Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Paraguay
We got an early start today and headed to Paraguay for some shopping. This Paraguayan city is something like Tijuana. It was filled with great deals on everything from socks and purses to digital cameras and iphones, with street venders approaching from every angle. It definitely couldn’t keep my languages straight here, and people would speak Portuguese, Spanish or English, and almost any currency was accepted. The prices were almost always posted in US dollars, which I thought was pretty interesting. I’ve gotten so use to Reais that it was strange to see things in dollars again. Not to mention that my income is in Reais, so I was actually converting the prices back, to know what they would be in Reais. Paraguay has a completely open border, both ways, so I didn’t even get a stamp in my passport to prove I was there.
Iguaçu
On Sunday we headed to the Brasil side of the Iguaçu falls. While waiting for our bus we wondered around a little museum display that showed how the falls were formed. Apparently they are the results of mayor volcanic activity that settled in layers, which is why the falls have two tiers. The display that caught both my and Enrique’s attention was this giant ball showing pictures of the falls and other scenery. 
It looks like a giant ball, but really it is just a small screen with four mirrors on each side. Even when I knew what it was I couldn’t quite understand it, but it was pretty neat. We caught the air conditioned bus to the first trail station. 
I swear today was even hotter than yesterday, and both days I could have easily melted into a puddle of sweat if I stayed in the direct sunlight for more that 2 minutes. From Brasil the falls were still absolutely magnificent. Most of the falls are actually on the Argentine side of the river, so while we walked among them yesterday, today we had a beautiful sweeping view of all the falls at once, from across the river.
It was truly breathtaking. 
I just couldn’t stop taking pictures. We made our way along the river until we finally came upon Garganta del Diablo, the Devil’s Throat. 
This is the start of the falls, and the water force is unbelievably powerful. We stood for a while on the little platform nearly surrounded by the rushing waters.
After an ice cream cone we headed back to the Villalobus’ for a Sunday afternoon churrasco. Just how you might imagine a Brasilian Barbeque, an assortment of meats, a beautiful salad, rice, beans and of course capirina… a special Brasilian drink made from sugar cane liquor. It was truly one of the highlights of my weekend. I like to boost that I am a traveler, not a tourist, and this is an example of that. A tourist visits the falls then returns to the five star hotel for a “Brasilian” buffet. A traveler sits in the backyard of a Brasilian family trying her best Portuguese while sampling meats, drinks and music. The Villalobus’ are a really amazing family. They all have so much energy and are so hospitable. I really enjoyed getting to know all of them. I am really lucky that one of my students was from Iguaçu, and a student who I really enjoy the company of. My best Brasilian tour guide was able to be my Iguaçu tour guide as well.
It looks like a giant ball, but really it is just a small screen with four mirrors on each side. Even when I knew what it was I couldn’t quite understand it, but it was pretty neat. We caught the air conditioned bus to the first trail station. I swear today was even hotter than yesterday, and both days I could have easily melted into a puddle of sweat if I stayed in the direct sunlight for more that 2 minutes. From Brasil the falls were still absolutely magnificent. Most of the falls are actually on the Argentine side of the river, so while we walked among them yesterday, today we had a beautiful sweeping view of all the falls at once, from across the river. It was truly breathtaking. I just couldn’t stop taking pictures. We made our way along the river until we finally came upon Garganta del Diablo, the Devil’s Throat. This is the start of the falls, and the water force is unbelievably powerful. We stood for a while on the little platform nearly surrounded by the rushing waters.After an ice cream cone we headed back to the Villalobus’ for a Sunday afternoon churrasco. Just how you might imagine a Brasilian Barbeque, an assortment of meats, a beautiful salad, rice, beans and of course capirina… a special Brasilian drink made from sugar cane liquor. It was truly one of the highlights of my weekend. I like to boost that I am a traveler, not a tourist, and this is an example of that. A tourist visits the falls then returns to the five star hotel for a “Brasilian” buffet. A traveler sits in the backyard of a Brasilian family trying her best Portuguese while sampling meats, drinks and music. The Villalobus’ are a really amazing family. They all have so much energy and are so hospitable. I really enjoyed getting to know all of them. I am really lucky that one of my students was from Iguaçu, and a student who I really enjoy the company of. My best Brasilian tour guide was able to be my Iguaçu tour guide as well.
