My Year in Brasil

Pictures!!! Lots!

2007-05-18T18:39:29Z

Don't worry everybody, I am alive and well. :D

Not only that, but I just uploaded almost 200 pictures.
So, go check 'em out, and tell me what you think!
Album 1 - Lagoa Boat Ride/The Dunes
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192&l=e96c5&id=1143720001
From when my friend Jenna's parents were here, quite a ways back. Rotary pretended they weren't totally useless(I'm not very please with Rotary here at the moment--long story) and organized activities for us, which included a boat ride in Lagoa. Afterwords, me, Jenna, and her dad checked out the dunes near Joaqinha, one of my fav beaches.

Album 2 - The Hike to Lagoihna (plus a few random pics)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193&l=eaef5&id=1143720001
Rotex organized a hike for us to a pretty incredible beach on the south of island (Rotex events=very rare, too) It was awesome, and definitely worth the rediculous hike.
Album 3 - Salvador, Bahia
http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=194&l=c9cae&id=1143720001
Don't even know where to begin...Salvador was amazing! Check out the pictures. We had a blast, even if I lost my wallet. Oops.

Check out the pics for now, and I'll be back with a more informative post later.

Peace out,
Cody

Whew! Busy busy busy!

2007-03-20T00:03:13Z

Whew! Don't worry--I'm alive and well!

Sorry for lack of update, but I've been rather busy.

Since Carnaval:
1. Visit by my friend Jenna's Parents
2. School Starting
3. Family Switch no. 3
4. Visit to Larges (another city in my state--chilly and mountainous!) with a Rotarian for a week

ALSO: I learned that I have a chance to go to Salvador, Bahia, and thanks to some wonderful support from you out there, I will be there April 10th-16th, which I am SOOooooooo excited about. So so so psyched. I'm going with another exchanger and his parents, and it's going to be an amazing time. Thank you all so so so so so much.

Soooo starting out...the week after Carnaval, I started school again. I moved on with the same grade as last year, which has been nice since I know everyone--BUT the thing is, the next grade up is boooooooooooooooring. While last year class was a little laid back, this year they instill the fear of god into the students about the test they have to take at the end of the year. (Seriously. If I don't hear that word once every class, I´m pretty surprised.) And honestly...you ask kids in the 3rd series (what I´m in now)what they do outside of school--and they say "Study." ALSO they have a rediculous amount of Math and Science classes...(I have 2 dif. math classes, biology, chemistry, and physics-and usually double periods.) Now that I understand a lot of the classes...I realize I've learned most of it, and since I'm not taking the evil "Vestibular"(See. It even SOUNDS mean.) class is a liiiitle unproductive. But I still enjoy a few classes,(Esp. Portuguese & Ingles) and have made some decent friends in school. So, now to the fun stuff. :D

The weekend after Carnaval, Jenna's parents came to visit. It was really nice! Me and Jenna got to translate for them, and it was sooooooooo nice to show people what we've learned. I even surprised myself at how easy it came! I helped Jenna show them around and overall we had a very nice time. (Pictures to come!) Also, since her parents were Rotarian, our Rotary here decided to pretend they weren't kinda useless and organized activities for us. (<---Not normal.)

After Jenna's parents left, it was time to switch host families! Which is always harder than you think it is. I had had a few diffuculties with my last family in the beginning, but by the end I'd grown rather fond of them.
My new family: Gilson, the dad (excellent cook. Mmmm.) Marcia, the mom (a little on the odd side, but still very cool.) Lucas, my host brother (lives here, college student) Laiz, my host sister in Mexico (the only host-sibling abroad who will get back in time for me to meet!) and...Luki. The fluffy dog thing...he's growing on me though. ;)

Next update: Picture post, and all about my week long trip to Lages and São Joaqim. with a Rotarian. He went to visit his family, and showed me around all week.
Highlights include coldness, pretty mountains, waterfalls, canyons, a very very nice family, and a visit to an apple factory. (ermm..plant? I guess they don't manufacture apples...)

Té Amo!!!
I know have skype totally set up again, so remember if you want to talk to me for free, just get Skype and add me: journeybrasil

Carnaval (aka most amazing experience on earth)

2007-02-28T22:33:52Z

Hey there everyone!!!!!!!
Sorry for lack of update, but my computer's been acting up, and I went back to school, AND I switch families this week.

In case you didn't know...CARNAVAL was last week!!!

It was absolutely the most amazing experience of my life.
I got a LOT of photos.

First night of Carnaval!

This picture pretty much sums up the second day of Carnaval. It is tradation for EVERY guy to dress as a woman. And...they do it.

Did I, you ask??? Maybe. Would I show you pictures if I did is the real question.

Centro, decked out. I <3 Centro.

All of us in the parade! Day 2.

Cool pic of us starting the parade.

Aww. Cute.

On to day 3.

We went to this turkish restaurant for dinner, and had hookah! And, even, better, the girl all the way on the left? She's actually turkish. Gotta love exchangers! Really, really good food. We spent the rest of the night in Lagoa, my favorite part of the island.

Day 4 - Showed some visiting exchange students around the island. Spent the night in centro. Had an amaaaaaaaazing time, and made some new (brazilian) friends.

Exchange students

There was a few people there that night...and this wasn't even the busy part!

Last day! Final parade!

Whew! Walking down in that parade on the second day=amazing.

Overall, Carnaval was absolutely amazing. It was a one of a kind, life changing event I'm going to remember the rest of my life.

It's getting harder and harder to leave.

Meu Anneversario!!!!!!

2007-02-04T01:24:24Z

Hello everyone! Again, it's been a while, but I think you understand. There's just so much fun to be had! :D

Yesterday was my BIRTHDAY and it was amazing! Thank you so much all of you who sent me birthday wishes yesterday, much appreciated. (But, just a reminder, I'm in Brasil--which speaks PORTUGUESE, not Spanish. "Feliz Cumpleaños" means nothing to me, lol) My birthday here was pretty much perfect, and quite possibly the best one ever.

