The last post from BRAZIL! ):

Sorry that I haven't updated this thing in so long.. I've been a bit busy. Which means, I have looooooots to share.. Plus, I kind of forgot about. You guys can thank my mom for nagging me about updating it one last time before I leave... A WEEK FROM TODAY!
So, apparently, I haven't updated in 2 months? Oops! I have so much to tell hre is a quick list of te things that have happened in the last two months..
- I went to Santos (the beach town with all the other exchange students) twice.
- I spent 9 days in the AMAZON FOREST!
- I had a week of "how many exchange students can sleep in Sydney's bed."
- I went to a Jack Johnson concert.
- I cleaned out Daddy's bank account.
- Had another weekend of "how many exchange students can sleep in Sydney's bed."
- STARTED ITCHING!!!!
- Last day of school.
- Started packing.

Okay, so first of all. In may, I went to Santos twice. The first time was the beginning of May for my friend Sarah's 18th birthday. Of course, we went clubbing because it was her birthday. I ended up staying there an extra night becasue I didn't want to take a night bus back to Sao Paulo. But, that wasn't a problem. I love that city. My friends, Tanissa, made me eat Temaki because I'd never had it before and she said she couldn't be friends with someone that doesn't like Temaki.. So, I tried it, and I liked it. Now, I eat it all the time... especially when I go to Santos.
When I got back from Santos, I started packing my bags for THE AMAZON!! Yes, that is correct, I want to the Amazon. Rebecca Loftis, my friend from Michigan that was on my Northeast trip came to Sao Paulo the night before the trip and stayed at my house. We went to the grocery store to get snacks for the trip becasue we were prewarned that the food supply was limited on the trip. WE FOUND WAFFLES AT THE GROCERY STORE! We got very very excited, and bought them, of course. Went back to my house and then went out to pizza with my host uncle, grandma, mom and brother. So, that was just gravy on top. We went back to my house, and did not sleep.. Well, not really. Rebecca took a half hour nap at 5am. Then we got ready and went to the little airport  so that we could catch a bus to the big airport so that we could catch and airplane to the AMAZON! When we got the the airport we saw this big group of obvious exchange students and we knew right away where to go. The plane to amazon was mostly exchange students and empty seats with a few normal people in between.. So, obviously we took over that plane. A few people slept for the three hours, a few people talked, a few made videos of themselves being retarded. You know? Typical exchange student things. When we got to the Amazon, there was a group of other exchange students that had flown in from Brasilia and Rio. So, we were there. In the Amazon, all together. HAPPY DAYS!
The first two days of the trip were in the city of Manaus, we had a day just to settle in and get to know each other. The second day was a city tour, and then we went to a little Indian place. We went trekking at night and went to a cave full of bats, and a waterfall. We all went swimming in our underwear, or clothes. Then we went back to the Indian place, swam int he pool, and watched an Indian tribal dance! It was really cool, but really weird at the same time. The next day we got on the boats where we spent the next week and we began our real adventure through the Amazon River! The first night on the boat we went alligator hunting, I HELD AN ALLIGATOR! Then we went on a mini trek through an Indian place and saw another alligator and some fish. After the first day I don't really remember what we did on which days, but during the trip, I shared my ice cream with a monkey, held a piranha, slept in the jungle, swam in the amazon, bathed in the amazon, ate unidentifiable foods, made some of the best friends I could ever ask for,  and last but not least, had the time of my life.
After the Amazon, Tanissa came to Sao Paulo for 5 days, her last 5 days in Brazil and stayed with me. Chris Burlando from California also came to stay with me for a few days. We all went to the Jack Johnson concert, celebrated Tanissa and Jaimie's birthdays, took Tanissa to get a tattoo, said a lot of goodbyes to each other, and had a few nights that we might not really remember.
The weekend after that I went to Santos again, for the last time. I went clubbing again, as I always do in Santos. I said goodbye to a few more friends that I might not see for a long time. This is depressing part of exchange, saying goodbye. But, we don't like to think of it like hat.. We like to think of it as more of a "see you later," it just makes things a lot easier.
After that weekend in Santos, there was a bit of some down time because all of the exchange students were on"lockdown' for a while and nobody could do anything! But, now we are free for our last week here.
Too bad I can't enjoy my last week here to it's full potential because I have this ridiculous itching problem. I am so so so itchy. I can not stop itching and I have no idea why.. Atually, I do have na idea now that my figured out why she is so itchy.. Six months ago I got a henna tattoo, but it was black henna, not normal henna. And turns out, black henna is super dangerous and illegal everywhere EXCEPT Brazil.. obviously. So, now i have this chemical crap in my bloodstream and I can't stop itching because I am allergic to it.. story of my life. SO, when I get home I have to go to the doctor and get my chemical levels in my blood checked out. And benedryl hasn't helped the itching at all... AWESOME! SJBFDHLKHFLK,JSDLC  It's making me so mad.
My last day of school was on Wednesday because this weekend is a four-day weekend and I am too busy saying goodbye to people next week to go to school. So, I said goodbye to everyone at school. When I was laving everyone started giving me hugs, then my best friend at school gave me a huge bear hug and threw me over his shoulder and carried me half way home. It was cute. I really want to see everyone at my school again and take pictures with them and since I forgot my camera at home on Wednesday, I think I will go back to school on Friday before I go to the airport and say goodbye one more time and actually take pictures with them because I have no pictures with people from my school.. Well, I do.. but not really.
I have decided that next Friday is going to suck.. But not because I am leaving Brazil, not because my exchange is over.. but because I have to say goodbye to Jaimie. For those of you who don't know, Jaimie is best friend from Australia and I basically do everything with him. Honestly, he's more like a brother to me. I have no idea what I am going to do without that boy.. Pretty sure I am going to be lost in life without him.But, on the brightside, I get to see my real brother in a week. I guess it's an even trade?
Well, I think that's all I have to share for now. I'll upload pictures later because I don't feel like doing it now. tchauuuuu!

