Trip to Sao Paulo

    The first day we just drove for 6 hours, and used that time to sleep. We stopped at a place to eat and we just got are food before two bus loads of people entered to eat. When we arrived I went swimming and there was nobody in the pool with me because apparently it was cold out.
   The next day I walked to the bakery at 7 with my host mom. Bakeries always have great coffee. Latter I walked to a shopping mall and bought earphones. I also drank  more coffee while at the mall. After that we left for Dos Campos which isn't a long drive.
    We didn't do much when we got there because it was already close to night. The next day I went for a walk and bought some carrots  at a big market. I also bought a magazine in english and read it that day. Later we went to another mall I bought a great sandwich and strawberry shake. The next day I watched a movie at another mall, and then walked home. I took one wrong turn and walked 15 or 30 minutes before I realized, but I did figure out how to get back. The next day we drove back.
   On our way backed we stopped at Sao Pedro to visit my cousin  and his family. He made a bbq for us and a great juice to. Later we drank coffee which is great because the coffee here is the best. I want to get out there some other time so that I can play hockey with there hockey sticks.
   I forgot to mention in my last post that I have changed houses. My new family is nice just like everyone else here, but they are also Sao Paulinos.

Capoeira e Churrasco

    We had a presentation of capoeira a week ago, because there was a big soccer tournament. There was teams from Paraguay and many states in Brasil. We did are presentation the end of the opening ceramonies. I found out about the presentation about 30 minutes before. I did not get to go to any of the  soccer games later because I was at a bbq one and the next I went to Sao Paulo.
    On Saturday I went to a bbq with people from my school. There was a pool, so of course I swam the entire time. I did leave the pool when the meat was done. The was also a slide that went directly into to the pool, so that was fun. It was a very good bbq and I allways like a good bbq.
   One thing I should mention is that Guaracai has its own anthem which we sing at sports events with the national anthem.

Natal e Ano Novo

    The day before christmas is the people in Brazil open most of the presents. The grandchildren of my host parents got lots of toys, and they played with them the rest of the holidays. I got some things for shaving and a book that I am almost finished reading. I also got a Saskatchewan Roughrider champion shirt from the Rotary club in Melfort which was very nice. Later we went to supper at a relatives' house.
    There was lots of people there and lots of food. There was also a nice dog named Thor. The next day we went out to a farm and had a BBQ. The was lots of meat there, and again lots of people. Later at this BBQ people playing a game called truco. I have never seen this game before, but I think I'll like it once I figure out how to play it.
     At a later BBQ at the same farm me and my host sister and other people went for a walk. We were looking for a river but never found it. We did see horses and cows, and a dog walked with us.
    New Years Eve I went to a party with Luiz Nishimura and his family. There were lots of people there, a pool, and lots of food. At the gift exchange I first stole chocolates, but later my chocolates were stolen so I opened a present. The present was a Palmeiras travel coffee mug. The entire Nishimura family likes this team so they thought  it was hilarious. I did end up with a bag of candy so everything turned out okay. After the gift exchange we all went home to sleep.
    The next day we all gathered at the same place for a 8 hour BBQ. I was in the pool most of the time but when I saw that more meat was done I practically ran to it. There was bingo too, but I never played. Those two days were really great and the Nishimuras were fun even though they are Palmeirenses.
    Another day my host family and I went to a fish park thing. We ate fish and later went fishing. My host family's grand-daughter caught here first fish. We used bamboo rods with all small and no reel so it was a bit different than in Canada.
    My holidays were pretty good and I didn't envy you guys in Canada with -40 weather, but I have to say that the rain was sometimes painful.

Nordeste

    I am going to put this blog in bullet points because it was a long trip.