Itapu
The Itapu damn is one of the seven modern wonders of the world and is located in a neutral area between Brasil and Paraguay. The Parana river divides Brasil and Paraguay and meets up with the Iguaçu river further down street, past the falls. 
On Friday and Saturday nights they have an illumination display where they light up the damn. Enrique’s mom joined Enrique and I for the tour. The illumination itself was pretty unimpressive…it only lasted about 2 minutes, after we had waited for probably close to 45. But the tour was interesting. The damn produces an enormous amount of energy for both Paraguay and Brasil. 
On Friday and Saturday nights they have an illumination display where they light up the damn. Enrique’s mom joined Enrique and I for the tour. The illumination itself was pretty unimpressive…it only lasted about 2 minutes, after we had waited for probably close to 45. But the tour was interesting. The damn produces an enormous amount of energy for both Paraguay and Brasil. 
Iguazu
The Iguazu river divides Brasil and Argentina. Both Brasil and Argentina have national parks on their side of the falls and you can visit each side. On Saturday we decided to head to the Argentina side. 
I was excited because I had never been to Argentina and this was an opportunity for be to check one more country off my map. Unfortunately I quickly discovered that my Spanish has suffered greatly by being suppressed for 5 months. I was ever difficult to say “gracias” to the people working at the park. Enrique and I made our way through the paths and walkways. We met some friendly animals along the way. 
Finally, we began to hear the sound of rushing waters. Unlike Niagra Fall, Iguazu is a large area with many different falls. Some are much larger than others, and some more spectacular. As we can into the clearing….I was absolutely speechless. I hope this I hope these pictures can do it justice because I don’t think that my words will be able to. There was water flowing everywhere….not to mention the sky was absolutely perfect, bright blue with a few puffy clouds and the mist from the falls created rainbows everywhere we looked. The paths led us right along the top of may of the cataratas so we could actually look down to see where the water was falling to.
It was truly amazing.
After walking across the top we made our way down to the bottom to stand in the spray of the falls. It was so unbelievably hot that we couldn’t wait to feel some mist. (By hot, I mean really hot!! I can hardly remember a time in my life when I felt they kind of heat… I think it was 43˚C… and there was just no escape from the sun, besides of course in the shade of the trees… aka the shadow). Standing below the fall was really impressive as well. The sunlight was coming over the top somewhat like a cloud with a silver lighting. 
The force of the water was pretty powerful, and we walk away with a health dose of it. It truly was an awe inspiring day. 
Afterwards we caught the train back to the central station in the park and then caught the last bus into town, Puerto de Iguazu. 
However we missed the last bus from Puerto de Iguazu back to Foz de Iguaçu… in Brasil. We walked back and forth a few times looking for an alleged phone, that we had heard about, but couldn’t find. Enrique politely waited until the cashier was available before approaching to ask for directions to the phone. Then he pointed up back in the direction from which we just came…toward the other store that he had just asked at. Enrique just rolled his eyes and said, “Welcome to Argentina.” Brasil and Argentina have a bit of a friendly rivalry and Enrique like to find any opportunity possibly to point out how awful the country was. We finally found the phone… it was a regular house phone in the back of tiny convenient stand. We both tried to make sense of the price chart, unsuccessfully. Between us we had about 70 pesos left after exchanging our money in Brasil, and we were hoping that a quick international call wouldn’t be more than that. (70 pesos is about US$25). He called his mom to see if she could pick us up. He didn’t know the street name, but was in such a hurry to get off the phone, not knowing what it was costing, that he nearly knocked over a customer to reach the cashier to ask. It was really quite funny because Enrique is usually very corgial and polite. Of course I am exaggerating, but when we went up to pay the total came to 15…cents… Really?! 15 pesos cents…so that’s… I don’t know, not very much. We joked that we should call all our friends, and later we were both nearly crying because we were laughing so hard about how he had shoved the customer aside to save half a cent. Anyway, all is well and we arrived home safely.
