proud because I barely got lost this time. I walked around for a bit by myself, went window shopping, took some new roads, etc. I feel like when I get lost, I get to know the city a lot better!

Tuesday, after lunch I went to the mall with Eli and met up with Sofia and her friends. We all bought tickets to the Galo game. After the mall, Eli and I went back to my house, made coffee, and decided to go out to a Forro bar with some friends. For those who don't know, Forro is famous dance in Brazil. It is a somewhat easy but also complicated partner dance. It was free for girls to get in so we thought, why not!
After the dance, we went and got some pasteis (of course).

Wednesday after lunch I quickly ate lunch then headed out to Sofia's to watch the Galo game with her and her friends. They got me a jersey to wear since everyone was wearing them and then we literally drove around the city screaming 'GAAALOOOO' waving the flags and beeping the car horn. It was hilarious. Everyone on the street went nuts as well. This Galo game was extra special because since Galo won this big championship in June, they got to go to Morocco to play in another championship from around the world. All the Galo fans gathered in the 'Independencia' (the Galo Stadium) to watch the game on a huge television screen. People were going absolutely insane. There were TV cameras everywhere and unbelievably crazy fans. When Galo got a goal, people cried, everyone threw their beer in the air, and I had someone get pushed on top of me from behind. Then the other team got another goal... and another. Next thing you know it was the last 5 minutes of 'overtime' and people where on their knees literally praying and crying. The other team got the last goal, leaving the score 3-1. The whole stadium was silent except for crying. Some walked out immediately and others stayed in their seats crying. I've really never seen anything like it.
After the game, all of us went and ate some snacks to calm ourselves down. Galo isn't even my team but it was still devastating to see.

Thursday morning I got dressed up and went to my mom's work to sing at their Christmas party. They had many speeches, mini presentations, lots of awesome food, and then played a game kind of like Secret Santa. I sang two songs 'the Christmas Song' and for those of you who know me really well I sang 'Art Thou Troubled'. It's been such a long time since I have sang so it felt really nice to just let it out again.
That afternoon, I went back and sang for the afternoon staff. Afterwards, everyone wanted pictures with me and to ask about Canada. I met one lady who is obsessed with Cirque du Soleil and when I told her that I have never been to a show, she was appalled because every Canadian has been apparently... so okay my bad then..
Thursday night a huge group of exchange students went out to this club called 'Mercado' to celebrate my friend Mariana's birthday. This place was so ghetto because it was literally above a supermarket or something. It's so big and has a huge dance floor. I actually really enjoyed myself!

Friday I went out and had a nice girl's afternoon with Eli and Ashley. We went to this little hipster café called 'Café com Letras'. We drank coffee, ate appies and talked for about 3 hours. I really enjoyed catching up with everything. After that we decided to go to this fancy Rotex Christmas party. There were about 30 or 40 exchange students from both my district and the other district there and other rebound students who went on exchange before. It was so cool to talk to everyone and meet more exchange students. I seriously always have the best time when I am with exchangers.

Catchup

This is going to be a catch up post about what I have done in the past few weeks. Sooo where to start? I guess I will start with when I got back from Rio. I went to school the next day burnt as heck and all my friends laughed at me of course! I started peeling that week which was really attractive! Sadly that week was my last week of school until February. Why is that sad? Well I was put in the equivalent of grade 12 and right now is the end of the year for them so I will be starting over again in February making new friends. I am excited to meet new people again but I am also sad because I won't get to go to school with my other friends anymore.
That week of school was spent just basically talking all day during class. The last couple days of school I got everyone in my class to sign my Canadian flag (which is now hanging on my wall). That Friday night (the 29th of November) I went out to a club with a big group of exchange students. The theme that night was Mexican. All of the people who worked at the club were dressed up as Mexicans; it was fabulous. That was honestly the best clubbing night I have had so far. We danced all night without stopping. Since we didn't get home until about 6am, the next day was spent basically doing nothing. That Saturday night there was another party because it was the birthdays of two exchange students. About 15-20 exchange students got together at one of the houses and had a really great time dancing and talking amongst one another. Being with exchange students is always a good time. That weekend was one of the best I have had so far.

