Free Hugs at the Virada Cultural (downtown Sao Paulo) 
Enjoying a nighttime tea treat at l'Abri
Ouro Preto, Minas GeraisJanuary Vacations
Friends from Zoe
Lunch at the Sao Paulo Municipal MarketIt's Good Friday, and I have the day off, but I got up at 6! I just could't seem to sleep anymore. Might have something to do with having gone to bed at 8...Yeah, maybe so, huh?
But why did we go to bed so early? Am I getting super lame and old? Well, that could be part of it, I mean, I am nearly 24, people! But it was also because we had a massive cleaning day! We really needed it too. We just work so non-stop that there hadn't been a good cleaning time for a while. We woke up around 8, had breakfast and Bible time (we're like 2 weeks behind on reading the Bible in a year, but hey, we keep plugging along) and then we were already washing clothes and using the water to wash the tiled garage, then dusting and cleaning the floors which were totally covered in black dog hair. Thank you, Grafite. Then more clothes washing, bathroom cleaning, kitchen scrubbing, file sorting, and by about 3:30, we couldn't take anymore and we were starving! The whole day we'd been planning to go out for a little date and try out this new seafood restaurant Gui's student recommended, so we dragged our weary selves down to the bus stop and caught a bus just in time. This guy pushing a cart full of pirated CDs and blasting bad Brazilian country music had just pulled up, so we were thankful to escape.
The restaurant was really good! We had crab cakes, fried potato and cod croquettes, and a really tasty seafood risotto full of fresh octopus, squid, muscles, and shrimp! Mmmm, and there are leftovers! Since we really never go out during the week, and weekends we're busy with our church, Zoe, and class planning, we decided to go to the mall and try to find some Easter chocolate for Gui's mom. Brazilians are all about chocolate at Easter! Not bunnies though, and no peeps, they just have dozens and dozens and different brands of giant, hollow eggs. Every candy bar makes a giant egg version. The grocery stores all construct these covered walkways inside the store with the eggs hanging down right at face-level screaming, "Buy me!!" It's a bit much. And, they cost like $30 reais!! And it's the same amount of chocolate as the $3 reais candy bar. Congratulations, candy industry, you've outsmarted us again. Well, almost all of us. We were going to just buy some normal chocolate bars for Ana but the line was insane! Oh, Easter...
After our unsuccessful attempt to buy chocolate, we gave up on the mall. Never liked malls that much anyway. Plus we were feeling incredibly tired! More tired than before, in fact. Maybe a strange combination of working all morning in 90 degree weather and lots of heavy seafood. Fortunately, the return bus was there in 5 minutes, and we were bumping and rattling our way back home. Normally I don't even notice the rickety Brazilian buses, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my head straight and it just bounced along with the bus.
So that was yesterday, but to give everyone an update on things in general (since I so diligently neglect writing blog entries), 2011 has started off well! We spent the January holidays mostly at home, but then traveled for 2 weeks around some historic cities in a beautiful state called Minas Gerais (General Mines). It's the state where a lot of Brazil's gold and jewels were excavated and shipped off to Europe. There we also spent a week in the Brazilian l'Abri. What a cool experience! A whole week of meeting people from all over, studying, attending lectures, and talking through ideas with some really wise people.
Then it was back from vacations and back to work! This time both of us are working at the language school. Gui's teaching night classes and some classes that meet Friday and Saturday. He's enjoying it, and we thought it'd be smart for him to try his hand at teaching if he's setting himself on a career path to be a philosophy professor. The skills should be pretty transferable. It's just a lot of work for him between teaching and doing his own academic work.
Meanwhile, I have two groups of middle schoolers and a bunch of private students. I'm doing about double the private classes, which is great because I really prefer them anyway. I have some very cool and supportive bosses which helps a lot. Still, middle schoolers are a real challenge. My best luck has been to incorporate tons of games into lessons and try to act silly to keep their attention. Trust me, waaaay harder than it sounds.
Beyond teaching, (though that's pretty much what I do right now :P ) on weekends we're always really busy with Zoe. Gui's one of the teachers so every other Saturday he's leads a talk/discussion. It's a really small church (only around 20-25) so we have a more informal style of "worship service." It's the community God has provided for the time we're in Brazil. Most all of our close friends are there. They're the people we celebrate with, they help us out, and we spend the most time with them.
Last weekend instead of doing a service, we just got together to make sandwiches and then went to Sao Paulo's huge all night festival called the Virada Cultural. There we did free hugs, met a ton of people, gave out sandwiches to people who needed them, and played some music in the middle of the crowd. At one point our little handful of guitarists and bongo-ers were totally surrounded by people joining in to sing. Bob Marley and classic Brazilian rock were big crowd pleasers. :)
Next weekend on May 1st, a big group (a lot of Zoe people, but others too) will be going to the Sao Paulo Zoo with me to celebrate my birthday! It's going to be a lot of fun! Zoo and picnic- two things I love! And the weather's been really mild lately so let's hope it stays that way for a little longer'; we're almost in winter! So you know, it could get down to 55 or something! So cold! haha Still, I think living in Brazil has made me a pansy. I always prided myself on enjoying cold temperatures but now even 60 feels like bundle-up weather.
But our biggest exciting news for the moment is this: we're coming to the States for the summer...I mean, winter, no, wait, I'm confused, ok, but we're coming in July! So get ready for me to come by and visit! I'll do my best to see everybody! Gui got into a very prestigious summer philosophy course given by the University of Colorado which should really boost his chances at applying to American Master's and Ph.D. programs for next year!
