Life.

Someday, I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.
Wouldn't it be great if we all thought this. We all know we are going to die someday, so why not live your life like you are going to die tomorrow. We can only live for the moments we are given, so why not make those moments count, why not make those moments so amazing that you can't forget them, why not make those moments something you are proud of. 

By doing this program, I have been called crazy, stupid, brave, courageous, daring, determined, stupid, and many more things. But, by doing this program, I have learned more about the world, about myself, and about cultures than I ever would have if I was still in Florida. 

I can't even express how grateful I am for this opportunity. 

I can't even express how grateful I am for everything I have been given.

Rest in peace Tomas. You were one of us. Always were, always will be. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. You will never be forgotten. I didn't personally know you, but I have friends who did, we are all connected. We are 

a family and stick together. We love you and you will greatly missed. ♥ Rest in Peace. You don't know what tomorrow holds for you, so live in the moment. Always say "I love you". Live with no regrets. Never say " I wish I did that". Do what you want, because in the end, it's your life. You have the choice to make it good or bad. Tomas has made an impact on all of us, even if we didn't know him personally. We have all gotten closer, and also realized what we have and what we have been given. Don't take it for granted.

People from all over the world, from all different countries, speaking all different languages, and living very, very different lives have been touched by one person. 

So I challenge you all who read my blog, or even if you just look at the pictures, live like you were dying. 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year?

Sweet Serendipity. 

Genuine.

So I went to Dortmund yesterday with a bunch of friends and this picture just happened to turn up by means of obviously somebody taking it. I am very grateful that that person took this picture because this picture means the world to me right now, and will be cherished by me for the rest of my life. 

My friend Cauê commented on this picture and said:
"esse é o tipo de foto que vai dar uma saudadeeee depois kkkk"

Yes, I know it's in Portugese, and yes I will tell you exactly what it means. 
It's along the lines of "This is the kind of picture that will make you miss it after." 

It really really will. I can't even describe how much the people in this picture mean to me, especially the girl i am hugging. It is truly indescribable. Just thinking about it makes me tear up. Because I know that after these next 2 weekends, I leave for London, and then we go to Deutschland tour and then Maria moves out. My life will change dramatically. It really really will. Yes, we have our separate friends, and we have our separate times, but she has become my sister, so I just expect her to be home when I come home. She is supposed to always be there. I have become used to having her always with me. It will be a very hard time. I also know soon that after she moves, she will then be on her third and last family, which means that her exchange will end soon. January, to be exact. It's going to be a very hard time. 

This is genuine friendship. There are people who are part of your life, who you are best friends with, but not people you can live with. Maria and I have lived together from the moment we met. There was no option. It was happening whether we had liked each other, or hated each other. Needless to say, we have become the closest and best of friends, obviously. There was nothing we could hide from each other. It was truly a sisterhood like no other. Our bad habits, our morning breath, our lovely late night snack cravings. Everything was out there. It's been really great. I know I've said this before, but it had to have been fate; us being put in the same house. Because this doesn't happen. Everybody I have talked to has asked us why, or how, and we never have an answer because it doesn't happen. It really doesn't. So this was meant to happen. It was meant to be. We will always be friends. Always and forever. 

I hope that our friendship is one that people look at and say, wow, I wish I had a friendship like theirs. I am my complete and total self around her. She is my best friend here, and definitely one of my best friends in this whole world. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost her. Or even, in January, when she goes back to Brasil. It's truly heart wrenching. I wish we had a longer amount of time, but we don't. There was one thing she said one time "17 years wouldn't be a long enough time to be your sister." This is a bond that I can't even explain, but it is very true, and very strong. 

We sit and look at the little river run through Menden. We laugh at the wrong times, yes dinner included. We talk about everything. We have gummi bear and beer picnics. We roll down the side of hills. We walk home from school. We ask each other if we look okay. We have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. We are honest with each other. We share music. We say the same things, at the same time. We go to concerts. We go to parties. We spend almost every minute of every day together. There's just too long of a list to even keep going. I hope that someday, this is a friendship I can tell my children and my grandchildren about, and they can get to know their Brasilian siblings. 

