underneath a mango tree : )

28-7-09
So…I wanted to take advantage of my last half a day or so, and I’d say I did a good job. As soon as Roberto and Alexandra got back to the back house last night I gathered everything I’d need for the morning. I put on my running clothes and my jacket (first time since I’ve been here!) and grabbed my pillow and top blanket. I made my way out to the hammocks and was pretty excited about enjoying a night out under the stars. What a life huh? Sleeping under a mango tree to the sounds of baa-ing sheep, the wind and the crickets. Why I hadn’t done this yet here, I don’t know.

I slept alright actually, woke up a few times but it’s pretty hard to be irritated with a disturbed sleep when the first thing you see is a sky full of stars. My natural alarm clock didn’t beat my mechanical one however, and I ended up waking to that monotonous beeping rather than the sun. 5:50…stars still out……It wasn’t until 6:15 or so that I finally got the will to get up, only after enjoying the gradually lightening sky towards the east however. I thought that sunrises weren’t as colorful as sunsets. But they are. You just have to be up before them to enjoy all the colors.
I rolled out of the hammock to put my shoes on…and one was gone! Really? Where did those damn dogs take it? There really was 7 more pairs of shoes (and socks!) around for them to play with. Haha….had to choose mine. : ) I found it after hobbling around outside the house, one shoe on, one shoe off and brought it back to the hammock to put it on. Apparently, I wasn’t entirely awake just yet because I had trouble sitting up on the thing and fell backwards onto my back. Ha! And of course, no one was there to laugh with me.

Ok, slight delay…but up and running at 6:30. Sun still not up yet. I ran to the Turbina for a last little peak at our much visited watering hold and made it back, showered and packed prior to 7:30. : ) Of course our departure time was delayed as expected for an hour. But not just because of those latin ways, also because we had a donkey meandering on our runway we needed to chase off before we took off. Haha…I guess I could have had that quick little skinny dip in the pool like I was hoping. Ah, well…something to come back for. : )

last night at the farm - PICTURES!

Pictures from the trip are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2275252&id=6407352&l=30777b7631

and a few sunset shots too:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2269386&id=6407352&l=bed95296bf

27-7-09
I’m going home refreshed, and with a new mindset. It’s been a little over four weeks since I’ve been in Brasil. My Portuguese comprehension has come along great, I’d say And speaking sometimes comes out alright too.

What’s really improved since being at the farm, is my perspective. The first two days in Brasil were great…but that honeymoon phase was short lived. Soon after, the schedule started weighing on my: no one really to connect and talk to (except my computer), long days, and my world was inside this complex’s walls. Was it the job? Not sure. Adapting to new situations is my forte…so why wasn’t it working out for me?

Maybe there were a couple reasons…but one I do know about was the fact that I was struggling with the role I played in the house. Was I the nanny? The family friend? English teacher? Cleaner? Even though I had discussed this very topic prior to coming with Alexandra, it still has been and probably will be a confusing one.

The girls really are generally sweet. Olivia, the one year old is incredibly smart and calls me ‘ni ni.’ We’ve gotten close since being on the farm, which is encouraging and a relief. The first two weeks I had to deal with the ‘not the mama’ fits which are quite disheartening sometimes. Laura is 4 and she’s super sweet and laughs all the time. She is a huge cuddler and I just love it when she wants to play with my hair, have me hold her hand or give her piggy back rides (cavalinho). She’s made me feel welcome since I walked off the plane. Now that we can talk in both Portuguese and English, she’s learning much quicker.

Helena, is 7, the oldest and the one with the strongest personality. She’s actually pretty daring, which I have some fun with on our vacations. The first two weeks it was great having her there to translate for me (as she is pretty fluent at English having lived in Miami for a few years). She is also very intelligent….maybe too much for her own good sometimes….ehhh…and can be a real struggle for me most days. It’s almost to the point though that her controlling and manipulative ways are detrimental to my relationship with her both her sister and her parents. I only hope that she learns one day soon that the world doesn’t revolve around her. Wow…that sounds familiar. I sound like my mom. ; )

I was thinking the other day what people mean by ‘having experience’ in life. And to me, an experience means nothing unless a lesson is learned from it. I also believe that sometimes you know what you’re getting into, but that most times you don’t. Well, this experience in Brasil as these girls’ ‘au pair’ is throwing down those lessons left and right. Firstly, not ready to have kids just yet! Secondly, the role of being a mother will be the most eye-opening, scary, crucial, heartbreaking, exhausting yet ultimately rewarding time of a person’s life. Just like everything in life, you play with the cards you are dealt.

