tomorrow i am switching families
i dont know how i feeel about this
(and i havent started packing my life into my threee suitcases)
ofcourse there are mixed feeelings
i've beeen with this family for almost 4months, more than half the time i have beeen in brasil. i'm so close with them
but at the same time i am ready to move onn..
i remember people asking me if is weird moving families, is it weird eating alll their foood, is it weird laying around on their couch, is it weird waking up at 11 on a saturday morning with massive bedhead, is it weird calllling them mom and dad, brother and sister? i mean, it's not like they are "your" family. they are almost like strangers, right?
for me
they are my family.
this wasnt the case in the beginning.
it took me atleast 2wks to get settled in.
i remember thinking that my mom is intimadatingly smart; my dad is outtta control; my brother is trying too hard to please me; my sister isnt even in the picture.
and then somehow in betweeen they became my family.
.
i made them thanksgiving, a tradition they swear will be carried on becasue of my pumpkin pie. my mom toook me to her salon almost weekly to get my nails done and i somehow made a smalll family with the ladies there. i went jeeeping with my dad who had a smile on his face the entire time because he was so happy to have me there, just jeeepin'. they toook me to salvador with my sister which i remember laying next to her where the coool breeeze from the hot sea came floating in and she whispered, "what are your best friends names?" my brother sang whitney houston to me, making me promise not to telll anyone at school that he loves the song, "I Look to You." (sorrry ale) Christmas was especially different this year, with the absence of snow and my family and the addition of bikinnis and sips of champagne at midnight. we had a family beach vacation in espirito santos, kayaking with my dad and a hike with my brother. and when i got sick (from a chocoatle chepe mind you?!) my sister sacrificed her warm bed in place of a smelllly hospital bed so i wouldnt be left alone all night. and when i came home from the airport from saying gooodbye to clare, my dad saw my face and knew how i felt; if he could, he would have taken my pain and made it his own. the following day when things still didnt feeel right, my mom made an "attempt" at pancakes, something she knows that i love. i expressed my fear in returning to schoool to my brother and he told me how terrified he was to leave for the city. we went to brasilia, meeting my father's entire family, i learned more about him and his love of family. my mom allowed me to have dance lessons with her; i wish she would have allowed me to steal some of her natural rythem. i've seen my brother cry, he's seen me breakdown, and sometimes we cried together, huggging(we already know we are overly emotional.) i've held my father's hand while walking through the streets and had my other arm loooped through my mother's while laughing with my brother and sister.
if i leave brasil with nothing else, i know that i atelast have people here in the pires family that i can always calll mine.
eu amo vocês
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
difference, cont´
i reread my post about differences the other day and i realized i missed ALOT of differences that need to be addressed:
**their coins frustrate me. they are all different, two different coins for the 10centavos, maybe three different coins for 5centavos. this makes everything much more difficult when trying to look for change fast.
**Bugs. I know I have complained about this before but still. I sleep with my Off Spray. There is a time at night where we have to close the windows and bare the heat because of the mosquitoes. Right now, i just got attacked! by them (have around seven on one leg) but the "good" thing is that they usually last one day, usually.
**There is a brand of bags called Kipling, kinda like our Vera Bradley. Apparently its in the US but i have never seen it. Everyone has it, boys, moms, teachers
**Whenever i say that i am from the US, i always get, "I have a nephew's-neighbor who has a cousin that lives in Boston who just recently moved to Orlando." A lot of Brasilians are in Boston or Orlando. Why there? No clue. Especially Boston casue its realllllly cold there.
**everyone rides motorcycles here. everyoneeeeee. (always with helments too, alwayssssss) they are always in front of the traffic, zigzagging through cars and trucks, driving on the sidewalk, dangerous. but atleast they have helments, right.
**I have met very few people that have visited the Amazon. It is so far away and expensive and i think they would rather be on a beach somewhere then being eaten away by mosquitoes and possibly anacondas
**their milk is different. it's warm. until you open it, you can leave it sitting out, forever. my maid judges me because i dont like having my ceral with warm milk. i try to explain to her but she is just like, "you are crazy." and you never drink it. i miss having an ice cold glass of milk at dinner. they dont have that here. i tried to drink it here and its soooo grosss.
