RFKC--Day 2/3
Howdy friends and family! The last two days have definitely been interesting! The campers are settling in well and starting to enjoy camp!
Some of these kids are so hungry for attention (and food) that they will go to extreme measures to get either of these! I got the privilege of experiencing that...
My job at this camp is to lifeguard and be a relief "big camper". While in the pool Tuesday, one of the girls was playing and swimming along happily and then she began to swim away from the others. I watched her carefully and she seemed to be ok. She was snorkeling but gradually her swimming became less active. I kept a close eye on her when her swimming just stopped. She was face down in the pool--and for any lifeguard, that is a heart stopping moment.
I quickly alerted another big camper who was near her in the water and she tapped her on the head thinking that she would pop up and respond. No luck. By now my heart started to pump a little quicker. The big camper tapped her again, only to be answered with no response again! I quickly threw off my glasses and shirt (yes, I had my suit on underneath) and jumped in. As I turned her over, she had a glazed look in her eyes and I was praying that everything would be ok. I very calmly called her by name (and for those of you who know me know that I can get very excited about certain things)and told her that she needed to respond and answer me. With the other girls watching, she looked up at me as I was swimming her to the side still 'dazed'. I quietly told her that she was ok and that she could stop acting at any moment. As I pulled her out of the water, she said to me, "I'm fine, what's the big deal?"
Talk about heart wrenching. This young girl was so hungry for attention that she went to drastic measures just for one on one time.
Over the course of the next 10 minutes I told her that she needed to sit with me on the side of the pool so that I could 'observe' her and make sure she was ok. (In other words, I gave her a time out!)I talked with her about why she did that and her response was simply, "I want attention!" I told her that there were so many other ways to get attention and that wasn't a good choice. As the day went on, I made sure to try to compliment her on the little things or just say hi to her when I saw her. My heart went out to this girl.
Wednesday brought new opportunities to get to know the kids. Funny thing is, the Lord brings these opportunities at the craziest times! For me, the opportunity was while driving go-karts with the shorter campers! I was driving around with a little girl and she wanted so badly to be able to drive--so I gave her that chance! I ran the gas pedal and she ran the wheel...talk about insane! That was my moment of insanity! She screamed and giggled while I held on for dear life! As we were finishing the last lap on the course, she let me take control of the wheel and laid her head on my shoulder and said, I don't get to live with my Mommy any more. I miss her. But you made my day really fun! As I pulled into our slot to park, she just continued to snuggle up to me...and once again, I had to hold back the tears. There were no words of advice to give, nothing to say, just a shoulder to provide and a side hug to give--nothing needed to be said. Today was about making moments matter--even if it was in the go-kart. The cool thing for this little girl is that the photographer captured that moment and she will have it in her scrapbook that we are making for her.
From my moment making opportunities to yours, have a great day!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
A week that will change my life...Day 1 RFKC
Howdy friends and family! I am writing to you tonight from a 2012 Royal Family Kids Camp—This afternoon as we were wrapping up our afternoon activities, we asked one of the campers to pray over supper. A little boy volunteered. He did a typical prayer, “Lord, thank you for the food and the fun day we had and Lord, thank you for letting me survive my first birthday and keeping me alive during the surgeries I have had. Amen”
Talk about being caught off guard! I was sitting next to the director and the nurse and neither of us had dry eyes. It’s so hard to imagine what some of these kids have gone through. The director shared with me that the little boy had to have a plate put in his head before his first birthday because of what his Mom had done to him. My heart was truly broken.
This evening before bed, I had the privilege to pass out the blankets that Joyce donated and we tied. I went with the camp Grandpa and Grandma to hand them out. The look on one little girls face was priceless. She grabbed her blanket and asked, “Who gave this to me?” The camp Grandma looked at her and said, “Miss Jen made it for you with another lady from her church.” She hugged the blanket tightly to her chest and said, “No one has ever given me anything like this before! Thank you! I love it!”