Monday (December 2?) was nice because since I didn't have school, I got to sleep in! After, I went out shopping with Eli and Sandra and bought a new dress for new years. On new years everyone wears white so all the clothes in the mall right now are white, I love it!
Tuesday I spent the day shopping in the center with Clarice. We went looking for a dress for my formal dance with my school. I found one that I really liked and I could rent it for really cheap. We basically spent the whole day walking around and shopping. That night I made French toast for my family. Everyone was really impressed how easy it is to make and how delicious they are.
Wednesday...I actually don't remember what I did on Wednesday. I think it probably had something to do with Sandra and Eli coming over.. We probably ate a lot of food and walked somewhere to get more food. That's usually how it goes.
Thursday I got up 'early' and took the bus to my school to pick up my ticket for the formal. I took the wrong bus so I ended up on the complete other side of BH but I got to see a lot of the city so I guess I can't complain. After almost two hours of riding the bus, I finally made it to the school. Oh yea, two hours on the bus in 35 degree weather... I was stinky. Thursday night I walked to my Rotary meeting for the first time. Apparently it is close to my house and really easy to get to but because it's me, I got lost. I took the wrong road and ended up really far away from where my meeting was. Luckily, I ended up finding it right on time! I thought I was going to be super late but because we are in Brazil, I was early. After Rotary I met up with some exchange students in Savassi, grabbed some pastels and just hung out. Always a good time.
Friday I went back to the dress place to get my dress fitted. Again I had to walk there because it was really close to my house and again I got lost. I am actually not quite sure why I am allowed to go anywhere by myself... I am awful with maps. Anyways, once again, I found it. After I got my dress fitted I decided to explore some more of the center (in other words, I got lost again).
Friday night was a really chill night, I stayed home and watched novelas (soap operas) with my host mom.
Saturday I hung out with Eli, went for walks, back to my house, made pao de queijo, coffee, and just talked with my host mom for a while. After I went to Eli's for a sleepover and we just had a movie/ fat kid night with chips and chocolate.
Sunday I really didn't do anything until the night time. That night I thought I was going to a dance class of 'Forro'. Instead, we ended up going to an actual bar just with Forro. Forro is famous dance in Brazil that you do with a partner. It is a skilled and kind of sensual dance but also very fun. When done properly it looks very beautiful. When done by me it looks very... well actually just don't go by what I do.
Monday (this past Monday) I met up with more exchange students and had acai.. of course. After, Eli came back to my house and we made French toast again. It's a crowd pleaser for sure.

Tuesday I went back to pick up my dress only to find out it doesn't actually fit me because they made it too small... I wasn't a happy camper but I got my money back and thankfully found another dress the day before the formal... Holy, am I lucky or what!

Wednesday Sandra and Eli came over again, we did some last minute shopping before my prom, then came home and started getting ready. Sandra curled my hair for me and I did my makeup all fancy. My classmates have never seen me with makeup or my hair done so I was really excited to get all fancy. My host mom got all excited when I was ready and she took tons of pictures of me.
The formal was so much fun, I am so glad I got the opportunity to go. I got to see all of my friends looking beautiful and take lots of pictures with them. The prom here is very different. For example: you don't bring a date, you bring your entire family. Basically you are given 6 extra tickets and you can bring your family or friends from outside of school. There were fancy waiters with food and drinks all night, there were photographers, a live band, a bar, another bar for more snacks, a table set up with people making customized pasta dishes, etc. It was the most amazing night! I stayed there and danced with all of my friends until 6am! My feet were killing me because I wore high heels the whole night. Truly a great way to end the school year.

Thursday (yesterday) I was so tired, I literally did nothing. I slept in until 3:30 because I didn't get home until 6am. I seriously stayed in and out of bed all day until it was 7:30, I was curled up watching a movie in m pajamas and then my host mom comes in and says 'Aren't you going to Rotary?' CRAP! I completely forgot so I threw on some jeans, a T-shirt and ran downstairs. Little did I know, that night was the fancy Rotary Christmas Party...
I am such a good exchange student... I didn't even know there was a party.
No one cared that I looked like crap though so it was fun.

Friday (today!) I wrapped presents for Christmas! After lunch I made an ice cream cake that my mama makes. I think I burnt the crumble part a little bit but everyone seemed to enjoy it so phew!
Sandra and Eli came over again... we went for a good walk, came home and my mom taught me how to make pao de queijo. It was indeed a very good day.

