Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Life Goes On

Hey all, I know its been too long since I posted, too lazy to get the last of the pictures up today, but just wanted to write a quick note to let you know how I am and what I am up to. Been working now for a couple weeks at The Source in Camrose, staying with a great friend and keeping super busy. I am also tutoring a girl from Augustana who is the cutest thing ever.. I think we'll turn out to be great friends! Plan on sticking around here for a short while until I can get back on my feet and then look for a place of my own in Edmonton. Can't wait for that, just so excited about life again and as happy to be home as I was from day one.... hope everyone is doing well and that I will see you around now that I am back... Lots of love...

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Good-bye Brasil

My last weekend in Brasilia was some of the most fun I had in the entire time I was away. Are you all asking what does she mean her last weekend? Where is she? Lol, ya, I am back in Camrose for right now. I think I am finally ready to write this entry for you all. Most of you are probably aware that I was not enjoying my time in Brasilia that much, and for those of you that didn't, don't feel left out, because I was having a pretty rough time but I didn't want to get everyone back home worried. Last Friday I finally decided that I would change my ticket to come home as soon as possible. The decision was based on a million different reasons, but ultimately, I am so happy to be home. I have no regrets about leaving Canada or leaving Brasil, I have come back with a great new appreciation for home, for English and for friends and family. If it wasn't for the many people back home that I could talk to and cry with I wouldn't have made it past the first week or two. So now, what am I going to do? That is the big question I guess and I don't have all the answers right now, but ultimately I feel that if I am happy and excited about waking up in the morning, then I can make things happen and things will work out just the way they are meant to, so this is just a short post to give you all an update, my old cellphone number is working again if you want to call and I will be making my last post in Brasil soon, as I have a ton of pictures from the last weekend. Hope everyone is well and I look forward to seeing you all very soon!!! Lots of Love from one girl who is happier than ever to be home :-)

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Brasilian Coast

Okay, so two posts in one day...trying to catch up!! I spent the last four days or so in Salvador, a beautiful city on the coast of Brazil. I had a somewhat mixed experience, however, getting away from home and work is always a plus. I went for an AIESEC regional conference (I had been told conferences in AIESEC Brazil would be in English, NOT) so anyway, I arrive to find everything is in Portuguese, and become bored very fast. Also we were staying at what they called a 'hotel' but it was more like summer camp, bunk beds and such, not a huge deal, but we all know how much the mosquitoes love me...however, the food was amazing and some things I hope were accomplished in improving the reception of trainees here. The time I did get to see some of the city however, I enjoyed it. Salvador has a rich culture and wonderful beaches, apparently there is also lots of night life, concerts and shows, however, inevitably, I was not there on the "right" days for these things (I am tired of what has been called my bad luck in Brasil, not seeing anything of this partying and fun). But I also got a bit of a tan, so that was good. Back to work tomorrow though, not looking forward to it really...



First night in Salvador, went for a drink..



The house we stayed at the first night (Viviana (a new member of AIESEC here) and I)



Me and the ocean (we were at a lighthouse, something about a fortress for defense, hmm...was I listening that much?!





A taste of the coast of Brazil (gorgeous...)



Umm...a dance..or fighting..or a martial art...very Brasilian...



A living sculpture...he was pretty good at it too, don't think I could hold that still for that long..



Sunset over the Atlantic...





Why would we let a minor thing like a broken foot stop us from going to the beach?! (Roberta from @Brasilia)



Group Shot



And I bought another wrap...got ones from Tanzania, India and Brazil now :-)



Another shot of the girls



A shot of the beach



Checking out some of the tourist areas...



Oooh...the girls got their hair done ;-)

Well that's all for Salvador...hope everyone is doing wonderful, enjoy the updates!! Lots of Love from Brasil...

Monday, October 9, 2006

"Home" in Brasil

Hey All! Just wanted to (finally) put up some pictures of the place that I am living at. I know these should have been the first ones, but I just never got around to it. I don't have any pictures of work right now, but I will put up one from the website so you can get an idea of what the building looks like!



This is the building that I live in, a lot of people in Brasilia live in these type of buildings, I have not seen that many houses.



The dining room, what you see when you first walk in the door.



