My once in a lifetime trip to Northeast

MY NORTHEAST ADVENTURE 

From the date of November 24^th – December 20^th I had the month of my life time in the northeast cities and beaches of Brazil with 88 other exchange students from 22 different countries.
 I boarded the trip in Sao Paulo with another 30 exchange students and then headed to Belo Horizonte where I met up with another 40 – 50.  It was great catching up with old friends but was also great to meet so many new friends that I knew would make my month amazing. That afternoon we had our orientation about the trip and then that night we then went to a forro class, a traditional dance from brasil that we would use in the trip at parties and places we went too.
After staying two nights in Belo Horizonte/MG we then headed of to Brasilia. The capital city of Brasil where we visited Brazilian National Congress, LBV, JK museum, the Cathedral, among other sights of this beautiful and projected capital of Brazil!! The morning after we were then of to Lençóis, at Chapada Diamantina National Park, in Bahia state 1 night we stopped at a different city to rest as it was such a long way, called Ibotirama.

The first day in Lencios we went to 2 place called Pratinha farm and Lapa Doce cave that were so much fun an involved a lot of exercise. The next day we climbed Pai Inácio Hill where we saw breathtaking views (which reminded me a lot of Australia). We then had lunch in the local town and then had free time until dinner where we had a capoeira show, which was wonderful. The last day in Lencios we went to a natural 60m slide where a lot of people got cuts n bruises. After that we went to a colored sand dune where we got to swim in a waterfall and again take in the breathtaking natural views of Bahia.

We then went to our first beach early the next morning… which we all very excited about. Maceio (state of Alagoas), I think that the beaches of Maceio were defiantly one of the most beautiful places we went in the whole trip. After a long 1 day drive to Maceio we arrived and were all very eager to go to the beach and of coarse tan.  

The first night in Maceio we got free time and we all ran down to the beach took in the fresh air and bought ice cream. When we woke up the next morning we saw the breathtaking views of Maceio, crystal clear water with gorgeous blue skys. We had free time til 12 and all went to a market where you could buy everything from a pencil to a hammock to a million different types of bikinis (which Emily loved). We then all had lunch together and then headed to boats where we headed to natural pools around 20 minutes of the beach, where we jumped of the beachs and swam with fish and relaxed. That night we went to a bar where they played forro and we got to practice our forro, it was very funny to see everyone forer and a lot of people were very good. The next day we took another boat Barra de São Miguel around 30 minutes from the main island of Macieo where we spent the day on the beach, this was one of my favourite days on the trip as we could relax and had a lot time to tan and swim.

The next day it was time to move onto our next place Natal/ Rio Grande de Norte. 

In Natal we visited the largest Caju farm (Caju is the fruit that cashew’s come from), we then had free time at the beach and to shop. That night we had a group party where we all got to dance and watch the beach at night, it was enjoyed with a lot of fresh fruit an laughs. The 2^nd day in Natal was amazing as we went on buggy’s on the sandunes in Natal, I had so muchfun and then we had a day on the beach again at Genipabu beach. 

 We were then of to Recife/Pernambuco state. That night after a short drive to Recife we had our Talent show of the trip. Around 9 – 10 girls plus me did funk ( a Brazilian dance ) but it was so much fun putting a lot of cloths in our shorts to make our butts look brazilain and got up and danced and made a lot of people laugh. The next day we saw recife and an old city called Olinda we then went to another historic castle, Ricardo Brennand Castle. And what made our day was going to the 2^nd largest shopping centre in Brasil and having over 6 hours there, we all went and saw a movie and defiantly used our credit cards one or two times. 

The next day we were on our way to Salvador, were we stopped of at Porto de Galinhas and another city for the night before we arrived in Salvador. Our first day in Salvador/Bahia we went to a turtle project called TAMAR, where we saw how they are rebuilding the turtle population. That night we went to a performance of Olodum which was a lot of fun to get into the Bahian feeling. We also all danced sooo much and then were all so excited about the next day about exploring Salvador. The next day we went to Senhor do Bonfim Church, Lacerda Elevator, São Francisco de Assis Church and Pelourinho Historical Center, but sadly I got sick and could only go to the church and then spent the day in the hotel getting better.