I forgot to mention, my care package arrived finally!! Man my family knows me so well. They put chips, chocolate, peanut butter, curry paste, more stuff to make curry, a bunch of nice smelling things, makeup, clothes and Christmas presents! I am so thankful to have such a thoughtful family. Thank you so much everyone! You know me waay to well. I am so excited about everything I received!
Update real quickly, I will be going to Patos de Minas for Christmas with my family and then once I get home I will be changing families on the 27th. I will be moving in with Sofia and her family.

(Also, sorry if my grammar is bad now, I am no longer as fluent in English as I once was.)

Merry Christmas!

Rio De Janeirooo

Prepare... This will be a long one.

Before I go on telling about my fabulous few days in Rio, I must talk about the Monday before leaving. After school, I went to my friend Gabriela's house with a bunch of girls from my class to prepare a meal for our class the next day. We were preparing a dish with a name that I forget because it's hard to say. Anywho, it has lots of potatoes, chicken, and bacon. I am apparently a master at peeling potatoes so I am proud of that. After cooking for 3 hours, I took the bus home to meet up with Eli and Sandra. I was sitting on the bus and then an old man sat next to me and began to sing. He literally sang the entire bus ride in a higher pitched voice. I think I almost pierced my lip from biting it because I was trying to contain my laughter. I was tempted to sing along with him but all of a sudden he started shouting out random numbers, then resumed singing again.
I figured it was best to get off the bus.
I met up with Sandra and Eli, who happened to be waiting for me in my bedroom. The three of us went to get our first ever wax...
It was not pleasant. I hated it. The lady was really calm about it so I trusted her but to be honest, the room looked like I was about to get surgery. It was one of the most painful things I have ever done, I really don't understand why people do that to themselves! It was awful!
Anyways, I survived and I'm smooth.

Tuesday was pretty much the best day of school so far. My whole grade was assigned this cooking project and Tuesday was the day everyone got to eat everything. It was amazing. There was everything from little appetizers, breads, main courses, and desserts. After school, I went to Sofia's house. That day was the first time I saw her since the day in the airport. It was really weird at first because we immediately started speaking in Portuguese. She lived with me for almost 6 months and we just spoke English so now transitioning to just Portuguese was weird but it's cool! She showed me around her home, which is my future home, we went out for acai, and then I went to her dance class with her. I thought I was just going to watch but of course that is not an option. Instead I got to pretend like I knew what I was doing while looking pretty stupid; it was really fun actually.

Wednesday... destination: RIO !! It was honestly really strange to be in an airport again but I knew it was okay because I was on my way to the most amazing city ever. The flight was so cool, I got the window seat so of course my eyes did not leave the window for one second. Flying over top of Rio has got to be one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. I got to see a top view of all the beaches and mountains in Rio. We landed in the airport that is located in the center of the city (right next to the ocean). It was cool because it seemed like we were going to land right on the water. We got out of the plane and holy did that heat hit me good. Rio is hot, people. Muito freaking calor!
After an hour bus ride around Rio trying to find where to get off, we finally found the little hotel we were going to be staying at. It is literally a 2 minute walk from Ipanema Beach. Sofia, Jane (Sofi's mom), and I put our stuff away and immediately headed off to the beach. Since that day was a holiday in Rio, the beach was PACKED but we made room. After literally 15 minutes of relaxing on the beach, people started shouting. Sofi jumped up, and told me to run. Sofia, me, and literally everyone else on the beach started panicking, grabbing their stuff, and running. I had no idea what happened, I just immediately jumped up and ran for my life (leaving all of my stuff behind). Finally everyone stopped running and I asked what the eff just happened. Sofia explained that there was a group of guys going along the beach stealing everyone's things. The got caught or something because everyone seemed to calm down. Thankfully Jane grabbed all the things that I left behind for the thieves. I honestly thought I was going to die. Adrenaline kicked in and I ran super fast, I think. My heart didn't calm down for another hour after that. We found a new spot on the beach, I bought a sarong (which goes everywhere with me now) and a coconut, and we all resumed relaxing on that beautiful beach. It was seriously the perfect day, I walked along the shore collecting shells, the water was the perfect, refreshing temperature, the sky was clear blue, and the sun was shining beautifully on the surrounding mountains. I went swimming in the ocean for the first time since I went to Mexico and oh my lordy, those waves are bigger than I remember. I literally had to hold onto my bottoms every time a waved passed. I am completely certain that every person within view of me saw my bare butt. My bare, white, Canadian butt.
That night, Sofi and I took an evening walk all the way down both sides of the beach. It was so amazing. There were still people selling things all the way down the beach. Watching and listening to the waves crash against the shore is one of the most relaxing sensations. After our walk, we went out to a sports bar, watched a game of soccer, ate chicken wings and fries. It was quite relaxing as well.

