Trip to Praia Forte

Yesterday we decided to visit Praia Forte (Strong Beach).  It is ahour hour north of where we live.  The elite of Savador have week-end houses there.  Our main reason for going was to visit Project Tamar, a turtle farm.  We took along our swim gear in case we wanted to try out the beach.

The drive up was very nice.  It reminds me alot of driving toward the Keys in Florida.  The town of Praia Forte was very nice.  It is quaint without being touristy, even though it is obvious that this town survives off tourist. 

Project Tamar is well worth explaining.  It was started 30 years ago.  I have been to turtle farms in many countries.  The lay out of this one was probably one of the nicest I have been to.  There alot of Palm trees, and it is located right on the beach.  What really imspressed me was the level of education that is included in this project.  From the very beginning the Tamar Project realized that the protection of the turtles would only be successful with the support of the locals who lived off the goods from the beach and ocean.  They showed the locals how much they could make from ecotourism.  They also built the area around the aquariums where the locals sell everything from coconut bars, braided bracelets, and toys made from bamboo.  It is really a win win situation. 

Once we finished touring the turtel farm, we went through the shops that are of the area. I bought a key ring to use as an ornament for our Christmas tree.  I also found a really neat lounge dress.  It is made of what I would call indian cotton and has delicate lace in set in the body. The finishing touch are the green buterflies that are stitched on the cotton.  Can you tell I love it?  I will be making a trip back near the time to go home to buy some to give away as souveniours.  Gareth bought a rattle stick from a teen age boy.  The neat part was how proud this kid was of his work.  He explained to us exactly how he hollowed out the bamboo stick, then filled it with little pieces of rock.  Finally he burned the images and the words Praia Forte into the wood.  I bought another ornament from him, to support someone who is working hard.    

We got hungry in our wandering and stopped a really neat restaurant called Terra Brazil for lunch.  John and I got fabulous shrimp. Gareth was sooo excited when he saw the last page of the menu.  They had chicken nuggets.  They were usually served on a bed of spaghetti with red sauce, but they were willing to serve them American style with French fries and ketchup.  I have to say these were amazing chicken nuggets made of real chicken breast and crusted with parmagnan and herb breading.  But as long as they called them chicken nuggets, he was more than happy.

The only disappointment to us was the beach.  The sand was pretty, but there was a rock barriors about 40 yards from the beach.  This made the waves that came to shore ankle height.  The beach was super crowded with umbrellas.  We all concluded we like our beach in Stella Maris better.  Our waves get as much as 8 ft high on windy days but are always at least 4 feet.  We also have the beach vendors and the rental umbrellas but not near as many people.  For people who are from the south, it was like comparing going to the Gulf of Mexico versus the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida.  We decided to come home and go to our beach. 

Gareth carried his new boogey board to the beach.  He had never used one in waves this big and was a little timid.  Once John went out to about thigh high water and I was set up where the waves met the beach, Gareth started to relax.  He ate waves for a while until he got the rhythm of the biggers waves, but soon he was having fun riding.  It got dark before he wanted to get out to the beginning of the waves, so we will have to try that next week-end. 

One Month is our new city

In the last month I have learned sooo much about myself, my family, my child, and my new home city.

I have learned that in Salvador, I do need to know the language, but I can function OK without it.  The need to do better than OK is the reason I have lessons with a private tutor 3 days a week for 3 hours each.  I have learned that you can actually sweat 24 hours a day and not die of dehydration.  I have learned that ants are the unoffical state creature of Salvador (we have 8 different types in our house).  Thus the state past time is killing ants.  I have learned for me the best by far cure for insomnia is standing on my deck in the wee hours of the night: looking at all the stars twinkling, listening the the waves hit the beach and the wind moving the palm fronds, and smelling the salt air.  I have learned I remember how to cook popcorn on a stove and how to boil a hot dog.  I have learned that pigeons are dumb messy birds that drink pool water, but have definite personalities.  I have learned that this paradise is far from perfect, but is good enough for me.

I have learned so much about my child.  Gareth has been an unique individual since the moment I knew he existed.  I have learned to expect the unexpected from him.  I also have learned over the years that I can never really know what he is thinking.   I have also learned that he will always teach me something new about the really imprtant things in life.

I was worried about how this move would affect him.  We tried so hard to educate him about what life would like here; as well as, have him involved in the process/decision to move here.  With that said until we were here, there was just no way for him to understand.  He is like me in that he needs friends.  I was worried about that with the language difference.  He doesn't like to stand out, it embarreses him, so I was worried about how he would feel being the new kid in school.  I was just plain worried like a mom does.

