Allllmost 3 months!

Novermber 08, 2007,
So...
I guess it´s about time I write you guys again. I´m sure its been over two weeks since I last wrote you, and my sister has notified me of everyones curiousity of what happens next in the life of Angela in Brasil!
In all seriousness, I have no idea where to start. I mean, people always say that. But all time here models into one big blob, I´m not sure if the order in which I write things is correct...but in the end The exact date of these events don´t matter. For the msot part I will be overing the past two or three weeks, for I think thats where most the action lies.
About two weeks ago the other intercambista of my city took off for the Pantanal of Brasil, one of the 4 trips Rotary offers us down here. I´ll be going on the “SUPER DREAM NORTH EAST” in january! I´m super stoked! Anyway, with him gone, there was absolutely no one to speak english to, and I had a nice whole two weeks without speaking a lick of it with anyone down here. (On the Record Zaca and I don´t talk that much. He and I are friends, but both very content on learning the lanuage!)
Anyway, On the weekend before halloween, my sister´s (now cousin, as you will read on later...) english school threw a festa fanstasia for everyone who wanted to experience the American Halloween!So I decided to go as a black cat, seeing in all how it´s one of the most basic symbols of Halloween back home! Plesently to my suprize, Dressing as a kitty cat is almost as equivilent as dressing as a playboy bunny!!! (Not quite....but almost!) As to my Sister who Dressed up as a bunny...Looked exactly like the idea of Playboy bunny...and no one made any comments. Haha, but that was a fun experience! The party was kind of a bore, LOTS of young kids, most the music was awful...though inbetween dancing hippie and house...someone kicked in one song of hevay metal, and I headbanged with the Kids dressed up as goths. Oh, one was pretty intense about his gothic get up, and he was acting all ture drama and sulky. Had to discribe...but in sort...just really intense. Its was a blast to watch. All in all it was fun to see what kind of costumes people came up with. And it was deffinitaly not a night wasted!
The next night was the 15th birthday party of (my new sister) Camila, and a girl names Natalia! First stop was Camila´s house, it was also her mothers birthday. We hung out for awhile, ate food, talked. I met this Man named Andre and his wife. (Who´s name has escaped me for the moment! Oops!) They were amazingly awesome! They talked with me for about an hour, and invited me to come to their house some other day for Pão de queijo and suco (juice). Of course I accepted! Oh, So Andre is basicaly the Brasilian Johnny Travolta! He looks JUST like him! Its crazy! Hahah. With of Kisses and hugs Goodbye, Marcela and I were moving onto the second party of the night. This one had a tiny bit bigger budget, and more of my friends there. The rest of the night was spent talking, eating tons of Brasilian candy, and dancing Forro, techno, and hippie. It was a night to remmember!
One night of some week I went to Course of Model with Marcela. In shorts, it was pretty much a waste of time...and i don´t think they are learning that much...but the photos schould still come out really cool. So I will look forward to seeing those. After that My friends and i decided to have a photoshoot of our own with my small olympic digital. We all gathered at my Ballet prof´s house (one of her daughters is one of my friends) and did our make up, and everyone one poles peices of cloathing in the bed. We Dug threw and picked out some outfits. (which werent exactly high fashion...but hey...I don´t think these photo´s are going into vouge!!!) We got some good shots in and had a blast doing it all. One other reason we did the shoot was some one of my fiends who is going to College for Moda, could have some photos for her to learn photoshop with. (and I´d be her teacher!) She has Adobe photoshop 7.0 (which apperently is new down here...haha If you are art or computer geeks...then you know that now theya re coming out with CS3 photoshop...) And their computers are the type that we had back in 1995...so it was a bit harder to teacher than I would have liked. (plus all of photoshop was in portuguese!) but i got a few good tricks in with her.
