From Tchau to Ciao

This will be the final post for this blog, as Z and I are no longer in Brazil.  We are currently travelling around the West, visiting family for the summer before we depart for Switzerland in mid-August. 

To decrease my computer use, I will not be keeping a blog while there.  Instead, I would like to try writing letters, as I loved to do before e-mail become so common.  If you would like our new address there, please e-mail us for the information.  Our e-mail addresses will remain the same.

We love you all.

Beijos,
A&Z

Japan vs. Brazil

          Naturally, I find myself comparing our experiences here with the time I spent in Japan since that is the first foreign country that I could call home.  My journeys in Japan allowed me to be immersed in the local culture and language through home stays, all-Japanese work environments, and the challenges of living alone in a rural community.  Here in Brazil, we are immersed instead in a unique school culture of many nationalities.  Even though Brazilians are most well-represented among us, English is our lingua franca, and for me, this means that I work in the identity of my home culture most of the time.  They moved away recently, but our next-door neighbors were from India, allowing for a very satisfying, yet, nonetheless, non-Brazilian relationship.  Our church community is also international, with English as our shared language.  We feel like we are in a bubble here, perhaps by circumstance, perhaps by choice.  Since the school is right next to our condominium, we are not required to interact with many people outside our work environment, except when we go grocery shopping or out into the city. 



With some of our 12th graders, whom we both teach.



            Z and I have also agreed that, while Brazilian culture is unique, it is not nearly as shocking as living in Japan was for us.  Even though there are more inconveniences here, we are not as challenged on a daily basis to carry out regular activities as we were in Japan.  Compared to our experience in Japan, we do not stand out as obviously here as foreigners.  In Japan, I had near-celebrity status in my small community, which worked to my advantage for making friends and getting involved in events and activities.  Here, however, outside our school and its community, I am not known other than by my condominium's friendly security guards.  Getting involved in the community outside of school requires more effort, which I have generally not put forth.  I was tentative to get involved, not knowing if I would be able to stay as long as I hoped due to the visa situation, and once we did have the visa, I knew we would be leaving soon, so I thought, Why bother?  (In retrospect, I think it is best to settle in, even if you are staying for a short time.) 

            I feel that our marriage relationship has a huge role in how we have been involved in the local culture.  In Japan, we were single people seeking friendship and companionship, eager to be part of the action; here in Brazil, we are often satisfied to spend time with each other, which prevents us from getting involved with others as extensively.  This is not necessarily a negative point, but it has colored our experience here.

            So, how will we approach our integration into the local culture of Lugano, Switzerland?  Working and living at an international boarding school will present many of the same challenges we have had here in Brazil.  Z and I have discussed this, and he made a valuable point.  In San Diego, it was not until our third year there that we felt integrated in our community.  For me, it took a year in rural Japan before I felt comfortable taking risks to get more involved.  As we transition to life in Switzerland, I am prepared to be patient with our progress and simply take advantage of the encounters we do have with the local culture and people. 

           Since Ecclesiastes is fresh in my mind from studying it with the soon-to-graduate 12th graders, let me quote Solomon, the wisest man of his time who wrote this toward the end of his full, rich life:

¹⁸ "Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. ¹⁹ And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. ²⁰ God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past" (5:18-20).

Let us, then, all of us, enjoy our lot in life, since every good thing comes from God, and God can make good of all things, no matter what our limited human perspective may be.  I look forward to hearing how you are using and enjoying your time on earth.  Write soon!

Moving On

I find the big, white, blank screen intimidating.  So many times I feel inspired to write about something I have been learning, yet feel overwhelmed by the blank screen.  I know that if I could share my thoughts with you by pen and paper, you would likely read a different story (or at least you would read some story, rather than none at all).  It's been months since I've posted anything to this space.  I apologize for not sharing our journey with you recently.  Much has transpired since we returned to Brazil with our work visas.

            One bit of news that I have been keeping silent from the public is that we have decided to leave Brazil at the end of this school year, now three weeks away.            

