The Brazilian Mr. Darcy and $1.75 lunches

Curitiba at sunset, beautiful huh?
Today was a good day at the office. It has been cold and rainy all day so it was nice to hear Camilias parents were going to come pick us up and take us to lunch then to work. How nice that was! We found a place near to the office builiding that is a buffet for 3,50 R$. For those that dont know the exchange, thats an all you can eat buffet for $1.75. Its really clean and stuff so Im not to worried about getting sick.

Camilia and I started really planning what we're going to do teaching wise since next week we start teaching the morning class that goes from 9 am to 1 pm tues. wed. and thurs. I am so worried about having to speak portuguese infront of people for 2 hours a day, while everyone gets to hear my mistakes...but thats why I came down here, not to mess up but to get better at the language! We made some sweet powerpoint slides, and I made a doll that we are going to dress up as a class to show what is interview appropriate and not, I somehow always come back to fashion...what a blessing and a curse! Hopefully I wont forget my camera on monday so I can start putting some photos back on this thing! It looks really blank and blah without them :(
The Federal University of Paraná, its a gorgeous Building that I walk past every day on the way to the office.
Today all the advanced english students came in to take their placement test and they all came to talk to me afterwards. It was fun to help them out, and I spoke with the teacher and he wants me to come in once in a while to talk with the students, and I'm happy to help. Speaking of English...

This really nice returned missonary sister as I said has been asking for help about going to BYU, so i got her the information and application for the English Language Center and told her that would be the best place to start. She is working on her passport right now and trying to save money, so I told her to get ALL of that worked out before she starts trying to apply or anything. I was amazed at everything people have to do to come to the US to study, and how incredibly hard and expernsive it can be for them to even get into a school here. So hats off to those of you have done it, and to those who help out others (mom and dad) you are a blessing to the lives of those around you!

The street where we went in search of pastel, Rua 24 horas...its a bunch of stores open 24 hrs. a day, unfortunately they had no pastel.

I just went and got some pastel with Camilia who ate one for the first time in 8 years. It was a good experince for her lol...she got the one with egg, cheese and meat inside, yummy! Its like 8:30 at night and its friday so like everyone is out drinking. People yell crazy things at me at night and whistle, its probably better that I cant understand everything lol...right? But its like that in any big city i think so its no big deal, i just find it so different and funny than the way people treat me in Provo.

The Conference center from above, it wont look this empty tomorrow morning!
Tomorrow as many of you know its general conference. Hooray! I got some great quotes from general athorities (dunno if thats spelled right, english keeps looking weirder and weirder to me) in an email today and they were a good reminder of why we have conference every 6 months. It helped me remember that application of personal revelation during conference is so important, and that if we dont apply the teachings we recieve we are no better for having watched it. So I'm determined to make this conference a meaningful one for me! I hope everyone else has that desire too:)



This is for Patty, its downtown São Paulo, I used to catch that red bus on the overpass to ride home from Rua 25 de Março...your gonna love Brazil!
Before I go, I have to say how excited and proud I am of one of my dearest and closest friends that I have had the pleasure of knowing since I was like 10. Patty got her mission call this week and is going to probably the best country...Brazil. I just want everyone to know that she is going to be an awesome missionary, you can tell because she is already such a good example to everyone and exemplifies so much of what we're taught at church, shes going to be such a sucessful missionary! A gente vai falar portugues agora juntas, que bacana! Estou bem animada para você!! Parabéns de novo furp!!

To the family getting together this weekend, I feel really far away from you and wish I could be there to hang out and everything, but this is something I know I need to be doing. There will be other conference weekends I'm sure! But have a good time and enjoy eachothers company. I have to go put out the refreshments for the self employment class that is here, I've already been working for 8 hours and I have one more to go, and I enjoy it here so its not bad. Oh and the reason this is entitled the Brazilian Mr. Darcy is because the guy from A&E's Pride and Prejudice look-alike is in the class that is here right now, Camilia and I both agree we need a photo of him hehehe....

Thanks again for all the emails and comments that you all send, I love getting mail and hearing from you!

