there's a baby!

   Melody Anabel Turner was born Wednesday night! She is so tiny and so perfect! She has long fingers, red hair, and beautiful eyes. She is adorable and will not be lacking in people to hold her. Jeff and Lindsay are super happy! Jeff's sister, Julie, is here to help with cooking for a month and Lindsay's mom, Jan, is here to help Lindsay for the first month. It's super awesome around here and everybody is baby-love struck!

     Last Friday a family from the school called to see if I wanted to go to Caruaru with them for the weekend. I really like this family so I decided to go! So a half hour after the call we were on our way to Caruaru. It was a wonderful weekend! The dad, Junior, had an Ipad so we used google translator a lot but I used my Portuguese and the mom, Glaucia, speaks pretty good English so we managed to communicate!  I watched my 4th grader, Vinicius, down a  triple cheeseburger and then a half of another one. Turned my world upside down. We had a birthday party for their daughter Gabbi and it was really fun! The kids were parading me around their friends and saying "This is my English Teacher. She's from America so she doesn't speak Portuguese."  Then I would be stared at and eventually they would ask Gabbi or Vinicius how to say something in English and then giggle and come say something to me. It was pretty comical especially from Gabbi because she's only in 2nd grade so she would send them over saying things like "The cat is on the table." Cracked me up!

   While in Caruaru, Glaucia and Junior took me to some weird indoor shopping center and it completely overwhelmed me. I think it was my first taste of what coming home might be like. Glaucia wanted to buy me something for my birthday and I couldn't find anything that I felt justified in buying. I think there will be more than just culture shock to deal with but also the difference of living as a missionary dependent on other people's support and not your own money. It's definitely going to be interesting but I'm 6 weeks away from that.

   My birthday was uneventful, just the way I like it. I got chocolate from Emily, Lindsay, and Jeff and my 5th-6th grade class wrote on the board for me on Monday. All in all it was good!

  Unfortunately, while in Caruaru, my stomach problems came back (which was terrible because there was no way to hide it and the whole house knew). It continued to be pretty bad all week. Wednesday, I came home after my morning classes and the school sent Emily home to take care of me. We giggled about the over-protectiveness of Brazilians and had a good afternoon off. Then Thursday I went to Recife to see Dr. Santos. He has me on 2 different pills for worms (they are the ones every Brazilian takes once or twice a year), some diarrhea medication, anti-dizziness pills, and he wants a blood test. This week I will go get the blood tests but it got really bad on Thursday night and Glaucia is not happy with the worms diagnosis so she is trying to set me up with someone else. We will see what happens. This thing goes in phases so I should be better soon, for a little while at least. 

   I'm pretty sure I broke my toe. I'm such a klutz. I stubbed it and convinced myself it didn't hurt that bad and that I was just being dramatic but it kept hurting for a few hours and I finally decided to put ice on it. That's when I realized it was completely numb. So I've been limping around with a fat, bruised toe feeling totally stupid. At least everyone got a good laugh out of it!
  
  Here is a link to a video that is just stinking adorable! The students name is Rui (which you pronounce Hoowee) and he is in Kindergarden. I just caught him doing this during recess! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv5U5zCkHHI

I love you!!! 

Love your sick, klutzy,  20 year old girl,

 







Brittney

love. . .