My host mom made me breakfast when I woke up, and they had given me a new swimsuit the night before. (yay!) Then I hopped on the bus to go meet my friends at the bus terminal. I met them there, and we proceeded to, where else, the beach! First we went to one of my favorites, Pria Molé, and hung out and waited for my friend Rosa who was buying a surfboard. Then, we took a hike to north of Molé to an even better beach, Galeta. Galeta is SO pretty, and because it requires a bit of a hike, there's hardly anyone there. The water is crystal clear, and it streches for a good mile and a half along the coast, with amazing rock formations to the north. In other words, it's the perfect beach. Max and Rosa tried out their new boards, and the rest of us hung out, swam, tanned, and just generally had an awesome time. We spent some time exploring the rocks to the north, and then I headed back home...

...for a churrasco! (barbeque!) My family and the Rotary president threw me a little party in our building. It was super nice! And, of course, churrasco is soo yummy. And there was balloons, and cake...the whole shebang!

After THAT it was time to go out! I had decided on a cool little club in Lagoa, on the island. It's SO pretty there with a view over the Lagoa de Conexção, and a really nice atmosphere. A BUNCH more of my friends showed up, I opened some wonderful presents, and proceeded to dance the night away! It was a BLAST!!! I've made such a wonderful group of friends here, and I'm so happy I got to spend my birthday with them.

Tommorow I'm going up north with my first host family to celebrate my birthday, as well as my host-uncle's birthday! Should be lots of fun.

Anyways, I promise a BIG picture post of my various summer exploits over the past few weeks. My time here has been well spent, and each day brings a new adventure. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)

Rio De Janiero

2007-01-12T15:05:38Z

:o
***UPDATE*** ADDED NEW PHOTOS TO THE 3RD GALLERY - Check em out!
Wow.

Rio was abosolutely amazing.
Instead of making myself work on a good 45 minutes of html, I'm just gonna link to these convenient photo galleries, so you can see ALL of my pics of Rio with captions, too.

Rio 1 - http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=145&l=af8ee&id=1143720001
Rio 2 - http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146&l=336e2&id=1143720001
Rio 3 - http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147&l=cb1a8&id=1143720001 <---New
Be sure to check out both pages on the first two albums.
I actually have a bunch more photos I need to get from other people too, like the ones from Ipanema beach, so I´ll show you more later.

Anyway, so here´s what we did:

Day 1
We left around 2 o'clock on the 4th on a very, very long bus ride. Of course, there was 20 exchange students so it was a blast. There was a whole lot of fun and bonding on this trip.

Day 2
We arrived Rio at around 9 in the morning...it was grey and cloudy, sadly, but it was still pretty amazing and beautiful. It was really interesting to note just how different this city is than Floripa. We caught our first glimpse of the Cristo Redentor on the bus. We arrived at our hotel...which was RIGHT in front of Cococabana beach. See my icon for this post??? Our hotel was seriously RIGHT THERE. Even though it was cold, we spent the afternoon on the beach, and also welcomed the other two huge busloads of exchange students from around the São Paulo area. We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant with all you can eat sushi(which means a very very happy Cody). After dinner they took us to an awesome street market along the cococabana strip and we did some perfect touristy shopping and worked our bartering skills. Except for the not-so-smart people who didn't.
"How much did you get that for?"
"20 reals."
"Hah. I got it for 14."
:P

Day 3
Woke up bright and early for our city tour! We started out on the bus with a tour guide, and we got dropped off for the walking section of the tour. The first pictures you see in the albums were from that tour. We saw a bunch of cool stuff, and I liked seeing the historic side of Rio. We also learned the name Rio De Janiero is a misnomer--It means "River of January" because the Portuguese thought the lagoon was a river delta(and it was January. Not very creative, eh?) After they dropped us off at a mall so we could buy lunch and do a little shopping, and later in the afternoon we went to the famous sugerloaf mountain! Super cool. The view was incredible, and the cable car up was only slightly terrifying. Spent a little more time on Cococabana in the afternoon, and for dinner...we went to an excellent restaurant for about the best meal I've had so far...buffet style(like pretty much every restuarant here) with sooo many yummy things. Mm...curry shrimp goodness. Man, I love the seafood here. We took a nice walk through the market and along the beach back to the hotel.

Day 4
Finally, the thing everyone was waiting for...Cristo Redentor! We went straight there in the morning, and waited a while for the cable car up. It was sooo amazing. It's one of those things that doesn't really seem real until it's right in front of you. The view was absolutely beautiful. Brasil has to be the most gorgueous place on the planet, and Rio is a prime example. The mountains, the oceans, everything. And it was so great to experience it with such an awesome group of people. After went to one of the amazing Carnival spots and people payed to try on carnival outfits. I did not, however, because well--paying for public humiliation? Come on. (Ok, so actually they just ran out of costumes before I could get one...you know I'd do it ;) After we visited the BIGGEST soccer stadium in the world. (But definitely not the nicest we decided, lol...it could use a little work. But cool none the less. Then we were starving...and we drove like an hour out of our way to go get dinner(don´t ask...) and then went back to the hotel to get ready for our night activity--The Hard Rock Café.
And, yes, I was extremely skeptical of the fact that were going to an American Restaraunt in Rio--but it turned out to be one of the most brasilian activities we did! It was AWESOME actually. After dancing to some live funk(boy do they love their funk here) The Samba School put on a presentation!!!!! First was this percussion thing that was amazing, and then the Carnival dancers came out! I didn´t bring my camera there, but I'll be sure to get pictures of that from my friends. It was fun dancing the night away with a bunch of brasilians, that's for sure. Although it's pretty funny that they can't seem to dance to anything BUT funk and samba...lol

Day 5
Few..they let us sleep in a bit(Thank god!) And we went to spend the morning on Ipanama beach. Super fun, but I must admit I think the beaches here in Floripa are way better.
Also--we totally got on the Brasilian MTV. HOW COOL IS THAT??? They loved us group of crazy foriegn kids. After, we spent the afternoon at the Cidage de Samba--City of Samba, a huge locale for Carnival, where we saw them readying floats, and they put on some shows for us! Oh, and we got to try out some intstruments, and I rocked it out on the bass drum. :D So cool, especially the grand finale. My batteries died, so again I will get good pics for this day and let you know. Oh, and they let us try on crazy carnival stuff for free. :D We had dinner, and after had a little funk/samba lesson at the hotel...and...then we got extremely po'ed at our district because for some unknown reason we were not allowed to go to the huge dance with the rest of exchange students, including an entire group on new ones. :( But that´s a long story. So we just threw a party in one of our rooms...lol.

