Class related

So in regard to the actual class- we´ve been talking about media ownership lately. First it was about U.S. media ownership and today we talked about non-U.S. media ownership. I was really surprised (and a little scared) at how such a small amount of companies own just about everything. It really does scare me how much control and pówer they have over the masses. And it´s hard not to support them too, because even if you boycott- say, Disney or Disneyland, if you watch any TV programming on ABC, you´re still supporting Disney, since they own ABC. It´s crazy. We taked about Globo- Brazil´s biggest media company. I´ve watched some Globo while I´ve been here. So far, it seems similar to U.S. media. But I guess newscasters just plain look alike no matter what language they´re speaking.
As I´ve been sick and a little out of it (as you can probably tell by my odd journal entries today...) I have not had a chance to read for class tomorrow and I can honestly say that I don´t even know what the assignment is for class tomorrow. When I go back to the room to order my soup, I plan on reading the handout for class. Gotta keep up with my studies.
But so far, it´s been really interesting to be immersed in the culture. I´ve never been away from home for this long and I´m starting to get really homesick (and literally sick) but at the same time, I don´t really want to leave. I love trying to become a part of this culture because it´s such a vibrant culture. It´s interesting to understand how it feels when you begin to blend in and become accustomed to the local way of life here. I´m starting to get used to seeing the same people around campus and although my Portuguese is basically non-existent, I did invest in a Portuguese/English dictionary today, so hopefully that will help in my quest to have a non-English conversation with somebody. I really wish that I spoke the language. Being here has really inspired me to continue to pursue my education in Spanish. I hope to someday be fluent (I´m about halfway there, but still have much to learn). I think that once I learn Spanish fluently, it will be easier for me to understand other languages such as Portuguese, Italian and French. I pick up on languages pretty quickly, so I don´t think that this goal is too far fetched...
but for now, I think I´m going to retire to the hotel, some chicken noodle soup, green tea and Pedro´s company (my fellow sicky poo).