My Exchange Year (2016-2017): December 2016

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.