After three months of getting used to an entirely new culture and way of living, I am a lot more flexible with change to say the least. I rarely ever know what is going to happen on a daily basis, and I have to say, it is a lot more fun that way. I usually miss about a quarter conversations that go on about what our plans with the family are, so I tend to just go with the flow and expect things to be, well, unexpected. When I talk to my family and friends back home I sometimes accidently forget I need to speak English and not Portuguese. Even as I am writing this now I have typed some Portuguese words on accident. As of a few weeks ago, my host sister and I are not speaking English to each other anymore, only Portuguese and it is already making the grammatical part of the language much easier for me.

One of the things I was most worried about before I came here was the food. At the beginning of this year I tried being a vegetarian because I really just don’t like meat very much and sometimes it grosses me out, but when I decided on Brazil that had to change pretty fast. I would say meat is the biggest food group here, and I have yet to meet a Brazilian vegetarian. Here, lunch is the biggest meal of the day and the whole family comes home everyday to eat lunch together. Most days it is the same. We have some kind of meat (chicken, beef or fish), beans or feijoada (black beans with meat), rice, salad, potatoes, and fruit. As worried as I was, it is actually really good food. I have liked almost everything I have tried here with the exception of feijoada. Most people who come here love it, but after I found out the pieces of meat in were all the left over parts of the animal, I couldn’t eat it. Another thing they eat that is different here is chicken hearts. I have been too afraid to try it yet but I promised myself I would do it before I leave.

I have gotten really used to how warm and “huggy” Brazilians are and I think it might be a little hard to get used to when I go home and no one is the same. At the beginning it was really hard to get used to kissing both cheeks when meeting someone new, but now it almost seems normal. The dancing in Brazil, however, is something I don’t think I will ever be able to do, or at least not very well. It seems like if you are born in Brazil, then you must know how to dance Samba, Forro, and Reggae. When I see people dancing here it is like I am watching Dancing with the Stars or something, that’s how good they are. It’s a big change from the US where a slow dance is swaying back and forth and a fast dance is jumping up and down.

Although I have only been here for three months and I am already half way through this journey, I feel like I have been here forever. Looking at a world map is a lot different for me now that all those countries that seem so far away have become places where people I have met and become friends with here live. I can feel this experience changing me; changing the way I see the world, how I think about people, how I think about my future; who I want to be. I am so excited to see where this experience will lead me J

A few weeks ago my host family and I took a trip to a different state in Brazil called Piaui where we stayed at a kite surfing camp in Barra Grande. My host father is a part of a kite surfing group here in Sao Luis and every year during this vacation they travel together to this same place, so it was really fun because I had already met most of the people who went there.

Our trip began with waking up at three thirty in the morning and getting in a car for a six hour road trip to paradise. On the ride there I got to see for the first time what more rural life looks like in Brazil, and let me tell you; it is a lot different than what I have been experiencing the past few months. There were tons of cows walking around and sometimes blocking the road to the point where we had to stop and wait for them to move. Along with the cows there were also plenty of goat, chickens, pigs, and hogs walking around freely, unrestrained by any form of barrier or fence. We past someone riding donkeys or being pulled in a cart by donkeys at least once every ten minutes. The houses in this area also looked a lot different, like how we compare a farm house to a city house. The difference here is the huge change in levels of social class from a city to a small town like the one outside of our camp or the houses in the country along the way. These people live so close together but lead completely different lives. Where the average person in Sao Luis has a car, a home with a house keeper, plenty of clothes and food, a person in this other part of the same state might have a crumpling house, use a donkey and cart to get around, and barely be able to afford food. Here you either have a comfortable life, or barely anything. Although his part of Brazil's economy is growing and changing rapidly, it is still visible in many parts of the country.

Once we got to the camp we were staying at I realized it was more of resort than anything; absolute paradise. There were palm trees every where, nothing but sand covering the ground, reggae music playing all the time, and little huts with hammocks every where. We spent our days there on the beach watching kite surfers, swimming, sailing, and taking kite surf lessons. Some of the people that worked there were absolutely amazing at kite surfing. I literally would sit on the beach and watch them for hours. They could do flips and tricks that I don't even know how to explain. My host dad told me that when people from other countries go there, sometimes they will leave all there gear as gifts to the workers there because they can't afford to buy their own, and that the workers spend every day kit surfing and that is how they get so good. All I know is that if I spent every day kite surfing like them, I would never be near as good as they are.

Every time I meet new people in BrazilI realize more and more how kind and happy Brazilians are (not to mention how interested they are in the fact that I am an American). I really love the way the people here are more than anything else. My Portuguese is getting better and better each day, and I am pretty comfortable talking with people now as long as they talk at a normal pace.

This weekend I am going with a group of exchange students to a place called "Casa de Familia". This place a kind of like child protective services. Children ages zero to twelve are taken here away from abusive or neglecting families to grow and heal from what they have been through until a new family is found for them to live in or until their old family is proven fit to take them back into their care. The other exchange students and I will be working with these kids, playing with them, and fundraising to provide them with living essentials, a monthly birthday party for all the kids, and a Christmas party. I am so excited to be able to have the opportunity to help these kids and I can't wait to help! More updates to come after my visit to Casa de Familia, thanks for reading :)

Here are a few pictures from the trip at: http://s1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee444/dakota-renee/

A few weeks ago my host family and I took a trip to a different state in Brazil called Piaui where we stayed at a kite surfing camp in Barra Grande. My host father is a part of a kite surfing group here in Sao Luis and every year during this vacation they travel together to this same place, so it was really fun because I had already met most of the people who went there.

