September

September was a very eventful month for me. To start the month off, my host family and I spent one week on the beach in Aracaju. Aracaju is a city in the Northeast of Brazil in the state of Sergipe. There, we spent our days eating fresh shrimp and crab on the beach, touring the city, and going on day trips. We spent out first day on an island, Croa do Gore where we paddle boarded, lazed in hammocks, went jet skiing, swam, and ate fresh seafood. It was awesome!! For the next couple days, we went to Italaia beach and ate much more fresh shrimp. On our fourth day, we took a 2-hour bus trip to San Francisco Canyons in Sergipe. Although I’m not a fan of bus trips, this one was quite special. My family and I had an amazing opportunity to meet a former Rotary Youth Exchange Student from the United States who also stayed in Brazil for her exchange year. We were able to talk a lot about exchange, share lots of stories, and laugh about a lot of experiences. Then we went on a boat tour through the canyons. It was beautiful! On the tour we ate more fresh food and drank Guarana, one of my favourite drinks here in Brazil. At one point, the boat stopped and we were able to go swimming in the fresh water. This was one of my favourite parts as it reminded me a bit of home -swimming in freezing fresh water. On our way home, the coach bus broke down which added a bit to our adventure. We spent the last days of our vacation relaxing on the beach, going to the Projeto Tamar site (sea turtle preservation organization) and going to the Sergipe museum where I learned a lot about the state and Brazil’s culture. On our way back home, we spent a day in São Paulo. I went to Japan Town  which is called Bairro de Liberdade. The streets were packed with people, stands where you could buy food or hand made jewelry. The shops were even fuller. Full of people, plates, Japanese food and fake designer bags. After Liberdade we went Mercadão Municipal which is the pubic supermarket. The market was filled with more people than I’d ever seen. There were also huge stands of fresh fruit, fish, meat, imported beers and spices. On the second floor there were lots of restaurants where I was able to try the famous Mortadella sandwich, and eat a huge pastel. Both were delicious. After a long day and busy vacation, we finally made it back home. Even though it isn’t a huge city like São Paulo or  have beaches like the Northeast, it was nice to be home. At the end of the month I had my first “inbounds” meeting which is where all of the Rotary youth exchange students in the district get together, talk, and go over all of the rule with Rotarians. My Rotary district has 17 exchange students from many countries such as: the USA, Columbia, Germany, Argentina, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada (myself), Argentina, Japan and the Reunion Islands. 

My first host parents and I on the beach

Fresh shrimp, crab and coco water!

At the canyons

Baby sea turtles at Projeto Tamar

Bairro de liberdade

Cathedral of Sao Paulo with my host family

Lots of fresh fruit

So many people!!

Cheesy pastel

Mortadella sandwich!

Inbounds, Rotex and Rotarians of District 4540!

End of July and August

I’ve been in Brazil for more than a month and a half now! Since my arrival I’ve learned so many things. My language skills have improved drastically, my relationship with my host family has become much stronger, I’ve had awesome opportunities to see more of this beautiful country and I’ve started to go to school. During my first week my host family took me to a huge waterpark in the city of Olimpia where we spent the whole day enjoying the water and the sun. During the next week, along with many others, I helped my host sister, Aline, prepare for her going away party. In one week she would be starting her RYE year in Japan.  I got the chance to meet a lot of her friends from other cities whom she met through Interact and other activities. I also got to experience my first Brazilian party. Lots of food, music, people and dancing. The party ended up finishing around 4:30am and I was able to get to sleep at 5:30am. A lot would change within the next few days; I was about to start school. My first day of school was August 1. At my school, school starts at 7:30am and finishes at either 11:50am or 12:40pm. I don’t enjoy the early mornings but I’m not complaining about finishing with a full afternoon. Unfortunately, I was not able to choose my own courses but I am taking: biology, chemistry, physics, sociology, philosophy, literature, writing, English, Spanish, Portuguese, math history, geography and gym. Slowly but surely I am starting to follow more and more in each class and I’ve actually written a few tests and gotten answers correct! I’ve also noticed a lot of differences between my school in Brazil and my school in Canada. We start much earlier, we don’t change classes, the teachers come to us, there is one less grade, and there is only one class for the whole grade. My school, Fundacion Educacional da Alta Mogiana- CoC has about 200 students ranging from JK to 3e (equivalent grade 12).  Before my host sister left for her exchange my family took me out for the infamous Brazilian barbecue, churrasco. It is hands-down my favourite meal in Brazil. That weekend we drove to São Paulo to drop Aline off. For her last dinner in Brazil we went to the Outback which was a nice reminder of home. The next weekend it was Father’s day in Brazil so I made my host dad a classic breakfast which consisted of bacon, fried eggs and toast! On August 18 I had plans to go to Rio with my second host mom to go watch some Olympic events. We took the bus all the way from Ribeirao Preto to Rio which ended up being an 11 hour trip. We started our journey at night so we arrived in Rio at about 6am the next day. Once we got settled we set off  for a full day of touring the city. We started off with Christ the Redeemer. It was definitely one of my favourite moments since being in Brazil. There I saw many Olympians and spoke to other Canadians. After that, we went to the Coca Cola plaza and the Olympic Boulevard to see the flame. At night, I was lucky enough to be able to hangout with one of my friends from home! I was able to meet up with Allie, an outbound from the same district as me, go to Copacabana and enjoy some great food. The next day I went to the Olympics to watch rhythmic gymnastics and women's basketball. Being in the park was an amazing experience. It was unreal getting to see Olympians compete and it was so heartwarming to see everyone cheering for their countries. The park was also surrounded by mountains which made it even more beautiful. On the 6 week mark of my exchange I finally received one of my bags which was very very exciting. It was also great timing because my host family and I were leaving for a week-long vacation on the upcoming weekend. One again I would be traveling to São Paulo to fly to Aracaju, a beautiful city on the coast of Brazil in the Northeast. Once again I can’t thank Rotary enough for this opportunity. I also want to thank everyone for all the support and love you’re sending! Finally, I want to thank my first host family, the Marques, for being so welcoming, caring and loving. I don’t think my exchange would be nearly as good without them! Te amo muito.

