Mallory Richey: ONE MONTH!

Holy Mackeral Cakes! Already a month into the exchange! I am not going to lie to you and say everything has been rainbows and sunshine, it has been hard adjusting to my new life here, but it is finally starting to resemble normal. Things have been going great at school. I am taking Biology, two History classes, two French classes, Spanish (learning Spanish in French is actually fun do to all of the mad laughing I cause every time I open my mouth...and is my favorite class) English (for which I am the helper) and I believe that is it. I meet new people everyday due to the fact that the school is huge! So, enough about school and onto the exciting parts. About two weeks ago we had our orientation in Touquet, which is like The Hamptons of Paris. It was gorgeous, hot, and I was extremely exhausted afterwards. There are a lot of us in the district and I have been also brushing up on some Spanish at the Rotary functions so I don't look like a complete idiot when I return to Spanish class at school, so maybe in addition to speaking French upon my return, perhaps I will retain some Spanish as well! In Touquet we all ran around on these giant team bikes that are super fun, for a kind of scavenger hunt, and our team got second place! WHOOO. Like Kestral said, meeting all of the other exchange students is like getting together with your family. There is a bond there that is hard to describe, and I love it! I even got a henna tattoo from the girl who came from India, talk about talent! After Touquet, and another week of school I went to Mamma Mia (in French of course) in the big city Lille which is about a half an hour away with my host mom and some friends. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I understood, so I think my French is improving! I have also been to four Rotary Meetings so far. They are different (like I mentioned before) women have just recently been accepted into my club and other clubs in the district don't have women at all. The meals are usually multi-course and loaded with butter, topped of with expensive wine. All of the meetings take place at night and the club is smaller than Steamboat's, but everyone is sooooo kind, helpful and nice. A surprising amount have actually been to Colorado which was exciting for me. Tommorrow, I am going to Paris with my host family and my friend Indy (she lives in the next town over and is from South Africa) to pick up Paolo who is arriving from the Philippines late due to some visa troubles. I am so excited, and coming up in October we have another Rotary outing at Mt. Saint Michel to look forward too. I hope everything is going well back home, and here are some pictures!

 This is where Rotary Meets HOW FRENCH IS THAT! I just can't get over it.

 This is my bike team in Touquet!

Some of my new Rotary friends (Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, Australia, Japan, and the US!)
a bientôt et bisous
Mallory

Kestral Johnston - Orientation Weekend!!!!!!

So, I can't believe it, but it has been a month since I have arrived in Brasil. It amazes me how much I have already learned, and how much there is still to know!!! The language is getting easier, but it still is no cake walk. I'm trying to take tests in Portuguese during school, and I also have a tutor.

This past weekend I went to my inbound orientation for ExproBrasil. This encompasses not only District 4590 (which I'm in) but also the neighboring District 4430. All in all, I would estimate there were 50 exchange students from all over the world. Being around exchange students isn't like being around just friends. It is closer to being around family. We all have that special bond through our exchange, and no matter what our backgrounds are, we are all very close. Teenagers are teenagers throughout the world; we love to laugh, be crazy, loud, and silly.

Link to map of Rotary Districts in Brasil:
http://www.rotarybarril.org/images/mapa_brasil.jpg

The weekend was very similar to my outbound orientation last March. We got to hear all the rules and expectations and what to do in certain situations again. It's always good to have a refresher. All the exchange students of course wanted to trade pins and business cards. My blazer is now about 2 pounds heavier and there is a whole pocket dedicated to my friends in Mexico! The weekend was great, especially for my brain to have a break from the language, but I'm glad to be back in Atibaia.

The whole group! Including the Rotex and committee members.

Team USA! No one else from Colorado, but from plenty of other states!

Sunset from Vinhedo, the town where our orientation was held.

My blazer after the orientation!

My host sister leaves this Friday, so before she goes, I decided to make cupcakes! They have cupcakes here in Brasil, but they aren't very common. So far, I've only seen them in huge malls in cities of over one million people. There are far too many good pastries here from Brasil to be missing cupcakes.

Anyways, that sums up the end of my first month in Brasil. I can't wait to see what else is in store, and I can't wait to go deeper into the hearts of the people here. Beijos

Hope Nelson-One Week

How appropriate that as the plane flew over Paris, the sun began to creep over the horizon, symbolic of my own dawning journey. I have now been in France for almost a week and still am hit by moments where I find myself thinking "oh my god, IM IN FRANCE". My travels went well because I had the treat of sitting with my good friend Mallory. Upon my arrival in Bordeaux I came down the stairs to find a crowd of people waiting for the other exchange students Justin, Eve and me! My host brother and sister held a large sign and my host father handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Other members of the Rotary club and some exchange students were also there; including Bernice! Who came to steamboat in 2010-11.  