 "immer mit dir"

I have now realized that you have to cherish every moment you have. Every moment you are given. Every moment you experience something new. Every day is an adventure. Every day is a new morning. Every day is something that you can share with somebody. Learn something new. Do something different. Live life spontaneously. I have learned so much here, I apply it in my life always. I am so excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for me, but I don't want time to pass by so quickly. It already has been. So take a moment everyday to think about what you've accomplished to get where you are today. What you've overcome to be who you are. Look at where you are. 

I listened to this song while writing this today, and this song is so very true to me right now. To my friends right now. Give it a listen. The link is at the bottom. 


                                                               "93 Million Miles"
                                                                   Jason Mraz

93 million miles from the Sun, people get ready get ready,
'cause here it comes it’s a light, a beautiful light, over the horizon into our eyes
Oh, my my how beautiful, oh my beautiful mother
She told me, "Son in life you’re gonna go far, and if you do it right you’ll love where you are
Just know, that wherever you go, you can always come home"

Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh…

240 thousand miles from the Moon, we’ve come a long way to belong here,
To share this view of the night, a glorious night, over the horizon is another bright sky
Oh, my my how beautiful, oh my irrefutable father,
He told me, "Son sometimes it may seem dark, but the absence of the light is a necessary part.
Just know, you’re never alone, you can always come back home"

Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh…

You can always come back…back…

Every road is a slippery slope
There is always a hand that you can hold on to.
Looking deeper through the telescope
You can see that your home’s inside of you.

Just know, that wherever you go, no you’re never alone, you will always get back home

Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh…

Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh…
Ohh…ohh…ohh…

93 million miles from the Sun, people get ready get ready,
'cause here it comes it’s a light, a beautiful light, over the horizon into our eyes…

You willl always be my sister, Maria Carolina Martins do Amaral.
Ich liebe dich. I love you forever. 
Immer mit dir.



Sweet Serendipity. 

My Story is Unwritten < watch this

Sweet Serendipity.

Rotex Wochenende.

This weekend, was so very very great. I had an amazing time getting to know the other inbounds in my district. We all got so very close. It was an incredibly fast bonding time. We all have made such great memories. 

On Friday, we all arrived and had some dinner. After that we had a candlelight talk with our fellow friends and some Rotex members. We talked about our exchange and some troubles and some great times. We then just had free time. So obviously, nobody went to sleep until maybe 3 or 4. Then, on Saturday, we woke up early, showered, and then went on a tour around Hagen and The Ruhr River, It was so beautiful. We went to this giant pyramid thing at the top of a mountain (that we had to climb) yes, nobody told us we were doing this, so I climbed this mountain in my Toms. Yep, successful day. We also visited the largest mansion in Germany, which was very very cool, and so very beautiful. We went to the river front and walked on a walkway in the middle of the water. It was awesome! Then Saturday night, we had a big party with all of us, it was really cool. Being completely honest with you, they sold beer, but of course no other alcohol was allowed. It's just a cultural thing here. But its so cool, because our Rotary here in Germany, allows the Rotex members to give us beer, because it is part of German culture, so it was perfectly allowed. So we partied and danced all night long, and if you were lucky you got about an hour of sleep. So on Sunday, we had to wake up early and clean everything up of course. Everybody had to leave by 11. So we then were on our way home, we sat down to a nice cake and coffee session and then quickly had to leave by 1. We went to a giant lake and had some spaghetti eis and sat by the see. It was a beautifully perfect day. After sitting for a while, we went to a really great restaurant for dinner. I RODE IN A PORSCHE! It was the coolest thing! It really was. 

This weekend was perfect, and I couldn't be happier here. 

Everything here is so very great, and so very nice. 

I love it.

Everybody, and me in the middle, nothings changed. 

Wiley and Leonard. Texas and Germany.

Me and Marcela!

Caroline and I !

Maria and I !

Sweet Serendipity.

This is the Beginning.

 

School has started, the first few days were so very easy; partly because we had 
no classes due to our schedules not being made yet. But, nonetheless I had made 
friends and had found some that I made during the holidays. Everybody here is so 
very nice. It's funny though, because sometimes people just stare at me. Kind of 
like an animal at the zoo. Those people aren't mean, they just don't know what 
to say when they talk to me really. I find it humorous though. Partly because I 
would just go and talk to someone, but nobody would approach me, initially. 

