Life in Curitiba

Well it has been almost a month and a half since I last wrote. We are now settled into our home. Alysia has started school. She is in prekinder group A. She will start kindergarden in August. The school follows a north american schedule, the only difference is that they have one month of vacation at Christmas and one month in July. Alysia has been really enjoying her classes and looks forward to going to school. It helps that her school bus has a dvd player and the kids watch movies on the way to school. We don't have cable tv at home and don't plan to get it. She leaves for school at 8:10 and comes back around 4:30. Her classes are only from 8:30-3:10.

I have been getting to know the city and the bus system better. Still have a long way to go. They don't have an actual map of all the bus lines like they do in Toronto, so it's taking me a long time to figure out where each bus goes. I basically have to get on it and just go for the ride. I have started my portuguese classes. I understand a lot (because of my spanish), but I find it hard to speak (again because of my spanish). Jeff is also doing well. We hope that at the end of the year we will be almost fluent :). I have also had one driving class. I need to learn to drive a manual/standard car. My teacher says I have all the basics down, I just need practice. So I will be haveing 4-6 more classes with him.
I also have a doctor for myself and one for Alysia. I find it very frustrating that I have to pay for all my doctors and any exams up front. Very few of them take credit cards. It takes about 2 months to get reimbursed for these expenses, so we have to float these debts.
We have bought a second car, but we will not be getting it till April. But it's automatic :). It's about 10 years old, a honda civic. It only has about 86000Km. The company is helping with some money towards it also.
At church we have made lots of friends and will hopefully continue to make more. Jeff has joined the orchestra at the church and now has 3 hour practices every sabbath afternoon :(. Some of my friends in the church have invited me over to their home so that Alysia and I are not bored to death when Jeff is in practice. To make it worse he now has to practice at 8am every sabbath for one hour. They want him to play with a small group during song service (in the second service). He is playing the Trombone.

Well I think I have written long enough, and Alysia is due home soon. So I will say goodbye and may God bless you all.

I'm pregnant

I took the pregnancy test I had brought with me from Canada, and it came back positive. Jeff and I were pretty sure I was, since I have been feeling nauseas for the past few days. Now I just have to find a doctor :). Take care everyone and may God bless you today.

Living in Curitiba

I have now been living in Curitiba for a week. Here are some of the things I have learned about my new city that I like and don't like.

THINGS I LIKE
-I don't feel like I'm in a third world country. It's a very modern city. It's still a city in Brazil, very brazilian, but very modern also.
-There are lots of shopping mall and they all have indoor playcenters for kids up to 12 years old. Alysia loves them and they are not to expensive.
-The maps of the city are very accurate so we can avoid getting lost :)
-The people are very friendly and helpful.
-The food is cheap.
-taxis are not to expensive either.
-my new home is a nice neighbourhood.
-The bus system seems to be very good. Once I can figure out how to get around it seems to be very organized and timely. They have these big red buses that act like the subway. You have to enter a big transparent tube (you pay when you enter), they are like subway stations, and they have their own lanes so that they are always on time. Then they have all the other buses. But they all seem clean and safe. Alysia and I tried one of the red buses today. Tomorrow we plan to try on of the yellow buses that goes in front of my future neighbourhood (I lived in a gated community).
-Hair salons are cheap (for me). You can get a pedicure and a manicure in many places in the city for about $12-$15.
-The weather has been cool (late teens, early twenties) for it being the middle of summer. The curitibanos are complaining about it. But I like it this way (well maybe a bit warmer would be nice).
I will keep posting more good things in the future as I find out about them.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE
-Most of the streets downtown are one way and they don't put crosswalks with light at to many of them, so it can get tricky trying to figure out when to cross the street. Since they also put the traffic light right in front of where the cars stop and not in the middle, you can see if it's green or red and if it's safe to cross. You basically have to wait till the cars stop or when you have a chance. This only happens on streets with no lights for pedestrains, which is often here downtown.
-The food is not really to my liking. But I have heard about a big city market where I can get almost anything I need.
-All electronics are very, very, very expensive. Imagine you computer or any electronic you have and think that they pay almost double or triple the price here.
-My new home is about the same size in square feet as the one we had in Moncton. The problem is that it's broken up into smaller rooms. We are trying to figure out where we are going to put everything.
-I have to learn to drive a stardard car. They don't really sell automatics here. The truck we bought is standard. A co-worker of Jeff's is going to call around to the driving schools to find one who has an instructor who speaks english or spanish to teach me. Otherwise it's going to be Jeff trying to teach me, and he is not the most patient of teachers (especially with his wife, he paid the first time to have someone teach me to drive).
-Clothing also seems to be expensive. About the same as North America. You have your cheap store, your ok stores and you expensive stores. But everywhere you look they have two prices. The buy now or the layaway. They are both the same in the end, but people here seem to pay in installments or save up till they have enough (which is not bad)..

