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