Gareth has done better than expected.  Even though many of the kids speak Portuguese outside the class, he has still been able to make a few friends.  I feel that once we are back to actaully being in school for an extended period that will get even better.  His love of soccer has just exploded and his skills and the aggressiveness that he lacked in the States has just taken off.  (I guess that is what happens when you play soccer 3 times a day at school).  He has found ways to find the fun in the worst situations.  For example the day I said he did not have to go to school becuase of the strike, and we could not go to the movies as planned.  He was excited that he got to stay in his underwear all day, and didn't see a reason to take a shower.

Emotionally is really how Gareth has blown me away.  There have been  momemts of tears where he has missed his friends and Tulsa .  We had some really hard nights where he missed his dad while John was in Houston.  During those times of holding him while he cried, he has shown me how neat of a person he is.  One night when he wss upset, I told him it was OK to cry.  He responded, "I know.  Brave men show their emotions."  Another time I asked if he wanted to go home, meaning back to Tulsa.  He responded, "You and dad are here.  We are home."  A final blow me away away moment.  We were sitting on the deck, and Gareth wasstaring out over the pool but with that look for staring in space.  I asked what he was thinking  He said that living here was one of the best things he has gotten to do.  I thought he was just giving me a line to get me to leave him alone.  But I asked why did he think that.  He said that at our apartment we did not have alot of stuff since ours is not here and we did not have alot things to go and do, so we got to just be a family alot and he liked that.  He did follow up by asking when would his legos and wii get to Salvador. 

As  Siliva finishes making breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and fresh mango juice, I just think how we are definitely on a roller coaster ride.  There are going to be some great ups and some big downs.  All in all I think we are going to enjoy the ride.

The gecko saga continues

This is a post I placed on facebook that began the saga. 
My child has just announced he will be sleeping on the couch tonight. It seems that a gecko climbed in his open window and scurried under his chest of drawers. I figured with all the rain the last few days, the thing was about drowned. My response of "You should be happy to have the gecko. He can eat all the bugs that are hiding in your room." didn't help. Of course John is out of town today. Every creature event we have had, he has been out of town. Any suggestions on trapping a 3 to 4 inch gecko?

This is the next and hopefully last installment
Gareth and I had a little surprise on Sunday evening in his room.  Gareth exclaims "Something is wrong with Fred?"  My first thoughts are Fred, Fred who.  Gareth then explains Fred is the gecko that has been protecting his room since Fred moved in.  Great now the gecko that rain him out of his room has a name. What was wrong with Fred was that he was dead as a door nail, flipped on his back, with his little gecko feet sticking straight out.  If you held Fred out by his half tail, then he would stick out like a correctly cooked piece of bacon.  If I alone had found Fred, Fred and a piece of toilet paper would have gone out the open window.  But no, WE found Fred.  Thus We now have an adventure.

I am learning restraint in speaking my thoughts in my aging, so I asked Gareth what he thought we should do with the gecko.  Gareth responded that we needed to bury Fred at the beach.  Why the beach I asked.  Gareth responded that since Fred had lived his whole life so close but never got to go, that needed to be his finaly resting place.  Great.

We have deleveloped a relationship with 3 older fisherman on our beach.  Every day that we go down to the beach they stare at us.  I say good mornig in Portuguese, and they stare at use like we have 2 heads.  We do something very gringo in nature, they laugh at us.  When we leave I say good bye and they stare at us again. I could just see their faces when we dig a very deep hole and hold a funeral on the beach for a gecko.

In my brain I am trying to be a good mom, but at the same time trying to figure out a way to get out of a funeral.  First I explain that I don't think we have a casket for Fred.  Gareth responds that we have Ziplocs, my precious Ziplocs, would work wonderfully. 

Anyone who knows me well knows I love Ziplocs.  I use them for everything.  I just knew that there would be some type of ziplocish bag down here.  NO.  NONE.  Has to brought fro the US.  When John went to Houston I had Lots of Ziplocs in all sizes on his list.  He was walking distance to a Sam's.  I figured he knew what lots meant.  Nope.  He bought 1 small box each of 2 sizes, not even freezer style.  Needless to say I use them very sparingly, and holding a gecko was not my choice of of a use for one of my special ziplocs.

