Taking off

So tomorrow I'm heading off to Rio de Janeiro!!! I'm super excited to go, but will miss our little family here in Maceio! Luiza is going to Joao Pessoa for her class tomorrow, as well, so old man Toby is going to be one sad little poodle. Anyway, I don't know when I'll have internet access, so for all you hard core followers out there [aka, Ma and Pa ;)], don't lose hope! I will post as soon as I can! And fear not, I will be safe: I promise to wear a helmet when I hang glide if it is required. ;) Ate logo!!

Amigos, Gaubi Vaz

Kelson's childhood friend, Gaubi, is officially one of the most accomplished people I know. And one of the funniest. Dinner with him, his wife, and their friend was fun and lively with lots of talk, food, and laughter. We showed them pictures of this summer, and played online with google earth, the blog, and skyped with Murilo.

One of the things Gaubi showed us was a video of him on youtube (oh, did I tell you he wrote and released a CD? because he did...). You've got to check it out - he wrote the music (I think... I know he wrote all the songs on his CD, Amigos), that's him singing, and it is filmed in Maceio right along the area where Kelson had his jet ski accident, so you'll get a little sound and sight of Alagoas! Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVKtMRHyXrY

Here's also a link to a blog that talks a little about him and his music: http://musicadoceara.blogspot.com/2008/09/gaubi-vaz-amigos.html

According to Muri, he's also phenomenal on the guitar... maybe by talking with him I'll get better... or maybe I should practice...

What IS life without condensed milk?!?

Today was a busy day! In the morning I went to the gym, Toby and I went for a walk (and then he took a bath and now he is all fluffy... hahaha), I went to a couple more english classes, and tonight I get to meet the famous Goubi (Kelson's best friend). I'm trying to look really nice for this dinner with him and his wife because the last time the wife saw me I was dying in the hospital and toting a blue sheet around, not unlike like Linus.

A couple days ago I asked Zaira and Luiza what they vendor on the corner makes with sugar cane, so on the walk with Toby today I went and bought a cup of sugarcane juice (caldo de cana). It tasted pretty much like what you would expect the water and sugar squeezed from the sugarcane to taste like - delicious!! I'm glad I discovered that the third to last day I was here... I think agua de coco is a better habit to have...

I love going to the english classes. Turns out I'm one of those people who is energized by spending time and connecting with other people - anyone surprised? Anyone... I'm a little saddened, however by the most common question I get. They talk about the movies about high school that they see and ask me if it is really like this, meaning, are there such divisions among groups, and are the football players all cool and dumb, and are the cheerleaders all hot and promiscuous, and are there nerds who are smart and losers. On one hand it makes me sad that this is how the world perceives us, as anyone would if these movies were the only time they saw into the United States and our culture. On the other hand, I'm glad to be here and to have a chance to talk about our culture and show people here a "different" sort of American. I like to be able to subvert the rumors, and I love most of all to talk to students about myths about sex before marriage that our media passes out like candy. I think I was born to work with this age group, if only the crazy parents would relax about grades a little bit, and I think a dream of mine is to foster a small group of girls in the high school that talks about these things, that can learn from my mistakes and triumphs, and who can encounter God and bring him to their (our) culture!

My favorite conversation from today was a student who asked if we had brigadero in the U.S. Half of them were utterly shocked that my answer was no (I think the other half already knew this). The girl who asked me, still astounded, then asked this question: But what, then, do you eat at parties?!?! They weren't consoled with any of my answers, however, because none of it involved condensed milk, however they were a little relieved to hear that we at least had condensed milk in the U.S.

Alright, I'm out folks. I'm going to go help prepare for tonight a little bit more... with any luck they'll ask me to "help" make the brigadero!!! I need to go practice my innocent face...

The fruit club

Goiaba take 2 happened today - instead of eating the pretty green goiaba, I ate the yellow one, and low and behold, it was amazing! There was no pucker effect, the seeds were still hard, but the entire fruit is edible and it's tasty! To compare the ripe and unripe fruit, I took a picture. When it comes to goiaba, green does not mean go.

I also tried caju this week. The caju fruit is an accessory fruit that grows attached to the true caju fruit, also known as castanha de caju, or the cashew nut. The fruit is delicate and juicy, very sweet and tender with a slightly chalky aftertaste. And apparently I am slightly allergic to this fruit (or maybe to the potent skin irritant found in between the double shell encasing the cashew nut, which is also a toxin found in poison ivy?...

nah... ) because both times I ate the fruit my throat got all itchy and my hands got what looks like sunburn or hives... without the burn and itch. The goiaba I ate today was sitting next to the caju for the last couple days, and when I ate it I got the hand-sunburn reaction again... for the love... What a curse to be allergic to something that is so good! In heaven I'm going to have a caju tree.

A teacher of another sort

I've been volunteering at a local english school these past 2 weeks and today I talked to three classes. I appreciate being a volunteer more now that I'm a teacher - what a great lesson plan: bring in a native speaker, let the kids ask questions... I need to utilize guest speakers more... The kids are so much fun to talk with - especially the girls because they are so animated (lots of exclamations, giggling, gasping). It's helping me to get more excited to return to my own classroom!

Low Tide

It's the middle of the week, so of course the day is perfect. There are only enough clouds in the sky to be decorative and the ocean peeking between buildings is sparkly, so Toby and I scratched our usual around the block plans and headed for the beach. We hit waterfront when the tide was low and the bay was scattered with boats sitting too high in the water. We walked past one that was planted completely out of the water, but it didn't matter - there was someone still working on the boat and another working around it. In fact, most of the boats that were beached had people working on or around them.

As Toby and I walked I started to notice all the incredible beauty around me. The color of the water looked photoshopped, and the way the water had run across the sand left patterns that made the ground look like marble. As blue swirled below, the canopy of green above seemed to blossom out even more than usual. God's creation is so perfect - even as I walked down the beach I noticed that when I started to get to warm I would pass under the shadow of the palms into delicious cool air.

Toby was loving his time at the beach - he almost seemed to prance in and out of the scattered seaweed. He thought the seaweed flowing with the current was alive, so I sat, entertained for a while, watching him tentitavely reach out his neck as far as it would go in order to smell it and then a wave would catch the seaweed and more it a little, so Toby would jump back! Then he'd paw at it and leap sideways! I'm pretty sure he would have stayed there with that clump all day.

A giant sandbar was uncovered because it was low tide, and it stretched out nearly half way across the narrow part of the bay. It was packed with people, and we wove our way around them in order to walk out to the end. I walked in the warm, shallow water while Toby was a little more hesitant, but he started to prance in and out of the little waves and soon was wading across the little channels all by himself. When he came out of the water he looked hilarious - since just his legs were wet, they looked really tiny and spindly and his fat little fluffy body sat on top. He looked so out of proportion that I couldn't help but see him as a cartoon character - he would have been pompous royalty prancing around with his nose in the air, a white ruffly collar on, being tailed by a butler carrying a silver platter of doggy kibble. He is just so happy at the beach.

