My New Brasilian Friends

Two weeks ago one of the students in my Saturday afternoon class came up to me after class to ask about my life, where I am living, what I am doing in Brasil…the typical questions. After a short conversation, she said that she really wanted me to come over to here house…but not today, and not next week because they were leaving town, but the following week. I said, sure, and then she introduced me to her husband, Alex, who has a class at the same time…in the more advanced class. Once I met him Aline stopped speaking English to me, and made her husband translate everything. Neither of them are excellent, but they both can usually communicate, and this is perfect for me because it forces me to use some Portuguese. They offered to drive me home even though they live in the complete opposite direction. They didn’t let me refuse…luckily neither of us are too far. Anyway, two weeks later, as I was preparing for class I began to wonder if the invitation still stood. I hadn’t seen them for two weeks and it was possibly that they forgot. But as soon as class was over Aline came up to me to make sure that I was still coming over. She then tried to explain that they didn’t have time to prepare, so she wanted me to come later. I said sure, but my first thought was, ‘man, how am I going to figure out how to get to their house by bus…this was going to be a pain.’ But then Alex and Aline exchanged some words and Alex asked if he could pick me up at 7:00pm. Great. So I got ready on Saturday around 6:30pm and did some internet surfing while I waited. Brasilians are usually late, so I would have been surprised if he was there at 7:00pm, but around 7:30pm I began wondering if I should call him. Nah, I decided that 30 minutes is still pretty normal, so I will wait a little longer…at 8:00pm I started wondering why he hadn’t called me yet, to say that he was late or something…were they standing me up? I totally felt like I was getting stood up for a date with a couple…it’s a little strange to even have a first date with a couple, let alone to be stood up. At 8:20pm, I was sort of getting tired and I though about going to bed, or eating something. Well, at 8:30pm they called to say that they had gotten lost. I talked them out of where they were and they picked me up around 8:40pm…really this isn’t that unusual here in Brasil, but I’m still not used to it. We went back to their house and the whole way they were excited to tell me that we were going to have hot dogs and corn bread. Yum. (‘yum’ is said sarcastically because really hot dogs and corn bread is not my favorite meals, but they are both palatable, so I think it will be ok.) Well let me tell you, Brasilian hot dogs are nothing like what I am used to. The dog itself is the same but they boil them in a tomatoe past with onions, peppers and …I don’t know what else. Then they put then in a French bread roll, with corn, peas, raisins, and little fried potatoes…like miniature French fries. Then you can add ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise if you want. It was like nothing I have had before…actually it was quite tasty. The corn bread was more like a corn cake with coconut…also very good. And the dessert was like a chocolate pudding/flan…it was amazing!! After dinner they wanted to see my house in Pittsburgh, so we went online to google earth and we played with that for a while. I showed him my house (from the street view) and they showed me both of their parent’s houses. They are both from Rio, and Alex’s mom doesn’t live too far from the beach…definitely a good contact to have. I was starting to get tired so they took me home, but we decided to see a movie together on Sunday. Great a second date!
On Sunday, they picked me up again and we went to see a movie at the mall. They had chosen and American movie with subtitles so that I could watch it too. The whole time that we spend together I am in a Portuguese lesson and they are learning English. It is really a nice trade. But it’s a little funny because everything that we walk past Aline points to and asks me how to say it…then she tells it to me in Portuguese. It’s really great.
Well, they had already bought the tickets on line and they didn’t let me pay for the popcorn and soda, so I am trying to figure out a way to pay them back.
During the previews…I don’t even know what the preview was for…but the guy held up the book “Everybody Poops.” I know this book because it was a gag gift for one of my friends in college. It is a children’s book, I think designed to help children get potty trained. Anyway, it of course has a funny title, and they put the Portuguese translation up as well. Aline started laughing and then she had seen the English word too, so she looked at me and said, “poop?” and then Alex, who wasn’t looking and had missed it asked why she was laughing. She couldn't stop…but finally translated poop for him. Then he looked at me (and he is very serious about learning English), and with a completely straight face asked, “to make a poop?” That of course set me off, and I couldn’t stop laughing….to make a poop!? Apparently that is how they say it in Portuguese. I had to correct him, “no, to poop is a verb, I poop, you poop, he/she/it poops….” then again it just occurs to me that I am conjugating ‘to poop’ out loud in a crowded theater. I could hardly stop laughing. Then Alex asks, “and the number 1?”… “pee”. “pee and poop?” “yes.” I said. Wow, that was definitely the funniest conversation that I have ever had about the English language. Unfortunately we were so busy laughing about pee and poop that I never got to learn the Portuguese version.
After the movie Aline started telling me how important it was that I get a cell phone. Well my phone was stolen on the beach in Recife, and I just didn’t have enough money to replace it. She told me that she works for a cell phone company and can get me a phone. So immediately we went to Extra…which is like a Super Wal-Mart…because it was the only place still open and I bought a sim card for US$8. Then we went back to their house where she had an extra phone laying around. She just gave me this cell phone! And she explained that I can call her collect for free, because of her work.
I am just blown away at the generosity of Brasilians…and this is a young couple…so they can’t have that much money or anything, but they are literally the nicest people ever!

