Fazenda Santo Antonio da Bela Vista

In my former life (read: last year) field trips consisted of yellow buses, exhaust fumes, rowdy children, hovering parents, and smelly lunches. No longer. There are definitely frustrating parts of teaching here, but field trips is not one of them! Traveling to Fazenda Santo Antonio da Bela Vista was hands down the best field trip experience I've had in my seven years of teaching. To start with we travel on buses like these:

These buses are air conditioned, plush, and spacious.
We also travel with these:These are monitors. Monitors are people hired to supervise and entertain groups of children. Monitors are very popular in Brasil-you find them in restaurants, hotels, stores, shopping malls, and on field trips! The company we work with organizes the buses, the schedule, the groups and supervise and entertain the children during the trip. For anyone who has ever organized a field trip (it is usually us teachers) you understand how helpful this is! Additionally, having the monitors negates the need for parent chaperones. As a parent, I sympathize how nice it is to spend the day with your child on a trip-but as a teacher, more people=more chaos. Traveling with just the students and just the monitors is so. much. better.
The coffee farm was great! It was beautiful and really interesting to see how coffee is traditionally harvested and roasted. Coffee was once the cornerstone of Brasil's economy so the trip was an important part of our students' understanding of Brasilian history.
Two other parts of this field trip that were totally unique to Brasil:

Bodyguards traveling with studentsand

Not one, but two stops by the police just to check that we had all the appropriate documentation for our students. These stops were about a half an hour each and made us arrive back to school very late!

Our day ended with a great lunch. Traditionally lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Brazil and a field trip is no exception. We (students included) were given a choice of spaghetti and meatballs, beans and rice, chicken, and salad. Notice the real silverware (knives!) and tablecloth on the table? I love how meals are treated like an event EVERY day-not a pit stop.
I really had a great day with the students-they learned quite a bit and I walked away with plenty of freshly roasted coffee. A total success!

We are happy to announce...

that after 7 months and 26 days in Brasil we finally have television!

Just in time to head home in a few months...

Noah Speaks!

I tried and tried to upload the video I had of Sophie nonchalantly explaining her picture in Portuguese, but I just couldn't make it happen. I did, however, manage to get this video of Noah impromptu (or, do this for Mommy and I'll read you TWO more books before bed!) video tonight. This just proves that children pick up languages faster than adults! It's right before bed, so he gets a little tired by the end!

Sunday in Sao Paulo

This video is from our living room window. Most Sundays, usually between 4 and 7, we hear some variation of this. Sao Paulo's football team is pretty good so we hear it quite a bit. I didn't grab the camera in time for "GGGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!" but you get the idea!


Needless to say, with this kind of motivation, both Noah and Sophie playing football three days a week already!

Sometimes we have to leave Portal!

I love where we live. I'll be the first to admit that living at Portal do Morumbi is about as good as it gets. We have 4 pools, a restaurant, a gym, activities for the kids, tons of green space, 3 playgrounds, trails, etc...in a nutshell, we're spoiled rotten. Many weekends we haven't left Portal except to wander to the fruit market across the street and the grocery store, also across the street. There's no need to leave-sometimes, especially on warm sunny weekends, it is easy to stay put ordering cool drinks by the pool. Yesterday, however, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone in a big way.

It started for me with a run at USP. I headed out early with a group of other teachers, but ran alone with thousands of other runners and bikers. Afterwards, two other teachers and I headed to a yoga class conducted nearly exclusively in Portuguese. The instructor speaks English, but since we are the only gringos in the class she reserves her English for corrections and adjustments to poses. I felt like I got a great work out and practiced my Portuguese at the same time! When I returned from class we quickly fed the kids lunch and headed out to the IMAX theater on the other side of the city. It took us awhile to find the theater, but once we did we weren't disappointed-the kids loved the 3-D glasses, popcorn, Guarana (sweet drink), and we ALL got a Portuguese lesson. Our day concluded with a quick stop at PUC-THE place to buy little girl's (and some boys too) clothes in Brasil. I resisted the urge for seven long months, but finally gave in. I left with 2 outfits for Sophie and a new sunga for Noah! He wore his other one out, and doesn't like to wear "regular" bathing suits any more! Look out in June!

