BRAZIL!

I arrived in Brazil this morning at 6am in insane heat and humidity. I met two other international students from my program, both from France, and we managed to communicate in a weird Portuguese/English/Spanish dialect. There was some confusion about family living situations which left me homeless for a couple of hours, but now it's sorted out and I am in a different house than I originally thought. I am living with a woman named Erminia who is a psychotherapist and has had many other students from my university stay with her. She informed me matter-of-factly after I arrived that I was now her daughter forever, which is fine with me! We live on the 9th floor of an apartment building close to a huge lake, 15-20 minutes from my university by bus, and about 30 minutes to Ipanema beaches. Tomorrow I have an orientation beginning at 9am in my university and Portuguese classes begin on Monday. Crazy exciting!