Today I woke up an hour before I was supposed to, because I forgot I am allowed to sleep in on Fridays. Awesome... So now I'm wasting time before going to school.
The language is getting easier and easier, and I'm learning more and more. I try to talk to people on Facebook in Portuguese a lot, to practice my conversational Portuguese, and I almost never need the translator for that. A lot of times, the hard part is getting the structure of the sentences right. Sometimes when you're just tired and don't want to be speaking Portuguese anymore, you just throw all of your words in a sentence, and hope the people can understand what you're trying to say, because you just don't want to have to think anymore.
The people in school are finally starting to speak to me in Portuguese... sometimes... However, in my volleyball class, people say even the simplest words to me in English. Things such as "go!" and "hello" and "I'm sorry." I know they probably just want to be able to practice their English with me, but I really wish they wouldn't, so I could learn Portuguese!
Tomorrow, all of the inbound exchange students are meeting to hike Urca and go to see Pão de Açúcar as a Rotary trip. I'm really excited to spend a day with the other exchange students, and to see such a famous landmark of Rio.
In school, it is the second semester, and after just coming back from winter break, no one was very focused or ready to do work. Now, however, things have calmed down a bit, and people are started to refocus on schoolwork and grades.
It is starting to get hotter in Brazil, as winter comes to an end. Two days ago, we had record breaking temperatures for the year in Rio, 44 degrees Celsius. (111.2 Fahrenheit) (I didn't even know it was that hot until I converted it just now... WOW!)
5 weeks and 6 days in Brazil today!
Celia :D
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Just some quirks... Quirks. That's a good word.
When you are in traffic, people walk through the cars trying to sell things to you. They sell anything from candles to cold drinks.
There is an abundance of "suco" here. Suco is juice, and everyone is crazy about it. There are hundreds of juice shops (essentially) all over my neighborhood alone, and they make pretty much any fruit into a juice.
On the beaches, you can get "agua de coco": take a coconut, cut a hole in it, stick a straw in it, drink. I'm not a fan, but most people are.
Food! I have yet to have a lunch where I didn't have rice. I have had maybe 3 without beans, but rice is definitely a constant! The food here is sooo amazing, and I haven't tried much I haven't liked, save the Globo Biscoitos. Eu não gosto deles.
Cariocas, or those born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, have a different dialect of Portuguese than the rest of Brazil. It is hard to explain in words, but for example: Portuguese in Portuguese is Portugues. (Say that 3 times fast.) The Cariocas say it "Porh too gaysh" whereas people from Sao Paulo say "por too ges". Two is dois. Carioca: "doish" Sao Paulo: "dois". And so on.
That's all for now!
:D
There is an abundance of "suco" here. Suco is juice, and everyone is crazy about it. There are hundreds of juice shops (essentially) all over my neighborhood alone, and they make pretty much any fruit into a juice.
On the beaches, you can get "agua de coco": take a coconut, cut a hole in it, stick a straw in it, drink. I'm not a fan, but most people are.
Food! I have yet to have a lunch where I didn't have rice. I have had maybe 3 without beans, but rice is definitely a constant! The food here is sooo amazing, and I haven't tried much I haven't liked, save the Globo Biscoitos. Eu não gosto deles.
Cariocas, or those born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, have a different dialect of Portuguese than the rest of Brazil. It is hard to explain in words, but for example: Portuguese in Portuguese is Portugues. (Say that 3 times fast.) The Cariocas say it "Porh too gaysh" whereas people from Sao Paulo say "por too ges". Two is dois. Carioca: "doish" Sao Paulo: "dois". And so on.
That's all for now!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Some observations
I've noticed some things here in Brazil that I thought were worth pointing out.
- For every meal, they don't just have a couple of foods to eat, they have many different types. They almost always have rice and beans, plus some sort of meat, vegetables and a starch.
- They almost always "sobremesa" or dessert.
- When they eat a meal, they try to get all of the different foods on their forks; nothing is eaten separately
- School is different from school in America, because they have different classes every day.
- The women, for the most part, never go out of the house without their hair done and their faces made-up.
- Most apartment buildings have a floor called a "playground," the sole purpose being for parties
- Bars do not card patrons, they serve to minors.
- Many, many women wear bright or patterned bras under white shirts.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
My Third Week Has Come and Gone!
My third week in Brazil is officially over, and I've had such an amazing time in Brazil thus far! I have gone out to parties, gone to the beach, and yesterday, I biked around Lagoa (the lake, 8 km around) for the first time. This week, I attended a Portuguese course, from Tuesday to Friday, 9-3:30. I attended it with another American girl, and a girl from Denmark. After the course, I went home and then went to volleyball on the beach, from 5-7, which I do Monday - Friday every week.
Some simple volleyball words:
Some simple volleyball words:
- Passou
- Used when the ball comes over the net before the third touch, we say "it's over!"
- Foi mau!
- I'm sorry, or that was bad, if someone makes a mistake
- Boa (or boa bola)
- Good, good ball, when someone makes a nice hit or a nice point, or in sarcasm, if they make a very stupid mistake
- Vai vai vai vai vai!!!
