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...

Ridiculous

Is it just me, or is Snow White tanner than I am?

Child at heart (and possibly of mind ;) )

Luiza is gone and I am alone in a world full of portuguese! :( Murilo's aunt came to visit today (she lives in Fortaleza and sometimes stays with her daughter in Brasilia, but is here for 9 days), and she is good at finding words that I know, so I hope she will be of help and I will be good company for her!

I'm trying to figure out what are the best ways to learn the language. I'm experimenting with movies, but is it best to watch in english with portuguese subtitles? Portuguese with english subtitles? Portuguese with portuguese subtitles? I vote for english with no subtitles, but that doesn't seem to help me learn portuguese very wel... I've rented a couple disney moves like Ice Age, Enchanted, and Bolt, and I do pretty well with those when it plays in portuguese with portuguese subtitles. However, when I watch the movies that I've never seen before like this, I have no idea what's going on.

I also have bought a couple "books" to read, but unfortunately the books that I can read don't help my child status in the apartment (Zairinha holds my hand when we cross the street...). 4 of the 5 books I've bought are little paper pamphlets that tell the Disney princess stories. Entertaining, possible to read, and highly intellectual. The other one is a comic book of the character Monica - apparently she is everywhere here, and by everywhere I mean there are some scary and giant children's dolls of her. Today Mariana (Murilo's aunt) read me Branca de Neve (Snow White). I wrapped up in a blanket, she poured me a glass of chocolate milk, put her arm around me, and we had story time. (well, most of that is true, anyway).

Although I don't feel like I can speak in Portuguese any better, I do feel like I can understand a whole lot better. So mark that as the first step in learning a new language: understanding.

Alright, I have to go. I'm petting Toby and I think he's purring. We may have (another) problem.

Boa final de semana, meninos!

PS tomorrow we're going to the beach and Kelson has promised to take me out in his "boat." Let the adventures begin!!! Stay tuned... there has got to be a reason no one else volunteered for this amazing boat ride...

We're communicating!

So I've decided to try to do something new every day. This project (Operation suck-it-up-and-just-do-it-and-see-what-happens-but-bring-your-mace) commenced on Tuesday. Tuesday I went to the gym by myself (I figured I'd start out slow). There was a new girl at the front desk who I'd never seen before, so I said, for the first of many... many... times "I'm sorry, I'm american and don't speak portuguese very well." Cue the smile, and start nodding. It worked at the gym - the front desk lady was really nice, the class went well, and I made it home feeling triumphant and ready to try a bigger adventure... tomorrow...

So tomorrow (aka Wednesday/yesterday) I walked to the video store by myself. It is 9 blocks away with 2 turns, so Murilo thought it would be a good idea to write my name, address, and contact info on a piece of paper and put it in my pocket for emergencies. I thought: that's ridiculous, I'm not a child; I said: good idea, honey; then thought: that's actually not a bad idea. So I wrote the info on a paper towel and tucked it in my shorts (next to my mace) and off I went.

Encounter #1: I asked the front gate guy to write the address on my piece of paper towel (smile...nod...) and between what I said and what I wrote, he understood and wrote it down for me! My first success.

Encounter #2: As I was walking I passed a band of 6 or 7 girls who looked to be about 10 or 12 years old. As I passed, one of them looked like she jab stepped or tripped towards me (I chose to think she tripped). As I walked on by I felt something hit the back of my shorts, so I turned and saw PART OF A SANDWICH on the ground. The girl had thrown a SANDWICH at me! Really? REEEALY? I tried to come up with all possible reasons that a part of a sandwich would/could have become a flying projectile in my direction, but despite my creative gene, I came up blank. When I told Murilo he just said (in chorus, now), "These things only happen to you." Good heavens, let's try to be a little more creative in our hate crimes, shall we, people?

