Ashley’s Journals

October 7, 2025

Smiles, Laughs, and a lot of Love

Hi again! I can't believe it's already October, I've been in Brazil for over two months now. I'm really happy that the weather is finally warming up. During August and September, it was surprisingly colder than I was expecting but definitely not as cold as winter in Georgia.

The first thing that happened was the orientation for all the inbound students. It was really nice to be able to finally be able to meet and talk to the other exchange students. During the orientation they discussed rules, what to expect, and some upcoming trips. The orientation took place in Santos, so it was nice to see the beach even though we couldn't leave the hotel.

In September we had our first Rotex trip, it was a Downtown São Paulo trip, we went to some places around the city as a group.  We went to Ibirapuera park, and Beco do Batman. During our time in the park, we wrote a card to give to a stranger for September, mental health awareness month. At the end of the day I was exhausted from walking so much.

The week prior, I helped my exchange student friends to make food for a party for Mexican Independence Day. Even though I'm not the best cook, I tried my best to help, and I think the party was a success. After the party we walked together around the neighborhood, played tennis, and sat down on the grass to talk. A lot of exchange students from the other district came to the party and it was great to meet them all.

Last week my friend, and her family invited me to come to the beach with them over the weekend. I've already gone to the beach once with my host family, but it was really fun to go with my friend and her family again. It was perfect weather for the beach, hot and sunny. When we returned back on Sunday, I walked with my friend to the park nearby her house. The pond there had a bunch of cute turtles.

As I spend more time with my family I've noticed just how tight-knit and close they are. They have all shown me the same warmth making me feel as if I've always been a part of their family, and I couldn't be more touched by their love.

My Portuguese has definitely improved a lot, I can have a conversation using simple vocabulary and I can understand a lot. Speaking is still hard, most times I can understand what the other person is saying but l'm not sure how to formulate a response. As I've spent more time in Brazil, I feel like l'm definitely more adjusted and used to the way of life here. However there are definitely some things that need I'm still adjusting to, like later mealtime, and the use of different units.

One culture shock I want to share is the festivals and parties, there's always something to celebrate no matter the holiday or event there's always some kind of party or social gathering. Brazilians love to celebrate!

I think that's everything I want to document for the month of September and the beginning of October. Every day spent here teaches me something new, I can't wait to write again soon!

Até logo!