My first few days :)

(Some words are missing accents as my laptop wouldn’t let me put them in.)

Boa noite,                                                                                                                                                                                               Four days ago I said a final goodbye to my family back home in Australia, it was the hardest thing I have ever done and trust me I cried a lot. The plane ride was surprisingly good because I slept for 9 of the 10 hours between Auckland and Santiago (a personal record). The group I traveled with were super nice and I hope we will be friends forever as they are all also staying in Brazil, although not Santos like me.

When I arrived at the airport at Sao Paulo I was very happily surprised to see my host family waiting for me with a big welcome sign, it made me a lot less nervous and I forgot how much I was missing my family at home in Australia. After all the welcome hugs and kisses we headed home to Santos. It was a 2 hour drive home so we decided to stop at McDonalds or how the locals call it “McyDonaldy”. You’re probably wondering if the food was different but I found the menu was very similar, however, I think they must use a different oil for the fries because they taste a bit different. After some McyDonaldy  we went to the apartment, there I met my host Mum whom was recovering from the birth of her 5th child (crazy right?). I also met my two year old host brother Gustavo and the new born, Helena. That night (2am) I handed out some Australian gifts and a few aussie favorites such as tim tams and violet crumbles. The last few days I have discovered a few big differences between Australia and Brazil. First off Brazilians barley ever sleep. And for a girl who loves a sleep in it was a bit of a shock to the system. They literally go to bed at 3am and wake up at 10am, imagine when school goes back and I have to wake up at 6am!! Over the past three days I have had some delicious Brazilian food everything from sweet to savory.  My favorites so far have been pao de queijo which is a type of bread with cheese in the center, it is shaped as a circle and is bite size, I also really like crepes (pronounced differently), they are really different to any crepes I have in Australia, the flavor I  had is called doce de leite (banana and a sauce similar to caramel, but better). I really love the bakery style breads that they have here and the agua de coco (coconut water) which is only four reais which is only $1.60 (I was amazed about how cheap it is). I have also loved all the home made food made by Vovo (grandma), my aunt and the family’s maid (more like family). Today I went to Santos beach which is basically across the road from our apartment. The beach is really nice but because Santos is a port the water is not as clean at this beach, but the atmosphere on the sand is nice because it is buzzing with people. On the second night of my exchange my host family all tried Vegemite, they all hated it except for my host uncle (who asked to take some home) and my host Dad. They both thought it taste like beer and that’s why they liked it (crazy right!!).

My parents back home have been teasing me with pictures of my cousins sleeping in my bed at home and all the food they’ve been eating while I’m gone but in return I try to make them jealous with pictures and videos of all the places I’m going and the food I’ve eaten. my host family speaks English really well but in a week or two they will speak only Portuguese with me which is good. I think I will pick up the language fast if I keep asking lots of questions and listening to the people around me. At the moment I’m speaking in both Portuguese and English but I can already see myself improving and learning the ways of the language.

Here are some photos of my exchange so far:

At Sydney airport before my flight. My Dad, brother, Mum and I.

My host family minus my host Mum.

Agua de coco (coconut water) which is only four reais!!!

My Mum and I with Rebecca and her Mum. Rebecca also went to Brazil but to a town more inland.

Cruise ships go right past my apartment. This was taken from my balcony.

Playing cards with my host sister and her friends. They teach me games and in return I teach them.

The night my host family tried Vegemite!!

Travel group on the plane.

Crepes with a special Brazilian filling.

Well that’s all for now, I will update again soon!!

Tchau!

Heidi x