As we walked back, the beached boats seemed to be collecting people. The one stuck completely out of the water now had 3 people sitting on it, drinking and talking, another one was being rolled out to the water on logs by 2 people, and as the sun got hotter the fishermen seemed to be doing more socializing and less fishing.

Oh how I will miss Maceio!! I love it here, and I know that my dreams during the rainy, grey winter in OR will be of walking along this beach.

Erin was right: 3rd grade is hard!

I've been looking for that magic bean, the one method of learning portuguese that is going to make it click for me. I'm starting to think that there is no such thing as magic or clicking... On the down side, portuguese is difficult and I have days where I am so frustrated about my lack of understanding and progress. On the positive side, there are moments of glory when I realize that I actually am learning - when I understand a whole sentence said on a TV show, or when the check out lady at the grocery store asks me if I have a number, and I can give her an answer without receiving that scrunched-eyebrow look that is so very familiar (and often followed a few seconds later with an ... ohhh... )

I'm starting to think that there is no one method that will get me to learn, but rather the more methods I employ, the more fully I will learn. I'm trying everything I can think of: I took a class, study from a text book, listen to an audio lesson, watch TV/movies in portuguese, read/translate children's comic and story books, play games on line, and I recently bought a book of cross-word puzzles and word searches. I tried watching children's shows, but most of them on the Barney level, which is what I need these days, make me want to stab myself with a fork... or stab the TV, or maybe Barney. Anyone else have suggestions? (stalkers out there?)

I'm also starting to think that there's no "click." I keep waiting for the moment where I'll all of a sudden be able to understand what people say and be able to respond (in more than 2 year old speech...) But I'm starting to think the learning process is less like stair, or a series of times when you just get it, and more like climbing a hill - it's a gradual accruing of knowledge and understanding.

If you're praying for me out there, pray for patience. I have more empathy for kindergardeners and other early learners these days; as a famous teacher once said: 3rd grade is hard! Excuse me while I go read "A Princesa e o Sapo."

BOPE facility

It is said that BOPE training is the most hard-core prepared in the world: above the Israel police, if you can believe it, due to the nature of urban warfare that they have to survive. If you haven't already, check out the movie Tropa de Elite, or Elite Squad, which tells a story through training and operation of BOPE. For one reason or another, Maceio has a BOPE facility, and proudly our Boxing instructor at our gym is ex-BOPE. I took these pictures of the front of the training facility as we drove by (thus the quality...) Note their seal, Faca na Caveira, or Knife in the Skull, (nice, right?) and the mural painted on the words BOPE. CRAZY!

A little too ironic...

We pulled up to a restaurant before deciding to go to Bar do Bahia yesterday. As we were sitting in the car waiting for Kelson to see what it was about, I noticed all the chickens in the yard. One mama hen had ten or more baby chicks running around her. Luiza and I watched them, talked about how cute they were for a while, and she told me the word for chick was pintinho, which I thought was nothing like the word for chicken, galinha. As I was reminiscing about the good times with Peeper (our pet chicken we had when were little), and the good ol' barbie doll car days, Kelson returned to tell us the specialty of the restaurant: chicken.

Dinner and a Show

Yesterday we went sight-seeing around a small town and one of Maceio's famous beaches. One of our stops along the way was a restaurant called Bar do Bahia. As soon as we pulled up I noticed squirrels in the trees?? I couldn't believe it, so it was the first place I went - around the restaurant to the chicken and cat-infested "yard" in between the restaurant and the river it overlooked. Chickens and cats, who would have thought that was a good combination... Anyway, sure enough, there they were - little fuzzy things scampering around the trees... although the more I watched the more I thought the tail was too long, and the head was the wrong size, and sometimes they sat rather than stood on all 4's... so I asked my tour guide,Ms. Luiza, and low and behold, they were MONKEYS!!! I'm not kidding - they were these cute, squirrel-sized monkeysscampering around the branches in the trees!! I was ecstatic, think Nolan in the aviation museum, mouth open, eyes bright, I might have been shaking a little bit. Luiza looked at me for a little bit and then said, "Yah, but they bite," and walked on into the restaurant. I tried to get pictures, but turns out they are not paparazzi-friendly little guys. They started yelling, or squeaking, and ranfrom tree to tree until I was too far for a descent picture. The rest of the meal I think I spent looking in thetree-tops rather than enjoying the view of the river.

The restaurant's owner was around and he would move from table to table and hang out with the patrons. He was this charismatic guy who would chat it up with us and when we needed something he would shout, "Menino! Colher!" (boy! spoon!), or "Menino! Coco!" (boy! coconut!). It reminded me of the movie "Behind the sun" where you never hear the boy's name,

only not as sad. Turns out the owner's nickname was "Bahia," and he seemed to think the name of the restaurant (Bar do Bahia) was pretty funny, and it was pretty funny that he thought it was pretty funny... When he found out I was american, a sparkle showed up in his eye, and as he gestured towards the wall he told me that I had to tell his cousin hello for him when I got back. See the pictures below.

I'm compiling a "Things you'd never see in the US" list, and this Bar has made the cut: In the US you'll never see the owner of a restaurant go catch the food (in this case, "Cidi," a type of

crab), prepare it and then serve it to you!! It's like dinner and a show!

Caught in the act... again...

Like I said earlier, I bought some unknown, interesting-looking fruit the other day from the store, and I decided on Thursday that today was the day to engage with the maracujá (aka Passion Fruit). I love the picture of the maracujá cut in half, looking at the inside... it just screams passion, right?

So I got all prepared - did my research on line (wait until it's wrinkly, cut in half and eat seeds... check check check), got the plate, found the right knife, found just the right mouth-sized spoon, cut the sucker in half, (pause for the picture), scooped up a not so brave spoonful, looked closely, smelled the seeds, opened my mouth... and then this voice behind me interrupted, "você vai comer isso???" (or something to that effect... all I really needed to hear were the three question marks...) Busted - Zairinha has such great timing. I explained (successfully, I

think!!!) that I read online that this was how you ate it, and she gave me that classic "dear, sweet child" smile, took the fruit from me, and told me she doesn't think it's good to eat that way and she'll show me how to make juice. As she was scooping one half out into the blender I pretended to examine the fruit and again not-so-slyly ate a couple seeds. They had flavor and were fairly sour - I had to think about a parallel for a while, but think it's close to a pomegranate experience (flavor with a little pucker... mostly pucker for my maracujá.)

So Zairinha made me juice (maracujá, sugar, water, blender), and it was AMAZING. She wins food points on this one, for sure.

