Going Up?

We don't seem to be going to the sidewalk by the beach as often as we used to, so I have been walking the stairs in our apartment building for exercise lately. The stairs are right by our back door.

Yesterday morning when I came back and headed for the door, I saw a sudden movement that, of course, startled me. It wasn't a mouse, thank goodness, but it was a gecko/liazard/thing that was about 6 inches long. I let out a little yelp, my heart rate went back up, and I wondered how I was going to get past the thing to get back in the apartment. It had stopped right smack in front of the door and if I opened the door, I was afraid it would run in.

I went around the hall to the front door and rang the doorbell a number of times in rapid succession, as only a family member would do. I figured that even if Alan was in the shower or bathroom he would hear it and know it was me. I kept checking to see if the critter was still there and he was, so I kept ringing. When Alan got to the door I told him what was up. We just shut the door, went on with the morning and hoped the lizard would go away.

A little while later, Irene came to work. She usually just slips in quietly and goes right to work so sometimes we don't even know she is here. When we noticed her Alan told her about the lizard. She said she knew. It had run in the apartment when she went out the back to take out the garbage. She said, " It's right there." We looked to the corner she was pointing to and sure enough, there it was, all 6 inches of it.

We were both wondering why Irene didn't say anything to us or if she ever would have. Maybe it isn't a big deal, but we weren't that comfortable with the idea. While I was looking around for something to trap a lizard in, Alan opened the back door and headed in the direction of the lizard. I guess all those years of herding sheep paid off because that lizard headed right out the door and into the service elevator. I thought that was great, but I really wanted a little more assurance that I wouldn't see that lizard again soon. I ran down the two flights of stairs to the ground level so I could push the button and give Mr. Lizard a ride to somewhere besides the second floor. I really don't know if he was actually in the elevator or just clinging to the wall in the shaft somewhere. All I know is that I haven't seen him again and I have been watching very closely.

The elections are over!

It has been pretty quiet here since the elections are over. It was just local elections, but we thought they went all out. Here are some of the ways they try to get the attention of the voters.

This is the election wagon that Moroni had going around town for weeks. He had some pretty music coming from it, but the volume was usually tuned up to "blast". You could hear that thing way before it ever got to your block. There were usually 4 to 6 people in it waving banners. Moroni is a member of the church, in case his name had made you wonder. He was running for mayor of Fortaleza, but he didn't win, dang it.

Mozart was also on the ballot. From this picture, you can't really tell, but this isn't just a banner hung on a wall. Signs like these were painted all over the walls that surround peoples homes. Out in the country some of the houses along the road were actually painted like billboards for candidates. You would hope that the candidates came back and repainted them after the elections, but I guess we'll find out the next time we're out in the country.

One method we saw often was the plastering of walls with small posters. I think one big one would have been more Feng Shui but this did have a certain amount of impact.

Vehicles of every kind are used for advertising. Here is a buggy (pronounced boo-gee) with banners flapping in the wind and speakers blaring. He's out getting votes for somebody.

Why have just a bumper sticker when you can get huge stick-ons like this?

Or how about this?

Check out all the speakers behind the mesh. I think we were lucky this one was just parked. It would have been an ear drum buster for sure.

This may have been the granddaddy of them all though. I think that is a semi full of speakers!

One Sunday on our way home from church we saw this in our rear view mirror. Talk about Bigfoot being scary!

We decided to let him pass us.

We noticed this guy in the lane beside us one day. His Santa hat caught our eye. Then we noticed he had painted numbers and stuff on his car windows like the candidates had. We think he was just making fun of the whole political process and having a good time. It looks like the election process is as ridiculous here as it is at home.

Food Dreams

Last night I had a food dream. I dreamed I ate an entire cake by myself. It was an almond poppy seed bundt cake with the drizzled icing and it was so delicious I couldn't stop myself. I was supposed to bring it to a family picnic. When I got there people started asking about the cake and didn't have it. I was just trying to think of how to admit that I had eaten it when I woke up. Whew! I was relieved to realize: a) I hadn't eaten a whole cake by myself, and b) I didn't have to explain what happened to the cake.

I can't remember having a food dream before. I've had dreams about tornadoes and flying monkeys. That explains why I don't like "The Wizard of Oz." I've had dreams about not being fully dressed, being unprepared for classes, and about being able to fly. I don't know what all that means and probably don't want to.

It's possible that the food dream could have something to do with the fact that food is what my life is all about now. I am always thinking what to feed missionaries, buying food for dinners, e-mailing family for recipes, hoping my recipes and other stuff soon get here, looking up equivalents and definitions on the Internet , and shopping for hard to find ingredients. I did find powdered sugar this week that has the same consistency as the powdered sugar I am used to. I was excited about that. I still haven't found buttermilk, sour cream, maple flavoring, marshmallows, dill pickles, black olives, garlic salt and other things.

