Working on It

So this is more of a catch-up post, as I've had a number of loyal followers ask me to post again.  To be exact, three of them.  I told Shaun that was probably the extent of my followers, but to appease the masses I will oblige with this post of hodge-podge items.

A few weeks ago we had a Fiat Dublo rented, which has seven seats.  As you may remember, we have had difficulty finding a car that will fit us all.  We went up to Recife to apply for our permanent residency, based on the fact that Jonas is a little brasileiro.  We had to go to the Federal Police for Foreigners (In Brazil there are a number of types of police, such as military and civil police).  We had tried once before, but needed to have certified copies of every single page of our passport as well as our children's.  We had been told by our lawyers that the kids didn't need this done, and also had relied on someone's information that you only had to get certified copies of the pages with the actual passport information.  We also needed two passport type pictures of all of us.  So we headed back up to Recife once we had that all together.  The Federal Police offices we have been using are at the airport.  One is for Foreigners, and issues visas, the other is for Brazilians, and issues passports and certificates of legal status, once you get your visa from the foreigner side.  We've dealt with the Brazilian one when we applied for Jonas' passport, and surprisingly we got his passport within a week.  These police in the same way as Canada has police.  The Federal Police are more a paperwork processing for visas, passports, etc.  They make sure that you submit all the right documents, and then they issue you the certificates. We are getting really familiar with some of the government employees there.  Anyways, it took around three hours to wait for our turn and then process everything at the Federal Police for Foreigners.  Unfortunately we had a fee because we had stayed in the country without extending our visa.  This was super irritating because when we were there the week before we were still within our time limit, but when we didn't have all the right documents for our permanent visa we didn't think about extending our tourist visas, which would have been legitimate to do and quite easy.  Our tourist visas (and I think most tourist visas) state we can stay in the country for 90 days and extend for a further 90 days, up to 180 days in a calendar year.  There is apparently no problem with extending it.  We just didn't think of it because we knew we were legally in the country because we have a Brazilian child.  So we got charged for 5 days x 5 people.  Fortunately for us, we don't have to pay the charge until we leave Brazil and then want to return.  And although it is a lot of money for us to in terms of it being unnecessary, relatively speaking it is very cheap to stay in Brazil illegally.  It costs R$8.50/day up to a maximum of R$850. 

The road to Recife from Maragogi is really windy for the first 45 minutes (of a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive).  We have discovered that Lyla has a tendency to get carsick...notice the grey pallor.  The way back is better because it is the end of the journey that she gets sick.  She doesn't throw up often, but just feels terrible. 

In general everyone else does fine on the drive.

Okay, maybe not Seth.  He sometimes gets a little squirrelly.

Here's a picture of sugar cane fields on fire when we were driving home at night.  The terrain here is hectares and hectares of rolling hills, and from what we see, the sugar cane is harvested by hand.  I missed the picture of that during the daylight, but there are dozens of workers in the field hacking away at the burnt sugar cane. 

We got the kids a decent soccer ball, and Hazel had to put on her soccer socks and shoes.  It totally went with the little skirt she had on.

Oh no! A soccer injury!

She truly is a futebol player already....

Because you haven't seen Jonas for around three weeks, I tried to pick out a picture for each week.  This would be Week 7.  Let me tell you, it is hard to pick out a picture looking through all my files, and now that I see this one I think I could have found something better.  But I guess you need to see him in all lights, so I'm not going to look through them again.  Way too much like work.

My attempt at artistic.

My dear friend Bel did Profession of Faith two weeks ago.

In the same service the church that we attend ordained a missionary to the south of Brazil.

Yes, I am a giant here.

Week 8

No one is sick of this yet.

He will be her size before we know it.  Right now she can only carry him a minute or two at a time before she's exhausted.

One of the many moments of overwhelming love coming from Lyla.  Typically it comes in the form of a song "Jonas I love you. Jonas I love you."  Also every single day her prayer sounds something like this:  "Thank you for Jonas.  Thank you for mommy loving Jonas.  Thank you for Jonas could be healthy and thirsty.  Thank you that Jonas can have yummy milk from mommy.  Thank you for that we could all love Jonas.  Thank you that God the Holy Spirit.  Thank you that Jesus could die on the cross for our sins.  Amen."

Our Christmas decoration.  It is a paper chain with all the names of Jesus.

Jonas and Daddy talking to Uncle Randy.

Just a picture to demonstrate his chub.

Seth's idea of a relaxing way to read books.  I don't remember if I've written that we don't have a couch, so we have this mattress set up in the living room to sit on and we have six kitchen chairs that came with the house that are literally falling apart.  They have foam coming out the bottom or the side, and are wobbling like crazy.  But we make do.