My Strange Day

This has been a strange day....which is a little strange to say because it means that other days here in Brasil have been not strange...or normal...which, I suppose is true. I am settling into a routine and I am getting pretty comforitable, even though I am totally over worked, but it is just for a season...I'm sure there will be rest by the end of this...
Anyway, every morning I get up early and go into Brasilia. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I tutor Danyel at 7:30am. (He's the really important one at the top of the building with the guys who bring around coffee). Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a conversation class with three people from the GEAVO department. It's pretty chill, I just need to bring something to talk about. Then I have a new class in the SUALO department, with two gentelmen who are preparing for a trip to Greece, for a conference. They both speak pretty good English and just want to brush up before the convention.
Then in the afternoons I head over to Yes! to teach the kids and at night I have the adult classes. It's not so bad, and I am starting to get to know my students and fellow teachers.
Today Danyel was 30 minutes late, which is totally not like him. He came in without a tie, unshaven and totally frazzeled. Clearly he had slept in. We started class, but he kept saying coffee...what was taking those coffee guys so long?! Anyway, he was in such a rare mood, he just wanted to talk and joke the whole time. Which is fine with me because he is doing it in English. I am really prood of him, because he really couldn't speak any English when we started, and now we are having full converstation...(ok so he says everything in the present tense, but I haven't taught him past or future yet.) I left the class in such a good mood. I am just really enjoying teaching him. He is a fast learner and really a pleasent person, so it's a great class. Before going home for my 4 hour mid-day break, I decided to go furniture shopping, (since I am still sleeping on a mattress on the floor, with a cardboard box next to the bed as a bookshelf/nightstand, and all my clothes are sorted neatly in cardboard boxes too.) Specifially I was looking for a desk and a chair...or at least some sort of chair...I was sick of sitting on the floor to put my shoes on. Even an armchair would be perfect. Well anyway, I went to a few used furniture stores, and I found this armchair that folded out to be a single bed. It was comforitable enough and I knew that it would be useful. So I used one day's pay to purchase it. The guy agreed to deliver it at 1:30pm. (I would believe that when I saw it, but from my experience thing go come eventually, so I wasn't too worried about it.) Low and behold, the chair/bed was delivered promptly at 1:45pm. It's perfect...or at least a good start.
I was really tired and not in the mood to go anywhere, but lately I have been a bit of a social butterfly...well not yet, but today is the start. Up until this point Leila has been our only real friend. Well we did have dinner at Rosa, a friend of Kelly's when we first arrived, but since then Leila is the only one who has invited us over or to anything. So she invited us to her house for a pizza party on Friday, and I was looking forward to it. Leila didn't really know how to make pizza so this was an experiment for her. Then I found out that Katerina...my friend for work was having a pizza party on Friday...luckily Leila's dinner was at 6pm, and Katerina's meal at the Brasilian steakhouse wasn't until 8pm...so I could probably do both, but I would have to be hungry. Also, one of my students invited me to her house after class on Saturday.
Anyway, I headed to Yes! in the afternoon, and had a long talk with one of the owners of Yes! He wants to know my plan for next semester and he wants to help me get the visas that I needed. I told him that I wasn't exactly sure of my plan yet, but that I was very greatful for his help...I would really like a visa, but I am a little nervous getting locked into some sort of a contract with this school. It's a great experience, but it really doesn't pay that well, and now that I have had a taste of private tutoring...well, let me just say, 6 hours at Yes! equals one hour of private tutoring. Anyway, after a while we started talking about Churches and he invited me to his church on Saturday night...at 7pm...which might work since my date with Aline...my student...was at 4pm. But maybe I should schedule in some time to relax too? hum...

A bad start

Last night we had out second bible study/discussion. It went really well. Leila and her daughter Sarah came, and almost the whole discussion was in Portuguese...with Kelly translating...but Lance and I are doing much better. It is difficult to express ourselves in Portuguese, especially when talking about topics such as pride and jealousy, and forgiveness. Last night we talked about the Prodical Son. It was good, because it is a familiar story, so we could follow it in Portuguese, more or less, and we were all able to bring some new thoughts or questions to the discussion. However, I wasn't feeling well, and ended up going to bed early. I think that I am just over tired. I am not getting very much sleep and it is starting to catch up with me, but I work early in the morning and late at night, so it is difficult to get enough sleep.