The living room, if you turn to the left...



The 'veranda' (Through the living room)...



The tiny kitchen...where 5 cats reside most of the time...



And finally...my room....the place I spend a lot of my time here...



This is a picture of Politec from the website, I realize you can't really tell that much from it...but its an idea!

So I have been trying to upload these pictures for a week, and finally its deciding to cooperate with me...hope everyone is doing well...I miss you all!!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Trying to Keep Busy

Ok, so I guess it is time for an update, because I get so frustrated with anxiously checking everyone else's blog just to find there is no new updates and then here I am taking my own sweet time! Lol. So things are alright here, started work, joined Yoga and trying to keep myself busy. I still find Brasilia rather boring of a city (for my type of a good time anyway), but the general consensus even from people who live here is that it is a political/business city and just not that exciting. I guess I will have to travel around a bit to find the party. So here are the pictures of the places I have been since the last update.

The next couple pictures are at the Templo Da Boa Vontade (sure got that from the postcard cuz I would NOT have remembered). Anyway, this was the most brilliant place ever, I am pretty sure it will be my favorite thing about Brasilia. It is a temple, built for worship but not designated to any particular religion or belief. It is GORGEOUS and such a peaceful feeling overcomes you when you enter. They have all kinds of pictures and symbols from all religions and any person you could possible follow. I loved these statues of heads- they are amazing!



They also have a whole room full of these pictures with all kinds of influential people on them...its just great! (Can you tell how much I loved this place?!) These were the only things I could take pictures of, but there was way more to this place than that- a beautiful open place for walking and worship (that is the main pyramid of the temple) and then a great, quiet room downstairs (where there is a tomb, however I am not sure if there is actually a body in it or it is just for display) but that was my favorite place, carpeted and comfy and quiet, a great place to sit and meditate.





The next two pictures were taken at two other churches in the city, (my "mom" here took me to these places one day, it was interesting because we can't really communicate, but very kind of her to take me out) these ones I belive are both Catholic, but very beautiful as well.






This is a picture from a lakeside place I went with Cris (my younger "sister") to participate in a day with the NGO she works with (the same one that I visited the village with). This bridge is named after the president who build Brasilia and was voted one of the most (if not the most) beautiful bridges in the world, it really is stunning).



Some pet parrots of the person who lived (?) at the lakeside place we were at, not very friendly creatures, but pretty.



The next two pictures are from the zoo here, it was nice, been a long time since I went to the zoo, but here it is VERY spread out, which I am sure is great for the animals, but meant we would walk a bit and then drive a bit. I got sunburned, as you'll notice in the next evening pictures! :-)






The same night as the zoo (Saturday) I attended a graduation party with my "family". This place was gorgeous, I guess in Canada it would be what we consider a hall (intended for parties and the like) but this was more like a mansion, it was gorgeous and great food and drink and music, anyway, I couldn't believe they had such a fancy place! And I got to see just how crazy this family is ;-) But it was a good time, although it was a long day and I was pretty tired!









All in all I'm surviving and trying to entertain myself, I miss everyone at home though and love to get comments and emails and the like! Please keep in touch...take care!! Lots of Love from Brazil...

Monday, September 11, 2006

Adventure Begins..

