woooo woooo

So I am still feeling like death times 54953 but I am SOOO excited that I will be on my way home on Wed (even though home in the U.S. and even worse AZ). Flight from Bariloche back to BsAs...airport transfer to the other BsAs airport with my 343 pounds of luggage (that will be fuuun)...marathon flight from BsAs to Dallas then Dallas to Tucson...woooo. It´s def 4:30 in the morning here, but I took a xanex and slept allll day today (heavenly...thank god for xanex) so I can´t sleep anymore and I´m super bored. It snoweddddd all last night and today!! Yay...fresh snow (Crazy how I spent over a month on the beach and then a week later I´m in snow). I´m hoping to feel well enough to make it up to the mountain tommorow to take some pictures and see what I´m missing (so sad that I missed out on some prime snowboarding...knee deep powder I hear). I can´t wait to go to the doctor Fri and hopefully find out what is wrong with me...I want to get bettter and it´s so hard to do here without the comfort of home.

I literally cannot believe that I am leaving South America on Wed...if I could bring my family and friends with me to Brazil I would be going back there instead of home (because it is like my new home). I will be so sad to leave because these last two months have been the most amazing months of my entire life. All my pictures and words cannot do justice in explaining what this has meant to me. It will take me some time to get used to being back in the states and I will probably be in denial that I will have to be in Tucson when I could be in Brazil. I am so in love with Brazil...can´t wait to get back to my Salvador and spend more time in Rio and travel the whole country. Argentina does not even compare (sorrry!!!) but Brazil is way more beautiful and the people and language and culture are all so amazing.

This whole trip has taught me so much...I feel like I gained like 5 more years in wisdom and life experience. You can go to school your whole life and never learn as much as you do when you travel to new countries and see and experience different cultures and people. I can´t wait to graduate and travel the whole world. I will never forget this trip and how amazing it´s been, but I´m looking forward to lots more!

More :( :( :(

I am pretty much HATING life right now...seriously. I am in the freaking Andes and I can´t even get myself out of bed let alone snowboard. I worked up enough energy today to take a shower (yayyy) and go out to the store (and find a phone to call my family and bawl about how shitty I feel). I stopped taking a certain medication that I´ve been taking for a while and my body is going through some serious withdrawls so I´m delaing with headaches that you cannot imagine and so much dizziness and fatigue that I can´t go like an hour without sleeping. I´m also just completely and totally drained from all this travel and climate change. My body cannot handle this...I feel like I want to die. I´ve been drinking tons of water and vitamin C and just convincing myself that I´m feeling better...but it´s not really helping. I´m so upset that my trip is ending like this...but I can´t wait to get home and see a real doctor and get better. I finally got to talk to my family and besties today so that made me feel a little better...just hearing their voices makes me smile...5 more days.

:( :( :(

So I think today was my worst day yet here. I definitely passed out in the subway station and had to go to the hospital in a super cool ambulance...I don´t remember much of it because I was pretty unconscious. Em is being really good to me and the doctors were so sweet, but I just want to be home...I´ve been feeling so sick and I guess I just collapsed from exhaustion today. The worst part is that I´m flying out to one of the best places to snowboard in South America tomorrow and the doctor told me not to do anything but sleep. I am so sad that I probably won´t get to snowboard...but I have to focus on getting my body better.

We went to this amazing club last night...I´ve never seen anything like it, it was designed by the same creator of the Eiffel tower. It looks really discreet from the outside then you walk in and it´s this huge place with huge screens on the screen showing snowboarding and music blasting. Lots of fun.

I want to be homeeee!!!! One more week!!!

FREEEEZING!!

So I am officialy freeeezing here...it is so freaking cold...like the winters in Tucson but worse. Saw more of the city today and I love it...it´s just like Manhattan...my dream city. We went to this market in the morning and it was cool...lots of antiques but it wasn´t all set up because it was early. We went to the first soccer game of the season too...crazy and super cold standing for hours. The Argentines love their soccer...just like the Brazilians and all of South America.

We met some Irish guys...my favorite part of staying in hostels and traveling is meeting all sorts of people from all over the world. We met these gorgegous guys from Barcelona that speak some English too...maybe I can meet up with them when I go to Madrid hehe. I am just a little boy crazy here...thank god for the single status. Whenever we run into people that speak English it´s super exciting. And there is a guy at our hostel that is Bahian from Salvador!!! So exciting...someone to talk about Salvador and speak Portuguese with!

