Eu estou muita animada!

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I still have almost a full month before I leave for Brazil, but I am SO excited I can barely sleep. Looks like I've got a long wait ahead of me 😉

I'm guessing mostly my family and friends will be reading this, but in case anyone else does (I am superbly awesome, haha) here is my background with Brazil thus far. I first went to Brazil winter of 2005 and spent a little less than a month there with my then Brazilian boyfriend. We spent most of our time in his home city of Sao Paulo but we spent New Year's week in Rio and another week in Campinas. I have been to what are considered some of world's most brilliant cities, but nothing compared to Rio. I really fell in love with it. Since I left I have only thought of going back as soon as possible. Actually, my love for Brazil has become somewhat of an obsession. Everything about Brazil is intoxicating and my dream is live there when I graduate college in the US.

I'm fortunate to be only a month away from stepping foot onto Brazilian soil and back with meu gente (my people). I will be taking classes at a university in Rio, although I'm not sure which ones yet, and staying with a host family. Really, excited does not even begin to cover how I feel right now. Yes I am a bit nervous, in a fabulous way that is making my breath short! I have traveled internationally quite a bit but never alone. I'm glad for being a "linguistiholic" because I am already well versed in Portuguese (hopefully will be fluent by the time I leave Brazil) and consider myself fluent in gramatically correct Spanish. I've taken two semesters worth of courses about dechipering linguistic differances among same language cultures. I will pick things up pretty fast I think. In general I really can't get enough of languages!

Ciao

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