I'm baaaaack

Ok, so I know I haven't been good at posting thus far, so here's trying to make up for it...

My first 2 weeks in New Orleans were really busy all the time, with orientations and being social in a big group of people... so it was hard to find alone time. I'm used to having a lot of alone time so it was something I had to learn to do without. I started having more one-on-one conversations which helped, and by this point I feel totally comfortable with everyone in the group, so I'm good in groups now. That's why I was not writing before, but I feel more at ease now.

New Orleans is amazing, not sure if I expressed that enough yet. The people are relaxed and it's easy to find your way around the city after a couple of days. We rode the ferry back and forth which was pretty fun, although I'm not sure we had to do it twice. We went on site visits and had lectures and learned about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

So, now I'm in São Paulo! I live in a really nice apartment with a great host family - a mom and two twin girls aged 12, plus another girl from my program. I love living with a host family because it gives me a bit of peace after the school day - unlike when we were in the hostel with 6-8 in a room. They all speak good English, in fact, my host mom actually studied at UCLA! Small world. I, on the other hand, speak no Portuguese. This makes ordering in restaurants quite interesting - but I have a master plan - point to something on the menu and hope someone brings me some food. Works every time.

São Paulo is huge!!!! Like, the 5th largest city in the world. It's a giant sprawl of highr-rise buildings and not so much green space from what I've seen so far. So... I get lost. I can't even get to school from my house without my wonderful roommate to help me. It's pretty much a straight shot, but I just get all turned around... In fact, right now different groups of people from our program are out having fun on this fine Friday night, but I'm way to scared to leave my house without my roommate (who is currently in bed with a migraine) because I know I won't be able to find my way back home. But it's okay, because I have to get up early tomorrow morning to spend a weekend at a country house. It will be all of us, plus another 2 girls and their host family, who, surprisingly, also have 12-year-old twin girls. So it should be relaxing and fun.

And boy do we need to relax! Our program keeps us really busy. We usually have class from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Today we even had class from 9-7. How am I supposed to experience the city on this kind of schedule? We have so many obligations... site visits, papers, projects, lectures, readings, spending time with host families, trying to find a spare minute to go out, calling parents back home... It's a lot to keep on top of. But we're managing. Somehow. I'll get a head start on next week's homework so that I can walk around a bit after class. That way I might get to know the city well enough to be out on my own in the evenings (or just at all, in case I'm ever alone during the day). It's safe here, especially on our street. And it's really fun taking the public transportation, and so crowded! My friend from Beijing said he felt nostalgic riding the subway, because we were all packed in so we couldn't move.

This experience is teaching me a lot more about how to be observant in a city in a way that I'd never thought about before. Like, why is there graffiti? Where is it? Who made it? What do the neighbors think? Is it art or is it vandalism? Does it show that people are more integrated or more separated from society? There can be many different answers.

Hmm, what else do you want to know? Well, we each have to do an independent project that compares all of the cities we'll be going to. A pretty tough assignment! I'm doing mine on public restrooms. I know, I know, people feel uncomfortable with the subject, but I think it's really important. The kinds of questions I'm looking at are...
1. Where are public restrooms located?
2. Does it cost money to use them?
3. Is there a stigma surrounding their use?
4. Do the people who clean them feel appreciated and well-paid?
5. What is the design? Why is it like this?

etc., etc,. etc., I won't go into too much detail about this here right now.

Ok, well I kind of have a cold and I have to get up early tomorrow so I think I'll sign off for now. I promise to keep writing good posts from now on!

(As for the tag line situation, I'll just have to choose a different one from each country. So....)

Tudo bem (means, "everything's ok")
Emily

PS: I really super promise to post tons of pictures next time!!