Update on Preparations

Quick-dry clothes with muted colors (to blend into the rainforest).

Since today is October 1st, I'm leaving in 16 days! In the past few week and a half, I have gotten my yellow fever vaccine, ordered new glasses and contacts (my prescription has gotten worse yet again), and been to several thrift stores to buy clothes for the trip. Since the humidity in Brazil and Peru is significantly higher than Davis, it is difficult to dry clothes after washing. This means I need to bring mostly quick-dry clothes, most of which I need to buy since I didn't own any. 

Additionally, I have made a lot of progress on college applications! Most of my essays are written, and I am on track to submit in the next two weeks. Here are the colleges I have decided to apply to: Stanford UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Barbara UC San Diego UC Irvine Indiana University CSU Humboldt CSU San Luis Obispo

I couldn't complete this process without all the help I've been getting... My parents for their support, Annika and Nina for editing my essays, my clarinet teacher for last minute lessons on the music I'm recording to send to Stanford (for my art portfolio), and Mr. Bastin and Mr. Slabaugh for amazing letters of recommendation.  I am also getting ready to apply to internships in Germany! I intend to be there May through July 2020 and work for a nature preserve or something similar. 

Lastly, I made a lot of progress on my Portuguese, especially while in Germany, and although I haven't done much in the last few days, I feel ready to start actually speaking it in Brazil (although the first few weeks there will be a glorious language disaster--- I'm excited!). My new favorite way to learn: I found the audio book of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal) on YouTube, which I can watch/listen to with subtitles! I've gotten to the point now where I can sometimes go several minutes without having to look up the meaning of a word. 

While I'm in Davis, I'm spending a lot of quality time with family, friends, and my girlfriend, Nina. These few weeks in Davis are a bittersweet time. I enjoy every moment I get to spend with these people while I prepare to leave; I'm excited to go, and yet knowing that I have to leave these people I love so much and my days with them are numbered can be difficult at times.  So that's that! I'll start posting more frequently as crunch time approaches, so stay tuned!