Alexandra To Brasil

Coming to the End....

2010-06-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

AFS Pantanal:

So this long awaited year is coming to an end... After months of preparation, months of adaptation to Brazilian life... after passing the saddness, the lonliness... after experiencing all the awesomeness of Brazilian culture... after seeing Brazilian beaches, enormous waterfalls, and the Amazon... after meeting and making friends with unforgettable and lovable people, I will return home to Seattle in 2 weeks.

Even though the time left is so little, I think that I still haven't completely realized that I'm going home. The time passed quickly, but I have formed a second life for myself here. Saying goodbye to my friends and host family will be one of the hardest things that I've ever done in my life. I have walked these streets so many times and the last time I drive out of this city will be heartbreaking. This new life that I've accustomed too and grown to love, this new culture... it's hard to accept that I am leaving forever. Unfortunately, even though I know that I will return one day to visit, it will only be a visit, and it will never be the same again. At least I am left with the memories and the knowledge that I took advantage and loved it while I was here.

I can safely say that my exchange was a success. My pre- exchange dreams (though hazy now) were of friends, travel, Portuguese, and ... general happiness. I have achieved all of that !

My friends, though I've known them for only a little bit of time, are unforgetable, and I know will never forget me, just as I'll never forget them. We will live on other continents (or, by the Brazilian scheme, the same continent), but we are already making plans to see each other (let's hope this are American style plans- that happen- as opposed to Brazilan plans- which don't. )

My host family here is a second family to me. They helped me so much and treated me so well. I had siblings for a year which was so awesome !

I travelled less than lots of exchangers, but more than lots of others. I got to see Florianopolis and stay on the beach which is the proud beach home of Ronaldinho and Giselle Bundchen. I got to go to Foz de Iguaçu, the largest waterfall in South America. And, my highlight, I recently travelled to the AMAZON with AFS ! It was one of the best trips I've ever been on. The nature, the exchangers, and the food made it unforgetable ! In 9 days, we saw Manaus, visited museums, malls, and parties, and then spent 6 days on boats - Sleeping in Hammocks !!!!!! Feeding a freshwater dolphin, holding an alligator, and swimming in the Amazon River are unforgettable moments, just like my exchange was full of !

On the other hand, I can now return to the US with a head full of good memories and satisfaction. And, I am very excited to see my friends, family, and my missed city (yes, it was hard for me to live a year without a mall in the city...) ! I am so grateful for this exchange year, and I know that it has moved me as a person and changed the rest of my life. I hope that when I get back, it's not as hard as AFS told us it would be ! Wish me luck !

Finally, Finally Update... Name reversed: 4 months LEFT! :O

2010-02-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it certainly has been a very, very long time since I've updated!
I'm caving into the pressure, and I am going to churn out a blog posting before I get up from this chair! Sorry, admirers, I 'll have to go tomar tereré with you later! I'm writing a blog entry!

_____________________________________________

Well, I can't actually believe that there are only 4 months left of my exchange. I don't believe that something I waited for so long, is coming to an end. I can't believe that I'm really going to be leaving. It's actually some sort of... Paradox (or not) but I'm excited to go home, but (* trys and fails to think of syonym for really, really, really, really impossibly sad*)I am really, really, really, really impossibly sad to leave here. But for the moment, I'm trying to take advantage of every day (or use the ones where I have NOTHING to do to write blog entries!), and not think about this unpleasant topic. My theme music for the week is "All Good Things (Come to an End)" by Nelly Furtado, featuring that one guy from Nx Zero!