Day 6
We woke up rediciously early to leave Rio(yet still later than the people who got to go to the party...I'm still a little bitter...lol) Slept on the bus...and first we stoped in Aparicida(I think?) to see this gigantic church. It's not done yet, so it wasn't anything spectacular. After that, we got to stop in São Paulo. We went to the Portuguese Language Museum, which was one of the coolest musuems I´ve seen!!! Seriously! The exhibits were really really cool, and there was a bunch of interactive stuff that made it really intersting. (granted, we didn't understand everything, because well...it's all in portuguese!) But it was a cool stop. After we went to another mall(grrr....) for dinner, and...I had a very, very, american meal. Me and Jenna went to Applebee's...lol. Had a hamburger, french fries, and apple pie for dessert...it was amazing--every once in a while it's nice to have a taste of home, literally! Hopped on the bus home, and arrived at 8 the next morning.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. Rio is an AMAZING city, and it's really almost completely different from the city I live. I was so so so glad to get to see a whole different side of Brasil. I'm now so, so, so SO excited for Carnival now too. It's gonna be amazing.

Coming up:
Not much this month--but I'm going to plan my birthday party, which is going to be amazingly fun I've decided. So I'll let you know more about that. And if anythig fun comes up, I'll let you know ;)

Much, much love & peace,
Beijos!
Cody

A tad overdue...

2006-12-28T00:18:13Z

Alright, for starters, I just want to thank my mom and dad for figuring out getting me to Rio.

Oh, yeah...I'M GOING TO RIO DE JANEIRO!!!! With a Rotary trip, for 6 days starting Jan. 4th! I am so, so, so, SO excited for this once in a lifetime experience, and I will be sure to tell you ALL about and take a billion pictures. Speaking of which, my camera batteries died about two weeks ago and I haven´t replaced them yet, so all photos you see here have been recycled from my friends blogs, etc.

Alright, so...where to begin.
Well...I can surf now ;) That has to be about the coolest thing ever.

This is the beach where I take surfing lessons. Luckily, it's not as hard as you think it is. But, it still kicks your butt, that's for sure...but it is SO fun and SO rewarding when you catch that perfect wave. I have lessons twice a week and I LOVE it.

These are my friends having their lesson. I didn't have class this day, and well...there's no one to take a picture of me when I do! I'll find a way to get at least one though, that's for sure.

There was a HUGE beach soccer competition this same day at the beach. (Oddly enough, it's called "Beach Soccer"...in english. Odd.)
This was...Venezuala and Chile I think? The next mach was Argentina VS. Brasil, which we didn´t stick around for, because, frankly it was insane. They have a bit of a rivalry...with everything.

Other beach...Pria Mole...it was vaguely cold that day, so we didn't stay long.

My friend Erika's birthday, and the present I gave her. ;)
I also made the most AMAZING pizza from scratch, which I have made 3 more times now for various people. I even have to make the tomato sauce, since they don't have it here! Yay for sharing culture...and yummy pizza, too!

And now, a bit of Christmas cheer, Brasilian style:

Centro, decked out, xmas style!

The Rotary Christmas Party!!!
All exchange students had to sing "Silent Night" in their own language, and then we all sung it in portuguese. It was fun...of course they decide to give me the microphone..."Hey!!! He can sing!! Make him hold it!!!"

More of the party, with Papai Noel. I would be the rather tan one in the back, waving my hand.(NO not the Mexican!)
And finally...If I had a Christmas card, this is what it would be:

A bunch of us exchangers with Papai Noel at the mall. Somehow we got this for free...lol. Being foreign can be an advantage, that's for sure.

What I got for Christmas from my 1st & 2nd host parents:
-New swimsuit (yay!)
-New shirt
-Way too much chocolate.
The last one may contradict another news point, which is that I have managed to lose weight instead of gain it. Screw you, exchange student curse! I will be skinny!

Well, that's enough for me for now.
I wish you peace, love, and happiness in the new year!
I have so many loved ones in my life, and I wish the best to all of you.

journeybrasil @ 2006-12-26T12:02:00

2006-12-26T14:09:42Z

Merry Christmas everyone! This is from the christmas display from the huge mall in Beira Mar. "The Santa Clause Circus"

Tonight or tommorow I promise a HUGE update about all my activities...including SURFING!!!!
So. Cool.

Peace, Feliz Natal, and Merry Christmas!

Beach - Picture Post!

2006-12-02T12:05:30Z

So, if you are feeling a little cold right now, you may not want to look at these pictures...just a warning. ;)

Entrance to heaven...erm...the beach.

Does it get better? Yes, yes it does.

Me and my friend Erika

Man...the pictures don´t even do it justice...and yes, those would be gliders going off that cliff there...so cool...We´re gonna look into how much it costs.

Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Sun setting in the ritzy, super-fun Soho-ish Beira Mar district.

Also...I´ve gotten complimented on my portuguese by my current host mom, AND talking online with my first host brother Fernando who´s in the states. Getting complimented on portuguese...is like the best feeling in the world right now. Not to mention, my new family doesn´t speak ANY english...but I haven´t had any problems communicating!!! Woohoo! Fluency, here I come!

Tonight I´m going to a festa at my first host family´s house for my (then) grandma´s birthday. Tommorow I´m doing something with Rotary with the Rotex(past exchangers). They organize stuff for us to do all the time. I think we´re going to a soccer game? I ended up not starting my surfing class last friday, it starts on Monday now. Sooooo more beach time.