    Well, my weekend and week have been incredibly uneventful. I spent the weekend hanging out in the apartment and it was good for me to just rest and try to get some energy. Tuesday night we had a big salad party with a very special treat of dried cranberries. It was so fantastic. Today Rachel (one of my roommates) left and Lindsay's mom came (still no baby :( ) So uneventful is good and relaxing.
   I'm about to turn 2o. I was pondering this while I was looking in the mirror the other day (not something I do very often here because there is only one small one in the bathroom for the whole house so I can now completely live my life without one) anyway this isn't really what I thought I would look like at 20. This isn't really where I thought I would be in life at 20. But I don't mind I love this journey God has me on. I love that I am already achieving dreams. I love that I am okay with my looks and my body. I am God's and He is writing my story and directing my journey.
   So there is only a month of school left! Crazy! I cry like everyday now because I'm not sure I can live without seeing my beautiful wonderful kids. Every day one of them does something and I consider that I may never see them again and I cry. Pathetic but true. Anyway here is a list of things I love:
I love giggles
I love when they don't know the word for something in English and they try to explain it "Teacher it is this it is one. . ."
I love reading them stories and the looks on their faces as I read
I love getting stickers
I love getting pictures
I love hearing "Teacher Brittney!"
I love watching their faces when I speak in Portuguese (outside of class of course)
I love when the boys link arms with me (normally 6 at a time) and walk me to class (I also love trying to make it through doors and up the stairs like this)
I love hearing "OH Teacher"
I love seeing smiles
I love when they tell me they love me (especially rodrigo because he does this silly blowing a kiss deal)
I love getting kisses
I love giving kisses
I LOVE hugs
but most of all . . .
I LOVE LOVING THEM


   Workshops have been great! I'm doing so many different classes now that it's crazy! I must say, once I find a book to work with, I can plan a fantastic lesson like it's nothing! I love it!  Last week I didn't do quite as many as normal but we learned to be available. This week we've done David and The Giant, Mrs. Rosey Posey and the baby bird, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? All of them went great!
   I started leading Opening Session for 1st - 5th with Emily this week. Emily does the talking (about the character trait and Bible verse) and I do the song leading. I love children's songs! I'm teaching them Arky  Arky a verse a week! 
   
Kaio

He wouldn't let me take a picture of just him so here is a group picture and he is the boy that is not Hugo ie the tall skinny one. He is pretty quiet and is a really sweet kid but his best friend is Hugo so sometimes he gets into some not-so-great stuff. Regardless, he is very intelligent and pretty sweet. He wants to take over his dad's business when he gets older. He has to leave his house at 5:30 every morning and travel 2 hours to get to school - that's commitment! So, needless to say, he works hard on his school work. He's a great kid and awesome to have in class!


I love you guys!

Love your emotional, loving, singing girl,











Brittney

"Teacher, when are you coming back? Teacher Caleb makes funny letters. . ."

I don't have too much to say or too much to tell you about this week. . .
   I'm looking into getting my intestines removed. . .not really but it was just the dramatic comment I needed to make me giggle a little. Friday night we were supposed to go out for pizza and I was excited but then I got really super sick and I couldn't go. I was sick in bed until Tuesday morning and even then it was sheer will that got me to school because I couldn't be in my room one more day (the title is what my 3rd-4th grade class asked while I was gone)  I'm getting sick of this so I decided to do some research. It seems that I have a more chronic case of giardia. I then decided to self -prescribe the recommended anti-biotic. Only after I bought the anti-biotic did I read more on it and found out that the side effects were so bad that the FDA wouldn't approve it in the USA. So, I was  a little concerned but I figured it was a 5 day deal and I could just handle it. Well, no side-effects yet and I'm functioning again so we will see. I could definitely use some prayer.
   Speaking of buying pills. Free health care is not all it's cracked up to be. My mom couldn't send me my pills like I mentioned earlier so when I got the anti-biotic I figured I would pick up my other ones too and then found out it is 90 reals for a 28 day supply. That was a punch in the gut.
   Anyway, enough about that.
   Friday was parent-teacher conferences and I think they went pretty well. Some kids look freakishly like their parents, though.
   Classes have been great this week! Today for 5th-6th grade we made a pizza and it was pretty yummy if I do say so myself! Then, in my 7th-9th class we were discussing the current flooding of nearby cities and they are really passionate about helping out. They want to have a work day and many other things! I am so excited! 

Deborah
If I were ever to describe an ideal student I'm pretty sure she would be who I based my description upon. She is so incredibly smart, sweet, and wonderful! She's still young enough that she loves Hannah Montana but old enough to grasp some of the complexities that we discuss in class. She gets perfect grades on everything, is always willing to read and answer questions, and is super respectful and just great! She's wonderful!



Eduardo (Dooda)
Dooda is great ! She is not afraid to put the two boys we have in their place. She is very  intelligent and very animated. She is very passionate and opinionated. I would say she is incredibly stimulating to the classroom! She's great at her work and is always up for sharing and reading. She is so much fun to have in class!





