Monday, April 24, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Few things in life make me want to cry: the death of a relative or close friend, City of Angels, the United States loss to Germany in the 2002 World Cup, and missing my international flight home this weekend.
I arrived at terminal 1 of the Rio de Janeiro International Airport at 6:30 pm, Friday evening. Thinking my flight left at 8:20, I wasn’t too upset when I realized I had to trek across the entire airport to get to the last section of terminal 2. As I meandered along I remembered I had R$45 I needed to spend; so, I stopped at a souvenir booth and bought some presents for my two new nieces, and other family members. It was about 7 o’clock when I arrived at the deserted United Airlines check-in counter – it was closed. Maybe I should have panicked then, but I was pretty confident my flight was at 8:20; I thought maybe I would take a Varig flight to São Paulo, and then switched to United, after all, Varig and United are related. I waited through Varig’s international check-in to be told that they did not have me in their system – now I started to panic. I then went to an internet booth and printed out my itinerary (they wanted to charge me R$3,50 for 5 minutes but I didn’t realize they didn’t accept credit cards and ended up only giving all my change, R$1,40). I looked at my itinerary, and half way down the page, in bold red, letters it read: 8:20 pm São Paulo to Chicago. My stomach dropped; my eyes went to the top of the page; in plain, black text it read: 6:30 pm Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. I had missed my flight! Not only did I miss my flight, but United was closed until 10 the next morning, I had spent all my Brazilian money, and I was homeless.
It was about this time that I wanted to cry. Ha… I think it was the stress and self-anger and longing to be home. I didn’t actually cry, but it was just a frustrating situation.
Luckily, I still had a Brazilian phone card with which I called my friend Andeson in Rio. He wasn’t there. I then called my only other friend, Jocileia, who was excited and confused to hear from me. When I explained the situation, she was more than helpful. I took a taxi to her apartment in Jardim Botánico (Botanical Gardens) in Rio de Janeiro, and I ended up sleeping at her neighbor’s house since he was at home for the weekend. Right after I arrived at her apartment, we walked a few blocks to PUC – RIO, the university she attends. There I was able to quickly access internet and send an email to Dad.
So I learned some important lessons from the situation: print out the flight itinerary when it is first received; and check-in is the first priority when arriving at the airport.
Since there wasn’t another flight home until the same time on Saturday, Jocileia helped me make the most of my last, last day in Rio. We spent the morning trying to find a place to check email, but that didn’t work out. So after lunch we went to Leblon (a rich neighborhood in Rio) and enjoyed the beach – soft sand, cloudless sky, warm spring air and cool breeze.
We soaked in the rays until 4 o’clock, when we went to the mall near Jocileia’s house; I bought some more gifts for family; took a shower and than caught a cab for the airport.
Though I asked to be dropped off at the 2nd terminal, I believe he still left me at the 1st, because I still had a long walk to the United gate. I was surprised to be called by my name as I approached the check-in; “Mr. McAllister?, in broken english.” They were waiting for me. After paying the $100 late fee, I got checked in and went straight to the gate. They told me I had almost missed the cutoff for the international check-in… that wouldn’t of been good.
Few things in life make me want to cry: the death of a relative or close friend, City of Angels, the United States loss to Germany in the 2002 World Cup, and missing my international flight home this weekend.
I arrived at terminal 1 of the Rio de Janeiro International Airport at 6:30 pm, Friday evening. Thinking my flight left at 8:20, I wasn’t too upset when I realized I had to trek across the entire airport to get to the last section of terminal 2. As I meandered along I remembered I had R$45 I needed to spend; so, I stopped at a souvenir booth and bought some presents for my two new nieces, and other family members. It was about 7 o’clock when I arrived at the deserted United Airlines check-in counter – it was closed. Maybe I should have panicked then, but I was pretty confident my flight was at 8:20; I thought maybe I would take a Varig flight to São Paulo, and then switched to United, after all, Varig and United are related. I waited through Varig’s international check-in to be told that they did not have me in their system – now I started to panic. I then went to an internet booth and printed out my itinerary (they wanted to charge me R$3,50 for 5 minutes but I didn’t realize they didn’t accept credit cards and ended up only giving all my change, R$1,40). I looked at my itinerary, and half way down the page, in bold red, letters it read: 8:20 pm São Paulo to Chicago. My stomach dropped; my eyes went to the top of the page; in plain, black text it read: 6:30 pm Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. I had missed my flight! Not only did I miss my flight, but United was closed until 10 the next morning, I had spent all my Brazilian money, and I was homeless.
It was about this time that I wanted to cry. Ha… I think it was the stress and self-anger and longing to be home. I didn’t actually cry, but it was just a frustrating situation.
Luckily, I still had a Brazilian phone card with which I called my friend Andeson in Rio. He wasn’t there. I then called my only other friend, Jocileia, who was excited and confused to hear from me. When I explained the situation, she was more than helpful. I took a taxi to her apartment in Jardim Botánico (Botanical Gardens) in Rio de Janeiro, and I ended up sleeping at her neighbor’s house since he was at home for the weekend. Right after I arrived at her apartment, we walked a few blocks to PUC – RIO, the university she attends. There I was able to quickly access internet and send an email to Dad.
So I learned some important lessons from the situation: print out the flight itinerary when it is first received; and check-in is the first priority when arriving at the airport.
Since there wasn’t another flight home until the same time on Saturday, Jocileia helped me make the most of my last, last day in Rio. We spent the morning trying to find a place to check email, but that didn’t work out. So after lunch we went to Leblon (a rich neighborhood in Rio) and enjoyed the beach – soft sand, cloudless sky, warm spring air and cool breeze.
