Update from Brasil!
OlĂ Rotarians!
I'm still loving my exchange. It's hard to believe that I've been here for a month already! I've been able to go to one Rotary meeting here so far. Rotary in Brasil is very different from in Canada. My club here meets at 8:00 at night. They don't have a meal, they just get straight to business. And the club doesn't do a lot of fundraising. Their main focus is going to the favelas (the rough shantytowns on the outskirts of Recife) and doing what they can to help, with food, clothing, education, etc. This is a big problem here.
I'm keeping busy, taking piano and portuguese second language classes. In two weeks, I'll start school. The school I'm going to is like a cross between high school and college. I'm going to take tourism. With this program I can travel around the province as part of my curriculum. I look forward to starting: I'm going to be the first exchange student ever to go to this school.
I had student orientation two weeks ago at a beautiful beach town near my city. There, I met the other 45 exchange students from my district. It was really fun to meet all these people from different nationalities, and to learn about the trips I'm going to take later in my year. I can't wait to visit the Amazon!
Thanks again to Rotary for everything. This is the chance of a lifetime!
If anyone wants to email me, again, it's gocatherine@hotmail.com
Catherine Hilgers