Catherine Hilgers Updates At Last!
Hello everybody!
Well, it's been another amazing couple months of exchange. I passed Christmas here in Recife with my family. Brazilians do most of their celebrating on Christmas Eve, where we eat (and eat, and eat..) until midnight, then open our presents with the entire extended family. Specific to my host family, applause is required every time someone opens a present. Christmas wasn't so much about the presents here, though, as it was about spending time with family. I liked that it was less commercial than it tends to be in Canada.
For New Year's, my entire family went out to Grandma's beach house to spend four days there. It was very relaxing; alternating between pool, hammock, and ocean. After New Year's, we've got summer holidays here. This is when I embarked on my second, and longest Rotary trip. I spent 30 days getting to know a whole lot of Brasil with 36 other exchange students. We started in Brasilia, the capital, and made our way up to Fortaleza through some smaller mountain towns, then down the coast, finishing in Rio de Janeiro. In Salvador, our group met up with Spencer Merlo's (exchange student from the Friday club), so we got to catch up a little bit. It was definitely one of the best trips I've ever taken.
Now back in Recife, I've recently changed host families. The family is really nice. They've received lots of exchange students before. I'm getting settled right in, just in time for Carnaval! Brasil's biggest party of the year. All those crazy pictures you've might have seen of people in colourful costumes crowding the streets, this is it. I don't know quite what to expect, but as usual, I'm looking forward to it!
Thanks for your time :)
I'm always available if someone wants to email at gocatherine@hotmail.com