The following list comes originally from a Breast Cancer 3 Day teammate and now friend, Tammy Gallagher in MN, via an '06 Fight like a Girl team member's blogsite (in WA). Thought I'd try my hand at the
Three's List (from RIO)...

1. 3 things that scare me:
Sierra's heart being hurt, being old and alone, sharks

2. 3 people that make me laugh:
Joe, Jim Carey, Jamie Fox

3. 3 things I love:
coffee, the beach, listening to Sierra sing

4. 3 things I hate:
I don't say hate, I try to NEVER use hate. so I'm changing this one to 3 things I don't care for:
deception, ignorance, war

5. 3 things I don't understand:
Stonehenge, gas prices fluctuating, the electoral vs. popular vote deciding who is elected

6. 3 things on my desk:
telephone, Portuguese-English dictionario, microphone for computer calling

7. 3 things I'm doing right now:
eating club crackers, blogging, listening the traffic splash through the damp street

8. 3 things I want to do before I die:
publish my master's thesis, earn my PhD., be an agent for change in as many kids as possible

9. 3 things I can do well:
sing, write, parent

10. 3 things I can't do:
samba, stay mad, bite my nails

11: 3 things you should listen to:
your heart, your intuition, your mom

12: 3 things you shouldn't listen to:
gossip, heavy metal music, the little red guy who shows up on your shoulder sometimes

13. 3 things I would like to learn:
to play the piano, to be more patient, Portuguese

14: 3 things I watched as a kid:
electric company, fame, the dukes of hazard

15: 3 things I drink regularly:
coffee, water, coke

16: 3 favorite foods:
cashews, picanha (it's a cut of beef in Brazil, and better than any cut I've ever had in the states), avacados

Well, here it is. Presumably boring to read for many of you perhaps, but novel entertainment for others I suppose. Right now something for me to do instead of finishing that almost done thesis mentioned in #8. Yeah, Procrastination should have made the list somewhere!

Mom and Sierra Christmas morning. Can you tell it's only 6 a.m?

Greetings and Happy New Year to all!
I wanted to get this website out:
http://www.nokia.com/A4254113 As Nokia cellular company is attempting to connect 5 countries worldwide ringing in 2007. We are lucky enough to be going to one of the named five cities' parties with THE BLACK EYED PEAS!!! in Ipenema. We are all very anxiously awaiting tomorrow's festivities. Rio is one of the top ten cities in the world to celebrate the New Year and from the testimonies of friends, both locals and expats, it is the experience of a lifetime. Sierra is gearing up for the big night as well and is cooperative in the anticipation of needing a nap before our adventures begin. On Nokia's list is New York as well, so it is possible that we could virtually party with our friends abroad this year! Look for us, we'll be wearing white.

Merry Christmas
everyone! The first Christmas in Brazil was wonderful! I hope you all have enjoyed the time with the ones you love.

Well, as a tradition anew, we started with "family" gifts today. Starting with me (mom) at 9:30 this morning, one of us each alternated opening one present each hour. Sierra's most asked for gift is pictured here--Rolly Shoes! By 4:30 this afternoon, Sierra opened this present. She was actually speechless for a few seconds. Then she read the directions, assembled the wheels, and gave them a spin!

She quickly realized they are harder to use than it appears when she's seen others in the malls skating away in their tennis shoes! I can't wait for Santa to come!!! I love Christmas morning more as a mom than I ever did as a child! Believe!!!

Peace and good cheer to all! Happy Holidays.

I think this picture is best titled "the look". She's a total fish.

Will swim the whole day if we let her.

And look how strong she is!
Ahhh, summer in Brazil! Beijocos para todo mundo.

The weeks have been extremely busy as we finish up the first semester at EARJ. From my previous post, you know I went last weekend to Buzios with "the girls". There were 20 of us total for a girls weekend on the ocean at a very charming Pousada in the beach town Buzios. This is a town I had visited while here in '95, but I can't begin to describe how much it has grown and changed. I have to hand it to the tour industry for spotting a good thing when they see it; however, I think I preferred the town when it was a quaint beach town. Many more trendy shops and restaurants, fewer off the beaten path locations...McDonald's even found Buzios! What a shame. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all. This first picture is of me and my friend Suzanne at a crepes restaurant the first night.

