I wasn’t having any idea about what write today. Suddenly I remembered that I went to watch my little friend Sydney, 9 years old, play soccer. It is really cool that here in the United States soccer is a big sport with girls instead of boy like in Brazil. If you go to Brazil, don’t be surprised to see boys playing soccer most everywhere they can. Streets, neighborhood fields, everywhere they can play they will. I used to play for fun when I was a kid, even participated in some championships on my Dad’s team. But it is my brother that is the family’s soccer play, and I can honestly say that he is really very good in that. My Dad was always proud of him on the games, on the championships he would always be the player that most scored goals. My father and my brother love soccer. My brother’s dream was be a professional soccer player, but that is basically the dream of 9 out of 10 boys in Brazil. Dad is the coach of this team builds with some friends, they have games every weekend and they are a good team though. When I was spending time with my parents before come to study here in the United States, I used to go and play some games in my Dad’s team, that is a good thing about being the coach’s son, I could be in the team any time I wanted. But sometimes I would just go watch the games and hang out with the guys after the games, drink some beer, talk, etc. It was always a good time.

Oh boy! Hard to get back in track after a break. I am not as much enthusiast as I was before with this journal writing thing. I am so tired that I thought about not write today. But the thing is that I am already 5 days behind and I still have a lot to catch up. So, I am writing now more the kind of free writing. Everything that comes on my mind I am putting in the writing. I got home so hungry that I make some quick spaghetti with broccoli, bacon and garlic. It is really easy to make. All you need is some spaghetti, some fresh or frozen broccoli, I used the frozen today, much easier for me, then you just chop some garlic and onion and you also will need bacon. Boil some water with some salt and some oil for the pasta, then in another pan just boil some water for the broccoli. Fry the bacon and safe the oil to use to fry the garlic and the onion. Then add the cooked broccoli and the spaghetti and add some pepper and salt and parmesan cheese and it is all done. I ate allot and now I am stuffed. Watching some news before go to bed. I enjoy see what the weather will be and some local news. Sometimes they even talk about Brazil on the news here. That is pretty amazing for me. The news here doesn’t show much violence like the news in Brazil. That is basically what they show in Brazil news. Suppose to have some storm on our way. I really hope it just by pass us. Going to bed now as I am really exaust.

Oh no! Last day of spring break. They always say that good things don’t last forever. I was really enjoying not have to go to the college everyday and just sleep in everyday. Nothing feels better than sleep at least 9 hours. But I believe that it depends about how much sleep you are used to get. One year ago, I was probably sleeping no more than 5-6 hours per night. I used to get off work and go play inline hockey with some friends, then get home around midnight, shower, stay on the Internet for awhile, then finally get some sleep and then get up around 7:30am and head to work. But on the weekends I would just sleep in. If the weather was raining, then I could really sleep mostly all day. Who doesn’t like to sleep with some rain? Today I did something different. My friends wanted me to go to the church with them, and then after that they would have some lunch for a few people from the church, so I said okay and got up really early to get ready for church. In my first church experience in the United States I just found out that church is just a church no matter where. Pretty much was the same as in home country, Brazil. After the service we went for the lunch, Mexican food, some strawberry cake for desert, cookies, and brownies. After lunch I stayed awhile playing pool with Lisa and just having a good time for my last day of spring break. Tomorrow start the routine again, college all week long. I am six days behind on my journal. I was so busy this week that I really didn’t stop to write it. But I promised myself that I will catch up with my writing no later than Wednesday.

Cheese bread, cheese bread. Today I got up with this crazy desire to eat cheese bread, but the kind of Brazilian cheese bread. First thing is go online to the Internet and find out a Brazilian cheese bread recipe. Having that done, I have now to run to the store and find the stuff the recipe ask. I went to two different grocery stores and didn’t find the “tapioca flour” or “manioc starch”. Yeah, I knew it was going to be kind of a mission impossible find that in a normal grocery store. Back home I looked up on the Internet if there was any kind of special store in Springfield. I was so lucky, that it happened to have this “Latino Market”, and it was close to my house. Address in my hands, here I go to find the place. It is a little market with products from Latin American. I found the tapioca flour there, but looking a little more, I found a Brazilian Cheese Bread mix, and it was a product made in Brazil. I ended up buying that mix because it is much easier than that original recipe I have, but it doesn’t taste as good as an original cheese bread recipe. Getting back home, I could not wait to add one cup of water and two eggs to the mix and bake it. One package of mix made around 18 little cheese bread, and I ate so much that I kind of don’t want to see cheese bread for awhile.