As we passed out the blankets to the other kids, it was so hard to hold back the tears that were filling my eyes. For some of these kids, it was just like Christmas morning. They were so excited to get something that was all their own.
As I was wrapping up the night, one of the privileges that I have is to be relief for the big campers and spend time with the little campers. While we are in the room, we get to read them a story, tuck them in and play worship music for them to go to sleep on. The other leader in the room asked one of the little girls if she would like her to tuck her in. She said no and turned her back away from that leader. The leader tried several times to tuck her in and each time she was answered with “No.” A few minutes later, I came by and asked her if it would be ok if I tucked her in and she said “I guess so.” She was very quiet and shy and I told her that I was so excited to see her when she woke up in the morning. She turned over immediately asked me if I was serious and I told her that I was. A huge smile spread across her face and she said that she couldn’t wait either.
From my widened, emotional picture window to yours, have a great week!
Talk about being caught off guard! I was sitting next to the director and the nurse and neither of us had dry eyes. It’s so hard to imagine what some of these kids have gone through. The director shared with me that the little boy had to have a plate put in his head before his first birthday because of what his Mom had done to him. My heart was truly broken.
This evening before bed, I had the privilege to pass out the blankets that Joyce donated and we tied. I went with the camp Grandpa and Grandma to hand them out. The look on one little girls face was priceless. She grabbed her blanket and asked, “Who gave this to me?” The camp Grandma looked at her and said, “Miss Jen made it for you with another lady from her church.” She hugged the blanket tightly to her chest and said, “No one has ever given me anything like this before! Thank you! I love it!”
As we passed out the blankets to the other kids, it was so hard to hold back the tears that were filling my eyes. For some of these kids, it was just like Christmas morning. They were so excited to get something that was all their own.
As I was wrapping up the night, one of the privileges that I have is to be relief for the big campers and spend time with the little campers. While we are in the room, we get to read them a story, tuck them in and play worship music for them to go to sleep on. The other leader in the room asked one of the little girls if she would like her to tuck her in. She said no and turned her back away from that leader. The leader tried several times to tuck her in and each time she was answered with “No.” A few minutes later, I came by and asked her if it would be ok if I tucked her in and she said “I guess so.” She was very quiet and shy and I told her that I was so excited to see her when she woke up in the morning. She turned over immediately asked me if I was serious and I told her that I was. A huge smile spread across her face and she said that she couldn’t wait either.
From my widened, emotional picture window to yours, have a great week!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Dave: Day 2 Haiti, Jen Day 2 at Camp!
Howdy friends and family! I didn't get to skype with Dave today but I did get to communicate with him through the email! Here is what he had to say! ...
What a day--hot hot hot and I am in jeans (not by choice but I was glad I was!!) I was on the ground rolling around with the kids. Fun, but still it was hot.
We went to 3 schools and handed candy out. We wrote our names on the chalk board. We totally disrupted their classes. Kids high 5'd us and then played hand slap. At one school, I was on the floor kneeling and swinging a little girl around and tickling little boys when I was mobbed! A bunch of kids all crowded in and I was getting just piled on by kids! They were stealing my glasses and my hat. Then a kid started to dump his water he was drinking on my head. That was the time to get up! Haha! I was wet and the back of my hands were red from playing slap. Another school I visited found me in a room of probably 3 or 4 grade and they mauled me and wouldn't let me out of the room. They untucked my shirt and kept pulling on it! One time they almost pulled it off and the girls squealed when the saw my stomach. I finally got some other Pastors in there and fought my way out of the room. Or should I say I tried...there were two girls standing guard at the doorway haha!
We went to an A/G church and saw a twenty four hr prayer meeting. The ladies brought their mats and set up shop to pray for their community for 24 hrs. The power of God was incredible! We prayed for the Pastor and I was hard pressed not to break down and cry! These ladies were so serious about wanting to see God move, they were fervently singing and praying to God.
We ate at Haitian restaurant. I had chicken and rice with a coke!! Really good. It was a unique setting but the food was great!
