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| Walmart in Brasilia has a tapioca stand--like crepes, but tapioca patties filled with savory and sweet ingredients! |
Too bad it´s expensive in the States....
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| 2014 FIFA World Cup Brasil! Drive by picture. |
Monday, September 23, 2013
Miscellaneous
Too bad it´s expensive in the States....
Beyond Borders
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| Grounds of the mission center ALEM, view from my house |
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| Saturday Sunset at ALEM |
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| Visiting a church, and the kids were asking us to speak English to hear what it sounds like. |
ALEM (Evangelical Linguistic Missionary Association in English) is not only the name of the organization I´m with here, but além also means "beyond" in Portuguese. The motto of ALEM is "levando a Biblia alem das fronteiras" or "taking the Bible beyond the borders."
I spoke in a church last night about an experience I had while I was in México with my Aunt Bonnie. I was journaling about that day´s events, and just began to ask God question after question. One of them was "How did the other nations hear about you before Jesus´ birth?" How could they come to salvation? Immediately after setting down my pen, the book of Ezekiel popped into my head. Weird, I thought. Then, a second later chapter 36 came to mind. At the time, I hadn´t the slightest clue what Ezekiel 36 was about. So I ignited my Kindle fire to find out. In Ezekiel 36, God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the nation of Israel that God will restore life and blessing to Israel after it had become oppressed by surrounding nations. Israel had been profaning God´s name among other nations, and God says to them specifically that He is not restoring them for their own sake, but His holy name´s sake:
22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:22-28 NIV)
I read the chapter and saw that "Then the nations will know that I am the Lord." is repeated three times...And that´s a promise.
How can I keep from praising a God who teaches me something even when I only understand about 15% of a sermon in Portuguese? How can I not seek a God who gets my attention no matter where I am on this earth, whether it be home in Washington, DC, Mexico City, or Brasilia? How can I not be humbled before a God who loves me even when my thoughts are far from Him? How can I not worship a God who offered me hope tonight in another language through an interpreter? How can I not magnify a God who surrounded me with wonderful, encouraging friends and role models here in Brazil who pray for me and care about me as if they´ve known me for years? He is praiseworthy. He reaches beyond borders--nations´ borders, cultural borders, and the borders of our hearts.
Osga
WARNING (!): This blog contains a disturbing image. A blood-sucking critter was definitely harmed in the making of this blog, but rest assured, it was for the health and safety of four persons.
It wasn´t until after she secured the bathroom area that Edinea thought of a better tactic--let Leona the cat into the house to hunt. Well, it was too late for Plan B because we didn´t want to be held responsible for "chloroforming" the cat.
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| Plan A: Death by Poison |
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| Plan B: Death by Cat |
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| Plan C: Death by "Suffocation" |
After all the commotion (no shortage of screams), I suggested that we keep the cat indoors from now on ;)
So these lizards, called osgas, eat mosquitos and spiders and other insects, but apparently they are rumoured to feed on human blood while people sleep. I looked it up online, and as far as I can tell it´s just a myth. Needless to say, that night, I slept with the sheets up to my chin and wrapped the blankets around my shoulders. I may have even switched the light on a few times to see if I could spy anything scurrying up and down the walls.
And now, to lighten up the mood for those of you who get queasy around creepy crawly things like I do. Rose taught us how to dance sambá in the kitchen. I can´t say I have it down pat, but I´ll be rehearsing the steps :)
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Portuguese Language Misunderstanding #2
Simone and I walked to a small church this morning for a 9 AM service, then came back for lunch and relaxation.
So I went to church again tonight for a 6 PM service, arriving late with a friend at 6:37 PM. About ten minutes later, after the choir closed their books, the gentleman announcing church events said something about me in front of the congregation.
Who me? (I motion to myself and quickly whisper to my friend if I´m supposed to say something)
So, it turns out he was just commenting that I was a second-time visitor.
PHEW!
Then, a few minutes later, he motions for me to approach the pulpit.