Hope to see everyone in the States while we're passing through!
But why did we go to bed so early? Am I getting super lame and old? Well, that could be part of it, I mean, I am nearly 24, people! But it was also because we had a massive cleaning day! We really needed it too. We just work so non-stop that there hadn't been a good cleaning time for a while. We woke up around 8, had breakfast and Bible time (we're like 2 weeks behind on reading the Bible in a year, but hey, we keep plugging along) and then we were already washing clothes and using the water to wash the tiled garage, then dusting and cleaning the floors which were totally covered in black dog hair. Thank you, Grafite. Then more clothes washing, bathroom cleaning, kitchen scrubbing, file sorting, and by about 3:30, we couldn't take anymore and we were starving! The whole day we'd been planning to go out for a little date and try out this new seafood restaurant Gui's student recommended, so we dragged our weary selves down to the bus stop and caught a bus just in time. This guy pushing a cart full of pirated CDs and blasting bad Brazilian country music had just pulled up, so we were thankful to escape.
The restaurant was really good! We had crab cakes, fried potato and cod croquettes, and a really tasty seafood risotto full of fresh octopus, squid, muscles, and shrimp! Mmmm, and there are leftovers! Since we really never go out during the week, and weekends we're busy with our church, Zoe, and class planning, we decided to go to the mall and try to find some Easter chocolate for Gui's mom. Brazilians are all about chocolate at Easter! Not bunnies though, and no peeps, they just have dozens and dozens and different brands of giant, hollow eggs. Every candy bar makes a giant egg version. The grocery stores all construct these covered walkways inside the store with the eggs hanging down right at face-level screaming, "Buy me!!" It's a bit much. And, they cost like $30 reais!! And it's the same amount of chocolate as the $3 reais candy bar. Congratulations, candy industry, you've outsmarted us again. Well, almost all of us. We were going to just buy some normal chocolate bars for Ana but the line was insane! Oh, Easter...
After our unsuccessful attempt to buy chocolate, we gave up on the mall. Never liked malls that much anyway. Plus we were feeling incredibly tired! More tired than before, in fact. Maybe a strange combination of working all morning in 90 degree weather and lots of heavy seafood. Fortunately, the return bus was there in 5 minutes, and we were bumping and rattling our way back home. Normally I don't even notice the rickety Brazilian buses, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my head straight and it just bounced along with the bus.
So that was yesterday, but to give everyone an update on things in general (since I so diligently neglect writing blog entries), 2011 has started off well! We spent the January holidays mostly at home, but then traveled for 2 weeks around some historic cities in a beautiful state called Minas Gerais (General Mines). It's the state where a lot of Brazil's gold and jewels were excavated and shipped off to Europe. There we also spent a week in the Brazilian l'Abri. What a cool experience! A whole week of meeting people from all over, studying, attending lectures, and talking through ideas with some really wise people.
Then it was back from vacations and back to work! This time both of us are working at the language school. Gui's teaching night classes and some classes that meet Friday and Saturday. He's enjoying it, and we thought it'd be smart for him to try his hand at teaching if he's setting himself on a career path to be a philosophy professor. The skills should be pretty transferable. It's just a lot of work for him between teaching and doing his own academic work.
Meanwhile, I have two groups of middle schoolers and a bunch of private students. I'm doing about double the private classes, which is great because I really prefer them anyway. I have some very cool and supportive bosses which helps a lot. Still, middle schoolers are a real challenge. My best luck has been to incorporate tons of games into lessons and try to act silly to keep their attention. Trust me, waaaay harder than it sounds.
Beyond teaching, (though that's pretty much what I do right now :P ) on weekends we're always really busy with Zoe. Gui's one of the teachers so every other Saturday he's leads a talk/discussion. It's a really small church (only around 20-25) so we have a more informal style of "worship service." It's the community God has provided for the time we're in Brazil. Most all of our close friends are there. They're the people we celebrate with, they help us out, and we spend the most time with them.
Last weekend instead of doing a service, we just got together to make sandwiches and then went to Sao Paulo's huge all night festival called the Virada Cultural. There we did free hugs, met a ton of people, gave out sandwiches to people who needed them, and played some music in the middle of the crowd. At one point our little handful of guitarists and bongo-ers were totally surrounded by people joining in to sing. Bob Marley and classic Brazilian rock were big crowd pleasers. :)
Next weekend on May 1st, a big group (a lot of Zoe people, but others too) will be going to the Sao Paulo Zoo with me to celebrate my birthday! It's going to be a lot of fun! Zoo and picnic- two things I love! And the weather's been really mild lately so let's hope it stays that way for a little longer'; we're almost in winter! So you know, it could get down to 55 or something! So cold! haha Still, I think living in Brazil has made me a pansy. I always prided myself on enjoying cold temperatures but now even 60 feels like bundle-up weather.
But our biggest exciting news for the moment is this: we're coming to the States for the summer...I mean, winter, no, wait, I'm confused, ok, but we're coming in July! So get ready for me to come by and visit! I'll do my best to see everybody! Gui got into a very prestigious summer philosophy course given by the University of Colorado which should really boost his chances at applying to American Master's and Ph.D. programs for next year!
Hope to see everyone in the States while we're passing through!
