Thursday, April 29, 2010

Observations

So, after being in Brazil for a month and a half, I've noticed some things...

-I am considered a blonde here.
-Crosswalks are merely randomly placed white stripes on the street. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. Ever.
-Schedules change constantly. If a plan is made, expect it to change at least two more times.
-Wanna lose weight? Come to Brazil! Rice & beans + walking everywhere = hot bod!
-Brazilians are crazy drivers but the world's best parkers. We should all take lessons in parallel parking from them.
-Brazilians are the nicest, most welcoming people I have ever met. Yes, even more than Texans.
-Portuguese is really hard.
-I want to have fruit trees in my yard like they do here when I get a house someday.
-Only 1/4 of the pregnant women here have natural births. Everyone else has a C-section, regardless of whether or not they medically need one.
-Onion and garlic is used in almost every meal. Yum!
-No one has air conditioning in their house. Doors and windows are left open so the breeze can come in.
-Brazilians turn into completely different people when watching their soccer teams. Complete mayhem/intensity/nervousness/excitement/loudness. Hilariously entertaining. I could learn to love soccer here.
-There are stray dogs everywhere.
-Kids only go to school half a day.
-Manicures and pedicures are really cheap. If you want both, it will only cost you 20 reais, which is about $12.
-I've decided I want to learn how to salsa dance.
-You know a soccer team has scored if you hear fireworks outside.
-Time is not a factor.
-Mark, Ali, & Barbara's dogs are bilingual. Sometimes I'm jealous of them.
-Skype might be the greatest invention ever.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sao Paulo


Yesterday, Barbara, her mom, and I went to Sao Paulo! Sao Paulo is about an hour from Itu and is the 6th most populous city in the world. About 20 million people live in the metropolitan area and it is considered the NYC of Brazil. Barbara's mom needed to be back at the bus station to go back to Belo Horizonte that night, so we made a day out of it and went shopping on a street called Jose Paulino. They had more shops in one area than I had ever seen in my life...we didn't even see the majority of them. Also, this is where store owners to go buy merchandise for their shops, so everything is pretty cheap. We spent a good 7 hours walking the streets and bought lots of great stuff! Here are some pics...

This is Avenida Paulista, the Times Square of Sao Paulo. There are all sorts of financial and cultural buildings on this street, as well as museums and places to shop.

My first time on a subway! It got pretty crowded at times...at one point I literally could not move because there were so many people packed in there.

Barbara's mom and I at the Subway station.


This piano sits outside the subway station and is available for anyone to play. Basically, the sign says that in October of 2008, there was a project called "Touch Me, I'm Yours." For 10 days, 8 pianos were scattered throughout the city with the idea that everyone could participate and show what they know. At the end of the project, the company that runs the subways received two pianos and set them up at two different stations. This piano stays at this station, so whoever wants to play can play. When we walked up, this man was playing a Christian song.

This is the beginning of the street with all of the stores. It goes on and on and on...

I loved the front of this shirt and wanted to buy it, but turned it around and this is what it said! I saw lots of shirts throughout the day that had incorrect English on them...please, pay me to help you!

OK, our mannequins at home aren't much better, but these in Brazil are on a whole different level. There's something about matching Marilyn Monroe mannequins that just freaks me out...

This is the Tiete Bus Terminal, the largest bus terminal in Latin America and the second largest in the world behind the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. You can basically get anywhere you want to go in Brazil from here, including international destinations like Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Sao Paulo was lots of fun and it was neat to be in the big city for a while. My feet are paying the price today! More blogs to come...big things are happening here!

On another note, please be praying for my aunt Cheryl. About two weeks ago, she went to the doctor and they found five masses on her liver. They are thinking it is ovarian cancer that spread to the liver. She is currently undergoing treatment and will receive chemo every two weeks for the next eight weeks. Please pray that the chemo will eradicate the cancer cells without harming any of her other organs. Thank you so much!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I'm Still Alive...

Hello, world! So, I'm a horrible blogger. I'm so very sorry. :) I will try to be better from now on. Lots has been going on in the past three weeks. God is moving, working, leading. It is so fun getting to have a front row seat to what He is doing here in Itu. He is up to something...

Hmm...where to start?!

A couple weeks ago, I went with Barbara to her school. She is taking some classes at a university in Salto and she invited me to come with her. At one point, the teacher gave the class a break so we went to explore the campus. We walked into the Fine Arts building and started looking at all of the art that the students made. This building is also where the journalism students take classes, and as we were walking out, we were stopped by a couple of people wanting to interview me for their school blog and newspaper. I sat down with about 5 students and they asked me questions about why I'm here, what I like about Brazil, the food at home, etc. So basically, I'm famous. Ha...here's a picture of all of us. They were all very nice and it was fun talking to them!


Every Wednesday, Barbara and I go to an orphanage in a nearby town. It is called Lar Cristao, which means Christian Home. The children are beautiful...they are happy, healthy, and love to play. I am now known as tia Sarah (aunt Sarah). :)



This picture cracks me up! It reminds me of my brothers and how close they sat to the TV when they were little...Ha!


Barbara and I also help organize their donation closet. Lots of clothes to fold!

Alright, that's going to have to be all for now. Blogger is being weird and won't upload pictures. I'll have more later! :) Love you guys. Thank you for going on this journey with me!