So...I'm home, alive and well. It was the saddest goodbye and hardest day of my life...but I made it.
Will write a real update later, but just wanted to let you all know.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Washington DC, and then will be back to reallllllly settle in on Tuesday. I might have a garage sale or go crazy on ebay, because I'm realizing that my room is full of stuff I NEVER use, and I barely have room to unpack. Anyone want to buy books, ugly clothes, or a picture frame or something? I'm your girl.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
TOEFL, gray hairs, and why they are related
I currently write to you from the city hall of Assis Chateaubriand, where I am apparently allowed to use Joaquim´s computer and the internet. Well...as you may have remembered, the TOEFL results were updated online today. Joaquim woke up from a dream at like 5:30am...he was dreaming that someone from the US handed him a stack of papers. And on top of them all was a stamp. He couldn´t read it, but he knew the idea of what it said. It said he was denied, and that this wasn´t the way for him to go. Right at that moment, he woke up with a start and went straight to the computer. There he saw his score, after some struggling with passwords...he needed a 75-79, if you recall...and he got a 62. Guhhhhh. He came to my window at 5:45am to tell me. It´s still settling in, because I don´t even know how it´s POSSIBLE. Like, he got a 66 the first time he took it in July of 2006. And his English has greatly improved since then. Greatly. So...I don´t get it. But it´s the way it is.
As of now, I don´t know what the plan is to approach the rest of the situation. Isaac said his dad wants to pay for Joaquim to take it again. But he doesn´t want to take itbecause he´s sick of not passing, and nothing much is going to change in such a short time. I kind of agree. I really don´t know what is going to happen. Maybe a visit to Christine in April if he doesn´t get in. He´s still sending everything to Moody, regardless of the fact that he didn´t get the score he needed...but...well, you know. Lots and lots of prayers and any suggestions in a moment of brilliance would be appreciated.
Anyway.............
Yesterday was kind of a fast day. Joaquim couldn´t come home for lunch, and he got back at like 6:30 or 7pm because they had to pay basically everyone at the city hall yesterday before 5. Sheesh. So, for me the day was slow...spent with Alex and Jorge following me around, but it was ok. When he got back we had some late coffee and talked with Mãe, Pai, Luis (the oldest brother) and his wife. It was interesting, because I `met´ Luis, when I spoke no Portuguese, at Acácia´s wedding in December of 2006. He stayed at Ryan Anderson´s house where we hung out afterwards. And he, trying to remember who I was, said that he remembered me and another girl talking about who liked Joaquim more. This was truly ridiculous, because no one knew I liked him. So I said `ahhhh no, I didn´t tell anyone that I liked him...` and then Mãe piped in and said `oh yea, you were nice and quiet, but I noticed, did you know that?´ Apparently when I went to Grace´s house with some other girls from my Brazil team in May of 2006, she noticed there and told Grace that ´that one there who is going to be a journalist´ liked Joaquim. It was kind of funny to hear about that.
On a completely unrelated, and perhaps distressing note...in the time that I have been in Brazil, I gained 2 gray hairs. It´s a shame that I´m a real fan of my hair color, because in just a few short years it will be fake. Thanks mom.
As of now, I don´t know what the plan is to approach the rest of the situation. Isaac said his dad wants to pay for Joaquim to take it again. But he doesn´t want to take itbecause he´s sick of not passing, and nothing much is going to change in such a short time. I kind of agree. I really don´t know what is going to happen. Maybe a visit to Christine in April if he doesn´t get in. He´s still sending everything to Moody, regardless of the fact that he didn´t get the score he needed...but...well, you know. Lots and lots of prayers and any suggestions in a moment of brilliance would be appreciated.
Anyway.............