I was excited because I had never been to Argentina and this was an opportunity for be to check one more country off my map. Unfortunately I quickly discovered that my Spanish has suffered greatly by being suppressed for 5 months. I was ever difficult to say “gracias” to the people working at the park. Enrique and I made our way through the paths and walkways. We met some friendly animals along the way. Finally, we began to hear the sound of rushing waters. Unlike Niagra Fall, Iguazu is a large area with many different falls. Some are much larger than others, and some more spectacular. As we can into the clearing….I was absolutely speechless. I hope this I hope these pictures can do it justice because I don’t think that my words will be able to. There was water flowing everywhere….not to mention the sky was absolutely perfect, bright blue with a few puffy clouds and the mist from the falls created rainbows everywhere we looked. The paths led us right along the top of may of the cataratas so we could actually look down to see where the water was falling to. It was truly amazing.After walking across the top we made our way down to the bottom to stand in the spray of the falls. It was so unbelievably hot that we couldn’t wait to feel some mist. (By hot, I mean really hot!! I can hardly remember a time in my life when I felt they kind of heat… I think it was 43˚C… and there was just no escape from the sun, besides of course in the shade of the trees… aka the shadow). Standing below the fall was really impressive as well. The sunlight was coming over the top somewhat like a cloud with a silver lighting. The force of the water was pretty powerful, and we walk away with a health dose of it. It truly was an awe inspiring day. Afterwards we caught the train back to the central station in the park and then caught the last bus into town, Puerto de Iguazu. However we missed the last bus from Puerto de Iguazu back to Foz de Iguaçu… in Brasil. We walked back and forth a few times looking for an alleged phone, that we had heard about, but couldn’t find. Enrique politely waited until the cashier was available before approaching to ask for directions to the phone. Then he pointed up back in the direction from which we just came…toward the other store that he had just asked at. Enrique just rolled his eyes and said, “Welcome to Argentina.” Brasil and Argentina have a bit of a friendly rivalry and Enrique like to find any opportunity possibly to point out how awful the country was. We finally found the phone… it was a regular house phone in the back of tiny convenient stand. We both tried to make sense of the price chart, unsuccessfully. Between us we had about 70 pesos left after exchanging our money in Brasil, and we were hoping that a quick international call wouldn’t be more than that. (70 pesos is about US$25). He called his mom to see if she could pick us up. He didn’t know the street name, but was in such a hurry to get off the phone, not knowing what it was costing, that he nearly knocked over a customer to reach the cashier to ask. It was really quite funny because Enrique is usually very corgial and polite. Of course I am exaggerating, but when we went up to pay the total came to 15…cents… Really?! 15 pesos cents…so that’s… I don’t know, not very much. We joked that we should call all our friends, and later we were both nearly crying because we were laughing so hard about how he had shoved the customer aside to save half a cent. Anyway, all is well and we arrived home safely.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Iguaçu wildlife
I arrived in Iguaçu after a 2 hour flight delay at 3am! Enrique and his mother were there at the airport waiting for me. Even though I was really tired I was also hungry and after much debate about what would be open at this time between Enrique and his mother, they decided to take to their house for grilled cheese sandwiches. It was just what the doctor orders.... and I finally got to my hotel and my bed at 4:30am!!!
We decided to delay our morning plans a sleep in, so around 10:30 I headed back over to Enrique's house. Enrique's dad works as the F&B and Event manager for Bourbon Hotel...a really luxurious beautiful hotel that towers over my little B&B across the street. Enrique's family is friend with the owers of this hotel too...so I was given a good deal, and it's much more friendly to my budget. The Villalobus' live in a house on the hotel property, and although it is a modest house, they get access to the resort hotel and they can eat at the hotel for free, so it's a really nice set up. From his house we took a walk around the hotel property. They have a little zoo...mostly with birds... and then these little monkey type things.
Their tails weren't holding on to anything like other primates, so we weren't really sure what they were. Sort of a cross between a monkey and a raccon.
After a fabulous lunch at the hotel we headed to Argentina to see the falls. The
Iguaçu falls divide Brasil and Argentina, and the Argentina side has a reputation for being more beautiful.