I can't believe how fast this trip is flying by!

I love you! 

Love your sick, awesome teacher, passionate girl,

 







Brittney
 

"this trip will change your life."...

Bom Noite,

Change is most definitely in the air for this girl! 
I let my food touch and it doesn't even stress me
I'm very flexible and don't feel the need to plan so excessively anymore
I'm learning (slowly) the spirit of the rules
I really like beans
 I'm liking the color pink - pastel pink
These may seem minor but they are good steps for me!
      It was a very relaxing long weekend last weekend! We had no school on Thursday and Friday for Easter so we had a Jane austen fest. Lindsay, Rachel, Emily, and I moved all of the couches over to Jeff and Lindsay's and watched the 6 hour Pride & Prejudice on the projector! It was awesome!
    The church had a big Easter breakfast Sunday morning and that was pretty yummy. I didn't get to go where I normally go because they didn't want me riding the bus alone in case there was too much Easter traffic (overprotective thing again) so I went with Jeff and Lindsay and it was fun. 
    Sunday evening we had a big Easter dinner. We had green bean casserole, pork, mac n cheese, rolls, blue berry cream cheese muffins, cinnamon rolls, and I made a cheesecake! That was an adventure! There are no graham crackers here so we bought these dessert crackers and figured they would be a good substitute. WRONG. They don't stick together. so I almost destroyed the cheesecake but it was super delicious so all is well! After dinner, we colored eggs and then went on a hunt for them. It was really fun! Then they gave Caleb and I Easter baskets! It was really nice.

 

I really hate going up to roof to hang my laundry, especially when there isn't that much. I have hung clothes on every hang-worthy surface in my room to dry. . .laziness and brilliance both at their peak :)



 

     I don't know why I haven't laid in the hammock before now but now that I have I may never lie on my bed again! I'm currently spending all free time in the hammock with Wuthering Heights (great book).




     Well a new schedule was finally decided upon for me!
Monday: my regular classes (3-4 English, 5-6 English, 7-9 English), tutoring Emmanuella, legos, 1st a workshop, 2nd a workshop.
Tuesday: regular classes, tutoring Emmanuella, legos, 3rd workshop
Wednesday: regular classes, legos, 1st b workshop, 2nd b workshop
Thursday: regular classes, 5th workshop, legos, 4th workshop, tutoring 2nd, English meeting
Friday: regular classes, legos, tutoring 1st, tutoring 2nd
I'm pretty happy with it! Every night except Thursday I get home early enough to cook dinner and such! It's kind of perfect!

 Here is Hugo Felipe from last week

Mariana

This girl is super funny! She is very strong willed and very smart. Her English is perfect. She is very opinionated, too. She always weighs in on the group conversations (actually she tends to run them). One time, Hugo Felipe made her mad so she grabbed him by the ears and took him to the principal. She is really funny but she is incredibly sweet. I've run into her in public a couple times and she always runs over and gives me a hug and kiss (custom). She came to the states once and hated the food. She thought Taco Bell was tapioca and almost puked. At least she can laugh about it now. She is fantastic to have in class! 

Yasmin
Quite the opposite of Mariana - Yasmin is quiet but still incredibly smart and sweet! She is very religious, when I asked what something was that they did every day she wrote "read my Bible and pray" for a 7th grader especially that's dedication. She has great style! She often wears plaid, chucks, and other fun clothes. She doesn't like to stand up in front of the class or talk out loud in group discussions but she is slowing coming out of her shell and she always has helpful and intelligent things to say. I love having her in class!


Tonight, I'm going to give Kosheena another shot! Hopefully I don't get sick!

Love you all!!!

Love your relaxing, little bit lazy, happy girl,

Brittney

knowing enough Portuguese to be dangerous. . .

hey there,

Last week was pure craziness with midterms and other miscellaneous drama so I did not have time to write but you will be fully filled in today! 

