Greetings from Brasilia!
What a busy/fun weekend! Yesterday morning, we went to a market (Feria dos Importadores )with Meire, the lady I started tutoring English to, and her husband, Marçio. Her husband works for the Brazilian government and speaks good English. She is trying to learn it in case they get stationed somewhere overseas. She is also studying Spanish. Anyway, the market had all kinds of things-food, plants, electronics, clothes, linens, fishing gear, and probably anything else you could think of. We then went by their apartment! It was fun to be around a Brazilian couple. They had fun with the girls and the girls enjoyed them likewise!
Last Sunday was Brazil’s Independence Day. We went to the parade and air show held to help celebrate the day along with thousands of other people! They literally block off the streets with a fence or I’m sure the parade would not be able to pass by! The parade consisted of many military people from various states, the Brazilian Navy, Marines, bands, soccer teams, and various other organizations. Even the Brazilian Olympic winning volleyball team was in it!
The week before last was a long one! I had a nasty cold. Annie had a bad bout with her asthma and we had to give her several nights of treatments. Courtney had some kind of allergic reaction to something and her face swelled up. They said Courtney’s reaction could have been to the sun. We were in the sun watching the Independence Day parade. We are that much closer to the equator and the sun is intense! We took the both of the girls to an allergist down here. They say all this can be attributed to the dryness too. All I know it was a long week and we are glad that we are all better now!
It has not really rained since March and I have had lots of kids out of school with various ailments. The rainy season is supposed to start here this month, but last year waited until November. It will be hard to believe it can go from so dry to 100% humidity! The temperature doesn’t vary too much, but they say the summer (rainy season here) seems hotter because of the humidity. It has been a little warmer though. The temperature has been in the 90’s and it doesn’t cool down quite as much at night as it did! We don’t have air conditioning and had to break down and buy a couple of fans!
What a busy/fun weekend! Yesterday morning, we went to a market (Feria dos Importadores )with Meire, the lady I started tutoring English to, and her husband, Marçio. Her husband works for the Brazilian government and speaks good English. She is trying to learn it in case they get stationed somewhere overseas. She is also studying Spanish. Anyway, the market had all kinds of things-food, plants, electronics, clothes, linens, fishing gear, and probably anything else you could think of. We then went by their apartment! It was fun to be around a Brazilian couple. They had fun with the girls and the girls enjoyed them likewise!
Saturday we carpooled to a waterfall with several people from the school. It was about 30 minutes out of town. It was nice to get out of the city. We had to hike down to the waterfall. One of the guys that has been at the school for four years invited people to celebrate his birthday with him and wife by going to this waterfall. But… part of the adventure of the trip was repelling down the waterfall! And, oh what fun!! He knew someone that did this professionally and the guy set it all up for us for a small fee! We practiced on a tiny cliff before doing it down the actual waterfall. It really wasn’t scary, but loads of fun! The girls and some others did not repel, but I did it twice! They played in the water.
Last Sunday was Brazil’s Independence Day. We went to the parade and air show held to help celebrate the day along with thousands of other people! They literally block off the streets with a fence or I’m sure the parade would not be able to pass by! The parade consisted of many military people from various states, the Brazilian Navy, Marines, bands, soccer teams, and various other organizations. Even the Brazilian Olympic winning volleyball team was in it!
The week before last was a long one! I had a nasty cold. Annie had a bad bout with her asthma and we had to give her several nights of treatments. Courtney had some kind of allergic reaction to something and her face swelled up. They said Courtney’s reaction could have been to the sun. We were in the sun watching the Independence Day parade. We are that much closer to the equator and the sun is intense! We took the both of the girls to an allergist down here. They say all this can be attributed to the dryness too. All I know it was a long week and we are glad that we are all better now!
It has not really rained since March and I have had lots of kids out of school with various ailments. The rainy season is supposed to start here this month, but last year waited until November. It will be hard to believe it can go from so dry to 100% humidity! The temperature doesn’t vary too much, but they say the summer (rainy season here) seems hotter because of the humidity. It has been a little warmer though. The temperature has been in the 90’s and it doesn’t cool down quite as much at night as it did! We don’t have air conditioning and had to break down and buy a couple of fans!
School has been busy too! We are constantly celebrating something! (Brazilians are always ready to have a reason to celebrate!) We have our Character Counts (teaching values and citizenship) assemblies once a month! Plus we had a Brazilian author and musician visit on different days. We also did an Independence Day program which every class had to have a part in! I had to do mid-term progress reports last week. There’s never a dull moment!
The girls continue to thank God in their prayers for the opportunity to be down here for a year. It is fun to see them try everything! Annie picked up some fruit-like pod thing in our apartment garden last week and had me ask our apartment security guard what it was. When he said it was edible, she was so excited! She carried it up to our apartment and threw it on our apartment marble floors until it finally cracked. (I wonder what the neighbors below us thought! It wasn’t quiet!) Bill having not been out with us when we found it, wanted to throw it away. (It didn’t look too appetizing!) But she told him, “Daddy, in Brazil you have to try everything!” She has also been carrying in little, green, hard mangos that have fallen off of trees! We also have a collection of rocks in our apartment already too. Quartz is common here amidst the red dirt.
All for now!
Connie
The girls continue to thank God in their prayers for the opportunity to be down here for a year. It is fun to see them try everything! Annie picked up some fruit-like pod thing in our apartment garden last week and had me ask our apartment security guard what it was. When he said it was edible, she was so excited! She carried it up to our apartment and threw it on our apartment marble floors until it finally cracked. (I wonder what the neighbors below us thought! It wasn’t quiet!) Bill having not been out with us when we found it, wanted to throw it away. (It didn’t look too appetizing!) But she told him, “Daddy, in Brazil you have to try everything!” She has also been carrying in little, green, hard mangos that have fallen off of trees! We also have a collection of rocks in our apartment already too. Quartz is common here amidst the red dirt.
All for now!
Connie
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1 comment:
Hi,
It looks like you are all adjusting well. Your pics are fantastic. Connie, I love the waterfall pics..you guys were having a fun time. I think I wouldn't want to come back to Kansas after a being at a waterfall like that (accept for the no air conditioning thing). Thanks for sending me your blog address, I'm glad we can keep in touch a little. Have fun and learn everything you can! I'll talk to you later.
Rita
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