Today was supposed to be just one more day of spring break, quiet at home. Last night, my friend Lisa called and said that the weather would not be nice to us go to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. I must confess that I went to bed last night a little disappointed. But early in the morning she sent me some text message and said that the weather was supposed to hold on until early evening, and if I was still up to go. I said sure, let’s go have some fun. She said she would pick me up in half an hour. We were ready to go have some fun then. It was about lunch time and the kids were hungry. Preston and Kennedy, my friend’s kids were with us, of course. Then we stopped at McDonald's and got some food. I was very excited, because I do like roller coasters and all the adrenaline in the big rides. Too bad that Sydney wasn’t with us, because she is the oldest of my friend’s kids and she could ride with me in the big ones. I had to ride the big ones alone, but I had so much fun riding the family rides with the kids. I just enjoy those kids so very much. They are adorable kids and Preston is so lovely, but he makes you very tired, trust me. Going to Silver Dollar City was very cool, seems like you are in another age. I was surprised when I found out how old that park is, but I think the age is its charm. The weather that was nice when we arrived there, turned to be bad and made our visit shorter. But we will be back there before I leave for California.

Well, one thing that I am good at I think is to keep friendships. And I mean real and good kind of lifetime friendship. No matter the distance and the geographic issues, I always find a way to be in touch in my real friends, which I don’t have much anyway.
Middle School friends I guess I just have one that I really keep in touch. I used to live in a very small city during my middle school, so we used to hang out allot, all classes projects the group would be just us. Since I moved from that city I keep trying to stay in touch with him. In the first days wasn’t that easy, we didn’t have emails, etc. So I would see him only when I went to visit some uncles that still live there. Now with Internet and all this online communication stuff it is really easy.
I also have a friend, actually my best friend so far now, he is kind of older than me, but a very nice person. He is not much into computers stuff, so I have to call him if I want to talk with him. But is nice, sometimes I just get so sick of that kind of cold conversation over a Instant Messaging software that I really rather call him and just catch up.
I am the kind of person that remember all birthdays of my friends, and I send birthday cards, the friends that have been good and I keep more in touch I even send some present. Not big things but to show them that I really care about them and want to keep this friendship for a much more long time.
Life sometimes just push us way from our friends, and that happens to me often. I always have to get away to study or work, but every time I get together with a friend that I haven’t seem for awhile, you can bet we will really have a good time.

Sometimes you have such good friends and it is a so health friendship, which you want to keep it forever. And a real and good kind of lifetime friendship is not easy to keep. No matter the distance and the geographic issues, I always find a way to be in touch in my real friends, which I don’t have much anyway.
Middle School friends I guess I just have one that I really keep in touch. I used to live in a very small city during my middle school, so we used to hang out allot, all classes projects the group would be just us. Since I moved from that city I keep trying to stay in touch with him. In the first days wasn’t that easy, we didn’t have emails, etc. So I would see him only when I went to visit some uncles that still live there. Now with Internet and all this online communication stuff it is really easy. Last I heard from him was that he was getting married. He said he would send me the invitation, but well, I am not sure I am able to make it.
I also have a friend, actually my best friend so far now, he is kind of older than me, but a very nice person. He is not much into computers stuff, so I have to call him if I want to talk with him. But is nice, sometimes I just get so sick of that kind of cold conversation over a Instant Messaging software that I really rather call him and just catch up. Before I come to the US to study I really had seconds thoughts about it and the family pressure sometimes was hard. Mom would ask me to stay, and this friend was somebody that I could really talk about my choice and he would support me and show me pros of study abroad.
I am the kind of person that remember all birthdays of my friends, and I send birthday cards, the friends that have been good and I keep more in touch I even send some present. Not big things but to show them that I really care about them and want to keep this friendship for a much more long time.
Life sometimes just push us way from our friends, and that happens to me often. I always have to get away to study or work, but every time I get together with a friend that I haven’t seem for awhile, you can bet we will really have a good time.