Oh, and I don´t have a microphone on my host family´s computer yet, nor have i figured out how to connect my computer to the internet, BUT since I know I have some VERY important birthdays coming up, I can just go down the street to the internet café. Oh, and took my(actually Fernando´s) cell phone into the ocean with me the other day, soooo it looks like I´ll be buying (him) another one.

Tchau gente!
Muito amor!

Family Swap!

2006-12-01T12:05:56Z

Man, switching families is HARD. Like, really really really hard. My first family was so fantastic...and it seems like once you finally get used to everything--your routine, your house, and start to really feel like a member of the family...you switch. Sigh. I get it though...and our counselor gave us the little speech about how it´s important to switch families to know other lifestyles, viewpoints, etc.

But, hey, don´t get the wrong idea, I´m actually having a really good time with my second host family! Me and my little host sister already bonded because I taught her how to put vinegar and salt on french fries. :D My host mom is suuuuper nice, I can tell we´ll get along great. And my host dad´s a bit of a goofball. (in a good way...hmm...a goofball for a dad? Wonder if I´ll be able to handle that ;) ) Last night, they made me pizza and put little american flags on it...it was awesome.

It´s wierd totally living in a city apartment for the first time in my life. I really like my new room though, and the computer´s in here too.

TODAY I´m going to not one...but TWO different beautiful beaches in Floripa...AND I´m taking my first surfing lesson!!!! A bunch of the exchangers are doing it, so I´ll be with like 4 other exchange students.
Ahem...speaking of which....Those surfing lessons cost $50 bucks a month(hehehe...pretty cheap for two two-hour lessons a week), SO anyone looking for a good Christmas present for me should email me, ´cause I´d reaallly like that.

Up next: picture post! My family, beaches, exchangers, and surfing!

Tis The Season...Kind of.

2006-11-23T21:34:55Z

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday, and are eating my share of turkey.
For Thanksgiving, me and Max(from Utah) went out to Pizza Hut to have thanksgiving dinner--a good ol' pepperoni pizza, American style. Well, almost. They don't have regular tomato sauce here, so it was sauce-less. Oh well. It was still good.

I didn't have school today, and--you're gonna hate me for this--TOMMOROW IS MY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BEFORE SUMMER BREAK. And my class is having a party tomorrow

I think I go back in February sometime. After Carnival. :D

In other news...I switch families next week! Which will be very strange...I feel like I finally got used to being here, and whoosh! off I go to start anew. Oh well, my next houses are closer to everything and have more buses, so that will be nice.
My language skills have definitely improved, I got told today that I'm up to par with the other exchange students--which is good since they've been here a month longer! I guess actually studying really helped. (I didn't have much else to do in school. ;) )
Oh, and I have a portuguese class now! I go twice a week, and it's just for us Rotary exchange students, and so that's helping. But I'm at a really good point now. I know how to say what I need to, and I understand what people are talking about most the time now. I'm able to get my point across, and same for people talking to me. (most the time. I'm not perfect, you know.)

Now my days are going to be filled with...umm...the beach? Capoeira and Portuguese classes twice a week? And....that's about it. Oh, and fun. Lots of it. I love the exchange students here soooo much.
Last week was my friend Jenna's birthday, and we had soooooooooooo much fun. On her actual b-day, Wed, we went to another exchange student's parent's beach house to spend the day. Jenna made eggs bennedict for everyone, and we had some yummy brasilian treats as well. (I'm going to have to introduce you all to brigadero...mwhahahahaha) We spent time lounging on the beach, had a barbeque later(always a barbeque...it was a Brasilian holiday, too), and then we climbed out on the ocean rocks to watch the sunset together, and just talked. It was one of those truly magical days that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Then, on Friday, because it was another exchanger's birthday that week, too, we all went out on friday night and had an AMAZING time. I just get reassured all the time that exchange students are the coolest people on the planet.

And now, here's some pictures! Just some beach pictures(from...the crappy beach...me and Jenna know much better ones now, they're from like two weeks ago) and some pics of downtown, Centro. I really need to remember to take more pictures...I never remember my camera, lol)

This is the awesome pink house. It's a total cool hangout place in centro, and our favorite ice cream place (Bob's..lol) is accross the street.

Ahhh...good ol centro above, there's wonderful black market stuff in those hallways, it's one of many bazaars in centro.

journeybrasil @ 2006-11-06T17:31:00

2006-11-06T17:31:25Z

Okay, okay...sorry about not updating...I´ve been super busy! Two weekends ago were the school olympics, and last week was a holiday weekend. (Day of the Dead=creepy.)

And I can take the bus by myself...to the island...sooooooooo...I don´t stay at home on the computer much. :D

In the photo above:
The bass drum line. That´s me...in the front...OF THE ENTIRE BAND. I don´t know why they think it´s a good idea for the foreign kid who can´t take directions to step out first....But aren´t our shirts cool?

So, I´d known about the school olympics for a while, and we were voting on and planning stuff in class a lot. What I didn´t know was how big a deal it was!!!! It was sooooooooo cool. Each class had their own theme and went ALL out with it.

This is the gym where the olmpics were held. MAN it was crazy. Yes, they´re lighting fireworks...on the wooden gym floor....

This was in my class´ section. That´s the mascot we got...our theme was Hakkunah Matata...and, in case you couldn´t tell, our colors were pink and blue. I drew a Timon and Pumbaa poster for them, too.

It was like Homecoming x10. It was sooooo much fun, and we had chants for our class, and...yeah. It´s hard to explain, almost...there was so much energy and so much fun going into it. It started on Thursday and lasted till Saturday. There were all sorts of things...skits, presentations, competitions, and, sports of course! Futbal, handball, volleyball...and you know what the best part is????

MY CLASS WON!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!
I have a medal. And we got a big trophy, too. Sweeeet.

