Day 12- Sabado 28/5/11

A birthday party! Somebody in the family was throwing a birthday party, so I got to experience a birthday Portuguese style. It was different than what I was use to because I felt like I was the one having the birthday. The birthday girl was the one bringing all the guests food, drinks and etc. She was not having people shower gifts on her, but she just wanted to keep her guests happy. Everyone was so nice! We ended up talking a lot about our homes. I showed them my houses on google earth and we used google translate and I told them all about the states. They had a million questions and I learned a lot. One of the guests was so interested in my culture, and we ended up having a long conversation through google about everything. He explained a lot about the Brazilian culture such as the festival, and the most famous cities to visit. Basically, it was a ton of fun to learn new things from each other. Everyone was shocked when I said that I have been driving since I was 16 years old. Most of them don’t even have a license to drive. In Brazil, parents are very protective of their children. In Europe and America we are a lot more liberal and encourage independence. This was one of the topics that we discussed. I learned a lot about the differences of both. The birthday song I could not follow, but it sounded like a lot of fun to sing. It was all so interesting!

As we were leaving they gave us tons of desserts and food to bring home. I was getting showered with food, it was overwhelming, but I love being overwhelmed with food. I had no idea how popular desserts are in Brazil. I can’t tell you what any of it is though, but it was all so good. My host dad asked me what food is native where I am from. To be honest, I drew a blank and I am still drawing a blank. So maybe one of you guys can help me… what food in America is native to where you live?! Everything that I can think of consists of fast food, or restaurants that are incorporating a different culture. I told them burgers were something that a lot of Americans eat, but other than that I could not give him a solid answer. I am ashamed of this. I know so much about the food everywhere else, but not at home.

Later that night I went out with a volunteer to eat and we just talked for a really long time at the square. It was mellow and just what we needed. The clubs were packed tonight because of the championship soccer game. We did not join in the festivities, but it was a crazy night to be out for sure. ESPN here is all about soccer and I love it.