After getting to know Roberto’s family and of course spending more time with the Martin’s family, I’m understanding a lot more of what I’ve been ‘dealt’ here with this ‘experience’. And I’m feeling a little more prepared. No, it’s not going to be all glamorous and peachy-keen as some people may think I thought it was going to be. I knew it wouldn’t be….It’s going to be bittersweet. Just how I like my chocolate.

The next couple of months will be hard at times, but I’m determined to end this on a positive note. It’s around 10:45 and I’m hoping to get the will power in the morning to wake up and get one last run in out here. Our flight is supposed to leave at 8am, so I’m contemplating sleeping outside in one of the hammocks so I wake with the sun. Yet, as this is a farm, with al that cattle raising (and sheep apparently) it will probably be another restless night. Last week it was the baby calves calling for their moms. This week, it’s who knows how many sheep endlessly baa-ing. This really puts the whole ‘counting sheep’ thing to help you sleep a whole new meaning…..this one’s not working.

moon-sets and little critters

27-7-09
Today on my run, the cows were double teaming me, one group from each side of the fence this time. I'm not going to lie, I was regretting wearing red and actually got a little nervous..haha. But the sunsets and night-time stargazing are amazing and shall be missed greatly as I head back to the city in a few days. I'm so glad to have had this experience on their farm. It's crazy how fast two weeks go.

I laid out under the stars tonight and I really don't know how often you truly can have this kind of view. When I first got here, the Milky Way and this very bright star were a lot lower than they are now. I realize that the earth is moving, as is the moon, but I need to figure out if this is a time of night variant or a time of mo/year variant.

I actually have had a hard time finding the moon out here at night. And I realized it's because the moon is on the same side as the sunsets. So, it's only out for a short while and then goes on its way to somewhere else's nighttime. But, great photo op huh? Moon and sun in the same frame. The moon actually ends up setting a couple hours or so after the sun and when it's really low, it looks like a harvest moon (just not always full). Tonight it was a crescent moon....gorgeous.

I'm definitely letting go of my fear of little critters out here. I was literally laying in the cement, in the dark, outside the back house. It's not uncommon to find snakes and scorpions out here...not to mention large and interesting spiders, praying mantis and the guaranteed ants. At night, the baby frogs and grasshoppers come out too. They didn't bother me tonight though, thankfully. The only visitor I had was the lone calf that wanders around inside the fence at night. It always makes me laugh when it passes by. Just a little reminder of where I am. The other evening, while I was doing laundry out here, it came up to me and nudged me with its nose. As domesticated as this one kind of is...I still wasn't really sure if that meant 'pet me' or 'feed me'.

day at the river

So, here's just a little side note on these day trips we've been going on. Today we went to Passa 20 a river that they enjoy relaxing and playing in. The ground here really has a lot of sand. This was strange to me at first, but considering they have a TON more water during the rainy season (6 months of the year)...it's more understandable. Secondly, the natural rock formation looks more like a cobblestone pathway with red-ish colored sand, pinkish looking rocks and even some shimmery white ones with flecks of fools gold too. Very pretty. We normally ride to these daily trips all piled into a Land Rover or truck equip to traverse the semi-forest terrain and make it down and up these sandy steeps. On a good day we fit 5 adults and ten kids in one truck. Haha...I guess they used to have a rack on top, which later broke, that the kids would ride up on too.

Roberto was telling me that just down the very river that we were on today, there is a town called Baja something. Hardly anyone knows about it, being out here in the middle of Motto Gross. But those who have heard of it knows it's a huge mining town for diamonds. It's supposedly one of the only places they mine for diamonds (in Brasil) in a river. I guess they still haven't found out where the river is really picking these diamonds up, but they do know it's from somewhere up this river we're playing in! : ) It'd be pretty cool if the Martin's family found out it was on their property.

Our short swim down the river led us to this area with a bunch of little falls and holes in the rocks. Such crazy rock formations (sorry no pics, I've made the whole takin' pics in waterfalls mistake before). Before we left, the whole family was all cheering on different members of the family to see who would do the most pull ups on the center mango tree (the same one that that cow was disected on...and where all the hammocks hang). I was running around trying to find Olivia's diaper bag as they snatched me up to join in the fun. Haha...me and Rafael (they call him Hafa) tied with ten until one of the uncles out did us with 15! Sue, the marathon runner was proud I rep'd the girls well. ; )

day?: race day to mata burro!

