After two weeks, our "routine"

We're starting to get a little bit of a routine here! We usually wake up early (6:30 if we're lucky) because it starts to get a little noisy and because we have no window coverings. Apartments tend not to come with much here--we are lucky that ours came with an oven, kitchen cabinets, some light fixtures, and wardrobes. We were without toilet seats, curtains, a refrigerator, any towel racks, and shower heads. But back to our schedule. After a breakfast of yogurt, bread and fruit we get ready. Matt usually has rehearsals in the morning, or goes to the office to take care of some paperwork, of which there is endless quantities. I try to do a little shopping in the morning, visiting the local butcher, bread store and fruit stand. Then I cook, do laundry (drying on the line) and clean up. Lunch is the main meal of the day in Brazil, so we've been trying to make our lunch the main one. Yesterday I cooked sausage, and the day before Beef Stew. Bea goes down for a nap, and I send the kids outside to play, to swim or ride their scooters. Sometimes there are other kids outside--so far we've met an 8 year old girl named Victoria, a 7 year old boy named Ian, and a 3 year old girl who talks a lot (in Portuguese, of course) but I couldn't understand her when she said her name. Then it's more cooking, sweeping, washing dishes (we have no dishwasher, so there is a lot of time spent on washing dishes). Then bedtime for the kids and I try to catch up online or we watch a movie.

We're still trying to determine what we want to do with the kids and school. Apparently public school isn't really an option: the assistant principal I met with said essentially that she wouldn't allow our kids into the school that we can see out our window because the students there come from the favela, and it would be bad to have our kids there. However, private schools cost money, and they only hold school for about 4 hours a day. So once I get a job we'd still need to figure out childcare. I was feeling pretty anxious about getting the kids enrolled, but Matt reminded me that just being here is educational for the kids, and learning a language is an experience that they wouldn't have had we stayed in the states. I think it's ok to take our time and make sure that we find the right place, and not make the kids too anxious in the process. So in the meanwhile, we're playing lots, swimming, trying to talk to the kids who live here, and just allowing ourselves to be in transition. Dora is reading lots, Sebastian is building amazing things with Legos, and Bea is...well Bea is eatings lots and needing lots of attention and love. Sounds just about right for moving ourselves across the world!