Video Journal update!

So I know I haven't been updating...almost at all on this blog. But I have put together a few video updates on my youtube channel. www.youtube.com/saraz513. And so I figured I would put those links here! At least while I have some updates ready, hopefully I will start writing more on this blog, but here are a few things to keep you in the know of my exchange!
I will post the links here to the videos that actually have to do with exchange, if you go to my youtube channel, you can see a few other videos, friend/birthday shoutout, from Brasil also, but not exactly updates about how I'm doing here.

From oldest (beginning of my exchange) to newest (closer to now...):

1st:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpo-VbbKOKw

2nd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y92ikwCwkuE

3rd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ECpc39e4s

4th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faBC92CmEAY

5h:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOy2THVIklg

6th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqoRsGB4fHI

7th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTPshZixIdE

8th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2my6K9VhOyA

9th:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB-BOy4nm3E

(Be sure to rate them 5 stars and leave me a comment!)

Hey well look at that...9 videos! That's better than I thought I did...hehe. Hope you enjoy! And I know I've said all this before...but I really will try to update more! So check back every week for something new!
God bless!
~Sara

My mailing address!

I can't believe I haven't posted this before...and yes it will change when I move families, but I'll put up that new address then and I'll still get it if it's mailed here after I moved...
MY ADDRESS!!!


Sara Zwink
praca coronel hermongenes 57 ap 1001
joao pinheiro, MG, Brasil
38770-000

Yes that means I'm hoping for some mail now...it really really means a lot to me, as an exchange student its one of the best things about exchange.

Obrigada!
Sara

First two weeks!!! (Kinda....)

Oh my goodness...Now when you're warned that your exchange will fly bye....boy do they mean it. When I just arrieved, which feels like maybe 3 days ago, not 14. I met Caroline, one of the other exchange students in my town, she said she'd been here for 2 weeks. That sounded so long to me! But now I've been here two weeks. I don't even know what to say...



(JUMP FORWARD TO ONE MONTH and some odd days...)



Okay, computer still not fixed...but I use my families a few times a week. :) The internet in my town is suuuuper slow, so I don't get that many pictures up, but you should see some, check out my myspace or facebook if I have you as a friend. :)



I figured I'd tell you about my normal day here! First my alarm goes off at 6am, I hit snooze for another 10mins :) Finally get out of bed, look out my 10th story window over downtown Joao Pinheiro, can't believe that I'm looking out of a 10th story window over downtown JP in BRAZIL, thank God for everything, get ready for school...usually my brother has to knock on my door and hold the elevator for me because they I run to the kitchen and grab a banana and crackers for breakfast, which I eat on the way to school, on a bus. :) Then school from 7am to 12:30, take the bus home for lunch, sit down with aaallll of my family, my mom and dad, brother Joao Gabriel (17 yrs old, go to school with him) Joao Carlos (older and moved out bro) sister Gabriel and her husband, and their baby Thomas (also moved out). :D It's quite an affair, I have another sister, my Rotary Counselor, but she has lunch with her family. I lived with her for my first 10 days because her parents, my host parents, were traveling. Then I usually nap or get on the computer until 1:40 when Carol (the exchange student here from Denmark) picks me up and we walk to school. Then at 5:20 school's out and I either walk home with friends or take the bus home. :D

Then, well it totally depends. On Monday night at 6 my whole family has a Bible study then dinner, I love that :). Even though they all speak Portuguese and I don't understand most of it, it's still a very nice time. On Wednesday nights I have a Rotary meeting, from 8-whenever you're done eating lol. I'll explain the meetings another, man are they different then the ones back home.

And JUMP FORWARD TO 6 1/2 MONTHS.... So, as you can tell...TIME SURE FLIES!!! That above chapter of my life, was my first 3 months here...figure I might as well post it...and try to update you about what's happened for the last 3 months of my life...if I don't get to, I'm sorry!

God bless!

~Sara

I JUST HAVE TO SAY!!!

Lack of updates on how I am doing is due to the fact that my computer decided to be mean and mess up on me a few days into my exchange...hopefully it will be fixed soon...probably not. So in the mean time I do not get online that often, seeing as I have to use someone elses computer and I do not like to impose. So I am sorry! Brazil is going really really well, no worries! I am having a blast and thank you all for your prayers and support! I will try to do an update about my first 2 weeks here soon...but do not count on it...

God bless!
Sara

FINALLY! My itinerary and departure date!