The next day after a 1 day drive we were then of to Porto Seguro, one of our last cities in the trip.
The first morning we all headed of to the beach then went to Cidade Alta, the first Brazilian city. Then we went to Santa Cruz de Cabrália, where the first Mass was celebrated in Brazil. That night we went to a party were we all danced til 2am, it was great with 2 stages and a lot of people we could mix with. It was then time for us to head to the place we were all excited for Rio de Janeiro, we stopped of for 1 night in a place called Guarapari.

We arrived in Rio on the Friday afternoon and had another 17 students who just chose the Rio tour join us that then made us around 100 exchange students. A boy from my Brazilian district Miles (from America) was there and it was great to see him ! We all went o the beach that afternoon and explored around Rio de Janeiro. The next morning it was time to head the Christ on the hill and the sugar loaf where we saw the amazing views of Rio de Janeiro on a sunny day. Sunday I did the Favela tour where we went to the largest favela in Latin America, Favela de Rocinha. Sunday afternoon we went to the sambadrome where Carnaval in Rio is held, but sadly it was under construction. We then went to Barra da Tijuca were we had dinner at a tasty churrasco restaurant (Brazilain steakhouse).

It was then our last day of trip, we had a 3 hour bus ride to Angra dos Reis (in rio state) where we took an amazing boat ride to an island. Along the way we got to jump of our boat and swim in crystal water with fish it was defiantly the best day of the trip, I also got to work on my tan that one last time. That day my best friend and I, Emily Gray also got engaged (which we were planning all trip) on the boat around the wonderful islands of Angra doa Reis. That night we had our Farewell party was so sad, there were defiantly a lot of tears shed. It was so beautiful looking out over the water and reminiscing the trip with what was now our family and remembering the good moments. That moment on a small beach of Angra dos reis Emily and I got married as best friends which was a very funny time, our closest friends were invited and Debora (the trip instructor) had a good laugh at the video after. We now have rings and all to prove our love for eachother and are now best friends for life. 

The next day was the hardest things I have had to do my whole exchange, say goodbye to the people who had just become my family after a month. I don’t think I have cried that much for a long time saying goodbye to the people that had become my best friends and family as we had shared so many good times together. 
I would like to say a big thankyou to Debora, Adriana and Anna for making my trip J
And my lovely crew on northeast Emily Gray, Bus buddies (Blair, Carl, Emily), My #1 Canadain Dustin and My FB for ever Jeanette. 
T xx

Mums visit to exotic brazil

Hi guys, 

So I thought I would update my time in Brazil. I have now been here in Brazil for 9 months and only have 3 months to go.
For the end of September start of October I had my Australian mum come to visit me in Brazil for 3 weeks. This was amazinnnggg and I loved having her here, so I will tell you about my weeks with my mum in Australia.
I first of all took a bus to Sao Paulo and stayed in Sao Paulo for the day (sleeping mostly) and then took the metro to the international airport to pick up my mum. I waited there for around 2 hours at the gate thinking her plane had arrived (it said it had arrived) but really it arrived 1 hour later and there were also other problems. So I started to stress and ask people, but then my mum walking up behind me and scaring me I started crying with happiness and also relief that I found and seen my mum after 8 months !
 We went to our hotel and went out to pizza that night in Sao Paulo city just of Avenida Paulista and it was so great to be with her ! We then explored around Sao Paulo for the next 2 days (liberdade etc) and saw some of my friends inc Bruno and Maria Eduarda. 
It was then time for us to fly to Falls Iguassu down in the south of Brazil and see the world class waterfalls on both Brazil and Argentina.
The first day we went to the Brazil side of the falls and it was breathtaking … mum was overwhelmed and we had an amazing time and also had a lot of exercise walking up and down the stairs looking at the waterfalls.
That night we went to a dinner show that showed a lot of different types of culture from South America including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and others. We got an amazing table right up the front in the middle and the food was amazing, I was also pulled up on stage for entertainment and had to dance with a crazy Brazilian man.
The next day we hit the Argentinan falls nice and early and saw all the parts of the falls, but the “Devils Throat” the end of the Argentain falls I defiantly think was the most spectacular as we went there 1 hour before they shut of the access to see the falls. As there was a lot of rain in the south of Brazil and it all then came to the falls ending in bridges to enter some of the falls to flood. 

