My Summer Vacation

        In the summer of "˜99 I had the chance to visit a friend that lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My friend from Brazil, Ana Radeau, had come to my town the previous summer and spent a semester at my high school. I had no idea of what to expect when I got there because Brazil is such a diverse country with the rainforest, along hundreds of miles of beach, and also with some of the biggest cities in the world, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. But the picture I had in my mind was completely different from what I saw.

        On the flight there I was with another friend from my town; and also Ana was with us because she had come back to our town to visit everyone for three weeks and was returning home. During the twelve hour flight there Ana was explaining different things of what to expect when we got there.

Also she explained to us about her maids and how we did not have to do anything around the house and that they would wash our clothes, make our beds, and cook every meal for us.

        When we arrived in Sao Paulo we were picked up in a white limo and driven about an hour to where Ana lives. While driving through the second largest city in the world, Sao Paulo, I was shocked to see thousands of shacks that belonged to so many poor people. Brazil was nothing like I expected; there were barely any trees and the pollution was so bad that I didn't even want to open my window. I was so shocked to see the horrible conditions that those people had to live in.

        The town that my friend lives in, Alpha Ville, is one of the richest towns in...