But- seeing as I'm so happy here, I guess I could give you guys a little taste of all the great things that I've been doing here that make me like it so much! ;D

^^ Christmas Eve w/ my host mom! s2

Things I've done in the last 4 months:

Learned incredible amounts of Portuguese words (while meanwhile, forgetting their English, other universe twins).
Been to lots, and lots, and lots of parties. I'm going to miss the Nova Andradina parties.... I can't imagine anything better than smashing a bunch of moderately drunk people into pickup trucks, and riding around on the streets looking at the ones who don't have pickup trucks to smash people into, sitting on the street. And then going to the party, and even if it's supposed to be Electronica or Pagode, having at least 5 Sertanejo songs... Dancing, crazy, hot, until ... 5 or 6 in the morning! And then? Everyone goes and eats breakfast at the Sunday morning street market thingy! =D
Went to Florianopolis! (Noo, don't think that's all I did of travelling in my holiday's no! I went to Ivinhemaaa!! ;D ) Yes, we're talking about PRAIA (beach!). I loved it there! We stayed with my host Aunt (and her 3 toddlers! haha), in the RICH person neighborhood! Haha, I saw one of Ronaldinho's houses and Giselle Bunchen's (I know how to say her name "right" now, by the way) ex-house. We took lots of great pictures, rode in the car for 12 hours, met lots of Argentino's, and went to an awesome show of Ivete Sangalo, Exaltasamba, Fresno, Chimarruts, and more! xD

^^ It's so beautiful there!
^^ we were already completely crazy after "only" 7 hours in the car!
Took advantage of my last days in the holiday's, going to people's houses every day (seriously, a day without going somewhere is the worst thing imaginable!) to tomar tereré, sunbathe, or just gossip (okay, when you live in a small town, sometimes there's not much more to do then gossip... ;]), and went out on weekdays (ahh, how I MISS going to the cachaçaria Monday... Tuesday.. and Wednesday! haha). New Years!! Wearing White!
Returned to school... My class is pretty much the exact same people, but now I'm much more adapted, speak Portuguese ( I went nearly a month without my Biology professor finding out that I'm an exchange student, and the Portuguese teacher still doesn't know! xD), do the work, and am much more comfortable in the crazy atmosphere of Brazilian school! School without craziness would be.... boring! haha!
Went to CARNAVAL! Okay, so I wasn't in Rio de Janeiro, but the great thing about Carnval is that it happens in the entire country! We went to the next door city, Ivinhema, and stayed at my host aunt's house with friends. Friday- Tuesday, everyday on the street with all the competely animated and crazyyyyy brazilians, dancing in the middle of it, on top of cars, and doing they're thing! Then, up to the stage area, listening to "Bicicletinha," "Rebolation," and "A Máscara!" And not going home until 7 o'clock in the morning! Sleep for 5 hours, and it's back onto the street! =D

Sooo... life is good for me here! I'm very happy with my host family, my friends, etc! I can't tell you how many people have told me that I have to stay longer here (note to mom and dad: we have to talk! haha)! I've had many rough patches, and have not forgotten that exchange is realisticly a very challenging thing to do in life, especially for a 15 year old, but it is 100% doable, and doing it has been the best decision I've made in my life!

Atéee Mais pra Vocês!!

I can't be sure when the next time I'm going to write a blog entry! It seems like my life is getting busier and busier, and now that I'm taking advantage of every moment, I can't be one to sit on the computer too much! Haha!

Music!

2009-11-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

I am loving Brazilian music!

The main type of music in this area is Sertaneja (country music), but lately I have been finding out about other types of Brazilian music too!

Who knew that I would find Brazilian Rock I like?
This song is called "Memórias" by Pitty:

I kept hearing cars passing, and really liked it, and I finally managed to remember enough lyrics to find it on Google!

I'm not sure what type of music this is, but Banda Dejavu took my city by storm about 3 weeks ago! Some people find them extremely annoying, but I like it. There was going to be a show in the next city, but when they became popular, the prices went up and the show was canceled. :(
This song is called Novo Amor:

I'm not quite sure what type of music this is either, but I saw it on the TV commercials. It's called "Ai, Ai, Ai" by Vanessa da Mata:

I also feel like I should include some American country music, because it's a whole lot more famous here than it is where I live in the US! This is "Better Together" by Jack Johnson:

And of course, when you live in Mato Grosso do Sul and are talking about music, you cannot forget to include sertaneja! This is "Voce de Volta" by Maria Celcilia e Rodolfo

Another Update

2009-10-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been here for almost 3 months, so I guess it's time to blog again... And this time we have a special friend! I call him "Giant Ant!"

