Official Jason Mraz - I'm Yours video

I LOVE this song. It makes me smile and want to move my feet!!

Have you ever looked at pictures of yourself and not recognize the person in the picture?


My friend Barrie had a birthday party for herself last night--Moroccan style. They transformed their house with beautiful draped fabrics and mosaic candles lighting every table. The food was unbelievably good, as it always is at their house. It was a great evening, but when I looked this morning at the few pictures taken last night, I didn't recognize myself. Weird. Maybe it has something to do with always being the one behind the camera instead of in front of it.

Here's one of me and my friend Suzanne. (Her eyes are actually open!)Not sure what I'm in the middle of saying, but I'm not surprised that Suzanne's eyes are closed.What in the world is this about??? Who is this?This one is actually pretty good. From left to right: Suzanne, me, birthday girl Barrie. The three of us make up the middle school English department at EARJ. I think I'll make each of them a print of this picture.

We also have the resident Mae (pronounced "my" and means mom). Vania is such a source of stability for many of us younger teachers on campus, and the ongoing joke is for all of us siblings to vie for attention from Mae. She didn't move from the sofa very often last night because each of us fought over our turn at her side.

Here are Priscilla and Ana Helena getting their "mom time". I am so lucky to work with so many wonderful people--my Brazilian family!!

Hi Dixon!!!

We miss you (and your mom!) Sending you big hugs.

Going Brazilian...

I have lived in Rio two years, and I finally had my first Brazilian. All I can say is, "What was I waiting for?!?!"
(it is not possible to publish pictures for this post.)

Visas, RNE cards, expiration dates

Brazil requires foreign residents and visitors to acquire Visas prior to entry. There are about five different types of Visas, depending on the travelers individual situation. I have been here in Brazil on a Temporary Visa - V, which is a two year visa permitting the holder to work while in the country. The Visa is pasted right into the holder's passport and adorned with fancy stamps and illegible signatures. To acquire this type of Visa, a company or entity in Brazil must sponsor and assume responsibility for any potential holder. The American school sponsors my Visa and Sierra is granted one due to her being my dependent.

Once you enter the country with this type of Visa--or any Visa for that matter--you are required to register with the Federal Police within 30 days of entry. On the day you register, they take your fingerprints, file several passport sized photos, and document your entry. It is Brazil's way of keeping track of the foreigner population. You also receive what is called a protocolo once you have registered. The protocolo is essentially a strip of paper about an inch wide and four inches long with your passport picture adhered to one end of the strip. This paper serves as the foreigners legal identification in the country while waiting for the RNE, or Brazilian Identification card to be printed. The time between the protocolo and the RNE is supposed to be less than 180 days. When it surpasses the 180 days, the protocolo needs to be sent back to the Federal Police to be stamped for another 180 days. Mine and Sierra's protocolos have been stamped and re-stamped for 180 days 5 times!!

However, yesterday, we were finally scheduled to pick up our RNE cards (the permanent, plastic version of the protocolo) at the Federal Police in a little town outside of Rio called Nova Iguacu. We were on the road by 8:15, in Nova Iguacu by 10:30, and standing in front of the agent at the Federal Police by 10:35 to be handed these:

Our permanent Brazilian ID cards. I know you can't really make out the writing on the card, and that is not important. Actually it's probably better that it is not possible to read them since there is a lot of personal information on them. But, in the top card, I have drawn a black arrow at the section of the card that reads "Validade". (Validade in Portuguese means Valid until or validity--for clarification.) The date below Validade on both of our cards is 27-07-2008. (mo.-date-yr.)!

The cards expired the DAY BEFORE we actually picked them up from the Brazilian Federal Police. And of course they did, they were processed with my first temporary working Visa, two years ago. At the time of filing, the Federal Police had no way of knowing that I would still be here after the initial two year Visa. How could they?

In the meantime, my working Visa has been officially extended another two years. Sierra and I will need to go to the Federal Police to register again, in the the next 25 days or so, be fingerprinted and photographed, and most likely receive ANOTHER protocolo to wait for a valid identification card.

The good news: In the two years I have been here, I only needed to show my protocolo when entering and exiting the country and one time when riding and interstate bus to Paraty, a small beach town between Rio and Sao Paolo. At least the ID isn't something that a person needs to produce regularly. AHHH, politics, government bureaucracy, red tape. I think no matter where you are these things don't function in the way any of the civilians using the services would like.