   Last week was a bit of a downer. I worked really hard to give my kids every chance on their midterms. I had a practice test day, a review/study day, and then the actual test day (thanks ACE). For most of my classes this was perfect. However, one lovely student in 6th grade didn't want anything to do with the study day and decided that Social Studies was more important. He failed. I cried. Then we had a little study session and he took it again and passed! 


  
   My week kind of went like that; bad things happening all to work out okay. For instance, my wonderful Mother tried to send me my pills for my tumor and that is simply impossible. I really did not want these people or my students to ever know me without my pills but it's all good because the nice doctor that helped me before told me the name in Portuguese and I can get them over the counter here!  
   Continuing on with said instances, I got a bill from Barclay for $4000. Now, I was told that tuition would be free because I was here doing missions work. That wasn't approved by the board however and I got missed in the who to tell process. So, I had a slight melt down, considered all the possibilities like being expelled and what I would  do. But, they let me drop the classes and now all I have to pay for is the one I took online. No worries :)
   On top of all those little dramas I'm beginning to think good health is an unattainable illusion. Between my continued stomach problems and some sort of a cold I'm just ready to feel 100%. God didn't promise good health, though.
   After that week, I had a fantastic Friday! We, Jeff, Caleb, Emily, and I, went to Recife to renew our visas and ended making a day out of it! We went to this great restaurant that had super unique decorations. The owner came out and talked to us. Come t o find out he had spent a year in Omaha, NE and some time in England so he had the menu in English and it was really funny! There were titles like "Mermaid butt bottoms"  and the whole place had this funny, joking, twist and great food! However, they don't exactly make it clear which bathroom is for who. So, guess which girl walked into the men's bathroom and stood there deliberating if it was really the mens??? That's right  this girl did. Super embarrassing but super funny! 
   After that we went to the park. Now, that may not seem like a big deal in the States but it is a huge deal here because there are no parks and this one is really nice. We had a lot of fun and I managed to again make a fool out of myself. We were headed to the swings, upon my request, and one by one the group took off running to get there. Well, I was refusing to run but then I was really far behind. Not only did they stop running when I started but, lets be honest, I look like a total dork when I run. At least the group of Brazilian men got a good laugh out of it or more specifically me. 
   Our last stop was the super wonderful grocery store that they have in Recife. We went to buy Easter dinner makings but I found a wonderful treasure! I found normal looking ground beef! Now this may seem like I'm being dramatic or like it's not a big deal but I can't cook the beef from the stores here. It's greenish and it smells terrible. I gag. Needless to say, I have been eating a lot of chicken. So, I was more than delighted to see this red and normal looking ground beef. I was especially delighted as I ate my spaghetti last night!
   Sunday night, I taught Sunday School in Guadalajara. There is one of the students from the school that goes to church there who is very fluent in English so I was kind of depending on him. Well he didn't come. It made for an interesting class. I taught about friendship and it required my little Portuguese, lots of hand motions, and well what I can only describe as interpretive dance! It was fun!

    Speaking of my Portuguese, boy did I really do a funny Monday night! I went to buy bread from the bakery. I've done this before so I was pretty sure of myself. So, I walked up and said "Cinco." I meant 5 pieces of bread but apparently people here order in reals. To give you an idea, 5 pieces of bread is about one real. She tried to tell me but I didn't understand. So as she handed me a HUGE bag of bread I just giggled. There is a little cafe type thing in the bakery and I heard they had cappuccinos and I wanted to give it a try. I didn't know how to say it so I just said "un" and pointed it on the menu. Well, the guy came out with a huge class of milk and I laughed and tried again. Eventually, he got it. It was pretty awful tasting. My next dilemma was that you have to tell the cashier what you ordered. A waitress had been watching me the whole time so I called her over. She was really concerned that I didn't like the cappuccino but I assured her that wasn't the problem. Then I asked her how to say it. Well it is basically the same as in English but she kept making me say it. Then, she grabbed me and pulled me up to the cash register and made me say it with prompting. It was really funny. I then paid for my 5 reals worth of bread and walked home to share my wheat wealth.

