Tudo jóia!!

I can´t put into words how amazing it is to finally be here and eat carne and talk with my sisters and go to barbecues, and tomorrow is my first day of school...!
A week minus a day before today, I got up at 3:30 in the morning to catch a flight at 6:00 to miami. On the first flight I was just staring out the window right behind the wing and watching the flaps tilt and marveling at the beauty of the sunrise and clouds turning pink, orange, yellow, and then slept. I remember waking up to the announcement that we were 35 mintutes away, when I would have beleived there was still an hour and a half. On the second flight, I sat next to the mother of a family flying to Miami as well and then to Peru to help teach english to needy schools for a week. At the hotel, I soon met the other soon to be brasileiros- only five, less than the others there at the time going to Chile and Paraguay. It was very neat to be able to meet and talk to the other people who shared such a crazy and adventurous spirit and we connected as close friends even in the short time that we were together.

The next night, on Wednesday, we were picked up, given tickets, and after checking in baggage, left at security. We then comenced to have some dinner, though my stomach was already a little queasy. We could see the plane outside the glass wall at our table- written on the side "orgulhos de ser brasileiros" pride to be brazilian. Now on the ticket, it said the plane was leaving at 7:30, but Naiomi checked the gate and the screens and it said it wasn´t leaving untill later. However, when we happened to hear our names pronounced with a brazilian accent over the intercom, we jumped up and started walking, then running to the gate to see that they were, in fact, waiting for us. (ai!! nossa senhora-) That flight, I have to say, was a bit more stressful. After nearly (well not nearly, litterally) droping my carry-on on an innocent passenger, I sat in the back between two yong brasileiros, one, if not both was with a big group of brazilians with matching jakets and disneyland souveneirs eveywhere. The first thing I was handed was a steaming hot damp cloth, which I was completely bambuzeled of what the purpose was and nonchalatly put down on the side of my seat. I got a drink every time the attendants passed by, sometimes trying to anwer in portuguese and eventually going back to english when i didn´´t understnd them. I had lasagna for dinner, experimented with the tv on the back of the seat in front of me, slept, and had eggs (bleggh) for breakfast, at what must have been about 4 in the morning. I found my first international flight very different, and entertaining- I was interested in every little thing. The five of us then got off and found ourselves pushing carts and pulling, pulling suitcases back and forth through long twisty lines to where we said we had nothing to declare, and then to customs, and then following an AFS volunteer, pulling more and more down a street, and entered into a room of yellow shirts and funny accents. There was definetely a shortge of Americans there, compared to the Italians, germans, etc. Christina explained to me that most americans prefer to go to Europe or not to go on exchanges at all- and that we were very courageous and special for choosing to come here. Then, we said goodbye and went our separate ways engulfed by the enormity of Brazil.

The first thing I ate here for café da manha (breakfast- literally "morning coffee") was pão de queijo (cheese bread) a very well know delicacy and traditional food of minas gerais. I keep hearing people say that their favorite place in brazil is minas- becuse of the nice people, good food, nice cities, beautiflul country side, and I am falling more and more in love with it each day. We arrived in Varginha at the big alien spaceship structure with all of the families waiting there some even with with welcome signs and all with open arms!!! =) me fez muito feliz
The first weekend we spent having barbecues and settling in- Christina as well as others and my family were very happy that I was able to understand and respond to their questions,- none of the other 4 intercambistas at the time (Lizi-germany, Elie-France, Henrike-germany, and Gianfranco-Ittaly)(Zeynep-turkey was not there yet, so I can´s speak for her) spoke as much as me, and it seemed that speaking and hugging and getting used to the new family wasn´t nearly as hard and stressful as I had origionally thought it would be. Although, I have yet to go to school(tomorrow I will). Some things Í´ve noticed and marveled at are the streets that go up and up and down and the houses that are very beautiful on the inside, stuffed into conrrners and slanted streets, with gates in front of the door and on the windows. Everyone uses clothes lines to dry clothers, flys kites, wears tenis with jeans, and drives motorcycles between the cars on the twisting streets, I am completely enchanted everytime we go for a drive, everytime you turn the corner, you can see a hill full of houses and clothes lines and trees. Well, time for jantar, I will post some pictures soon! tchau!