So I´m not totally crazy about being so cold but I´m looking forward to snowboarding in like 5 days and seeing more of Buenos Aires before then. Can´t wait to get back home and see everyone...it will be weird going back to reality. And I will miss meeting all these cute international guys ;) It´s so nice to hang out with non-American guys and people in general.

Holaaaa

So I am officially not in Brazil anymore...and freezing my ass off. I left the beautiful beaches and perfect weather in Rio for 4 degrees celcius, but I`m sure I will love it here in Buenos Aires. I have yet to explore because we got in late afternoon and checked into our hostel (which is super nice...in the SoHo area of BsAs). Rio was amazing...so beautiful. We saw the big Jesus (yaaa too bad I´m Jewish but whatever...it´s one of the wonders of the world) and Sugarloaf which was breathtaking. Also hit up Copacobana and Ipanema...4 days was definitely not enough there, I´ll have to go back. It`s kind of like Manhattan with a beach and Portuguese (and more crime)...perfect minus the crime part. Oh and we were going to go into a favela with a friend that volunteers teaching English but we couldn´t because there was a huge police raid earlier that day (since the PAN games just ended...the police are moving in again).

I can`t wait to get back to Brazil...it´s so hard trying to speak Spanish after over a month of only Portuguese...I like Portuguese so much better ;) I am completely in love with everything Brazilian and wish I could have stayed much longer. Buuut, BsAs should be good and Bariloche will be amazing (snowboarding on the Andes...woooo yeah). And everything is way cheaper in Argentina...that´s a big plus. I´m not looking forward to going back to the U.S. at all (only to see my family and friends). South America is wonderful!

Beijos...Besos...whatever you prefer...Tchau!

Amazing Weekend

Sorry I haven´t updated in a while...I´haven´t been near a decent working computer. The past week I´ve just been chilling with these cool people I´ve met at my hostel...went to the beach, went all around the city and just relaxed. This weekend I went to this island two hours off the coast of Salvador called Morro de São Paulo with Em and some guys from her program. Picture and words seriously cannot explain how incredible it was...the only way to describe it is to see it for yourself. It was true paradise and probably the best birthday weekend I´ve ever had (except that I didn´t have my family and friends with me). Saturday (my big 2-1) was the best...we took a boat out all day and saw this sweet sand bar in the middle of the ocean (you can see both the tides coming in and hitting each other from opposite sides), got all dirty in this natural mud on the side of a cliff (you put it all over yourself then rinse it off and it makes your skin so soft), then we took this amazing hike up this mountain and saw the whole island from above (so beautiful, miles of tropical forest). It was pretty incredible and I felt so lucky to see everything that I saw. The parties on the island don´t get good until like 1am so we headed over at like 2am and it was really fun. I drank legally for the first time!! (Well, it doesn´t matter here, but if I were in the US it would have been legal). Definitely drank too much though and was not having fun this morning. We had to take a two hour boat ride and I was not excited. The way there we went on this nice catamaran which wasn´t bad but the way back we took this little speed boat thing...everyone around me was throwing up and I was close to joining them. Longest two hours of my life.

I am completely in love with it here and I don´t want to leave!! I´m going to Rio tomorrow... can´t wait. It´s going to be so weird being back in the US...I do miss it (but only sometimes when I´m feeling lonely) and will be happy to see everyone, but I want to stay here forever and travel around Brazil. Oh and it will be nice to not have to deal with people hounding me for money and to buy things...and although Brazilian boys are so cute, most of them are serious creepers. This kid from Rio that I met at my hostel was definitely creeper status last week. He actually speaks pretty good English, but his best line was that my eyes hypnotize him and that everytime he looks into them he thanks God. Haha...definitely laughed inside when I heard that, any guy that says that kinda stuff after knowing me for three days is not going to get very far...that totally turns me off.

I´m going to try and figure out how to post pictures becasue I have so many!! And a little side note...I am covered in mosquito bites...they are everywhere and annoying as hell...I am so thankful that I live in a desert and when I get home I don´t have to deal with that...they seriously love my blood or something.

Beijos e abraçoes...tchau!