Thursday was Sofi's birthday. Sofia, Jane, Vander (her dad who had arrived a little later by car), and I went to the beach bright and early in the morning. I lathered myself up in sunscreen (yes mom, I actually wore sunscreen), and put on my little Brazilian bikini...
We only stayed at the beach for about 3 hours but within those 3 hours, I burnt to a complete crisp. My whole backside was seriously lobster red. I have only really burnt once before but that was just a little on my nose and shoulders. I couldn't tell I was burnt, obviously, until it was already way too late. We left the beach, ate lunch, showered, and then headed off to go see the famous Cristo (Christ). I was smart and put on tight jean shorts over top of my burn. HAHA Hailey... bad choices.
I was fine on the way there but the way back is another story. After an hour of waiting to catch the train up to the Christ, we finally made it. Now, I don't want to sound like a broken record but that view, was THE most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life thus far. There were reflectors surrounding the Christ which made him glow even more with the sun. Every angle was magnificent. You could literally see every building, mountain, beach, and island in Rio. My words will never do it justice, my photos almost will but just the feeling of being all the way up there is incredible. I seriously felt like I was on top of the world. You really realize how small you are when you look at a view like that. I wish I could've stayed there forever. I am so thankful Sofi brought me there, and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to return there in January.
Later, we took a bus back to the hotel. The bus ride was about an hour long I think but it was really cool to see Rio at night. We passed by some really amazingly lit beaches. My burn started to really really burn so I couldn't actually sit on the bus. I literally burnt my entire back, legs, and butt. The butt is the worst place to burn. I'm actually still in pain as I am writing this.
That night, Sofi and I met up with her friend 'Dudu' (Eduardo) and we went to another bar/restaurant, listened to a band, and just talked the whole night.

Friday, I woke up in some serious pain. I almost cried getting out of bed. That morning, Sofi's cousin, Lorena, and her cousin's friend, Marta, came to stay with us. We all got up, ate breakfast, and went to the beach again. This time, the sun wasn't out. It was kind of clouded over which was nice because I was still in a lot of pain and having sun wouldn't really be good for me. The 4 of us took a walk down the beach to this really neat cliff type thing. I had a hard time even walking but I didn't want to miss out on picture opportunities. I wanted to cry every time I stood up. I literally was not able to sit or lay down. I walked like I had just got a prostate exam (I am assuming that is how I would walk if I got a prostate exam). Yeah, people gave weird looks because I moaned every time I sat down.
After lunch, everyone returned to the hotel and took a brief afternoon nap. That night, Sofi, Lorena, Marta, and I went out for dinner. I got caesar salad for the first time since I arrived in Brazil. It tasted nothing like home but still.

Saturday we all got ready and walked to Copacabana. It rained again but we still continued on. We did some window shopping along the way, and then ate a huge lunch. Copacabana is really beautiful. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and buildings. It is also surrounded by many little restaurants/shops/food stands. Also, on every beach, there are people who go around selling literally anything. Ice cream, acai, sarongs, dresses, shorts, skirts, skirts, sandals, sunglasses, water, beer, bathing suits, jewellery, shoelaces, sunscreen, hats, bags, shirts, shrimp on a skewer, etc. There are also tents set up that sell drinks made with fresh fruit. People seriously walk around with huge straw umbrellas with 50 bikinis hung from it. You can literally find anything at the beach and you don't even have to get up.
After lunch we did some more shopping. I actually restrained from buying things I don't need which I thought was pretty impressive considering the level of temptation. But oooh my, I was standing inline for the change room and a little boy, who I am assuming was looking for his mom, came up and shoved me from behind right on my sunburn. I never wanted to punch a kid so bad in my life. Again, I resisted temptation.
Later, we went out for dinner at Subway. I felt so boss because I still know exactly what I want and now I know how to order it in Portuguese.
We then all got dressed up to go out to a club called 'Praia' which means 'beach'. Fitting name seeing as how it is located right across from the beach. We got in for half price because Sofi called ahead of time saying it was her birthday... 2 days before. The club was completely packed. I have never been pushed and rubbed against so much in my life. Of course I still had a really sunburn... lovely.
The club stayed completely packed to the point where you couldn't dance, or even move at all. It was a really nice club, good music, cool band, but we had to get out of there. We ended up driving around with Dudu then going home. It probably was for the best because we had to wake up at about 6:30 to head off to the airport.

