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.

Moving Day

So, we have this really great new house. But it has no furniture. On Friday, my only objective was to buy a mattress. Everything else can wait a day or two, but I’m not really into sleeping on a tile floor without even a blanket. Lance’s main objective was to clean the house…because you don’t want to set a new mattress down on a dirty floor. I wish I could begin to express the type of dirty that this floor was. There was probably a quarter of an inch of just dust, and under that paint, and gout and who knows what else. But it’s all new, so it’s not old dirt. The tiles are new, the walls are newly painted. It is really a great house, just dirty. So Friday we were able to get mattresses and a really great dresser for Kelly, but, as I have said before, everything takes 3 times as long as expected, so we didn’t quit get to the house cleaning. We all settled down in our dust little houses (mine is right behind the Mroz’s with a little outside hallway between them) on our brand new mattresses, with no sheets, and no blankets and no furniture at all, for our first night in the new house. Unfortunately it wasn’t as quiet and peaceful as one might imagine. Children were playing in the park in front of our house until the wee hours of the morning and then the men from the bar on the corner sat in the park playing dominoes, smacking down their tiles and then at six am everyone was up starting laundry, and everything seems to be amplified here. We are in a little concrete house with a tin roof and when the neighbors are just whispering in their bedrooms in sounds like they are screaming and echoing into every corner of the house. At 7am the high school, which is just a block away, started some sporting competition. They kicked it off with fireworks (don’t ask me why anyone would set off fireworks at 7am, when it is clearly too light to see anything) and they have a loud announcer, announcing the plays and cheerleaders and a large noisy crowd. Again, what is everyone doing up at this time? On a Saturday? I would like to add, that it is now 7pm, twelve hours later, and whatever is going on in the high school still hasn’t stopped. Songs played over the loud speaker, and the announcer still announcing something. I hope this is some special Saturday, rather than the norm.
All things considered it is still pretty exciting.
Lance stayed home all day cleaning and Kelly and I went shopping. We went to the Faria, which is way bigger and better on the weekends. It is the big central market in Guará and even the people in Brasilia talk about it. So we found sheets and flatware and plates and hand towels and mirrors and mugs and all sorts of little things that we need for the kitchen. Unfortunately we don’t even have a shelf in the kitchen to put it on, but…one thing at a time. When we came back we were tired and Lance was still cleaning and there was no where to sit down (since we still don’t have any chairs) so Kelly and I left and got ice cream, just so that we could sit down in the ice cream store. But then we bought a fridge and a stove and a sofa. So before we know it we will have a nice little house here…and the sofa has a pull out bed, so there is plenty of room for visitors (hint hint.)

The Job

I started working for a company called InCompany last Thursday. Essentially what we do is go into businesses such as banks or hotels and give English classes. My first lesson is for every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30am to 9:30am in the Caixo bank downtown Brasilia. This was really convenient while we were living in the hotel in downtown Brasilia, but from way out here in Guará…it’s a little bit of a commute. Guará is about 15 minute subway ride from Brasilia, and our house in Guará is another 15 minute bus ride from the subway station. So nothing is super easy. Kelly works in Brasilia too…everyday, so we are both going to get used to the commute. InCompany promised me that I would have more classes soon, they are just waiting for other students/companies to sign up, and I can fill my schedule pretty quickly.
Also, on Monday I am starting at my other job, the Yes! School. Yes! idiomas is a new school for both English and Spanish. I interviewed with them last week and I had to take this long proficiency test and the results…uh, yes, I speak English. J So I had a follow up interview yesterday. The directors of three other Yes! schools came just to meet me. In the end I got the job. It is Monday through Friday 2pm – 8pm and Saturday’s as well. It is definitely going to fill my schedule. Bruno, the director of my school, also wanted to know if I am creative…because the only full time teachers are guys and he doesn’t think that any of the guys are any good at decorating classrooms or making the place look more friendly…so I am in charge of bulletin boards and posters too. I met most of the other teachers and they are all really great and a lot of fun. I am looking forward to getting to know them better.
Kelly is working for a man who is from England and whose wife is Brasilian/French. They moved here from England with their children and he has been working at the French school teaching English. Now he wants to start his own school and Kelly is his only teacher. They are going to start with young students…4 year olds and work from there. He wants to keep the classroom size small and they the teachers all native speakers. There are a lot of independent English schools in Brasilia. There are some big chains and some new ones. There are no Starbucks in the country…but the English schools are on every corner, where the Starbucks would be. (And to be honest we are not really sure why there are no Starbucks…Brasilian’s like their coffee…well I guess they like it a little different…but I will have to save that for another blog.) But especially in Guará, you walk down the street and its English school, English school, grocery store, English school. So clearly this is important…and really I shouldn’t be calling them English schools because most of them teach Spanish as well.
So I have been in Brasil for almost a month now and I have been asked twice this week where I studied Portuguese. The answer of course is “I haven’t, but thank you.” I haven’t decided if Spanish is helping or hurting at this point. It definitely helped at the beginning because I had something to start from, but now it is just getting in the way, and I am never sure if I am using a Portuguese word or a Spanish word. My school, Yes! teaches both English and Spanish, so some of the teachers speak Spanish and others speak English. On friend we had a little celebration for someone’s birthday and I met all the teachers…it was the worst combination of Protugol, Spanglish, and Ingleguese that I have ever heard/spoken. I really don’t think that I will ever figure out how to seperate the two languages.