We soaked in the rays until 4 o’clock, when we went to the mall near Jocileia’s house; I bought some more gifts for family; took a shower and than caught a cab for the airport.
Though I asked to be dropped off at the 2nd terminal, I believe he still left me at the 1st, because I still had a long walk to the United gate. I was surprised to be called by my name as I approached the check-in; “Mr. McAllister?, in broken english.” They were waiting for me. After paying the $100 late fee, I got checked in and went straight to the gate. They told me I had almost missed the cutoff for the international check-in… that wouldn’t of been good.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Wednesday & Thursday, March 22 & 23, 2006
Once when I was 19 my girlfriend and I wanted to watch the sunrise, just as something special before I went on my mission. For some reason I slept in that day and never saw it; since then, I still have never seen a sunrise… until today.
It was a little before 6 am – after less than an hour of sleep – when a faint glow began making its way over the ocean waves. Last night’s bonfire still roared at our feet – protecting us from the morning’s chill. The faint glow soon spread through the heavens; the cumulonimbus clouds in the distance made for an impressive silhouette against the colors of the morning sky. Purple, red, orange, pink, blue – like the man on Saturday mornings who painted “happy trees” and “fluffy clouds”, it was as if we were watching God paint the morning sky. Unlike a sunset that loses its color with time, this sunrise got more stunning.
My camera was safe in our hotel room, so I was unable to capture a high quality image, but I was armed with the ERS video camera that I was borrowing to take some memories home. This video camera also takes low-resolution pictures – good enough just for a memory – hence, the above picture.
Matadeiro is a beach on the southeast side of the island; the same beach we made our campfire a few weeks earlier. This time, about 40 institute-aged guys and girls sprinkled the coastline. Under the illumination of yellow park lights we played sand soccer, beach dodge ball, the group pretzel game in the ocean, and a variety of other activities. It wasn’t until a little after midnight that the all-nighters began sifting themselves from the early birds.
Those who stayed, moved away from the artificial lights and started a bonfire – well, tried to. Not to bash their techniques, but leaning big logs in a triangle shape, dousing them with alcohol and lighting a match is not the best way to get an effective fire going. Since I was in charge of the last fire, I figured tonight I would let them handle it; after the picturesque fire and roaring alcohol flames died, I quickly stepped in to give my support and some advice. After a few minutes of old fashioned huffing and puffing, and thanks to the help of those collecting kindling, the fire was a success. It was such a success, that 5 hours later, as the sun rose, we were still toasty.
As the blues in the sky began overtaking the reds and oranges, we too packed up camp. Daisy took a carload of us to the downtown bus terminal, while a few others got stuck taking a bus. By 8:30, Dave and I were crashed – sound asleep in our beds.
You’d think after a night like that we’d need a day to recover, but no. My alarm was set for 11 am – but I slept in. Ten minutes to noon Dave and I woke up panicked; we were supposed to meet Leandro at the downtown terminal at 12. When I called to explain, he was understanding and said he’d wait a few more minutes. We quickly got ready and got our bus downtown.
Thursday, March 23, was the 280th anniversary of Florianópolis, and thus, a holiday for the city. To celebrate, after our beach party, we had a churrasco (barbeque) at Débora’s. Her uncle was nice enough to be our personal chef, while the rest of us helped w/ the side dishes and what-nots. Since most everyone was dragging from the night before, card games seemed to be the popular activity, letting our bodies rest. But that doesn’t mean some of us didn’t play a game of sand soccer with the locals, or toss the Football around.
We had the barbeque area reserved until 5 pm, when we had to clean up and make room for the next people. Shortly after, Dave and I said our goodbyes and left with Dudu, Luana, and Natália, back to São José. Natália is our friend from Itajaí, and she came down to Floripa to hang out for the weekend and say goodbye to us. So tonight, after getting cleaned up, we made our way over to Luana’s house for ordered in pizza and movies. Our other friends, Deborah and John were also there. It was a fun night; though I had a hard time staying awake during the movie.
On a side note: we learned today that we would not be traveling to Joaçaba to teach, like we had planned. Honestly, I was disappointed, I really wanted to go; it would have been our last CASP course. But it turned out they were unable to confirm there would be at least 10 participants, so Humberto thought it was better to mark for another week.
Once when I was 19 my girlfriend and I wanted to watch the sunrise, just as something special before I went on my mission. For some reason I slept in that day and never saw it; since then, I still have never seen a sunrise… until today.
It was a little before 6 am – after less than an hour of sleep – when a faint glow began making its way over the ocean waves. Last night’s bonfire still roared at our feet – protecting us from the morning’s chill. The faint glow soon spread through the heavens; the cumulonimbus clouds in the distance made for an impressive silhouette against the colors of the morning sky. Purple, red, orange, pink, blue – like the man on Saturday mornings who painted “happy trees” and “fluffy clouds”, it was as if we were watching God paint the morning sky. Unlike a sunset that loses its color with time, this sunrise got more stunning.
My camera was safe in our hotel room, so I was unable to capture a high quality image, but I was armed with the ERS video camera that I was borrowing to take some memories home. This video camera also takes low-resolution pictures – good enough just for a memory – hence, the above picture.
Matadeiro is a beach on the southeast side of the island; the same beach we made our campfire a few weeks earlier. This time, about 40 institute-aged guys and girls sprinkled the coastline. Under the illumination of yellow park lights we played sand soccer, beach dodge ball, the group pretzel game in the ocean, and a variety of other activities. It wasn’t until a little after midnight that the all-nighters began sifting themselves from the early birds.
