It's Raining, It's Pouring, I'm Drenched

Right now, it's raining, it's pouring and I'm still a little chilly from being drenched. About 10 minutes today of solid laughing as I was bombarded with rain twice today.

First time - Lunch
I went out to eat with Hayes, as I usually do on Tuesdays. We went first to get some pants altered since we both are loosing some weight and it looks like I stole a fat lady's pants. Oh yeah, I was that fat lady, still not skinny but not as fat and much more economical to have things altered. Also, heading home to Chicago in December. Not quite Brasilia type clothing available then.

After we met our new friend the seamstress, we walked to the local fast food Brazilian Mexican, Tacolino. As we sat eating, I heard a few fat raindrops. Plunk. Plop. Then the heavens opened over the 205-605 superquadras. I mean it began to pour. Not rain, pour.

We finished our lunches and then pulled out umbrellas for the trek back to EAB. This walk takes about 7 minutes from Tacolino. Today though, it felt like about 20.

The sidewalks became fast moving rivers. The trees which usually provide protection seemed to make funnels of water instead. We had rain hitting us it seemed through our umbrellas. They were pointless. It was Forest Gump-like rain. It was raining down and also up.
Raining sideways and even diagonal.

We then got to the edge of the sidewalk. By this time, my shirt and capris, up to my knees, we soaked. At the edge of the sidewalk, next to the curb, I saw that the river that I had been wading through on the sidewalk suddenly had grown into the size of the Amazon. We stepped on a convinently located speed bump (the first time I was actually glad for one) as it served as an island in the Amazon.

We began to cross a parking lot and that's where the laughing began. Our umbrellas served more for psychological and physiologial purposes as we waded through two more Amazon-like, flooded areas.

Then we reached the main street, the L2, that we had to cross. There usually is never lunchtime traffic but today because the heavens had opened and each and every single drop of rain was being squeezed out, there was tons of traffic. Hayes warned me to push the crossing light and step back. I did as about 30 cars and 4 buses passed us. Water went spraying everywhere. The whole time, I was still laughing.

Eventually we made it across, soaked, cold but we survived in flipflops in a flood back to EAB. As I returned to find my students in our classroom many asked, "why are you wet?" and "what happened?" Only to find myself laughing again. It's always an adventure.

But the best part is, it happened all over again tonight. I went to the local dollar store to buy some things for dinner club on Thursday and guess what? I think I must be a target. The sponge is full and somebody's having fun watching me wade across the streets of Brasilia. Only this time, I was carrying 4 bags, my purse and an umbrella down the street and across a field. I'm sure I was great entertainment for all of the people outside. A gringa. Weighed down by lotsa bags. With crazy curly hair from the humidity, trying to shuffle her way home. Hope somebody took my picture.

Routines

It's funny how no matter how old you are, we all love routines. I kinda laugh as I say that because it's my way of telling myself, my Type "A"ness is okay to need this.

Anyway, and as you know, I'm a routine craving kind of girl. Since moving South, new routines have been established...

• Each weekday I'm greeted with a "Bom dia" by one of our friendly guards at EAB's front gate.


• I have two standing weekly lunch dates that I love. Tuesdays with Hayes and Thursdays with Vanessa. Being able to walk to lunch off-campus is a little pleasure.


• Most Sunday evenings, I have dinner at the same Italian restaurant with Sam and then come home to chat on Skype with my parents. My mom, usually, I can see very clearly and my dad, well, I definitely know what the left side of his face looks like. They know what I mean.


• Thursday evenings a group of teachers take turns hosting "Dinner Club" where a couple of people cook something wonderfully delicious and the rest of us all eat ourselves into a Thanksgiving'esk coma, share our feelings of appreciation and head home to sleep well with a homecooked meal in our bellies.


• When I enter my apartment building, I call "Good morning," "Good afternoon" or "Good evening" to my doorman as he buzzes me into the building as well as throwing in a "Tudo bom?" as well.


• Each morning when Miguel arrives to our classroom, we hug and kiss on the cheek.

• There will always be a tv show from home on. Be it Law and Order, Big Bang Theory, Friends, House or Felicity, there's always something familiar on the tube.
  

These new routines definitely help to make each week, especially when it's a tough one, a whole lot better. But then there are some routines which aren't quite as predictable as I wish they could be:

• I carry an umbrella in my purse everytime I leave my apartment because I know it's going to rain at somepoint. Could me morning, could be afternoon, could be evening. Today no showers. What's that?