Today we also visited 1 orphanage. This little place broke my heart. About 20 or 30 little kids. I found a little boy with big brown eyes. I grabbed him with another little boy and sat with them on my lap for a long time (20 or 30 minutes). I took pics and video with them. One had some candy I had given them and I would help him open each piece. The last piece of candy was laffy taffy he nibbled and sucked on that candy till it was gone. Then he sucked on the wrapper till we left. I teared up when I left it was so hard to tell him goodbye. I gave him several hugs and he held my hand all the way to the door out of the orphanage.
It was so hard that to do that...
I bartered with street vendors. I got some cool knick nacks and tried to do my wife proud! She is the barterer of the family!
We went to top of mountain to see the city. It is an incredible city. When the earthquake hit, 30% of the city died. That is approximately how many they think there are still unnacounted for. We went to the mass grave they buried the people at. The country is a mess but the people care about how they look and there is a real attitude of hope!
It is going to be hard to leave in the morning. It would just be great to set up shop and get to work. There is so much that needs to be done. I don't think that I would probably make it long term. The pastor I rode around with today is 80 and he has been living here 14 years. I am going back changed. I want to do something for people with less than what I have.
Tomorrow we have to leave at 700 to get to the airport in time! Customs here we come.
On a different continent at a church camp called The Crossing...I had a great day! I was in the water 3 different times with the little ones and the youth. It was hot here too of course.
In the evening service, the speaker Mike Holt was speaking to the youth about being a generation of prayer warriors. He made a statement that really caught my attention. He asked the youth, "Who are the seasoned old ladies in your life? The ones who when they lay hands on you and pray, you know they have been with God because when they pray things happen." I thought of my own church in Burwell, my Grandma Miller, the church I grew up in when I was a kid in Broken Bow. My heart was absolutely broken. My prayer tonight was "God, let me live to be the little old lady that is able to touch the throne of heaven 60 years from now when praying over the young ones." It was powerful!
From our heart broken praying picture window to yours, have a great day!
What a day--hot hot hot and I am in jeans (not by choice but I was glad I was!!) I was on the ground rolling around with the kids. Fun, but still it was hot.
We went to 3 schools and handed candy out. We wrote our names on the chalk board. We totally disrupted their classes. Kids high 5'd us and then played hand slap. At one school, I was on the floor kneeling and swinging a little girl around and tickling little boys when I was mobbed! A bunch of kids all crowded in and I was getting just piled on by kids! They were stealing my glasses and my hat. Then a kid started to dump his water he was drinking on my head. That was the time to get up! Haha! I was wet and the back of my hands were red from playing slap. Another school I visited found me in a room of probably 3 or 4 grade and they mauled me and wouldn't let me out of the room. They untucked my shirt and kept pulling on it! One time they almost pulled it off and the girls squealed when the saw my stomach. I finally got some other Pastors in there and fought my way out of the room. Or should I say I tried...there were two girls standing guard at the doorway haha!
We went to an A/G church and saw a twenty four hr prayer meeting. The ladies brought their mats and set up shop to pray for their community for 24 hrs. The power of God was incredible! We prayed for the Pastor and I was hard pressed not to break down and cry! These ladies were so serious about wanting to see God move, they were fervently singing and praying to God.
We ate at Haitian restaurant. I had chicken and rice with a coke!! Really good. It was a unique setting but the food was great!
Today we also visited 1 orphanage. This little place broke my heart. About 20 or 30 little kids. I found a little boy with big brown eyes. I grabbed him with another little boy and sat with them on my lap for a long time (20 or 30 minutes). I took pics and video with them. One had some candy I had given them and I would help him open each piece. The last piece of candy was laffy taffy he nibbled and sucked on that candy till it was gone. Then he sucked on the wrapper till we left. I teared up when I left it was so hard to tell him goodbye. I gave him several hugs and he held my hand all the way to the door out of the orphanage.
It was so hard that to do that...
