Halloween

So we're kind of still waiting to see what happens here on Halloween tomorrow, but we've made plans nonetheless. We're doing kind of a progressive party with the other Graded families with younger kids here at the Portal. We'll do drinks and snacks one place (with candy for the kids), then dinner at our place (with candy for the kids), then dessert at another place (with candy for the kids), then any makeshift trick-or-treating that might exist here (???).

So if I'd decided to take the coaching position this year, next week is the week I'd be out of the city in some other part of Brazil coaching in a 4-day tournament. It's been a long semester though, and I don't think we'd have made it to this point having as much fun and sanity if I'd been coaching all along. So no regrets. Maybe next year though....or maybe not. Time will tell. This is also the week that our school is beginning to advertise teaching positions for next year, as teachers who are moving on after this year have made their plans known. The first step in the process is to allow Graded teachers to move to new positions within the school. Although I'm more than happy in my position now, Abby has an opportunity to consider a different position. It's similar to the Reading Specialist position she had a few years ago, in that she wouldn't have a class of her own. She'd be providing academic assistance and supplementation to students who need it. So she's grappling with that decision. She does like her 3rd grade position, but she's never taught the same thing for more than two consecutive years in her career....perhaps she's starting to start a trend of switching EVERY year? Time will tell on that one too.

In the meantime, all is well with the kiddos for the most part. Noah did miss his first day of school today because he's had a little fever, but nothing major. More of a defensive move against him being sick for Halloween tomorrow. And Sophie just got back from swimming lessons, so it's time for me to run.

Hope all is well with everyone at home. Love to all.

Back in the Saddle

Hi again. It's been a while. It'd be one thing if I could say that I've been so busy, but not really. Status quo in that arena for the most part. Although we did just have an amazing, warm weekend with some serious pool time and lunches on the patio at the club. All the other couples and families were there, so everybody was happy. Last night before bed, Noah was crying about about the fact that the weekend was over because it was so "special". This is a kid who generally loves going to school as much as anything else in the world, so it's saying something that he was so upset. Kind of a relief though...I don't want the kid to grow up loving school THAT much.

So we've bought our Brazilian freedom...wheels. I got a Citroen Xsera - a nice family station wagon. After driving a minivan for the last two years in Virginia, I feel downright cool driving a station wagon. I looked at cars about two weeks ago, and had it delivered a couple of days later. So needless to say, we spent some time each day of the (three day) weekend driving around the city. My sense of direction in this utterly unnavigable city it terrible though, so we spent a good two hours completely lost in Sao Paulo on Saturday. I ended up stopping at a roadside information booth (kind of a rest-stop I guess) and asked an Italian couple in broken Portuguese if they knew how I might find Morumbi. They spoke Portuguese better than me, but they clearly weren't fluent either. So communication was pretty tough....that said, the woman had no regard for how ridiculous she looked as she motioned everything she said - charades style. It helped though.

Ultimately, the guy told us to follow them, and off we went. 30 minutes later, we stopped at a gas station and they pulled up next to us. She gave us a note telling us that "our home is your home" and their address and phone number. She gave us hugs and kisses and told us that they have lots of neighbors who speak English, so we should call any time and set up a visit. We made it home another 30 minutes later. So I can now safely say that Italian-Brazilians who speak limited Portuguese and no English are some of the most generous and kind people I've ever met. I'm not sure how that knowledge might benefit me in the future, but it sure did help last weekend.

In other news, I went out with the "boys" on Saturday night too. That was a good time. I went with four colleagues and we ended up in a kind of sketchy part of the city. Although I wouldn't go back to that particular area, I do find that going out on the weekends shows me what the city is all about and gives me a true sense of the culture here.

By the way, the photo at the top of this post was taken from the livingroom. Sao Paulo really isn't a beautiful city, but when the sun sets, you'd never know it. Come next weekend, we'll be 3 hours later than all of you east-coasters. Tchau for now.

Happy Half Birthday Noah!

Noah celebrated his half birthday earlier this week. He's officially 4.5 now! I happen to love birthdays and what better reason to celebrate on a Wednesday night?
He enjoyed (okay we ALL enjoyed) a couple brigadeiros and chocolate raspberry brownies. Noah insisted we turn out the lights, close all the doors, and sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Birthdays are HUGE in Brasil. Consequently, it is no surprise that the kids already know all the words to "Parabens Pra Voce". Sophie is usually the most excited to sing the song...except when I have the camera...then Noah's obedience shines through. Parabens Noah!

Of course you need a knitted hat in Brasil...

I finished Sophie's hat last night! I knitted it in under a week and it really only has one tiny mistake that I think I can fix with a needle (when I get one!). Sophie loves it! She thinks it is absolutely perfect for eating breakfast and drinking the milk from her cereal bowl...