Ok...so finally, an official post to tell you about how I have been! I left Edmonton last Wed morning at 7:00am from the airport, sad to leave, and tired because it was early, but on my way! I arrived in Toronto about 3 hours later and spent the majority of the day there, sitting in the airport, mostly online, and somewhat on the phone, waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, I left for my flight to Sao Paulo, I was tired, but not overly and expected to sleep most of the 9.5 hour flight. However, my feet could not touch the ground properly in the chair, making the flight very uncomfortable and my sleep very difficult, I think I might have slept about 3 hours in total. When I arrived in Sao Paulo I had to switch to a smaller, local airport. Oh no! Lol. But it turned out ok because there was a lovely lady who sat beside me on the plane who could speak both English and Portuguese, she helped me to catch the bus (the bus ride was about 50 minutes) but unfortunately she had left something behind on the plane and wanted to go back and check for it. So I arrived at the airport and found where I needed to check in, although it seemed nobody was speaking English, although a lot of people do know a little English it is not common at all. So I waited in line anxiously, hearing things called over the loud speakers, but not understanding anything, I could tell they were calling for flights and check-ins, but I didn't know how to ask in Portuguese and so I continued waiting in line. Luckily by the time they started calling my flight, the lady who had helped me before suddenly appeared behind me again! :-) She had made it back and helped get me to the front of the line to get my boarding passes, and then went with me to show me where the gate was...she was awesome!!! So I arrived at my gate just after the boarding was to have started, but I learned quickly that Brazilian time is also slow...they were still boarding the previous flight, we did not start boarding our flight until after it was supposed to have departed, but either way I had made it. I had lots of trouble staying awake on the flight from Sao Paulo to Brasilia, even though it was only about 1.5 hours, I was DEAD TIRED! So when I arrived I went to get my baggage and was very slow...but when I went through the exit I found my host family and about 4-5 AIESEC people waiting to greet me, with flowers and gifts :-) It was nice to know someone was there to take care of me, but all I wanted was a shower, and a bed! The family brought me to what is to be my new home and I took a fairly quick shower, as they wanted to go out and eat something. (See previous post) That night I slept well and didn't wake up until almost noon the next day. This house is great, the mom cooks meals, so everyday I get breakfast and lunch ;)

The first day I was here we went to the mall for a bit, and inquired about cellphones for me. Since I have been here I have gone out a couple of times. I went with Cris to meet a guy from AIESEC called Enzo for dinner one night at a resturant near the lake, he also brought a friend who spoke English well because he had studied in the US and his friend who is Canadian and works at the embassy here. It was nice to be around people who spoke English.





Then Cris and I went to a workmate of hers birthday party at a beautiful house. It was a low-key business type party, nothing too exciting, but very nice people.

On Sunday I woke up early with Cris and we went with a NGO she works with called Gente Nova (New Person) to visit and play with some children. The 'director' explained to us that in the area all the parents that lived there had HIV and some of the children did as well. We sang songs and colored and brought them candy, they were sooo sweet, I only wish I had been able to talk to them. Some of the older ones tried to speak to me, and Cris explained that I don't understand Portuguese, so then they wanted to learn things to say to me in English, it was very nice, they were quick learners!





When we got home we went out for lunch (the Dad, Patri, Nanda, Cris and I...the Mom wasn't feeling well) and then went to the mall to get my cellphone!!! Yeah!!! We also stopped to visit some friends of the girls, by the end of this day, I was very, very tired! And today was pretty slow. I woke up late because I had been so tired and started to work on the presentation I have to make about Canada. Later in the afternoon I went with the Mom for a walk to Politec (which is where I will work, and its very, very close by) and then around the City Park here, which is very HUGE and beautiful. This evening Patri and I went out to a fairly fancy place with some of her friends for dinner, it was one of their birthdays, nice dinner, very business like as well. And now I am here writing to all of you, hoping that everyone is well. I miss you all very much, I am having a good time in Brasilia so far, but stressed a lot about the language barrier and anxious to start work and see how that goes. I was told that I didn't need to know Portuguese to work at Politec, and I hope that is correct, otherwise this will be a very difficult barrier. Take care everyone, lots of love and please send me emails and leave me comments.....I miss you!!

Saturday, September 9, 2006

First Supper



Here is my first picture in Brasilia (leave the ones they snapped at the airport when I was tired and dirty from being on a plane (and in the airport) for the last 2 days)...the picture is of my new family and a few people from AIESEC in Brasilia...we went out for Crepes the first night I was here, all you can eat...very nice! Will take more pictures and post soon!