Those who stayed, moved away from the artificial lights and started a bonfire – well, tried to. Not to bash their techniques, but leaning big logs in a triangle shape, dousing them with alcohol and lighting a match is not the best way to get an effective fire going. Since I was in charge of the last fire, I figured tonight I would let them handle it; after the picturesque fire and roaring alcohol flames died, I quickly stepped in to give my support and some advice. After a few minutes of old fashioned huffing and puffing, and thanks to the help of those collecting kindling, the fire was a success. It was such a success, that 5 hours later, as the sun rose, we were still toasty.
As the blues in the sky began overtaking the reds and oranges, we too packed up camp. Daisy took a carload of us to the downtown bus terminal, while a few others got stuck taking a bus. By 8:30, Dave and I were crashed – sound asleep in our beds.
You’d think after a night like that we’d need a day to recover, but no. My alarm was set for 11 am – but I slept in. Ten minutes to noon Dave and I woke up panicked; we were supposed to meet Leandro at the downtown terminal at 12. When I called to explain, he was understanding and said he’d wait a few more minutes. We quickly got ready and got our bus downtown.
Thursday, March 23, was the 280th anniversary of Florianópolis, and thus, a holiday for the city. To celebrate, after our beach party, we had a churrasco (barbeque) at Débora’s. Her uncle was nice enough to be our personal chef, while the rest of us helped w/ the side dishes and what-nots. Since most everyone was dragging from the night before, card games seemed to be the popular activity, letting our bodies rest. But that doesn’t mean some of us didn’t play a game of sand soccer with the locals, or toss the Football around.
We had the barbeque area reserved until 5 pm, when we had to clean up and make room for the next people. Shortly after, Dave and I said our goodbyes and left with Dudu, Luana, and Natália, back to São José. Natália is our friend from Itajaí, and she came down to Floripa to hang out for the weekend and say goodbye to us. So tonight, after getting cleaned up, we made our way over to Luana’s house for ordered in pizza and movies. Our other friends, Deborah and John were also there. It was a fun night; though I had a hard time staying awake during the movie.
On a side note: we learned today that we would not be traveling to Joaçaba to teach, like we had planned. Honestly, I was disappointed, I really wanted to go; it would have been our last CASP course. But it turned out they were unable to confirm there would be at least 10 participants, so Humberto thought it was better to mark for another week.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
It takes eight quick minutes to get to the Florianópolis Institute building from the bus terminal downtown. This evening we met Rodrigo (same Rodrigo as last night) in front of Comper Supermercados in São José and went together. Classes are held every Tuesday night and Saturday morning; they have a pretty good turn out, filling up most of the classroom downstairs.
Presidente Perrotti is the instructor; I really liked his style of teaching – relating every teaching he could find to our daily lives and helping us see why it’s important to read our scriptures every day.
Today we are studying the Book of Mormon, just after Lehi’s Dream in First Nephi. They made this life size Tree of Life and each student was encouraged to put their name on a ‘fruit’ and hang it on the tree as a reminder throughout the year.
Domini’s Pizza was where we went after class to ‘kill our hunger’, as they say in Portuguese. When Débora sends me the pictures, I’ll post them here, but until then, let me try to remember who was there (going around the table): Muriel, Débora, Flávia, Élida, Rubens, Daisy, Rodrigo, David, Leandro, and me. Again, it was a rodizio pizza place, but paying R$20,00 a plate insured it was quality, and tasty pizza – which it was.
Earlier in the day, Dave and I worked at the SRE office, training the Cossios and making follow-up phone calls.
It takes eight quick minutes to get to the Florianópolis Institute building from the bus terminal downtown. This evening we met Rodrigo (same Rodrigo as last night) in front of Comper Supermercados in São José and went together. Classes are held every Tuesday night and Saturday morning; they have a pretty good turn out, filling up most of the classroom downstairs.
Presidente Perrotti is the instructor; I really liked his style of teaching – relating every teaching he could find to our daily lives and helping us see why it’s important to read our scriptures every day.
Today we are studying the Book of Mormon, just after Lehi’s Dream in First Nephi. They made this life size Tree of Life and each student was encouraged to put their name on a ‘fruit’ and hang it on the tree as a reminder throughout the year.
Domini’s Pizza was where we went after class to ‘kill our hunger’, as they say in Portuguese. When Débora sends me the pictures, I’ll post them here, but until then, let me try to remember who was there (going around the table): Muriel, Débora, Flávia, Élida, Rubens, Daisy, Rodrigo, David, Leandro, and me. Again, it was a rodizio pizza place, but paying R$20,00 a plate insured it was quality, and tasty pizza – which it was.
Earlier in the day, Dave and I worked at the SRE office, training the Cossios and making follow-up phone calls.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
With a box of individually wrapped chocolates, two socks, a fork, a knife, and a die, 6 of us stood around their dining room table; each took turns rolling the die, hoping for a 1; when a 1 was rolled, that person put the socks on their hands, and then, only using the utensils, unwrapped and ate the chocolates. Meanwhile, the other 5 continue rolling the die; as soon as another 1 is rolled, that person receives the socks, and they continue. The game goes on until all the chocolates are eaten. It was pretty fun.
This wrapped up my day, but here is how it began…
After a lunch at the local ‘by the kilo’ café with the Cossios, I went to the SRE office for the rest of the afternoon. Dave and I agreed that I would work today at the office while he did homework, and then tomorrow we would switch.
