Peter and I had to be in Copacabana at 8 in the morning to get on the bus that the Rotary Club Jardim Botanico rented for the trip. It didn't leave until around 9, I would guess, and we had already stopped to eat once before even getting out of Rio. We stopped again for lunch, and finally arrived in Campos around 4, because of lots of traffic from an accident. We got to the bed and breakfast and met up with the other exchange students who were already there, and figured out the rooming situations and went to have dinner before going to a thing for Rotary which took a couple of hours. After this we went into the town and walked around, getting to know it.
The second day was completely free, so we slept in until around 12 and then tried to go to the free lunch rotary provided. We missed it, so we went to a small burger place in the town. It seemed promising, but we had to wait about an hour and a half for a burger, a salad, French fries and onion rings. After this we just walked around the town looking and things, shopping and taking pictures. We had dinner at the same place as the night before, and after returned to the hotel and played cards or slept.
Saturday was the big day, when we had to do our presentations in front of the ~200 Rotarians. We had to wake up and get nicely dressed in the morning, then went to the convention center where we joined the Rotarians. We were all insanely nervous, and at one point I won a raffle that I didn't know I was part of, and when my name was called I freaked out because I thought I already had to present my PowerPoint. After a couple of hours, it was finally time for us to present. I was first to present, and as I stood there at the podium, it didnt seem as scary as I thought it would be, nor was it as many people as I thought it would be. I did my presentation, (which I will translate and post to the end of this blog) my voice only shaking a bit and consequently only stumbling over a couple of words. The rest of the exchange students did their presentations as well, and then Matilde from Denmark played her flute. After this we descended from the stage and at least 200 or so pictures were taken of us. We couldn't walk more than 10 steps without being stopped for 10 minutes of pictures... Our smiles got pretty fake after just a little. After this we stayed for another couple of hours before we went to eat lunch and then return to the hotel, where I played cards with a couple of the exchangies while the others slept. We then got ready to go to the baile, or ball, for the Rotarians. There was dinner and music and it was really great fun. We decided to go out after, and after driving outside of the city into a pretty sketchy looking part, decided to give up and go somewhere we already knew. We hung out there with some young people involved in Rotaract and an exchange student in the city from El Paso. We finally got back to the hotel at around 230 and my room went straight to bed.
On Sunday I woke up early to be ready for the bus by 915. Well... Early being 8!! We headed back to Rio, stopping in a Finnish colony for lunch and to get chocolate. I tried fried jacaré, or alligator (I think) and didn't like it very much. This city was very small and beautiful as well, made famous by its chocolate. On the bus I slept, listened to music, and quenched a little boy's thirst of information about America, me, snow, and anything else he could think of. It was fascinating to realize that he really didn't know anything about snow. He asked me under what conditions it snows, asked if when you open a door and there are snowdrifts outside if the snow would come in, asked which would be worse, if your house was submerged in water or snow, and whether we had houses with slanted roofs because of the snow. He didn't know that snow could be heavy, nor that Germany or the US have snow.
I arrived back in Rio at 7 in the evening and I was very happy to be back... Rio is my home.
Neste fim de semana pasada, (quinta até domingo), eu fui para uma cidade linda: Campos do Jordão, em São Paulo. A cidade é a pequena suíça do Brasil, e é na montanha, então é bem frio lá. O primeiro dia era 14 graus.
Peter e eu fomos para Copacabana às 8 horas para desembarcar pra Campos do Jordão, num ônibus com o Rotary Clube de Jardím Botânico. A gente saiu de lá às 9 horas, eu acho, e parou uma vez (ainda no Rio) para comer num restaurante se chama Casa do Alemão. Almoçamos e depois chegamos em Campos às 4 horas, mais ou menos. Chegamos na pousada, e as outras intercambistas chegaram já. A gente foi para uma coisa do Rotary à noite. Depois, a gente caminhou na cidade, honhecendo as ruas e lojinhas.
O segundo dia era uma dia livre, e aí a gente dormeu até meio-dia. Fomos para o almoço do Rotary, mas acabou já quando a gente chegou. Fomos para uma restaurante se chama The Burger, e a comida demorou 1.5 horas, mais ou menos. Caminhamos nas ruas de novo, tirando fotos e comprando coisinhas. Fomos jantar na mesma restaurante que a dia entes, e depois fomos ao hotel.
Sábado, o dia mais importante, a gente foi fazer nossas apresentações em frente do 200 Rotarianos. Acordamos cedo e fomos para o centro do concenções. Eu fui fazer minha apresentação primeiro, e eu acho que foi bom. Tudo mundo fez, e depois, Matilde da Dinamarca tocou a flauta. A gente desceu e as rotarianos tiraram pelo menos 200 fotos da gente. Ficamos para 2 ou 3 horas mais, almoçamos, e voltamos pro hotel e jogamos cartas. Arrumamos para um baile dos Rotarianos. Foi muito legal, com música, comida, e dancando. Saímos depois, com jovems de Rotaract e uma intercambista de El Paso que está morando em Campos. Voltamos ao hotel às 2:30 horas e dormimos.
No domingo eu acordei às 8 horas e saí para o ônibus às 9:15 hoars. O ônibus desceu para o Rio, parando numa colônia Finlandesa. Lá eu provei jacaré frita para a primeira vez, e... não gostei. A cidade é famosa por causa do chocolate.
No ônibus eu dormi, ouvi música, e falei um garotozinho sobre os Estados Unidos, neve, e qualquer mais ele pensou em.
Chegei no Rio às 7:30 horas e estava muito feliz para chegar em casa.
MY PRESENTATION
Before three years ago, I never imagined that I would leave the United States. Never.
But I went to 6 countries in Europe and visited my sister in Taiwan, and my trips were amazing! Now, I'm here in Brazil, because of Rotary!
Living in Brazil is the most fun, emotional, hard and extraordinary thing I've ever done in my life. I am making new friends, learning the language and culture of the country, and learning that the life here is not worse than the life in the US, it's just different.
I never decided to go on exchange. When my sister went on to Taiwan, I already knew that I would be going on exchange as well, but I knew that I would not go to Taiwan, since she went there. Many people say that Brazil is the best place to do exchange, and I agree!
In Rio I visited one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and the famous beaches Ipanema and Copacabana. I went on a trip to the Northeast of Brazil, and when we got to Rio, I felt at home.
Here, I have to do things for myself. If I want to go somewhere, I have to find transportation, look at the prices, and take myself there. I can't drive here, so I have to go places by bus, bicycle, the subway, and by foot, something I don't do much in the US.
When I was small, I always thought that exchange students were like superheroes. Now, I am a superhero, and I would like to thank Rotary International, my parents and everyone who helped me in this process.