Friday, September 8, 2006

Quick Update

Well, I arrived safe and sound! The family that I am living with came to the airport to pick me up along with some of the people from AIESEC Brasilia. Right now I am just getting settled, but I will post picture and write more soon when I get back to my computer with a regular keyboard :-P Well regular to me...I miss all of you, so PLEASE leave me messages!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Long Hours in Toronto

I'm on my way....right now I'm sitting in the Toronto airport, it's about 3pm and my flight does not leave from here until 10:45pm tonight, so much time to wait. I'm doing pretty good though, starting to get excited about arriving in Brazil, although it was of course hard to leave home too. I'm starting to feel like I should have done more research about Brazil and learned some Portuguese first, but I guess I'll jump right in and I know that I will be fine. This is going to be an awesome experience both life and work wise and I also know that if something doesn't work out, then it doesn't and a great person is always in the back of my mind telling me to let life be. I know that whatever happens, it happens for a reason and I need to keep my head up and keep taking my own advice ;-) So I hope everyone is well getting back to school and ready for fall and winter again, I will be writing next from Brazil and lets hope I start having more pictures to keep things interesting!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

One Week To Go

One week to go and counting....as slowly as I can. I am starting to freak out a little about leaving now, I think mostly because it has actually hit me that I am leaving. My visa arrived today, I have my ticket in hand and I've been packing up my apartment to be moved out tomorrow. Wow- for some reason this all happened very, very fast! AIESEC Brasilia has found me a place to live, with a family of three girls and their parents. I am really excited about that, good way to learn Portuguese and three sisters to help me adjust to a new life, I am excited, but I guess with every change there is always a fear of leaving the known for the unknown. Not much else to update about, been down with a bit of a cold the last couple days, but starting to recover. Hope everyone is doing well...

Monday, August 21, 2006

Waiting on Visa

Ahhhh...Well it just hit me yesterday that I leave in just two weeks and a couple days!!!!! Wow, I wasn't ready for this to come so fast. My ticket came today in the mail, so I feel slightly relieved and slightly more stressed as I still haven't received the original documents I need from Brazil to send on to Toronto for my visa and then they have to send it back to me, and now time is running really close. I have arranged a departure session with AIESEC Edmonton at Padthai on Whyte for Thursday at 8pm, for anyone who reads this and might want to attend. Other than that, I have just been robot building at work, and considering packing up my apartment to be able to move out next week...

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Mild...?

So following the link on Nithya's blog I ended up with this....

You Are More Mild Than Wild

You're confident, and you really aren't concerned with how "hot" you are.
Other people's ideas of what's sexy don't concern you. And this is exactly what makes you attractive.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Life

Well, its been awhile since I wrote, but not much has been going on really. I booked my flight, that was kind of scary, so officially I am leaving on Sept 6, however, I still have yet to receive some documents I need to send on for my visa to be completed, so lets cross our fingers that everything goes through before that. Other than that, nothing much is going on, just been working and chilling, spent at least half of this last weekend sleeping and lazing around the house, it was a nice break. Last weekend was Big Valley and also Heritage Days in Edmonton so I checked out both those events as well. Hopefully I'll do something more exciting soon to post about! Lol. Hope everyone is well and enjoying these last few weeks of summer.

Friday, August 4, 2006

Birthday Celebrations

Alright, so Julia keeps harassing me to add some pictures to my blog, so here are a few snaps from the last little while...Enjoy!



Here I am enjoying my birthday cake at the jazz place, the band even played happy birthday shortly before this! It was an amazing fun and chilled out night.



The INCREDIBLE black forest cake Miss Moriah made me on my birthday, it was gorgeous and tasted even more amazing!



We headed into Capital Ex (used to be Klondike Days) in Edmonton and got to visit with Kara who was working there for a bit (a good Augustana friend from Sask).



And for a THIRD bithday cake...haha, can you tell what I LOVE to do on my birthday!? Jill and I celebrate our birthday within 5 days, so we usually get to share a cake.



Us posing for next year's cake!

Well nothing too exciting, but there are some pictures for you all! As for what I have been busy with lately, not too much. Been working and getting ready for Brazil (mostly mentally), Moriah and Tyler have changed their minds about keeping out apartment and are moving to Hinton, so I have to figure out where I am going to put all my stuff sooner rather than later. I also heard back about my visa and am waiting for some original documents to be mailed from Brazil, so hopefully this doesn't delay my departure date, however, because my ticket it non-refundable, I have yet to book it, because I don't want to take that risk. Other than that hmm...went home to Sask last weekend, did a bit of visiting with the family, showed Bishop around the farm and got to bring the Nova back with us...oh Belinda (that's her name), I love her! Jill, Jeff, Nicole and Marco are here for this long weekend to celebrate Big Valley Jamboree, some HUGE, crazy party, so I will have to join them there tonight probably. Also it's Heritage Days in Edmonton, so I hope to get up there and look around and eat some good food, sometime this weekend. That's about it for now!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