We decided to delay our morning plans a sleep in, so around 10:30 I headed back over to Enrique's house. Enrique's dad works as the F&B and Event manager for Bourbon Hotel...a really luxurious beautiful hotel that towers over my little B&B across the street. Enrique's family is friend with the owers of this hotel too...so I was given a good deal, and it's much more friendly to my budget. The Villalobus' live in a house on the hotel property, and although it is a modest house, they get access to the resort hotel and they can eat at the hotel for free, so it's a really nice set up. From his house we took a walk around the hotel property. They have a little zoo...mostly with birds... and then these little monkey type things.
Their tails weren't holding on to anything like other primates, so we weren't really sure what they were. Sort of a cross between a monkey and a raccon.
After a fabulous lunch at the hotel we headed to Argentina to see the falls. The
Iguaçu falls divide Brasil and Argentina, and the Argentina side has a reputation for being more beautiful.On the walk into the park we bumped into these little animals... they wanted food and they were very friendly, so I am sure they have been fed by other tourist...this one had his eye on Enrique's backpack. A moment later a mother and her litter of children crossed the path in front of us.... there must have been at least 20 babies... they were everywhere! It was really amazing to see.
Good bye to Yes!
Thursday was my last day at Yes, and we had a Christmas party, then we went out to dinner at Brasil Vexado which served all you can eat Pizza and Tapioca. Here are some of my Yes friends, teacers and staff.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Under My Umbrella--ella--ella
For the first month that I was here I found myself thinking a lot about buses...the wrong bus, the right bus, the fastest bus, the cheapest bus.... my whole life pretty much revolved around buses. That was my only form of transportation, and because I am an English tutor and have different jobs all over the city, I found myself on a bus or waiting for a bus most of my day. Luckily things could be worse... and really I didn't mind the time at the bus stops, sitting watching people... and now that I am trying to live like a Brasilian it doesn't even feel like a waste of time... because we really should just slow down and sit every once in a while. So now I have been here five months, and I pretty much have a handle on the buses. I know a lot of the bus drivers and the money collectors, I know which buses are better, but also which one's will get me there if I am tired of waiting. All is good with the buses.
So my new problem....umbrellas. We are now in summer here in Brasil (I know, technically summer doesn't begin until December 21st, but they don't seem to know that and everyone has been calling this summer since sometime in November)...and summer means rain...lots and lots of rain. So...at this point I probably spend as much time under my umbrella as I do at the bus stops. I didn't bring an umbrella with me, figuring that they could be too expensive and that I would just buy one here. The first one lasted about 3 weeks...then I was walking around with a half umbrella as the wires broke. I still dealt with the half umbrella for quite a while, but then ofter one heavy rain storm I decided that I'd had enough. So I bought a new one....and durning it's firt use....which was a heavy rain....I noticed that I was starting to get wet...on my head....drip...drip...drip....the umbrella leaks!!! How is that even possible. It kept the majority of the rain off, so I decided to deal with it....and then a week later one of the flaps came un hinged. I had never really studied umbrellas so closely, but there really are a lot of weak points on an umbrella and I think I am going to start carrying around a needle and thread...just for emergency repairs.
So my new problem....umbrellas. We are now in summer here in Brasil (I know, technically summer doesn't begin until December 21st, but they don't seem to know that and everyone has been calling this summer since sometime in November)...and summer means rain...lots and lots of rain. So...at this point I probably spend as much time under my umbrella as I do at the bus stops. I didn't bring an umbrella with me, figuring that they could be too expensive and that I would just buy one here. The first one lasted about 3 weeks...then I was walking around with a half umbrella as the wires broke. I still dealt with the half umbrella for quite a while, but then ofter one heavy rain storm I decided that I'd had enough. So I bought a new one....and durning it's firt use....which was a heavy rain....I noticed that I was starting to get wet...on my head....drip...drip...drip....the umbrella leaks!!! How is that even possible. It kept the majority of the rain off, so I decided to deal with it....and then a week later one of the flaps came un hinged. I had never really studied umbrellas so closely, but there really are a lot of weak points on an umbrella and I think I am going to start carrying around a needle and thread...just for emergency repairs.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Updated update
Well unfortunately, the results of Lance's X-rays were not as encouraging. Apparently he has made very little progress over the last week...so there is little hope that the necessary progress will be made by next week. But he is still hopeful, so Lance and Kelly's departure date is in limbo.
