Back in the US

Hi!

I know it has been since Chile since I have written, but my adventure has not stopped! First, let me tell you my time in Brasil with Leo was AMAZING. He lives on a paradise island, one where we should all visit. There are 46 named beaches, and at everyone of these sights you can usually drink beer and eat some kind of fried food (fish, shrimp...) o and it is so good. Not to mention, the people are beautiful. It is a lot like California, a bunch of surfers walking around and people tanning on the beach. In contrast to Chile, the ocean is warm, much like a bath! The temperatures are very different. Leo's family is so friendly, and his mom made sure leo took care of all of my needs. I went to a few barbeque's and had a wonderful time. Leo's father owns a construction business where we went to visit. On sight, Leo's father has sheep's just because he loves farm animals! There were some baby lambs who were 3 days old. I didn't touch them but they were precious. I also went to Leo's beach house, which when you walk into the yard, it is a 30 second walk to the beach. Once again, way too amazing. We laid in hammocks, played soccer on the beach and had a barbecue. Leo told me his family goes there very often. Other than that, Leo showed me the island (even though we didn't have enough time) and one day, we took a boat ride to a restaurant where we ate all types of fish and ended our day playing in a waterfall. I can't wait till i get to go visit him again.
The rest of my time in brasil was spent in sao palou with Emily's host family from brasil. They were also way too nice! I went shopping with Pri and did a lot of laying around and relaxing. Marcia's boyfriend is very nice and so is Pri's. The night before I left, we had a wonderful Christmas dinner with tasty pork, potatoes and cheesy pasta. Once again, soooo good!
Lucky mom, I surprised her on Christmas day. My grandmother Hone picked me up at the airport, and took me to where my entire family was. My mom had no idea, and when realized i was actually home, started to cry! It was so special.

So, what am I doing to day that keeps this grand adventure going? Well, I am doing very well in school (this quarter is almost over 2 more weeks) and am getting very excited about the commissary being built. Over the summer, my friend Askin and I cleared out a room, and recycled computers to raise money for a sink. Through this recycling job we made 500 dollars, enough to buy a sink! The goal is to get the commissary built by April. Keep checking back, and I will keep writing.

In abrazo
xoxo... kati