Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Plan.

Many of you know that I will be spending 2010 in Brazil studying abroad through my university. I will be in Rio de Janeiro the first semester and Salvador do Bahia the second semester. I will be taking mostly anthropology classes, though possibly some history, political science, and art classes as well. Oh yes, and lots of Portuguese classes! I will be living with a different host family each semester, in Rio I believe my host family lives in Copacabana, which should be interesting and crazy!
I leave for Brazil the 5th of January and arrive the 6th. Right now I am in Ecuador once more visiting my host family from the exchange program I did in high school with AFS. I was supposed to arrive here in Ecuador on the 23rd of December, but because of bad weather in the U.S. I didn't arrive until almost midnight on Christmas day. Despite my late arrival, all of my Ecuadorian family stayed to see me and three cars overflowing with people met me at the airport and escorted me home. It's so wonderful to be back and see everyone again! Not much has changed, which is wonderful and strange at the same time. I seem to have fit right back in, except for the mid-90 degree weather, 50% humidity, and swarms of mosquitoes. But my Spanish is working really well! Everyone has been complementing me on it and someone on the bus yesterday thought I was from Argentina because my Spanish was so good!
So far I have spent my time here reconnecting with my family and yesterday I went around the city with some of my friends from high school who are now studying in university and working. We went to my friend Andres' university also and it made me really excited to start classes again. What a nerd I am. I also went to el Parque Historico with my family and the exchange student they have living with them now from Germany, Julija.
Afterward we went to see all of the ano viejos, paper mache dolls that are burned on New Years Eve. There were a lot of Michael Jackson dolls this year. Tomorrow will be New Years craziness and we are going to the beach for the weekend.
I hope everyone has a wonderful new year and I will try to write again soon.
Maya