Leaving Canada and My Arrival in Brazil

To begin my exchange, there was one critical thing... I had to leave Canada. On July 20, my family and I travelled to Toronto to go to the airport. My flight with TAM was scheduled to leave at 3:50pm, but was delayed for 2 hours. After my last Ice Capp of the year, we headed to my terminal. The next thing was one of the hardest things to do- say good bye. We all shared good byes, hugs and my mom took lots of pictures. Then I made my way through security. When I got to my gate, my name was called over the PA system. I got news that my flights did not work out, so I had to switch flights, airlines and terminals. I was told to go to downstairs to get my bags, then go to Terminal 1 to recheck them through Air Canada. I thought this would be an easy task to complete but after spending 3 hours looking for my luggage, I still had no luck. It was also time for me to start heading over to Terminal 1. When I got to Terminal 1, all the lines were huge. I spent about an hour in line to get my boarding pass, then another hour to get through security. Finally, I got through all of the lines and found my gate. I had about 35 minutes to sit down and rest, then I had to board my flight. Because my day was so stressful, I wasn't nervous at all. I was just happy to get on a plane to go to Brazil. So, at 10:40pm I boarded the plane with only a carry on and a backpack. On the upside of things, I was in business class. The flight was smooth and I was able to get a good amount of sleep. It took about 10 hours to get from Toronto to Sao Paulo. Once I arrived in Sao Paulo, Gustavo, a past inbound of the Rotary Club of Sarnia, met me to help me switch terminals. This was not an easy task either. We had to take a shuttle, then sort out my ticket with TAM. Once we found TAM, they told me they do not have any flights to my final destination, Ribeirao Preto. The airline I would be flying with turned out to be a smaller company that was owned by TAM. The main idea of that story is that I would have been completely lost without Gustavo. While waiting to board my next plane, I tried pao de queijo for the first time... It was very good. The next flight (from Sao Paulo to Ribeirao Preto) was about an hour. The plane I was in was about the same as the Air Canada Jazz planes- very small, very loud and not very stable. With wishful thinking of my luggage waiting for me in Ribeirao Preto, I was harshly disappointed. In Ribeirao Preto I was greeted by my host mother, Edna, host sister, Aline, host brother, Altino and another inbound from Mexico of the past RYE year, Paola. After the airport, we went to the mall to eat. Likewise in China, my first meal with my new family was McDonalds. The drive to my host city, Sao Joaquim da Barra is about 45 minutes. Similar to Canada, there are lots of fields of crops along the sides of the highway. When I arrived at the house I was able to sleep for 4 hours. Then, my second host family came over for dinner and we all went over the "first night questions". We had pork, rice and beans, vegetables and potatoes for dinner, and acai and a special type of cake for dessert. I had a busy first day and was too happy to see my bed at the end of the night. On my second day I went to buy some clothes and essentials. I also tried a phone plan but it didn't work properly. We had lunch and I was pleasantly surprised that they use Heinz ketchup!! My plans for the night were to hangout with Paola, go to Interact, then go to a get together with my host sister and her friends. At Interact, I introduced myself in Portuguese. I had a very nice second night, and am already feeling more comfortable in the family.  On my third day, my host family took me to watch Altino, my younger host brother, play tennis. When we returned home we ate lunch together then I shared pictures of Canada and Sarnia with my host parents, Jose Altino and Edna. To close things for now, I am having an amazing experience so far and can't thank my family, Rotary, my host family and friends back in Canada enough for the endless amount of support.