Entaaaoooo..

Alguma pessoa me falou que eu preciso escriver no português aqui nesse blog. Mas, vocês não falam em português... So, I'll wrote in English so that you guys can actually understand everything.. Plus, i don't have any Brazilians reading this so English is just a lot easier for everyone. I noticed that I have not posted in here since I got back from the northeast.. I always forget about this thing and normally only update it when mom tells me to.. But this time she didn't remind me. I am actually writing because I have interesting stuff to tell you.
Okay, so that last time I updated was February 10th, that means I have almost 2 months worth of stuff to write about. For starters, I'm 16 now!! Wahoo!
Okay, so my birthday was march 9th as most of you already knew that. To celebrate my birthday, I wen tout for tacos with Gabe and Felipe, (my two Brazilian friends that did exchanges in Alaska last year) and also with my host mom and brother... Buuuuut, as usual, things didn't work out exactly like they were supposed to, but that is okay. We made the best of it. And that's probably a good thing because my birthday was fantastic. Originally, Gabe and Felipe were meeting me at my house and we were going to have lunch at this cute little Mexican restaurant, and then we were just going to hangout until the boys had to go home. Turns out, the Mexican restaurant doesn't open until 7pm. So, for lunch we all went to the shopping mall and had Brazilian pizza for lunch. (It's WAY better than American pizza). Then Gabe Felipe and I just sat and talked for a few hours because we hadn't all been together in over a year. My host mom and brother went and walked around the mall for a while because this is a new shopping mall that they had never been to. Hanging out with the boys was great. Love them both to death.
Okaaay, what else did I do in March? Lemme think.. Oh yeah, there was this HUUUUUGE party. The first two weeks of March were like birthday mania. An exchange student had a birthday almost everyday for those two weeks. So, one weekend we all went to a beach town together and just hung out for two nights. It was awesome because we also go to see some o the exchangers from other districts that went on the Northeast trip with me. It's was super cool because I normally don't get to see any of them; they all live soo far away. But it was a nice little reunion. (:
Also, in February, some of the girls from my school finally decided that they would actually hang out with me.. So, Lívia and Mariana came over one day and we made 'brigadeiro' the bestestest dessert EVER! Don't worry, I will make some for you guys when I get home.. Also, I don't know why, but Brazilians and I don't seem to mesh very well. Like, we get along in school and stuff.. But we never hang out or even talk outside of school. It's hard because I actually try to talk to them but half of the time they don't understand what I am saying because I have such a strong accent. So, normally I just hang out with the other exchangers. Anywhooo..
I think that is it for February and March.. But, April is so much more exciting!
Uhm, I've had a few sleep overs with Eva, but that's nothing too exciting. May 9th there was a Rotary meeting out in Santos, (one of the beach towns) and it was suuuuuuuper fun because it was the first time a lot of us have seen each other since the Christmas party back in December. At this meeting we got to "show off" our countries and try to get the new outbounss to come do their exchanges in our countries. It was so funny because two of the other American girls made brownies for our table and everybody just came to our table because we had brownies.. I don't think they really cared about anything else.. Also, a lot of people got sooooo confused when they saw some Alaska stuff on the table. They were like, "shouldn't you be over there with the Canadian table?" HAHAHAHA. Nope. All American baby!
The next weekend we went ON A CRUISE!
Our district conference was on a cruise.. to Rio. No big deal. IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!! We legit didn't have to do anything. We sang a song at one seminar and after that it was 4 days of fun, sun, and relaxation. We basically swam, danced, tanned and ate the ENTIRE time. We were not allowed to get off the boat in Rio, but that's okay. We still got to see Christ the Redeemer, and Pão de Açucar from the boat. So, while everyone else got off the boat, we, being the exchange students that we are, had a little festa. We danced with the almost naked samba ladies, and swam in the pool, and we all took naps in the sun. We sat on the back of the boat to watch the sunset and remained there as we deported out of Rio. It is a beautiful city, especially at night. All the beaches get lit up, Christ the Redeemer gets lit up at the top of his little mountain, all of the favellas light up the mountain sides. It's just amazing. To good to sleep through.. That is why none of us slept most of the time we were on the ship.. We got off the ship in Santos on Sunday, caught a bus back to São Paulo. My plan was to go home and catch up on sleep.. Buuuuuuuut, clearly that didn't work out too well. My host mom and brother picked me up and said, "we are going to get haircuts and then we are going to Brenno's birthday party." So, we went to get a hair cut for Brenno, but the place was closed, so we came home, showered, and left for Brenno's party. No time for sleep there. But no need to fret, I skipped school so that I could catch up on 3 nights of not sleeping. It was muuuuchly needed. Now I am back in São Paulo, back to my normal routine of going to school and coming home, and it is BOORING!
Eva and Casper are in the Amazon so I have nothing to do without them. I leave next Friday for my Amazon trip. I'll be back May 16th, and then May 18-22 there is a exchange student reunion. And that is my last planned thing until I go home. ):
I know that I still have 2 months here, but "exchange student return season" is in full swing. The first girl went home last week. I good from of mine leaves May 30th, and many more leave before that. It's so hard to think about how fast time went by.. But I got to make the best out of what is left.
TCHAUZINHO!

