You know that feeling when you're not paying attention and
all of a sudden you realize you haven't had an American meal in four months...
Well, I know there's at least a few that can relate.
Wow does time fly by, it feels like yesterday I descended
the plane from Colorado into the hot São Paulo air lost with NO ability to read
ANY signs or ask for direction and by some fortune stumbled upon the Brazilian
with a sign for the american missionaries. Now four months later all the
Brazilian customs are seemingly normal. Having packs of wild dogs roaming the
streets, banana trees in the middle of a park, rice and beans every day,
telefone wires hanging at chest-height with a dozen kites caught in each one,
clapping instead of knocking on doors, all these things are starting to seem
normal. The only thing I still havn't lost - and probably never will loose - is
the accent.
Well this week is transfers, we should be getting a call
this afternoon on who is out and who stays. Having already been in Parque São
Bento for 4 months it's quite probable I'll be headed out. I've loved this
area. I think just about everyone in the neighborhoods recognizes the tall
American that walks these streets on the daily.
It was a slow week, not may people let us in, we got shut in
the house because of a busdriver/police "greve" (I forgot the word in
english it's when they stop working to make a point). It also rained the ENTIRE
weekend so not many people were in the streets to talk to. I took solace in the
words of the late Elder Joseph B. Worthlin of the quorom of the twelve apostles
"The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try to laugh
instead" - boy was I tempted to groan but I thought of this quote and
found myself still smiling even as we were trudging through the rain, being
rejected and lied to to be avoided. (funny lie of the week - we talked to a guy
twice and he tried to say that the other time it was his twin brother but his
story contradicted and it became clear it was him, oh Brazil). That's the nice
thing about life though, happiness is a choice, I don't need my situation to
dictate my happiness.
Well Life's Good, keep on keeping on! I apologize to anyone
that I haven't been able to reply to personally, time's a crunch when our hour
of email comes around for the week. I do love letters and have more time to
reply to those ;)
Até Mais,
~Elder Della-Piana
PS I think the word for 'greve' is boycott? nope... it's
strike, there was a busdriver strike... wow that took a long time to remember
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