           When we returned to the U.S. in February, Z started looking for work in other places.  One reason was that we were unsure whether the visas would actually come through, considering we had been waiting for almost a year already.  Another was that the workload at the school has been overwhelming to Z, and he has found that he has not enjoyed teaching as much when he needs to prepare for five different content-heavy courses.  We all know that Z likes to work hard, but this has been too much.       

            So, Z was asked by a friend who directs a school in L.A. to write his ideal job description.  Z wrote that he would like to teach social studies and coordinate a program for global service learning.  Soon after, he found out about an opening with exactly this job description at The American School in Switzerland (TASIS), a school that he has been interested in for some time.  To make a long story short, he turned down an extremely generous offer in L.A. so that we could both accept jobs in Switzerland instead!  We have decided to exchange our doce de leite for chocolate bars, our rice and beans for fondue, our sea views for lake views, and our palm trees and mountains for--oh, but wait!  There are actually palm trees in this part of Switzerland!  So, we should feel right at home there.  TASIS kindly offered me a place to teach EAL (English as an additional language), focusing on academic reading and writing at the upper intermediate level, so we will both be able to contribute our talents to the community.

            Now that I have shared that, I also want to share how much I have enjoyed experiencing Brazil.  Just when I think I have a grasp of what this country represents, I meet people from a different background or visit a different region, and my equilibrium is thrown off.  I think, These people also call themselves brasileiro?  What a diverse nation in its peoples, cultures, and environments!  How much there is yet to explore!  I am sorry to be leaving so soon.

A rookery at sunset in the Amazon

            Perhaps the most rewarding accomplishment as we wrap up our time here is how our characters have been shaped by our experiences here.  When we meet again, we will tell you some of what we have learned about humility, love, and priorities.  Some people back home tell me that they notice a change in me.  One Biblical metaphor is that those who remain in Christ will produce fruit, like a tree that is healthy.  Jesus said:

 "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful….No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me" (John 15:1, 2, 4)    

Paul wrote to the Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (5:22).  And I am actually bearing fruit!  This is proof that Christ lives in me and that the Spirit of God is teaching me and using me.  This gives me peace and makes all the trials of this past year worth it.  On the flip side, I am aware of my weaknesses and where I need to keep growing.  Even though it hurts when my Father trims off the fruitless branches, I will suffer the pain.  I know that He will not give up on growing me into a beautiful tree that produces fruit bearing His name, so juicy and sweet that others will eat it and maybe even desire to grow God's fruit, too!  You never know where a little bird will deposit the seeds from the fruit he has eaten, but if the conditions are right, another tree will grow.

            This little bird is taking her Brazilian passion fruit to Switzerland!

Outside the Bubble of Comfort: Another Perspective on Rio

We have been in back in Brazil for about a month now, this time as legal workers.  It is taking some time to get back into the swing of things, but I am really enjoying the beautiful weather (the temperatures have cooled down into the 80s) and hearing the party sounds of a Brazilian band playing live music in the neighborhood this Sunday night. 

Yesterday was community outreach day at our school.  Seven teachers and twelve students bussed over to two different sites about an hour away.  My group visited a non-profit organization called O Cordeiro (The Lamb), located next to a drug lord-controlled slum of about 10,000 people.  We split into two groups; one group painted a room and the rest of us met a group of twenty children from the community, aged nine to fifteen.  They come to the site to take classes in Spanish, English, drama, karate, and Bible.  Since we visited during their Spanish time, we introduced ourselves in Spanish and then I organized an icebreaker game.  It was meant to be an opportunity for them to practice Spanish, but everyone quickly reverted to Portuguese.  After that, we broke up into small groups and spoke with the students in Spanish.  I came to briefly know a group of six pre-teen girls who were filled with life, a love of learning, and a love for God.  I prayed for them before we parted.  They did not seem in any rush to leave even though their Spanish lesson time had passed.  Another teacher told me that a boy in her group was nine years old and proud to say he was in kindergarten. 