PS.. HAPPY 51ST DAD!!
Annnnd.. I am getting sick again. I think it is from the cold, rainy weather.. Yesterday it was almost the same temp here as it was in Fairbanks.. NOT GOOD!
I am going to DIE this winter. I think I need to buy a parka or something.

Janeiro Até Agora.

HELLLOOOOOOO!!! Did you miss me?! Probably not, nobody really reads this thing anyways! Well, anyways, I have LOOOOOOOTS to share. As you know (if you actually read this blog) I was on a month long trip to the northeastern part of the country.. AKA, beach land. But, before that, was new years, and Christmas.

Christmas here in Brazil is nothing like it is in the US. It is not celebrated as much. On Christmas eve everyone goes to their families house for dinner, at midnight. Then it is off to the karaoke machine (if you are my host dad.) Then, exchanging presents, and back home for a few hours of sleep. Wake up the next morning and have lunch with the other persons family, and dinner at the previous nights dinner place. At least, that's how my Brazilian Christmas was.

After Christmas comes New Years. For New Years, almost everybody goes to the beach. Again, dinner very late, and to the water at midnight. When the clock strikes midnight, you are supposed to drink some champagne, eat some grapes, and jump over seven waves while wearing white clothes to bring in a clean new year... Oh yeah, i forgot, THE FIREWORKS! People all down the shore set off fireworks for about a half hour. They just go, and go, and go. It's great!

And for my trip, it was BETTER than the fireworks. One month on a Greyhound bus with 40 other exchange students.. Call me crazy, but it's the best lifestyle EVER. 29 days, 10 cities, sooo many fun times. We went to Rio, saw the giant Christ, and then continued on to some of the most beautiful cities in Brazil. We had our fare share of trouble-making adventures, dance parties, and laughs. From breaking a coconut of the hotel floor at 2 am, to dancing on the bus for everyone to watch as we drove through Rio, to switching empty plates with full plates of sushi in buffets, cross dressing, and dressing up. We all became the best of friends. Other than making trouble, we learned all about the culture and history of brazil, learned many different typical dances, and saw that house that Michael Jackson dangled his baby from in Salvador. It was the best month of my life.. Without a doubt.

