Carnaval

So most of you probably know about Carnaval. It's an interesting celebration. It starts today - 4 days before Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of Lent. Of course, Lent is a period of time when Catholics (and Brazil is a very Catholic country) abstain from something. Traditionally, it was meat that was given up. And that's where the word "carnaval" comes from: carnelevare, "to remove meat."

That's enough of that for now, but I just want to establish that this relatively solemn Christian occasion beginning on Wednesday is what sets the stage for the excesses and extravagance of Carnaval. I do recommend that you watch this video though, even if you are a Carnaval expert. The governor of California doesn't disappoint.

I kind of don't think that our Carnaval experience will be exactly like Arnold's. We're headed to the mountains rather than the beach. We're going to Campos do Jordao with our good friends Leca and Peter and their little girl Julia. We're staying at the Orotur Hotel for 4 days later this week. We'll update our stay there after we get back. Abby and I looked into heading to the beach for Carnaval last month, which would be the more traditional thing to do. Rio wasn't our target, but nonetheless it was nearly impossible to find a hotel that wasn't booked. The few crappy hotels that seemed to be left were outrageously expensive anyway. So, Campos here we come.

Hopefully we have our car back by then. Our car has had some transmission problems and is in the shop being fixed. Fortunatley, we've had it for 4 months and our warranty is good for 6 months. It'll be nice to get it back after Abby and I have had to ride to school with Noah on the kindergarten bus. It's a little crazy riding in with a bunch of 4 and 5 year-olds. They're a funny group, but the silliness level is a bit high for me at 7:30 in the morning.

Ok - so that's what's going on here. Above all, we're happy to have the week off too spend together and with friends. This is our last real break until June when we come home, so we're glad to be traveling and seeing more of the country.

Finally, a photo of Noah at school yesterday when they celebrated Carnaval with costumes and a little school parade. Noah decided to reuse his Halloween costume.