Beach Bum

So silly me thinking that I´m now tan enough that I don´t need sunscreen. I got a nice little red tint today...it´s ok though, I know it will be gone by tomorrow. I washed my clothes today (by hand...yes with my own two hands...hope you´re sitting down mom). I was just going to drop it off somewhere and pay someone to do it (my normal thinking process), but instead I did it myself...there´s a first for everything. I felt like a housewife from the 1950´s though...it´s fine every once in a while when I´m in another country or something, but I will not ever succumb to the housewife persona when I get older.

Laid on the beach all day today after my fun with clothes washing. I was daring and brought my iPod, but I was really careful and discreet with it. It´s good that I feel comfortable going to the beach alone and not getting robbed. I don´t get scared very easily and I´m super laidback, so I constantly need to remind myself that I need to watch out for myself. This weird guy asked me if I had a pen today on the beach so he could write down his "contact information" for this girl he was talking to. He asked me in English assuming that I was not Brasilian...hmmm wonder what gave it away (apparently I have American written on my forehead). He was nice but a little off...I think he was taking too many hits of something. He´s from San Francisco but has lived here for 5 years and I think I speak better Portuguese than him haha.

So that was my excitement for the day...enjoying the beach and laughing to myself about how crazy some people are (while that guy was talking to me). Everytime I go to the beach I just soak it all up and enjoy every second of it because I know that in a month I will be beachless.

Oh and one thing I forgot to write about...when we got back from the island on Sat we were in the Cidade Baixa where the boats dock (super shady at night) and this crazy old man came up to our group with a syringe and was like injection...injection trying to offer it to us or something. I literally turned around to a man sticking a syringe in my face. I was like are you serious??...no I don´t want to shoot up whatever you are "selling". He was dressed like he was trying to be a doctor or something...so shady.

So three and a half more days in Salvador...two and a half in Morro de São Paulo (an amazing little island two hours off the coast of Salvador and where I´m spending my bday) then off to Rio...wooo.

Love and miss all my family and friends! I´m really torn...I can´t wait to get home and see everyone but I love it so much here and I know that I´m gong to love Rio and BsAs too...it will definitely be hard to leave.

Good weekend!

ALÔÔÔ...so I am done with my class...wooo no more waking up early. I went to Ilha de Itaparica on Saturday with Em and like 20 people from her group. It was really nice...we took about a 45 min boat ride and 20 min bus ride to get to the beach. The people in Em´s group are so funny...especially when they are all together...it was really nice to just chill on the beach with them all day. The was beautiful and what I imagined Brazil to be like and my tan goal is definitely being fulfilled.

I moved out of my homestay on Fri and it was really sad...I was about to cry! I wasn´t expecting that, but I´ve come to love my host mom and I´m really going to miss her. She made me a really nice lunch and I brought her flowers to say thank you for everything. I moved everything over to Em´s homestay because her host mom had me under the inpression that it would be no problem to stay there for like a week. She then informed that she was going to charge 50 reais (25 US dollars) per day to share a room with Em and sleep on the floor. Yeah way ridiculous...I was not having it so I moved to a hostel that costs 25 reais a night which is like half the price and I don´t have to deal with a crazy 60 year old women that is seriously out of her mind (if she has one). I really wanted to stay with Em but this women is an example all things bad and wrong with humanity. She is the most heartless and cold person I have ever met. She treats me like a business...like she wants to make money off of me. I was really disappointed and upset that she treated me the way she did...I thought all the people here would be so welcoming and nice but I guess there are bad people all over. Whatever...if I never have to see her again I would definitely not be sad.

So one more week here...I can´t believe it´s already been a month. I´m excited for everything I´m going to do and see before I get back to Tucson.

Tchau Tchau!

Happy :)

Today was the best day I´ve had here. One of my teachers (Marcelo!!! I love him!) took me and two friends all around the city today and showed us all these amazing places I would have never seen had he not taken us there. I took lots of pictures. He took us to this cool place for dinner too and this amazing sorvete (ice cream) place. He and I have really similar tastes (expensive and really nice restaurants...modern art...unique buildings and houses)...basically we both enjoy the finer things in life. Then when he took me home we just sang all these random songs from musicals...he´s so funny when he sings in English haha. I was in a silly mood all day...I felt like a little 5 year old on crack or something. Whatever...I´m seriously still 10 at heart.