Yesterday was kind of a fast day. Joaquim couldn´t come home for lunch, and he got back at like 6:30 or 7pm because they had to pay basically everyone at the city hall yesterday before 5. Sheesh. So, for me the day was slow...spent with Alex and Jorge following me around, but it was ok. When he got back we had some late coffee and talked with Mãe, Pai, Luis (the oldest brother) and his wife. It was interesting, because I `met´ Luis, when I spoke no Portuguese, at Acácia´s wedding in December of 2006. He stayed at Ryan Anderson´s house where we hung out afterwards. And he, trying to remember who I was, said that he remembered me and another girl talking about who liked Joaquim more. This was truly ridiculous, because no one knew I liked him. So I said `ahhhh no, I didn´t tell anyone that I liked him...` and then Mãe piped in and said `oh yea, you were nice and quiet, but I noticed, did you know that?´ Apparently when I went to Grace´s house with some other girls from my Brazil team in May of 2006, she noticed there and told Grace that ´that one there who is going to be a journalist´ liked Joaquim. It was kind of funny to hear about that.
On a completely unrelated, and perhaps distressing note...in the time that I have been in Brazil, I gained 2 gray hairs. It´s a shame that I´m a real fan of my hair color, because in just a few short years it will be fake. Thanks mom.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
melting iron
The best thing about carnaval wasn't having to cover my eyes while watching the news, but it was having 4 1/2 days of rest and relaxation with Joaquim. It began with a barbeque on Friday night and ended last night by going out to dinner with some of the people around here.
Sunday was incredibly relaxing, in the best way. After church I came back and went straight to bed for almost 2 hours because of a very short night the day before. When I came staggering out of my room around 1, it was time for lunch, and after that I brought my blanket outside on the grass, covered by the shade of the palm tree and another giant tree of some tropical-ish variety. With the breeze, I hardly noticed the upper-80's degree heat. I played a few games of chess with Joaquim, which I lost terribly because I believe my brain is entirely incapable of strategizing. Joaquim's however, is very able, and thus he continued to beat me and later complained that he wished he had had to try harder. I informed him that's not really something you should say to someone. Haha.
The rest of Sunday was beautiful, I sang in church with Jorge, a friend here at Lar who has a fabulous voice, and had been asking me all week to teach him "The Power of Your Love." Well, he learned it and we sang it on Sunday night. I was a little wary of singing again in church because a few weeks ago a girl sang a song and Pai was saying later at dinner that it was awful, that he only likes a few hymns...therefore I was a little wary of singing again. However, much to my great joy, he actually congratulated me and Jorge for singing such a beautiful song, said that he liked it a lot, and that even though he couldn't understand the words, being in English, he felt like he could. Everyone commented later about how rare that is, so I was very blessed to have been able to bless him that way.
The rest of the few days were spent playing games with more visitors, playing with more kids, watching Casino Royale, which was once again a great movie, and Joaquim is now obsessed with it, going out to Japanese for lunch on Monday, going out to dinner on Sunday, lots of activity and laughing and fun.
Yesterday morning, on a more serious note, I read something interesting in My Utmost for His Highest. Oswald Chambers talked about how we need to put our lives, our wills, everything on the altar, and only after being refined through fire are we ready to withstand anything. A line that caught my attention was "don't complain when the fire starts." So many times we say ohhhh yes, Lord you can have this, blah blah blah. Because we know in our minds that He actually knows what He's doing, and that it will be the best for us. But when we actually start to see what that "best" is...we're not too happy, especially with the process. I realized that I was starting to feel the fire getting hotter and hotter. Starting to think about not knowing when I will be back here next, or rather when I will be with Joaquim next, I'm feeling the fire. We're both feeling it. But I had a thought.
Say you have two pieces of iron. What do you do to put them together?
Throw them in the fire, then take them out and hammer them to oblivion...or something like that.
But after that, can you take them apart?
Nope.
On a lighter note, returning again. One thing I've noticed at Lar is that teasing is often much meaner than I'm used to. However, I can't deny that it's hilarious. For instance, João Paulo is very overweight because his mom gave him medicine to gain weight when he was a baby, and gave him a year's dose in a month. So now he's here at Lar and has already lost 6 kilos, but still he's a bit blubbery. While playing soccer, people (meaning my boyfriend) yell "let's use João Paulo as the backup ball!" Or while driving with a tire that is going flat people (once again, my boyfriend) yell "don't worry, we have a spare tire...João Paulo." It made me think that Americans are often very oversensitive. Thinking that teachers can't give a child a bad grade because it might hurt their fragile ego. Not so here, these kids have egos harder than rocks.