After 7 hours driving we finally made it to Dallas, Texas around 1am. I was supposed to be tired, but I don’t know why trips don’t make me tired. I think it is because I enjoy it so very much, that I don’t really care if I have to stay in a car for 7 hours or in a plane for 15 hours. One thing that I really enjoy when I am doing a road trip and I am driving, is to stop anywhere I want. I just enjoy so much stop in gas stations in the middle of the nowhere and grab a drink and some snack, check out the scenario around it. Sometimes it is just nothing but country, but still it is really cool for me. I remember this particularly road trip last October. We were going to my cousin’s sweet sixteen, which in Brazil it is when you turn 15 years old, so it is sweet fifteen. Anyway, we had to drive for like 9 hours, it was the best road trip I ever took. First because it was with all my family, second because I was the one driving, so I was able to stop whenever I wanted. I know that pissed off the others cars that were following me. Sometimes Dad wouldn’t even stop; he would call me and say: don’t be late. It was so funny. In my car was, Brother, his girlfriend, sister, her boyfriend and me, was the young car. In another car was Dad, Mom, grandmother and a friend. I was so glad I decided to not leave in July and instead in December, so I got to go to my cousin’s birthday. It was an amazing party, almost perfect, I just missed my friend that could not make it with us there, then would have been the perfect party ever.

First and only Monday of spring break. Really feels great get up around noon in a Monday, I don’t even remember when was the last time I did that. I was supposed to go over night to my friend’s house and then we would leave early in the morning to Dallas in Texas. I was lazy and I had thought about going try to fix my bike’s flat tire. When I was getting ready to look up in the yellow pages for a bike shop around here my friend Jay called and said that plans changed and he would be picking me up around 4:30pm, so we could go to Springfield Little Theater see his girls and then we would be getting the road to Dallas. After his phone call I had to run in the shower, pack a few clothes and be ready. It is my first road trip in the United States and I think, even though it is a little far to go in one day and come back the next day, I will enjoy that. I just love travel, so any trip for me is good enough. I will probably be a few days without write my journal, I just hope when I get back I can start writing the same way I was writing before. I mean, write every night as I am doing. I have this feeling that after a few days not doing all my writing it will be a little difficult to get back on track again. I truly hope I am wrong. Anyway, I need to get ready to go now and I will write again in a few days.

Today I got up pretty early for a Sunday. I was up at 11am to call my family in Brazil. I usually call them around this time because it is lunch time in Brazil so I get to talk with everybody at once. As usual all fine and the same back there. It was a pretty calm day, lazy as Sunday has to be for me. I went to have lunch at Arby’s, I got some coupons for that and I am really using them. I mean, why not? That is what the coupons are about. I buy a drink and get the burger for free, that is really sweet. After lunch I went for a bike ride and on my way back home I got a flat tire. My luck was that I was close enough to home and could just walk back. Getting back I had a new task: find a place where I could fix my bike’s tire. Good thing that Google exist, seriously what would be of us without Internet and how easy it is to find things? Found a place that I believe is near here, so I will go check it out after I arrive from Dallas. Yeah, I am going in this road trip to Dallas, Texas tomorrow. My friend called me a little awhile ago just to let me know that the plans are still up. We are going to this audio visual expo. I think we will have a good time, and I will get to see some country. Since I am in arrived here, I have only been seeing the country from above. I better go to bed and get some good rest because tomorrow will be a long day.

First Saturday of spring break and the weather didn’t help very much. It was a gray, cloudy and raining day, so not much to do outdoors. As usual when I am having a break, I got up after midday, actually I woke up around 10am and looked the weather, and I sort of looked to the clouds and they were drawing the saying: Go back to bed. And that was what I did. Went back to bed and slept a little longer. I got up and was lazy but I had a few things to do. I needed to eat and then get a haircut. My hair was way too long and starting bothering me. So I got up, took a hot shower and made myself some breakfast. I just made a grilled cheese, as you know, I was too lazy to even think about something else to eat. Then I went to have my haircut and after that I decided that I wanted some fish for dinner. The only place close to my house that serves fish was Capitan D’s. Then I went there and got some fish and fries. It was good and not really expensive, plus I had some coupons. Yesterday my friend from San Diego said I am the king of the coupons, because I am always hunting for some good deals. Well, I believe that is what they are made for, so you can use it. Getting back home, still lazy, I started to watch some TV, but then I remember that TV on Saturdays usually sucks, and last night wasn’t different at all. Same movies, same repeat shows. Then I decided to watch the Lion King. I don’t remember watching it in English, so last night I got the chance to watch it in English. Then it was about time to go to bed after the movie.

