First Two Weeks as Brasileiros

Please don’t scroll down or you will see how long this post is and not even read it. I’ll try to post more frequently in the future so that, hopefully, the posts won’t be long like this. There has just been so much going on, I didn’t have the mental energy to post sooner. Just pour you some coffee or tea, settle into your chair, and read on.

Wednesday (Arrival day)- We made it to our basement apartment, where we will be staying for the next 12 days. It’s great (except for living out of our suitcases). We are right on a little pond. We took the boys by the Vinde Meninos campus to show them the ministry where we are volunteering with Moyo Missions Brazil. 

Afterwards, Roberto and Anna picked us up and we went into town to pick up Daniel and Clara from school and we all went to lunch at the Villa Restaurant. This was the first time the boys had been to a buffet where you paid for your food by weight. Daniel showed Tucker around the buffet explaining what things were. He somehow convinced Tucker to try chicken hearts and Tucker actually did!!!! He said it tastes like bland chicken. I was shocked he tried it but so proud. I’m sure those of you that know Tucker and his picky eating habits are just as shocked as I was. I think this trip may be a very good thing for our family.

Then it was off to the grocery store with Roberto to grab a couple of groceries and head to the house to crash. 

Thursday – The very next day was our first day serving and it was HOT! The boys were a little overwhelmed by the chaos of all the kids but they did amazing. I am so proud of them!

We picked up our sweet ride and made another trip to the grocery store, this time by ourselves. After greeting you with a Bom Dia, Boa Tarde, or Boa Noite, depending on the time of day, the cashiers always ask you for your CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas/Natural Persons Register) number- a tax ID number, which is kind of like your social security number in the US. They offer the reward of a small tax break for allowing them to track all your spending habits. Make of that what you will. All I know at this point is to say- não (no), crédito (credit), and obrigada (thank you). If they ask me anything that requires a different response, I bust out- Eu não falo português (I don’t speak Portuguese)- and give them the sad face and they are super understanding and just let me leave.

Friday – The school kids don’t come to Vinde on Fridays so we had the next couple of days to ourselves. We walked around the community and enjoyed the flowers, trees, and capybaras. 

Check out their laranjas (oranges). They’re green on the outside but tasty and orange on the inside. We tried our hand at fishing.  From the picture you can see how successful we were. 

We had pasteis (kind of like a retangular flat egg roll filled with meat and cheese) for dinner with the De Lucias. Daniel invited the boys to go to youth group (which meets on Fridays instead of Wednesdays) with him.  The boys are just getting so big. We dropped them off at a church they had never been to with a kid they’ve only met a few times, to study the Bible and hang out with a bunch of Portuguese speaking Brazilian strangers. And what happened, they had a great time. Mason got into a discussion about whether or not Job was a moralist/Pharisee with a kid that spoke some English and Tuck was playing ball with some other kids. Youth doesn’t start until 7pm and goes to 9 or so and then the kids usually go over to another kid’s house and they hang out until midnight or later. We weren’t ready for that yet. Around 9:30, Mason was ready to go to bed. 

Another trip or two to the grocery store and that was Friday and Saturday. The trips to the grocery store are kind of frustrating because we’re not used to shopping daily like that but it does give us opportunities to interact with people and work on our Portuguese. It’s a great learning experience and it’s relatively easy.

Saturday – Brazilian differences, besides the obvious language issues, we’ve noticed so far…

Toilet paper is disposed of in the trash can; not flushed down the toilet. This freaked Tuck out at first as he thought everything went in the can not just the paper. After we explained that the…waste… goes down the toilet and only the paper is discarded in the can, he felt a little better but was still shocked.

Motorcycles have this unwritten law that they can pass on the left in your lane and they will honk if you’re too close to the centerline. 

Showerheads are electric…that’s right, electricity wired right into the shower. 

There is no hot water at the sink; dishes get done in cold water. 

You know how they say- Everything is bigger in Texas- well everything is smaller in Brazil: appliances, serving sizes, bags of cookies and chips. The washing machine is tiny. I have to do laundry everyday because anything more is multiple loads. The chip bags at the grocery store are the size of convenience store bags. Cookies come in packages of eight. Eight!

Hardly anyone has a clothes dryer and if you have a dryer it usually takes hours to dry a load. 

Most houses do not have air conditioning. 

Social and economic classes are VERY evident. There is so much beauty and such poverty.

Roads are rough. 

Roundabouts are super scary and dangerous. Even the Brazilians say this but they also say they’re just used to it. Ms. Sarah told us the slogan is – If you don’t go, you won’t go. If you go, you die. Very comforting.

Roads, often named after people, have very long names. 

People can have very long names sometimes five to six names long. A first name and then their surname is comprised of their father’s surname and their mother’s surname and them some have additional middle names.

