What is life like here? Well, something like this. At least on this Friday:
7:30 ish wake up. I've become the kind of mom that wakes up when my kids wake up. I really should wake up earlier, take a shower, get myself ready. But, they wake me up in the middle of the night, and I'm not really a morning person. Hence, they beat me to the punch in the morning.
8:00 Breakfast: We've just recently moved out of our Pão de sal (little french rolls) and fruit rut. We had been eating that pretty much since we moved here. Now we do cornflakes (mixed with a little bit of Sugar Flakes) or eggs, or oatmeal. I save pancakes or waffles for the weekends. Thankfully on Fridays Irene comes (our empregada, or help), so I don't have to spend 30 minutes doing dishes (no dishwasher!)
9:00-11:30 The rest of the morning is an attempt to maintain order in the house. This means keeping the children from attacking each other and screaming like crazy. On a good day, I get some work done and I actually can prepare for my classes. I also try to squeeze in some errands while Irene is here. She will keep an eye on the kids while I go and buy fruit and vegetables, or go to the drugstore, or go out and buy birthday presents for the party that my kids just told me about. Or buy snacks for the collective school snack that my kids just told me about. All those fun last minute things that moms get to deal with...
11:30 Lunch: On Fridays, Irene makes lunch. We usually eat some meat (chicken/beef/sausage/pork), rice, beans and a vegetable or salad. Recently we have been having yummy farofa. Again, I'm VERY grateful that I don't have to spend an hour cooking, and then an hour cleaning up afterwards. Thank you thank you thank you thank you Irene!
12:00 I meet my ride to go to work. I teach one day a week at the campus that is 40 minutes outside of town. I used to drive, but in August I realized that it was too hard on the Fusca, and I can carpool with the other teachers. They pick me up at noon, and if traffic isn't too horrible we get to the school about 12:45.
1:00-2:15 Prepare for my music classes.
2:15-2:45 Teach the Toddler class. I'm supposed to teach until 3:00 pm, but have you ever tried keep 14 little kids occupied for 45 minutes? Good luck.
2:50-3:20 Coffee break. Love this about Brazil. You put in a bit of work, and then it's time for coffee.
3:20-5:00 Teach the Nursery and Jr. Kindergarten students.
5:00-6:00 Prepare for the following week's classes while I wait for my ride back to town.
6:30-7:30 Commute back to Belo Horizonte. Friday traffic sucks. But it's fun to talk to the teachers. It's part of my social life. Really.
7:30-? Help feed the kids dinner. We usually eat sandwiches, hot dogs or pasta for dinner. Lunch is the main meal of the day, so "dinner" is just kind of a snack. Then I help coral the kids to bed. By 9:00 pm both the hubby and I are so exhausted all we want to do is veg out in front of a movie or TV.
And that my friends, is Friday in Brazil for Shelley.
7:30 ish wake up. I've become the kind of mom that wakes up when my kids wake up. I really should wake up earlier, take a shower, get myself ready. But, they wake me up in the middle of the night, and I'm not really a morning person. Hence, they beat me to the punch in the morning.
8:00 Breakfast: We've just recently moved out of our Pão de sal (little french rolls) and fruit rut. We had been eating that pretty much since we moved here. Now we do cornflakes (mixed with a little bit of Sugar Flakes) or eggs, or oatmeal. I save pancakes or waffles for the weekends. Thankfully on Fridays Irene comes (our empregada, or help), so I don't have to spend 30 minutes doing dishes (no dishwasher!)
9:00-11:30 The rest of the morning is an attempt to maintain order in the house. This means keeping the children from attacking each other and screaming like crazy. On a good day, I get some work done and I actually can prepare for my classes. I also try to squeeze in some errands while Irene is here. She will keep an eye on the kids while I go and buy fruit and vegetables, or go to the drugstore, or go out and buy birthday presents for the party that my kids just told me about. Or buy snacks for the collective school snack that my kids just told me about. All those fun last minute things that moms get to deal with...
11:30 Lunch: On Fridays, Irene makes lunch. We usually eat some meat (chicken/beef/sausage/pork), rice, beans and a vegetable or salad. Recently we have been having yummy farofa. Again, I'm VERY grateful that I don't have to spend an hour cooking, and then an hour cleaning up afterwards. Thank you thank you thank you thank you Irene!
12:00 I meet my ride to go to work. I teach one day a week at the campus that is 40 minutes outside of town. I used to drive, but in August I realized that it was too hard on the Fusca, and I can carpool with the other teachers. They pick me up at noon, and if traffic isn't too horrible we get to the school about 12:45.
1:00-2:15 Prepare for my music classes.
2:15-2:45 Teach the Toddler class. I'm supposed to teach until 3:00 pm, but have you ever tried keep 14 little kids occupied for 45 minutes? Good luck.
2:50-3:20 Coffee break. Love this about Brazil. You put in a bit of work, and then it's time for coffee.
3:20-5:00 Teach the Nursery and Jr. Kindergarten students.
5:00-6:00 Prepare for the following week's classes while I wait for my ride back to town.
6:30-7:30 Commute back to Belo Horizonte. Friday traffic sucks. But it's fun to talk to the teachers. It's part of my social life. Really.
7:30-? Help feed the kids dinner. We usually eat sandwiches, hot dogs or pasta for dinner. Lunch is the main meal of the day, so "dinner" is just kind of a snack. Then I help coral the kids to bed. By 9:00 pm both the hubby and I are so exhausted all we want to do is veg out in front of a movie or TV.
And that my friends, is Friday in Brazil for Shelley.
Thanks for this glimpse of your life!
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