I´m still having lots of unexplained anxiety and serious migranes 24/7 but that´s what xanex is for I guess...sadly I don´t know what I would do without it sometimes. I have nothing to be unhappy about...everything is so good, but I still can´t seem to stop the anxiety. Hopefully that will get worked out when I get home...migranes all the time are no fun and being in pain all the time takes away from my experience here.

So, I need to pack tonight (which will probably be me throwing everything into my suitcase...I never understood the concept of folding something if you´re just going to wear it). Since I´m just going to Odenia (which is really close to wear I´m moving from) I can justify throwing all my crap into my already disorganized suticases. I´m going to stay with Em and her host mom for a week since my program ends tomorrow. Her host mom is freaking crazy and not in a good way so I hope I can stand a week. If you want to know what I mean read Em´s blog (em.blogspot.com). I´ll have nothing to do next week but go to the beach and get even more tan...wooo.

Eu sinto muito de minha familia...so tenho 4 semanas mais! Beijos e abraçoes...Tchau!

Oi gente

Sooo much better today! I don´t know why I have these ups and downs here but today was a good day...probably because I napped on the beach alll day. I went to class too...I was so tempted to sleep in instead but I was good and got up and went. I´m getting so tan...wooonderful I love it. Too bad I´ll be in coldness and snow for almost two weeks before coming home so I´ll prob be back to normal whiteness :( but it´s ok...it will be worth it.

O so in case you didn´t see the news...a TAM plane crashed in Sao Paulo and everyone on board died. It was really rainy and when the plane landed it hydroplaned and crashed into a fuel station so the whole thing blew up. I took TAM to Salvador but thank goodness I´m not taking it on anymore of my flights and I´m not flying into the same airport in Sao Paulo for my connection to Buenos Aires. I have a total of seven more flights until I´m home!!! I hope that I make it lol!

Missing my fam and besties so much...hope everyone is doing well. Beijos e abraçoes!

Homesick :(

I love the beach...I´ve been getting tan wooo! I´m having a bad day though... really homesick. I know I´m lucky to be here and I really am loving it, but sometimes it´s hard to be away from home and everything I´m used to. I´m just trying to appreciate that I´m here because I know where I´m going back to is not even 1/3 as amzaing as Brazil (Tucson haha).

So the Copa Final was last night and Brasil won 3-0...there were fireworks going off and everyone was going crazy...it´s a big deal here.

My classes end Friday so I have a week to just chill in Salvador which will probably consist of laying on the beach. I´m going to an island called Morro de Sao Paulo this weekend which should be amazing...I might stay longer so that I can have a private beach. The beaches in Barra are always crowded and full of annoying people trying to sell me things that I have no interest in.

Oooo and I am totally a fan of the Brazilian bikini...I will no longer wear anything else but what they sell here. It is completely acceptable here to show half or all of your ass and not get weird looks. I just go with half but a lot of women choose to show it all...and some really shouldn´t...not cute.

12 days until I´m finally 21 (like it matters...a ten year old could get alcohol here) and 31 days until I´m home!

Eu sinto falta de minha famila e minha Sophie muito. Te amo!! Tchau

Praia

Went to the beach all day today...amazing. Lots of people during the weekend but I love laying in the sand and listening to the ocean. That´s probably all I will be doing for the next two weeks... lucky me.

We met these Brasilian guys today...so cute but so forward!! They invited us to a `festa` tonight so I might just have to go ;) My friend I was with has a boyfriend back home and this one kid (absolutely gorgeous...the most beautiful eyes...cutest Brazilian I´ve seen yet) would not leave her alone...he´s like ´your boyfriend doesn´t have to find out´ haha. The guys here seriously don´t care if you have a boyfriend, it´s so funny and a little annoying at times...they are so persistent. Good thing I´m single because being here it would be hard to be loyal...the boys are just too adorable (minus the hounding and all the `where are you from...Do you speak Portuguese?` all the time).

Before I left for the beach a neighbor came over and he was so precious! He´s in fourth grade and broke a couple toes playing soccer so they were all wrapped up. He was saying that I´m the first American he´s ever met and talked to. I want a Brazilizan kid...they´re so cute speaking Portuguese with their little accents!

So one more week of classes and then a free week to be at the beach all the time. Then it´s off to Rio...I think there´s a Favela war going on there right now? So that will be super comforting...I just love the sound of gunshots and people dying because of power struggles and drugs. Wooo

I missing home (especially my baby) but this is starting to feel like a second home. Beijos para minha familia...te amo muito. Tchau!!

