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!