Cold Temps, A Leaking Roof, Water and Wine, A Monthly Birthday Party, And A Cookout All In A Short Holiday Week

With a title like that, I may have a bit of explaining to do.

As you can see from the graph, starting last Saturday our temps dropped significantly. Then it started raining as I mentioned in last week’s post. You may be thinking, that’s not that cold, but when it drops that quick and you add rain to the cold, it feels even colder.

You also need to remember, these houses aren’t constructed like American homes. None of the windows seal shut. They just slide, so air flows through even when they’re closed. Mostly, because it’s usually hot but you need to keep the bugs out. It’s also because they hose the floors down with water and bleach to clean and the house needs to be aired out or it gets real musty smelling. Homes here are just block, no insulation layers or anything, cold tile floors, which feel good when it’s 90-100 degrees; not so much when it’s 50 degrees, and they don’t have central heat or air.

Construction materials are often cheaply made and Brazilians just replace items repeatedly or repair them frequently as a matter of everyday living. No one really thinks much about it. Case in point, the rain we had was heavy for days. Monday morning was very chilly. We busted out the blankets before we went to bed on Sunday. (I now believe Katie at Moyo. She told me it got cold in Brazil but I couldn’t fully believe her after feeling like my face was melting off back in September. My apologies, Katie. You were right. I’m glad I brought the sweaters; the sweaters I would have never have packed without your input). Anyway, I’m bundled up, folding the blankets on the bed, listening to the rain on the tile roof (which is awful if you’re a light sleeper like me) when I hear ping……..ping…..ping..ping.ping.ping from the corner of my bedroom.

Yep, the roof sprung a leak. We knew there had been a leak but we thought it was fixed; apparently not. Remember, here the renter is responsible for the house like it’s their own; this is why we had the clause put in our rental agreement that we wouldn’t be responsible for normal wear and tear. So, although, we are not on the hook for a new roof, we do have a roof that is leaking. Bummer. It didn’t leak much or for long, and it’s been the dry season. We will have to see how this plays out during the rainy season. This leads me to my point finally. Roberto said a leak like that is very common with these tiles roofs. That’s the response to everything from anyone who has lived here for any amount of time. He said he would speak to the gardener about replacing the leaking roof tiles. So we placed pans in the floor and headed to Portuguese class.

This week the kids were learning about Jesus and his miracle of turning water into wine. Well, Ms. Sarah did an amazing job with this. She placed grape juice powder (think koolaid) in the bottom of an opaque pitcher so you couldn’t tell it was in there and she had another pitcher filled with water. So she’s telling the story and pours the water into the “empty” pitcher and it fills up with “wine.” The kids were amazed. It looked like a magic trick. They were ooohhing and ahhhing. It was great. She executed it flawlessly. My boys even thought it was cool. I love this lady. She is so full of joy. Her love of the Lord and these children is amazing. She loves to have fun. The kids love her and respect her.

Being the end of the month, it was time for the monthly birthday bash. Usually, it is the last Thursday of the month but this month it’s a holiday, Corpus Christi Day, here in Brazil so the kids won’t be there on Thursday.

The kids love these days; cake, candy, guaraná, music, and hot dogs covered in tomato sauce. So much fun.

Alas, all good things must end and then the clean up begins. I love these two young men. That are great helpers. Of course, Tucker caught me snapping a picture, and had to pose. He’s such a ham. He must get it from his father.

For the holiday, we hosted a cookout at our house. We went American on them with burgers and fries. I was waiting to be asked where the rice and beans were. They have rice and beans everyday, even if you have potatoes. Just a little fun fact, the hamburger and hot dog buns here are not pre-sliced.

We ate and then enjoyed hanging out and playing video games. The plan was to swim but it was way too cold for that. It was still a fun evening.

Thankfully, the weather is warming back up this weekend because we had to get the house cleaned up again because this weekend THEY arrive….