On Wednesday, August 1st, I took a plane to Brazil. I was soooo excited...until the moment of saying good bye to my parents came closer. That was the worst moment of my entire life. I attached a picture below of me and my parents about 30 minutes before I got on the plane. Don't let our happy faces fool you. To say it was hard to get on that plane is an understatement. The guys who sat next to me probably thought I was a hysterical crazy girl! I was! When the plane took off I wanted to bang on the window and say STOP!!! Nevermind! I cried on and off for the next 2 days. I love my family so much and I underestimated how hard it would be to leave them.
My flight went like this: 1:55 pm I went took a plane to Atlanta, after a 1 hour layover there I took another plane at 9:00 pm to Brasilia- the capital if Brazil. I arrived in Brasilia at 7:00 am. In Brasilia I struggled to find people who really understood me but it was ok. I had a 6 hour layover there but it didn't seem too long. It was so interesting to hear everyone speak portuguese! I didn't understand a word! I also noticed that Brazilians seemed to dress up to go to the airport and most of the women wore heels! I felt underdressed in my Rotary blazer, t-shirt, and flat tennis shoes. After a delay and three changes of my gate to Campo Grande, I finally boarded my plane at 1:00 pm and arrived in Campo Grande about 2:30 Campo Grande time which is one hour earlier than Brasilia time. (Campo Grande is 2 hours later than Utah time)
When I arrived, my family and Brazilian friends were waiting for me. My "host cousin" Kevin is on the far left, my Rotary counselor Luiz is on my left, my host mom, Lais, is on my right and Marcelo, my friend and future "host father" is in the red and green striped shirt on the left.
I life in an apartment in Campo Grande and it is beautiful! The first few days I missed my family so much but by Saturday I felt much better.
My host mother works at a place called "Pesque e Pague" where people come and catch fish and pay for them by their weight and the type of fish. One man let me reel in a fish and it was HUGE!!! One man caught an enormous fish! I wish I had my camera at that time!
I also met many people and made friends very easily. Brazilians are so friendly. I was caught off guard when I first experienced their greetings. They always give "beijos" and kiss you on the cheek! I am not a "touchy" person and so this scared me but now I'm used to it!
My new friends I met at the pesque e pague took me around and taught me lots of words in portuguese! I have had "muitas professoras e professors de portuguese" (lots of portuguese teachers) here to help me! But I struggle with saying the words! It's so hard to have a nasal accent but I'm sure I will learn with time!
Brazil is a beautiful place and the people here are SO kind and welcoming! I am so grateful to have this opportunity!
Tchau! Beijos!
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