The house where I'm living is about an hour from Bordeaux on windy roads. During the trip I started to get carsick and on the final turn into the driveway I vomited in the car. I had been up since four in the morning to leave from Denver and arrived at Bordeaux at around 1 pm france time 5 am my time.  Almost a full 24 hours awake (not counting the little sleep I got on the plane). I felt so bad! I wanted to make a good first impression and this wasn't it. But the unfortunate incident ended up being a testament to my host families character more so than mine. As I tried to apologize in broken french they repeatedly said "C'est rien." "It is nothing" and my darling host sister Angelique, who was sitting next to me, had no qualms about hopping in next to me the next day on our car ride to La Palmyre. 

La Palmyre is a small town my the beach where we stayed for three days. It was lots of fun. We spent our days on the beach either making sand castles or body surfing. One day we biked to a couple different beaches and about halfway through the day my bike broke. Part of the tire became swollen and the  chain came partially off. The result was that I like was biking on the hardest setting all the time. The rest of my family didn't have to pedal and I was dying ten feet behind them, no way was I that out of shape. The only thing that kept me going was the promise of ice cream at the end of the ride. We also have attended a dance show, a special dinner, and a classical music/renaissance/acrobatic/fire performance at a castle. All and all I'm living it up. 

My host family is fantastic. The father is very helpful and I think we share the same sense of humor. He is great because he likes to explain and talk about more complicated things  like the history of a building or the government opposed to asking me about things he knows the answer to but he knows I will understand. This helps my french immensely. The mother is kind and caring. She is so considerate of what I ask and what I say in general even when it doesn't make sense. My host sister is super sweet and very mature for her age . She is the best at explaining words I don't know. Its great because she explains them in french and knowing what they mean in french makes them stick to my brain better. My host brother is smart and excitable. He quickly catches on to what I don't understand. He continually asks me questions I dont    understand but it only improves my french so I hope he doesn't stop. I am very lucky to be with this family. 

Altogether I find this place utterly charming, from the three white horses in the neighboring field, to the one eyed cat. There are huge fields of grapes, for cognac, and sun flowers surrounding the house. Outside my window you can even see the old church tower. Im very content. 

Mallory Richey - I am here!!!!

Hello everyone!
I made it to France! It has been great so far. It has been a whirlwind couple of days!
When I first arrived, my host family had some chocolate croissants waiting...mmmmmmm tasty.
Right out of the airport I got a quick tour of Paris with stops at Chanel, Dior, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysees! It was insane...the whole time I was like...I am in Paris...I am in Paris...I AM IN PARISSS! On the way home, (which was about an hour and a half drive with traffic) I slept because I just could not keep my eyes open. That night, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I have a room at the top of the house, with a big window that looks over the village, it is très magnifique. The next day we did a little tour of the town. It is about the size of Boulder but seems bigger because there are two other towns right next to it. That day I went to the Rotary meeting as well and gave a little speech, I was so nervous and practiced the majority of the afternoon pacing the entire house. Once I got there all the nerves went away though because all the Rotarians are so nice. It is a pretty small rotary compared to the size of the town. Another difference is that the meetings are a lot shorter and you only have some snacks instead of a big meal  (which were très bon by the way) because the meeting is at about 8 at night. I start school on monday, and I am a little nervous because it is HUGE, but I do have a meeting with the headmaster tomorrow so I feel like that will help ease the nerves a bit. Today, we went to the coast and I could see England! It was exactly what you would picture France to look like. After we went and saw the England-France ferries in the town of Calais. Calais is really cool because it is an old coast city with tons of beautiful old buildings and restaurants. My french is coming along ok. Today was the day I felt the most comfortable, probably because I am not as tired, but I am improving quicker than I thought I would, especially with the patience and help of my host family. I will keep you all updated...have a good weekend:)
a bientôt

Mallory

Kestral Johnston - Two weeks!