**alot of people here think that the Black Eyed Peas are the best band, ever, in the world. I have been listening to "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" since i got here.
**There money is reallly coool! they are alll different colors and have animals on the front, because of their love for Amazon. the hundred reais (which i see allllll the time ;D) is a baby blue with a fish; fifty reais is yellow-orange with a jaguar; the twenty reais is yellow with a monkey; the ten reais is red with a parrott; the five reais is purple-blue with a beauitful bird; the two reais is blue with a turtle. (the one real is a coin)
**there are shoes here called Havaianas which are just flip flogs but EVERYONE wears them but you cant wear them out. I wore them to the movies with my brother (they matched my shirt) and my brother yelled at me "Ariana, you just wear those around the house, at the beach, or at school.")
**They are IN LOVE with Brasilian Soap Operas and evyerone watches them and knows what is going on. I know twenty-year old men that watch them RELGIOUSLY. "Passione" and "Ti Ti Ti"
**I have seen lizards in my home that crawl on the walls. And they are welcome guests! Becasue they eat the mosquitoes. They are not welcome within 4meters of me.
**Whenever i say that i am from Pennsylvania (in português, its spelled Pensilvânia ..it sounds much more beauitful) but they ask, "Are you a vampire?" Cause they think of Transylvania! "No, I am not a vampire, you can look at my teeth."
**everyone writes in cursive.
**They use the period and comma in different places than we do. For example, if you have $7.60 ..here you would write it $7,60 causes some confusion especially when we get into higher numbers.
**There are no canned food. None. I never realized this until a few weeks ago. They dont need canned fruits or vegtables becasue everything is so fresh. Imagine having fresh pinapple whenever you want, or juicy mango, or tomates whose skins are so tight. i.love.brasilian.fruit.
**hammocks are everywhere. you dont find a house without a hammock. i have slept on my hammock before (and woke sweating cause i was without air-conditioning)
**much like the US, every state/region has a SPECIFIC accent: the northeast speaks very slowly almost liek singing; the north (amazon) the indians have a different langauge and some dont speak português (its considered a different world up there); the south speaks more português of portugal, more formal; Português of Rio de Janerio is SOO ugly, its a lot of "shhh" sounds, i find it soo ugly; my state of Minas Gerais gets made fun of a lot because we say "uai" (in english its pronounced exactly as "why") it has NO definiton, dont look this up in your dictionary (ive already tried) you say this whenever/however you want.
**Brasilians are ALWAYS late. always. Class starts at 7:15, teacher doesnt get there until 7:20. Party starts at 7 ..the host of the party goes to the store at 7 to buy food and drinks. i remember my first brasilian party i told my mom that it started at 6 and she asked, welll what time does it reallllllly start. at first, this bothered me SO MUCH becasue i am always on time, and/or early. but i find myself slowly becoming like them. ariana, we are leaving in an hour. ..okay so that means i dont have to get ready for another hour.
..i'm sure as time goes on..theree will be more differences
or there will be differences of "estados unidos" that will completely blow my mind
**their coins frustrate me. they are all different, two different coins for the 10centavos, maybe three different coins for 5centavos. this makes everything much more difficult when trying to look for change fast.
**Bugs. I know I have complained about this before but still. I sleep with my Off Spray. There is a time at night where we have to close the windows and bare the heat because of the mosquitoes. Right now, i just got attacked! by them (have around seven on one leg) but the "good" thing is that they usually last one day, usually.
**There is a brand of bags called Kipling, kinda like our Vera Bradley. Apparently its in the US but i have never seen it. Everyone has it, boys, moms, teachers
**Whenever i say that i am from the US, i always get, "I have a nephew's-neighbor who has a cousin that lives in Boston who just recently moved to Orlando." A lot of Brasilians are in Boston or Orlando. Why there? No clue. Especially Boston casue its realllllly cold there.
**everyone rides motorcycles here. everyoneeeeee. (always with helments too, alwayssssss) they are always in front of the traffic, zigzagging through cars and trucks, driving on the sidewalk, dangerous. but atleast they have helments, right.