• My hair's going to go crazy from the humidity depending on the rain at some point during the day. Although one day last week it didn't. Maybe that's adjusting too? Wrong!


• Packages and letters come sporadically. Sometimes they take 1 week. Other times they take 3.
  

Routines when being so far away, make life a little easier. And the unpredictable ones, aren't so unpredictable anymore. It's funny how those regular parts of our day make me smile and usually are some of the best moments in it.

Package Gone AWOL

My great friend Jez at home told me weeks ago she sent me a package. On about a weekly basis since early October, I get a facebook message with something like, "Has it arrived?" or "Is it there yet?" I could tell each time her tone was getting a little more frustrated that it hadn't arrived yet.

Well, the wonderful news is that it arrived today!

As you can see, it took a little beating during it's travels.

And I found out why it took a little longer then originally planned.

It went AWOL to the Caymen Islands! Check out the sticker in the middle of the box. Guess it wanted a little beach time before coming to the cerrado.
Thanks Jez! You truly found the best things to send...Oreos, Reese's, nailpolish (how did you know that I needed it so badly), deoderant (it's all roll-on here) and a sweet note. Couldn't have come on a better day. Thank you!

P.S. For my BSB buddies, I'm willing to share some of my treats. Stop by tomorrow if you wanna Reese's. I can only promise they'll be around for then. Past the weekend, no guarantees.

China in Box

Since it's Wednesday and with my students we celebrate Wednesday in our writers' notebooks by drawing instead that day to share our ideas, I'm rolling with that theme. So here's my Wordless Wednesday, well fewer words anyway.

My idea today comes from my recent encounter with crazy mad hives. I'd mentioned to my family that I'd had dinner from a Chinese fast food place called China in Box and think something in the food be it MSG, some other seasoning or veggie may have caused my allergic reaction. After seeing the tv commerical, maybe I should better understand the cause.

Hope you enjoy the commercial from Chinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa in Box!

Good news: Little itchy but hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives mostly gone. Yea!

This Is Halloween

I just had to borrow the line from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Why you may ask? Well, in the days that followed up to Halloween, two of my students, one American, the other Israeli, both sang this song. They, along with my 20 other students were incredibly excited for Halloween.

Okay, that's a total understatement. They were crazy, wild, running round the room excited for Halloween.

Halloween is not celebrated in Brazil but since I teach at an American School, we definitely celebrated it in the most festive of ways. I don't think I've ever, in my entire life, celebrated Halloween as much as I did here, in a country that doesn't even celebrate the holiday.

There are a couple of disclaimers that I should put out there.

1. Due to the abudance of Halloween celebrated at school, I did not particpate in any adult celebrations. There were offers but knowing how I felt after Halloween at home in the U.S., I thought I would need a break. One party I was invited to was hosted by our school librarian. This week the local paper ran an articlea bout it in the society pages and compared to Barack and Michelle hosting a Halloween party at the White House. Can't find a link to the article but you get the idea about how big a deal it is here. I suppose though it's just like people celebrating Cinco de Mayo or another holiday, it's just about the fun, right?

2. For those teachers who ever feel Halloween is an insane day, read on and have your pumpkin stickers ready for me.

My day began bright and early at 7:45 as the vampires, Star Wars characters, Laura Ingalls Wilders, bats, jaguars and more began to enter my classroom.

We quickly had our morning meeting and around 8:10 walked out to the front volleball/basketball courts where parents and other classes were waiting for us to begin the parade.

After we took photos outside, we moved into the auditorium where we took our usual seats. Each class had a turn parading across the stage showing off their costumes to all of the K3 (that's age 3) to 5th graders. 2 classes per grade level x 8 + adults in costume groups = 1 hour of Halloween parading.

My class led by Dr. Miguel, our mad scientist (you can check out his photo on EAB's homepage) to a 70s disco song.

Sidenote: We were both mad scientists but I have now realized that I don't have a picture of me! I know some friends who have them so I'll try to get one soon. I went as Dr. Looney, Brain Surgeon. My class calls me Miss Megan so a lot of them don't even know my last name and it was great when finally one of my students "got" the Dr. Looney part.