I've been pretty much chugging along as normal. I think my Portuguese reading, writing, and understanding verbally have improved a lot (but do notice that I didn't mention speaking), which is really good. I can understand almost everything people say to me and movies and stuff... which makes Brazil a lot more fun. I've been making better friends and enjoying life here, etc etc etc... Ooh, and I took a picture with "famous" singers :

A Normal Day for Me:

6:00- Waken up by host parents for school. get dressed, eat breakfast (normally bread with cheese or honey and tea), and go to school with mom and brother. '

7:00-12:00- School- everything you could imagine and more! wW've reached the stage in the year where nobody tries anymore (because of the brazilian school system, you can pass a class before the end of the year and then you dont have to really try) so there's still a lot of talking. But my class has moved upstairs to the room with air conditioning, so that's pretty exciting. ;D But no, schools not so bad. :]

12:30- Eat lunch with the whole family. Normally we have salad, beans, rice, potatoes, and some sort of beef. And there's almost always cake in the house! :O

12:30-4:30- The house is pretty quiet at this time of day, so this is watch TV/ computer/ homework time, normally.

5:00-5:45 Jump! (Jump is excercise on trampolines, and it's pretty fun!)

5:45- 11:00- Go drink tereré, use the computer, hang out with my sister, eat dinner, watch movies, etc!

Lately, the interesting things that I've done were to go to Dourados (another, bigger, city about 4 hours-by bus- from here), celebrate my father's birthday, have a week off of school, and have 5 days of parties in a row (it was a cow based festival thing with shows every night)! :)

So, Dourados is a larger city about 4 hours by bus from where I live. I went for the AFS Regional Orientation of Mato Grosso do Sul. The other exchanger in my city and I rode alone on the bus, which was pretty cool because we got to see a lot of other cities on the way! We arrived at night, and went to our host-host family's house to relax and watch movies. The next day all of the exchangers went to a mini-farm/ retreat center for "orientating." Then, at night, all of the exchangers went to a party that was happening that night! I liked this party, because i was really different than the type of party they have in my city (we normally have sertanja- Brazilian country music- at ours, and this one was electronica, funk, reggaeton, etc)! Then, on Sunday, a few of us went to the mall (my city doesn't have one!) but most of the stores were closed. So we went to an outlet store and bought things we missed like Twix and Nutella. Then, later we returned to the mall to eat hambugers (I've missed those!). Finally, we took the bus back! A very fun weekened- and great to make new exchange friends!

To celebrate my host dad's birthday, we had a small party at our house with lots of his friends, torta, and cake! It was really delicious!

During my week off of school, I slept a lot, hung out with people, and looked forward to summer vacation! (One more month!) And I even took a trip to the town museum! :)

The 5 days of parties was a festival like thing called "Exponan" that happens every year in my city. Some people said it wasn't very good this year, but I had fun still! The festival had cow auctions, food, a mini amusment park thing, rodeos, a dance, and shows every night! We took lots of photos, danced, hung out, and had lots of fun, etc etc....

So yes, this is life in Brazil! It's exciting sometimes, but really it's becoming normal life! :)

Until Next Time,

Ale

1.5 months in Brazil... já :(

2009-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Oi!
Let's start with this: I rode a horse! :)

Oh, and here's another thing before I get to the real blog entry:
There are a lot of cows here.
Yes, I knew this before I came.
But wow. There are a lot of cows.

Oh, and one more thing, before I start!

I am proud to say that I no longer get excited and long to pull out my camera when I see a horse and cart go down the street. It's normal here.

Okay, the real thing:

So, the time has flown just like everyone promised, and I have been in Brazil for a month and a half already... In some ways it seems like I've been here forever, but in the good way. In the, "I fit in and I don't feel awkward anymore." In some ways, it feels like I've been here forever in the bad way. In the "How has the time been moving so slowly?" But mostly I feel like I've only just arrived and the time is passing much much to quickly.

