COUNTDOWN

It wasn't an easy decision to choose Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as my second destination for study abroad. (My first one was on the lovely M.V. Explorer, through an amazing program called Semester at Sea.) I wanted to go to a country where I'd be able to learn a new language but also have access to lots of culture, and of course, the beach. Naturally, Rio seemed like the best choice.

At this point, I have pretty much everything I need to leave the fab city of New York and head to "The City Magnificent"-- one $1100 plane ticket, one $170 visa, and one new luggage later. I don't have the exact location that I'll be living at yet on hand, but once that happens I'll be really ready to go. I'm assuming I'm going to get that assignment sometime this week (haha!), because if not, my little American butt will be staying in a hotel.

I'm going a month early to take a Portuguese class, which will hopefully prepare me for my classes at my home school, the Pontificia Universidade Catolica of Rio. I haven't signed up for classes yet, but I plan on doing that sometime this week. The system they have for registering is pretty whack, so I'm putting that off as long as possible.

I also don't know a single person going, except for this one girl that I sneakily found on some list and added on facebook. Creepy, I know. But I was desperate for some friendship. Actually, I don't know a single person in the entire country. I guess that will soon change.

Adeus for now...

Anthony