Francisco Lachowski

I just want to go to NYC, bump into him and seduce him with my broken-ass Portuguese, and convince him to take me back to Brazil to go surfing with him in his hometown of Curitiba.




.
This is so inappropriate because I think he is only 18, but he is so nice to look at, IDK.

check it

It's one of the garbage cans Mauricio and I commissioned for our work project in Manoel Viana!

It makes me incredibly happy and proud to see it still standing, and the front panel still intact after all the hard-fucking-work we did marching around town starting at 7am, harassing the mayor and local businesses to pitch in for these for 3 months. 9 months later and at least one of them is still around.. this is good news.

oh and i guess i should mention gabi, bel, thais and diogo who are also in this picture.

ahaha what the fuck

i have this sudden interest in finding a brazilian boy.

this stemmed from hearing 2 boys speaking brazilian portuguese (one of which was walking around/taking the bus with a cup of beer in his hand) while waiting for the night bus on friday night.

"com licenca, mas aqui na canada, nao pode bebir cerveja na rua..." i wish i said it to him!

hahaha

So i've found some more pictures from my trip.

Churrasco - before and after.

the second picture is saved under "DRUNKMOUSTACHE"

@ Elliot and Gabi's party garage. Drunk and cold. The third is a picture of Jesus hanging in their living room... the text translates to "Jesus, you are my best friend"

I sewed puppets and we put on a play for our Educational Activity Day on culture.

Mid-project @ Fazenda Ytu, our first weekend in Brazil, chilling in Gabi and Elliot's backyard.

In Chinatown in Montreal.

GOD, I MISS THESE GUYS.

Another 3 months in Brazil?

YORK INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Please note that applications will be accepted until 11:59pm, February 9, 2009 for the placements below ONLY.


Alytus State Boarding House in Alytus, Lithuania
Amigos de la Naturaleza en el Mundo (Friends of the Earth) in Sayula, Mexico
The Canadian Institute in Greece in Athens, Greece
Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad (CEDES) in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad, Solidarity Crafts Store in El Salvador, San Salvador
Consejo Colombiano de Construcción Sostenible (Colombia GBC) in Bogotá, Colombia
Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst – DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) in Bonn, Germany
Dublin City University (DCU), School of Biotechnology in Dublin, Ireland
Instituto Ecoar para Cidadania (Ecoar Institute for Citizenship) in Ibiuna - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Green Building Council Brasil (GBC Brasil) in Barueri, Brazil
Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) in Cape Town, South Africa
The Gori Collection of Site-Specific Art in Celle, Italy
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD) - GIS in Bangalore, India
La Salle University, Center for International Education in Mexico City, Mexico
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (Marketing) in Isiolo, Kenya
Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP) - Early Years Project in Samlaut, Cambodia
Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP) - EcoRanger Club in Samlaut, Cambodia
Mexico Green Building Council in Mexico City, Mexico
National University of Mongolia (NUM), Faculty of Biology in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
National University of Mongolia (NUM), Water Research Center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
New Zealand Green Building Council in Auckland, New Zealand
Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW) in St. Michael, Barbados
Turismo Rural Ecológico del Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch (TURE-CoBAS) in Quizarrá, Costa Rica
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in Vienna, Austria
University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN) - Linguistics Research and Cultural Revitalization Institute (IPILC) in Bluefields, Nicaragua
University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN), Nueva Guinea Campus in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua

I am applying to the ones that are bolded.
I probably will not be able to get letters of reference in time for my interview (if, I even pass the first round of selection... but I'm banking that I should. I did last year, and I'm basically handing the exact same application and cover letter in with a few additions..) but maybe maybe maybe they'll be lenient because of the strike.

If not, I still have the opportunity to go to Washington for 3 months during the summer and work at the IDB.

NOW IF I COULD ONLY GET A JOB...

polaroid it.

Here's to...

coming home reeking of booze and cigarettes...
from a bar where i was able to reconnect with my past, whether i wanted to or not...

"omg hi! its been so long! i havent seen you in years!! what have you been up to?"

"dude, omg, so whats up??"