As just about all of my friends have said...FINALLY! I finally have my departure date, I finally have my itinerary, and I'm finally getting there! Just 4 more days! Here's my itinerary! :

Itinerary For Sara Katherine Carrier Zwink

08/13/2009

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE TRAVEL ITINERARY

AIR: 20 AUG 09 THURSDAY

ALASKA FLT: 110 CONFIRMED NONSTOP

LV:ANCHORAGE INTL AT: 100A MILES - 1448

AR:SEATTLE AT: 520A

WASHINGTON

AIR: 20 AUG 09 THURSDAY

DELTA FLT:1056 CONFIRMED NONSTOP

LV:SEATTLE AT: 825A MILES - 2182

AR:ATLANTA AT: 415P

GEORGIA

FOOD TO PURCHASE-MOVIE

AIR: 20 AUG 09 THURSDAY

DELTA FLT: 105 CONFIRMED NONSTOP

LV:ATLANTA AT: 925P MILES - 4653

AR:SAO PAULO/GRU AT: 800A ON 21 AUG

SAO PAULO

DINNER-MOVIE

AIR: 21 AUG 09 FRIDAY

TAM MERIDION FLT:3338 CONFIRMED NONSTOP

LV:SAO PAULO/GRU AT:1210P MILES - 307

AR:BELO HORIZONTE AT: 113P

MINAS GERAIS

SNACK

As it happened, I wasn't the one to see the email first. In fact, I was in Seward camping with friends, and the morning of our last day, I got a call from Stacey, my YEO...me:"Hi Stacey how's it going?" Stacey: "I'm looking at an itinerary right now" me: "................" Stefan my friend "Breath Sara, breath" me: "Stacey, when do I leave???????" Stacey: "Next week, the 20th, Thursday morning about 1am" me: "I have a week!.....oh my gosh I only have a week........" The rest of my friends "wow Sara you leave in a week!!! Darn....we're gonna miss you!!!"

And then I started breathing again. Right away I called my family. One of my brothers, Andy, picked up the phone, me: "I'M LEAVING IN A WEEEEEEK!!!!!!!" Andy: " Well I'm leaving in about 15mins for the next two weeks for a job..." me: "Wait you'll be gone? I won't see you for a year!!! *sad*" Andy: "Oh well. See ya" And he passes the phone to my mom....that's my brother for you. :) I talk to mom, and call my dad and share the news. We're all excited...and stressed....and nervous.

(Thankfully as it turned out Andy my brother came back from work yesterday, because they had to stop the job he was working due to the generator blowing....or something like that haha) So I get to see him before I leave!

So....here I am, this will probably be my last pre-exchange blog....I can't believe it's really here! I've known for about 9 months....and when they tell you those months fly by....boy do they mean it. It feels like it was only 3 months ago I found out I was accepted as an exchange student. I don't have much more to say, for once I, Sara Zwink, am speechless.

Obrigada, God bless, tchau!

~Sara

ANOTHER Rotary Weekend??? :)

ROTARY DISTRICT 5010 CONFERENCE! Talkeetna, Alaska 2009!

This was the second Rotary weekend for all the 09-10 outbounds! Well let me rephrase that....for Frances, Kirstin, Kate, Carly, Angie, Saraya, and me, the only outbounds who decided to attend! (This one was not mandatory) Because this wasn't an ordinary RYE weekend, this was the whole 5010 District Conference for the Rotarians of the whole district! Which by the way ranges from the Yukon/Eastern Canada, all of Alaska, and the Western section of Russia! That's right, I will be an exchange student from the LARGEST DISTRICT IN THE WORLD! Thank you very much.

So basically us seven didn't have a real schedule planned.... :) We camped, we walked, we helped the inbounds (who stayed at the Talkeetna Lodge with EVERYONE else and DID have a schedule) clean a park and do their service project, we had fun. :D Let me just sum it up here.....we sold balloons for 10 bucks each (you gotta love Rotarians...and their spending!) We didn't really have a bedtime or rules.....the weekend was awesome! But here I am, August 14th and I'm just getting around to finishing this post for my blog...let me just close this one off and let you know what's really going on now about my exchange!

Obrigada! God Bless :) Tchau.

~Sara

Shall We Catch Up A Little?

It's already June. I see that my plan to post every month before my exchange didn't turn out so well...and here I am, just two short months away from leaving!

  So then, what have I been up to?  Well....I currently am in the midst of finishing my visa paper work...(ugh). And that whole 'learning Portuguese' thing is....coming along well. *cough cough* Okay, so really I admit that I haven't been working as hard as I should be, I know this, but I'm trying! And lately I've actually been trying harder and learning more! 