The next day we then hit up Paraguay and had an amazing time shopping and adventuring through the ‘dodgy’ streets of Paraguay buying cheap things such as Bags, towels, cloths and jewelry.  It was then time to fly to beautiful Florianopolis (even more south of Brazil to Falls Iguassu) and stay there for 3 days.

We then stayed in Florianopolis for 3 days and relaxed there. Seeing the lake, looking at the shops and going on a sightseeing tour of the south of the island and seeing a lot of very beautiful sights that were breath taking. I also caught up with Strath who was is Australian and doing exchange in Florianopolis.

The first day we went and met the exchange students and looked around town after sleeping in. We then went out for my friends Raul’s 18^th birthday to a hamburger place. The next morning we went for a walk around one fo the lakes in my town (3k) and then came back and slept. We then went to Acai for my mum to try it and weirdly she liked it!
That night was my birthday celebration for my friends and families in Rotary and also for the people closets to me in Rotary to know my mum and to say thankyou to them.
The next day was them my 18^th birthday! That night I went out to the one of the local bars with my school friends and exchangees and then after went to the club with my friends. It was a lot of fun and it still hasn’t hit me I am 18 years old.

The next day it was then time to head to Rio ! .. so my mum and I took a bus to Campo Grande and stayed the night there then leaving early for Rio de Janeiro. We arrived in Rio and straight away went out that night to the main avenue of Cococabama and there was a festival of gays on that day and night. The next morning we went to Ipanema beach and then went to the Christ in the afternoon. The Christ was amazing and I cannot describe standing underneath it and looking out onto Rio.

For the next 5 days we went to the beach and shopped and explored around Rio. Our second last night we went to a bar in the centre of Rio de Janeiro and it was amazing, 3 stories and had to wait 15 minutes to get in. With around 300 – 400 people coming in after us we stayed there and listened to live samba music and it really hit me that I was in Rio and in Brazil in general. 

It was then time for mum to go home, I left the airport and said goodbye to her. I think it was the hardest thing I have had to do most of my exchange and I just wanted to go back to Australia so much ! But I know that now I have things to look forward too (northeast and spending time with my new exchange students in my town) and that I will be home in Australia in 3 months time! 

September

So this month has been another awesome experience full of things I would of never expected I would see or experience in Brasil.
I have now been in Brasil for over 8 months and will be back to Australia in just over 3. I cannot believe how quick this year has flown past and cannot believe half of the things I have seen and experienced.
This month I stayed in my town for the first part going to school, family activities, hanging out with brazilains and exchange students J And also getting to know all my exchange students in my town was amazing. We now have 1 more American girl that will be arriving this week (which was unexpected) and we are all so excited to have another person to our family.
This month passed by really fast and defiantly the end of it (the thing I was looking forward to forever) came very fast. My Australain mother came to visit me in Brasil and I am now travelling with her. I took a bus to Sao Paulo and then met her in the airport (lost her for 20 minutes) and then when she found me I couldn’t help but cry as I had not seen her for 8 months and was worried she hadn’t gotten on the plane.

We then stayed in Sao Paulo for 2 nights and caught up with some friends (inc Maria Dudda and Bruno) It was great to see them and for mum to meet some of my friends in Brazil.

We then flew to Falls Iguassu and saw both sides of the Falls (Brasil & Argentina) and also had an fun day in Paraguay (buying fake bags, sun glasses etc) and trying to get cheap prices. 

