Adventure Recap

We enjoyed a three day weekend in honor of Brazil's independence this week. We weren't sure we were going to travel-traffic is horrible when the whole city is off- and the weather isn't certain enough to risk a beach trip just yet, but Leca and Peter invited us to Campinas for the weekend and that seemed to be the perfect short and sweet trip we needed. So Saturday, after a relaxing breakfast during which Sophie requested broccoli with her french toast rather than any type of fruit I had prepared, we headed out to Campinas. Leca is from Campinas and her entire family (think many, many cousins, aunts, uncles, etc...) pretty much still lives there. Paul traveled there in December, but I was in out of town, so this was my first trip. Campinas is about 90 minutes from Sao Paulo and we arrived mid afternoon Saturday. From the moment we arrived I knew I liked Campinas better than Sao Paulo-it is smaller, cleaner, greener, and people seem to drive normally-not like the maniacs around here! The streets are a bit wider and many are paved with cobblestones, adding to the charm of the city. Saturday night we arranged for a woman to watch Noah and Sophie at the hotel while Peter, Leca, Paul and I headed out to a nice dinner and then to a chopperia (bar) to watch Brazil play Argentina in a big, much anticipated soccer match. The weather was pleasant and it was really relaxing to hang out! Leca's cousin, Caca, joined us later in the night. It is really fun to have everyone together and I find it fascinating to figure out how we all move from English to Portuguese back English without too much thought. Well, Leca and Peter do that. I listen intently to the Portuguese (and understand a fair amount) but nearly always speak in English. Paul's pretty good at going between the two and he gets the award for the best effort of the evening.Hippie fair Sunday morning

Sunday we headed out to the Leca's family sitou (farm) for a chuhasca. Leca's family lives in this little Swiss colony outside of Campanis. It was really beautiful even though the weather was pretty damp and gray. The day was fun, but tiring. Trying to keep up and be personnable in a second language takes a lot of work-I have a renewed respect for what my students do each day! The kids were amazing. The way they interact with new people is so refreshing-they switch from English to Portuguese and back again without a problem. By the afternoon they were playing Brazilian children's games with all the other little cousins running around. Sophie especially feels at ease in these situations, but even Noah was comfortable and making friends. Late in the afternoon we went for a walk-oh, how I wish I had the camera! At one point the kids were walking ahead to look at some roosters (LOTS of roosters) on another piece of property. Suddenly, out of nowhere, these black dogs come charging towards us barking loudly. Leca quickly closed the gate to keep them inside the property and away from us. Just as we were catching our breath we turned to see many cows coming down the road and a bull! There was no gate separating us this time. I started to get really nervous at this point-but over the hill came the man in charge of the animals. I don't know what he would have done had the bull charged-but seeing him made me feel better and they passed by without any further excitement.
Monday Leca's mom invited us over for lunch. We had a fun time and Noah and Sophie had fun playing with Julia. We left midafternoon and made it back without hitting too much traffic.
It was lots of fun-I'm sure we'll head back another time.

Good buddies

For now we have our sights set on our four day weekend in November-we're traveling to Buenos Aires-and our trip back to the U.S. in December-we've built in a short side trip to Bogota, Columbia. Lots of travel to look forward to!

Papaya Boy

Picky Eater Girl

Worn Out