Well thats all for now. Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

I'm in Brazil

Hello everyone from warm Brazil. I thank God for having a good day of travel all the way from Moncton till we arrived safely to our hotel in Curitiba.
I had my first experience traveling in first class. It was very nice, as it should have been for the price they charge. Alysia slept all almost the whole 10 hours from Toronto to Sao Paolo.

For those of you who want to call us, our phone # is still the same as in Moncton. We signed up with Vonage. So all call to us are free, for us (and for those of you in canada, it's only Canadian long distance).

Curitiba reminds me of San Jose, Costa Rica. I hope I learn Portuguese soon.
Take care everyone and may God bless you all. I will write more another day. I'm pretty tired tonight.

I made a dress for Alysia

I'm so proud of myself. I was testing my sewing skill to see if I could make a dress for Alysia. I bought the pattern and all the material and asked a lot of questions. For my first time I have to say it did not come out to bad. I made a few mistakes and had to fix them (but that's how we learn) but overall it was not to hard. I wish it fit better, but that will come with time and practice. Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

9 More day till I leave my home

I can't believe how fast time is passing. On January 11Th we move out of our home an into a hotel. We are leaving on January 16 for Brazil.

Here is a rundown of what I have been doing this past month.
-Celebrated Christmas with family.
-Went out for dinner and a movie with my hubby on my birthday :)
-Celebrated Alysia's birthday at the zoo.
-Did nothing for New years but hang out at home.

I also got my sewing machine when I came back to Moncton. I'm adding some pics at the bottom of some of my sewing projects. The pyjama pants I did with my sewing teacher's help. The other two are little sewing projects of mine to test my skills and machine (I was following my sewing books instructions). I have also fixed some small rips :). I'm very proud of myself so far :P.

Since I won't be working and since Alysia is starting school in February (8:30-3:00pm) I will have a lot of free time. So I have taken a page from Zaak Robichaud's book. I have made a list of things I would like to accomplish in the next 3 years.
1. Learn to sew (clothing, curtains, gifts etc.)
2. Learn to play the piano
3. Learn to bake (bread, cakes, etc.)
As you can see my list is not to long(nowhere nears as long as Zaaks). But I'm sure I will come up with other things to do :). We are planning on having a second child (God willing). So hopefully that will keep me more busy my second year there :).

Here is a link to see pictures of our future city, Curitiba, in Brazil
http://www.jeffmar1.myphotoalbum.com/

Take care everyone and may God bless you all in this new year.

I'm back in Moncton

I enjoyed the 3 weeks visiting friends and family in Toronto, but it's nice to be home :). My hubby arrives tomorrow from Brazil. Our visas have been approved, so this confirms that we are going. Jeff and I have chosen our future home (we will be renting) and our future car :). I'm going to have to learn how to drive a standard (manual?) car.
I'm looking forward to living in Brazil and Alysia seem to be getting used to the concept. She has said on a few occasions that she would like to stay, but then she talks about how she is going to take all her puppy dogs (toys) to Brazil. I have a feeling that once she starts school she will be fine.
Jeff has booked our flight to Brazil already. We are leaving on January 17th.
Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

I'm in Toronto

Alysia and I got in safely yesterday morning. We had a very good flight.

I have to mention that my grandmother (on my mother's side) passed away on Sunday. It was unexpected (she was not sick). My mother, father and sister Elena traveled on Monday to Nicaragua. If you are wondering why I did not travel also here are some reasons,
1. I loved her, but was not close to her. I was more worried about my mom and sis.
2. I was coming to Toronto on Tuesday and had plans with my hubby for the rest of the week before he travels to Brazil for 3 weeks.
3. Jeff and I payed the flights for my mom, sis and half of my dad's, so adding my flights would have just been to much.

Alysia and I just hanged out at my aunt's house yesterday. Alysia enjoyed the fact that my aunt has cable. But the poor thing was bored by the afternoon and kept saying she wanted to go home. She cried for 20 minutes last night before she fell asleep, asking to go home. Hopefully she will be better for the rest of our stay in Toronto. Her daddy is arriving tonight.