Now that the trip is over, I have switched families, and returned to school. My new house is 6 blocks from my school, and close to many of my friends. Life is easier here because it is closer to everything and I can walk or take a bus anywhere, but couldn't in my last house. I have a little brother here, he's 12 and his name is Brenno. My mom is really nice, and she has a daughter on exchange in Denmark.

That's all I have to share for now. Tchau tchau.

PS.. I have worms growing in my feet. ):

Here are some pictures from New Years and my trip. There are are more on Facebook.

New Years Eve

Sand Castles in Rio

JESUS

 

Hard Rock Cafe- Rio de Janeiro

Washing clothes!

CARNAVAL

 

Buggying in Fortaleza

Horseback-riding in Fortaleza

Sunset in Natal

Donkey in Lençóis

Cave in Lençóis

Cave in Lençóis

Capital Building- Brasilia

Statue man in Brasilia

Dezembro.

Okay, just a quick update. Haven't really been doing much. Oh wait, yes I have. I have been going out with one of the other exchange girls from Germany. Spending lot's of money, and meeting lot's of her friends. We went out to pizza with her friends from her school for her birthday. I spent the night at her house, then the next morning we went to Guaraja with all the other exchange students in the district for our Christmas/New Year party. It's was awesome. I finally got to go to the beach without it raining!! It's amazing! Everyone got sunburn, well, all the Europeans. I didn't. (:

Starting to spend far too much money. The Northeast trip is coming up in 19 days. But, before than, we have Christmas, New Years, and a trip to Sao Sebastiao (the first beach I went to in Brazil.) And then, it's a month of amazingness. I can't wait. I get back from the Northeast on February 6th, and I will be switching families shortly after that. Life is good.

PS.. I'm sick.. AGAIN!

Brazilian Santa that speaks English

Christmas Party

Awkward jump picture

Hair dying in mall bathroom

Paulista Av. at Christmas time

European sunburn!

Novembro

Sorry, it's been a looooong time. I really don't feel like updating my blog. But, people keep asking me for an update. And since it has been a month since I have updated, I figured I could manage to find some time, motivation, and creativity to finally update.

To start off, in November, I went to Formula 1. It's was super fun. There was 6 other exchange students there and we were "selling" beer. Aka, sitting in the sun enjoying the dancer's and drunk Rotarians. We weren't actually in the race, we were right outside the entrance selling beer, soda, water, and barbecue food. We were so close that we could here the cars. However, since Formula 1 is a three-day event, I went the day before with 1 other exchange student, Casper. It was so loud. This time though, we were actually IN the event. Watching the races, talking to drunk people, etc.. It was soooooo LOUD!

Next exciting thing that happened in November: I went with Casper, his host sister, brother and brother's girlfriend to this AMAZING place called Ilha Grande. It's an island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro (the state, not the city). There are about two cars on the island total.. One being a police car, and one being ambulance. The island is pretty big, with tons of tiny islands surrounding it. It was amazing. We slept on the big island, and everyday went out to other little islands for our activities. We went swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing and exploring. The water there was perfectly clear. You could see the ocean floor while standing on the boat deck. It was fantastic. Since you could see the bottom, you didn't think it was actually that deep, but as soon as you jump in.. you realize that it is actually a lot deeper than it looks. The weather wasn't that great for the first two days. It was overcast and rainy, bu the third day (our last day), the sun came out and it was insanely hot. We all got sunburn, and for me, it was the first real sunburn of my life.

Also, in November I finished school, finished Portuguese lessons, saw Harry Potter 7 three times (once in Portuguese).

Now, it is December. And so far it has started out pretty well. On Friday, I spent the night at my friend Eva's house. We went out for pizza, with her entire class from her school, for her birthday. It was absolutely hilarious. Her friends have the most outgoing, lively group of people I have ever met. After pizza, we had to take her brand new puppy to the vet because he is sick. I saw this adorable guinea pig that I want, along with two puppies. SO CUTE. (:
The next day, we went to a city called Guaraja with all the other exchange students. It was out Christmas/end of the year party. We did "Secret Santa" and I got this pretty picture frame that says, "amizade" (friendship). We also met three new exchange students, Alex from the USA, Ana from Ecuador, and another girl from Japan, but I forgot her name. The beach was great, and it was even better with all the exchange students. I was so happy to see everybody and can't wait until next time!

Christmas is coming up soon, and I don't know what it is going to be like with Cecilia. I have a feeling it is going to be quiet and lonely since it is just the two of us. Also, I don't know what to get her for Christmas. And, I don't know if I am supposed to get something for Paulo.. New Years is also going to be interesting. I anticipate lots of homesickness during the holidays. But, it will quickly disintegrate because the Northeast trip will follow directly after the holidays. (:

Well, that's about all I have to share for now. More to come next time... Whenever that is!
Tchau!

