MACON - On Sept. 17, 2007 Emilia Peixoto was celebrating her 17th birthday. She was also spending her first day in the United States as a participant in the Rotary International Youth Exchange Student Program. Emilia will return to her native Brazil on Sunday just in time to celebrate her 18th birthday with family and friends.

While in Macon, Emilia stayed in the homes of Kay Smith and Brad and Cindy Ayers. She graduated from Macon High School as a member of the class of 2008.

Emilia has mixed feelings about returning home. “I miss my family and friends, but I really like it in the United States,” she said. “I think I have grown up while I have been here.”

Emilia’s father is a photographer. He worked for a newspaper in her home town of Uberaba, Brazil for 25 years, but now has his own studio.

Emilia’s mother is an elementary school music and art instructor. Sister Alice, 16, is in high school. Alice plans on being an exchange student next year and hopes to visit Taiwan or Australia.

Emilia will return to high school classes in Brazil. Since she graduated from MHS, she isn’t required to go back to school, but she wants  finish her senior year with her classmates.

“School is a lot harder in Brazil,” she said. “We have 14 different subjects and we don’t get to choose what classes we take.”

Emilia attends a private Catholic school that begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. each day, five days a week. “Seniors have to go to school six days a week.”

“There is no lunch prepared at school,” she said. “There are no busses at the private school, my dad took me to school and picked me up.”

Emilia says she enjoyed attending MHS. “I liked having a locker, and getting to choose my classes,” she said. “I missed not getting to take a nap after lunch.”

One thing Emilia didn’t enjoy in the midwest is the unsettled weather. “We don’t have tornados in Brazil,” she said. “I was scared when the loud storms kept me awake during the night.”

Emilia had trouble getting used to the cold weather during the winter months. In Brazil there is no snow and the winter temperatures are in the 60’s. “I was freezing here,” she said. “I wore three layers of coats to school in October.”

Emilia says that the Brazilian diet is filled with lots of rice and beans. “We eat more salad in Brazil,” she said.

In Brazil the main meal of the day is at lunch time. “We eat our evening meal at 8 or 9 p.m.,” says Emilia. “We usually have left-overs from lunch or salad in the evening.”

The population of Uberaba is around 300,000 people, but there are few fast-food hamburger places, according to Emilia. “We have pizza places and sit-down restaurants with real food,” she said.

Teenagers in Brazil enjoy getting together at clubs and bars. “We can go there when we are 16,” she said. “We hang out and dance.”

Brazilian young people celebrate their 15th birthday with a Fifteen Anos celebration. The celebration is a big party that usually begins around 10 a.m. in the morning and continues to 5 or 6 a.m. the next day.

Family and friends attend the celebration and enjoy appetizers, a meal, snacks,  and cake and ice cream. “We have dancing after midnight,” she said. “We have breakfast in the morning before everyone leaves.”

Emilia doesn’t think the age of 15 marks any special  milestone in the life of a young person. In Brazil a person is not allowed to drive until the age of 18. “We don’t have driver’s permits, we have to attend driving school and pass a driving and written test to get a license,” she said. “It is illegal for our parents to teach us to drive.”

Most teens do not have part-time jobs in Brazil. They devote their time and efforts to their studies. “My dad says my work was to study.” she said.

Emilia is unsure of her plans beyond high school. She enjoys cooking and has  thought about going to France to study to be a chef. “It is very expensive to study in France.”

Students in Brazil must take an exam to get into college. Public college is free, but is very hard to get in to. “You have to pay a tax to take the test to get in and it is very hard to pass.”

Private colleges are expensive and those wanting to attend must take a test that is specific to each college they are trying to attend. “It is not like in the U.S where you can take the ACT test to get into colleges.”

No matter what the future holds for Emilia, of one thing she is certain, “I am sure I will come back to the United States some time.”