Busy!

We are enjoying a visit from family! The chatting, game playing (and cheating), and general good timing is keeping us quite busy. We'll report back soon...in the mean time, enjoy a few pictures from our latest adventure-Rio!

Craving

The food is here is pretty good. Pao de quiejo, feijoada, coxinhas, moqueca...all of it is tasty. Sometimes, though, you just want some of the favorites from home.

Exhibit A: Chips and Salsa

Paul made these from flour "wraps" (not tortillas-then they would be imported and cost an arm and a leg) and the salsa amounts to chopped tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. Not the same, but close enough.

Other favorites that are no where to be found:

Mac and Cheese

Bagels

Morningstar Farms Veggie Nuggets and Corn Dogs

Peanut Butter (you can get it, but it will cost you!)

Good Spaghetti Sauce

Pretzels

Coffee Creamer

Fruit Snacks (Noah and Sophie's vote)

I think overall we eat much healthier-less processed food and more fruits and veggies. Sometimes, though, you just have the craving...

Here's a peek...

We finally got our apartment painted! I really love our space, but it was white, white, white! It desperately needed color. I'm really happy with the end results-I would have never chosen these colors before, but in a small space in Brazil I think they work. Here are a few pictures:

Our entry way. It is very cool how the elevator just drops you at your door, and your door only!
Our living room-the room actually looks darker than it is here. The whole left side is windows!
Dining "room"-we chose a cafe au lait color for the accent wall.
This is one of two pieces of furniture we've bought. I really love it!

Our bedroom. For some reason, I love the orange and robin's egg blue together!

Our apartment certainly isn't perfect, but it is beginning to feel like home!

The end of the season

No, not football season, although I'm broken up about that too. But I'm thinking about Christmas now. As unfulfilling as this holiday season was and has been, I'm having a hard time letting it go. Maybe it's because we haven't been going to church here...lots of excuses being gringos in a foreign-speaking country, but the reality is that we now have a car and there is a "church" where people get together and watch a video series from some pastor from the states. They have a Sunday school for kids, so we could be there. I guess now that Abby's joined me in the 30s and the kids are starting to become of age where church might make sense, I'm soul-searching and realizing that we should be going.

So maybe that's it... the root cause for my holiday discontent: church guilt. Easy enough to remedy though.

On a positive note, my parents arrive in a few days. Five, to be exact, as indicated by the kids' countdown calendar.


We've got downtime for a few days at the beginning and end of their visit, but in the middle we're off to Paraty and Rio. We'll visit Pao de Acucar - the mountaintop in Rio harbor, and of course the Christ the Redeemer statue.


We can't wait for them to get here so we can share our life here with the family that we've always been able to share our lives with. And my parents are worried that the kids are forgetting them, so they can't get here soon enough (the truth is that the kids haven't forgotten so much as a stranger's face from Virginia, let alone any of their grandparents!).

In the meantime, our tv broke a few weeks ago.... something with the tube. Brand new tv. So Abby and I are back to reading a book every 3 days instead of 4 and the kids are back to...well...it hasn't really changed much for them either. The bottom line is that we don't miss it that much. That doesn't mean I won't be happy if and when we get it back, fixed. There's a whole world of Brazilian tv out there to be explored.

Now that's probably enough for me. I've not posted here for quite a while, but I wish a Happy 2009 to all of our friends and family who check in on us here. Knowing that you're reading is the reason that we (ok, Abby) keep writing.

Birthday Fun!

Despite the fact that I'm dealing with a quite a bit of homesickness right now, I had a great day yesterday! Paul promised I wouldn't have to do any dishes (though warned me I'd have a large pile waiting today), any laundry, or any cleaning up. Such a Prince Charming. I can't say I totally controlled my cleaning urges, but I did have a super relaxing day.

We played a few games of Orchard-I love that game!I opened a love note from my sweet boy.Paul made this delicious cake. Or bought it. Either way, it was good!I scored these most beautifulest shoes (in Sophie's words!).

