WOAH, MAN
I'm in Brazil now- it was a serious adventure getting here.

I wrote this my first day before going to bed:

I spent the last few nights before my departure date spending as much time as humanly possible with my friends- leaving a decently sized feeling of satisfaction and readiness to jump straight into Brazil where I thought a vauge feeling of anxiety would be.

I slept surprisingly well; I fell asleep quickly, stayed asleep soundly, and felt well rested and ready to go as soon as I woke up. Running around the house for a while, some last minute things were packed,
luggage rearranged, and my bags tightly zipped shut in such a way that it makes Pandora's Box look like a 2x2 Rubix cube.

We hit the road, drove to the cities, and made a pit stop at my aunt's house where relatives waited to give me parting wishes on my first bounce out of the country- a lot of advice was given (as outbounds, rotex, and inbounds can relate: it was a repeat of the first 10 points of advice anyone had ever given us) as I said some final farewells. My parents helped me check my bags in, print off my boarding passes and shuffle me towards the security check point.

Fun Fact: I brought my longboard to Brazil, and it would've been totally wrecked had I sent it in with my checked luggage, so I spent the entire 20 hour trip hauling around an object that was designed to be as awkward and difficult to handle as physically possible. NOT ONLY was it cumbersome, it also made me feel like a total weirdo hauling it internationally through airports.

Totally worth it, though.

I found my terminal (literally the last one, at the very end of the airport- G22) and set up camp. Plugged in my iPhone for full charge, pulled out a book my friend Kelly gave me (hey mate, it's been hard putting it down- I love it to death already) and people-watched between pages. Eventually it was time to board, and the flight passed by while I was in a hybrid state of napping-but-still-conscious-because-my-head-kept-rolling-and-slamming-into-the-window-and-then-the-pull-out-tray.

I connected to Atlanta where I was greeted by some of the most genuinely kind people I have ever had the pleasure to cross, and they guided me quickly and efficiently to my international terminal via a mix of underground trolley, go-kart, and running- to find out my flight was delayed an hour and a half. It was all good though, I was craving some down time- things were getting really real really quick.

Anyway, as I was sitting a very polite woman sat down beside me for quite some time before I asked, "Would you happen to speak any Portuguese?" To which she replied,
"All the Portuguese in the world, how can I help you?" and after explaining I was to be an exchange student in Brazil, she followed up with "I was an exchange student to Dixon, Illinois when I was exactly your age." and as the conversation continued to develop into a friendly forming of acquaintances, "and now I'm a congress member for the Brazilian national government- here's my card, if you're ever in Brazil give me a day's warning and I promise you a tour."

How cool is that?

Getting on the plane, I crammed my longboard beneath my seat and hopped it wouldn't piss off the person I was sitting next to- which at the time appeared to be no one as the door was about to close and the seat between me and a stoic Brazilian man was empty. Sprinting into the soon-to-be closed plane came a dude named Lucas. He flopped casually into his seat next to me and flicked one of the longboard wheels with his foot causing it to rotate a bit and said "You a skater?" which got the ball rolling on another sweet coincidence- this guy ships a lot of merchandise to a skate shop directly across from the school I'll be going to, and said "Let me know if you need anything with your board, a gringo like you sporting my stuff will only help business I think. I can give you a sweet discount." Hella dope. On the 9 hour flight Lucas taught me some slang, random manners that actually really came in handy, and helped me through customs a bit. We exchange emails, facebook, and Whatsapp info and I felt better off for it.

Customs was a noncommittal woman who seemed to have no interest in searching luggage whatsoever. Her glazed over glance at me was sign enough that I was good to keep going. Stepping out of the customs tunnel into the brightly lit Brasilia airport, a familiar face popped up- my rotarians for the 4530 district I'm staying in came to surprise me, which was awesome. The conversation was incredibly pleasant, and both of them were very, very supportive of both my terrible Portuguese and my frayed nerves. They took me to have some Pao de Quiejo (a delicious brazilian type of bread baked with cheese- not to be confused with the literal translation of cheese bread,) abacaxi com hortela (a pineapple drink mixed with spearmint which was THE MOST deliciously refreshing and cool thing I have ever had to drink,) and some coffee. Unlike the coffee in the United States, where they give us 16oz of delicious, yet insanely watered down and loaded with added flavering, the Brazilian coffee was served in a very small teacup. It was very thick and creamy, and incredibly concentrated but in a really, really good way. It was pure amazement, I had never tasted coffee so delicious in my entire young life.

