Really the best thing about blogs are the pictures...

So, it has been a busy few months and since I have tons of things that have been going on, I really can't go back and do blogs on each. It would take forever, so since the best part of blogs in my opinion are the pictures, here are mine for the past few months.

November:
The end of November was so busy between trips, Thanksgiving, and stuff at home(more later), at this point, it's honestly a blur.

First, EAB started a new tradition this year, a school wide Thanksgiving. It was such a great way to start the holiday and more importantly the Thanksgiving break.

Happy Turkey Day!

Jackie, Suzanne, and I

Georgia, Heather, Me, Barry, Sue, and Kevin.

Real Pumpkin Pie!

One night Jonathan, Amanda, Jackie, and I went to dinner at a sushi restaurant. It was Rodizio(all you can eat) and we obviously had some translation issues!

Sue and I travelled to Iguazu Falls for Thanksgiving. It had been on my Brazilian bucket list so I couldn't wait to go.

We went to a bird sanctuary however, it was only cause we got off at the wrong stop...happy accident.

Iguazu Falls

You could see so many rainbows.

There was no hope in trying to stay dry.

We even took a boat ride under the falls.

My raincoat wasnt enough...

We had dinner one night with Meghan and Danielle.

December:
December was kind of whirlwind. I had to go home early for family reasons, more on that later. But, while I was home I got to spend time with family and friends.

And, for some weird reason this was the only picture I took over the holidays. Luckily she loves me a lot, so she is blog-worthy.

Blog commenters beware...

Social media is such an interesting thing. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, or the comment sections on various websites, it is amazing how various people handle it. It is like the idea of internet anonymity allows people to say whatever they feel like without any consideration for anyone else. As a person who strongly believes in the golden rule, I am always astounded by the things people say to others, but would never want said about them.

For over three years, I have had this little blog a runnin' and never once did I have a problem. Believe it or not, this little blog has been seen by people all over the world, which was actually never my intention, but a couple of websites posted my link as a guide for international teachers and boom...it was on.

So, a couple of months ago, I did a blog about the sidewalks here in town. I know that every country, heck every city, has great things about it and bad as well. Brasilia is no exception. There are so many thing about Brasilia that are great, but there are somethings that I don't always agree with. So, whenever I talk about something that either I don't understand, or agree with, I always try to balance it out, so that people get the most accurate reflection of Brazil and Brasilia possible. Well, I published the blog about the sidewalks and the next day I woke up and saw that there was a comment explaining what was "up" with the new sidewalk here in town. But, since I didn't know the commenter, I deleted it. I mean, I'm a single gal, and Im not stupid. One could easily figure out so much about me based on this blog. So, in order to be safe I deleted the comment and tried to email the poster instead.

The next day, I had received a lot of hits from Brasilia and some new comments...One from a "friend" of the commenter. In his post, he commented on the fact that I had deleted his friends comment and told me not to try to sound sarcastic, kind of insinuating that I shouldn't say anything bad about Brazil. That's when I noticed, he came from Facebook, and I had numerous people visit from Facebook. Evidently, my blog had been posted by someone.

So immediately, as I have a tendency to do, I went into freak out mode. I disabled comments and made the blog private. Fast forward several months later and I am questioning why I did that? I mean, why would I let some person I have never met have that much power over my blog? This is my documentation of my life in Brazil. For friends and family, this is their way of keeping up with me. And since I won't be returning to Brazil this fall, I want to make sure that I write down everything...as I experience it, because I don't want to forget my time in this country, with these people, with these experiences.

So, with that all being said, blog commenters be forewarned...be nice or get deleted...be nice or I will email you... and for goodness sakes, please remember that comments have no tone.

Welcome back to the blog. Y'all be nice now, ya hear?

Sidewalks for dummies.

To use one of my favorite sayings, Brasilia's sidewalks are kind of, "a hot mess." From the moment I arrived I knew they would not be my friend. We have a love/hate relationship. For the first year I lived in Brazil, I tripped so many times that I began walking with my head down. Do you know how anti-social I appeared?

Some of the "old" sidewalks.

This year is a big year for Brazil and Brasilia, the World Cup begins here in June. Like a girl getting ready for big first date, the city has been stepping up its game and putting its best face forward. Last year, the sidewalks started to get a "facelift," and when I say "facelift" I mean completely removed and replaced! They looked great. However, then this year I started to notice that maybe the government had taken the facelift a little too far. Check it out:

That's right, they have been marked to let you know which direction to go. I am not sure how I feel about it. Part of me seems to think its a good idea, it does drive me crazy to swerve out of the way when other people are coming. However, the rule breaker in me wants to violate the sidewalk rules and walk on the wrong side. I'm not sure if it will be effective but I am glad to see that my tax dollars are hard at work.

Going in with grace...

I have never been one to enjoy my birthday. I am not sure why. I like to think it is the attention, but truth be told, I think it is the fact that I haven't achieved what I would have hoped by now. I am not married, no kids, etc. Yes, I live abroad, yes, I have people who love me but it is me comparing myself to what society says I should do, and it makes me feel like a failure. So, for the past few years, I have just not celebrated, and to be honest, instead I've had a pity party.

Obviously, these strategies haven't been working. They just make me miserable and start the year off on a bad note. So, this year I decided to embrace my birthday and year 34. I decided that I would enter the next year of my life with grace, instead of loathing and avoiding. It seems to fall under the "if ain't broke, don't fix it," mantra. Except, what I was doing was broke, so I needed to fix it.

