Brasil Thus Far... "E Ai?"

More than a full week in, with only 3 more full days to go, I have so much going through my mind... I love Brasil. I love being here, I love the people, the kids, the churches... I love what we´re doing. And of course, I love the food :) I´ve definitely gained back all the weight I lost for Brasil and then some, but it´s all worth it :P Oh, and the beaches are amazing too :D The sun is hot, the breeze is cool and we are definitely having a GREAT time even as we are working our butts off. I love our team. I love our hosts. We are SO taken care of, it´s ridiculous. Things are different here for sure and it´s been a bit of a culture shock, but here´s what I think I´ve learned about the Brasileiros and their awesome country (or at least the city of Fortaleza :P) so far :

* They have NO concept of time. Five minutes can mean anything from one minute to one hour.
* There are NO traffic rules (because there is no enforcement of traffic rules). People drive SO crazy here, it´s scary, and we´ve already seen a few car crashes. After being driven around for a week already, I still freak out on every ride. I swear I´m gonna be the world´s safest driver when I get back to the U.S.
* Pedestrians do not have the right of way and crosswalks are few and far in between.
* Cars communicate by honking - 1 honk means You go, 2 honks means Get out of the way, cuz I´m going.
* People communicate with sounds - E Ai, Ay, Eh, Ah and Oi are all very common phrases :P
* They love meat - red meat, to be percise, and I´ve been eating WAY too much of it since I got here.
* The drink of choice is coconut water (straight out of the coconut via straw) and Guarana which tastes a little like giner ale, but better :P Their fresh squeezed juices of EVERY variety also can´t be beat!
* Acai bowls are BOMB!!! Mix in honey and I´m pretty sure that´s what heaven tastes like :)
* It really is dangerous here. Girls are discouraged from driving alone at night (it gets dark really early here, around 6pm), bulletproof cars are common, people don´t stop at red lights after dark and we were told to not bring our purses/jewelry to certain places.
* Spanish and Portuguese may look similar, but the prononciation is WAY different.

Fun stuff we´ve done so far:

* Beaches!!! The water is SOOO warm and the cool breeze keeps you from getting too hot :) Oh and the sand is PERFECT :)
* Massages at the beach :) A full body massage with tan protecting lotion... Oh yea...
* Did I already mention AWESOME food at fun local restaurants? ;)
* Playing with the kids :) They love us SO much, it´s amazing... And of course, all of us fell in love with them as well :) I´m gonna miss them a lot, wish I could bring them all home with me :(
* Off-roading on sand dunes and jumping off of sand hills
* Shopping :P
* Hanging out with our hosts
* GOING TO A REAL SOCCER GAME IN SOUTH AMERICA AT A HUGE STADIUM WITH TONS OF PEOPLE GOING CRAZY!!!!!

Work we´ve done so far:

* CONSTRUCTION!!! Digging holes, breaking rocks, mixing cement... We all have blisters :P
* Painting
* Sorting food, clothes, toys and school supplies and making packages for each family/child.
* Organizing books and cleaning
* Playing with the kids
* Walking around the favelas (the slum community we are serving) and talking/praying with people.
* Preaching/sharing God´s word :) I LOOOOVE IT!!!

The Favelas:

I´ve only seen this kind of stuff on TV before. It´s crazy how people can live like that, it´s inhumane. The dirt, the smell, the flies, the poverty, the sickness, the open sewage, the unsanitary conditions... I´ve gotten nauseas more than a few times... And the heat makes it so much worse. It´s so sad and scary what this community is dealing with... Prostitution, drugs, child trafficking... Every little girl I saw, every woman with multiple kids... It made me sick to my stomach just thinking about the very real possibility of them being touched by any or all of it.

The Videira:

This church is literally a ray of hope and light in the favelas. Our team has been spending a lot of time at their "fort" there and we are really enjoying getting to know the people who run it. We´ve participated in all of their services and I absolutely LOOOVE that church and its pastors :)

Randomness:

Our schedule is really tight and our days are really long... Wake up early, work, lunch, evangelize, home to shower (1-2 hours), service and out to eat. By the time we get home around midnight, we are SO tired, we just want to sleep... But it´s SO good :)

None of us have REALLY gotten sick, although all of the girls have felt sick for a short while at some point or another.

We are having fun as a team. Sure, we butt heads and all, but we love each other :)

I want to write more, but I´m SO tired right now I´m about to pass out... And I really want to publish this blog already, so anything else I think of will have to wait for another blog :) Boa noite!!!