The House

Yesterday Kelly had to work in the morning so Lance and I set out to find an apartment. I just want to preface this by saying that neither Lance nor I speak Portuguese, and generally you don’t find people who speak English. Occasionally there will be someone who has studied a little English. It’s like finding someone who speaks Spanish in Pittsburgh, many people have taken some Spanish classes in high school, but you can’t just walk into a store and expect to speak English with someone. So, we were really struggling. I called a bunch of different property managers and I had my questions all prepared. “Queria um apartamento com mobiles,” (I would like a furnished apartment) and “Voces podem fazer um contracto com estrangeiros?” (Do you have contracts with foreigners?) The problem was that I couldn’t understand the response. I mean, they never answer yes or no (sim o não), it’s always some long question…I think they are probably asking follow up questions like, how many rooms, for how many years, what is your price range? And I can get some of those, but not all of them, and on the phone gesturing doesn’t exactly work. Long story short we figured it out and then went to meet with one of the property managers in Asa Norte. She first showed us a really beautiful completely furnished apartment, down to forks and knifes and towels. It was great, but about R$1000 out of our price range. We then went to a different area to look at another apartment. We took the bus to meet her at the first place and then she drove us to the second place. I have never been so scared in my life. She was always doing three things at once. She was talking on her cell phone and talking to me (please, I am having a hard enough time communicating in Portuguese and now I have to guess whether that question was directed to me or the guy on the phone?!) and she was reaching in the back to get different papers or forms for me to look at, she was writing things down and making notes and driving…somewhere that she had apparently never been because we drove in circles a few times and doubled back and then went the wrong way down a one way street. At one point I asked her about the busses to this area, because I wanted to make sure that Kelly and I can get to work, so she stopped the car in the middle of a three lane highway and put it in reverse…meanwhile there was a huge truck behind her, who honked and flipped her off then drove around. She backed up (in the middle of the road) to a bus station then leaned out the window and asked the people waiting which bus goes to Brasíla. The whole experience was quite terrifying, but Lance and I agreed at the end that we liked her, she was a likable person, just totally crazy. And she was nice because she drove us right back to our hotel at the end.
We picked up Kelly and then all headed to Guara to look at some more apartments. It would be nice to live in Asa Norte because it is close to Kelly’s work, but it is part of Brasília (the north wing) and therefore pretty expensive. Guara is a nice suburb of Brasília and a lot of people who we know live there. Plus there is a good metro system that goes from Guara to Brasília. So we looked at some apartments…and by this time we are all just tired of looking. We have seen over 10 places and we just want to get settled. Kelly and I have both been sort of living out of suitcases for almost two months now, and we just want to get somewhere and stay. The property manager that we met in Guara is a really nice young man. In the end, there is no such thing as a furnished apartment…accept that one that fell through…perhaps it was imaginary anyway…so we decided that unfurnished would have to do, and the day before Lance and I looked at the cost of used stoves and refrigerators (foagos e geladrias) and they weren’t too expensive. Anyway, this guy Alexandre showed us a few apartments and then a small house that is around the same price. Turns out it is two full houses on the same lot. They are fenced in together but completely separate. The house is right in front of a little park in a quiet neighborhood…but still close to the main street where the busses pass and the stores are. The house in the front has two pretty large bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen. Outside there is a little patio for doing laundry and hanging it, then the house in the back had a living room, one bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. It’s perfect. Lance wants to use one of the bedrooms in the front as a chapel for services, and then I get the whole house in the back to myself. It has a nice area in the front also…like a front porch…If my camera wasn’t stolen I would put up pictures…I will have to see what I can find…
Anyway, we went right then to sign, and we will be moving in tomorrow. Kelly explained how the other apartment fell through at the last minute and Alexandre said that wouldn’t happen…still Kelly and I have our doubts, but Lance is sure this is the real deal.
It is however completely unfurnished, so today we are working on getting mattresses, chairs, tables, a stove and a fridge… and sheets…you know, everything.
But I am just really excited about getting settled somewhere…even if it is only for three months.
The next thing is the job.

