Hello All,

My contact with the rest of the world has been limited during the last week because of lack of time and access. For the last few days, I´ve had some contact, and luckly I have some access to the internet and the rest of the world.

Right now I´m in the city of Itabira, about 100 northeast of Belo Horizonte. Its an historic town of about 100,000 people. I just arrived at my host family´s home, so I don´t want to seem anti-social, but its nice to be in touch again.

The last week was absolutely amazing. I spend the whole week staying in Sete Lagaos (town of 7 lakes) and visited neighboring towns and the countryside. My family was sooo beautiful and hostpitable. They opened their homes and hearts to me, and it was difficult to say bye to them... I´m actually hoping to see them towards the end of my trip in Belo Horizonte.

I´m quickly learning Portuguese because most of the families don´t speak English. I´m enjoying the very elementary conversations- its fun!

The most interesting encounters have been around a popular Novela (soap opera) called the Streets of India, where Brazilians are completed dressed in Indian clothing, sarees, jewelry, sets... and conversing in Portuguese about the dramas and struggles of life in India. It has to be the weirdest thing I´ve ever seen!!! But, it´s raised a lot of curiousity and fascination of India. That seems to be most everyone´s first question to me- If I´ve seen the Novela and how true to life is it? They want to connect and its entertaining for me...

The Rotary Conference in Poços de Caldos was so much fun!

I´ll try to post more information later, maybe with some pictures!

Last minute jitters!

So I've got just a matter of hours now before leaving, and as usual, I've left a little too much to do just before leaving (laundry, packing, emailing, blogging!). Ah, I always manage to do a good job at procrastinating, but secretly I think I kinda enjoy the rush of it and getting everything done right before, and then passing out on the 15+ hour flight ahead. That always makes the flight seem shorter... 

I'll be meeting the rest of the GSE (Group Study Exchange) Team at the airport tomorrow at SFO. From SFO to Chicago to Sao Paulo, and then onto a local plane directly to Belo Horizonte. 

Our program is very intense and we're traveling to many different places. I still haven't had a chance to digest the lengthy itinerary. Basically, we'll be moving to different cities/towns throughout the state of Minas Gerias, about every 3-4 days. 

I'll be making presentations IN PORTUGUESE (which I've been attempting to learn for the last 2 months!) to local Rotary Clubs. I will also be interviewing politicians, real estate developers, economists, community activists, and non-profit organizations. I have to admit, I'm nervous about it, but I think the most interesting experience will be getting to experience everyday family life in Brazil, something that few foreigners get to observe!

Anyways, I'll share more as the time goes by... I hope to have frequent access to the internet, and I hope there will be worthwhile posts to respond to! Haha!

If you're interested in learning more about the Group Study Exchange through Rotary International, you should ask your local Rotary Club for more information and checkout this site: 

www.rotary.org and search Group Study Exchange

Going abroad and participating in such programs doesn't have to end once you're out of school!!