I'm learning (slowly, but nonetheless) that half, and possibly more than half, the battle with the enjoying the fruit here (other than knowing how to eat it) is knowing how to pick it out, and

knowing when to eat it. At the store I usually just wait until someone else goes to buy the fruit, and they try to pick out fruit that looks like the fruit they picked out, aka fruit stalking. Sometimes it works... the knowing when is another story, we're currently employing the trial by fire method there... I killed a couple papayas I tried to buy the other day - apparently you shouldn't put them at the bottom of the grocery bag, even if they are currently harder than all other fruit. I've never seen bruised fruit grow mold that fast...

I think Zairinha's inspired, though - she has put together a mental list of fruit and is on a mission to find them so I can try, and I think I'm going to like this game.

My greatest discovery

This week, I discovered The Hammock. There are two hooks in the bedroom I'm staying with, in perfectly opposite corners of the room. The hammock stretches diagonally across the room when strung up, and can be rolled up to hang in a tidy ball when not in use, which is where it's been since I've been there. One day this week I was looking for interesting things to do while I waited for the family to get home from work, and I decided to unroll the ball. As I did light streamed into the room and the birds started singing, I tenuously sat down, testing the strength of the hooks in the wall, sank down, and then didn't get out for a couple of hours. I've decided it's my new vice. :)

For the last couple days I've been thinking about trying to sleep in it... other than the naps I sneak in... daily... so last night I gathered my courage and sheets, and rocked myself into a deep sleep. Usually I wake up once or twice during the night, and last night: nothing. I woke up rested and so very comfortable - it was hard to get myself to get out of the hammock. I guess it actually is fairly difficult to get out of, but it's also hard because the hammock is like a giant cuddle blanket that holds you. mmmmm... hammock.

View from our balcony

This is what I get to wake up to in the morning!! So beautiful, the ocean can be seen 3-4 blocks away in both the north and west views, even though it's a little hard to see in the pictures. Also, note the tree on someone's veranda like 10 floors up in the west view. The last picture is looking west at sunset.

North

Northwest

West

West at sunset

A few of my favorite things...

... include the vendors here. Where else can you walk down the street and buy fresh boiled corn, coconut water straight from the coconut (which is straight from the tree), assortments of nuts, popcorn and carmel corn, popsicles, aracaju or tapioca, a meringue-like candy, a very light tube-shaped pastry, fruit, lobsters, beans, and I'm sure there's more I haven't discovered yet. You just have to find the right person walking down the street!

Experiment and see...

The realization hit this weekend that I only have two more weeks in Maceio and one week in Rio until I head back to the states, so I have re-found motivation to be productive and get the most out of this time in Brazil. Yesterday I was certainly productive: morning walk with Toby, breakfast, Bible study, work out class, Pimsleur portuguese lesson, trip to the natural foods store (for my beloved flax), prep for chemistry, trip to the supermarket, work-out class #2, watch some TV with Luiza, attempted work-out class #3 (but the prof was sick), went to talk to 3 english schools about volunteering, watched the novela with Luiza and Zaira, talked with Muri, bed! AND it was raining!

I also noticed that I'm getting more comfortable here. I went to the grocery store yesterday and decided that today was the day that I was going to try the things I've been wanting to. So I bought a couple essentials and then bought some stuff like some fruit that looked interesting, pão de queijo, dulce de leite in a can, stuff to make brigadeiros (aka condensed milk), and grape/pineapple mentos. There is a reason they don't sell grape or pineapple mentos in the

united states, and now I know. It made me think of another experience I've had...

There was this time, walking through a soap store, I saw a pale purple bar labeled "lavender." My memory rushed back to a magnificent experience where I ran my hand over the rough, semi-dry head of the flower. With a little pressure the flower popped of and I rolled the little disk flowers off of the composite head in order to release the fragrance. I closed my eyes and tilted my face towards the sun, felt the breeze playing around my legs, and inhaled God's perfect combination of scents contained in that pale purple flower. So in that soap store I closed my eyes, leaned down to the bar, and inhaled deeply only, to my surprise, to be attacked by a smell burning a path through my sinuses, constricting my lungs as I reel back, eyes wide, trying to wheeze the offensive impostor's scent out of my system! I should carry a sharpy for times like these so I can write "NOT" on the label. NOT lavender soap, NOT grape mentos!

The brigadero's, however, were a much better experience. Luiza showed me how she makes them: condensed milk, nescau - BAM: brigaderos. So much easier than the recipe I found online... Murilo will be happy I discovered this so I can make/eat them ALL THE TIME, NOW!! AHHH! Right honey? So excited for me, right? ;)

I also tried to eat one of the fruits I bought yesterday. It's called goiaba. I don't think they eat it much in raw form around here, because the whole family was polled when I asked if it was ready to eat/ how you eat it. My favorite answer was from Kelson who said "Experiment and see what part you like to eat." So I did, and found out that 1) I should have waited a couple days to eat it, 2) the green part is NOT tasty 3) the seeds are really hard and should not be attempted to be chewed before swallowing. I plan on buying a couple more, waiting a couple days, and trying again. The pink part in the middle was very pleasantly, mildly sweet. I think it has promise.

I think the other one I bought was called Maracuja, but I haven't tried to eat this one yet. Luiza said something about "with water," so I think I have to cook it first? Maybe I should google it...

Today it rained quite a bit again, so I stayed inside and played with my food. I cooked the pão de queijo (slash-took them out of the bag in the freezer and put them into the oven). They turned out great - maybe I should have been the baker in our family... although Murilo made a pretty mean honey wheat. (Love, what was that special ingredient in the honey?) I also made whole wheat pasta with alfredo sauce, peas, broccoli, and roasted garlic. So good! Although in the left-overs the pasta soaked all the sauce up... doit! And it needed a little salt... either that or I've been permanently affected by the amount of salt in all the food here.

Toby and I also went for a perfectly timed walk during the only 20 minutes of sun today. I tried to count the number of poles and trees he peed on, but lost count around 60... he only willingly bypassed 4. After a while he just goes through the motions, but there's nothing left to contribute. I also noticed today that we make a great booby-trap: he's little and blends in with the foliage, the leash line is black and looks like a crack in the sidewalk... kid running at full speed - CLOTHES LINED! I try to walk directly behind him to avoid this from happening, but I'm pretty sure I look a little crazy walking from one side to the other: tree, pole, tree, pole...

Alright, an hour and a half until my next work-out class... I better go eat a brigadero now so I can burn it off!! (how's that for exercise logic...)

A much sunnier Sunday

This morning we walked down to the waterfront in order to hear the band for this weekend, the state police band.

Our favorite lady was there and I took a video... she was not as creative as usual, but her ending is still pretty solid.