In other news we also have finally figured out a school schedule that seems to work for everyone.  We have school from 9:30-10:30, have a half hour recess (in which I can start making lunch, which is the hot meal of the day).  Then school from 11:00-12:00.  Then lunch until 1:30.  We spend a lot of that time doing devotions and singing, the kids have memory work each week and they pick songs they want to sing.  Then from 1:30-2:00 Seth and Hazel rotate each day doing Rosetta Stone.  Then from 2:00-3:00 they watch Backyardigans and Dora in Portuguese on TV.  This is a work in progress, but everyone seems to feel this is an acceptable schedule, although Jonas sometimes gets hungry at the wrong times.  Even then, we have been working with the same books long enough that I can direct them through the distractions.

Me and my girls :)

Aren't they adorable?  The other day they called each other best friends... music to a mama's ears.  And of course they have little fights daily, but the amount they play together and that they play so well is really a blessing.

Well, I think that you are all caught up in general.  Stay tuned, I have a couple posts planned regarding Hazel's birthday week, Shaun's foray into making coconut oil at home, and our neighbourhood and neighbourhood kids.

From Seth's Perspective

Today I thought it would be interesting to interview Seth about his views on Brazil.

What did you think about the trip here?
I got a lot of headaches.  I hate going on planes and feel like throwing up.

What's the best part of your day?
My favourite part is seeing Micah.

What do you like about Brazil?
I like catching lizards, geckos, and all types of animals.

What's the best thing we've done here?
I don't know... there's so much stuff that happens.  Catching lizards, playing in the pool... something like that.  I liked going on the coral reef because I saw sea urchins, crabs, all kinds of fish, and maybe I will see squid and octopus and baby sharks if I can go again.

Is there anything you're looking forward to in Brazil?
I'm looking forward to buying a science lab so I can study animals really hard every day, especially reptiles and amphibians.

What do you think about school with your mom?
I like it because it's fun.  I only go to school for 5 minutes and other people go to school for 6 hours.

What's your favorite activity in school?
I like math, including math games.  I like that we are studying coral reefs.  I also am making a book called "Seth the Sailfish."

What do you dislike about school?
I don't like spelling.

What do you think about learning Portuguese?
I do not like learning Portuguese.  It is boring.  I just have to do it because I need to learn Portuguese so I can speak to other people so they can understand me.  (Seth now gave me a list of Portuguese words he knows that he thinks I should write down for the reader's benefit.  He concludes this list by saying "and twinkle means star.")

What do you miss about Canada?
I miss my cousins.

If you could pick two people to come visit you here, who would it be?
Adam and Dylan of course.

What would you want to show Adam and Dylan if they came here?
How to draw a helicopter.  I would want to catch lizards and snakes with them, and have them help me with my science lab.

What do you not miss about Canada?
It is so cold in the winter, I hate getting snow in my boots.

Seth also wants to let you all know he likes to make up songs and he wants to be a song-singer and get money for people to watch him.  He also likes to draw helicopters, particularly Apaches.  He also can count to over 1000 in 1000 seconds.  He's excited about having a baby brother if it is, but if it's a girl he'll be sad, because boys play hockey.  When we pointed out girls can play hockey and Hazel does sometimes, he reminded us that she always quits on him.  He also points out that Lyla always slashes and hits the ball so it bounces up.  

The author of this blog would also like to report that although Seth thinks he does 5 minutes of school a day, I prefer to call it education by stealth, or guiding of the self-directed learner.... 

Three Weeks In!

Today marks three weeks that we have been here.  There is so much to tell and yet so little to tell all at the same time.  People ask how we are doing and it is so hard to explain, or even to sum up.... all the little joys and sorrows that make up each day, yet would possibly be normal in any other country of the world as well.  Being away from familiarity seems to emphasize the “little” sorrows, however, that could be a whole wackload of pregnancy hormones attacking as well!

What do our days look like?   Almost as soon as we got here I started “school” with the kids.  Although they were prepared (pre-warned), it has been an interesting adjustment.  I am focussing mostly on reading, writing, and arithmetic, at least to get the ball rolling before we have a new baby in the house.  I have one kiddo who is highly resistant somewhat reluctant to follow any of my suggestions or instructions, and believes in independent learning outside of all parental or teacher constraints, in spite of the fact that there is very little formal schoolwork (maybe at most 2 hours).  Although this has been the primary struggle with the commencement of schooling, it has also been an interesting challenge.  I have objectives in mind for what I want to teach, and will spend time in the evening looking for interesting ways to teach it, thinking of different strategies to present information, possible rewards systems, etc.  I’m enjoying the planning more than the implementation of said techniques, but I feel like as we get in more of a groove it will actually be an experience that will be enriching for both of us.  I still have initial homeschooling anxiety (how will I teach everything!), but it seems the kids will spend a lot less time in the “classroom,” and I can focus on their weaknesses and encourage their strengths.   I also am still receiving newsletters from the kids’ school, so I am loosely using that as a way to see if I am “on track.”