So, here I have found a HUGE passion for riding my bike. Everyday I ride it to and from school...and sometimes ont he weekends I will ride it around the city a few times for some exersice. Well one day I was out on a ride...and I had made the trek to the school 4 times in a row to get my heart pumping. (its basicaly just this looong uphill strech) Now, as I was making my way back to the house I saw John Travolta and his wife standing outside their house (as a discovered in that moment was their house) washing some motercycels...some pretty spiffy looking ones might I add. They spotted me and gave me a friendly wave, and not thinking, in return I lifted up one of my hands from the handels and gave them na enthusiastic wave. Wrong move on my part! Seeing how I was going up hill, my balance was off, and I went plumeting down to the pavment. Hahah, Along with me squeeling some awkward angela aounds. It wasent that back of a fall, I think I was more emberresed than hurt. But they came running over to make sure I was okay. I popped back up to my feet, and reassured them that the only igury was a scrapped palm, and some dirty grease smudged legs. We talked for a bit more, then they told me to go home and shower...then after wards come over to their hosue again and soem some Pão de queijo and souco! So I hurried on home and gave myself a wash! About na hour later I dragged my sister Marcela with me back to their house to hang out. We sat around for awhile, talked...I looked at some photos of J.T and his wife on some road trips with their old Harly davidson, and watched their fish swim around in their tinny pond inside. We cooked up some PdQ and mixxed some juice. Just as we were sitting down to snack, Johnny (or read name Andre) and his two sons, Danial, and Andre Juiz walked in. We all had a blast talking some more( man...we do ALOT of chilling and talking here...like alot.) Then Johnny asked me if i wanted to go for a ride with him on his Motorcycle!!! So first I thought of all those times my dear mother asked me never to step onto a moto cycel...cause of all the people she takes care of in the Emergency room who have fallen off. But the adventure needed to be fullfilled, so I said yes! So we Hopped on his red Suzuki and took off. We first went through the city...everyone´s heads turned to see us (Thats how nice the bike is compred to everyone elses...oh yeah, everyone here has a motorcycle) I was giveing my littel handel a death grip as we left the city to the main highway. He took off so FAST! It was crazy, I kept thinking I was some how going to fly off...and that if we crashed I was done for. All I had on was Jeans, flipslops, and a black tank top! Talk about scary!
Anyway, we made it back safely, and he took out my two sisters next. Thought he didnt take them to the big road, they had a blast as well!Soon more people showed up, we fired up the grill and had a curasca! (BBQ!) Then Johnny asked me if I wanted to go on a bike ride with him that weekend and his 2 sons. There was a Casoiera (waterfall) near by the city, and I said i was totally up for it! He let me know that it was a long ride, but toattly worth it.
So on Friday morning at 6 we started our trek for the waterfall! My littel sister said she wanted to go as well, but every time I told her she was to young the threw a fit, and insisted that she could do it. Luckily I woke up late the day of the ride and was in such a hurry that I forgot her. Because man, it was hard. The whole trek consisted of 34KM...I think that is somewhere around 15miles, but I could be very very wrong!
I had SUCH a good time hanging out with the Boys. I mean, I love hanging out with girls, doing girly things. But here doing somthing with the girls almost always has somthing to do with church, it kind of gets tiring after awhile when its not somthing that is in your intrests. But this was just pure Chill time, roughin it in the country with some friends. When we got there we went for a swim in the water. Johnny and his son Andre Juiz cause some fish that we stuck in a old soda bottel and brought back home with us. On the way home it started to rain a bit. Which was a nice refresher. We we lucky it wasent to hot that day. The rain had just started to move in. We arrived back home around 10:50, and all headed home for some showers! That afternoon My family and I headed to his house again for a birthday party of a friends sister. We talked, ate, and I slept about na hour. I was tuckered out from the ride that morning! I woke up to the sound of Johnny´s Moto...and I quickly hurried back out to get another ride. This time we went further, and he showed me his ´Saint´a church dedicated to a saint near by. It was pretty cool. Oh, by the way they say ‘saint’ like ‘santa’...so i was pretty confused at first when people where talking about Santa! (in fact the first time i heard it I burst into singing a christmas song...oops!)
As everything came to a slow end, we found our way back to the house, and that night I slept like a log.
As I said, the rain has moved in. Long awaited...and long deserved. My city is a Dry, and hot place. I guess you can say it all first started when I was spending the night at a friends house. As we were walking over to her grandmothers house, a long bright violet bolt light up the sky. A few seconds later a small rummbel echoed through the city. The Wind picked up and started throwing all the dirt in the streets into our eyes. My heart started to beat a littel quicker as the number of lots increased as we walked along. By the time we reached her Grandma´s house, the wind was slamming doors and another other things left open. The sky was black, but constantly light up with lighting...and the thunder was stedily growing louder.(And my heart was stedily speeding up!) Then the Rain started.
When it rains here, it rains hard. Within the first few seconds of you standing in it, your soked to the bone! My Friend Mariana, her cousin, and I ran to the movie store to pick up some films for the night, and then ordered some pizza! All the while I was increesingly growing more freaked out by the fact that The lighting was directly above us, and we where walking in the streets! Mariana and I finally went back in the house after one bolt struck Right above us, and I freak out and hit the ground. She chouldnt stop laughing for like 10 minutes. I felt pretty stupid...hahah.
