3 months...

Hello everybody!

It´s Angela again, you know the girl who left home a bit over 3 months ago???

So quite a bit has happened in the past few weeks, as it always seems to. But the first thing I want to talk about today is a movie I watched with my sister last night. As lame as this is it was “Meet the Robinsons” a new Disney animation they put out. There is a main saying in that Movie and it´s “ Keep moving forward” and honestly it just strunk me like a baseball on the head. We are always moving forward. I knew it before and I tried to live by it..but by day in day i would forget my revolations...But this thime I think it will stick. It being in a different country ‘millions’ of miles from home, its nessicary. Even if it´s for small things. Sometimes I get upset when people make fun of me here... it gets old after awhile, people laughing at the things you say or do. But you just have to keep moving, keep trying to do things right. Like when you first start riding a bike, they say somthing like “ If you fall down,try try again” which for me, as of this moment...is quite simmilar things. When I am upset about somthing that happened, or somthing someone did that wasent right. I´m not just going to sit around and let things fester in side me. I´m going to go back and do the right thing. (though choose your battels is also a smart rule to live by following this!) I want to make a difference. I don´t want to jsut melt away into the painting. Sometimes I find myself cast off, quite...lost in thoughts...allmost feeling to tired to put up na effort to go and talk to other people. But I´m jsut not going to do that anymore. I want to fix things, or start new things that help others...I jsut want to do good for other people.

Now after that small rant of sorts I will get to the things you want to hear more about!

Brassil!

So last time I ended with saying I was going to bike to the farm with my family and friends. I´ll start off with telling you about that.

My little sister Lara said that she was going to bike there along with John Travolta, Andre-luiz, Daniel and I...so we all hoped on our bikes in the morning...and everyone else hoped into the car and we all started off on our journy...only within the first hill leadding up the the school...Lara was way tuckered out...and in a long story short it ended up us waiting for 20 minutes to bring her bike back to the house, place her in the car with John T´s wife and friend...then start on our way again. I have to admit the bike ride was pretty easy...te majority of the 22km was down hill, but there were some parts that got my legs about to die! Along the way we saw 2 dead cows (died from starvation!) lots of beautiful vast landscape....some BBq´s huts that Daniel had me coninced were tribel huts. (I was super excited and and awe´d out untill he told me he was joking that they were small mud huts for making jerky!) We also ran into a group of cattel drinking at a water hole and Andre-luiz and Daniel snuck into the fence and sent them all running in a hurry...while making weird belting noises as they ran. It was a blast. When we arrived at the farm we started up the curasca (BBQ) and went into converse mode...though we also took some sugar carne...sent it through a crank...and make some juice! (thought it was a bit too sweet for me!) we hung out for while, I met all the animals at ym new farm. My dad Lazado has 700 cows...2pigs, lots chickens...lots of horses, weird quail like animals, a Peacock, dogs, cats, parrots, and lots fo other animals!

Although....My First sister Marcela told me that they kill a pig almsot everytime they go to the farm (the keep 2 in stock usually) and when iw as there they were going to...but ended up we ran out of time...thank GOODNESS! But Lara wants me to help clean the guts with her afterwards! I tried to explain that I would probably cry..but she jsut kept telling me it would be interesting! So who knows what will hsppen there...I´m pretty sure I wont be abel to make myself do it. But who knows. So the friends when home and we stayed the night. It was nice and relaxing. The next day I rode in the car home cause it was rainning cats and dogs!

I also had said that i was going to a birthday party of my Friend Paula...which was pretty fun! There went tooo many people there...probably like 15 (which is small for here!) and we all sat around, talked, listened to music, danced. Thats the cool thing about here and parties...there is ALWAYS a dance! All in all it was a bundel of fun there!

Next event was going to Belo Horizonte for a weekend. My family and I took of Thursday of one week to head for Belo Horizonte for a weekend, for a wedding of one of my mothers cousins. We stayed at the house of friends that I had stayed at the first time I was there, which is actualy na apartment....but anyways..its really nice and the people are nice. While I was there I got to play on a.....PIANO! god it was so cool...but unforunatly I was major sick on the throat area and couldnt sing while I played...which was kind of a bummer. But we also went to a small house of a friend the day of the wedding, where we lazed about and such. While on the car ride there...we passed through the part of town with prostitutes and so forth. I think I was the only person in the car who thought it was some what funny and interesting. One of them was a transvestite who was happily walking down the street with no underwear on and a VERY VERY short skirt...I wont say anymore.An interesting fact is that here in Brasil its Legal to hire prositutes if your over 18. So everynight in the car we could pass a certain cornere where most of the would hang out....it was almsot like living a moment youonly see in the Movies... cars pulling up, the girls talking to them, getting in...then driving off.

