I don't speak portuguese...

Óla,

On Saturday evening, Lauren and I arrived in Vitória and we’re greeted by our host families and Teresa at the airport. I spent the weekend with my host family and I met some of my classmates when they greeted me with a lot of food and a party on Saturday. My favorite Brazilian dish is brigadeiro! It's very sweet and I like it a lot.

All of our classes are in portuguese and most teachers don't speak a lot of english but regardless they are very welcoming. I love how much everyone tries to speak english to us, even the little kids. In Vitória, class starts at 7am and ends at around 6:30 p.m. on Mondays. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I'm not used to waking up so early for school.

Today I went to a very old monastery with my host family's friend Jacopo and we saw monkeys! The monastery was built in the 1600s by a Franciscan monk and is on top of a mountain on an island near Vitória. It is one of the oldest buildings in Brazil. The view from there was amazing.

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to learn about a new culture because I’m very passionate about cultural diversity. I also love my host family and all of my new friends. Hopefully Lauren and I can learn portuguese very quickly. Wish us luck!