Saturday, August 15, 2015

A Day in the Life

Hello to All,

Well, my time in the States flew by as you can imagine. I am already back here in Portel, and classes started this week. I am so grateful that I got a chance to have lunch or dinner with some of you and just check up. I regret all those of you that I didn't get to see. I really hope we get a chance the next time I'm in town. I also want to thank all of you who generously helped me in one way or another while I was there. Your support made the trip the refreshment that I needed.
While I was there, many of you asked the same question, "What is life like in Brazil?". It's a question that can be hard to answer, so I decided to do a little project. This week, I wrote down everything I did for one day. Although this one day is not all inclusive about my life here, it is a good representation of what my life can look like from day to day....

Thursday, August 13th, 2015


I get up around 8am and make coffee. I drink my coffee and pray and look at facebook. My friend Laudiane stops by around 8:30am to use the internet and stays for about a half an hour. The internet is working well this morning, so I decide to try and watch this sermon on youtube.  I listen to the sermon and eat breakfast. At around 10am, I work out. 
At about 10:30am, Ramon sends me a message saying he will stop by my house this morning to give me the projector and drop off his documents to sign up for the English class. I hop in the shower and start getting dressed. I need to go pay my energy bill and go to the TV Station to do some advertising for the classes by noon, before everything shuts down for lunch. Ramon still hasn’t come but sends a message saying he is going to be late. I tell him I have to go and that he can come by during lunch. 
I get on my bicycle and head to the center of the city around 11am. The first place I normally go to pay my bills is closed, so I go the post office. There is a note on my door saying, “Our System is down”. I ask the guy inside where else I can go to pay my bill, and he says the bank. I arrive at the bank around 11:30am and take a number. The bank is one of the few places that is open during lunch. I wait in line for about an hour to pay the bill.
At 12:30, I leave and stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I come out, I realize my back tire is flat. I walk the bike about a quarter mile to a tire shop, but it is already closed. I lock my bike in front of the tire shop, and wait for a motortaxi. In the afternoon, I will need to go the TV Station to do the advertisement, and hopefully fill up the tire on my bike. I arrive at home around 1:15. I heat up the soup and rice I made yesterday for lunch. The internet is still working well, so I continue watching a movie I started yesterday on Netflix. The drinking water tank is almost empty, so I take it outside to the filter to fill it up again. I finish watching the movie. At about 2:15, I get online to start working on a survey that each of the missionaries have to do. At around 3, Ramon stops by to drop off the projector and give me his documents for the class. It starts to rain, so he hangs out for a little while. 
I go to check on the water, and it is yellow because I haven’t used the filter in a month. I pour it out and start over. The rain stops, and Ramon leaves. I go to take a shower. During the shower, the water runs out, so I hop out and turn on the pump. I get back in the shower, and then start getting ready. I organize my stuff for class tonight, shut up all the windows and leave around 4. 
I get a motortaxi and go to the TV station. I order the advertisement and then start walking about a quarter mile to the place where my bike is. I see Jennifer on the way, and she walks with me. When I get there, the guy has already taken my tire off to start fixing it. I stand and talk to him for a while as he continues working on my bike. 
At about 4:45, my bike is done and I walk across the street to print out some copies of documents I need for class. At around 5, I arrive at the school, and start getting things organized for the class. Several people stop by to pay the monthly fee or to sign up for the course starting tonight. Around 6pm, the students start arriving. It’s the first night, so we need to give them their books and take their deposits. Fabrício is teaching while I handle the money and books. 
At just before 8pm, the class ends and I ride my bike home. I heat up the soup and rice again for dinner. I spray my room with buy spray, and put some repellent on my legs for while I’m eating. The rainy season is almost over, so the mosquitoes are not so bad as before but I still at least a few.
I go get the water from outside. It’s not yellow this time, so I take it in. After dinner, I call Ronã and we talk for about half an hour. At about 9:15, I start watching a show I downloaded on my computer. I go to bed around 10pm. 

I hope that gives you a little better idea of what I do. 
Thank you all again for your support while I was in the States. I always would love to hear from you guys if you have any more questions or just want to check in with me. God bless all of you! I love you!

Allison