"yeah man its been yearssss! how are you? what are you doing now?"



i knew there was a reason i didnt go to bars in streetsville.
and it turns out that all of SSS class of ... 2005 (thanks sasha..) was out at the cock and pheasant tonight.
How do I sum up the last 4 years of my life to you in a clear and concise way, that will keep your attention and not alienate you, in a bar over loud music and yelling from the table next to us?
"Um, yeah life's been good... I just got back from a 6 month adventure... half of which was spent in Brazil... yeah life's been pretty crazy.. So what have you been doing? .. Just school? Oh well, thats pretty....... respectable....."

wow, life.

i miss my CWYers.
Can we rewind to the last 3 days of the program in montreal?
can we go back to the night where we counted down the seconds to the end of the program?
I was so ill prepared. I promise I'll be able to deal with it better the second time around......

"A que horas, nos vamos emborra?"
"Vai emborra agora??"

I really need to get into the habit of not speaking Portuguese when I have the slightest bit of alcohol in me... no one can understand what I am saying....

yeah..

wtf why is it that all of a sudden there are all these references to australia and australians everywhere?
and why does it bother me so much?



good question!

another (set of) good question(s):
Since im back in canada and no longer half-way around the world volunteering and speaking portuguese, will this blog go back to the way it was before i left?
full of wit and fashion and music news?
or will it continue to be somewhere you go to read about how much i hate my life?
will i post more outfit posts because now i actually have a wardrobe, and dont wear the same uniform of aa hoody, aa deep-v, and skinny jeans?

will i ever update my flickr?

does anyone even read this any more?

is the whole point of making posts tagging them?

1 week left.

I absolutely cannot believe that I'll be home in a week.
I packed today, and all I have to do is finalize tmrw and I'm done.
I'll probably be unreachable for the next week so, for those who care, here's the schedule for the next couple of days.

Tuesday 16 - leave our homes in Valleyfield for Camp Bosco
Wednesday 17 - Camp Bosco
Thursday 18 - Teary goodbyes to the Brazilians at the airport, arrival at the hostel in downtown Montreal with all other 30 Canadian participants
Friday 19 - Hostel
Saturday 20 - Hostel
Sunday 21 - HOME!

And so begins a week long drinking binge.. it started Friday night with a party at Lorna + Tamara's house, continued last night with our Goodbye party for the families and work projects, and will continue at Camp Bosco with our Brazilian friends during their last 2 days in Canada and our last 2 days together. And then its 3 days in downtown Montreal with all our other Canadian friends that we've only seen twice during the last 6 months. There'll be 40 participants and one supervisor.. we'll have workshops during the day and nights off. So far our group of Canadians have already decided to go to a drag show, go tobogganing down Mont Royal, visit le Musée de Beaux Arts and the Andy Warhol exhibit and go drinking/clubbing.
With $44 for meals for the 3 days... we'll see how we do.
I'll see you guys soon!

Things I have learned...

Sometimes when the days never seem to end, and when the 21st of December cannot come fast enough... it helps to think of the things that I've gained from this program.

6 months is a long time. It doesn't seem that long when you're living it, but when it comes down to the last couple of weeks... you start to feel how long it's been.
... how long it's been since you have seen your friends, how long it's been since you've been in your room, how long you've spent with the same people without any additions...
It's hard to look at the bright side, when every morning you just want to come downstairs make some toast and leave without having to greet everyone with a big smile on your face. (I like my host-family, I really do! It's just tiring.. always living in someone else's house for the past 6 months..)
But enough bitching. Yes it has been 6 months of being away from home, but I definitely gained some things out of it. (Woohoo, forced cheeriness and looking at the brightside!)


1) I've learned a new language, whilst improving another.