All kinds of people were up and dancing today - couples, solos, people with kids, people with dogs... one woman was dancing with the fluffiest dog I've ever seen... I took a picture of that, too ;)

It seemed like there were more people than usual today, and the activities and vendors were busy today. All the usual vendors were out and selling: cotten candy and balloons, toys and balls,

nuts, popcorn, drinks, coconuts, tapioca, churros, and other various treats. Usual activities were present, too: bikes, two person bikes, blow-up gyms, trampolines, etc. After the band, Kelson and I took Toby into the ocean for a little swim. The water was a little cold, but after sucking it up and plunging, the water was marvelous! I can't tell if Toby likes it or feelstortured, but it's so funny to pick him out of the water and watch his legs keep paddling! He got a shower after swimming today, and he is no longer following me around, so I think our little pouter may be slightly put-off. I'm sure it won't last long - he has no self-control when it comes to licking legs walking by.

American adoption

Toby has adopted me as his Luiza for the weekend: he follows me everywhere - I even tested how far I could push this. I walked around the whole apartment 2ce and the dining table 3 times, and my little black shadow was right behind me the whole time. Toby scratched the bedroom door when I went to bed, and he's currently sleeping on my flip flops right next to my bed.

Ok, I'll hand it to him: he can be pretty darn cute.

This Saturday's adventure

We were hoping for a sunny Saturday in order to do some beaching after a week of working hard (by some of us... hehe) The morning was overcast and a littlewindy, so the boat was againrejected, but we packed up and headed off for a new beach in a little citynearby called Paripueira. It's a little bit past Praia Ipioca, our first beach outing, so we drove north and finally got out ofMaceio. Kelson found the little street leading to the new beach, and as we rounded the corner of the brick road and the ocean broke into sight, our viewstarted to blur a little, clouded by little drops of water. Yes, as we pulled onto the street along the beach, it started to rain.

Not exactly a sunny day, but what is a little rain when you have a beautiful ocean to admire, right? That's right,

us hard core beach aficionados can't be daunted by rain and wind and dark cloud-covered sky, so we

drove up and back down Paripueira's strip (literally, a little strip of land covered by brick) and admired the houses lining the beach. It actually really liked the area - most houses along that front street had low if any fences, some had yards, most had front porches; it was a really cute neighborhood. After cruising, we picked a restaurant on the beach and by this time the sprinkling had stopped, so we chose a table in the sand and I explored a little and took some pictures of the fishing boats anchored along the shore. When I returned, Kelson and Zairinha had ordered drinks and bought some nuts from a vendor, and to my delight, they had bought boiled peanuts!! No joke - the deep south delicacy can also be found in Brazil!! I sat down, it started to rain again, we moved inside, and enjoyed

the view for a little while.

This weekend I am again Luiza-less, but to my surprise the three of us could carry on some

pretty good discussions!! Low and behold, I am learning

portuguese!!!

After Paripueira, we drove down to Ipioca but the tide was too high for our off roader (aka VW golf-type car), so we defaulted to plan C, Restaurante de Zezé. As Zairinha said, it was quite a simple place, but the food was phenomenal: steak, fried cheese, beans, rice, farofa, salsa... really, amazing. (I know, I know, you say "fried cheese?" Hardly sounds like a

Bladdie-friendly food... but I ate a lot of salsa to make up for it, ok?) (PS Amber was the only one to submit a name, so you are all now being subjected to hear about "Bladdie"... you should have posted...)

On the way home we stopped at a place that has a neighborhood of vacation homes and a

restaurant at the beach access. The houses were amazing, although the lots in between the houses were untouched, and some looked like ruins of houses that used to be. The restaurant, called Hibiscus, was incredible - it looked like a movie set. There were fountains, pools, trees loaded with coconuts and bananas, a section for massage, a restaurant, hammocks, painted tables, mosaics on the sidewalks, bean bags on the beach, wooden bridges lined with cattails (what can't you grow in the tropics?) and this gorgeous beach. The place was beautiful.

We bought some lobster on the way back to the house, and the rest of the day was fairly calm. Kelson and I looked at pictures of when Livia was an exchange student in TX, and Kelson, Zaira, and Kelson's mom and dad rented a minivan and toured from Florida to Texas. Zairinha and Kelson made a Lobster-Potato-Cheese-Cream type of casserole for dinner (at midnight), we watched a novela, Zaira studied, Kelson and I looked at more pictures, and so the night went.

I have only 2 more weeks here before going to Rio, and when I return I have only 2 days before leaving for MI! Crazy how the time passes!

Guess what?!?!

I'M GOING TO RIO!!!

Guess who pulled this one off? That's right, my sweet, sweet-talking boyfriend charmed someone at TAM into giving us a flight to Rio with his frequent flier miles!! I'll be going to meet his Grandpa (Vovo Murillo), and Aunt (Tia Luize) to tour the “Maravilhosa Cidade.”

I feel grumpy

I did nothing today... NOTHING! I am a loser... and it rained, and lunch made me a little sick... or maybe it was the chocolate that I'm not supposed to be eating... I did learn the word for hammer... and axe.. and words that have to do with clothing, fabric, and jewelry from my Portuguese text book... and Toby and I went for a walk and I listened to portuguese on tape and I memorized like 25 animals in portuguese and I did a Bible study and watched a movie.

But other than that I did nothing.

Let the celebration of food continue!

I just pulled out of the oven beautifully cooked and tasty chicken!! I had a little trouble turning the oven on, and actually Kelson eventually had to turn it on for me, but once we got over that little hiccup (functioning oven = minor details), I did it!! Today I also successfully made brown-er rice, sweet potato (I think), and oven roasted garlic! I haven't pulled the potato and garlic out yet, so we are yet to find out if those were successful or not, but at this point it doesn't really matter! Rice and chicken? I'm practically gourmet now! It was beautiful - I should have taken a picture.

Suddenly I feel swept by the feeling of learning how to function as a human being all over again...

Food vs. the GB

Yesterday was food heaven! Zaira brought home from work these small pastries - one was a brigadero, which I hope everyone knows and loves by this point. If you don't , ask me sometime and I would LOVE to have an excuse to make it for you. ;) The other one looked like a tiny pie and had a custard-type filling that tasted a little bit like dulce de leite...? maybe? I don't know, but it was great. Probably not in line with my let's-make-the-gall-bladder-happy diet, but hey, I'm in a country with some of the best food... and I didn't die... so we'll chalk it up as a little break. My little gallbladder will understand. (PS we are currently accepting nominations for a name for my problematic little gallbladder. And it doubles as a way to lure you stalkers out there to leave a comment.. mwahaha, and tomorrow, Pinky, we take over the world.)