Sunday, woke up bright and early and headed for the airport. It was at that moment where I had the biggest craving for Tim Hortons. I probably would've killed for a coffee and a bagel. I slept on the plane, Sofi's dad brought me home, I slept for a bit because my family wasn't home, ate lunch, and here I am writing this blog.

To anyone reading this, if you ever have a chance in your life to go to Brazil, do it. Stay for at least a month, you have to go to Rio, and you have to see the Christ.
Rio de Janeiro is the most incredible city in the world, you can quote me on that.

Weekend in Patos

So last Thursday I went to a soccer game with my friend named Artur, who did exchange in Kamloops last year. Cool hey? He lives in Belo Horizonte and he cheers for Galo. Now, I told you about how here in Minas Gerais there are two main teams: Galo and Cruzeiro. I am Cruzeiro, as I previously mentioned, and he is Galo. However, up until last Thursday I have never seen a live soccer game so I really didn't care which team was playing! Before the game I went to his grandparents house and met a bunch of his family. Of course in Brazil that means I got to meet mom, dad, aunt, cousin, sister, grandma, and grandpa. We headed off to the stadium, which I thought was huge but apparently it's the smaller one compared to 'Minerao'. I wore a Galo jersey and everything so I could fit in.
We sat in front of the people playing the drums and leading the Galo songs/chants. I've never seen anything like it. Everyone in the stadium was on their feet the whole time! It made me question why they even had seats in the first place. There was so much energy it was impossible to stand still. Then a guy in a giant chicken costume (their mascot) came running onto the field carrying the Galo flag. The crowd went insane. When the goalie from the other team walked across the field to his side, the whole stadium booed and cursed him out. I guess that is a normal and sports-like thing to do?
It was even worse when the refs came out. Again, the whole stadium stood on their chairs and booed the refs. The game started and the crowed, once again, was insane; the whole game. Galo won in the end and everyone left the stadium at the same time so everyone was on the street still screaming Galo music. I really enjoyed my first game, I cannot wait until I get to watch one in the big stadium!

Last Friday was a holiday here in Brazil so my family took me to Patos de Minas again for the weekend. They were so nice and let me bring my friend Eli (USA). We talked in Portuguese and listened to Brazilian music the whole 6 hour drive. When we arrived, the had lunch all waiting for us. Lourdes (my aunty) is an amazing cook. We went to her house were she literally had a buffet set out. We visited with many of the family members for a good 6 hours and then after went and met up with two other exchange students: David (Hungary) and Tucker (Upstate New York). We have only met them once before at the orientation but instantly started talking like we never left. I love exchange students. The next day, my host parents brought us out to lunch at a cute little buffet restaurant. (Another thing I love about Brazil, all the restaurants for lunch are buffets and are cheap!)
After lunch, Eli and I went shopping, ate acai (of course), and then got ready to go to Tucker's family's farm outside of Patos. I am telling you, that place is amazing. They have a beautiful house with an outside kitchen/bar area right next to a pool surrounded by palm trees and fields of horsies. It was a wonderful afternoon of laying by the pool with friends, cooking churrasco (BBQ), and listening to Brazilian music. I love my life.
After the farm, we went back to Lourdes' house for her birthday and once again, more food. Always so much food. Eli and I made a band with my little cousin, Alise. She is two years old and she is the cutest thing I have ever seen. We talked all night with the family and watched Brazil win in one of the games leading up to the World Cup. (omg)
Sunday was average, Eli and I woke up at noon (oops), ate lunch, said goodbye to the family again, and headed on home to BH. This car ride was a little more quiet because everyone was tired and fell asleep.
It was such a nice weekend, I really feel like I am part of the family. Not just my family that I live with but my whole extended family as well. They all told me that I need to return with them even after I change families.