Lance's Update
Lance had a doctor's appointment last night at 7pm. I know, I know, 7 pm seems like a strange time to have a doctors appointment, but...it's Brazil. Anyway, Kelly and Lance both really liked the doctor. He was recommended by the American Embassy website and specializes in the lungs. He was very confident that Lance will be fine, and that his bady will actually heal itself...so that there would be no need for surgery. He is also confident that Lance will be able to fly on the 20th...so that's good. Two nights ago in our prayer meeting Kelly's prayer sounded something like this, "...and Lord, please let Lance fly home on the 20th......of December.....two thousand and eight..." I guess sometimes it's good to be specific in prayers. :)
Apparently the reason that the pain was so bad this time is not because the collapse is any bigger or worse...but because of his previous surgery. I don't totally understand this, so I will probably explain it wrong, but just for a general idea...it sounds as though we have two layers surrounding our lungs...and usually they are loose from one another....like one balloon inside the other, and air can get around freely. Because of Lance's previous surgery the two layers are sealed together....like when two balloons get hot and stick together...but all over...and then the lung sprung a leak...and air was coming in between the two layers trying to force them apart. This is what felt like a sharp knife in Lance's back. He went back to the doctors this afternoon for more X-Rays, so we will see. Anyway, I think the pain has subsided for the most part, and Lance is just resting.
Apparently the reason that the pain was so bad this time is not because the collapse is any bigger or worse...but because of his previous surgery. I don't totally understand this, so I will probably explain it wrong, but just for a general idea...it sounds as though we have two layers surrounding our lungs...and usually they are loose from one another....like one balloon inside the other, and air can get around freely. Because of Lance's previous surgery the two layers are sealed together....like when two balloons get hot and stick together...but all over...and then the lung sprung a leak...and air was coming in between the two layers trying to force them apart. This is what felt like a sharp knife in Lance's back. He went back to the doctors this afternoon for more X-Rays, so we will see. Anyway, I think the pain has subsided for the most part, and Lance is just resting.
Friday, December 5, 2008
When it Rains it Pours
Ironically it didn't rain yesterday...and it didn't pour.
As I was getting ready to leave for work, at about 7:15am, Kelly had left about 45 minutes earlier, I hear clapping out front. Clapping is what they do instead of ringing to doorbell or knocking on the door, since we all live inside metal gates and there is no doorbell and no door to knock on. I sort of figured that the clapping must be for our neighbor because I was definitely not expecting anyone at 7:15am. When I left however, at 7:30am, our gate was wide open and our neighbor and another man were standing out front. When they saw me they both started talking at once. Unfortunately my Portuguese isn't good enough to translate that chaos, but I heard "bike" and "man" and with their gesturing I could tell that some one "went that way." I was definitely confused, but I could see that Lance's bike was gone, which usually means that Lance has gone to the store or something...perhaps they are trying to tell me that Lance accidently left the gate open? I check the gate and it was open, but strangely it was still locked....then it occured to me...his bike was stolen! Oh man! How did this guy get in. So I confirmed my suspisions by repeating back this story to my neighbor and she confirmed it. I was late for work so decided not to wake Lance up, since there was nothing to be done at this time and I would be back in about an hour and a half.
The whole ride back I was trying to think of how I was going to break this bad news...the good thing is that Lance is going home in about 5 days, so he might be able to live without his bike. And unfortunately he has no one to blame but himself because he was warned over and over again not to leave his bike in the front...in plain view, but to hide it in the back.
Anyway, when I got home Lance looked at me and said, "guess what" in a really bad tone, so I was pretty sure that he knew about the bike...."I think my lung collapsed."
"WHAT?!?!" I didn't know how to react. I thought I was coming back to give bad news. Lance's lung has collapsed two times in the past. It is very painful. But...how...why...WHAT?! He explained that he was just laying in bed...he wasn't even doing anything strenuous...and there was this sharp pain in his back. It was a familiar pain, but worse. Oh my gosh! Then I said, well...do you want some more bad news?...your bike was stolen.
It wasn't even 10 o'clock yet and it was already turning out to be a pretty bad day. We both tried calling Kelly a few times but she doesn't really have an oppertunity to answer her phone while she is teaching, go figure.
