Ashley’s Journals

On the way home we stopped by a paderia and ordered pão de queijo, and pão frances to take home with us.. For lunch we had stroganoff de carne and suco de acerola. One thing I’ve noticed about food here is that there is a lot of cheese, and a lot of condensed milk; especially in deserts. I’ve already tried so many good foods like pastel, caldo de cana, arroz e feijão (we eat almost every day), and açai. My host family wanted me to try this “morango do amor” and made a huge deal about it. At first I didn’t understand, I thought it was just a strawberry, but I didn’t know at the time it was a SUPER trendy dessert.

The first day, my host family took me to the mall to change my money, shop, and play at the arcade. The next day we went to my host aunt’s house to help her prepare for my cousin’s first birthday party. We helped blow up balloons and fill containers of candy for the guests. At the party I met the rest of the family including my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my sister’s friend. The party was very big and had lots of games, food, music, and people. The birthday song is very different and there’s an end part where we all chant “Pique, pique, pique!” and clap which is super cool and fun.

My host family has been nothing but warm and welcoming and have made me feel comfortable. I’m especially lucky to have my host sister who speaks English and has been helping me a lot. She showed me around the neighborhood and explained everything to me. 

We went to the Rotary Club of Ipiranga meeting for dinner, and I got to meet the other inbound student and listen to the presentation from the outbound student who just got back from Japan.

On Sunday my host family took me to Liberdade. We went by metro, this being my first time using the metro, it was very fast, and I understand why many people use the metro to get to work everyday. At Liberdade, it was absolutely packed with people. On Sundays, just like Avenida Paulista, the roads close so it’s just people and no cars. When we got off the metro we were sandwiched between people and the many street vendors who were selling everything from toys to clothes to food. We got to try so many foods and have lunch there.

On Monday I started school and it was great! Everyone was very welcoming and curious, the students and even the teachers bombarded me with questions. School starts at 7:10am and ends 12:45pm except on Mondays it ends at 5pm. My friends at school have been super amazing, and have welcomed me with open arms, even when my Portuguese is very beginner level.

After school, my sister and her friend took me to Avenida Paulista. When we got off the metro, there were tons of people and tons of buildings. We walked to go to the famous MASP museum which has free entry every Tuesday. They switch out their artworks monthly, this month they had Monet. Then we went to Méqui 1000 which is the 1000th McDonalds to open in Brazil, and then after we went to look off a rooftop. The view was amazing, and I don't think I’ve seen SO many buildings before.

Just a couple days ago my host sister left for Hungary to do her exchange, and we threw her a surprise going away party. It was very fun, we all said goodbye and it was funny to see her reaction!

That’s pretty much everything! These first few weeks in Brazil have been full of little discoveries, and I’m excited to see what I’ll find next.

Tchau, until the next adventure!