The Vontraps' squared

I forgot to tell you all about the most amazing family that I have ever met anywhere. On Sunday I went with Camilia and her dad to visit a family that lives one town over in Colombo. We got to their house and it was a huge place, three stories and just totally huge. We went inside and when I asked how many children she has I was shocked to hear her respond 21. Thats right 21 kids! Her husband was the big top figherfighter guy for the state of parana and she runs a school where they live. Only 3 of the kids are there own and the rest are adopted from bad home situations or kids from fires that her husband had found out about. I thought how amazing this mom must be because all the kids were well manered, well taken care of, and they were having fun. I was at a loss of words seeing their huge couch, their giant kitchen and everything, it was really cool to meet a good humble lady that was doing something for the people that she could help. She really is helping change the lives of 18 little kids that otherwise would have had no chance given to them in life, it was insipiring.
Today at the ERS center I have been here since 9:30 am and will be staying until like 9:30, doctors hours huh? But most hours have been spent doing homework or writing a blog or something like that, I "work work" for about 4 hours a day monday through friday, but we stay to have internet access for homework and stuff. Tonight Camilias dad is coming in to teach the self employment class for those people who are starting their own business, which I am excited to see since that goes right along with the microcredit programs that the church gets in contact here in curitiba. Her mom is bringing us dinner, thank goodness for other peoples moms!
I also was talking to some of the ladys that work here with me and they both need to learn english. I have a theroy that English is the new French, let me explain and have a nerdy history moment. Back from the early 1700s until the early 1900s French domiated the economic, social, and political circles of Europe and practicaly the world over (due to the many colonies). If you didnt speak French, you couldnt get anywhere in regards to society and it was really hard to do so in buisness and government as well. It was the offical language of the UN when it was founded, and also the olympics, not because it is supperior, but because its a common language. Now, everyone is switching to english and for those of you who havent been outside the US you wouldnt believe how many people want to learn english, not so much because of its beauty but for its praticality...its the new common language...hence the new "French". Anyway.....
We have a new little system here that is the "palavra do dia" (word of the day) for the two ladies that want to learn english. Camilia and i teach them a phrase or word once a day and then they practice it. Yesterday was "they are lying" and today was "let me sleep"...they wanted to learn them haha. Its good fun, and we're enjoying it!
Well now that I have written you about a huge family, my commings and goings at the office, a tiny thesis on the soco-economic impact of the english language, and everything else I had better go. I hope that all is well for everyone, and thanks again for the emails, chats, and comments. They make my day!

There once was a lady who swalloed a fly.

Today was a good day at the employment center, I sat in on a class being taught here to see how they teach the class. It was a good experince to see how they do things and also to get some ideas for what I want to do when its my turn!
Today was also not so good because I'm feeling a tad homesick. Sometimes randomly I realize that I am the only American that is around, that no one here understands my culture, and that makes me feel really small and alone here in Brazil. People here already think that Im a serious person, that I dont joke around....I think there is nothing farther from the truth! Its hard for people to tell me that im shy and serious all day, when thats not really how i am. For your sense of humor to show through in a second language its really hard, and so I end up looking like an uptight american girl, not the image I would like to portray. I look forward to the time where i can joke around with people and have a good conversation with them so I can feel like I actually fit it a little bit. I really wish that my portuguese was better, that i could respond to people better, but I guess that just comes with practice and time right?
When we were walking home yeterday at like 5 everyone was going home from work and stuff. We were walking down the street and i opened my mouth to say something and in flew a fly. I almost died coughing and grossing out at the fact that a fly flew into my mouth and wouldnt come out...so I just drank some water, not something i want to relive again! I also stand out here alot still, and unfortunately people still like to make cat calls at me, but its not nearly as bad as it was in Sao Paulo. But the returned missionary guys that come into the employment center have been asking about me, but lol...I made sure all the other voulnteers know that I cant date so they have been telling them, "shes an american here for an internship, but dont even try anything because she cant date." lol...thank goodness for the other voulnteers. We had a good laugh about it afterwards.
Camilia and I worked out a nice little schedule for us so we wont be wasting time, not doing our homework, and everything else like that. I'm glad I'm down here with her, because otherwise I would be super lost! I just hope i can stick to our plan.....
Well thats about all I have for today, thanks for all the emails and everything that you guys have been sending. The internet is such a blessing for me to keep in contact with people while im far away!

Peeping Toms Paradise

So Camilia and I are finally moved into our apartment in downtown Curritiba. Its a cute little one bedroom with an inflateable mattress (hey, we are working on getting some bunk beds.) We have a surround sound steiro (suddenly I cant spell that word, ahh!) system, and a DVD player, TV with cable and hot water. I was so happy about the last thing, for those of you who dont know, having hot water in your apartment is a big deal! Our apartment also has a little balcony that overlooks a vacant lot, but it has a built in Churrasqueira, so Camilia is going to teach me how to Barbeque the Brazilian way. Kellens mom also voulnteered to teach me how to make lots of diffrerent kinds of foods found here in the south and also things like Feijoada, arroz doce, lasagna, and some cakes and breads, Im excited to learn that since last time I was here I didnt really get that oppertunity.

Church yesterday was good, I went with Camilia to her familys ward out in Pinhais which was nice, cold but nice. The saints here are always so welcoming and friendly, its something I love! Afterwards we went to Camilias to eat lunch and rest. Both of us ended up sleeping for like 3 hours over there and then staying up until 2 am last night. (we are still trying to adjust to the time diffrerence thing!)

