Feliz aniversário!

March 12-15

Ok, this one is a bit long, so grab a cup of cafe and relax for a few.  Hope you enjoy! :)

Josh and I have officially been married for 3 years as of Wednesday the 14th.  And Brazil has been our amazing, unforgettable, honey of a second honeymoon.

Enjoying a breeze and the view
post-run

Our favorite running park,
"Parcao" de Moinhos

One of our favorite things we have shared on this trip has been running together. 

Josh has showed me his favorite routes on foot through the city and I love the park we run to.  There is just something that makes me feel super tough running through these streets.  It could be a) the “rolling” hills which are best experienced when blindly turning an unassuming corner that immediately juts upward toward the sky with no notice, or b) the excellent techno/dubstep DJ mix that my very own DJ Extol put together on our ipod. 

It also could be because every day we run past armed guards in uniform who stand at the entrance to the military hospital across the street.  As they stare at us passing, I keep wondering what they are thinking of this small running person in a skirt and neon green shoes.

I do. I just feel cool when I run here. 

Parcao (post-shower and pre-shopping) - to the right of this picture
is a city street lined with shops - the park is exactly in the middle
of a popular shopping district

It’s also ridiculously beautiful here.  Porto Alegre has a tree for every citizen, so nearly every sidewalk and street has a lovely green arbor above.  They also have an excellent understanding of the urban park concept.  Porto Alegre has a huge amount of green spaces that are right in the middle of city blocks, sort of like a bunch of small Central Parks a la NYC.  On the weekends, these lush areas of greenery are packed with families, joggers, walkers, and tons of dogs. 

Parque Farropilha (another urban park)

Everyone has a dog here.  Mostly small to medium sized ones, since a lot of the population live in apartments.  They bring their canine companions everywhere with them and when I see that, I know I could easily fit in here.  Currently, my ten-pound rescue terrier (who I’m convinced actually rescued me) is being fought over in a temporary custody battle by my friends and family back in the States.  She loves her vacations to my parents’ farm, where she typically resides when Josh and I travel.  And I miss her.  So I snag any opportunity here to scratch an obliging furry head.  But most of the animals here do not speak or understand English.  So I’m working on my Portuguese doggie compliments.

Even this random guy had a dog.  He
was super nice (read: quirky but harmless)
 and offered to take our picture in front of a few parts of this park that he deemed "essential picturesfor all gauchos." The dog is "Chica".

Smiths with Chica (in Portuguese:
"Here, she likes you, hold her while
I take the picture with the Brazil flag
in the background.  All Gauchos take
this picture in front of that building.")

Chica, Random Guy, and Elyssa in an
essential Gaucho picture

Not an essential Gaucho picture, but
pretty nonetheless.  Josh is secretly
obsessed with pergolas...sorry honey
your secret is out!

Anderson and Josh paying complete
attention to the worship

Some of our new brothers and sisters
in the house church

Church on Sunday was full of Portuguese and English praise song lyrics, the presence of God, and more than a few tears as we prayed and connected with the Blumes’ house church they started many years ago.  I got to help lead some of the music and Benay and Josh and I taught the group a new song – ‘How Great is Our God,’ in Portuguese, of course!  Josh and I did our best to read and sing the Portuguese lyrics, but after a few bars, I realized that English would have to do because I apparently cannot play piano and also read in a new foreign language at the same time.

Waiting in line at Bob's Burgers

The Blumes treated us to Outback Steakhouse in Porto Alegre after church!  We had fun with Benay, Kevin, Giovanni, Garrett, and Anderson – the food was great, albeit more expensive than in the states.  Giovanni wanted to sit next to both me and Josh, and Anderson spent the meal quizzing me about my favorite things.  He and I have determined we are, most definitely, twins - the main requirements: donuts as a favorite food and loving history.

Afterward, a trip to the best milkshake venue in town - Bob's Burgers in the mall.  Josh and I shared an Ovaltine milkshake and it was the best Ovaltine milkshake that had ever tickled our tastebuds.  It was a bit like a chocolate malt with little crunchies in it.  I adore little crunchies in my sweets - I'm truly a texture gal.