I think my Portuguese is really coming along. Everyone says that I speak really well (I don't really believe this). It's not so much of a struggle to say things, and I don't have to plan out in my head what I'll say. It's a pretty big deal to me that I can now randomly interject (when I understand) without having everyone stop and hold their breath, waiting for what I'm going to say. However, I think that my grammar and writing skills are much worse than my speaking, so I think I'm going to start studying those at home.

School is pretty good. Still really boring, as I don't understand the professors or much of what my classmates say, but eveyrone is nice. The format of school is so different here, (we don't change classes, there's a lot more "note taking," and the students talk a lot more). My school is also really small, which in some ways is nice (I know everyone), and in some ways not (limited number of people to know).

I'm already finding things here that I'll miss. I'll miss being able to walk places (padaria, downtown, post office, school). It's good bonding time, walking home from school with your classmates. I've found some foods that I like (brigadeiro, pão de mel, suco de maracuja com leite) too. And I will defintely miss always going to people's houses and drinking tereré

I've joined a gym, so that keeps me busy three days a week. I also go out with my exchange friend from Germany. I've also gone to some birthday parties, barbeques (love the churrasco!), and every Friday night, all the teenagers go to the cachaçaria (it's a restaurant like place). I really like to hang out with my sister's friends, but it's nice to finally have friends of my own.

Okay, so being an exchange student will be very hard at times. You've just moved to a place where you don't speak the language and you don't know anyone. I understand why everyone says not to have expectations, because you can be really let down. I'm not trying to sound negetive, but it's reality that it's difficult... But when you get through all that you have many more good times than bad! :)

PS. Everyone really loves the brand Kipling here. All the purses have this little monkey on them:

Pictures

2009-08-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Oi a gente! Here are some random pictures from my first two weeks in Brazil:

My school notebooks: Sleeping Beauty and Polly Pocket

View from the highway on the way to Ivinhema (a nearby "city"). It's very flat here.

My class!

My Street:

Brazilian money: Reais:

We went out for ice cream:

Orientation, Arrival, First Days, etc.

2009-08-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Oi Everybody!

I have arrived in Nova Andradina, safe and sound. Everything is going well etc.

It was so sad to leave everyone etc. The orientation in Miami was okay, but pretty boring. It was fun to meet all the other AFSers and the 7 other USA to Brasil people. There was lots of waiting and wandering around in the hotel. We played sardines and spyed on drunk people.

The flight to Sao Paulo was delayed 2 hours because of a broken part, which sucked. It was one of those big planes with the TV's so I guess that was good. I watched 27 dresses and slept very uncomfortably. The customs form was only in Portuguese, so that was difficult.

Immigration and customs were easy etc. I waited in the airport with some other AFSers from BFL, Germany, and the US for only about 20 minutes, then me and about 15 other people went to the flight to Campo Grande. That flight was pretty short and I looked at all the farms from the window. There were lots, and it's veryyyy flat!

When we got to Campo Grande (they have the fun kind of airport where you get out of the plane from stairs and walk across the runway) my host family was there to meet me! It was so exciting!! Then we drove to Nova andradina (so long!) and stopped to get Pao de Queijo with the other girl going to Nova Andradina's family on the way. Yum!

When we arrived I was so happy! Then we went out to somebody's birthday party for a short while and then to get pizza. It was different. There was no sauce and the topping was cheese, ham, and fried potatoe things. And the crust had gooey cheese in it.

The next day, I met my host sister's friends and we took a walk. There are lots of motorcycles here! Then later we all went to the cachacaria (this is my new favorite word!!! So fun to say)!

On Sunday we hung around the host for the most part. The TV show I saw was so funny with people doing an obstacle course etc. Sort of like those Japanese game shows.

For breakfast we eat bread with cheese and ham (a sandwhich) and this juice stuff. Also, they don't really drink milk straight, just with chocolate or coffe etc. Lunch is beans, rice, meat, and other stuff and dinner is pretty much the same as breakfast. And I've had so many sweets! :/

But yeah, tommorrow I start school, so that should be interesting!

Bye!

PS. I'll add pictures when I get around the uploading them
PPS. Portuguese is hard! I understand a whole lot, but it's hard to speak.