This morning I woke up earlier than usual and decided that it would be a good day to make coffee. Usually I just buy it at the corner store for about $0.25. I got up and put the water on the boil. We have a Brasilian coffee maker, so you have to boil the water first and then pour it through this filter. Well, for some reason I was a little clutsy this morning and I knocked over a whole pile of pans...this was at 6am, and Kelly and Lance were sleeping in the room right by the kitchen...oops. I turned on the propain, lite the match and put the water on. Then I went back to my house to get showered and ready. When I went back to check on the water it still wasn't boiling! At about 6:30pm I gave up and turned it off. I didn't have enough time anymore.

So I went to the corner store to get my usual cup. I was already in the mood for a big american cup and didn't think that the little shot glass of coffee would be enough, so I asked for two. I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time, (you know what happens when I try to ride the bus while drinking coffee...), but I got two anyway. I went to the cashier to pay and I had these two very hot shot cups of coffee. I set them down and reached for my wallet, but somehow I knocked one of them over. Now there isn't that much coffee in these little things, so I don't understand how it got everywhere, all over my hand and arm, on my sweater, on my feet, all over the counter, and on the foot. "descuple, descuple" I kept saying. "I'm sorry." They got me a wet rag and I wiped myself off then started on the counter. One of the bakers ushered me to the back to wash off my hands. (They make their coffee really sweet, so it was sticky too.)...and hot. I was so embarassed. I had made such a mess. But they were very nice and got me another cup of coffee, and put it in a larger glass (even though it was still just a sip.) I guess in the confusion I had left my wallet on the counter by the cashier...luckily he kept it safe for me. I paid for the two cups and by this time the other lady was mopping up the floor. Honestly, I have no idea how this little cup produced so much coffee. I left with my coffee totally embarrased and quite a bit late now for the bus. I better hope that there is no traffic today. During my brisk walk to the bus station I realized that my hand...that I had spilled coffee on...was actually in quit a lot of pain. I looked down. I was definitely red...I must have burnt it. It didn't really occur to me at the time, but it was too late to do anything about it now. I waited at the bus stop for a while wondering if I should go get some water, so ice...but if I left the bus station, that would be the moment that the bus would come. So I decided to wait. I have been late too many times. I got the bus and luckily there was no traffic, so I was at Caixa in 30 minutes. But I decided that it would be ok to be 5 minutes late and I ducked into the nearest restroom. I held my hand, which was in a great deal of pain by this time, under the tap and let the cold water run over it. Then I wet a paper towel and held it against my hand. Eventually I had to suck it up and go teach Danyel.

6 hours later and my hand hasn't fallen off yet, so that's good news. Wow was that coffee hot! I have a bit of a scar...or mark like a braclete around my wrist, and most of the back of my hand is red...but I think I will be ok.

Maybe I will try to boil water a home again tomorrow.

The Rainy Season

It has been cloudy for a few days. Everyday I would ask my students...is it going to rain today? I couldn't wait. It has been so hot, and so dry and so dusty...everything we have been promised would go away once the rainy season starts. Lance started doing laundry Wednesday morning, but didn't hang

them out to dry because it was probably going to rain any minute. All day we waited and waited. I wore my tennis shoes to work, just because I was afraid that I would have to walk home in the muddy rain....but nothing. In the evening Lance decided to hang the clothes...that had been soaking since the morning...just as the last piece was hung...he felt a drop. What?! Perfect. Then another drop. He laughed in slight frustration, but Kelly and I were so excited about the rain that the laundry didn't matter. But it was just a tease. The next morning was bright and sunny again...it only rained for about 15 minutes.

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee at the bus stop when all of a sudden I realized that I was uncomforitable...my arms...what...is this....cold? I was cold? I had forgotten what it felt like to be cold, but I started rubbing my arms, and so I was on the bus and was fine. Wow. Cold. It actually is a little uncomforitable...I had forgotten.

The next day was cloudy again. I was at school for a teacher staff meeting, (Fridays are usually my day off). We went down to the movie room to see a power point presentation on teaching methodologies. The room is long and thin and has no windows. Right in the middle of a brainstorming session about the Halloween party (that we are having to celebrate American culture...they don't have Halloween in Brasil) there was a loud crash...thunder...and then the lights went out. The four of us stumbled out of the room and looked outside. It was pouring!!! Buckets and buckets of rain. Filipe (another teacher) started to complain that he was going to have to walk in the rain... Luckily my bus stop was a short dash from the school and it was only a few blocks away in QE 38. We waited for a while. About an hour later it started to ease up a little and we decided to attempt to treck home. I made it without too much trouble, but decided that I would definitely need to get an umbrella tomorrow.

After dinner, Kelly and I were working on the computers and Lance was reading (my Atlas Shrugged, thanks Dad. I promise I will get to it too.) when there was a quick flicker, and our power was out too. It was just getting dark. Hum...maybe when I buy that umbrella I should buy some candles or a flashlight too. For two hours we sat around wondering what to do. We couldn't read, we couldn't watch anything online, and it was even too dark to wash the dishes piled in the sink. Right when we all sort of conceided to going to be earily (around 8:30pm) with another quiet flicker the lights were back on.

IKE!