I bet by now people are wondering why this is entitled as it is, well let me tell you about the weirdest thing I have ever seen in a living space so far. In the bedroom there is a big window probably like 5x5 ft of just straight up see through glass. That isnt the weird thing, the thing that gets me is that it is looking directly into the shower space in the bathroom. I dont know why its like that but thank goodness someone had the decency to put up some blinds on the bedroom side of the window. Well that about wraps things up. If your wondering why Im covering three days in one blog its because we dont have internet in the apartment so I might be a little slow on writing, returning emails etc. Im more pressed for time here than I thought I would be, but thats a good thing. Better to be busy than bored right?

Food Posioning and Curious George

View of Downtown Curitiba from my hotel window
So for all those people out there that have had to travel while being sick, I totally can relate to you now! I got food posioning from something that I ate in Sao Paulo and spent the past 48 hours keeping nothing down....not my favorite way to arrive in Curitiba, but hey I'm here now! The city is beautiful, and so much different than staying in Sao Paulo. You can actually walk down the street without people whistling at you or staring, its great! I took a little tour on foot with Kellen, one of the volunteers that im going to be working with after we went out to lunch and the city is just perfect, I know I'm going to love it here! as for where I'll be working....
This is going to be where Camila and I will be teaching all of our classes, its really nice, and I'm super excited to get started there with everything on monday. I met most of the staff today and they are a fun group of people, and no one speaks english there so it will be good practice for my portuguese! And for my bosses....

They are both really nice, the one on the right is Bro. Guilherme who came to lunch today, he's really funny and just came back recently from being mission president in Florianopolis. The one to the left is Bro. Gaertner, he and his wife picked me up at the airport yesterday. They both lived in the US for a LONG time and just moved to Curitiba about 6 months ago, so there pretty new here too. Both men are really nice, and I'm excited to work with them!

A cool thing that happened while I was being shown around the office was a little man probably in his late 60s came in the office. He asked to speak to Bro. Guilherme and then walked over to a little bell hanging on the wall and rang it. This got everyones attention, all the job seekers that were there turned and looked at him. He proceded in a happy voice to tell us that he had been out of work for some time, I think he said about two years. He came to the workshop about a month ago and just two weeks ago accepted an offer on a job and is now employed. Everyone in the room clapped for him, and it was nice to see all the people looking for jobs get up and go shake his hand and congratulate him. I am excited to help people have moments like this in the next few months, help them find oppertunities where they can come back in and ring our little "sucess bell".

Tonight Im going to go with Kellen and her parents on a little tour of Curitiba by car, and then come back to the hotel and have some soup and crackers...Im still not feeling 100 percent. I just finished watching the Curious George movie, I dunno why but its just nice to watch cartoons when your sick...anyway I highly recomend it next time your feeling a bit under the weather. Tomorrow at about 5 Im finally going to be moving into my apartment (the church put me up in a hotel here in the center until Camila arrives...bem chique ne?) its a little 1 bedroom apartment about 15 minutes away by foot. (we have a trundel bed) which should work just fine, im sure its nicer than anything the missionaries around here get! I'll let you know what its like. Im excited to go to church and meet my new bishop and ward members, everyone ive talked to so far says its a nice ward.

Well thats about all for today and yesterday, I hope that everything back in the US is going well!

I Was Once Told

Welcome to my little blog! Or should I say Bem-Vindos!


I was told many times that I need, should, and have to keep a journal for this inernship, so I decieded this would be the easiest way to do it! Besides what better time to do so then when I arrived in Brazil. Today was a chill day, I went to the gym here and once again ate dinner alone...completely alone, there were no other guests in the resturant. That was an odd experince! But thats okay, what's not okay is that I have to travel to Curitiba with only 50 pounds of luggage...one suitcase alone was like 56 pounds...it will be interesting to see how i figure things out. The view from my room...makes a cool picture huh?
Sitting here in this room alone has let me think about my life, what I'm doing with it, and how I got here. It seems like this was something that I was meant to do, but all I can think about is how hard it is going to be. I know that I need to be here to learn something, to gain experinces not avalible to me anywhere else, but I'm kind of afraid as to what those are. I think that is probably natural when beginning something new for anyone. I am trying to be optimistic and think that I will be able to get everything done that I need to, I know I will. I'm just glad to be back in Brazil and to be speaking Portuguese again. I'm so glad I go to a good school that has provided these oppertunities for me, I don't know what I'd be doing if I decided to go somewhere else, its the right place for me without a doubt. Rua das Flores, Curitiba Brasil....reminds me of Disneyland...with big buildings.
I am looking forward to finally arriving in the most beautiful city I've seen in Brazil this far tomorrow...its going to be great, I just know it!