Here we are at spring season, and with that, we get the spring break for bonus. That is new for me, break in spring. In Brazil we just have winter break and summer vacation. And spring break is really something big around here. So, I won’t have classes for one week, I don’t have any homework. I was worried that I would be bored for a whole week, but then suddenly lots of things came up. I am going to this road trip to Dallas, Texas with my friend, he invited me to go to this audio visual fair there, I bet that will be cool. Then I am planning go to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri for a day, and the rest of my days I will just try and relax. I haven’t study this hard in my whole life, so nothing better than a break and chill out before get ready for the finals. I want to transfer to San Diego, so I am trying hard to keep a high GPA. I also need to keep writing the journal, I don’t know how hard this will be during spring break, but well, I can put a little effort and keep this thing update. Today’s post is totally free writing. I am sure nobody will understand much it or find meaning. But I am just so excited with this break that I want to go party later and so I am writing it much earlier than I am used to. Called Dad today, I haven’t talk to him in a few days, so I was kind of missing him. Thank to the Internet I can make affordable calls to Brazil. That is a good way to keep in touch with family and friends. Wishing everybody a great spring break.

When you live in tropical country like Brazil, you never realize that the four seasons really exist. Where I used to live we kind of use to have only two seasons: summer hot and with rain, and winter not as cold as here in Missouri, but very dry. I came to United States in the beginning of winter. I spent the holidays in San Diego and temperature there was around 50 degree, cold enough for me, but I wanted to experience real winter. So when I arrived in Springfield, when I just get off the plane it was 32 degree, now I really felt some really cold temperatures, which later the winter I would be feeling much more colder temperatures. I remember when we had the first ice/snow storm, even though most people hated it, I must that I enjoyed it very much. It was so nice see everything covered in white. I was just amazed with the whole new scenario for me. As a picture addicted I just went outdoors and took allot of pictures. I haven’t done my snow man until our last snow. I thought I was just too old for that, but what hell, this is my first snow experience and I had to do that. Next winter I will probably be in San Diego and no snow there. Tomorrow at 6:44am starts the spring and I already could notice that everything is turning green, and the flowers are starting blooming. I am looking forward for this season, I am sure I will be able to get great shots. Ah! Before I finish writing I have to explain the title. In Portuguese spring is “primavera”, and if I translate back to English “prima Vera”, separated, we get something like cousin which is “prima” and “Vera” is a person’s name. So, we end up with this Brazilian joke when spring arrives. “Welcome Cousin Vera"!

Today was reading others student’s blog. I was really amazed how different people can have same experiences, even in different countries. I read about people trying to help somebody and then just find out that the person didn’t really need your help. I read that some people had experience with drugs, “influenced” by the new place they moved. I have lived those two experiences. I am from Brazil, so you must know that we are what they call 3rd world, so we kind of have more poor people than you guys have here. I don’t know with this economic crisis, but anyway, I used to help people that ask for money in bus, on the streets, but then I started to think and I realized that they make much more money that I used to make working 44 hours per week. Yes, that’s sounds awful, but that is reality. I saw once this guy changing all his coins at this place and I got surprised how much money he can make just begging for a few hours. I decided then to never give any more of my money that I worked hard to get it to those begging people. But sometimes walking on the streets, I really see home very old people just asking for money, that breaks my heart and I end up giving them a few coins. I feel better after doing that. I never had any experience with drugs like using it, but I have two cousins that had problems with drugs. I have had friends that I saw using drugs; I saw my cousins smoking marijuana, and I never get influenced by that. I think you don’t need to try something if you know it won’t do any good to you. You know that drugs are not something good, you see how bad is the life of people that do drugs, so why even experiment it? I always knew how to say: NO, THANKS!

One thing that I hate is moving. I think because when I was a child my parents used to move so much, that when I used to get use to the new house it was time to move again. Moving makes me kind of depressing, I hate how the house is all messy when you first get in, I hate that I don’t have my bed set up yet for the first night in the new house. I am writing about it now, because I called my parents in Brazil and they just told me they moved again. I am glad I wasn’t there. I think I have already moved allot in my life. My next move will be from Springfield back to San Diego, but I am already aware that when I get in San Diego I will have to move again. The friends I will be staying with, just told me tonight that they will probably have to move in July to new apartment. I remember one particularly move when I was about 15 year old. We used to live in this nice neighborhood that my parents are living now, but Dad wanted to be closer to work and decided to move. The new neighborhood wasn’t horrible, but it was bad enough, I never felt safe there, walk on the streets at night? I wouldn’t encourage you, unless you really needed to. I remember when I used to work at Cinemark theaters and I used to get home around 11pm most of the night. I was lucky that the bus used to stop right in front of my house, so I didn’t have to walk long. I won’t write much today because I have a test tomorrow and I have to study some more. Last test before spring break. By the way, happy St. Patrick’s Day to everybody!