I can understand Portuguese pretty well now. My Portuguese is actually pretty much on par with how my French was before I left for the program... which is actually amazing, considering I didn't study at all before I left. I remember being at the camp in Montreal before leaving for Brazil and feeling so overwhelmed when everyone started studying during the evenings and quizzing each other...
I've improved on my French. I can understand a whole lot more now than I could before. I've (unfortunately) picked up on a lot of Quebec slang, but hopefully NOT the Quebecois accent. I could barely watch TV in French, but I've been to the movies and have been able to understand the films and enjoy them... all in French and no subtitles! I've also been reading books here in French.. although it was a graphic novel... (Persepolis) and the pictures helped, but I still understood the French!
I've also gotten accustomed to talking in Franguese. Where I begin in French... but end up speaking in English with a couple of Portuguese words thrown in for good measure. This is sort of the norm within the group.. so I apologize in advance if I come home and speak retardedly for the first couple of weeks.


2) I've learned about 2 new cultures.

I've learned a lot about the culture in Rio Grande do Sul - the Southern-most state in Brazil. The town we stayed in was incredibly traditional, and kept most of their customs, and I was on a team to teach the rest of the group about the culture of the region. I learned about the traditional dances of the region... and we even took classes to learn 2 of them to show to the group. We also dressed in traditional clothing for the day, baked a traditional cake, and learned how to lasso!
Living in a different country for 3 months gives you time to discover and appreciate the cultural differences in all facets of life. I learned how to eat beans and rice everyday at lunch. I learned how to have churrasco almost all week. I learned what churrasco was (basically giant slabs of meat spiced with salt and barbecued over a charcoal fire)... and I learned how to eat incredibly salty food, all the time. I also learned how to make some of the food I ate while I was there.
I also learned to appreciate and love a Brazilian music. We went to a lot of bailes (dances) while in Manoel Viana and we all learned to dance traditional gaucho dances to bands playing gaucho music. But also going to parties and hanging out with some of the young people in the town, we also got to know a lot about the youth culture in the town... (which honestly was incredibly hilarious and will make for a lot of ridiculous stories for you guys when I get home) and as well the music that they listen to. There was a lot of American hip-hop and pop, but there was also a lot of Brazilian funk, that although the Brazilian participants seem to hate... we seemed to love. (Enough to search it out and put it on our ipods upon our return)
Also, I learned how to appreciate Canadian culture a lot more. At the beginning of the program, the group was given the task to put together a spectacle of sorts to show the town what Canadian culture was. It was pretty hard to do. Canada didn't really have a culture... or so we thought. But upon our arrival in Valleyfield, by wanting to show our Brazilian counterparts what Canada was all about, I think we were all able to discover things that are an integral part of being Canadian (Tim Hortons being one of those things...).
I've also learned a lot about Quebec culture. The typical Quebecoise dishes - Pâté Chinoise... Poutine... (I've also learned that poutine is the best "I'm drunk and fucking hungry" food and that it really is okay if I have eaten a poutine for every meal on a weekend, not including breakfast, and that cheese curds are the most amazing snack food ever). I have also seen a lot of Quebecoise movies, and they've all been really good. It's weird because they kind of have to do their own thing here... so they have their own movies, their own TV shows and their own music.


... okay so this list looks like it might turn out to be a long one... soo I think I'm going to do it in installments. Look out for part 2 coming up next.

salut valleyfield!

What if I told you that I found love when I was in Brazil?

It's been a week since I've arrived in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.. and although I'm happy to be able to go out and communicate with people somewhat easily (my french comprehension has rapidly improved since I started the program...), and see and experience things that are familiar, and eat peanut butter and have Tim Hortons, I'm having sort of a hard time adjusting. You'd think that after living in a small town in Brazil for 3 months, coming back and living in Canada would be a piece of cake, but the thing is, I kind of miss Manoel Viana.

My host family here is great. I didn't have a very good time with my host family in Manoel Viana, and to have an actual family here where we only speak french (most of the time) and who are eager to share Quebecois culture with us is really cool.

But I still find it hard to hype myself up for the rest of the program. I think the reason I feel like I'm having trouble is because I feel like I'm home, but I'm not. I feel like I should be having an easy time, but it's not that easy.

The first week in Manoel Viana, I didn't miss home, I didn't miss anything because everything was so different. I was learning so much and everything was new.