Jumping off the boat

Enjoying the HOT ocean water.

The rock!

The boat

Halloween? Nahh..

Sorry, I have been procrastinating updating this. Blah blah blah. So, Sunday is Halloween, and NOBODY HERE GOES TRICK'R'TREATING! ): Halloween doesn't exist betweent he ages of 15 and 17. You can be anything you want when you're 5, but once you are 17, you have to be a slutty maid. :/
So, instead, I will hangout with Gabe and Felipe on Halloween and eat Reese's. :D ... Hopefully. Also, going to Santos, (a beach town) on Monday with Casper and the Roteract people. (:

Ugh, don't really have anything else to share. So, I am going to go now.
Tchau, beijos. (:

Weekend Recap.

So, it is now Friday, and I am just now recapping last weekend. It was a four day weekend thanks to holidays! Tuesday was "Children's Day" which means, no school Monday or Tuesday.

Friday (Sexta): after school, I have no idea what I did. I don't remember that far ago.
Saturday (Sabado): Woke up, went to Sonja's (a friend of my host mom) house, ate lunch (rice, beans, salad, oranges, orange juice, and chocolate for dessert), went to the aquarium (just my luck that my camera was dead so I couldn't take any pictures), went to the grocery store (bought salmon, tomatoes, grapes, and other unidentifiable foods), went back to Sonja's house for dinner (pizza with Cecilia my host mother, Sonja and her husband Yo, and Marisa and her husband Renato, they are also friends of my host mom, who also happen to be Rotarian's.) Stayed at Sonja's house until about midnight (that's pretty normal around here, even on school nights), came home, and SLEPT.
Sunday (Domingo): Woke up bright and early (on my own, while Cecilia slept in, then got yapped at for sleeping too much), again went to Sonja's house (only so we could carpool this time, didn't stay til midnight, THANK GOD), drove far away to meet up with a lady that brought me stuff from Alaska (long drive, not fun with 3 overly happy old people, and had a headache. In my package I received some good ole Reese's, skittles, and ankle braces for gymnastics. Those are just the important things.) Went to Marisa and Renato's house for lunch (stayed til midnight.. had dinner there, and played "Uno" the worst card game EVER. I suggest never playing it with a group of easily excited, happy, old, women. Did NOT have fun with that at all.), went back to Sonja's house to get our car, came home, Skyped, and SLEPT.
Monday (Segunda): Again, woke up early (on my own, while Cecilia slept in, then got yapped at for sleeping too much), went to the host grannys for lunch (pasta, rice, beans, GUARANÁ! Best drink ever), sat at there house for a few hours, went to the movies with Cecilia, (saw Grown Up's, VERY funny movie. VERY FUNNY. Cecilia didn't like it), had dinner at the shopping place, went home, Skyped, showered, slept.
Tuesday (Terça): Once again, went to Sonja's house (lunch: pasta, spicy curry, rice, orange juice, salad, oranges, and cake for dessert. Meals don't vary much here.), went to the Zoo (Safari Zoo, it was really cool, could practically touch the animals if you had the guts to do it), went back to Sonja's house, had pizza, again, sat at her house until midnight because Cecilia wanted to watch soaps with Sonja.

Now that you know what I did, let's see how things are going.. Right now, not too well. I am not quite as happy as could be here. I feel like I am living in Cecilia's shadow, and not being able to live my own life here. She makes all of my decisions for me, and makes me go everywhere with her. Or, other days will be like today, I wake up and she is not home. She leave's no note, doesn't tell me anything.. Just vanishes. I am supposed to be living her until mid February, but I don't think I will survive if I do that.. I will be talking to Rotary on Tuesday at our next meeting, about switch families sooner than February. But, we all know how worthless Rotary can be at times. School is getting better, but still not great. All in all, I am just thankful that I have a roof over my head, and food on the table... Occasionally! Cecilia doesn't like to cook, AT ALL. So she doesn't by much food because we always go out to eat. So all we ever have to eat here is bread, butter, and juice.

That's enough about me complaining.. On the brighter side of things, I AM GOING TO THE BEACH ON SATURDAY!!!!!! Wahooo! A little sad thought because I had plans with Gabe and Felipe to go to Chinatown on Saturday. But, we are going to do that next weekend instead. (:

Peacock

Zebra

Gator

Monkeys

Deer