As each class walked around the stage there was spooky or dance music playing. One of the kids' favorites and I have to admit mine too, was one of the 5th graders who dressed up as Michael Jackson. He took right to the front of the stage and put his gloved hand into the air. It was hilarious! He was perfect for it.

After our parade we played a game of good old fashioned Hangman and then took our morning break. This is usually a 10 minute recess/snack for the kids. Since my special was cancelled that day (sigh and grrrr) we decided to give the kids 30 minutes instead. By this time, the temps outside were in the mid 80s. The kids played soccer, ran around and sat and talked.

While they were having a great time outside, I was scrambling inside to get things ready for their return. I quickly borrowed and burned a copy of a Halloween cd so we could play "Hot Eyeball." My version of Hot Potato but with an eyeball beanbag. We played this a few times, they really loved it and then we began our party.

Here is SOME of the food that was brought for the party.

Parties here are a really big deal. Erica and I had the kids brainstorm ideas for what they would like. Each brought something to contribute. For our Halloween party my class ate: pizza, cake, pancakes, chips (Cheetos, Doritos, etc), candy (gummy and chocolate), pastels (deep fried goodness - like an empanada but deep fried) and more. Yummy but oh my. My class LOVES to eat so I knew they would be excited.

After they finished eating, Erica and I opened our doors for games. The kids could move freely between classrooms making mad scientist glasses, playing eyeball toss, Bozo buckets, coloring Halloween pictures and throwing velcro balls at a target. They had a great time.

At 11:30, the went home. I was wiped. Sweaty and tired. But just wait, the day was only beginning! Now that the kids were gone, we had to prepare for the annual Halloween Carnival. Yea! (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice).

The Halloween Carnival was started, well, a long, long time ago. Each elementary grade level has a booth and a game. The HS seniors put on a haunted house and sell refreshments. All the profits go to the group who sponsors the booth. It ends up being a pretty amazing fundraiser but it just falls on the most tiring teaching day of an elementary teacher. Good idea, bad timing.

Before decorating I decided I needed a break so I ate lunch. The canteen was serving Mexican food. It was so hot, I wasn't even really hungry which is a bummer because it's actually a pretty decent lunch and a nice change of pace. Anyway...

Fom 12:30 - 3:30, I decorated the 3rd grade Halloween Carnival booth in the gym with Miguel and Erica's substitute assistant Shaila. The temps in the afternoon were in the 90s. Gym, no air con. Decorating. Sorry, I just want to paint a clear picture.

Our booth was going to have 2 games. Bozo buckets (again with the eyeball beanbags) and then Pin the Eyeball on the Mad Scientist. We spent 3 hours getting the booth ready. All the hard work was worth it in the end. However, as my dad taught me long ago, from the experience, next year I will work smarter not harder. 3 hours will be decreased to 1 at the most. EAB, be ready to see similar games next year!For our booth we asked our students and their families to work for 30 minute shifts throughout the evening. That was wonderful because they had a good time, I got a little break from the action and could actually socialize a bit.
This photo was taken early in the evening. The Carnival runs from 7-9:00 p.m. Families come, buy tickets and enjoy the great time. It was packed by 8:00, literally wall-to-wall people. At 9:00, we quickly cleaned up, put things into our classroom and headed home. Whew! What a long, long day.

My most favorite costume in Brazil came from my good friend Vanessa. While we walked home from school the day before Halloween, we were inspired. Can you guess what she was?

She even downloaded cicadas to her ipod which she cleverly put into her purse and had playing. Her 4th grade booth was right next to our 3rd grade one and the sound caught me off guard. Love it!

My most favorite costume of this Halloween season actually didn't even happen in Brazil. Jez, who ironically I wrote about yesterday, sent me the following email that arrived to my inbox at 4:30 in the afternoon after I arrived home sweaty, exhausted and taking a short break before the carnival.

Guess who I am today?

I have big earrings.
I have leapard shoes.
I am wearing layers with a cardigan.
I have a fun scarf around my neck.
I carry around books with me.

Who I am?

Right away I knew who she was! She was me!

You did a great job Jez. Totally looks like me from head-to-toe. And after one of the longest days in my entire teaching career I couldn't have asked for a better surprise.

It's wonderful to be loved, missed and teased. Just wait till next year when everyone here will have met you so I can dress up as you next time!

3 Monthaversay

To celebrate our 3 Monthaversay, Sam organized a Friday night trip to Bier House since it was October gotta celebrate our German love. He even made an official invitation written in Portuguese.

