More life; and the ever-changing schedule

Actually, we didn´t end up going to the beach, so all the time you were imagining me at the beach, it wasn´t happening-- it´s ok though... :) we´ll go later. We didn´t end up going because my host parents had trouble getting a hold of the lady that comes to clean the appartment before they come (they haven´t been to the appartment in several months so it´s really dirty) by the time they got a hold of the lady, it was too late in the day. apparently you have to go in the morning (who knew?) I am excited about the rotary weekend though... that is sure to happen, too, cause the rotary is really on the ball.

Instead of going to the beach, we just hung out here at the appartment, which was perfectly OK. We went swimming in the appartment pool, watched a movie, and I went to the mall with my sister Duda and a friend. So, it was not in the least bit lacking, just not according to plans. :)

Today I saw a lizard about as long as the palm of my hand, which was near the appartment building, outside. That was my Marty Stalfer moment of the week. Other than that, none to report, because Recife is such a big city there´s not much wildlife to go around. That´s one thing I miss-- nature-- I really like to just walk around outside and see the sky. That´s kind of hard to do here. There was a full moon though, yesterday, which was very beautiful.

Concerning school, which is always a frontier full of new developments, my schedule will be changing yet agin! I seriously believe that organizaing a college schedule here is like herding cats. Today I couldn´t go to my portuguese class, because I went with Cate the Canadian and her host mom and sister to the technical university on a tour. It turns out her host dad is the director of the university, and the university is very good, just different from the UFPE. It has alot of courses in mechanics, engineering, sciences, etc. It also has tourism, which is what Cate and I will do I believe. This course includes many different areas of study (theory of tourism, languages such as english, spanish, and portuguese. history of Brazil, Art History, management, statistics, etc. ) Also, I believe that the class takes some trips around Pernambuco to better know the region.

The only problem with this is that my painting class is also during this time-slot, so I have to choose. I can´t skip either class. Overall, it would seem more enjoyable to take various courses at the UFPE, and make my own schedule, however, I talked to my family about this situation, and they think it would be better for me to go to CEFET(pronounced seh-feh-tee) (the technical university that has the tourism class) for a number of reasons. First- I will have class every day guaranteed- which is better. I will also have class with all the same people, so it will be easier to make friends that if I had a potpourri of classes from the UFPE. Also, this class is an actual program for which I will get some kind of diploma, as opposed to just an assortment of classes. Also, my schedule can be synchronized with Cate´s, which would be nice for both of us. Although I can´t continue with the painting class, I can do other things. I might want to take lithography (available in the mornings) one or two days a week. I also have the option of taking guitar lessons at a place not far from the appartment (maybe- we are going to look into this) I think this will be the better solution in the long run. The only problem is that classes at CEFET don´t start until sept. 15! that´s one month! In the meantime, I think I will take my portuguese class, as well as maybe lithography and guitar lessons... this is all tentative. :)

In addition to this, today was exciting because Iga Pauline- the exchange student from poland who is staying with Marcela and Eduarda (friends in the appartment) arrived! we went to pick her up at the airport and I got to re-live my arrival experience. Also we ate Açai at the airport- it was very good! Iga is very cool- she doesn´t speak any portuguese at all, but she does speak english, so I was helping translate. Marcela does speak english, but she will be leaving on friday as an exchange student to the US: Pensylvania-- and nobody else in the family speaks english. (they deffinately don´t speak polish either). This could be interesting-- I am going to help them as much as I can. Iga is very nice, though, and I´m sure she´ll learn portuguese quickly once she starts school. :)