Well, I'm not sure what else I wanted to say in this terribly unorganized and stream of consciousness entry. But it's true that I'm leaving 1 week from today, and I'm not exactly happy about that. What to do, what to do...
Sunday was incredibly relaxing, in the best way. After church I came back and went straight to bed for almost 2 hours because of a very short night the day before. When I came staggering out of my room around 1, it was time for lunch, and after that I brought my blanket outside on the grass, covered by the shade of the palm tree and another giant tree of some tropical-ish variety. With the breeze, I hardly noticed the upper-80's degree heat. I played a few games of chess with Joaquim, which I lost terribly because I believe my brain is entirely incapable of strategizing. Joaquim's however, is very able, and thus he continued to beat me and later complained that he wished he had had to try harder. I informed him that's not really something you should say to someone. Haha.
The rest of Sunday was beautiful, I sang in church with Jorge, a friend here at Lar who has a fabulous voice, and had been asking me all week to teach him "The Power of Your Love." Well, he learned it and we sang it on Sunday night. I was a little wary of singing again in church because a few weeks ago a girl sang a song and Pai was saying later at dinner that it was awful, that he only likes a few hymns...therefore I was a little wary of singing again. However, much to my great joy, he actually congratulated me and Jorge for singing such a beautiful song, said that he liked it a lot, and that even though he couldn't understand the words, being in English, he felt like he could. Everyone commented later about how rare that is, so I was very blessed to have been able to bless him that way.
The rest of the few days were spent playing games with more visitors, playing with more kids, watching Casino Royale, which was once again a great movie, and Joaquim is now obsessed with it, going out to Japanese for lunch on Monday, going out to dinner on Sunday, lots of activity and laughing and fun.
Yesterday morning, on a more serious note, I read something interesting in My Utmost for His Highest. Oswald Chambers talked about how we need to put our lives, our wills, everything on the altar, and only after being refined through fire are we ready to withstand anything. A line that caught my attention was "don't complain when the fire starts." So many times we say ohhhh yes, Lord you can have this, blah blah blah. Because we know in our minds that He actually knows what He's doing, and that it will be the best for us. But when we actually start to see what that "best" is...we're not too happy, especially with the process. I realized that I was starting to feel the fire getting hotter and hotter. Starting to think about not knowing when I will be back here next, or rather when I will be with Joaquim next, I'm feeling the fire. We're both feeling it. But I had a thought.
Say you have two pieces of iron. What do you do to put them together?
Throw them in the fire, then take them out and hammer them to oblivion...or something like that.
But after that, can you take them apart?
Nope.
On a lighter note, returning again. One thing I've noticed at Lar is that teasing is often much meaner than I'm used to. However, I can't deny that it's hilarious. For instance, João Paulo is very overweight because his mom gave him medicine to gain weight when he was a baby, and gave him a year's dose in a month. So now he's here at Lar and has already lost 6 kilos, but still he's a bit blubbery. While playing soccer, people (meaning my boyfriend) yell "let's use João Paulo as the backup ball!" Or while driving with a tire that is going flat people (once again, my boyfriend) yell "don't worry, we have a spare tire...João Paulo." It made me think that Americans are often very oversensitive. Thinking that teachers can't give a child a bad grade because it might hurt their fragile ego. Not so here, these kids have egos harder than rocks.