We had a great day! It is stressful to leave Portal and our comfort zone-very few people speak English in Sao Paulo-but every time we do it it gets just a little easier!

Sophie modeling her new clothes!

Sophie's New Look...

After months of fighting Sophie to comb her curls (that at times bordered on dreadlocks), she got her first haircut yesterday. She really loved the whole thing, especially the complimentary manicure. I can see we are going to have fun in a few years. Thankfully, today I see that despite the cut, she still has her curls!

Noah's Five Minutes of Fame

This time it is Noah who make an appearance on Graded's main page....look for the less than eager boy in a Batman costume. The costumes were for the preprimary school's Carnaval parade last week!

I have a feeling another will post will be coming shortly...I'm off to my first yoga class taught in Portuguese!

Carnaval Recap

I was a big fan of "Opposite Day" growing up-you know, a random day of the week was assigned the title "Opposite Day" and consequently we (highly intelligent first, second, and third graders) did the opposite of what we would have ordinarily done. Our Carnaval 2009 was like one giant opposite day. Brasilian after Brasilian (and the expats as well) headed to Rio, the beach, even Buenos Aires, but us? No-we headed to Campos do Jordao in the mountains. It was a great decision. We left Wednesday morning (after Carnaval was technically over) and made the 2.5 hour trip in 2.5 hours-that alone is a major accomplishment in this massive city. On a holiday? Amazing.
The hotel we stayed at was gorgeous and the grounds were filled with flowers and lavender. The hotel had a gigantic play room for kids (complete with a trampoline and ball pit), climbing structures, pool, and great common areas. The leaves had already started to change a bit and there was definitely a fall chill in the air. We broke out the sweaters and jeans and our swimsuits and shorts stayed packed. It was such a welcome change!
On Thursday we headed up to Parque Lenz where Noah and Sophie rode a zip line and played on the indoor playground. We hiked to a great view of the mountains and a waterfall. The weather was a bit wet, but it was still a great time.
On Friday we visited the adorable town of Capivari where we rode a train (more like a trolley) through the town of Campos do Jordao. It was a bit slow, but the kids were content with their Swiss chocolate lollipops. We went to the Baden Baden Brewery for dinner and enjoyed Capivari a little more.

This trip was great-I'd venture to say it has been my favorite so far. Less crowded and better weather than Rio. Cleaner and more kid friendly than Paraty. Just plain great.

There is much more to say, but it is Sunday night (after a full day of poolside lounging) and we have to work the ENTIRE month of March so I better rest up. Can you believe it? Four straight 5 day weeks? Hopefully these pictures will fill in the gaps!Our hotel
Noah on the "sky bike"

Sophie on the zip line
We made it to the top!

Noah was an awesome hiker-he led the way the entire time!

It almost felt like fall there...

The streets of Capivari

Someone totally loved the Swiss chocolate!

Our wonderful friends Peter and Leca-they joined us with their adorable baby Julia

At the Baden Baden Brewery in Capivari

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.

Coach Kasky

If you visit our school website www.graded.br and watch the pictures on the main page for a minute you will see Paul coaching the softball team during their game last week!

Edited to add...

I don't want to sound all whiney about Valentine's Day. Of course, it IS a Hallmark holiday. Who needs roses, chocolate, and a quiet conversation that isn't interrupted by spilt milk? Certainly not me. But, just in case we decide to celebrate next year, I've already got Paul's gift picked out...the snuggie! Shhh...don't tell. Who needs sushi when you can have a snuggie*?

Watch the infomercial-it is TOTALLY worth it!

Happy Valentine's Day

The calendar said it was February 14th so I'm going to go out on a limb and assume yesterday was Valentine's Day. The kids celebrated at school, but Brazil does not celebrate Valentine's Day until June 12th so we weren't bombarded by the usual cards, candy, and flowers abundantly displayed at the local grocery stores. It didn't feel like Valentine's Day-we ventured to Starbucks for coffee and muffins but I wasn't feeling very well and spent the rest of the day in bed. We couldn't score a babysitter for a dinner out, so Paul made omelets for himself and the kids. Maybe we'll try to celebrate on June 12th when we're in Austin with built in babysitters!

Valentine Girl!

Making valentines for friends....

