Our Story - Chapter 1

One of my dear students vowed that she would write a play titled "Speak Slower." This play would be about   the love story that my husband and I have lived through. She was in eighth grade when she made this promise, and she is now working on the masterpiece. She is getting ready to be a senior. I am writing our love story here. This is to help her along, but I have always wanted to get it written for Aarao and I as well. I am going to do my best to write it in present tense using my memories and journals. This will take me a while. Here it goes.

Chapter 1:
I haven't been home for a summer vacation since my sophomore year of college. This year will be no different in that aspect. However, this summer, the summer of 2007, is different in the fact that I will be leaving the country to spend my summer in Brazil. I will be working at a church teaching conversational English skills to people using the Bible. I am so nervous about it. I had a hard time committing to this. I seem to have that problem when God is calling me to do something. I have spent the past few years seeking God's will and doing things outside of my comfort zone, but it doesn't always come so easy.

In 2005 and 2006 I spent my summers counseling teenage girls at a summer camp. I knew the Lord was calling to Camp Wyldewood in 2004 when I was there for a retreat, but I was too afraid to follow his lead. I regret that decision, but I did finally go a year later. Camp Wyldewood was amazing, and it changed my life. I grew with God more than I had ever done before. Getting to know the people there was such a blessing. I think that my decision to work there over the past two summers was one of the best decisions I have made. I was working in the Kingdom, and I am always wanting to do Kingdom work. When Let's Start Talking representatives spoke at a devotional our campus ministry in the fall, it seemed like a path that I should be taking in the Kingdom. I was so nervous about it that it took me a while to finally commit. As time gets closer, I get more and more anxious about it. A part of me can't believe that I committed to this. I'm just a little Arkansas girl. I have no business leaving the country for the summer.

I have spent the past semester doing my student teaching in Rogers, which is close to home. So, I have been living at home, and it sure is comfortable. I did go back to Russellville and Arkansas Tech University for training for the trip and to graduate of course. Graduation day was such a blessing. It was so good seeing my dear friends and celebrating with my family .The past four years have been life-changing. The people that I have met have become such an important part of my life. Actually, a few of them are going on this adventure too, which is quite comforting.

I will be going to Brazil with Cyndi, Lacy, Brian, and Craig. I know all of them through the CCSC, the campus ministry I have been involved in since my freshman year. I take comfort in the fact that I won't be alone in a foreign country. I definitely couldn't do it if that were the case.

I have been going to a house church since I've been living at home for the semester. The house church is associated with Grace Harbor Church, the community that I have been involved in. It has been such a blessing to have this community. Tonight my parents are with me at the house church. I am so happy that they came, because I will be prayed over before I leave. I know that this has been hard on them. I am their baby daughter. It would be so much easier for them if I would just settle down and stay home. I remember the day that I left for college. I get emotional every time I think about it, and it has been almost four years now.

I was so ready to start a new chapter of my life that summer. I had been so excited to go to college all year. I had visited the campus and auditioned for the college. I was ready to leave high school behind and start new. That didn't change the fact that I  became an emotional wreck throughout the weeks leading up to my departure. I hadn't left my family behind like this ever. Mom and I cried often. Emotions were triggered by the simple things. A song on the radio about home would come on, and Mom would start the tears. The day that I left was worst. Family came over for breakfast while I packed and got ready to leave. At one point I just sat on the sofa and let my tears fall. Dad walked in and stood in front of me. He said, "Anna, you've got to stop that." He had tears in his eyes. I could see that he was trying to just get through it.

So, here we are almost four years after with tears in our eyes trying to get through it. The time has come for the house church to pray over me. They surround me and lay their hands on me to lift me up to the Lord. When Dad begins to pray I totally lose it. It breaks my heart to leave them. We all love each other so much.

Departing day has finally arrived. I have been an emotional wreck for days now. Everyone is my family is nervous about it. People have been saying that I don't have to go, and that it isn't too late to back out. However, I know that I must go. The Lord gives me strength. We stand in the airport in Little Rock. This is the most difficult moment that I have experienced over the past few weeks.  I really am trying to be strong, but I am so scared. When Dad hugs me he whispers one word, "faith." Yes, I must have faith, and so must they. Mom and Dad must trust God with my life, because after all I have given my life to him.

Two Names

Caffeine has a tendency to make me feel like I can accomplish anything. I have cut out all sodas from my diet, but I will still have the occasional coffee drink. After said coffee drink consumption, I feel jittery and hyper. Aarao has trouble tolerating me when I am on a coffee high. He has actually told me that he has the right to be mean to me when I am on coffee.
Well, I had a cup of coffee on Friday. After the consumption of my cup of jittery goodness, I decided to do some things that had been on my to-do list for a while. One of these tasks was to go to the assessor's office and check on the lot that we bought behind our house. This is when my story really starts. I thought that it would be a short trip, but it wasn't. While I was there I got to chatting with the lady behind the desk. My conversations with these lovely southern sweethearts made me smile or cringe. Which one was it? Oh, what's the difference?

Conversation 1:
Lady: What is your last name.
Me: G-O-U-V-E-I-A
Lady: (please read with a southern accent) Well, that doesn't spell anything!
Me: It spells my last name, Gouveia.
Lady: Well, where is that from?
Me: My husband is from Brazil.
Lady: Oh, that makes sense! Oh! (noticing his first name on the computer) Well, his first name doesn't spell anything either!