For those of you who have been asking about my family in Houston, I decided to post an e-mail from my Mum.

Hi folks.
Well this has been quite a month.
First of all I went up to the Dallas area to help with the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Gustav and landed up as the job director for the close up of a non event. I stayed because Ike was coming and that was a real event.
There are small towns on the Texas coast that no longer exist. There are people inland who have not had a hot meal for a week and perhaps no meal at all for a while. We are desperately trying to get our feeding trucks out and about but can’t go to every street and have to hand out food at fixed points. If little old Mrs. Smith can’t go the mile to the Point of Distribution she is out of luck for a while. We just hope that neighbors and helping neighbors.
Sheltering has been a scramble too. We had enough space for the evacuation of almost a million people. Fortunately only 10% had no other place to go. They drove and were bussed hundreds of miles away to places like San Antonio and Austin and flown to the far side of the state. Now the schools where they were being sheltered want their space back and they are being bussed back to Houston and we really don't have anywhere to put them. We are opening old stores and putting thousands of people in them with a cot a couple of blankets and a "comfort kit" which contains a toothbrush, soap etc. Some of these good folks have three toothbrushes by now as they have been shuffled about so much.
FEMA has been hopeless and in fact a real blockade to what we are attempting, but that will have to come later.
It is really humbling to know that there are so many people in desperate need and we can't help them fast enough. Still about a million people are without electricity. We are one of them. We have the motorhome rumbling away outside with a detention cord coming into the house. John is waiting for me to get off the computer so he can plug in the microwave and heat last night's leftovers. At least we have that. It is getting hot at night and harder to sleep without air conditioning. Much hotter and we will move back into the motorhome. Like I said we are lucky. Our neighbors to the left were not at home. If they had been they would have been killed by the tree that fell onto their bed.
Enormous grandfather trees are lying around the neighborhood. Some logs as big as 3ft across. I keep thinking of all those women in Central America who walk for a day to collect wood. What would they give for all this? As it is it lies in piles too high to see over but it’s gradually sinking as the live branches wither.
I took the day off today. It is Sunday and I would not have made much headway with the business people I need to contact for sheltering space. I slept in, went for a hair cut, took a nap and went for a walk. After dinner we plan to play scrabble.
John has been so good, getting dinner when I crawl home and stringing lights all over the place. Great clusters of extension cords to step over. Love him.
Hard to live without power though. I walk into the bedroom and tell myself not to put my hand on the light switch but then reach out for the fan. It has become so automatic.
Must be off as we are getting hungry.
Lots of love to you all.
Thanks for your support
Have fun
Harriet

If anyone is interested in helping with the relief errors of Hurricane Ike please visit http://www.redcross.org/.

It's Nine in the Afternoon

I want to tell you a little about Brasilians. I know that people can generalize all the time about different cultures, so instead of doing that I want to share some real life examples that have happened over and over again.
First of all Brasilians are the nicest people ever...I know, I am using an unnecessary superlative, but none the less. In one of my conversation classes we were talking about different expressions, and I was told that one of the common expressions in Brasil is translated roughly to "your problems are now my problems." Meaning, I will take care of this, you no longer have to worry about it. Now, Americans are nice people too. I am not saying that they aren't. But generally, if an American were to use this expression, they would be talking to a close friend or a relative. I have had plenty of friends and relatives really go out of their way for me, and that's great. But Brasilians will do this for co-workers, casual acquaintances...even strangers...which is how I have encountered it.
So, on the bus (I know, I know, I am always talking about the bus) when the elderly…or women with children get on they are offered a seat…nothing surprising, right? Well, I of course have never been offered a seat, on any bus, ever…which is fine, and is still true here in Brasil. Well, the other day, I was in a pretty crowded bus, standing towards the middle, desperately trying not to fall on someone, or knock someone out with my heavy briefcase when I got poked in the side. Startled I looked down and this young women was gesturing something to me…something about my briefcase…I wasn’t sure at first, did it hit her in the head? No, she wanted to know if she could hold my briefcase on her lap for me. Huh? What a strange concept. I politely declined but said thank you. Honestly, that was nice of her. Then I started to notice it. This was not a unique experience. Every single time that I got on a bus with my bag, someone offered to hold it for me. It makes perfect sense. It doesn’t really inconvenience them at all, having something else on their lap…and I am standing right over them, so it’s not like they are going to take anything. So eventually I started taking people up on their offers, so much so, that I now count on it. Today it was a good 3 minutes before anyone offered and I was starting to get worried that I would have to hold my bag, but eventually someone noticed. This is the type of thing that they do all the time. It’s not as if they go extremely far out of their way, but the difference is, they notice when there is something little that they can do for someone else. It really amazed me.

