Oi Galera,
After being here just over two months, I can finally say I feel settled, and knowing that I’m going to be here for a year no longer fills me with fear, but excitement. Now that I’m reaching a halfway point in the semester I’ve given myself time to reflect upon what I’ve learnt so far. The biggest change I’ve seen has without a doubt been in the level of my Portuguese language. At the start of my exchange here I struggled with confidence and the local accent, now I am assured that I can have not only a conversation, but also an in depth conversation with a Brazilian and they understand almost everything I say! I’m even starting to make jokes, which is great, as I no longer seem like the sad English girl who can’t say anything.
Although I’ve seen a huge amount of progress in my Portuguese, just recently I’ve started to see it stagnate, which is something I plan to work on. Some advice I would give those going on any kind of year abroad would be to do your best to put extra practice into speaking the language, and not just relying on the fact that your speaking it every day. Although you will improve just by speaking everyday, keep up the extra grammar and vocab learning, get on the Duolingo app, GAME CHANGER, wow never thought I’d say that…
At the beginning of the month we had a Brazilian ‘feriados’ which is the equivalent of a bank holiday. Here, these usually fall on Thursday which means Brazilians just like to take the Friday off as well because it’s ‘basically the weekend’. This poses great opportunities to travel, and as I have no lessons on Tuesday afternoons or Wednesdays I decided to take this opportunity to visit a friend of mine studying in Buenos Aires. I was able to get a rare direct flight from Florianopolis, which took two hours, even got a complimentary ‘lanche’, always a plus. The week I spent there was amazing although I quickly realised all the Spanish I learnt at A-level has quickly turned into an incomprehensible ‘portañol’, rather unpleasant on the ear. The week was spent sightseeing, catching up with my friend and indulging far too much on Argentinian wine. On the Friday we took a ferry to ‘Colonia del Sacramento’, which is world heritage site in Uruguay. Imagine your classic Brittany ferries, damp, cold 2 hour crossing, ending up in a place that resembled Normandy, but with a few extra palm trees, not quite what I imagined. I plan to go to Montevideo in Easter, which is the capital of Uruguay; I’m expecting bigger and better things frankly.
Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires
After returning to Brazil, I experienced my first bout of homesickness. Maybe it was staying with my friend from home for a week, whom I’ve know since I was eleven, which reminded me of my sweet, sweet north Devon. However there are many more highs than there are lows, and a quick trip to the beach with my friends soon made me feel 100x better. If you’re going on your year abroad I’d encourage you to keep in mind that its not fun and games 100% of the time, although it can often seem like that on social media etc. A week later a friend I’d made in Buenos Aires, whose next destination was Floripa, came to visit me for a week. We went on a mini road trip, hiring a car for 120 Reais (about £30), for two days and drove up to ‘Bombinhas’, a seaside town in the north of the state. Safe to say I was not driving, didn’t want to take any chances, as driving in England isn’t exactly my strong suit. Although people have different ideas about travelling whilst on your year abroad, I would really recommend you do it, especially if you’re in South America as it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and relatively cheap even if your on a budget (think hostels and long bus journeys).
Bombinhas, Santa Catarina
Even travelling to a place just two hours away felt like a completely different part of the country, despite distance-wise being the equivalent of a weekend trip from Soton to Essex, except a bit more exotic. Got many things planned for October, bet you all can’t WAIT to hear about it!
Tchau for now,
Polly x