Almost one week in Brazil

I arrived in Brazil last Friday. Today is Thursday. It has been almost a week here and the amount of things I have experienced in one week has been unbelievable. Every day I learn and see new things. I will write more later but until then, here are some pictures. 

my first meal here, very traditional and delicious 

Santos soccer stadium

me at the beach

Caldo de Cana, amazing!!! It is made of sugarcane and lime

coconut! (I dont like very much but it might grow on me) 

The cable cars that go up the mountain here. Such good views!

traditional food! 

All this can go on your rice and beans, toppings

sweets!!!

my new city and my sister! 

Santos

Sao Vicente 

Isabela's goodbye party/dinner. Many new friends!

"stand-up (y)" 

first day of school, with the skinny jeans and sneakers- going Brazilian 

friends!

I made brownies! 

My sister leaves for the united states! 

at the "shopping"

fruits at the farmers market

coxinha e caldo de cana! new favorite foods!

Catching Up and Heading Out

As I write this I am resting in my bed. Today is the day before I leave. I wouldn't call myself an early riser but I don't sleep in late often. I am enjoying the peace in my house as everything is quiet. My fan spins at a steady speed, a plastic shopping bag of things to pack listlessly crinkles around and my iHome plays Ben Rector on Pandora. The list of things to get done today stretches out next to me on my bedside table like a never ending Pez Dispenser- every time one thing gets crossed off, another thing is added. There is a lot of be done before I get onto a plane tomorrow evening but I am excited. I believe it is manageable and I have confidence in the journey ahead of me.

The past few days have been a rush to have everything done before I leave. Because of that, I have neglected to post and as "a picture is worth 1000 words" I will show pictures from my trip to North Carolina with my mom rather than boring you with thousands of words.

peanut butter pie at the Grove Park Inn on their sunset terrace 

Biltmore

the flower garden at the Biltmore 

cars parked in the parking lot of the Biltmore

Blue Ridge Parkway 

the view from the end of a hike 

Its Official

Today I got my flight itinerary! It is official, I am going to Brazil in a week! I leave Orlando at 6:30pm, have a short layover in Atlanta and then head to Sao Paulo where I will arrive at 8:15am local time. From there I will be picked up by my wonderful host family who will drive me to Santos, the city I will live in which is about 2 hours from the airport/ 1 hour from Sao Paulo. 

Here I go! The one week rush begins! 

See you soon Brazil!
-B.

A Quick Update

I have been spending this week in the North Carolina mountains for a little vacation with my mom before I leave for Brazil, meaning I haven't had the best of internet connection and I have been busy. Posts will be more frequent once I am home.

The big news is... I have a Visa!!!!!! I get to choose when I leave and I requested the 16th of August. 

That is ONE WEEK AWAY!!!!

I am waiting on the agency that makes my flight itinerary to give me flight details but hopefully a week from now I will be headed out on an international flight!

I ask for prayers as I head into a whirlwind of "lasts" when I return home from North Carolina and as I fly to Brazil where I will be thrown into a completely new lifestyle and language.


See you soon Brazil! 
-B

Brazil and UNC

The last several days my best friend of all time came to the City Beautiful, Orlando, FL to see me before I head to Brazil and she heads to college. She will be attending the University of North Carolina while I am abroad and at Samford. I have known her since I was four months old and she has been a huge part of my life. Seeing her is always fun and always long overdue. We got to spend four days together on this trip and managed to pack in lots of shopping, eating, and a trip to Disney. I will miss her this next year but both of us have fun years planned!

No Expectations

This blog post is simple. I just want to say to all the people who are interested in studying abroad that:

 NO EXCHANGE IS EXACTLY THE SAME

From day 1 there will be differences. I am fortunate to have a girl from Florida like I am who went to the same city I am going to and even the same private school system. This does not mean that our years abroad will be the same. As similar as exchanges can be, none are ever the exact same. Applying for a visa for Japan is not the same as applying for one for Brazil or Thailand. Schools will be different and host families will have different dynamics. Every step of the way there are differences. The important thing is to understand that and take the blows as they come. 

Myself and Halsey (the student who went to the same area I am going to) 

All The Countdowns Surround Me

I sit in my room as I type this. "Vienna" by Billy Joel is playing on my computer. A severe thunderstorm rages around me. I have worked all day and the exhaustion is setting in. I am tempted to fall asleep as there is nowhere I can go while this storm (which feels more like a hurricane than a t-storm) blows through. The power is flashing in and out.

My exchange right now is somewhat like my situation in this storm right now. It is the end of the day and it is the end of my year of preparation. I am tired, but I am ready to move along. Just like I am stuck in my house, I am stuck in Florida at the moment. I am waiting for my visa which means I am waiting for my ticket and my leave date. I could be leaving in a week and a half or up to five and a half weeks from now. It is very uncertain of what is coming this next month for me. I am "in the dark" on some of this process and it is a matter of trusting that everything will come through at the moment.

