Adventure the first: While I was arriving in Porto Alegre, my bags were sitting doing nothing in Atlanta. Not how I imagined starting my trip. However, the wonderful Rotarians who greeted us at the airport took charge and made sure I had what I needed until my bags arrive (hopefully tomorrow afternoon...). After meeting our host families and throwing back a few cocktails in the parking lot, my host Gilberto drove me to a shopping mall, where the following took place:
Adventure the second: I purchased underwear in Brazil without anyone speaking the same language (you know what overcomes a language barrier? A BARGAIN! 4 pairs for the price of 3!). I truly had no idea what was being said, but I walked out the proud owner of Brazilian underwear (MYTHBUSTER: not all underwear in Brazil are thongs), 2 pairs of socks, and some sweet Havaianas flip-flops. I arrived at the lovely home of the Correa family and Vania had already laid out some of her son Pedro's old clothes which almost fit. I instantly felt part of the family...despite:
Adventure the third: No one speaks English. I speak absolutely no Portuguese. What do you do in that situation? Give everyone a computer and use Google Translate. I was able to have full conversations in broken English/Portuguese with the whole family, we even brought the computer to the dinner table so we could talk. I think someone should nominate Google Translate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
I could tell you about the wild bbq with extended family this afternoon, the horniest dog on the planet, becoming a diehard fan of the Gremio soccer team (Eu So Gremista!), and the conversation with a 10 year old girl in which she said "Ontario...Bieber!", but that will have to wait.
Boa Noite...
So Happy to see that you reached Brazil safe and sound! Welcome to the Big GSE adventure!! It is great to hear that you were so well received by your Rotarian hosts. The creative language Brazenglish work around, shopping for underwear and your best new dog friend stories are an exciting beginning to the million memories that lay before you!
ReplyDeletePlease greet Thales and the GSE Committee for Chris and I. We know you are in wonderful hands! Sharing the magic of GSE!
Jill
Jill, I have tried to get a comment on here and maybe I figured it out this time. Apologies if I posted multiple times! We will try to blog you a comment today during tech class. Glad to hear you arrived safely. Geri Nynas
ReplyDeleteJill, class is here. George hopes you don't see any big rats and snakes! Toby wants to know if there are gorillas there and how many hours did it take to get there (Isaiah told us it was 27 hours). Brianna hopes you are having fun. Josh says, "I hope you have a good time in Brazil!" Braden hopes you don't step on any more tarantulas. I hope you don't have to eat a chicken head. Sophia wonders what kind of food you eat. Montray wonders if you ever had corn pudding. Erin wants some more of that. Kristian wonders if you have had chocolate cake for breakfast. Aliena asks, Do you like Brazil? Nikolai asks if you have seen any big animals. Jessica wants to know if you have any snakes there. Isabelle wonders how was your flight and do you like meeting new people in Brazil. Peyton wonders if your flight was long and did they serve good food. Daisy wonders if they have a zoo there. Isaiah is now going to type his message to conclude our first blog to you. What are you going to buy me? Did check any stores yet? Its snowing today. What animals did you see? where are you now? Did you go to any parades yet? How is it there? Last night we played baseball. Are they playing baseball there? What are you doing now? I might get to go to Peyton's house next weekend. I will blog again next week.
ReplyDeleteYou may reply if you want to Mrs Nynas email at geri.nynas@bemidji.k12.mn.us
Dear Jill, Ethan's kindergarten class came to technology class today and they wanted to do the same thing that Isaiah's class did. Olivia wonders if you are going to have fun in Brazil. Samual also wonders if you are having a good time. Anthony wonders what kind of food you have. Taylor asks, do you like the coffee. Jada asks, do you know any people there. Lashanti wonders if you are having a good time there. Mikenzie asks what did you do on that airplane. Jerde are you having fun. We will end with a message from Ethan. What did you eat on the airplane? Is there different eagles there? Did you have fun at the school? Did you meet any kids? What were there names? What are you doing there right now? Did you meet anybody on the airplane? What kind of birds are you seeing there? How many people have you seen? Have you rode a horse there? What does it look like there? Did you meet any doctors there? What did it look like at the doctor place. Did those green drinks taste different, where they good? We have been playing catch. I've been playing with my brother. Me and my brother were making up a game of King of the World. Do they have computers there? Do they have a big school there or a tiny school? Are the eagles different or the same as ours? Do you hear owls when you are in bed? What kind of animals are you seeing? Did you go in the Rain Forest yet? Did you see a red winged blackbird?
ReplyDeleteWow, he had a lot of questions. As usual you may reply to my email. Thanks and we all hope you are having a good time. We can't wait to talk to you about it when you come back. Geri and the kindergarten class