After that, C, the leader of the ministry, took us on a walking tour of the slum.  Apparently, this is the slum that escapees came to during the recent police invasion of another nearby favela.  As soon as walked into the community, I noticed right away that there were horses.  One of the horses was so thin that its ribs and backbone were visible through its skin.  Then, down a side street, I saw a shirtless young man with a revolver tucked into the front of his board shorts.  He walked across the street behind our group and disappeared into another alley.  Young men in alleys were talking on walkie-talkies, which a high school student in our group explained was part of the self-policing network.  (Communities like this one are controlled by the drug trade and those in the network police their own community.  Government police do not even enter the favela because they will be killed.  This means that there are absolutely no government services, including enforcement that children go to school.)

Some girls in our group expressed their discomfort about walking any further into the community because of the possible danger, but C assured us that he had called the leader ahead of time to get permission for our visit and that they were expecting us.  We walked deeper into the community of flat, dusty unpaved alleys and makeshift dwellings.  Occasionally, we would see a familiar face--one of the children from our earlier visit carrying a baby sibling or idling outside their home.  We stopped briefly to say hello to a friend of C who was outside with a baby.  She was a young girl who did not seem older than the high school students we brought with us; I was unsure whether the baby belonged to her or whether she was just caring for it.  The baby had a hernia on his belly button, which looked like a large ball of skin.  Another teacher explained to me that this is caused by excessive pressure on the stomach, often from the wailing of a baby when it is not attended to.  According to her, these can only be removed by a surgical procedure.  I wondered if this baby would ever receive such care. (My brother-in-law, who is a pediatrician, kindly informed me that these hernias are actually quite common; some sources claim that one in six babies are born with one, and they usually resolve on their own by the age of four or five.)

As we walked on, I saw a number of pregnant women walking around or sitting, doing nothing.  They were difficult to miss because their enlarged stomachs were exposed; often, they would be wearing only a bikini top, probably because of the hot temperatures.  Every block, there seemed to be someone blasting Brazilian music.  Kids were playing out in the street, watching us go by.  I wanted to speak with them but did not know whether it was safe to do so.  I stayed close to our small group.  There were very few people in the streets that seemed to be over thirty years old, and they all seemed to be just hanging around, waiting for something to happen.

When the tour was finally over, I was relieved to be away from the community, but I saw the children we had met in a new way.  When we met them, they seemed like ordinary kids, not much different from the ones we work with every day.  Then, I learned that most of them do not have parents because they have died of drug overdoses or are so consumed by drugs that they abandon their children.  Some of them do not know how many siblings they have.  Life in that community of violence is all they know.  The ministry that C started provides a place for them to escape, to avoid the violence and crime of their dusty streets.  C explained that most of the children's families do not want them to grow up to become involved in drugs and crime, so they support his ministry, which equips them with skills to find good jobs in the future.  However, the drug network will remain a hindrance until the government can enter and begin to help.  This is only one community of many in Rio de Janeiro that is suffering. 

It would be easy to push the images from that community out of my mind, but I do not want to forget.  That would be convenient, selfish, living in denial of the fact that much of the populated world suffers like this community.  I was eager to speak to C again today at church.  I thanked him for the opportunity and he invited me to return any Saturday to help.  At least the school or we personally may be able to donate pencils and notebooks to the children there.  I feel great compassion for those children, and I know that loving them, teaching them about Jesus, and teaching them skills is something I would even love to do for full-time work. 

For now, I will continue to work with another population that also has great spiritual needs--the students at our own school.  No matter what community we live in, no matter what color our skin, no matter how much money or education we have, we are equal in the eyes of our Creator.  I will continue to let God use even me to love the people in my current circumstance and teach them who He is so that they might be transformed by the knowledge that they are accepted no matter WHAT. 

Visas approved

Hello!  We have been enjoying Northern California at Z's parents' for three weeks now.  Z has been watching history films galore, and I have started a sewing project.  We found out a few days ago that our work visas to Brazil have finally been approved.  So, we are in the midst of making plans to go back mid-March.  Thank you for your prayers!  I pray that we can return to the school in Rio like the following prophecy from Isaiah 55:

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grown the pine tree,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD's renown,

for an everlasting sign,

which will not be destroyed.'"



Que gostoso!

Those who know me understand that I truly enjoy food.  So, I would like to take some space to describe some of our best and worst food experiences in Brazil thus far.