We are now on our way to Florianopolis and will stay there for 3 days where we can relax and see the beautiful south (which I have not seen yet).
After Florianopolis we then fly to Campo Grande (capital of my state) and then catch a bus to my town (Tres Lagoas) and spend 4 days there for my 18^th birthday and for mum to know my town, life, friends and families.
We are then off to the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro to stay for 4 days and sightsee where we will be staying on Copacabana Beach and we are both so exited to see Christ the Redeemer, The Sugar Loaf and to experience Rio.
Mum then leaves and I go back to my town and I get back to normal life but not for too long as I then go on a month long trip to Northeast of Brasil (inc Rio, Brasilia, Salvador & Bahia) which I will be going on with around 50 – 70 other exchange students from all over the world (most of us will be from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as we have to leave in January and there is another trip offered in January).
I then have a Brazilian Christmas and New Year and then go back to normal life in Australia, which will be strange but also so exciting.
I will have a big informed blog about my mums stay when I am finished travelling.
T xx

August

So August was another eventful month and I am enjoying my exchange in Brasil so much, it is defiantly indescribable and if a person were to come to me and ask explain your exchange in one word I wouldnt be able to find a word to describe this amazing experience. 
I have now been in this amazing country for over 7 months and just have over 4 to go .. I defiantly think I will be one to be pushed on that plane in tears in Campo Grande. As everyone said to me (and I now agree) exchange gets better every day/month. 
This month has been one of the best months of my exchange and will remember it for my entire life, and now I am excited for my next 4 ! 
This month I received 3 new exchange students and only after 1 month they already feel like my family, I find it amazing how exchange students become so close so quickly and how they will stay my best friends for the rest of my life. Now in Tres Lagoas there is 1 Canadian boy, 1 Indian boy and 1 Polish girl. And we are expecting two more girls from Mexico to arrive. 

This month Rotary in my town had a motoshow, that went over weekend. There was a lot of the things to do there including lots of motorbikes, concerts, stalls and food (stalls from Rotaract, Interact, Rotakids)
We also had the orientation of the new exchange students, this was so great to see the new students and was also a great way to see how much I have grown in my exchange seeing them at the start. 

This month was also my host sisters 9th birthday party. Birthday parties here are so different and was amazing to experience a 9 year olds birthday party in Brazil. Everything was different about this party than an Australains childs party and defiantly brought some business ideas to my head for Australia. 

Having exchange students here is also making the weekends and afternoons better. We now go out a lot, to someone's house or go out with Brazilians alot. Meaning I am not living my year in Brazil on the computer anymore. 
In 3 weeks my Australian mum will be coming to visit me in Brazil and I'm getting soooo excited and will be traveling with her a lot (3 weeks), then after that I have my month adventure to the northeast of Brazil. 


T xx

July

So this months has not been as eventful as most. It was school holidays and therefore most of my friends were traveling and I am now waiting for new exchange students which will be here in the next 1 - 2 weeks. I have been speaking with all the new the new exchange students that are coming to my district and especially the 4 newbies that are coming to my town Tres Lagoas ( 2 boys from Canada & India and 2 girls from Mexico and Poland). Im getting so excited to meet them all and become close with them. 
I did not go traveling this holidays as there are no exchange students in district therefore I took the time to know my new family, sleep alot and watch lots of films. 

The weekend before school finished my school (Funlec) held a party called Festa Junina. It is a country party where you dress up in country cloths and then some people perform a traditional dance with a partner. Some people from my class danced and it was a good night with a sertenejo (country music) band and a Dj after. I then went to Viracopos(local club) that Saturday with my friends Vinicuis and Fabio and also saw my other friend there Loanne. For the next 2 weeks I relaxed and sorted out my mums trip. My last weekend of holidays I stayed at my friend Jessica's house and went to a friends house with her and her brother. And also went out on Saturday as well to Emporio (a bar near the lake) it was a lot of fun as there was a live band.  

