It's hot in Brasil. Right now I wish I was somewhere cold, I was not built for this heat. It's simple when it's cold... and extra sweater, 3 pairs of socks and a extra duvet and your good. When its hot, there is no escape.


Also South American water... I'm fairly sure its making me sick... not like gross sick ala Domincan Republic Feb 2007, but sick... I don't no, I always feel a little off, it bugs me.

conference was good, tons of pictures at my picasa site, so check that out. I've been to the beach a few days this week and Friday is my new host sisters birthday so I need to get her something, I'm thinking a picture frame because they're easy and then a picture of us, oh how creative. I think Vianey will come as well which will be nice, its going to be a discotech. Birthday parties in brasil are not something undertaken lightly, even for the younger ones, i was at a party for Kevin and Nikki (Sons of Alle and Tati) yesterday 3 and 6, there must have been 60+ people. I guess its a little different because we live in a condimnium complex, so its not like you can't invite people, but still.. a DJ, trampoline, the works, lots of fun.

Time to go sleep a little.. my stomach is not happy with my current vertical state. remember to send mail!

Sheila

So Pantanal and Bonito 07!

Amazing! Honestly best week of exchange so far.

Started on the 28th. Left here at like 6am to Brasília and then from Brasília to Belo Horizonte. Christine and I were met at the airport by Thiago, and then he took us to a hotel where we hung out for the afternoon. We went shopping, Bianey, christine, Meds and I, which was fun. Met an American guy, had lunch with him, it was nice. I went back after they went to McDonald's, I was sort of tired, and needed some alone time; although I left sort of like a loser. I showered, it was raining really hard I love walking in the rain.. well running but anyway, and it was soo nice to have about 2 hours to myself. Other intercambistas arrived, and at about 10pm we left on the Bus. We made some stops over the night, I slept, and was sort of half awake for them. Didn´t eat until lunch the next day. and at about 8 we arrived in Campo Grande, where we spent the night, and all the other exchange students arrived. We left the next morning for the Pantanal, arrived there at like 3. We blew 2 tires on the way, and I bought "Armani" sunglasses for $R15... like $8US haha. Went Pariah fishing which was fun. and then dinner, good times. Swimming, and a little party after dinner.

Next day (this is.. Tuesday I think?) Went horse back riding! Sooo much fun! I´ve never done it before, it was amazing though. After went swimming and then lunch, after lunch we went trekking, which was cool. Another little festa and then a BBQ for dinner. I also went on a night safri which was fun. Last day in Pantanal we went on a safri, saw a leopard which was insanely cool (see my pictures) and after lunch headed off to Bonito. Sat with clare from Pantnal to Miranda and with Conny from miranda to Bonito. Had dinner in Bonito, with Conny,Annie, and Nora.. which was great.. Two Canadian guys ordered beer, ended up getting sent home (to their cities..well towns.. actually what in Canada would be a village, here in brasilm, not to canada, as far as I know), stupid kids. I also saw my friend Maria, from Germany in Bonito, she was there with another tour company and Clovis our district inbound cordinator, which was cool.

Went to a waterfall place for the mroning, the bus broke down again so we didn´t do what we were going to do in the afternoon. After that went home;..well to the hotel, went into bonito for dinner, Clare, Ray and I went to a convience store and bought snacks for the bus... including Oreo like cookies, called BlackPower!!! lol we all got a laugh, and we bought Jello, and water, and took our picture with tons of stuff, including beer and the store clerk lol.. good times. Ate pizza for dinner, and then desert pizza (bannana cinnamin) sooo good! After that took pictures, and went back to the hotel, we could have stayed another hour, but we didn´t really have anything to do so clare ray and a few other and I went back.

Next day went snorkelling, which was awesome, the water was really blue, because of the magnesium, and it was soo unbelivabley clear, I don´t have any pictures, cause I didn´t get a chance to buy the CD, but it was amazing. After we went rafting, which was also amazing. I was in a boat with McBrasilian (our Doctor... I spenmt for ever trying to come up with a McName for him and thats all I got), Ray, Clare, Christina, James, turkey, a few others, I´ll have pictures of it soon (claire and I bought the CD and shes going to mail it to me this week), but ya... amazing!!! After went back and then to a resturant for a talent show and party.. Clare Ray and I rapped, it was pretty awesome, I´ll upload it to youtube tomorrow haha ridiculous! Fun night

Next day we went to the Blue Lake caves.. again Magnesium= blue water, pretty cool. After that lunch in bonito and then on to the bus... I sat with Connie and Hector, how were totally making out.. akward? i think so. Anway...sad to see everyone leave. Got tro Belo Horozonite and chilled at the airport, my flight got changed, so I ended up going via Rio instead of Brasília. Got home at 12:40.. so tired.