I don't really have any plans for today. I'm just waiting for Jeff to arrive. Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

Toronto, Here I come

On Tuesday Alysia and I leave for Toronto. Jeff arrives the next day. I have been able to visit Toronto once a year since I moved to Moncton :). Alysia is doing great. She know we are moving to Brazil after Christmas (but I don't think she truly understands that we will be living there for 3 years). She is doing great. Here is a pic of her with her latest haircut.

She loves to paint and do little crafts. She made a little duck out of playdo. It's really small, smaller than Alysia's hand.

Take care and may God bless you all.

Halifax weekend coming up

Yesterday we got a call from Jeff's mom letting him know that his grandmother (Irene Daigle) has passed away. We have been expecting this for a while now. She is at peace at last. The funeral will be this Thursday morning.

On Friday morning we leave for Halifax. Jeff had promised me a trip there once we found out where we are moving. I'm looking forward to it.

Alysia is doing great. Here is pic to show you how well she is :). This picture was taken on her field trip to an apple farm with her playschool.

Alysia and I will be traveling to Toronto on November 20th. Jeff will arrive on the 21st. He will be leaving for Brazil on November 25. Alysia and I will be staying in Toronto for 3 weeks.

Take care everyone, I have to go pick up Alysia from playschool. May God bless you.

I'm going to Brazil :)

Jeff finally got word that his job transfer to Curitiba, Brazil has been approved. We figure we will be there right after Christmas. Jeff actually will have to start work December 1st. The next few months will be busy.
Alysia is having fun in playschool. She is getting nice and tall. I have no idea when I will start telling her that we are moving.
I'm checking out flight prices to find out when will be a good time forAlysia and I to travel to Toronto. Jeff will have to travel at a separate time from Alysia and I.
Jeff's grandmother is still alive and doing OK.

Here are some links for those of you who are interested in finding out more about Curitiba.
1. http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/69/Life_In_Curitiba_Brazil.html
2. http://geography.about.com/library/misc/uccuritiba.htm
3. http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1258

Take care everyone and may God bless each one of you.

Hello Everyone

I seem to be making this a monthly blog :). Things are going good here. I will just mention some of the thing that we have been doing this past month

1. We went to Pugwash for Campmeeting. Had a good time. I was the teachers for ages 0-3. Jeff lost our camera a few months ago so we don't have any pictures.
2. We celebrated our anniversary (6 long year :P ). Jeff took me to the Dinner theatre this past Sunday to celebrate. We also went out for dinner when we came back from Pugwash.
3.Made some new friends at church. One is from Zambia and the other one just moved here from Ottawa. They both have a beautiful brown skin like me :).
4. Went out to eat this past Monday with friends who were visiting from Halifax.
5. Jeff's grandmother is very sick and in the hospital. They though she was dying and called her daughter (my mother-in-law). She was on vacation this week. She and her husband had to cancel their vacation plans. Because Jeff's grandmother is so sick, her children and grandchildren from Ontario are coming to visit. This means that I will have a family of six staying in my home this weekend and for a few day. Alison and Chris and their kids. We are good friends with them, so it will be fun to see them again (I know the circumstances are not the best).
6. My parents and sister Samantha are now living in Toronto :).
7. We are still waiting to hear where we are moving. The have told us where they want us to go, but since it has not been fully approved yet, we can't go blabbing to everyone :). We are still waiting for the final approval (I hope it's approved) once it comes through I will post it here and tell my family.
8. Alysia is doing great. Jeff bought her some little golf clubs (plastic) and she has been having fun with daddy playing golf in our backyard. She is also counting down to when she starts her playschool again. We are not sending her to school this year, since we will be moving and don't know when or where.

Well that's some of what's been happening here. I hope everyone is doing OK. If they approve our move, Jeff and I will be coming to visit Toronto for few days to say goodbye to all our friends and for me to visit my family.
Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

Another month later :)

Hello everyone. Life has been going slow for me this past month. I don't have much to say about this past month. Life went on as usual :).

Last Sunday the church hosted a going away BBQ for our pastor.

We are leaving next Wednesday for Pugwash, Nova Scotia. Campmeeting starts next Friday. Jeff and I are going up early since I'm the Begginer's leader. This past two weeks I have been getting my supplies ready for teaching.