Encounter #3: I arrived at the video store, picked out my movies, and approached The Desk. The lady there said something to me to which I gave my usual apology for not speaking portuguese, smile, nod (I'm getting good at this), and she was so great! She smiled, spoke slowly, gestured wildly when she could see my confused glaze, and then gave me a Twilight popcorn bucket. Which, by the way, is the second Twilight popcorn bucket the movie store has now given me. Movie store: 100 points, Little girl thug gang: 0.

I was feeling so great after my redeeming video store/Twilight bucket encounter that I decided to go crazy and go to the supermarket. So Encounter #4 was a successful buying of groceries where the most difficult part was figuring out which bottle was shampoo and which was conditioner. And, luckily enough, the checkout guy didn't ask me any questions, so I was able to just smile and nod (and therefore blend in perfectly! mwahaha)

Today my adventure was walking to the beach (only three blocks, but I brought my paper towel identification card, none the less). I de-diapered Toby and off we went. We walked down the beach for quite a while. It's pretty un-populated directly in front of the apartment, but as we walked the beach became more populated with restaurants and people. The water was a gorgeous, sparkly blue today and the sun was out in full. Luckily I had remembered to wear sunscreen, and Toby with his curly black fur didn't mind - he was too preoccupied with all the trees calling to him (and he didn't disappoint ANY of them...) At our turn around point I talked myself into buying a coconut. I had to work up to it, practice all the words I might have to use in my head, pick out the right coconut seller, make an escape plan, and then I went for it. And low and behold, the guy sold me one! I was a little confused about how/when to pay, and he was a little confused that I wanted to sit on the wall right next to his stand and drink it, but he eventually walked away, so I figured I would just pay later. Then I had to think about how to get his attention and tell him I wanted to pay when I left (ah, so many details!) so I observed other people, and apparently you just make eye contact, lift your finger, and open your mouth a little bit like you're about to say something. I found out today that I was born to buy and pay for coconuts: the gesture worked flawlessly and the guy didn't even charge me the tourist price (Murilo later informed me that 2 reis is a good price for a coconut).

The final adventure for the day was putting Toby's diaper back on. Once I figured out where they were, it wasn't too hard - I think he likes it.

What adventures will I have this weekend, you ask? Well, Luiza is leaving for the weekend, so it will be my first time with no interpreter!!! I'm a little scared, so I think this will be adventure enough, but you never know - I'll keep you posted. Smile and nod, just smile and nod.

Sleep well, queridos!! (And good night, Murilo, I love you.)

Meet the Martins

This summer I'm living in the Brazil, in the state of Alagoas. I am in the city Maceió, which is the capital of Alagoas. I'm living with Murilo's family which consists of Kelson, his father, Zairinha, his mother, and Louisa, his younger sister. Murilo also has an older sister, Livia, but she lives in Fortaleza (in the state of Ceará), where Murilo grew up. When I asked about Livia's profession, they said she is busy working hard as a tourist. She is also (aka actually) an ecology and english teacher. Their first answer certainly rings true, however, as evidenced by her departure yesterday to Portugal where she plans to spend a month with her boyfriend and his family. (His parents live there)

I'm discovering little things about each of his family members as I spend time

here, which is half of the purpose for coming here for 2 months this summer. I'm sure this process is a little bit slower than usual because of my lack of portuguese ability, but it's a fun undertaking, none the less.

Kelson, I'm finding, loves to play tour guide. We have already

visited 5 restaurants and a gorgeous beach. The beach we visited he called paradise, and it certainly was close! He has no qualms about protecting that paradise. He laughed as he told me that the property owners along that beach (and he) spread the rumor that there are vicious sharks off this beach. Not true, but there weren't many people around, so maybe it worked.

When he's not discovering beaches or restaurants, he works at the hospital as an accountant (I think). He used to work for a Bank and has since retired (his claimed profession). He's very patient with me as I learn portuguese. He talks to me completely in the language and waits for me to identify words I don't know, then looks for another way to explain those words. I'm learning a lot of grammar from him. My favorite discovery about Kelson is that every time Maradona (Argentina's soccer coach) gives a mournful interview on TV, post-world cup loss, Kelson giggles a little bit. He's not as passionate about soccer (or anything else) as Murilo, but he still loves to see Argentina lose.