1 Day

2009-07-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I leave for Miami tommorrow!

Everything has worked out well, I got my visa on Saturday, packed on Saturday too, and done everything to get ready. Now, I'm just sitting around and worrying that my bags are going to be overweight.

I'll be in Miami until Thursday for an Orientation, and then all the kids from the US fly to Sao Paulo together. I'm not quite sure what happens after that, but I'll probably fly to Campo Grande with a bunch of other AFSers and then to my host city! :) I'll be there on Friday or Saturday.

I've talked to lots of people going to Brazil and people who live in my city and it's going to be so weird to actually meet them!

Soooo... hopefully everything goes well and I'll update this later!!

Bye Everyone!! :)

Travel Itinerary!

2009-06-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just received my international travel itinerary!

I leave Miami on July 30 at 11:20 PM, and arrive in Sao Paul at 8:40 AM on July 31!!

This means I'll be leaving home on July 28 for a red eye!

Update

2009-06-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Not much has happened lately. I am waiting for the some papers from AFS Brazil, so that I can turn in my visa application. I leave in a little over a month, and wow. I think I'm ready though... And I'm really excited!

I've been practicing my Portuguese too. Eu adoro a idioma portugues. Ela é muito linda, e divertido de falar! Eu practicar com muitas pessoas. Eu estou muito mau ainda, mas eu vou aprender muito rapido cuando eu chego no brasil. Minha familia hospedeira parece muito simpatica ainda. Eu vou ter uma grande ano com eles! (My translation: I love the Portugues language. It is very beautiful and fun to speak! I practice with many people. I am still very bad, but I will learn very fast when I arrive in Brazil.)

I was just thinking: I am so happy with where I am going. It's so funny how many times where I wanted to go changed. In the end, I am going someplace I never expected, and am utterly thrilled! (Which is probably why I'm not supposed to have expectations!) Mato Grosso do Sul is a place where I probably would never have visited on a trip to Brazil. I can go to Rio or the Northeast on a trip (I'm hoping to visit Brazil again!). The South seems nice, but I don't think it's for me. The places that fascinate me are the less... popular/ common ones. Places in the Center West or North would all be perfect for me! (I'm going to the Center West). I also hope to be able to come back and explore more of Brazil someday. I'd like to see some of Mato Grosso and go visit the Amazon (if I don't go on the AFS trip). So yeah... yay!

Beijos

Exchange Related Gifts!

2009-05-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's my 15th birthday and I am officially eligible to go on my exchange!

My host family was very sweet, and they sent me messages for my birthday! In Brazil, the "Big" Birthday year is 15. Here, in the US, it's 16 (Sweet 16!), so I'm going to be "missing" both of the big birthday years with the people who care! LOL! It was very nice of them, and I can't wait! They are very welcoming and hostpitable, even though I haven't met them!

I got a couple exchange related gifts!

One was the Soundtrack to Cidade de Deus (City of God) and excellent Brazilian movie! This isn't very exchange related, but it's in Portuguese!

I also got some jewelry to go with a dress I bought for Brazil! Here's the dress:

(fyi: that is SO not me.... ;)

Thirdly, I got my camera!!! I LOVE it! It takes crystal clear pictures and it's perfect!

And lastly.... I got my suitcase! It's a rolling duffle bag from L.L. Bean. It's a good size (bigger than most bags I have, but I have to get a year's worth of stuff in there!), and rolls. It's irritating to carry, but hopefully I can mostly roll it.

Also, my birth certificate returned from the Chicage consulate, leagalized! So I am done with my first step for getting my visa! I mostly have to wait for more papers, though. I also bought a power converter.

AFS Trips!

2009-05-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

AFS Brazil (according to my sources) offer a LOT of trips. Some are just a few days, but there are 5 big ones: Igacu Falls, Rio de Janeiro, The Amazon, The Northeast (including Brasilia, the Capital), and the Pantanal. I am ruling out the Pantanal and Igacu falls because they are fairly close to where I am, and I'm not really interested. I don't want to spend too much money or time away from my family, so I think I should pick ONE of these... Help me! They all look so amazing, I don't think I'll ever be able to pick!

