Dreaming of Broken Canoes

I should be heading to bed but it's hard when this is where I'm going to be on Friday.

Not sure if I'll be on that dune buggy but if I'm invited, then maybe. 

Is it bad if randomly during the school day I think of Canoa and just sigh? 

And when I should go to sleep that I instead am reading about the beaches, kitesurfing and dune buggy rides? 

Nah.  That's how it should be.  Just gotta make sure I don't daydream too much.  I give enough grief to my students about it, probably should make sure I'm not the one doing it.  Well, maybe I can manage just to do it during specials.  Wish me luck! 

I Finally Think It's Safe to Come Out Now

I've heard some noticings lately about my lack of blogging.  They've come from family.  They've come from friends. And most recently they've come from a particular best friend's family because that's how they're able to keep tabs on their own daughter who lives across the field from me.

Why has it been almost a month since I've blogged?  Well, where do I even begin?  I thought about listing all of the seriously crazy things that have happened but I'll spare GUE from printing a 30 page post and just share two examples of crazy:

1.  Friends having emergency surgeries.  It was only a bursting appendix.  My friend's doing alright.  Personal note to said dear friend: I love seeing you in a verticle position however still think you should be staying at home!

2.   Two weeks ago I received my new debit card.  It only took three and a half weeks for it to arrive.  When you don't have a debit card in Brazil, this means not having access to your checking account.  You cannot pay bills; your friends do it for you. This means you cannot get cash so you take out loans from your friends.  This just, really, sucked, for a lack of a better word because you're helpless, your friends are great but borrowing money just really isn't cool.  It makes you feel grossly incompetent.

Have you heard about the crazy planet alignments?  They have reeked havoc around me.  Since we're still in the month of August, probably not best to mess with the planets before they move.  Love you planets!

Schools' fine.  My new class is growing on me.  I was am very attached to my last group but the personalities are coming out and I'm starting to enjoy them more and more.  Today I was asked several time during my reading assessments if I was married, a joke was made about my last name and one student added a new state to the Union.  The state of Oreo will take the place of Ohio from now on.  Also, my new assistant is amazing.  I had one quit after two days with me (another crazy) but Valmir is wonderful and I'm lucky, lucky, lucky to have him.

Grad school's going strong with being halfway through my second class.  Can you guess why I'm writing this post over reading about special ed law?

So, I'm here.  I'm alive and I guess this post is me saying, I think it's finally safe to come out now.  This is made especially east since I have four days till my first Brazilian vacay.

I'm headed to the Canoa Quebrada near Forteleza in the Northeast of Brazil with Sam and Kathy. The name Canoa Quebrada means "broken canoe"  Hopefully some fun friends and a little sun, sand, a dunebuggy ride and perhaps a beer or two will break this funky start and get the good "stuff" flowing freely again.

Family Dinner

While many of you read the post title and think of your traditional holiday meals or perhaps just your regular daily dinners, for me a family dinner can take on a whole new meaning.  I did have what would first come to your mind a wonderful family dinner with my parents and the Goo back home a couple of days ago.  We ate delicious marinated flank steak off the grill, yummy sweet corn, green beans and red potatoes.  It was the perfect way to end my time in Illinois.

When you live overseas though, family dinners possesses a different meaning.  Tonight I had my Brazilian family dinner.  No, there was not a single Brazilian there (maybe we should work on that) but I dined with my surrogate family that lives with me in Brasilia.  Kathy's sister and aunt are visting from the states so she wanted to get together for a little pizza rodizio (all you can eat) dinner.  Well, when you go rodizio, it's never going to be little and with my Brazilian family (4 Wolvies, 1 Andrea, 1 Sam, 2 Robertsons and me) which is nine members strong and tonight Libby joined us as well, it was a big meal all around.

Dinner was great.  The food of course is wonderful.  The waiters bring around pizzas sharing what the combos are and you just say yea or nay to the choices.  Just a little pizza rodizio background for you.  The pizza choices can include traditional U.S. types like pepperoni but it stops about there.  Some of the combos that are really popular include:  sundried tomato with arugula and tonight a new one California (calabrasa with peppers, pineapple and other sweet fruits).  Then there are the dessert pizzas.  These include a traditional pizza crust with cheese topped with bananas or strawberries that are then covered in chocolate.  It's delicious!  And I'm stuffed even just writing about it.

