Ehh, not much of an update..

Yes, this is another quick & sloppy one, haha.
I am just writing to let you know that, as well as slide shows, I will be posting some videos from my exchange. Haha!
I have already put up one, from a football match I went to see not long ago. (It was so much fun! - - until my team started losing. =P)
There will definitely be more coming. So- stay tuned! Ahaha.

Also- I have temporarily removed the slide show I put on here earlier. I am going to fix it up, and put it back on soon. =] Until then, enjoy the videos that I will be uploading.

Busy!!

Ehh, so here goes another late post.
I'm going to scratch this every Friday nonsense. It's just not working for me.
It's -probably- better if I say, updates (usually) on weekends. =P

I've been so busy here! I must have said this many, many, times already, but it's the truth! I'm having such an amazing experience here, and I just havn't had time to come on and write about it.

Even this post isn't going to be an actual update.(I'm working on writing one of those right now though!) I'm just posting to let everyone know that I'm happy, I'm safe, and that I'm very sorry for my poor blogging habits. =P

I may not be posting updates regularly, but I am posting photos! (Uploading photos takes a lot less time than writing a blog entry does, for me anyway. Haha).
The easiest way for you to access these photos would be to add me on facebook, and check there.
If you don't have/don't want facebook- then you can view the slideshow that I will be putting at the bottom of this page. =]

Finally- an update!

Awwhhh, I know. I'm late again. I've just been so busy!

I'll start off this post by telling you that we were finally able to get my laptop up and running. I'm so glad to have that out of the way.
Ehehe- thanks to those of you who tried to help me out. I really appreciated all of your advice. We ended up actually calling in two guys from a computer store, who fixed up all of the issues for me. :)

I have been very busy these past couple of weeks. My host family has been taking me everywhere and showing me everything! :) Here are some photos from when we went to a near by beach, Porto De Galinhas. It's such a gorgeous beach! Unfortunately, since it's the winter here, we have been getting a lot of rain here in Recife. So, this has been my only trip to a Brazilian Beach (for now! :P).











Like I said, it is winter time here. And in Brazil, winter means rain. (Really!). Just this past weekend, we had so much rain that our street actually ended up flooding. It was insane! I took some photos from our balcony.






Really- it's been raining that much! :)
Now, you really won't believe it, but another part of why I havn't been able to update this blog was due to the fact that I had actually, most unfortunately, caught a cold shortly after arrivng here. (I know! It was just my luck!). I ended up completly losing my voice, making everything that much more difficult.
I couldn't just not speak Portuguese well, I couldn't speak at all.
(Since then, I've gotten my voice back, and now only have a mild cough, that should really be better very soon.)

On a lighter note, just this past Thursday, I had my very first day of school! My school is only two blocks away from my home. Classes run from Monday-Friday, they begin at 7:00am, and finish at 12:20.
My first few days have been great! Both the teachers and the students have welcomed me very warmly, and have been helping me out with my Portugeuse a lot. =]
It can be hard understanding the lessons sometimes, but both the teachers and my classmates will go out of their way to explain whatever is going on to me, which is always nice. Everyone's been so friendly, and I really have enjoyed my first few days at the CBV.

Here's a photo of me, dressed up in the school uniform (school t-shirt, jeans & running shoes) for my first day of school. =]





While I've been here, I've been visiting many, many, different kinds of restaurants. Really- Recife is full of them! And they've all been so nice, too.
Here are some photos that we took when I went out to dinner with both my first & second host families. - That night we actually had some very good pizza. :)











Really- I've been so busy these past couple of weeks! I've already had three birthdays (my vovo's [grandpa's], my friend, Henrique's, and my first host father's!)
It's constantly been late nights, early mornings, with very little time for blogging in between. So, please excuse my rushed, already late, post. I'm having such an amazing time here, and I just havn't been able to make the time to make a post that includes everything I'd want to tell you about. (That's why this post is really such an unorganized, jumble of random thoughts.)

I'll finish this post with a couple of night shots of what truely is a gorgeous city. =]


Beijos!


Kristina.

My Arrival in Recife

So, who flies into a foreign country, to be greeted by a ton of people who she never met before in her life, with a HUGE sign with her name on it?








Yes, that would be me..!

The past few days have flown by so quickly. My host family really is amazing.
They set up my bedroom before I came, (fresh paint and all!) and they have been so kind and patient in encouraging me to start learning Portuguese.
But, I´m getting ahead of myself now.
The flight here was a long one. I said my goodbyes in Toronto, and my plane took off at 11:15pm. The plane ride really wan´t too bad. I met a really nice Brazilian family who spoke some english and told me about all the fun I was going to have while I was in Brazil as I lined up to get on the plane. And, the man who I was sitting beside also spoke english very well, and told me about all of Brazil´s must-see´s and whatnought. The food wasn´t too bad either! (They were nice, warm meals, so it was alright.) I landed in Sao Paulo, and was fortunate enough to meet up with many kind brazilian souls who would sympathize with the poor, unfortunate Canadian girl who was trying to find her way. (Really- they were so amazing. One family actually went out of their way to find me a trolley. I´m forever grateful).
I did eventually find my way to my airline and soon after flew off to Recife.
Waiting for me were many, many, smiling faces. They had a huge sign, and kindly cheered me over.