Instead Lance ended up calling Leila and she took him to the hospital. There he had a check up, and the doctor spoke pretty good English, so that was a relief. She was getting ready to schedule him for surgery and everything, but when the X-rays came back she found that is was really a very small collapse and she said that it would probably heal itself. So she sent Lance home with some pain medicine, his X-ray (apparently you get to keep your X-rays in Brasil) and instructions not to fly for a while....so that's a bummer. He changed his ticket to come back with Kelly on the 20th...and we are all praying that he will be fine by then. We also had to cancel our trip for this weekend.
By the way, Leila is the absolute most amazing person in the world. When Lance called her their converstation went something like this:
Leila: "Halo?"
Lance: "Leila? this is Lance."
Leila: "oh Lance! How are you?"
Lance: "I'm not good. I think I need to go to the hospital."
Leila: "I am coming now" *click*
She didn't wait for an explination nor did she did a second thought...she hung up and drove over. She is absolutely amazing.
(Luckily there is always a rainbow after a rain story...right?)
As I was getting ready to leave for work, at about 7:15am, Kelly had left about 45 minutes earlier, I hear clapping out front. Clapping is what they do instead of ringing to doorbell or knocking on the door, since we all live inside metal gates and there is no doorbell and no door to knock on. I sort of figured that the clapping must be for our neighbor because I was definitely not expecting anyone at 7:15am. When I left however, at 7:30am, our gate was wide open and our neighbor and another man were standing out front. When they saw me they both started talking at once. Unfortunately my Portuguese isn't good enough to translate that chaos, but I heard "bike" and "man" and with their gesturing I could tell that some one "went that way." I was definitely confused, but I could see that Lance's bike was gone, which usually means that Lance has gone to the store or something...perhaps they are trying to tell me that Lance accidently left the gate open? I check the gate and it was open, but strangely it was still locked....then it occured to me...his bike was stolen! Oh man! How did this guy get in. So I confirmed my suspisions by repeating back this story to my neighbor and she confirmed it. I was late for work so decided not to wake Lance up, since there was nothing to be done at this time and I would be back in about an hour and a half.
The whole ride back I was trying to think of how I was going to break this bad news...the good thing is that Lance is going home in about 5 days, so he might be able to live without his bike. And unfortunately he has no one to blame but himself because he was warned over and over again not to leave his bike in the front...in plain view, but to hide it in the back.
Anyway, when I got home Lance looked at me and said, "guess what" in a really bad tone, so I was pretty sure that he knew about the bike...."I think my lung collapsed."
"WHAT?!?!" I didn't know how to react. I thought I was coming back to give bad news. Lance's lung has collapsed two times in the past. It is very painful. But...how...why...WHAT?! He explained that he was just laying in bed...he wasn't even doing anything strenuous...and there was this sharp pain in his back. It was a familiar pain, but worse. Oh my gosh! Then I said, well...do you want some more bad news?...your bike was stolen.
It wasn't even 10 o'clock yet and it was already turning out to be a pretty bad day. We both tried calling Kelly a few times but she doesn't really have an oppertunity to answer her phone while she is teaching, go figure.
Instead Lance ended up calling Leila and she took him to the hospital. There he had a check up, and the doctor spoke pretty good English, so that was a relief. She was getting ready to schedule him for surgery and everything, but when the X-rays came back she found that is was really a very small collapse and she said that it would probably heal itself. So she sent Lance home with some pain medicine, his X-ray (apparently you get to keep your X-rays in Brasil) and instructions not to fly for a while....so that's a bummer. He changed his ticket to come back with Kelly on the 20th...and we are all praying that he will be fine by then. We also had to cancel our trip for this weekend.
By the way, Leila is the absolute most amazing person in the world. When Lance called her their converstation went something like this:
Leila: "Halo?"
Lance: "Leila? this is Lance."
Leila: "oh Lance! How are you?"
Lance: "I'm not good. I think I need to go to the hospital."
Leila: "I am coming now" *click*
She didn't wait for an explination nor did she did a second thought...she hung up and drove over. She is absolutely amazing.