I am now back to school and I think im going to need more than 1 school shirt as I will go school everyday with my new family. With my old family I was lucky to go 3 days a week so this is defiantly a change. 
I changed families in the first week of August and I am now with a lady and her two daughters (9 an 12 years old). It is so different to my 1st house but I guess that is the whole point of exchange, seeing 3 - 4 different ways Brazilians love life and the way there life works. 
So 6am wake ups are killing me  and ive only done it one day so far. Nearly falling asleep in the first 2 lessons and now listening a lot to what the teachers is trying to teach over chattering Brazilians. I found it very strange today as when I do listen I can understand most of what the teacher is saying. 
I have now been here for over 6 months and you can see it in my portuguese as now the whole day I speak in portuguese and am starting to think in Portuguese. At the start i would speak a lot of English with people at school but now I am only speaking portuguese with them. 
So over 6 months i have learnt a new language and added around 6 - 7 kilos of exchange kilos but happily still fitting in my size 11 Australian jeans, but defiantly not looking as good in them. But I am not worrying about my exchange kilos as I know when I get back to Australia in just over 5 months I will loose it all :) 
Bring on August and the next 5 months. It is so exciting as my mum is coming, im turning 18 and I have 2 trips with Terra Brazil and then back to Australia day for Aussie Day !!!

T xx

My fazenda experience (farm) and Emily visiting me

Just thought I would update my blog because i do not want to forget what has happened in these past 2 weeks after ExpoTres. 

First of all I had my amazing Australian friend Emily Gray come and stay with my for public holidays and a weekend. I met her at amazon and we wanted to see each other again before we go on Northeast Tour in November/Decemeber. So Tres Lagoas had 2 Australians for 4 days :) 1 hour after Emily arrived we had to have an Icecream adventure to remember Amazon, so we went to the local icecream store. We then went to a bar called Emporio w/ Dennis, Roberto, Fabio, Emily & a lot of Brazilian friends (Felipe, Matues, Raul & Lara etc). The next day Emily and I had adventures around Tres Lagoas (pastels, jean shopping etc) That night we had Dennis's farewell dinner and after we went to the local club w/ Dennis, Roberto & Fabio, that night there was a band that played Sertenejo (brazilain country music) and it was so fun to dance to and also to celebrate Dennis's last time in the club. 

Sunday came, Emily left :( and it was Dennis's last day in Tres Lagoas. There was another farewell get together for Dennis in the night and then after Dennis, Fabio and I went to Hotel OT for Dennis's last night. But the temperature reaching 0 degrees that night did not make it very enjoyable. And then receiving 2 days of cold weather that was had temperatures of 10o through the day.

I went to the farm of my father today with my parents, it was a long 2 hour bumpy dirt rode ride (i think i hit my head on the roof of the car 10 times. This farm had around 4 houses for workers and the main one for us. They had a lot of cows, chickens, dogs, horses, geese and tucans ! 

I went and collected the eggs with my host mum, got to spend time with a black ladrador (this made me miss my dog in australia), cooked cake and lunch with my mum(with things from the farm), fed the chickens and saw alot of different types of cows, bulls etc. She also went and showed me the way that they milk there cows and the big tank that holds over 800L's of milk and keeps at 4o.  I had a nice afternoon sleep in the hammock listening to the cows, horses and roosters loving the fresh air. Reminding me of times i had at Amazon in my hammock (but in amazon listening to the water), but it was great to get away and get some fresh air and also spend more time with my parents and see the way a Brazilian farm runs. 

I think they are very similar to Australian farms, and it reminded me of Australia a lot seeing the rolling hills. It will defiantly be something I will remember about Brazil, relaxing and reflecting on my time in Brazil and the amount i have changed in this past 5 months and also thinking that i just have over 6 months left of this amazing experience and i have so many amazing experiences ahead of me. 

Like going to Sao Paulo, Emily coming to visit me again, getting new exchange students in August, my mum visiting in Sept/Oct and a numerous amount of trips. 

