In Brazil, Today is never Today

But what ever could that mean, you ask? How is it possible for today to not be today? Move to Brazil and try to rent an apartment, and you will find out that today is never today.

Example: "Today we will get the keys." Turns out they actually meant 4 days from that particular today, which means on that day, today was not today.

"Today we will sign the contract." 3 days later and the contract is still unsigned. Today was not today.

"Today I will come to our reading session, Cris." No show. Today was not today, because then they call the next day and say "Can I come tomorrow?"

But I will tell you about a day that was today. Last night, during my evening break between reading sessions, Roberto asked, in Portuguese, if I would like to accompany them to the Orchestra...today. I heard "Orchestra" and "R$5" (the US equivalent of about $3) and said "yes!" I just missed the "today" part. So when, at 7:15, I was waiting on them to pick me up at the church building to take me home, and his daughter called to ask if I needed to change out of my jeans and flip flops before we left in 20 minutes, I said "The Orchestra is TODAY??"

Haha...the irony of today.

I haven't given you a real report on how my work is going, so I thought it was about time. My reading sessions are going extremely well. I'm still trying to iron out final details of my schedule, figuring out what works best for the readers and for me, but as of right now I come for 2 sessions in the morning, then return after lunch and stay until around 8. I currently have one group class of very basic, beginner English speakers, that meets once a week, with plans to start a couple more group classes once I get to know the readers better and can form them into cohesive groups. As of right now my schedule is so full that most readers are only coming once per week, but once things settle down I hope that they will be able to come more than once each week.

I have really been enjoying the church services, too. It's hard for me to understand everything and listen consistently (when it's a language you're trying to learn, listening to a 30 minute sermon can get pretty exhausting!) but I love being with everyone. Last Sunday, one of the LST readers from the summer projects was baptized! It was an exciting day for everyone. Also, one of my readers, Joao, visited for the first time. He said he enjoyed it and would like to come back. Hopefully he will!

So...that's what I've been up to lately. Confusing the true meaning of today with the use of the word today, and making friends with my readers. It's a good life. Thanks for all the comments! You're doing so well!