AFS Pre-Departure Orientation

2009-05-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have not even left and I have already become a lazy blogger! Uh-oh! Here is an update on my AFS Pre-Departure Orientation:

Last Sunday, my parents and I went up to a community center for the local AFS Pre-Departure orientation. It's required, but I was really excited to do anything AFS related!

There were about 30 (ish) other exchangers going to many countries like Ghana, Chile, China, France, Italy, Portugal, Ecuador, Argentina, Turkey, Japan, and others! I was the only one going to Brazil, though. The thing that surprised me was that I was the only person in the whole room with a host family! Some kids didn't even know their countries yet!

For the first two hours in the morning, the parents and exchangers went into a room and the local sending coordiantor briefed us on the rules about hitchiking, illegal drugs, and driving. AFS does not have too many strict rules, but the main message was: Don't be Stupid. We heard lots of stories of exchangers skipping, doing drugs, running away, and other easily avoidable problems! A lot of the stuff I knew, because I've done a lot of research, but it was still nice to hear. I was a little surprised to hear the hitchiking is catagorized as getting a ride from anyone except your host family, without their permission. This includes teachers, friends parents, etc.

During the lunch break, my parents and I looked at the applications of the inbounds. They all looked really sweet, and now I want to host! Maybe when I get back...

Then, after lunch, the students and the parents separated. There were three groups of kids: Europe, Asia, and South America/ Africa. Obviously, I was in the last group. In my group there was a boy going to Argentina for the summer, a girl going to Paraguay for the summer, a boy going to Ecuador for the year, a girl going to Chile for the year, a girl going to Ghana for a summer, 2 girls going to Ghana for a year (they were all with community service), and me! Our group was led by two recent returnees from Chile and Paraguay.

It was really cool that we were led by returnees, because we were able to ask them questions that we didn't neccessarily want to ask the adults and also, they had really recent experiences! We went over a few situations and talked a little about cultural adjustment. We also asked them a LOT of questions! Also, to get used to less "personal space" in our host countries, we did an excercise where we stood toe-to-toe with another person, looked them in the eye, and tried not to laugh. Hard to do!!

But yeah, it was pretty fun, all in all!

Música Brasileira

2009-04-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

So I was IMing my host sister last night, and she mentioned "Sertaneja" music as the music they listen to a lot. Sertaneja is essentially country music! So I go on YouTube, and these are some of my new favorite Sertaneja songs:

Barboletas, Victor & Leo

Ciumenta, Cezar Menotti e Fabiano

Also, these are some of my old favorite Brazilian songs. Just hearing them brings back memories and gets me really excited for the exchange!

Fico Assim Sem Você, Adriana Calcanhotto- one of my favorite songs of all time

Elegibô, Margareth Menezes

Host Family!

2009-04-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

Hi guys!

I have known about my host family for about 11 days now, but I just got the official word from AFS, so I'll tell you about them!

I have a mom, dad, sister, and brother. The sister is 16 and the brother is 12. They are all very sweet and nice!

The family contacted me via Skype on March 23 and I couldn't have been more shocked! When I received the friend request saying "Hi, we are you're host family in Brazil," I nearly had a heart attack! I never expected a family so soon and I am really excited about that!

I have IMed my host brother and sister several times since then (they both speak pretty good English).

The city I am in is called Nova Andradina, Mato Grosso do Sul. It's funny, because everyone always says that no matter how much research you do on your host country, your placement/ family/ something will still surprise you. I had never imagined that I would be put here, but now I LOVE the idea of it!

Nova Andradina has about 40,000 people and about 500,000 cows! It will certainly be different from Seattle! ;)

___________________________________________________

So I've been working on my Portuguese a little, wrote a letter to my host family, been on Cultures-Shocked a lot, paid my tuition (well my parents did), and everything is moving along smoothly! I'm super physced and I can't believe I leave in less than 4 months. It seems like just yesterday I was leaving in 9. The time really is zooming by, I'm not sure this is a good thing, but I'm really excited. I can't wait to meet my host family and all the exchangers I've been talking to on CS and Facebook for so many months!