After a wonderful breakfast compared to the airplane food, I was escorted to security and left to navigate the Brasilia airport.

Very few people spoke any English,
Those very few people did not have a powerful command over the language.

I speak very little Portuguese.
The little Portuguese I spoke, I did not have a very powerful command over.

It wasn't that bad, it just ended up steering me in a lot of really hilarious encounters while trying to get help. I had to communicate to a very lovely lady that I needed an adapter for the different voltages, and it took a solid three or four minutes of me following her around making various Portuguese sounding noises while she laughed- if I'm going to be following someone around I'd like to at least make it a non-terrible experience.

I got on the twenty minute flight from Brasilia to Goiania, hopped off, and strode into the airport where my host families were waiting with signs to greet me (Which was SO COOL.) My Rotary Chairman was there too, and so was another exchange student coming to Goiania who got there a few days before me (Hey Moritz.) We will all go back again when Aliisa, another exchange student, flies in.

I finally met my mom, Alzira, my sister, Clara, my father Alberto, and my brother Beto whom I'd been speaking with for a few months. It was a little awkward at first because I had absolutely no idea what to say, but Moritz helped loosen me up by assuring he acted the same way when he first got here, and Clara and Beto speak tons of English! My mother's and father's English is very good as well, but I try to speak as much Portuguese as possible to them.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot to grab my bags because I was so excited to see everyone, so I had to 180 degree turn around after meeting everyone, giving hugs, and talking for a few minutes.
Oops.
Silly gringo.

We got in the car, drove home, and I was introduced to the BEAUTIFULLY EXPANSIVE AND IMPRESSIVE "casa Montenegro". It is a large villa style home with massive windows, towering ceilings, and ranging open spaces making sunlight flow through the house as if it were nestled pleasantly along the breezy shoreline of a beach. It is the most beautiful home I have seen to date. It's nestled in a gated neighborhood, and the surrounding houses are just as impressive. (I'll upload pictures later)

After getting the grand tour, I had the most satisfying meal I've ever been graced with the opportunity to eat. A fresh salad, followed by a mixed drink of assorted fruits and herbs, and then the main course. Perfectly cooked rice and beans, followed by delectable Brazilian meat with other sides that were new and exotic.

Dinner concluded, I unpacked (most of) my things, and then hung out with Beto and Clara in Clara's room because that's where the WiFi is the best. After socializing for a little bit, I went to bed and read for a solid 30 seconds before I completely passed out.

End of what I wrote Day 1 in Brazil
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The next day ended up with me waking up at 10, when I thought it was 8, because of a time zone difference I had forgotten to change on my phone. I walked downstairs and had breakfast with Clara and Beto before getting ready to go out and adventure in the city. We dropped my mom off at work, and then drove around and walked in a park for a while before going back home. While we were walking around, we found a small stall that sold coconut juice, which didn't really catch me off guard until the dude pulled out THE BIGGEST MACHETE I HAVE EVER SEEN and lopped off the top like he was swinging around a little stick.

It even came with a straw.

I saw tons of people, and the fashion sense is exactly like the U.S., maybe just a few years behind (Kelly I saw some skinny jeans on a few dudes that would put us to shame.) I live a little bit outside the main part of city, and so going into the heart of it was crazy. It's like an urban jungle.

The lanes of traffic, stop signs, and speed limits are more general warnings than actually enforced laws, motorcycles were weaving in and out of traffic, and it seemed a little bit like Survival of the Fittest was key to making your way down the street. It was crazy.

 Later, I went for a walk with Beto, taking Lucy (our dog) with, and we talked about longboards and cars and the differences between here and America, it was a generally nice time. After we got back, mine Grandma made the MOST delicious pao de quiejo I think I will ever eat- homecooked and served with honey it was the mouthwatering every bite I took. After dinner I made a point to stick around and help out with clean up- but momma brasil said "absolutely not" so I spoke as much portuguese while keeping her company.

Speaking of which, it is mentally EXHAUSTING to be surrounded by a new language like this. I mean, it's awesome and I'm learning tons every 10 minutes, but you need some iron-hard steel-clad concentration to even look slightly less than stupid. You have to focus as hard as possible, catch a few key words to understand the concept of the conversation, think of what you want to say, translate it into Portuguese, conjugate the verbs, and then make a total ass-hat out of yourself by butchering it anyway.

Except it's the most fun I've ever had.

Now I'm sitting in Clara's room again and my fingers are getting sore, so I'm gonna go watch a movie with Beto and call it a night.

Tchau,

Alex