Minha Vida no Brasil

Jawns que acontecerem nas semanas passadas

Oi! Even though the adventures of Kelsey have continued, I have not updated for a while, so this will be my catch up post! Let’s go back in time two weeks. Once upon a time in Teresina… 

1. Over the weekend of October 12, I went to Teresina, Piauí for a Rotary Exchange Student playdate/ meeting. Piauí is the state next to Maranhão, and is apart of District 4490, Maranhão, Piauí, and Ceará. I think I’ve mentioned in other posts, but I’m the only exchange student in Maranhão, Teresina, Piauí has six or seven? and Fortaleza, Ceará has two. It was really great getting to meet everyone! There is another American in Teresina, but  since he was traveling with his family that weekend, I didn’t get to meet him! rats. I’d say that we have a pretty diverse group, though. The countriess present are, (2) USA, (2) Denmark, (2) Germany, (1) France, (1) Mexico, (1) Russia, and (1) Taiwan. Something that I haven’t mentioned yet: Teresina is one of the hottest places in Brasil. Ok, if I sweat like a dog in São Luís, for cereal, how am I going to survive Teresina?!!? There is a joke throughout the Northeast, that on your way to hell, you stop in Teresina for a week to acclimated to the heat, and then you pass on to the fiery pits. I wish I were exaggerating. I just looked at the forecast for tomorrow in Teresina, 103 F!!!! ONE HUNDRED AND THREE DEGREES, with zero breeze!! OMG, can you imagine a waterfall? Ok, now think of that under my arms and that is what I looked like during this meeting. At one point in the meeting, a man named Fred (pronounced Fré-jee, lawl silly brasilians) gave us (exchange students) a presentation about the various trips that we could take advantage of while being in Brasil. As I sat quietly and listened, I noticed that my face began to feel extremely hot. I looked down at my chest/arms and all I saw was the color of a tomato. My legs were just as red as my arms. To give you a better visual image, I looked as if I had been sitting in the sun for about three hours without applying a drop of suntan lotion…during this presentation, I was in a completely covered area, no sun hitting any part of my delicate pale skin. Let me tell you, that is when you know things are really flippin’ hot. But, on the bright side, it was great meeting the other exchange students! Some of my friends in Teresina are already planning a trip to São Luís! 

2. Dancing. Dancing has become a big part of my life. Mostly Forró with sprinkles of Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, Zouk, and Salsa. 

Here are some videos of these dances. 

Forró: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9UiQXSV7tk

Samba de Gafieira: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuO3Tzv274Q&feature=fvw

Bolero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fMU1kcAYps 

Keep in mind that these videos are all of professionals etc, so think of my level as a little lower…lol but I’m really enjoying everything! My goal is be a forrozeira (person who can dance forró really well) by the time I’m headed back to the US, so I decided to start aulas particulares (private classes) with my teacher. I think they’re going really well. The classes usually take place in the downstairs area of my apartment building, so neighbors that have caught a glimpse of us dancing have said that I’m almost Brazilian!! flippin score to the max!! But, I DEFINITELY need to get better/more comfortable with dancing before I can show everyone what I’m made of…

Last week I went to “O Grande Encontro de Forró” in the center historic area. It was a big concert with three big forró bands: Magníficos, Mastruz com Leite, e Limão com Mel. The type of forró played at the concert is a little different than the kind that I’m learning. The rhythm is a little slower and the beat is a little different. That and a combination of me being 1% shy to dance in front of people, I completely froze at the concert! It was kind of embarrassing… This one guy (who was introduced to me as a dance teacher) I danced with, but we aka I could not find the rhythm! It was terrible. I became so nervous and like, how can I compare with these Brasilian biddies that were born dancing forró!? I ended up only dancing with my brothers (embarrassing, já sei…) which was fun, just like, I’m trying to be this great dancer, yet can only dance with members of the fam…sux… 

3. I started Portuguese classes! Finally! During class (Santa Teresa class), when I would deem a subject not important/boring/combination of the two, I would conjugate verbs, copy vocab lists, and other fun activities to teach myself Portuguese. Even with the little “book” that I made, I still feel like I needed some help with grammar, sentence structure, etc. I’m really happy that I started! I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of the language. I’m taking classes at an English School, so usually after my lesson, I’ll go to an class to introduce myself and say, ‘YEOOOOOOO. I’m American, what’s good in da h00d son.” Side note: I wish I could say that, no one would understand me if I threw in some of my ‘lingo’ lawl. One day I went to a class of like eight year olds. The teacher had them practice some “getting to know you” questions. Someone asked my favorite color, another if I’m afraid of the dark (a little?), or if I’m a friend to spiders (like flippin no, h8 those things). Then a little boy asked me, “Are your friends naked?” “Naked??!??” I looked over at the teacher for confirmation of what he said, and she nodded her head. Are my friends naked? I mean, not yet? Give them a few caipirinhas and they will be? lolol. I responded, “Uhh..I don’t know. Not yet?” I probably didn’t understand him correctly, but imagine if I did. MEGA LOL. Readers that are friends, watch out, you will be naked soon. xoxo