Celebrate Food Day food #3 was this rice and beans stuff that Zaira makes. She calls it something-as duas, and "as duas" means both for both rice and beans. (Murilo, a little help, here?) It is so tasty, and has rice, beans, tomato, chunks of cheese, cilantro, onion, green onion, and of course garlic, salt, and butter. So I consider this food a wash - some things make the gb happy, and some things don't. I'll just eat a little extra flax today... IT'S SO TASTY!

Weekend Update

It was a calm weekend; no breeze, no stars, no birds - too calm, like the eery still that settles in before a storm. Um, just kidding - just had to let the dramatic flair out to play for a little bit. It was a calm weekend, but not in a creepy, your-house-is-going-to-be-gone-tomorrow kind of way. Rather it was calm in a good, restful, much needed kind of way. On friday us ladies went to get our nails done. FYI the trend here is to pain really neutral, natural-looking pinks. I picked out a light, metallicy pink and Zaira tried to stop me. Luckily I don't understand much of what she says, so she gave up on me fairly fast and let me use this color, and I love it!

I think I frustrate Zaira sometimes, although I can't be sure. I went to the grocery store on Friday to test my limits (I made it there and back, you'll be happy to know) and to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Among other things, I bought what I thought looked like green snap beans. I brought them home, washed them, and then Zaira saw them. By her expression I might as well have scooped up Toby's sidewalk presents and fried them up for dinner. Zaira spent the next 10 minutes discussing with Cida, the maid on Fridays, if they were edible and how you might go about preparing them. She ultimately concluded that you chop them up and fry them in butter (are we surprised, anyone?). When I went about eating them raw she just about tied

me to the chair to stop me, but when she wasn't looking I ate one and low and behold - they are green snap beans!! Apparently she has given up on trying to convince me to cook them in butter now, but every time she sees me eating them she gives me this little "ehh my two-year old is eating flowers again but they haven't killed her yet so I guess I'll let her do it" half-smile with scrunched eyebrows look.

On Sunday Kelson took me for a ride on his motorcycle, and it was so fun! We drove up and down the beach. The city closes part of the strip along the beach every sunday for pedestrians, kids on bikes, bands, two person pedal bikes, kids games, etc. We stopped at one point to listen to a band and watch some people dancing. The crowd was older and so cute, and there were all kinds of people out on the dance floor: young couples, old couples, ladies who couldn't find a partner dancing with friends, people dancing with babies... and then there was this old, wrinkled, woman with a big belly, and I couldn't stop watching her! If you've ever been fortunate enough to see Catherine and I interpretive dance, you know what this lady looked like. And then add to that periodic pauses to wink at the crowd and wave like you know

someone across the stage who was trying to get your attention. She was fascinating! What I would have done to have a video camera at that point in time...

Sunday night Kelson, Zaira, and I went to a restaurant, Alagoana, that had a live band who was amazing. They were shocked to figure out that I didn't understand the lyrics, but I assure you, one doesn't have to hear the lyrics to feel the rhythm and experience the melody in the open air among a light Brazilian breeze.

Other than that, the weekend provided much time for resting, trying to learn some portuguese vocabulary, watching movies, Bible study, and re-learning the vocabulary again.

Half the fun of travel is the new food, right? ...right?

Well I'm alive! We've cut off further testing, unless I have more problems, I finish the antibiotic on Saturday, and we're banking on the possibility that this is a problem with my gallbladder that can be controlled by what I eat (or what I don't... aka no more hot pocket o' death). My new regimen includes flax seed tea (literally, hot water poured on flax seeds), lime juice (because I can't find lemons), and something I found that promises to be high in fiber. I believe the claim, too, because it tastes like a tree. Combine it with a little yogurt, sprinkle on a little flax seed (you really can't have too much of this good thing), and the sticks don't taste so bad. I included a picture, and they pretty much taste like they look. For the time being, however, I feel a lot better. If this plan works I'm going to write a book and title it "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but they just may save your life in South America if you eat them."

To celebrate, Toby and I went for a walk today on the beach, and I bought 2 coconuts - we're upping the anti there. Toby is not a good beach buddy, though; he's too high maintenance. He will sit still for about 30 seconds, and then bark at the birds, and the bark at the guy selling stuff, and then bark at the tree he just peed on. He only sits still when he's "cleaning" himself, and that's just embarrassing to sit next to. And then he tried to lick me, which is when I decided it was time to leave.

The final cap on the night was when Luiza and I went back to our Danca do Ventre (belly dancing) class - our professora is so enthusiastic and charming (she calls all of us something like "skinny lady"), and she was double the fun to come back to after being gone for a week and a half. I must be doing better! Belly dancing: the real test of health.

Friday

Urine test: negative

Ultrasound: normal

X-ray: normal, with micro-stones in the kidney (nothing that would cause a fever, though...)

Blood work: still to come

After talking with Muri this morning, Toby and I went for a walk and when I came home I only slept for 20 minutes. When I woke up I decided that today I try walk #2 to the grocery store. 4 blocks later I was thinking it wasn't such a good idea. I was a little dizzy and really tired, but inside was air conditioning and outside was 4 blocks back home, so I went inside. I browsed the store (do you know I could not find brown rice?! They have a whole isle of rice and beans, but no brown rice. Or I'm blind.) bought a couple things, and then walked home.

I am tired now and going to sleep. Hey, though, grocery store - that's progress!! Sweet dreams.

Thursday

Today I was a little more awake, a little less in pain, and decided to venture out with Toby. So after talking with Murilo in the morning, and then sleeping some more, off came Toby's ridiculous diaper, and we went for a little walk around the block. Then I came home and slept for a couple more hours, did a Bible study, studied some portuguese, checked some facebook, slept a little more, and then everyone came home! Toby was certainly grateful for the walk, so later in the afternoon to say thank-you, he walked up to my door frame, lifted a leg, held the pose for a couple seconds, then flashed me those "you're welcome" puppy eyes as he walked away. Luckily he had his diaper on.

Wednesday

Day o' Hospital

Activities: Ultrasound of the abdomen, x-ray of the abdomen, eat some lunch, drink 1 L of fluid, wait until I have to go to the bathroom, go back to the ultrasound room (and wait and wait and wait!!!), almost have a bladder explosion, get another ultrasound done, relieve myself, sleep at the hospital, come back, sleep, watch TV with Luiza, talk to Muri, sleep sleep sleep

Tuesday

sleep, peed in a cup, sleep, talked to Muri, sleep, watched a movie, talk to Muri again, sleep, drank lots of fluids! sleep, listened to Pastor Dan, sleep, watched TV with Luiza, sleep, sleep, talk to parents and Muri, sleep, sleep, sleep

(Side note: if you write "slept" or "sleep" enough times, it starts to look funny)

Monday

Activities:

Slept, went to see the doctor, slept at the hospital, came home, slept, watched some TV, slept

Go big or go home

So in character with trying new things, I decided to do just that this weekend: went to a new state, went to a new city, go to a city-wide concert, get a kidney infection in another country...