I bartered with street vendors. I got some cool knick nacks and tried to do my wife proud! She is the barterer of the family!
We went to top of mountain to see the city. It is an incredible city. When the earthquake hit, 30% of the city died. That is approximately how many they think there are still unnacounted for. We went to the mass grave they buried the people at. The country is a mess but the people care about how they look and there is a real attitude of hope!
It is going to be hard to leave in the morning. It would just be great to set up shop and get to work. There is so much that needs to be done. I don't think that I would probably make it long term. The pastor I rode around with today is 80 and he has been living here 14 years. I am going back changed. I want to do something for people with less than what I have.
Tomorrow we have to leave at 700 to get to the airport in time! Customs here we come.
On a different continent at a church camp called The Crossing...I had a great day! I was in the water 3 different times with the little ones and the youth. It was hot here too of course.
In the evening service, the speaker Mike Holt was speaking to the youth about being a generation of prayer warriors. He made a statement that really caught my attention. He asked the youth, "Who are the seasoned old ladies in your life? The ones who when they lay hands on you and pray, you know they have been with God because when they pray things happen." I thought of my own church in Burwell, my Grandma Miller, the church I grew up in when I was a kid in Broken Bow. My heart was absolutely broken. My prayer tonight was "God, let me live to be the little old lady that is able to touch the throne of heaven 60 years from now when praying over the young ones." It was powerful!
From our heart broken praying picture window to yours, have a great day!
Dave: Haiti Day 1...Jen: Summer Church Camp Day 1
Howdy Friends and Family! Today Dave took off for Haiti with several other Nebraska Pastors. They were at the airport at 430 a.m. for their flight to take off at 6:05 am! A short night of sleep! The following is from Dave: Our flights were great for the most part. From DFW to MIA, there was extreme turbulance--almost bouncing on the seat. We arrived in Haiti on time and our first meal in Haiti was spaghetti and some vegetable that I couldn't pronounce/remember.
Here in Haiti, there are no traffic laws and taxi cabs look like pickups with tall toppers and people piled in the back. There are tents everywhere--basically a tarp over a wood frame. Animals such as goats, dogs and chickens roam everywhere freely. We are staying in a local guest house with 5 beds to a room. Our security guard walks around the house with a shotgun. It is amazing the poverty, but the people are trying to make it work!
I even might have found a way for us in the Sandhills to provide a much needed part for water purification! Culligan Water Conditioning donated some water softners to help with the water situation, but the control boards burned out. Through Jen, I skyped with my father in law who is a Culligan Man and hope to have more answers on how to help them in the morning! Wahoo!!
Tomorrow morning we will be up at 7 and leave at 7:30. The roads are really bad hard to drive on with a 4x4. Some are dirt, some cobblestone, some pavement. Wires are still down all over the place. Please keep us in your prayers as we will be going to the orphanages and the schools.
On a different continent, at a great place called The Crossing, Jen is serving as the lifeguard and helping out with Pre Camp--a camp for the workers children!
Today I was the main greeter for the campers and workers coming to Youth Camp 1 at The Crossing in Lexington! How fun to welcome the churches! Not much happened other than helping people get settled in and then being in my favorite place--the POOL! We had 17 little people in the pool tonight! Splashing and jumping, squealing with delight! Such fun!
Before diving in with the "littles" I was able to take in some of the evening service at camp! The speaker sounds very promising! Hoping to hear more of him in the nights to come!
From my foreign/camping picture window to yours, have a great week!
Here in Haiti, there are no traffic laws and taxi cabs look like pickups with tall toppers and people piled in the back. There are tents everywhere--basically a tarp over a wood frame. Animals such as goats, dogs and chickens roam everywhere freely. We are staying in a local guest house with 5 beds to a room. Our security guard walks around the house with a shotgun. It is amazing the poverty, but the people are trying to make it work!