The other, completely unrelated thing about Brasilians, is that appearance is really important. It’s not just a rumor that Brasilians are attractive people, but truthfully, they probably just put a lot more though into their appearance then any other Latin country…but it’s not just the appearance of the people. Everything is packaged really well, but is often totally junk inside. The school I work at, Yes! They clearly spent plenty of time designing it. It is well coordinated, clean and new. The colors are red and white and everything is red and white. The desk are all matching, the chairs are padded red chairs, even the blinds are red. But before I got to this school, (and it is a new school, but they have been open since February) they had no scotch tape, no masking tape, no stapler, no markers, no construction paper, no lined paper…actually no paper at all except what is used in the printer…which is a printer/copier/fax machine…they don’t have any copier for copying books. Anyway, my point is, they have this clock downstairs. It is really a cool looking clock. It is red and silver and totally matches everything. And ever since I have started it has said 9:00. I asked Bruno (my boss) one day…why does this clock always say 9:00, does it need new batteries? He said, no, it’s completely broken, it’s no good. So I said, then why is it still up there? And he said, well, it looks nice, it matches everything. So there you have it. The clock looks nice.

The Right Bus

I know I talk about the buses a lot but they are really a huge part of my life down here. The "Wrong Bus" has become my favorite, because if you understand it, it will take you to the right place and it is R$.50 cheaper. Here's the thing. The buses here don't run in a loop like they would in the states. (I think...honestly I didn't use too much public transportation in the states, so maybe I am wrong.) Anyway, they run in a figure 8. For example, the Guara buses go through Guara I and then through Guara II. My Yes! school is right in that center part of the eight, and we live on the completely other side of the eight. So everytime I get on I have to ask where it is going. There is nothing on the bus that would indicate which loop it is on. "Pasa por 38?" Also, the buses to Brasilia from our house (in block 38) do a figure 8 around both Guara I and II, and then back to Brasilia...so again, you have to ask, because if you get on the bus going in the wrong direction you will still get there, but you could be up to an hour late. Therefore, there really is no wrong bus, just a wrong direction.

Yesterday I came home and went over to Kelly and Lance's. I said, "guess what?!?! Big News! The most amazing thing has just happened."
"What?" they both answered.
"The little green buses all went down to just R$1.00!!!" (They used to be R$1.50 for some and R$1.00 for others.) This is a big deal for me. Not only will it save me a lot of money, but is will also save me for having to carry around those R$.50 pieces.

Off topic, I took some more pictures of Spring today. This tree is the same tree as before, but it looked even brighter today. The picture really doesn't do it justice.



These were all taken downtown Brasilia, by the Caixa building where I work in the mornings giving private and small group lessons.
The first floor of the building has these beautiful stainglass windows, one for every state in Brasil.

I'm not sure if you can really tell from the pictures, but they are huge, and there is water in front of them showing their reflection. They are really breathtaking.

Portuguese & Fast Food

I want you all to know that Lance is really trying to learn Portugese. And every once in a while he will come out with something pretty reasonable....but today we found out...that everything that Lance knows about Portuguese he learned from McDonalds. They call their Big Macs, 'Biggie Mackie' (but it's spelled Big Mac, and they don't understand if you don't say Bigge), therefore Lance found out that if you want something bad enough you should just add an "e" at the end. For example, fone, arte, esporte, envelope


Tonight we had our first Bible Study/Discussion in the house. It was really nice. Our friend Leila came with her daughter Sarah. It was perfect except that they didn't leave until 10pm and none of us had eaten dinner yet, (I don't get home from work until 8:30 anyway.) So Kelly called to order Giraffas. Giraffas is a little fast food chain that is popular down here. They have burgers, fries and shakes as well rice and beans. Anyway one of our neighbors works as the delivery guy for Giraffas and he gave us the menus. So, being that we are starving and it is nearly 10:30pm, Kelly attempted the call. After a few seconds on the phone she quickly hung up before saying a word. She looked at me and said, "I got scared, I didn't know what to do." So I started laughing, she just hung up because she was scared?!? She explained that she got Giraffas' answering machine. Was I suppose to leave a message?!? We both laughed because, truthfully, we had no idea. Maybe you do leave messages at fast food resturants when you call to order. It is so strange, but that really is something that would make sense here in Brasil. So she called back, wondering exactly what she should leave on the machine...a return phone number...the entire order...the address...and when exactly were they going to deliver this, if was left on a message....how often do they check their messages? Anyway, she gave it a try, calling the giraffone(get it...Giraffa and fone...it's the number for all of Brasilia) and as soon as she started with "uh...yes my name is Kelly and I would like to order.." a woman answered and cut her off. She was only ordering three burders, but it took forever to give her all of the information. After she had placed the order and given her the address the woman said, "Guara I" and Kelly said, "no, we are in Guara II" (Guara I and Guara II are neighboring cities) and the woman said, "But QI 2 isn't in Guara II, it's in Guara I." And Kelly said, "uh...we are in QE 38...not QI 2..." After she had miscommunicated the address so badly, she hung up the fone and said "Well, I think our food will be coming."
....we are still waiting.

