Our First Churrasco

We decided to expand our social life by having a Churrasco - a barbecue. Mostly so we could celebrate Emily's birth...and partially to introduce Otto Bouwman to a few people on the coast. He is here to present at the Reformed Teacher's Conference in Recife next week, and is the principal of Cornerstone Christian School in Lynden, Washington. Sandro took Shaun shopping for meat and I think we bought enough for sure for the rest of the time we are here! When they have a party they throw slabs of meat on this little barbecue. The barbecue is lit with a paper towel soaked in gas with charcoal on top, and to prevent smoke you can fill a empty pop bottle with water and put that right into the coals. Most of the meat was beef, but we also cooked up my new favorite meat - chicken sausage. We had a barbecue at Sandro's the day before and the meat he served was sheep. We also served rice made by Sandro. It sounds really silly but I had to look up on the internet how to make the rice, and was just about to start when Sandro and Djane walked in. They cook their rice differently here, first frying it with onions and garlic and carrot, and then adding boiling water. Bel makes so much when she is here that I've never had to make it when she isn't here. We also had feijoa, which is beans, not our green beans but the little legume type beans, (made by a new Brazilian - Dutch friend Elke (? the spelling), who is the daughter of Pastor Meyer, an old missionary to here). She offered to bring it just as I was thinking, uh oh, am I supposed to have feijoa. This of course is accompanied by vinagrette, which is a salad type dish with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of cilantro, with some oil and balsamic vinegar on top. I literally got a callous on my hand from cutting up a gajillion vegetables....what a hard life! These are the common things to serve at a Churrasco. We had a wonderful time up on our upstairs patio, the wind was wonderful, the night was perfect. Shaun learned to make Caiporoscas, which of course is vitally important to become culturally savvy. Sandro barbecued for us pretty much the whole night (thanks Sandro!) and we ate our weight in meat and had a fabulous time.

Big News!

As of last night we have a beautiful new neice named Emily Jeanette. Maybe we were one of the first to know Leanne was in labour because Bryan skyped me a picture of Leanne at the hospital when they arrived....and she looked great :) Our internet was only out of commision for two hours (when I wrote my last post...which is probably why it was so long-winded), so I was so thankful when it went back on and I kind of had an idea what was happening. I set my computer so it wouldn't turn off in the night and they could try get a hold of us anytime. So we heard the music of skype in the middle of our night when Emily arrived, but our skype connection sucked so we heard Leanne talking very briefly and the communication we ended up getting was a short typed description with her name and weight. It was disappointing to only get that, but we are thankful we heard it from them. And of course the most important thing was to know that Leanne and Emily were doing well. Our connection has been very poor all day so we haven't been able to really talk to them again. And it just started pouring again so I assume it won't get better. Hopefully tomorrow I can actually chat with Leanne, maybe if she is going home. And if you are reading this and going to visit Leanne, Bryan and Emily, please give them all an extra hug and kiss from us here in Brazil!

Half Way Home

**I wrote this last night**

Since counting how many days we have been here, and how many we have left, and realizing we're halfway through our trek, I've starting taking stock of how I feel about being here. Or more like, how I would feel about being here longer term. Not in a very organized way, mind you, but just random flitting thoughts that say, "this is what I like about it," and "this is what is hard."

The first thing I have to write about is how I don't have internet connection right now. It seems towards evening it is more likely to get stormier, and then we lose our connection. Really it doesn't bother me too much, it actually encourages me to do something else, but today I could cry about it. Because I think maybe my sister-in-law is in labour. And I know within the next day, or even week, I am going to find out about my new neice or nephew, and that will be the hardest thing about being here. I know if I was there, I would be the first (okay maybe just one of the first) to know she was in labour, because I would have at least one or maybe all of her kids, at least for her doctor's appointment today. And I would have been able to take her kids during the last few weeks while she tried to sleep and get things ready, and for her doctor's appointments. So I wish I was home to be there for her and for myself to enjoy meeting my nephew or neice at the hospital right away. Because we know how much I love babies. Just thinking about it makes me teary, to be honest. And a few more things have happened the past few weeks that I wish I could have been there for, such as when my other sister-in-law had surgery, and when a good friend of mine had a baby a few days ago.

