Praias, primavera and puddings

Some photos of the beach gradually being made outside my window!

So October has arrived, along with a brand new beach out of the window! The beach had gradually disappeared over the years so, in order to protect the Recife coastline (and it's many many high rise buildings), they are building a brand new one, with a big boat that pumps sand from out at sea through a really long pipe. It was quite surreal going to bed one night with just a tiny bit of beach out the window and then waking up the next morning to a huge expanse of sand.

My second week here has gone well and I think I'm starting to feel a little bit less shy. It's been another week of meeting lots of people and gradually learning lots of names (and lots of new words in Portuguese)! I think I'm understanding a bit more although have had lots of awkward conversations, particularly on the phone- the most awkward one being when I didn't understand anything so just kept saying "they are not here sorry," repeatedly, only to find out that the poor person was actually ringing to talk to me! Complete fail.

On Saturday I spent the day on the beach looking after 5 children from Porta Larga (the community I'm working with). Staying at Adrian and Judith's (the couple I'm helping) and then spending the day on the beach was their reward for getting 100 points over the weeks at Judith's library sessions - they get points for coming and for managing to concentrate on silent reading for 15 minutes! It was really fun spending the day playing with them, splashing around in the sea on airbeds and doing lots of burying in the sand.  It was really hot and I felt very English huddling under a parasol putting on loads of suntan lotion, then doing the undignified "chase the umbrella run" as it took off along the beach (and awkwardly nearly took out a blind man).

On Saturday evening I went to a meeting of the mocidade (young people) from church. I turned up absolutely shattered from the beach, a little bit sandy and considerably less dressed up (in my beach clothes) than everyone else. But I was so glad I went as it was great to meet lots of people my age and it was a really fun evening. There were lots of worship songs mixed with bits of teaching outlining the Gospel and at the end there was even Lemon Meringue Pie (which made me very happy!)

Me with some of the girls from church on Saturday night

Church was really good on Sunday. In the evening there was an all age service with a great sermon, which I understood (woohoo!) because it was in easier language for the children and had accompanying pictures on the screen! Everyone is being so welcoming to me and it was really good to catch up with the family I stayed with last summer.

In other news I seem to have done something right with the Ladies Group at church. I keep getting invited to their meetings - last week's was Spring themed (yes it's spring here in September - which blew my mind a little bit!) so seeing as my name here means flower I was introduced (and had a big flower put in my hair!) They are all lovely and on Thursday they have an all day meeting which I've been invited too as well!

Other achievements of the week have been getting a bus on my own for the first time, somehow managing to write some kind of essay (albeit a pretty awful one!) in Portuguese on the role of spiritual gifts today, starting to work out the best kind of Brazilian chocolate and surviving the first onset of mosquito bites!

Hope it's been a good work with you. It's been so nice to skype some of you and for those of you starting a new term this week I hope it goes really well.

Lots of love xxxxxxx