Let the Cross Cultural Experience Begin!

21 college students from Memphis arrived a couple days ago.  Their summer in Brazil is called the CCP (Cross Cultural Project).  The students' priorities throughout their time in Brazil are to experience Brazilian culture, seek to better understand the common world views among the students here, facilitate weekly discussion groups, and love people. 

The Americans help our team tremendously with our ministry to college students by developing relationships with Brazilians.  Everyone wants to get to know the Americans!  Mark and I are helping to translate a little when we're not in class.  It's definitely been a needed confidence booster for us to be able to help people that are a couple steps behind us!  Tonight will be our first discussion group.  The theme for the summer is "What moves you?" 
     
I met a freshman on campus a couple days ago, 30 seconds after meeting me she asked if she could have the t-shirt I was wearing.  The verdict is still out on whether or not this is a normal response after being introduced to an American... we think no.  However, I did manage to trade my old highschool t-shirt for a Brazil jersey.  I'm convinced I got the better end of the deal because now I have something to wear during the World Cup! 

CCP from Memphis

No Feet, Please

A Week in Summary

Sunday:  Belo Horizonte has two local soccer teams, Cruzeiro and Galo.  The tension between the teams is similar to Auburn vs. Alabama, but a bit more extreme.  I went to my first game (Galo played) at the largest stadium in our state--conveniently located in BH.  I've never experienced so much energy with 60,000 excited fans in all my life!  It was definitely memorable.

Monday:  We each gave 10 minute long presentations entirely in Portuguese.  We scored 84 and 88 percent on correctly conjugating our verbs during the presentation!  As you might guess, Mark argued why Brazilian men need American football--how football exemplifies masculinity.  Naturally Mark showcased his wit while still defending his thesis.  I spoke about the importance of nursing in the lives of women.

Thursday:  We celebrated my birthday at our apartment.  I had my first Brazilian cake!  I highly recommend it--strawberries, chocolate, whipped cream, very moist and light.  And we taught Brazilians our favorite card game, Peanuts.  It's called "amendoins" (ah-meyn-do-ings) in Portuguese.

Friday:  Lastly, we had, yet again, another interesting language blunder.  Mark went to the butcher shop to get chicken breasts for me.  When Mark asked for one [kilo of] chicken, the butcher weighed a bag of chicken, explained it was one kilo, and so Mark gave the thumbs up gesture ("It's a deal!").  To Mark's dismay, the butcher then began to take the ENTIRE chicken out of the bag he weighed and began cutting the chicken's toe nails.  The chicken only lacked feathers and a head!  Mark, thinking on his feet, -pun intended- quickly informed the butcher he didn't want the feet.  (At the time it was the only body part he could remember.)  And so Mark came home with Chicken (capital "c").  I can handle a lot of things, but a whole, raw, dead animal is not one of them.  This is a video of Mark graciously dealing with the chicken for me!

Disclaimer: This video is a little boring and for whatever reason I sound distraught.  I really thought this was a funny situation; don't know why my voice doesn't show it!  Watch at your own risk :)

End of April Pics

The picture doesn't do this sundae justice - it was huge!  Very rare to find a dessert so large in Brazil.  Don't worry, the Americans rose to the challenge and cleaned their plates.  We celebrated Anselmo's wife's 11th year anniversary of the day she moved to Brazil.  

I went to a breakfast picnic with girls and students from our church on campus.  I made sugar cookies with chocolate icing.  For some reason, my dessert looked (to Brazilians) like a biscuit type thing with ham.  I kept telling the girls that the cookies were sweet.  I'm sure they thought "Ham... sweet?" until they tried it!  Cookies are special because they're uncommon.  I think my baking confidence increased exponentially that day!   

A little craft during the picnic.  Each flower had a different virtue - specific for women.  I unknowingly picked the shortest, easiest word to say!  I laughed to myself because usually this never happens.  "Faith" is pronounced "Fey."

Portuguese class again... Sam, me, Claudia, and Mark.  Claudia is making us each give a 10 minute long presentation next week!

Why is this big tank of some kind strapped to an ambulance stretcher?