I am so tired but here I am writing again. I was going to post what I did in class today, but I decided to save that for another time. Monday is usually a long day for me, first class 10am, last class ends at 2:50pm, then some time for homework and at 5pm, volleyball game. I have joined these guys at college to play volleyball on Mondays evening. I realized that I needed to do something and meet more people, socialize a little more, so why not do some sport that I actually enjoy? The first time we played, a couple weeks ago, I got home after the game and I was so frustrated. I thought everybody that was there was suppose to know how to play and would at least know the basic of the basic in volleyball, I mean, I thought they would now how to service the ball, how to receive the ball and how to set up the ball so somebody could spark. But no, I think 80% of the people there were having their first experience with volleyball, 10% might have done it in high school and 10% including me, could actually carry on a nice game. So, after the first game I was frustrated and I didn’t want to go play next week, but then I made up my mind and said: well, I will go just for the fun, it is nice be around others students, doing something you enjoy and just having a good time. Some people say that I play very well and asked when I learned how to play. I said that in Brazil we usually play volleyball on the streets like they play basketball on the streets here. I used to play most weekends in Brazil for awhile. It was just nice make some championships and have some people playing for the first place. My team got first place a few times. So, now I am going every Monday at 5pm to play volleyball just for the pleasure of being around others people and trying make every game better than the last one.

Another Sunday and once again just a Sunday. Me and my thing with this lazy day of the week. I hope someday I get over it. Today as usually I tried to make my day the shorter possible, so I got up around 11am, still on my warm and comfortable bed, I just got my laptop and turned on the software Skype and called my family in Brazil. Nothing new there, every time I call still the same thing. Everybody doing well, brother not liking the college experience, sister is still with the boyfriend and now absence of her job for two months, Dad doing good with the barbecue restaurant and Mom just doing fine. Granny was there for awhile, but returned to the farm yesterday. Mom asked me when I will go there to visit and I said probably on my sister’s wedding in May 2010, but honestly, I don’t think she will get married, but I will probably go there on summer 2010 to spend some time and see everybody, kind of miss them all, specially the parties and the get together. Then I cooked some lunch, pasta again, Mom said I will turn into pasta soon. But what I can do if that is the one easy and delicious thing I know how to cook? Since I did laundry yesterday I didn’t have to do today, so I just enjoyed my lazy day at home. Watched some TV, but nothing really good on. Then around 6pm, a friend called and wanted to go out for dinner, too bad I was still full from my late lunch, but I went with him, I didn’t eat anything, just made company to him. Then we hang out for awhile and I just came home and wrote this before finish some homework for tomorrow and go to bed. Tomorrow is Monday and a busy day, I will be on college from 10am until around 8pm.

There is nothing that makes me happier than a nice family gets together party. I think maybe it’s because I am used to live far away from my family that anytime we can get together it is really a good time. Before coming to the United States to study, I decided to spend six months back at my parent’s home. I really didn’t think it would be so cool like it actually was. Honestly, I think they were trying to make it very nice for me, so I could change my mind and not come here to study. Anyway I wanted to make it the best six months possible, so I was trying to make parties and special dinners for family and friends most every week plus we had a few birthdays to celebrate from July to December and birthday in my family always mean barbecue and party. We had brother’s and Dad’s birthday, plus a birthday at my grandmother’s farm that I will never forget. For me it is so nice have a house full of people you like and feel very comfortable staying around, I do enjoy those things. My mother doesn’t like much some of my father’s relatives, so she seemed to always be against those parties, but she knew she could not fight against other four persons that wanted the parties. I met this Dad’s friends when I got back, actually I know him since I was 14 years old, but just now we got close and he became my best friend. He is an older guy, I guess 49 years old, turning half of a century in August, and I guess I need to send him a gift. This friend, he was always up to help me with the parties or help cook some dinner. That way Mom would not have to cook so she would not bitch about the parties very much. The parties always were a success: good food, lots of beverage, etc. The last two to leave the parties used to be me and my best friend, so see how much I used to enjoy that, that I was always the last one to good to bed. Making every minute of the company of those I love worth the time I will not see them for awhile.

What it is my way every night that I am not be to sleep when I just go to bed, and instead of sleep tight I just keep thinking and thinking over and over until I am truly desperate to get some sleep, then I just stop thinking about it and start listening some music and then finally the next thing I remember is getting up in the next morning, is why I am this “nostalgic” person. When I go to bed and turn off the TV lots of images comes to my mind, some nice times in the past which I can remember very well and somehow I miss all that. I just miss good things, and I think that is what makes me this nostalgic person. I start remembering the cities I used to live and which things there I miss the most. Then I remember some nice stories I lived there and others story that I start to picture in my mind that would be nice to happen there. And one particularly story is some family vacation to the place, well; it is still about that same city with the beach I am frequently writing about. Maybe that city is my inspiration? But I just start making plans before to go bed that how would be a nice trip with my family and a couple friends to that place: what we would do, what we would go see, what I saw and liked about the city that I would want to show my family. We haven’t had a family trip for awhile, and maybe it is jus time to tell Dad to start making plans to when I return to Brazil. After a few years studying hard in the United States I think I deserve a nice family vacation.

