An update on life here...

MARRIAGE STUFF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         I can now prove on paper, that I am a married woman. We had the civil wedding ceremony this past Saturday and we got our marriage certificate. All I had to do was say yes one time and then sign my name. It was very fast and I hardly understood anything that was being said. Good thing that Joao was holding my hand and gave it a little squeeze when it was my turn to say yes in Portuguese. Now my name has been changed to Mrs. Victoria Ruth de Castro, and I have already had to sign my name this way at least five times for document purposes. It feels a little weird. I have to sign really slow in order not to sign my last name with Reed anymore, but I am loving having Castro and the end of my name.

     I had to wake up really early yesterday and go to the federal police here to start the process for me to get a permanent visa. Now I have a big stamp in my passport with my protocol number that gives me permission to stay here in Brasil with Joao. This was the reason that we had the civil wedding so early so that we could start the process and make everything legal for when I travel to the US in December. Its going to take a while for the whole process to be completed and for me to actually get the permanent visa, but at least for now I have my protocol number to make things easier.

     I got to see my house last week. It is so cute. It needs a little TLC, but once everything is fixed and freshly painted I know that it will be a very beautiful home for Joao and I. Of course when I told Joao that it needed some TLC, I had to explain to him that TLC stood for Tender Loving Care and then I had to explain the meaning of this saying. But the house is going to be a perfect size for us. We have bought almost all the things we need for the house and now it will just take time for some of the stuff to be delivered. I cant wait to be moved in and start decorating and making it a warm and cozy home full of love.

CULTURE STUFF
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     I like to talk with Joao about the differences in Brasil and the US. Some things make me laugh and some things I find just plain ridiculous. For example, I go to the shopping mall with Joao a lot. It is one of our favorite things to do. We never buy anything and rarely go in a store to shop. We just like to window shop, walk around, drink some coffee, eat a snack and enjoy each others company. But the thing that I find to be ridiculous and that makes no sense to me, is the parking lots at the shopping malls. Some malls require you to pay to park your car and some places do not. The places that require you to pay for parking will have a machine were you have to press a button to get a card or a small ticket and then the gate opens for you to go through. It is very similar to most airports in the US that require you to pay for parking and you get the ticket so that it keeps track of how long you have parked your car. So this makes sense to me and I don't have a problem with this. It is the shopping malls that do not require you to pay for parking, that I do not understand. Some places will have a guy that gives you a little card when you enter the parking lot and then he takes the card back from you when you exit the parking lot. But you don't have to pay for parking there. Then there are other places where you still have a machine were you have to press a button in order for the gate to open, and the same for when you exit. But the machine does not give you a card or ticket, and you don't have to pay for parking. So why do you have to press a button to open the gate? Why cant you just drive into the parking lot and park your car? I don't understand the purpose, but there must be one.

    But some funny things that I have noticed in Brasil are the number of times the phone rings in Brasil before someone decides to answer it, and then the time frame that people eat dinner here. The phone can ring about 5 times before someone says hello or starts searching for where the phone was last placed. I am the one that probably looks silly running to go answer the phone as soon as I hear it ring. I guess it is just a habit, because in the US the phone only rings 5 times and then the answer machine comes on or the person calling decides to hang up, assuming that no one is home. This just shows how people are more relaxed and carefree in Brasil. If they are busy cooking, have guests over, or having a conversation with someone, they are not going to stop what they are doing and run to answer the phone. They continue doing whatever they are doing and then answer the phone. And if they don't make it in time to answer it, they look to see who has called and then call them back. Now about the time frame for dinner, there really isn't one. Dinner can be whenever you want it to be. I would say the earliest that you would eat dinner here is 7:30 and then the latest between 11:00 and midnight. No kidding. The other night people were coming over to the house to eat the leftovers from the party, that we had for the civil wedding celebration, and it was 11:00 when the last crowd of people came to eat dinner. So when they finished eating, and then ate cake and drank coffee, it was fixing to be 12:00. This makes me laugh because this wouldn't be happening at my home in US. We eat dinner around 6:00 and then are brushing our teeth to get ready for bed around 9:30. But this is the fun part about living in Brasil, you get to party all the time, eat good food, and enjoy spending time with family. What could be better than this, right?

