What language do they speak in Alaska?

I apologize for the lack of photos. I left the USB cord that goes from my camera to my computer at home... I knew I was going to forget something. My mom sent it to me in the mail but I have no idea how long it will take to get to me.

Well, a lot has happened but I don't know where to start. I guess I should talk about Carnaval first since I mentioned that I was going in my last post.

Carnaval: (date? no idea)
About midday I drove with my father, sister, aunt, uncle and cousins into Salvador for Carnaval. We are farther away from Salvador than I thought, but still pretty close (the drive was about 40 minutes). It was really cool seeing all of the run down houses and buildings along the way, along with the modernity of parts of Salvador, but I'm more interested with the historical looking places. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera because there was a very high chance that I would lose it or it would get stolen, however, I still have plenty of time to take pictures of the area! We drove through extremely crowded streets where we literally hit a person with our car, or maybe the man hit our car with his person (??) don't worry we were going like 1MPH. We parked with the aid of this guy who stopped traffic and directed us into a tight parking space. Apparently that's his job because my dad paid him.

There were so many people everywhere and we had to hold hands in a line so that we wouldn't get separated. We walked for about 10 minutes to the street where It happens. We settled on a spot behind the police booth and sat on this wall that separates the sidewalk from the beach. It was pretty uncomfortable and it was really hot out. Eventually the first band came on a giant truck followed by a huge crowd of people dancing, singing, and just going crazy. It was really loud and I didn't know the band or that song that was playing. There are apartment buildings located along the street and so lots of people were watching from their windows. The large truck that the band plays on is called cameao and there were also people riding on it along with the band.

This is what is looks like, but I didn't take this photo.





Honestly it was all a bit overwhelming for me and I didn't really like it, but it was a good experience!


Now I'm going to take a minute to talk about English in Brazil. Most students take English starting in "Kindergarten". Most students literally don't speak any English. To me, this is crazy. I don't understand what is being taught for 10 years. I think language classes in the US are way more effective. Anyway..

Let's see. I've had a lot of fun at the beach over the last few weeks. I learned to ride the waves in the ocean on a boogy board, but I also was thrown around a bit. I still haven't mastered the art of riding the wave or going under it. Also, I don't know what it's called but you throw the board when the tide comes in and you jump on it and ride it. Even though I was being pulled, I wiped out pretty bad so I'm going to take a break from that. I also walked on a slack line at the beach (with someone's help). It was really fun! What's been not so fun is getting sunburn every time I'm in the sun for more than an hour. Even though I use sunblock religiously, I always burn. The sun is SO strong here. I had a pretty bad burn on my shoulders for a couple of days. It's gone now but they are starting to peel. Fun stuff.


The language is still difficult, but it's getting easier. I can understand and speak better, but of course I'm still a long way away from being "fluent" at this point. Luckily it's only been 19 days so of course it's not very good yet. I'm extremely glad that I began to study Portuguese before my arrival here, otherwise I would be a million times more lost all the time (it's already pretty bad).

School is alright. School is school. I'm taking classes in another country, in another language. That's awesome, but it's sometimes really, really boring, especially when I don't understand anything that's going on. Trying to figure out what the teacher is talking about makes me exhausted, so yes, I've slept a fair amount of time in class. But it can be fun and the people are really nice and interested about Alaska. I'm giving a presentation on Friday about my country and state and I'm pretty nervous because I have to give it in Portuguese! But I definitely like that I get to shed some light on life in Alaska. No it's not cold ALL the time, and yes it's a part of the United States. I even had a teacher ask the class what language is spoken in AK..

I'm starting to appreciate Alaska's cold. It's hot here. So hot. You can't step outside to cool down. You're best bet is to take a shower, or sit in front of a fan. We have air conditioning in the classrooms at my school, but sometimes I feel like it's not working. At home we don't have air conditioning, but we have fans in all parts of the house. I'm pretty sure it's going to be like this all year. It might cool down a bit during rainy season, but probably not. Alaska's winters a harsh, but I miss the snow and normal clothes (not shorts and tank tops everyday). Well now I know not to make the mistake of choosing a year round hot place to live when I'm older. Beach weather everyday is nice, but too much nice weather is strange. It's going to be really weird for me having Christmas in 90 degree weather!

To future exchange students- What I wish I would have brought:
Books!! I brought one but finished it the first couple of days I was here. Sometimes I just want to read, but can't.
School supplies. I know I can buy them here, but everything is more expensive here. My notebook was about $17
More cash! I'm still not sure if I can take cash out of an ATM or a bank, so I'm a bit nervous about that.
More clothes (the opposite of what everyone says, I know). My suitcase was only 40 pounds so I could have brought 15 more pounds with me. Clothes are really expensive here.
I know there are other things but I can't think of them right now.

All in all, I've been having a really great time here and can't wait to experience more!