Hello there! Long time no see! (ha ha, as if)
September already. Still no word about if or when we will be moving this year. We were hoping to pack our bags and leave this place before the rainy season is upon us, but I honestly just want to be out of here NOW. Is it too much to ask? D is having a hard time too. People here seem to have expectations of a pastor that are not in line with the way things should be. Theologically. Sure Theoretically one can try to adapt as much as possible, but in the end we are the way we are. Our personality, upbringing and education is not something that can be undone. In our case all of these are simply not compatible with the vast majority of the population of the region where we live here in Northern Brazil. Not to mention that we both refuse to play the hypocrisy game that people here think is “polite”. For example, they refuse to be critical of anything to you face. If you dare express some negativity about a situation, it “isn’t right” to say so. Only among themselves. Nobody is perfect, but how is being fake supposed to be a good Christian example to anyone?
Yesterday hubby gave me my first driving lesson. I have to learn to drive with a stick. Unlike North America where most cars here have manual transmission! Why, oh why?!! What a pain in the *! In our first years we were hoping to buy an automatic car one day, but we’ve realized that we will most likely never be able to afford one. First of all, cars here are much more expensive than in Canada (compared to salaries). Second, automatic cars are rare AND much more expensive than the manual ones. So, yeah. I’m learning how to drive again… The boys were in the car with us and we went to the (almost deserted) airport parking lot to have my first “lesson”. In between my (exaggerated) screams of despair (when I stalled) and shrieks of joy (when I got the transmission change), the kids asked when we would get into the plane… Soon my little ones, God willing very soon!
At home everybody is fine and healthy, which is the most important. However I still don’t feel “at home”, which translates to daily frustrations. The other day, I was wondering if we still had the “Complete Works of Shakespeare” somewhere. I realized that some of our books have been packed 4 years ago and are still in boxes… After looking though half a dozen boxes, I did find the book, but how I hate this! I’d like to buy some nice shelves (simple but nice, real wood, custom made) and unpack all my music books beside the piano, and all my favorite novels in a “reading nook”. Ah, the plans I have in my head !
I am still looking longingly at the real estate ads in our “future” town. We hope to buy what they call a chácara which loosely translates as “country house, or farmstead”. It’s basically a house that has a bit more property than a town house. I can’t think of any comparison because in some cities there are actually some entire neighborhoods comprised of chacaras… Which doesn’t make sense if you think of chacaras as country houses in a city neighborhood… Anyway. In our case it would very probably be in an un-developed part of the city because I simply don’t want to live in an apartment. Not with three children who need to run around. Not now that we live in a country where the climate allows you to enjoy the outdoors all year round. I want enough room for some chickens (fresh eggs!), coconut, papaya, lemon and blackberry trees, a vegetable garden, a tree house and maybe a couple of dogs. Dream, dream, dream…
A Never Ending Summer 
I cross my fingers for your dreams to come true very soon 🙂
Thanks, my dear ! 🙂
What an interesting detail about the non-confrontational culture! I’ ve seen some of the same here. It’s two poles–there’s some personalities that don’t critique at all, ever and there’s some personalities that will tell you what they think you should do down to how you should be folding your underwear (ok, so I exaggerate, but not much! they’re nosy!) Oh, for a gentle middle ground….
Perhaps you were sent there for a reason–to show them a different, Christian way that can be both considerate and sincere?
Another problem we find is that (most) people with little or no education are simply not open to a different way to do things or think even if it’s theologically sound doctrine. They want the icing on the cake, not the healthier whole grain bread ! Like a child who has been fed sweets all his life and doesn’t want to eat veggies, but now that child is an adult and has rotten teeth (if you see what I mean). 🙂
(I do agree with you. There is a reason we were sent here, even if we don’t see the reason).
sigh. tell me about it. I find the same thing ALL the time–i.e., “this is the way we’ve always done it, why change? I don’t care that it doesn’t work well. It’s what we’ve always done.” drives me BA.NA.NAS. can’t imagine what I’d do if it was my job to tackle that.
Oh my. You don’t know how good it feels to know someone who shares the same frustrations! (I actually have tears in my eyes. No joke). I often tell my husband that maybe I needed to come to Brazil to finally feel French because I realize that I like things well done (I might be more perfectionist than I thought) and don’t mind a few heated discussions ! 😉
Comme je comprends tes envies d’une maison où tu te sentirais chez toi ! Pour le moment, mon aspiration est seulement de louer un appartement rien que pour notre petite famille, pas encore d’acheter (un jour, peut-être ? Je n’ose mêm pas encore y rêver)… mais… il y a des jours où je n’en peux plus, j’ai envie de l’avoir enfin !
Et je comprends aussi cette frustration par rapport aux gens qui ne veulent rien changer de leurs habitudes… A Maurice, quand je faisais remarquer une chose ou l’autre à des proches, on me répondait invariablement : “Les Mauriciens sont comme ça…”, ce qui signifiait : “on ne pourra jamais rien y changer !”.
Comme on se comprend… 🙂