Ok, wait a second. I usually have to wave or stand up at the most. I hope someone told him I don´t speak much Portuguese.
Again, I turn to my friend Alesson to ask what I´m supposed to do. He tells me "canta uma musica em inglês" (Sing a song in English!)
Great Jehoshaphat! That´s not what I was expecting. [queue quivering legs and pale face] As I reach for the microphone, I´m frantically scanning my memory for songs I know by heart.
Let´s rewind to the 9 AM service, when I was talking after church with some church leaders. They asked if I would sing next Saturday (or so I thought) at a youth service because my friend Simone told them I sang. Turns out that they were talking about TODAY.
So I took the mic and mumbled something like "Vou cantar uma musica em inglês. Então..." (I´m going to sing a song in English, so...) and then I sang what many in my situation would likely sing..."Amazing Grace." That song never gets old to me, but somehow I forgot the second half of the second verse, so I just repeated the second half of the first verse....Hopefully, nobody noticed. When I sat back down I grinned out of pure amusement because this same thing happened to me eight years ago when I started learning Spanish. The only difference between this story and the one eight years ago is the language that I obviously did not understand. I´m starting to think I need to be prepared for being unprepared....
I just had to smile big and shake my head, thinking "God, I´ll have to take this up with you later ..." :)
Moral of the story: Never say "yes/sim/si" to something if you don´t know what you´re consenting to! I guess I still haven´t learned that lesson, but I´m hopeful that after Portuguese Language Misunderstanding #142, I will.
Still, this anecdote is not nearly as bad as one that I recently heard. Note the following vocabulary differences:
Embarrassed (English) = feeling a shameful discomfort
Embarazado/a (Spanish) = pregnant
Embaraço (Portuguese) = perplexed; embarrassed
A young lady visiting from the USA was embarrassed because of something the pastor said in a Spanish-speaking church. When she said "Es que estoy embarazada y es culpa del pastor", she thought she was saying "I´m embarrassed and it´s the pastor´s fault"...
The shocked congregation understood: "I´m pregnant and it´s the pastor´s fault!"
Talk about embarrassing...
So I went to church again tonight for a 6 PM service, arriving late with a friend at 6:37 PM. About ten minutes later, after the choir closed their books, the gentleman announcing church events said something about me in front of the congregation.
Who me? (I motion to myself and quickly whisper to my friend if I´m supposed to say something)
So, it turns out he was just commenting that I was a second-time visitor.
PHEW!
Then, a few minutes later, he motions for me to approach the pulpit.
Ok, wait a second. I usually have to wave or stand up at the most. I hope someone told him I don´t speak much Portuguese.
Again, I turn to my friend Alesson to ask what I´m supposed to do. He tells me "canta uma musica em inglês" (Sing a song in English!)
Great Jehoshaphat! That´s not what I was expecting. [queue quivering legs and pale face] As I reach for the microphone, I´m frantically scanning my memory for songs I know by heart.
Let´s rewind to the 9 AM service, when I was talking after church with some church leaders. They asked if I would sing next Saturday (or so I thought) at a youth service because my friend Simone told them I sang. Turns out that they were talking about TODAY.
So I took the mic and mumbled something like "Vou cantar uma musica em inglês. Então..." (I´m going to sing a song in English, so...) and then I sang what many in my situation would likely sing..."Amazing Grace." That song never gets old to me, but somehow I forgot the second half of the second verse, so I just repeated the second half of the first verse....Hopefully, nobody noticed. When I sat back down I grinned out of pure amusement because this same thing happened to me eight years ago when I started learning Spanish. The only difference between this story and the one eight years ago is the language that I obviously did not understand. I´m starting to think I need to be prepared for being unprepared....
I just had to smile big and shake my head, thinking "God, I´ll have to take this up with you later ..." :)
Moral of the story: Never say "yes/sim/si" to something if you don´t know what you´re consenting to! I guess I still haven´t learned that lesson, but I´m hopeful that after Portuguese Language Misunderstanding #142, I will.
