Yaaaay!

I just spent 3 hours taking everything I own apart.  Looking, searching, for 400 Reais.
I found it!   Yaaaay!
Last week, I spent about 5 hours with Ivana, scheduling the classes for the coming semester.  It's done!   Yaaaay!
Last week also included many hours of organizing a dusty English closet.  It's organized!  Yaaaay!
Today we had a meeting with the English teachers.  They know their schedules, curriculum, and general procedures.  Yaaaay!
All the English books have been bought and are at the school!   Yaaaay!

Ricardo and Kattia moved to Carpina.  Now we can hang out more easily.   Yaaaay!

We have two new teachers!  Two new friends!   Yaaaay!
We've meeting-ed out the wazoo.  They're close to being finished and everyone's close to being informed.  Yaaaay!
The apartment is all organized and my two new roommates are here, settling in.  Yaaaay!
Lindsay and I taught Sunday school last night.  The kids learned stuff about Joseph.  Yaaaay!
God is good.  All the time.  Yaaaay!

*Cue Sappy Voice*

"Different isn't bad.  It's just different" -Classic Mom Quote

Here would be a short clip illustrating my dear mother's point.
I often see cultural elements that could maybe be classified as "more effective" or "less effective" than other cultures, but when it comes down to it, they probably have their root in a different expectations and/or standards.  And so, I look upon the annual laid back month of January in Brazil, and I say "ahhh....", that is until tomorrow, when I start preparing for February.

Blogging

The other day I was thinking about this blog and wondering why I keep it up.
"I really hate it!", I thought.
But, then I had to stop myself.
Because I know I don't hate it.
I know that there are times when I have to save material for the next month,
so I don't go over my quota of three posts each month.
I know there are times I wonder why I made the quota three and not four or more.
Then I realized,
I hate posting when there's a lot going on,
When I have lots to write about but not enough time to process it all.
Sometimes I feel like writing about one thing makes everything else seem less important.
Do I write about the pain of leaving the U.S.
Or the joy of being in Brazil?
The wonderful evenings in the States
Or the beautiful mornings in Brazil?
And so, I write & erase, and write & erase
Over and over again,
Looking for ways to include everyone
And their unique and lovely characteristics
Into one paragraph that doesn't exceed my attention span.