Spent today and yesterday at home. I´m moving families on Friday/Saturday which is exciting!

Today I went into Vilas, paid off my debt, sent a package to my parents for Christmas, bought a dress for a 15th birthday (its like 16 in Canada.. but more like My super sweet 16 on MTV), and two new shirts, as well as a birthday present for above mentioned Maria, and a Razor... because disposibles just aren´t cutting it.. parden the pun.

pictures here
beijos por todo mundo!

Sheila

I can´t believe how long I´ve been here. Sometimes it feels like I haven´t been in Nova Scotia in forever, but right now, I feel like I just arrived.

My portuguese is coming, I just finihsed a month long course, and now I can talk queit a bit, not as much as I´m like, but still, pretty good since 4 months ago I spoke none.

Things here are good, lots of friends.. sort of, not like real friends, its hard because I can´t really talk to them very well, but better then nothing.

Last weekend I went to a club in Salvador, it was wonderful! No drinking, of course. But dancing and such, lots of fun! I don´t have any pictures, but next time. Here you only have to be 18 to go to the clubs, yay for being the oldest intercambista in the Lauro de Freitas... it has finally turned out to be a good thing!

On Sunday I leave for my trip to the Pantanal, which I´m really excited for. Vianey, and a german girl in Salvador, Christine, are going as well. I still need to get some stuff, snacks for the flights + hours long wait in Brasilia, and maybe a couple new pairs of shorts, but I´m not sure.

I sent postcards out to a ton of people a few weeks ago; I hope they get to everyone! the Brasilian postal system isn´t always great.

I´ll do a big update after the trip with lots of pictures (taken with my spiffy new camera!)

Tchau and Beijos from Brasil


Sheila

Today I went to the beach with my friend Vianey, she is from mexico.

Lots of fun.

Last night she slept over here, and then we spent like..4 or 5 hours at the beach, it was tons of fun, here are a ton of pictures from our day.




Tais visited us last night


We were being cool.. haha


All the girls


On the beach


Vianey eating beach cheese (pretty much the best beach food.. ever)




I love it


Acarajé! Second best beach food!


On the beach!


TEETH! I touched them.. i thought it was a shell.. ew



all photos can, of course be seen at here

Vianey and Sheilas excellent beach adventure

Also check out the info post for how to text me! I love getting texts, so if you could take some time out of your busy days to do that, I´d love it! Thanks to all who have!

Tchau for now

Sheila

I´ll start with today and work backwards... easier my tired brain

So today. We went to a BBQ at Cris and Arturos, fun.. I ate way tooo much. But I actually participated in the conversation for a little bit.. mostly talking about exchange, and differences between Canadian and Brasilian culture, stuff like how at home I do my own laundry, .. do dishes (ok I load the dishwasher.. my actual dish washing skills are lacking, I won´t lie), clean my own bathroom (on ocasion), work, and I´m (at least compared to the Brasilian 18 year olds I know) very independent. Kids here (well in the upper class... here its really.. the have and the have-nots... so the haves is who i live with, and know.. minus the maid.. etc) have maids, who do everything but dress them in the morning. Everyone was saying that Brasilian kids would have a hard time not having that, I don´t think they would... you just get used to it. Like I´ve gotten used to doing very minimal cleaning. We also talked about my trip I´m taking at the end of October.

This morning I asked my mom if my Mexican friend Vianey could stay over friday night, and she said yes, so Friday Vianey is going to come over after school, we´ll do.. something, and then Saturday we´re going to go to the beach! I´m going to try and get a proper brasilian bikin (top atleast) so I can get rid of some of the tan lines I have going on..

Yesterday, we went to the beach, one I hadn´t been to before, it was gorgeous!


Me prentending I´m a surfer at the beach yesterday. Hopefully in the summer I´ll take some surf lessons, and learn how to do that :) I´ve always wanted to, and now I have a chance!


beach


my host dad and host sister



Friday we went and looked into Portuguese classes, which I´m going to start on Tuesday, I´m excited. I think its not so much that I can´t, its that I lack confidence, so hopefully this will help.

