Casa en Alvorada

I have been living in Alvorada for a week now and since I was finally allowed to wash the dishes the other night, I feel like I'm finally a part of the family. I live with my host mother Marines and her daughter Taina who is 20 and will turn 21 on the 17th of October so I'm super excited for our joint birthday party. I absolutely love having an older sister and I am now also an aunt to my niece Elena who is 3 and my nephew Thales who is 7 months. They live upstairs with their parents so they're around the house quite a lot and I even got woken up one morning by Elena who told me that it was time to wake up because "the whole world was awake but me".


Alvorada is one of the suburbs of Porto Alegre, the nearest big city. Because it's winter, the house is always freezing and I sleep with 5 blankets but I know it's going to be so nice to come inside to the cold when it gets hot in the summer. The food is so so so good, I have abandoned my gluten-free lifestyle for my new favorite breakfast - white bread with Doce de Leite. For lunch and dinner, we always have beans with either rice, pasta, or polenta and some sort of meat or vegetable to go with it.

I live close to the main road and I walk there in the morning to catch my bus to go to work. So far the bus system has been hard to master but thanks to my new favorite app, I know the bus times and I can follow along on my phone with where I am on the route so that I don't get lost.
I haven't done many touristy activities yet, I mainly hang out with the family or Taina and her friends who make cake spontaneously when they're bored which I think is the greatest thing on the planet. Today for Dia dos Pais (Fathers Day) we had a barbecue with all of her family who are all so nice but speak so fast especially when arguing over soccer teams. I cannot say enough how good the food is but I hope some of these pictures can do it justice.
Tomorrow starts my first full week at my host project and I hope to get comfortable enough to start taking pictures to share!

Se está sintiendo cada vez más en casa! (It's feeling more and more like home)

Finalmente Aqui

I arrived at the airport in Porto Alegre over 24 hours of traveling later to be welcomed by my in- country coordinator Anne, and the other two volunteers Suzanna and Steffan. We all got into the car, headed to a house out in the countryside headed towards the house where we would have our arrival camp. At the house I took a much needed shower and fell asleep only to be woken up for dinner which was delicious, not sure exactly what I was eating but I do know it was good, and right back to bed where I remember nothing for the next 11 hours. a cow made a noise that scared Suzanna half to death but I’m just glad that it wasn’t me who woke her up.

Friday morning I woke up to breakfast already being eaten and Eduardo , the ICYE Brazil President joining us for the day to show us around. First we went to see some of the lakes around the countryside where I learned that fences and signs do not have much influence over anything, and that capybaras (the huge guinea pig) can swim! From there we drove to a hike to a small sand formation that reminded me almost exactly of a mini Zion and southern Utah. The rocks were all sand and difficult to climb but we scrambled to the top and the view was beautiful.



Lastly on our tour we went to an ecological reserve where the main purpose of the workers is to preserve the swamp deer whose population is endangered in Rio Grande do Sul. There we climbed to the top of the observation deck and could see all the way to Porto Alegre, and to the edge of the mountains on the other side.

After lunch Eduardo left with Suzanna and Steffan and I went through some ICYE information and guidelines before doing an art project about our expectations of what the year ahead will look like. Mine was supposed to be in the shape of Brazil, but I’m not convinced. Before dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood, followed by many dogs, and passed a bar looking to sell a sheep that was 70 kilos, and I only know this because those words were written all over the side of the outside wall. Dinner was amazing as usual, so far I have not been hungry once, and we finished the night with card games and some jamaica (hibiscus) tea. Tomorrow I will meet my host family and on Wednesday I find out my project placement where I will be working for the next year!

É bom estar finalmente aqui! (It’s good to be finally here)

Brasil aqui eu venho!

Even though my last three days in Asheville felt like seconds more than hours, I realized this morning that even if I had all the time in the world it wouldn't have felt like enough - and then it means I wouldn't ever leave. So after many tears (knowing there will be many more to come) I am sitting at my gate in the Atlanta airport trying to think of what in the world I can do with my 7 hour layover in Orlando. So much love to all of you. 

Brasil aquie eu venho! (Brazil here I come!)