Okay, back to the reason for this post, my family here makes things easy.  We picked up right where we left off with the teasing and joking and catching up on the remainder of the summer.  It was great to see everyone smiling, looking relaxed and refreshed and kinda ready to start up school again tomorrow.  I just like that even though I live so far from home, I have people here who can be there for me.  Whether it's driving me everywhere because I've injured my foot and am in a boot (fingers crossed all for an injury-free year) or take me out to dinner when I have a bad day or just hang out and sing karaokee.  They're just fab.  We really don't have particular family roles like moms and dads but we're more like a bunch of brothers and sisters who just take care of one another.   I'm just lucky.  Thanks guys for being my family.  Love you!

Round Monies

The day I left, I went to Starbucks with Colleen, Ansley and Corinne for a bit.  We sipped away on water, lattes and mochas.  We dined on pink sprinkled donuts, bananas and coffee cakes.  While there, Ansley shared a few deep four-year-old thoughts that I wanted to pass along since they kinda put things into perspective and perhaps prioritize my own thinking sometimes.

On Caffine Consumption with Friends
"Megan, what are you drinking?" 
"A raspberry mocha."
"When I'm a big girl, can we drink mochas together?"
"Definitely."
And if we hang out again on the day I leave the country, I'll gladly consume 2 Starbucks beverages because I won't be able to have a Starbucks' mocha for months.

On Coloring One's Hair
"Megan, your hair is a different color.  I think you should dye it."
"Yes Ansley,you're right. It is time for me to get it dyed again."
"Maybe you should dye it the same color as mine."
"Well, I like your hair color but I really like to have blonde hair."
"What about pink?"
Why not?

On Distance Between Friends
This one was held after I left.  Ansley told me repeatedly that she wanted to come along with me to Brazil.  I told her that we wouldn't be back until Christmas and that her parents would just miss her too much.  I'm guessing it went something like this.
"Mommy, I want to go and visit Megan."
"Well Ansley, I would too but it's very expensive."
"How much money it is?"
"$1,000."
"Well, I have a lot of round monies in my piggy bank."

Ansley, get busy pulling weeds out at your grandfather's farm and maybe, you'll have enough round monies to visit.  And it's not about the distance, but how sweet you are to want to save your precious round monies for a visit.  And tell your mommy and daddy that if you visit, they have a place to stay so that you wouldn't have to save quite as many round monies. 

Recap: Summer, Summer, Summertime. Time to sit back and unwind.

"Summer, summer, summertime. Time to sit back and unwind" Will Smith definitely said it best in this classic summer tune from the summer before I entered high school. Summer definitely was spent unwinding from my first year in Brasilia, living and teaching in a new country.

It's hard to believe that I'm writing this from O'Hare waiting for my delayed flight to Atlanta. Now am back in Brasilia and just procrastinating.  Make that my really delayed flight to Atlanta. I feel like summer can't already be over!

I took a break this summer from this blog for lots of reasons. Figure it's time to catch everyone up and also as I feel stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted, a chance to relish the good "stuff" from this past summer. Gotta remember the unwinding I had.

Onto The Good Times!

Eating my first "real" cheeseburger of the summer at Chilli's (not quite the same in Brazil)

Shopping with the Goo

Working on my first graduate school class as I earn a second masters degree in Educational Leadership

Watching the Cubs lose to the Pirates with Courtney in center field with Byrds

Catching up with Alpha Chis at the Cundiff's bbq (Thanks Cundiffs!)


Working on grad school


Dining with the Harrisions in Lincoln @ the Elk's (even Maxine came for it)


Visiting with GAD and GUE in Lincoln


Meeting the newest Krodel, Garrett, and catching up with the rest of the Krodel crew over dessert


Eating yummy breakfasts with my BT girls so I had lots of qt with each of them


Working on grad school


Celebrating the Goo's BIG 30th b-day

The Looney's @ Goo's 30th

Andrea and me @ Goo's 30th

Bigs and me @ Goo's 30th

Jez, 'Lil Jez and I @ the Goo's 30th

Hanging out with BT and our vampire friends while watching Eclipse


Catching up with Holly


Working on grad school


Playing Poison Princess with Ansley @ the Geneva Commons clock tower


Celebrating the almost arrival of our newest BR member, 'Lil Jez


Celebrating the Fourth of July and Andrea's birthday @ Pearson's


Working on grad school


Exploring Chicago's architecture, food and boobs with my mom and the Goo

Having a real Girls Night Out with CPF, AP and LM in Geneva

Bien Trucha = comida buena and amigas buenas

Games with names

Roadtrippin' with Sam to the Pacific NW

Touring Portland with the Wolvies who are amazing guides by the way.  Thanks guys!

 Columbia River Gorge

 Hood River wind and kite surfers

Mt. Hood

 Cannon Beach

 Seattle

 View from Space Needle @ night

 I tried and like fish and chips.  My tastebuds are officially dying but I like new foods.  Trade offs I guess.

