The first time that I traveled abroad was truly unforgettable. I went to United States, more specifically to Washington, D.C., in December 2006. I was supposed to travel in July that year, but my visa interview was scheduled to August, so I had to reschedule this vacation to the end of the year.
I was fifteen years old and I traveled alone, but my aunt was there waiting for me. On the travelling day, I was really anxious and nervous. I took the airplane in Brasília and I had one stop in São Paulo. Arriving in São Paulo, I stayed alone in the Guarulhos International Airport all the rest of the day. I was afraid because my parents were not there with me and it was my first trip alone. At 10:00 p.m., the plane left to the final place. The trip lasted ten hours.
The plane landed in the capital of the United States at 6:00 a.m., and it was very cold there. I took the immigration line, and there I discovered that I had lost the form I-94. I started getting desperate, and I couldn’t speak English anymore. The federal policewoman who was working in the immigration, luckily, was a Brazilian nationalized American, and she started to talk with me in Portuguese. She gave me another form and I filled. Afterwards, finally, I entered in the U.S. and could enjoy my vacation with my aunt, who lives there.
I stayed in that country for 45 days and I had a lot of adventures. Above this problem on the arrival, I had few troubles in the beginning to take buses alone, because my aunt had to work and she couldn't stay with me all the time however, it was great and I handled it well. This vacation made me more mature, because I had to return home on time, control my money, and cook. However, I had a lot of obligations, I loved this trip and it was the best “doing something for the first time” of my life.