I was watching the Brazilian news tonight – yes thanks to the Internet I am still able to watch some Brazilian Television – and one of the reportage that I remember was about the financial crisis in Japan. They were showing how Tokyo became the most expensive city in the world. They interviewed a few tourists that were walking on the streets, just looking the stores because it was way expensive to buy anything. This guy from Australia said that besides food he didn’t buy anything else. This Brazilian woman that works and lives in Japan pays something around $1,200 dollars every month to rent a very small 2 rooms and it was really small for what I could see and she still has to share that with a cousin. The “apartment” looks very small, in the kitchen you just could see the sink, a 2 burns stove, a little refrigerator, a little table with a laptop on it and one mattress on the floor, which is used for the cousin to sleep. During the night if she wants some water, she has to walk careful to the sink, and needs to watch her cousin on the floor so she doesn’t step on him. Her bedroom is also living room and office, when she has people over they must sit on the twin size bed. Another thing is how fruits are expensive in Japan. They have stores that sell fruits like they sell clothes or jewels. In this particularly store they really treat fruits like jewels, one banana, a single yellow banana is wrapped individually and sold for something around $3 dollars. A single white strawberry, which is the kind of strawberry they grow in Japan is sold in this little jewels box and costs incredible $10 dollars. If you want a melon, well, you can get it for $40 dollars. After watching this on the news I thought in two things. Either people in Japan make allot of money or they hardly buy fruits.

Today I am having nothing in mind to write. My day was just okay; nothing special happened that I want to write about. And I have a little headache, so I will just use this free writing we did before in class for my today’s journal entry. The free writing was about the differences between reading in High School versus reading in College. So, reading in High School is pretty much read the textbooks to try memorize the lessons and be able to get a good grade in the tests. You usually read non-stop all the way through the whole chapter. Sometimes during the reading you find out that some things are so boring and you were not even sure if you will ever use that or need that in your professional life at all. Then when you get in the college and you already know what you want to be, what you want to do professionally, or you should know by now. The things you will be reading in college will be more useful for your professional life. You will be reading things that will teach you what to do in your job. You will have to learn to do your job, so you will have to read more careful and be sure you really understand what you read. So, that my free writing about reading. I didn’t write much because we just had a few minutes, and I kind of need some time to start. Hope tomorrow I have something better to write or I will try pick up a topic and write about it.

First thing before starting writing something on here is that I want to apologize for the bad writing tonight. I am not feeling well and I am not thinking well either. I had a bad night yesterday and could not sleep until 4am. Just one of those nights when you seem to have allot on mind and cannot fall asleep. But the thing is that I did not have much on mind, actually I was pretty relax and have done all my homework, and I was really ready for bed at by midnight. But no, I just could not sleep at all, kept moving from one side of the bed to the other, and I hate that. I tried many things they tell you when you can’t sleep, I tried to count, but could not focus, then I drank some warm milk, didn’t help either, I tried to listen some soft music, nothing. If I don’t sleep well I know I will be like crap the next day and really with a bad mood. Thank God today I had only one class and because the tornado drill at 1:30pm, it was a very short class. After the tornado drill just 3 students got back to the classroom. I bet they got lost, huh? I am so sleepy right now that I really don’t know what I am writing. If it wasn’t the Microsoft word making all the misspelled words corrections it would be one of those things that you don’t even know which language it was wrote. I think I might just be getting a cold or something. It is amazing how I am doing well in this very different weather here, from 90 F to 20F and so far I haven’t get sick yet. Anyway, I just hope I can sleep tonight, because tomorrow Wednesday is one of my busy days at the college.