I even might have found a way for us in the Sandhills to provide a much needed part for water purification! Culligan Water Conditioning donated some water softners to help with the water situation, but the control boards burned out. Through Jen, I skyped with my father in law who is a Culligan Man and hope to have more answers on how to help them in the morning! Wahoo!!
Tomorrow morning we will be up at 7 and leave at 7:30. The roads are really bad hard to drive on with a 4x4. Some are dirt, some cobblestone, some pavement. Wires are still down all over the place. Please keep us in your prayers as we will be going to the orphanages and the schools.
On a different continent, at a great place called The Crossing, Jen is serving as the lifeguard and helping out with Pre Camp--a camp for the workers children!
Today I was the main greeter for the campers and workers coming to Youth Camp 1 at The Crossing in Lexington! How fun to welcome the churches! Not much happened other than helping people get settled in and then being in my favorite place--the POOL! We had 17 little people in the pool tonight! Splashing and jumping, squealing with delight! Such fun!
Before diving in with the "littles" I was able to take in some of the evening service at camp! The speaker sounds very promising! Hoping to hear more of him in the nights to come!
From my foreign/camping picture window to yours, have a great week!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Brazil Day 7 (Wednesday)
Day 7 (Wednesday)
Howdy Family and Friends! Another great morning to get up and go! Today was a travel day though as we travelled with Thiago and Gabi’s aunt Amelia over to Buzios a city near Rio where there are lots of beaches and people are used to going there during the summer. We left Rio and passed through the Rio-Niteroi to get there. This is a very long bridge that we crossed over the ocean on.
First stop it was at Geriba Beach where we ate pastel de queijo, comparable to a cheese filled bread that is fried and coke to drink. We swam in the ocean here and the water was a teal color. So pretty! The sand was reddish in color! After that we drove to a beach in the same city called Joao Fernandes beach. The water here was a very pretty teal blue but the sand was much more coarse and full of gravel in some ways.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Cleopatra and ordered Brochette Misto , which is a mixed kabab.
Instead of eating the food off a stick, it was served on a silver platter. Another interesting thing was this: A man was walking around selling wooden jewelry boxes and sugar pots. I really liked how they looked and asked him what he priced them at. He said anywhere from 15-45 Reals. Of course, I bartered with him and got it for 25 Reals. But...to make it better, I also asked him to sign it for me.
He was really shy but he did and I took a picture with him. If very dark Brazilians could blush, I am sure he was! When we were done we went back to the car and we stopped at a café and had a Brazilian dessert called Acai. I loved it! We mixed in bananas and granola.
After that we went to another beach city 40 minutes from Buzios called Cabo Frio where we went shopping on the street called Rua dos Biquinis which stands for Bikini street. That is what it was full of --bikini shops and other swim suit shops. A few T Shirts shops were scattered in there as well. We purchased a few shirts and then made our way back to Rio. Try as we might, we could not keep our eyes open after the sun went down.
After arriving back in Rio, we got a taxi and made our way back to Amelia’s home for a delicious dinner cooked by her husband, Jose. It was hamburger without the grease drained and diced green olives mixed in. You then take this mixture and eat it over mashed potatoes. It was very good and filling. We also had traditional beans and rice! So good!!!!
At the table was probably the second best part of the day! I sat next to what I call the Crazy Uncle Jose!
He thinks I need to learn Portuguese and I say he needs to learn English. We teased back and forth in our native languages for the remainder of the meal and kept the rest of the table in stitches! A fun time had by all!
From our travelling Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
Howdy Family and Friends! Another great morning to get up and go! Today was a travel day though as we travelled with Thiago and Gabi’s aunt Amelia over to Buzios a city near Rio where there are lots of beaches and people are used to going there during the summer. We left Rio and passed through the Rio-Niteroi to get there. This is a very long bridge that we crossed over the ocean on.
First stop it was at Geriba Beach where we ate pastel de queijo, comparable to a cheese filled bread that is fried and coke to drink. We swam in the ocean here and the water was a teal color. So pretty! The sand was reddish in color! After that we drove to a beach in the same city called Joao Fernandes beach. The water here was a very pretty teal blue but the sand was much more coarse and full of gravel in some ways.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Cleopatra and ordered Brochette Misto , which is a mixed kabab.
