En Route...: Back in the US

We're in Detroit and enjoying a hefty layover, which gives me the time to do another post. I think one of the most consistently shocking things about returning to the States is all the English around us. Even though I speak Portuguese, for two weeks I chose to listen or to not listen to conversations around me. But here everyone is speaking English around us right now and I have the darnedest time tuning it out. I don't want to listen... but I do. It's amazingly nice to be able to so easily choose to tune out.

But anyway, we're back State-side. And it's snowing lightly here in Detroit. True confession as a fan of winter - I'm glad we'll get a bit more time with winter before embracing spring. But I realize that's easier for me to say that having just enjoyed some summer weather in Brazil.

Our time in Sao Paulo was an awesome way to end our trip. We ended with very friend-filled days, which seemed very appropriate. When I lived in Sao Paulo in 2006, I was a recent college grad (or at least I felt like one) and the people I spent the most time with were all current college students (especially since we were there doing campus ministry at the University of Sao Paulo). So it was great fun to hear about friends' jobs, families, marriages, babies, changes in community, etc. The ways in which it was fun to catch up in person rather than simply "liking" a Facebook status should be obvious, but I cherished the opportunity. And then to get to introduce Jachin to friends all the more made it fun. So below are some photos that capture some of those moments in Sao Paulo.

Overall our trip was surprisingly brief - I'm glad we got to do everything we did, but it made our time in each place all the briefer. I'm grateful to see life now (both Brazilian friends' lives and our current season of life or Jachin and I) in light of so tangibly reflecting on the different seasons of life in Brazil (especially since they were particularly transformative seasons). And I'm beyond grateful to enjoy the continued journey.

And I can still speak Portuguese. Phew.

So that's all... until our next travel adventure...

THURSDAY

When we landed back in Sao Paulo, we spent plenty of time wandering around my old neighborhood. My old apartment building (behind me) got a fancy new front entrance! And the neighborhood in general is doing very well... with lots of cute new restaurants and even a "Nice Ride"-like bike rack a few lots down from our building now. Fun to see the neighborhood doing so well.

We had pichanca na chapa for dinner (which is the lovely beef roast and onions roasting on the cast iron skillet in this picture). It's a Sao Paulo classic and it was soooo good. We ate a lot of great food, but I think this one makes the top of Jachin's favorites list.

FRIDAY

We spent our morning in the largest urban park in Sao Paulo (Parque Ibirapuera), which included checking out a couple museums.

The Sao Paulo skyline sure makes great art.:)

Then we went to Liberdade, which is Sao Paulo's Japantown. We got some all you can eat sushi... which was soooooo good at an amazingly low price. We both would eat more sushi if we can do it like this in Minneapolis.

We ended our day with dinner at Laila and Andre's. Laila made some stroganoff (which is a surprisingly common dish in Sao Paulo), which was followed by watching a movie on their 3D TV! The whole 3D TV thing was way cooler than I thought it would be.

SATURDAY

We started our day at a outdoor artisan/antique market in a nearby plaza... which was not only a great spot for earrings and people watching, but we ate some great food. That little cup I'm holding in my hand is loaded with sweet, sugary brigadeiro goodness mixed with another equally amazing sweetness. Jachin and Itamar got to bond of Vikings football fans, too (American football fans in Brazil are a very small minority... but they exist)

Then we made a visit to a local cemetery, too. The degree to which I enjoy Latin American cemeteries and how they represent cultural values is a tale for another time... but it was great to be back in one. :)

The mall was a good meeting spot for hanging out into the evening... so we enjoyed some Starbucks to help us remember our pending transition home. :)

And a great way to end our day - dinner with friends from Alpha & Omega (the student ministry at the University of Sao Paulo)

SUNDAY

Sunday was a day of grilling great food and hanging out with friends from church. It affirmed that we just don't understand how to do a good BBQ in the States.

The gang. :) It was so fun to spend time with these guys.

Grilling was followed by a night at church - it was so great to be back at Calvario and to catch up with Bruna and Stefanie (as well as meet Bruna's data Ana Clara).

Great friends :)

There were a lot of jokes and commentary about Jachin's height while we were at church. My favorite was when a little boy came up to me with what appeared to be a pressing question only to ask how Jachin manages to fit into cars... and then proceeded to suggest that he should try taking special shrinking powder to shrink him just a little bit so that he fits in the car better. It was great. :)

Church friends, some new and some old.

MONDAY

So much of our travels were about the food we ate. So it seemed only appropriate to eat well at the Municipal Market with Laila before we headed home. :)