On Friday we left for a city called Garanhums, which is in the state of Pernambuco, just north of Alagoas (where Maceio is). For the last 20 years, Garanhuns has held a music festival where they host concerts in various venues around the city (parks, churches, downtown) for 10 days straight. All the concerts are free, so the key for out of towners like us is to get a hotel.

They decided pretty late to go to this festival, and as we drove around the city the streets were flowing with people. Kelson's trusty Garmin finally got us there, we hauled our bags up the stairs, and as we rounded the corner it became apparent just what kind of amenities were available for late comers. The ladies explored our room, yes, one room with 5 beds, with dismay. Watching them was one of the fun parts: the ceiling and corners of the room was discolored, towels were almost transparent, the hem on Luiza's sheet was ripped off but still attached, and the bathroom was a combination as well, meaning you use the toilet before you shower, or you'll walk away with a wet bum. But hey, this is an adventure, people!

As we settled in and started to get ready to explore, Zairinha went in for a quick shower, and two minutes later we heard: pop, sizzle, lights flicker, small scream, pop pop! sizzle, flicker, scream, pause, scream, door flies open, Zaira runs out of the shower, and smoke starts pouring out of the bathroom and filling the ceiling. The rest of us were just sitting in our beds when this happened and as the drama unfolded one by one we started cracking up, laughing all around Zairinha who was standing wet in the middle of the room, shampoo still in her hair. Apparently the seal on the shower head that separates the water from the heating elements had broken, and our one shower was now fried. Zairinha was permitted to finish bathing in the next room over, where we all took showers until the people checked in. First highlight of the weekend so far. ;)

We explored the city a little bit, and they had concerts all over the place - we sat in a church for a little bit and listened to a choir accompanied by a guitar for a little bit, and walked through this pretty cobble stoned garden/park where a stage was being set up. We picked up some dinner, which was great because I was so hungry by this point that I didn't care where we ate. Which was good, because we chose a place that served what looked like giant hot pockets that were deep fried. I'm getting a little nauseous just writing about it. Anyway, after eating we met up with Ricardo (the guy we went to Orakulo with, apparently Mariana was excited to come for more reasons than just the music...), and headed over to the big stage.

I was feeling a little bit unwell (long drive? greasy dinner?) so decided to stick with coconut water for the night. Bands were great, people were up and dancing, Kelson had some history about almost all the singers, and the night was hot! Later, one of Kelson's favorite singers came on so we headed to the front of the stage and weaved our way around and through people. As we stood and danced, listened, and swayed with the crowd, I got more and more dizzy, and when I thought there was a decent chance of throwing up on someone I asked to go. So back through the crowd I went, led by Kelson, followed by Luiza, and with my eyes closed most of the time. We tried sitting at our table for a little bit, but I was not doing well so we headed home as the next band was setting up. I made it back to my own little bet with mantras like "the ground is not spinning, the ground is not spinning," and there I stayed. I kept hoping it was just a matter of drinking enough water or eating the right food, but I stayed in that little bed, always attended (usually by Saint Luiza) until Sunday when we left.

Back in Maceio, we went into have me seen and there you have it: infection. It couldn't be just any infection, though, oh no, we have to do things big around here. But anyway, what's a little adventure without a little infection, right? ...right...?

I swam here

... and by "swam here" I mean I took a boat...

Revenge of the 80-somethings, Part 2

Despite the lack of a structured line, we made it through the door and into the cinema, and claimed our seats. As people filtered in, I began to see the truth of Murilo's words when he talks about the women of Brazil: there are 5 women for every man, women are aggressive, etc. I watched the first six rows fill in the theatre, 12 across, and when they were filled I counted 6 men. 6 men per 72 people! No wonder they are aggressive when it comes to their men - if I they wouldn't pause long enough to let me through the door, who knows what would happen if the prize, instead of a movie, was something more valuable... like chocolate ;) The the credit of society here, however, I have noticed a general disregard of one person for the other until they have a 2 minute conversation, and then that other person is treated like family. That is, of course, a major generalization, but I've observed it over and over; at the cinema, on the boat, at the beach, at a restaurant, at the grocery store, etc. It's amazing how warm they are, but the connection is essential.

The movie the program pivited around was Flor do Deserto (Desert Flower). It's a moving true (according to imbd.com) story about a Somalian nomad woman who was circumcised at 3, sold into marriage at 13, and fled to London, and her life and strength there after. It's an incredible film - I highly recommend! It's very sad and very happy, but you walk away happy and moved to want to help change the world.

The motivation to impact lives that I walked away with reminds me of this study I'm doing of the book, Ecclesiastes. King Solomon, a man said to be the wisest in history, decides to study about the meaning of life and records his study in this book. He looks at work and laziness, diversions and dedication to great causes, money and power, and comes to the conclusion that all are meaningless. That is, all are meaningless because we desire to understand eternity and God's purpose for his plans for our lives and world, and how the things we do fit into His plan. These things God holds from us so that we are humbled by being confounded, and we come to revere the Lord. Soloman looks at all these things and finds that without God and the revelation and purpose that He gives when we are willing to humble ourselves and trust Him, all that we do, good or bad, for others or for ourselves, is all meaningless. Solomon concludes that the best we can do is to do good and enjoy the toil of our hand, and this too is from God because He is the provider all things. Together, with the movie, I am reminded of why I teach and the eternal impact I originally decided to work for through this profession.

After the movie, we found a table to sit at for the "cha" (tea) part of the program. On all the tables are little plates of pastries and there's another with refreshments. Mariana and I chose a table, she looks at her plate, looks at the other plates on the table, and takes a pastry from the other plate that she doesn't have on hers and eats it! She turned to me with a little smile and said, "A different one!" hahaha, again, Mariana does what she wants!

We listened to the singer for a little while, who sang traditional songs from Portugal and Brazil, and then took off a little bit early so we could make it to our dance class on time.

Too much fun! Genius idea of the day: forget BOPE, I say round up the old women of the city and send them in to straighten up the favelas!

I'm a loser

Apparently, according to Murilo, when one spends all their time at the beach, floating on boats, going to the cinema, and doesn't know what day of the week it is, that person is a loser. I prefer to think of it as temporarily retired.

Mariana and I spent a wonderful day living up our loser status floating around the little bay here that is created by coral reefs. We went out on a boat run by one of the bar/restaurants along the water, Lopana, and the boat drove from "piscina natural" (natural pool created by a small coral reef) to piscina natural. I saw my first one-piece here, had my first conversation

with "strangers" (aka new friends) who didn't speak

english all by myself, and got my first sun burn this summer (who needs sunscreen on their butt? Apparently I do.) It was a great THURSDAY.