Still, this anecdote is not nearly as bad as one that I recently heard. Note the following vocabulary differences:
Embarrassed (English) = feeling a shameful discomfort
Embarazado/a (Spanish) = pregnant
Embaraço (Portuguese) = perplexed; embarrassed
A young lady visiting from the USA was embarrassed because of something the pastor said in a Spanish-speaking church. When she said "Es que estoy embarazada y es culpa del pastor", she thought she was saying "I´m embarrassed and it´s the pastor´s fault"...
The shocked congregation understood: "I´m pregnant and it´s the pastor´s fault!"
Talk about embarrassing...
Resources: Languages & Linguistics
From Nepal, With Love (a Nepalese poem translated into English)
The day I heard languages were dying,
I wondered, What else was being killed with it?
Millions of words mutilated,
Thousands of songs unsung,
hundreds of stories untold.
I wondered,
which language,
would answer this:
How long will it take for humanity
to be humane?
The day I heard languages were dying,
I didn’t feel so alive myself.
जुन दिन मैले सूने भाषाहरू मरिरहेका छन्
मैले सोचेँ, भाषासँगै अरू के-के मारिइरहेका होलान्।
क्षतविछ्त् पारिएका लाखौँ शब्दहरू
नगाइएका हजारौँ गीतहरू
नभनिएका सयौँ कथाहरू।
अनि सोचेँ,
कुन भाषाले यो प्रश्नको उतर देला:
मानवतालाई मानविय हुन अझू कति लाग्ला?
जुन दिन मैले सुने भाषाहरू मरिरहेका छन्,
त्यो दिन मैले आफै पनि त्यति जिउँदो महशूश गरिन।
Language and the Brain: What Makes Us Human
"Songbirds learn to sing much like humans learn to speak. They have another similarity, as any early riser knows: put many of them in a small space and they get noisy as they try to be heard over one another."
Foodie Figures of Speech: A World of Edible Idioms
"All languages are rich in food-related figures of speech, from Swedes 'sliding in on a shrimp sandwich' to Japanese speakers 'eating cold rice'. What are your favourites?"
Language Creation Society
"Conlanging is the creation of constructed languages or conlangs, such as Esperanto, Lojban, or Klingon. A conlanger is someone who creates or constructs languages or conlangs."
Get Started in Gmail with Cherokee
"After a 2002 survey of the Oklahoma Cherokee population found that no one under 40 spoke conversational Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation saw an opportunity to use technology to encourage everyday use of the language among the younger generation."
International Mother Language Day: Feb 21st
"First designated by UNESCO in 1999, the annual event provides an opportunity to promote linguistic diversity and focus on a number of issues related to communities’ mother tongues."
Cyberlinguistics: Recording the World´s Vanishing Voices
"Cyberlinguists of the future may be able to discover the words and structures of dead languages from this data, and even construct dictionaries and grammars."
Understanding How the Brain Speaks Two Languages
"Lynch also believes — albeit based primarily on his own observations — that multilingual kids may exhibit social empathy sooner than children who grow up speaking only one language, which makes developmental sense."
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/23/bilingualism/#ixzz2ezQoMYbP
The day I heard languages were dying,
I wondered, What else was being killed with it?
Millions of words mutilated,
Thousands of songs unsung,
hundreds of stories untold.
I wondered,
which language,
would answer this:
How long will it take for humanity
to be humane?
The day I heard languages were dying,
I didn’t feel so alive myself.
जुन दिन मैले सूने भाषाहरू मरिरहेका छन्
मैले सोचेँ, भाषासँगै अरू के-के मारिइरहेका होलान्।
क्षतविछ्त् पारिएका लाखौँ शब्दहरू
नगाइएका हजारौँ गीतहरू
नभनिएका सयौँ कथाहरू।
अनि सोचेँ,
कुन भाषाले यो प्रश्नको उतर देला:
मानवतालाई मानविय हुन अझू कति लाग्ला?
