3rd Grade Plague

I discovered upon returning to EAB today that I had not been the only one attacked by a crazy 3rd grade virus.  My class is calling is the 3rd grade plague. 

Plague Update:
Me -Feeling ok.  Pretty gross still.  Don't think safe for most to be very close to me due to sneezing, coughing and other grossness.  At about 75%.  This thing is hanging on.   Wanted to work a half day but couldn't (see below).  Asleep on couch last night at 6 pm.  Woke up at 8 pm and back to sleep around 10.  Please let me wake up feeling at 80%.

Erica - Minor plague case.  Napped for a few hours on Sunday. 

Jake - Out of school on Monday.  No specifics. 

2 students in my class - out of school and parents emailed with similar gross symptoms

1 student during the day - looked in a similar state to me, worn down and tired, reported symptoms occuring on same day as I

3 students during the day - reported symptoms like fever and being tired, one of which I suspect is true the other two were just wanting attention from their teacher who couldn't give them the ususal number of hugs desired since she didn't want to share germs.

Need a bug bomb to destroy this thing.  My shot pushed it along but I'd like flu to be gone permanently.  I hate having toilet paper up my nose to prevent drippage and coughing.  Better to happen now than be that guy on the plane nobody wants to sit by.  Send some healthy thinking my way please.

Happy B-Day BSB

This is another in the Catch-Up series, although this one might better be titled Ketchup.

Brasilia's Birthday on April 21st was met with lots of good...

• Breakfast at Praline with one of my favorite couples the Robertsons, 
• An afternoon of reading and sun with Andrea and the Robertsons at the Club - this was also the day of Mark's swimming adventure (his account of this afternoon is hilarious)

To disappointing...

• Andrea, Sam and my walk down to the Eixo Monumental only to find we got there late (we got there around 7 and thought we were being Brasilian) so had missed the festivities and arrived when it was obvious that everyone else had been "enjoying the fun" for most of the day. And when I mean missed the festivities, it was a little scary. When the three of us felt it was time to go (the police with billy clubs walking through a crowd of young men kinda led us to believe that), you know it must have been bad. We did stop on the way back for a bite to eat and some cold choppes which did make up for some of the disappointment.

To the celebration that arrived a little late...McDonald's. Gotta love those placemats. They must have printed a ton because I got another one when I went there last week for a french fry desired lunch with Hayes. The placemat includes the usual suspects and facts but a few new things too.  Thought I'd share them.

This fact shares about the large flag in front of the Congress building.  Large flags remind me of the Goo since she always loved them as a kid.

This random fact is about the first baby who was baptized in Brasilia on its inauguration day.

This final fact is related to Brasilia, sharing its birthday with another Brasilian hero named Tiradentes.  The third grade version I was told shared that he "lived a long time ago" and did "lots of good things" but he "had a consequence because some guys didn't like what he did" so the guys "tore his body apart and mailed it around Brazil."  There's a much more accurate version but I appreciate the 9-year-old one for this instance.

So Happy Birthday Brasilia.  You aren't aging so gracefully. In fact one Brasilian I know described you as a 50 year-old woman who'd smoked a pack a day since age 12 and is in dire need of a trip to the plastic surgeon.  There were lots of articles about you, mainly in terms of disappointment (you can read more here and here) but I think there is some hope around that opportunities are being found by some around us.  I'm in a position to teach two of those receiving opportunities on a daily basis.  Lets just hope more opportunities arise soon.

Good News

1.  I feel good enough to get off the couch for a little bit.

2.  Gatorade colored shots do work.
I woke up Friday morning feeling like I was hit with a brick.  I sucked it up all day since we had a field trip (post later on that one) to NEX jaguar refuge.  Yesterday afternoon, Andrea took me to visit to the ER (the Brazilian version of Urgent Care) where after two hours of exam, blood work and a trip to the ATM at a nearby mall, I was diagnosed with a cold. 