Country Profile: Brazil

2009-02-08T09:04:00.001-08:00

The Basics:

This is the Brazilian Flag. The green represents the forests, the yellow the mineral wealth, and the blue circle shows the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the day the Republic of Brazil was declared, November 15, 1889. The 27 stars on the flag represent all the states and the federal district. The band of white has the country's motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress).

These is a map of Brazil. This HUGE country is the 5th largest in the world based on both population and size. However, the Center West Region (where Brasilia, the capital is located) and the North Region (located in the north and north west of the country) are largely un-populated. In contrast, the south east region, which has only 11% of the countries land, contains 43% of the people. The Southeast is where the famous cities São Paulo and Rio are.

Here is an overview of the regions in Brazil. I could be placed in any of these!!! :O

But first... a quick profile on the whole country!

Brazil:

Regions: North, Northeast, Center West, Southeast, and South

Area: 3,287,597 (5th largest)

Population: 196,342,592 (5th largest)

Official Language: Portuguese (And if you are wondering, no, I do not speak it!)

Capital: Brasilia

Largest City: São Paulo

Currency: Real (every US dollar is about 2.30 Reals)

President: Lula

Ethicities: 49.7% White, 42.6% Pardo (mixed race), 6.9% Black, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Amerindians

Climate: many- equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and temperate

Interesting Fact(s): Largest Catholic nation in the world, with 74% of the population being Roman Catholic, Brazil is famous for three main things: Soccer (they have won the world cup 5 times!), Carnaval (biggest in the world), and the Amazon Rainforest (60% of it is in Brazil).

North Region:

States of: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins

Area Percantage: 45.27% of the land

Population: About 13 million (about 6% of the population)

Largest City: Manaus (1,403,000 people) followed by Belem (1,279,000 people)

Ethnicities: Largest population of Amerindians (native Brazilians)

Climate: warm, humid, and very very rainy (more than 2,000 mm and up to 3,000 mm annually)

Interesting Facts: Most of this region is completely uninhabited, and in large areas, completely un discovered by man. There are also tribes of completely uncontacted peoples! Additionally, half of the world's animal species live in this region.

Photos: (right to left) the Amazon Rainforest, a small village, the Amazon Rainforest, the city of Manaus

Northeast Region:

States of: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco,Alagoas, Se rgipe and Bahia

Area Percantage: 18%

Population: 51,000,000 (about 29% of the population)

Largest Cities: Salvador (2,892,625), then Fortaleza (2,138,234) and Recife (1,421,993)

Main Ethnicities: Pardo (63%) and Black (7%). The state of Bahia is the state with the greatest African influence

Climate: inland is very dry, known as the Sertao, this area is pretty much a desert, the coast is warm yearround, as this region is so close to the equator

Interesting Facts: First region discovered by the Portuguese. This is considered the poorest area, and many people leave, which is one main cause of the favelas around major Southeast cities. Also, this is where capoeira, Brazilian jiu-jitsu was formed by the slaves.

Pictures: (right to left) The Sertao (inland "desert"), Carnaval in Salvador, and Capoeira!

Center West Region:

States of: Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Distrito Federal (Federal District of Brasilia)

Area Percantage: about 19%

Population: 11 million (about 6% of the population)

Largest Cities: Brasília (2,043,169) and Goiânia (1,090,737)

Main Ethnicities: The Amerindians used to be most of the population, but when Brasilia was formed, Northeast workers moved to help build and many European immigrants came to do business

Climate: The elevation here is hight and the temperature is normally between 60 and 85 degrees.

Interesting Facts: The Pantanal, the world's largest wetland is here, and there are many animals. Also, the region used to be desolate, until Brasilia was built in the 1960 (Brasilia is a planned city). However, outside of the capital it is still very empty.

Pictures: (right to left) Brasilia, the vast emptiness, and the Pantanal.