Spring

Well, Spring is coming and there is evidence of it all over the city. The trees are beginning to bloom and it is so beautiful and unique because they are all tropical plants. It's amazing to me that they even know that spring is here because it has only rained once in 4 months, and it wasn't a very heavy rain. Near where I work there is a billboard that has the weather every day. And since I have been here, every day it says the same thing. It has a picture of a big sun (meaning that it will be sunny and this is always true) and it is 24 degrees, (which is 75 in fahrenheit). Everyday it is the same. And how do these trees know that it is spring and not fall?

Anyway, Kelly and I talk about the rain everyday. Rainy season (the spring and summer) is suppose to be coming soon, and we can't wait until it starts raining. Apparently the rain makes it cooler also. I has been so unbarably hot lately, it is very difficult to sleep, and we don't have an air conditioner or even a fan....and this is the winter. The spring is suppose to be cooler because of the rain, but I don't even want to think what the summer (January) would be like.

Also, I am a little curious as to how this city functions during rainy season. There is so much dirt and dust around, it must all just turn into mud. Everything is dirty...even the trees and bushes are covered with dust. I think the rain will clean everything up a bit. Also, it is so dry, everything is brown. Perhaps the rain will give the landscape some green. It's funny. I would never think that we would talk about the weather so much in a place that really doesn't have any weather...by we are waiting with anticipation for the first really signs of rainy season. I hope all of you in the Northern Hemisphere are looking forward to fall. :)

o bom perfume

Today we went to a Women's Conference at the Church of Christ. It was so fun and they had so much energy. This is a video of some of the praising and dancing.

Lelia and Ozorio are both pastors in Samambaia, which is about 15 minutes from Guara. They live only a block away from us here in Guara though, and they are the absolute nicest people in the world and our favorite Brasilians.

VIP treatment

So I have a bit of a full schedule and every week, I keep getting another teaching gig. I do private or small group English lessons at a bank. It pays better, but it's only 1-2 hours a day. My first group is 3 people who work...I don't even know what department, but they are on the 14th floor of this building and it's just a whole floor of cubicles...and we have class in this little meeting room. I just started another private lesson this week. It was on the 21st floor and when I got off the elevator...it was the top floor...and everything was beautiful with wood and glass everywhere (not like the cubicles.) I saw a sign that said, "The President's Office" The president of all the Caixa banks in the world!!! I was sure that I was in the wrong place, but then one of the receptionists asked if I was Tanya and led me through this beautiful hallway to a giant board room with a huge wooden boardroom table and windows with a view of the city. She explained that Danyel (my student) was the top adviser to the president. Then she brought me into a smaller boardroom. I met Danyel. He doesn't speak a word of English and last week the president told him that he needs to learn English in 4 months!! So that's quite a challenge. Then, during the lesson these guys in bow ties would come in and offer coffee or water, in this beautiful tea service tray....anyway, long story short, it was total VIP treatment, and obviously this Danyel guy is really important, and I am teaching him English.

Everyday

We are starting to get into a bit of a routine and we have worked out how things in this country work...for the most part...but we are still trying to get used to the daily household tasks.

For example, today I did my laundry...not with a machine as you in the States so comforitable take for granted...but in our very special laudry sink. Two sinks actually, one for washing and one for rising...so we think...I never want to hear one of you complaining about having to do laundry again.

However this clothes washing method does save money on gym memberships. My arms have never had such a work out. Luckily it is so hot and dry here that when you hang the clothes to dry, the first thing is dry by the time you hang the last thing. This little laundry area is in the couner of the narrow outdoor hallway between my house and Kelly and Lance's.

I'm not sure that anything that I washed is actually clean...but now it is all dried stiff...and it smells a bit of soap...so that's good right?...or maybe I should have rised more...

The shower is another adventure. They are electric, so the water heats up right in the shower head, but you can never have a lot of pressure...so my hair is just perminately soapy. Also, the shower head is about 3 inches to the left of the toliet...and there is no shower curtain...so everytime I take a shower is makes a total mess of the whole bathroom...at least it's clean water, right?
The kitchen...as I have already expressed, is another adventure. We still haven't really figured out how to make rice and beans, but I think that we are getting close. My biggest problem is the coffee. Kelly bought a Brasilian coffee pot. Basically it is a kettle, with a fabric filter at the top. The idea is that you boil water in a seperate pot and then pour the water over the filter into the kettle...I think...(altough I am not entirely sure that is the real way, but it's Kelly's pot, and that's how she said it's done)...anyway, this my sound simple, but the whole process takes about 30-45 minutes. First you have to turn on the propain tank, which Lance has hooked up outside the house. This is great, so that if it explodes or something it's not inside, but everytime you start cooking you have to walk outside and switch it on, then you turn on the gas, then you light a match and light the burner. Kelly is my favorite at this process, she always leans down and sticks the match in really quick and then jumps back. Then the water takes about 20 minutes to boil...there is no high and low setting, it's either on or it's off. Anyway...my point is, at 6:00am, I'm just never in the mood to go through all of this...I mean, I can't think that hard before I have my coffee in the morning...so it's one of these awful ironies...needless to say the local bakery has been getting my business each morning with their $0.45 cup of sugar coffee.