Alysia and Jeff are doing great. For those of you who have not seen the pictures, Jeff, Alysia and I got our summer cuts. We all look very cute.

Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

Another month Later :)

Hello everyone. This past month I have not been on the computer very often, so as you can see I have not posted in almost a month (sorry).
Some of the things that happened this past month:
Alysia graduated from playschool. We have the pictures up on our website.
Jeff and I were two presenter for a lifestyle matters seminar. It went pretty good, and it has also helped our diet :).
I have now officially lost 20 pounds and working on losing another 10.

Take care everyone and I will try to post more often. May God bless you all.

Long time since I last wrote

I hope that everyone is doing well. I am doing very well here. Alysia is graduating from playschool this Thursday :). We were planning to put her in kindergarden this September, but we decided to hold of. Since we don't know when or where we will be moving we don't want to put Alysia in school here and then have to transfer her. Or have to deal with all the other problems of finding a school wherever we move in short notice.

My mom has told me that they are coming back to Canada to live. My mom, dad, and sister Samantha will be back in Canada on August 8. They will live in Brampton with my aunt and uncle for a while to start. My sis Elena will be happy about this. I'm also very happy about this.

Starting this coming Sunday we will doing our first LifeStyle Matters seminar (Diet and Stress). It is more for church members and friend to give us more practice and also for them to evaluate us. The one for the community will not be till July.

Well that is all for now. Take care and may God bless you all.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

I hope all you mother had a good mother's Day. I had a nice turkey dinner at my mother-in-law's house. I had got a new outfit :).
I have been keeping myself busy with different activities. This weekend we are going to a youth rally in Pugwash, NS.
I have to go, Alysia is wanting my attention. Take care and may God bless you all.

Marta

Roller Coaster Ride

This past Saturday night Alysia went on her first roller coaster ride. She had been asking all week to go to Crystal palace and ride the roller coaster. She got a little scared with all the screaming, but she liked it. She asked to go on it again :).

Last Thursday my mom turned 50 years old. Happy Birthday mom. Still looking good. Take care everyone and may God bless you all.

My First Sermon

And as others would say to me, not mine, but God's (which I agree with). I did a sermon ( I like to think of it more like a presentation) about investing in kids. The importance of children ministries. The Junior sabbath school class helped with the service.

Jeff finally got to play golf yesterday, but he is now sore from playing 18 holes. But he is more than eager to be out on the fairway again. He will have to wait, since the weather is not looking nice for the rest of the week.

We have started our dry run for the lifestyle matters seminar. So far so good.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Sabbath day and may God bless you each with a good week.

A follow up to my last post

Zaak was commenting that I really did not state if I was happy or not. I am happy. I have been keeping myself busy doing the normal everyday things we all do :). I just figured it would be boring to write them.
Zaak also asked what a lifestylematters seminar is, so here is the website (www.lifestylematters.com). We are doing the Diet and Stress seminar. We are doing a dry run next week. Then we are doing an in-house seminar (for the church members) and then we will do one for the community. Since a few of us who will be helping with the seminar are not vegetarians (but would like to be), we are slowly making the changes to our lifestyle to help us get there. I'm trying to cook more vegetarian recipes and find some tasty ones I like (and that are not to hard to cook). We have agreed to only have vegetarian meals for our suppers. Breakfast is no problem. Lunch is a little harder for Jeff, but we are working on finding him other lunch ideas that he will like. I have even told my Simply for life Consultant to make my menus all vegetarians for next month. Simply for Life (www.simplyforlife.com) is the program in doing to lose weight. So far I have lost 15 lb. I have even started to like eating brown rice (I hated it when I first started, but my taste buds have adapted).

Jeff and I will be kept very busy in the next few months with church activities (which is good). Jeff's bosses have told him that unless he says no, we will be moving by the end of the summer. We still don't know where, but till then we are happy and keeping busy here in Moncton.

Take care everyone and may God bless you.

It has been a while :)

Things are going good here. Jeff and I are part of the evangelistic team at church. We (the team) are holding a lifestylematters seminar in June.
Alysia is doing great and learning more and more everyday. She is now practicing how to write letters.
We had the house painted last week. Not the whole house just some sections. We went with the same color. Alysia really enjoyed having the painters here. She talked her head off to them the whole time they were here :).
As you can read, not to much has been happening here. I hope life is going better for you guys.
Take care and May God bless each one of you.