A lot has happened the last few days. I think Jaime and I can definitely say that our social life is on the up and up. Santiago has been invited to a few parties the last few days and this has lead to us meeting more people not only from church, but from his school. Jaime and I were discussing whether or not birthdays like the ones here in Brazil would fly in the US. They are a BIG event. The whole family is invited. They rent out these party places that have a lot of things for all ages. They have everything from a baby play area, to amusement park like rides, indoor playgrounds, etc. On top of all that there are young adults called "monitores" that are floating around and supervising the kids activities. Meanwhile, the adults sit back and enjoy the party. More staff comes around with an endless supply of appetizers. The parties last about 4 hours. They end with a birthday song extravaganza and more dessert and cake passed around. We did learn that we will not attend another late night (7 - 11 pm) party on a weeknight. That was a disaster!!! The kids were super cranky.
We also took advantage and went to a fazenda. Gabriel, Santiago and Isabella did a mini-ropes course. They loved it. They also climbed up in Tarzan's house. Isabella and I did a long zipline through the forest. That was awesome! The best part of the trip was that I met another American family that have just moved here from North Carolina. They were an answer to prayer. Their children go to the American School here and they are totally plugged in to the Expat community here in Campinas. They sent out an email introducing us to everyone and I have been getting emails ever since. There is even a latin group among them and I cannot wait to get some spanish in. I already have 2 play dates planned this week and Jaime and I are going out with a bunch of couple salsa dancing on Friday. I definitely think that if I had found this group a couple of months ago my transition here might have been smoother, but God knows why He does things when He does and I will not question it. I am excited to have found people with more than one child to hang out with. :)
Jaime had his birthday here last Friday. Our maid helped make him a traditional Brazilian cake- brigadeiro and the kids put together a "cesta de cafe for him" a little gift basket.
Isabella, Gabriel and Jaime have been doing Jiu-Jitsu for the last month and have been working really hard at it. Isabella really loves it and she is the only girl. Tonight both her and Gabriel received their first degree (stripe on their belt). I was soooo proud of them and they were extremely excited.
All is well. God is good. I can't ask for more.
Susan