He was really shy but he did and I took a picture with him. If very dark Brazilians could blush, I am sure he was! When we were done we went back to the car and we stopped at a café and had a Brazilian dessert called Acai. I loved it! We mixed in bananas and granola.
After that we went to another beach city 40 minutes from Buzios called Cabo Frio where we went shopping on the street called Rua dos Biquinis which stands for Bikini street. That is what it was full of --bikini shops and other swim suit shops. A few T Shirts shops were scattered in there as well. We purchased a few shirts and then made our way back to Rio. Try as we might, we could not keep our eyes open after the sun went down.
After arriving back in Rio, we got a taxi and made our way back to Amelia’s home for a delicious dinner cooked by her husband, Jose. It was hamburger without the grease drained and diced green olives mixed in. You then take this mixture and eat it over mashed potatoes. It was very good and filling. We also had traditional beans and rice! So good!!!!
At the table was probably the second best part of the day! I sat next to what I call the Crazy Uncle Jose!
From our travelling Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
Brazil Day 6 (Tuesday)
Day 6 in Brazil (Tuesday)
Howdy Family and Friends! Another relaxing day here in the city of Rio! Since Thiago has class in the morning, we slept in again feeling refreshed! We had Brazilian doughnuts for breakfast. Mine had a chocolate filling and Dave’s was just a round doughnut that had cherry bites on top. They are solid though. They also put a powdered sugar on them. Different from the American doughnut.
After Thiago got back from school, we went and had lunch with Gabi at a restaurant called Fagulha.
It’s comparable to the USA steak buffet, but instead of gorging yourself, they weigh your plate each time you go through! We still enjoyed some of our new favorite Brazilian foods though!
After lunch we caught the taxi over to Thiago and Gabi’s college where Gabi had afternoon classes. We also saw the American Consulate. The lines for people waiting to get their visas were very long. We snapped a picture in front of the building very quickly before finding out that was not allowed. They say it’s against the American rules to protect the building…interesting information!
From there we toured on foot around the middle of the city. Thiago pointed out the building where his Aunt works as a lawyer, where he is completing his internship, the courthouse, and many other places. We ended up at the ocean and caught the Rio-Niteroi Ferry to the other side. It’s about a 20 minute ride from one side to the other. After arriving in Niteroi, we went to Icarai Beach and went swimming in the ocean. While we were swimming, we found many seashells. Dave was out playing in the waves and stepped on “something” so he kept his foot on it until he could go down and pick it up. When he did, it was a hermit crab! What a find!
Today we tried coconut water for the first time. Straight from the coconut—very different, its like a sour/sweet taste. The first original taste is sour but the aftertaste is sweet. A sip was enough for me! We also saw a man who was building a sand castle on the shore. It was ornate! Thiago said usually there are several of them working on the beach.
As the sun went down, we made our way back to Rio, back to his home but not before stopping at a McDonalds to have supper! Yes we had to try McDonalds. We had stopped by for ice cream earlier in the week, but this time we were going to try a meal. The fries and Big Mac are the same, but that is where the comparison stops. The sandwhiches are different. I had a hamburger with a slice of pepperoni and Dave had a chicken bacon onion sandwich. They were really good! The biggest difference was the size of the buns and the freshness of the bread. We ended the night with ice cream and a walk to our first ride on the subway.
We went down several escalators to the subway and rode to Thiago’s neighborhood. We didn’t realize just how tired we were until we tried to move to the door as the subway was stopping. We looked rather funny waddling around grabbing on to anything we could to stay upright. We exited the Subway and then had several blocks to the house. On the way, we found a cow expo that had the Olympic theme. Reminded us of the Burwell Longhorns!
