By Alyssa Moats

Seeing snow for the first time is going to be exciting for Brazilian exchange student Nathalia Rabelo, along with making new friends.

Rabelo is fifteen years old and is a senior at Flora High School, but when she returns home she will still have a year and a half of schooling left before college. She said “after graduating high school, you have to take an exam even if you have the best possible grades after graduating.”

While attending FHS Rabelo plans to participate in Drama and science club, and will be playing volleyball, basketball, and softball.

During her time in  Flora, Rabelo’s host family is Janet and Curt Lewis. She said “they are very sweet and kind, and I am glad I am staying with them.”

Rabelo’s family and friends are a little different back home in Brazil. She shared, “at home it is usual to kiss and hug, but in the U.S. it’s not a common thing.” Life in Brazil for Rabelo is also quite different from here; it is much larger than Flora. Rabelo lives in the largest city of Brazil; it has a population of 100,000. Some of the main differences are that they have big shopping mall and a lot of factories.