Clara Torres

2009-10 Inbound from Brazil

Hometown: Vilas do Atlantico, Bahia, Brazil

Sponsor: Lauro de Freitas Rotary Club, District 4550, Brazil

Host: Winter Springs Rotary Club, District 6980, Florida, USA

School: Winter Springs High School, Winter Springs, Florida

Bio

Clara's Bio

Hi, my name is Clara Torres, I’m from Brazil and my new adventure is starting now! I’m in Winter Springs, Florida USA as an exchange student. I hope that my exchange year be the best of my life, and I’ll work to make this so!

I live in Vilas do Atlantico, Bahia, Brazil, which is about 20 min from Salvador, the big city of Bahia … the Carnaval city … The Carnaval is a big street party which happens in February and has millions of people from around the world attend … it is very nice!

I live with my mom sometimes or sometimes with my dad, as they live in the same condominium building. I have one sister, 2 years younger than me, and she is like my best friend. I love her and we are always together! My house is like 8 minutes from my school and I walk when I can. I was doing the last year of school in Brazil, but I couldn’t finish because the Brazilian schools begin in February, after the Carnaval. The school in Brazil is totally different from the high school here.

I live very close to the beach also, about 15 minutes walking … and I love to go to the beach! I have grown up there my whole life. It is a nice place to live, however we have some troubles because it is near a big city but we still have a quality of life.

I have a lot of things in school to do. I study a lot, but I have time to do my after school activities. I like to play soccer, and I played in a school team. Also, I have the Interact club, which I have participated in for three years.

I like to be with my friends all the time. Every weekend I’m doing something with them, and when we don’t have anything to do, we just stay together and talk about everything.

That is me! So thank you for this opportunity... I hope this year be a wonderful year!

October 21 Journal

Well, 2 months here, and I’m loving it, every day I learn something new! And just now I’m starting to miss home! Sometimes I just ask where’d go this 2 months? I can remember my first day here, after a long time traveling, as about 20 hours (with all the flights), I meet my family, and went to have lunch with my host sister and her friends, and at night, Party! My first day was so full as all my two first months! And then, I remember that I still have 9 months to have more fun!

I didn’t have time to miss home, in these months, had so much new things to see and learn, but now is starting the routine! I had some typical experiences of American life, as a homecoming week, pep rally, and, of course, football game! The school in general is really different for me, but I could have a great adaptation. I like my school, I have good grades and is everything really easy! I’m making friends every time, some of them, I’m sure, that I will never forget! Now I’m training with the soccer team and I’m in the interact club!

I really like all the people from my Rotary club, they are all nice and I’m going to the meetings every time I can! I already have been in SeaWorld and Halloween horror nights, and had good time with my friend/sister Elena  One of the things that I’m always doing is Shopping! When we don’t have nothing to do, let’s go to Shopping!

In resume, I’m having a really good time here! Thank you will be never enough for everybody from my Rotary club, especially to John Siegel... But THANK YOU! Thanks to make the possible to give to me a great time!			Sea World
Pep rally!	Homecoming parade	Homecoming dance	Halloween Horror Nights

January 3 Journal

Now it’s about 4 months and a half I am here, and I keep asking myself: where’d this time go?

I had many different experiences here! Now I’m completely adapted to my life here, everything is so normal that I don’t even miss my home, family or friends in Brasil (sorry mom and dad, but it's true!)! Now I am starting to miss everything here already, I keep thinking how many good friends I made here and how my life changed after this! In just 4 months I can see the difference, not just in me but in all my friends too! I had a big change outside too, I decide to cut my hair! And I did it by myself (nobody believes it, but it’s true)

Some of my fun experiences here was the Thanksgiving and the break. I had a double Thanksgiving. I went to lunch with my friend’s family, a huge family, about 50 people there! Then at night I went to the house of the president of my Rotary club! OMG, too much food! I loved it! My break was so full of fun things to do, I went to Disney, Seaworld, Magic game, watched New Moon…

I also have been in New Smyrna Beach! Passed the weekend with the students from my district! I loved it, I miss the beach! Beach here is different from my beach in Brasil, and was kind of cold, but I had fun!

Then came the Disney weekend, with all the exchange students! So far the best weekend of my exchange year! Thank you Rotary and thank you my friends to make this happened! We went to all the Disney theme parks, lot of fun! We stayed at the All Star Movies, and I have some funny stories about this weekend that I will never forget!