Well, I'm not sure what else I wanted to say in this terribly unorganized and stream of consciousness entry. But it's true that I'm leaving 1 week from today, and I'm not exactly happy about that. What to do, what to do...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
American Ice
This morning/afternoon I decided to lay back and be American. Sometimes I get tired of cultural differences and trying to be respectful, so today I felt lazy. For instance, this morning I was planning my schedule for the day, something my boyfriend rarely, if ever, does. As he sat listening to Pai and an admiring visitor from Sao Paulo talking about any and everything, my mind was on laundry, a shower, and how I could best achieve both of those things in the least amount of time. I decided I could throw my laundry in the machine while leaving Joaquim to talk, or rather listen, and return to take a shower and be done with both by the time anyone even noticed. And then I remembered I was at Lar Batista.
When I finally convinced Joaquim to walk down to his house to open doors for me, considering everything here is under lock and key, the laundry room was already quite occupied. So my promised, "it will just be 5 minutes..." was already broken. Whoops. After about 20 minutes of chatting, once again I looked at the laundry room and put my clothes in the machine. After about 30 minutes I checked and realized it hadn't been filling up, just water flowing through. So finally, after I put everything where it needed to be, it started to wash. I then got involved in looking at stuff about Moody and financial aid and student visas and I-20 forms online with Joaquim, and eventually left to go take a shower. When I returned, I was walking through the front yard and felt a bee land on my forearm, sting me, and fly away. I have no idea what I did to provoke such a thing, but I had been stung. I arrived in the house, desiring the one thing every American "needs" after basically any injury: ICE.
I remember when I was still living in Londrina...Joaquim visited and we were making chocolate chip cookies. He burned his finger taking a cookie sheet out of the oven, and it got a little swollen and red. What is my first reaction? Naturally, run it under freezing cold water and if necessary, procure some ice and a plastic bag or a rag with which to hold it. When I said that, he looked and me and said "that's such an American thing to say..." and proceeded to rub a piece of his hair between his fingers, one burnt and the other not. This, apparently, was supposed to cure his burn. So, after his remedy, I instituted mine, and all was right with the world. I also forced some ice on him a few days ago when he had 3 blisters on the palm of his hand, and he admitted with some surprise that it really worked. Of course, ice is the miracle curer.
So, now my arm has been iced, I have taken a shower, and my clothes are just finishing the spin cycle in the washer, soon to be hung in the hot sun that is shining so brightly today.
When I finally convinced Joaquim to walk down to his house to open doors for me, considering everything here is under lock and key, the laundry room was already quite occupied. So my promised, "it will just be 5 minutes..." was already broken. Whoops. After about 20 minutes of chatting, once again I looked at the laundry room and put my clothes in the machine. After about 30 minutes I checked and realized it hadn't been filling up, just water flowing through. So finally, after I put everything where it needed to be, it started to wash. I then got involved in looking at stuff about Moody and financial aid and student visas and I-20 forms online with Joaquim, and eventually left to go take a shower. When I returned, I was walking through the front yard and felt a bee land on my forearm, sting me, and fly away. I have no idea what I did to provoke such a thing, but I had been stung. I arrived in the house, desiring the one thing every American "needs" after basically any injury: ICE.
I remember when I was still living in Londrina...Joaquim visited and we were making chocolate chip cookies. He burned his finger taking a cookie sheet out of the oven, and it got a little swollen and red. What is my first reaction? Naturally, run it under freezing cold water and if necessary, procure some ice and a plastic bag or a rag with which to hold it. When I said that, he looked and me and said "that's such an American thing to say..." and proceeded to rub a piece of his hair between his fingers, one burnt and the other not. This, apparently, was supposed to cure his burn. So, after his remedy, I instituted mine, and all was right with the world. I also forced some ice on him a few days ago when he had 3 blisters on the palm of his hand, and he admitted with some surprise that it really worked. Of course, ice is the miracle curer.
So, now my arm has been iced, I have taken a shower, and my clothes are just finishing the spin cycle in the washer, soon to be hung in the hot sun that is shining so brightly today.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I am a very bad blogger...
Oh my gosh, it has been 20 days since I updated. And I am leaving here 2 weeks from tomorrow.