But, I ended up not going on Saturday, actually, because my family said we were going to the beach!!!!

As it turns out, we weren´t really "going to the beach" but going to a churasco(barbeque) at my host dad´s friends house, and they lived on the island right down the street from the beach. So, "going to the beach" for me the first time consisted of my host dad´s friend walking me down there and showing me the beach, lol.

Buuuuut I downplay it probobly too much. So, we walk down this picturesque street (A dirt road...and yet some of the prettiest houses I´ve seen) and then we reach the end of the road and there´s this park-entrance area. (Sorry, but I didn´t have my camera!)

We hid our sandals in the bushes and start walking up the sandy path...It was this little mini-jungle on the dune, with this story book path leading through and out to...One of the most beautiful views I have ever seen in my life. There I was standing at the top of a dune, with about a quarter mile to the ocean covered in dunes, with the beach spread out for as far as the eye could see. It was so awesome. I ran up to a higher dune for an even better view, and then I ran down over some dunes to the coast. It was amazing, just standing there with the foamy waves crashing around my ankles, the smell of the salty ocean, the endless expanse of ocean in front of me. I just got to stand there, watching the waves crash in front of me. And then a group of Brasilian women walked by, and told me to go in! I told them that I was american, and continued to explain that these were my only clothes, and I lived all the way in Barreiros(my neighborhood)...all in portuguese, of course... ;) One of the women had lived in Chicago, and we talked for a little bit. One of the women eventually ran into the ocean with all her clothes on...I liked them, they were interesting. Oh, and they told me that the water at this beach washes away all your bad energy, which I thought was super cool.

So, after running around by myself on the beach for a bit we headed back to the house...and had fresh oysters with cream sauce...omg I love it here...and of course the amazing fare of red meat.

So, that was a pretty exciting week. Now I´ll recap last week...lol

Monday we got a day off school because of the school olympics. Of course, no one told me, so I just bummed around town for a while and took the bus home early, lol.

Oh, yeah...I can take the bus by myself...did I mention that already? That´s why I haven´t updated as much, now that i can take the bus and have fun in the afternoons. :D

Then I only had class Tues. and Wed. because Thurs. was Dia de Morte, Day of the Dead. It´s a day where they go and stick flowers on dead relatives graves, and wash their tombstones. And Brasilians love having holidays on Thurs. so they can have long weekends, lol.

Oh yeah...on Wed, thurs, AND Friday me and Jenna went to the Island to hang out. It´s sooooooo cool. We just take the bus, and we either hang out downtown, Centro, where there´s tons of shops, and the lovely black market with every knockoff you can imagine, or we head a little farther to Beira Mar, this huge mall and rich area of the island with a bunch of stuff to do.

Oh, and Friday night I took the wrong bus home and ended up on the other side of Sao Jose at 7:30 at night. That was only completely terrifing.

The lagoa at night on the island.
I´m jealous of the kids who live on the island...they must of won the exchange lottery....

Speaking of which, that brings me to Sunday. (Saturday was uneventful, in case you noticed the skip.) Sunday we had a Rotary barbeque, and I got to see all the exchange students again! Which was nice, especialy since now i have a cell phone so people can call me.
Oh yeah, and I have a cell phone, lol.

If you need to get a hold of me:
+55 (48) 9131 0486

At the barbeque we talked about the Rotary christmas party...basically, they´re having us exchange students put on a little christmas pageant, lol.
It´ll be fun. And we´re all singing Silent Night in our own country´s language...we wanted to do Jingle Bells, but apparently the German´s don´t have that one....hmph.

Yeah, so...Life´s great. I´ll update next when I can. Email me sometime, I almost always will write you back. :D

More Lagoa on the island.

Paz, tchau!

Mountains, and the Zoo

2006-10-23T18:59:38Z

Picture post!

Busy busy busy!
Here´s some pics to keep you occupied:

THE mountain.

At the bottom...

Us on the trail. Me, my host sis, bro, and neighbor kid.

Us at the top. Yeah, it nearly killed me.

What a view. It was worth it.

This was the best orange of my entire life.

We were pretty high up.

At the edge, with my host dad.

City, ocean, island.

This happened the week after(yesterday) the mountain climbing. It´s a scenic tower on a mountain in a city north of here. We went to visit relatives...that´s my host uncle and host cousin.

Just me and the view.

After the scenic tower, we went to the zoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These lemur/monkey things actually weren´t zoo animals. This is one of them breaking into the parrot cage.

Toucan!

Pretty parrots.

Monkey island!

And....CAPYBERAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol...and they had ginea pigs in the zoo, too. Two of them...running around in this huge cage. It was pretty funny to me, lol.

Time´s flying by! Too quickly, it seems. I´m switching families on Nov 30th already because I was so late. That´s sad...I like my family now. :(

Anyway...I´m going downtown for the afternoon, and I have band tonight...we have some kind of performance on Wednesday. I have no idea what, but...oh well. That´s the story of my life here, it seems.

Tchau!

I did it...!

2006-10-18T00:55:57Z

I would just like to say...
I climbed a mountain on Sunday.

:O

Yep. I´ll get the picks up later.
And I just got back from Capoeira again...
I think I´ve torn muscles I didn´t even know I had. And that´s after a year of Ms. Zink´s Physiology/Anatomy class.
Goodbye, love handles! There simply aren´t room for you when I do cartwheels. You must go.

...
Craziness. Big update soon...I´m tired, now though.

Boa noite.

Intercambistas Rock!

2006-10-14T16:45:21Z

The last few days...have just been amazing.
Oktoberfest is one of those once-in-a-lifetime things that I´m going to remember it for the rest of my life...and I got to share it with about 30 other exchange students, who are like the coolest people on the planet.

On Wednesday, an exchanger from south of here came to stay at our house so she could go to Bleumenu. (the bus left from here, and dropped us off at like two in the morning) Her name was Ruth, and she was super fun. We just got back from dropping her off(She´s staying at another exchangers house till she goes back on Sun, because me and my family are going up north to visit family for the weekend)

Yesterday, we had a meeting with all the exchange students about a trip to the falls(no one´s going because everyone´s going with their family...lol) and then we all went out downtown afterwards and had a blast.

