Bet you thought I fell off the face of the earth, eh?  No, just got out of the habit of writing after vacation.  Now I realize that more than nearly 3 months has passed since I posted.  

So in a nutshell, vacation was fabulous!  If you received my sponsor letter, you already heard all about it, but if not, here it is...

My parents and oldest brother and his family came to visit in March.  We all spent a week in Salvador relaxing on the beach, touring the historic part of the city, and visiting the Fazenda.  Plus they were here for my birthday!  One day some of my friends from the Fazenda spent the day with us on the beach and another day we all went to the Fazenda.  It was truly wonderful to have my two “families” meet.  Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/103680117011724976751/BrazilianVacation2012Salvador?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLfI_snExZDujAE&feat=directlink

Then my parents and I went to Iguaçu Falls on the border of Brasil and Argentina.  There is no doubt as to why this is now one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.  It was absolutely marvelous!  The immensity of the falls is inconceivable, as is the creativity of our awesome God.  We spent a day on each side of the falls to get the full scope and visited the world’s largest bird park.  Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/103680117011724976751/BrazilianVacation2012IguacuFalls?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJTFjsKH1d3TWA&feat=directlink

Next we headed to the enchanting Rio de Janeiro.  We had a whirlwind day touring the major sites: Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue, historic neighborhoods, and cathedrals.  Then two relaxing days on Ipanema and Copacabana beaches where we ate lots of delicious seafood and soaked up the charm of Rio.  Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/103680117011724976751/BrazilianVacation2012RioDeJaneiro?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIzzrcKnp6qzkQE&feat=directlink

After this two week adventure, I led my parents into the jungle to spend 5 days in the Fazenda.  They fared far better than I thought they would with the plethora of bugs and lack of amenities.  Their biggest challenge was cooking with so few ingredients or utensils.  But where there’s a will there’s a way!  The greatest gift of this vacation was having them with me, to share my life here, for a little while.  We cooked for todo mundo, made bread, visited friends in Passagem and Simões Filho, fixed leaky faucets and broken door handles, and played with the kids.  I felt like they brought with them a little piece of me that had been missing—something from my innocence, something from before I can remember that only they hold in their hearts.  And they left a little bit of themselves here too, so that now it feels more like home.  People are still imitating the way my mom said “Obrigada!” with a little nod of the head and her very American accent and often I greet Rafaela in the morning with a boisterous “Buon giorno!” like my dad did.  (“Buon giorno” is Italian; “Good morning” in Portuguese is “Bom dia,” but Rafa understood what he meant.)  When they left they said “You sure do have some good friends here,” and thank God I do because it was hard to say good-bye to them again.  Photos pending-hope to post them on picasa soon.

I’m learning to live with some serious rain now that it’s winter here.  Sometimes it takes a week for my clothes to dry and mold seems to grow on everything—clothes, shoes, wooden utensils.  It’s kinda freaky.  Like something from a 70’s sci-fi movie—instead of the Blob, it’s THE MOLD.  Mmmmmwaahhahahahaha!

I imagine you all are planning your summer vacations.  I’d love to hear from you and see photos J

Xo

Sunny