Hey Everyone!
So I have now been here about two weeks, and wow, time goes by fast! I've experienced many things, such as my first week of school, futebol (soccer), and a waterfall. My first week of school was very different than what I am used to. Here, I have all of the subjects, and you can't choose your classes. The teachers are the ones that move rooms, while the students have their own classroom. I have 12 meninos (boys) and 4 meninas (girls) in my class including me. And let me say, it does get very, very loud! The teachers here seem fine with the noise at times, and it's very laid back here. They have also been very patient with me and my slowly progressing Portuguese. Whenever I need help, I can ask the teacher or another classmate to explain to me, which is very nice. I have about 14 classes, but some classes are the same subject, just divided.  For example, Portuguese language is divided up into literature, grammar, and writing. School only goes until 1 PM here, so after it ends I go home and eat lunch. Lunch is the big meal of the day here, similar to dinner in the USA.

On Sunday, I went to a waterfall about three hours from where I live. The river that creates the falls is called Rio Piracicaba. It flows through the state of Sao Paulo into the Tiete River. This is the river that flows through both Campinas and Sao Paulo, both are cities of over a million people.

I started soccer this week with my school, and I hope to be able to attend many practices. I tend to be very busy, especially because my host sister, Livia, is leaving soon for her exchange in Turkey. We are going to Belo Horizonte on Thursday. It is located in another state to the east of Sao Paulo called Minas Gerais.

The language is getting easier as I am being completely surrounded by it everyday. I'm trying to learn just something small or basic each day, and I believe that is helping a lot. It's much easier to focus on one small task than a million at once.

I have also gone to two Rotary meetings. The city here has two clubs much like Steamboat, one on Tuesday and the other Wednesday. In true South American fashion, the meetings start at about 9 PM and go until 11:30 PM! All the people have been very friendly, and I even met an exchange-student-to-be and a rebound (one that just came back. That's all for now! Tchau

Mallory Richey - Hey There!

Hi everyone,
 First of all,  if you happen to be a Rotarian reading this post, thank you so much for this amazing experience, I cannot express my appreciation enough! I am the third student to be traveling abroad this year with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. I am 18 years old and this will be a gap year for me as I graduated high school this spring. Like Hope, I will be living in France but in a northern city called Bruay la Buissière. It is a little more than an hour north of Paris and is located in the Pas De Calais region. I have been doing some research and the town looks fabulous with a population of about 25,000! I have talked to all three of my host families and have skyped the first a few times, and already can tell that we are going to get along just fine. My french was a little rusty at first but talking to them beforehand has helped a lot. I am looking forward to finally meeting them in person! The current students have also been great with helping me out too, so thanks guys!
Through this exchange I hope to enhance my sense of the French culture by improving in the language and taking the time to immerse myself completely (and maybe do a little eating along the way). I feel that through this I will not only find a degree of self discovery but also improve my perception of the world outside of the United States. In the grand scheme of things, I think that everyone should take advantage of opportunities such as these to improve a sense of communication and understanding with the other cultures of the world. Having said that, I hope that through this program I can do my part to contribute to this idea. As they say travel is the only thing you can buy that will make you richer.
I will face challenges, but also I think a lot of joy...and through this blog I hope to share with you all a little piece of my experience.
Bisous et à bientôt
Mallory
PS I leave the 27th so plan to get my arrival post soon:)

Kestral Johnston - Arriving in Atibaia, Sao Paulo

 A Igreja Matriz de Atibaia in the town square of Atibaia.

My arrival in Atibaia was extremley exciting and very tiring. After about a 4 hour plane ride from Denver to New York, I had a 9 hour plan ride from New York and an hour and a half delay. I was definitely ready to sleep, but it was only about noon here on Thursday. The first thing I noticed here was how all the people are so friendly. Everyone greets everyone with a hug and a kiss on your right cheek. They also have told me that "minha casa é sua casa" which loosely translated is "my house is your house". The weather is super nice here, about 23.5 C during the day, which is about 74 F. It isn't too hot, or too cold, and the best part is that this is winter here! Of course the biggest difference here is the language. At the beginning I was only understanding like a couple of words, one of which was my name, but now I'm starting to get what everyone is saying. The hardest part is being able to answer people. Spanish is only slightly helpful. My host sister speak a little English which helps, and I have a private tutor which I will start on Monday. I also start school on segunda-feira, Monday. I'll probably start playing soccer, futebol, here with my school too. My first Rotary meeting is on Wednesday night, and that should be fun.

My host sister Lívia and I in a town square in Atibaia.

The first thing I ate here was Brigadeiro, which is a sweet dessert type thing that is slightly like pudding.

That's all for now. Beijos!
Kestral