जुन दिन मैले सुने भाषाहरू मरिरहेका छन्,
त्यो दिन मैले आफै पनि त्यति जिउँदो महशूश गरिन।
Language and the Brain: What Makes Us Human
"Songbirds learn to sing much like humans learn to speak. They have another similarity, as any early riser knows: put many of them in a small space and they get noisy as they try to be heard over one another."
Foodie Figures of Speech: A World of Edible Idioms
"All languages are rich in food-related figures of speech, from Swedes 'sliding in on a shrimp sandwich' to Japanese speakers 'eating cold rice'. What are your favourites?"
Language Creation Society
"Conlanging is the creation of constructed languages or conlangs, such as Esperanto, Lojban, or Klingon. A conlanger is someone who creates or constructs languages or conlangs."
Get Started in Gmail with Cherokee
"After a 2002 survey of the Oklahoma Cherokee population found that no one under 40 spoke conversational Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation saw an opportunity to use technology to encourage everyday use of the language among the younger generation."
International Mother Language Day: Feb 21st
"First designated by UNESCO in 1999, the annual event provides an opportunity to promote linguistic diversity and focus on a number of issues related to communities’ mother tongues."
Cyberlinguistics: Recording the World´s Vanishing Voices
"Cyberlinguists of the future may be able to discover the words and structures of dead languages from this data, and even construct dictionaries and grammars."
Understanding How the Brain Speaks Two Languages
"Lynch also believes — albeit based primarily on his own observations — that multilingual kids may exhibit social empathy sooner than children who grow up speaking only one language, which makes developmental sense."
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/23/bilingualism/#ixzz2ezQoMYbP
Friday, September 13, 2013
A Bíblia na minha língua! / The Bible in my language!
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| A True Midnight Snack after church, and let me tell you, the food was good! |
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| Movie night with the other volunteers and students @ ALEM. They told me we were watching "Casa Branca" which I understood to be the Humphrey Bogart Casablanca...then, I saw Gerard Butler come on the screen..very different White House :) |
In the video above (in Português), my friend shares a touching story about a man from the indigenous group Kaiwá who shouted with joy at the Bible dedication ceremony: "A Bíblia na minha língua"/ "The Bible in my language!" There are 1,967 languages for which the Bible remains inaccessible(latest figure), and this number represents 340 million people. John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English by 1384, and portions in the English language can be traced back as early as the 7th century (http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/). We have myriad versions and translations, and I doubt that any one person would likely take the time to read them all. So it made a great impression on me when Rose told me how elated this man was to hold a Bible in his mother tongue---he no longer had to read it in his second language, Portuguese. I try to imagine what it would be like to want to read the Bible, but be told that the only way to read it is to learn another language.
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My lovely house sisters
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Rendido Estou
Family & Friends,
I hope all is well! Some thoughts to share from this past week...
"Rendido estou" means I am surrendered. It´s the title of a song that stirred something within me when I first heard it. Here are some of the lyrics:
I hope all is well! Some thoughts to share from this past week...
"Rendido estou" means I am surrendered. It´s the title of a song that stirred something within me when I first heard it. Here are some of the lyrics:
Toma-me, rendido estou
Take me, I am surrendered (or an alternative translation is "I surrender")
Take me, I am surrendered (or an alternative translation is "I surrender")
Aos pés da cruz me encontrei
I find myself at the feet of the cross
I find myself at the feet of the cross
O que tenho te entrego, oh Deus
What I have I give to you, Oh God
What I have I give to you, Oh God
Vem limpar as minhas mãos
Come clean my hands
Come clean my hands
Purificar meu coração
Purify my heart
Purify my heart
Que eu ande em tudo que tu tens pra mim
That I may walk in all that you have for me.
On Saturday, I attended the graduation ceremony of a group of Brazilian students who received a degree in Bible translation and literacy education. I couldn´t understand the preacher´s message, but the one thing he said that stuck with me was to expect God to do miracles.