23-7-09

It is so crazy hot today for some reason! And I’m the only one that seems to feel it! I didn’t get to go on my run this morning, but that’s expected when I’m on morning duty. But I did get a chance to get a run in this afternoon, and I beat the record!!!! I’m not saying I’m super woman, but I did beat the time by 30 seconds or so I think. If I’m correct, the fastest time as of today was 35:50ish. I didn’t expect me to actually beat it today, but coming around the corner of the last hill, I realized I might be able to do it! And I did! I came in and touched the tree at 35:19. Whew! I’m not going to lie, I was pushing it that last little bit. It’s a pretty sandy run, let me add. I was hoping kind of just to beat 36, have an even split of 18-18 and actually finish the course instead of stop early like last time....so stupid. Sú could snatch that record up tomorrow morning if she wanted to, which she might before she leaves here, but I’m still happy I did well for myself too. I think that’s a 7:30 mi pace....not bad, not bad....in the heat too. : ) I checked out teh bottom of my soles today...and I think its time. I’m wearing them thin.

Side note: Me and all the kids ran the course again on the 25th and one of the 11 year old studs was in it to beat 38 at least he said. He had a bet running with one of his cousins with long curly hair and if he beat him, he’d have to cut it off. He wanted me to be his pacer, so we set out today on a mission. I was running it pretty fast for me as well, but I got him to stay on my heels and finish with a 36:30 today. : ) He beat him! But his cousin has a few more days to redeem himself. But, seriously, give that 11 year old a few more years on him and he’s going to be running sub 30’s. Goodbye record. Ha. Just kidding. It’ll be gone by the end of the week I bet.

day ?: adult expedition

21-7-09
So, today I joined in on the fun with the adults and went on the best excusion I’ve been on yet out here at the farm. I’m so glad I got to go! All 9 of us piled into the Land Rover and set off driving for as far as we could. About a half hour into the drive, we set out on foot. Our destination was water (as usual) and we were going to descend down into the valley and then through the river for a while. Let me explain a little. There is no path. Only a general direction in which we were heading. Ok, now the grass is about 3 feet tall and sometimes it likes to grab onto you and your clothes.

On the way down, we crossed this river that we had to descend down into through holding onto these baby bamboo trees (of which are home to these tinie tiny ticks which we were hoping not to become victim to). It was so steep, I felt like I was glisading down a 14ner, just on dirt instead. : ) The river that we ended up at had little pools of water and tons of vegetation all around us. There were these branches that looked like Tarzan swings hanging from everywhere . It is so hot out here in the sun...and in long sleeves and pants too (protection from the sun). The water was awesome and I think that although I jumped in fully clothed, hat and all, I was dry within ten minutes. My shoes, however, stayed wet all day and started out that way because I was the lucky one to fall in the water hole first thing. They started keeping count of how many I ended up falling into and how many I made it through safely. Haha.

We climbed out of there and made our way up and down a few more steeps. The waterfall that we came across was like a big kids playground...that we had all to ourselves. The rocks had great holds to climb around in and there were ‘seat’s inside the falls that were like massage chairs. You had to push against the rocks pretty hard not to be swept down to the next one, but nonetheless it was relaxing. : )

It’s crazy that there really was absolutely no chance of anyone coming to disturb us there. Granted that also meant we were a good 2 hour hike and an hour drive back to the farm, and another couple hours away from the nearest hospital....but hey. ; ) The treck back was directed, thankfully, by one of the uncles who knows this place like the back of his hand. He has the most incredible sense of his surroundings and direction, and yet I was still surprised that we made it back to the jeep! We went a different way of course but was just as fun. I think my favorite part was the brief break we took ‘na sombra’ (in the shade). I was laying in three feet of grass that was probably home to many snakes, but was soo comfortable...and we had an awesome view. All in all it was a 5-6 hour passeo and I’m super glad I had the chance to do all that.

My shower later today informed me that the grass is very sharp and that I had a ton of scrapes on my hands from holding on so much. : ) But, whats a trip to the farm without a few scratches and bruises?

day 8: how do you spell it?

18-7-09 day 8

Nana’s 80th birthday is today, which made today kind of hard. I wish I was there with everyone. She had to of course cry on the phone when I called this afternoon....not good on my end either : (.

Avô explained to me today that spelling is not something people in Brazil are accostomed to doing in their head, at school, or even in helping them pronounce a word. They just don’t do it. He said it’s because Portuguese is phonetic. There are no tricks like in english. Funny, huh?