(Luckily there is always a rainbow after a rain story...right?)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Kelly's Rainy Bus Story
Kelly and I spend a large part of our days either on a bus or waiting for a bus. Sometimes we have some funny stories about things that happend on the bus. I have shared a few with you already, but tonight, after our Bible Study, we were sitting around and sharing some of these experiences. Today there was a major downpour during both of our commutes. Now, we are in the middle of rainy season...and I am not about to start complaining about the rain, because at least it's not hot, and honestly, it doesn't rain all the time...and so far I have been pretty fortunate that it hasn't rained too badly durning the times when I need to go somewhere. Unfortunately today I wasn't so lucky, and apparently neither was Kelly. She started telling me the story, but soon found that it would be easier to explain with visuals...so she set up the living room like a bus and told the story. I was laughing so hard by the end all I could say was "please blog that, please, please blog that story." Well, she decided that it would make for a better video blog, so here you have it. Kelly's Rainy Bus Story, with Kelly playing herself, Lance playing the part of the rain, and me playing the part of nice lady on the bus.
Happy Thanksgiving
I am getting a little behind on blogs...I guess life got busy all of a sudden. Anyway, last week was Thanksgiving and believe it or not they don't celebrate it here. I, however do. And because I was missing Thanksgiving I decided that all of my students would have to learn all about it. So I spend the whole week teaching about the history, and the culture and the traditions, and of course the food. No one here knows what stuffing is, and I found out, it's a little hard to describe...."a mixture of bread and eggs and spices" just doesn't really make is sound as wonderful as it actually is. Anyway, I ended up learning a lot about Thanksgiving history too. For example, I didn't know that the Pilgrims first went to Holland in search of religious freedom before getting funding for the trip to the New World. I also didn't know that there were 100 people on board the Mayflower, men, women and children and only one of them died during the 65 day voyage. Then over 50 of the died during the first winter and it wasn't until that March that they met the Indians and began learning how to cultivate their new land. Anyway...there is no stuffing in Brasil, and Turkey's not easy to find...so Kelly, Lance and I decided to to the next best thing...Tex Mex. 
We made our way to our favorite resturant here in Brasilia...El Paso...I know, I know it sounds pretty corny, but honestly it is wonderful. On Thursdays they have an all you can eat fajita/taco/ect buffet, filled with fresh guacamole and salsa and everything. It's truely wonderful. Plus they have the best margaritas in the city.
So we have a great...though not so traditional, Thanksgiving.
My Friday student called to cancel class, so I sort of got a little holiday weekend too. The weekend itself ended up being pretty relaxing. I hung out with my friend Leo
a l
ot.
a l
ot. He is applying to a program called Camphill which is a camp for people with special needs. He is really excited because he will either go to England or the US and he is conviced that his English will be flauless by the time he comes back. We have been helping his fill out the application and get things going. His nephew has special needs and he really has a passion to help people. So I am excited for his as well. 
Saturday, November 29, 2008
My public speaking debut
A church in the area called Projecta Nova Vida has been planning a special event for a few months now. It's called "English around the World" and they wanted to create an American coffeehouse atmosphere while promoting English learning. They partnered up with Yes, my school, and asked if there was a teacher who would be willing to speak at the event. Bruno asked me and I agreed.
So, last saturday, after the cultural fair, Kelly, Lance, Alex, Aline and me rushed off to Extra (the Wal-Mart of Brasil) to do some quick shopping before I had to get ready to leave for my big public speaking debut. 
Unfortunatly I think the five of us bought a little too much for Alex's car and we were pretty squished in there...especially Aline.
Unfortunatly I think the five of us bought a little too much for Alex's car and we were pretty squished in there...especially Aline.
By the time we got back I hardly had a minute to eat something before Bruno was there to pick me up and take me to Projecta Nova Vida. 
The room was set up nicely with picnic tables. The evening began with a live band playing some accustic Christian music. Then I went up for my talk. Bruno translate. 
I basically gave my story, who I am, what I do, why I am here and why it is important to learn English. After that they played some trivial games and Yes gave out scholorships as prizes. Then Kelly and Lance showed up and the three of us went on stage for a question and answer session. They wanted to know about our church, but also the cultural differences that we have experienced since we have been here. That seems to be a very common question.
