My trip to Brazil

      My trip to Brazil began on June 14, 2012. It had been four years since I last been to Progresso, Brazil. This year I went on the trip with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. It was quite a hassle because one of my cousins is a baby, and if anybody who has traveled with a baby knows it is extremely hard to deal with it all. Our first plane ride departing from Miami Internation Airport and airiving to Sao Paulo, Brazil was an Eight hour flight, and the second flight from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre was an hour an a half plane ride. Usually I enjoy plane rides, but this time there was a extremely bad storm while we were departing and it was a scary ordeal. We then arrived to Porto Alegre's Airport where my uncle Tio Ildo picked us up.

â–º  QUARTER FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP

He had to drop myself and my aunt off at a local bus station to get to my Grandothers house which is in Progresso, because his car was to small for my aunt's lugagge to fit and my own luggage. So we offered to ride the bus so my uncle and to little cousins could go straight to my grandmothers house safe and sound, because bus rides are more dangerous then car rides.

Anyways, my aunt and I take the first bus from Porto Alegre to Lajeado, Rio Grande Do Sul. From Lajeado my other Uncle Rocky surprised us drsticly by picking us up there, because my aunt and I thought we had to take the second bus from Lajeao all the way to Progresso which would be an hour drive. Brazil is very different Geographically wise. There are tons of mountains and curves in Brazil, while in Florida the terrain is flat and simple. So while in the car ride to Progresso I was getting car sick because I was not yet used to the big mountains, curves, and fast driving. So we arrive to my grandmothers house to a lovely, home-cookes meal,  Rice and beans with chicken. So I settled in to my aunt's house down the street because it was nice and quiet there, while my aunt, uncle, and two cousins slept at my grandmothers house which was quite chaotic because there were kids running around everywhere and toys all over the floor. I like my privacy and when I am on vacation I like to be in a tranquil environment.

So that following weekend myself, and my two aunts, and one uncle went on a nine hour car ride to my mothers old town, Cerro Largo, where she grew up as a child. I thought it was amazing vivsiting the place where my mom and her sibilings grew up because I can see how different life was for my mother 40 years ago compared to the 21st century. The architecture there was incredible and different, the road was cobble stone, unlike in the united states where everything is cement. It really was a new experience and I really enjoyed it. I met neighbors my mother used to play with when she was just six years old. It was funny when they kept saying I looked like my mother, because most people compare me to my aunt. That's genetics for you. We left Cerro Largo two days later, and for the next week and a half we stay at my grandmothers house and walk around town and meet all the local people who live there. My uncle and I went to my cousins local school to speak to the kids who attend the school to inform them how different America is from Brazil. We both aren't the best at speaking Portuguese, but we managed. The kids asked us questions about Politics, Economy wise, Education, and even Partying.

We left Brazil July 1st, 2012. It was pretty sad leaving because I knew it would be a few years till the next time I come back to visit my family in Brazil, because plane tickets are expensive and I could probably be using the money to help me get into college and what not. So that was my trip to Brazil.