On our second Thursday here, instead of going home after school, we went to a special class to surf. I had a lot of fun. We got used to the water and the wetsuits, I felt like I got used to it faster than others. We did boogie boarding first, and the wetsuits were super helpful and the waves were really big from a distance. When we got close to the waves we got used to them. Mom thought they were big, but they weren't too big to me. It was pouring rain, which helped getting used to the water. The water was very salty...and I didn't like when I fell off my boogie board and got salt water in my nose. It was a mess getting out...we took an Uber with mom and Rita's mom (and Rita). When we surfed next Thursday it was sunny and hot, and I got up on the board a lot! They make us run sprints to warm up, and we jump waves a lot. My Grandparents came to see me and we had burgers and it was so fun.
Pouring Rain:
Me wiping out next Thursday:
My expectations for the whole entire thing weren't at all how I thought they would be. Our house is a little bit smaller than I thought it would be. Meeting people was harder for me because there weren't that many people for me to make friends with. I eventually made friends with Edith and Tilly and Max, they're all really good friends now and they think I'm weird. It's a nice feeling because I love being weird. It's nothing like home at all. There's no castles in the US, and there aren't very historical places in the US either (well, there's some). I didn't think everything would be so much closer to each other and smaller. I really like how much easier it is to get around, the only way to get around the city is by walking. It's really fun but my legs get tired more often. It can be annoying but my legs will get a lot stronger by the end of the trip.
This part is up a big hill:
School is so much different from home. When we're inside we do stuff like "Culture Time" where we learn things like the days of the weeks, how to cook Portuguese food, and its a really good way to learn about the country. If we didn't have Culture Time I wouldn't know the history of all the castles and stuff like that. We have English and Math just like at home, though it is pretty easy for me because I'm in the group with 7 to 9 year olds, so I'm one of the oldest. It feels good to be one of the oldest. In art class we're doing a project about equality and inequality where we're supposed to make a drawing of inequality vs. equality. We've just done ideas so far of what we're going to do, but I think it's going to be really fun. We have this cool thing called "Quest" and its like social studies around the world but it's a lot more than what we do at home. It shows different ways that we can help, instead of just what's going on. We also have a Boundless Project where we do a big project to share with the entire class. I'm doing an Electrical Engineering project that I think will be the coolest one in the class. Every two weeks we elect and new President and Vice President of the class. I'm going to run for Vice President. We're outside all the time and it's very nature like. It's cold and humid outside...kind of like fall weather but in the winter. I personally like the fall weather when it's windy, and it's windy here too. Its just more humid here than at home, which I like.
My school:
Sintra Pillows (Evie made, I don't have a picture of my Pastel da Natas):
Something that I don't like is not having my dog around. She's always there to pet when you're bored, and I like having her around the house. But it would be hard to have her here in such a small space. Living above a gelato shop is really fun. Going downstairs for food when there isn't anything in the house is great and easy. The people who work there are very nice to us, and are remembering our names because they know I'll be there for a while.
That's all for now! We are off to Porto this weekend!
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