January 7, 2011
-
One week in Brazil
A rather uneventful flight to Brazil, sitting next to an older couple that had to frequent the restroom quite often for the 10 hours over the Atlantic. New Years Eve was spent with the Moraes family, and then January 1st I headed to the beach with my other Brazilian family: the Peres family (I lived with Junior and Aninha the last time in Brazil, as well as worked with their two sisters, Patricia and Cacau, who lead the Living Stones program.).
It is so wonderful to be back. Sometimes, I couldn’t believe I had ever been gone. Like the whole wrinkle in time thing (I have yet to read that book…). It wasn’t until I sat down at the dinner table with 10 different conversations going on, all in Portuguese, that I felt a little behind in my Portuguese–but I quickly caught up.
Going to the beach in Brazil is like another place: no phone, no internet, we didn’t even have any clocks or mirrors: so who cares that you don’t get any work done, you don’t know what time it is, or even what your hair looks like: eat, sleep, and sit in the water while the waves pull you where they will. A bag of mangos for 1$R–I successfully know how to “chupa” mangos now. yum. I felt like I was washing off all the stress I had gathered since being gone. Rest is beautiful. Well, it ended Wednesday, when sunblock 15spf didn’t help, being 7 degrees from the equator. I now have tan lines–but must rename them redlines. Crispy is my middle name.
Now I am working on getting settled in the apartment in Carpina, next to Jeff and Lindsay (an American couple who work at the international school with me). I will be living with Emily and another girl, both English teachers at the school. I am having fun cooking for myself (translation: eating as much fresh fruit and vegetables as possible). The good news is that my suitcases came in fine from the US, and all the books/English stuff I left in Brazil stayed safe. The bad news is rats ate/otherwise ruined almost all my clothes that I left here (which was most everything). Looks like Rachel gets to go shopping. Grin.
As far as what is going on beyond today, I really don’t know. Neither does most anyone else in Brazil. That’s what happens in January. It is summer break. I saw some of my Living Stones kids at the beach–they were there selling peanuts along the coastline. Eduardo came up to me and said “How are you?” in perfect English. I laughed and gave them all saltwater hugs. They are so big! It is the children that remind me that I was gone for a whole year.
Every time I come to Brazil it is like having a blank slate and wondering what to write on it. A lot of praying and hoping that I get things right–or at least do the best I can with what I am given. So still to come are Visa plans, teaching English plans, teaching at the school plans, and Living Stones plans. But tonight–just another layer of aloe vera.