The Southeast:

States of: Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo

Area Percentage: 11%

Population: 72,300,000 (over 40% of the population)

Largest Cities: São Paulo (10,405,867); Rio de Janeiro (5,851,914); Belo Horizonte (2,232,747)

Main Ethnicites: The most diverse region: White: 59%, Pardo: 40%

Climate: the costal cities have year round warm climates, but inland the climate is more similar to the southern US

Interesting Facts: This region has the largest number of Asians, and Sao Paulo city is the city with the second largest population of Japanese outside of Japan, this is the most populated region and the main powerhouse of the Brazilian economy

Pictures: (right to left) the Maracana stadium in Rio, Ouro Preto (a colonial city in Minas Gerais), Ipanema Beach, Christ the Redeemer, and the massive city of Sao Paulo

The South:

States of: Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina

Area Percentage: about 7%

Population: 25,800,000 (about 13% of the population)

Largest Cities: Curitiba (1,828,092) and Porto Alegre (1,441,554)

Main Ethnicites: The largest white population 79.6% because the cooler temperature reccomended it to many Italian, German, Portuguese, and other European immigrants

Climate: the temperature is cooler here and during the winter it can even know

Interesting Facts: The european culture is a big influence here. Also, the quality of living is highest here

Pictures: (right to left) Churrasco (all you can eat meat that is populat here), Ronaldinho (one of the most famous soccer players ever was born here), Igacu Falls (huge waterfalls), and Florianopolis (this city is considered one of the best to live in).

Well thanks for reading this country profile on my soon to be home! Maybe you can see why I picked it now! :D

I can't wait until I get to know where in this fabulous place I will be going!

About my AFS study abroad...

2008-12-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

So, my name is Alexandra. I live in Seattle, USA. I am a freshman and I want to go to Brazil next year! I LOVE to travel!

Next year, I will be (hopefully) living in a Brazil with a local host family... The program I am going with is AFS. Right now, I will just answer a few basic questions, and don't forget to look at my pre-exchange blog http://zadriistudyabroad.vox.com/.

So, you might be wondering how I decided to do a study abroad... Well, I guess for me, this has never been about getting away or seeing a new place. I just reallyreallyreally want to go to Brazil. If I don't get accepted to Brazil (my application is in Brazil, probably being reviewed) I think I will try again next year ( I am only a freshman, so I still have some time). I am very fascinated by all things Brazilian... I think it all started with my love of soccer! I watch it a lot (and play a little too!)... This dream started this summer, and I can't believe that I could really be leaving in July... But anyway, I think I decided to study abroad now, in high school, because A) I am too impatient to wait four years to college and B) If I go now, I can go AGAIN in college!!! Don't worry, I'm pretttyy mature!

As a prepare to study abroad, most of my thoughts have been happy ones! I am not really scared, just excited. I doubt something will go majorly wrong, and I trust AFS-Brazil to move me (host families for example) if it's really bad. I am sooo excited, and spend a lot of my time imagining every little detail (the flight, first day of school... etc). I have so many questions about the specifics, but I will really never no until I try it for myself!

My family is really supportive of this AFS thing. My parents never really gave me any trouble, and have been super helpful! I think my grandpa is really worried about me, though! :) My friends will miss me... I will miss them (and my family too)... but this is just too big to pass up. At first, I don't think they believed I would actully go... but now that I've been accepted to AFS-USA, they take me more seriously. I am waiting to tell everyone else (teachers, classmates, etc) until I am into AFS-Brazil, because I don't want to have to take it all back if something goes wrong...

But all-in-all, I am simply super-duper excited and anxious and happy!!!

AFS Scholarship!!!

2008-12-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

I, fortunately, have been awarded a partial scholarship in the form of a AFS Global Leadership Scholarship! So, I would like to THANK MY SPONSOR! Whoever you are, every little bit helps extremely... I am that much closer to reaching my goal of studying abroad! I really, really do appreciate it!

My Pre-Exchange Blog

2008-11-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

As you may know, I haven't actually left yet. So, for the next 8-9 months, please check out this Vox blog for my pre exchange ramblings and worries!

http://zadriistudyabroad.vox.com/

Enjoy!