It's within walking distance from our apartments. Although neither the beer or food were German but I supposed it was more about getting together for some nice freezing cold choppes (beer) after a long week. Sorry for the picture quality on some of these. Playing with settings and others using the camera but regardless you get the idea.

Gallagher giving Sam some love

Monica, me, Hirsch and Gallagher
First grade Erins. Erin Hayes and Erin Hirsch

Most of the newbies and even a few oldies came to celebrate with us. We always had a full table. It was definitely a great time to just catch up, relax and enjoy time with new friends. Happy 3 Monthaversary newbies!

Hives, Hives, Everywhere There's Hives

I woke up on Monday morning thinking some new insect had invaded my bed during the night because my ankles were itchy. Came out to the couch and then it was my knees that became itchy. Wondered what in the world could do this when suddenly after looking more closely at both my knees and ankles saw that I had hives not bug bites. Figured I must have been having a reaction to something in the Chinese food or wine I had the night before so went on with my day thinking 'they'll go away' and 'if you drink lots of water you'll help get rid of them.


Throughout the day I had little boughts where the itch returned. In late afternoon I took a Benadryl and an Ibuprofen hoping they'd go away. As soon as I laid down in bed, they attacked at full force. I laid there for close to 2 hours trying not to scratch and knew that most likely I wouldn't be in school today.

At 4:30 this morning I woke up to major itchiness. Looked in the mirror and saw a swollen face, a beard of hives and the rest of my body looked ragged. I took more Benadryl and Ibuprofen, drank some water and wrote my sub plans for the day.

Fast forward to 3:00 this afternoon when I made my way to the dr. Erica gave me the number of a dermatologist she liked so I hopped in a taxi (that I ordered all by myself) and was off to Brasilia Shopping. Brasilia Shopping is a semicircular shaped building. There are lots of medical offices in the two outer towers so was dropped off by the taxi and more adventures began.

1. To go up in the elevator you have to check in at a main desk. You tell them the office you're visiting, your name, show photo id and they enter all this "stuff" into the computer. Once they're satisified, they give you a little visitor's tag and off you go.

2. The door to the dr's office was a little small to see so it took me a moment. Then I had to ring the doorbell to enter.

3. The receptionist spoke little English and I speak little medical Portuguese so we worked as a team to fill out all the necessary info. She was entering it onto her computer. Had it been a form to complete, I would have been just fine but we were able to gather all the necessary info. Celebration.

4. Met Dr. Campbell who has the best office view in the city...the lake, the monumental, just beautiful office space. He's very nice and speaks English. We went over my history the past few days of what I'd been eating and any medicines. Then he did the exam and pretty much told me I have a type of allergic reaction hives. That's what I thought as well but he thought they were not attributed to food as I had originally. He told me that doctors can only find the cause for 50% of all hive cases. Interesting. He wrote me 3 perscriptions...one for a steroid shot, Allegra and a cream to get rid of them. Nice guy and would recommend to others who may need a dermatologist in Brasilia.

5. In Brazil, when you get a shot, it's not done at the dr's office. Instead you take your Rx to the pharmacy. So I went to have my first perscription filled. Went down into the actual mall, presented one of the 12 clerks in a tiny pharmacy my order. She filled it, told me to go and pay and bring my little basket of drugs back to her. I did as I was told and she sought out the next tier of employee to actually give me my shot.

6. New fancy assistant (her title was _____ assistant - you can fill in the blank with whatever word you want) took me to a little room labeled Injection Room. She prepped by washing her hands very thoroughly, taking everything out of the package and then said something in Portuguese I didn't quite catch. I told her I only speak a little Portuguese where she then pointed to her butt. Ahhh. It was going to be one of those types of shots. So I dropped trow and got stuck. Didn't hurt too much. Only at the end when she was trying to get all of the gooey type medicine out of the syringe. She slapped a bandaid on me and I was done.

Hopefully all of this hardwork and my sore butt pays off and tomorrow, like Dr. Campbell told me, I should wake up feeling some relief. He actually told me to wait on the getting the other perscriptions but since everything's an adventure here, thought just better to have it now so I could start using if need be tomorrow. I'm just going to keep thinking of bees in hives and hope that the focus on other types of hives helps my body mentally to improve as well. Bees live in hives. Bees live in hives. Bees live in hives and not on me. Bees or hives.