The best gift of all...three more weeks of vacation!

Recipe for a fun New Year's Eve

Start with a little swimming...some of us have adapted more Brazilian ways than others-note the sunga Noah insists on wearing!











Add a late afternoon nap...













Stir in some fancy white clothes and bright night
lights...













Swirl cutie pie dancing girls...

with a fun Brazilian band...













Don't forget the midnight (apple juice) toast...













but watch carefully so the night is not overdone!

Feliz Ano Novo!

Sao Paulo Aquarium

Lately, we've had quite a bit of time to explore the city. It is nice-the traffic that is usually unbearable is virtually nonexistent as most Brazilians are off at the beach between Christmas and New Years. The weather has been rainy and overcast, so we've had to be more creative than just filling our time with the pool and Clubbe. On Friday we headed to the Sao Paulo Aquarium. Our first clue that this would be an interesting trip should have been when friends that have lived in Brazil for YEARS declared they'd never heard of the Sao Paulo Aquarium, let alone visited. The drive was a bit confusing-if you miss a turn in Sao Paulo you're out of luck. There are few left turns allowed and you can drive for miles and miles without ever seeing a retourno to make a U-turn. We recalculated our directions and ended up on the correct road, but there wasn't any aquarium in sight. There were, however, plenty of building with graffiti, stray dogs, and suspicious looking people. At one point I just begged Paul to turn around. I didn't care how close we were, I just wanted out of the neighborhood! Eventually we made it. The aquarium is small, but the kids enjoyed themselves. Sophie begged to bring a penguin home but mean daddy said no. A few pics from the day:
Penguins!













Noah preparing to watch the 3-D movie!



















Everyone was tired at the end of the day!

Christmas Recap

I wish I'd had warning that this would be the year that Noah would GET IT. Christmas Eve was normal enough-we set out cookies, opened a gift, and Noah penned a quick letter to Santa:

Apparently, sometime around 2:30 am it hit Noah that Santa was really coming. Tonight! He came into our bed and snuggled in next to me. I suppose that is my punishment for insisting the kids wear the special Christmas pajamas despite the fact that it was really warm that evening! For the next two hours he tried to lay still, be quiet, and generally be respectful of the fact that it was the middle of the night. Occaisonally, he grabbed my face in his hands and whispered "Do you think he's come?". Around 4 am Paul said, "Let's just get up,". Once you say that on Christmas morning, there' s no turning back. Up we were at 4 am! The kids (Sophie had come in just after 4) were thrilled to see Santa did find us in Brazil. I was thrilled I'd remembered to set up the coffee maker the night before! Paul made breakfast around 5 or so and everyone headed back to bed by 9.

We met up with friends for dinner that evening. The chaos of 8 children under 5 was a nice distraction from the obvious absence of our families this year. I think next year we'll make every effort to head back to the States in December and January. We did, however, make it through this year. Thank goodness for good friends, sweet children, coffee, and Christmas caips!

Feliz Natal!

Peace & Love

Love,

Paul, Abby, Noah and Sophie

When There Are No Words

Campinas and Iguacu Falls

As promised by Abby, there are photos of Iguacu Falls and the Jesuit ruins she and her friend Mary visited in Argentina. But there is also the thrill of Campinas (pronounced camp-penis for you non-Portuguese speakers out there, but certainly not a word that translates properly). The kids and I spent two days there with our friends Peter and Leca. We stayed at a hotel, but the gist of the visit was that we spent some time with Leca's family. They own a house in Campinas, the biggest "inland" city in Brazil (Sao Paulo is, for some reason, considered coastal, even though we have to drive over an hour to get to a beach). It's a city of about a million people, and is definitely a more laid-back and generally prettier city than SP. Leca's dad did some churraso (Brazilian barbeque) and I had some conversations on Portugese. Sophie's our real Portuguese star though, as everyone seems to comment on her fluency and pronunciation. Noah admits that Sophie speaks it better than he does, although I was complimented on my accent by her family... then again, they're very nice people and...well...maybe they were just being nice. There's a lot more green space in Campinas than here in SP, as well as several parks. Went to Bosky Park, which is also a small zoo. They even have sloths and capybaras roaming the park freely. Far from dangerous animals, they nonetheless invade the caged animals' habitats and eat their food. Poor turtles can't do a damn thing about it!