- Go go go go go! The little kids aren't very motivated to move towards the balls, a lot of times
- Levantar
- To set
- Manchete
- To pass
- Sacar
- To serve
My Portuguese course was in downtown Rio, or Rio Centro, and I took the Metro there every day. It is a very nice, historic part of Rio, and everything is very old there (relative to other parts of Brazil).
On Friday all of the exchange students had a mandatory Orientation in Rio Centro, so we got to meet each other and spend time together... listening to our YEP Chairman talk about the rules and homesickness and such.
So far in our district we have:
- Matilde - Dinamarca - Living in Petrópolis
- Mathilde - Bélgica - Living in Petrópolis
- Peter - Alemanha - Living in Rio
- Leandra - Suíça - Living in Petrópolis
- Kathryn - Estados Unidos - Living in Campo Grande
- Nina - Estados Unidos - Living in Rio
- Tellie - Estados Unidos - Living in Rio
- Celia (ME!) - Estados Unidos - Living in Rio
Two more are still in their countries, having trouble with visas, one from Austria and one from Taos, NM.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
I've been in Brazil for about 5 days now, and I've noticed a few things. First off, it's very beautiful here, because they have trees all over the place, and they line the roads. (They pour concrete around the bases, but the trees just grow through it.)
Many, many people are overweight. Virtually no one is actually thin, even though everyone walks everywhere.
There are many pointless jobs, because there are so many people. For example, in city buses, there is the driver, and then behind them is a person sitting behind a table to take your money. There are also people who sit in elevators and push the buttons. There are more, but I can't think of them right now.
In school, (or at least, in my class) you cannot tell who is "cool" and who is not. They all seem to be friends, and they all talk to one another. Even the goof of the class will sometimes take a day off to just sit with the girl in the back of the class - who never talks or participates - to listen to music and sleep.
Another thing: In my school, you can basically do whatever you want, other than leave the building. I've had a couple of classes where everyone was sleeping, or talking, and sometimes they get into very in-depth conversations with teachers and spend the hour doing nothing related to the subject.
On Mondays through Fridays, I go leave my house a little before 7:00 and ride the metro to my school. I arrive at around 7:35 usually, and they let you go up into the classrooms at 7:40. School starts at 7:50. We have 2 classes in the morning, and then a 40 minute break, in which you can play soccer, play table tennis, eat, talk, or just watch other people have fun. (Ha!) After this we have another 2 classes, and then school lets out at noon.
Many, many people are overweight. Virtually no one is actually thin, even though everyone walks everywhere.
There are many pointless jobs, because there are so many people. For example, in city buses, there is the driver, and then behind them is a person sitting behind a table to take your money. There are also people who sit in elevators and push the buttons. There are more, but I can't think of them right now.
In school, (or at least, in my class) you cannot tell who is "cool" and who is not. They all seem to be friends, and they all talk to one another. Even the goof of the class will sometimes take a day off to just sit with the girl in the back of the class - who never talks or participates - to listen to music and sleep.
Another thing: In my school, you can basically do whatever you want, other than leave the building. I've had a couple of classes where everyone was sleeping, or talking, and sometimes they get into very in-depth conversations with teachers and spend the hour doing nothing related to the subject.
On Mondays through Fridays, I go leave my house a little before 7:00 and ride the metro to my school. I arrive at around 7:35 usually, and they let you go up into the classrooms at 7:40. School starts at 7:50. We have 2 classes in the morning, and then a 40 minute break, in which you can play soccer, play table tennis, eat, talk, or just watch other people have fun. (Ha!) After this we have another 2 classes, and then school lets out at noon.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
In Brazil!
In Brazil!
After a long, tiring flight, filled with crying children and very bright television screens, I made it to Brazil in one piece! Lots of people in the airport were very nice and helped me, which was great. I met my family, and then we went home to the apartment, where I found my room and called my parents. From there I went to Ipanema beach with Jarbas and Jarbinhas (Jarbas Jr), and had pineapple juice and walked the length of the beach, seeing every single woman in a bikini, no matter their size. Just had lunch, of meat, beans, rice, vegetables, and little potato french fry things. It was all very, good, and Jarbas, my host brother, ate about 3x as much as me! We then had dessert, and Jarbinhas (host brother) went to take a nap, and I am blogging.
:)
After a long, tiring flight, filled with crying children and very bright television screens, I made it to Brazil in one piece! Lots of people in the airport were very nice and helped me, which was great. I met my family, and then we went home to the apartment, where I found my room and called my parents. From there I went to Ipanema beach with Jarbas and Jarbinhas (Jarbas Jr), and had pineapple juice and walked the length of the beach, seeing every single woman in a bikini, no matter their size. Just had lunch, of meat, beans, rice, vegetables, and little potato french fry things. It was all very, good, and Jarbas, my host brother, ate about 3x as much as me! We then had dessert, and Jarbinhas (host brother) went to take a nap, and I am blogging.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Still in New Mexico
July 26, 2012
I'm still in Albuquerque... My visa still hasn't come through, so I still don't have plane tickets and I'm still in the States. I'm going a little crazy, and I am hoping very much that I won't miss any of my schooling in Brazil.
I'm still in Albuquerque... My visa still hasn't come through, so I still don't have plane tickets and I'm still in the States. I'm going a little crazy, and I am hoping very much that I won't miss any of my schooling in Brazil.
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