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Was talking with my parents on the phone last night. Now that I finally feel more settled in here Edmonton seems very far away. I know I will probably go through major counter culture shock and I´m not looking forward to that. While there are still things I miss about home at the moment I am having a hard time picturing myself back in Edmonton. And to think that I leave next month already! Time has really flown.
Speaking of time I feel like I have really grown in this area. While I don´t appreciate all the waiting and lack of punctuality that surrounds me I can honestly say that I get much less frustrated and have learned to simply find something else to do as I wait for the person who shows up half an hour late or who doesn´t show up at all. Standing in lines has also become a norm. I simply day dream or choose to think about things other then the fact that I could be spending my time elswhere. My focus on punctuality hasn´t left me entirely and I still show up way too early to things but I know Pastor Marcelo appreciates it so I just sit and wait for the others to show up. I think I am starting to become more laid back (miracle of miracles!) even though it was become flexible or live in constant frustration. Even Marcia my roomate commented on how disorganize things are at Vila Andrade but I´m semi-used to it now.
Waiting to go to lunch or waiting for a table in a restaurant (we literally have to hover, constantly scanning to see who is close to finishing their food) makes eating out less enjoyable. All the places I´ve gone to seem to be packed and at the Japenese restaurant on Saturday they even have a notice on the menu asking you not to linger. While most places do let you linger (lunch hour is generally at least one hour long) I miss the privacy and intimacy of booths and less then packed locales. Everywhere we go seems to be crowded and noisy (don´t even get me started on the food court at the mall). So in this area I am far from being acculturated. Thankfully this is not the reality of all of Brasil but overcrowdedness is definitely one of São Paulo´s less than pleasant realities. The traffic jams of Edmonton pale in comparison to here.
Anyways, there´s my update. Thanks for reading. Please pray that I can get things semi-organized for our vacation Bible school next week. I don´t want to plan too much since I know things will probably not go as planned and I´ll just have to go with the flow. However, we can´t have absolutely no structure so I do need to put something together. Pray that I´ll have enough workers and that the kids will come and enjoy themselves and learn about God´s love. Thanks! The dates are July 15-19 (not 14-18 like I originally posted). My first English class also went well and we are having the next one on Thursday since Wed. is a holiday here.
Speaking of time I feel like I have really grown in this area. While I don´t appreciate all the waiting and lack of punctuality that surrounds me I can honestly say that I get much less frustrated and have learned to simply find something else to do as I wait for the person who shows up half an hour late or who doesn´t show up at all. Standing in lines has also become a norm. I simply day dream or choose to think about things other then the fact that I could be spending my time elswhere. My focus on punctuality hasn´t left me entirely and I still show up way too early to things but I know Pastor Marcelo appreciates it so I just sit and wait for the others to show up. I think I am starting to become more laid back (miracle of miracles!) even though it was become flexible or live in constant frustration. Even Marcia my roomate commented on how disorganize things are at Vila Andrade but I´m semi-used to it now.
Waiting to go to lunch or waiting for a table in a restaurant (we literally have to hover, constantly scanning to see who is close to finishing their food) makes eating out less enjoyable. All the places I´ve gone to seem to be packed and at the Japenese restaurant on Saturday they even have a notice on the menu asking you not to linger. While most places do let you linger (lunch hour is generally at least one hour long) I miss the privacy and intimacy of booths and less then packed locales. Everywhere we go seems to be crowded and noisy (don´t even get me started on the food court at the mall). So in this area I am far from being acculturated. Thankfully this is not the reality of all of Brasil but overcrowdedness is definitely one of São Paulo´s less than pleasant realities. The traffic jams of Edmonton pale in comparison to here.
Anyways, there´s my update. Thanks for reading. Please pray that I can get things semi-organized for our vacation Bible school next week. I don´t want to plan too much since I know things will probably not go as planned and I´ll just have to go with the flow. However, we can´t have absolutely no structure so I do need to put something together. Pray that I´ll have enough workers and that the kids will come and enjoy themselves and learn about God´s love. Thanks! The dates are July 15-19 (not 14-18 like I originally posted). My first English class also went well and we are having the next one on Thursday since Wed. is a holiday here.
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