I´m pretty jealous of everyone who´s been here twice as long as me, lol...They´re all much better at portuguese, so I feel I´m missing out a bit. But Ruth tought me a bunch of tricks to help me learn, and she showed me her notebook which she´s made into her own dictionary, writing down everything she needs to know...so I´m gonna start one now too!

Today it is soooo beautiful outside. We drove to the island to drop off Ruth, and it´s such a nice reminder of just how beautiful and amazing it is here.

Paz e Amor,
Cody

Capoeira!!!!

2006-10-11T18:51:34Z

CAPOEIRA IS THE COOLEST THING EVER.
!@#%@#%¨#$&#@$¨$*%*(*&#%¨&¨#@

Yep. It´s true.
I had my first class last night. It was super fun. I´ll take picture at my next class.
Now I just have to get my headstand and these mini-cartwheel things down...and I´ll be ready in no time. Yeahhh..I´m a little sore today. But it´s worth it!

Sorry for not updating in a while. I´ve actually been reletively busy!

Last week went by really fast. Monday I went to the historic district with my friend, and I took the bus here for the first time. We were supposed to go to a play, but she got the times wrong, so we went to the museum and walked to this nice boardwalk area instead.

The theatre!

Walking along the coast. That´s the island in the backround.

The boardwalk area.

Pretty island shot.

Tuesday, I got to explore downtown São Jose, near my school and where my hostdad works. Oh, and I met up with Jenna, the Canadian exchanger.
I did that on thursday and friday, too. I now know the area, and there´s lots of shops and stuff. Being on my own has really helped my portuguese(and my self-confidence!) I can buy stuff, and get around by myself now. Sweet!

Oh, and for the last two weeks, my school has had exams for the second half of our school day. Soooo...since I don´t know anything I´ve been done with classes at like 10-10:30. Lol...but I don´t get picked up till 12:15ish, so I just hang around school and talk to people, which has also helped my portuguese.

This is Luiza and Thomé. My translators...I would completely and utterly clueless as to what is going on at school without them...that´s for sure. Luiza lived in California when she was little, and Thomé learned english from his brother who was an exchange student, and wants to go to the US or Canada as an exchanger.

When it comes to portuguese...some days are better than others. Sometimes I´m like...yaaay! I understood stuff and know what´s going on! And I learned new words! and other days...are bad. And I´ve realised I can´t listen and do something else at the sametime...like, eat for example. It takes my full attention to understand stuff, that´s for sure. Especially at breakfast, when my host dad talks rapid portuguese to me...and I just stare at him and go...what? Que?
Lol.
Pocco e pocco. Little by little.

So, the last two weeks I´ve just been exploring, doing stuff with my family, getting to know people, etc. I´ve really been enjoying myself, that´s for sure.

Tommorow is a holiday, (Children´s Day) so we have thurs and friday off school, and today at school we had a fiesta! Well, the little kids got food and had games and stuff. We just watched got out of class to watch "The Butterfly Effect"(Dubbed portuguese--english subtitles for me, lol) and then hung out in the courtyard and watched the little kids play games. There was a DJ and food and stuff. Man, american school is lame.

My classmates entertained themselves by dancing on this wall.

So then they let them compete in the dance comptetitoin.
Tonight, an exchanger from up north will be staying at our house...which means that TOMMOROW I GET TO GO TO BLUMENOU FOR OKTOBERFEST and spend the night there. I´m super excited. I dunno, seems like they get the raw end of the deal...they just come here for the night, and then we go there and get to go to Oktoberfest.

Meu Amigos & Amigas.

Paz!

Massive picture post!

2006-10-01T18:13:37Z

Lots and lots of pictures.
;)

What?

2006-09-29T21:42:10Z

Today...I am very, very saddened by the acts of my home country.

From my Amnesty International email newsletter:

"Our representatives in Congress have just passed legislation that:

* Establishes a new judicial system to try a wide variety of people in military commissions that lack the minimal safeguards regarding coerced evidence may deny the right of the accused to examine evidence against them. A person could be sentenced to death under this flawed system.
* Strips prisoners in Guantanamo – and other alleged “enemy combatants” in U.S. custody -- of the ability to file a writ of habeas corpus and challenge their detention. Many of these prisoners have been held for almost five years without charges or meaningful judicial review
* Expands the definition of ‘unlawful enemy combatant” to allow the U.S. government to detain people – on or off the battlefield – indefinitely without charge or access to judicial review for an act as minor as writing a check.
* Provides retroactive immunity to those who may have been implicated in creating policies or participating in abuse and other acts that most of us would consider torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. "

:(
I don´t believe in you, America.

Paz...Peace.

Collégio, Portuguese, Bande, and other things....

2006-09-28T16:24:02Z

Olá amigós, amigás, é familiá!

Nothing unbelievably interesting to report. School is going well (Everyone there knows me as the [cute] American boy now.) Yesterday a bunch of the younger kids practiced their english skills with me...lol...it was interesting, to say the least. People attempt to talk to me, even despite my very limited portuguese. It´s coming, though...bit by bit. This week in school there have been tests everyday after our break...and you can just leave when the tests are done...buuuuut...I don´t take the tests, so I´m done like an hour and half early everyday. Which would be cool, except I don´t get picked up till school is over. (luckily, my other two host families live within walking distance of my school.)
I really like my school, though...I get to go to the cool, modern, progressive school while the other exchange students got stuck at stuffy, boring schools. The teachers dress more hip than the students, lol. Seriously. And the school uniforms...are pretty optional. The school makes like, a billion different clothing items with their logo... (everything...tshirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tank tops, stretchpants, sweatpants...the list goes on). I just have a shirt that I wear like, once a week. And they finnally gave me my textbook today...too bad it´s for next semester...I guess I´ll just put off learning till then. ;)

Oh! I did take the english test yesterday. That was fun. And I corrected some of it, too...It´s a good thing my english teacher is cool. :D

Tonight I have marching band (Yay!) and then the weekly rotary meeting.
Annnnnnd...next week...I should start my art classes in the afternoons...
AND my host dad is taking me to a Capioera class next week! (Capioera=crazy dance/fighting Brasilian martial art) I´m super excited. And I totally made friends that are gonna help me learn to surf this summer.