Some last days' pictures from our holiday in MN

The final days of vacation are always insanely busy! When you first begin a 6 week holiday, it feels like you have all the time in the world. It never fails though, the last day sneaks up on you before you know it, and you have failed to cross off all the "want to do" items on the list.

Nonetheless, we were able to spend a lot time with and visit many friends and family in MN while on vacation, and we were fortunate enough to make a trip to VA Beach to spend time with my sister and her family. Many things to be thankful for.

In the final days, Sierra and I tried to squeeze everything that was forgotten and spend the days with Gramma and Pappa too. Long mornings spent drinking several cups of coffee while sitting on the patio were cherished. Now my morning coffee doesn't taste the same without Mom and Dad's company or the sound of the birds chirping in the trees around us. Sierra and Gramma feverishly finished and painted several more leaf molds. We were lucky enough to fit two of them in our suitcases, wrapped in bubble wrap. They now decorate our veranda in Rio.Sierra took the time to give Gramma a lovely beauty makeover (notice the blue eyeliner--earlier used by me and Colette for our 80's party, now Sierra's play make-up), and Pappa was pretty shocked when he walked in the porch and saw the two of them all "done up". I believe he is contemplating laughter or tears here.

We endulged in a night of broasted chicken in Grandy at the "world famous Brass Rail".The good thing is that with modern technology we can talk to each other on the phone anytime we want, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Mom and Dad can pick up their phone and dial our number here as a local call. It sure makes it easier to be so far away knowing that I can hear their voices regularly. That certainly wasn't the case in 1995 when I first came to Brazil. And it made it easy/possible to call this afternoon while laughing my butt off because I found this in my kitchen cabinet:

Let me tell you the story of "Mario". I bought a People magazine the first week I was in MN. I buy several People magazines while I'm in the states because I really like People--except now because Brangelina is all over them--but anyway. This particular People magazine happened to have a bunch of pictures of Mario Lopez in several different apparently famous poses like the one shown here, which was originally Burt Reynolds in like 1970 something. Well, Mom and I had a riot with this magazine. She and I decided we would unstaple this shot of Mario and tape it to the inside of her kitchen cupboard where the coffee grinder is stored in hopes that someone, namely my brother, father or Aunt Jo, would open it to grind coffee and find the shockingly revealing picture. So amidst giggles, she and I taped it to the cupboard one night when no one was looking. Unfortunately, no body was ever actually surprised by the picture. It seems that the coffee grinder and filters have been stored in this cupboard for so long that no one really looks when they open the door. They simply unconsciously open the door, reach up, grab what is needed, and close the door again--without EVER LOOKING! So we ended up having to point it out to everyone--mostly threw hysterics because Mom and I found it quite amusing.

The funniest thing now is that somehow, in my mother's infinite wisdom, she managed to convince my daughter, secretly, to bring this picture back with her to Rio and tape it inside MY coffee cupboard! I had NO CLUE! I don't even know when Sierra accomplished the task. It wasn't there yesterday. She went to bed before me last night and woke after me this morning! Somehow that little trickster, with the coaching of her Gramma, pulled it off! And I just left a message for my mother on her answering machine that she will probably not understand because I couldn't stop laughing long enough to speak!

Sierra meets Baby Oliver

Our friends Julie and Gustavo welcomed their second child, Oliver, to their family shortly before we left Rio for the US for holiday. With all the end of the year hoopla, Sierra and I never had the chance to get by to visit and meet the new baby. It was the first thing we did once we returned.

Here is Sierra holding the now 2 month old Oliver Simpson Soares. He is a super gentle (giant) baby with a full head of dark hair, which you can't see too well in this photo. His big sister Camila is adjusting well and so far seems to be enjoying being the big sister.

Congratulations Julie and Gustavo on your new blessing!

Back in Rio, safe and sound, almost entirely unpacked and settling back in after a wonderful U.S. holiday!!
Off to the shower...

It's all about making memories!
I can't do this in Rio! I'm a country girl at heart, and I have grown up with guns and gun safety. I'm a pretty good shot too, so when one man at my dad's cowboy shoot offered a stage for some target practice, I jumped on the chance. And Mom was there to make sure we had photos of the fun. After shooting at the range that day, I was determined to learn how to shoot a pistol with only my left hand, so a few days later Dad and I took his guns out behind the house to try. Uh, not so easy. I definitely need both hands to steady the revolver enough to hit the target.
So after being in the Wild Wild West, I jumped several decades to the 80's!!

