LINDSEY FOTTIT'S LAST REPORT
Posted by Bob Hlina
Ola!
this is last month report ...
During the last part of may, I had the opportunity to go to Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais to visit my first two host cousins and their parents. Both me and the american exchange student that I switched families with went.
this is last month report ...
During the last part of may, I had the opportunity to go to Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais to visit my first two host cousins and their parents. Both me and the american exchange student that I switched families with went.
During the flight, we had a problem landing in Salvador for the connection flight as it was raining heavily causing the airport to close. Our pilot tried various times, but in the end we ended up going straight to Belo Horizonte. Unfortunately, our baggage was no where to be found at the airport. My host uncle came and picked us up and we went to his apartment on the newer side of the enormous city. Luckily, the next day we received our baggage. During our time there, we toured the city and went out to lots of nice restaurants. My host cousin, who is 17, showed us the huge nightlife in the city. The mother, who works in fashion, took us to some clothing manufacturers where we enjoyed the benefit of cheaper clothing! I really enjoyed myself this trip. It wasn't so much about the sight seeing as it was just enjoying the city life.
After coming back, I was off on a weekend adventure with my first host family again. We went to Gravata, Pernambuco. I enjoyed the fact that the hotel included horseback riding and jumping. I arrived excited to do a few hours of riding lessons. I got up early the first morning to do my first lesson in over 6 years. I practically fell off the horse when dismounting because I was so tired. I spent the rest of the trip trying to recover. I had no idea... The city is cute and European influenced. The first night we went to have fondue at a local German restaurant. The second day, we spent looking at the shops and driving around the mountainous area. After the third morning, we were already on our way back to Joao Pessoa.
The next week I spent trying to catch up with my host family. I went to school only once more to say goodbye to all my friends. My family said there was no point in me going because classes were ending and the lessons were all revision. I was pretty sad. Ending school meant that my exchange was coming to an end. Plus, I loved going to school to see everyone. However, I had lots of things to do in the three and a half weeks remaining. My host mom took me to all the places I wanted to see again and take pictures at. We went downtown, Jacare (the river where there are the most amazing sun sets) and Camboinha (a beach 30 minutes up north where her good friend lives). We also went to a lot of parties. Birthday parties in particular. One, was of a little girl turning six. It was a huge party in a large building designed just for special events. Another was of a baby turning one. That was my favorite because the food was amazing. Since it was so close to me going home, I just wanted to eat everything Brazilian!
During this time, I was suffering from a really bad cough. It actually started before I went to Belo Horizonte and while I was there, worsened. After two weeks of not getting better (there would be times when I couldn't stop coughing and would gag for air) I asked my first host grandmother to take me to the doctor. Whenever I needed anything done, I went to her for help because she is a woman that can do and get anything! It's amazing what she did for me when I was there. So, we went to the doctor and I found out that I had a bacteria infection in my throat and lungs and a bit of congestion in my nose as well. I went on antibiotics for two weeks, injected medicine into my nose and used a weird machine (that supposedly all Brazilians) to breath in medicine. It cost more than a hundred dollars for all the medicine that the doctor prescribed, but it worked. Within a week my nasty cough (that sounded so disgusting because my lungs where filled with mucus) was gone and my host mother stopped making fun of my beastly cough.
In the middle of the month, I went with my first host family to Recife to welcome my first host sister back. She did her exchange in Cranbrook and absolutely loved it. It was so nice to see her. When I first arrived, I was heart broken that she was leaving. When she arrived with her Rotary blazer covered in pins and a huge Canadian plaque I felt pretty proud to be Canadian. Then, when she whipped out her Canadian cash I felt shocked. It had been so long since I had seen the beautiful green twenty dollar bill. It felt foreign to me! With that moment, I guess I got a little excited to stay home.
Sao Joao is an enormous winter festival in the northeast that happens during June. The actual Sao Joao is the 23rd and 24th of June, but the whole month of June Sao Joao is celebrated. It's more common to go to smaller interior cities to celebrate. Forro is the style of dancing and music played. It's a two partner dance and can be pretty fun if you manage to get someone who knows how to dance well. It's especially nice that Brazilian boys know how to dance, unlike some Canadian boys I know...