Brasilians never eat and walk. It was explained to me that they don't eat and drive because everyone drives a stick and they have a law that both hands are available for driving, (no talking on the phone, no smoking a cigarette, no drinking coffee, nothing.) The bakery is like a little convienent store, there are two shelves of dried foods, one wall of cold beverages, a freezer of ice cream, and a long counter filled with fresh breads and pastries...there are no seats, no tables...nothing that would make you want to spend any amount of time in this place, but Brasilians come here and order their coffee. It is served in a small glass, and they stand...sometimes leaning on the counter, drinking their coffee...I personally don't understand it...don't you have anything to do? Don't you have to be somewhere? Us American's just can't understand standing and drinking something. So each morning I have to ask for mine "para levar" to go. It's not a problem, they give me a little plastic cup, that is way too thin for the heat of the coffee. I always have to hold it by the top brim so as to not get burned, but it's good, and really sweet...they don't have the option of "no sugar." So I am getting used to sweet coffee.

But I have to say, sometimes I understand why Brasilians don't walk with their coffee. It takes a lot of concentration walking in these streets. They are full of potholes and cracked cement, and I am usually wearing heals in the morning...so this can be tricky. But typically I sip my coffee at the bus stop waiting for a bus. People must think I am crazy. No one else is ever eating and drinking in public, but I just can't help myself. If I am hungry I buy some bread and eat it. Anyway, yesterday the bus came right away, and I had half a cup of coffee left, so I got on the bus (like any normal American) with my breifcase over my sholder, my coffee and donut in one hand and the bus fare in the other. Once you pay the ticket collector you have to go through a little turnstyle on the bus, and it's a little too skinny for me and my briefcase, (I don't know what people larger than me do), so I have to lift my briefcase up to get through. This wouldn't have been too much of a problem if we weren't going over a toup (speed bump) at full speed during this process...needless to say, after an embarrising apology, and a feeble attempt to clean up with one lousy napkin (have I mentioned yet that all the napkins in this country are make up of a wax-paper type substance...it makes no sense and is absolute non-absorbant.)...I did not get to finish my cup of coffee. I will not make that mistake again...but I will continue to get my coffee to go. This morning I arrived at the Caxia building 30 minutes early (ok, so I still haven't completely figured out the bus situation, but at least I was early) so I went for a walk to find coffee. I found a little stand and asked for "cafe con leite para levar." I guess when you take it to go, they don't expect you to walk and drink, because she gave me a nice big cup, with a lid tightly pressed on, in a plastic to-go bag, that was carefully tied in a knot at the center of the cup so that I could easily carry the cup. So I left with a bag of coffee in one hand and a small pastry in a bag in the other... very sad that I was walking and couldn't have either. I had to stop, open the bad of coffee, remove the lid, and rearrange the pastry so that it was more user friendly...anyway, after all that I was 5 minutes late to work...and I didn't get to finish my coffee...luckily this was the work where they come around and offer coffee on a silver platter in a little tea set...but that's another story for another blog.

Camera

Well I finally broke down and bought a camera. I didn't have time to take too many pictures because I have to teach a class that I am not prepared for in one hour, but here is a little taste of what is to come. :)



This is my school, Yes!














This is the local bakery on the corner where I get my coffee in the morning and fresh bread.
















This is our house. :)
















This is the little park in front of our house.

Our first Chapter

Our house is almost complete. Everyday we add more furniture. We finally have chairs…so we no longer have to stand.
Last Sunday we went to the store and got the beans and rice and pots and pans and plates and knives and forks and our Brasilian friend Leila told us how to make beans and rice. Then Tuesday we finally got our kitchen up and running. We have a fridge, a stove and the propane tank for the stove, so things are good. We were all getting pretty tired of spending so much money on food eating out every night and we can’t wait to start cooking Brasilian food. So Lance decided to give it the first attempt and it was an excellent meal…but enough to feed an army!! Kelly and I laughed that we would have to have some sort of rice soup for Chapter dinner on Wednesday. Kelly planned on stopping by the supermarket on the way home to get chicken and vegetables for our rice soup.
Unfortunately on the bus ride home she nearly fainted and needed to be helped off the bus by a team of Brasilians. The combination of the heat and not eating, and probably not drinking enough can be pretty dangerous. I stocked up on yogurt smoothes, (which are really good and full of real fruit). Anyway, so she didn’t get a chance to go to the store. By the time she got home it was around 7:30 or 8:00 and we were both tired and hungry. All we had in the house was rice and beans…some eggs and some broccoli. Lance said that we could order Pizza if we wanted, but we were determined to have soup for our first official Chapter. So he said that he would put something together. Kelly and I looked at each other and flashes of Fr. Gary’s stories of chapter in the old days came to mind. But, here we are as missionaries in Brasil, so lets give it a try. While Lance cooked Kelly and I said our office in our little chapel. We didn’t yet have an altar, or even a table, so we were bowing to the candles on the bins. When we were done the soup was ready…well almost, Lance said that the rice needed more time to cook but I was too hungry to wait any longer. Then Kelly looked at me and said, we don’t have any bowls. What?! How did we forget that? We also don’t have a ladle. We had one mug and little classes. So we used the mug for a ladle and we had our soup out of the glasses.
That was Wednesday. On Thursday both Kelly and I went out and bought bowls, so now we have plenty of bowls, which is a good thing since we finally have ice cream in the freezer too. Things are getting better.

