Brazil~The Land of GIGANTIC Speed Bumps

Brazil is indeed the land of plenty. (Plenty of Speed bumps, that is.) I'd temporarily forgotten about them since my last trip here, but was reminded soon enough. Now, in the U.S., speed bumps are there for you to slow down, usually in a parking lot, or by shopping centers. But in Brazil, speed bumps are on EVERY city street. And these are not your regular sized speed bumps.............oh no! These are GIGANTIC speed bumps! They are so big, I'm afraid a car that is low to the ground could get high-centered on them. AND, not only are they on every street, they are about every 2 blocks away from each other.

I understand that they are to get the crazy fast Brazilian drivers to slow down, but it only works for those few seconds while they are passing over the speed bump. As I understand it, the goal when driving is to go as fast as possible in-between the bumps, then slow down quickly to go over the bumps very slowly, then speed up as fast as possible again. (That's the way my family here drives anyway.)

I've included a few pictures for you to get an understanding of what I'm talking about. As you can see from the picture, these are not your ordinary speed bums. I'm afraid though, to really get a sense of what they are like, you need to be driving with a Brazilian to get a real feel of them. :)

Camden's 1st pair of SPEEDOS

Yes, it is true. I now live in a country where SPEEDOS are the population's choice of swim wear. I have always laughed at SPEEDOS (and still do), but I guess I'll have to get used to them, because it looks like my son likes his 1st pair. :) They were a gift from his uncle Alex. They are a little too big yet, but I'm sure he'll grow into them fast enough.

I'd love to put pics of his 1st real swim in the pool on here, but he never actually got in the water. He got smothered with sunblock, SPF 50, and modeled his new SPEEDOS, but the water was too cold for him. It's crazy, but the sun hasn't really been out much since we got here. Today it's only in about the 60's. I'm actually cold! SO, we'll have to wait for a day that the sun is out all day and is really hot to warm up the pool. Then Camden will actually get to enjoy his 1st swim.

"Welcome to Sao Paulo"

These were the words I heard coming from the flight attendant moments after landing in my new homeland. Never have 4 words brought so many different emotions. I was excited to finally start our life here. I was relieved to get off of the plane with our 11 month old son. I was exhausted from not sleeping well. I was a little scared thinking, "What have I done? Have I really just MOVED to another country???"

I think that's when reality started to sink in. In America, we were so busy getting everything prepared to come, I didn't take much time to really let the reality of it hit me. I knew it would though when I got here. :)

It has been so great re-uniting with Renato's family. They were soooo excited to see Camden for the 1st time! They call him "Branco" which means "white"..........yes, my poor son and I stick out like bright beacons of light among the tan/dark people here. :) Eventually our skin will darken up a bit though.....that's my hope anyway. :)

I don't have any pictures yet, but I can't wait to show you how beautiful it is here! We're waiting for the sun to come out to introduce Camden to his first swim in the pool! Now those will be some great pics!

The Life of a Nomad

It's been awhile since I've posted brcause I've been living a nomadic life. Mid December we moved out of our apartment. We stayed with friends (Pete and Stephanie) for 4 days. Then we went to North Dakota for 2 weeks. Now we're back in the Springs, staying with friends Brian and Melissa. On the 17th of Jan. we leave for Brazil and stay with Renato's parents for an unknown amount of time. So needless to say, we have been living out of suitcases since mid-December and will continue to live out of them for awhile yet.
While in ND we were able to see family and friends and say goodbye. Here in the Springs, we had a farewell party and got to see lots of friends. So we are having a good time and enjoying life here in the States while we can. The funny thing is, I haven't even cried yet. CRAZY!!!! I think it's because it feels like I'm just saying "See ya later" to people, which is true. We plan on coming back at least once a year. And the friends we've made have meant so much to us, we have a deep bond that time and distance don't hinder. I have a week left in the states and I'm planning on eating as much Mexican food as possible before we leave. :)