Bruno Colicchio Lopes

2004-05 Inbound from Brazil

Date of Birth: November 2, 1987
Hometown: Santo André, SP, Brazil
Sponsor: Santo André Rotary Club, District 4420, Brazil

Host: Starke Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida USA
School: Bradford High School

Bruno's Bio

Hello, I am Bruno Colicchio Lopes from Santo Andre,SP,Brazil. My city has 800.000 inhabitants. There I live with my mother Tania, my father Laurindo, and my sister Andreza (28 years old). I have two older brothers, Diego (25 years old) who lives in Sao Paulo, the biggest city of Brazil, and Fabiano (31 years old), who attends Darden Business School, Univ. of Virginia.

I like to do every sport, my preference is soccer which I play since 7 years old in my city and surfing which I do with my brother Diego in Guaruja, SP. Some people call me "Happy". I like to make people laugh and I hate to be sad, so it is very difficult for you to see me sad. (hehe) I like to try new experiences, do a lot of different things and make friends on every place I go.

I love being an exchange student. Is amazing. Being an exchange student, you can know a lot and a lot of others' cultures, customs and lifestyles.

Well, BE HAPPY!!!

October 3 Journal

Two months and a few days in Florida, how could this be better? Here we have amazing people, food, and everything is awesome.

I went to lots and lots of football games. I really love this game. Me and my host dad are always watching football, some Gators games and some from my school (BHS).

School, I love my school, now I am understanding better English, so I can talk more with my friends and teachers. The school is very different from mine in Brazil, I have some different classes, like TV production, Spanish and fitness. In a few days the practice girls soccer team will start and I will help them.

My days here in Starke are very busy, I help the food pantry at Saturdays and Sundays morning, and now I will help the Habitat for Humanity at Lawtey.

Well it's all.

Bye

December 23 Journal

Hello guys!

Starting with my days here, which are so busy. After school I go to the soccer practice, not mine, but the girls practice. My school doesn't have a boys soccer team, so I am the assistant coach, I really have fun even our team's not doing very good. :-\.

My weekends - Saturdays I help the Food Pantry and the Habitat for Humanity, where I learn a lot about construction, and how it's good for your feelings to help people with needs. I feel so good doing this and all that I do with my second Dad (host dad), he does all that every year since he came back to Starke from the military.

Disney World was so much fun!!! That Thursday night when I saw all that people at the restaurant, some for the first time and some after a while, I thought that would be the greatest trip I would have been on and it was. I don't have words for say about that trip. 58 exchanges student all together, could not be better. That trip will be in my mind for the rest of my life.

I went to a Jaguars game also, against the Chicago Bears, of course they won. That was very fun too, I went with the president of the Starke Rotary Club and other Rotarians.

Ok, happy holidays for all

Be Happy!!

Bruno Lopes

February 16 Journal

Ok I will start talking about the Seacamp. Wednesday I went to Rob's house and slept there (Mrs. Overly, thanks for everything, you are so nice and Rob, even you being a FSU fan, I still think you are cool, you know I love you...you are awesome) with the other exchange students from Gainesville area. Thursday, we got the bus. 13 hours traveling and it was a little bit tiring. When we arrived at Seacamp, we met the Michigan students (very nice people) and went to the fireplace and the instructors talked about what we would do in the other days. Friday, we were separated in groups and then went to make a tour in the camp and went diving in the little "swimming pool" with salt water and went diving in the ocean after lunch. After all that, at night we had the dance, just 2 hours but that was fun, was not that bad. Saturday, on morning we went diving again and after lunch we went organized our skit. At night we made the presentation and I will be sincere, that I was bored. Sunday, on morning Key West, that was fun too and after lunch we get the bus to come back home, that was sad. I wanna meet the exchange students again and have fun like that. Thanks guys for everything. Now, I will talk about what I have being doing here.

Habitat for Humanity - We have almost finished the 6th house, that was fun. I learned a lot about construction and I met a lot of funny guys with a lot of stories to tell.

