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Brittaney Portugal June 14, 2007 Family and Friends, Hello from Portugal! I hope everyone is doing well. Kim and I are doing great here in Portugal. This email is my first official update to all of my family and friends. I'll be sending out updates like this about every two weeks, so if you don't hear from me in a while, don't despair. I am alive, and you'll get another update soon. Anyway, here's a rundown of my first two weeks in Portugal. Kim and I arrived here at 8am on June 1. After spending 2 1/2 hours waiting to get our passports stamped, we finally met our m supervisor, Scott. He took us to his family's apartment, where Kim and I have been living these past 2 weeks. Scott and his wife, Sandra, have 3 adorable daughters. Kim and I immediately loved them. They have helped us with our language a lot, too. After we got to Scott's home, we had about 15 minutes to get ready before a volunteer M team from Mississippi arrived. Jet-lagged and sleep deprived (neither of us had slept in about 48 hours) we had worship with the team. Then some of the other m's took us on the Great Race, a walking/public transport tour of the entire city. They showed us all the major sites and taught us how to use the public transport. Let me just say, public transport is amazing for a carless person such as myself. For the first time these past 2 weeks, I have been able to travel around, run errands, and do whatever I want to do. During our first week, we mostly worked with the Mississippi team. Their job was to walk up to random people and start conversations, hoping those conversations would lead to spiritual matters. We talked to random people too, except that we did it to improve our Portuguese skills. It's really hard to talk to strangers anywhere, but especially in Portugal. In Portugal, no one says 'Hi' to strangers as they walk down the street. So when Kim and I do that, usually people give us ugly looks and hurry away. Every once in a while, though, someone is friendly. Then we sit down and try to have a long conversation with them. Once we get to talking with them, Portuguese people are fun to be around, very loving and kind. Cultural notes: Portuguese people are very relational, but within their own little circles of family and friends. They are group oriented, and they hate to be alone. The thing to do with your friends is to go to a cafe, get a coffee and a pastry, and eat and talk for hours. In fact, we have cafes on every corner (sometimes more than one). They are cheap and delicious. You can sit in them as long as you want. The waiter doesn't give you the check until you ask for it, and you don't have to leave a tip, because they just expect you to be in there for a long time. Portuguese people also love parks. This city has many parks, and on weekends, they are packed with families playing sports, people exercising, people having deep conversations, and old people playing games and talking. Kim's and my favorite park is only a 5-minute walk from Scott's apartment. Some stories about our first week and the conversations we had: Kim and I were having a really hard time getting up enough courage to talk to random strangers and use our few Portuguese words. Finally, one day in the park near our apartment, we yarped about our issues. Then we stood up and decided to talk to some girls who were sitting nearby. We walked over to them. They were friendly and spoke English (most younger people do here) so we chatted with them for about 2 hours. It was so much fun! The girls' names were Rita and Mafalda, and later a guy friend named Alfonso joined them. They taught us some words and gave us some pronunciation tips. They also gave us some valuable insights about Portuguese cultural and thought processes. Wow, the Father was so amazing to give us that conversation! He answers yarping in the coolest ways, and He blesses us more than we ever deserve. Another story: At one point during that first week, we went to a suburb famous for its history (it's where all the most famous Portuguese explorers launched their expeditions) and for its pastries. We went to a park there and had conversations with 3 people who only spoke Portuguese--and it was only our 7th day in Portugal! The people's names were Fernando, Helena, and Nicol. Another story: On Sunday evening, after we'd been there about 9 days, I was walking, and I decided to practice language. I saw an older man who was reading an interesting-looking book. I didn't know any book related words, but I wanted to ask him about it, so I started talking to him. His name is Jose. We talked for a long time. It was great, because he knew English, but he only used it when our communication totally broke down. (Portuguese propriety dictates that they speak to you in the language they think you know best. Since many people speak passable English, they are often reluctant to talk to us in Portuguese. Jose realized, though, that since I was learning Portuguese, it would just be better for him not to speak English to me.) Anyway, we ended up arranging more meetings so that he could help me with Portuguese, and I could help him with English. Jose is a pretty interesting person. He is/used to be a communications professor; he has worked in radio, TV, movies, and newspapers. The day I met him, he was in the process of writing an article for a newspaper. He is also making a documentary. The Mississippi team left on Saturday after our first week, so the second week was more laid-back. That following Monday was my 20th birthday. Kim and I wandered around a tourist hub of the city and we practiced language. We also took a couple of long breaks to eat pastries and ice cream. We also yarped together near a sculpture of a giraffe looking at himself in a mirror (random, huh?). In the evening, Kim and I met with Jose again, and he filmed me for his documentary. I had to speak in Portuguese, and I looked and sounded ridiculous. He also gave us a copy of a book he wrote: translated, it's called '1001 reasons to love Portugal.' Later, our family threw me a party with decorations and a yummy dinner and cake and ice cream. It was a good day. Wednesday night, Kim and I made dinner for them. Kim is the chef in our team. She did most of the work. I just shredded cheese and chopped vegetables. The most fun thing about it was that a friend of the family's, Madelena, came and cooked with us. She hardly ever cooks, so it was a big joke all evening--'We can't believe Madelena is cooking!' The whole evening Madelena spoke Portuguese to us and helped us learn a zillion new words. It really helped boost our confidence in speaking. Thursday, Kim and I met with Jose again. View of the next 2 weeks: We will be staying with a Portuguese family that speaks very little English. It will be the first leg of our homestay, our total immersion in Portuguese language and culture. Yarp requests: 1. Personal spiritual matters - Yarp that Father will be first in my life. With all the busyness and new experiences, it's sometimes hard to make time for personal Book study and to remember that father is involved in every situation. Kim and I are trying hard to schedule closely-guarded Book study time every day. Also, the Father is trying to teach me about being fluid with my schedule. He's showing me that He can change my plans whenever He wants to. That's really hard for me to deal with.2. the other m's here - We have really enjoyed this family. They're really kind, loving people. They have many responsibilities, though, and these next few weeks will be busy for them. Yarp also for these m's: Chris and Jill , Emily , Brady and Andrea , Don and Billie . They're all amazing people too.3. Language learning - Kim and I need lots of brain power to remember all the new words we're learning. Father has been so good to us in this area. We are learning by leaps and bounds. Yarp that our homestay really improves our skills.4.Father's Kingdom - In all my interactions and conversations, whether they involve spiritual things or not, my life needs to show His love and spread The Kingdom. Kim and I also need to reflect the Son in the way we work as a team.5. Our homestay - We have very little idea of what we will be doing in our homestay other than learning language and culture. Yarp that I can accept that uncertainty. It will be OK, because Father is already in that situation, planning how everything will go. Well friends, it's time for me to go. There's so much more I would like to tell you, but there's not time or space. Thanks so much for your thoughts and yarpers Those of you on Facebook should look at all my pictures. For those of you not on Facebook, here's a few pics for you to enjoy. Lots of love, In the Son, Brittaney
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