Right now I would rather be in a place I used to be frequently. It is this nice median size city in northeast of Brazil, the city is Joao Pessoa, capital of the Paraiba state. The city is known in Brazil to be the most eastern city in the Americas, where the sun raises first in the country, normally around 4am you can see the first daylight rays. It is a very nice city with very clean white sand, nice and warm water, beautiful ocean color, one of my favorites time to go to the beach and look at the ocean color would be the end of the afternoon. The ocean would turn in a dark blue color, really gorgeous color for me. The urban beaches are nice and clean, they clean the sand twice a day, I believe it is the only beach city in Brazil that does that. Soft white sand, very small waves, palms tree all around the beach, beautiful weather most all the time, sometimes some quick showers. Being the city where the sun raises first, also mean it is the city that the sun say good bye first. Usually it gets dark there around 5:30pm. I lived there for almost 2 year and I couldn’t get tired of my wonderful daily view of the great beach scenario. Even when I was going to work I have the view through the bus window. At nights of full moon it used to be just so nice get out and walk on the sidewalks or on the sad watching the moon light on the ocean, it is just a beautiful view of the whole nature that you can find in Brazil. And that is priceless, you cannot buy it, it is free there every day to you enjoy.

Honestly, I have this thing with Sundays. I don’t like Sundays period. I don’t know why, I just think Sunday is a very boring day. TV sucks on Sunday, places are closed, etc. I usually get homesick on Sundays. I try to stay on bed as long as I can in the morning so I don’t have to deal with a long day. Then I start remembering my Sundays in Brazil. Until like 3pm it is an okay day for. I used to get up, shower and help with the Sunday lunch. Dad usually would make barbecue and we would have some relatives and/or friends over, play some cards, drink some beers and just have a good time. But after 3pm I would starting getting down. Maybe because I think in my mind that the next day it is Monday and that’s mean start over all again. Sometimes a routine for me is so boring, even though I can deal very well with it. Here in Springfield my routine is Monday through Friday go to college, then on weekends I have homework to do and since I have a little free time on weekends, I enjoy cooking. Sometimes I go to the movies or just go hang out with some friends, well, we do need some fun times. Today I heard from a friend something really cool. She said: “If you just study and don’t get a break and do fun things, people will think you are not cool”. And thinking a little about that, I kind of think she has a point. But I won’t discuss that today. Anyway, today is one of the Sundays that I think is good for me, we lost 1 hour last night because the daylight savings time. So I hated this Sunday just for 23 hours.

Finally weekend, I thought I would enjoy it like going outdoors and all, but I don’t know why I got so lazy today that I spend most of the day watching TV. I went to the store and got some things to good. I got up in a mood to eat some “Brazilian” food: rice, beans, beef and salad. I will attach a picture of it here. Well, mom kind of likes to see what I am eating, so that is why I take pictures some times. After eating all that food, I just sat down on the sofa and starting watching this “Harry Potter” weekend on the abc family channel. They were showing the first 3 movies. I have watched it before and I did read the books 1 to 5. But watching it again today and having been taking this English course I started to think how some people have this great gift for writing. Harry Potter’s author is just one of those. It is amazing how she got the idea for Harry Potter then create that whole amazing world, it is for me something really that sometimes sounds unbelievable. I know I am not a writing and I am far to be one, but I really enjoy and appreciate their work. One thing about Harry Potter’s books is that each next book was longer than the previous one. So the last book I read was the “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’” and it was like 5 times bigger than the book 1. But it was a book that you would try to read as faster you could, because each page you read you wanted to know what would happen next. I think I didn’t read a book so fast as I did with Harry Potter’s book.

Here I am again. I really can’t believe that I will write everyday here for a couple months. I tried to do my other blog but I wasn’t having much time to keep it update so I kind of just forget about it. But this one I have to keep working on it every day, for sure it worth a very good part of my grade in the English course. Today was another great warm day, over 80 degree. I went for a long bike ride, and then met with one friend and we went to eat some dinner. He took me to this Mexican restaurant, I don’t remember the name, but anyway, I had some sort of “queso burrito”, it in part remembered me some food in Brazil, I mean, the rice and black beans, we use to have the same in Brazil. I found out that I am not much into Mexican food, I enjoyed the burrito, but it was way too spice for me, and mixing avocado with rice and beans wasn’t really something that I enjoyed eating, it was kind of weird for me. My favorite food so far is pasta; I just love all kind of pasta. To have an idea; last week I had pasta Sunday which was lasagna, then on Monday I had pizza, Tuesday lasagna again and then Wednesday I had spaghetti with bacon, garlic, butter and broccoli. I love to cook pasta and I think I am good at it. I just enjoy all the smelling in the kitchen and then am able to eat some delicious food. You know, I enjoy cooking, sometimes I get tired of all that frozen food that not always tastes like food. Cooking is not hard for me, mostly what I know I learned watching my Mom cooking, but I can just go and look up some recipe on the Internet and then follow it. Honestly, I think anyone can do that.