Brazilians + Soccer = No Sleep

I last left off my blog post at the 'Hug an Exchange Student' day. That night (a Friday night) I went out with a group of exchange students in Savassi. We just hang out at a pastel place for basically the whole night. For those of you who don't know what pastels are, I will explain. It is a deep fried pastry with literally anything you want in it. It can be sweets, it can be savory, salty, just cheese, meat, ANYTHING. My personal favourite is the banana filled one coated with sugar/cinnamon. It's practically Jesus. This particular night was quite interesting because it was the night that began all the noise in Belo Horizonte. I arrived home at around 1:30, went to my room, tried to fall asleep but then I kept hearing car horns going off like crazy, people shouting, etc. Then started the firecrackers, and bombs. Some of them were so close to my house, I actually thought I was going to die. I had no idea why people were setting off firecrackers and chanting at 2am until I asked in the morning. My family explained to me that on Sunday there would be a huge game in BH for their soccer team called 'Cruzeiro'. The fireworks and chanting were the fans. It went on like that every night leading up to the game.

On Saturday night, I went out with Eli (from Florida) and some of her friends from school. It was one of their birthdays and since he plays for the other team, he decided he wanted to go to a gay club. I kind of just went with it because why not? Everyone in that club honestly looked like they were having a blast. I honestly wouldn't say that I would go back there again but it was an experience.

Sunday, I watched the game with my family and all of my friends from school were snap chatting me being all excited. It was really cool because every time Cruzeiro got a goal, the whole city was celebrating. Finally, Cruziero won the game and once again, there was no sleep that night. People went all night long screaming on the streets, setting off bombs, and honking car horns. That game wasn't even the final game! I tried skyping my family and they could even hear the loud, thundering noises in the back ground. The whole city literally stopped for that game.

Monday after school, I went shopping with Eli in the center of the city where everything is cheap. We discovered an amazing place that makes juice, coffee, acai, and pao de queijo (my 4 favourite things). I have probably mentioned this before but HOLY the juice here in Brazil is the BEST. This place had a menu full of different kinds of fruits so basically you can choose as many different kinds as you want for your juice then you choose either milk or orange juice as the base then they take the fresh fruits, blend it up, and there you go. It is the best thing in the whole world and it is so freaking cheap.

Tuesday, Eli and I took the bus to Sandra's house to dye her hair for her. I knew which bus to take, which was good, but then Sandra told Eli that I knew how to get to her house and which stop to get off at because I have done it before. HAHAH bad mooooove, I don't remember things like that so Eli and I had a little adventure but thank the lord above for Google Maps. Sandra has a lot of trust in us because she let us dye her hair in her bedroom... but it was surprisingly successful.

Wednesday, Sandra and I got our nails done for the first time in Brazil. We got our hands and toes done for only R$30 (that's equal to $15). When we walked in, the lady gave us these packages that I had no idea what to do with, and told us to sit down. We sat there for about ten minutes until someone told us to actually open the package and put on the gloves with the mushy stuff inside to soften up our nails. They couldn't believe that we had never gotten them done before. The lady doing my hands began cutting off my cuticles and she asked if I have ever done that before. I told her I didn't even know what cuticles were until like 4 months ago. Everyone laughed at me.
The hands went well I think but once she got to my feet, I kind of freaked out a bit. I am ridiculously ticklish so she had a hard time doing anything without me squirming. I just about kicked her in the face at one point. Overall, it was successful. After that, Eli and Sandra came over and I made fresh passion fruit juice and pao de queijo by myself. My host mom told me that I can marry now because I know how to do those things. So that's a plus.
That night was the big game (to be honest I forget what the name of the cup is called but all I know is that it is a huge deal in Brazil and Cruzeiro has won it twice in the past), Eli and I went down the road to a sports bar to watch the game because the city was full of energy and excitement. The fireworks, bombs, car horns, and people screaming was 10x worse that night. Every goal we got the whole bar would roar with excitement. I've never experienced anything like it. People drove around the city with Cruzeiro flags hanging out their windows while screaming 'CRUUUZEIROOO'. When Cruzeiro won, the whole city (other than the Galo fans because Galo is BH's other team), was ecstatic. The parties went all night long because now Cruzeiro is 'Tri-Campeao' which means 'Tri-Champions' of this championship. It literally went all night, morning, and the rest of the next day. My classmates even decorated the classroom with jerseys and flags. It was absolutely insane!

Brazilians are crazy for soccer. I thought I knew that before, but holy I did not know the extent to it. I cannot even try to imagine what the city will be like for the world cup next June. But I am so excited to find out.