**I have met very few people that have visited the Amazon. It is so far away and expensive and i think they would rather be on a beach somewhere then being eaten away by mosquitoes and possibly anacondas
**their milk is different. it's warm. until you open it, you can leave it sitting out, forever. my maid judges me because i dont like having my ceral with warm milk. i try to explain to her but she is just like, "you are crazy." and you never drink it. i miss having an ice cold glass of milk at dinner. they dont have that here. i tried to drink it here and its soooo grosss.
**alot of people here think that the Black Eyed Peas are the best band, ever, in the world. I have been listening to "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" since i got here.
**There money is reallly coool! they are alll different colors and have animals on the front, because of their love for Amazon. the hundred reais (which i see allllll the time ;D) is a baby blue with a fish; fifty reais is yellow-orange with a jaguar; the twenty reais is yellow with a monkey; the ten reais is red with a parrott; the five reais is purple-blue with a beauitful bird; the two reais is blue with a turtle. (the one real is a coin)
**there are shoes here called Havaianas which are just flip flogs but EVERYONE wears them but you cant wear them out. I wore them to the movies with my brother (they matched my shirt) and my brother yelled at me "Ariana, you just wear those around the house, at the beach, or at school.")
**They are IN LOVE with Brasilian Soap Operas and evyerone watches them and knows what is going on. I know twenty-year old men that watch them RELGIOUSLY. "Passione" and "Ti Ti Ti"
**I have seen lizards in my home that crawl on the walls. And they are welcome guests! Becasue they eat the mosquitoes. They are not welcome within 4meters of me.
**Whenever i say that i am from Pennsylvania (in português, its spelled Pensilvânia ..it sounds much more beauitful) but they ask, "Are you a vampire?" Cause they think of Transylvania! "No, I am not a vampire, you can look at my teeth."
**everyone writes in cursive.
**They use the period and comma in different places than we do. For example, if you have $7.60 ..here you would write it $7,60 causes some confusion especially when we get into higher numbers.
**There are no canned food. None. I never realized this until a few weeks ago. They dont need canned fruits or vegtables becasue everything is so fresh. Imagine having fresh pinapple whenever you want, or juicy mango, or tomates whose skins are so tight. i.love.brasilian.fruit.
**hammocks are everywhere. you dont find a house without a hammock. i have slept on my hammock before (and woke sweating cause i was without air-conditioning)
**much like the US, every state/region has a SPECIFIC accent: the northeast speaks very slowly almost liek singing; the north (amazon) the indians have a different langauge and some dont speak português (its considered a different world up there); the south speaks more português of portugal, more formal; Português of Rio de Janerio is SOO ugly, its a lot of "shhh" sounds, i find it soo ugly; my state of Minas Gerais gets made fun of a lot because we say "uai" (in english its pronounced exactly as "why") it has NO definiton, dont look this up in your dictionary (ive already tried) you say this whenever/however you want.
**Brasilians are ALWAYS late. always. Class starts at 7:15, teacher doesnt get there until 7:20. Party starts at 7 ..the host of the party goes to the store at 7 to buy food and drinks. i remember my first brasilian party i told my mom that it started at 6 and she asked, welll what time does it reallllllly start. at first, this bothered me SO MUCH becasue i am always on time, and/or early. but i find myself slowly becoming like them. ariana, we are leaving in an hour. ..okay so that means i dont have to get ready for another hour.
..i'm sure as time goes on..theree will be more differences
or there will be differences of "estados unidos" that will completely blow my mind
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
ouro preto
on saturday afternoon, my dad asked me: ariana, you wanna go to Ouro Preto right now?
so just like that, we got into the car and left for a city named after its "Black Gold"
we arrived in Ouro Preto, just me and my father, and i instantly fall in love.
this smalll litttle adorable city nestled on a mountian side, stone streets that are so narrow that i am surprise we made it through. It was almost like Europe, almost like Greece (without the sea) but in Brasil so its obviously bettter
we drive through the city, bouncing around in the front seat with my mouth agap.
there are 22 churches in Ouro Preto
everywhere you look, there is a church to your left, to your right, behind you, beside you, in front ontop of the hilll. this made it diffficult with taking pictures cause i was like: "oooh! loook. how beauitful. woah, wait, look at that. can you stop for a litttle? no no, go i see another."