I love it here. I get to see the ocean AND beatiful mountains everyday.

Paz.

Wow.

2006-09-25T00:02:40Z

Today we took the most beautiful drive along the Brasilian coast. It was my host-aunts birthday, so we went to her house for a fiestá. It was really nice getting to meet the extended family. (And eating.)

The drive there...was probobly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. And I´ve seen a lot of places--but this is my favorite so far. The mountains, the ocean, the beaches...I don´t have anything to compare it to.

Weekends here=amazing. People just...stop. And relax.

EVERYONE has a barbeque with their family. Saturday AND Sunday.
Barbeque=the best thing ever. EVER. You think you have had good beef? You´re wrong. Good pork? Nope. I don´t think I can eat meat in the US again...Nothing I have ever tasted is a juicy, tender, and delicious...I don´t believe there could be a single vegetarian in this country. It´s THAT good. Nicky, Dad--you would be in beef heaven.

I have NO SENSE of time anymore. I confuse myself with the whole 24 hour time thing anyway. Friday, my host dad and I were late getting up(We have breakfast together and then he drives me to school) and instead of hurrying, he told me to take my time and eat more. (Not that my school cares...they don´t take attendance till at least 2nd period because people walk in late...) Granted, it takes about 15 minutes to say hello or goodbye. You have to greet everyone individually(Kiss the girls, handshake/hug for the men) and same thing when you say goodbye. This sure takes a while when there is a large group of people. At my school, there is like a billion different handshakes between the guys. I never have any idea which one to do...It´s totally random, yet they seem to know what to do next.

Let´s see..what else...Oh! Friday was a loooong day. At school, there was double chemistry and double physics. I dunno why they think THAT´s a good idea...
After school, and after lunch(very important), I met Jenna, the Canadian exchanger, at the mall. Well, my host dad dropped me off, I waited forever, finnally got a hold of her on her cell(Don´t get me started on the phone system here. It´s bizzare.) And she eventually showed up about an hour and a half later. (She got caught up at the bank..long story, lol) But let´s just say the almost two hours in the mall where I can´t speak portuguese were NOT that fun. But she got there, and we had fun. We walked to the more downtown area of Kobrasol(Suburb where my school is--I live in Sao Jose, and both are suburbs of Florianopolis.) And she showed me around. And we spoke fast english...which is kinda a relief, I must say. She´s going on the Pantanal trip this week...I´m kind of jealous, but it was too short notice for me. We had fun, and we went to the other(better) shopping center, and my host dad picked me up.

On Friday night, I was on my way to bed, when Fernando´s(my host brother in New York) friends stopped by to take me out. (I met them earlier in the week.) We walked to a hot dog place...It was interesting walking through the streets here at night. Here, everything is gated. It´s certainly not what I´m used to, but I´ve felt completely safe the entire time I´ve been here.

Except maybe on the roads...people drive CRAZY here. Luckily, my host dad is a very good driver. But here, traffic signals=totally optional. Especially stop signs. And the motorcycles? Rediculous.

Tchau!

journeybrasil @ 2006-09-23T17:44:00

2006-09-23T20:56:52Z

Picture time!
My camera batteries died shortly after I got here, so I´m just now uploading them with fresh batteries.

I´ve got a little video tour of my house too that I´ll upload later.

Meu Amigos & Amigas.

The view from my classroom.

The schoolyard during lunch.

More friends at school...surfer dudes.

Me and Sofi(Belgium) presenting our banners at our first rotary meeting.

More pictures to come later of meu casa and meu familia.

Wow...

2006-09-21T17:12:34Z

I thought it was AFTER I had learned portuguese that my english would deteriorate. Nope. I speak pretty retarded english now, too.

Anyway, if you have a computer microphone, we can talk for free!
Just download Skype from www.skype.com, set up an account, and add me, Journeybrazil! I warn you, I now speak en-guese.

Oh, for those of you who wish to send me things, my address:

Cody Michael
c/o Luciano da Silva
Rua Celio Veiga 1483
Sao Jose, S.C. Brasil 88111-320

p.s. I´m totally digging Brazilian music...one of my amigos from school recommended some music for me, and I gave him some American music, it´s been fun. Oh, and send me things.

Tchau!

So, continuing...

2006-09-20T20:29:43Z

My family is soooo nice. When I arrived at the airport, I waited for my 2nd bag to come(The first was lost in Sao Paulo, and was returned to me yesterday, thank goodness!). That bag didn´t show up either. My host family had seen me and greeted me from the entrance...And so the baggage guy motioned for me to follow him. I followed him out and was greeted whole-heartedly by my first host family, my second host family with the Canadian exchanger (her name´s Jenna, she´s cool.), and a Rotarian.(a.k.a. Hotarian, heeheehee)

We straightened out my bag situation(they found it! Whew.) And we talked and took pictures, etc. We went outside and they gave me and Jenna sometime to talk.(Jenna gave me the scoop on our club..more on that later) Then me and my host family got in the car to head home.

The city is so beautiful at night! We talked in the car about many things, my family, pets, what I like to do, etc. We went home so I could settle in a little and take a shower, and then we went out for pizza.

The food is SOOOOOOOOO good here. There pizza is nothing like American pizza, but it is still good. The pizza restaurante not only had pizza, but a bunch of other brasilian dishes. There was a little buffet, but then servers walk around offering their pizza and/or other dishes as well. My family was happy to have me served, that´s for sure! I tried everything I could.