Brazilians are very friendly and welcoming. They love to hug. And even after you tell them you don’t speak Portuguese, they keep right on talking to you. 

Brazilians usually don’t eat lunch until 1/2pm with a snack around 4pm and dinner around 8pm, which has been a big adjustment since we are used to eating lunch at 11/11:30am and dinner at 5pm.

Time is very laid back. Meetings usually start about 30 minutes late or so and no one cares.

If the sun is out, it’s hot. If it rains, it’s humid. 

You have to open the window in the bathroom with showering but you close the window at night.

I know we’ll learn more the longer we stay.

Sunday – We went to Roberto’s church in the community, which they call the condominium. It was all in Portuguese but they did sing two songs, This Is Amazing Grace and Because He Lives,  so that even though they were in Portuguese we could still worship. We were clueless about the sermon other than the Bible verses, but it was a good experience. We also met Sonya, our Portuguese tutor. She said our names were hard for Brazilians, especially Trevor and Tucker.

After church, we went with the De Lucias to Geronimo’s for lunch. It’s pretty close to an American fast food restaurant. Tucker was happy. 

Daniel came over Sunday afternoon and hung out. The boys got on the kayak. The owner also had a paddle board but no paddle, but did that stop my little rednecks? No way! Have rake, will paddle. Ha!  They didn’t catch any fish but they had a great time. Once the water activities were over they played some Switch games together before Daniel left. 

Monday – Starting the week off like true Brazilians, the boys had the standard French bread with butter and an orange for breakfast. 

The boys are starting to fit right in. Tuck hardly ever wears shoes now, as many of the Vinde kids don’t, even when they play soccer. Ouch. 

We wash A LOT of dishes everyday after serving the kids lunch and snack.  And I mean A LOT!

We also help the staff and interns with whatever they need. 

Tuesday – Trev and I worked on scanning child sponsorship cards and uploading them for Moyo. We also went and looked at a house today to rent for the year. It is way bigger than we need but supply is pretty slim. One, because there’s just not that many houses for rent. Two, long term rentals are supposed to be, by law, for 30 months and we only need 12. And three, short term rentals don’t usually have whole year availability. 

Wednesday – At Vinde we celebrated March birthdays. The chocolate cake was delicious and the kids loved it. 

Mason and Tucker helped intern David teach some of the older kids volleyball. Notice all the Americans are in shorts and all the Brazilians, save one, are in pants. HA!

Trevor and I continued working on scanning and uploading the Moyo Missions Brazil child sponsorship update letters. 

The following day, we met the owners of the house in the morning to go over any questions we had. The realtor is writing up the contract. Hopefully, we can get it signed this week and move straight into it instead of having to go to Vinde and then move out again. 

Don’t think that just because you’re in South America you can find Mexican-type food everywhere. Don’t confuse Latin American with South America. Mexican food is EXPENSIVE here. It is cheaper to go out to eat than to by the items in the international section. I will have to make my own salsa and guacamole and we won’t be buying tortilla chips. Also, the grocery stores don’t carry sour cream. I’ll have to make a substitute for that too. We usually eat tacos every week, so I’ll just have to put in the time and effort to hand make it all, if I can find the spices I need. Via la Taco Tuesday!

Thursday – It has rained off and on all week long but it looks like the rain has settled in for today. It has been raining for hours. A break from the heat (it’s been in the 70s) has been wonderful. It’s supposed to be back up in the high 80s next week. 

The rain is only a bummer for two reasons: 1) I can’t hang the laundry out to dry but that’s not too terrible because I can just hang it inside and 2)(which is the stinkier reason) is today is the start of English camp at Vinde. 

We are headed to the post office this morning with Sarah, who is just a wonderful person, to mail the MOYO Missions Brazil child sponsorship cards to the Marília campus. 

This, also, probably means a stop for açaí. 

Well, we made it to the post office. Glad we brought Sarah. We would have never been able to make that transaction happen without her. It was too early for açaí so the plan was to go back after lunch but she had to go help set up for camp, which means we will save açaí for another day. 

The boys are excited about camp. Three days of no parents, kids that know some English, and lots of games, fun, food, and Jesus. What’s not to love. 

Trev and I will be around campus on and off probably doing a lot of dishes and maybe helping bake cinnamon rolls, pancakes, etc. 

We got the boys packed up for camp and chilled until time to leave. English Camp was crazy loud and busy, just like in the US. We left the boys to it and headed to the kitchen where I made brownies and Trevor did dishes. 

They made mini “pizzas” for dinner and I put that in quotes because it wasn’t like our pizza. It was on a small piece of dough with mozzarella cheese but that’s really where the similarities stopped. It had a tomato sauce with shredded pork (think deli ham not pulled bbq pork), corn, mozzarella cheese, and a big tomato slice on top with oregano sprinkled on it. Tasted good but not like pizza. Tucker came in the kitchen and Trevor found him an apple. Go figure, he didn’t want to try it. Bless his picky heart. 

