only 42 more days...

So here's the deal, I'm AWFUL at keeping track of my life on paper. Blogs, journals, diaries...I've started tons of them but have never finished a single one. Why should this one be any different you ask? I'm not entirely sure that it will be BUT unlike all the other blogs, journals, diaries etc. I actually have something cool to write about this time, I mean really cool...

In a little over a month's time I'll be spending 3.5 months in the BRAZILIAN AMAZON! (if you couldn't tell, I love to capitalize things, makes them sound more awesome in my head). There are so many details involved with the trip that it would take a day for me to try and post them all in one entry and neither you nor I have that kind of patience so here are the basics:

The program is through School for International Training (SIT), which has all these fantastic study abroad and graduate programs that take you to regions not typically thought of as vacation hotspots, which for me makes it all the more appealing because I'll be exploring a culture that hasn't been thoroughly influenced by tourists.

I'll be going to the city of Belem (beh-lang), which is in the state of Para (pah-dah). It is in Northern Brazil and very close to the state of Amazonas, which is where --you guessed it -- part of the world's largest amazon rainforest is located, so I won't be anywhere near americano favorites such as Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo and thus my experience may not be that of a typical foreigner but I'm still excited :)

I'll be studying amazon resource management and human ecology, which sounds like a mouthful but after telling people that's what I'll be studying for like 4 months now I can say it without breaking a sweat. Basically I'll be doing research in the amazon with a bunch of other college students about everything from deforestation to sustainable development, all while trying to speak Portuguese and keeping up with local customs.

while this is all very emocionante I still have 42 days to go (March 9th is the program start date), so I'll try and keep you all entertained until then with all the stuff I have yet to do to be prepared to go abroad!

Until Then,
Ate logo