I take the train to and from school. I have been doing so much walking recently. 
It's great, but I know that when winter comes its going to be terrible. It's 
very very cold here in the mornings, and then warms up to about 75 F. So it's 
hard to dress in the mornings not knowing what the weather will be like. It also 
rains here. A lot. Like a lot a lot. So we always have an umbrella. 

On the weekend I went to a concert called Rumo Tripot- I really have no idea 
what that means. But it was so cool. We walked there (surprise). It was a 
concert with local bands from around the cities and they played in this big barn 
thing. With lights, and even a disco ball, a real one. The place itself was just 
really rustically cool looking. And old barn turned into a mess hall sort of. We 
had a great night and it ended at about 3am, we had to walk home because our 
host brother was still at another party. But it was funny because when he came 
home he apologized profusely. And we then stayed up the whole night and just 
talked and watched some German tv. Annika slept over that night too. But we 
didn't do much sleeping. Actually we didn't sleep at all. We also went on an 
adventure through the woods near our house. Max led us. He was the only one with 
some sort of flashlight. They were all scared but I wasn't. Of course not. The 
next day we had our first orientation here for district 1900. I met so many new 
friends and reunited with some old ones. Not very old, but some I had hung out 
with before. My host sister from Brasilia told me something that I will never 
forget. "even if I haven't made that many great German friends, I have so many 
more lifelong friends now. The best part? They all live all around the world, so 
I can go anywhere and have a place to stay, and a friend to show me around." it 
was such a great realization. It genuinely gave me goosebumps every time I 
thought about it. Granted, I've only been here for 3 weeks, but Maria has become 
my sister, and I know that we will be friends forever. She will always be there 
for me and I will always be there for her. This has been the fastest friendship 
and definitely one of the truest. 
Max has become my brother, he has taken care of me, and been there for me many 
times already. And very very sweet. Its definitely going to be very hard 
leaving. So far, so great. 

This week on Friday, we went to my friend Milan's house and slept over with a 
few other people. His house was built during WWII, and was a very special house. 
I am so lucky to have met him. We went over his friends house and played some 
games, one similar to mafia and tabu. It was such fun. At about 1, we went to 
Alex's house and watched Sherlock Holmes, but I fell asleep. And so did Maria. 
Then, we went back to Milan's and slept. The next morning we had breakfast and 
met his whole family. It was beautiful. Then Max came and picked us up and we 
went home. Later on Max invited me to his friend Timo's house and we had a 
barbecue and played monopoly until about 2am. We were tired and guess what, we 
had to walk home. Always happens. But we did and it was a nice walk, very cold 
though. Sunday morning was a lazy Sunday, Max and I woke up at about 12 and then 
had breakfast. My friend from soccer (Joelle) came and picked me up and then we 
went to the sportsplex for the festival and the opening games. It was so fun. We 
won our game 8-2. I scored the first goal off a corner kick. I kicked the actual 
corner and it went in. It was beautiful and a great moment at that. I felt so 
great, I really did. And my team was just so happy. 

Now it is Monday, and I am at school. We have created a game, similar to ping 
pong, that we play during our free periods. It is with a ping pong ball and some 
tables in the student rest center. Today we played with Antoine's shoes as 
paddles. It was so very funny. We have a good time at school. I don't mind so 
much coming to school here. I really feel like I learn something new everyday. 
Although, I don't understand much of anything people say, I can read it quite 
well. It's so relieving to be noticing my own progress. I know that my family is 
proud of me. I hope to be fluent in about 3 months. But my first month is almost 
over. I know that time is just flying by so very fast. I can't even imagine. 

Tomorrow I will go to Köln, for a Coldplay concert. It will be so great. I am 
sooooooo exited for it. Maria, Arcenio, and I will all go together. It should be 
really amazing. I'm still not sure if we will go to school on Wednesday though. 
Maybe. I hope not, we will be very, very tired. 

Also I'm writing this while at school. Great student right? 

Some other things I've noticed at school here. None of the teachers have 
computers, it's all done by paper still. Also, there are real blackboards, I've 
never seen one in a classroom, and now I have. It's very, very different here. I 
like it. The teachers are also really understanding, so everything will be good; 
I think.  We are also not allowed to use our phones at all. Period. No 
exceptions. And no gum either. It's not acceptable. 