ANYWAY! One night we went to the shopping center...looked around...I had some Japenese for dinner...it was cool to see the whole mall decked out in Christmas supplies. It reminded me of home..and how much I´m going to miss cureling up infront of the fire and drinking tea! But I guess 100 degree x-mass will be one to remmember!

Now...the wedding. They are set up slightly different here. You have to shcedual the wedding 2 years in advance at the church..and there are usually 4 weddings a night at the same church...you have 1 hour for each one...so when we arrived...there was one weddign in action...and we where all starting to gather out front for wait for the other people to move along so we could enter and start our wedding! The time came and we entered. This church was by far the most beautiful one I had been in sicne I have been here...it was similar to the ones in Europe...only the paintings on the ceilings were not nearly as good at the ones in europe....but over all it was pretty. The Preacher was a gringo....for Siryia or somthing...everyone could tell cause he talked differently...but I had no idea. (after words we went to talkt o him cause i wanted to know if he was American! Hahah) after the weddign we all moved to a new building where the party started...but only it didnt have enough seats for everyone...and they dont have a talking cerimone llike we do in the states..where everyone talks..and makes toasts. Lara and I got tired around 1 am and went to the car to sleep. I had one drink with leite condensar....which is condenced milk...which is really good by the way...but I thre up afterwards in the bathroom cause thats some strong milk...and when your allergic to it...welll things are bound not to end well! But everyone else in my family made ther way to the car around 2am....the party usually lasts until 5am....yikes!

Then the next morning we went to a market in the streets on Belo horizonte where all the hippies colect to sell things. I bought 2 shirts, a dress, sandals, 2 pais of sunglasses, and lots and lots of jewlry! I was so happy to see things cheap! Hahah, my City is so over priced! So now I have some beautiful hand made clothing hippie style!

We finally made our way home after we left the market.

The next adventure was to Calvas Novas with Dr. Rui (a fellow Rotarian) with his Family, all his friends from medical school...and Zaca (the other exchange student! I know I remind you alot!) The car ride was abouuuut 5 hours...and Zaca and I talked about alot of things in english so the driver adn Dr. Rui wouldnt understand...it wasent anything bad...jsut disscussing what we had noticed about our city and such. Then we listened to alot of music.

The City Calvas Novas is Famos for its Hot water. There is a valcano right beside the city that heats the water in a river near by to about 56 degrees celceus..and the people of the city use this to attract tourists by making all their pools have ‘Aqua Quencie’ (cant spell that... >.< )

So Zaca and I bisicaly hung out all weekend laying int he sun by the pool drinking fresh juice and eating fruit popsicles...We also spent one day walking around the City (it is a COMPLETE tourist city!!! The whole thing is hotels and so forth... the shops where all just trinkets!!) That Night Zaca and I went to a movie “SUPER BAD! In english with Portugês legendas...which is a rare treat for me...seeing a movie in english! Then afterwards we walked around and walked through a market on teh street...then went out to Chinese food. Which we actualy ate Japanese there...yakisoba. IT WAS SO GOOD! And nice to eat somthing other than comeida brasileira! Then we went back...hung out for 5 minutes at the hotle then went up to the resurant 500m from the hotel...where we ran into a girl we had met by the pool...we we sat with her family. Mid way through I went and sat up with a daughter of Dr. Rui and listened to a man sing and play the gitaur for everyone in the resturant....he is SUPER good. We hung out there untill the resturant started to die down...Zaca went to bed early and I hung out with Moena and the singer...then when we where the only ones left at the resurante we sat down at a tabel and talked. The singer gave me one of his CD´s for free and i listen to it about every day! His voice is so pretty! The when he had to leave...moena and i went down to the pool...where Dr. Rui´s friend where...and some other singers...this time 3 old men with a guitar, tambarine, and na acordiane. Just before I went to bed the oldest one (73 years) sliped me one of their CDs telling me it was a present...while the other one had been trying to sell it to me about 10 minutes before hand....I refused at first...but gave in when he kept slipping it to me! So I won 2 CD´s in one night! It was awesome..the weird thing is...my favorite song on each CD is track 3 on both!

The next Day we started off home again...Zaca and i bought some comics for the ride home..and I bought one Manga (as for you who dont know thats like my number one geeky obsession...reading Mangas! A type of Japenese art comic book. Oh man, I´m such a geek...but its all good.) Anyway...I understood almost all of it! So I was super happy about that! I arrived home at 9 pm Sunday night...then woke up at 5:50 am like normal for school the next day!

So one night we had here was a very important Rotary meeting. The govanor of Minas Gerais (the state I am living in) came to our small town of João Pinheiro! So Zaca and I both wrote speeches about what we had been experienceing these past months. Zaca wrote one small page of words, and being the type of girl I am wrote 2 pages of fun. (While I wrote it I thought it was cool that in almsot 3 months in a country i could write 2 pages of things, while studying 3 years of French gave me the ability to say, “J´mappell Angela. J´voudrais uma croque monsure....” hAHhah!! Anyway, Zaca went first, he struggeled in the beginning with some words, but made his way along his speach. I was next, I was slightly sick because I have a cold right now...so my and my sniffels made it to the stage. I went on tlking, got some cheers along the way in my speech. Now at one point I was talking about how I had so much luck because I had been abel to travel to other cities. And I was listing the cities, and what i did there!!! Well when I got to talking about my Trip to Brasilia, I said...