I'm sort of over the program at this point. I've been with the same people for the past 3 months and as much as I love (most of) them, it's tiring. Also, inevitably, there are going to be people that after awhile, their novelty wears off, and if this happens in real life... you drop them and find new friends. But unfortunately this isn't real life, and you will have to see them at least twice a week for the next 3 months, or you end up working with them.

Or you live with them...

I feel like I'm not going to get anything more out of the program. The next couple of workshops are going to be on Gender and development, and the Millenium Development Goals - things that not only have I learned about, but things that I've written papers on and prepared 2 hour seminars on.

Maybe I could get excited about pushing my reflection, showing off a little, imparting what I know to the other participants, but everything has to either be in French or Portuguese. I already find it hard enough to express my opinions in clear and concise language to those who aren't in IDS in English. How am I supposed to do it in French?

I was robbed of my first choice of work project - archiving photos and negatives in a museum - because for some reason unknown to me, my counterpart got priority over me, even though she had a really amazing work project in Brazil that she helped shape and set up, and that I got to hear about how cool her day was and how she got to go to so many cool places and took so many photos for the tourism web page with my $700+ camera that I let her borrow because she too is also into photography. (Not that I'm bitter or anything......) So instead I work at a kitchen that makes meals to be delivered to those who are unable to get out of the house and buy food for themselves - sort of a Meals on Wheels kind of deal. Today was my first day, and my duties include... chopping vegetables, chopping meat, and spooning things into bowls. I don't hate it... yet.

It's not all bad.. yesterday our host family brought us to Montreal to participate in a protest march against poverty, for social housing, and for more funding for arts and culture (basically a march against a Conservative majority), that was organized by the artists of Quebec. It was totally cool, and I'm sure that there are more of those to come. But still, I need to find something to look forward to.

I think about maybe quitting the program, but I can't. As much as I'm not thoroughly enjoying myself here, I'm not ready to come home. I don't know if I ever will be - yet another thing I'm grappling with: after the program, do I want to come home? But I guess I'll deal with that when the time comes...

For now, I'll just suck it up. I'm not hating it here... yet.

the home stretch

It's crazy to think that I only have 3 weeks left in Brazil. Tomorrow is the first of September and we leave the city of Manoel Viana on Sept. 19th. From here we'll be going to Porto Alegre (a big city where all the Brazilian participants are from..) and we'll be staying in our counterparts' homes for 4 days. On the 24th we'll leave Brazil for Quebec and start the second phase of the program.
It's actually pretty amazing to think of all the things that I've been able to accomplish in the 2 months that I've been here. I've been able to get a grasp of a new language... my spoken Portuguese is still very poor, but I am able to understand almost everything, with my work project working with the ministry of the environment for the city, my work partner and I have successfully gotten the city to approve a plan to place more garbage cans around the city, and we're definitely going to be able to see these be put up before we leave, also we've been able to set up a place for tires that need to be disposed of so that they can be collected and recycled.
I've helped paint and beautify a school for children with special needs - we've painted a mural on the walls inside, painted the exterior different colours, started a little garden to the side for veggies to be grown, and just generally made teh place feel and look less like an institution.
I'd like to think that we have made a difference in the community and that we've created projects that are sustainable and will continue after we leave.. but there's no way of telling..
I've done and experienced so many new things..
I've been away from home for the longest I ever have and it really was not that big of a deal for me. Thinking about it before leaving was a lot harder than actually leaving and living it. I don't actually miss anything about Canada that much.. but then again I have a lot of comforts where I am now and although it was sort of hard to adjust, I wasn't forced to go through many hardships. But it's still nice to know that I am able to transplant myself for long periods of time..
I've met so many people that I would probably never have met without the program. I'm not just talking about the Brazilians, but the Canadians too. We all come from so many different provinces and cities, but we're all together here and have become friends.
I've definitely drank more in the last 2 months than I ever have in my life. Beer is cheaper than coke here, and this means drinking at least once a week.
This weekend has made me want to stay here longer. It was a pretty perfect weekend and it's sad to think that I may not experience anything like it again.
Friday Marie-Claude cut my hair for me and chopped off a good 3-4 inches.. she cut it without anything but a pair of scissors, while sitting out on the front porch of her house. Afterwards we chilled, had a beer and I went home and had dinner with my host mom, brother, Carmel (my counterpart, her boyfriend who came to visit from Porto Alegre, Eric and Mauricio, and the supervisors.
Saturday we went for a boat ride on the Ibicui River.. we went from our city down to a farm farther downstream to plant some trees. The boatride took an hour and of course, beer was offered. It was unbelievable. There were 4 little motor boats and 6 people in each boat, it was 10:30 in the morning and by the time we got to our destination we were tipsy from the beer and lack of food. After arriving we planted some trees by the shore of the river (to prevent erosion) and rode on the back of a pickup truck through the fields to the farm where we ate and chilled before returning to the shore to take the boats back. It was unbelievable, I was on a boat, sailing on a river in Brazil in South America.
Saturday night was the Baile do Linguiça (roughly translated to Dance of the Sausage - or Sausage party as we called it..) for R$5 we got to go to a dance and have all you can eat sausage. The dance was to traditional gaucho music and of course beer flowed freely all night at the price of R$3 (about 1.75) per 600ml bottle. Needless to say we all got pretty trashed and gorged on sausages all night.
Today, the group had an excursion to Cerro do Tigre. We scaled up the side of a mountain to find a naturally occurring bridge of rock. We hung out at the top for 3 hours enjoying the view and exploring. Completely chill.