After the questions and answers they had the Lifehouse skit and then we had hot chocolate, cheese bread, sandwiches and all sorts of good snack. We also met some really great people who we hope to keep in touch with. 
I basically gave my story, who I am, what I do, why I am here and why it is important to learn English. After that they played some trivial games and Yes gave out scholorships as prizes. Then Kelly and Lance showed up and the three of us went on stage for a question and answer session. They wanted to know about our church, but also the cultural differences that we have experienced since we have been here. That seems to be a very common question.
After the questions and answers they had the Lifehouse skit and then we had hot chocolate, cheese bread, sandwiches and all sorts of good snack. We also met some really great people who we hope to keep in touch with. 
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Yes Culture Fair
For the past several weeks at Yes, my school, we have been preparing for the Cultural Fair. The different classes were assigned different English Speaking countries to present on. My students were able to choose their own topic, clothing, music, food ect and then they had to research that topic. Once the research was complete we began working on their speaches and the posters and decorations. Most of my students are really beginners, so the idea of speaking in English infront of other people was pretty terrifing, but I helped as best as I could and we worked on pronunciation and we practiced their speaches in class. Yesterday was the fair. 
They were all told to be there at 8:30am....so around 9:30 they began showing up. (Except for Enrique, who was there before I was at 8:30am...I am pretty sure that he is not really Brasilian). They had a lot of work to do, decorating the classrooms and last minute preparation for the speaches. 
I have six different classes broken up into three different countries, so I had to be everywhere at once. My Jump In class is made up of 11-14 year olds, so they require a lot of attention anyway, but then some of the adults didn't feel comforitable with their speaches yet, and everyone needed tape or markers or scissors or something. 
But for me, I was in my element, I really loce that type of stress and excitement. 
The presentations were suppose to start at 10:00am...so around 10:45am Bruno (the director) began rounding people up to get started. Everyone did really well, and I know that some of them were so nervous...even though the audience was really just the other students and teachers. Ever few parents came, but Kelly and Lance did, and they were pulled into the USA picture, being that they are actually from the USA. 
Some people brought in traditional food from their countries. There was this really strange dessert sitting by the Australia table...it looked like an apple upside down cake....Kelly asked me, mmm...is that a traditional Australia dessert..."no, It's from the US...it's apple pie." "Oh." she said back and we looked at each other and tried not to laugh.
My Speak Out 1 class presented on Canada...they are the first level of adult students. Big Leo, from across the street and my friend Aline are both in this group. 
Speak Out 2...the next level up, presented on Ireland. This group includes my friends Alex and Enrique.
They were all told to be there at 8:30am....so around 9:30 they began showing up. (Except for Enrique, who was there before I was at 8:30am...I am pretty sure that he is not really Brasilian). They had a lot of work to do, decorating the classrooms and last minute preparation for the speaches. 
I have six different classes broken up into three different countries, so I had to be everywhere at once. My Jump In class is made up of 11-14 year olds, so they require a lot of attention anyway, but then some of the adults didn't feel comforitable with their speaches yet, and everyone needed tape or markers or scissors or something. 
But for me, I was in my element, I really loce that type of stress and excitement. 
The presentations were suppose to start at 10:00am...so around 10:45am Bruno (the director) began rounding people up to get started. Everyone did really well, and I know that some of them were so nervous...even though the audience was really just the other students and teachers. Ever few parents came, but Kelly and Lance did, and they were pulled into the USA picture, being that they are actually from the USA. 
Some people brought in traditional food from their countries. There was this really strange dessert sitting by the Australia table...it looked like an apple upside down cake....Kelly asked me, mmm...is that a traditional Australia dessert..."no, It's from the US...it's apple pie." "Oh." she said back and we looked at each other and tried not to laugh.
My Speak Out 1 class presented on Canada...they are the first level of adult students. Big Leo, from across the street and my friend Aline are both in this group. 
Speak Out 2...the next level up, presented on Ireland. This group includes my friends Alex and Enrique. The presentations were all great. Afterwards I started the clean up process. I began ripping down streamers before Bruno told me that we were going to save them...we saved the streamers...
The day was really fun, and it was good to have all of my students (well most of my students) all in the same place at the same time.
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