Cassia Leisure

These photos were all taken during the week that Ryan was "working remotely". His company set him up with a VOIP connection so he could have a regular workday. Just before lunch, he would walk to Sergio and Ronaldo's store downtown where he would catch a ride with them back to their house. The city's WIFI antenna is on their house so they have the best signal in all the city, making it the best place for Ryan to work from.

While Ryan worked, the kids and I had many adventures with Neusa. We walked everywhere because her truck was stolen some time ago and she never bought a new car. The town of about 17,000 actually does have a bus, but it never seemed to be worth taking due to the schedule. Cai developed a gift for falling on the cobblestone streets and uneven sidewalks at least 2 times a day. Blood and scabs became the norm for him. I had to stop showing sympathy as I would warn him not to run, yet he would ignore me and immediately fall. Poor kid. Too used to the grass and perfect sidewalks of Daybreak!

One of the greatest adventures was taking them to school. I had thought of putting them in school while here to help them make friends, socialize and speak portuguese, but the experiment didn't work out like I'd hoped. I stayed with Cai in Dezi's class until he was comfortable and then I went with Cai to his class. As suspected, he never got comfortable. His shyness combined with the language made it nearly impossible. He wouldn't venture away from me at all though he did try interacting with the kids. The girls loved him, but the boys were too intent on their own desires (like which motorcycle THEY wanted to play with). Dezi did fantastic and was learning and talking until he got whacked by a kid with downsyndrome...twice. Poor kid. Both of them. He was a little scared to go back in his class after that. Due to the difficulty of walking there and the resistance of the kids, I decided it wouldn't be worth it. Next time, when Cai is older and not so scared to leave my touch, we'll try again.

Another adventure was going to Sergio and Ronaldo's rancho, their house by the river. We all went to sleep there one night. We had great food and conversation. Ryan and Sergio went back early in the morning, but the boys and I had a little more time to go on walks and explore before heading back with Ronaldo. They loved the dock and wished that it was summer so they could go swimming (by American standards, it was summer and the water was warm enough to get in, but by Brazilian standards, it was way too cold and all the water play equipment was stored for the season).

Other than that, we just did regular daily things. We went to stores, went on walks, went to parks, ate good food (like pamonha, curao and farinha lactea), picked bananas (which was an adventure!), watched for fun animals (crazy bugs, toucans, and parrots) and hung out at Neusa and Sergio's a lot. We even had a playdate with a new friend, Eduardo, where I loved talking to his parents. The boys went swimming in Sergio's pool even though it was "freezing" by Brazilian standards. In the summer, the pool water feels like a bath, so even though it was 80, they all felt like the water was freezing.

At the end of the week, it was time for my parents to arrive in Franca and Ryan and I decided to have our own crazy adventure. Sergio took us the scenic root to the bus station in Franca. The scenery was breathtaking with rolling hills, coffee plantations, and winding rivers. Brazil really is a blessed, beautiful land.

At the bus station, we greeted my parents, exchanged hugs, gave instructions for the kids (who were in Cassia with Neusa, Neli, and Dwayne), and said goodbye. We were on our way to...RIO!