The Wrong Bus

I am desperatly trying to figure out the bus situation in Guará. I asked my director at my school and he said to take the little green bus. The other one’s go to Brasilia or somewhere else far away. I have mostly just been traveling from my school “Yes!” and my house. It’s about a 5 minute bus ride or a 30 minute walk. The bus is R$1.50 which is about $1.00. So I took the small bus the first day and it worked perfectly. It was a crazy bumpy ride, but it got me home and back the next day. So I have been avoiding the other busses and the little green bus has been working fine….sometimes it only costs R$1, instead of R$1.50…and I can’t really figure out the pattern, but whatever. So last night I was waiting at the bus stop and along came my little green bus. I got on, and it was only R$1, and it was packed. It was rush our so I wasn’t completely surprised, but I was standing packed into this bus. The aisle was jammed…there is no way that only one could get out, but I just hung on (a head above everyone else, so it wasn’t so bad). But then we took a turn…it felt like we were going into Guará I. Guará I and Guará II are neighboring cities. They are both circles and they come together at the feira and the metro station. Well I couldn’t really see out the window because I was standing and there were people all around me, but I was pretty sure we were in Guará I. My faithful bus just let me down. No big deal, I am sure that it just circles Guará I and then goes back to Guará II. Well, we keep picking up more and more people and no one is getting off, so this bus is really really crowded. Finally we got to a point where people began getting off and eventually I was able to get a seat in the last row. I wanted to seat mostly so that I could see out of the window and try to figure out where we were. I didn’t recognize anything, and it didn’t even look like Guará I. We are out in the country so where and I don’t even see a city around!! Well, I starting thinking to myself..what’s the worst thing that could happen? I might have to walk from here to get another bus that goes back, but in all reality, I am sure this bus will eventually take me back, and it’s still light out, so all it good. I’m not really in a hurry or anything. Then we turned down this dirt road, it was a much poorer area. All the houses were made out of corrugated metal and strap wood…this was the favela that we have heard about. Favela’s are little ‘tent cities’ that are built up by the hopeless and the poor. Most of them have a mafia type government and you don’t want to wonder in without an invitation. This particular area we have been told about and it was recommended to us that we do ministry there. Well, Kelly decided that we would wait for a direct invitation from the mafia boss. So here I am on a bus headed into the favela. People started getting off, and I was just praying that I wouldn’t be the last one on this bus…then the bus ticket collector got off. (Every bus has a bus driver and a money taker who sits at the front and makes sure that everyone pays. Everyone gets on at the front and off at the back. No exceptions and the ticket collector takes care of it. Well, apparently this ticket collector didn’t want to go into the favela either. And after he was off people just got on and off the back without paying for a thing. We drove around for a while through the dirt streets and muddy huts. Eventually we got to a pretty well built school with lots of children playing in the front. There was a huge pile of gravel that they were climbing on and running down. At this point there was only about 4 people on the bus with me and all of a sudden there was a loud bang or pop. Then another one. I though a gun went off, or the tire blew…nope, the children were throwing rocks at us…handfuls of gravel rocks! Just for fun. Somehow we got out of that area and the ticket collector got back on. As I was the only one still on the bus, he asked me where I was going and I explained that I was definitely on the wrong bus and that I wanted to go to Guara II. He told me to come sit up with him and that yes, we would be going by Guara II now. So we started chatting, but by this point I was tired and my Portuguese was suffering. I can usually communicate pretty well, but it does take a lot of concentration and I just couldn't do it. So we moved to Spanish, which is much easier for me. He is studying Spanish at Wizard, which is another Language school in Guara, (they are actually a pretty big chain all over Brasil, and competitors with Yes!). So we had a really funny converstation in Spanish and Portuguese with a little English here and there. We was trying to say a few things in English and then he asked to bus driver if he knew any English. The bus driver yelled back, "Good morning. How are you? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday..." Then other people on the bus chimed in. "Oh my God." and "How are you? I am fine." It was so funny. Well, in the end I arrived safely at my stop in Guara II, block 38 and said bye to all my fellow bus riders.
Next time I will ask where the bus is going before getting on.