twenty-two historical churches that were built and dedicated from the inside out to honor a Christian figure that has changed everything, Jesus Christ.
amazing
we went into one where it was all gold.
the walls. the ceiling. the altar.
amazing
it was like the church in Salvador where i promised to get married in.
linda.linda.linda (beauitful)
we pass through the town square where, just like in the 18th century, it was used as social purposes. people sitting on the steps reading, mother's going to the bakery, children playing in the road. so cute !
in the midddle of town square is a monument dedicated to Tiradentes. i didnt exactly understand the story, but for whatever reason, this man was be-headed and his head sits in that monument. i found that rather odd and didnt want to ponder the issue much further.
while driving through town square, my father is stopped by a local tour guide, asking if he would like a guide of the famous Ouro Preto.
sure, come on in, stranger.
so the guys are talking and then my father (so proudly) says that i am from pennsylvania (my family/friends always introduce me that way, like all the brasilians know where pennsylvania is or something. why not just say US? no no, she is from pennsylvania)
the tour guide is in shock
"ohmygosh are you famous? you have been on a soap opera there, i know it. you have a face of a model. do you walk the runways with Gisele Bundchen?"
thankyou, mister, for your kind words, but no i am not famous.
we traveled to an even smaller city, Mariana, which was just close by but we passed through the local University. this university is famous for the parties, alcohol, and drugs. being a small town, of course things get a little outta hand.
we drove through around 5pm on a saturday afternoon, almost 80% of the young people had a cup of beer in their hand, just walking around, looking for the next party. i do not lie.
alot of the older people know and just kinda laugh about it. "Ohh, Ouro Preto. That place is crazy!"
but you would not send your child there to study.
while in Mariana, we went to this place where they mined gold, back in the days.
we put on hard helments and entered this tunnel where the walllls where short and narrow.
i now know that i do not like small spaces.
i couldnt enjoy myself as much as i wanted to cause i was silently planning my escape routine if things went bad.
we traveled back into Ouro Preto, wondering through the narrow streets, climbing up and down and almost twisting ankles cause of the sidewalk, realizing that Ouro Preto is amazingly beauitful and if (when) i come back to Brasil with family or friends with me, i would SO take them to this tiny town that is unbelievable.
i left Ouro Preto, loving Ouro Preto, loving Brasil (even more) loving this experience, loving this person that is standing next to me, and loving the person that i am becoming.
so just like that, we got into the car and left for a city named after its "Black Gold"
we arrived in Ouro Preto, just me and my father, and i instantly fall in love.
this smalll litttle adorable city nestled on a mountian side, stone streets that are so narrow that i am surprise we made it through. It was almost like Europe, almost like Greece (without the sea) but in Brasil so its obviously bettter
we drive through the city, bouncing around in the front seat with my mouth agap.
there are 22 churches in Ouro Preto
everywhere you look, there is a church to your left, to your right, behind you, beside you, in front ontop of the hilll. this made it diffficult with taking pictures cause i was like: "oooh! loook. how beauitful. woah, wait, look at that. can you stop for a litttle? no no, go i see another."
twenty-two historical churches that were built and dedicated from the inside out to honor a Christian figure that has changed everything, Jesus Christ.
amazing
we went into one where it was all gold.
the walls. the ceiling. the altar.
amazing
it was like the church in Salvador where i promised to get married in.
linda.linda.linda (beauitful)
we pass through the town square where, just like in the 18th century, it was used as social purposes. people sitting on the steps reading, mother's going to the bakery, children playing in the road. so cute !
in the midddle of town square is a monument dedicated to Tiradentes. i didnt exactly understand the story, but for whatever reason, this man was be-headed and his head sits in that monument. i found that rather odd and didnt want to ponder the issue much further.
while driving through town square, my father is stopped by a local tour guide, asking if he would like a guide of the famous Ouro Preto.
sure, come on in, stranger.
so the guys are talking and then my father (so proudly) says that i am from pennsylvania (my family/friends always introduce me that way, like all the brasilians know where pennsylvania is or something. why not just say US? no no, she is from pennsylvania)
the tour guide is in shock
"ohmygosh are you famous? you have been on a soap opera there, i know it. you have a face of a model. do you walk the runways with Gisele Bundchen?"