22 Years Young

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...and on and on! Lol. Well I am officially 22 years of age, crazy times! Today was pretty relaxed, had lunch with Arlo and the rest of the TLS crew, then I wandered down town to check out flights. Turns out it is insanely expensive to fly directly to Brasilia, but much cheaper to fly first into Sao Paulo, so that is what I will be doing. I have decided to get a return ticket for one year, even though my internship should be a year and a half, the return flight is cheaper than the one way one and hopefully I can make it home at least once over the next year. Other than that, Moriah has made an amazing looking black forest cake for my birthday and is busy working at creating lazy perogies for me...my favorite!! Over the weekend we (Moriah, Cathy, Bishop and myself) headed to the city to celebrate my birthday, we had supper at a place called Four Rooms, where they have live jazz music on Saturday nights and wonderful red wine. We chilled out there for a good 2-3 hours and it was a great way to celebrate, the jazz band even played happy birthday for me. After that we hit up Gingur Skye for some dancing, but the place was so hot mostly I was just watching, lol. This coming weekend I am heading home to Saskatchewan, for a photo shoot on Saturday and to visit some of the family, as I may not see them again before I take off! BTW, I am looking to book my ticket for Sept 6 from Edmonton, for anyone who is curious, my position starts September 15.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Wedding, Summer Chillin

Well, it's been a few days since I last wrote! Right now I am on a bit of a holiday...took Friday through today off. Attended Selene and Lee's wedding on Saturday, it was gorgeous and a good time was had! Other than that, haven't been up to too much, have yet to hear back about my visa, but that should come through very soon and I will be purchasing my ticket in the next week or so I guess!! It's getting closer! Moriah and Tyler decided to keep our apartment when Cathy and I move out, which is great, because then we don't need to feel rushed to make sure everything is moved out by the end of August. Hmm...other than that, nothing much is new, just enjoying relaxing, going to head to Edmonton to watch a movie later today and then take Syd back to Westlock. My birthday is in one week!!!! Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

Friday, July 7, 2006

Another Day, Another Dollar

A great quotation for today:
"The important thing was to love rather than to be loved."
--Unknown
(I put a new quotation up in my 'office' almost everyday, so that's where that one is today). Well, look at me go, I can't believe I have been so good at keeping this blog going so far, hopefully it keeps up! I will also need to start posting pictures because I know that is more exciting than my ramblings! Today is another day, just like most others, I'm at work, but feeling very rested and ready for today as I slept for almost 12 hours last night lol. Umm...not much is new with me, trying to get ready for Selene's wedding next weekend (a really great friend from Freshman) and Syd and I are tenting for the night, so if anyone has any clever ideas of something important I am bound to forget, please let me know! Other than that, can't think of anything out of the ordinary. Hope everyone is having a beautiful Friday!

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Sask Bound

First day back to work after a week of holidays is very difficult :-( But the time at home was really nice, good to sleep in and not think about anything, it's been a long time since I was home and was not worrying about homework or something. Jill's grad was really great, although the day was very hot and I went home from the party on the very first bus- haha, I know, I am a loser these days! Syd, Cathy and Matt came down on Friday night (arrived in a record time...) and we went out to the lake bar. Saturday we went down to the river, Mom, Dad and Karen came and we went boating, fishing and generally chilling out. It was a gorgeous day and the sun definately got us all. Saturday night we went to check out The Wild at the drive-in, I even got a permit for the Nova for one day, so that was totally exciting! Although, the movie wasn't that great and I slept through most of it. I have great difficulty staying awake through an entire movie, I think it's a genetic thing!! Then Sunday morning mom and I went up to Colin's and stained my bed, which is finally done (a 19th birthday present, ready for my 22nd) and then we all headed up to Swift in two vehicles for Frontier Days! It was a great day as well, ate lots, spent lots and only rode a little. Monday we took our time driving back and then did very little, unpacked and then Syd and I watched a movie (which I am happy to say I was awake through)! And now here I am back at work, reluctantly, but still here!!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Tired Day