Has being in Brazil for 2 months changed me? My one fear is that when I go home at the end of the program, I'll be the same person I was when I left.
So far, the changes haven't been drastic, but I feel that I may have changed a little. I'm a little more tan, my hair is now shorter.. I've become more touch-needy - I've almost gotten rid of the Canadian stiffness that made me recoil any time we met someone new and they came towards me for cheek kisses..
I've also realized that I am capable of being independent, that there are times when I need to distance myself and be alone for sanity's sake.
I definitely have more of a appreciation for Canada and the opportunities that being a Canadian has given me..
I'm also more aware of how lucky I am... in having what I have and living where I live.
I've also learned that this is what I'm made to do. Going to different countries and learning about culture, getting to know people I never ever wouldve met otherwise. Nothing could make me happier than learning the traditions and customs of another country.

Although it's sad that the Brazilian phase is almost over, it's weird.. because the program itself isn't even half over. After this we still have 3 months in Valleyfield.. and I'm definitely excited to get there and eating a fucking poutine.. it's all we've been talking about for the last 2 weeks.. and I think we'll continue to talk about it until we get there and get one.

update - en breve

mercomix:

- everyone in the town got super excited about this HUGE festival coming to town... it was like bread and honey, only with more food.
- there was a show every night on the weekend i went to 2 and skipped out on the third (good thing..)
- on sunday our group was expected to put on a "spectacle" showcasing canadian culture. we did a dance and put on a play.
- after the show we got super drunk at someones house, and thus missed out on the last show... apparently there were boys looking for some of the girls.

JAE:
august 8th, 2008 --> i was part of a group that was supposed to put on an educational activity day to teach the rest of the group about the culture here.
- we learned 2 traditional dances
- we all dressed up in traditional clothing
- we learned/taught how to lasso
- i learned so much ridiculous shit about the culture here, did papier mache and made puppets for the most amazing puppet show ever on earth

last weekend:
- i went with some of the other participants and our families and climbed a mountain.

this week:
- i am helping paint and beautify a school for children with special needs --> i have red paint in my hair and it wont come out.

today:
- i was walking and i saw a gaucho (a cowboy of sorts) riding a horse down the street while talking on his cell phone.
WTF, IS THIS FOR REAL

tonight:
marylenes (our supervisor) birthday! --> we're having churrasco (bbq but BETTER) and moustache party which means its an excellent night for drinking way too much for very little money.