thankyou, mister, for your kind words, but no i am not famous.
we traveled to an even smaller city, Mariana, which was just close by but we passed through the local University. this university is famous for the parties, alcohol, and drugs. being a small town, of course things get a little outta hand.
we drove through around 5pm on a saturday afternoon, almost 80% of the young people had a cup of beer in their hand, just walking around, looking for the next party. i do not lie.
alot of the older people know and just kinda laugh about it. "Ohh, Ouro Preto. That place is crazy!"
but you would not send your child there to study.
while in Mariana, we went to this place where they mined gold, back in the days.
we put on hard helments and entered this tunnel where the walllls where short and narrow.
i now know that i do not like small spaces.
i couldnt enjoy myself as much as i wanted to cause i was silently planning my escape routine if things went bad.
we traveled back into Ouro Preto, wondering through the narrow streets, climbing up and down and almost twisting ankles cause of the sidewalk, realizing that Ouro Preto is amazingly beauitful and if (when) i come back to Brasil with family or friends with me, i would SO take them to this tiny town that is unbelievable.
i left Ouro Preto, loving Ouro Preto, loving Brasil (even more) loving this experience, loving this person that is standing next to me, and loving the person that i am becoming.
Monday, February 14, 2011
alguma coisas
just a little update
first week of febuary, start of a new school year. volta para aulas
i am in the third and final year here in CSFX which is good &bad.
this final year the students are preparing to take the Vestibular, a test that allows you to enter college. this and only this gets you into a university. no letter of recommandtion, no activitives. if you fail this, you spend a whole EXTRA year studying again to retake it so you can enter.
according to everyone that has taken it, it is the hardest thing in life. therefore in the third year, all the classes are designed to prepare the students to take this test. its all the students are stressing about, its alll the teachers are talking about, is all the pressure the parents put on.
everyone except me
third year also has classes in the afternoons on some days, meaning 7-12 (break for lunch) 2-6 ..then you go home and study..
guess what they study for? the Vestibular.
guess what these classes are about? the Vestibular.
guess who doesnt go to afternoon classes? ME cause i aint taking no "Vestibular"
third year is all new teachers and my classroom has grown to an unbelievable 50 (imagine 50 brazilians that dont stop talking..in one room)
it kinda "sucks" casue the teachers dont know that i am "the exchange student" and i feeel like i should introduce myself and be liek, "helllo, i am american and i dont do anything in class. hope its not a problem if sometimes i sleeep but usually i dont casue disturptions. nice to meet you!"
the one day i was sitting in class with my best friend (portuguese dictionary) just spending some time with him, we were separated for a long time. and the teacher was like, what are you doing? why are you reading?
i hold up my dictionary with a look of innocence.
the class: she's the exchange student!! she's american! she usually just sleeeps!!
teacher: OH MY GOSH! i am so sorrrry! do you understand?!??!
american: yess, but you speak realllllllllly fast.
she continues the lessson, speaking more slowly and talking more with her hands as if she is teaching kindergarden rather than teenagers and kinda directing it alll towards me. ooh CSFX..
so i went to school for a weeek..
then skipped a weeek to go to Belo Horizonte with my family :))
when my mom asked me if i wanted to go to BH with her, i was like, i would do anything, ANYTHING, to get outta school for a weeek.
my brother moved to BH to go to one of the best schools in Minas Gerais so my mom thought it be best if i stayed with her and my brother while he got adjusted to the city, his school, and the new apartment.
i wont bare you all the details of that weeek because it was mostly girly shoppping, buying you alll presents cause i love you so much!
while my brother was at schoool, we went to local fairs, markets, malls and various stores.
one day we went to this park, strollling along on the cooblestone streeet, taking in the fresh breeze that isnt in Ipatinga, having some "mother-daughter" bonding. it was nice :) we went to a museum of rocks which sounds LAME but was actuallly very interesting and beauitful and another museum of art that displayed brasilian history via pictures along with photography that had your head tilted to the side, pondering. the following day we went to a natural art museum which didnt have an actual theme, saw everything from dinosaur bones, a study on bats, and a HUGE monkey !