From 1 to 6 this afternoon SRE files were updated, more instructions were written for the Cossios, I gave some teaching tips and helped them prepare for when they will be teaching by themselves here in a few weeks.
Twenty minutes on the phone with BYU Travel left me a little surer of my plans for the next two weeks, but then I called Porto Alegre.
I called Humberto, in Porto Alegre to confirm our trip to Joaçaba this weekend, and was given the green light for renting a car for our trip – thus, saving at least four hours round trip of our travel. Regarding more details, including our last day in Porto Alegre, Humberto requested we call him tomorrow morning. He wants us to stay in Porto Alegre until the 8th to help with a Stake Career Fair, but we are technically released on the 5th, and the 8th is the only weekend we have to sight see and visit people and places.
Sister Burrup, from Porto Alegre, also shared w/ me their trials from today – everything in their office was going haywire: the Internet wasn’t working, copy machine on the frits, etc.
At 8 pm David and I arrived at the house of Rubens & Family for another FHE. Valdmiria is always so nice to fill us with food before the message, and then Rodrigo, there recent RM son gave the spiritual message, and Tiago was in charge of the game. This is when we played the chocolate game described about above. Good times!
With a box of individually wrapped chocolates, two socks, a fork, a knife, and a die, 6 of us stood around their dining room table; each took turns rolling the die, hoping for a 1; when a 1 was rolled, that person put the socks on their hands, and then, only using the utensils, unwrapped and ate the chocolates. Meanwhile, the other 5 continue rolling the die; as soon as another 1 is rolled, that person receives the socks, and they continue. The game goes on until all the chocolates are eaten. It was pretty fun.
This wrapped up my day, but here is how it began…
After a lunch at the local ‘by the kilo’ café with the Cossios, I went to the SRE office for the rest of the afternoon. Dave and I agreed that I would work today at the office while he did homework, and then tomorrow we would switch.
From 1 to 6 this afternoon SRE files were updated, more instructions were written for the Cossios, I gave some teaching tips and helped them prepare for when they will be teaching by themselves here in a few weeks.
Twenty minutes on the phone with BYU Travel left me a little surer of my plans for the next two weeks, but then I called Porto Alegre.
I called Humberto, in Porto Alegre to confirm our trip to Joaçaba this weekend, and was given the green light for renting a car for our trip – thus, saving at least four hours round trip of our travel. Regarding more details, including our last day in Porto Alegre, Humberto requested we call him tomorrow morning. He wants us to stay in Porto Alegre until the 8th to help with a Stake Career Fair, but we are technically released on the 5th, and the 8th is the only weekend we have to sight see and visit people and places.
Sister Burrup, from Porto Alegre, also shared w/ me their trials from today – everything in their office was going haywire: the Internet wasn’t working, copy machine on the frits, etc.
At 8 pm David and I arrived at the house of Rubens & Family for another FHE. Valdmiria is always so nice to fill us with food before the message, and then Rodrigo, there recent RM son gave the spiritual message, and Tiago was in charge of the game. This is when we played the chocolate game described about above. Good times!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Last week I taught Sunday school, this week it was David’s turn; he was asked Thursday night, but he gave a good class, especially for the short preparation time.
Contact with home via Skype, AIM, and MSN was what my Sunday was all about. The webcam conference w/ Scott and Ashley, my newest niece, wasn't very successful, but here is an updated picture:
What a doll!
After church I visited Irmão Pedro Pimentel’s house to see how he was doing; he had eye surgery this past week – a weird film was building up over his eye, almost like a snake, so he had it cut off. They were thankful for my visit and invited me to eat lunch w/ them – what a nice family!
I got a hold of Joaçaba this afternoon; Joaçaba is a city about 6 hours west of Florianópolis, and they have been trying to schedule a CASP class for 15 church members who are trying to take advantage of the Perpetual Education Fund. We scheduled for this coming Saturday, but they are still going to get back to us to confirm.
Last week I taught Sunday school, this week it was David’s turn; he was asked Thursday night, but he gave a good class, especially for the short preparation time.
Contact with home via Skype, AIM, and MSN was what my Sunday was all about. The webcam conference w/ Scott and Ashley, my newest niece, wasn't very successful, but here is an updated picture:
What a doll!After church I visited Irmão Pedro Pimentel’s house to see how he was doing; he had eye surgery this past week – a weird film was building up over his eye, almost like a snake, so he had it cut off. They were thankful for my visit and invited me to eat lunch w/ them – what a nice family!
I got a hold of Joaçaba this afternoon; Joaçaba is a city about 6 hours west of Florianópolis, and they have been trying to schedule a CASP class for 15 church members who are trying to take advantage of the Perpetual Education Fund. We scheduled for this coming Saturday, but they are still going to get back to us to confirm.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Though the sun was sizzling and the ocean looked gorgeous, we couldn’t convince anyone else to go to the beach with us today. Instead, after Institute, David, Leandro, Daniel, Helamã, Flávia, Élida, and I went to the Beira Mar Shopping mall for lunch and hung out for a bit. The mall was beautifully designed with at least 5 floors and has been nicely maintained. The stores were similar to those in the U.S. (everything way too expensive), the only obvious difference I spotted being the jewelry – which have more of a Latin flare expressed by its colors, size, and design.
From downtown Floripa, Leandro, David and I took a taxi back to Leandro’s place on the mainland where we watched the Crusades – an awfully bloody movie that also had a surprisingly profound and deep script. I really enjoyed the message it passed about the importance of being a better person and making a difference in the world, not just for yourself, but helping everyone around you.