Instead of trying to sum up the last 20 days, which would be no less than incredibly overwhelming...I think I will just pretend I have been writing avidly all this time, apologize to my grandmother who has probably been wondering why I wasn't updating, and tell you about the last couple days. So here I go.
Believe it or not, on Monday it was cold here. I'm not sure what the exact temperature was...but probably below 20C, if that means anything to anyone. Out of character for January, and really unexpected by me. One thing I have come to realize is that being from the US where everything is airconditioned when it's hot outside and heated when it's cold, I am used to a very maintained temperature. My body rarely has to adjust to severe temperatures, because everywhere is a pleasant 68 degrees...or 65 if you live at my house. (please turn the heat up when I come home, otherwise it is just cruel.) So when the temperature took a dip for the day here, I was absolutely freezing, while everyone else merely put on a coat or a sweatshirt and continued traipsing around in their flip flops. My feet were practically falling off they were so cold. After a little grumpiness on my part because I of course didn't bring sufficient clothing for such weather, the evening ended with a cozy movie about barnyard animals that could stand on 2 feet, and some delicious popcorn that José made. It was seriously so good. My love for popcorn was so apparent in my mood shift that Joaquim actually told José, "I think it was just you that made my girlfriend happy today, because without this popcorn, she wouldn't have been." True.
I guess I should give honorable mention to a few things...Joaquim took the TOEFL on the 18th and will get the results on Feb. 8th. That is also the day that I was supposed to leave, but I changed my tickets to make me leave on the 14th. That is the last day my visa is valid, and I leave the country at 11-something pm. Stretching it to the limit, that's how I like to do things.
Currently, Joaquim and I are thinking and praying about the opportunity for him to visit me in the spring. Basically, here are the issues...he has already been denied a tourist visa once, for reasons so ridiculous I can feel my blood pressure rise just thinking about them. And if he is denied another one for similarly ridiculous reasons, which is an unfortunate possibility, it will be very difficult for him to get a student visa.
(interlude: José just looked at me and said, very calmly, "voce tem uma barate debaixo do seu pé." This means...you have a cockroach underneath your foot. It is thankfully dead. Yikes.)
Anyway, everything would be great for Joaquim's visit except for this tourist visa issue. If anyone has any experience with the American consolate in São Paulo, or better yet any friends who work there, haha...I would welcome suggestions. The current idea is to write Moody asking for them to write a letter inviting him to see their school, since he has already applied. And if he passes the TOEFL (which I think he will) he can show that as well...I don't know, there are just a lot of things the consolate needs to see to be sure he has a good reason to go, and also that he will come back to Brazil. Of course he will, he would never stay illegaly in the US, but how to prove that...I have no idea. Any help?
Also of note is that Alex visited for a week a couple weeks ago. It was a fantastic time, thankfully restful for her, and hilarious for me, and she was able to meet and get to know Joaquim, and us as a couple. It was a lot of fun. He won her heart when he gave her an envelope and said "this is for you." When she opened it, a contraption made of a paperclip and a rubber band flew out at her, making a loud noise and she threw the envelope in the air, screamed, and then cracked up. So, he passed the test after that point.
That's all for now...I'll try to write a little something tomorrow, just to keep this going. Sorry for letting it go so long!
Instead of trying to sum up the last 20 days, which would be no less than incredibly overwhelming...I think I will just pretend I have been writing avidly all this time, apologize to my grandmother who has probably been wondering why I wasn't updating, and tell you about the last couple days. So here I go.
Believe it or not, on Monday it was cold here. I'm not sure what the exact temperature was...but probably below 20C, if that means anything to anyone. Out of character for January, and really unexpected by me. One thing I have come to realize is that being from the US where everything is airconditioned when it's hot outside and heated when it's cold, I am used to a very maintained temperature. My body rarely has to adjust to severe temperatures, because everywhere is a pleasant 68 degrees...or 65 if you live at my house. (please turn the heat up when I come home, otherwise it is just cruel.) So when the temperature took a dip for the day here, I was absolutely freezing, while everyone else merely put on a coat or a sweatshirt and continued traipsing around in their flip flops. My feet were practically falling off they were so cold. After a little grumpiness on my part because I of course didn't bring sufficient clothing for such weather, the evening ended with a cozy movie about barnyard animals that could stand on 2 feet, and some delicious popcorn that José made. It was seriously so good. My love for popcorn was so apparent in my mood shift that Joaquim actually told José, "I think it was just you that made my girlfriend happy today, because without this popcorn, she wouldn't have been." True.