Well today I'm feeling quite slow... a little tired and very much ready for my upcoming holiday at home! :-) Work has been a little frustrating, as debugging a program can be (especially ones I thought were working fine). But tomorrow after work I am heading home for almost a week (with the help of the long weekend) as its my sister's grad on the 28th. Over the long weekend, Sydney, Matt and Cathy are coming down to join me, and I am pretty excited, cuz we are going to have a blast!!! Heading to the drive-in to check out The Wild one evening, and down to the river for some swimming and being beach bums, I can't wait! For a quick update on Brazil, still waiting on some documents before I can send my visa application, and the savings fund is growing, slowly, but nonetheless growing, so soon I will be able to purchase my ticket and have a much more definite timeline of when I will be leaving and when I have to decide what I will be doing with all my stuff while I am away. Cathy and I are about to head home for a RELAXING evening, I hope!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

No More Stats!!

For the first day of Summer 2006, I officially quit my job with Statistics Canada, and I feel relieved! Over the last couple weeks or more of the job I have been going back around and pestering people to return their census forms, then it seemed that I was claiming more in gas and hours than I had gotten forms back, ( is this my fault?! ) so needless to say I have been doing no work for them over the past week or so and therefore making no money, so who needs a job in which you aren't making any money?! I mean there are tons of great things to volunteer for and lots of times that I feel the need to work without being paid in monetary funds, often the success of completion is rewarding enough, but in bugging people to fill out a form for the Government of Canada?! I think not. So welcome to Summer and here's to many rays of sunshine being soaked up, many cool drinks on patios and balconies and tons of amazing BBQ food!! :-D

Monday, June 19, 2006

Deferred to 2007

I love life....wow! So I am the most thankful person in the world this week. On Friday I had a phone meeting with the guy from U of Waterloo and guess what?! They are going to defer my acceptance for one year as well as they are going to save me a scholarship!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that?! I just need to let the world know how thankful I am that everything in my life keeps slowly falling perfectly into place! Now I guess I better get my focus on making sure everything is in order for Brazil and then keep in touch with Waterloo so you can find me there in September 2007 :-P...

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Money, Money, MOOONEEEY!!!

Wow...why do they have to go and make decisions so hard?! After getting accepted into the MBET (Masters of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology) program at University of Waterloo, I made the even then difficult decision to go on my internship through AIESEC before doing my masters. But today I got this wonderful email saying that I had been selected for a $10,000 scholarship!!! TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! Like...what the hell?! I am definately going to be doing this masters program at some point in the near future, but right now I have to try and defer my acceptance, and its not like they are going to defer the scholarship for me too! Ahhh! But I suppose, life goes on, this internship is a right now opportunity and it means the world to me, so here's to hoping another scholarship letter appears in my email when I'm ready for it!

Beautiful Home

For all of those who don't know how TRULY flat Saskatchewan is...

photo coutesy of Marialuisa Wittlin (http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/Prairies/Saskatchewan/)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Hmm...

While Western drug companies invest large sums to produce treatments for hair loss and erection pills for consumers in Europe and the US, little by way of essential medicine is given to the people of Africa who face life-threatening diseases such as malaria.
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Just another quotation I came across today that makes a eye opening argument.
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A wonderful quotation for the day! Nothing much exciting happening with me today, just at work, trying to catch up on some hours. Also starting to get my stuff together to apply for my work visa, starting to realize its getting close very fast and I should probably seriously get my shit in order...

Monday, June 12, 2006

Well I've finally entered this realm of blogging....hopefully I can be diligent in keeping this up to date, after reading through some blogs of other aiesecers and their experiences on internships and the likes, I figured I should also share in the knowledge! Let me first introduce myself....Stephanie D. Husby (but Steph is usually sufficient), hailing from the HUGE town of Kyle, Saskatchewan and currently residing in the larger metropolis of Camrose, Alberta! Lol. Right now I'm working as a research assistant at the university I recently graduated from, but soon (first week or so of September) I will be off to Brasilia, Brazil to begin my internship at Politec!!! Wow....life is exciting!!!!!!!!!