Since Leandro wasn’t too big on cooking, I used his food and made us some ham & cheese hamburgers, along with his cheese bread and Fanta – grape soda. He’ll be the first to admit he doesn’t know how to make anything.
Getting home was rather interesting. To get back we had to catch a bus over the bridge to downtown (going further from our hotel), where we’d get another bus back to the continent and up to São José, where we live. The bus stop by Leandro’s house is located at the bottom of a curving hill and consequently, it took us over thirty minutes to recognize and flag down the right bus before it zoomed by. We got to the downtown terminal at 11:30 pm, just as the last bus to our neighborhood was rolling out! Unsure what to do, we decided to take another bus that would drop us off 15 minutes from our hotel; luckily as we waited for that bus, we learned of another that was not on the departure screen, but that would go past our hotel at midnight.
We made it home fine.
Though the sun was sizzling and the ocean looked gorgeous, we couldn’t convince anyone else to go to the beach with us today. Instead, after Institute, David, Leandro, Daniel, Helamã, Flávia, Élida, and I went to the Beira Mar Shopping mall for lunch and hung out for a bit. The mall was beautifully designed with at least 5 floors and has been nicely maintained. The stores were similar to those in the U.S. (everything way too expensive), the only obvious difference I spotted being the jewelry – which have more of a Latin flare expressed by its colors, size, and design.
From downtown Floripa, Leandro, David and I took a taxi back to Leandro’s place on the mainland where we watched the Crusades – an awfully bloody movie that also had a surprisingly profound and deep script. I really enjoyed the message it passed about the importance of being a better person and making a difference in the world, not just for yourself, but helping everyone around you.
Since Leandro wasn’t too big on cooking, I used his food and made us some ham & cheese hamburgers, along with his cheese bread and Fanta – grape soda. He’ll be the first to admit he doesn’t know how to make anything.
Getting home was rather interesting. To get back we had to catch a bus over the bridge to downtown (going further from our hotel), where we’d get another bus back to the continent and up to São José, where we live. The bus stop by Leandro’s house is located at the bottom of a curving hill and consequently, it took us over thirty minutes to recognize and flag down the right bus before it zoomed by. We got to the downtown terminal at 11:30 pm, just as the last bus to our neighborhood was rolling out! Unsure what to do, we decided to take another bus that would drop us off 15 minutes from our hotel; luckily as we waited for that bus, we learned of another that was not on the departure screen, but that would go past our hotel at midnight.
We made it home fine.
Friday, March 17, 2006
As the waitress set them on our table, the golden, breaded, platter of shrimp smiled at me. Okay, maybe it didn't smile, but I was happy to see it. It came accompanied with an overflowing platter of French fries, and it was all chased down with a 2-liter of Kuat guaraná. Leandro, Carol, David, and I enjoyed ourselves at Boka’s Restaurant, just on the continent side of Florianópolis. Boka’s is famous for serving big platters for a table’s worth of hungry visitors. Probably the most interesting part of the evening was adjusting to eating finger food with a toothpick - each shrimpy shrimp, and crispy fry.
We had a nice time, leisurely eating and conversing, even for an hour after we were done. It's a pretty common practice in Brazil to comfortably sit around the table chatting; unlike in the U.S. where the waiters rush you out to make room for the next visitor, here they leave you at ease.
Knowing we would be riding in Carol’s car, I remembered my iPod and car-radio adapter; I was surprised to learn these car-radio adapters were a new concept to Leandro and Carol and probably most Brazilians; they enjoyed jamming to my iPod selection of both Brazilian and American music.
Dave and I spent the night at Leandro’s; we watched War of the World’s, my first time – good movie. Leandro’s roommate is in the Rio Grande do Sul, so it wasn’t any inconvenience to crash at his place. We plan on going to Institute and the beach tomorrow.
As the waitress set them on our table, the golden, breaded, platter of shrimp smiled at me. Okay, maybe it didn't smile, but I was happy to see it. It came accompanied with an overflowing platter of French fries, and it was all chased down with a 2-liter of Kuat guaraná. Leandro, Carol, David, and I enjoyed ourselves at Boka’s Restaurant, just on the continent side of Florianópolis. Boka’s is famous for serving big platters for a table’s worth of hungry visitors. Probably the most interesting part of the evening was adjusting to eating finger food with a toothpick - each shrimpy shrimp, and crispy fry.
We had a nice time, leisurely eating and conversing, even for an hour after we were done. It's a pretty common practice in Brazil to comfortably sit around the table chatting; unlike in the U.S. where the waiters rush you out to make room for the next visitor, here they leave you at ease.
Knowing we would be riding in Carol’s car, I remembered my iPod and car-radio adapter; I was surprised to learn these car-radio adapters were a new concept to Leandro and Carol and probably most Brazilians; they enjoyed jamming to my iPod selection of both Brazilian and American music.
Dave and I spent the night at Leandro’s; we watched War of the World’s, my first time – good movie. Leandro’s roommate is in the Rio Grande do Sul, so it wasn’t any inconvenience to crash at his place. We plan on going to Institute and the beach tomorrow.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Small yet powerful – the answer I would give someone if they asked me, “How was your CASP group this week?” Honestly, Dave and I haven’t seen better mock interviews – their Power Statements and overall performances were impressing!
Here’re a few snaps of the crew. The first was normal:
The second was supposed to be a funny picture; I think I was the only one that got the message.