Campina Grande, a city an hour away from Joao Pessoa, has the largest Sao Joao in the the world. The actual place where it is held is enormous. You enter and see a large stage and along the sides are the nice box seats so to speak where you have to pay to enter. It's more like a row of boxes and another row on top and each box is a different sponsoring company. There are hundreds of little restaurants and bars, along with another large area meant for presentations. It's like a mini city. I went three times during June. The first time, with my host family who rented a large bus so that the whole family could go on a full day trip. We even got t-shirts. During the day we went to a small city where there is a forro train. The train carries eight thousand passengers and travels with bands and people dancing inside. It's quite the thing to see. All I could imagine was that it must have been so hot inside that train. The second time I went with my first host grandmother and the american student. We also went on a bus excursion, but this time with judges from tribunal court. We went to Camorote (the box seats) and watched a concert. It was really fun and especially interesting to watch the people since we were high up. Finally, the third time, my first host mom took me and the american student with her to Campina Grande to celebrate my first host sister's birthday. As she was already in Campina with her brother and friends, it was just the three of us and Nicole (my two year old host sister) that drove there. We stayed at a good friend of my first host mom. It had been so long since I had seen her last ( her friend had visited us during September and I had gone there in November) that it was nice to catch up with her. Overall, I loved Sao Joao and hope to go back one day!!
My exchange was finally at an end. That last weekend, I spent with my host family and the american student as well. We shopped for presents, went to take pictures at unique locations and just tried to enjoy the last little bit. I spent a fair bit of money at the end just to buy gifts, music, food and anything I could think of that I knew I could only get in Brasil. We had a fair well party at a local pizza place. Then we went to a forro concert downtown with a few friends from my second host brother's swimming club (who I never got to meet by the way and came home three days after I left !!! I couldn't believe it!) That was it for the last bit. I spent the last day at the beach with my family and then at the mall with my host sister and her friend. Afterwards, I finally finished organizing my luggage.
Throughout this last month, I would have little panic attacks. I couldn't stop thinking that it might be a very long time before I see everything again. Every time that we would drive along the beach, I instantly became sad. Then, when going to the airport I could hardly breath. It felt so weird to know that everything was over. It passed by so fast, felt as if I barely had done anything. At the airport, I said goodbye to my second host family, my first host sister and one of her good friends (that become one of my good friends) and my first host grandmother. A few tears flowed, but I tried to hold them in!
From Joao Pessoa, I waited twelve hours in Sao Paulo. I actually met a Canadian girl who had done her exchange last year and was coming back to visit, saw a Polish girl from my district that was going home, met two other exchange students from Belo Horizonte and a guy from California that was going with his family to the Amazon to visit his grandmother. It was an interesting day... After that, I flew to Houston and then to Vancouver. During the flight to Vancouver, I was so anxious to see my parents that the flight took forever. When I finally saw them, I practically burst into tears, along with my mother who cried much more than I did. It was good to see them after 11 months of being away. Yet, I couldn't help thinking that if given the chance, I would get right back on that plane and do it all over again. It truly was an amazing experience and I have changed for the better because of it.
Thank you Rotary.
Lindsey Foottit
After coming back, I was off on a weekend adventure with my first host family again. We went to Gravata, Pernambuco. I enjoyed the fact that the hotel included horseback riding and jumping. I arrived excited to do a few hours of riding lessons. I got up early the first morning to do my first lesson in over 6 years. I practically fell off the horse when dismounting because I was so tired. I spent the rest of the trip trying to recover. I had no idea... The city is cute and European influenced. The first night we went to have fondue at a local German restaurant. The second day, we spent looking at the shops and driving around the mountainous area. After the third morning, we were already on our way back to Joao Pessoa.
The next week I spent trying to catch up with my host family. I went to school only once more to say goodbye to all my friends. My family said there was no point in me going because classes were ending and the lessons were all revision. I was pretty sad. Ending school meant that my exchange was coming to an end. Plus, I loved going to school to see everyone. However, I had lots of things to do in the three and a half weeks remaining. My host mom took me to all the places I wanted to see again and take pictures at. We went downtown, Jacare (the river where there are the most amazing sun sets) and Camboinha (a beach 30 minutes up north where her good friend lives). We also went to a lot of parties. Birthday parties in particular. One, was of a little girl turning six. It was a huge party in a large building designed just for special events. Another was of a baby turning one. That was my favorite because the food was amazing. Since it was so close to me going home, I just wanted to eat everything Brazilian!