I'm a not-quite-baseball coach

Unlike in most Latin American and South American countries, Brazilians do NOT play baseball. I say that emphatically. Don't get me wrong... there are baseball leagues here. Relatively low-level ones. But the only people who play in them are Japs (I don't use that term derogitorily... that's what Brazilians call people from Japan, and it is NOT politically incorrect here) and Americans. At least as far as I know.

But this semester at the famous American School of Sao Paulo, I have been recruited and accepted the position of high school varsity SOFTball coach.

Excuse me for a moment.

Ok, I'm better now.

I can't say that the transition from playing BASEball to coaching BASEball to now coaching softball has been an easy one. Perhaps if I had a SINGLE player who had previously played softball down here I would be able to understand the game better. Perhaps if the didn't pitch a gigantic ball underhand....SLOWPITCH at that....to the plate, I would recognize the game as similar to baseball. And perhaps if I had more than TWO players who know what the HELL they're doing out there, I'd accept the game more willingly. But alas, this is my fate.

So tonight was the first game. We played PACA - the Pan American Christian Acadamy. We lost 16 to 10, which is fine. I have a team of 21 players. 11 freshman, 8 sophomores, 1 junior and 1 senior. I have one player who just moved here from Michigan who is a solid baseball player. I have one freshman who knows what he's doing and can hit the ball hard. I have a junior who couldn't play last year due to back surgery, but is a solid player. And I have a pitcher who I'm pretty sure has never touched a large fruit in his life, let alone a softball. And they're my top-4. Wooo-hooo.

So now I'm a *cringe* softball coach. And it's not quite baseball.

Hot Date

We had a hot date tonight! Hot because our apartment was ridiculously bathed in the afternoon sun. I'm not very good at math, but I do know that Brazil+summer+afternoon sun+no air conditioner=very, very hot. It was so hot that Sophie felt laying on our hard cement floor to watch "Annie" was actually a better option than the rug or couch because it was cooler. So we did the logical thing-we left our apartment and went down to the pool where it was much, much cooler. Seriously. Paul and Noah met us down there after the softball game at Graded and brought us Subway. Yum! It was great. I don't know if my excitement over the evening is a testimony to my enjoyment of the simple pleasures or how lame my Friday nights have become. Either way,I'm not embarrassed to admit I think it was the perfect way to start the weekend!

Sophie gets some relief from the heat!

Perfect atmosphere, gourmet food, and good company!

The First Six Months

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Never a Dull Moment

On Monday evening Paul returned home from softball practice reporting helicopters circling repeatedly right above the school. I hadn't noticed the sound at our apartment (less than a mile away), but sure enough, for the rest of the night we heard helicopters. One of our neighbors called telling us of some disturbances at the nearest (and one of the largest) favelas -she advised us to stay put, not to walk to the grocery store or go out driving if we didn't have to. With our television still broken, we relied on some internet reports about the events.
By Tuesday morning, we heard that things had quieted down and we went to school as usual. Today everything started up again-helicopters circling and general chaos on the other side of our school. After school activities have been cancelled for this afternoon, as police are afraid their may be some demonstrations. We don't have any hope for snow days in Brazil, but civil unrest will get us out a bit early!
See the full story here.

It was so much fun...thank goodness it is over!

Play the videos back to back to catch the whole "Parabens Pra Voce" at Sophie's party...just ignore my beautiful voice!

Sophie's birthday was a great success! We tried to keep it small, but we are so fortunate that our immediate group of friends here includes 7-8 couples and many, many children under 6. It was a little crazy! We had fun enjoying pizza (Dominoes!), cake, and plenty of adult beverages to maintain our sanity. We are looking forward to a quiet day of clean up and pool time today. A few pics from the day:

Sophie and Noah


Sophie was really excited about a new "sister doll" until....

she realized it wasn't a real baby.

The whole Portal gang!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Our sweet girl is three today (actually tomorrow, but I was MOTIVATED tonight)!

