Finally here

Ola!!!!

So I'm finally here! Let me tell you it's a completely different world...I still suck at the language, but I think it will get better. And the two kiss thing is different too, but I like it.

The Arrival Orientation was MUCH better than the Gateway. We stayed at this Quinta (inn) about 30 minutes away from Lisboa. There was the 5 USA kids, a girl from Costa Rica, and 4 Portuguese teenagers, plus about 3 Volunteers and 2 Staff. We did a ton of team building activities and things involving communication. It was absolutely gorgeous...I'll have to post pictures soon. The bread here is fantasic! Freshly baked with marmlade = scrumptious. They eat a lot of soup and pastas and such. One thing I had at the orientation kind of made me nauseous...but it wasn't that bad. Saturday night we did a thing with writing what we'll miss down and having to let go of it, which was kind of hard. Then there was this talent show that by the end just turned into a singalong with guitar and a mix of Portuguese and Beatles songs. Soon everyone just dissapated into talking and I stayed up late with Mariana, Martina, Sara, and Bernardo just talking. Twas lots of fun.

Sunday started out great. We learned some Portuguese and talked about living here. The language is very hard...and almost has an arabian accent because of the moorish influence. We had lunch and I said goodbye to the other AFSers, which was sad because all of them were really cool.

Then came the fiasco. Pedro (an AFS staff member) was going to drive me to a Volunteer who would take me to the train station (I had to take a train because my town is so far north my family couldn't drive). It was raining and I had my black passport case in my lap, and some where between changing cars it went AWOL. It had my passport, my train ticket, 74 Euros, my AFS info card, and some other various documents. So yea...not good to lose it. We got to the train station (Dulio and I) and he bought me another ticket, we reported the missing passport to the polizie, and we cancelled the credit card. I missed the first train, so I got on the next one around 5. Everything worked itself out, but it was a long, trying day.

When I arrived in Porto, Ines, Fernanda and Fernando were waiting for me at the train station. We rode in their car (a BMW!) to Vila do Conde, the cutest little seaside town ever! The beach is pretty intense though, it looks a lot like pacific beaches, you probably wouldn't swim in it because of the waves. There are tons of little cafes and Porto is about 45 minutes by comboio (train).

Tomorrow I'm going to meet with the principal and do some paperwork for my school. I really want to go soon and start meeting people....

well, here are some pictures from the week.