In my search I have come across some things that are new to me(lots of fruits I don't know), some things that have surprised me (sushi is everywhere), some things that seem weird to me ( the boxed milk), some things that make me hold my breath so I don't have to smell them(the slabs of sun dried meat stacked in the stores). But yesterday I think I found the most amazing thing I've seen so far...beet flavored rice in Sponge Bob packaging, and yes, it was purple. What I'm trying to understand is could there really be a bigger market for beet flavored rice than say...chocolate chips or tortilla chips or any of the other things I look for?

I'm not complaining. Actually the hunt for familiar food is sort of fun in a weird way. And now, since the dream I can add few other things to my list of stuff I am looking for...almond flavoring and poppy seed. Wish me luck!

So What if Dad Missed the Fair

A few weeks ago we read the blogs about the Eastern Idaho State Fair..... about the great time everyone, except Becca, had. It was a little tough on Alan. He has always loved the fair. He doesn't do the rides or games, but since I have known him, he has never missed the animal exhibit except when he was on his mission. Well, on a recent trip to the "interior" of our mission, he took the camera along to show you all the animals you can encounter without even leaving the road. First, of course, is a sheep. You have to look pretty close to recognize that it actually is a sheep, but Alan says it was and he ought to know a sheep when he sees one.

Now, that's a mama sow if I've ever seen one. We thought it was ironic that he caught it strolling along the road right by a sign that almost spelled PIG.

Even with all the variety of foods at the fair, I'll bet you couldn't get fresh dove meat like this guy was offering along the side of the road.

One of the many groups of goats meandering down the side of the road. There never seems to be anyone tending them either. Alan always says, "Who owns these stinkin' goats?"

The elders are always complaining about not being able to drive here. Alan offered them this alternative. I think Elder McConkie's legs would be dragging. All the horses we have seen here seem quite small.

I doubt this burro would win any ribbons either. They are unattended usually too. They just stand in the road, never moving as cars go by. It may not really be like the fair, but driving in the interior is always an adventure.

We Meant Well

Last week I attended a Helping Hands service project. I had never been involved with one before, but I guess the church does them all the time when there are natural disasters and stuff. If I understood correctly it was a huge project. Members all over Brazil were cleaning and painting public schools. Our ward and another one were assigned to a school not too far from our house.

When they handed me the putty knife I thought I would be patching holes, but I actually spent most of the time scraping gum off the bottom of desks and chairs. I didn’t really mind. In the long run, I think it was more interesting. A lady that speaks quite a bit of English told me that they give a medicine to the school kids in a gum/candy form. It must not taste too good because I think that was actually most of what I was scraping off the bottom of the desks.

While we were cleaning the desks, the paint crew came in. The just moved all the desks to the middle, took a few essays off the wall, and brought out the paint brushes which looked very much like the end of a broom to me. They were only painting the bottom half of the room. I guess that makes sense, from a functional point of view, because that is the only part of the wall that gets much wear. From an aesthetic point of view, it wasn’t that great of a plan because the paint wasn’t quite the same shade of white. But really, that point was minor.

The paint they were using smelled more like thinner than paint and it was very runny. With the broom like brushes you can imagine the drips and drops that were flying everywhere. The crew was mostly made up of men and boys and I really don’t think they thought about the drips and drops. They were just there to paint. When the paint crew moved on, I grabbed a rag and started wiping up drips. The one good thing about thin paint is that it cleans up easily. I didn’t even have to get any paint remover or thinner to get it off things. But I did wonder how long that paint was going to last on the walls.

After that was done, somebody handed me a small paintbrush and some of the smelliest, stickiest paint I have ever worked with. Three of us were supposed to paint the metal bars on the gate of the school red, yellow, and green. I had the red and two Mutual age kids had the other two colors. We were trying to work around each other keeping track which bar was supposed to be red, which was green, which was yellow. I sensed early on that this was not a place that I was going to be proud of my work. I ditched out of there as soon as another Mutual age girl came along. I think she wanted to paint with her friends anyway.

Then I got on the scrub team. The women there that day really knew how to scrub. I don’t know how long it had been since those wooden desk/chairs had been scrubbed, but they were getting the scrubbing of their lives that day. Those ladies were intent on getting all the writing off them. I don't even know what kind of cleaner we were using, but if you ever want to remove writing and the finish off furniture, I will try to find out.

It was fun to work with the people even though I couldn’t talk much and it was interesting to see what their schools are like. I sure didn't see much in the way of supplies or equipment and teachers' desks were a far cry from what I've seen in our schools. They weren't that great to start with and now there is a good chance they won't be able to get their drawers open...ever again. That bright yellow oil based paint they were putting on them is seriously sticky stuff.

This project probably turned out just fine, but let's just say I hope we did more good than harm and I hope the church doesn't get sued.