Kelly's Story

by Kelly:
Let me just start off with things are good :) We went to church with some friends on Sunday, and met a pastor who invited us over for lunchand who we became fast friends with. He was put off at first by ourhabits, but after we got talking about our church, and our mission,and our work in Brasil, it was like we were family. The friends thatbrought us to church are also awesome – the man and his wife are bothpastors, and they have been friends of ours for 4 years. They have been our biggest help since we've been here. We also talked about an area where we can possibly do some ministry, which is of course ourmain objective. So God is good and we are happy to be able to reportsome good news about that!
Now on to one of our secondary objectives – getting a job :). I've got a job! I am working for a man who is starting up his own English school… small classes, grouped by age and ability, and our target at the moment is 4 year olds :) No more than 6 kids per class. This week I am working for this guy helping research the competition and trying to help set up this program. So yesterday was my first day of work, and I decided to use Excel to present my research on the competition on a number of categories. So I load Microsoft Excel, butI don't recognize the language at all. Turns out, its in French. I tell my boss, and we can't figure out how to change the language. So I'm learning to cut and paste, insert rows and columns, and format cells all in French :) (on a British computer, by the way, because he is British, so instead of the # symbol over the 3 on the keyboard,there is the pound sign (£) which I just searched for for 3 min to find on this computer. So again, yesterday, I'm at my first day at work meeting with 2 reps from Oxford University Press looking over possible textbooks to buy to use for our classes, (for the meeting by the way, my boss didn't have enough chairs so we sat on the floor) and one of the reps gets a call that this high school that needs a sub for an English class. My boss says, "Hey, why don't you do it?" so before I know it, I'm getting up at 5:30am today to get ready to do my first paid subbing job EVER – in Brasilia. So I get there, and they let me in – no one checks my passport, no one checks my credentials, and no one seems to care that I am traveling on a tourist visa (nice school, by the way!). So before I know it, I am thrown into 4 classes, 4 different levels, with about 15 seconds preptime before each class. It was hilarious :) But it was a good day, after I happily returned to my French Microsoft Excel this afternoon and realized that I seriously just subbed in Brasil. Crazy. I'm scheduled to go back Thursday. So work is going ok, though definitely a little on the adventuresome side.

The City

Ok, so the really great, perfect apartment didn't work out. No big deal. We are sort of learning down here that everything is just slightly more difficult, takes more time and is less reliable. So we are back on the apartment hunt today. One thing at a time. Kelly started her job yesterday, and I have another interview today, so hopefully that will all work out. What's more is that I am pretty sure that between Sarah and I, we have found a renter for my house in Pittsburgh, so that's a huge relief.

We are starting to understand this city a little better. Brasilia is quite unique in that is we designed and planned out. Most cities just sort of developed through history, but this city was mapped out and planned. It is designed in the shape of an airplane, flying east. Everything is located either in the North Wing (Asa Norte) or in the South Wing (Asa Sul), and each block has a number, 102, 103, 104. Also, everything has a district.
We are currently living in the hotel district. All the hotels are located in one place. Across the street is the bank district. Down south there is a hospital district and a restaurant district. In the north there is a travel agent district, a furniture district and a pharmacy district. It take some time to get from one place to another, especially since we are used to going to the waterfront in Pittsburgh and having a Target and a Giant Eagle with everything that we could possible need. Here you can't buy clothes and cleaning supplies at the same place...well, that's not entirely true. We have been able to find some American Store (as they are called) that sell things like we do in the states, but generally everything has it's own place...and not just it's own store, but it's own district.
Anyway, my point is that it is taking up four times as long to do anything, not to mention the language barrier and that lack of a vehicle (public transportation is good, but it does take longer.)
Luckily we are making progress and little by little we are finding everything that we need.