The Delicious

Rice and Beans

I've come a long way from when I ate rice and beans for breakfast with my host family in Costa Rica at age fifteen.  At the time, they must have been able to tell I was not used to it, since they set our Kellog's Cornflakes for me every breakfast after that.  However, I do not get tired of rice and beans here in Brazil.  Even in our school cafeteria, it is available every day for lunch without fail, and most days I take it and enjoy it.  There is something special about the way they flavor it.  I think they must use a lot of garlic.

Tropical Fruits

My favorite is passion fruit.  There is a creamy dessert mold they make here that is the flavor of passion fruit that I will not pass up.  We also eat a lot of papaya, watermelon, pineapple, and mango.  We also buy the pulp frozen, then mix it with yogurt and banana for a breakfast vitamina, or smoothie.  Another favorite is (pronounced ah-sah-EE), which is a dark reddish purple.  Açaí is the only fruit I have heard of that is actually high in fat, and it is worth the extra calories!  You can get it whipped up in a thick smoothie that reminds me of dark chocolate ice cream in its appearance, but tastes like only açaí can.  We enjoy it most at a restaurant at Barra Beach called Golden Sucos.  Sucos is what locals call fruit juice, often mixed with sugar and some water. 

Juices at Bibi Sucos
(L to R) Mixed red fruits, strawberry and cacao, pineapple mint, pitanga

Rabanada

A special Christmas treat in Brazil:  sliced bread soaked in eggs and sweetened condensed milk, fried in oil, then smothered with cinnamon and sugar.  I drool just thinking about the warm, custardy bread in my mouth.  Our school chef made them for our school breakfast!

Churrasco

Churrasco (shu-HA-skoo) is Brazilian for barbecued meat.  Picture an entire wall of grills filled with skewers of every cut of beef imaginable, tiny chicken hearts, linguiça (pork sausage), and even grilled pineapple.  There are restaurants that specialize in this, one of which we visited while in Iguaçu Falls.  The meat is delicious and all-you-can eat.  If only my palate would not tire of eating so much salty meat! 

Beets

Much to Z's dismay, beets are a popular side vegetable here.  My body needs iron, so I pile up my plate when beets are served for school lunch.  (Did I mention our school lunch is delicious?)

Doce de leite

I cannot go without mentioning this delectable golden-brown paste made from milk and sugar.  It is used for filling in cakes and cookies, or you can just spread it on a piece of bread like I just did for my snack.  Of course, you can also just eat it by the spoonful, which I also just did.  (Hey, this is South America's version of Nutella--of course you can eat it by the spoonful!) 

Guaraná

Guaraná is what Z almost always orders for his restaurant beverage.  He especially loves the version that includes açaí.  This is what he drinks for a bubbling refreshment, to keep awake at the wheel, or just for fun.  Guaraná is a nut or berry from the Amazon that is known as a stimulant.  This soft drink is Brazil's Mountain Dew.  I heard, however, that the soft drink does not actually contain any of the Amazonian fruit.  I recently decided to try the real stuff in powdered form, which I use to spruce up my morning shakes.  A suggestion from a friend:  do not drink before you go to bed.  Guaraná powder will give you such a boost of energy that you will not be able to sleep. 

Fish

On Ilha Grande, we enjoyed a meal of a whole fried fish, with rice, beans, and salad.  The "restaurant" was a few plastic tables and chairs set out in front of a woman's house.  Her eight-year-old son was our waiter.  This was the best food we ate on the island, and the best fish I have had in Brazil.

The Less Delicious 

Pizza

While I am grateful to have pizza in Brazil as a comfort food of sorts, the amount of mozzarella on Brazilian pizza is literally hard to swallow.  The mozzarella also tastes slightly different here, which turns me off from pizza.  There is a type of restaurant here called a rodizio, which is an all-you-can-eat restaurant where the waiters come around to each table with different pizzas (or meat, or whatever the theme of the restaurant might be).  You can accept or decline to your heart's content.  Perhaps this is how I experienced cheese overload!  The dessert pizzas, however, deserve mention, as they are unforgettable, often involving chocolate.  Too bad the waiters bring them out last when I am already filled with cheese.