Vicks, Auntie Burnsie, Me, Colette--80's style

Vicki and Chad threw an 80's party last weekend. I learned two very important things: #1 My hair can still be ratted beyond the allowable height, and #2 No matter the year, big hair and blue eyeshadow makes you want to party like a rock star!

It's all about making memories!

I LOVE this Girl!!

Beach BABY!

Does it get any better than this?

Or this?

Or maybe this?

It is GREAT to have had such beautiful weather for so many great outside, summer fun times with family and friends!!

Wild Wild West

My dad is a country boy at heart. He grew up in the country, farming mostly. The home he and my mother have lived in for the past 39 years is in the country, although not a farm. He is a hunter through and through. In retirement, he has taken up a rather interesting hobby, and I was able to watch him last Sunday at a real Cowboy Shoot!

There is a national organization called Single Action Shooters Society, to which Dad belongs. There are local chapters or other local organizations that are similar who hold monthly shoots at ranges designed specifically for Wild Wild West reinactment. He had a shoot last Sunday, and I was able to check out what it's all about. It was a beautiful, cloudless Sunday afternoon, watching Dad participate and enjoy this hobby. Here are some pictures from the day.

As you can see from this picture, he dresses in costume for the day. He crafted the cart next to him from scrap wood he had laying around the garage. It is used to carry your guns and ammo from stage to stage throughout the day. The stages sometimes require the use of a rifle, a shotgun, and two pistols or any combination of the three firearms. The shot here at Piona's Pleasure Palace required all three.The instructions of this stage were to sit on the bed, ask the time keeper, who was playing the school marm, for a big wet kiss, then stand up and start the shooting. From inside this structure, he had to shoot the rifle 10 times at various targets out to the right in the picture, then each pistol from the same position five times at other targets, come out of the "building", grab the rifle sitting in the middle of the staging area, and shoot that 4 or so times. The directions at each staging area were actually quite elaborate. Several times during the day, my mom commented on how many steps to each scenario and how could they remember what to do, especially Dad who has a hard time remembering what she tells him to do at home. I think her appearance at Sunday's shoot called his bluff on the whole poor memory thing. Hmmmm...

I was overall impressed with the safety precautions taken throughout the shoot. These guys are using REAL bullets and there are approximately 125 shooters there with 4 guns each; that's a lot of possibility for accident; however, there are very specific guidelines for how to approach each stage and how to handle the guns all day. There is a loading table, where there is always someone there to help count live bullets going into the guns, there is an unloading table after each participant takes his/her turn where there is also a second set of eyes making sure no live bullets leave the stage, and at all times while carting guns around or carrying guns back to their respective gun carts, the chambers are open. It is a well run competition. And these guys and gals are INTO IT!

There is one man, who goes by Jack Pine Bill, who insisted that I have a little turn at some target practice when the groups broke for lunch. Being my father's daughter, I was happy to comply. I went to one of the ranges and shot two pistols and a rifle at some targets in an order prescribed by Jack Pine. When I was finished, having missed only 1 of 40 shots, Jack Pine was ready to sign me up for next month's shoot. In all honesty, I think I would consider joining my dad in this activity if I lived closer. Until then, I'll have to live vicariously through his cowboy boots!

Fun with cousins!
Sierra and I are having a wonderful visit, catching up with family and friends. Here are a few shots of her with others from the last week or so.

Sierra with Veronique and Buttercup (the chick).

Sierra and cousin Taylor.Sierra and cousin Bailey.Sierra and cousin Emily.

Summer in the states is always relaxing, refreshing, and enjoyable!

Give a kid a camera and let her play...And among the 20+ pictures that need deleting, you just might find a masterpiece!

Photography by Genevieve Marin, age 3

One more thing for the day....

Hairdos! Sierra and I treated ourselves last week to new hairdos! Girls like to live on the wildside. Both of us made pretty severe changes and it feels GREAT!!

Here I am! Scroll down to the picture of me in the truck. That one was taken two days before this one. I know the background on this shot isn't ideal--nice garbage can behind my head!--but you get the idea!

