Tidbits

Health code violation: We have all adapted well to the Brazilian lifestyle, though there are some things that will probably never fully be embraced. Street meat, see below, is popular here, but after almost two years in Brazil, I still can't believe that this looks delicious to anyone.

Dance: Eri, 4, has always loved to dance. A few months ago, she started going to ballet class, which she loves, and also dancing to Michael Jackson YouTube videos at home, which we love. (Think Michael Jackson post-Jackson Five yet pre-white woman looking, i.e., the Thriller, Bad, Billie Jean era.) Here she is in her appropriately coordinating clothes. (We had to improvise a little on the rhinestone glove.)

Context Clues: There are, to us, many oddities living in a foreign country. Here is one such example. Based on this box, what could possibly be inside? While "something for transvestites named Gina" is a good guess, the answer is toothpicks. Strange, right?

Miscellaneous pix:

Eri is no stranger to the river, but until recently had only
ventured down calm stretches of water.
On this day -- one of the best of Geoff's life -- Eri and
her dad rafted a class III river.

Selfie at the beach with the sweetest little boy ever.

He's World Cup ready!
We're not sure that can be said for the rest of Brazil,
but we'll find out in just a few weeks...

Mother's Day/ Dia das Maes

Sunday was Mother's Day in Brazil as well as in the United States, though I am certain I will never receive a present like the one Eri, 4, made for me in preschool: A picture book chronicling a baby's journey from inside the womb to the outer world. This is strange for more than a few reasons. One, I am well aware of exactly what takes place and, two, I found this gift very funny, which I'm sure was not the intent, and also very confusing -- what was the intent?

This is the cover, which says, "It all started here!"
At first I thought these were balloons. Nope, they are "esperma."

This page explains that there was no room to move around inside
and that something had to be done ... 

… so the baby decided to head out.
While I think Eri did an excellent job depicting the
situation with her color choices,
I find this unrealistic as more than 80 percent of
Brazilian women have c-sections.
Also, in parentheses it says,
"wow, it was tight ..." Just keeps getting funnier, right?

Eri also made me a notepad photo frame for the refrigerator. 

The children were asked to bring a picture
from home for this.

Summer Visitors

This last summer (December - February here), we were lucky enough to have four sets of visitors: Paul and Danielle, Geoff's kayaking buddies from Idaho; Mark, Elia and Elizabeth, fellow Olmsted scholars who live in Rio de Janeiro; Geoff's Uncle John, Aunt Jan and John's sister Kay from the states; and my BFF Katie and her husband Tim from Missouri. 

We have a pretty good itinerary to showcase wonderful Florianopolis, which usually includes the following attractions: the beach, the pool, hiking, white water rafting, cachaca tasting, churrasco and seafood, actual Brazilians Marcel and Marina, and holding baby Leo. We loved having our guests and were so happy they made the long journey here.

Paul and Danielle:

Mark, Elia and Elizabeth:

John, Jan and Kay:

Tim and Katie:

Happy Easter / Feliz Pascoa

We celebrated Easter 2014 with Geoff picking Eri up at school dressed as a giant pink bunny. Surely it will only be a few more years before her surprised-somewhat-confused-turned-excited reaction morphs into embarrassment and shame over things like this. But now, at 4 years old, she loves it. The same goes for Leo, who at 8 months old, had no problem wearing matching pink ears. Easter morning was marked by loot in baskets and an egg hunt in our living room.

Like father, like son. 

The walk to and from Eri's school was awesome.

I love the little kids peeking in the
window of Eri's classroom. All the kids swarmed Geoff outside.

The Easter Bunny came to our apartment, as evidenced by these footprints ….

which led Eri to her basket and a few treats.

Raiding the Easter baskets.

Leo's first Easter!

Tidbits

Lost in translation: Most apartment complexes here have a doorman, and one of ours recently greeted me, "Oi, Nega." I had to look over my shoulder, but sure enough, he was talking to me. Further confusing me, he's black and I'm not. I checked with our Brazilian friends Marcel and Marina who explained to me "nega" is a term of endearment, in the same category as "dear" or "sweetie" and has nothing to do with race. Ok, but I don't think I'll every say to Eri, "How's my little nega doing?" Just doesn't seem right.

The accent, again: Leo Steeves is a big kid. I often have the same conversation when I'm out and about with him:

Brazilian: "How old is your baby?" 

me: "He's fill-in-the-blank months." 

Brazilian: "Wow, he looks double-the-number-I-said months." 

me: "Yeah, thanks." 

This was particularly painful during his third month of life. When you speak portuguese with an accent, "tres" rhymes with "seis," forcing me to hold up three fingers and clarify,"No, no he's not six months, just three," which was once followed up with, "Are you sure?" Um yep, pretty sure. 

Some firsts: Geoff and I started back at the university this month for the fall semester, which is also our last semester of classes! (Next semester we work solely on our dissertations.) Eri, 4, also started the new school year in the "Jardim Um" class and likes to be dropped off at the door to walk in by herself. And Leo, now 7 months, has started quite successfully on solid foods.

Crying for another avocado. (Love him!)

Something funny or irritating (or both) usually happens at the grocery store.
A guy checking out next to me was buying beer, a bucket and a mop. Gross. 

Wheeee!!!!

Eri's portuguese is excellent, as
evidenced by her 'don't cut the cuticles, please' request.

Leo at 4 months (above) and Eri at 4 months (below).
I'm always told how much they look like Geoff. I don't see it.

I love this picture. Is it just me, or is it really obvious
Geoff is not Latino even a little bit?

I love this picture even more. This is Leo's passport photo, in which he
could be a baby or an 80-year-old man.