Mushrooms

Imagine the canned, slimy kind.  Yes, Mom, the kind that probably turned you off from mushrooms forever.  (So sad.)

Lasagna

When I asked my second-grade students what their favorite food was, all three of them claimed lasagna.  This surprised me because they are all from different countries, and not one of them from Italy.  I do not enjoy lasagna in Brazil because it is always made with at least two kinds of meat.  There is usually ground beef and a layer of ham.  Again, lots of mozzarella topped off with a creamy white sauce makes for a dish that is too rich for me.

Moving on to Brazilian food, it tends to be too salty for my taste.  One day, B's maid cooked carrots for dinner, and I thought they were inedible, they were so salty.  If food is not salty, it is usually bland, so we do miss the spiciness of Asian and Mexican food we used to enjoy.  We did find hot sauce at the grocery store, which I used to make burritos at home.  We also brought some chili pepper flakes from the States, which we used to make fresh tomato salsa for B and L when we were staying with them.  Well, I guess we did not realize that red pepper flakes become even spicier when you cook them because, while the salsa had enough bite to satisfy our craving for spice, B and L's mouths were on fire!

Our next door neighboors from India help fulfill our need for spiciness with their homemade food that, lucky for us, they love to share!  They claim that it is not as spicy as what you will find in India (and even they were unable to handle the spiciness when they visited India last month), but it is just right for us.  S, our Indian chef, is so good at cooking that she could open her own restaurant, I am sure.  Much of my culinary pleasure while in Brazil has originated from her kitchen.  They are lacto-vegetarian, which means they eat a lot of vegetables, my favorite!  S has a container filled with the staple spices, which she dumps by the tablespoons-ful into the simmering pot.  She also uses a lot of rapadura sugar in her cooking.  The result is mouth-watering and nutritious at the same time.  Aah.  As I believe I have said before, who would have thought I would be learning so much about India in Brazil?  It has made our lives all the richer to have known such friends.

As I publish this, we are now back in the United States, as we stayed in Brazil the maximum number of days possible.  We are waiting at Z's parents' home in Santa Rosa, California for approval of our work visas (for which we have reapplied), at which point we will return to Brazil to resume work.  Please pray that we can know God's will for us as we make decisions about the future.

Going home, maybe?

The school has purchased our tickets home for February 5.  We will be going to Z's parents' home in Santa Rosa, California until the work visas are processed, or until....?  The process has been so long and so different than what we expected that I do not really have any expectations about the visa since we have reapplied.  I do believe that the chances they will come through is greater than not, though.

School started back up after the long Christmas vacation.  Since then, we have had a number of trials, including my classroom being moved while I was away in a very disorganized fashion (from which I am still recuperating as I try to organize things in my new space); an ugly dispute with the director that left Z and me in tears; and trying to start up the new semester knowing we are leaving in a couple weeks and unsure when or if we will be able to return.  However, we have been learning a lot from these experiences.  The most wonderful part is that, despite having been broken by the "discussion" with the director, Z has emerged victorious in the sense that he has gained peace and wisdom after many days of seeking through prayer.  This is the best thing we can ask for when dealing with trying situations, and we are so grateful for the ways we are growing.

Just like my family has told me, even though our time in Brazil may not have turned out like we originally expected, we have been maturing and learning so much!

Beyond the green golf course, you can see the sprawling
favela of Rocinha.

On a lighter note, we enjoyed a challenging hike up Pedra da Gavea, the mountain we see from our school.  There was even a portion where we had to do some basic rock climbing without ropes.  We almost thought we wouldn't make it, but we did, and the expansive view at the top was worth the whole trip to Brazil (well, almost).  Here are photos of the mountain we climbed and the view of Rio de Janeiro from the top.

A view of Pedra da Gavea.  It looks like a man lying down face-up.  We were
on top of his nose!
(I borrowed this photo without permission from the photographer on flickr.com.)

 



Our neighborhood--Barra da Tijuca.  If you look very closely, you
can see the white steeple of Union Church on the green land jutting out into the lagoon in the distance.  (Find the center of the photo, then move your finger 1 inch up and 1/2 inch over.)