Zairinha is Murilo's mom, and works as a psychologist at the hospit

al. I think she works with trauma patients and others who are close to death - and you thought the wound nurses had a tough job, Catherine! ;) I understand her speech the least of the three, but her looks I understand the best. I know I am adjusting to the accent when I understand her, and we're getting really good at charad

es. She, also, displays a lot of patience for me as she has gone all over the city looking for ways that I can join in society (english schools, workout classes, craft classes, etc). We have started to work out together, and I just about died in class today. The first class was aerobics, and I learned to count to 10 (and back) really well. The second class was spinning (this is the one that almost killed me) and I understood 0% of what the instructor said. I did learn, however, how the volume of the instructor's voice related to what we were going to do next (I don't like loud). The third class was dance, which I did with Louisa, and I learned that some men can move their hips in incredible ways (tiny shudder). Zairinha is also the most attentive to helping me adjust socially here. No towels on the floor, cut your apple, don't peel the orange, etc. Pizza is eaten with a fork and knife, pop and beer is poured into a glass before drinking. Would you believe that they eat french fries with toothpicks? Really, that's my line in the sand. The one I didn't understand was the orange: the peel was tough, so I get not peeling it, but she cut the peel off for me and cut it in half, and I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to eat it. I ended up

with sticky all over my face and some up my nose, so I'm sure I didn't do it right. I'll have to observe before I attempt another one. How did I become bad at eating oranges?

Louisa is my ray of hope around here - she speaks english. (enough said?) She must either have immense amounts of patience or be able to hide her feelings well. She translates incessantly for me, and I learn word upon word from her each day. She just finished college and is working as a nutritionist at the hospital. I hope we can become great friends (if I don't use up all of her patience first). She is also the official diper-er of Toby (the dog). Like I said, filled with love and patience. Except when it comes to driving. We walk slow here, eat slow, but t

he women drive with a vengeance. Each time we hit a corner I expect someone to pull the emergency break and drift the corner, but to date it hasn't happened. The breaks I've learned, however, work really well.

The most fun part, however, is learning where Murilo's habits come from. Ice cream at night? Family. Love of popcorn? Family. Driving fast? (just kidding, Ma) Family. 2 showers a day? That would be Brazil's humidity. (yes, Muri, you would be so proud: I shower 2ce a day here ;) )

Alright, it's midnight aka almost bedtime. Sleep well millions of readers!

Murilo's Famous! Check it out.

http://blogs.diariodonordeste.com.br/automovel/

When I say we eat all the time...

For the record, it's a quarter to midnight and Zairinha just offered me fish to eat. ;)

Kelson's favorite places

Today I accidently slept in until noon... whoops. I'm going to chalk that up to jet lag... ;) After waking up, we left for the day and explored Maceio a little bit; this day could be titled "Kelson's favorite places."

The first place we went was a restaurant called Baru, and was an open aired restaurant overlooking a river (the river where his Jet Ski accident was, none the less.) This picture is looking at the parking lot,

away from the river. The restaurant always has music, and today it had a quartet that played mostly samba music. It was fantastic! What an atmosphere! And that's exactly why we went. We were at this restaurant all day. We started with drinks, and I enjoyed my new favorite, aqua de coco (coconut water). Lest you be diverted, it tastes much different t

han what you find in those dry, brown coconuts in the grocery store. Murilo practically lives off this stuff when he's here, and he won't touch the water from the coconuts in the grocery store. We eventually ordered a dish of fried fish with farofa (a tasty variety of ground corn meal, i think) and a salsa of diced vegetables. Murilo's family eats most food with olive oil, which really does make food (especially slightly dry meat) taste great. After eating we just stayed. With the perfect, winter-in-Florida temperature, slight breeze, the view and the music, it was amazing. That is, until Kelson caught me off guard by calling the quartet over and had me take a picture with them... I dragged Luisa into it... And they discovered a new past time: getting me to flush.