staying in BH for a wk, i'm not tooo sure if i could live in a big city. of course there is soo much to do, soo much to see, but man, when i am sleeeping at 3am and i hear the gargabe man almost screaming to the other man to "grab it and go!" ..i heard him until crossed neighborhoods.
or when the people in the building 2 streeets down is gettting a litttle rowdy with their BBQ.
also, who in God's name has a ROOSTER in the city? telll me why at at 5:35 EVERY morning, i woke up and sigh loudly, swearing that if i had gun and knew where that rooster was, i would be at it. (i am hitting the keys while typing this i am so angry, still!)
ooh BH..
that weeekend, me and my dad went to Ouro Preto, a place that i would go back in a heart beat.
first week of febuary, start of a new school year. volta para aulas
i am in the third and final year here in CSFX which is good &bad.
this final year the students are preparing to take the Vestibular, a test that allows you to enter college. this and only this gets you into a university. no letter of recommandtion, no activitives. if you fail this, you spend a whole EXTRA year studying again to retake it so you can enter.
according to everyone that has taken it, it is the hardest thing in life. therefore in the third year, all the classes are designed to prepare the students to take this test. its all the students are stressing about, its alll the teachers are talking about, is all the pressure the parents put on.
everyone except me
third year also has classes in the afternoons on some days, meaning 7-12 (break for lunch) 2-6 ..then you go home and study..
guess what they study for? the Vestibular.
guess what these classes are about? the Vestibular.
guess who doesnt go to afternoon classes? ME cause i aint taking no "Vestibular"
third year is all new teachers and my classroom has grown to an unbelievable 50 (imagine 50 brazilians that dont stop talking..in one room)
it kinda "sucks" casue the teachers dont know that i am "the exchange student" and i feeel like i should introduce myself and be liek, "helllo, i am american and i dont do anything in class. hope its not a problem if sometimes i sleeep but usually i dont casue disturptions. nice to meet you!"
the one day i was sitting in class with my best friend (portuguese dictionary) just spending some time with him, we were separated for a long time. and the teacher was like, what are you doing? why are you reading?
i hold up my dictionary with a look of innocence.
the class: she's the exchange student!! she's american! she usually just sleeeps!!
teacher: OH MY GOSH! i am so sorrrry! do you understand?!??!
american: yess, but you speak realllllllllly fast.
she continues the lessson, speaking more slowly and talking more with her hands as if she is teaching kindergarden rather than teenagers and kinda directing it alll towards me. ooh CSFX..
so i went to school for a weeek..
then skipped a weeek to go to Belo Horizonte with my family :))
when my mom asked me if i wanted to go to BH with her, i was like, i would do anything, ANYTHING, to get outta school for a weeek.
my brother moved to BH to go to one of the best schools in Minas Gerais so my mom thought it be best if i stayed with her and my brother while he got adjusted to the city, his school, and the new apartment.
i wont bare you all the details of that weeek because it was mostly girly shoppping, buying you alll presents cause i love you so much!
while my brother was at schoool, we went to local fairs, markets, malls and various stores.
one day we went to this park, strollling along on the cooblestone streeet, taking in the fresh breeze that isnt in Ipatinga, having some "mother-daughter" bonding. it was nice :) we went to a museum of rocks which sounds LAME but was actuallly very interesting and beauitful and another museum of art that displayed brasilian history via pictures along with photography that had your head tilted to the side, pondering. the following day we went to a natural art museum which didnt have an actual theme, saw everything from dinosaur bones, a study on bats, and a HUGE monkey !
staying in BH for a wk, i'm not tooo sure if i could live in a big city. of course there is soo much to do, soo much to see, but man, when i am sleeeping at 3am and i hear the gargabe man almost screaming to the other man to "grab it and go!" ..i heard him until crossed neighborhoods.
or when the people in the building 2 streeets down is gettting a litttle rowdy with their BBQ.
also, who in God's name has a ROOSTER in the city? telll me why at at 5:35 EVERY morning, i woke up and sigh loudly, swearing that if i had gun and knew where that rooster was, i would be at it. (i am hitting the keys while typing this i am so angry, still!)
ooh BH..
that weeekend, me and my dad went to Ouro Preto, a place that i would go back in a heart beat.
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