Ipanema Beach at night - to the left
of this photo is a crowded street where
cars and teens are cruising to the live
music from the brightly lit bars and
restaurants.

The girl from Ipanema - not really the place
from the song, but that song was in my head
the entire walk. By the by, Acai is big there
and a tall cold acai icee is AMAZING on a
hot day.  Nearly as good or better than a
coconut water.

Ipanema beach in POA is THE place to be on a Sunday night!  Ana and Pedro took us there for a long brisk walk in the beach breezes of the lake after the heat of the day started to relinquish at dusk.  It was beautiful and people of all ages were gathered all over the sidewalks and restaurant patios.  They were talking, laughing, and drinking portable Chimarrao, the traditional herbal tea drink of the Gaucho culture in Rio Grande Do Sul.  They bring a special thermos of hot water and a bunch of the loose green powder that makes the tea.  They drink it through a metal straw that strains out the tea from the powder.  The drink is consumed from a hand carved wooden cup that usually has a state flag or some other type of Gaucho symbol on it.  Southern Brazilian culture is very strong and young and old alike embrace it.

Bookafe - where every book and
reference is Christian - go coffee ministry!

Monday morning brought a lovely meeting with Kevin and Benay (and Giovanni) at Bookafe, a Christian coffee shop across the street from the park where I’ve been running.  We had Cappuccino Brasileira and some great conversation in a beautiful setting with the occasional declaration from Giovanni’s side of the table, “Enough talk.  Let’s fight.”

Romans 6:4 was on this beautiful plaque on the wall

We finished up the last of our shopping for gifts and souveniers at a few different malls that afternoon with our host mama as our chauffer.  In the course of the afternoon, we found out that our arrangements for staying the night in Sao Paulo Tuesday night had fallen through.  Originally we had booked tickets from POA to Sao Paulo for Tuesday morning and our plane for the states was to leave Wednesday.  But we decided to delay our flight to Sao Paulo until Wednesday so we could have a bonus day in Porto Alegre.  A crazy upheaval, but we were so happy to have an extra day.

Picanha

Good music, good meat, good God,
let's eat!

Oh yes, we did. Again.

An incredible live Samba night at the restaurant Terra Nova was a fantastic end to the day.  Ana and Pedro scouted out this new restaurant to expose us to more of the rich Brazilian culture we were after – music!  And, of course, good food.  We enjoyed picanha (a traditional churrasco meat) and yet another Torta de Sorvete – the same kind we ate at Schulla’s!  Top it off with really marvelous samba singers and musicians, with a live tree growing through the middle of the top of the restaurant, and there you have one amazing night.  I found myself wishing I knew the words to the songs so that I could have sung along with the entire audience to the sweet beautiful melodies of the traditional samba songs. 

Every now and again either me or Pedro (the Argentine in the bunch) would insert a declaration of how good the Argentines are at one thing or another.  I don’t know if you realize this, but they are the best in the whole world at nearly everything.

From left: Josh's neck, Elyssa, Pedro, Ana

Elyssa: “I love this cut of steak!”  Pedro – with a thick Brazilian accent: “You should try the Argentine version of this steak.  Argentines are the most skilled steak-makers in the entire world.” Josh: “Seriously, don’t encourage him.” Laughter. Repeat.

Tuesday, our bonus day, Josh took me to finally see his very first apartment from his previous stay here.  When he first arrived to Porto Alegre in 2005, as the first “guinea pig” of the Ball State/PUCRS University exchange, Josh had no place to stay.  

A minor oversight.

This is where Ana Isabel came in.  She was able to get a small apartment for him for the first month, and during that time he met Marcio and Marcelo who lived in that neighborhood.  Thank the Lord for them, because he had to learn where to shop, what to get at the mercado to eat, and how to scrub his laundry in a washbasin.  Mama Limberger (M&M’s mom) was a huge help with all that!

