Muitas felicidades

Olá todos! well, sorry about the not updating for more than a week thing. My life here is getting busy! yikeys!
I'll try to describe what i've been doing. last sunday, we did end up going to the palácio nacional de ajuda, which was really cool. Typical palace--it was great! I posted pictures (finally!)
um...I'm having trouble remembering what I did last week. Went and looked at gyms. Tuesday morning i woke up really stressed out because of lots of things I have to do... a feeling I think I felt more in the US than here. Now I'm not as stressed, though. Thursday I BAKED A PIE! apple pie! for the AFS orientation. It was a big success, despite being kind of weird because the pan was too big. Friday, I had a half an hour after school to pack, then left for the AFS orientation. It was about an hour away by bus, at a youth hostel type place in the country. It was kinda weird to be in the country after living in the city, but nice, too. It was a lot of fun--so great to talk to everyone, catch up on how everyone's doing. I realized that I'm doing pretty well in portuguese, in comparison to those who speak english with their families and friends. I guess I'm just not afraid to make really silly mistakes, like i do all the time. We did activities, had a talent show (I read "Concord Hymn" and a poem by a portuguese author), ate typical food from various countries (hence the apple pie), and had a lot of fun. stayed up late, too---much different than any type of american camp. I was one of the first to fall asleep on sunday......at 2 AM. hehe
returned sunday night feeling sad it was over. And that this week is test week. yesterday I had história, which wasn't that bad--the teacher had a different test for us, much of which consisted of "open the book and copy phrases on this subject..." so it was good. portuguese today was basically "write about this" in 100-150 words. well I wrote 300, and had a hard time making it less. A skill i don't have. But I was kinda happy i did write all that.
On monday while studying for my portuguese test, i got a song from revels stuck in my head, and it made me sad I won't get to see it this year. Also made my happy thinking about christmas. And I'll share some revels songs/traditions with people here, so it's ok.
today I went to look at another dance school/gym. seems really good, but I don't know what to do! oriental dance, modern/contemporary, hip hop, ballroom/latino, or flamenco e sevilhanas. não sei. any suggestions?
I also found the website for a youth orchestra here that seems really good and I really want to join. I don't know if it's possible, but I sent them and e-mail. I miss being in a band sooo much. And band geeks! I love being a band geek!
Then i came home and made cookies, because it's Debóra (hungary)'s b-day tomorrow. yay! lots of cookies. my host family approved. I think I'm slowly getting integrated into the family. At first I wasn't sure if we'd ever get along, but I think it's coming slowly but surely. I still have akward moments with my host siblings, but tonight was very good. I talked with them, they enjoyed my cookies.... I'm understanding more, too. While people speak in english with Anne-Lise and Debóra, they speak in Portuguese with me. Of course I also have moments where I don't understand a thing, but that's ok. It's only been 6 weeks (It's already been 6 weeks!).
I think all of a sudden i'm less homesick, too. I didn't realize it....but I'm not thinking of home as constantly as I used to, which is a good thing, I think. Of course I still miss everyone, but I think I'm starting to get settled in here. I'm learning and growing so much, and adapting. yayay.
Every tuesday I eat lunch at my host grandfather (avô)'s house, with various host aunts and uncles and cousins. I brought my picture book of home to show them, which they liked seeing. Looking at those pictures makes me realize how wonderful my home is. Different types of wonderfulness than portugal. But it's really a wonderful place to live. One of the things I think I'm learning how to do is to appreciate things. It's hard to just look at something and say "appreciate that!" but it's such a great skill to have. I'm also learning to live in the moment. Just to stop and realize that I'm happy being in that moment, even if I'm not doing anything special.
Still having ups and downs, but continuing to get better, I think. Here's a "down" that's kinda funny. yesterday at lunch time I walked down the street by my school that's full of embassies. I walk down it almost every day (I love seeing the flags and such!). At the turkish embassy, I took a picture to show my dad, and ask what some turkish words meant. I continued walking, and then a guy came out and told me I couldn't take pictures, asking why I took it. i told him my dad spoke turkish, and showed him the pictures to show that i'd erased it. conversation in broken portuguese/english. As I walked away I started crying! I think it was probably just stress coming out, as well as breaking a rule. that must have been a down of a mood swing. right now I have an up. I'm really starting to enjoy my life here...I think it'll probably be hard to come home, even though it'll be happy, too.
i called this muitas felicidades because i think that means "many happinesses/happy times." learning how to make life happy is great. I hope i can really master this skill.
ok, shower time! adeus e beijinhos!