OTHER STUFF
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     I had a very exciting and happy moment this past Sunday. We went to the church at night and something amazing happened. Normally, I don't like to go to church here because of the language barrier. I get really frustrated because I cant understand what is being said, or I know one of the songs that is being played, but I just cant think of the English lyrics because everyone is singing in Portuguese and I get confused. But this time when we went to church, I could understand what the pastor was saying and I got the message that he was preaching that night. I was sitting there and trying to understand him and listening word by word. I wasn't able to understand every word that he said but I got the message. It was amazing. I got so excited and emotional. I was so happy that I almost cried. I know that God was helping me too. I prayed before the service started that I could feel His presence, and the Holy Spirit showed up that night and I received so much joy. When I realized that I was able to understand what the pastor was saying, it was like I was sitting at the edge of my seat and I was silently saying ``go on, keep going, what happens next, tell me more.`` When the service started to end and the pastor told everyone to stand to their feet, I got a little sad because I wanted more. I know that I am understanding and learning a little more Portuguese everyday, but being able to understand a church service is a big accomplishment for me and something very important to me. I got so happy that when we got back home, Joao and I were dancing and singing and celebrating with smiles and shouts of joy. It is such an amazing and powerful feeling to receive God`s Word and feel the Holy Spirit in a totally different language.

PICTURES FOR YOU TO ENJOY
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Mr. & Mrs. Castro

This is what we had for lunch after the civil wedding. 

Delicious yellow rice with lots of vegetables, pork, chicken and sausage. 

These are two pillows that I bought to put on our tan couch that should be delivered soon.

Brasil + Joao + Me = Happiness

     There are some days that I seem to forget that I am actually in Brasil. I wake up hearing sounds that I am not use to hearing in the morning (like dogs barking in the street, music playing loud at the neighbor´s house, and cars with massive speakers riding the streets to advertise businesses), and I think to myself ``Where am I?`` But when I remind myself that I am in Brasil, I take a deep breath and think of ``My Love`` and the happiness that has finally come our way. No more long distance relationship for Joao and I. No more Skype dates and bad connections. It is all finally over and we are fixing to start our life together as a married couple. This is what I like to call the start of a new adventure and a new lifestyle here in the beautiful Brasil.

     I am learning a lot of things about the culture in Brasil, or you could say I am trying to learn, because I have not mastered anything yet. One thing that is very important in Brasil is that you have to be flexible and willing to adapt to situations. I remember when I first went on a mission trip to Brasil, the missionary told us that one thing that we must remember is that we need to be flexible. Now that I am living in Brasil, I am beginning to see the reality of this word ``flexible.``It is best not to make plans here because you never know what is going to happen next. For example, Joao and I have been making plans to go running on the avenue, as soon as he gets home from work, for the past two weeks that I have been here. We have only been running one time so far. Every night something would come up... guests would show up at the house, dinner plans were made for everyone to come over for hot dogs, it would rain, it would be to cold, my parents would want to Skype and the list could go on. The point is though that even though we have only been running one time in the past two weeks, because plans have been changed, every night was a success. Every night was a good night, whether it was spend with family or watching TV because of the rain or eating food until midnight and playing several rounds of the game Rummikub. You never know what to expect and that is the adventure part of it.

It would be a lie to say that things in Brasil are just like they are in the US. The life here is different, but it`s a good kind of different. A different that I like and that amuses me. The other day I was sitting on my bed reading a book and it was hot so I decided to open the window and get some fresh air. In the US, when you open a window it is most likely going to have a screen, but in Brasil there is no such thing. You open the window and you can stick your hand out and feel the fresh air. But anyway, back to the story. So, I opened the window and then started reading my book again. Then a little bird decided to join me and sit on my window seal, but I didn´t see the bird. I only heard the bird when it fell and landed on my floor. Of course I didn`t know what to do and after having a staring contest with the little bird, I decided to move and call Joao at work. This made the bird fly around and land on top of the wardrobe closet. To make a long story short, I had to get help in order for the bird to get out of the room. So, these are the kind of memories that I making here. I am enjoying the simplicity lifestyle in Brasil. Things are more laid-back here and carefree.

And so now I have created this new blog so that you can keep in touch with me and know whats going on in my life. Hopefully I can post pictures in the times to come and let you see a little of the beauty I see everyday. Until next time... - V