The reef here is interesting - I can't tell if it's dead coral or rocks, but like every reef, the closer you look, the more you find, and there was plenty living once you got close enough! I also thought the bay area was cool - the reefs and rocks form a wall around the little bay, and the closer you get to that border, the more you can see how wild the ocean is. On the bay side the water is clear, still, and little fish are swimming all around, but on the other side of the rocks the ocean is wild and wavy. I've never seen water change so fast. The other thing that is cool

about the bay is that it is full of little sail boats called Jangadas. They are little boats used by

fishermen, but around here they are mostly used to get to the party that is happening around the natural pools. Around one pool I saw chairs and umbrellas, way out on the outskirts of the bay! Crazy brazilians.

This weekend we're going to a big concert in another city. We leave tomorrow at noon and get back some time on Sunday. I'm sure we'll get some good posts out of this weekend! On top of that, my bum could use a little rest from the sun.

Revenge of the 80-somethings

After our beach trek, Mariana and I had 30 minutes to shower, dress, eat, and get to the cinema. There was a special program running today, Cha e Filme, or "Tea and a movie." The program included an hour of a piano reception, then a showing of the film "Desert Flower," and then music and refreshments.

Murilo once told me that Brazilian women put on heels and makeup to walk across the street, so I put on a sundress and kitten pumps, and walked into the bedroom where Mariana was wearing work out pants, a sports bra and tennis shoes. So I changed.

We arrived a little bit late, but made our tennis-shoed way through the dress, heel, and shiny earring-ed crowd to the ticket line. This was my first hint that Mariana does what she wants. As the lovely piano music floated through the atmosphere, lingering here and resting there, Mariana asked a nearby woman a question, and the conversation started. It didn't sound like friendly small talk to me and soon turned into chaos (aka everyone talking at once). This happens sometimes in the apartment where Kelson, Zairinha, and Mariana will all talk at once. It used to stress me out because I thought they were fighting, but I don't think that's always the case. I'm not sure if they are talking to each other, to themselves, or if they know that everyone else is talking, too. Anyway, now I just sit back and enjoy the chaos; I'm literally a head and shoulder taller than most people around me, so I can observe from a safe distance. So people are shouting, the manager (my height) is waving his hands like he is trying to pat these old women into the ground. Mariana moves me right behind her in line, and by right behind her I mean stomach to back, and I become acutely aware of this old lady wearing pointy-toed shoestrying to use her elongated foot to edge around me in the line. I'm not used to the lack of spacial comfort some people have here. I discovered, however, that if I stop her pointy toe (aka block it with my shoe), she doesn't move forward, so I won some space back. (Bring it on, granny. haha, just kidding... kind of)

I eventually realized that everyone was so fired up because tickets were running out. There were three people in front of us and the ticket guy said "nao mais." (no more). Then the ladies REALLY lost it. The manager (poor guy) came out again and apparently had promised a certain number of people tickets, us included, and someone ahead of us had bought 7 tickets. These people aren't messing around with their tea and movies! Nonetheless, he sold the promised number of people tickets, so we got in by 4 people! And all the while, the piano sang it's lullaby...

While we waited, Mariana and I ordered cafezinhos (espresso) and chocolate (I knew I would love this woman). The piano's crooning ended, and the stamped started once again. As a child I was taught the virtue of standing so that the elderly could sit, allowing someone to pass through a door before you, holding the door for someone with their hands full (say, holding a purse and a cane). Well apparently if you do that in a room with too many old, brazilian women you will never get through the door. Mariana, in her loving, maternal way, started pushing me from behind, so I cut off cane-lady, dropped the door, and took a step forceful enough to stop both ladies on either side of me trying to cut me off. Mariana just hung on for the ride...

To be continued...

I had a chance to talk to Katie today, but...

Today Mariana and I also went to the beach. We meant to go so we could sit, enjoy the sun, swim a little, and other typical winter time activities, but the supermarket check out line took so long that we didn't have time for all those shenanigans. So we dropped off our soap and papayas, picked up Toby, and went for a quick walk (minus the diaper) to a bank kiosk so Mariana could do some quick banking.

However... (doesn't every story start with this word?) the kiosk was out of order. So Mariana asked someone passing by if there was another Bank of Brasil close by, and luckily enough there was! Only 4 or 5 blocks away! More or less.... (do you see a yellow bank?)

Turns out it was mostly more. We walked, and walked and walked and walked, and stopped so Toby could pee on a wall, and walked and walked and walked. Turns out the bank was some 45 minutes down the beach. Finally the yellow awning came into view so once we got there Mariana did her banking. Once she finished we both were sweaty and Toby's little poodle legs were tired, so we headed for the water for a quick break before our return trip. Mariana charmed us some chairs and ordered 2 coconuts while I made for the water. It was a little bit cold, but I was hot so I didn't mind. When I was cooled off and starting to feel the chill I headed back for Mariana and Toby. And then the wind started to blow, making the water evaporate off my skin and leaving the little blond hairs on my arm standing up. And then the wind turned cold, and it started to blow harder. And then the rain came.

So here we are, a 45 minute walk from the house, I'm wet, we're cold, it's raining, and our coconuts were chilled (literally, they keep them on ice. I don't know what you were thinking...) I was hoping it would just blow by, but it started to rain harder so Mariana, of course, makes friends with a guy with an umbrella and we huddle under that while the two chat it up. We had the coconuts split so I tried to concentrate on scraping the coconut out instead of on the rain (and it was a good one, Murilo - not dried out at all!) The rain started to lighten a little, so Mariana decides it's better just to start the walk even if we get drenched, so off we go: brush the sand off our feet, thank Mariana's new friend #354, coerce Toby to start walking again, climb up the wall, climb back down the wall, go get my sandals, climb back up the wall, put the sunglasses/rain shield on, and we started walking.

Turns out there is a happy ending to this story: the rain let up 5 minutes into our walk back, the sun came back out and the water started sparkling, and the walk back seemed a little bit faster... possibly because Toby had already peed on all the trees, but none the less...

Pale-skinned sisters, listen up! You're being lied to...

It was a sad, rainy day yesterday, so when the sun woke us up today Mariana and I found ourselves excitement enough for a couple days. It might take me a couple posts to recount our adventures...

