June 2010
1 post
May 2010
4 posts
Two Months and Counting
I am back after many months of absence and I apologize greatly! I have been keeping up with my life here and just in the everyday rythmn that is Brasil.
In March I applied to attend a university in Belo Horizonte, called Potentia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais, or PUC, instead of attending high school. I was accepted and I am now studying International Relations. I am taking three classes...
February 2010
1 post
The Northeast
After much delay, I am once again back in BH after 5 weeks of traveling along the Northeast coast with my family and on a Rotary trip.
My family vacation was a week long trip to Porto Seguro/ Arraial d’ajuda. two days after New Year’s my dad, brother, sister and I drove from BH to Porto Seguro which took about 12 hours! There ended up being many more trucks and traffic than we...
December 2009
6 posts
Feliz Natal
Christmas or Natal in Brazil is not as filled with as many traditions and well… snow as it is in Minnesota and the United States. It was extremely bizarre to not have a Christmas filled with snow, stockings and warm winter jackets yet it was an experience that made me appreciate the winter wonderland of Minnesota.
On Christmas Eve my family and I drove early in the morning to Santo Antonio...
Corinthians
I went to my first Corinthians soccer game tonight with my dad and sister who are extreme fans. Corinthians is a team from Sao Paulo so there are not that many fans here in BH but surprisingly there were tons of people to cheer the team on. Corinthians hooligans and fans came from Sao Paulo to come to the game and they were absolutely crazy! I cant imagine how a game would be in Sao Paulo with...
My Birthday Celebration and Everyday Life
For my birthday on the 29th my brother, sister and their friends made a lovely little cake for me decorated with candies spelling my name. It was hilariously because while my cousin was spelling my name everyone started to realize that my name wouldnt fit in the cake and then started making all these other designs. The cake turned out to spell my name very nicely with little embellishments to go...
November 2009
7 posts
1 tag
Skins
The British series called Skins is dragging me in. My brother introduced it to me and i am completely addicted to the series that follows a group of teenagers from Bristol as they go through life filled with partying, dysfunctional families, sex, drugs and death.
Retiro Das Pedras →
Retiro Das Pedras is a condominium, like a gated community, about 30 minutes outside of BH and where my Icelandic friend, Kristrún lives. It is the oldest condominium in all of Brasil and it is absolutely gorgeous. It has a marvelous view.
“Before you knock it, try it first.”
– ~Ben Harper
Meu Aniversario
Today is my birthday (aniversario) and i am having a wonderful day so far! it started at midnight in the wee hours of the morning with all of my friends at a praca (park) singing happy birthday in 5 or more different languages! I loved it! It felt so great to have so many good friends from all over the world wishing me a great new year.
Today I am celebrating with my family by dining at an Indian...
Now that i am in a happy new family and am very accustomed to my new daily life, i have realized that i have no troubles, besides having too many things to do that i can´t fit them all in.
Right now i am taking Portuguese classes with about 20 other exchange students who are living in Belo Horizonte with me. They are three times a week and i have gotten to really enjoy them because i have gotten...
October 2009
8 posts
Since my last entry much has changed. I have moved to my second family and my life has taken on a marvelous glow. I now live in a district or bairro called Ipiranga, which is about 25 minutes by bus to the center or the bairro of Savassi (where all the teenagers hang out). This is a magnificent change since I was previously used to an hour to just get to school. Unfortunately the bus ride to...
everything nice... and yoga
On Tuesday i commenced the long and winding road destined toward meditation and self control. Marcello, a Rotarian who chaperoned my first orientation, is a personal yoga trainer and invited me to join his classes every Tuesday and Thursday at 15:00. Never actually attending a yoga class in my life and only with the thoughts of how it “changed” the lives of so many before me, i entered...
the city itself
Since I have been here a while, everything is very normal to me so I forgot to tell you a little about Belo Horizonte.
BH is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais and is completely surrounded by mountains, thus the sunsets are absolutely gorgeous. It is the third largest city in Brasil, with aprox. 5.4 million with the surrounding metropolitan area. The city it self has aprox. 2.4 million.
...
“What doesn´t kill you makes you stronger.”
– ~Monica Cooper
WITH OUT FOOD THERE WOULD BE NO BRASIL
One aspect i have yet to talk about is the food here.
Brasilians for one thing eat all the time! For breakfast there is usually rolls with butter, cheese, and ham, papaya or bananas, and always coffee with sugar and milk. Lunch always consists of rice and beans, called feijao, and meat and salad. For dinner there is a variety of things it could be from pizza to fish.
I always have lunch at...
