It's November? But I'm still wearing shorts!

Oi gente! :)

I've been here for three months already! It still amazes me how fast this is going! And I realize that I'm not very good at keeping this updated on a weekly basis, but I'm trying my hardest!

Here is what I've been up to for the past couple weeks...

The weekend before last (the 4th-the 6th of November), I helped with a music festival! One of my host fathers, Hudson, has a music school and his music school put on a music festival/competition. The type of music that was played is called "choro". Choro means "cry", so when you listen to this music, you are supposed to be moved to tears of joy. And I can't say that I cried during the weekend due to the music, but I did have an absolutely great time listening to this beautiful style of music. My friend Abi helped with it too; so for the weekend we took pictures of the event, but usually just ended up dancing in the back of the theatre. It was such a fun experience and something I will remember forever, especially because I've got a new genre of music to listen too. :)

During the weekend, I also had my first dream in Portuguese!! Although it was a nightmare, it was still pretty cool that it was in Portuguese. I'm definitely feeling myself improve everyday with the language. My host family pretty much only talks to me in Portuguese now, and I actually understand about 75% of it. After three months, I don't think that's too shabby.

Alright, now fast forward to this most recent weekend. The previous week, I wasn't feeling very good. I won't get into details about that, but it was enough for my host dad, Helio (who is an accupuncturist) to ask me if I wanted to try accupunture to try and solve my problem. "Why not?" I thought. So I had a wild and crazy Friday night filled with accupuncture and sleep! And I actually woke up on Saturday feeling 10 times better and ready for what was next.

On Saturday, I had a Rotary Christmas party! It was so early because some of the exchange students are going to the Northeast part of Brazil for a month long trip next week, and there would have been no other time for it. So Saturday, all of us exchangers (outbounds too) got together at our exchange coordinator's holiday house. It was such a fun day, and I wish I could have spent more time with these amazing people! While there though, I actually met a Rotarian who has been to Wenatchee!! He did an exchange to Seattle and had family in Wenatchee. And for part of the afternoon we talked about all the things at home; like the Apple Blossom Festival, or our favorite parts of Seattle. I definitely never thought that I would meet someone here who not only heard of Wenatchee, but has been there! It got me thinking about no matter how huge our world is, it's still small. :)

Then on Sunday, I went to Michelle's family's farm with Chiara (a girl from Germany) and Michelle's host parents. We had another holiday on Tuesday, and no school on Monday; so we stayed at their farm until Tuesday. We spent the days there relaxing, walking around the farm, and going to the nearby town and getting icecream. My host mom, Luciana likes to tell me that I have quite the spectrum of farms now. Because unlike the other farm I've been too, this farm had electricty and modern appliances. But I like to say that I've had to different experiences that were equally good!

This past week has been really good. I skyped with my parents on Wednesday (it was my dad's birthday on Monday). So I had to wait until Wednesday to tell him "happy birthday". By the way, happy birthday to the best dad any girl could ask for! I love you so much dad! Thank you for everything!

And last night, I went to Luciana's other school that she teaches at to talk to the students. And for many of them, I was the first American they have met and the first native English speaker that they have spoken with. I got some interesting questions though. Things like, "Do you have English classes in the U.S.?", or "Do you eat McDonalds everyday in the U.S.?" And I found it funny that every class asked me if I had a boyfriend. I had a really good time, and I look forward to going back and visiting them again! :)

I can't believe that it is already the middle of November. It most definitely does not feel like November here.
I don't feel quite right wearing shorts and a t-shirt to school; and seeing Christmas decorations on every corner now doesn't feel real either. And although, Brazil won't be celebrating Thanksgiving next week, I plan on baking some apple pies and sharing a bit of American culture with my family and friends here! Now, I just need to learn how to make an apple pie...

Tchau for now!

A vida e boa! :)

Maggie