This weekend was just as adventurous. Friday night was the all school Christmas party hosted by the headmaster and his wife at their beautiful home in Jardim Botanico. Many people attended. There was plenty of food and beverages, a dj and lots of chatter. Since we were minus a sitter, I went solo and Joe stayed home with Sierra. It was a nice party. Sunday we spent the day lounging at the pool. Sierra was a prune by 4 o'clock.
Saturday mornining we met a new friend, Kathleen, in Ipenema at the CCAA (a worldwide language institute) and drove to Riachuelo, a neighborhood on the other side of Rio from Gavea, for Sierra to "work". Kathleen records children's stories for the language institute, and Sierra is a prime candidate for the position! We all went together along with 3 other children who have worked with Kathleen for about a year. We spent 3 hours at their recording studio, and Sierra recorded! And, Sierra was paid! Yes, at 8 years old, she's working. haha The results of her Paddington performance last month led another teacher at EARJ who goes to church with Kathleen to recommend Sierra, so we got the call. Sierra loved it! The studio is state of the art and exactly what you would see musicians use to cut a CD. Not to mention the element of acting and reading and language, which are all right up her alley! It was very neat. Likely, Sierra will work through this new year for Kathleen and perhaps after that as well. On Saturday mornings, Kathleen takes the kids to Riachuelo to the studio and then returns to Ipenema. There are wonderful benefits to this "gig" aside from the fact that Sierra really liked it and worked well with Kathleen, the other children who were there were really good kids, seem to come from good homes, Americans, and polite. Along with acquiring Portuguese, comes a level of influence on the existing language. Brazilians who speak English use a certain accent, of course, and at times, since our arrival, I have heard this accent in Sierra's English. The recording is added grammar, speaking and listening practice in native English that will only re-enforce her native language. For that I am happy. And Kathleen is a really cool woman. Originally from Colorado, living in Brazil for 34 years now and still a total product of the 60's "man". :-) She was fun to meet and talk with. She is also good friends with Mark McFarland, an upper school Spanish teacher who was here in 1995 when I first came to Brazil. McFarland backpacked to Brazil from AZ in the early 70s, and he has been an icon of sorts for me since our first meeting. Good people.

Girl's weekend in Buzios!!! Need I say more? Happy Holidays all!

After the busy day at school yesterday, we assembled and decorated our Brazilian Christmas tree. From the photos you can see Sierra is almost taller than the tree. No, she hasn't grown 4 ft. since our arrival! The tree is just short. :-)















Then I looked outside, and the rain was so heavy that from a distance, if you squinted, it almost resembled snow falling! Could we have a white Christmas in Rio? Doubtful!! Nonetheless, we all enjoyed listening to Christmas with the Steeles and Jewel, extended Sierra's regularly 8 p.m. bedtime to 9 and thought of our wonderful Christmases past along with the present blessings in our lives. Many hugs and warm wishes to everyone!

Busy Day.....










Sierra had a Portuguese performance today. Here's her teacher and she is next to two of her friends, Ashlyn and Christina.









Here are the girls singing and gesturing along to one of their songs.










And Sierra acting the part of a snail...not sure where the umbrella plays into the costume of the snail, but I think we're supposed to use our creative minds.










Here are two of her pieces of art! I love the winking sun rising over her house!!!

In thinking about our daily routine, I realized that there are many things we are all ready taking for granted in our environment. When I think of all of you, I can visualize--for the most part--where you are, what it looks like on your commutes to work, what your homes are like, what the weather is like...in talking to my mom last night on the phone and assuming she knew what capoeira is, I realized although you are all in my heart every day, you are not at my side seeing the same things I see. So, it is my mission this week to begin taking pictures of the "ordinary". To give you a sense of what day to day is really about for us here. To give you a visual when I mention that we snuggled in front of the TV and watched movies eating popcorn.