Truthfully, in late spring in a tropical climate that IS about all it is good for. Nevertheless, I already began Noah's hat. I need to diversify my skills. Certainly, you don't need more than one knitted hat here!

Tuesday Morning

Sunrise from our bedroom window...









I'd like to think my day starts with a nice, large cup of coffee, but for some unknown reason all the coffee mugs in Brasil are THIS big. The bananas are there to give you some perspective on just how small the mug really is. After three months here I kind of get it-Brasilians drink coffee ALL day so smaller is probably better. Even without a microwave, a cup that size guarantees your coffee stays piping hot in the two seconds it takes you to drink it. An added bonus is that it is easy to keep your calories down-in a cup that size there's no room for anything other than a dash of sugar. I'll probably go into some sort of shock when we return to the States and I attempt to drink a Venti Non Fat No Whip Mocha...

Sophie goes to bed early in the evening and doesn't head to preschool until noon, so most mornings she is full of energy and can be found doing this:



while Noah is busy doing this:









Notice the makeshift Halloween decorations...sort of hard to get into the fall spirit here!

Katty arrives around 7:30 and we (Paul, Noah, and I) head downstairs to catch our buses to school.
Noah heads off to school and Paul and I wait another 10 minutes for our bus to arrive and take us here.














wish I could say our evenings are as peaceful, but with tired kids and tired parents the most peaceful part of our evening comes when we get to this:



I've got the caipirinha and Paul's got the knitting :)

We have sun!

After weeks of daily rain we awoke to a bright and sunny day today! It was cool this morning, but the sky was blue and we were happy! Paul headed out early to look at cars (more on that later) and the kids and I ate, dressed, and headed out to the grounds of the Portal. This place is so great for kids-on Saturdays they block off the top of the street for kids to ride their scooters and bikes, roller skate, and run free. We visited watched the kids ride for awhile and then visited the aviary before heading to the playground.

Despite the fact we've been here for over two months now, I still stumble upon cultural differences daily-today I realized it was the playgrounds. We have 3 playgrounds here in Portal-one large one and two smaller ones. When we first arrived it was quite a shock to see these playgrounds filled with steep slides, metal climbing structures, and somewhat old fashioned looking equipment. It definitely was nothing like what we were used to back in the States. The swings don't even have buckles for the babies. Sometimes you see the babas bring cloth diapers to tie the babies into the swing, but mostly you just tell your child to hold on tight and hope for the best! So far we've only had a few minor bumps and bruises and everyone's done just fine. You just sort of get used to seeing the kids climbing high, jumping from rocks, and scaling trees. In fact, after reading this article and this book I feel really good about the whole thing. For being in the middle of a huge city, it is really amazing how much authentic play experience the kids get without even leaving the confines of Portal.

Sophie and her good friend Anais on our extraordinarily dangerous playground!

TV free....and loving it!

When we first found out we'd be moving to Sao Paulo we knew for sure there would be some big changes. We knew we'd be trading our 2,600 square foot home for a 1,000 square foot apartment, selling and donating lots of our belongings, selling our cars, giving up heat and air conditioning, line drying our clothing, and generally simplifying our lives, but there have definitely been some unpredicted transformations as well.
One of the biggest decisions we've made so far is to live TV-free. Paul attempted to buy a TV pretty quickly after we arrived (quick! football is starting on Sunday!) but we had some complications ordering it online, and rather than sort those out he put the purchase on the back burner. Over the last two months we haven't gone back to order the television.
In some ways, living TV-free has been a dream of mine for a while. I quickly realized the television is a mixed blessing with children. I loved the "free" time it gave me to start dinner, check email, or take a shower, but I hated the constant whine for "one more show" and the way their play turned more into a reinactment of the latest episode of Dora or Diego and less about the kids' imagination. Moving to Sao Paulo totally eliminated that issue. We have a small portable DVD player the kids have watched a handful of times, and otherwise it is kept in the closet. It really is out of sight out of mind for Noah and Sophie, and I've noticed a definite change. We definitely have more time together as a family. Games, imaginary play, and art projects are almost always going on in one way or another. This site has been really helpful. After the kids go to bed Paul and I have time to talk (and not just in between commercials!), read, knit, play Yahtzee, or listen to podcasts. Things are just slower, calmer, and generally more enjoyable.
To be honest, we've had 3 weeks of straight rain so there have been times I've been tempted but so far I've held fast to the idea that TV-free is best for our family right now. I see it in this proof:











Noah's first "published" book: The Knight Who Was Afraid to Fight












An impromptu stove we created when Sophie wanted to cook dinner for us. It worked well and kept her occupied for a LONG time (by 2 year old standards). It was much more interesting than TV!

Besides, who needs a TV when you have this?













Edited to add: Don't think we've totally lost our minds...Paul still travels to school most Sundays to watch the NFL feed via his computer with some friends!