*The Vacation of My Life*

Last month, 42 exhange students and I  took a 4 week bus tour organized by the Rotary District 4760, along the coast of Brazil. From all corners of the world my fellow exchangers came. The Unites States, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden,Thailand, Taiwan, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary,Brazil,RussiaGermany,Equador,Canada, Finland, Norway, and Mexico. Today I can literally say that I have connected with every single exchange student that went on the trip with me and although we came from different regions of the world our similarities are much stronger than the differences, as this is what has been revealed to me. Through similarities of experiencing a new part of the world, missing friends and family back home and starting a new life with out the people that we have loved, makes us one big family. During the trip we were also accompanied by a lovely pair of chaperones and their Brazillian daughter as well as two coordentors, Rotary International and our district 4760 formed a trip around the essence of Brazil to show us how the rhythm of life really is lived in some parts of Brazil.

Our trip began in the famous city Rio de Janeiro where we stayed for three nightsin a hotel overlooking the Avenue Copacabana as well as Ipanema beach. There we played volleyball on the scorching sand and bought trinkets from the venders. We were aroused by the the sights of Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf mountain) as well the statue Jesus Christo Redentor the largest standing statue of Christ in the world.What was particularly interesting to me was the(Favela Rocinha )the largest shantytown in Latin America and if I am not mistaken in the world. A favela is not known under legal entity as the land has been squatted on and there is no such thing as a structural goverment.The society is plagued by tight living quartersand live with poor hygeine caused from the lack of a sewage system and running water. In most any of the Favelas in Brazil whether or not in Rio de Janeiro or Belo Horizonte it’s typical that there is only one avenue to enter and to exit for the sake of traffic control.  

After Rio, we went north up the coast, stopping along the way at many exotic and  historical sights.Vitoria, was impressive because there was a chocolate factory, and we also visited a convent on top of a hill. Arraial D Ajuda, had a beautiful beach with native children dressed up in their traditional clothes with faces painted. They had bright decorative feathers laid at the sides of there skirts and pinned in there hair. Itacaré, was breathtaking if I would decide to live in Brazil for part of my adult life Itacaré would be the spot, it is a small hippy town on the coast where the nights are vivid with people playing music, and singing around bonfires. Life can’t become more real than that, it was sublime to the utmost peak of extasy. 

On our trip, there was a five star hotel awaiting for our arrival in Lençois. It was surrounded by natural scenery of plants and large trees the sight overtook us. We stayed there for two nights and in that short sum of time a variety of splendor sightseeing  was taken advantage of. From exploring caves, swimming in a lake with a waterfall, and discovering a mud hole. Every second was worth while play time. Salvador, was a very large city. One of our destinations was the (Marcado Central)Central Market this is where we did most of our shopping since everything could be found at affordable price. Maceio, Porto de Galinhas, Recife, Natal, and Canoa Quebrada, were also places that we visited. Last on our tourof the Northeast  was Forteleza, a beach from Paradise as well as the last crystalline brazillian beach that I will be seeing for quite some time. I treated myself to a pinapple fruit cup full of delicous juices and for a small pain of 4 reais($1.70). 

From there we caught a plane and flew southwest to Brasillia the capital of Brazil and then back to Belo Horizonte by bus.

Rotary really offered us a memorable experience to treasure the marvalous views of Brazil. A trip that wouldn’t have been half as fun without my family of friends. A journey that ended in tears of sadness and joy. For the best friends that I have had in my life were made on this tour. A new journey of friendship has begun in my life with 3 splendid young lady’s with lives completely different than my own, but yet with more understanding between one another about who we are as individuals than with people we have known all of our lives. Through the obvious parts that link us together at the hip and the not so obvious we are one family and their presence in my life has changed my opinion on friendship and how a healthy relationship should be.

Christmas ( Natal ) e Papai Noel

Brasilians don’t celebrate Christmas by opening presents on the morning of the 25^th.  Instead, it all begins the night of the 24^th, when the presents are unwrapped and everyone gets to examine what they have been given.   This may seem superficial, but this is what I see when I witness how people in my country celebrate the holy night.  As for my last Christmas Eve experience, it was very fun.  My friends, family, and I spent the night drinking and enjoying each other’s company.  There was laughter, joy, and cheer. We spent the night at my aunt’s apartment, which can normally fit 12 people, but a large exception was made—we fit 20!  That night, a present exchange took place while Madonna played on the slideshow projector and people ate cracked nuts. 

On Christmas morning, I waited for my family to get up and go to mass since I thought this was a very special part of Christmas for every region of the world, but my family never got up to go. The afternoon of the 25^th, we went to my grandma’s house with all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. I can hardly describe the amount of food present! Lord o Lord, that was a present in itself: turkey corn pudding, salad, mashed potatoes spaghetti, a real show of fabulous dishes!  All and all, it was a great time, consisting of family, fun, and food.