What's Been Goin On

Last week we finished up Zone Conferences. This is the lunch line. They seemed pretty happy when we finally got done with interviews and brought out the food. I made 2 cookies for each missionary and even though they weren't the greatest cookies, they were a hit.

This Elder painted the back of his badge to read "I am hungry." He turns it that way when they go to lunch at some of the members’ homes. He thinks it is hilarious. Don't ask about the tie. I might have to see if I can make that disappear sometime. Though ugly, the extremely patterned ties do hide food spots better and might not be that bad of an idea for some of them.

Some of our sweet Sisters.

The next two pictures and the captions are out of order. I have already spent too much time on this post, so you will just have to figure it out. Sorry.

At the last minute Alan brought the office Elders to the going away dinner too. That explains the short tablecloth. The dinner was well, interesting. I tried to make sweet and sour chicken and besides the chicken ending up a little tough, the sauce sort of congealed (I think that is the word) while we were waiting about an extra hour for them to get to the house. It turned out looking a little like globs of jello stuck to chicken. It tasted okay though and they ate it. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert (Thanks for the idea, Mary.) and that seemed to make up for it.

We had 5 missionaries leave this week. We had a dinner for them the night before they left. The previous president's wife always had their names on a paper taped to the door when they came so I did that too. It gave the missionaries the perfect opportunity for one last immature moment together before they become dignified "returned missionaries." Our tallest Elder and our shortest Sister were among this group. Side by side, the difference is very noticeable.

We had an uninvited guest show up. Yes, that is a gecko climbing up one of the Elders pants. It was really tiny and not very scary, but still just a little creepy. We captured him in a jar and I dumped it outside the apartment building in one of the plants. I noticed his tail had fallen off though. I hope they are like lizards and can grow a new one because that curly tail was pretty cute.

The next morning we said goodbye to them at the airport. They all looked so great. Elder Hamilton, next to Pres. Batt, is from Blackfoot. We didn't get to know him very well, but wish we could have.
Right after we said goodbye to the ones returning home we greeted 18 new ones. They look excited to be here and they seem like a great group.

We even got two new sisters which is great. We need to keep a little bit of the feminine touch in the mission. So, here we go again!

Why is there a blender in my trunk?

Just when I think things might be going a little smoother, that there actually might be hope for this Brazil thing to work out, I have a day like this:

Friday we had zone conferences. They were at a church pretty close to home and I know how to drive there so Alan went ahead of me in one car. I was going to finish cutting up some fruit for the lunch, pick up a few things we needed at the grocery store and come a little later in the other car. Irene was here helping me with the fruit. She doesn't speak English and I, well.... you know. When we finished cutting up the pineapple, she put all the little scrap pieces in the blender, added some water and gave it a whirl. She doesn't waste anything and I guess she was blending it to strain and drink later. I don't know why I felt it was necessary to say something, especially when I can't , but in very broken Portuguese I tried to tell her that I thought that was a good idea to use up those scraps. She smiles, says something in Portuguese that I don't have a clue about, but I smile and nod my head in agreement. The next thing I know she is washing and drying the blender and putting it in a bag. I just watch, trying to figure out what is going on, but in too big of a hurry to go look up words in my dictionary to use to actually ask her why she put it in a bag. We start to take the fruit out to the car and I notice she has also picked up the bag with the blender in it. It gets put in the trunk with the fruit and other stuff. We say "tchau" to each other and I drive off with a blender in my trunk.

I head to the store, successfully get the parking ticket out of the machine at the parking lot entrance and go straight to the deli counter. I order the sliced cheese we need, tell the man I'll be back in a minute to pick it up, head for the bakery counter and ask for 80 buns. I had double checked how to say eighty before I left home so I didn't expect any trouble. He started loading the right kind of buns. Things seemed to be on track. Then I notice he is already going for the scale and the little machine that spits out the sticker with the amount you owe. I say, "Mais, Mais," which means, "More, more." He looks slightly puzzled and so I say "oitenta" again, this time drawing the numerals, 8 and 0 in the air as I say it. I think to myself, "That for sure ought to work," but it didn't. Another store employee comes along, says something to him, and I think I'm saved. He starts loading more buns, but hands them to me way before there are 80. I start looking around for anyone that I think might speak English. There is a lady in the line that has started to form behind me that steps forward, and asks me how many I need. I tell her 80. She then says "oitenta", just like I did, and now his light goes on. I load them up in my cart, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the line that formed during this misunderstanding and is now having to wait while he counts out 80 buns. I head for the checkout. I remember to get my parking ticket validated. I drive safely to the church. Everything is good . I start unloading the car and suddenly remember I forgot that stupid cheese. I just don't have it in me to go back and get it then. I figure the Elders can pick it up when they get the pop later. I try to slip into the meeting next to Alan quietly. He can tell by the look on my face that I must have had a bad morning. He whispers, "What's wrong?" I say,"Nothing really, but there is a blender in the trunk and I have no idea why."