City –

They Meet…

Brazil, City, Cool People, Exchange Students, Exchange year, Family

Now they are all connected! My real Family and my Host Families. They have relationships stronger than I ever expected. I know the connections will continue my entire life. It’s cool to be able to say that my parents flew to Brazil to visit me after 300 days being away. But I’m glad to have these last few weeks of my exchange to spend with my host families and friends before I go back to the U.S.

I was nervous to have to translate everything back in forth because I know I don’t speak perfect Portuguese. There are a lot of words I don’t know how to say. And when it comes to my family, anything could come up at the dining table. But luckily, I wasn’t the only one there willing to translate. At times, I got to sit back and relax when my host siblings were around to translate. That was my favorite part!

It was shocking to see my family at first almost like a dream, but it becomes more real after they left and my host families continue to talk about them. Meeting my family made it more real for my host families and I believe they will come to the US to visit. My exchange friends were very curious to know if my parents noticed any change in my personality. My family thinks I have “stepped it up” and am a more mature young woman. Of course, when I am with friends and family, I am the same old sarcastic person when we stand alone.

It was awkward to see my parents reactions at first when my host families described me with words like calm and quiet, but then they got to see it for themselves and it made a little more sense. I think its normal as an exchange student to change the ways you act with your host family because you can’t express yourself the same way you do at home. Maybe because there’s no translation in your host language or you are just not that comfortable with them for a first impression to go a certain way.

At this point, I can’t wait for my host families to come visit me in the US so I can show them my country, Colorado and my town! Breckenridge!

Festa Nacoes

Bands, Brazil, City, Exchange Students, Exchange year, Nation Fair, Rotary, Unites States

The highlight of March was a surprise visit from other exchange students in another rotary district coming to visit for our Nation Fair. That day was more special for the RYE outbounders 17/18, because it was good to see our friends we’ve missed from our Northeast Trip.

Nation Fair is to share our nationalities with the community. This also helps the outbounds choose which country they will choose next year. Every country is responsible for serving a traditional food and decorating each stand so it catches the strangers attention. As a representative, we are given stickers with our nation flag on it. When the outbounds come find us and ask about our nationality, we try to convince them to choose our country for the following information. When they fill up their booklets of stickers they turn it in and choose the top three places of their dreams. This event is open to everyone in the community, so it was a big deal when the city’s governor made an appearance. To keep the energy up all day long they have dances from all over the world perform to keep the audience entertained. This event takes all day because all the outbounds have to finish their book then the Rotarians make the final decisions so they head home knowing where they will go. We get the honor to announce which exchange student will be coming to our countries next year!

It is a long process to be chosen for this amazing opportunity, but as soon as you get there all the hard work pays off. With all the friendships you make across the world it turns out to be the year that changes your life for the good!

Cristo Redentor

Brazil, Chruch, City, Exchange year, RIO, Travel

Also known as Christ the Redeemer…

Recently, I’ve been reading chapters out of the bible on my own time, but this time I read to comprehend and understand the context. Before, I would just listen and not really pay much attention to the meaning. I was more interested in a summer full of night hide and seek around a neighborhood, going jeeping, watching movies, star gazing on a cliff (etc…) after youth group sessions and/or church. I am more pleased with THIS summer’s activities full of enjoyable adventures and building friendships I will have for a lifetime. There is more out there than just doing the exact same things over and over again every day with people I will have little in common with after high school.

It’s always been one of my dreams to get the chance to go to Rio de Janiero and see that statue, but this time I felt connected to it. The word redeem means “to buy out.” The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s freedom. The application of this term to Christ’s death on the cross is quite telling. If we are “redeemed,” then our prior condition was one of slavery. God has purchased our freedom, and we are no longer in bondage to sin or to the Old Testament law. I was blind, but now I see. I was lost but now I’m found. My path was destruction, but my Savior has redeemed me! Thank you for finding me and redeeming me from myself.

You know what they say there’s a first time for everything… on a personal level this past September 12th, I accepted god into my heart and I prayed for the first time in my whole life all by myself. I think the good influences on me were the people that I got to know this summer at bible studies and occasionally church on Sundays for the first time. I wasn’t sure I wanted to become Christian because I’ve been raised not really knowing what to believe, but my time here in Brazil I have a lot of free time to think about myself and I decided to start believing. I became Christian because I do not want to be judged or punished for all the sins I’ve caused in the past, after life and I accepted God because he saves us and forgives our sins so I am willing to start over in a new direction. God’s gift is eternal life in heaven so I do not fear of what could happen to me when I die because god sent his only son to die on the cross for all my sins.