i have so many fucking photos to upload at this point i dont think ill be able to. the reason that i am sitting in this internet cafe right now is to upload, but thse computer is not reading the fucking harddrive. and i dont know what to do.
there are less than 40 days left in teh brazilian phase.. this weekend is mid-project and the whole group is going on a trip. i cant believe it.. times flying by so fast!
bah. im sorry about the lack of photos! i have 4 up on my personal flickr right now... you can check them out if you want. theyre all from the camp. i keep saying this, but next time hopefully ill get a computer that will read the hard drive and HOPEFULLY ill have more up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28806621@N05/

update

Alright, so its basically been a month since I've left home, and surprisingly I'm not as homesick as I thought I'd be considering this is the longest I've ever been away. It definitely changes day to day.. and last week it was pretty brutal. I'm living in buttfuck Brazil, and sometimes just thinking about it.. it's pretty amazing. At other times, it sucks major balls because there's shit all to do here.
Last week sucked, this week has been pretty good so far.
Being away from home has made me realize that it's the little things that make all the difference. A couple nights ago some of the boys had some of us over and they made pancakes for us for dinner. It totally picked everyone up being able to eat food that was familiar and being together.
A couple nights before that one of the host families for another pair of guys went away for the weekend, so we went over to their house, hung out in front of the fire, and watched music videos (michael jackson, spice girls, backstreet boys, the village people, abba with some random brazilian bands) and had hot chocolate.
You can only lie around in bed and read for so long.
It's also been raining a lot, so taking walks are sort of out of the question.
At the end of the week there's a festival coming to town - Mercomix, so I hope to be able to get some shopping done.. if there's anything you want my to bring back for you, you should let me know to keep an eye out for whatever it is for you!
I'll update again soon! (I hope.. and hopefully with pictures!)
Tchau!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/projrondon2008

i dont have any of my own pictures on there (but soon!) i think all of them are taken by my counterpart carmel, so check it out anyways!

part of the group at thais' house in porto alegre

everyone on the bus during the 8 hour bus ride from porto alegre to manoel viana

me and my counterpart carmel!

everyone at tia laura, the hottest and only hang out in manoel viana.

studying portuguese and drinking hot chocolate.

ayman showing elliott some love outside CIANE

E-A-M and the great emu adventure

it's our first weekend here in manoel viana and our supervisors have decided to go out of town for the 2 days.
after a killer week of orientation and being in constant conflict over stupid things thanks to cultural differences in the classroom, it was time to bond a little bit with each other.
last night one of the host families to 2 of the girls in our group (marie-claude and nicole) put on a party at their home, where we had churrasciaro, danced, and drank.
alcohol here is unbelievably cheap.
you can buy a HUGE bottle of beer (600mL) for less than a dollar canadian. you can also get a 40 or bacardi for about 10$.
our brazilian countrerparts taught us how to samba (or tried to.. i apparently don't have the ability to dance to anything but electro), and we danced to classic rock and brazilian music all night.
we played dancing games, slow danced with each other, took retarded pictures, made things intensely awkward on purpose and relived all those awkward dance moments from middle school.
today we all met up at 10am and one of the host mothers to another pair of girls (jessie and meribel) chartered a bus for all 18 of us to go out to a farm just outside of the city.
the bus ride out to the farm was completely unreal. i cant even describe the feeling. there were green fields everywhere, cows running around, we saw fucking emus running, and the bus had to stop for sheep crossing the road.
for the last 5 days we've been confined to this city and trying to find out how things work here, but today it was like i finally got to see brazil proper.
there were definitely some points where i wished that everyone from at home was here to see al thsi with me.
i spent most of the day wandering out in the fields with 2 of the canadians (aymoman and elliott). when we got to the farm, everyone decided it would be an amazing idea to trek the 3.5 kilometers out in the fields to the river.. elliott, ayman and i started out later, and just ended up trekking out there on our own after we'd lost the others.
it was amazing, there were fields of grass and rolling hills and random sand dunes once we got closer to the water.
on the way back we took a wrong turn and ended up on some really wet and marshy land. long story short - as much as the boys tried to help me by lifting me to hop over fences and stuff, they couldn't help me jump cleanly over muddy ditches. in the end by the time we got back to the farm (some 2.5 hours later) we spent the rest of the day running around barefoot in the grass, and i had to borrow pants from Lorna. my converse were soaked through with mud.
aymoman found this amazing skull that everyone thought belonged to a cat, and we randomly wrote our names and drew the canadian flag in the sand at the sand dunes for someone to find the next time anyone decides to go that far out.
today has probably been the best day so far. i spent the rest of the day just sitting outside and soaking up the sun and the view.
i have some pretty great photos, but i dont have a cable to upload them with. ill eventaully get them on here.. but for now, i'll leave it with this giant block of text.

