More Tales from the North
We have been busy, yet we are truly enjoying ourselves and managing to relax at the same time. The first week back in MN has gone quickly. We have been occupied with last minute wedding preparations, making sure that everything for July 4th is in order. Joe and I are both excited and anxious as the date approaches.

We spent one day driving up to Staples, MN to pick up my car from the farm. I took this shot while driving back. Man, it feels good to drive my car again. I have to admit though, it feels like I'm going really slowly because the road and the space is so wide. I'll have to use cruise control to avoid getting a ticket. The green space and open fields are a joy to see again. Living in a megatropolis, the horizon is not within sight unless you look out at the ocean. I have been appreciating "God's country".

We have done so much shopping. You'd think none of us has ever been in Old Navy or Kohl's or Target before! Whew! We took a break for a light lunch one day though. Here is Sierra and me at the restaurant, resting from buying so many things.





On Saturday night, we went to Eric and Colette's and had a Catch Phrase rematch. Eric and I tromped all over Joe and Colette. We were laughing into the wee hours of the morning. At 2:15, I went in the house from the deck and saw the time on the digital clock. I thought it was broken and the 1 was simply missing...NOPE! It was truly, 2:15 a.m. Their poor neighbors didn't get much sleep that night! Sierra and Austin even played until that time.
Here's Sierra with her little friend she found near the house while playing. The girl screamed bloody murder earlier Sat. because of a frog, yet she was cuddling this salamander!! Go figure!

Today was pretty exciting for us as we were able to take my parents to a Brazilian style barbeque restaurant in Minneapolis. There is a Fogo de Chao downtown Mpls and I have to say it is authentic Brazilian Churrasco. We enjoyed ourselves for a couple of hours, feasting on the scewers of meat brought to you and carved table side for you. When I asked the waiter for Farofa, they were a little stunned to hear my Portuguese. Thankfully, they were able to prepare some especially for me! YUMMY...



They even had CapiVodkas. This strawberry one tasted so good, we stopped for an assortment of fresh fruit on the way home and a bottle of vodka to prepare our own.
I know, this isn't a very flattering picture. :-) Oh well.





Here we are around our table after our meal. Now Mom and Dad know what we are talking about when we go out for Picanha! It was a wonderful afternoon.

We MADE it!!!

After a long flight and many hours in the airport(s) and a little run-in with "homeland security" in Houston due to mistaken identity, we finally arrived in Mpls Sunday mid-afternoon. Sierra was so excited to see her grandparents. She was also very excited about indulging in many American foods she has missed over the past 11.5 months. As a result, she was not feeling well Sunday night, but I think she is now realizing the danger of eating 2 apple pies from MacDonalds, 1 s'more, 1 campfire cooked hotdog and part of a dish of strawberry shortcake all in the same evening.
She has leveled off and is being smarter now. We have been relaxing, catching up on sleep, and visiting missed friends and family since our arrival. Not to mention, enjoying the wildlife surrounding mom and dad's house.






Here is a picture of the box turtle that travelled around the backyard earlier this week. Sierra enjoyed taking a few pictures as it crawled from pond to woods, perhaps looking for somewhere to bury its eggs. This morning we watched a family of Canadian geese walk the back part of the yard toward the pond in what looked like one of the first swims for the gosslings. It is so quiet and peaceful out here. Feels good to have some respite from busy city life.

This morning, Sierra was looking for the step stool in the hall closet when she came across her bin of toys and books. It was so quiet in the house when I walked in to find her silently sitting in the hallway surrounded by things familiar.





My dad has several projects he is looking forward to working on with Joe while we are here. Here they are cutting wood and making a door for the smokehouse. There are plans for a "playhouse/observation deck" to go up on the treeline next to the field while we are here--all the material is all ready purchased. Grandpa is saying it will make a good playhouse for the grandkids, but we all know he's looking forward to hours sitting there watching deer.

Monday afternoon we went to visit with the Marins. Sierra is one of the family in this house of 7 and she fell right back into place while we were there. Becca made the comment, "When Sierra is here, everybody gets along." Sierra used to spend many days with the Marins, especially during the summers when I would teacher summer school. This was her "summer house" of sorts. Here are the girls having a tea party on the deck. It is such a blessing to see these kids playing together as if no time has passed.

More end of the year pictures...

We leave tomorrow for the States. We're packing and checking off items on the list to make sure we don't forget any essentials or overpack. Looking forward to a long vacation visiting with family and friends!

My students did an amazing job this past Monday presenting Literature Trials. We ran 4 different trials, prosecuting characters from 4 different novels read this semester. They really impressed me. They have worked hard the past month preparing and each student walked away with a school memory they will not soon forget.

The standard Brazilian reply, thumbs up!!! When you don't know what to say, but you agree, a simple thumbs up will suffice!Me and Giorgio at the Middle School Celebration Party!Fellow teachers and friends: Barrie, me, Suzanne, Prescilla, and Shaysann. I work with some pretty cool people here!!

The month of the end ofs

For the world outside of the school setting, it is mid-year right now. For educators, it's the end of...and...
It seems every time we turn around these days we have another "end of the year" engagement or "farewell, see you soon" party for someone leaving or "last time of the season" outing...I thought I would just post a few pics from several of these at one time.