The doc then prescribed my meds.  I could opt for a shot or take oral.  I went with the shot since I figured the effects would come more quickly.  We waited a bit more and then went into the Injection Room.  Love that they have a room with that name.  The nurse came in with a BIG needle and a vial filled with neon yellow liquid.  She wrapped some tubing around my arm, stuck me and started pumping me full of the liquid.  Not so much fun at all but better than being stuck in the butt I guess.

I'm not 100%, I'm about 70%.  Not as achey, throat not as sore, fever seems to be gone, lack of ear pain.  My nose is runny and I'm coughing a little but there's progress.

3.  I don't have Dengue!
The ER doc made me go and get a blood test since I had a fever and was achey.  Two symptoms of Dengue.  The blood work was all normal so that's good news.

4.  This week we only have 4 days of school.
Unlike my American friends, we won't celebrate Memorial Day here this week.  Thursday we have a religious holiday, Corpos Christi.  It means I'll have to suck it up for 3 days in a row and then I'll have a day off to write report cards relax.

5. 7.5 days of school left.

6.  15 days till I'm in Chicago
Can't wait!

Time to head back to the couch.  Want to have more good news to share soon so I figure more rest is needed. 

When the Governor's Daughter's in Your Class...

1.  You have to become a public relations expert. 
When the other kids in the third grade  (including friends) start spreading the rumors that their parents shared with them about how he's corrupt and will not be relected; you have to counsel a 9-year-old on how to deflect comments.  As she stands crying outside your classroom and you hug her and console her; you need to be prepared with comebacks.  I wasn't prepared so I had great ideas like "T.V./schmeevie, you should ask my dad for an interview." Or "My dad's got a tough job but all of those problems aren't because of him."  And you thought the "Your momma's so fat" jokes were hard to take.

2.  You will have a body guard.
Today I found out that my student will need to be in van 5 tomorrow.  The last of the 5 vans we are taking on our field trip.  Why?  So that her body guards can more easily protect her.  Seriously?   We are traveling outside the Federal District to a jaguar refuge.  I wonder if they'll be swimming in the waterfall with us.  Should I have told them to bring their sungas?  At least I can I at least hope that one of them is cute, right? 

Delivery!

In the spirit of trying new things before I go, today I crossed another new thing off the list.  All year long I'd been hearing Andrea speak of how the grocery store delivers.  You go and shop and then they bring it to your apartment.  For me, since I don't have a car, bringing groceries home is the hardest part.

I'd tried several different approaches.  Early on I would walk to the grocery store with a backpack and several bags, load up and then walk home.  Between the heat and the weight it was torture.

Then I tried the walk to the store and taxi home approach.  This one still isn't too bad.  The grocery store is only a R$5 (USD$2.50) ride from my apartment but you still have to get the cart downstairs, fill it up, bring it up the elevator and then bring it back down.

My grocery delivery intimidation was tied directly to my spoken Portuguese.  Today I as filled my cart and realized that the taxi ride would be cheap but getting everything into my apartment would be a pain, I decided to take the leap.  My purchases included laundry detergent, 2 bottles of milk, DC and the other usual items.  The weight was a big factor in my decision. 

Oh my goodness.  Delivery.  It's heaven. 

I was a little nervous getting up to the counter.  I knew the correct words but would they understand?  I asked, "Do you deliver?"  The cashier said yes, shouted over to a bagger who came to my check-out lane.  The two started joking a little bit and at first I thought it was related to my Portuguese.  Another sentence into their conversation and I realized the bagger was teasing the cashier's pronounciation of the word delivery.  Apparently since the cashier lived in Rio, his pronouncation is different.  Yep readers, I understood all of that in Portuguese.  Yay me!

As I stood in line and the cashier rang up my items, the bagger (which is not the norm) put my items into two large plastic crates (think milk crates on steriods).  After I checked out, I went over to a nearby counter, filled out my name, apartment number and telephone.  The bagger completed a few more steps and then I was off.  I walked home having faith that this would all work out but also guessing, there could be some gringa adventure involved.

