Friday - February 26th:
UHUUL!!! My american mom, Max (american mom's friend) and I went to a hockey game! It was great. I've never seen it live...it is totally different from watching it on TV. Although it is almost impossible to see the puck on TV, it is easy to see it when you watch it live! Playing it requires a lot of motor coordination, because you must have enough balance to ice skate and hit the puck at the same time! The players make it look easy.




Saturday - February 27th: The Indy weekend started today! Tessa and Mariana picked me up and we headed to Jhani's house. We arrived there at 10 am and met the other YAs. First, we went to the Children's museum, a very interactive museum, similar to "Museu da PUC" (Porto alegre).





Then, we went to the "Love" monument so that we could take pictures. I've been to Israel, and there is a similar monument in Jerusalem. (but it's written in hebrew).



Then, we went to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at the center of Indianapolis.

After that, we went ice skating!!!! Despite the fact that I couldn't last more than a minute without grasping the handrail, it was great! I fell once, and, unfortunately, I wasn't wearing gloves (I had forgotten them in the car)...But, at least, I think that falling only once is pretty good for a beginner.




We went to the IMAX theater and half of the group watched Avatar and the other hald watched Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. I saw the second one. I've already read the book, and the movie has nothing to do with it! (and when I say nothing, I mean NOTHING)

Then, the boys went to Rosane's house, a brazilian who used to live in Rio Grande do Sul. Her son has a PS3, and we played "Rock Band: the Beatles" for hours! Playing the drums was so cool!

I knew it would be such a busy day!


Sunday - February 28th:

Today we had the Feijoada, the last and main event of our stay here. We made a personal presentation, a powerpoint one and a show. It was great, because I could talk to almost everybody who I've met here!




I want to thank everybody who made this opportunity possible for me:
- Partners of the Americas and the Youth Ambassadors program, which has achieved its goal: changing the lives of six teenagers;
- Jhani, president of Partners - Indiana, who has always been with us and who made us always go in the right directions;
- Leslie, the coordinator of the YA program, who has done a wonderful job;
- Laura, for bringing us to great places and planning awesome things, like the Chicago trip;
- Ana Isabel and Ana Mary, whose help in Brazil was indispensable;
- My brazilian family, which has been there for me all the time;
- My american family, which made me feel at home here. When I asked people to applaud them today, it was because they really deserved it;
- Everyone who has helped me here!

It was Amazing, Awesome, Astonishing and Astounding!

Saturday - February 20th, 2010:
The three of us (I, Ben and Mom G) woke up at 6 am. I had gone to bed late last night, so it was a little bit difficult to wake up...

We went to an indoor place to play tennis (my american mom had a tennis lesson) at 7. I could say I was sleepwalking when I got out of the car, and it was so cold outside! But when we entered the place, the heater made me feel comfy.

Then, we went to Le Peep to have breakfast. I had a delicious omelette!

After that, we went to the racetrack where the Indy 500 takes place! Yes, the famous race, which Emerson Fittipaldi won twice. We went to the Hall of Fame Museum, which had cars that had competed once and images of the champions. We also saw a video there about the history of Indy 500. I learned a lot!



Emerson Fittipaldi!!!


Later, we visited the Indianapolis Zoo, a place that reminded me of Shedd Aquarium. We bought the tickets and received a map of the zoo. There were six areas: Oceans, Marine Mammals, Deserts, Plains, Encounters and Forests. Each area had a different environment, which depended on the animals that were exhibited. So, due to the animal diversity of the zoo, you'll find pictures of animals which live in different habitats here.


Who has the guts to touch a shark? It was a Dog Shark...but still it is a shark!


This is not a painting!!!

Now you know how cold it is here...the Polar Bear was outside, and so was I!





This is Timon (Timão), from the Lion King!

Llama!






See ya, Folks!

One more picture of Chicago (February 13th):


Monday - February 15th, 2010:
Today I woke up and there was a lot of snow outside. The roads were covered in snow, and so were the roofs. The houses looked beautiful! I and Ben had to shovel the yard so that our cars could be driven without slipping. This task was a little bit unfair: Ben had an effective machine which could get the snow out of our way in a second and I had to use a shovel. It was a funny task, like playing in the snow!

Before shoveling:



While shoveling:






After shoveling:





We even had time to play! :





Later, we went SNOWBOARDING at Glenns Valley Nature Park! Thumbs up, it was wonderful! We had to watch out for kids in our way down the hills...we didn't want to hurt anybody. Of course I fell a lot, but it made snowboarding even funnier!

Please read the last post, which is under this one, before. (Leia antes a última mensagem, que está embaixo dessa.)

Saturday - February 13th, 2010:
We woke up, had a quick breakfast and headed to Chicago at 8 am. It is a city with HUGE buildings and a beautiful lake called Lake Michigan. I took some pictures inside the van:


We were heading to Navy Pier, and started taking pictures. Suddenly, my camera's batteries were dead. Then I thought: "I have more batteries and I brought them". While checking my pockets, I remembered that I had left my bagpack at Jhani's house, and my other batteries were there. But, since I was surrounded by nice people, Laura took me to a store and I bought more batteries. They worked! What a relief!

Then, we went inside and ate at Bubba Gump, a theme restaurant about the movie "Forrest Gump". I ate fried shrimps (delicious) and everybody had a good time. It was funny, because the waiter asked us questions about the movie and made our minds work a lot when he propounded riddles.


Later, we went to Shedd Aquarium, a marvelous place! I think I took about 50 pictures there, so I can't upload all of them here. I'll try to summarize and tell you the best things. While there, each person in the group had enough freedom to go wherever he/she wanted. As we could not take pictures using the flashlights, some of my pictures were a little bit blurred.


At 2 pm, we watched a show called "Fantasea", in which 5 great animals did some tricks. Unbelievable! It was a little bit hard to take pictures of the show, because the animals kept moving all the time. But trust me: You would have liked to be there.


Then, we continued our trip at Shedd Aquarium. Luckily, I could find two Hollywood stars! The first one is Nemo (do filme "Procurando Nemo")!

I also found the Penguins of the movie "Surf is up" ("Tá dando onda").


Then, we wandered throught the city. Tall buildings are the main characteristic of the landscape...


We also took pictures on a fountain. It is said that the water can go up to 10 feet...But the water was frozen! One more thing added to my personal Guiness Book: First frozen fountain that I've ever seen in my whole life!

After that, we went to the Millenium Park to see "The Bean", a metal sculpture that looks like a bean. Images are reflected by "The Bean" in such a funny way!



Later, we went to the Magnificent Mile to watch 3D fireworks! All the fireworks were heart-shaped, as Sunday would be Valentine's day.



We had dinner at Giordano's, and we ate a different kind of pizza; It looked like a pie. The sauce was on the top, cheese in the middle and the flavour in the bottom!

In the end, we went to John Hancock Center, a building which has 96 floors. We took just 40 seconds in the elevator to get on the top! We had a beautiful view of the city at night!

We went back to Indianapolis and arrived at 2h30 am at Jhani's. After a big and tiring day, it took me a second to close my eyes and sleep.

Sunday - February 14th, 2010:
We woke up early and Jhani took us to Edinburgh Outlet Mall. Things were SO cheap!!! After that, my family picked me up and I told them how the trip had been. And now I'm writing to you!

See ya, folks!!!