The Old and the New

          Homesickness is something that many exchange students deal with at some point during their year abroad. In Brasil they even have a special word just for saying that you miss something or someone, "saudade." This being said, I feel like there's a difference between feeling homesick and just missing certain things from your home country. I don't think I've really been homesick yet, because at no time have I though that being here was a mistake, and that I want to return early. This is my home for the next year, right? There have definitely been things, people, cultural habits that I miss though, and I feel like the best way to deal with these are just to accept that I miss them, and then try to think about all of the amazing new things that I have here in Brasil. So I thought why not make a blog post where I list some things that I miss, and then list some new things that I like! Here it is then, and maybe if you're an exchange student reading this you miss some of these things too!

Saudades:

• Chocolate chip cookies... I don't even eat these that often in the US, but lately I've been craving them for some reason! 
• Walking to downtown or the water. It's not as safe for girls to walk around by themselves here, and because I'm white and not fluent in Portuguese it makes it that much harder.
• My family. I think this is a given.
• My friends and my school. School is really different here, and it's all in Portuguese!
• Silence, because here there is always noise! Brazilians are generally loud people, and even when I'm in my room there are these cars with speakers that drive by blasting Brazilian radio stations. It's a type of advertising that we don't have in the US, and they always play the same songs, and it drives me nuts!
• Starbucks... yea I know, typical white girl problems, but seriously!!!
• Hugging my dad and going window-shopping downtown with my mom.
• Going to the gym with my aunt.
• Driving...!

New and Exciting:

• Food. The ever-so-superior ice cream, the fruit, the traditional Brazilian dishes like feijoada and acaraje, BRIGADEIROS which will probably make me so fat this year... but that won't stop me from eating them.
• My family here, my parents and my amazing sister who I love so so so much!
• Brazilian music and dance! Everyone here loves to teach me new dances, and everyone plays guitar perfectly. All I ever want to do anymore is listen to music and dance!
• Portuguese, which is such a gorgeous language. I'm learning faster than I thought, too.
• The way everyone acts. I know that's vague, but people are so positive and affectionate and welcoming! They greet you with an enthusiastic hug and kiss on the cheek, which I know I'll miss so much when I leave:(
• Trying new sports like muay thai, kickboxing, and volleyball.
• Water that's warm enough to swim in even in the winter. Well, the Brazilians say it's cold, but they've never swam in glacial melt-off water, now that is cold.
• All of the green! There's just as much in my state I think as there is here (being as it's called "the evergreen state" and all), but it's very different. Here the green is much brighter and tropical. It's breathtaking!
• The other exchange students. Other people going through the same things as me,  who know how I feel and face the same struggles, adventures, and accomplishments. It's nice to be able to talk with people who are sharing this new and exciting experience with me!

          So there it is! Some things that I miss, and some new things that I love. There are countless other things I could add to both lists, but those are what came to me off the top of my head. If you're an exchange student reading this, it's okay to miss stuff from back home! It's natural! Don't think that it makes you a bad exchange student, or that you shouldn't tell anyone. Just remember that for everything that you miss there, there's probably something new that you love here. The year goes by so quickly! Try as many new things as you can, because when you go home after a year, you won't regret the things that you tried, you'll regret the things that you didn't try when you had the chance. My sister told me that (she went to Germany for exchange last year), so it must be true..! For people reading this back home, I miss you. I miss the little things that you do and don't even think about. Singing in the car with my dad, hearing my aunt say she loves me on the phone, my mom's art projects on the kitchen table. And I love it here, so don't worry about me, okay? I'll see you in a year, and I'll come back with lot's of great stories to tell! Til' next time, tchau!

*The word for rain is chuva. The weather has been rain one minute and sun the next because it's spring time here. In fact, today is the first day of spring, primavera, in Brasil!