This past Weekend I switched families. Normally you spend 3 months with each family...but seeing as how i will spend a month in january traveling the north, my first father wanted me to have na equal amount of time with each family...so he said I could go to my next family. So Friday night I packed all my things and moved into my new families house. New new parents names are Faboila and Lazadro. They work at a constuction suply store that they own in the City. I have 3 sisters, but one is currently on exchange in Colorado..so I wont be seeing her! My two sisters here names are Camilia (15 years) and Lara (11 years) They are both Amazing, and super nice! I couldnt have more luck. The next day (Saturday) we headed off to the farm of a friend of theirs named Andre. It was right next to the River, had tons of green trees, and LOTS of animals. The first thing we did when we got there was go and swim in the river. Which is a moment i will remmember for the rest of my life. (a good one!) My younger sister and I picked some mango´s before we headed down..and we waidded them out to the center of the river with us (the center was the shallowest!) We stat there swimming, relaxing, and eating mangos! What a cool moment! I also saw some monkeys playing in the trees next to us. (not to menchion all the parrots and other birds!) Then that night we had a BBQ, and the owner of the house arrived. I found out he had done na exchange in Candada for 2 months when he was younger. He was a pretty cool guy. He lives on the farm, and in Belo Horizonte...a city 4 hours away. (he told a story how once he was house robbed while he was in the house, and they tied everyone up, and pointed us at them and everything!!!) He Looves animals, has a nillion of them, and knows alot about them! That night we sat out and watched some owls eat all the bugs, I saw a Huge frog..and we picked a huge bug for it them fed it to it. It was so cool!
That night I slept pretty well.
The next mornign went by pretty quickly...by the time we were jsut about to leave a storm had rolled in and it started to Thunder and lighting pretty hard. The bolts where jsut a few miles out...and you could tell they were touching the ground. The rain was nailing the ground hard. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we all loaded in the car and took off...The rain proceeded to get thicker, and the lighting closer. I began peering the horizen, intent on seeing a bolt touch the ground...then one flash was so bright it blinded all of us, and the thunder shook the car. I was flipping out with excitment. Not to menchion my father was driving the car like indiana jones...He reminds me of my real dad driving the car at home...more focued on talking with other people then the road. ( ;D )
Anyway, by the time we reached the real raod, the water was pooling up major time...and there were several cars stopped because the rain was to heavy for them. It was about another 15 minutes before we reached to city. Where the coolest thing was happening...FLASH FLOODS! There were places where we drove where the water came up to the bottom of the car door! Barely anyone was in the streets, because the streets where turned into rivers! I can´even dicribe how excited I was. Once we reached the house, I bounded into my room, picked up my camera, grabbed my sisters, and hit the streets. Where I snaped several shots of us dancing in the rain, and a few vedios of the rushing waters! What a fun event to experience...and apperently it happens ALOT here! Whoohooo!!! (on a side note..I taught people how to say Whoohoo here...they use it all the time now! Hahah)

My final story of this update is About Sapo the Frog. (Sapo is the word for From in Português...but I think it´s a cute name to!) This week at school Started out like any other, the days draged on...yddah yaddah yaddha. Then Tuesday during break, when everyone was just chilling out and eating food, all of a sudden na eruption of girlish screams broke out, and a few boys laughters. After a few seconds of the scream increasing i stood up to see that a Rather large frog (to us a toad) had found its way into the main court thing. A few of the Boys where kicking it at some of the girls. After 2 kicks I raced over to them screaming “PARE, PARE!!!!” (Stop stop!) I mean, they were flinning this thing through the air with each kick! One of the boys tried to kick it again, but I bent down and picked it up. This droved everyone nuts! Hahha, All the girls where gasping, and screaming how gross it was...and i quickly waddeled away with it in hands to find it a safe little place for him to hopp off free and safe from farms way. As I was walking off with him, the whole school burst into cheer and was clapping and so forth. Now...after I returned from placing him in this new littel place one of the instructors of the school came runing up to me, talking in a hurry...then my younger sister came up to me me and said (in portugês...but I´ll write it for you in engliash) “Do you remmember at Andreps farm? The frog we saw? Do you remmember what he said about the frog?” I gave her a responce by shaking me head no...”Reammember he said when these frogs are scared the squirt milk???” I laughed and nodded my head. I had tottaly forgotten that the Frogs here have a defense mechanish, where the squirt venon when they are in danger. And I had just gone and picked that thing right up and waddeled off with him! I was super lucky he did decided to give me a taste of his poison! Haha, The rest of the day, and week I have had people comming up to me asking me if I really picked up a frog, If I have fear of Frogs, and if i think they are ugly. Haha, ohhh my.
Well today is Thursday night...and i just got back from Ballet and Jump class. Tomarrow I have a birthday party to go to...and the next day i will ride my bike another 20 KM to my families Farm...which I will spend the weekend horse back riding! What fun!!

Hope home life is going well for you guys!
I love reading updated...so don´t be afraid to send me some!!!