My Sick Week

It feels like forever since I wrote here so I thought it was time to do some 'catch up'. The last week and a half has been interesting. Interesting in the fact that I actually was sick for a lot of it. It started last week, I woke up feeling kind of off but I still went to school hoping I would shake the feeling. At school I began to feel worse and worse so I decided to take the bus home. I thought it was pretty easy, you know, feel sick-leave class-take the bus home-sleep. Apparently not.
Schools here don't let you leave unless you have a parent come pick you up. Of course, I didn't know that so I got up, told the teacher I'm sick, and then tried to leave the school. They actually have security guards at the doors at all time to make sure you don't leave. Once you are in the school, there is no leaving until school is over. I tried to leave, not knowing I wasn't actually allowed, but then one guy took my shoulder and directed me the other way and told me to go talk to the office. I called my host dad telling him I was going to take the bus home so he didn't have to leave work and come all the way to get me. Oh and I also wasn't even allowed to use my own phone to call him. In the office, the people kept telling me to talk to different people which was really frustrating because no one would actually listen to what I wanted! They all kept wanted to take my temperature and give me water but I kept telling them I don't have a fever! They thought it was best to take my temperature anyways. I had a stomach ache and a sore throat.. that's not a fever. Long-story short I ended up staying at school until the little kids were done so I could sneak out with them. It worked.
So I went to take the bus but then ended up on the wrong one so I ended up on the other side of BH. Luckily it was the right bus number, just the wrong one. WTF!
The driver helped me out and got me on the right one so it was okay. I finally got home and slept.
I have to say, when I am sick I really like my mommy coming and taking care of me so when I was sick here I started to feel a bit sad for the first time on my exchange. But then my host mom came home from work that night, brought me tea in bed, made me really yummy soup, and also brought me other things to help with my throat. I was so thankful for that. It really helped with not thinking about home.
I stayed home the next couple days from school because I really wasn't feeling good. I went to school on Friday of last week because I was feeling much better. It was so cute because all of my friends were so happy to hear that I was better! They are so sweet.
Friday night was the surprise birthday party for Sandra (the other Canadian). Previously, we had told her that we had reservations at this certain night club called 'Chalezinho' but secretly we were planning a surprise party for her in the lounge area below her building with tons of exchange students and Brazilian friends. She honestly didn't suspect a thing, it was perfect.
We had a ton of fun that night, dancing, taking pictures, singing, etc.
That morning I woke up without a voice. It was awful. I thought I had gotten better but the party made it worse. I literally couldn't speak. When I got home I tried to explain to my host family but I literally couldn't speak, only whisper. I left Sandra's house and headed for the bus stop. On the way, I passed a man sitting outside his house drinking beers and listening to really cool Brazilian music. He called after me when I was walking but I didn't stop (obviously). He kept saying 'wait, wait! I have something for you'. I kept walking but eventually he caught up, handed me a four-leafed clover and said 'Today is going to be a day full of happiness and luck for you. Take care."
It honestly made my day. I thought he was going to come after me with a knife, asking for money, or trying to sell me rugs like most people (minus the knives part). But no! How cool.
Sunday, I woke up still without a voice. It was so frustrating because the only thing I could do was sit and drink tea. My host dad took us all out for lunch, the sad part was I had no voice to even say 'thank you'. I tried my best so he understood.

I returned to school on Monday and I have been better ever since. Tuesday I made cookies with Eli (from Florida) and we hung around my place. Wednesday was nice because Sandra and Eli came to my house with CHIPS, pasteis, and other food. It was a really rainy day so the three of us had a movie day.

Today is Friday, November 8th which also means it is 'International Hug an Exchange Student' day. I told people in my class and next thing you know, the whole class came and gave me hugs and kisses. We took lots of pictures, goofed around, and just had a good time. I think telling people they have to hug you because it's a rule of that day creates a whole new bond with people. They are Brazilian so this wasn't even weird. They seemed amazed that that's an actual day.

All in all, I love my sweet, caring host family. I love my hilarious and interesting Brazilians. I love my exchange students, I don't know where I would be without them.
I really love everything.

P.S Rio in 2 weeks!! :)

P.P.S I am running out of Canadian candy... this is an enormous problem that needs attention asap ;) Christmas is coming!!