Tonight we arrived a little after 6 at the Institute, and Irmã Bete was already there with an Italian dinner waiting for us; she’s such a sweet lady.
Due to the smaller number of participants, we were able to have longer debates and share more personal experiences, I think they enjoyed that. Over all, it was a successful CASP this week!
This morning, I was awaken by a phone call from the Sisters asking if we could sit in on a lesson they would be giving Anchieta at the chapel. It was 10:00 am when she called, and Dave was already at the SRE because Paulo and Caroline from the CASP course wanted to use the computers and telephones in their job searches. I was already planning on switching places with Dave at 10:30, so instead he was nice and stayed in the SRE while I sat in on the missionary lesson.
Shortly before heading off to teach our course this evening, we got an email from Curitiba saying their CASP had been canceled and that we didn’t have to make the 5 hour trip up there this weekend – to be honest, I was relieved.
The night ended with some interesting conversations on MSN – ha.
Small yet powerful – the answer I would give someone if they asked me, “How was your CASP group this week?” Honestly, Dave and I haven’t seen better mock interviews – their Power Statements and overall performances were impressing!
Here’re a few snaps of the crew. The first was normal:
The second was supposed to be a funny picture; I think I was the only one that got the message.
Tonight we arrived a little after 6 at the Institute, and Irmã Bete was already there with an Italian dinner waiting for us; she’s such a sweet lady.
Due to the smaller number of participants, we were able to have longer debates and share more personal experiences, I think they enjoyed that. Over all, it was a successful CASP this week!
This morning, I was awaken by a phone call from the Sisters asking if we could sit in on a lesson they would be giving Anchieta at the chapel. It was 10:00 am when she called, and Dave was already at the SRE because Paulo and Caroline from the CASP course wanted to use the computers and telephones in their job searches. I was already planning on switching places with Dave at 10:30, so instead he was nice and stayed in the SRE while I sat in on the missionary lesson.
Shortly before heading off to teach our course this evening, we got an email from Curitiba saying their CASP had been canceled and that we didn’t have to make the 5 hour trip up there this weekend – to be honest, I was relieved.
The night ended with some interesting conversations on MSN – ha.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Bete made us Brazilian pancacas for dinner tonight!
We arrived at the Institute building a little after 6:00 pm in preparation for our 6:30-6:45 start to class. Bete, a motherly like participant of our CASP course, made us Brazilian pancacas (fluffy, thick tortilla type shells rolled with meat and cheese and out of the shells) with a small dessert and a 2-liter of Guaraná. That was so nice of her! So we scared down the pan full of pancacas as fast as we could, did the dishes, and then went upstairs to begin the course.
We had a few new participants tonight, and one that didn’t show up from yesterday. Everything went great – once again, I think this group learned the Power Statements faster than any other group.
We finished tonight’s course by 10:30 and proceeded by walking the Cossio’s to the nearest taxi so they could get to the bus terminal faster and now miss their last bus home. Dave and I, along w/ two other participants, Paulo and Caroline, walked to the terminal together.
The streets were congested with high school age kids just getting out of class. In Brazil they go to class for half the day, either in the morning or in the evening. The rest of the day is free for them to work, do homework, or get into trouble.
Home by 11:20, I finished the night with a good read of the Book of Mormon, and then got online to talk w/ some family and friends. Well, when I say some, I mean… enough to keep me busy until 4 am! Okay, so maybe tonight was a little extreme and I should have gone to bed, but that’s okay, I just won’t do it again. They were productive conversations – arranging my flight plan home, and my living arrangements for when I get back to school.
Though I finished the day staying up late online, it began being a lot more productive. Dave and I went by Anchieta’s house and followed up from the lesson he heard yesterday from the Sisters. Together we read the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith pamphlet and tried to clear up any doubts he had. Anchieta is an amazing guy and has really noticed a change in his life since he has begun going to church and hearing the lessons. He liked us so much that he even recorded our discussion on his 10 X 12 inch boom box and said that the tape was a present for us so we could remember him for when we went back home. It’s hard to put into words just how neat this man is, and how gratifying it is to be his friend and help him understand the importance of Jesus Christ in his life.
Bete made us Brazilian pancacas for dinner tonight!
We arrived at the Institute building a little after 6:00 pm in preparation for our 6:30-6:45 start to class. Bete, a motherly like participant of our CASP course, made us Brazilian pancacas (fluffy, thick tortilla type shells rolled with meat and cheese and out of the shells) with a small dessert and a 2-liter of Guaraná. That was so nice of her! So we scared down the pan full of pancacas as fast as we could, did the dishes, and then went upstairs to begin the course.
We had a few new participants tonight, and one that didn’t show up from yesterday. Everything went great – once again, I think this group learned the Power Statements faster than any other group.
We finished tonight’s course by 10:30 and proceeded by walking the Cossio’s to the nearest taxi so they could get to the bus terminal faster and now miss their last bus home. Dave and I, along w/ two other participants, Paulo and Caroline, walked to the terminal together.
The streets were congested with high school age kids just getting out of class. In Brazil they go to class for half the day, either in the morning or in the evening. The rest of the day is free for them to work, do homework, or get into trouble.
Home by 11:20, I finished the night with a good read of the Book of Mormon, and then got online to talk w/ some family and friends. Well, when I say some, I mean… enough to keep me busy until 4 am! Okay, so maybe tonight was a little extreme and I should have gone to bed, but that’s okay, I just won’t do it again. They were productive conversations – arranging my flight plan home, and my living arrangements for when I get back to school.