I guess I should give honorable mention to a few things...Joaquim took the TOEFL on the 18th and will get the results on Feb. 8th. That is also the day that I was supposed to leave, but I changed my tickets to make me leave on the 14th. That is the last day my visa is valid, and I leave the country at 11-something pm. Stretching it to the limit, that's how I like to do things.
Currently, Joaquim and I are thinking and praying about the opportunity for him to visit me in the spring. Basically, here are the issues...he has already been denied a tourist visa once, for reasons so ridiculous I can feel my blood pressure rise just thinking about them. And if he is denied another one for similarly ridiculous reasons, which is an unfortunate possibility, it will be very difficult for him to get a student visa.
(interlude: José just looked at me and said, very calmly, "voce tem uma barate debaixo do seu pé." This means...you have a cockroach underneath your foot. It is thankfully dead. Yikes.)
Anyway, everything would be great for Joaquim's visit except for this tourist visa issue. If anyone has any experience with the American consolate in São Paulo, or better yet any friends who work there, haha...I would welcome suggestions. The current idea is to write Moody asking for them to write a letter inviting him to see their school, since he has already applied. And if he passes the TOEFL (which I think he will) he can show that as well...I don't know, there are just a lot of things the consolate needs to see to be sure he has a good reason to go, and also that he will come back to Brazil. Of course he will, he would never stay illegaly in the US, but how to prove that...I have no idea. Any help?
Also of note is that Alex visited for a week a couple weeks ago. It was a fantastic time, thankfully restful for her, and hilarious for me, and she was able to meet and get to know Joaquim, and us as a couple. It was a lot of fun. He won her heart when he gave her an envelope and said "this is for you." When she opened it, a contraption made of a paperclip and a rubber band flew out at her, making a loud noise and she threw the envelope in the air, screamed, and then cracked up. So, he passed the test after that point.
That's all for now...I'll try to write a little something tomorrow, just to keep this going. Sorry for letting it go so long!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Joshua
True friendship is visiting me in Brazil for a week. This is Alexandra Elizabeth Fillmore, who is leaving tomorrow and arriving on Sunday here in Brazil. I am looking forward to it so much, to say the least. There will be lots of laughing and catching up, and I will take full advantage of the fact that most people don't understand English. Always a fun trick.
This week has been pretty fun. To be honest I'm not remembering Monday very well, but on Tuesday we went to Joaquim's aunt's house for an impromtu visit and were thereafter chatted with for a few hours, fed cake and coke and some chicken pie thing which was delicious, and then went for a dip in their swimming pool, wearing borrowed clothes. After that we watched a movie with his cousin Carol, and got back around 1am. We were just planning to drop by for coffee. It was really nice, and always refreshing to have a change of scenery.
On Saturday night we went to this great new restaurant in town. It's just a little sit in place with coffee and salgadinhos and cake, and it was so cute. Very cozy, and very air conditioned. That is a rare commodity here. Joaquim cracks me up on a regular basis with his love for air conditioning. He has admitted on more than one occasion that he prefers to hang out at work because his office is air conditioned.
This afternoon is pretty warm and lazy. I'm doing some laundry, and soon to come is a trip to the supermarket. Really fascinating.