Here are Julie and Parrish at our "see you soon Parrish" dinner and cocktails night.

Here are some of my students at their "farewell 8th graders" dinner.

Here I am on our "last Sunday on the beach for awhile".

Here are Sierra and Camila, Julie and Gustavo's daughter, also enjoying the "last Sunday at the beach for awhile".

The beach is full of vendors: food, drinks, jewelry, clothing, bubbles. You name it, they sell it on the beach! It's nice when you're thirsty or hungry because you don't even have to get out of your chair they come right to you. The beach ball vendor above happens to be our favorite sighting though!!! Imagine carrying all those balls when it's 100 degrees.

We are down to our last week of our first year in our new home in our new city in our new country in our new hemisphere...I have to say it has been an amazing year of discovery and transformation. This time next Sunday we'll be in MN!!! We are all quite anxious for our return visit to the states. But, I have a feeling we will have saudades (longings) for Rio while we are gone.

The art of teaching...

If you are a teacher or you have a close loved one who is a teacher, you know very well that it is a thankless career. We rarely witness first hand the effects of our work. Once in a while a student will return to your class to tell you how much you influenced them, but if you're like me and move every 5 years, you aren't there to even here that. However, the power of a teacher is immense! The control and influence over young minds growing, developing, and shaping into adults is enormous. We need to use caution with this power. I LOVE teaching. I LOVE the kid contact. I LOVE the unpredictability of working with adolescents. I LOVE their humor and their innocence and their honesty--even when they ask, "Ms. Sara, what is that around your neck?" (referring to my new crocheted scarf)
Today, I am blessed with a rare reward in teaching. My students just finished reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.Here is a small description of the novel: "Speak up for yourself -- we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows that this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. This time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication.
Today I am scoring journals my students wrote while reading. They were to pick significant quotes from the text and write a short explanation to why the quote is important to the story. One student wrote the following at the end of their journal:
"I just wanted to say something, I think this book was very good and even though in the beginning I thought it was going to be one of those really bad books where the story makes no sense, but I really enjoyed this book and it changed the way I look at sex, because as a boy all you want to do is have sex (lol) but now I have more respect for it. I look at it as a more sacred thing and a special thing and now I know that it can basically ruin a girl's life. Great book Ms. Sara!!! Promise me that in every single year that you teach you will give this book for your students to read."
If I have failed at all else this academic year, I have been successful in affecting ONE student! AH, the Power of Teaching!

Music: The Universal Language

Here's a video of Sierra's choir singing Bob Marley's 3 Little Birds. She's in a brown shirt behind the girl in the white shirt in the front row, basically behind the microphone stand. Enjoy!

EARJ Peace Day

I tried to post this recording a couple of months ago and it didn't work, so I'm trying again.

Music: The Universal Language

Sierra's grade put on their choir concert this week. The theme was: Music: The Universal Language and the kids and Ms. Barbara pulled off an amazing performance!! They sang a variety of songs, including: Bob Marley's 3 Little Birds.
The choir teacher, Ms. Barbara, did a great job of teaching the kids motion and movement to accompany each piece. At different times in the show groups of children would come forward to recite dialogue explaining the history of music in all genres.
And if I only had a dollar for every time I have heard "Ode to Joy" played on the recorder the past 6 months, I'd be rich! The entire 3rd grade played "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven on the recorder--all 60 some 3rd graders in unison! That couldn't have been a simple task for Ms. Barbara.
Here is part of the group, Sierra basically in the middle of this picture, with their recorders.







Here is Sierra and some of her classmates during one of their "talking" parts. The kids asked questions about types of music and helped introduce the song coming up. They did a great job memorizing lines, speaking clearly, and smiling!!





I had a class the morning of the performance, and with the end of the year quickly approaching it is tough to get sub coverage for busy days. Instead of missing the concert, I brought my 12 8th graders into the auditorium to watch. It ended up being a great way to enjoy the show as my students remembered singing some of the same songs when they were in Lower School, and of course they are smitten by how "cute" the "little" third graders are. Ah, to be as grown and mature as an 8th grader!!!

Festa Junina

A shot gun wedding for 3rd graders? Bizarre, huh? The traditional Festa Junina is just that. According to Brazilian folklore a woman shows up for her wedding very pregnant; in turn, the husband-to-be tries to escape the nuptiuals only to be chased by the father-of-the-bride and forced to say "I do." Strange? I'd say.
On top of that, the traditional attire for this festival is that which can be described as Hillbilly attire. Boys place patches on their pants, wear straw hats and flannel shirts and chew on grass. The girls are donned with what I see as "Laura Ingals Wilder" style dresses, lots of gingham and plaid and pigtails. Sierra opted for this yellow, blue and red traditional Festa Junina dress but skipped the pig tails.

The children performed a "mock wedding" according to the folklore and then danced and promenaded as if celebrating the newlyweds.






The dancing reminds me of traditional square dancing in the U.S. The lower school PE teacher was responsible for teaching the kids the dance, and he shared with me during lunch last week that Sierra's class was a really fun group to work with because they were all very interested in learning exactly how to do it, and they weren't worried about which boy/girl they had to dance with.
This particular celebration lasts the month of June in Brazil and often Festa Junina parties are still happening in July.