Crazy Carnaval

Oi gente,

    These past three days I had the great privelege of traveling to Salvador and expieriencing Carnaval!
    As a foreigner I hadn't really understood what Carnaval was all about and why it was such a big deal, until now.  Carnaval is happiness. It's the loud music. The dancing. The different colors and so much more! In Salvador, it's basically one huge street party. Massive trucks will be riding around through different set circuits with different Brazilian singers on them. The trucks provide the singers with a stage, and room for their bands and fans. I feel like I'm not explaining it very well, but it will make more sense once you see the pictures below.
   I went to Carnaval two nights, but I will only be talking about the first one. So The first night we went ( my host sister and her boyfriend and my eldest host brother) we had bought tickets to see Carnaval from a camarote, A camarote is an exclusive place where you can see and expierience Carnaval, with not  having to be on ground level with the rest of the crowd. In the camarote there is a DJ and different booths that offer a variety of foods and drinks. The different singers and groups I saw were: Ivete Sangalo, Chichlete, Daniela Mercury, Claudia Leitte, Eva, and Parangole. At about 1 I was just so tired that I went to go sit down and rest. We left for Carnaval at 5 p.m. and arrived back home at 5 a.m.. For all those who haven't expierienced Carnaval there is nothing else like it and I really recommend going. 
   We also went to the beach which was really fun (even though I got sunburnt) and I also got to try many new delicous foods. I feel way more comfortable in my new home and so glad that I went to Salvador.

Hope this post was as interesting as my trip,

Nevo

Eva, on stage ,which is on top of the truck

The front of Chichlete's trucks

My host sister camila, her boyfriend, and I at the camarote.  

One of the beaches we visited.

Ahhh!

Oi Everyone,


   So much has happened since I've left Colorado; that I'm not sure I will be able to summarize everything. Let me just start by saying that it hasn't been easy, but I know that as each day passes it becomes easier and easier.
   It seems like a year since I left Colorado but in reality it has only been one week. Before getting to Brazil, I had a one and a half day orientation in Miami with the other exchange students. When I arrived in Miami, I had forgotten how much I hated humidity until I walked out to catch the shuttle to the hotel. With me on the shuttle was Sylvia, one of the other 4 exchange student that were going to Brazil. As we made our way into the hotel we were greeted by two AFS volunteers and the rest of the exchange students.  Going to Brazil were: Jennifer, Nikita, Cori, and Sylvia (obviously). Going to Paraguay were: Marley, Kate, and Erin. The rest of the day consisted of orientation and a horrendous dinner at Bennigans. The following day we had orientation for 2 hours in the morning and lunch, until we started heading back to the airport.
   On the plane to Sao Paulo I sat next to a woman and her young daughter. For some reason AFS couldn't seet us together. It was a 7 hour flight and I only got about 45 minutes of sleep the whole way. Landing in Sao Paulo was exciting but the 9 hour layover Jennifer and I had waiting for us was not. We almost missed our flight to Salvador because of miscommunication we had with some Brazilian airport employees but surely we made it on. After more than a day of traveling, I finally landed in Salvador.
   The first couple days at my host family's home were one of the hardest I have expierienced in my life. I was in major culture shock and every little thing would make me feel homesick. I thought that right from the begining I would be enjoying myslef, but this was not the case. I knew it was going to be hard, but NOT this hard. At one point, I had even questioned why I had wanted to go on this trip at all. For future exchange students, all I have to say is that the first couple days will be hard, but remember to always be optimistic.  It took me a couple days to get used to my new home and I'm still adjusting. Next was school.
   The school that I go to is really nice but really hard. The first day, the kids in my class were all so excited to meet me. They asked me so many questions and talked so fast that most of the time I couldn't even understand what they were saying. Not only that, but some of the classes are so confusing especially math. I thought it was going to be the easiest one since math is a universal language but honestly, it's my hardest. Tommorrow is my third day of school and I hope it will be better than the first two. This weekend I'm going to Salvador for 3 days for carnaval and I'm really excited! I will be posting soon after this weekend.

Hope all is well with every one.

Sincerely, Nevo




                                                               Landing in Salvador


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                     My school!