Lately I've been reading Joshua. I'm also reading Numbers, and it's funny to see how they sometimes repeat themselves. In Numbers, Moses was just sending out some people to scout out the new land they were waiting to get their hands on, and everyone was freaking out. Talking about how they're sick of manna and want to go back to Egypt because they had such great food there (doubtful) and how they were going to die in Canaan or in the desert on their way, so they might as well go back (a fate that would end in death as well, and probably far less pleasant.) It seems people haven't changed since then, because big changes are still terrifying. In Joshua, they have just gotten to Canaan and are working on taking out all of their enemies. Little Israel is fighting against tons of nations who have been there much longer than them and are much bigger and stronger, but the Lord is taking care of them, doing things like hailing on people and confusing people so they start running around aimlessly, therefore becoming easier targets. But in nearly every chapter, God speaks to Joshua telling him not to be afraid. "Be strong and courageous." Because He is going to give everything into his hand.
I'm facing those same sorts of fears lately. Even having some ideas and some possibilities when I go home...a job, a roommate (evetually), a life...I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet. It has been a month today since I left Londrina. It feels longer and shorter, in a way. I feel like I've been here for longer because I'm comfortable, but it feels shorter because the time flew by, just like my time in Londrina flew.
Now I have a few days to enjoy and then a week with Alex, and Joaquim is getting ready for the TOEFL, and then there will be 3 weeks of trying to squeeze the juice out of every moment...then I go home, take my sweaters out of storage, and get going, once again.
This week has been pretty fun. To be honest I'm not remembering Monday very well, but on Tuesday we went to Joaquim's aunt's house for an impromtu visit and were thereafter chatted with for a few hours, fed cake and coke and some chicken pie thing which was delicious, and then went for a dip in their swimming pool, wearing borrowed clothes. After that we watched a movie with his cousin Carol, and got back around 1am. We were just planning to drop by for coffee. It was really nice, and always refreshing to have a change of scenery.
On Saturday night we went to this great new restaurant in town. It's just a little sit in place with coffee and salgadinhos and cake, and it was so cute. Very cozy, and very air conditioned. That is a rare commodity here. Joaquim cracks me up on a regular basis with his love for air conditioning. He has admitted on more than one occasion that he prefers to hang out at work because his office is air conditioned.
This afternoon is pretty warm and lazy. I'm doing some laundry, and soon to come is a trip to the supermarket. Really fascinating.
Lately I've been reading Joshua. I'm also reading Numbers, and it's funny to see how they sometimes repeat themselves. In Numbers, Moses was just sending out some people to scout out the new land they were waiting to get their hands on, and everyone was freaking out. Talking about how they're sick of manna and want to go back to Egypt because they had such great food there (doubtful) and how they were going to die in Canaan or in the desert on their way, so they might as well go back (a fate that would end in death as well, and probably far less pleasant.) It seems people haven't changed since then, because big changes are still terrifying. In Joshua, they have just gotten to Canaan and are working on taking out all of their enemies. Little Israel is fighting against tons of nations who have been there much longer than them and are much bigger and stronger, but the Lord is taking care of them, doing things like hailing on people and confusing people so they start running around aimlessly, therefore becoming easier targets. But in nearly every chapter, God speaks to Joshua telling him not to be afraid. "Be strong and courageous." Because He is going to give everything into his hand.
I'm facing those same sorts of fears lately. Even having some ideas and some possibilities when I go home...a job, a roommate (evetually), a life...I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet. It has been a month today since I left Londrina. It feels longer and shorter, in a way. I feel like I've been here for longer because I'm comfortable, but it feels shorter because the time flew by, just like my time in Londrina flew.
Now I have a few days to enjoy and then a week with Alex, and Joaquim is getting ready for the TOEFL, and then there will be 3 weeks of trying to squeeze the juice out of every moment...then I go home, take my sweaters out of storage, and get going, once again.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Christmas and New Years in Brazil
Once again I am so late in updating. And the holidays have come and gone. Maybe I didn't notice or feel the need to write too much because it didn't feel too much like the holidays. But it was a great time, especially on New Year's. I definitely prefered that to Christmas here.
