Sorry for the delay in getting some new information up here, but to be honest, not much has been happening here in Porto Velho. My days seem to blur together and days are just FLYING by (which is a sad thing, because I really like it here.)
Some of the priests went on retreat for 2 weeks in Manaus, so there were just three of us here at the Centro for awhile. It was a really queit time, but it was nice and much less hectic than normal. They returned this week and since then, life has been non-stop busy.
Highlights of the past couple weeks have been the following
1) Kayaking in the Amazon. A student invited me to her English school two Saturdays ago, I went and got to meet some really great people, all of which conveniently enough speak English. Haha. They invited me to go kayaking on the Sunday following and of course I was up for it. So we headed out to the Rio Preto at 9:30am and spent the day in the river. It was a really beautiful adventure. There was no one in the river but us, and we got to just slowly make our way down the river, surrounded by the Amazon, including all of its beautiful greenery and crazy animals. We made our way down the river until we were stopped by unpassable waterfalls. So we just got out and swam a bit (I warned though that piranhas were in fact in the water, as well as the fish that swim up... you know where… if you go pee pee in the water… so I was a bit nervous, considering we also saw a scorpion on the rocks, ha! but it was worth it, it was beautiful to swim in the Amazon.) We turned around and made it back to the camp where a family was cooking some fish up, so we joined them for lunch! It was amazing. We jumped back in the kayaks and headed in the other direction and just spent the day kayaking through. It was a really great day.
2) Exposição de Arte e Cultura. This was this weekend, it was basically a culmination of what the kids at Centro do Menor have been learning this semester. I was amazed at the products that came out of them. The tapestry sections made couches that were furnished beautifully and were modern and really cool, refrigeration built air conditioners and refrigerators and were selling them, the ceramics section had really awesome vases for sale. There were all sorts of awesome things to see, and it was great to see more of what the kids here have learned to do. The fest was a fund raiser, which unfortunately was really poorly attended, so I don’t think the centro made much money from fest, but it was really cool to see everything. I also got to “learn” how to make a vase from clay… or rather I tried and the kids were just like… “what a newbie,” but it was a lot of fun.
3) Laughing at really awkward cultural differences. I’ve been getting to know the Brazilian culture (at least in this region) at lot more and I just have to laugh at how different it is sometimes. The difference that is strangest for me is the difference in styling for guys and girls. It is completely normal for guys, for example, to polish their nails with the shiny clear polish, pluck their eye brows and shave their armpits. It is however NOT normal for a girl to shave her legs. I keep getting comments about how I need to “take care” of my nails, or pluck by eyebrows. Haha… not going to happen. Also, Brazilians are really relaxed with timing and also with following through with things they say they are going to do. For instance the “Tarde (afternoon)” lasts from 12-6pm, I keep getting people telling me, “Let’s meet up in the Tarde,” I will follow by asking what time, and they will repeat “the tarde” so I usually have a six hour window of time to work with of when people will show up or when we will go somewhere. It is always a fun surprise when they show up and then tell me to hurry up. Or when they don’t show up at all… haha. These are things I really just have to laugh at though, it is part of Brazilian culture, along with all of its really beautiful things like always smiling and hugging and being really loud, and dancing all the time.
Well, other than that, things have been pretty steady. Padre Jefferson told me yesterday that in the New Year I will be teaching 8 sections of English at Centro do Menor, which is really exciting for me. It will be really good for my relationship with the kids. As of now, I feel like a lot of the students see me as another “kid” or student here and the girls have a hard time understanding that it is not appropriate to put their hands on my thighs and thoroughly question me about having the desire to have a Brazilian girlfriend. I think the teacher-student distinction will help with this lil problem though. At least I hope so. My Portuguese really is getting better and better. My goal still is fluency by the end of January, but we will see. I definitely caught myself thinking in Portuguese the other day which is good. Also, my dreams definitely have had Portuguese phrases in them, which is a good sign.
Um, yeah guys. I’m really happy here. I love the people, the culture, and really mostly everything about Brazil. I do miss family and friends though, but I know that I am here for a reason and am growing through this experience.
Thanksgiving message:
I’ve been so blessed in my life to experience everything that I have and I’m so thankful for all of my adventures, the good and the bad for I have grown into the person I am through them all. I’m so thankful for all the people who have made these experiences possible and have taught me how to love with all that I have and to give selflessly, because it is the most beautiful thing I can think of to do with my life. I feel so lucky to be here and to be supported by the people I love in this mission, I’m thankful to be able to spend my days with these kids who make smiling so easy. I’m so thankful for my faith, which has given me the strength to jump into this mission trusting that love will carry me through the hard times. And finally I’m thankful for Brazilian coffee, chocolate, pagode (samba-ish music), and guaraná soda which brightens my everyday.
Love for all of you,
Jon
Pics below are the road to São Antônio (Salesian Parish)and me and Padre Jefferson, the boss.
“When you find your path, you must not be afraid to follow it. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.”