Comments

BTW. I like comments. Otherwise I have no idea if anyone is reading this.
:)

Eating

We will be moving into our apartment tomorrow. It is fully furnished, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, living room and dining room. It is really perfect for what we need right now and even has a washing machine. We have been staying in the Brasilian Imperial Hotel for the last week as we searched for apartments and jobs and work visas and CPF (the Brazilian Social Security type card). But tomorrow, finally we get our own place. The hotel that we have been staying at is right across the street from the mall. We have eaten almost every meal at the mall food court. It’s a little expensive, especially for every meal. Occasionally we tried to explore for a cheaper dinner, but we usually just got lost, or tired of walking and ended up paying more for just rice and beans. There are both McDonalds and Burger Kings in the mall, but for just a burger, fries and a coke it costs around $10 (and that’s for the smallest burger on the menu.) Plus the service is so slow. We are just starting to get used to it, but speed is just not a priority in this country. It’s funny, because it’s not as though we have been super busy and we need our food immediately. But for some reason it just takes a lot of patience to watch someone carefully and leisurely scoop fries into the container, and then walk to the soda fountain and then oops, forgot the cup, slowly walk back to the other side of the counter hold the cup the whole time that it is filling, then walk all the way back to where they just got the cup and get the lid, come back, set it on the tray, then go all the way back and get the straw (which is sometime too big for the whole in the lid, so that’s a little funny too.) The other thing that is really popular in Brazil are these “self-service” restaurants. They are set up like all you can eat buffets, but they are not. They are weigh your plate places. After you go around helping yourself to everything that you want you have to go and put your plate on a scale and pay per kilogram. At first it is a little tricky because your head still thinks that you are in an all you can eat place so you fill your plate as full as possibly…but then your wallet isn’t too happy. By now I have figured out how to take just what I want. Also, it is a good idea to try to take the lightest food that is also the most filling. I had a really great sushi meal last night that would have cost the same as a plate of rice and beans. There is also a fabulous build-you-own-weigh-your-bowl ice cream place in the mall. Well tomorrow the adventure of cooking in Brazil begins.

Walking

Walking around Brasilia is quite a unique experience. Now remember, Brasilia is a pretty new city. It was founded only about 50 years ago and was designed to be the capital. It is very well planed in the shape of an airplane. It has the south wing and the north wing. It has the hotel district, where all the hotels are located, the bank district where all the banks are located, the federal district, the embassy district. It is all very organized and symmetrical, and the main bus/metro station is right in the middle of the “airplane.” Public transportation is obviously quite popular, but many people also own a car, much like anywhere in the world, and driving your own car is usually the preferred method of transportation. Then of course there are pedestrians everywhere. Whether they take the bus, the metro or their car, usually they have to walk as well.
Personally I prefer walking at this point, because I am not the familiar with the city and I feel that I have more control when I walk. Nothing important is more than a 40 minute walk away and I am still a little afraid of the busses because I think that I will end up 10 miles away without the appropriate change for a return ticket or something. Also, as of yet I have not been in any type of a hurry to get anywhere. So I walk.
The thing is…with as much planning as went into this city, I don’t think they thought too much about real pedestrians. I mean, there are really nice cross walks, and the lights tell you when to cross. Also, there are crosswalks with out lights and the rule is that if you stick your hand out the cars have to stop and let you cross, and they do. So it’s really quite convenient. The problem is that there never seems to be a crosswalk when you need it. Or at least the cross walks are there for only about 15% of the roads that I cross.
So, the way that you cross the road at a non-crosswalk, is to wait for a brief clearing in the traffic and then run with shear terror to the other side. This could be for a small one lane alley, or for a 6 lane highway. The same method is used. And, I would like to add, the running in shear terror is not just because we are foreigners, the locals do it to. In heels and skirts, or dress slacks and bags of groceries, when there is a clearing…RUN!!!
Sometimes you can plan it with the lights. You wait until the traffic coming in your direction has a red then you can cross with more peace…but even then, those darn right turners will get you. And let me say, they have no mercy. If you are not at a crosswalk they will just keep coming at you.
So in conclusion….Lance wants to buy a bike, but Kelly thinks it will be too expensive. We’ll see.

