freckles have attacked my face. . .

   Last week I was especially out of it. I slept through fireworks and loud music and then right through my alarm. I woke up to find my retainer in my shoe. I forgot my computer with the movie for the kids and the popcorn. Is there a remedy for forgetfulness? 

  I have decided to literature (more like story time) for my workshops! I love children's books so why not teach what you love! The point of the workshop is to expose the kids to more English so I think books are perfect! This week we did "The Poky Little Puppy" and we talked about obedience. Afterwards, we went outside and drew our own Poky Little Puppies on the sidewalk with chalk. I don't think the kids have ever seen chalk. They took a piece and stared at me as I told them to draw on the ground. Then, they asked where the paper was. It was pretty funny but once they got it they  loved it and I am now out 2 boxes of chalk!

  

 

Being that we were outside for half of class, a few boys decided to pick me flowers. Super sweet even though they were covered in little bugs and made me sneeze non-stop. I really appreciated it! Another way these kids make my days so much more than worth it!

   

We have been off of school this week for Carnival! It's craziness. The country literally stops for this holiday. There are all sorts of costumes and dances that are pretty interesting. They party the week before through the next week. Emily and I went and grabbed dinner and got to see some of the costumes and dancing and it definitely intrigued me. The whole celebrations is some mixture of the Amazonian Indian and African religions. Honestly, it's a little confusing but it's definitely like a different town around here during Carnival.

   Saturday, Emily, Lindsay, and I went to Recife to hang out at the mall. It was really fun! We had Burger King which was super wonderful but kind of expensive (15 reals for a whopper meal). Then we saw a movie and walked around for awhile. Everything in the mall is ridiculously expensive. A simple shirt was 60 reals and jeans were outrageous. I now understand why most people don't have much variety in their wardrobe! We did find some legit 80's Sport sunglasses for super cheap so I was compelled to buy them! They rock and I rocked them at the beach yesterday.  We also found this package with some hysterical English on it. They are these weird acupuncture things from Asia but they are supposed to help with all these things. What they really do is cut off your circulation if you just leave them on your hand. But, we had to buy them because of what the package said. (I don't know if you can see it in the picture but you must read this out-loud) It says on the front: "beautiful hand begin with finger" and on the back: "Lack of practice of hands and legs is the origin of all illness, in life and work. Because of various pressure, people are easy to be fat, blood needle equipment can prevent lack of practice and adults' common illness. No matter what illness it is difficult to cure completely, to prevent is the most important thing." Wouldn't you buy it? Hours of endless entertainment and giggling have come from beautiful hand!

   Tuesday, we went to the school to hang out with a few of the churches that got together for a sort of Carnival Camp. We played sports, card games, and swam! It was really fun! The sun wasn't really out that much so I didn't bother with sunscreen (mistake). We played volleyball and I learned so much. Here, you can kick the ball in volleyball and it doesn't matter how many times you hit it as long as it goes over. I was seriously confused. Swimming was fun, too. We raced so of course I loved that! But, no ladder injuries this time and I still won! I came home with a little sunburn but it was well worth it!

   Yesterday was beach day! It was definitely an adventure. Jeff, Lindsay, Emily, Ricardo, his wife, Catia, their 4 year old, Rabecca, and 7 month old, Eric all came. It had rained before we got there and you have to drive down a steep dirt road to get down to the beach but the car would have gotten stuck so we walked it! It was definitely interesting going down and then back up with a very pregnant woman, a woman with a baby, and a 4 year old (not to mention all the stuff) but was worth it! It was beautiful! It was overcast all day and right after we were in the water for the first time, it poured rain so we had seek shelter under a vendor's table but the intense rain passed. It was kind of nice that the sun wasn't out so it wasn't unbearably hot. The water in the ocean is warm and nice. Jeff found these awesome reef formations off the beach with caves and all sorts of things! I went exploring and then grabbed my camera and took pictures! There are spots where you are standing on the reef and you are equal with the ocean. I don't know how to explain it but it was awesome! Overall, it was a great day! (and an anatomy lesson thanks to Brazilian swim styles)

    This week has been great and I am ready to get back to teaching Monday!

Rodrigo 

Just the thought of this kiddo makes me giggle! He thinks he is such a stud. He  is so incredibly smart and so incredibly creative so sometimes he requires much to get his attention. He is very passionate about soccer and very competitive. He really loves to draw! He kind of reminds me of Jordan Loder in 4th grade. When we draw he takes forever because he needs every little detail perfect. But, his soccer fields, castles, tigers, and everything else all turn out amazing. After every journal entry there is a picture of what he wrote about! I love when he is the one to come up with sentences or alternate endings to stories because you never know exactly what he is going to say! He would way rather tell stories than work and I love hearing them! He is one of the reasons I have allowed 2 minutes of talking as much as you like (in English) after journals before we start book work. I love it! I love him!

Leticia

This little girl is awesome! She is some mixture of a girly-girl and a tomboy. She will go at it with the boys and wear these adorable hair pieces and loves pink. Her English is amazing! She loves to tell me about things and her eye brows go up really high when she gets excited! It's pretty much adorable. She, too, is a very creative drawer. Everything has to be perfect and then she wants to tell everyone about it all. It's great! She dots her i s with flowers is always the first to smile. When we sing the Brizilian National Anthem she sings at the top of her lungs with a huge smile on her face! We just had a party for her birthday in class and she was so excited! Have I mentioned she's adorable? 

   I can't believe it's been 6 weeks already! I love you all tons!

Love, your sunburned, adventure-loving girl,

 

Brittney