It’s been a little while….
24 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
I know I haven’t written in a long time. I have been pretty busy working with the Auburn team in Jurema. But since I have a lot to catch up on, let me start by telling what happened with the team’s arrival….
They were scheduled to land in Recife on Sunday July 18th around 9 a.m. So Samuel, Lucenildo, Bill and I went to the airport on Sunday to meet them. We got there early, only to find out their flight had been delayed until 10:30. So we continued waiting. Then it was delayed until 11:00. We waited some more. Finally, we were informed of why the plane was late….when their plane landed in Salvador (a city in the Brazilian state of Bahia), the landing made a hole in the runway. Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty sketchy. So after staying at the airport from 8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., we found out that their plane actually wouldn’t arrive until the next day, and they had to spend the night in Salvador. Before you start feeling sorry for them, you should know that they stayed a beautiful RESORT in Salvador, and they were taken care of.
Thankfully, the plane did arrive on Monday and we loaded up and headed straight to Jurema (long drive). We dropped off luggage at the pousada in Panelas and then went to the construction site in Jurema. I have plenty more to write about the past week, but I’ll save that for either tomorrow or Monday!
A Long Day
17 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
Thursday we spent all day shopping for groceries to take to Jurema for the next 2 weeks when the mission team from Auburn will be here. But that day does not even compare to what happened on Friday….
Friday we had to take all of the groceries to Jurema, which is a 3 – 3 1/2 hour drive from Recife. Imagine driving from Knoxville to Nashville…only on much rougher roads. Not only did we have tons of groceries, but also suitcases, pillows, pots and pans, dishes, silverware, etc…oh and a mattress. Here’s the van loaded down….
And here’s me sitting in the back with Samuel’s mom (who is behind the mattress)…..
Sad face 
Keep in mind, there were 3 people (including the driver) in the front seat and this picture of the back was taken before we added another person along with her suitcase and 3 bags. This was around 8:00 a.m., and was the start to a very looooong day.
So, off we went…. On our way, we stopped on the side of the highway to buy pineapples…like we needed to put anything else in that van…
Brazilian pineapples are the BEST!!
As you can see, this isn’t the “city” anymore…
Since we stopped, we did a little rearranging in the van, and then were on our way again.
Much happier now 
We went through a tunnel…
Tunnel
….saw lots of pretty scenery….
….and stopped for lunch.
Then it was back to driving…
…until we hit construction….
Construction
They were paving the road, which needed to be done, but it slowed us down. As we say in the U.S., you can’t go on a trip without running into roadwork somewhere…and that seems to be true even in Brazil.
We finally got to the little town where our pousada (little hotel) is at. The town is called Panelas, and it’s about a 25 minute drive to the location in Jurema where we will be working.
So we kept driving….
….until…..POP!
We were soooo close to making it when we hit a rock on the washed out dirt road and busted the tire.
:(
Thankfully, Lucenildo had another tire, so while the men were working…
…..I took pictures!
Jurema
I don’t have photos to document the rest of the day, but here are the basics: We finally made it to the daycare, which has a kitchen that Samuel’s mom will use to cook for the team. She and her friend will also be sleeping there, and we will use it for VBS during the day. When we got there, nobody was there to meet us with the keys to the kitchen (though they knew we were coming). Lucenildo took off on foot to the Pastor’s house because nobody ever gave us a phone number to get in touch with him. They finally returned with the keys and we unlock the doors to find a dirty kitchen which Samuel’s mom and her friend had to clean. We also found no oven…which we specifically asked about ahead of time and we were assured there was an oven at the daycare. After making a phone call, they found an oven which we can borrow for the 2 weeks, so we’ll see if it makes it there…. Eventually, Bill, Lucenildo, Samuel and I left to go back to Panelas to verify that everything was taken care of at the hotel. Thankfully, things went much more smoothly there. We then headed back to Recife, where we stopped at the supermarket to buy a pizza and then finally made it home around 8:15 p.m. What a day!
Atlantico
16 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
The Pastor of the church that we worked with (and his family) invited us to dinner on Tuesday night. We went to a pizzeria called “Atlantico”, and it was delicious. I tried what they call “Portuguese Pizza” for the first time, and while it sounds/looks odd, it was actually pretty good. It has cheese, onions, ham, corn and peas on it. I know what you’re thinking….ewwwww….and that’s what I thought too. But I was wrong. I really wanted to take a picture of it for the blog, but since this was a pretty upscale restaurant, I decided I would rather not be caught photographing my food.