Being the giving mother I try to be.  I was finally to adjusted to the idea that Fred could spend his after life eternal (because you know that nothing goes bad in a ziploc) in a ziploc.  Next question was where could Fred stay until the next day since I was not going to the beach at night to bury a gecko.  Gareth quickly responded that Fred should be stored in a morgue.  Great just what we have tons of here in Brazil, pet morgues.  Expecially since I know how to say morgue in Portuguese, yeah right.  After some thought and some analysis, Gareth decided that our freezer was the right temperature to maintain and acceptable body temperature of Fred's body so it would not decay.  But the proper spot was on top of a hard lump in the freezer (the file mignon I have bought the day before).  Thank goodness Fred is in a ziploc. 

So after using some  tongs to gently pick up Fred, I placed him in a ziploc that Gareth was holding that was lined at the bottom with our best toilet paper, definitely not Charmin here.  He was then placed in the freezer to await burial. 

The next morning arose and Gareth decided to watch Men in Black, one of the movies John borught back to us) with a litle encouragement from Mom of breakfast and a movie.  I did not mention Fred, nor did I even open the freezer while Gareth was in the kitchen.  Monday passed with not mention of Fred, thank goodness for short memories.  As of this moment Fred is still resting on my beef.  If we have not had to suffer through a funeral by next Monday, Fred will be going to the resting place of unclaimed geckoes, the garbage dumpster.  Oh and he can keep the ziploc.  

An unexpectedly good day

I started today being pouty and whiny.  (Please remember that I am 4 hours ahead of the U.S., so now is night for me.  A night full of an ocean breeze swaying the hammock that I am sitting in, the sound the ocean as the waves come ashore, and the stars shining bright.) After a 3 hour Portuguese class with William, I decided we needed to go for a drive.  I had heard there was a McDonald's toward the north of the city.  I figured I would see if we could find it. 

We found it. The best part was what we found next door.  The shop next door has a huge sign stating Gourmet Pao and 2 big serious guards a the door.  Inside it was like I had walked into theFrench Pastry shop I found in Orly, France combined with my favorite date shop in Ah Khobar, Saudi Arabia.  The lady at the door handed Gareth a cute wicker basket.  All through the store were tables filled with croissants and cupcakes and cookies and looong loaves of french bread.  In the back they had big white shells filled with all type of olives and dates.  I was in food shopping heaven.  At each table there were women dressed in cute aprons who would put the goodies in containers for you.  Gareth learned that they would give him samples too.  We spent over an hour wandering this store.  Gareth must have tried 20 things.  He loved them all except they gave him a sample of pate.  He thought is was going to be a chocolate spread.  I figured he needed to try it once.  (Mean mom that I am, I thought his reaction was funny.)

We left with 6 cute little boxes filled with chocolate treats and other goodies.  The shopping was fun.  The fulfilling part for me was that I ordered everything in Portuguese and the ladies understood me.  (Por Favor, Quero uma boloito chocolate com un coracao branco.  Obrigada.)

Being able to function with the language gives me self confidence.  It also makes me feel like I am doing something with myself.  (I am taking lessons 3 days a week for 3 hours each day with a tutor). 

Gareth still made me go next door to eat McDonald's, but that was worth finding a new shop and getting to practice the language. (Por favor, Quero duas Combo Big Mac com batatas fritas.  Quero uma com coca cola e uma com fanta de largana.  Obrigada.)  

Boa Noite

Still on strike, still at home

The police are still on strike.  It just amazes me that a country will allow this to happen.  Gareth has now been out of school for 6 days.  He seems to be doing just fine with it.  Enjoying playing on all the eletronics we have here.  He has watched some of our movies I know at least 6 times. 

I on the other hand is going nuts.  As I sit here on the deck looking at the pool, I realize that I have done this so much lately that I recognize the peigons that come drink from the pool.  (Weird Brazil fact - There are no seagulls, pelicans or any other what I call normal sea birds.  Instead the pigeons walk on the beach and eat the dead crabs etc.  They are too slow to actually dive bomb and catch a live crab like gulls do, but they do they enjoy when the crabs have died for some other reason.)  After my Portuguese lesson today, I plan on getting in the car with Gareth and just driving north.  I hear there is a McDonald's and another grocery store.  Maybe I can find them.

We have nice malls here, but I am not the type of person that likes buying things just to buy.  Plus Gareth has the patience of a gnat for shopping, so dragging him along is not fun. 