The majority of the students around me are counting down the days.. two for some, ten for others and some are leaving in 20 or 30 days. I have no countdown but instead I have piles of lists. I have lists of things to do, lists of things to pack, lists of what to do when i find out when I am leaving. I could be given 24 hours notice before I have to board a plane. My life is being held in suspension as I continue to babysit, work, nanny, visit friends and have friends visit me. I know that starting in a week everything i have scheduled can be canceled in a moments notice. I am learning to live knowing that the ongoing things are temporary and learning to accept this fact. For someone like me who is a planner, this can be difficult but it is good for me. It is forcing me to be out of my comfort zone which is a huge part of going on an exchange is all about. I am learning and growing, even when its not easy.

Vienna by Billy Joel 

Rotary Potluck: An evening of assignments, accomplishments and goodbyes

10 of the 14 students from district 6980

On Friday July 13th district 6980 had our final event- a potluck in which each student brought food from their future host country and each student spoke in their host language. Each student also had to turn in two paragraphs in their host language about their hopes and expectations for the upcoming year. We had all known this event was coming but the reality of it was stunning. A year ago I would have never imagined that I would be spending a gap year abroad, especially not in Brazil. Now this upcoming year is a huge part of my life. I study the language every day, I am making friends with every Brazilian I can meet, and I see Brazil everywhere I go. I hear Brazilian music playing at Target, I notice every t-shirt with the Brazil flag on it and I am always listening into stranger's conversations to see if they are speaking Portuguese or Spanish. The changes in my life have been drastic but they have been for the best. I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful people through this experience and I have grown close to many of them. 

Scott Krogmann (my outbound coordinator) and me

Caroline (future outbound to Thailand) and me

Brigadeiro

Assignment: Make a food from your host country
Purpose: Feed a large group of people at a Rotary farewell dinner
Lesson: Learn about a part of your new host culture
What I did: I made brigadeiro!!!

In Brazil, brigadeiro is an extremely common sweet. From an american perspective it is sort of balls of fudge rolled in sprinkles. This is what they traditionally look like.

I made an attempt to make some today. I have never tasted them before but the recipe is simple (just sweetened condensed milk, cocoa and a little bit of butter) so I decided to give them a shot before attempting to serve them to a group of 50 or 60 people.

I could not find chocolate sprinkles so I substituted but the concept is still the same. These are how mine turned out. They are delicious!

The recipe can be found at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brigadeiro/   Note: read the top comment by a Brazilian. It gives better tips and the extra instructions are helpful. 

See you soon Brazil! 
-B

Cameras, Because Every Exchange Student Needs Them!

I love photography. I always have. My first experience with photography was when I was in second grade and I went out of the country for the first time. My family took a two week trip to China where we went to Beijing and Xingdao (or something that sounds like that). My parents gave me a disposable camera to use on the trip. This was the first time I was in complete control of a camera and I loved it! I was always looking for the perfect shot, the perfect view, the perfect place to use my limited shots. The roll on my camera started out with childish shots of my friends and I being silly but during the course of the trip I grew to have a more keen eye for my surroundings and focused more on the landscape and the sights. I knew that I loved my little disposable camera and from then on I loved photography. I have gone through several levels of cameras since then, both film and digital, and recently stepped into the "big leagues" of digital cameras. I received my first DSLR camera as my graduation present. I got a Canon T3i (like the one below). 

While I am in Brazil I will need to be careful about where and when I take my DSLR. I want to be able to take good images but not everywhere I go will be a safe place for me to bring it. To compensate for the times in which I will not have it, I purchased a much cheaper digital camera at target. My new camera was only about $75 US dollars and is waterproof so it can handle more abuse. It is small enough that I can fit it in my pocket and discrete enough that I can take it out for a quick shot and put it away without it being noticed. With both of these together, I hope to not miss capturing any important moments in my upcoming year!








See you soon Brazil!
-B

The Pinnage: A How-To Guide to Making Simple Pins

For those of you who don't know, a common practice between Rotary Youth Exchange Students is trading pins. Each student wears a Blazer like the one below to Rotary Events and when they travel.

Students exchange pins and gradually over their year abroad they acquire enough to have a well adorned blazer. While the pin covered blazers do not always look classy and put together, they are a representation of a year abroad and are often memory-filled. Some students order their pins, some design theirs online, and others (like me) make them.

These are the pins I made today. 

Here is a step-by-step picture guide to how to make simple pins like the ones I made. 

Supplies: 

Ribbon (Hobby Lobby often runs their ribbon at 50% off so watch for sales)

Pin backs (I found mine at Hobby Lobby at 36 for $3)

Center adornment-optional (I chose to use a variety of USA coins)

*note*  Always check online for coupons before going to hobby lobby. They often have good ones that make purchasing supplies a little cheaper. 

Also:

Hot glue

Scissors

Step 1: Cut ribbon. I chose to cut mine anywhere from 6-8 inches 

Step 2: Cross the ends of the ribbon over each other to create a loop. Use a dot of hot glue where the ribbon crosses itself to hold the pieces together. 

Step 3 (optional):

Attach a center piece ontop of the ribbon. I used various US coins. To attach the coins you apply hot glue liberally onto of the point in which the ribbon ends cross and firmly press the coin onto the hot glue. 

Step 4: 

Attach pin backs onto ribbons with a line of hot glue. 

Let dry and they are done!