What a nice warm day today. I think it is the first time since I got here in Springfield that I could finally feel some warm weather and be able to walk outside in shorts and t-shirt only. When I checked the temperature, it was 74 degree here, not bad when in Brazil is summer now and it was 94 degree where I used to live. In Brazil we measure our temperature in Celsius not in Fahrenheit, then when I got here in the United of States I found that different and have to always convert it, but now I am more used to temperature and Fahrenheit so I don’t need to convert any more. Since the day was nice I went for a nice walk on the park near the house, it is nice see how people celebrate the warm day going outdoors, lots of people playing on the park, playing ball, walking dogs. Even around Missouri State University campus, when I was walking I saw lots of students enjoying the day playing games, playing ball and just enjoying staying outside. I also went to do laundry, another thing that we don’t have in Brazil is those laundry mats, and I think it is so cool. I enjoy going there and watch different people doing laundry, I like to watch people, I think because for awhile I wanted to be an actor I think I got used to watch people, so I could have enough experience and could base on the different types of people I would watch, to when I had to play some different character. Anyway seems that we will start having some more warm days from now, which I am really looking forward for. I want to start explore more around the area, so with good weather is better ride the bike and just enjoy it.

Another busy day. Wednesday I have 3 classes, from 10am to 2:50pm, and somehow today I forgot some homework at home and I had to come here at lunch time to pick it up, so I could turn it in. It was a group project homework, I was in charge to turn in the paper and I forgot it at home. I know my group mates would not enjoy get a big 0, so I decided to run home and get it, then I went to the professor’s office and gave her the paper, glad she accepted it. I just don’t know what is going on with me this week, I am just so tired and not sleeping good , and even homework I am forgetting to turn in, that is just not me. I think it is just the busy week with lots of homework and tests. And I am not having much free time do to anything else, I just can’t wait for spring break and then do something fun. Before starting write this I just finished my math homework, it was like 30 exercises, and I am pretty sure the professor won’t ask us to turn it in. But since she gave the homework, I must do it, homework is a good way to learn better what we discuss in class and It is kind a good way to study for the test. Doing different exercises and doing it over and over helps me get the formulas memorized and so when I have to study for the test I already know it. As you see this post is most about homework, I think it is easy for me just pick up some word or topic that was basic the different happening in my day and write about it.

I had just turned the lights off, then I turned the TV off and laid down and started to make my daily pray when I realized that I haven’t done my today’s journal post. So I just turned back on the TV and got my laptop and started to write. Right now my Internet is down, so I am not sure if I will be able to post it online. Wait a minute; I just could connect to somebody’s wireless network now. That is something I like about getting an education, we actually learn some things that we will be able to use in our life. Today I had a pretty easy day. On Tuesdays I just have one class: Business Math class, which is pretty handle for life. We are dealing with tax, discounts, mark ups on selling price, so it is very useful learn those things so you are able to figure out what you have to pay for tax on your paycheck, how much will a 10% discount mean in value. So far I am doing pretty well in that class, in all my homework I am getting 100% and in the two exams I did so far, I got 99%, not bad, huh? I really enjoy the Math class because it is something not really hard to do, it is exacts, so you have to work to get an exact result, if you know the formulas and know what to do, you will do well. It is almost midnight and I am hoping I will be able to finish this writing and when I re-read it before post it won’t look like crap. All I want is to keep up my assignment updated, so I will feel the reflects it is suppose to give us in a few weeks of free writing.

Today we start writing our journal assignment for English class. For the next couple months I will have to write everyday about anything I feel comfortable or want to write about. I have my “Writing Territories” and I will be able to use that to guide me through my writing. Write about 300 words per days seems kind of tiring, but I am sure this will help me get much more experience in writing. My “Writing Territories” that I will try to explore in the next few weeks are: Family, movies, sports, vacation, computer, music, food, holidays, love, hate, things that make me happy, things that make me mad, animals, past, neighbors and friends. For most of those territories I might just use some personal experiences. Yes I have lots of experiences to write about, some are very nice times of my life and I always like to remember them. I am writing this post on my bed, watching the news at 10 and I am really tired, I have spend 10 hours on the campus today and all I really want right now is finish this and get some sleep. Almost 200 words now, I just have more 100 to go. It is not that I don’t like writing; it is that I am really tired and I can’t think much now, since all I am really thinking is about take a hot shower and get a nice sleep on my warm bed. I am really looking forward for this assignment; I think it will be very helpful for me. I’m just wondering now… What happen if we cannot come up with 300 words? I will have to ask Ms. Anthony next class. But I guess we just lose some points. Anyway, here I am with my 300 words for the first post, now I am off to a hot shower and then get some rest. See ya!