 Recently I've been going through different emotions whenever I think about my exchange, because while I'm still really really excited, I'm starting to get a little nervous! I mean it's a big deal here people! Also it's just a little sad to think about the year I'll miss here....*ahem* let me just list a few things...'Shaelaurel@ the Alaska State Fair, the Alaska State Fair in general!, Halloween&Christmas&NewYears...aka the holidays, April's (my BESTfriend!) Graduation, MY graduation! lol, April's 18th birthday....etc' BUT!!!! Oh well... so what? There will be more fairs, more holidays, more graduations and birthdays...and just think, while I'll miss things here, as will every exchange student miss events back home, I'll have even BIGGER&GRANDER&MORE MEMORABLE&EXCITING TIMES ON EXCHANGE!!! All will be good. :D

 So for now, I'll just keep working on Portuguese, put together my presentation for my home&host Rotary clubs, AND ENJOY MY SUMMER!!! 

 Obrigada! (thanks!) God bless, tchau! (bye!)

~Sara

 

All the Outbounds got their picture taken before their interview 

at the Shussout...we're all holding up our name-tags and wearing the mandatory green shirts....Oh yeah thanks RYE. Because none of us knew that it's going to be the picture used for our 'business' cards on exchange. Love that. Haha 

This is right when I found out that I'm going to BRASIL! (At the banquet.)...Told you I was freaking out!!

It's all just the beginning.

And so the countdown begins. Just 5 short months more and I start a whole new chapter of my life, the 'Rotary Youth Exchange in Brazil' chapter. :-) And while that's good and exciting, quite an important part of my exchange will be those 5 months leading up to my departure. Seriously, preparing oneself to be embraced in a whole new culture, accomplishing as much school work as possible, oh and let's just throw in learning a new language...Portuguese no less! And trust me, these months will fly by! It's already MARCH! It seems like just last week that I got back from the Winter Orientation Shussout with all the Rebounds, Inbounds, and fellow Outbounds. It was back in mid-January, the first 2 days were spent worrying about our interviews and what country we're being sent to. Then Friday night was the Country Assignment Banquet,...or more like the most terrifying, exciting, and speechless (for once on my part) night of any of our lives. Because that night, us Outbounds found out what countries we were going on exchange in.

They didn't just inform us, oh no that's not hard enough. 'Let's show a slide show in front of everyone, going through each Outbound one at a time'. They would show our name, of course all the letters scrabbled around just to confuse of further, then our picture, then the flag of the country we're going to. Now that of course was fun, or at least it would have been if you weren't 3rd to last like I was! Do you know how hard it was for me to wait through almost everyone, and see every country that I had wanted to go on exchange in be handed out to a different Outbound? Because at that time we didn't know that 2 Outbounds were actually going to Brazil, and one had already been assigned there before my name was announced. So I was sitting, recording on my camera everyone's reactions to what country they were going to....of course the footage is horrible because I was freaking out and shaking....haha really I wasn't doing to well waiting for my name to be called! All in all though it was an AMAZING night! I'll never forget the moment I saw my name, my picture, and the Brazilian flag pop up on the screen...I turn to look at Felipe, Caroline, and Bruna (the three Brazilian Inbounds)...and there they were jumping and screaming just for me. ♥♥ ♥ Interestingly enough I had become good friends with them before even finding out that I'd be going to Brazil!! Of course then after the banquet they gave us time to go and call our families, the one's who hadn't come to the banquet, and let them know what country we're going to. I vividly remember calling my family, and my mom being so excited and telling the rest of my family "She's going to Brazil!!!!" The rest of the weekend we spent learning about the RYE as a whole, and just got to know each other. I know I personally made some amazing friends, and hopefully life long ones, and  it's just the beginning. Good times. 

So for now, for March, I'll be learning as much as possible. I'll let you know how it's all going and update you in April! Also a little fact as to how I decided on the name of my blog.... I've noticed that when I comment on Facebook/Myspace about my exchange I tend to say something along the lines of 'Yay, I'm going to BRASIL BABY!!!!'... I thought it was appropriate to name my blog that. :-) Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and I'm glad to share my experience with you! Let me know if you have any questions at all. 

Thanks! God bless. Tchau. ~Sara

For all you that aren't familiar with the RYE lingo here you are:

RYE- Rotary Youth Exchange

Outbound- someone who's going on exchange this coming year

Inbound- someone who's here on exchange from another country
Rebound- someone who went on exchange the previous year.