Over half-way!

Last Saturday, I realized that I was half-way into my experience. I was sad at thinking that I was already half-way done! I thought about my time here, what I have accomplished, and how God has been working in my life, and thought about what I still needed to do before I left. It is so amazing to see how God has been working in my life during my time here, and I am excited to see how He will use these experiences to prepare me for the future!

This past week, I realized that I am kinda getting in a rut. In case you are interested, this is my schedule for each day:

5:45 - get up with the rooster

6:30 - arrive at school to do some last minute preps

7:00 - teacher prayer meeting

7:30 - school starts

10:00 - "meranda" - snack/recess for students AND teachers :)

11:55 - lunch (most students go home to eat with their families

12:45 - back to school

2:45 - students leave

3:00 - 5:45-ish - lesson planning/grading/clean classroom

6:00 - dinner

7:15 - devotions, then to the library to check e-mail, update blog, chat on skype, etc...

10:00-ish - (on a good night when my fiance doesn't keep me up talking.... :) back to my cozy little room for bed

It's getting harder and harder to motivate myself to come up with creative lesson plans and activities. I still have 5 weeks left and know that I need to finish strong, all the way through!

Last Friday, I had quite the day. It began by meeting AUNT KATHY at the airport at 4:30 in the morning! Then, I came back for the beginning of the school day. I had the privilege of speaking in the high school/junior high chapel. I talked about planning for the future, and things I have learned so far. I talked about coming to Brazil, surrender, listening to God, and trusting and obeying Him. I think it went well (I hope they thought so too!) From chapel, I went back and taught a math lesson during which I was observed by my supervisor. Right after school, I had parent-teacher conferences. Most of them were in Portuguese, which made it interesting. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I understood! It definitely helps, though, if you know the context and understand a bit of Spanish. I mostly spoke through my teacher. It will be interesting to actually do these conferences on my own someday! My teacher said I did well, which was encouraging. I was so nervous! Wow! What a day! I was glad when the stress was behind me and I could relax. Through all of the events of the day, God truly blessed me with the "peace that passes all understanding." Praise HIM!

As I mentioned before, last week I had the privilege of hosting a guest! AUNT KATHY was willing to come down and visit for a few days! We had a wonderful time!

She arrived on Friday morning (4:20 am), and I let her sleep until lunch. After school, we went to the mall with some of the other teachers. She brought lots of things from my parents, including PIZZA SAUCE for me to add to my pizza. :) Thanks, MOM AND DAD!! :)

On Saturday, we had breakfast at a nice hotel and then went on a private tour of the city. It began at the Museo (or zoo), where I have been before. Our guide was a biologist who knew all of the plants and animals. He was even able to talk to the animals and call them to come closer to us. It was the craziest thing! We then went to the Basilica de Nossa Senhora de Nazare (Our Lady of Nazareth) Catholic church. Every October, they hold a large festival here. A small statue of Mary is paraded through the streets, and ends its journey at this church. I have heard it is quite the event. I am hoping to see part of the parade while I am here. We then traveled over to
Ver-o-Peso, an outdoor market, where every fruit and vegetable grown in Brazil is sold. They also have special "remedies" for the most random things. One in particular could be put in someone's food or perfume/cologne to help calm them down. Interesting....

[from our boat - the city of Belem] Next, we continued our tour on the Amazon (which actually wasn't the Amazon at all, but another rive that meets up with the Amazon.... slightly disappointing, but I wouldn't have known if they didn't tell me.... I was in a boat in Brazil! It was still cool!). We took a boat to an island where we had lunch, then went on a hike through the jungle. So, here I am in my flip-flops, hiking through the jungle.... it was quite the experience. We stopped at a small local home where the owners were making acai, my favorite drink. :)

[making acai shown at right]

They brought out their parrot and let us hold it. Then they put some bananas on the bottom limbs of trees which convinced the monkeys to climb down for pictures! One of the owners cut up a Brazil nut for us to try. The whole time I was praying that God would keep us safe. Not only were we in the jungle, but we were eating food that had not been washed with a 30 year old knife that has probably been used on everything and most likely hasn't been washed either.... Praise HIM for His protection! [from our boat - the restaurant where we ate and the jungle where we hiked]

*cutting up a Brazil nut. The chickens (there were probably 30) were fighting for pieces too..... this didn't make me feel very good.... but I haven't gotten sick yet! :)

At the end of the our adventure, we convinced our guide to drop us off at the Docas, some nice restaurants on the river. These were once docks used to export rubber, but have since been converted into places to eat. At night it somewhat reminds me of Easton for some reason. (however it's not really similar...) Our guide not only helped us get there, but helped us order as well! It was a great ending to a great day full of adventures!
[a common river home]

Mimi? Baboon? Matika? Cromwell!!

I felt like I was at Lipo-Lipo..... (AEC!!! :) Oh, we had even gone into a fish market earlier that day, and I laughed out loud. I couldn't take a picutre because it wasn't safe to have my camera out, but I was thinking of you girls! :)

Thanks for all of your continued prayers and frequent notes of encouragement or updates! Let me know how you are doing!

Praising HIM in Brazil,

Brittany