Muito Bom

Finally went to the beach to today...it´s like a five minute walk from my school so I should be there everyday that it´s not raining. My new goal is to get as tan as possible in the next two and a half weeks I have left in Salvador (very productive goal, I know).

Last night when I got home my host family and I talked about music and the daughter knew all the popular American bands and `singers´ (if you want to call it that...more like lipsyncers to me)...it´s so funny how they say the names haha. I love my host family...we have definitely warmed up to each other and I look forward to going home every night.

I miss my baby Sophs...I want to take her for a run on the beach and see her precious little face so bad. 5 more weeks...I can´t wait to see how excited she gets when she sees me! And I miss my family too...I´m way too attached.

So I´ve seen three Range Rovers...one BMW SUV and a couple Mercedes...if you have a car like those here you are loooooaded...especially an SUV. All the cars here are super small and there´s always traffic and crazy drivers trying to run me over becasue I forget to look sometimes.

I´m loving it here so much...I was feeling down last night but one of my friends here and I are really alike and she is the only person I can talk to about being homesick and all that becasue she feels the same and understands so I´m glad I have her to talk to!

Time´s going by really fast and there´s so much I still want to do. Oh and my internet addiction is becoming a problem. They pretty much know me by name at the internet cafe I always go to...they´re making bank off of me.

Beijos e abraçoes para minha familia e minhas amigas melhores...te amo muito e eu não posso esperar para vê-lo! Tchau Tchau

Yes I am alive

So lots has been going on. I´m absolutely loving it here...it´s so incredible, everyone should experience Brazil, especially Salvador. Yesterday I went to the historical district (Pelourinho) for the first time during the day (I´ve been a couple of times at night). The architecture is so beautiful...there was a Catholic Church that was just too much. It was Baroque style and so opulent...all plated with gold. We went into this jewelry store too and I guess Brazil produces some pretty sweet gems...I was definitely wanting to blow all my money on this one ring. I might go back and figure something out...I have to have something from there.

My host family´s daughter just got back from Disney World (when you turn 15 here...if you have money...you go on a big trip and/or have a huge party). She´s 14 still but it´s her break from school (here it´s during winter). She´s so sweet and really funny. She makes me smile! She is the most polite and gracious 14 year old I´ve ever known (probably because she is not American).

My Portuguese is improving...I moved up to the most advanced level today at my Portuguese school. Yay finally done with boring grammar...I´ve learned everything there is to know about it in the past two years. Now I actually get to do fun stuff! And I love talking to my host mom because she knows like maybe 15 words in English so it´s only Portuguese. Last night we talked about politics (one of my fav subjects) and Pres. Bush. She had some interesting things to say. I laugh so hard with her and her daughter when we´re all together...I love it.

I´m missing my besties and my family and my baby Sophie but I´m comfortable here...it´s feels like I´ve been here forever. This is just the beginning to my traveling and living abroad, so it´s good that I´m learning how to adjust and be without the things I´m used to. I´m super excited about moving Madrid for a semester after I graduate to live with one of my bests while she studies abroad (and then of course it´s on to Manhattan together!!!). The future is so exciting that it´s hard to live in the moment...so I´m trying to just enjoy everyday.

I can´t wait for Rio and Buenos Aires and snowboarding the Andes in Bariloche!...I´ve been looking everywhere here for anything snow related so I get an idea of prices for a board here but it´s only surfing stuff because of the obvious location and climate.

I miss the rec...I want to be able to run and lift whenever I want! I ran in the rain the other day and it was so good...people were looking at me crazy haha. But everyone here runs by the beach and is really concerned with being in shape and looking good. In the bathrooms there´s always like 5000 mirrors...I like the working out part but I don´t know about the getting all dressed up everyday...totally not my style.

Alright...tchau, até logo e boa noite a todos.

Sick again

So last night I woke up at like 2 in the morning feeling like death and barely made it to the bathroom to unwillingly dispose of everything that was in my stomach. Throwing up is like my biggest fear, it´s so disgusting...I hate it more than anything so I had lots of fun last night. It´s times like those when I just want to be at home in my own bed.