T xx

June.

So June so far has been such a rollercoaster, nearlly reaching the 5 month mark and also receiving my return ticket for Australia. 

This month is were i have to say goodbye to all the people i called my family for the past 4 - 5 months, becoming so close with them and then having to say goodbye was one of the hardest things i have to do in my entire exchange. We first of all had our 4470 district conference in Birigui, it was great catching up with everybody, but also very tough with rules with rotary as our whole district commity attended the meeting. So we did rotary lunch's, dinners and then would go out after and talk and hang out together. IN Birigui i stayed with the President of the Rotary Club of Birigui and he was very nice. The last night was soo hard saying goodbye to everyone, tears were defiantly shed and it was veryyyyy saddddddddddd. 

This month i was also taken to the hydroelectric plant just out side of my town by my counsellor w/ rodolfo (the mexican exchange student), i had already been to Itapu a large hydroelectric plant near Falls Iguassu, but it was good to see the different ways that they do things and how i get my electricity in Brasil. That night we also went to Paintball, which is veryyy close to my city with Dennis, Rodolfo and rotarians to say goodbye to Rodolfo who was leaving on the Friday. 

It was then the start of ExpoTres (a show in my town that happens every year), my host father Domingos  also organises it so i went everyday to lunch's and to the rodeo and show every night. It was great as i was given VIP for the rodeo and show but could also go with my friends into the main area. We also had other exchange students with us Korrin, Lilen and Rodolfo with us(Dennis, Daniel and me) and it was sooo much fun. I saw two very good sertenejo(country) music artists in Expo (Guilherme e Santiago and Micehl Telo). During Expo we also had farewell parties for Daniel as he left the Friday after Rodolfo and I also had to say goodbye to my lovely Korrin (Texas) and Lilen (German) in the week aswell. Only leaving Dennis and I in the town. Dennis now leaves in 1 week and i am now planning what i will get up to during my school holidays in July, as i am the only exchange student in my town until i get newbies in August. 

T xx

Amazonia

I really do not know where to start, except that the 10 days in Amazon were amazing !!! Words cannot describe the fun i had and the experiences i had were defiantly once in a life time. 
I first of all flew from Campo Grande(with Rodolfo, Kate & Hakon) (carla went to Sao Paulo) to Brasilia and then had a very long wait in the airport with 40 other exchange students until we flew to Manaus at 9pm at night. Arriving in Manaus at 12 and meeting up with 40 other exchange students .. making the group 87 exchange students, 1 rotarian supervisor and 3 people from Terra Brasil. It was so great meeting up with all the Aussies as most of them i hadnt seen since the flight over in January.  That night we then had a 2 hour bus ride to our first hotel that we stayed at for 2 nights ... which was pretty dodgy and i shared a room with a girl called Amy from New York. 
Whilst we were at this hotel we visited many waterfalls(one including a cave), zoo's and had alot of fun in the pool, playing truth or dare or cards. 

We then drove into the main town of Manaus and stayed in a nice hotel (bit of a change from the other) where we stayed for one night. By then around 30 people were vomiting or had of vomited from what we think food poisoning !!! and i added to the vomiting list this night. Also this night we visited a shopping centre in Manaus which was alot of fun. Trying to get vomit pills, panadol etc in a brazil pharmacy with 2 other australaians (carla & emily)
The next day everyone was still feeling really bad and people were still dropping (around 5 had to go to hospital and have very crazy stories), but we still went on and went to the Manaus Theatre (a historical building full of art and interesting things), but i just sat outside as i felt very sick. We then travelled to local markets full of traditional amazonian art, instruments, jewerelly, souvieners and things that the amazonains used such as bow and arrows made from wood (i bought a bow and arrive a spit tube .. but know im wondering whether australia will let me take it back in) 