I can't believe she went from this:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

to this:

To our Sweet Sophie:
You are such a wonderful part of our little family! Your energy is incredible, your confidence admirable, and your ability to manipulate any situation endearing. You have all of us (especially your daddy and brother) wrapped around your finger-you hardly ever ask permission for anything, you simply add "okay" to the end of any request you have. That makes it hard for us to say no!
At three you:
*love your bunny the most
*requested a "walking, talking, crawling, blinking" baby for your birthday. I should have told you you'd have better luck asking for a unicorn...
*speak Portuguese better than the rest of us
*love school
*play babies all day long
*can polish off any carb in front of you-Pasta Night at the Clubbe is your favorite
*ask for suco de uva every morning
*love Madeline, Berenstein Bears, and Fancy Nancy books
*can argue the importance of any article of clothing if you want to wear it-especially futsbal pants
You are the most exhausting part of our day. In the most wonderful way. We love you baby girl!
Happy 3rd Birthday!

Never Ending Rain

We're not in Rio anymore...

While surfing the internet this morning, trying to figure out just HOW long the "rainy season" would last here, I came across this quote:

There isn’t really a rainy season in Sao Paulo. Rather, there is persistent and abundant rainfall throughout the year. The rains come frequently and in short bursts. A sudden downpour can lead to traffic jams in what is one of the most traffic logged cities in South America. Always budget plenty of time into your schedule, whether you're going shopping or getting ready for a medical tourism procedure. Sao Paulo's unpredictable rainfall has been known to make the entire city stop at times.

Isn't that the truth! While it hasn't been raining ALL day every day, it has been raining every day. Ridiculous thunderstorms, steady rain, or just a drizzle we get it all. The day can look perfectly calm (though not really sunny lately) and out of nowhere the rain begins.

Yesterday I forgot to close my windows at work. This happens pretty frequently-we have guards and custodians there long after us to check doors and windows-but I picked the wrong day to forget. I came in this morning to find my classroom covered with puddles and my computer soaked. It was so wet that even after I cleaned up the mess there was a fresh puddle under my computer an hour later because it wasn't done draining. The IT guy came and took my computer away this morning-I'm not sure it survived. I did learn my lesson though! I'm counting the days until I can see this again.

A Visita dos Pais

So I don't update here often. I've kind of turned those duties over to my very capable wife, as she's a bit more sappy and enjoys the rehashing and reliving of recent memories more than I do...on a regular basis anyway. But last Sunday evening, I drove my parents back to the airport after a great visit, and I've been wanting to share at least a few moment from that visit.

I guess the best place to start is to mention that their visit constituted several "firsts" for me here in Brazil. See, before they came, I envisioned their arrival as an opportunity to display my adeptness at adapting. I thought I might even impress them with my shaky ability to converse in Portuguese and show them how deftly I've adapted to life in a foreign country. So imagine my dismay when, 20 minutes into their arrival, I had my car parked precariously between 6 lanes of 100 km/hr traffic changing a flat tire on our way home from the airport. My first flat in Brazil. Nice start.

We recovered quickly though, and we were able to spend 10 mostly wonderful days in Sao Paulo,
nearby Embu,
coastal Paraty
and infamous Rio de Janeiro (this was the tamest photo that I could find....thanks, Dad).
None of us had been to Rio before, so this was not only a first for me, but an eye-opener for all of us.

We arrived in Rio last Monday, after about 5 hours of driving up the coast from Paraty (thanks again, Dad - for real this time). We drove through about 20 km of slums before entering the city proper, and within 20 minutes of that we found our hotel, the Arpoador Inn, nestled between Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Here's the view from the hotel:
The problem was that there was no parking at the hotel. No parking garage, no lot...not even a place to stop safely in front. So we drove around for another hour. I hadn't planned on that, but eventually we left the car at a nearby hotel garage and forgot about the car for the next 48 hours as we resolved to cab our way around during our stay.

That evening was perfect. We walked on the boardwalk, went to a nearby Churrascaria a few blocks from the beach, and let the kids play in the lapping ocean as we walked back to the hotel.
Like I said, perfect night.

Until my wallet was lost in the ocean.

Another first. I'd never lost my wallet before. At least the ocean took it, and not some criminal. Oh well.

So anyway, we spent the next day touring the historical district of the city in a cab and on an old trolley. But the real highlight was traveling to the top of the Corcovado Mountain - the site of Cristo Redentor, or the Christ the Redeemer statue. The views from the top were amazing, as was the statue itself.
Of course, we went on the hottest day in Rio in over a year, so we didn't last as long as we might've on another day. But the kids were pretty tough and the crowds didn't drive us too crazy....except for Noah at the end.