   There were only 2 days of classes this week! We had an Easter party this morning for the kids. Man do Brazilians get into Easter! I am now rich in chocolate! Yessssss! But they did a passover meal for the older kids and a video and it was really awesome. It made me see it a little differently too.
   It looks like I might be teaching 1 more class everyday. I'm pretty excited!!! It will be 1st and 2nd grade and I do love those cuties!

   Workshops last week were on contentment. We read "Bread and Jam for Francis" I love that book! The kids do too. I love watching them grasp concepts.  Really, I just love teaching.

 

    We are now starting the profiles of my 7th-9th grade class. However, I cannot promise pictures because the girls think they are too ugly to be photographed and the boys are simply too kool.

Hugo Felipe
This boy. Hugo was infamous before school started. He comes from a really terrible family life and has a tendency to take it out at school and on teachers. The first day I met him I got so overwhelmed with love for him I cried (yea yea I'm a sap head). I was really glad to have him in my class and really he hasn't been that terrible for me. We had a rough patch but we got  through. Unfortunately, just because he is wonderful in my class does not mean that he is doing well the rest of the time he is at school. Last week he threw a rock at another students head and got suspended for 2 days and yesterday he  was up to some kicking and pantsing pranks. Hugo is a definite leader and has a lot of charisma. He is funny and has this high pitched laugh that is incredibly infectious. He wants to please deep down inside but sometimes he buries it.  He is probably the least fluent in my class but his face lights up when he finally gets something. He is always brushing his hair like a kool guy and really does think he is kool. He can be incredibly sweet but he can also be incredibly disrespectful. I don't know what his future at the school looks like but I know he could use some serious prayer. 

Well, it's time to head up those splendid flights of stairs to hang laundry!


Love you!!!!


Love your flexible, chocolate-loving, dorky girl,











Brittney

the idiot on the bus. . .

Boa Tarde!

I always seem to make a fool of myself on the bus. I stand up way too early (partly because I'm so nervous about missing my stop again) and then I end up standing at the front where everyone can see the American. The people stare and the driver keeps looking at me like "when am I stopping for you?" However, this week took the prize for idiocy.  Normally, another teacher rides with me Monday morning from Guadalajara so I never really pay attention to where I need to stand up and tell the driver to stop, etc. So I stood up a good 20 minutes too early and told the man, in my thick American accent, that my stop was the International School. Well, we passed 3 schools before my stop and at every school he would ask "here?" and I would sheepishly say no. But I made it without missing the stop!

April Fools is called Day of The Liar here and is not smiled upon so I avoided it at school but it was not so for all my American friends. For April Fools I played a little tricked and text people that I was sure things were going to work out between Fernando and I and that I was applying for my permanent visa to stay here. Well, Chris Cadwallader is the only one who fell for it. Which made my day. About time I got him. . .oh wait I do that a lot (haha sorry Chris). Anyway, incase rumors get started, there is no boy here and I have absolutely no plans to stay or come back permanently.  


Frank Penna from World Renewal (and a Barclay graduate) is here this month so he has been checking up and making sure everything is going okay. It's been nice having him. (He, however, would like me to stay and teach because Emily is leaving permanently in December but I had to let him down gently).

 


Every day this week I have come into my classroom (after getting my morning cup  of coffee) the kids have written me love notes on the board! Makes my day start great! I love my kids!

Last week for workshop we focused on the character trait of  fearlessness. After reading the story, we wrote our books about something we are afraid of. I wrote one as an example about a frog named Mike who like to jump on people's faces. It was pretty funny.

Yesterday, April 5th, was One Day Without Shoes for Toms shoes. I did a special presentation for my 7th-9th grade class about the different diseases people get from not wearing shoes and how Toms helps. The kids were really excited and wanted to take of f their shoes. We decided to petition Toms to sell or ship to this part of Brazil. Pretty successful if you ask me!