I guess it's kind of hard to see what Sierra's new do is...hmmm, let me find another shot...
Here we go. This is a great shot of Sierra with Amelie--the sixth Marin baby--I LOVE this haircut on Sierra. It is a little girl cut for my little girl.

Old Blue!

My dad has this truck. It was my grandfather's pick up. I think the first truck my grandfather ever bought. It became my father's truck when my parents were newly married. It never had a working radio that I can remember. Instead, we would sing, "I've Been Working on the Railroad" at the tops of our lungs all the way to town--Mom harmonizing to the tune her children produced. My brother, sister, and I all learned how to drive in this truck--3 speed on the tree. We drove mainly through the fields, but my brother and sister both took turns driving this truck to school during their high school years. We hauled a LOT of wood in the fall in the bed of this truck. I spent hours as a little girl behind the wheel while it was parked in the yard, pretending to drive that truck all over the continental United States.

Old Blue had been parked in the woods for many years until last summer when my dad got a wild hair up his you-know-what and called the country mechanic. In turn, Old Blue is road ready! Nothing has been done to restore the body, but the shifter was moved to the floor instead of the steering column and our trusty country mechanic did whatever country mechanics do and got Old Blue purrin!

Well, I insisted Dad drive Old Blue last week to retrieve my car from storage. And let me tell ya, I had a permanent smile the whole while!!

Here's Dad getting ready to go! (He has a permanent smile behind the wheel too.)Here's my self-portrait while riding in Old Blue! My brother arrives for a visit next week. I can't wait to take a picture of him driving it!!! I only wish my sister was coming too. Can you see the photo-op now--all three of us in Old Blue. I can hear "I've Been Working on the Railroad" as I imagine it! Ahhhh, the glory of childhood memories.

SugarLoaf Mountain

One of Rio's busiest tourist attractions is Pao de Acucar--Sugarloaf. Last week, before venturing to the north of Brazil to visit family, my friend Tania stopped for a few days in Rio to see me and Sierra. It was a busy bunch of days with the end of the school year activities and preparing to travel to the states for holiday. However, we managed a morning visit to Sugarloaf while she was with us. Seems ironic actually, we have lived in Rio for two years and this was the first visit up the mountain for me and Sierra. It is amazingly beautiful!

Here are me and Sierra with the statue of Christ behind my head. You can barely see the little outline of Christ's figure in this photo.But, I think you can make it out a little more clearly in this one of me and Tania.This is the marina of Botafogo. The landscape--my my my--always amazes me. It doesn't matter how many times I see the awesome landscape here; it takes my breath away.

Festa Junina

Festa Junina(Portuguese: June Festival) is the name of the annual Brazilian celebrations which take place in the middle of winter (in the southern hemisphere June and July) and are most associated with the Brazilian Northeastern area, but celebrated in the whole of Brazil, mainly on the days following the Catholic feast of Saint Anthony, John the Baptist and Saint Peter.

The Brazilian north-east is largely arid or semi-arid. These popular festivals not only coincide with the rainy seasons of most states in the north-east but they also provide the people with an opportunity to give thanks to Saint Peter and Saint John for the rain. They also celebrate rural life and feature typical clothing, food, dance (particularly quadrilha, which is similar to square dancing), and music.
Usually taking place in an arraial, a large, open space outdoors, men dress up as farm boys with suspenders and straw hats and women wear pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth and red-checkered dresses, all in a loving tribute to the origins of the music, and of themselves.

Luisa and Sierra during their festa junina party at school.Giulia, Luisa and Sierra during the party.Sophie, Sierra and Luisa during the party.

The Life of a Teacher...
I am finishing my 13th year as a secondary English/Language Arts Teacher. Amazing to think think that I have had a career for so many years--college feels like last year still. Incredible to think how old I have to be in order to have 13 years under my belt--I swear I turned 29 on my last birthday.
Well my students these past 13 years aren't the only ones learning. I have experienced some lessons along the way too.
This year the following lesson is the one that stands out the strongest for me:
Don't be sad because something is over; be happy that it WAS!
Here's to a healthy and safe summer vacation for students and teachers alike, around the world.

The BEST book I've read in a LOOOONG time!!

If you haven't read this yet, buy a copy!! It is the most remarkable, inspirational, true story I have read in ages!!