Wednesday was *dia de ciencias* all the classes from.. the Canadian equiavlent of grade 5 and up did presentations, my classes was on Global warming,


Dudo( a nickname.. I don´t no his actual name opps), Bruno, me, and Tais


Lu, me and Carol


All the girls in my class... I can´t dance, hence my lack of a skirt


Ivandro and I

Rest of the pictures from dia de Ciencias here

Dia de Sciences

and thats pretty much all thats happened recently, thats worth reporting. Here are some random pictures from... a few different things




Me, and host mom- the day my host brother (igor) left for Mexico, she was very sad


Me a bunch of Igors friends (who I didn´t/ don´t really know) and Igor, right before he left.. i think my red blazer kills his blue blazer.. blue is so over used.. lol


Me and a guy I go to school with whose name I don´t know (I´m really bad with names, here at least, and a lot of people just start talking to me because they know my name... you are known as an exchange student)



My trip is all booked and payed for. I leave on the 28th of October, and get back the 5th of November, I´ll also be moving families over that time. I finish school on the 13th of November, I´m excited for that. I´m going to see if in early December, or late January if I can get down to Itabuna to visit my friends there, or maybe go visit kids I meet on the Pantanal trip, so I can see other parts of Brasil, which would be really exciting, and cool.

So thats all to report from brasil! I´m going to buy some postcards this week, and get them off soon, I have adresses for a bunch of people... if your not sure I have yours email it to me at sheila(dot)elizabeth(at)gmail(dot)com and I´ll send you one too! and remember to check out the first post and find out how you can text me, and then text me!! It makes me happy :) as well comment here, just to let me kno your reading, thanks :)

Tchau

Sheila

Excellent relaxing weekend down here in Bahia.

Saturday I did a whole lot of nothing, well actually I walked, but I´ll get into that after.

Sunday was awesome. We went to a beach, up past Praia de Forte (about an hour north of here) it was gorgeous... we went to the Tamar project, where they resuce tutrles, and save turtle eggs... so beautiful! and then we went to a beach in another town, and by town I do mean a very small little hamlet of paradise. It was great, the water was so warm, lkike taking a bath.. which was nice, because our shower has not had hot water for about 3 weeks... I like my cold showers as much as the next person, and I think i read somewhere cold showers make you live longer.. but at this junction in time.. I´m down with a shorter life for a warm shower... for now..

So Walking.. well I´ve resigned to walking to combat this weight gain thing.. its not much but its something. I walk about 3 kms, everyday, just around condimiums where I live.. think Midnight Express except with more sun, less Turkush prison, and I have an MP3 player...where as Billy Hayes did not.

Pictures from our beach trip!

Praia

Tchau Tchau from Brasil!

Sheila

Sheila is going on a trip! At the end of next month I´m headed to the Pantanal. Its looking amazing, I´m soo excited, I can´t even describe.

Things have been ok here.. nothing to exciting, I´ve met all of the other intercambista in Lauro de Freitas now, they´re all super nice. In October we´re going to Salvador for the interact forum, I´m looking forward to it, we´ll get to see all the other intercambista from the district again, and Natalie, my friend from floria, who is living in Itabuna is going to lend my the 7th Harry potter Book... mostly I´m going to read it because I´ve read all the other ones, and why stop there...



I´ll try and get some pictures up this weekend, you can always check out my picasa site though, which can be found here <--Click


Tchau


Sheila

I went for a walk around my condiminum complex a few days ago.. the pictures I took are here -->

Walking Tour

Its nice here, thought I´d share that. Things are good here, tomorrow is Independence Day here, so no school. Most families are travelling but we aren´t... BBQ and the beach I think is what we have planned.. fun!!

I´ll try and update sometime this weekend.

Hope everyone is well

Sheila

went to an Axé (a-shay) show last night, lots of fun. Here are some pictures






I tihnk its fairly clear who is not Brasilian...



Big update tomorrow...


Sheila

Soo on to my weekend, thus far at least.

Yesterday school= blah, we watched a movie *under the surface* espoisá d´agua in portuguese I think. It was ok, english subtitles>>>>>life lol.

Show was great fun.. fun Carnival-esque music, people really like to party here, so it was great! Hopefully we´ll go to more, it cost $R25 about $15 canadaian.. but it was worth it. Negra Cor was the band, it was at Bahia cafe hall.


Today we went to the beach.. my thighs are sunburned, I can feel it under my jeans... ewwy feeling... I´ll put some aloe on them later. It was fun, I ate cashews (which are huge here) freshly roasted. Yum. and fried cheese, also surpringly good, and had a drink with pineapple, it was sooo good.


This week we´re going a project at school... it involes us getting shirts... This week is also like mid-terms, so the exchange students get to leave at like 10am, cause we´re to cool to write exams. Friday is also a holiday, something about an independence Day... I´m not sure.. apperently people travel, but don´t think we´re going anywhere... maybe the beach

Well Time for bed!

Tchau Tchau!

Sheila