“Eu foi para Brasilia, onde eu já veiw Casa de Lula, Trabalha de Lula, e uma grande bandaid do Brasil!!!!” Everyone erupted in Cheers!!!!

“I went to Brasilia, where I saw the Lula´s house, Lula´s House, and one BIG FLAG of Brasil!!!” Well thats what I had wanted to say....buuuuttt....

Apparently the word Bandeira-flag also sounds alot like Bandaid-Bandit, or Robbery.

So when I was wrighting my speech, and I remmemberd that someone said the bandeira de Brasil....I wrote it down wrong at Bandaid....

So while presenting...I said that I saw a huge robberying in Brasilia...or that their President was a theif!!!!! I didnt find out until after word about my mistake, and ooohhh did Zaca and I have a big laugh.

I went up after words, laughing and said... “oooowa, Desculpa..mais eu pressico aprende mais portugês...porque algume coisa eu falou e não correcta....Quando eu disse ‘“Eu foi para Brasilia, onde eu já veiw Casa de Lula, Trabalha de Lula, e uma grande Bandeira do Brasil!!!!”’

“ooowa, Sorry! I need to learn more portugues, because one of the things I said wasent true! When I said, “I went to Brasilia, where I saw the Lula´s house, Lula´s House, and one BIG FLAG of Brasil!!!””

Oh everyone got a kick out of it!!!! I dont think I will every hear then end of it! But thats okay...its a good thing I can deal with emberresment!

I had said to my Zaca, that I knew my emberresing exchange moment...but I jsut didnt know when. Then he said he knew his was going to happen tonight as well...he just didnt know when.

Not soon after, when one of the speakers introdunced the govanor of Brasil...Zaca Started claping really hard, and let out a loud “WHOOO!!!” only he was the only one clapping, and making a sound....everyone truned around to look at him, and he stopped and kind of made a smaller ‘whooo’ then hung his head. Oh GOD it was so funny!!!!!I think I laughed my ass off for 15 minutes after that. I have a 6 pack now to prove it! ( just kidding... ;D )

One of the last things I´m going to talk baout is my new love for the sport Capoeira. The other night the Cheif of Revolução (my group in the city) came to one nights lesson. The spent the whole time talking about how Capoeira is very pimportant in a persons life because for those of us who are poor, it opens doors to be a teacher...travel and share brasilian culture with the world...it helps you with everything in life from becoming better at other sports...to jsut having somthing to take your mind off of things...or achive goals in. It was a really amazing speech adn inspired me to try my best, so when i get home I can sure it with other people.

Then this weekend Friday night I went to class at 7 pm. Things started out as normal...we did warm ups...practiced a few drills...then my teacher pulled out a drum and this type of violin thing that is the symbol of Capoeira, we started the music and everything and all were singing..we started a small ‘brawl’ in the center. Then the Cheif arrived...and things picked up. The older students and teachers started the fighting dances...and there was this one where they did everything in slow motion. It was amazing....when they do it in slow motion they do all these hand stands and twists and turns that are so amazingly difficult to do...and also there is deffinitly a story behind their motions...I was trying to pick out the peices....there are times when they are fighting then move in and their motion turn more lovign and close...but all of a sudden one will turn on the other and they will be fighting again. It was so awesoem to watch...then we all got to join in (only 2 people fight at once...but you can inturupt the fight, and replace another person.) I got to fight in one of the slow motiion fights...I obviously wasent that good..but ti was still fun...then thigns picked up to fast motion...and the elders did all these crazy flips and gymnastic turns and such..I got fight fast motion with 2 of my proffesors and one with the cheif!!! It was AWESOME! I was so honnered!

I finally arrived at my house at 9.20pm when I was suposed to be home at 8!!! Becuase you can´t jsut leave whent he cheif is there....it´s not polite.

Then that night I went to a friends house where we played and say on the guitar, and played super nintendo. Good night. Got home around 12am.

Finally the school year is coming to na end here...and the third years are graduating! So we had a gratuation Dance this weekend! We all dressed up like we were from the 60´s and had a blast there...I cant belive its almost summer break here!!! I´m going on the Nortdeste trip druing the summer...so i wont miss anyschool when it picks back up again in Febuary! School ends 17 de dezembro! Yaahooo!!!!

So thats the basic of what had been going on. Oh yeah, I dyed my hair yesterday! Its REALLLY dark...but everyone likes it! So it´s all good.



LOVE TO YOU ALL!



Beijos,
Angela