Grant Livingston was selected by the three Petaluma Rotary Clubs to be their 2006-2007 Exchange Student. Here are comments and photos he sent on April 26, 2007.
Hey Everyone,
Class pic, taken in October.
It has been a really long time since I have sent an e-mail. Sorry. So I'll get you all caught up with this one. Time for another cup of tea? My mom sent me some tea in the mail; it was delicious.
Carnaval.
Let's go way back in time. Carnaval. I don't have many pictures from Carnaval because it was mainly at night, but I have some cool video. It was in the middle of February, and pretty much 5 straight days of partying.
Sunrise in Touros for Carnaval; notice people on the beach still partying.
Freshwater crabs.
Grandpa sleeping; maybe something to do with what's on the table.
View from lighthouse.
I was in Touros, the beach town that I had stayed at for the month of January, and had made a lot of friends in. The town is great because it is so small, it is easy to get around, and my house is right next to the center of the city, only a 2 minute walk to get to the center of commotion.
Carnaval.
Anyway, it is difficult to describe Carnaval because I have never experienced anything like it. Music all day and all night blasting from 12 foot high speaker systems, people dancing in the streets, about eight girls to every guy, parades, and lots of family getting together, and a live band playing in the afternoons and nights. It was a lot of fun.
Drive to Hotel Thermas.
Paulinho, Grandpa, Grandma, and me.
Hotel Thermas.
Hotel Thermas.
A few weeks later my family brought me to the Hotel Thermes, where oil was discovered in my state, Rio Grande do Norte. They were digging for hot water to make springs and found oil. There is now a big hotel there, with 12 swimming pools all of different temperatures, starting with around 129 degrees, and going down to around 80 degrees. The 129 degree pool is called the Japanese pool because they are the only ones that can handle it. I put my leg in, it burned.
Funny translation.
There was also a soccer game going on in the city that weekend, America vs. ABC, which are the two rival teams of Natal. It is kind of like the A's and the Giants playing each other. I am for the America team, but my cousin is for ABC, so in the game we sat on the ABC side. I was yelling loud enough though, cheering for America...heh Hey Everyone,
Monkey in the mango tree.
After that weekend life calmed down, school started for me here and for most everyone else. I went on a few more trails through the sand-dune park, which is the forest preserve in my city, the Mata Atlantica. I went to my family's farm again, a bunch of cows died from some disease and everyone was sad and they lost a lot of money. Instead of having the cows hauled away like is law in California, they just let them rot on the property, which i happened to bump into when I was going for a walk around the farm. The smell of death was strong there. That weekend I also helped round up a bunch of goats to go get butchered; I felt bad for them, but it was kind of fun chasing after them to put them all together in a truck; it came out to be about 30.
We brought a bunch of manure from the farm back to Natal ( about 1.5 hour drive) and I started a garden at my family's house. I yanked the weeds, mixed the soil, and planted. Right now we have plants of tomatoes, onions, cilantro, bell peppers, and lettuce. There has been a lot of rain lately and the plants are doing good, they are mostly between 6-12 inches now. I plan on transplanting them this week.
Living Room and Veranda.
Kitchen.
View from my window.
My building is in the middle; the gutter is dirty.
My street.
A few weeks ago I changed families, I now live on the 13th floor in an apartment building that overlooks the beach, and the best surf spot in my city. So you can guess what I have been doing every morning before school. When I was living at my grandparents’ house, I was walking to school, about 15 minutes away, but now I get a ride or take the bus. I really love taking the bus here and having the option of public transportation. You can get all around the city, and usually don't wait for more than a few minutes for a bus in the main parts of the city. School for me starts at 1:30pm and ends at 6:30pm. It is actually a college prep course that I am taking for the test to get into University here. The college system is a little different here....normally after the 3rd high school year kids take the "vestibular" which is the test to determine if you get into college or not. If they don't pass, they do a "cursinho" which is a year just studying to take the test again. The only determining factor if you get into college or not is if you pass the vestibular for that specific university. If you pass for the federal university (about 1 in 10 pass) then you have 4 free years of college. If you go to private university, it can be up to 15 thousand a year. So people that don't have money and don't pass are stuck, adding to the poverty factor.
Me.
I understand much better now how people become poor and stay poor. Minimum salary is about $160 a month, usually for 8-10 hour a day jobs 5 days a week, or a full time housemaid, or something like that. If you have a family to provide for, and rent, that money disappears instantly, you end up living in an overcrowded house sharing rent, and you never have time to get educated unless you rise above and take night classes, like another one of my house maids. She is taking night classes to become a nurse, a 2 year course, and is just about graduated. Now she has a chance to get out of the hole.
Salt mountains and me.
A few weeks ago I went with my grandpa to the 2nd largest salt producer in the world. Unfortunately, my camera has broken, the shutter stopped working, and some of the buttons stopped working. I brought it in to get it fixed, but it was going to cost more than the camera cost in the beginning. So, I probably won't have a whole lot more pictures coming because my only way now is to borrow a camera or get pictures from other students.
On the 4th of May I am traveling to the Amazons, it will be 10 days of going around in the forests, traveling by boat, meeting tribes, and swimming in waterfalls. I am super excited.
On the 16th of May Jamie and my Dad are coming here to visit me until the 21st of May. That is the same weekend as another Rotary trip to a nearby state. They will come with me and get a chance to see what the life of an exchange student is like.
California flag — for online art class.
All in all, I am happy. I am making a lot of friends in school. My new family is super nice. have been taking scuba lessons; I went down 15meters the other day in the ocean, about an hour boat ride out, and then 15 meters ago a few days ago into a shipwreck. I am now a PADI Open Water Diver. I have a big party/campout planned for when I get home, all are invited, it will be at Dillon Beach July 27th and 28th. If you are interested, e-mail me back and I’ll give you details about reservations. I have been working on my art and astrology classes, and should be taking the finals soon; I put a picture of one of my works in the e-mail. My Portuguese is fluent; I have had enough people tell me by now that I don't feel like i am exaggerating if I say it anymore. I hope all of you are having a good time wherever you are, and if not, remember that someone else is working harder, and sleeping less than you are.
On a trail in the forest.
Enjoy the pics because it will be difficult to get more from here on out.
Love,
Grant
For Grant's October 2006 report click here.
For Grant's December 2006 report click here.
For more information on the Youth Exchange Program click here.