Orientation at the Cæsar Business...

So, orientation was at this hotel called Cæsar Business Hotel and it is located in Avenida Paulista. this street is famous for its Gay Parade and because it is one of the coolest streets in Sao Paulo. Giant Buildings on the sides, all types of people walking down the street... really cool. When i got there i met the 'monitores' who were our mentors during orientation and since i got there late i had to take the test at another time. It was three days long and it was with the people that are going to Salvador, Bahia for the rest of the semester and for the people staying in São Paulo.

We did most of the official documents stuff there, we walked around different places nearby, we went to this really cool park, many different things. Also we went to some clubs and got to know each other more. During orientation we were encouraged to speak portuguese so that's what we've been trying to do since. As of now i don't feel comfortable speaking only portuguese all the time but i'm getting there. Check back later in the semester and maybe i'll have more entries in portuguese.

During one day we got to meet our host families and it was really cool to see people interact with their families. I think mine is going to be cool. I still have not met my host brothers but i will see them when i go to their house in a few minutes. My host mom is really cool and she is a portuguese teacher so it's going to be very good for me. I'll be corrected more which is good. I also met Karlita's family and they look nice. She will be living very close to me so thanks to destiny we will be able to keep seeing each other often and we will walk to PUC (the University where we will be studying) together.

The pictures above are some of the views of where we were during orientation. I really liked this area. It reminds me of the Avenida Reforma area in Guatemala but much taller and with less green in it. At the moment i'm waiting for my host mom and i'm staring at my luggage. It's always a funny/weird feeling to see my semester packed in two pieces of luggage under 50 lbs each. I actually feel proud of being abl to pack my life but it will be nice when i can finally settle down and know that i'll be in one place for longer. Nevertheless, i'll be honest with you, i don't see that happening soon. When it comes to traveling, as Karlita (my Ecuadorian friend from Macalester, who also came to São Paulo) says: "do it young and often". I like it this way!