So, as my birthday approached, Sue started to ask, "Are we going to celebrate this year?" When I said, "yes," I think she was a little surprised and in disbelief. I've decided to enter year 34 with grace and rather than avoid the inevitable, I'm going to embrace it. I'm not sure why. But, I think it has to do with the fact that this year will be one in which I will have a lot of changes(more on that later). I think the fact that this year holds a lot of promise, makes me want to start it off right.

So, this morning I got out of bed and embraced the big day. I got dressed and was greeted at school by friends and students who gave me hugs(and a carrot cake muffin with cream cheese icing :) ). Throughout the day, I was shown how much I am loved and appreciated. It made me feel good.

People left notes on my board throughout the day.

My last class had a little 5 minute birthday celebration for me. It was so sweet. They all signed a card and brought me Brazilian and Polish chocolates. Sue brought me these beautiful flowers.

Even Google realized it was my birthday and changed my google screen.

That evening, Sue arranged a dinner party at a great little Italian place, Cantina da Massa, and invited my nearest and dearest. Sue, Barry, Kevin, Heather, Amanda, Jackie, and Rodrigo all came out to celebrate my birthday. It was actually nice. It was even cold today and I got to wear boots, jeans, and a sweater...it was like I was home. I loved spending my day with people who mean a lot to me. My family is not here, so the next best thing would be my Brazilian family.

The whole gang.

Me and Rodrigo.

Me and Sue...what would I do with out her. :)

As for my birthday gift, this year I bought my own gift and I know it will be something I remember forever. I am taking a trip to this place...

Machu Picchu!!!

Here is to 34, hopefully the best year yet!

Photobomb...

I get it. People are either PC people or Apple people. And, I am most certainly the latter. I got an Iphone last winter and as person who likes to take a lot of pictures, it has kind of rocked my world. I don't have to carry my DSLR or point & shoot everywhere, I just have to take my phone. It's been awesome. The only catch is sometimes I take pictures and never put them on the blog. So, here are some of my random pictures from the last few months.

Orientation - Isabel and I were the teacher leaders of Orientation this year. We loved helping out. Here is our whole group(Newbies, Admin, HR, and us).

Pantanal: Rodrigo, Valmir, and I took the kids on the classroom without walls trip. One week, 3 teachers, and I was the only girl. :) It was great. We had so much fun and so did the kids.

The best moment of the trip...35 sleeping teenagers.

Valmir and I by the pool. This picture looks completely photoshopped.

5:30 am milking Buffalo. I know I am from Tennessee and all but they were pretty impressed by "buffalo-milking skills."

Piranha fishing. At this point we did lose one Iphone5 into the river...

After we fished for piranha's, we disected them. This is me holding the piranhas heart. We then had piranha soup for dinner.

Some of the beautiful birds in the Pantanal.

The Asian Food Festival:
Brasilia has a lot of food options...except when it comes to Asian cuisine. No Thai, Indian is twice a year, "China in Box"(there is no 'a'), just doesn't cut it. The Asian food festival is one time of the year where you can get your asian cuisine fix...

There were tons of people. You had to wait in line for 30 minutes.

2 words...ICED COFFEE!!!

Yummy chicken!

Dumplins with a sweet chili sauce. :)

Random photos with friends!

Catalina, Jackie, Amanda, and me at the Buddhist temple here in Brasilia.

Me and Heather!

Sophie and her good pal, Sol. He is gonna stay with us when Sue goes to AASSA at the end of the month!

Sue's birthday was this week so a couple of us took her to dinner. We went to an Argentinian steakhouse, it's the perfect choice for a vegetarian...right?

Sue, her cake, and um...Matt. Sorry I couldn't cut you out buddy.

All Hallows Eve...

Just like I love fall, I love Halloween. I love the crisp fall air, the sometimes dropping temperatures, football on the weekends, and big ole bowls of warm soups and Chili. It is one of those holidays where you forget who you are and enjoy being someone else. Which if we are being honest, is just nice sometimes.

Brazilians don't really celebrate Halloween. And, it is a shame. They love parties and get togethers and costumes. It is the perfect holiday for them. The Embassies and the American School celebrate it but that is about it. However, every year the Collins' host a shindig on "All Hallows Eve," this year we decided to go to make it a double whammy and go to the Marine Corp house afterwards to check out their Halloween party as well.

Since I refuse to wear a rented costumes(yuck) and buying a costume here might break my bank, I always go for the "make your own" costume route. Last year I went as Minnie Mouse, the year before that, a Greek Goddess. This year, I was kind of stumped. After I watched the Avengers, I had an epiphany...WONDER WOMAN! I know, I know, she is not an Avenger. It was more the superhero idea that inspired me.

So, I gathered all my supplies: blue fabric, paper stars, red t-shirt, Christmas ribbon, TNT, and boots. Put it all together and this is what you get. :)

I used Christmas ribbon to make a belt, bracelet, and crown. I didn't have enough for a lasso. :(

The Collins'party was so much fun. We have snacks, chit chat, and marvel at each others costumes. It is always great to see what people show up as. This year we had Mr. T, Jack Sparrow, a chef, Greek Goddesses, doctors, jack-o-lanterns, sloppy Joe, pirates, cross-dressers, and a nudist on strike.

The Marine House party was um...different. I noticed that there was something "interesting" about this party when I saw that all the music was coming from 2 Jettas, yes...as in the car. I kind of felt like I was back in college. I take that back, I definitely felt like I was in college. There was a definite "frat house" vibe. There were some great costumes there as well. But, I called it an early night and headed home about 12:30.

It was nice to pretend I was someone else for the evening and had "super" powers. Taking time out of your weekend to spend with friends and family really is what it's all about. Who knows what Halloween 2014, will hold. I just hope it is spooktacular!!!!