Here at right are two pictures of our living room from each end,
looking out toward the veranda and looking toward the entry door. Sierra happens to be sitting on the couch at the moment studying her times tables via flashcards. We spend a lot of time in this room, many times watching SpongeBobSquarePants on DVD (I hear the theme song now as I type) with Sierra...I never realized how totally silly that cartoon is until watching the same ones over and over and over and over and over again! But, if it's not SpongeBob it's High School Musical which I have seen now too many times to count but I can tell you that I can sing along to all the songs without watching the words on the bottom of the screen. However embarrassing that may be to admit, it scores me big points with my girls at school who all love the movie as much as Sierra. Disney sure hit it on the head with that one.

Or, perhaps you've wondered about where I do the cooking? Here is a picture of what is considered an "Americanstyle kitchen" from the laundry/maid area looking into the kitchen and toward the backdoor, which we never use. But if you believe I do ANY cooking other than frozen drinks in the blender, you are sadly mistaken! lol
I actually love our kitchen. We have much more counter and cupboard space than what is typical in a Brazilian kitchen. We recently got a new refrigerator that nicely chills our juices, soy milk, water and Cerveja (the most important beverage to have ice cold).

I was pondering the same thoughts of sharing what we see day to day with all of you last week while walking through school. I have uploaded a couple of pictures in past blogs of my classroom and the view from my door, but I haven't really taken pictures of the hallways or the layout of this beautiful campus where I'm working.

Many of our families complain about the fact that we neighbor the largest favela in Rio (favela=shantytown/slum). But there isn't another campus internationally that outdoes the beauty of EARJ. The relationship with the people living in the favela and the school has historically been amiccable. Any conflict we have heard thusfar is unrelated to school or anyone at school. I keep my fingers crossed that when they are able to build the new campus out in Barra, Rio (which is like Miami in Brazil with a replica of the statue of liberty in front of the mall and not somewhere I would choose to live while here) we are financially able to maintain both the Barra and the Gavea campuses so that I am able to remain where I am currently. That is a few years from now though and many things could happen between now and then. Until that time, I am thoroughly enjoying the beauty that surrounds me daily and push aside any worries regarding things I cannot control to a later date.

I would have included pictures of our bedrooms, but they are not presentable. Although the rest of the house is clean, the beds went unmade this Monday morning and a few straggling clothes line the floor/end tables. We'll save pictures of those rooms for a later day if it becomes worth worrying about.

Hopefully this gives you some insight into our daily lives. :-)

By the way... capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that is very popular. It was originally invented by slaves as a way to exercise and build strength in preparation for escape. The art is very entertaining to watch. Unlike other martial arts, the competitors never actually make contact even though it appears that at any moment a leg will collide with a head...

I will end with another picture of my beloved child, who continues to amaze me with her compassion, intelligence, humor and charm. She LOVES Brazilian fashion--go figure--

Paz e amor (Peace and Love) to you all!!!!

Today was another wonderful day in Rio. We spent the morning relaxing at home, and we ventured toward the beach this afternoon on our way to the Hippy Fair in Ipenema. Stood for a while and watched a GREAT volleyball match. I have to say our time spent at the Hippy Fair today involved more English then we've heard the whole time we've been here. It is a very popular tourist location. Essentially, it is an open air art fair with several hundred artists selling their goods. The pictures to the left are two of a painting we purchased at the end of our browsing. We actually watched the man paint the picture. It was phenomenal to watch him complete the masterpiece. There are five artists from a local fahvela who paint every day at this particular place in the plaza. The men were very friendly. We understood basically everything they communicated to us, which was a really cool feeling. And they invited us to come visit in the plaza any day and enjoy cerveja with them. :-) It was a wonderful end to a relaxing holiday for all of us.

Greetings to all and may your travels to be with family this week for the holiday be safe and relaxing!

Sierra and I enjoyed some girly pampering Friday afternoon by getting pedicures together. Her feet are as ticklish as mine, and we both grip the sides of the chair when they take the pumice stone to the bottoms. We giggled and chatted and tried to understand the women giving us our pedicures enough to explain what we wanted. As you can see, the results are good!