Our trip began with waking up at three thirty in the morning and getting in a car for a six hour road trip to paradise. On the ride there I got to see for the first time what more rural life looks like in Brazil, and let me tell you; it is a lot different than what I have been experiencing the past few months. There were tons of cows walking around and sometimes blocking the road to the point where we had to stop and wait for them to move. Along with the cows there were also plenty of goat, chickens, pigs, and hogs walking around freely, unrestrained by any form of barrier or fence. We past someone riding donkeys or being pulled in a cart by donkeys at least once every ten minutes. The houses in this area also looked a lot different, like how we compare a farm house to a city house. The difference here is the huge change in levels of social class from a city to a small town like the one outside of our camp or the houses in the country along the way. These people live so close together but lead completely different lives. Where the average person in Sao Luis has a car, a home with a house keeper, plenty of clothes and food, a person in this other part of the same state might have a crumpling house, use a donkey and cart to get around, and barely be able to afford food. Here you either have a comfortable life, or barely anything. Although his part of Brazil's economy is growing and changing rapidly, it is still visible in many parts of the country.

Once we got to the camp we were staying at I realized it was more of resort than anything; absolute paradise. There were palm trees every where, nothing but sand covering the ground, reggae music playing all the time, and little huts with hammocks every where. We spent our days there on the beach watching kite surfers, swimming, sailing, and taking kite surf lessons. Some of the people that worked there were absolutely amazing at kite surfing. I literally would sit on the beach and watch them for hours. They could do flips and tricks that I don't even know how to explain. My host dad told me that when people from other countries go there, sometimes they will leave all there gear as gifts to the workers there because they can't afford to buy their own, and that the workers spend every day kit surfing and that is how they get so good. All I know is that if I spent every day kite surfing like them, I would never be near as good as they are.

Every time I meet new people in BrazilI realize more and more how kind and happy Brazilians are (not to mention how interested they are in the fact that I am an American). I really love the way the people here are more than anything else. My Portuguese is getting better and better each day, and I am pretty comfortable talking with people now as long as they talk at a normal pace.

This weekend I am going with a group of exchange students to a place called "Casa de Familia". This place a kind of like child protective services. Children ages zero to twelve are taken here away from abusive or neglecting families to grow and heal from what they have been through until a new family is found for them to live in or until their old family is proven fit to take them back into their care. The other exchange students and I will be working with these kids, playing with them, and fundraising to provide them with living essentials, a monthly birthday party for all the kids, and a Christmas party. I am so excited to be able to have the opportunity to help these kids and I can't wait to help! More updates to come after my visit to Casa de Familia, thanks for reading :)

Here are a few pictures from the trip at: http://s1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee444/dakota-renee/

Not too long ago I came across the idea that maybe it was time to widen my horizons, take a step outside the safety of my small town in Michigan, and branch out. I started to look into exchange programs and research different places I would like to go, and from that day on I was determined that I was going to become an exchange student. The country that interested me the most was Brazil. I loved the fact that it is extremely rich in culture, and the fact that it is a third world country which is very different from the United States.

Now I have been in Brazil for a month, and I couldn't be happier with my choice to come to this country. I'm living in Sao Luis, Maranhao which is the capital of the state. My family here is amazing. I have an 11 year old sister named Lethicia and a 14 year old sister named Raphaela (whom, thank God, speaks really great English).

I do really love it here, but this first month has been interesting to say the least. Culture shock would be an understatement. Some things that are happening:

-Everybody knows right away that I am foreign. Before I came here I thought that maybe I would look like I am from here; I mean I have brown hair and fairly dark skin, but I have yet to meet a person who thinks I am a Brazilian. Some people even know right away that I am American, but I have absolutely no idea how.

-Portuguese Portuguese Portuguese. I wake up in the morning and go to school to hear everyone around me speaking Portuguese (some of the teachers here talk faster than I have ever heard anyone else speak in my life). Then later, I go to Portuguese class where my teacher only speaks Portuguese for three whole hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning this language and I am getting better at it, but let’s just say I have developed a whole new appreciation for the English language.

-On occasion, I’ll meet someone who seems to believe that if they speak louder, not slower, I will understand the language. Unfortunately that is not the case.

-The people here are extremely friendly, hospitable and make me feel very much at home, but it has definitely been a challenge getting used to hugging and kissing everyone I meet. Offering up a handshake when meeting someone for the first time or greeting a friend would be considered cold and impolite.

My first two weeks here were school free, just getting used to the culture. But then on August 1^st I had my first day of school and Brazil, and I can’t say I have even been more excited for school to start. Everyone in the school knew that I was coming and they all seemed really excited to meet me. I felt like I was in kindergarten again learning everyone’s names, making new friends right away, and speaking Portuguese like a five year old. The actual classes here in Brazil are very different. For example:

-We stay in the same class room the entire day and our teachers switch every class

-School is from 7:10 to 12:30, and then everyone goes home for lunch.

-Teachers and students are very close. All of our teachers hug and kiss us at school, friend us on facebook (some even write on their students walls), have conversations outside of class, etc.

-school is much more theoretical here. Most of class is just taking notes while the teacher talks and writes on the whiteboard and then discussions about what we think.

-Public schools are very bad here. If families can afford it, they will send their children to private school no matter what.

(My favorite class here is math because it is the same in every language and is the easiest for me to understand)

My overall experience here so far has been amazing. I am finally really settled in and starting to feel more and more at home everyday. I couldn’t have asked for a better host family, and my friends at school are great too! I am loving life in Brazil.