During this time, I was suffering from a really bad cough. It actually started before I went to Belo Horizonte and while I was there, worsened. After two weeks of not getting better (there would be times when I couldn't stop coughing and would gag for air) I asked my first host grandmother to take me to the doctor. Whenever I needed anything done, I went to her for help because she is a woman that can do and get anything! It's amazing what she did for me when I was there. So, we went to the doctor and I found out that I had a bacteria infection in my throat and lungs and a bit of congestion in my nose as well. I went on antibiotics for two weeks, injected medicine into my nose and used a weird machine (that supposedly all Brazilians) to breath in medicine. It cost more than a hundred dollars for all the medicine that the doctor prescribed, but it worked. Within a week my nasty cough (that sounded so disgusting because my lungs where filled with mucus) was gone and my host mother stopped making fun of my beastly cough.
In the middle of the month, I went with my first host family to Recife to welcome my first host sister back. She did her exchange in Cranbrook and absolutely loved it. It was so nice to see her. When I first arrived, I was heart broken that she was leaving. When she arrived with her Rotary blazer covered in pins and a huge Canadian plaque I felt pretty proud to be Canadian. Then, when she whipped out her Canadian cash I felt shocked. It had been so long since I had seen the beautiful green twenty dollar bill. It felt foreign to me! With that moment, I guess I got a little excited to stay home.
Sao Joao is an enormous winter festival in the northeast that happens during June. The actual Sao Joao is the 23rd and 24th of June, but the whole month of June Sao Joao is celebrated. It's more common to go to smaller interior cities to celebrate. Forro is the style of dancing and music played. It's a two partner dance and can be pretty fun if you manage to get someone who knows how to dance well. It's especially nice that Brazilian boys know how to dance, unlike some Canadian boys I know...
Campina Grande, a city an hour away from Joao Pessoa, has the largest Sao Joao in the the world. The actual place where it is held is enormous. You enter and see a large stage and along the sides are the nice box seats so to speak where you have to pay to enter. It's more like a row of boxes and another row on top and each box is a different sponsoring company. There are hundreds of little restaurants and bars, along with another large area meant for presentations. It's like a mini city. I went three times during June. The first time, with my host family who rented a large bus so that the whole family could go on a full day trip. We even got t-shirts. During the day we went to a small city where there is a forro train. The train carries eight thousand passengers and travels with bands and people dancing inside. It's quite the thing to see. All I could imagine was that it must have been so hot inside that train. The second time I went with my first host grandmother and the american student. We also went on a bus excursion, but this time with judges from tribunal court. We went to Camorote (the box seats) and watched a concert. It was really fun and especially interesting to watch the people since we were high up. Finally, the third time, my first host mom took me and the american student with her to Campina Grande to celebrate my first host sister's birthday. As she was already in Campina with her brother and friends, it was just the three of us and Nicole (my two year old host sister) that drove there. We stayed at a good friend of my first host mom. It had been so long since I had seen her last ( her friend had visited us during September and I had gone there in November) that it was nice to catch up with her. Overall, I loved Sao Joao and hope to go back one day!!
My exchange was finally at an end. That last weekend, I spent with my host family and the american student as well. We shopped for presents, went to take pictures at unique locations and just tried to enjoy the last little bit. I spent a fair bit of money at the end just to buy gifts, music, food and anything I could think of that I knew I could only get in Brasil. We had a fair well party at a local pizza place. Then we went to a forro concert downtown with a few friends from my second host brother's swimming club (who I never got to meet by the way and came home three days after I left !!! I couldn't believe it!) That was it for the last bit. I spent the last day at the beach with my family and then at the mall with my host sister and her friend. Afterwards, I finally finished organizing my luggage.
Throughout this last month, I would have little panic attacks. I couldn't stop thinking that it might be a very long time before I see everything again. Every time that we would drive along the beach, I instantly became sad. Then, when going to the airport I could hardly breath. It felt so weird to know that everything was over. It passed by so fast, felt as if I barely had done anything. At the airport, I said goodbye to my second host family, my first host sister and one of her good friends (that become one of my good friends) and my first host grandmother. A few tears flowed, but I tried to hold them in!
From Joao Pessoa, I waited twelve hours in Sao Paulo. I actually met a Canadian girl who had done her exchange last year and was coming back to visit, saw a Polish girl from my district that was going home, met two other exchange students from Belo Horizonte and a guy from California that was going with his family to the Amazon to visit his grandmother. It was an interesting day... After that, I flew to Houston and then to Vancouver. During the flight to Vancouver, I was so anxious to see my parents that the flight took forever. When I finally saw them, I practically burst into tears, along with my mother who cried much more than I did. It was good to see them after 11 months of being away. Yet, I couldn't help thinking that if given the chance, I would get right back on that plane and do it all over again. It truly was an amazing experience and I have changed for the better because of it.
Thank you Rotary.
Lindsey Foottit