Host family...

This is the first blog post where I've actually had something to say, yet somehow it's harder to know what to say. Today, finally, I heard about my host family. Disclaimer here: most of what I know is what google is telling me, with a fair dose of wikipedia, so don't quote me.

So, I'll be living in Frederico Westphalen (the name sounds very German or something to me, apparently there were German, Polish and Italain immigrants) which is a smallish town (like about the size of Blenheim) in the very south of Brazil, in Rio Grande do Sul state. Thankfully this is not the hottest part of Brazil- at least in winter temperatures seem to be maybe similar to New Zealand, but it does get rather hotter in summer- things to look forward to... It looks from google maps to be quite close to the border with Argentina, but Brazil is so huge that might actually mean 10 hours drive, I don't really know. My family live in an apartment on the main road. I will be living with a mum and dad, and younger sister (I think she's 11), and there is also an older brother who is at uni, but visits home often. Um...what else do you want to know? I'm not really sure about my school, because the school they said I would be going to doesn't look like it's actually a school- more like the Brazilian equivalent of a polytech, so I'm talking to AFS about that...

I don't know how much I can say about my family- I only have the little profile thing they write, which doesn't actually say much. They seem nice... The list of their hobbies and interests was veeery long (and included SOCCER not football, just by the way). They are catholic, and I assume attend the cathedral that is 2 blocks from where they live. It's a very nice cathedral. I appreciate it's catherdralyness.

Sonja asked me to comment on the local monkeys, so I googled 'frederico westphalen monkeys', and found only that someone is selling a capuchin monkey baby for 1500 euros. Sorry Sonja. I will update you on the monkey situation when I arrive. On the subject of waterfalls, the website for the town has a picture of a waterfall, so they must be hiding one somewhere.

That's all I can think of to say for now... I'm excited. Perhaps it's beginning to feel a bit more real. These people who I've never met in my life want me to come and live with them. Isn't that a strange thought...

Tchau
Sophie