A few more people showed up late last night, and amongst them was our marathon superstar. I guess she’s won the Palm Beach one in her age group with a time of 3:28. I ran into here just before my own run this morning. She ran a 36, but said that she was just warming up and was pretty stiff from her travels. I guess she’s been keeping up a 7 mi pace lately, so she plans on breaking her record this year. Uggh....rough competition. I guess it’s around 4.7 mi (at a 7 mi mile pace that’s 32:53). : / (note: over the course of the last week or so, she’s actually become a pretty good friend of mine, which has been nice)

day 5: as pererecas ecas (yucky frogs)

15-7-09

Another relaxing day out here on the farm....I got to learn how to ride a motorcycle today! It had a clutch and everything! I might want one of these one day.....Starting it was tricky but once I got it running, no holding me back. I switched it up all the way to 4th gear (or third I’m not sure) and raced down the runway out front. A few laps later I figured I should probably head back so, tongue-out, and seriously focused on not sliding out on the sand...I made my back into the yard....and the thing started spitting gas all over my legs! Great! I lost the freakin’ gas cap and I smelled like Jiffy Lube tech now. I stopped the motorcycle, jimmied up the landing gear thingy and went off to look for the cap.

Shit...(I thought) where the hell is it?!?! How far could it have been? After what felt like an eternity (but was probably only ten or so minutes) the grandpa was cruising by with one of the girls on his lap. Ughhh....I really didn’t want to admit I lost it. I’m already breaking all the rules out here. He keeps letting me slide, but of course, the things I do out here...aka climb the waterfalls, walk along the outside of the swimming hole...and sitting in his seat at the lunch table!...are forbidden with all the grandkids. (whoops!)

But, to my incredible luck, I nearly tripped over the damn thing that very moment. Wow. I was probably thirty meters away from the entrance to the yard...and I had gone up and down that 900m runway around three or four times already....full speed on that thing. (Later the next day, one of the cousins lost it again...i guess its loose).

I strolled along that same area later this evening to enjoy the nightly show (sunset), but this time with the baby, Olivia. Today has been a good day with her...or maybe its the empty whiskey shooter she has in her hand that seems to fascinater her. That’s my girl, huh? She keeps trying to drink from it, although it never had...and never will have....that poison she seems to want so badly in it. : )

Part 2: As pererecas ecas (yucky frogs)

Tonight me and Alexandra attacked the bathroom critters as usual. I take care of the pererecas (frogs)and she...the spiders and cochroaches. Tonight’s episode was eventful. Three pererecas were hopping around. Although they play a good game of hide and seek normally, tonight, they got creative on me. They were tag teaming me, using escape tactics such as jumping at my face (simultaneously spitting some sort of liquid or discharge at my face.....which hit my forehead....NOT COOL), and closing the night out with a game of Twister. Yup. Me, on my hands and knees cupping one against the wall with my right hand, left hand on the drain. When one escapes, we turn the wheel and see how twisted I can get on the bathroom floor. They’re just lucky I don’t have it in me to kill them. I just throw them outside. Actually, I’m probably playing this stupid game every night with the same damn frogs come to think of it. But, in the end.........I win. ; ) Shortly after, I’ll send Alexandra in to come kill the creepy (and fast moving) spider I’ve had my eye on all the while. Those just have to go if I’m going to sleep at night. Luckily, she’s heartless with them and squashes them on sight. Good work. ; )

9pm. Time for bed......Yup. 9. I don’t believe it either. But if you were expecting a little 4 year old to come crawl into your bed in the am asking to hear the barbie girl song on you ipod (just one more time!!), then you’d be in bed early too!

Boa noite. *beijos*

day 4: 'swim, bike, run'

14-7-09

Alright, so here’s the country cultural experience I was looking for: midnight battles with crickets, afternoons watching a vaquero disect a cow, lazy afternoon naps reading, doing crafts or climbing trees.

I woke this morning to Laura coming into my room a little before 8 o’clock. I pulled her into the bed with me, naively hoping just for a few more minutes of sleep. ; ) As my portuguese has been getting better, so has our friendship. And ironically, so has her english. We lazily laid there and she ran her finger over the design on my shirt. She’s all....’swim, bike, run’. Haha. She’s so cute. (I’m wearing my Pismo Beach Triathalon shirt Kacie gave me.) I’ll have these girls talking like real athletes by the time I leave here. What's funny is that swimming, biking and running is about all I do here it seems....no complaints, no complaints.