I went to West Point, Mississippi state for Christmas! I went to Mississippi State University, to visit the university my host parents went! That’s a beautiful place! It was really cold there, almost snowed! We opened the gifts on Christmas Eve, and had a good lunch with the all family at Christmas day! We came back in 12 hours driving!

I also went to Busch Gardens, then to Jacksonville to spend the new year with the District 6970! We prepared and served food to homeless people, then we went to a party in a beautiful house, and had so much fun watching the fireworks and laughing on Ana falling in the river! We had hot tub, karaoke, ping pong… this was a wonderful night! Thank you to let me enjoy it with you!

And now I am preparing to go back to school! It’s so weird to realize we are in 2010 already!

But I am ready to have more fun…!

THANK YOU ROTARY!

New Smyrna Beach!	Magic game with Lilla	Seaworld with Lilla
Magic Kingdom, Disney weekend	Waiting for Santa!	New Year's fireworks ... perfect!

June 2 Journal

Ok, first of all I have to apologize, I haven’t written for a really long time! I’m so sorry, but is just because my year has been SO GREAT that I didn’t have the time to stop and write down everything that happened since the new year thru now. Let’s do like this:

January: My wonderful surprise birthday party, I’m 18 now baby! I had so much fun, was a great party that my friends made for me!

Then, I had a month full of fun things to do, and for closing it perfectly: Seacamp at the keys! Such a great time, with my ‘family’ (all the exchange students). We had an experience with the sea, snorkeling and learning... A dance party that I’m pretty sure everybody enjoyed, we had some good presentation about what we learned at the camp too. For the last day, a walk around Key West, and the sad part of saying goodbye, in our last trip with all of us!

February: As you know, I’m from Brazil, the Carnaval land! February is the Carnaval month, and I was surprised with the different Carnaval I had this year: a fair!

Then February went well, some Magic games with my friends, started the gym (because hamburger and waffle all the time.. well), and of course more shopping too! I also went to a rodeo, a new experience for me  , and RYLA, which had great speakers and entertainment!

March: Shopping, shopping, shopping and get ready for one of the greatest American experiences: PROM! Exactly the way I saw in the movies, Prom was such an American experience; I had such a great time! Pictures, Limo, party, dance... Fun!

April: This month was so great that I didn’t even see it pass by.. But I started realizing that the time to go home is getting closer and closer! OMG... But here comes spring break! I went camping at the Keys, went to Disney, to the beach and to hang out with my friends. And in the end of the month the big trip: CRUISE TO BAHAMAS! So far one of the best weekends of my life, I could live there, with no problems! The place is so beautiful, the water... The weather, everything is amazing! I’m not even gonna talk about the food...

May: Still making new friends and having fun, I went to visit my mom’s friend at Atlanta, GA, with my host mom. I loved the city; I went to the Coca-Cola Museum and the Georgia Aquarium. I also went to a Atlanta Braves’ game, my first baseball game, which I thought I could at least understand better than what I expected 

Now, school is over, I had to say goodbye for my teachers and some of my friends, and realize that the time is coming. I’m about a month away to go home... A month full of good experiences, I hope. A time to say bye to all the great things I’ve done, the great places I’ve been, and, the most important, the wonderful friends I’ve made!

As we all know: THANK YOU WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH! THANK YOU VERY MUCH ROTARY!

Me and my buddy Zee starting our snorkeling lesson

Prom picture

Bahamas Cruise - Rotary District Conference

Atlanta Braves game

July 6 Journal

This last month was so far the BEST one, full of activities and the best trip of my life: the west coast trip. We went from Phoenix, AZ to San Francisco, CA, passing thru amazing places as the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Yosemite National Park. I also had some good bye parties and had some fun with my friends, going to the beach and hanging out, always doing something since it's summer. To close perfectly my exchange year, my last month was really fun!

That’s it, my last journal.. The end of the best year of my life, full of new experiences, new friends, new places, a new life which now I have to say bye. It is a weird feeling, hard to describe, but the closest description is that going home after an exchange year is like waking up from a really good dream. There’s my last night here, I have everything packed and ready to go back to my old or maybe new life. I just want to again thank Rotary for everything, this whole experience can not be described in words, it is something that will stay with me forever, in my memories, in my heart.. Once exchange students, forever exchange students. Thank you Rotary, thank you Mr. Al Kalter, thank you John Siegel, thank you my host family, and thank you each and every one who was part of this. I will miss every single day of it, for the rest of my life. THE END