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Published: September 18th 2008
Hey all!!
I am really sorry about my delay on writing here... I have been CRAZY busy these past few weeks, such as orientation, staying with my cousins, and then finally with my family! First of all, my trip to NYC was really short, easy, and not too difficult. As for waiting for other AFSers and my room card... that was NOT fun. Besides that, I met some amazing people that were going to other countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Italy, and Spain! There are 11 other Americans in Portugal, and they all (of course) are younger than I, but they are all very kind and worldly. I am the ONLY Ohioan in the entire country (that I know of).. how cool is THAT!? Anyway, the flight to Portugal was sleepless, and I was so anxious to arrive in my new home!! Orientation was very intense, but the volunteers gave us very valuable information, and encouraged us to get out there and truly represent yourselves as well as become completely immersed into the culture as much as possible. I am loving it here so far! I stayed with my cousins (who live near my family) ... my uncle, César, his wife & my aunt Placinda, and their two kids, João (boy, 14) and Bruna (girl, 9). They were very kind to me, showed me around town as well as cities near our town (Guia, in the district of Pombal!): Coimbra, Figuiera da Foz, and Lisboa. I had a lot of fun with them 😊. Then, this past Saturday, I finally saw my family! They are very funny people, and their son, Acácio hold a reputation at the school I go to as really jokster, and really goofy! He graduated from school this past year, and is now going to a small university in Porto Alegre (about 20+ mins away from our home). He will be majoring in Environmental Science and Engineering.. he wants to make a difference in the world! My sister Dainela, who is also 14, is very kind, honest, and helpful to me while I have been adjusting to the culture and language more. She also goes to the school I am attending, which is comforting. My cousins also go to our school! I started school 2 days ago... and so far, its been bittersweet... I really like my classmates, they are funny, and extremely welcoming to me when I first started Tuesday. They are also very touchy feely people, which is okay I suppose.. I just need to adjust... Portugal cannot adjust to me! But the only issue is the lanugage because I barely know any right now. But with time, this will fall into place and I know I won't want to leave! Portugal is really beautiful.. I can't wait to post photos! My camera has been failing me 😞.. plus I need to buy an adapter XP. I hope people are reading this because it is very hard for me to get internet... and this takes a lot of time for me to write down too! I really want to share my sad, exciting, crazy, and difficult moments with you...
I miss you all so much, and never forget how much I love you all too 😊
BEIJINHOS!! (little kisses)
Claire "Clara"
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Neysa Dominguez
non-member comment
Go Claire!!!!!
That's so great that you made it to Portugal safe and sound! Your family sounds wonderful and I hope you feel as at home as you can thousands of miles away :p. How are the weather, food, people? Have fun for me, alas I am finally off to OSU definitely not as great as Portugal. But keep the blogs coming and good luck!!!! ~ te amo~ Neysa