Though I finished the day staying up late online, it began being a lot more productive. Dave and I went by Anchieta’s house and followed up from the lesson he heard yesterday from the Sisters. Together we read the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith pamphlet and tried to clear up any doubts he had. Anchieta is an amazing guy and has really noticed a change in his life since he has begun going to church and hearing the lessons. He liked us so much that he even recorded our discussion on his 10 X 12 inch boom box and said that the tape was a present for us so we could remember him for when we went back home. It’s hard to put into words just how neat this man is, and how gratifying it is to be his friend and help him understand the importance of Jesus Christ in his life.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
CASP at the Institute Center in Florianópolis tonight went well granted we only had five or six participants. To be honest, that was a disappointment. I know there are lots more people needing to take the course to be eligible for the Perpetual Education Fund, but I guess it wasn’t advertised very well – which is our own fault. But, thankfully, the participants we did have were ones would brought a lot to the class – experiences, excitement and energy, and it was a fun night.
After the course, we helped the Cossio’s get to a taxi and find their way home, and then Leandro, Daisy, Dave and I went to Habbib’s – a fast food, Arabic restaurant. It’s an interesting place, pretty good actually. Good friends, good times.
At 10:30 this morning, Dave and I went to Anchieta’s house so sit in on a discussion he had with the Sister missionaries. What a strong, peaceful spirit. It was fun to be in on a discussion in Portuguese again, and share a little with Anchieta.
Not much else was accomplished today, except the fact that each of the Cossio’s taught a part in the course this evening. I challenged them to teach for a few reasons: first, they will learn faster if they get involved and teach, but second, because I wanted them to realize they need to work on their Portuguese; Elder Cossio thinks he speaks only Portuguese, when really he’s speaking about 60% Spanish! But they did a great job, and both of the objectives were achieved.
CASP at the Institute Center in Florianópolis tonight went well granted we only had five or six participants. To be honest, that was a disappointment. I know there are lots more people needing to take the course to be eligible for the Perpetual Education Fund, but I guess it wasn’t advertised very well – which is our own fault. But, thankfully, the participants we did have were ones would brought a lot to the class – experiences, excitement and energy, and it was a fun night.
After the course, we helped the Cossio’s get to a taxi and find their way home, and then Leandro, Daisy, Dave and I went to Habbib’s – a fast food, Arabic restaurant. It’s an interesting place, pretty good actually. Good friends, good times.
At 10:30 this morning, Dave and I went to Anchieta’s house so sit in on a discussion he had with the Sister missionaries. What a strong, peaceful spirit. It was fun to be in on a discussion in Portuguese again, and share a little with Anchieta.
Not much else was accomplished today, except the fact that each of the Cossio’s taught a part in the course this evening. I challenged them to teach for a few reasons: first, they will learn faster if they get involved and teach, but second, because I wanted them to realize they need to work on their Portuguese; Elder Cossio thinks he speaks only Portuguese, when really he’s speaking about 60% Spanish! But they did a great job, and both of the objectives were achieved.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Ten years ago, in an old house two blocks in front of the Kobrasol chapel, my sister Jenna lived as a Sister missionary; tonight we held a joint Family Home Evening in that same house – now owned by fairly new members of the church, Pedro and Suelange Pimentel. Together with the Pimentel’s (Pedro, Suelange, their older son and two younger daughters) came two other families: Aldo, his son Tiago, and his son’s friend, along with Anchieta, Aldo’s neighbor and yesterday’s visitor at church. The sister missionaries were also present.
We arranged ourselves all cozy like in the big room that multi-served as their kitchen, living room and playroom. Tonight’s message: David’s Game of Life, of course. As routy as we all were, by the end of the game a great spirit was present – the game’s subtle messages and “judgment day” at the end left everyone in think-mode.
Today was also one of the Sister’s birthdays, so after the message/game we sang happy birthday and enjoyed the refreshments – a Brazilian classic of mini-French bread filled with a hot dog sauce, accompanied with a cold plastic cup of Guaraná.
Here’s a picture of us all. Please ignore the gang signs, ha..., and poor Irmão Pedro had surgery on his eye today, so that's why he's winking :
One of the best parts of the night was the friendship we were able to make with each of the families. Anchieta especially was fun to talk with – his many life experiences, Spanish backround, etc. I was quick to invite myself in on his missionary lesson with the Sisters on Tuesday.
Other than the FHE, most of the day was spent resting or at the SRE office. We left Leandro’s apartment about 10 am as he went off to work. I was dead tired once I got back to our hotel.
And how could I almost forget, I received an email from the Visual Arts department of BYU; I have been accepted into the Photography program!! I wasn’t expecting to receive the announcement for a few more weeks, nor was I expecting it by e-mail, but it definitely made my day!
Ten years ago, in an old house two blocks in front of the Kobrasol chapel, my sister Jenna lived as a Sister missionary; tonight we held a joint Family Home Evening in that same house – now owned by fairly new members of the church, Pedro and Suelange Pimentel. Together with the Pimentel’s (Pedro, Suelange, their older son and two younger daughters) came two other families: Aldo, his son Tiago, and his son’s friend, along with Anchieta, Aldo’s neighbor and yesterday’s visitor at church. The sister missionaries were also present.
We arranged ourselves all cozy like in the big room that multi-served as their kitchen, living room and playroom. Tonight’s message: David’s Game of Life, of course. As routy as we all were, by the end of the game a great spirit was present – the game’s subtle messages and “judgment day” at the end left everyone in think-mode.