Other than the schooling, things have actually probably been a bit more relaxed here than in Canada.  I am “done” work, someone is coming in to clean/do laundry 2 times a week, and the house we are staying in is roomy for us with all the furniture/kitchen stuff etc., already here.  It becomes more stressful when I think about having our baby in a few weeks and then moving a few weeks after that to some undisclosed (unknown) location.

Shaun and I met with the doctor here.... he seems genuinely interested in as “natural a birth as possible.”  This is extremely important if you are aware of the percentages of c-sections here.  In private hospitals they hover around 80%, and in public hospitals around 40%.  A friend of ours who had a baby here naturally 9 years ago in the hospital said some of the nurses there had never seen a natural birth!  Reading up on the stats and on general Brazilian attitudes regarding c-sections makes me think things have not drastically changed.  They also move you to an operating room when you are ready to have the baby... just in case.  It makes it very hard to feel trusting towards a doctor.   In our broken Portuguese I think we managed to explain what we were hoping for, and he looked unconcerned.  He let us know what hospitals he likes to deliver in, and hopefully sometime next week Shaun and I will tour one so we have a better idea of what is involved from the hospital’s perspective.  I’m due in approximately 5 weeks from now, so can give a better anecdotal update of my Brazilian birthing experience then.  To be honest, I prefer to not think about it because when I do I just want to head on back up to Canada and have my baby how I’ve had all my babies, with a doctor that I know would only give a c-section (or other interventions) if it was necessary.   

In other news, we went two hours south over the past weekend, to Maragogi.  This is where we stayed when we were here last time.  We had a great time, and stayed with very hospitable friends.  It emphasized our need to get back on track with Portuguese, and kick started the immersion.  Here in Recife we speak English all day and our friends here speak English, so we definitely needed a boot in the butt.  It also was frustrating, especially for one who has so much to say.... how to get our point across!  The kids did great, and tried Portuguese here and there.  Seth and Hazel have been doing a computer program called Rosetta Stone, and I think that gave them a little more confidence to try.  Seth spent the weekend playing with his lego that we had left with these friends last year, chasing praying mantises, crabs and toads once again.  We went on a bit of a hike and there were interesting things like termite nests on trees.  He is definitely in his element chasing all things crawling, hopping, scurrying....  His new dream is to catch animals, take them to his science lab, remove all poison from their body and sell them to people....  Hazel and Lyla had a happy weekend as well, swimming, playing dollies, re-meeting their little girlfriends from last year.... being smelled and petted and adored.  We had lots of comments regarding them looking like twins.  It was a fun time full of eating food and also smiling while a lot of conversation went on around us over our head.

We also tried to find a place to rent, because we are hoping to head down there in November, when our current location will be re-inhabited by its rightful occupants.  Maragogi does not appear to have any rentals available, so we checked out a little suburb called Barra Grande, which is actually where we were staying.  There are definitely some nice places there; however most of them are only for rental in summer (December/January) and then Carnival (first week in March).  We found one promising location that would be rented out annually but it was more than we were hoping for.  It was right on the beach and had a yard as well!  We may have to look at it again as nothing else seems to be available, and as it gets closer to summer here it gets harder to rent.

The weather has been cool and rainy (think B.C.!) which is very lovely for someone who is 8 months pregnant.  I think most days it has been in the mid twenties during the day and right now (10 at night) it is 20 according to the weather network.

So other than the ant’s nest we found in a book case in our house (HUGE ants!), the crazy amount of cockroaches in this house (more than we have had in any other house) and some other odds and ends of weirdness, things have been going really well.  I feel disjointed when I think of people I want to talk to but haven’t been able to, and I have days where I think we are crazy and I can’t believe we are here again.  But if I think about each day individually, we are healthy and happy, and time flies as we all know.  We have been warmly welcomed here and we thank God for these connections.  I want to live in the “now” and be thankful and happy for the time here instead of always waiting for what is coming next.  In the end, we can spend our days waiting for better days wherever we live, when we are meant to enjoy where we are right now.

It’s nice to know my pep talk is working tonight, on myself anyways!   Have a great night everyone,

Love Brenda