Emmanuella,
My last  5th-6th grader. I can't tell you the way I love this little girl. I'm not saying she's my favorite because I truly love each kid differently but we have a different connection and here is why. Emmanuella was born in the states and lived there and went to school there until she was in 2nd grade. This causes a problem. Her English is perfect orally but she cannot spell or read, at all. Her Portuguese is good but she is slow to respond and again she cannot spell or read. Because she is so fluent in English and the kids are jealous they make fun of her and because her Portuguese is slow kids make fun of her. She has been seriously bullied in her first semester here. So, I sought her out to make her feel loved and special and we ended up connecting really well. She's such a sweetheart. She is one of my main sticker-givers. She truly misses the states though. She is always always talking about it. She misses doughnuts, peanut butter, cereal, snow, the list goes on and on. We have her in one-on-one tutoring for reading and writing and she is improving greatly! She got a peanut butter and jelly party for doing so well. Lindsay ended up giving her the whole jar of peanut butter and she ate so much she threw up but she was still just as stoked about it. I think we are going to have her family over soon and will be making all American food (and hopefully homemade doughnuts). I love this girl and I love having her in my classes!


I came home after classes this morning to clean, do laundry, grocery shop, and do homework and now I'm thinking it's nap time :)


Eu te amo!


Love your nerdy, sweaty, neat freak girl,











 Brittney








 

they're laughing at me. . .

 oi :)

I keep having wonderful day dreams of blissful coffee but then reality hits and I can choose guarana or coke. Brizilians drink coke as habitually as we drink coffee. It's insane. But yummy and an acceptable substitute.

So Monday nights we teach English classes in Guadalajara and this requires printing. Well I decided to go to the Xerox shop and get what I needed by myself. I managed to communicate but they laughed at me a lot. One boy yelled, "American! Say English!" hahaha. Anyway, I felt so silly walking out of there after trying to communicate but hey I did it. Then I went to get tapioca and when I finished ordering the old man giggled at me. It's becoming a re-occurring theme to laugh at my Portuguese. 

I had a pretty great week of classes. I have been working really hard to love some kids and it is so incredibly amazing when they respond. One in particular is pretty hard to deal with. She will look you in the eye as she blatantly disobeys. She can be incredibly challenging and is very resistant. This week she sat on my lap and let me play with her hair and even ran and hugged me and was excited for workshop. I was beyond stoked! I continue to get tons of stickers from my kids so I started a sticker book at the back of my journal. I rock I know ;)

Apparently, there is this game where you can squeeze someone just right and make them pass out for a minute. Well the older kids started it and the younger kids took it to another level. They were making each other pass out and then letting them drop on their faces. Luckily, the injuries were relatively minor. One kid got dropped on his face and has half a face of bruises, scratches, and puffiness and another's lip is bruised and he lost feeling and movement in that half of his mouth for awhile but he is okay now. Unfortunately, the second kid's mom is a lawyer and wasn't happy so we had to have a juvy worker come in and they are having a parents meeting about it Monday. Silly kids.

Last week for workshop we focused on friendship. We read Chester's way and then made friendship wreaths. It was really fun and the kids had a ton of fun tracing each others hands. They got pretty creative and it was a ton of fun! 

Johnny

Johnny is the principal's (Tele) son.  His mom is British and he speaks fluent English. It might even be more comfortable than Portuguese to him. So, it is great having him in class to help if I need it. Johnny is such a great kid. I really love him. He has a flair for the dramatic, though. He loves Selena Gomez and Hannah Montana. He loves reading, singing, and acting. He is really funny and really sweet. He really loves talking too so sometimes I have to challenge him to be quiet. He is amazing!

Rafael

Oh, Rafael. When I first got to class I felt like I couldn't get this kids attention. He always had something in his hands that he was playing with or was drawing instead of writing. Then one day it all changed. He came up and hugged me super tight (which honestly shocked me) and started doing all his work perfectly. Well, the hugs got more frequent and he started drawing me pictures all the time (he really is a great artist). I was beginning to suspect something and it was confirmed when he came up and kissed me on the cheek. Apparently, Rafael has a teacher crush. On one hand it's sweet and on another he's in 6th grade and it's not appropriate. We had a little talk and it's calmed down a little bit. He is still doing really great in his work and constantly drawing. I will not be surprised if he becomes an artist!

Well I have a final paper to write for The Blessing. . .

Aqui e sentindo sua falta.

Love your tongue tied, exhausted, loving girl

Brittney

'