I wish I could write and tell you everything about every day. But, I can't, 
there is just too much to say. I could elaborate on every little detail and 
every little moment, but that would be so very much. I am taking time wisely and 
enjoying every minute. I am not letting a day go by and say that I wish I had 
done that differently. I will make the most out of this year. I will make the 
most out of everything I do here.

P.S. I just found out that I will go to London at the end of this month! Oh my 
goodness. I feel so blessed and so overjoyed and so very very lucky! I am so 
excited! I can't even contain my excitement right now! I will go with my English 
class. We will visit the Westminster Abbey, Oxford, Kunst Museums, The Globe 
Theater, and so many more things. I will be there for one week. So so so so do 
so so cool! I am just so thankful for opportunities like this. I can't even 
begin to describe how I am feeling right now. Oh my goodness. 

Sweet Serendipity. 

How do you know?

How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one? How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one? How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears? How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone else was saying? How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world? How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it. How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one? How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished?. How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast? How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones. How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally? How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself? How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course? How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it? How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said “I am so far away”? How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends? How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted “ I love my country” holding a flag in your hands? How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one. How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours, to see what there was on the other side? How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home? How do you know the world, if you have never seen it through the eyes of a true citizen?

Observations.

Observations.
Things you notice.
Things you observe.
Things you pay attention to.

Observations are so intriguing. You watch how things can change or differ from what you know. Its so very interesting to make the connection of what is and what was. I have come to know things are not "weird" here, they are just different. And I am okay with that. But just so you all know, I am going to return wanting only carbonated water, coffee, cake, and bread. I don't think I've ever eaten so much coffee, cake, bread, and even carbonated water. Haaha.

Living here, in Germany, I have taken notice of so many things that are different from Florida. So, here it is.

They have no idea what a Band-Aid is. Yes, I did need one, or three.

No ice cubes. Anywhere.
Toilets have a button for more water or less water.
No air conditioning. Anywhere.
Water has gas; always. Water without gas is not an option. (gas = carbonation) 
but its called gas here?
All top level rooms have slanted ceilings. With slanted windows.
All houses have a minimum of three stories.
English is getting harder to remember every day.
Schiße is said so much.
Coffee and cake is an everyday thing. At any time. 
There is no "lunch time" it's eat something if you are hungry around 2. And then 
we will eat at 5. And then again at 7. 
If you say you like something it will automatically be purchased.
German people always want to know what the English word is. 
They also don't know the difference between many and much; it's quite funny to 
hear them go back and forth on what sounds right. 
They do whatever they please whenever they please.
Doors are always shut.
Windows are always open.
There is no "look" to an American, so nobody thinks I am american until they ask me a question I don't        know how to answer.  
There is also no "look" to a German.
Germans LOVE "How I Met Your Mother". I don't understand the fascination.
Beer is welcome at anytime of the day, at any meal. But, always served in a tall 
glass. No beer mugs, crazy huh?
Wine is also offered often. And you always say yes. 
It's always "hot" out, even when it is a cool 60 degrees f. 
Liederhosen is only worn by tourists...
There are heaters in every room.
They say "see you later, alligator". 
Bitte, Schön, und Genau are common words.
You're either catholic or you're catholic. 
An outside pool is found one in every 100 kilometers . An inside one, one in 
every 50 kilometers. 
They will always offer you food, coffee and water. And they get offended when you say 
no. 
They are the nicest and most welcoming people ever.
It is strange to smile at a stranger.
Cars can and will go up to 220kph.
If you go 120 on the autobahn expect to be in the far right lane. Everybody will 
pass you.
There are random bathrooms on the side of the autobahn. One about every 20km.
They love their eis. (ice cream). Especially spaghetti eis.
If you are on a bike and you don't move, they will run you over. Or just drive 
past you very close and very, very fast.
They can maneuver their cars very well and in very tight spaces at very high 
speeds.
Fußball is not for girls.
They take pride in their gardens and are envious of better ones.
There are no "free refills".
All taxis here are off-white Mercedes.
You are always offered a seat.
Some Germans can drink and drink and drink some more and be perfectly fine.

It is perfectly okay to say fuck and shit even in the most formal setting. Here, they are not "bad words" They are normal speech.

This is my list so far.