it´s beginning to look a bit like Christmas...

Mi familia Paraguaya

here are some fotos of my host family, the Santacruzes and me :)

THE BARRO!!!

At almost all the Colegios(schools) here in Ciudad Del Este, after Trecer curso(senior year) the senior classes all go into the Barro(pretty much straight mud and water) and they get covered in mud and then run aroud hugging clean people, such as myself haha, and then they rent out a huge truck to hold them all and they ride around town with blowhorns and music and yelling! It actually is a pretty fun thing even to watch!

a different kind of Rotary meeting

Last night was a Rotary meeting at Senor Conrad's house. Senor Conrad Marty is the man who is the head of exchange for my Rotary Club here. And this rotary meeting was a little bit different than the others!! There was singing, dancing and live entertainment!!!!

A little update of my life now...

Well...I changed families about 2 weeks ago so I could get to know this family before Christmas and the holiday season. I am very fortunate to have a family I really like, and a little sister for the first time in my life. I have a 13 year old sister named Marian and her brother Miguel is in Illinois for exchange. They are really great and I have made chocolate chip cookies two times already with my new family!!! Even though they were not even close to the cookies in the US, they turned out pretty good I must admit.
Also, the school year is coming to an end and now are finals. The one test I am really proud of and actually kind of understood was logic. I got 13 out of 14 points on that one...wish I could say the same for all the others...Summer break is coming up in a week and a half and I am a bit sad about the school year ending and having to start anew at a new school in the fall...but this is what being an exchange student involves so I will make the best of it.... These two pictures are my host mother and I and our family with asado or bbq and my host sister, cousins, and I making cookies ;)

LA FIESTA DE DEBUT POR ROTARY!! :)

la fiesta de Debut es muy popular aca por chicas de edades 16-18. Es como un celebracion o un bienviendos a sociedad! Fue muy divertido y esos son fotos de mi Debut! :)

THE IQUAZU FALLS!!!

Yo quiero Pizza Hut!

jajaj i found out recently that they have a pizza hut here and it delievers! Tomorrow after spinning class I'm planning on ordering one with friends and comparing! I've taken over 100 pictures but the computer doesnt like me putting them up :( Life's going great! :)

classmates!

Espanol!!

I just wanted to let you all know that I have taken more pictures but havent had the chance to put them up but will as soon as I can. But everythings great here and my classmates have been teaching me words in spanish as well as Guarani, the native language. Some Guarani words include al pelo which I learned today and means alright or okay. I learned more but I can´t begin to try to spell them haha today I tried very hard to use completely spanish and did a pretty good job and got quite the headache!! I also have started spanish classes with a tutor and another exchange student, Hannah. This class is monday and wednesday afternoons for an hour and a half and has really helped me refresh my spanish!!!! Ill post pictures asap!

Hmm... let's see...

All is well here! Tommorrow will mark 2 weeks here although it feels like I've been here much longer. I have been eating a lot of good food here (dulce de leche, a of pan, dedede, and empanadas to name some of my favorites) and on Wednesday Hannah (other Exchange student in my school from Ithaca and also from the 7170 district back home) and I signed up for a month of spinning at the fitness center. The first day we did this class we did the treadmills for a half hour before the class and we were totally beat after spinning! But this class is the only reassurance that I will not gain too much weight this year. Hopefully by the end of the month I will be a pro and I will not have to cut back too much on the delicious food here!

Shopping and resturaunt

making chocolate chip cookies with Fabiola!!! :)

mi casa aqui

school uniform (casual one hah)

Vida aqui

Hmm let's see...nothing too new here...except everything obviously ha but school is good. People are nice even when we can't understand each other. Today I walked to school and home. I turned on the wrong road coming home but soon realized it and my friend walked with me the house. She is really nice and I wish I could remember names! ha I'm sure I will eventually! :) OOO I finally got my whole uniform...except the dress which I am supposed to wear on mondays and to special events. I am going to try to post some pictures so hopefully it works :) Actually I will post them as soon as I can find the cord for my camera:)

First day of school!

School today was scary at first of course, but everyone was extremely friendly :) I got 2 chocolates today from some nice classmates! The first classroom I was in was good. A bit boring though because I did not have books or know much spanish. At 9:30 we went outside at food time and I met some more people. They were really nice too. After going back to my classroom after I went outside and after some confusing chemistry(or maybe physics haha) some girls from the other class came to get me and walk around the school with me. This was a lot of fun and I met a lot of new people. After walking the school a few times I went to the other classroom( the one the girls were from) and this class was a lot of fun! They all asked me many questions and though most of the time I didn't know what they were saying, but I attempted to answer the question aand laughed with them. A lot of people crowded around my desk and wanted to knoweverything about me. The teacher told them they should giive me space but i said they were fine. Overall it was a really good day and I guess they have a website like facebook that they use called Orkut. i now have one of those even though I don't really know how to use it ha. Best sentences that I heard todday: Tu es linda, y tus ojos son bonita :) I Also got asked many times if i liked michael jackson ha i said..hmm la musica de el pero no el hombre. Also, I am now a Olympista haha aka a supporter of one of the Paraguayan futbol teams: Olympia

Getting Ready!

I have started to pack and already with just clothes, I've overpacked. :) I'll have to do that again... these last days have been crazy with all the goodbyes to family, friends, and also trying to fit everything around driver's education. I've managed to fit it all in though and hopefully I can fit in packing and getting ready too. I guess if it weren't for that last minute nothing would get done. But, I'll be ready when Saturday comes around...hopefully...:)

Next year... :)

Next year I will be going to Paraguay in the Ciudad del Este which is the second largest city in Paraguay as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. The city I am going to sounds awesome and I have heard that it has a lot of very cheap and very great shopping . I also will have more choice in food and I will have the oppourtunity to travel to Brasil and Argentina more! I am so excited. I leave the 15th of August and will arrive in Paraguay on the 16th! My first host family seems very nice and I can't wait to meet them. Also, my school looks awesome and if you want to check it out here's the school website http://www.sembrador.edu.py/v2/ If anyone has any questions or commets for me go ahead and comment!!! :)