4. I went to my first Brasilian wedding last week! Before going, I imagined, a mini ‘My-Big-Fat-Greek-Wedding’ Style. P.S. has anyone noticed that the mom from My Big Fat Greek Wedding is now on Desperate Housewives as like some sort of pimp? Like who can take her seriously when you think of her Maria Portokalos?? I can’t…but anyway! I expected a large party with dancing and a lively energy. When I arrived, I saw that it was hardly as I had imagined. The service/reception was na casa da Vovó (G-Ma’s house). The service was relatively slow and between parts there was a band that would sing songs about the love between the couple, their future, Jesus/G-d loving this couple etc. At the end of the service, I asked my mom why it wasn’t as lively as I imagined and she said that the wedding was an Evangelical wedding, which means that they cannot serve alcohol (the caterers were serving soda in little cups lol), and that Evangelical services tend to be calmer and more relaxed. I enjoyed the service. Although I would’ve liked to showcase my dance moves, it was a beautiful ceremony and it was nice to attend. 

family pic from the wedding! L-R Leonardo, Vilma, Leo, Me, Leônidas

5. Last night, actually, I went to my first Crisma or Chrism? Christening? I’ve never been to an American one, so I’m sure the exact name for it, but a bunch of friends from my class were being crismado so I decided to go and show my support! It was an interesting service. I mean, it was in a church, it was a Catholic ceremony, and it was everything different from what I’m use to, but I still enjoyed it. There was a lot of singing and praising Jesus/G-d in various ways. During the service, there was this girl, no more than 7 years old, sitting in front of me. K grool, like she’s here to watch someone be crismada grool. So as I’m trying to focus on the service, I can’t help but focus all of my attention on her. She’s sitting there, spraying like gallons of perfume on her neck, hair, dress, everywhere! Then she decided to apply lipstick. k, this girl is like 5, why does she need all of these extended beauty products? She then decides that she doesn’t reek enough, so she starts to douse herself with more perfume. Alternating between a spray perfume and a bottle. Ok, how am I suppose to focus on the service when 1. I have to listen to everything in another language 2. I’m thinking about how different this is than anything I’ve ever been to 3. This newb girl is lathering her tiny body with 8 different kinds of perfume!?! If the headache isn’t enough, I don’t know what is! I quietly starting saying ‘Para!’ then louder ‘Stoppppppppp! Stoppppppp!’ Secretly hoping that because she had blonde hair, she’d understand English, lol. Eventually she calmed down, but the sent lingered for the entire night, so there was no escaping it. But, I enjoyed seeing everyone in my class! The service was interesting. I feel that I’m learning more about Catholicism every day, which is good. Although I still have my own beliefs, opening my eyes to something new is what I’m suppose to be doing while in Brasil. E então…

from L-R: Amanda, Me, Amanda, Ariela, and Marina <3

6. I might have said this at some other point, but I miss Pen Pen SOOOO MUCH. In Portuguese, the expression for, “I miss ___” is “Estou com saudades de___.” To say that you’re dying of saudades, missing-ness? essentially? Idk how you’d translate it, you can say, “Estou morrendo de saudades de ____.” Meu deus, ESTOU MORRENDO DE SAUDADES DE PENNY!! So, as a way to cope with the hole in my heart, the other day, I decided to take a stroll to A Clínica Veterinária (the Vet). When I arrived, I explained my morrendo-de-saudades situation and was guided to the ‘Adopt a Puppy’ section. In this cage, there were three little baby Dachshunds! OMD, best day ever. I couldn’t take them out of the cage, but all I wanted to do was cuddle with them! Something I’ve noticed is that dogs here aren’t as friendly as Pen… Some of my neighbors have dogs, so every time that I see them I’m like, “Ama-me!!!” but for some reason, they don’t want to! One like straight up turns the other way and the other bears her teeth! I’m like, really? Come the flip on! Just let me love youuuuu. Ugh, this is becoming such a problem. And what’s even worse is that when I talk to my parents on Skype and try to get Pen’s attention, she acts so uninterested. Ok Penny, your turn now, throw me a bone!!! 

Ok, well I would say that you’re all caught up on my life. I will definitely try to update more frequently. K, well beijos. ttyl8r g8rs. 

xoxo, kf

P.S. Shout to my fans at Drexel: Dugas, Mahan, and Dylan. Solid vidchat the other day!!