Me and Samuel
Me and Ana (pastor's wife)
Lucas and Bill
Bill and Erivaldo (the pastor)
I Have a Problem
13 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
It’s an addiction really….to Havaianas. The most comfortable flip flops in the world. It’s true. They are made in Brazil, but you can buy them in a few stores in the states. Regular price in the U.S. = $18-$30 per pair. In Brazil, you can buy them for as little as $5 a pair. So as you can imagine, I’ll definitely be buying a few pairs here. In fact, I bought a super cute pair last week for about $7. I brought 3 with me to Recife, which might have been a bad idea considering that amount will probably at least double for the trip back home. I hope I can fit them all in my luggage….
New Havaianas
:)
A Guide to Driving in Recife
08 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
Don’t worry, I haven’t been driving. But I have been riding in several different vehicles and have observed some things. Here are a few things you should know if you plan to be inside a vehicle in Recife:
1. Roads – They’re bad. Huge holes, dips, bumps, etc. It doesn’t matter what type of vehicle your are in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Some roads aren’t labeled with the street name, and many don’t have lane markings.
2. Motorcycles – It appears that they use the roads as their own personal playground. They weave in and out of traffic regardless of whether it is at a standstill or moving at full speed…so watch out.
3. Merging/Changing Lanes – As previously stated, many roads don’t have lane markings so people just drive wherever they want to. However, if you want to change lanes, turn signals aren’t necessary. Just honk your horn at every car that passes you until you can finally squeeze in-between two vehicles. And you don’t even have to throw your hand up in gratitude to the guy who you managed to get in front of!
4. Roadblocks – It’s not uncommon for people to park on the side of the street on backroads…or even stop in the middle of the road to have a conversation with someone on the street. So what do you do? Just drive around them of course! What if a car/huge truck/bus is coming towards you? Don’t worry….just hit the gas and hope you can move faster than the oncoming traffic.
5. Rules of the Road – Are there any? Yes, of course. Do people always observe them? Of course not. However, one thing that everyone is careful to obey is the speed limit….when driving by electronic speed detectors. After all, nobody wants a speeding ticket.
So if you’re planning on driving/riding in Recife, buckle your seat belt, hold on to something and close your eyes if necessary.
Missions
05 Jul 2010 1 Comment
I’ve been working like crazy since the day after I arrived in Brazil. (Minus July 4th of course) There is a team of 4 Americans here right now and they have been doing some mission work in a poorer area of town. They did a clinic where people came to get reading glasses, a VBS for kids, and they have also helped in building a church. Since Samuel and his mom were already committed to helping them out, I jumped right in too. Tomorrow will be the last day until July 18th when another group of 16 Americans will be coming. Then we’ll travel to the interior to a place called Jurema. It takes about 3 hours to drive there, and we’ll be staying there for 2 weeks. But the exciting news of the day is: Charlotte (A woman who was born in Brazil and lived here for many years…but now lives in Dallas) is also here helping the team. Today, she pulled me aside and asked me if I would be a translator for the trip to Jurema because she won’t be able to go and she doesn’t have enough people to translate. I was a little shocked, but I told her if she trusted me to do it, then I would gladly help out. Soooo I’m super excited yet nervous at the same time because this is a pretty big deal. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated
Happy 4th of July
04 Jul 2010 1 Comment
It’s an interesting thing to spend the 4th of July in another country…mostly because you tend to forget it’s the 4th of July. Here, it’s just another day. No cookouts, no fireworks, no American flags on the doors of houses. In fact, I was supposed to go to a party tonight with my friends from work to celebrate Independence Day. But since I had prior obligations, I didn’t make it However, I enjoyed a fabulous 4th of July in Brazil. First, Samuel and I met up with some Americans (who are here on a mission trip) and a few Brazilians to take a trip to the beach. We stopped at a little park first, which is on an island. The park was set up to help with the conservation of manatees. There were 6 baby manatees there. They are raising them so that they can be released back into the wild. It was a nice little park and it was right by the beach! 
Next we drove to a place called “Forte Orange”. This is a fort that was built in the 1600′s when the Dutch occupied Pernambuco. The fort has been reconstructed, but there are remnants of the original fort there. We walked around in the fort and then went down to the beach where we sat under and umbrella and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a perfect sunny day with a cool breeze. I drank some agua de coco, which I had never tried before, and it was delicious. It’s just the milk straight from a coconut, but it was cold and refreshing. After the beach we drove back to the apartment where everyone (14 people) gathered for a wonderful lunch cooked by Samuel’s mom. (Chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, jello, cake and ice cream…..which beats burgers and hot dogs any day!
On a different note, I’m finding that my Portuguese is coming along nicely. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned since I was in Brazil the last time. (2 years ago) My professor would be proud
Next time I’ll write about the mission work we have been helping with.