I showed my host mom my magazines like US and People and she was all into it...she said they have magazines like that too. She keep calling Britney Spears really gross looking and kept asking me why she looks so bad haha.

Things are good here...I´m really happy here but I wish I could eat more of the food without being disgusted or getting sick. I´ve been shopping a lot... it´s such a bad habit. It´s better than doing drugs or something I guess?? Whatever. I´m starting to get bored with having a daily routine though...I need to start doing different things because once I get used to something I get bored really easily.

I miss my little babyyy Sophie sooo much! I can´t wait to get back and see her...I don´t know what I´m going to do if I ever have children...I´m already crazy with dogs. I miss my family and friends too!

Tchau

Shoppping

Went to Salvador Shopping today and it was amazing. All the stores have such nice clothes...they are such good quality and would be considered designer in the U.S. but way cheaper. I was good...I didn´t spend lots of money!! Yay that takes willpower. We took the bus on the way there and it started to rain and it was perfect...the city is so big and some parts are so beautiful. The most gorgeous guy worked at this one store we went into and here if someone is helping you they follow you around the whole time you shop...I was seriously blown away by him, I didn´t want to leave. I guess the stereotype that Brasilian are really beautiful is true.

I want to stay here and lay on the beach and look at the ocean forever. I´m so glad I only have one semester left in Tucson...I need to be in a big city like this and I can´t wait to move to Manhattan (even though there´s no tropical beach there).

Sooo when I got back from surfing my homestay parents were leaving the guy´s parents were there. They´re from Brasilia (in the interior of Brasil) and they were sooo nice to me. They talked to me and wanted to know all about me. They brought all sorts of food like vegtables and beans from some farm and then showed me that they brought a skinned goat that was cut up and just chillin in the fridge. That was a shock...it was completely disgusting and I tried my best to keep a straight face and seem interested. Things are getting better with the homestay and I am trying to talk more and get over the langauge barrier. I probably sound like a five year old child just sputtering words but I don´t care (people literally laugh at me sometimes...it´s wonderful).

Tchau Tchau...Até logo

Surfar and food poisoning...woooo

Sooooo someone made a wrong decision and thought it would be just fine to eat a fried shrimp ball (??? yeah) and some random juice at this tiny restaurant in Pellagrino... and ended up seriously feeling it. I couldn´t even get out of bed friday morning because I felt sooo sick. I probably got food poisoning or something and I still feel nauseous...my stomach is so sensitive to the food here and there is nothing I want to eat...not even sweets! I just want my all natural and organic food from Wild Oats and Trader Joes...nothing I eat here tastes good to me.

Before I got sick we saw this amazing dança folkorico (Bahian dance and music...so good) and at the end these guys did some capoeira...they were so ripped and shirtless haha...I definitely enjoyed it.

I wasn´t going to go surfing because I was feeling so sick but my friends like found where I live and woke me up to see if I was ok and wanted to go!! I took that as a sign that I should just tough it out and go and I´m so glad I did. It was unbelievable...so beautiful. I can´t even describe in words how amazing the beach was. Surfing was fun...it´s really hard and I didn´t get up on the board (haha loser I know) but I want to go back there and stay longer because the instructor is adorable haha and the beaches right near where I live are dirty and shady.

I´m doing better with the homesickness...taking it day by day and trying to enjoy everything.
Tomorrow I´m going to Salvador Shopping (a brand new mall that´s realllly nice and huge) with a friend so I know it will be a good day. I´m going to do my best no to drop too many reais (the currency here). I am trying to follow this thing called a "budget" but I´m pretty bad at it...I like shopping too much.

I miss you daddy and mommy and you better be giving Sophie lots of love for me...I miss my little babyyyy!

Tchauuu

Praia

Today was good...finally went to the beach and I´m going out with friends to watch the Mexico Brasil soccer game...should be fun.

Homesick

I´m really homesick...I miss my friends and family at home so much, sometimes it can feel really lonely here because there is just so much going on all the time and it´s hard to get used to. If you´re reading this send me an email or a message! But Brasil is great and I´m trying to enjoy it. The rain/wind is out of control. Last night we went downtown to the historic district to a couple plazas and had a traditional Bahian dinner (Bahian food is not that great if you don´t like beef or meat in general, so it´s not my favorite). I tried the national drink (basically straight sugar cane alcohol with some lime and sugar) and could only handle three little sips...if I had the whole glass no doubt I would have been pretty drunk. I don´t know how well the little lightweight thing is going to work here for me. The culture downtown is amazing...there is music and food and dancing. It was a lot of fun until it start pouring so we called it a night early. I don´t think I´m going to be able to post pictures for a while sooo you´ll have to wait to see how beautiful some parts of Salvador are ;). Tchau Tchau!!