Boy do they have a sweet tooth here! At the restaurante there was like 7 different kinds of dessert pizzas, and I swear half the cuboard is filled with cookies, chocolate, and Brasilian candy. My host mom offers me candy and chocolate multiple times a day. Did I mention almost everyone here is thin, too? I´m gonna lay off the sweets, though. But they are tasty...but so is everything else! And EVERYTHING tastes different. Even the hamburgers, ketchup, mustard...the whole shebang. But I really love the traditional Brasilian food. There´s delicious meat, pasta, rice...these things that look and kinda taste like mashed potatoes(but aren´t) that are cooked with egg...mmmm...so many new things!

After dinner, we went home, talked for a little bit, and went to bed. My room is so cool! Very minimal, but it seems that everywhere is like this. (Something about that sentence is not right. All the bad english spoken to me has totally gotten to me.)

Yesterday was good...I went with Luciano to register for school, and we went shopping for school supplies. I got a cool Ramones notebook, lol. Oh, and if someone wants to send me more pencils and pens...that would be cool...because you don´t buy things in bulk here. I got 3 pencils, 2 pens, 1 eraser, and 1 notebook...That´s something I really like about Brasil. Nothing gets wasted. People just don´t seem to have things that they don´t need, either.

I spent a lot of time bonding with my host siblings and mom yesterday. After school shopping, I went home and took a nap, and Luciano went to work. (He´s a chemistry professor) When I got up, I went with Fillipi and Julia to their Grandmother´s house for lunch. (It was amazingly good...and there was such a variety of food!) I then had the afternoon to myself, as Sandra and Luciano were at work and Fillipi and Julia go to school in the afternoons.

We had dinner together that night, and since my bag had showed up that afternoon I presented my family with gifts. They loved them! After that we checked out Galena online, and Luciano and Sandra showed me on Google earth where they are originally from(a small town south of Florianopolis.)

I´ve had such a good time with my family! They are so nice. My host mom is constantly trying to teach me portuguese. I didn´t know human mouths could make most of those syllables, let me tell you...

But I´m feeling a lot more confident today!
I had my first day of school. I really, really liked it. Everyone is really friendly. My Rotary counselor´s son is in my class, and he really helped me out. He´s super nice...he showed me around and translated stuff for me. He´s wants to do an exchange next year. Tomár was his name. My classmates were really nice as well as excited to meet me. I got oggled by girls for about 10 minutes. Today I had history,Everyone gave these funny presentations about a different war. I didn´t understand much, but Tomár helped. Then I had sociology/philosophy, which I was SO PLEASED with myself because I totally understood what was written on the board. There was quotes from Karl Marx and Jean-Jaques Russou, and I totally understood it! Yeah!
Then I had english class! The teacher is really nice. We were going to watch Jerry Maguire, but instead we had a question/answer session with him translating. He lived in Canada for a while, and his english is very good.
Then there was lunch...There school food=much better than ours. WAY better. And it´s just an alá cart deal. Yummy. Then there was biology...I didn´t understand what was said, but I already studied what was being taught, even though everything is completely different. Stupid Anthropoda parasites.
Then art class!!! They were doing projects about Frida Kahlo´s life. My class was very impressed with my drawing skills, and the fact that I drew her portrait from memory. Turned out pretty dang good, if I do say so myself. Then we had more biology. Bleck.

But I really enjoy my classmates. We exchanged email addresses for instant messaging and I gave them the link for this blog. I had fun this afternoon discussing brasilian and american music with my classmate online. I won´t have any problems making friends I´m pretty sure.

So, things are pretty wonderful. I have a rotary meeting tommorow, and I´m going to school marching band practice with Tomár tommorow, too. There´s a bunch of other after-school stuff I´m gonna get into to.

I <3 Brasil.

journeybrasil @ 2006-09-19T13:18:00

2006-09-19T16:23:53Z

Holy cow, I made it here!

The trip was loooooong...and not so fun.

I do not suggest getting to Brasil by way of Los Angelos and Lima, Peru. It´s not speedy. Not to mention I heard way more spanish than portuguese the entire flight. But now I can say I´ve been to Peru...even if it was only for an hour.

I got here one bag lighter, one of them was lost by the time I reached Sao Paulo, but the nice airline guy said I would probobly have it today.

My Rotary jacket saved me multiple times, most notably in in the Sao Paulo airport. This one guy, who spoke no english, saw me and was insistant that he help me and point me in the right direction...thank goodness, ´cause I could not find the check in counter...he found someone at the information desk who spoke english.

Brasil has the most beautiful land I have ever seen. Flying from Sao Paulo to Florianopolis was amazing...I´ve never seen so many mountains and rivers, not to mention so much pretty coastline.

My family is wonderful!!!
My father speaks rather good english(though he is always worried that I don´t understand him) but, after today I´ve decided to nix the english speaking. Granted, the little studying I´ve done...has gotten me almost nowhere. I was so tired in the last two days I´ve forgotten almost everything they´ve tried to teach me, too.

Ahhhh! A bunch of what I wrote got deleted. Oy. I´m going to take a break. I will update later...to be continued!!!

Flight Date!!!

2006-09-13T20:44:09Z

Hey!

I'm finnaly leaving!!!

I leave on Sunday, Sept 17!
I fly Chicago to LA, LA to Sao Paulo, and Sao Palo to Florianopolis!
I arrive Monday.

And holy cow I have so much to do.
And only FIVE DAYS to do it!!!

And I got glasses today, too. :D

Oy.

2006-09-02T05:39:58Z

The latest news, recieved as of Wednesday:

From : Kiersten's Assistant
Reply-To : kiersten@iywt.com
Sent : Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:38 AM
Subject : Cody Michael Travel Documents
Attachment : Acknowledgement.rtf (< 0.01 MB)

Hello!!

We received the Ata de Fundacao Do Orgao do Rotary from Brazil today. We
now have all the documents needed to apply for Cody's visa and will be
sending the paperwork off the Consulate ASAP. Thank you!!

Erin
(Kiersten's Assistant)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.

I don't want to be in this country. I don't even want to be in this hemisphere right now.