That night we went to a Amazonain party/show that showed us traditional dancing, at the show we bought nice earrings and head pieces just to feel a little bit more amazonian. 
The next morning we checked out of our glamorous hotel and headed for the house boats where we spent our next 4 nights. Before going tot eh boats Tiare (an australain ) headed to the hotel zoo (yes our hotel had a zoo) where we had an awesome time and took alot of amazing photos ... holding monkeys hands and feeding them and also Tiare playing with a Jaguar (there was a fence in the way). 
We then headed of to our boats and had a 3 hour boat ride to where we started of our adventure on the amazon river. Whilst traveling we saw where the two rivers mixed and this was amazing to see as there is such a difference and the water does not mix as it is different temperatures. 
That day after lunch we went and saw these amazing giant lilly pads and wild monkeys and had a 'tour' around the river that we would be travelling on learning about the different trees, people and way of life on the amazonian river. That night we came back to hammocks lined up in our boats :) i was next to emily (an australain) and gerda (a german) ... me finding out later that emily and i's hammocks became our best friend on the trip. That night we ate dinner and then relaxed on the boat for a big day ahead of us!! 

The next day we woke up and tested out the showers (i must say they were my favorite part of the trip .. not). IN our boat the showers were in the toilets ... therefore i never felt clean after having a shower.  This day we did a survival course where we learnt about making shelters, making traps and setting fires (if you had a battery and steel wool). We then headed to a clearing after walking around the forest for 2 hours and tried different fruits from the amazon and then ate fish cooked on the camp fire served on leaves and yummy sausages. After finishing and getting drenched the afternoon downpour of rain (standing in a shelter made of palm leaves) we then headed to a village were we learnt about Acai and ate Tapioca ... a savoury food that is made of potato kind of vegetable (dryed). This night was alot of fun as we went Jacare (small aligator) looking and got to hold a Jacare. It was funny seeing our leader catch one steve irwin style leaping into the water of unknown and emerging with an Jacare. And then passing it to all of us for a photo opportunity. 

The next day was defiantly the best experience, waking up for the sunrise (want to put in it was Tom Lilleys Birthday) experiencing the sunrise at 5.30 and then going and collecting a sloth. again our leader (fearless) climbes up shrubs and trees to get a sloth from the top branch .. having the cut half the tree to pull the sloth of and them swimming with it back to our boat ... emerging with a Female sloth. I must say this has always been my dream to see and hold a sloth and it was veryyyyy cool. It was very docile and just sat there in an awkward position as we all held her in awe. We then came back to Breakfast all very happy (as only 2 boats got to find and hold a sloth) and then headed off to feed fresh water pink dolphins. Were we went out and fed the dolphins as they swam around us ... this was scary as they were very aggressive and you did not know when they would come and take the fish out of your hand. A few boys getting there fingers bitten. That afternoon we visited a local village were some played football, whilst emily and i got a stash of biscuits and peanuts and went to our hammock and read, relaxed and talked whilst looking over the gorgeous amazon river. That night we relaxed in our boats mixing between everyone and ate some dinner. 

The next day was yet again another bush walk ... which everyone was so enthralled for (not) .... we were walking through a track that we were making marking how to get back by putting things on trees. Me freaking out about snakes the whole time. That afternoon we again stoppped at the village and they had icecream, so emily and i ran to grab icecream and sat in our hammocks (again) and ate our icecream whilst chatting.  This afternoon was slow but funny, we went piranha fishing. I think we all lost around 3 pieces of bait but did not catch 1 piranha ... only 2 people from other groups out of 60 people caught a piranha. So we sat there for 2 - 3 hours chatting and chilling on the amazon river trying to fish for piranha with bamboo polls which would not catch one anyway. Coming back from piranha fishing we got to see the best sunset i have seen for a while and it was soo pretty. We then all jumped in the river and washed our hair, becuase we were washing in that water anyway and got ready for our lasts night dinner on the beach. Fresh fruits, meat, sausages, salads and pasta's. Everyone defiantly enjoyed the last night and then we split up onto 3 boats and talked, danced and relaxed just spending our last night having fun. 