Today was also one of the Sister’s birthdays, so after the message/game we sang happy birthday and enjoyed the refreshments – a Brazilian classic of mini-French bread filled with a hot dog sauce, accompanied with a cold plastic cup of Guaraná.
Here’s a picture of us all. Please ignore the gang signs, ha..., and poor Irmão Pedro had surgery on his eye today, so that's why he's winking :
One of the best parts of the night was the friendship we were able to make with each of the families. Anchieta especially was fun to talk with – his many life experiences, Spanish backround, etc. I was quick to invite myself in on his missionary lesson with the Sisters on Tuesday.
Other than the FHE, most of the day was spent resting or at the SRE office. We left Leandro’s apartment about 10 am as he went off to work. I was dead tired once I got back to our hotel.
And how could I almost forget, I received an email from the Visual Arts department of BYU; I have been accepted into the Photography program!! I wasn’t expecting to receive the announcement for a few more weeks, nor was I expecting it by e-mail, but it definitely made my day!
Sunday, March 12, 2006
The sunset was gorgeous tonight, but I missed it by 10 minutes. I rarely leave the hotel with my camera equipment, but tonight we were already going downtown and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get some sunset shots of Florianópolis from a walkway that stretches over the highway and looks directly at Floripa’s skyline of skyscrapers and her classic suspension bridge. The bus from São José took longer than expected; thus, I missed the sunset by 10 minutes.
Teachings of the Prophets: Wilford Woodruff, Chapter 5: The Holy Ghost and Personal Revelation –the lesson I taught to ten or so members of the Kobrasol Elder’s Quorum this morning. It actually turned out being a pretty good lesson – most everyone participated and many personal experiences were shared which for a pretty interesting class. We even had two visitors, Israel – a man in his early twenties, and Anchieta – a man in his mid sixties.
After church I did my usual routine of curling up on my bed with my powerbook and my General Conference DVDs; I set the language to Spanish (another language I’m trying to pick up), and then not more than five minutes into the first session I usually fall asleep – not waking up until the battery has died. Today was no different.
At 3 pm we had our first visitors to our hotel room – Rodrigo (the oldest of the Ruben’s family that just got off his mission) and Eduardo (an 18 year old who became our friend from the CASEI), our hometeachers. That’s right, we have home teachers. Actually, we were hometeachers last month, but they already traded us this month.
It was about 6 pm that Dave and I got a bus to downtown – we were meeting Leandro at the bus terminal at 7, but I wanted to get some shots of the sunset before, which proved to be a bust.
From there, Leandro and us two caught a bus to Deborah’s house, where other friends were, or were soon to arrive. From what I remember, the following people were there (thinking around the circle from our game of STOP): Thiago, Aline, Élida, Flávia, Patia, Deborah, Luiza, Daisy, Leandro, David and me. We played a variety of games – STOP (a brazilian version of scategories), the winking-murder-game, question-random-answer game and uno. Some of the girls left about 10, the rest of us stayed a bit longer. Long enough to realize we had missed the last bus to São José, so Daisy was nice enough to give us a ride with Leandro to his house, and that’s where we spent the night. Leandro’s a super cool guy – I might get to hang out w/ him and his family in April when I go down to Rio de Janeiro, since that’s where he’s from. That’d be fun if it works out.
The sunset was gorgeous tonight, but I missed it by 10 minutes. I rarely leave the hotel with my camera equipment, but tonight we were already going downtown and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get some sunset shots of Florianópolis from a walkway that stretches over the highway and looks directly at Floripa’s skyline of skyscrapers and her classic suspension bridge. The bus from São José took longer than expected; thus, I missed the sunset by 10 minutes.
Teachings of the Prophets: Wilford Woodruff, Chapter 5: The Holy Ghost and Personal Revelation –the lesson I taught to ten or so members of the Kobrasol Elder’s Quorum this morning. It actually turned out being a pretty good lesson – most everyone participated and many personal experiences were shared which for a pretty interesting class. We even had two visitors, Israel – a man in his early twenties, and Anchieta – a man in his mid sixties.
After church I did my usual routine of curling up on my bed with my powerbook and my General Conference DVDs; I set the language to Spanish (another language I’m trying to pick up), and then not more than five minutes into the first session I usually fall asleep – not waking up until the battery has died. Today was no different.
At 3 pm we had our first visitors to our hotel room – Rodrigo (the oldest of the Ruben’s family that just got off his mission) and Eduardo (an 18 year old who became our friend from the CASEI), our hometeachers. That’s right, we have home teachers. Actually, we were hometeachers last month, but they already traded us this month.
It was about 6 pm that Dave and I got a bus to downtown – we were meeting Leandro at the bus terminal at 7, but I wanted to get some shots of the sunset before, which proved to be a bust.
From there, Leandro and us two caught a bus to Deborah’s house, where other friends were, or were soon to arrive. From what I remember, the following people were there (thinking around the circle from our game of STOP): Thiago, Aline, Élida, Flávia, Patia, Deborah, Luiza, Daisy, Leandro, David and me. We played a variety of games – STOP (a brazilian version of scategories), the winking-murder-game, question-random-answer game and uno. Some of the girls left about 10, the rest of us stayed a bit longer. Long enough to realize we had missed the last bus to São José, so Daisy was nice enough to give us a ride with Leandro to his house, and that’s where we spent the night. Leandro’s a super cool guy – I might get to hang out w/ him and his family in April when I go down to Rio de Janeiro, since that’s where he’s from. That’d be fun if it works out.
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