Here´s a list with the names of the people who were in the airport to greet me...

Rogerio (Assistant of inbounds of Rotary)
Mae & Pae (my first host parents)
My cousin (Rodrigo) and his girlfriend (Aninha)
My second host family.
My third host family.
Mauricio
Henrique
Leo and Rodrigo (they were exchange students from Rotary and have returned this year)
Carlos


Thank you for coming to welcome me!
(If I missed anyone, I´m very sorry. Please let me know, and I´ll add your name to the list!)

I went back to what would now be known as my home. On the way they showed me many places, including my school. (It´s very nearby, which is great!).
So, when I finally arrive at the home, I get a lot of time to relax and talk to some of the people from the airport. Afterwords, I was informed that I had a party to go to, at my uncle´s appartment.
I had a lot of fun there, and met many family members.
Since then, I´ve been going out regularly, both with new friends and my family.
If you know me well, you would not believe what I am about to tell you next.
I have eaten SUCH a wide variety of foods since I´ve been here.
Really- shrimp, thapyoka, and many other traditional Brazilian dishes.
I´ve had such an amazing introduction to Brazil.
Really, right now, my experience can only continue to become even more briliant.

Finally- I would like to apolagize for the late, and semi-rushed post.
(I know, I said Fridays.
1) I´ve been so busy since I´ve been here! And I´m up now, at 1am, trying to get this done, for all of you lovely readers. =P

3) My laptop will not connect to the internet! I have no idea why. I could access the neighbors, if I knew their passcodes, but I cannot access my family´s!! (I know. Just my luck.
So- if there are any computer-techies out there reading this. Please, I really could use the help. When I go to access my family´s wireless, I get the following error message...

"Windows is unable to connect to the selected network." The network may no longer be in range. Please refresh the list of available networks and try to connect again."

I am not too far from the modem. I do have a strong connection. I just cannot access it.
So- post a comment on this message if you think you might know what´s going on, please? =]

3) Since I have to use my family´s computer, it can be a little tricky. Both the computer and keyboard are programmed Portuguese-style. I really am not that great with Portuguese yet. I guess it is helping me to learn though... (haha)

But, enough with the excuses.
I hope you can all understand why this was a bit late. I´m very sorry if you checked earlier only to find that I was not punctual. Haha. I´ll try my best to be on time for next week´s update. (And hopefully that one won´t be as rushed. Im really trying to avoid mobs of angry people right now..! =P)

I´ll begin attending school on July 30th.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that Rotary International, specifically, the Rotary Club of Bolton, as well as my parents, have given me. None of this would have been possible without the help of many, many people. So- I´d really like to thank you all for providing me with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Thanks for reading!

Beijos!

Kristina







THERE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MORE PHOTOS WITH THIS MESSAGE.
You wouldn´t believe the problems I´ve had trying to post this.
I´m going to try to add them later. :) Until then, this will have to suffice. =P
Sorry!
And please, excuse any typos, or spelling mistakes. Like I said, this computer is pretty well all portuguese right now.. I couldnt spell check. And it is very late. And, I do not feel like re-reading this. =P
If anyone can tell me how to get my laptop´s internet to work, I´d be forever grateful.
To contact me, either leave a comment, send me an email at Kristina_vivian@hotmail.com, or contact me via Skype, where my name is kristinavivian.

So many options, I know. I could really use the help.
THANKS FOR READING. :)
BOA NOITE!

In Two Weeks...

In two weeks I'll be leaving for Brazil! I'll be leaving the Toronto Pearson International Airport at 11:15pm on Monday, July 21st, and arriving in Recife's Guararapes International Airport at 3:30pm the next day. (It's a pretty long flight!)

The name of the school that I will be attending while in Brazil is the Colégio Boa Viagem.

My first host family is really amazing. My host parents, Nadja and Rivaldo, have been so wonderful in contacting me. I've been talking with them for the past few months, and they've really made me feel very welcomed and more comfortable in my
departure. My host sisters, Vica (who is studying in Montreal) and Naty (Pi!!) have been so helpful and understanding. I am so excited, I can't wait to meet them all.
Thanks to my host sisters, I've been introduced to so many people. All of their help should really come together in making my experience and transition into Brazilian Culture very comfortable and that much more enjoyable.



Here's a photo of my first host family.

I'll be posting regular updates of my adventures and struggles right here in my blog.

Until then,

Beijos!

- Kristina

[ EDIT: July 14th, 2008 ]

I've just heard from my 2nd host mother!

Today I got some photos from my second host family. I'd been talking to my host brother, Victor, for a while, but I hadn't heard from my second parents until today. I was ecstatic! My host mom's name is Erica, and my host dad's name is Italo. They'll be waiting for me at the airport along with my first host family.

Here's a picture of my second host family.



I'll have more updates once I arrive in Brazil (one week now!!), or, when I get some more news!

Until then,

Tchau!

- Kristina