We have a 3 day week this week, off today and Friday. Only about 3 weeks remain of this first semester. It is amazing how fast the time is going. I can't believe it's all ready Thanksgiving week. Enjoy the turkeys and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin or sweet potato pies, depending on your family's traditions. (Or, pecan rum pie, which is really good also)

Many blessings to all of you. I am most thankful for the family and friends in our life. We are truly blessed.

Life is all about perspective. I read the following quote on a blogsite of a friend and had to share with all my friends and family as well.

"One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire-then you have a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference." ~Robert Fulghum
Makes you stop and think, doesn't it.

Sierra enjoyed playing Paddington in her class's production of "A Bear Called Paddington" this week. She was awesome! Totally getting into character. Here she is posing after the performance I watched Friday.

In the two pictures below, Paddington is making a "mess" in the tub while the other cast members sing and dance Splish Splash. Enlarge the tub picture below to see the bubbles.












Here Paddington is impressed with breakfast in bed the first morning in the Brown's home. Notice Paddington investigating the egg. :-)






The last shot shows Paddington convincing Sir Sealy to take back his daughter, whom he's bannished from the kingdom because she won't marry some smelly man. (Sir Sealy and the daughter are characters in a play that Paddington goes to see, but Paddington doesn't understand that it's acting since he's just a bear!)

Sierra did a beautiful job!! Many teachers commented on what a good performer she is. She enunciated her lines, maintained character even when the audience would laugh, appropriately, and even kindly coached her classmates when they forgot their lines. I am very proud of her. The BEST part...She LOVED it. She really enjoyed acting. I'm so glad she had such a good time.

Coming soon....
Sierra as Paddington!
Check back in upcoming days for pictures and testimonials of Sierra's acting debut!

I survived!!! 5 days and 4 nights with 70 eighth graders! On the airplane, in the hotel, on and off the bus, through countless parks and activities....what a week...
Where do I even begin to talk about what an exciting and exhausting weekend it was?

The first picture here is of me and one of my favorite students--Juni. She is both my advisee and my student in English class. She and her family have just moved to Rio from Norway. She is so sweet and many of my students, her classmates, say we are like mother and daughter. I chalk it up to the fact that we are both lighthaired, fair complected and attempting to learn this language.
This next landscape shot was taken while on a train ride through the edge of the Iguacu National forest. We spent 3 hours on the train, traveling over 125 year old bridges and taking in the lush and beautiful landscape.

The last shot is of the building at the botanical gardens in Curitiba. It reminded me of the St. Paul Conservatory at Como Park. Although the flowers were all outside on the lawns and most of the greenery inside was strictly tree/bush plants with very little flowering plants. The building is beautiful though. Mr. Luiz, the science teacher on my team is in the foreground with another of our students--Bia.

We teachers were all pretty tired when we returned to Rio at 8 p.m. Friday night. I was grateful to have survived. I miss Sierra and Joe while I was gone, although neither of them seemed to even notice my absence. (j/k)

It was a beautiful, HOT, spring day in Brazil. We spent almost the entire day at the beach in Ipenema! Sierra enjoyed her first coca. She had drunk the juice before today, but hadn't had them split it open for her to scrape out the "meat". Here she is with part of her coca, soaking up the sand and sea amidst her new Brazilian neighbors. Last night, spontaneously, she said to me, "Mom, I like it here!" If you only knew how great that made my heart feel! To the right, you can see the Brazilian airforce during a surprise air show this morning in Ipenema and Leblon. We were just lucky enough to be at the beach watching. We didn't know it was happening. There were 7 jets entertaining beachbums for about an hour.

By special request from Vicks, to the right, you have my best attempt at capturing a pic of a Brasiliero in a sunga! Actually, I think there are 3 who qualify in this shot. There were so many people on the beach today, it was hard to even see who was around you. Sierra walked 50 meters to get cleaned off in the shower, two times, and had a hard time
navigating her way back to us through the chairs,
umbrellas, and swimsuits! Good thing we were both watching.