Food Pantry - Every Saturday and Sunday I help stock over there. My second dad, two very nice people Mary and Floyd and myself are there every weekend doing that. I have so much fun, they are good people.

Wave of Hope - This is an organization to help the tsunami victims. The church I frequent here got a trailer to send school supplies, clothes and medical supplies to to Asia. The trailer is getting full, a lot of people have been helping with that.

Ok, that is all for right now.

"don't worry, be happy"

Thanks

Bruno

April 10 Journal

Hello

I will start with the month of March, or better March Madness. I thought that would be like a normal playoff which I am used to in the NBA, but that was the opposite. I  thought it was so exciting and dramatic. In every game the players were giving their hearts to win. Of course I was for the Gators but that game against Villanova was pretty bad; they did not play like they did at the SEC tournament. I was sad and my family was sad but that is the way - one has to be the winner and one the lose. Forgetting that game and we will go to the last game between UNC and Illinois. That game was my host dad and I cheering for UI and my host mom cheering for UNC, and everyone could see: she won and my host dad and I were trying to find an excuse for that ... so of course the refs were a disappointment.:-)

I will remember all the days where me and my host family sat together to watch those spectacular ball games.

Now, will talk about last week, witch was my spring break (4/4 to 4/8). On 4/1 some German exchange students arrived in the Gainesville airport for a 3 week experience here in Starke and in Bradford High School. This is a short program between my school here and a German school. They have done that for so many years and we can see it is very successful. I enjoyed a lot these weeks, I went to the beach twice both times with the German students and their host students, I also went to the springs with my High School's friends, there we swam and enjoyed the moment because for me this was the unique spring break with them and for them, all seniors, it was the last one in High School.

I have been 8 months here and my experience here is almost finishing and now I can say for sure: "This is the best thing I have done in this 17 years of life". Well 17 years is not a lot but is something. LOL

Thanks

Bruno

June 29 Journal

Hey guys

I am here to say that this is my last journal and I will talk about my experience in the west coast of the USA. It started with my host dad taking me by car all the way to Fort Collins- CO. Those were 3 days traveling; we passed through Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, a little bit of Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and finally Colorado. In three day of trip I saw a lot of different things like how the gas is cheap in Georgia and so expensive in Missouri and I also saw a lot cows, a lot of corn. and a lot of hay; but I also saw those nice little western towns really small and very pretty and funny with those cowboys with their big hats. In that trip I found out that I can be a good navigator (not really) and work with maps, that is a tough job. We got in Fort Collins, CO and it was cold, not cool , COLD and my host dad from FLORIDA forgot to bring a sweater so we went all around Fort Collins to find something and they did not have a thing! Even Wal-Mart didn't have anything but we finally found in some store - I don't know where - a sweater.

Next day, I got my bus, but before I tell about my trip I will tell y'all why my host dad took me all the way to Colorado; he did that because he was going to visit his son in Arizona. Now let's come back, I got the bus with the kids from the district 5440 and we started our trip.

The trip was awesome, I met a lot of friends in there including the chaperons (Gentry and Bill Mollenhoff) and the bus driver (John) - they were great people and fun to talk with.

In the trip we went to Grand Canyon, amazing place which I could stay looking at it for about one day without missing anything, just playing because that thing is big man...

We went to California: like L.A., Universal Studios in Hollywood, and San Francisco. That is a neat place but I am sorry there had a lot of, you know what I mean, not real men.

We went to Las Vegas, the Sin City, but I won't tell about it because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. We also went to do rafting in the Colorado river, cold but really fun.

Well, to finish my last journal of the year I would like to thank you every person who helped me and supported me during this wonderful year. I can say now that it was the best year of my like and I won't forget all those wonderful people and this wonderful country and of course this wonderful state like Florida. I LOVE FLORIDA!!

WE ARE THE BOYS FROM OLD FLORIDA, F-L-O-R-I-D-A! GO GATORS!!!

THANK YOU GUYS I WILL MISS YOU

LOVE Y'ALL

Bruno Lopes

P.S. Hey Kira, Palmeiras is the best soccer team ever! :)