asians

when we arrived in manoel viana the other night, chris asked me how it felt to be the only asian in like a 10 000 mile radius.
people keep talking about earthquakes in china and making slant-eye jokes.
i fucking hated being reminded of my ethnicity at home, but here i smile and dont say anything..
im getting sick of being amiable and trying to be polite and getting everyone to like me.
i came here to be independent, and to live but instead i find myself worrying about what time i should be home so my host mother doesnt get worried, and i worry about being alone in the town..
im not missing home but i want my regular routine to start.
im happy with the group that we have, the brazilians are crazy - we break out into spontaneous song a lot, and really loudly.
i know a lot of the people here are missing home, but im not.. i just cant pin down the feeling hat i have..

Bom Dia!

I left Toronto bright and early on Monday morning.
The 6 hour train ride to Montreal was interesting to say the least.
Everything that had happened the week before and the night before ran through my head and I wasn't sure I'd be able to be away from 6 months and then come back and fit in where I did before.
But after a week if being uprooted every couple of days, meeting new people, forming new bonds and then being forced to leave them behind, I think I'm finally settling in.
I arrived in Montreal at noon on Monday, took a taxi to the CWY headquarters and met up with the 40 other people who would be going to Brazil.
We then left for a 4 day camp where all of us stayed in the same chalet, had orientation and found out which of us would be going to the same communities.
The camp was amazing. The location was beautiful and we all got really close. (40 young people generally unsupervised in a camp, left to their own devices? The chalet was disgusting by the time we left)
After that we left Montreal and took a flight to Toronto - I was home! But only for an hour. From Toronto we took a 12 hour flight to Sao Paulo, and from Sao Paulo we took a 1 and a half hour flight to Porto Alegre.
We were greeted at the airport by cheers, hugs and kisses from our Brazilian counterparts.. and we were forced to say goodbye to the friends that we've made from the 4 days of camp and the 30 hour journey.
My group of 9 going to Manoel Viana separated from the rest of the group and took a bus to a farm where we spent 2 days trying to communicate with our Brazilian counterparts via broken Portuguese, English and French.
We left the farm yesterday morning, and after an 8 hour bus ride to Manoel Viana filled with food and bracelet making, we arrived to the community.
The family that I'm staying with consists of a single mother and a son. My host mother is a teacher and she teaches english privately at home, so I'm lucky that we're able to communicate. My counterpart for the next 6 month's name is Carmel. She's into photography as well, and she was actually the first person I talked to before leaving. I'm really happy with her as my partner for the entire experience, apparently according to the brazilian supervisor, we're twin souls. so i'm looking forward to going on some photographic adventures together.
I can't say that i'm missing home too much yet. there's too much going on right now to acutally sit down and evaluate how i feel, although i did get slightly emotional unpacking all my stuff this morning. after a week of living out of my suitcase, unpacking into drawers and closets means that i'm going to be here for awhile.
I'm sorry if my english kind of sucks. i'm slowly losing the ability to speak english, but my ability to speak french is improving and my portuguese is improving rapidly as well. I've gotten into the habit of speaking broken english to everyone.
I'm signing off now. Everyones going to the bar..?
Ill update with photos when i can. :]

LEAVING

I am leaving on a train bound for Montreal tmrw morning.
I don't know if I can do this.. 6 months away from home seemed like the most amazing thing that could happen to me a couple weeks ago...
But as I keep verbalizing it and thinking how the next time I'll be able to see any one is during Christmas, it just gets scarier and scarier.
I haven't even left yet and I'm thinking about when I get back.

Agh okay.
I'll update you kids with posts every so often.
Pictures and what not.
I'll miss you guys!

See you in 6 months.