Bom Dia {matul}

I've gotten a few requests for some basic details of my time in Brazil so far. I'm not always super good at that, but this is my attempt at it anyway. I hope you enjoy!

Comida (food)
Breakfast is usually fresh french bread (pão do francês) with cream cheese and jelly. Oh, and coffee. Can't forget the coffee. :)
Lunch is the big meal over here. It pretty much always includes beans (feijão), rice (arroz), meat (carne), and salad (salada). You might also find potatoes or pasta. Followed by coffee.
Dinner is similar to what you have for lunch. Not to much different. Again, followed by coffee. And likely dessert (sobremesa) as well.

There is no shortage of dairy (leite), carbs, fruits (frutas), vegetables (legumes), protein, or sugar (açúcar) in this place. I have all parts of the nutrition pyramid. The trick is only eat as much as you need, and not more (which can be hard because it is SO delicious).

Língua (language)
I took three weeks of Portuguese lessons before leaving LA. They have proved to be very helpful. Though I still spend most of my time listening and processing. I don't speak much yet. It still takes to long for me to form a thought in order to get it out in the natural flow of conversation. Plus my brain is busying interpreting, so there isn't much space left for, ya know, actually coming up with things to say.

But, I have become a far better listener/interpreter in just a few days. And I've also started to fall in love with this language! It's freakin' beautiful! I can't wait to actually be able to participate more seamlessly.

Casa (home)
As you probably already know, part of the point of being down here is to live in a favela. But when I got here it wasn't quite ready for me yet. Things move slower here. Outside of the kind of work you get paid for, there is very little that operates with any kind of urgency. So, until then I am living with our city facilitator and his wife. He is an American who has been down here for almost 10 years. She is a wonderful Brazilian woman whose father is the director of the seminary we are partnering with while here.

Coisas (things)
Also, this is a picture of all that I brought with me. It weighed a total of 45.6 kgs. I'd like to say I'm proud of myself for only bringing what I need. And I am a little bit. Though, I've already found things that I should have brought and things that I didn't need to bring.

What other specifics do you want to know? I would love to tell you more, I'm just not sure what people are looking for in this area!