Josh's first apartment across the street

The gym is the second and
third story with all the
windows

I got to see his old apartment building, and we visited the gym where he and Marcelo worked out.  That was the building where Josh learned a ton of Portuguese.  His trainer, Cassio, spoke some English, so between Ana Isabel and Cassio, a desperate Josh learned enough survival Portuguese to get by and thrive in a completely foreign culture.

Smiths with Mama Limberger and amazing cappuccinos

Most of the two story restaurants have
outdoor balconies that are prepared for
every weather extreme.  It rained while
we ate up here but we didn't get wet
after they put the sides down.  All the
views from these places are gorgeous!

Later Tuesday for our bonus afternoon (after yet another fantastic lunch prepared by Fatima at home), Mama Limberger came to pick us up and take us out for coffee.  We visited a really beautiful café on a bustling street next to the park (of course – the parks are EVERYwhere!).  She does not speak any English, so we spent an entertaining couple of hours trying to understand one another and decipher hand signals as we caught up on life.  She is an artist, so in my Portu-nol and her Portuguese and one or two words in English, we talked about abstract painting versus portraiture.  Yeah.  It was funny.  But she and I connected in our little artistic-minded way.   My brain was so tired!

Goodbyes to Guillherme

Another dinner at Schulla’s with Ana, Pedro, Guillherme, and Bruno, and the bonus day was complete.  We ate another round of Josh’s favorite Spaetzle, a cheese dumpling dish with steak.  YUM.  And we tried not to think about the fact that we would have to tear ourselves away from this family and this city in the morning.

"Even the day is crying." - Ana
Parmalot did not want to leave either.

Wednesday we woke up early to a massive rainstorm.  Our mom, Ana, came in at 6am to say goodbye before work.  As she and I cried and held each other, she said in her halted English, “Even the day is crying and is sad you are leaving.”

At breakfast our host dad had the radio on and we were listening to all the records that were being set by the inundation of water.  The streets were knee-high in waves of the overflowed river and lake surrounding the city.   There was some concern as to whether or not we would be able to make it to the airport.  So, when dad Pedro took us by the Blumes to say bye, he dropped us off and went for an exploratory drive to test out…the waters. 

We returned the cell phone that the Blumes had allowed us to borrow for the entire trip – THANK YOU BLUMES!  THANK YOU ANSLEY!  And then we said goodbye after praying for each other.  There was, of course, no pressure from Benay and Kevin to sell everything we own, quit our jobs, and move to POA to become missionaries alongside them.  None at all.  They would want us to pray about it first.  J

Just like there was no pressure for us to choose their soccer team, Internacional, over our host family’s team, Gremio.  No propaganda at all, no twisting of the arms, no implied threats.  We were in a tough place, me and Josh.  If we chose Inter and Pedro found out, we wouldn’t have a place to sleep at night.  If we chose Gremio and God found out, we might not get to heaven, or so it was implied. Hehehe. 

We love and miss you, Blumes!

We made it without incident to the airport – through the rio de rua (say “hee-oh-gee-who-uh” – fun to say, right?), river of the street.

Goodbye to our mae, Ana

A toast to our anniversary with one
last pao de queijo

Happy Anniversary to us!  We had excellent and safe travel – thanks to all who were praying us through this trip!  On the flight from Sao Paulo to Toronto, after one last meal of salgados and Coca Cola in the airport, we toasted a glass of wine.  We gave thanks to the Lord for an incredible three weeks in our new home country of Brazil, and for an unforgettable three years of marriage together.

Thanks for going on this journey to Brazil with us.  And thanks to everyone who has been on some part of our life journey with us.  We have enjoyed the last three years together immensely.  We look forward to the rest of our life discovering new places, people, and things together as God leads us deeper into our own hearts and each others’.  It’s just getting good.  And we are full of gratitude.

Ready for our next adventure!

In fact, it’s just getting muito goode.  Couldn’t resist that one. J