On one of our impromptu exploring adventures today, we came upon the vaqueros skinning a cow that had broken its leg earlier today (that I mentioned earlier). This afternoon, they hung it from the hooks right in the middle of the yard (conveniently right there amongst the hammocks) to cut it all up. Thank God I’m not a vegetarian, huh? And you know what’s sick? I actually thought it looked good, like tasty? ...of course I’ve been jaded from all the Machado round ups. I wasn’t surprised when we had beef that evening (and every day following....ironically I did not like the taste of it). And later the girls and the gang started decorating cabacas (cabashas), which are gourds (much like that of the Argentine mate cup). I’m brainstorming ideas on how to decorate it. This activity seems to entertain the girls to eternity.....; ) which I like.

day 3: back flips and picante peppers

13-7-09 Monday (I had to look at my watch for that one)

I’m really enjoying myself here, and I feel really good and so.....natural I guess. I’m running every day, I’m eating healthy (for what I’m given of course), getting 8 hours of sleep a night at least....and I haven’t put on mascara more than a couple times since I’ve left CA, and not once since I’ve been in Brazil. Crazy if you know me, huh? I’m going on daily swims, having lots of time for studying, relaxing in hammocks and practicing my portuguese. Everyone is helping me with my portuguese, with the girls, and teaching me things about Brazil. Today we were all at ‘a turbina’ swimming and I awed them all with my back flips...later I taught them all how to do it off the dock. I took some pretty awesome shots of them in the air too. I’ll post those soon. Great kids.

At dinner I roused them all up for another challenge...but this time to eat one of the little apicante peppers I found yesterday. Julia, or JJ, from São Paulo was gutsy enough to eat pretty much the whole thing! A few others touched it to their tongue and freaked out...haha. I’m not going to lie. They’re spicy. My mouth was burning for a bit.

They quickly devoured the bread...milk...yogurt....water...but finally found solice in the jello. Ha. Day three and I’ve already been coined the crazy one. I think I’m on a roll down here.

day 2: waterfall adventure two

I apologize for not having updated you sooner, but I think I’m lucky enough to even have access to a computer to use out here, let alone internet connection. I called my dad when I got in and I thought I was calling from outerspace....no joke. I’m not even sure how it even worked.
However, I have been ‘blogging’ in my notebook, so I’m going to attempt to get some of those on here every time I get a chance. Excuse the delay.

12-7-09

I’ve been running nearly every day out here, and it has been awesome. I did the ‘race course’ earlier this morning and I think I just may be able to beat the record out here (the record is 35:30, held by one of Roberto’s sisters who is arriving today). You can really tell that you are out in the middle of nowhere when you go on these runs. First of all, you can run forever it seems in any direction, literally without encountering with anything with a heartbeat, except for these funny looking cows. This is essentially, I recently found out, and they own nearly 70,000 acres out here. Rediculous. It’s funny, because you can’t take the California girl out of me, because on every horizon I expect there to be some kind of ocean just beyond that last fence. The cows are clearly spooked by my presence and at one point on my run today all 150 of them were staring at me. For real though....every last one of them. To be honest, the little wire fence that was between us didn’t look like it’d hold any of them back either.

When I got back, me and all the kids, avô (grandpa) and ‘uncle Bob’ (Roberto) went to a new waterfall. It was...by a long shot....one of my best experience in a waterfall....ever. Firstly, the whole thing was set up perfect for exploring its many nooks and crannies. And I was all up in those caves, under the many falls and of course, I climbed up to the top for a ritual Rocky dance. Just beyond the swimming hole, the water fell into this amazingly deep canyon of which you can’t even see the bottom. Avô said that it went 500+ feet down into the caves. Incredible. Yay exploring....and climbing waterfalls.

As Helena put it, if she were to choose between climbing and exploring, she’d choose exploring. Because when you’re exploring you can find new things...and probably even climb too! Haha. I agree.

I’m all smiles out here and I’m definitely a few shades darker, that’s for sure. I look like my Mom in her pictures from college....all dark and kissed by the sun. My bruises are even kinda faint seeming...if you can imagine that. But, I definitely have some already...of course.

At lunch today, Avô taught me how to make a caiparinha (my favorite drink since it first hit my lips in Argentina three long years ago). It’s made much like a mojito...just with limes, cachaca (Brazilian rum) and sugar....mmmm ummmm! Coctails before 5. ; )

Helena heard me say I missed peanut butter and found me this candy called Pacoquita (pronounced pachokita) which is actually pretty similar tasting to PB but might just be better.....and it made my day. Laura is getting pretty good at her please’s and thank you’s too! She’s becoming a natural with those and the ‘Lindsey, can you help me please?’, which works in almost any situation. Haha. Oh! And today on the farm I found these little peppers that actually make my mouth burn! (super stoked!)

