Hey Everyone! Im in Londrina! So much has happened already! Ogrigada Rotary it is awsome!

My first adventure was losing my bags between Freeport and Miami, well I didnt lose it, American Airlines lost them. As I am freaking out in the airport, waiting in line at Lugage Services, they find on of my bags, but still the other is missing, so i filed out a missing form and they are supposed to send it to me here in Londrina, but the whole time I was there I still had to check in and I was scared of missing my flight, but everything was okay, and I arrived in Sao Paulo just fine the next morning. When walking through the Sau Paulo airport I realized that me losing a bag was a gift from god. Not only was I exhosted from my travels, but I had to walk all over the airport, which makes the airport in miami look small... haha... with my bags, looking for the check in for my next flight to londrina. Not only are there about 10 different places in the huge air port for the check-ins of different airlines, which took me about 25 minutes of walking around, constantly asking in my bad portuguese for english and contantly getting different answers from the people, I found my airline, but there was 54 different counters for check-ins for my airline... all marked in portuguese.. and the only one I understood was <international> which I knew I wasnt... so i stood in a line, and wait about 5 minutes until i got to the front, where a man, luckily spoke english and told me i was in the wrong line.. and showed me which line I needed to go to.

The line he showed me was about three times as long as the line I was in, but I stood there for about another five minutes, until a lady made it clear that i was in the wrong line again, and showed me for a second time what line I was supposed to be in, and lets just say... I have been in lines in disney land shorter than that line... I waited in the line for about half an hour before a woman was going around yelling my destination, and took me to the front of the line and checked me in. Luckily everything was fine, and I arrived in Londrina with my family and my counselors family waiting for me with a huge sign saying <Lindsay welcome to Londrina>.

I love my family alot, they are japanese decent, there is alot of japanese decendants in Brazil. I have a mother and a younger brother. They are so sweet, and my brother is a typical younger brother, Ive only been here a couple days, but we are already at the teasing each other stage, and i love my mother sooooo much. She speaks about as much if not less english as i speak portugese, but we have the longest most interesting conversations. She is long only person that talks slow enough and explains it enough times for me to really understand, and helps me learn so much.
 

On Saturday evening, a couple hours after I arrived I went to a party, where i met alot of people.  In brazil to say hi to someone, you say Oi! and then you kiss them on the cheak so even though i have only been here a couple days I have kissed alot of people and I dont even know their names. haha. It is hard to remember everyones name here, because they all seem very similar, marcia, maria, marcola, marcela, ana maria, marita... the party was alot of fun, I had my first samba lesson from some of the girls, and we danced alot. On Sunday my host mother and host aunt took me shopping at the mall, where i bought enough underwear to last me until I get my lost bag back, haha. Then in the evening the family went to a Japanese festival celebrating the dead. It was really cool, in japanese culture they dont cry for the dead, they have parties, and dance and sing, I learnt a few japanese traditional dances, I liked them alot, they were easier to pick up then the samba! haha.
 

Today I had my first day of school, and it was the first day i really felt like i was in Brazil. Class starts at 7:20 in the morning and finishes at 12:30 in the afternoon. When everyone goes home with their family and has lunch, which is the family meal in brazil, instead of dinner. I really like school, it is alot of fun. I already have alot of friends, because the girls that i danced with at the party on Saturday are in my class and I sit with them.
 

I have only been here two and a half days, and so much has already happened, I really love brazil. Thank you so much Rotary! Obrigado por todo!

I will send you more news soon.

Lindsay