Oh dear – so much has been happening so fast and the internet here is so slow that I am going to have to be selective! Here is just one anecdote:
Yesterday we arrived in the Pantanal after a very long day of travel: bus to Rio airport (one of the longest parts of the trip – traffic!!!), plane #1 to Brasilia, plane #2 to Cuiabà, bus ride to the resort. It was dark when we arrived and the whole group (80 or so kids) clustered in the reception lobby of the resort to hear the ‘rules’ and the plan. The guy at reception said a few things in good English, promised to translate afterwards into English, and then proceeded to talk for about 10 mins in Portuguese. At certain moments, everyone laughed. At others, they broke into brief but animated conversation. At still others, they asked some questions and discussed the answers. Above all, they nodded their heads and understood. At the end of all that, here was the English translation we got: “At dinner, you have the right to have a soft drink. You also have the right to have a juice instead of a soft drink.” I’m pretty sure something got left out…
Tonight the kids all climbed to the top of the lookout tower (photos coming) and sat in the dark of the full moon and sang songs while one of them played guitar. It was a pretty feel good scene and I think everyone is feeling pretty good.
Oh - and you should know that Sophia and Meredith did aqua aerobics today. And Camille bought a dried piranha. And Morgan has the most beautiful curly locks in Brazil. And Isobel is getting up at 4am to watch the sun rise on the river. And Eric...Eric might never come home! He's Brazilian!
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