On Christmas, we had a picnic outside, with watermelon and ice cream. Does that make sense to anyone? Certainly not me. When I think of Christmas, I remember quiet, and dark, watching a movie with my family, opening presents with music playing in the background...preferably something cheesy by Amy Grant or Steve Green. And this Christmas was truly "green and bright." It was very different, but fun in its own rights. We went to church on Christmas Eve and afterwards everyone from church came to Lar for a party. It wasn't really a dinner, just little finger food, called "salgadinhos" which basically means little salty things. So that was fun, loud and crazy. Then on Christmas we slept in, Joaquim and I talked with my family through webcam at 1 and watched them open presents...people were crowding around the webcam here to see the snow that was on the ground in Palatine. Then we had a big picnic lunch...rice, steak, chicken, salad, coke, guaraná, and then watermelon and ice cream. After lunch we opened presents which was hilarious because all the kids got something, so Mãe was throwing presents at everyone. Literally.
On New Years, I had a lot more fun. We went to church and had a nice service to enter the new year. Lots of singing, testimonies about what God had done the last year, and we spent the last few minutes of last year and the first few of this year praying, while we heard fireworks and people yelling. I sort of missed the tv countdown and yelling "happy new year!" but actually prefered this. It was nice to be with lots of people, to hug literally everyone and wish them a happy new year, whether you know them or not, etc. It was a great time, then we went back for another party with salgadinhos and lots of people, and stayed up late singing and watching movies. After going to bed at 5:15am, I woke up late the next day for yet another barbeque and more ice cream. That's something I could easily get used to. ; ) That was a lot of fun, I guess because my New Years traditions aren't as strong as my Christmas ones.
So, all in all, it was a great time. I really wished my family had been here, and thought about it a lot, but all is well.
As we came into the new year...it brought some stress with it. Knowing I'm going home soon and not knowing what will happen after that, it's not easy. Joaquim is going to take the TOEFL test, and English test he will need to get into Moody, where he is working on applying, on January 18th. There are lots of "if...then..."s to come, which makes my life feel like a "choose your own adventure" book. I always hated those books.
On Christmas, we had a picnic outside, with watermelon and ice cream. Does that make sense to anyone? Certainly not me. When I think of Christmas, I remember quiet, and dark, watching a movie with my family, opening presents with music playing in the background...preferably something cheesy by Amy Grant or Steve Green. And this Christmas was truly "green and bright." It was very different, but fun in its own rights. We went to church on Christmas Eve and afterwards everyone from church came to Lar for a party. It wasn't really a dinner, just little finger food, called "salgadinhos" which basically means little salty things. So that was fun, loud and crazy. Then on Christmas we slept in, Joaquim and I talked with my family through webcam at 1 and watched them open presents...people were crowding around the webcam here to see the snow that was on the ground in Palatine. Then we had a big picnic lunch...rice, steak, chicken, salad, coke, guaraná, and then watermelon and ice cream. After lunch we opened presents which was hilarious because all the kids got something, so Mãe was throwing presents at everyone. Literally.
On New Years, I had a lot more fun. We went to church and had a nice service to enter the new year. Lots of singing, testimonies about what God had done the last year, and we spent the last few minutes of last year and the first few of this year praying, while we heard fireworks and people yelling. I sort of missed the tv countdown and yelling "happy new year!" but actually prefered this. It was nice to be with lots of people, to hug literally everyone and wish them a happy new year, whether you know them or not, etc. It was a great time, then we went back for another party with salgadinhos and lots of people, and stayed up late singing and watching movies. After going to bed at 5:15am, I woke up late the next day for yet another barbeque and more ice cream. That's something I could easily get used to. ; ) That was a lot of fun, I guess because my New Years traditions aren't as strong as my Christmas ones.
So, all in all, it was a great time. I really wished my family had been here, and thought about it a lot, but all is well.
As we came into the new year...it brought some stress with it. Knowing I'm going home soon and not knowing what will happen after that, it's not easy. Joaquim is going to take the TOEFL test, and English test he will need to get into Moody, where he is working on applying, on January 18th. There are lots of "if...then..."s to come, which makes my life feel like a "choose your own adventure" book. I always hated those books.
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