Getting Money

It has almost been a week and there is still no word on the purse. I am going to miss that camera and bible…oh and the cash and credit cards. I was finally successful at getting the western union money. This country is so funny...and maybe it's just because I am used to the way things are done in the states, but first of all, everything takes forever. I got to the bank (that is associated with western union) and it took me quite a while to find it. It is not the one who’s address is found online. I went to that one and they told me to go somewhere else, so I kept following these directions around in circles. Anyway, today I found it, and it's this huge bank, and I was able to find the one guy who handles the western union stuff, but his computer wasn't working. So I was told to have a seat and wait until it was fixed...which was only strange because every other computer in the building seemed to be fine, and this guy kept taking people who were in line. Some one would walk up to him, explain what they wanted and he would say that the computer wasn't working and to have a seat, then the next person in line would do the same thing...instead of just having a sign and getting everyone to take a seat, he had to hear each story first and then tell them to sit. Anyway, eventually it was working and I gave him the form that I was given to fill out and my passport. And he started typing away on the computer. He was entering my name, my passport number...all the information that I had just given him...then it appeared as if he started to enter it in again. Literally, I stood there, in silence while he typed, for 30 minutes. I am not exaggerating. There wasn't that much information on the sheet. My address in Pittsburgh, my Dad’s address in Houston, that's it. I have no idea what he was doing that whole time, but he never looked worried or puzzled. He just kept typing and then looking at my form then typing...I don't know. Eventually he gave me a thumbs-up, printed something and he had me sign three copies of it. Then I had to take that and go over to another line and give that man the paper that I had just signed. He got up and went back to the first man to get the other copy of it, then he came back and gave me my money. The whole process took over an hour. No matter what you do in this country, you have to deal with at least 2 people to do it. When you go to McDonalds to get a shake. You wait in one line to place your order, they give you a receipt the shows your order, then you go to another line, give that person the sheet with your order, and you pay, then they give you a receipt for payment, then you take that and wait for them to call your number for the food. In some pastry shops it's pretty funny, because first you wait and your tell them what you want and you pay, they give you the little sheet, then you wait in another line, you give them your receipt and then they ask you again what you want and give it to you....well I still can't figure out why they ask, because clearly it is on the receipt, and if you paid for something then you get to the next person you can just point to the bigger croissant and she will give it to you. It doesn't make sense, but Todo, we are not in Kansas anymore. :)

The Purse Snatching

On the last day, which was last Thursday we had a beach day, just north of Recife. (Recife is the shark attack capital of the world, so we didn't want to swim there, and I can't say that I was too comfortable in the water just an hour north either.) The church group was all going home on Friday, and my friend Kelly, her husband Lance and I are staying until December. Towards the end of the beach day people started to pack up the van. I stayed at the beach to watch the stuff. There were about 5 backpacks and piles of clothes and towels left. The beach was pretty deserted by this time and there was no one within 40 feet. I put my purse on a table and walked about 6 feet away to pick up and shake out a towel. By the time I turned around, (about 45 seconds later) my purse was gone. We searched for about 10 minutes, but I never heard or saw anyone, so I really didn't believe that it was stolen. After a while the restaurant manager (whose restaurant is right on the beach and we had eaten lunch at) came out to see what the problem was. I explained that my purse was missing and she had all of her employees split up and look. I still didn't really believe that it could have been stolen. I literally had my back turned for about 45 seconds....the time it takes to walk 6 feet, pick up a towel and shake it off. Anyway, long story short the crew was able to round up about 3 witnesses who saw the guy running and eventually they were able to identify him...but they could find him. Apparently he was one of the oyster sellers who walks up and down the beach. Eventually we found ourselves in the police station giving a detailed account of every item in my purse, (he wanted to know everything, down to the make and model of my chapstick.) So that was an interesting test of Kelly and my Portuguese. My wallet (with my credit cards and about $150 in cash), my camera, my cell phone, sunscreen, Portuguese phrase book, etc. etc. The next morning the whole group left for the states and Kelly and Lance and I headed back to Brasilia. The generosity of the group gave me enough money to eat and sleep for the next few days, but I still needed to get my credit card replacement sent to Brazil somehow. When we arrived in Brasilia on Friday morning and we found out that the house we were suppose to rent fell through. So here I am, in the middle of a foreign country, without the ability to communicate, with no means to get money, and no house. I know that sounds pretty hopeless, but to me, this is an amazing opportunity to overcome obstacles. I have already been overwhelmed by human generosity and the Lord continues to surprise me with new challenges daily.

The Mission Trip

I left for Brazil on August 4th with a group from church and we had two weeks of ministry planned in 3 different areas on the country. We started at an orphanage in Lar Betel, which is near the capital of Brasilia (about a 3 hour drive). It is really a well maintained orphanage. Everyone is clean, well dressed and well fed. Apparently they receive lots of support from international organizations. The children were all wonderful and clearly use to international visitors. They are out in the country and have plenty of space to play.
After that we went back to the city of Luziania, which is near Brasilia. We did a few half day Bible Schools in different locations. Churches, basketball courts, assemble halls etc. The local Church of Christ, under Pastor David Sanders set the visits up for us, and it was a very hectic 3 days going from one place to another.
Then we got on a plane and flew to Recife, which is on the north east coast. We visited what used to be an orphanage...over the last year they lost the funding to keep children there full time and now they are sort of an after school program for poor or homeless children. These children were my favorite though. They would sit me down and teach me Portuguese (I have been working on it, but I default to Spanish so often. I can't figure out whether Spanish is helping me or hurting me.)