More kids arrived today. Total: 10 + me. ..and more to come.

farm house. day 1

Wow. I am really out in the middle of nowhere. So...this morning, me and the Martin’s family piled into a 6 person plane and flew off to the family farm for the next two weeks. Ok. So, I’ve had my share of travels down here in Latin America, and I’m aware of how they ‘bend’ the rules here and there with arrival times.....business exchanges.....safety precautions......And I’ve also had my share of experiences traveling in small planes. I mean my first experience, if I’m correct, was in a booster seat. After talking to my dad.....I was ready not to get on that plane had the pilot not given me to correct response to how much ‘useful weight’ the plane could opperate on.

But, as on edge as I was before I boarded, my gut told me we’d be fine.....and we were. Actually, I was informed along the way that these planes, in specific, were used back in the 80’s and 90’s and flown deep into Brazil’s jungle to carry in and out all the necessary supplies for mining for gold. I guess they even used to fly out donkeys, horses.....people....ect. The donkeys, of course, were sedated and accompanied by a man with a gun to its head in case it woke from its sleep and needed to be ‘calmed down.’ I guess they would weigh down these planes so much (like 1000lbs on a 700lbs plane) that to get them off the ground, they’d tie them to a tree, rev up the engine and cut them loose at the last moment. Ha. There’s the latin improvising I was waiting for. The manufacturers of the planes didn’t believe that this is what was going on, or that their planes could actually do all this. So, they had to send someone out here to verify this absurdity. Ha. These planes were also used for smuggling a crap load of goods from other countries too (not drugs or anything tho ‘: l)

We flew over almost three hours worth of sugar cane crops. Brazil uses the sugar cane for a variety of reasons: sugar, some types of alcohol, but mostly....for ethenol. Now I’m quoting Roberto on this, but I guess somewhere around 90% of Brazil’s cars on the road are run on ethenol....a much cleaner burning fuel than ours. But don’t get all disappointed in ourselves, because their motives are not environmentally minded, but more for economic and logistical reasons. The oil crisis in the 70’s led them to their plan B (expanding ethenol crops). Plus, they had so much fertile land to use...it just made sense.

The views got more interesting as we got closer...canyons, waterfalls, plateaus lush with bushes/trees. I was already planning my runs on how to get to them and which ones looked like I could climb....yay! I was so excited to go exploring. Our landing strip, or dirt path I should say, is right outside the front door of the farm house. The whole family was outside waiting. The grandchildren, oddly enough , look a lot like me- blonde, light eyes. Half of them live in Boston and the others live in Florida (ages: 11, 12, 14 and 16). There should me a lot more coming....avó (the grandma) said something like 20 more. (!!!)

O avô (grandpa) took us shortly after to their favorite waterfall...just a 5 minute drive from the house...to surprise everyone with the new deck/platform he had built. This waterfall in specific they call ‘turbina’ because it’s the one that helps power their farm (from the use of a water turbine). He does all his own work on his farm....and after seeing only just a few things so far....he really is quite good at it. The watering hole was awesome. Perfect temp, rocks lined pool of water which was just deep enough to dive/flip/and play in. But the best part was the view.




First of all, when you’re in it, it feels like you are in an infiniti pool looking out over a valley of canyons and rivers. It’s so beautiful, you almost feel like it’s a mirage that you could only imagine if you were in the heat of a desert somewhere. The pool was built to act like a damn and the waterfall continued on down deep into the valley.....tiering down steps of rock . The night before I left, I was instructed ( a hem....Nevko) to do some waterfall climbing. ; ) Day 1-mission accomplished. I’m going to get into trouble ehre. I already know it. Oh and so I guess the daily plan is to go check out 1 of the 19 waterfalls they have on their land while we’re here. Maybe I’ll do OK from the outside world.....aka no skype. No phone. I do have my running shoes, my bikini and my camera however. I’m thinking we’ll make a good team.

PS: All the adults go on a 8km run (i think) in the morning and time themselves to compare to last year and each other. I have a lot to live up to, considering they think I’m the ‘designated athlete’ of the group....and it looks like the time to beat is 42 min. That means I’m shooting for roughly around a 8 min mile pace. (8km=5 mi). I got my game face on. : )

After um pequeno descanso, we went on a truck ride down to the bottom of the waterfall we were at earlier in the day. It is A LOT longer than I thought. O avô said, as we were standing back looking up at the canyon wall at the top of the waterfall....that this whole place during the raining season is flooded by water. Pretty much, the whole view of what we were looking at would be a waterfall...and the ground we were standing on....knee deep in water. Unbelievable. Seriously. He also said that their farm house is pretty much just at the beginning of the Amazonia! I made it!....kinda. But, I can’t wait to see more!