To be honest, other than that, I think I could live here. I am loving learning a new language. Brazil is a very friendly culture, and I think I can get used to the informal way of dropping by people's homes and laughing and eating and drinking together (the same things I enjoyed back home). You relax more here, the organized chaos is fun and kind of like my life, and I'm not too worried that once we are here a little longer, we would feel more settled in our own home and connected with people. In the evenings we don't have very much going on, and I think at home by now with this lack of social life I'd be going crazy with boredom. But there has been so much to learn and adjust to it has been wonderful to have no committments on our schedule. And a nice break from our busy schedule at home. Actually today we got in "trouble" from our friends Sandro and Djane. Sandro told us he was very sad that we hadn't called him the last week or two. The reason we don't call is because it's one thing to understand people in person, with visual cues and charades to help us out, but over the phone it is waaaaay harder. (A funny story about that is that the last time Shaun phoned he was halfway through his first sentence and they said "oh the house of Ze Lira." Basically they heard it was someone who "couldn't" talk Portuguese and knew who needed water.). Anyways, I find many nights now we are at home, but I think that would easily change as we got comfortable enough to invite people over and speak Portuguese with them. Also I think we would make more of an effort to be involved in Bible study and church socials once we got our legs under us.

Some other great things about where we are right now: Izabel (and not just because she is the best cook and keeps my house clean, but because she's becoming a good friend), the beach, and the usually sunny weather.

There are a few more things that I think will be hard to adjust to. For one, the heat. It is something everyone wants to have for holidays for a week, but to be honest when you are living in it, you look for relief. And we are here in the winter, and I think it is a cooler winter than usual. In January/February it gets up to 40. And then on the other hand the rain. Which apparently this year is more than usual but it is crazy stormy here sometimes, which in this house causes flooding. I'm not sure if that is a usual occurence in houses. And with all that rain and then sun it is very humid. So humid that clothes don't dry for three days. Another irritation is the mosquitoes. I don't know if you remember in an earlier post that I wrote I couldn't figure out how we were getting so many bites when we couldn't see any mosquitoes. It's because it's not just the occasional mosquito, it's the no-see-ums. They can get in any nook and cranny, and through netting as well. On the coast here it is not so bad, with the wind off the ocean. When we were in Aldeia I had over 50 bites on each leg. As much as I hate mosquitoes and no-see-ums, the worst is seeing the kids. Hazel and Lyla actually have a minor allergic reaction to them. Hazel had a two bites right beside eachother on her back that was around 3 inches across. I do hear that you adjust and that your reaction to them get less in time. Seth doesn't get the allergic reaction so much, but he wakes up from scratching, which is frustrating.

I think Hazel and Lyla will have no problem adjusting, because they are so young even Hazel doesn't understand the concept of being far away or not seeing someone for a long time. Seth is having mixed emotions. He says "I don't want to learn Portuguese" and "I don't want to live in Brazil" yet asks Bel and Shaun and I to tell him the words in Portuguese. He is starting to say things like "Oi" to his cousins on skype, I think without realizing it is Portuguese, and Bom Dia, Tchau, por favor, obrigado, agua, arroz, some of the basics. He really misses having buddies his own age. Kids his age don't have the concept that they should be patient with someone who doesn't understand the language, or the concept of inclusion. So he loved seeing Joel, Titus, and Micah. He loves Bel's son, Edjackson, who is 12 and has come over twice to play futebal with him. He's a really sweet kid that points to things and says what they are to Seth, and makes sure he's okay. And for boys, all you need is to play a game of futebal or take out the lego. I know that if we were here longer, it wouldn't take long for him to make a friend or two and that would be all he needed. But it is hard to see, when at home his best buddies are his cousins Adam and Dylan. And seeing how well he did in school here when he doesn't understand the language, he is going to do awesome in Canada in the fall, so I know that it will be hard to pull him away from that again. It's hard to think that he wouldn't really know his cousins, or aunts and uncles, and especially grandparents. I think of our grandparents moving from Holland and thinking they would never see their family again....now how they did that is beyond me.

And if people are wondering about safety for us here, I have to admit that here in Maragogi I haven't really felt worried once. We lock the doors and windows, like at home. The days are light from around 5:30 to 5:30 every day (when we got here it was more like 5 to 5) and at first I thought you wouldn't really go out after dark. And I wouldn't really, by myself, also like at home. But there's enough people out and about after dark that you feel fine. People here like to sit outside their house in the evening and watch the world go by (Shaun and I have concluded it's because they don't have much room in their houses and it is cooler). It's like their favorite past time to socialize and watch people walk by. So we haven't felt uneasy really in any way. And when I walk into the city centre, it seems like I see people from church all the time.

So there's a long summary of thoughts of living here. And the biggest thing is how far away we are family and friends, and I'm reminded of that more when a big exciting event like a new baby being born happens. So in conclusion, there is no problem actually living here, just a problem with distance from those I care about. Even if we moved to the other side of Canada it would only be a 5-6 hour flight, but we are looking at over 24 hours and an even bigger expense to get home, or to have people visit us. Anyways, I know that our decision really hinges on whether I feel I can handle it, because Shaun would have moved here 3 years ago if he had the opportunity. If we were talking about ten years, or even five, it would be an even harder decision, but when Shaun says two or three, I think about how fast life goes and what is three years in the whole scheme of things. And then I think I can live in Brazil for a few years.