We wanted to run to the store real quick in order to pick up laundry soap, and because of the check out lines, we ended up spending about an hour at the store. Crazy! Mariana said that in Fortaleza, which is a much, MUCH bigger city than Maceio, there are no lines like that at the supermarket. Apparently Bompreco needs a little check-out reform. We met some interesting people while waiting in line, however. Mariana takes full advantage of her "senior citizen" status (she is not exactly senior, and even less so in mind) by using the check out line for mothers with children, pregnant women, disabled, and seniors. The check out line has seats along the waiting area, and I was sitting next to an elderly lady. After about five minutes she turns to me and says, "Voce nao e brasileira." (You are not Brasilian.) I laughed, nothing like being blunt!, and said "Nao, eu sou americana." (No, I am American) And that was that. Apparently I have no hope in blending in here. Ever. I decided to look at it positively, so have come to the conclusion that I'm exotic!!! Alright! White IS the new beautiful!! After growing up in a dutch community with dutch roots, I've discovered that society has been mistaken all these years! I am not typical, I'm unique! I'm striking! I'm exotic! I'm totally without hope of every looking like everyone else, here! It may put me at a higher risk of being robbed, but it also gives me a higher chance of capturing the attention of a tall, dark haired, handsome brazilian swim coach who almost has his MBA and has gorgeous eyes and an almost perfect nose who also works in the wine distribution industry... wait a second...

The penultimate lesson

Actually, hopefully not... I just wanted to use the word "penultimate." As I learn a new language, I'm also brushing up on my english. Could you define/use the words "hence" or "penultimate?" Guess who can now!?

Monday's cultural lesson: If you're wearing a bathing suit, you do not take the social elevator. Good (dirty) citizens take the service elevator.

We need more triangle!

Such a busy weekend! I'll try to catch up on all that happened:

Last night we went to a

restaurant that was new, Hivahoa, I think. The dance professor that we met on Saturday night told Kelson and Zairinha about the restaurant, so we went to check it out. It was this beautiful building, open to the night breezes with palm trees lit up all around. The professor told us there was going to be a "programa de forro" there, which turned out to be a little show of the traditional dance of the north, forro (said "fo-ho"). It was really cool! First there was a band with the traditional accordion, drum-cymbal

combination, and of course, the triangle. They all had on matching plaid shirts and little farm-type hats... all of them, that is, except for the triangle guy. He had no matching shirt and his hat was different. I'm pretty sure they just picked up some guy from the side of the street. I imagine the conversation went

something like this:

Hey, so you want to be in a band?

I've ALWAYS wanted to be in a band!!

What can you play?

Um, I'm really good at the finger cymbals, cow bell, egg shakers... um... oh, and I'm GREAT at the triangle!

Perfect! We're one triangle-guy short. Do you have a plaid shirt?

No, just this abercrombie-esq striped one.

Hm, well do you have a funny little rural hat?

As a matter of fact...

Great! Jump on in!

Anyway, that's how it would have gone if they had asked me. And I always have wanted to be in a band... The triangle guy wasn't as hard core as the rest of them. He made it through a couple songs and then sat down and drank beer while the others played on. After he was done he poured beer for the rest of them and then resumed triangle-ing. Maybe he was just nervous. It was his first time in front of the bright lights...

Anyway, after the band, a couple came out, and the girl could shake her skirt like no one I've ever seen. Then a group of like 10 kids in traditional dress (think traditional mexican with big skirts and less glitter) came and did a group dance to drums. Lastly, there was a couple who came out and did a type of comedy dance. The girl was dressed and danced like a rag doll and the guy threw her around. He would put her on different people in the audience (including Kelson), and then pull others out on the floor to dance. He gave one guy an actual life-sized rag doll and kept pulling people onto the floor. Mariana, of course, pushed me out there (I should see these things coming by now...) and we all held hands in a circle and group-jumped to the drums. The main guy then called for everyone to grab a partner, guy or girl, and we kind-of hopped side to side, and then we'd change, and change again, and change some more. The last person I ended up with was a guy who literally came up to my shoulder. And I was bending down.

The dancing was really cool to see. The professor showed up at some point during the night, and he is now new best friend of Mariana/Zairinha/Kelson, and Kelson also made friends with the owner of the restaurant. It is a cool little place!

Saturday we also ended up going to the beach, a place called Praia Gunga. We first drove up to this vista that was a coconut tree farm on one side and hill after rolling hill of sugar cane on the other. The vista overlooked the ocean and a giant river, and on the other side of the river was an expensive neighborhood where the politicians live. We drove down the little rutted road to the beach drove through the parking lot, but we

couldn't park there, oh no, Kelson pulled through the posts and pulled us up right next to the river.

(I told you he was excited to use his boat). We walked down the beach and Kelson talked to a couple people with their own boats, all pulled up onto the beach. By the time we caught up with him he looked very sad and dejected. Zairinha went to talk to him and as she did, her face fell as well. He was walking away from him as I walked up and when he walked away her expression turned from sadness to glee. She said "Gracias a Deus" (roughly, thank the Lord). Apparently there would be no boat-use that day.

Turns out the tide was too high, and the wind too strong for the little electric motor/inflatable boat. So we parked on the beach, river-side, and it was warm, gorgeous, sunny, sparkly, blah blah blah... A perfect beach day, per usual, in Maceio.

There you have it folks, our weekend in a nutshell. The light in all of this suffering: thanks to the triangle, my dream is ALIVE!!

Mariana wanted to dance...

Yesterday we went to a restaurant called Orakulo because Mariana wanted to dance. It was a beautiful brick building with tables to sit, a live band up front, and room to dance. Kelson's friend, Ricardo, came with us (I think he was Mariana's "date"). It was great to sit and listen to the music and watch people dance. The crowd was mostly older than Kelson and Zairinha, and some of them really went at it on the dance floor! The dance that night was a mix of slower and a couple faster samba-type songs. (I can't tell the difference between the beats - don't tell Kelson, he would be dissapointed ;) ) Mariana and Ricardo danced quite a bit, and Kelson took Zairinha and I both out for one song. It was fun to sit and watch the dances, they all seemed to know at least the basics of how to move, but some of the joy was robbed because it made me miss Murilo like crazy. I would have given quite a bit at that point in order to have him with me to sit and watch or dance with. Sigh... how many more days? One older gentleman (75 years old?) asked me to dance, but I said no because I only wanted to dance with Murilo.

Our favorite person to sit and watch was a local dance professor. He worked his way

around this table of older women and brought them all out to dance one by one. Some of the women were practically professionals themselves, and the ones that weren't quite there he taught how to dance - it was really fun to watch. As he took the last lady out Kelson leaned over and said, jokingly, to me, "you're ne

xt!" I laughed and said I only wanted to dance with Murilo, which didn't make it through the translation, so I said, "Murilo wouldn't like it." That was a mistake. His mom laughed and said, "he's a professional! It doesn't matter." I've never heard Kelson laugh so hard. Ricardo just shook his head, but Mariana got fired up. She marched over to me and shaking a stern finger said, "You WILL dance with him. He is a professional and Murilo would not care." And then she marched up to the teacher, had a couple words with him, and low an behold, I was pushed out onto the floor. He was a good teacher, and taught me how to dance quickly. The dance turned into a circle of old women going crazy - they were so much fun! He taught me how to dance

another song, and that one eventually turned into a line of women, and he taught us a couple different steps. I think I like Samba! I still only want one partner, though...