From our tired but fun Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
Howdy Family and Friends! Another relaxing day here in the city of Rio! Since Thiago has class in the morning, we slept in again feeling refreshed! We had Brazilian doughnuts for breakfast. Mine had a chocolate filling and Dave’s was just a round doughnut that had cherry bites on top. They are solid though. They also put a powdered sugar on them. Different from the American doughnut.
After Thiago got back from school, we went and had lunch with Gabi at a restaurant called Fagulha.
After lunch we caught the taxi over to Thiago and Gabi’s college where Gabi had afternoon classes. We also saw the American Consulate. The lines for people waiting to get their visas were very long. We snapped a picture in front of the building very quickly before finding out that was not allowed. They say it’s against the American rules to protect the building…interesting information!
From there we toured on foot around the middle of the city. Thiago pointed out the building where his Aunt works as a lawyer, where he is completing his internship, the courthouse, and many other places. We ended up at the ocean and caught the Rio-Niteroi Ferry to the other side. It’s about a 20 minute ride from one side to the other. After arriving in Niteroi, we went to Icarai Beach and went swimming in the ocean. While we were swimming, we found many seashells. Dave was out playing in the waves and stepped on “something” so he kept his foot on it until he could go down and pick it up. When he did, it was a hermit crab! What a find!
Today we tried coconut water for the first time. Straight from the coconut—very different, its like a sour/sweet taste. The first original taste is sour but the aftertaste is sweet. A sip was enough for me! We also saw a man who was building a sand castle on the shore. It was ornate! Thiago said usually there are several of them working on the beach.
As the sun went down, we made our way back to Rio, back to his home but not before stopping at a McDonalds to have supper! Yes we had to try McDonalds. We had stopped by for ice cream earlier in the week, but this time we were going to try a meal. The fries and Big Mac are the same, but that is where the comparison stops. The sandwhiches are different. I had a hamburger with a slice of pepperoni and Dave had a chicken bacon onion sandwich. They were really good! The biggest difference was the size of the buns and the freshness of the bread. We ended the night with ice cream and a walk to our first ride on the subway.
We went down several escalators to the subway and rode to Thiago’s neighborhood. We didn’t realize just how tired we were until we tried to move to the door as the subway was stopping. We looked rather funny waddling around grabbing on to anything we could to stay upright. We exited the Subway and then had several blocks to the house. On the way, we found a cow expo that had the Olympic theme. Reminded us of the Burwell Longhorns!
From our tired but fun Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Day 5 in Brazil!
Day 5 in Brazil!
Howdy Family and Friends! For the first time since we arrived in Brazil we got more than 4 hours of sleep! We slept in today until 10 a.m.! After waking up, as we were packing up our luggage, I caught my cmarea by accident and knocked it to the floor. Unfortunately this was enough to make it not work anymore so I am stuck with our backup camera and ipod for pictures. It's horrible because the megapixels and quality are very poor!
After we were out of our room, we went shopping around our hotel while waiting for Thiago to get out of class. At 1 p.m. we met up with him at the hotel and hailed a taxi and went shopping. Our first stop was at the mall. We ate at the Botafogo Praia Shopping Center in a restaurant called Spoleto. It’s a pasta restaurant where you choose your pasta, then your sauce, then eight different ingredients! It was delicious! We ate outside where the pigeons joined us! After one customer finished his plate, the pigeons enjoyed the leftover contents of his plate!
We shopped the mall for a while and then at 3 headed to the Botanical Gardens. We saw beautiful flowers of all kinds, monkeys and birds. It was relaxing to walk through there. The best part was watching Dave get a drink from the water fountain...a lady who was spitting out a stream of water. But, when you get a drink, it looks like you are kissing the fountain!
We then hailed another taxi and took a longer ride to the New York City Center where we shopped. It had a lot of American shops and restaurants, but was very expensive! We did find iced coffee though--at McCafe (aka McDonalds!) Not only did they have a lot of shops, they were fully decorated for Christmas! Beautifully decorated trees with lights were already on display! It is so hard to even think about that because outside its 80 degrees!!!