I know this one was a long one, but I’m going to do my best to detach myself more from the internet while I’m here. Até logo. (Catch ya on the flip side....note: not a direct translation) Oh, and pictures will be posted when I get home.

...my acoustic therapy and morning ritual

A Beautiful Day

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we’ve taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now

Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for

Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I’m gon’ do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day

Life is a challenge not a competition
You can still smell the roses and be on a mission
Just take a moment to get in touch with your heart
Sometimes you feel like you’ve got something to prove
Remind yourself that there’s only one you
Just take a moment to give thanks of who you are

Let’s make this a wonderful
Let’s make this a powerful
Let’s make this a Beautiful Day
It’s a Beautiful Day

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we’ve taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now

India.Arie

one of those days...

Alright, so today tested my patience.  It really shouldn't have, because I essentially got the entire day off (which actually ended up being a surprise to me).  It's a good thing I'm not a planner, otherwise I'm pretty sure this lifestyle would kill me.  

So!  I woke up, got ready for the day and we all went to the mall to go ice skating.  Helena wanted me so badly to come along and ice skate with them, which was cute.  So, I stuck around and did some laps with them.  There is a promotion for the Ice Age movie so they have this little rink downstairs in the mall for the kids.  Today was our third time going actually. : ) ahha....note: me in a tank top, plastic skates, knee and elbow pads, a hair net and a helmet.....so sexy. 

Then....it was me time.  My little haven for freedom....the mall (haha.....one of my favorite things to do...as you all know).  Oh yes, and today is a sort of independence holiday for Sao Paulo, so Roberto was home today.  And, as usual, holidays are kind of a big thing down on this side of the world, so......pretty much every store in the mall was closed (luckily I found out, only until 2).  So I had a few hours to kill and decided to sit and study at a little cafe.  It was nice, and after once everything opened I shopped around the grocery store, picked up a few items that will suffice for ingredients for smores and headed off to the parada de onibus (bus stop).  

We're going to the family home out in the country in a few days and I was thinking of showing them all how to make smores.....if I can only find that crucial element....the marshmellows. : /

I sat down at 3:30 and waited.  I wasn't too sure about what time the LevaYtras onibus was coming exactly, but I figured I could wait a half hour or so...no biggy.  

An hour later, I finally asked someone if the bus was coming or not.  The seriously ear-drum breaking-ly loud music playing from across the street was really getting on my nerves.  My ipod wasn't even drowning it out.  My instincts told me that this holiday probably had something to do with it not having passed by yet......and I was right.  Ha.  I mean, really? I mean....I had to laugh......What were my options now?  I could walk home.  I could try to go back to the mall and ask someone to use their phone....or take a taxi.  After kind of entertaining the thought of each one of them, and getting ahold of Alexandra to tell her where I was, I chose the taxi.  But, not a normal taxi....a moto taxi (aka....motorcycle).  It's cheaper and more exciting.  Besides, I've never really been on one....except for that souped up scooter thing I rode in Costa Rica that one time....ahh good memories ; ).

Alright, so yea, my first time on a motorcycle was riding on back with an older man who smelled funny...with a helmet on that has been used by who knows how many people.  Thank God I'm not a germ freak huh?  But, hey, it added a little adventure to my day.  I got on the thing, and just hoped I didn't burn my leg or something.  That would just top it all off. It was a short ride, but the wind in my face relieved some tension and I even got a little speed fix when we rode on the freeway for an exit or two.  $3.50 US later...I'm home and needing a workout. But, yes.......the gym's closed.  But, I have the house to myself...and a ton of books around here are calling my name.  Maybe a down day is OK? (I hear my mom saying).....but I do know I need some sorta fix.  

a great end to the weekend

Ahh....what a night. The family all went to go see the 'zoo' of birds out at the golf course across the street, but I was itching to go swimming. It might have been 4:30 or closer to 5 maybe. My short little dip in the lake earlier was just a tease. I found that all day I had been in a great mood because of it.....so I wanted more naturally. ; ) So, I hopped out and walked home barefoot (I'm pretty sure my feet are never going to be clean here as I'm in a constant state of barefoot-ness...and loving it). I made my way quickly to the dock and guessed I probably had....about a half hour left before things got really interesting out there on the horizon. Perfect. Sunset swim. Set my timer. Goal: 30 min.......and I dove out into the 'freezing' water (ps. i'd say at best it was refreshing).