• Belo Horizonte
• Everybody arrived here to meet and go through the orientation meeting.
• Lençóis
• When we arrived here, after a bus ride that was about 15 hours long, we took a bit of a hike through some bush, and then went for swim.
• We went to a place with snorkeling and a zipline. It was nice, but I wish there was bigger fish.
• Another day we climbed a big hill and took pictures at the top which I posted on Facebook.
• We toured some caves that had some cool stuff in them and I  also posted some photos from that on Facebook.
• One night there was a great capoeira presentation by Groupo Esquiva.
• Many of the people in are group went in the circle and did some capoeira.
• The hotel also had some great food and I was able to make a poutine from the food they had.
• Maceió
• We went to a beach with lots of shop, so I think Grannie Annie would like it there.
• First we went touring around the shops and other stuff nearby. I bought a SPFC hat and a towel.
• We then went swimming.
• We went on a dune ride at another beach here too.
• Salvador
• When we arrived at Salvador we went to a  restaurant and at pizza.
• The next day we went to Pria do Forte and looked at turtles and other animals which I have photos of on Facebook.
• This place also had a great shoping area and a subway.
• The next day we took the city tour.
• We went to several churches and walked around the city.
• We went to a show of dances of Brazil one of which was capoeira.
• Porto Seguro
• At Porto Seguro we went to another beech
• The beach we went to had a super both which is a both that has everthing and a concert stage.
• The next day we went on the city tour.
• I went and looked at a beach that had a elevated rock platform so I walked out to the middle and took some photos that are on Facebook. Most of the group didn't go here.
• Rio de Janeiro
• The first day in Rio we just walked around.
• The second day we went to Pão de Azucar and corcovado
• We weren't able to see much at corcovado because it was very cloudy, but it was still nice.
• At Pao de Azucar there was better veiws and a lot of little paths with more places to take pictures.
• By the way the coffee at these places is very expensive.
• The third day we went to Cococapbana beach and the Flavelas.
• The beach was nice but the water had plastic in it which I found a bit odd, but they had some nice big waves.
• The Flavela was interesting.
• We saw a cop carrying a assualt rifle.
• They also have free internet there and I got a free coffee because the guy said it wasn't fresh
• I know if the coffee was old at Pao de Azucar I'd still have to pay for it.
• Angra dos Reis
• On the way to this hotel we stopped at a bunch of islands/beaches to go swimming.
• Some of us went walking around on these islands.
• I ended up cutting my feet alot, but I did see a wild turtle which was cool.
• At the hotel we had a party and exchanged pins.
• There was nobody else at the hotel so we didn't disturb people for once.
• I got about an hour of sleep at this place.
• São Paulo
• 5 of us spent 5 hours at Barra Funda which is the bus station
• There was a Milkshake shop so that made it better

I may have missed something or put something in the wrong place, but I think this is about right.

I also want to reccommend some movies from Brazil

Only the Strong(english)

Troupo de Elite(portugese)

Besouro(portugese)

These movies are all on youtube if you want to watch them.

Birthday, and Capoeira Event

     Last Thursday I went to Giovanna's 15th birthday party. The 15th birthday is about equal to our sweet 16, but they have bigger parties here. There was free drinks and candy at the table. Later there was rice, beans, and meat for supper. Later in the party there was lots of dancing and loud music. It was a great party, and I am thankful I got a invitation.
    The next day I invited some people to the pool at my current house. Raquel, Bruna and Ellen came first and stole my phone to take pictures. Patrick came later too. It was a good day even though I have posted double the amount of photos I oringinally had on Facebook.
   Interact came to swim one day too. It rained that day, so it wasn't that good for swimming.
   Last Saturday was the Capoeira event were I got my first cord. I got the second cord which is green and white. I said a few words about how I like  Capoeira, and the people at Capoeira, and I thanked Mestre Cyclone for giving me the chance to learn Capoeira. I also met Mestre Aranha who is the president of Groupo Memoria, and a great guy. It was a great event and there was lots of people for many cities. Later we had supper at a school, and talked with other people. I thought the event was great and hope to go to many others.
   I see it is -26 in Melfort, and just want to know it is a cold day here too at +23.

Dos Campos e Sao Paulo

     At the start of November I went on a trip to Sao Paulo and the smaller city Sao Jose Dos Campos. My host mom and I stayed at my host sister's house in Dos Campos while my host father went to Sao Paulo. While at Dos Campos we went to a gigantic book fair which had all the volumes of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks. The book fair was at a big park with a pond in the middle. I  walked around a bit of the park with my host mom, but I don't think I even saw half of it. The was a shopping center I went to were I met a guy who has a friend that lived in Canada for a bit. I also watched a movie at the  movie theatre that was surprisingly in english, but there was subtitles in portugese.  I also met Adriano Silva who was a exchange student in my Uncle Orville's city. Adriano invited me to super with some of his friends from university, and he made good food. I liked Dos Campos, but I still prefer smaller cities like Melfort and Guaraçai.
    After Dos Campos I went to Sao Paulo with my host mom, and on the first day the traffic was horrific. When we got there we went to the university to look at some snakes. They had small anacondas, rattlers, and some others too. I think the only one not venomus was the anaconda. I also saw the SPFC stadium which was nice. The next day we went to the down town part of Sao Paulo and I saw some of the old buildings and the biggest Church. That day we had coffee at probably the biggest book store I have ever seen. It had books about all different subjects and in english too, but I bought candied popcorn instead. Sao Paulo was nice too, but the traffic was horrible.

For those of you with -20 weather I just want you to know that it is almost always above 30 degrees here.

BBQ

    On my last post I forgot to mention a birthday party I went too. It was for the choral teacher and my host mom is in the choral. It was a bbq and I ate a lot of meat, and talked to a lot of people. My friend sang a song in english for the choral teacher, and there was a nice powerpoint too. It was a good night.
    I went to a bbq on a farm about a week ago, and there was lots of things there. Before the bbq a bunch of people road horses around tow, and then made there way too the bbq. Luiz drove me to the farm, and when we got there we went to a museum. The museum had a lot of cool stuff in it like sculptures, saws, photos, and lots of other things. It was a good day, and the meat was awesome.