After about 2 hours of this, we went to a Pizza Restaurant called Frontera and had our fill of pizza, but not without lessons on how to eat it first! I thought eating pizza was just like in America, pick it up with your fingers and enjoy, but nooooo! You must use your fork and knife. The first thing you do is cut off the crust and place it on a small plate in the center of the table.
That is considered waste and you don’t eat it because it cuts down the amount of food you can consume! Anyway, this pizza restaurant is like a buffet, but once again they bring the pizza’s to you! They have all kinds of pizza that we don’t have in the USA. All the meats, cheese, garlic…you name it, they have it. But my favorites were the dessert pizzas. The first they brought around was chocolate pizza. It’s like chocolate fondue on pizza crust! So delicious! Then we had, chocolate pizza with m&m’s, chocolate pizza with strawberries,
a fruit pizza—guava with cheese (it sounds bad, but it was very yummy! Not a salty cheese, but a sweet cheese!) So many yummy choices! We left full as pigs but very happy!
After supper we caught the subway back to Thiago’s aunt’s home where we stayed up until the early hours of the morning catching up on facebook and blogging, chatting and enjoying each other’s company!
From my very yummy chocolate pizza Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
Howdy Family and Friends! For the first time since we arrived in Brazil we got more than 4 hours of sleep! We slept in today until 10 a.m.! After waking up, as we were packing up our luggage, I caught my cmarea by accident and knocked it to the floor. Unfortunately this was enough to make it not work anymore so I am stuck with our backup camera and ipod for pictures. It's horrible because the megapixels and quality are very poor!
After we were out of our room, we went shopping around our hotel while waiting for Thiago to get out of class. At 1 p.m. we met up with him at the hotel and hailed a taxi and went shopping. Our first stop was at the mall. We ate at the Botafogo Praia Shopping Center in a restaurant called Spoleto. It’s a pasta restaurant where you choose your pasta, then your sauce, then eight different ingredients! It was delicious! We ate outside where the pigeons joined us! After one customer finished his plate, the pigeons enjoyed the leftover contents of his plate!
We shopped the mall for a while and then at 3 headed to the Botanical Gardens. We saw beautiful flowers of all kinds, monkeys and birds. It was relaxing to walk through there. The best part was watching Dave get a drink from the water fountain...a lady who was spitting out a stream of water. But, when you get a drink, it looks like you are kissing the fountain!
We then hailed another taxi and took a longer ride to the New York City Center where we shopped. It had a lot of American shops and restaurants, but was very expensive! We did find iced coffee though--at McCafe (aka McDonalds!) Not only did they have a lot of shops, they were fully decorated for Christmas! Beautifully decorated trees with lights were already on display! It is so hard to even think about that because outside its 80 degrees!!!
After about 2 hours of this, we went to a Pizza Restaurant called Frontera and had our fill of pizza, but not without lessons on how to eat it first! I thought eating pizza was just like in America, pick it up with your fingers and enjoy, but nooooo! You must use your fork and knife. The first thing you do is cut off the crust and place it on a small plate in the center of the table.
That is considered waste and you don’t eat it because it cuts down the amount of food you can consume! Anyway, this pizza restaurant is like a buffet, but once again they bring the pizza’s to you! They have all kinds of pizza that we don’t have in the USA. All the meats, cheese, garlic…you name it, they have it. But my favorites were the dessert pizzas. The first they brought around was chocolate pizza. It’s like chocolate fondue on pizza crust! So delicious! Then we had, chocolate pizza with m&m’s, chocolate pizza with strawberries,
a fruit pizza—guava with cheese (it sounds bad, but it was very yummy! Not a salty cheese, but a sweet cheese!) So many yummy choices! We left full as pigs but very happy!
After supper we caught the subway back to Thiago’s aunt’s home where we stayed up until the early hours of the morning catching up on facebook and blogging, chatting and enjoying each other’s company!
From my very yummy chocolate pizza Brazilian picture window to yours, have a great day!
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