Pão de Açucar

Brazil, City, Exchange year, Pão de Açucar, RIO, Stories, Tour, Travel

Means Sugar Loaf…. it’s the name of the famous mountain in Rio that looks over all Rio de Janiero. This place is better than I ever imagined. The view was breathtaking, especially at sunset. This mountain is located across from The Redeemer so it feels like you get to see two different sides of this world from both spots!

Homemade Carnaval!

Brazil, Carnaval, City, Exchange Students, Friends, Places, Stories, Travel

Take me back to the night I dressed up like an Arabic Egyptian girl and danced on the street. We filled these streets with sound and color as we passed small restaurants and homes. This little town called Olinda is very small with tight streets and plenty of houses built on top of each other. It’s a cute little town very colorful and famous for their culture. Some residents are very into religion and attending church, while others entertain with crazy funky dances in the streets.

As foreigners, we made fools of ourselves, but it was a blast trying to copy our Brazilian dance leaders. For as long as 45 minutes, we danced, paraded and chanted. We were exhausted getting back on that bus by the end of the night because it’s not easy dancing like Brazilians.

FOFO… meaning “Cute” in Portuguese

Brazil, City, Cool People, Exchange year, Family, Rotary

This morning I went and interacted with children that came to the eye doctors on a school field trip. As a part of this Rotary club, it was our project to volunteer to show these kids where to go for an eye test and entertain them while waiting for the rest to finish up. As teenagers, some of the adults just left that part up to us because the little kids were so drawn to our attention. All the kids that showed up today live in a poor area of Curitiba and most families can’t afford to visit the eye doctor for an exam to determine whether their child needed glasses or not. So we took care of 107 different children all different ages Rotary sign , from 2 different schools and it turns out 60% needed glasses. The barrier of the language was not a problem. We helped them pick out glasses, paint their faces and took a couple pictures. The picture on the left is Zsofi (Hungarian inbound) and I next to our Rotarian banner. The picture on the right is a young girl wearing her school uniform choosing what color glasses she wants. They had all kinds of styles in every color for these kids to choose from. This was the end of the boring/most important things that had to be done.

After about half the kids got through the eye exams we brought out the face paint and they all lined up boys in one line and girls in another. All the girls asked for was a butterfly, a heart, a mermaid or a flower and all the boys just wanted a skull. I think the little girl’s masks are “masterpieces” because they drew them themselves so I simply just copied their ideas!

Only spending a couple of hours with these kids went by fast. It also wasn’t enough because they influenced my life and at the same time I inspired them. Today got me thinking about everything I have and got me second guessing everything I want. Today I got to connect with little kids that have never imagined doing what I am here for this year. Because for them, a well spent typical day is playing with their friends around their villages inventing games and what they want to be in when they grow up. I inspired them today because they helped me with a little Portuguese while I taught them English. And now they want to travel the world because we showed them where we are from.

Zsofi and I are two of many in bounders apart of this exact Rotary district. Here in Curitiba, there are at least 30 different Rotary clubs. For those of you, that are not familiar with Rotary clubs… It’s basically the group you connect with and they do all kinds of life changing projects. These projects keep you involved with the community or culture. The members of the club can also be your mentors while you are here. You don’t have to see them all the time but they meet once a week to plan more projects or reflect about previous ones. They are always there for you to reach if you need anything so it’s comforting to keep in touch with what they are doing so you get to know them too. My first Host dad is the president of this club so that’s how I get to be a part of these activities. You do not have to be apart of the club to attend these activities its just how I am offered to be apart as well.

Botanic Gardens

Brazil, City, Cool People, Garden, Tour

Today was my first time visiting a touristic attraction in Curitiba. When you look Curitiba up on the internet this garden is the first image that pops up… This garden is also basically like a public park. A lot of people were there today for all sorts of different reasons, some working out, others spending time with their families, walking their dogs, playing Pokemon Go (the new game app), and couples on a date. What a great spot for someone like me to just stand back and people watch. My host sister let me embrace my inner tourist side and took those cheesy photos infant of the greenhouse and skyline. They call me “a small town girl living in a big city.”

My sister brought cookies, cereal bars and water so we sat in the middle of everything to have a little picnic and people watch. Today was the first day the sun was out and it was sort of warm so we took the advantage to tour the city. This cities population is close to 2 million people so taking the public transportation is way different. You have to pay to get on, the bus stops are like see through tubes and their busses have three different connected together. These busses get their own street in the middle so they don’t crowd the main streets and the flow of traffic between all the other cars. The sidewalks are uneven so it’s painful to walk everywhere and only some people are brave enough to ride their bikes. The City is a great place to people watch and observe through a tourist and local!