Well, a lot has happened within the past few months. Its seems as though that is always how my blogs start out. Its sort of an apologetic "I'm really busy and don't have time to write about anything, but at least I am not just sitting around on my butt wasting my time here" type of deal.
I am still busy with the usual stuff (dance and teaching), except for the fact that circus ended and I have switched host families. Don't worry - through Rotary its obligatory to switch host families. In reality, most exchange students have up to 3 or 4 by the end of the year. I have a feeling I'll only have these two, which is fine by me because it means more time to get close to them. Most people start to worry when I mention that I switched families...but there is no need, because my first family was incredible, as is my second.
I have been going to dance four to five days per week and teaching English on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I love teaching English, especially because of the humor that the students bring to the classroom. I always leave my class with a smile on my face. A few funny stories of things that have happened in my class at school:
One time I was teaching, and in the middle of my sentence one of my students interrupted and the conversation went as follows:
-"Oh, professora...tu tens quantos anos?" (Oh, teacher, how old are you?)
-"Tenho 17, vai copiar o que eu escrevi no quadro" (I'm 17..keep copying down what I wrote on the board)
-"Oh a professora e uma moca ainda mas ja tem o corpo de uma mulher, viu?" (Oh, you are still a young lady but you already have the body of a woman!)
*me, stunned and without anything to say, staring at this 12 year old kid with my mouth hanging open a little*
Yeah, its a good life teaching English to them. They are sweet little funny bundles of excellence that I have learned to enjoy teaching. Another time, one of my students wanted to say "walk" (as a response to "how do you say 'andar' in English?) but had a mouthful of water, and ended up gurgling out an excited, but mildly distorted "blaarrk!!!" and it ended with the entire room in hysterics. I have never laughed so hard because of a silly child's excitement over the English language EVER. It was really cute, because he isn't one to know many of the answers..so when he did, he couldn't contain himself. Hilarious. There have been other cute little occurrences, too..for example. We had a little party after I taught the party terms (cake, balloons, candles, chocolate, toys, yadah yadah) and it happened to be on the birthday of my first host family's driver. When he came to pick me up, I had the owner of the school send him upstairs, and when he came into the room, the entire class jumped out of hiding and sang "Happy beerrrffdaayy toooo yooouueeee!" in English for him. And then we gave him cake, soda and chocolate. I would say it was a birthday worth remembering :D
Here is a picture of my students. I have two more (a boy and a girl) but they weren't there on this day. From left to right: João Vito, Abraão, Adriane, Alan, and Igor. The two that were missing are Maria Stella and Jorge.
And another:
Let's see..my new host family! I changed in early October, and I am finally getting the hang of how they do things around here. Lets just say, they are a lot different than my first family but I really really like living in their home. I live with the grandparents of a girl that will go on an exchange to Denmark next year, named Mariana. I would be living in her house, but there isn't room there seeing as how it is a three room apartment with two parents and 4 kids. There is Brunna (in the video at the top...she's 7 years old and the cutest being on this planet), Mariana (16 years old and awesome, wild and fun), Igo and Ugo (two brothers from the dad's first marriage...17 and 19), Katie (the mom) and Chico (the step-dad..pronounced "sheeko") The 17 year old technically lives with his mom in Olinda, but he is frequently at the house. I basically sleep at the grandparents house, but spend most of my time with Katie (my new host mom) and her family. She is AWESOME...a lot like my real mom. What's cooler yet is that I have all my own space here at the grandparents house, but I can hang out all day with the younger group of people and its a blast. I don't get bored around here because my grandpa plays a lot of guitar and Ukulele. We play a genre called "choro" together, and I jam with him and his group of friends every Sunday morning for a few hours. It's awesome!! I've been eating lunch a lot with my first host family, too, because I realized that I already miss them! They were an incredible first family to have here, and I will always be grateful for them. Here are some pictures of the new family.
From left to right: Eduardo, my second host mom (Katie), Mariana (it was her birthday), Oneide, Duda, Me, [second row] Brunna, Joao Pedro. The family is really neat. All the boys surf and are going to teach me how, Marianas real dad is a professional surfer and is going to take me surfing, and everybody is super laid back and easy going. In one word, DOIDA :D its like, crazy, in Portuguese. In a non offensive way :) they are a lot of fun, and I have excellent conversations with all of them.
The last few months have been packed with shows and concerts of sorts, dance, and adjustment to the new family. I went to an international jazz concert at this beautiful theater close to Recife Antigo..here are two pictures I stole from the internet:
It's called "Teatro Santa Isabel" and is a historical theater that I've been to a few times with a friend of mine, Caio. The first time was for a classical concert, while the second was for this jazz fest which included a band from Cuba and another from France. They played REALLY well. I loved it.
I also went to three different awesome shows here. One was Los Hermanos, another was Natiruts, and the last was SOJA. Two of the three are reggae bands, while Los Hermanos is an indie alternative rock band that I have absolutely fallen in love with here. Here are some video samples of the three, and pictures of the Los Hermanos show.
(Los Hermanos) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXRSBsG9myY
(Natiruts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT1rsW3SIlM
(Soja) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBMtwaEW_nw
All three of the concerts were AMAZING. I absolutely loved them. Other than that, I've traveled a little bit to other beaches (Serrambi, Tamandare, and some others) all of which happen to be in Pernambuco. They are all beautiful.
I am working on college stuff, which is a little stressful, and have been taking online classes. I really am not a huge fan of school here, but I manage. Actually, the college thing has been REALLY stressful. To be honest, I am a bit afraid to go back home. I am so comfortable here, so happy. I am terrified that everything will change when I go back, that life will seem so small. Elkhorn has a population of almost 8,000...I am pretty sure I have met more people than that during my year here, haha. I guess we'll see. To say the least, I have been having reoccurring nightmares that I have already gone back home. They included little details, like...everything has changed, or worse yet, nothing has changed and nobody has grown emotionally/spiritually/mentally at all. Or things a little more ridiculous, like I've forgotten how to speak English and can't communicate with anybody. I understand what everybody says but can't figure out how to respond. Its traumatizing. I wake up in a cold sweat until I look out my window, see Recife, breathe in the tropical air and register that I am still here. Apparently this is semi normal for an exchange student. I hope so.
Before I started to write tonight, I went to the beach and wrote as the full moon went up over the ocean. I have never been so calmed by a force so powerful. Every time I go to the beach, I leave feeling refreshed. That is why I run about 5k every night..I need it to clear my head.
The moon was a deep pinkish red, peeking through the clouds as it began to rise over the crashing waves, and from a distance it looked like a ship that had been set on fire. It was magical, peaceful, and completely set me back on the right track. I had been a little miserable lately, just stressed and worried about stuff..but i really took the day today and focused on my health and on family here, which was a great change. My dance classes aren't going on this week, so it will be really nice to have a little "me" time and keep up with getting closer to family. After I while, the moon transformed from a deep pink to a golden orange, and then slowly changed to yellow before turning into a pale pearl on the surface of the sky, surrounded in a golden fringe of light. It was as if it had set a path of lightness on the ocean's surface, waiting to guide the way to heaven.
When I first saw the birth of tonight's moon, I thought it was a lonely ship that had been set ablaze. Afterward, it was an angel with her wings wide open to me, showing the world a pathway to the heavens.
Sometimes it pays to sit back and watch life unravel a little. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see".
-Maddie