So, I got to thinking about how I view miracles, and I can´t honestly write that I "expect" miracles to happen...at least not in the same way that I expected to be picked up at the airport at midnight when I arrived a week and a half ago. I practically took that as a given. What actually happened? I got through customs around 12:30 AM and waited for about 20 minutes on a bench near a café, trying to look like a deer in headlights on purpose so as to draw attention from someone who might be looking for a tired, lost americana. It wasn´t until after I became desperate beyond measure that I worked up the guts to ask a lady in Portuglish to use her cell. So, I expected to be picked up at the airport at a certain time, and I was waiting in expectation, waiting on the edge of my seat (literally) for something to happen.
This is a new prayer for me: Lord, help me to eagerly expect miracles, and believe (not just say) that there is absolutely nothing that exceeds Your power and might. (Also, please help me to pronounce the word "Jesus" in Portuguese because it´s nearly impossible for me!)
By all means, if you have any insights about approaching the miraculous, feel free to comment and/or share. Send a private FB message if you like. Okay, moving on.
It´s dry season here. I hung a pair of soaking wet jeans out to dry the other day and they were ready to sport in two hours. Despite the fact that my eyes sting sometimes, I´m so thankful for the constant, refreshing breeze that reminds me to breathe deep. While I´m on the topic of beauty in nature, please take a second to enjoy the absolutely breathtaking watercolor paintings done by Vicki Gorman, a part time teacher here. You won´t regret it. I was practically moved to tears.
It´s dry season here. I hung a pair of soaking wet jeans out to dry the other day and they were ready to sport in two hours. Despite the fact that my eyes sting sometimes, I´m so thankful for the constant, refreshing breeze that reminds me to breathe deep. While I´m on the topic of beauty in nature, please take a second to enjoy the absolutely breathtaking watercolor paintings done by Vicki Gorman, a part time teacher here. You won´t regret it. I was practically moved to tears.
I´m planning on writing more very soon. For now, thank you for your support as I live and learn in Brazil for a short season. I cherish it.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Tudo Bem! (All is well!)
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| I held a 2 week old puppy yesterday. Oh my heart! (meu coração!) |
The four young men on the left are teachers from an indigenous group called Parakaná. They came to ALEM to receive training in a new teaching methodology and we spent this week crafting instructional resources to give them to take back to their village. Here, they are showing some of the staff at ALEM a dance and song.
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| This is one of the first Bibles in the language Kaiwá, just recently completed! Rose (right) attended the Bible dedication ceremony two weeks ago
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We play volleyball every evening from 5-8 PM pretty much, so my volleyball skills (which were pretty much non-existent) are improving. Yesterday, everybody seemed to be in a singing mood, and who would´ve guessed that the Les Miserables soundtrack would be the choice music of the night (Aunt Bonnie and Tiffany, I thought of you).
Rose (pronounced Ho-zee) has become my unofficial Portuguese teacher, and it works out nicely because I´m helping her refine her English as she´s going to India in October with a Wycliffe program called One Story (http://www.wycliffe.org/Go/ShortTerm/GSP/OneStory.aspx).
I helped Rose with her pronunciation as we read from Daily Light, a devotional book the other day. Then, I tried my best to read aloud from Mark 4 A Novo Testamento (New Testament) in Portuguese. Portuguese is less phonetic than Spanish and has more pronunciation rules that depend on the context of the sounds.
Examples:
rr is pronounced like ´h´ and so is ´r´ when it is word-initial and word-final. But when ´r´ is in between vowels, it´s pronounced like a flap (the sound of the ´tt´in ´butter´)
ti/di/te/de = instead of being pronounced ´t´ and ´d´, these consonants undergo palatalization when they precede the vowels i and e, so they´re pronounced like ´j´ in judge. (Lucca, feel free to comment and correct me if I´m mistaken).
Also, there is an oficial coffee break at 4 pm every day in the cafeteria. Everyone stops what they are doing and meets to chat, drink coffee and eat pão de queijo (cheese bread). (Dad, I thought you especially would appreciate that tidbit).