After Christmas was over, I stopped to think about our Christmas celebration.  I was a little confused because I know that the majority of the Brasillians are Catholic.  I discovered this through research before coming to the country, but the understanding as confirmed throughout my six-month stay.  Still living in Brasil, I believe the Religion is very strongly practiced.  In the United States, even if you’re not a practicing Catholic, you go to church on Christmas, so the fact that we didn’t go was a little funny for me.

       With no snow on the ground, I’d call my most recent holiday season the opposite of a winter wonderland! But I was in a house with people who loved me, and when I think of Christmas this way, the day was ideal. This year I realized that the holiday season passed by without really much hustle and bustle. For this reason, I never really came to grips with what was happening.   Actually, it was five days before Christmas when my sister told me that we were going to put up the Christmas tree. Enthusiasm rushed through her face as all the glorious memories of her past Christmases rushed through her head.  She is 12-year-old who knew she would be getting a new cell phone for Christmas, so her excitement is certainly understandable. As we put up the tree that bright Brasilian morning, the aroma of pine trees stoked my memories: the tradition of cutting down the Christmas tree with my parents near our house, and then laying it down in the garage to dry while with anticipation for the next day when we would arrange all the ornaments from my parents’ childhoods as well as Clinton’s and mine. 

       Every place around the world celebrates Christmas differently, so I was happy to have had the chance to see what Brasilians do for the day and night.  But if I say so in my own words, Carnival is the Brasilians’ best Holiday, not Christmas. The reality is that the people don’t have snow or gingerbread or warm hot fireplaces to hang the stockings by. This is the type of Christmas that I know and love, and anything less than that is a little odd, and a bit sad from my perspective.  In America, Christmas isn’t Christmas without your family, and the smells and customs that you are accustomed to are the sugar cookies with sprinkles and a dollop of icing that usually tastes better than the cookie itself.

       Truthfully, as I write this blog with a few faded memories from the season of ginger bread and snow, it’s hard to remember how the days passed by in Alaska. But all the same, life is Good and the holidays were fine.

The Girly Friends

It’s February; the time is a whirlwind in what seems to be like a fantasyland, as my mother would say. I am not sure if I mentioned earlier that I was going to the Northeast of Brasil with 42 other exchange students.  Well, I went, and reality smacked me in the face this morning. Morning starts early for us.  The 5:50 wakeup call from the darn alarm clock seems to dance through my head even as I sleep throughout the night. Oh how the mornings great me with a sweet smile—a breeze of polluted air whips by my face every morning as I walk out the door into the streets of crowds and passers by. Although there is no way to visualize  the toxins that so sweetly fill my lungs, they’re always visible in the back of my mind, making me think about how my health will fare because of these days.  This is what we call getting accustomed to the city.

       I was blessed with a wonderful visit from a few of my girlfriends from Homer these past few days—Thorey Reba and Emmy. We had a super-fabulous time hanging out with my friends from the street. The girls were staying at my Grandma’s house here in Belo Horizonte because her house accommodates more visitors. My family might be acting a bit too hospitable, though.  In fact, it’s slightly ironic how my family felt that Reba could never get full of eating their food, but she does. She was stuffed full of every type of food that she could get her hands on, but the funny part was that she didn't know how to say "I'm full." So she finally begged me to tell my family that she was full.  Yes, I also gave her a few hints about telling people that she was full and how to say it properly. 

       While my friends were there, we made a hydrating cream for our hair from avocados and egg whites.  We put it in the mixer, put it in our hair like conditioner, and left it in for 40 minutes just like a hair dye. As we mixed the mixture of splendor into one another’s hair, the aroma of avocados and eggs filled the room. We put bags on top of our heads to keep it all together, and at that very instant I felt like I had a head full of sauce and juices that was about to spill all over, and we all laughed. It was funny, and our hair has never felt better. Now we are looking as glorious as ever Pain is beauty in the fashion world, and as we are not the most fashionable gang around, we like to look good through laughter instead of tears.  We all have natural beauty, but the key, my dear people, is to laugh and life will be good.

       In life, moments come and go.  My Brasilian friends asked me if I would miss the girls since today was our last day together, but truthfully the feeling that I hold inside is not a feeling of sadness in any way or form. My life is here in Brasil; it’s not in Alaska; it’s not in other places in the world or even other cities here in Brasil. My journey and life is Belo Horizonte and what I can make out of it.  I have my standards, and my morals are from the way my parents raised me in Alaska.  This is something that I will continue to use throughout my life, but I don't need to hold on with every last grasp to the life I lived because, truthfully, the only thing that matters now is the type of person who I am today and the future that is in front of my eyes.