So, I didn't last very long. Ha. It seems it's been a while since I've free-style swam in open water...aka....short workout. But, eh, it was more for the soul than the body to be honest.

Not long after I got out, Helena came running out to me screaming much like her mom, "you're crazy Ling-say!" But, she's crazy too, I found out. And she was the first to jump in with me, clothes on and all. HA! Now, this is what I'm talking about. We took turns jumping off the dock and taking pictures...all with this gorgeous sunset on the horizon. : )


We talked the rest of the girls to at least get in the water with us for a bit. As we ran back home, we walked in the house soaked and shivering...with smiles from ear to ear. Alexandra did not look happy. : / I think the words that came out of her mouth were.......'I'm going to kill all five of you..."


I took a shower with the girls, giggling and trying to go as fast as we could. Helena noticed I had a lot of bruises on my legs.....which I figured out by her pointing at my legs and saying I was all 'purple'. Haha. This is true....this is true. So, showered, fed and warm the girls are right now watching LadyHawk (with Michelle Pheifer) for the third time this weekend and I'm laying outside by the pool.......writing this by moonlight. ; )


8pm. 7-5-09

Itirapina, Brasil

4th of July (last entry was on the 3rd)

Today was a great day...I had a nice run this morning, play time was fun, and our walk by the lake at sunset really brought me to my place. It turned out that this weekend's theme was beautiful sunsets. : )

I found out that this family lake house was built by Roberto's cousin's (Floriana) father on his huge huge farm...which now is the entire resort. He built multiple other homes, a clubhouse, ect.....and now six of his children each own a vacation home here. It didn't turn out to an entirely lucrative endeavor, but it is truly an awesome set up.



Here's the girls on the pula-pula (jump-jump)...or...trampoline. ; )

We went on a boat ride this morning (which was awesome) and I got a chance to wow the girls with a backflip off the boat into the water....hehe. When I got to shore, Alexandra was like "you are insane....with how many peppers you eat and swimming in that freezing lake...I don't know why I leave my kids with you!" Haha....Her girls definitely have some guts and are competitive...so she's going to have it rough with them.

first night at the lake house

This is just what I needed…The cool air, clear night, endless amounts of stars, a lake, a whole night of Portuguese. What more could I ask for? I can’t wait to see this place in the day time. We are staying at Roberto’s cousins’ lake house just an hour outside of Ribeirão Preto….and it is amazing. The house has a beautiful layout and is perfect for having lots of guests. It has a long hallway with tons of rooms and beds, each with their own bathroom. It has a number of living areas and is built to be very open to the outside ‘living areas’…….which is the best part. Let me paint the picture: palm trees, pool, tennis court, trampoline (!!!), guest house, back porch, endless grass and to top it all off….its right on a lake. Ridiculous.

Roberto’s cousin’s family are fun and they have three girls all the same age as the family I’m staying with. So far, I’m having a lot of fun with them too. Laura is so cute. She wanted to sleep with me tonight so she came up to me and asked me to. Luckily that’s the way it needed to work out, but I appreciated and was touched by her request. She’s laying just in the other bed right now and is a strong competitor for being the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen sleeping.

After exploring the house and the grounds a bit, I already know this weekend is going to leave me feeling renewed. Moon is just about full and shining really bring tonight. The moon….always brining me closer to those that aren’t so close in distance. We all share it, we all wonder what else could be out there, ponder life’s blessings and know that we’re all under the same one everynight….or at least that’s what it does for me. ; ) It’s brightness doesn’t out shine the stars though, which is when you know you’re out of the city.

I explored a little more inside and found an interesting mix of DVD’s and books…found the ‘Up in Smoke’ music tour DVD (HAHA! Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube) amongst other Portuguese movies……….ahh…the comedy.

Dinner was nice, conversation was encouraging (I'm catching on!) and dessert was delish - homemade chocolate layered wafers and this egg yolk bon bon thing covered in sugary almonds.....interesting and not that bad). Oh yes: a few differences I've been meaning to share about stuff:

-cachaca (brazilian rum) is also known as pinga (which is NOT used anywhere else because it translates to the worst name you could call a woman...starting with a C)
-wedding rings are simple gold bands, no frills, no diamonds.
-lunch is at 2
-dinner is at 10
-maids are common, and cooks and nanny's too
-family homes are a big tradition out here (usually out in the country somewhere)
-Brazilian wine...not so hot

..that's all for now