I am learning, however, to do things slower here. I am learning to walk slower, eat and drink slower, and just how to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. It's a nice change away from angry Corvallis parents to say the least. :)

After Baru, we went to another restaurant on the same river called O Peixarao. It had a magnificent view that I struggled to capture with the camera.

I decided it was better in real life, but here are a couple of my best attempts, anyway. We watched the sunset here which turned the clouds into this crazy display of colors. Here we had agua de coco and shrimp soup, which again, was AMAZING! It was a little bit like oyster chowder only not quite as thick and the chunks were more like small shreds. I'm keeping track of my favorite food so I can open a Brazilian restaurant someday - it's just not right that the US is deprived of this stuff.

On the way back to the apartment we stopped at the grocery store (owned by Wal Mart, believe it or not) and split into two: team grocery and team tapioca. Tapioca is a food typical of Bahia. The food has this base of a fine, sweet rice-type substance pressed into a small tortilla-like shape with coconut. (I think this is the "Tapioca" part of it all). They top this base with various things: you can order it with cheese and chicken, ham and cheese, chocolate and banana, cheese and condensed milk. Louisa ordered for her and I and we split the two she ordered. One was queijo e carne do sol (cheese and this salty, corned-beef-but-better like meat), and the other was quijo e dulce de leite. She ordered the second one without the cheese, but they missed that detail. I thought it was still good.

Now we are having our typical evening: hanging out in the living room with TV, conversation, and food (really, we eat a lot.)

I'll post more pictures to facebook. Time to stop indulging myself with english! Tomorrow I'll try to write a post to introduce you to the family.

Toby's Diaper

Toby's diaper: as funny as it sounds.

He's the sweetest little dog I've ever met, and minus his licking habits, I think we're going to do quite well together this summer.

Cultural experience

Today I experienced that quintessential cultural experience of watching Brazil play a world cup game from a Brazilian living room. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out like it should have, so we did what any mourning fotebal (soccer) fan would do: we went down to a bar on the ocean and had steak and beer. There we found masses of other forlorn people in yellow, green, and blue jerseys to commiserate with by shooting off fireworks, eating and drinking, and occasionally dancing to loud music. It was a sad scene, but I hope this proud nation can hold on down the road to recovery. Murilo is going to need comforting, so if you feel inspired you should write him a poem or song about how much you love Brazil and send it to me at meghan.cok@gmail.com and I'll forward it on. ;)

What a city! I tried to take pictures today but my camera battery was dead, so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow. Louisa (sister) is my official professora de portuguese, and I'm afraid she's being slightly abused as translator. Luckily (for me) she has an english test coming up so translating for me also serves as review for her! Brilliant! The city here is beautiful, abundant with sailboats and other boats that camp out around piscinas naturais, or natural pools that are formed by rocks and sand in the middle of the ocean. Kelson (father) was telling me about the boats and pools and all the fish that gather in them. We are going to adventure out in his boat to see them first hand, which he was telling me about. His boat has an electric motor and when he was telling me about it he also made a rowing motion, which I think means that it doesn't always make it back to shore... Should be fun!! Hopefully my battery will charge for this experience :)

Pictures to come!

A Primeira Dia

After over a full day of travel, I am in Maceio, Brazil! I am tired and not thinking straight because I don't think I slept last night on the plane... can't be sure... A couple notable points:

- It's real now.

- I'm not fooling anyone. Apparently I don't "blend" well...

- The first person I talked to in portuguese was under 2 years old - a safe start. He seemed to think I talked just fine.

- Murilo's family is great, I was SO happy to see them at the end of that travel, and they seem to have a family trait of patience trying to listen to me speak. Although, it has only been 5 hours...

- Toby, the dog, wears a diaper and it's just as hilarious as it sounds.

- I only had one close-to-freaking-out moment when I thought I missed/boarded the wrong plane in Sao Paulo, but reminded myself that boarding wrong planes is what adventures are all about.

What a blessed (and tired) girl I am! I'm not setting an alarm for tomorrow.