Unfortunately, I don't have my camera every time we go out. Yesterday, I needed it on two ocassions. Instead of photos, I'll have to rely on my storytelling skills to transmit the events.

We went to the Lagoa with another family from EARJ for lunch. Jennifer is another expat teacher originally from southern California, her husband Valdir is Brazilian, completing his PhD in French, and they have an adorable 11 month old daughter, Sophia. Sierra has been craving baby contact as she misses our former neighbor, Destinee, her cousin Colin and our dear friends The Marins. So, Jennifer and I talked about a play date for Sierra to get her "fix". Also, we have been meaning to get together with Valdir and Jennifer in a social setting vs. work. The afternoon accomplished both objectives.

As we were sitting at a Churrasca (barbeque place) on the Lagoa, Joe looks toward the lake and spies a vendor passing by selling Globos, a common brazilian snack, similar to a funion but not an onion flavor, they are made with Aipim (yuka). They're actually one of my preferred snacks here. Anyway, the point is not what the man was selling the point is that he was wearing one of those umbrella hats!!! Joe immediately said, "Ah, you need your camera for a picture of the man's hat to send to your mom!" All of you who know my mother, know that she loves her silly, carnival like accessories. The windshield washer glasses, the kazoo, harmonicas and the Umbrella hat!! We had a good chuckle at the fact that fun and crazy Brazilians like Mom exist.

Then, we rented a 4 passenger bike thing. I guess I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like a cart that you sit and peddle around. I remember seeing this same contraption on the boardwalk in Galveston, so I think it's a popular beachfront/lakefront passtime. Sierra was in the front, small, child seat, Joe and I were on the benchseat peddling. The "bike" has a canopy. We peddled around the Lagoa, which is about 5 miles (7.5 km). 1/2 way around we passed an area that had many many splatterings of white on the trees and the sidewalk. Joe says to Sierra, "Hey, Sierra what do you think this white stuff is. Mom doesn't think it's bird poo but I do. What do you think?" Sierra turns and says to me, "What do you think it is mom?" As I'm saying, "Well, bird poo..." Sierra gets splattered!!! Right at the moment we were discussing whether or not it was actually bird poop, a bird pooped, it hit the canopy and splashed all over Sierra sitting in the front!!! I laughed until I cried. Luckily Joe had a napkin in a plastic bag from some place he had been, he started carrying it in his pocket in case of emergency. Sierra was able to wipe off the poo from her face, arms, legs, hair....A person couldn't have scripted the event to occur in the way it did! So, Joe and Sierra decided that it is now Mom's turn to be pooped on as Joe was pooped on while sitting in a lawn chair at Grandma and grandpa's before we moved, Sierra got it here, Mom is next! Let's hope they are not correct!!!

Today looks finally sunny. I think we will head to the beach. I feel like I just woke up but it is all ready 10:30. I am traveling this week for work. We take the kids to Curitiba, Brazil for 5 days. Should be interesting. As long as I can get myself to the airport on time, 6:30 a.m., I'll feel fine. Much love to all of you. Big hugs and huge kisses!!!

We spent this morning horseback riding in the mountains. Here is a picture of Sierra getting ready to go. The stirrups were a little short so the farmhand cut a new hole in the strap to shorten the stirrup for her. She rode this very gentle, old man horse (the horse is 20 years old). She did beautifully!



We rode leisurely for about an hour to a small waterfall and lagoa with rocks where we saw a hermit crab and adolescent tadpoles making their way to the pool of water. At this stop we let the horses rest, stretched our legs and after a short rest ventured back to the farm. It was a beautiful day!!! Rain was predicted, but we only experienced a few light sprinkles as we were mounting the horses and beginning the journey. The rest of the time it was overcast and cool. It was a perfect day for a ride. And the scenery was unbelievable. The foliage in this tropical climate still takes my breath away. The plants and flowers and fruit trees growing all around us is unbelievable.

