A Quote
26 Jun 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: countdown
This is one of my favorite quotes….
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home.”
-James Michener
Oh, and I leave in 4 days! Which reminds me…..I should really start packing…..
1 Semana! (1 Week!)
23 Jun 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: countdown
That’s right….I have one more week left in the states before I fly to Brasil for 5 weeks. I am extremely excited about my trip, but I’m also a little sad to leave everybody. The hardest part for me won’t be the fact that I’m in a different country, or that I won’t have access to a car that I can drive whenever I want, or even that I don’t speak the language fluently yet. The most difficult thing will be the fact that I will be far away from my family and friends.
This past week, at church camp, I was talking to one of my best friends about my trip. (He still likes to joke with me, and tell me that I’m not really going. lol) But, when we were talking, I realized….”Wow. I’m really going to miss him.” And then I thought of my other close friends and my family, whom I haven’t seen in a week or more, and I realized that I will really and truly miss you all.
I know that many of you are worried about my safety, but please know there will be no walking around the streets of Rio alone, or anything like that. Yes, I’ve been there before, and yes, I love the city……but it is a huge place that I am still quite unfamiliar with. I won’t be taking the bus to church (or anywhere) by myself, or spending a day at the beach alone. So, you may now release those images far from your mind 
Instead, think of something like this:
Simply me being incredibly happy, doing something I love, in the amazing city of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
23 More Days In The States…..
06 Jun 2008 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: countdown, Portuguese, preparations
I leave for Rio in 23 days, and I am super excited! Of course I still have plenty of stuff to do to prepare….namely figuring out what to pack. How do you pack for 5 weeks in a foreign country?? Any suggestions? If you are really interested, I’ll let you know when/IF I figure it out. I also need to keep improving on my Portuguese listening and speaking skills. I find that I can read quite a bit of Portuguese fairly well, but I still have tons of practice to do….especially in the listening area. I have a feeling I will be saying “Você pode falar mais devagar, por favor?” a lot. (Can you please speak more slowly?)
I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you, and I hope to be able to include pictures of some of the places I visit from time to time. Feel free to leave comments. Thanks for reading!