So Abby's afraid that I'm going to post about how I'm a "hero" for keeping the kids by myself for five days. Well, I am a hero. The kids were well-fed, well-clothed, well-kempt and generally happy for five days. I do have a newfound respect for single parents, and hope to never be one, for more reasons than one.

I'll let Abby do her own Iguacu/Argentina post, as it makes much more sense for you to read about it from the traveler herself. But here are a couple of pics from Campinas:


The kids at the roomtop pool at our Campinas hotel.Noah in front of the tapirs at Bosky Park

A Good Time Was Had By All...

I returned from my amazing trip to Iguacu Falls today. There really aren't any words to describe The Falls-beautiful, spectacular, unbelievable...none of them quite convey the beauty of that area. I got to spend much more time in Argentina than I originally thought I'd be able to, so that was a treat. Minus the 20 hour bus ride, midnight bus tow, passport mix up, wild coaties, and begging to use reais instead of pesos throughout the Argentinian countryside, we had a wonderful time. I arrived home to find my apartment freshly painted (chocolate brown, cafe au lait, and robin's egg blue) and my family smiley. The kids were eager to share their adventures in Campanis and show me pictures of the tapirs and toucans they saw. Everyone is happy and we're excited to enjoy our first Christmas in Brasil. I have lots of pictures to share, but for now the 5-day pile up of laundry is calling my name (but only for two weeks until Katty returns!!).

The Christmas Concert

This blog hasn't given any very Brazilian updates for awhile...all of that should change in a few weeks! Beginning Wednesday we will have many weeks of travels and adventures to post about, but in the mean time, just the usual around here. Today the kids had their Christmas concert. It was great-they were adorable and no tears! We were definitely like all the other parents smiling and waving like big goofs to get our children to see us-just the things that annoy us as teachers!

Getting ready for the concert this morning.

Here's Noah with his class...

After the concert, Noah's teachers invited him to stay the whole day today (he normally leaves at 12) and he LOVED it! He ate lunch in the cafeteria and rode the bus home with his friend. He'll start full day sometime this spring, and after today, he is very excited!

Noah actually singing!

Sophie discovers her hands about halfway through this video...

The best picture we could get of Sophie. The two year olds were harder to see!

All the kids together!

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and other holiday fun

We had a calm, low key weekend. There were a few last minute shopping trips and an evening party at my principal's house, but all in all it was pretty relaxing. I did, however, just make a page long to-do list in preparation for this week. Tomorrow Noah and Sophie have their holiday concert, Tuesday is the last day of school for students, and Wednesday is our last day of work FOR FIVE WEEKS!! I also leave for Argentina on Wednesday, Paul's going to Campanis with the kids and friends Thursday and Friday, and our apartment is being painted! It's a full week for sure, but in the best possible way.

Here's our Sugar Plum Fairy this morning...

We may stick with swimming for awhile longer...

In other exciting events from the weekend, we got our tree up.

We made decorated cookies with friends, although Sophie tended to eat every cookie she decorated!
It was a fun weekend in preparation for the crazy week ahead!

The Problem with Being Bilingual

Noah and Sophie have both become very proficient Portuguese speakers. Our nanny, Katty, has very limited English so they learned the language very quickly. Noah, being a bit older, tends to think of what he wants to say in English and then try to translate it into Portuguese. Sophie, on the other hand, moves between the two languages much more seamlessly. If you ask her a question in Portuguese she will most likely answer you in Portuguese. If you ask in English, she'll respond in English. The problems creep in when the kids run into certain words that have meanings in both languages.
The other night I read The Polar Express to the kids. Near the end of the book, when all the children enjoy hot cocoa on the train, Noah started remembering drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows back at home. Immediately Sophie became absolutely disgusted and with the idea of drinking hot cocoa and did her best, through her cute stutter that appears when she tries to talk too fast, to tattle on Noah for using "bathroom talk". You see, Sophie wasn't old enough for hot cocoa last year and so her only reference for cocoa is here in Brasil. In Portuguese, coco is poop. With that being her only understanding of cocoa, I'd say she was rightfully disgusted by the idea of drinking hot "coco".