Better

Today has been so much better. I was late to class but it was fine...I have kind of a long walk. I met some really nice girls that are American too and we explored the city today...I´m starting to like it more after seeing how beautiful the beach is. It gets so windy and rainy though! There are some really weird people here. I think some of them are just a little cracked out...kinda scares me. I´m getting used to all the stares too I guess. I just try to ignore it and pretend that I´m European or Canadian or something because being American is such a target. I need to stop speaking English with my friends too because it attracts a lot of attention. They all know Spanish too so if we can´t say something in Portuguese we try to just speak in Spanish.

I gave my host parents the books I bought that have pictures and stuff of the Southwest, which they have never seen before and they really liked it. And I found out that the other night when I heard all those gunshots it was probably just stupid kids shooting off fireworks. That makes me fell a little better (even though shootings are not a rare occurrence). I went to the mall today and I finally felt at home haha and I got a pair of Brazilian Haivanas at this cute little surf shop by the beach.

I´m going to a beach near Salvador to learn to surf with the groups of friends I just met this weekend...I´m excited! I definitely miss my family and friends and feeling safe but I´m starting to love Brasil.

Oi gente

Sooo...it has been a looong couple of days to say the least. My flight to Sao Paulo was ridiculously long and probably up there on the worst experiences of my life list. Flights like that make me not want to travel. The airport in Sao Paulo is another list topper...it was horrrible. It took us over an hour to get our luggage and check it for our flight to Salvador. Our flight was set to leave at 9:05 and we weren´t even done with the luggage disaster by then and we still had to go through security and customs. Luckily our flight took off late...we were the last ones to run on. Thank God for Brazilian time...everything is very relaxed and nothing is on time.

The very first parts that I saw of Salvador were beautiful...so green and tropical. Once we got further to the city it started to look more like a third world country. Emily and I checked into our hotel by the beach (which was so nice) and just slept. Today I got up early to get a taxi and get to my language school for orientation. Of course I called to get the same guy that took us from the airport and he said he could come and 20 minutes later when I asked the fromt desk he had called to say he had to cancel. So I just got another taxi but he had no idea where he was going so I was a little late.

I really like the school and my teacher and there are other Americans there!!! Yay I was so glad because I feel like the only American here. After class my host mom took me to her apartment where I will be staying and showed me my room. It´s nice but it´s a really small apartment. She´s really quiet but her husband is more friendly and not as shy. It´s kind of awkward trying to communicate with everyone here because they can tell I´m not Brazilian by the way I speak, so I´m just trying to get by.

Right now it´s raining hard and probably will a lot because it is winter. It´s so humid! Honestly from what I´ve seen so far, Brazil is not the exotic vacation place that most people think. There are lots of slums (favelas) in Salvador which I wasn´t expecting and I would definitely not go out at night anywhere unaccompanied. Last night I woke up around 7:30 (Brazilian time) to what sounded like all sorts of gunshots and explosions. My best guess is that there must have been something going on in a favela related to drugs. It lasted over an hour and sounded pretty close. Emily slept through it so I just stayed in bed scared to death. It´s so sad that that kind of thing happens on a normal basis and no one can do anything about it because the drug gangs have the most power and they will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

I´m hoping that I will get to know the city better...I feel so lost all the time and it´s hard to understand what´s going on. I am the typical gringa...all I want to do is improve my Portugese so people don´t stare at me and give wierd faces when I try and speak. I´m definitely feeling a culture shock and it will take me a couple weeks to feel more comfortable. I´ll try to put up some pictures of Salvador and the Barra district (where I´m staying) soon. Tchau!

So exciteddd!

So I am done packing and starting to prepare for the 20+ hours of travel ahead. I will get to Salvador at 11am on Sunday and I start my Portuguese classes on Monday! I hope the family I'm staying with is welcoming and friendly...I can't wait to meet them and spend the next month with them. I'll be trying to update everyday and post pictures and I'll try to answer emails too! Ate logo!