But I know that Canada will always be home for me.

Totally Unrelated to our Trip

I was trying to find it in Portuguese, (Beto e Enio) to "tie it in" to the blog, but couldn't find this particular sketch. Seeing as most of my readers speak English or Dutch, I thought you would find it amusing. Personally I'm addicted to watching them, and everytime I watch it it gets funnier. Could be because I'm drinking...just kidding :) Have a happy Wednesday everyone!

Thanks Cloverdale Seniors!

We received a lovely card in the mail from the Senior's Group at Cloverdale Church. Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement. It was special to get something from home. For interest sake, it was postmarked June 9 and we received it June 30th. It's nice knowing the postal system works out here! We have been here 31 days already and have 37 days to go...so we're almost half-way through our little adventure. We will see you all soon, the Lord willing, and hopefully I'll be able to go on a couple more trips in the fall!

Picture This

Everytime we go to the beach, we see kids walking with stalks of long grass. Occasionally they try to talk to us and ask us for something. We finally figured out it had something to do with the long grass they were holding, and asked what they made from them. So they made us a rose and two fishes ( I think?!). They are quite young too, I have to applaud them on their entreprenurial skills :) Just like when we go to the market, there are young kids walking around the store asking if you need help with your groceries. If you say yes, they come pack your groceries for you and then bring it to their car. It is kind of convenient because there never is parking in front of the "supermarket" so you have to park down the street. Then they will bring the cart back for you. So I've given in and instead of trying to do it myself, pay them 50 centavos or R$1 and try to talk to them the whole way to the car. Which they think is extremely funny, and I enjoy because they are such cute kids.

We see colourful butterflies and moths here all the time. This one is actually one of the uglier ones, because after I took the picture I noticed it is a moth. Furrier in the body and it rests with its wings open, whereas a butterfly rests with its wings together. Just a fun piece of trivia for all of you.

A camouflaged frog at the ATC...so cool. Seth was upset he didn't have his bugcatcher along.

Tamara's work of art...and so delicious too! Happy Canada Day!

Attached to our house is a "Academia," which is a gym. This gentleman is our neighbour, Clebson. His living area is attached to the backyard (we have no yard with our section of the house) and he invites us to use the pool in it on occasion. Very friendly guy. He also invited us to a party at the gym last week, which Shaun went to and said it was kind of awkward for him, as he couldn't really speak or understand Portuguese because the music was so loud. The gym has classes at night and the music is SO loud...Shaun and I have the soundtrack memorized. It includes songs from Aqua (anyone remember Barbie Girl?), More Than Words, and a number of other English songs.

Hob-Nobbing

Shaun and I attended a Canada Day celebration as well as an evening to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Canadian Service and Trade Commission to Brazil in Recife. Shaun received the invite when meeting with Sheila, the woman who runs the office. It was held at the Teatro Santa Isabel, a beautiful old theatre. We had drinks in the foyer, then went upstairs to a smaller room off of the main theatre to listen to a beautiful string quartet for about an hour, and then back downstairs to mingle. Waiters served us multitudes of fingerfoods (most of which we did not recognize), and champagne, and of course the standard Coke and Guarana. We met some very interesting people and had a wonderful time. A special thanks to Karen VS for allowing us to drop our kids off there and letting us sleep over (as Recife is two hours from Maragogi).

Here we are with the Ambassador to Brazil from Canada, Mr. Paul Hunt. He is stationed in Brasilia until September.

This is Susan Larabie, the wife of Charles Larabie, the Consulate General from Canada in Rio de Janeiro. She was very friendly and personable, made us feel comfortable right away, talked a lot about how much she loved Brazil and how it has been her favourite posting because of the people here that are so warm and friendly. This is her husband's second posting in Brazil, the first was in Sao Paulo. She told us we had to see Rio when we were in Brazil and invited us to visit her there.

The ladies from the office that are helping Shaun out, with Mr. Paul Hunt and Mr. Charles Larabie.

After sleeping over at the Van Spronsens we spent the day at Aldeia with the Wieskes and VanSpronsens celebrating Canada Day. We all wore Canada shirts and played games and had lunch, followed by a Maple Leaf decorated cake. Then we lit of a couple of our own Bombas in keeping with the Brazilian culture. We have a few left over for the futebal game tomorrow that we will light from our upstairs balcony when ...?.... scores. Should be fun watching the Dutch vs. Brazil! Enjoy the game everyone :)