Another grand weekend

June 2nd, 2013

The weekend just happened. It is Sunday night, so tomorrow we gotta get back to work! But we will only be working on my little project. Also, only until noon. This weekend was great for me. I'm getting closer to all of these people. I'm becoming more confident. I feel like I belong with this crowd. ...which is new for me. Allison and I are great friends. We know each other. Natalie and I are getting closer too. And as of today... I'm pretty sure Noami and I are gonna be making more plans really soon. Friday was a special day for my confidence. We all spent the ENTIRE day lounging in hammocks and talking. We were playing pop quizzes. As in, one of us would ask a small pop quiz question like, "which planet has the longest year"... And everyone would try to answer it. But then the questions started to become more personal. The reason this day was so special for me is because it was agreed that I was the one who would be asking the questions. It is hard to describe... But it really seemed like everyone valued what I had to say. Constantly! This day was important to me. Elaborating more on this would only sound boastful... So I won't go on. But just know that this feeling continued throughout the whole weekend... And it really meant something to me. I feel comfortable here. Today we watched Brazil vs. England in Maria's house. All of us! End ended up being a tie, (2-2). I've missed soccer being in my life. Soccer has always been so important to me. Why did I let it go!? Friday night we all watched 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'. Some of us drank beers. We had fun! We watched it on Michael's laptop outside. Speaking of being outside, I haven't been inside of an enclosed building one time this trip other than our hotel in Brasilia. Air conditioning is not a thing. But mainly, we just stay outside. The room I sleep in is open to the outside. We shut the screen door at night, of course. Mom, Dad, sisters, Jode, Hayes- I'm thinking of y'all. Danielle and Kalynn- y'all too. I practiced Portuguese today after sleeping in until 7:30. Well, actually I did some computer work first. Then practiced speaking. I spoke with Noami over my morning coffee. She speaks English, Italian, Portuguese, French, and a Pygmy language from where she stayed in Africa. We talked about how and why... So I basically was a little inspired. Allison is a great teacher. Basically what is happening here is that I'm being inspired constantly throughout each day. By people who live and have lived all over the world. I want to go to Africa. I want to study apes. I want to study humans. I want to speak to people. I wanna be involved in conservation efforts. I think I want to LIVE all over, not just visit. So many doors are opening right now. I feel so positive. I can't tell if I feel so positive because doors are opening... Or if doors are opening because I'm being positive. Regardless, this trip is the best thing that has ever happened to me.