We've also struggled reading the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom here. I love that book, but boom boom in Portuguese means your bottom. So once again, my little rule follower insists we cannot read a book that uses "bathroom talk" (as in, discussing your backside). No amount of explaining really changes her mind. We've shelved the book for now!

'Tis the Season

I have a lot of guilt about Christmas this year. Our tree is very bare, we mistakenly left our stockings packed away in Virginia, and I've done very, very little shopping for the kiddos. I felt so very proud of our advent calendar last year-all the little doors opened with a message about some fun outing planned or a small gift. This year, though, without the usual trimmings and conveniences, I've kind of lost my way. The fact that it is sunny and in the mid-80s is throwing me for a loop as well. When I saw this video I remembered what is most important this time of year...



Christmas morning will be different this year, but I hope for all of the right reasons. I have a few plans in the works, but I don't want to give anything away quite yet. I will say Paul will be getting both his biggest gift and smallest gift ever this year.

Thursday Nights

Thursday nights are very special around here. Typically, that's the night we have dinner with our very dear friends Leca and Peter, and their baby Julia. The kids adore Julia-gasping with adoration at every new accomplishment she has-"She can stand!" "She wants YOU, mama!" "She really likes Toy Story!"-they dote on her as if she were a long lost sibling. Leca is the Reading Specialist in the Lower School so we have tons to talk about. Peter is Paul's Humanities teaching partner. Oddly enough, Peter grew up in Northern Virginia. A match made in heaven! We usually alternate between their apartment and ours, but in the last few weeks we've discovered Pasta Night at the Clube. It's perfect-dinner with friends and NO clean up! It is made better by the fact that Leca is a native Portuguese speaker and can order our capirinhas exactly the way we like them. We are so very lucky to have them in our lives here! Friends take on a whole new meaning when you are a world away from your family.

Thanksgiving Recap

Last week was a bit of downer...lasagna on Thanksgiving, no family around, and a full five day work week. We did, however, make up for it on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday our school sponsored a Thanksgiving Feast. It was amazing! I did some Christmas shopping with the local artisans set up in the gym, the kids ran around the soccer field, and we all enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Sure, cranberry sauce served in a Dixie cup is a little different, but the spirit was the same.

Sunday we traveled out to Embu and dined with friends at a gorgeous house. The grounds were beautiful and the weather perfect for enjoying the pool. Swimming on Thanksgiving is definitely a first! All of us had a wonderful time!

The cafeteria set up for Thanksgiving.

The kids enjoying the festivities.

Yummy!

Friends in Embu

Noah

Sophie Bella

A good time was had by all!

Up next, a weekend of crafting...we need to prepare for Christmas! Two weeks until I head to Argentina/Iguacu Falls!

Noah makes a statement...

Noah loves to draw and leave notes all over the house. Sometimes we'll return home to find upwards of 15 pieces of paper scattered around the house with various messages, stories, and information scrawled on them. The other day I came home after work and found this:
For those not familiar with the art and craft of deciphering four year old writing, it clearly states:

Boo VT Go Virginia!

All the way in Brasil, he remembered the important game this weekend.
Go Virginia, beat Tech!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is about as much Thanksgiving as we will get tomorrow.

It is really just another normal day at school. Lucky me, I'll be leading an inservice just about the time we'd normally be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. No festivities tomorrow, but a few planned for this weekend. It is a bit depressing. Everytime I begin to think about it I just focus on the positive-2 1/2 more weeks until Summer (Winter) Break.

Happy Thanksgiving!