The mountains are full of banana trees and the people who live there make their living growing, farming, and selling bananas. About half way up we were delighted to see two horses with large baskets full of bananas on their backs while the farmer walked slowly behind. The horses appeared to have muzzles on their faces made of woven basketlike materials, perhaps bamboo, I think they may have been feed sacks for the animals, but that was not confirmed.

When we turned the road to come back to the farm, we could sense the horses were smelling "home" as the pace of their gait increased and they started vying for first place. Sierra's old man horse decided he wanted to take the lead. I think our guide from the farm got a little nervous that the horse would go faster than Sierra wanted, but he didn't. Sierra remained calm, steering the horse all the way home. She told me the trick was that she talked to the horse the entire time. Thanking him for carrying her the whole way, understanding that he must be tired and thirsty, and reassuring him that she is grateful for his help as she wouldn't want to walk the path up the hill we were traveling! She's so thoughtful!!

Surprisingly, this evening my bum is not too sore. I feel the saddle, but it is not too terribly uncomfortable. I have to admit the 2.5/3 hours on horseback was extremely refreshing. There's nothing that compares to the feeling of being out in the open air with the animal and nature. Not to mention enjoying it all with fabulous company. This is the second "tour" type activity we have done with a tour company here in Rio. We have used the same company both times: rio hiking. The guides both times were phenomenal. Great company, knowledgeable about vegetation and area, and kind. We will probably hire them for other trips while we are here. I am now considered a "client" vs. a "tourist" as I have used them on more than on occasion. :-)

Well, here are 3 pictures of the toucans that were noisely playing outside my classroom last month. The two birds successfully distracted me from completing over an hour's worth of work (I hope my boss doesn't know this blog address!) I couldn't stop watching them. They were so loud, colorful, wild, and smart. One would call to the other, when the second replied and flew near the first they fed each other and continued a lunchtime conversation! It was an amazing display of natural beauty! I realize the pictures aren't the greatest in quality, but they should provide a visual. :-) p.s. you may have to click on the picture to enlarge it enough to actually see the bird.

Students at left hard at work on the finishing touches of their movie. Ms. Florence in the background overseeing their decisions.


I really wish that movie files weren't so big, and I could upload a couple of the digital movies the kids have made during class to this site. I am so impressed with the work the kids have done over the last 2 weeks. Some of them would impress Steven Spielberg! Amazing ideas and creativity and symbolism not to mention the fact that they were all engaged 100% of the time.


2 computers...6 kids and all of them working! It's almost unheard of.






I am adding a few pictures of kids working on their projects. We've been talking about ways of sharing this work. The aged old question: What happens now? has come up at lunch with a couple of staff members. Students have electronic portfolios, but the movie files are too large to allow 21 digital movies to occupy the server space. We will certainly create DVD copies of all the movies for each student and me to have a personal copy. I am also considering sending one copy to Oak View in MN for the English teacher there to use as a way to introduce the novels to her students. I haven't talked to Liv or Rachel directly yet, so I'm not sure they would even want them, but it might be a cool idea. Kids sharing what they've read, interesting one another in a particular title, trying to outdo each other in product. I think it's a rather intriguing thought. We'll see.

Ziggy Marley and Rio de Janeiro....
2 of my favorite things
Life doesn't get much better than this! Saturday night, or more accurately, early Sunday morning, Ziggy played live in Rio (Lapa technically, a district of Rio near Centro and a short city bus ride from home) and I enjoyed every minute of it despite the fact that I returned home only at 4:45 a.m. The clouds and rain made sleeping most of the day Sunday easy after a late night. Thankfully, I had all of my work done, nothing pressing for attention, Joe watching over Sierra and her friend, and I was actually able to sleep.

Ziggy started at 2 a.m. What an experience! He recently released a new album, "Love is my Religion" but continues to resemble his father in sound and stage presence. He didn't do anything acoustic, which was a little disappointing. When I saw him in 2001, he did a whole set without the band and covered several Bob Marley songs--my favorite acoustic version "Redemption Song". Although he covered many of his late father's music, Ziggy's new music is really good and the crowd participation last night was quite the experience to be a part of.