I was home for about 20 minutes later, my apartment phone (think intercom) rang.  My portero said, "Delivery?"  I replied, "Sim."  And a few minutes later, two men appeared at my kitchen door.  They unloaded the two crates onto my counter and left.  No tipping needed as that's not a part of the culture in Brasil.

No problems.  All of my groceries arrived.  Putting things away has never been easier and it was just perfect.   So glad I tried it, cuz once you go delivery, you never go back!  I heart delivery.

Who Knew Talking Could Make You Feel Tired?

When you are learning a new language, it's amazing how challenging it can be.   I'm reminded on a daily basis about this.  My language strengths have always been my reading and writing.  Then my listening and finally speaking.  This is true in English as well. 

So, with moving to Brasil, I've grown in the same way.  My reading's pretty decent, listening's alright.  Haven't done as much writing here. But my speaking, well, it's subpar. Pretty sad when I think about how I've lived here for almost 11 months.   There are reasons and excuses but regardless, speaking is what's most difficult for me.

I spent my Saturday afternoon with Cris, one of EAB's art teachers.  I just LOVE her.  She's kind, friendly and has gone out of her way to make me feel welcomed.  What I haven't mentioned yet is that Cris is Brasilian.  She speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and Italian.  She's lived in Brasil (obviously), Venezuela and Italy.  Learning languages for her isn't easy and she reminded me of this yesterday.

We spent our afternoon at a local haunt, Libanos, chatting, drinking deliciously cold beer and eating hummus.   The first hour or so we spoke in English.  Then we were talking about my language learning and she switched.  She said, no more English, only Portuguese.  Instant panic hit.  I get so nervous and flustered when I have to speak Portuguese.  I feel at such a loss and get tongue tied.  This is even more true when I'm around people I know.

Since Cris is so wonderful and speaks Spanish I did my best  trying to use what Portuguese-Spanish combination I knew.  She helped my vocabulary learning along the way. 

Another 30 minutes later into Portuguese only, Cris' friend Adriana joined us.  She speaks French and Portuguese and a little English.  I didn't know about the English until much later.  So, here I was sitting outside with two wonderful women, trying my best to keep up with their conversation in Portuguese. 

I didn't do wonderfully, I did okay.  I was proud of myself for understanding most of the conversation and when I didn't understand, asking for help.  I was proud of myself for trying to convey my thoughts even though I was speaking in the present tense, unless I was using the verb "to be."  I was proud of myself for letting go a little bit.  The beer helped with that I'm sure too but at least I tried. 

When I left after a bit of shopping, I realized how exhausted I was.  Yes, I had a few drinks and yes it was late afternoon but I don't think I've worked that hard language-wise for a long time.  Man, it's a lotta work but it's good work.  Work I need to continue doing as much as I can.

An American Treat

One of my American student's families occasionally brings me treats from the U.S. Embassy's grocery store.    Unfortunately, expats living in Brasil that do not work for the government cannot shop there.   During snack time, my American students dine on Slim Jims, Capri Suns, Rice Krispie Treats and so on.  Am I jealous somedays, well, yeah!    

It's amazing how something from home, the exact brand, can really make you smile some days.  Things that otherwise you could recreate but just aren't even close the same because some items just aren't available living in Brasil or if they are, they're outrageously expensive.               

                

This student's mom gets that.  And I so appreciate it about her.  For parent teacher conferences I was brought some maple syrup.  For X-mas, a muffin mix and jar of peanut butter.  For my birthday, chocolate chip cookie and blueberry muffin mix.  And this week, it was, yep, The Original Cracker Jack. 

Can you even remember the last time you had Cracker Jacks?  I sure couldn't! 

Of course, I'm sure you're wondering about my prize.   It was a guess who.  This prize gave you a little bio about a person and you had to infer who they were. One side had an illustration of when the person was young.   Of course, there was an instant connection to home for me.  My guess who was Abe Lincoln.  If you weren't sure you could origami fold the little card to check it and see their adult image.  The top hat and beard confirmed it. 

Pretty small world, pretty great treat and pretty funny how even when you're 33, Cracker Jacks can still make you feel so good.