Thankfully John will be back from Houston on Monday.  He is bringing a suitcase full of stuff that will make a little more like the U.S.  That should liven things up here while we sirt throught he goodies.  

He also informed me that he has to fly to Rio on Tuesday, the 14th, morning for a few days for meetings with the Brazilian oil company.  It will be nice to have him home for what looks like to be about 16 hours. 

Please excuse if I sound a little pouty.  I call this my adjustment phase.  The excitement of just arriving in a new location has worn off.  The feeling of oh my word what have we gotten ourselves into, we know no one has sunk in.  Once I get more adjusted and make friends life gets better.  At least right now I am getting to know the pigeons.

Time passes

I have not had access to my computer as a munchkin has kidnapped it alot lately, so I have not had alot of random things to get down.

John has been gone 4 days today, 4 more to go.  Have I missed him, yes.  Will I be glad when he is back, very much.  Have I done well here on my own, I feel I have.  When I was in Saudi Arabia, a lady used a phrase I liked alot, "When you are on the dance floor, you dance." That is what these last 4 days have been.  I have danced. 

On Thursday the ministry of eduation decided it was not safe for kids to go to school during the police strike.  Therefore Gareth has been out fo school for 4 days.  Every place I have been and everything thing I have done for the last 4 days, he has been with me.  That causes many different emotions in me.  I have truly enjoyed getting to spend the time with my child.  He is old enough that I can carry on intelligent conversations with him and he can participate.  That has allowed him to be a good companion while I very don't know anyone here.     On the other hand he is still young enough that he needs to reassuring during the transition we are going through.  Since we have been at home most of this time, he also needs a playmate.  Since we have not really gotten to know the other families here, I am it.  Gareth has a wonderful imagination that allows him to slip to other worlds that he creates in his mind.  I am not nor have I ever been as creative with my imagination as he is.  This causes frustration between us.  When we go out I have a huge feeling of responsibility for making sure my child stays safe.  This feeling I would nto feel if I was doing these things alone.

I started walking on the beach the day Gareth started school.  I say that I am going for exercise.  I don't know how much of that I am doing.  It is nice to feel the sand between my toes, to feel the cool water on my ankles as a rogue wave reaches the shore, and to hear the ocean as it keeps moving.  I think I am refueling my soul as much as exercising.  Gareth has been my companion for the last few days.  Our outings are more of science experiments of looking at what lives in the tidal pools that are in the boulders or analyzing a dead crab that has washed on shore.  They are fun trips.  When I am alone and see the other people on the beach (all of the beaches in Bahia are public), but I do not study them.  When Gareth is with me, I am more untrusting of others. I make sure we stay away from men.  I don't allow people to walk behind us.  I am just more aware. 

Yesterday we drove to a Salvador North Shopping.  We needed to refill the kichen, and we needed to get out of the compound.  This mall is very close to where we live, but  I had only been to it when we came in November.  The food court is a nice size, so I knew we could find something we liked.  I was in the mood for sushi (awesome sushi everywhere here).    I got Gareth settled in the backseat with a book ( once he is involved reading I dinosaur could run by the car and he would not notice) and off we went.  I am pretty proud of myself.  During our trip I was able to order food at a restaurant, buy groceries, and get lost and unlost in the car.  It amazes me how it feels like I climbed a mountain when all I did was order sushi, pay for it, and got what I wanted.

Weird NIght

John flew to Houston this evening.  We were supposed to be going too, so we could pick up our permanent visas.  A glitch was found at the last minute that will slow our visas down once again.  We decicided it would be better to cancel our tickets, and just John go up to attend the company annual budget meeting.  He will be in the Houston for 8 days. 

I have to admit I was bummed.  I had plans of all the things I wanted to buy now that we have been here for 2 weeks that I see we need/want.  I sent John with a list, so we will get those things.  Problem solved.  We practiced driving to the mall which has a great food court with over 40 restaurants and 28 screen movie theater.  Problem of entertainment taken care of.  Gareth is back in school on Monday, so we will be our normal routine.  I have Portuguese lessons 3 times next week, so that will keep me busy.  I feel safe in our apartment, and in my ability to function here without John.  I am sitting on the deck as I type looking at the beatiful stars, listening to the waves, and feeling the ocean breeze on my face. 

My world should be fine and dandy.  There is no ratioanl reason that it should not be.  But in reality I feel off center.  In the fall after Gareth went to bed, I would watch one of my recorded shows to fill this time at night.  Down here we do not have a TV.  The apartment is feeling empty.  I miss John.