The brownies stressed me out. The recipe was in Portuguese. Deborah, the lady in charge of food, said I could make my own brownie recipe. Ha! Like I have a brownie recipe other than open box, add egg, and oil and stir. 

I made a mess. I was happy to help but this stressed me out. I had to double the recipe because we were making 10 batches but only 5 per pan so then I had to undouble, then the cocoa powder went everywhere when I opened the bag, all over the griddle, where I needed to work because that’s where an unused outlet was. Then with people talking to me, Trevor offering me different foods, and the loud music I kept forgetting how many cups of stuff I had added to the mix. Uuggh. But I survived. I have no idea how the brownies tasted but a big ol’ bunch of them go made.

We met a lot of really nice people. We also learned some Brazilian slang. If you’re “Nutella” or “raised in an apartment” then you’re spoiled. If you’re “roots” that means you were raised on the streets; tough, not afraid to get dirty.  

The boys seemed to be having a good time when we left. I can’t wait to hear all about camp. 

Since we didn’t have the boys with us this morning, we went for a long walk around the condominium and chilled this morning. 

As I was walking around the apartment this morning, I noticed all the succulents and immediately wanted to text Nita a picture of them. Then it hit me she was gone. It felt so surreal. I wrote Poppy to check on him. It’s so hard to believe that she’s not with us anymore. Our hearts ache.

Once lunch time rolled around, Trev and I decided to venture out to the pasteis place and try to order food on our own. I did good to place our order but then he asked me another question and I had no idea what he asked. That’s when I busted out the old tried and true – eu não falo português. The guy was super nice and knew some English so it worked out great.

After lunch we rested until time to help at camp. Today we did dishes and peeled potatoes for hash browns. 

The boys are having a great time at camp. Tonight was neon night and a bonfire. I just can’t get over how well they’re doing. They are such wonderful kids. The camp counselors were all raving about them. 

We didn’t stay as late tonight as we were meeting Roberto and Anna to go to Word of Life to watch a ministry called Emme’s Easter musical preformed by a group of students. They sounded phenomenal. 

Saturday – Today started with our, now,  usual walk around the condominium. I was so confused with this subdivision being called a condominium but I found out today that condominium in Portuguese just means gated community.  So there you go. While out walking, we saw a huge bee’s nest. Yikes! 

After lunch we went to Vinde for our afternoon/evening shift in the kitchen. Today, besides the dishes, we helped make cinnamon rolls.

We didn’t help as much as usual, as we had to go over our rental contract with Roberto. Everything seems pretty much in order except two things which Roberto is supposed to clarify with the agent. So it looks like we are one step closer to moving in. Monday we are supposed to go over the inspection with the realtor, pay, and get the keys. 

The kids at English camp, had America Day as a theme one afternoon, with food and games that are “American” and I put American in quotes because never in America have I seen mashed potatoes on a hot dog. Yes, you read that right. Hot dogs with mashed potatoes smothered on them with ketchup and mustard and potato straws. I almost didn’t try it but,  when in Rome…I mean Brazil you try it. The Brazilians may be on to something. The unlikely pairing wasn’t bad. It was actually kind of tasty. Who knew.  They had a picnic for dinner with American music, which the kids had a blast signing too, they knew all the words, and they played cornhole. 

We came home and found this little guy, a tropical house gecko, which are common in this area, on the bottom of our bedroom door. Sorry mom, I think he’s adorable and left him there. 

Sunday – Happy Easter! This year Easter is different. There were no countdown to Easter activities; no special devotionals, no family meal, no sunrise service, or egg hunts. This year the boys were wrapping up camp and Trev and I streamed service from church. Like I tell the boys “different isn’t necessarily good or bad; sometimes it’s just different.” I’m sure that’s what a lot of holidays this year will be like that. 

One little fun fact, Brazilians give their kids/grandkids big chocolate eggs wrapped in shiny paper for Easter. The stores have been full of them for days. 

Trev and I went for our morning walk. Today we walked almost all the way around the neighborhood, including the massive hill we’ve been avoiding. It is so steep but we made it.

We saw the neighborhood capybaras really close to the road by the lake and one was a mommy with a bunch of babies. So cute. 

We headed over to Vinde early to help with lunch but they didn’t need us so we played ultimate frisbee with the kids instead. Trev dominated. Tuck said Dad is no longer allowed to play with them. Did I mention Tucker was on the other team?🤣

After lunch, camp was over. The boys had a great time and were telling us all about it and they were only mildly sunburned on the back of their necks. We had a super chill afternoon and went to bed on time-ish. The boys needed some good rest. 

And now it’s time to move again.