 Gasworks Park in Seattle

Sipping a frap at the first Starbucks ever.  Yummy!

Laughing lots along the way

Learning literacy tips at the F & P conference in D.C.


Making new "friends" in Georgetown with Hirsch and Monica, OMG


Visiting the dr for what I thought was a quick trip and wound up being an entirely scary day (FYI my left breast is great in case you wanted to know, probably a little too much info for some of you but I can't just leave you with "scary day" and not say more)


Eating a delicious BBQ dinner with my fam


Sipping mochas and waters with the Faivre girls


Visiting Chilli's for a final chips, salsa and quesdilla explosion salad at Chilli's on our way to O'Hare

The summer was pretty amazing when I look back. I told the Goo yesterday, that I think a big part of why I'm feeling so stressed is because the last few days were chopped up by my trip to D.C., that my students arrive in less than a week and that my last few days went in unexpected directions. Thank goodness I was prepared so things went as smoothly as they could go.  More importantly, thank goodness that I’m okay.  I wanted lots of quality time with my friends and fam and as you can see, I didn't do too shabby at all. I might not have gotten to see everyone or for those I did see, maybe not quite as much as I'd hoped but I did pretty well for the time I had.  And if I didn't catch you this time round, lets plan a date for Xmas vacation. 

Go Brasil!

Today Brasil takes on the Dutch in the quarter finals.  My fruit salad's all cut, I've tossed on my Brasil gear and very soon (like 10 minutes) I'll be driving to DeKalb to Andrea's house for the game. 


Most of the sports' sites are saying that Brasil will beat the Netherlands but with every match in the Cup, especially this year, you just never know.  If the Dutch bring all their momentum and play hard and contiue their 23 game winning streak, they might give us a run for the Cup. But my shirt already has the sixth star on it, just waiting to be filled in.  I mean, if that doesn't show the confidence in the Brasilian team, I don't know what does.  They have the confidence, the experience and a nation of over 200 million who will be cheering, yelling, and blowing horns...just ready to support each touch on the ball.


Regardless, I'm excited for some good soccer, a fun venue with good food and friends.  Go Brasil!


Bernie also says, "Go Brasil!" 

Photo taken on Father's Day during the Brasil game.  Love you dad!

Brasilian Beauty Secrets To Share

While visiting with a friend (who wanted to remain anonymous) the other day, I shared a couple of tips I learned living in Brasil.  She said that I should share them here, so here are a couple of Brasilian beauty secrets I learned not from Brasilians but just from living in Brasil. 

That being said, dad, you will just roll your eyes at these so it's probably just better that you skip this post altogether.  Also, any other male readers, you may have similar reactions to my father so read at your own risk!

Tip #1 - Chilled Aloe
While traveling to Rio this past year, I got a bad sunburn.  Shocking I know.   Hot beach and sand + white gringa who didn't realize you need to wear at least 50 on the beach while traveling in Brazil = fried gringa.  But my burn definitely was not as bad as another dear friend who burned the tops of her feet while visiting.  Regardless of the burning occasion, aloe was needed critical to feeling relief.  So, I went to the store and purchased aloe at some outrageous price at the local pharmacy (Bonus Tip #1 - if you come to visit, bring your own aloe.  It costs about R$30 which is USD$15).  What I learned on that trip however, was that if you put aloe in your fridge, it obviously chills it.  But the best part is man, oh, man does it feel good on a sunburn.  You know how how skin is so hot, it instantly chills it.  It chills your skin for a while and just is just so relieving.   I also think, after a recent slight sunburn, it helps heal the burn more quickly.  There were a few days I woke up the following morning sans burn which normally would have lasted.  No official science in this tip but just some experimentation and expertise from my friends.

Dad, that's the one I don't think you'll mind but I know this next one you truly will roll your eyes or if you were around you would leave the room.

Tip #2 - Deodorant Glide
Some girls, myself in particular, find that wearing dresses isn't so much fun when it's hot outside because my thighs rub together.  This doesn't just cause annoyance but it causes chaffing.  Ouchy yuck!  What I learned is that if you rub a solid deodorant on your thighs, they don't rub.  They glide.  No pain, no problem.  This definitely works in warm weather climates like Brazil.  I have found from my little experimentation that some deodorants work better than others.  I prefer Secret to Dove for this but it could also be that's just what I started with when I first tried this trick and got used to its performance.
*  This tip was shared via my sister who learned it from a close friend of hers.  Thanks said friend because I use this tip all the time.
** Writing this tip was pretty funny since I usually don't write about sciencey stuff.  I can't recall the last time I wrote things like glide and chaffing.

So the Brasilian secrets have been shared.  I'll share more when I learn a few more tricks or if you know any, share away.