seriously, it's been a long time. it's already NOVEMBER!

My year in Brazil has come and gone. I am currently back at Middlebury College where life is stressful as usual. The academic pressure is on. The transition back to life in the U.S., or rather, MIDDLEBURY LIFE is still a struggle. Actually, almost every day is a struggle. I miss Brazil so much. I miss Michel even more.

Anyway, inspired by a blog I was just reading, I realized that I used to blog a lot in middle school and in high school. And I should try to keep this up...even if it will be just for 1 year, my senior year in College. I used to have 2 xangas...oh boy! Xangas, the middle school phenomena. I realized that I enjoy using writing as a tool to express myself. And I need to do that more often. It's a way to improve my writing and enhance my self-expression. It's also a lot better than mulling over thoughts in my head.

So here's to a new start! Let me end this entry with a quotation:

In life, we do things -- Some, we wish we had never done & some we wish we could replay a million times. But, they all make us who we are & in the end, they shape and detail us. If we were to reserve them, we wouldn't be the same person we are today. So just live. Make mistakes. And have wonderful memories. But, never second guess who you are, where you'vebeen & most importantly where you're going.

Back home, in the good old U.S. of A.

I've been back in the states for a week and a day now. It's been absolutely incredible being home, being with family and visiting friends in Vermont. I still have trouble adjusting to English, to the cold, cold weather, to snow, to toilet paper (yes, it can actually flush down the toilet!) and to people. For some reason, I still expect to hear Portuguese being spoken around me and I prepare myself mentally to respond in Portuguese...only to realize that people speak English here...and so do I (well, sort of. I'm starting to question my English abilities now). I'm not used to meeting people and shaking their hands. I have almost done the hug and kiss to several people...yeah, awkward. But all in all, I appreciate being back home and being awkward in this society. It's funny how everything seems so strange, yet so familiar at the same time. I think to myself, have I always walked this way? have I always been so warm to people? have I always spoken like this in English? It's hard to measure how much Brazil has affected me and I can't judge now because I'm still going back to Brazil for another semester.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my English, which is my "native" language...I use quotation marks because I actually learned Chinese first but as I grew up, Chinese became a secondary language. Learning Portuguese has changed the way I speak English. Learning Portuguese has changed the way I see English. It's incredible to have this access to both languages. And even more amazing to think and feel in these two languages. Anyways, I've become really self-conscious of my English because perhaps it's a lingering expectation from speaking bad Portuguese all the time, but it's like I'm waiting for people to correct my English as well...like how my Brazilian friends correct my Portuguese. But of course, nobody corrects my English because a) it's annoying b) it interrupts the flow of the conversation and c) nobody wants to seem uptight...people don't speak properly half the time.

So yes, I am back in the U.S. till next week. I start classes in two weeks. And I have a plethora of things to occupy my mind, such as: Rio and Carnaval!, my English, my Portuguese, my objectives for this upcoming semester, finding an apartment in Florianópolis, running, reading for pleasure in Portuguese, making new Brazilian friends, maintaining old Brazilian friendships, the possibility of Sophie in Brazil, figuring out old friendships, what to do for the summer of 2010, thesis?, and most urgently (for my parents' sake) what I'm going to do after I graduate.

It's been one hell of a summer for me. I've been traveling so much that even the soles of my shoes are burnt out. I'm ready to just chill out after I get half of that list taken care of.

Also, on a random note, can I just say, it was so satisfying to eat a PB&J with soy milk in Proctor! so good.

Carrancas: Waterfalls Galore!

First off, happy 2010! (I'm about 11 days late, but better late than never!)

My first trip of the year was to a tiny town in Minas Gerais called Carrancas. All we did was hike, swim in waterfalls, eat and sleep. It was such a nice vacation! I wish I had taken more photos, but I was so afraid of getting my camera stolen while I left it to go swimming. After all, I did get my havianas stolen here! Yeah, they steal flip-flops here!!! The town is a small, poor town, with about 4,000 residents or so. What the town lacks financially contrasts with its richness in nature and waterfalls! I've never seen, swam and enjoyed so many waterfalls in three days in my entire life! My favorite waterfall, Esmeralda, had clean, clear water running through, depositing into a body of water that was the color of emerald...it was absolutely beautiful!



if you look closely, it's me and my friends, right by the waterfall!

We went to maybe more than 5 waterfalls in these three days...such an amazing trip!

I leave Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais in two days!!! I can't believe how quickly time has passed...! It's been such a wonderful summer...and this is just the start of it all! I still have two months left of traveling, discovering and falling even more in love with Brazil. oops, that's a lie cos I'm going to Ecuador in 5 days!