The next day it was time to pack up, packing my bag and getting ready. we then went to a traditional tribe which was such a great experience seeing traditional dancing and dancing with the amazonains and then getting paint on our faces from a berry that they grow in there village. 

We then went back to Manaus and shopped in a shopping centre for 4 hours. Carla, Emily and i had such a great time. Eating subway for dinner .... the cookies arent as good here. we then went to the airport at 10pm ... but i then had to wait until 4am for my flight to leave to Brasilia ... most of the kids leaving for Sao Paulo at 12. so 40 of us waited in the airport until 4am .. slowly getting a smaller and smaller group as small groups flew out to there destinations. I then arrived in Campo Grande at 12 and had a great wait until 6pm at the Campo Grande bus station until 6pm arriving home at 11.30. Very exhausted but so happy about the great trip i had
I already miss all of the people and would happily go back to the amazon now. I recommend to anyone who has an opportunity to go to the amazon to take it as it is such an experience. 
T xo

March

This month has been great. Being in a new town, family and school meant that I could start of fresh. I really get on with my family great and at school I am now in class 3 which means im with older kids now (16-18 years). The other exchange students in my town are also very nice and have accepted me so well.

This month was the month of carnaval, which was so much fun. I stayed in my town, went to a small gated of community for 5 days and also saw my towns parade. It wasn’t big like the Sao Paulo or Rio de Janerio but was still good to go and see. The costumes and music are amazing and how they all kept together dancing with huge smiles on their faces.

I have been to 3 of my Rotary meetings since being here and they are very different to Mooloolaba Rotary meetings. Also in Brazil they seem to advertise Rotary a lot more as they have large statues, plaques or other signs to show Rotary and the clubs in the town.

This month’s highlight for me was defiantly the trip to Falls Iguassu and Paraguay. I first of all caught a bus to Aracatuba and then stayed the night there at an American girls house. Waking up the next morning to catch the bus at 6am, that day (Sunday) was mostly spent in the bus travelling to Falls Iguassu city and the typical Macdonalds dinner.

The next day we headed of to the Argentina side of Falls Iguassu. I was very happy because I received yet another stamp in my passport. We spent the day at the falls in Argentina and saw the sights and took a lot of photos. There was one other Australain girl on that part of the trip with me so we took a lot of photos together. That night we also went to a Latin show that showed different dancing and cultures from Mexico, Brazil, Uraguay, Paraguay and others. There was a buffet and it had every kind of food that you could think (pasta, brazilain food, fruits, vegetable, bread) and the desserts were even better.

The next day was a lot of fun as we went to Paraguay. The Australain girl and I had a lot of fun in the markets bardering for prices and fighting over around $2. I bought a lot of cloths and little brick and bracks from there and had a great day. This day in Paraguay makes me want to go back and wonder on the streets looking at the markets all over again, and having people follow you trying to sell you socks.

That night we went to a pizza restaurant. This was such an experience as you would sit down and they would just keep on bringing you more and more pizza. Then in the end they would bring you sweet pizza (chocolate, strawberry, ice cream) this was very different to Australian pizza.

The next day was back to the Falls, but to

the Brazilain side. Which was my favourite side of the trip, we saw the falls and went on a boat ride under the falls. It was so much fun and I got so many great pictures. We also went to ‘Itapu’ a large powerplant made by water from the Falls, thay supplies power to most of Paraguay and Brazil. That night we had a talent show and the Australian girl and I sung “we are happy little vegemites” and then gave out vegemite for everyone to try. Surprisingly not many people hated it.

I then took a plane back to Aracatuba and spent the weekend there with my old friends and saw my old family.

I also went to a class of Capoeta (traditional African Brazilian fighting/dancing). Then on the Sunday night went to a party and dinner for Orphans, who have learnt Capoeta and helped out and watched them perform and have fun doing Capoeta. I am know back in my town Tres Lagoas ready to have another great month and Im already thinking “I have to live this because I only have 10 months left”