Today, I´m going to attend the graduation ceremony of the students in the Bible translation program. I´ve known them for less than a week, but I´m very happy for them and their journeys as God guides them on their way.
I´m doing well here, and just enjoying getting to know wonderful people who I consider family already.
Lovado seja Deus (God be praised)
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Spiders and Stuff
Oi amigos,
Hi friends! Just getting settled in here at ALEM, the mission center.
After helping with various projects yesterday morning, I got into an intense and competitive game of volleyball with about fifteen of the other volunteers and students. Even though I couldn´t understand much of what the others were saying, the body language of fun competition was definitely clear.
Traveling and participating in a cross-cultural context almost certainly guarantees miscommunication and linguistic faux-pas. So last night, as I was reading, my roommate came back to our room from the bathroom and said something in Portuguese. My roommate is one of the linguistics professors here, and she has a different Portuguese accent than the others. I only recognized the word for diarrhea, so naturally I dug around in my suitcase for some medicine. (Odd, I thought, that I would be offering Immodium to a Brazilian sister). I followed her to the bathroom with the pills and stood outside the door. She opened it and beckoned me to look inside. Weird. So I tried to justify her motive for wanting me to look at the toilet--maybe it won´t flush? I hesitated, but then mustered up the courage to look inside. What I saw was unexpected to say the least, a huge spider and my roommate trying to kill it inside the toilet with the toilet bowl cleaner. Ha! So I sighed with relief and managed to tell her that I had thought she was sick with diarrhea. That´s why I had offered medicine. We lost it. Then she put the pieces together and said something along the lines of```So you thought I was trying to show you my diarrhea in the toilet?!?´´ Ha!
Moral of the story: aranha (spider) is NOT the same word as diarrhea in Portuguese
Laughter (even caused by misunderstandings) is truly the best medicine. I think I was carrying tension throughout the day even without realizing it because I was concentrating so hard on understanding others and picking up Portuguese. When you laugh with someone (even if you don´t speak the same language), you are effectively connecting emotionally without saying a word. So cool.
I´m grateful for the patience people have with me as I try to learn Portuguese without any background in the language.
Até logo (Til later!)
Hi friends! Just getting settled in here at ALEM, the mission center.
After helping with various projects yesterday morning, I got into an intense and competitive game of volleyball with about fifteen of the other volunteers and students. Even though I couldn´t understand much of what the others were saying, the body language of fun competition was definitely clear.
Traveling and participating in a cross-cultural context almost certainly guarantees miscommunication and linguistic faux-pas. So last night, as I was reading, my roommate came back to our room from the bathroom and said something in Portuguese. My roommate is one of the linguistics professors here, and she has a different Portuguese accent than the others. I only recognized the word for diarrhea, so naturally I dug around in my suitcase for some medicine. (Odd, I thought, that I would be offering Immodium to a Brazilian sister). I followed her to the bathroom with the pills and stood outside the door. She opened it and beckoned me to look inside. Weird. So I tried to justify her motive for wanting me to look at the toilet--maybe it won´t flush? I hesitated, but then mustered up the courage to look inside. What I saw was unexpected to say the least, a huge spider and my roommate trying to kill it inside the toilet with the toilet bowl cleaner. Ha! So I sighed with relief and managed to tell her that I had thought she was sick with diarrhea. That´s why I had offered medicine. We lost it. Then she put the pieces together and said something along the lines of```So you thought I was trying to show you my diarrhea in the toilet?!?´´ Ha!
Moral of the story: aranha (spider) is NOT the same word as diarrhea in Portuguese
Laughter (even caused by misunderstandings) is truly the best medicine. I think I was carrying tension throughout the day even without realizing it because I was concentrating so hard on understanding others and picking up Portuguese. When you laugh with someone (even if you don´t speak the same language), you are effectively connecting emotionally without saying a word. So cool.
I´m grateful for the patience people have with me as I try to learn Portuguese without any background in the language.
Até logo (Til later!)
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