Conversation 2:
Me: Will you check on my husband's last name? He legally has two last names, and I just want to make sure that it is in the system correctly.
Lady: Oh, well we have been having problems with that. We used to not have this problem, but now that all those people from Latin countries are coming over here. Now we have been having a problem. Our system just doesn't allow for two names. I don't know what they decided to do about it. You'll have to ask another lady. Now, why do they do that?
Me: Well, they keep their mother's and their father's last name.
Lady: But why?
Me: It is  a part of their culture.
Lady: (starring at me like I am ridiculous.)

Conversation 3: (with "other lady")
Me: I need to check on my husband's last name. He has two of them.
Other Lady: Yes, well we only put the last of his two last names. You see, we speak English here! So, that is why we only take one last name.

Now, these ladies were super sweet, and they were helping me with my business. However, oh my! This is the kind of thing that is so frustrating to deal with. What does having two last names have to do with speaking English? My husband speaks English! He will graduate from an American, English-speaking university this year. This doesn't change the fact that he has two last names. Also, why is it so hard to believe that he has two last names? Why is that so odd? Do we really think that every other culture is going to have the same traditions that we do? Why do we only keep our father's last name? Ugh! I believe that it is so important to look outside of our small box. Let's learn about other places, and value our differences. How wonderful it is to learn and experience the way others live! We are better people when we do this.

Added Pages

I have added pages to my blog. I thought that I would share the projects that I am working on. I hope that you will enjoy the decor page and the craft page. I spent my weekend working on some new craft projects. I gave the tie dye crayon art to my little cousin, and I made a mod podge letter for my sister-in-law. 

Check out my craft page for step-by-step instructions.

The Holidays: A season of no surprises

The holiday season has come and gone. It seems like it happened in a blink of an eye. This year I decided to get Aarao a violin for Christmas. He has mentioned on numerous occasions that he wanted to learn how to play. So, I surprised him with a violin on Christmas Eve morning! Okay, so maybe that isn't how it happened. About a month before Christmas, Aarao and I had the following conversation:

Anna: Wouldn't it be cool if I started learning the piano again and you learned the violin.
Anna's Thoughts: I really think that a violin will be a good gift, but I don't want to get it for him if he has lost interest in it. I will be discrete just to know if he is still interested. 
Aarao: Sure.
Aarao's Thoughts: She's getting me a violin for Christmas. 


I, of course, thought that I had gotten away with it. I had determined that he still wanted to learn, and I had decided to get one for him. Two weeks passed by and we decide not to exchange gifts and save our money. So, I told him what I was going to get him. He responded by saying that he knew what I was planning. I couldn't believe that he had figured it out. We had this conversation:

Anna: I was going to get you the best gift!
Aarao: Really? What?
Anna: A violin!
Aarao: Oh, I knew that!
Anna: Ugh! How?
Aarao: You asked a question about it a couple of weeks ago.
Anna: Aarao, that was supposed to be a surprise!  Stop thinking!

A week passed by and we end up deciding to buy gifts for one another. So, I went to the music store after work and picked up the lovely instrument. I tried to sneak it into the house without him noticing. I was hugely unsuccessful. He noticed and ignored my constant pleas to not open his gift before Christmas. I was once again unsuccessful. He not only opened his gift, but he started playing his gift way before Christmas.

So, what have I learned about my husband? He is hugely impatient, but oh so cute too! He is a big kid at heart, and this made me happy.

It's a good thing to see your loved ones happy even if it does mean no surprises for Christmas.

When "busy" Gets in the Way

The semester has been crazy like always. Aarao has been studying hard, and I have been teaching hard. I have also been taking a graduate class at Harding University, the NWA campus, and I have enjoyed it. With the holiday season moving in comes a break for us teachers. I have had some time to pause and breathe. This has given me time to think about the busyness of life, and how it can be so exhausting. I get so frustrated with the fact that I continuously run out of time in the day. So, I am working on this. One of the obvious things to go has been blogging. I highly enjoy documenting life's little trifles through this fun way. So, I'm going to work it into my day more often. Not only do I want to blog more often, but I long to do other things as well.  It just isn't fair to anyone when busy gets in the way.

Accidents

 
I am exceptionally accident prone, and I always have been. I have many memories of my little accidents. Let's take a walk down memory lane:

I'm so excited that it's my birthday. I can't help but run through the kitchen where I slip and knock my ear on the oven. This puts a little damper on my party. My theme song was always "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

I'm in ninth grade, and I volunteer to run to the new gym from the old gym where basketball practice is being held. I really just want to see how fast I can get back. Before I know it I have fallen over nothing and gashed my knee and hand open. I guess I shouldn't have been running like the wind after all. I just hope nobody was looking out the window and saw me!

I'm chatting with a new found friend as a Freshman in college. I guess I'm not paying attention when that first brick step suddenly appears in the stairwell. Down I tumble doing a complete flip with backpack and all! Two days later I'm walking across campus and a young man says, "hey, you're that girl that fell!"

Yes, I am the girl that fell. I am still the girl that fell and falls! I have taken numerous tumbles in my life, and I'm sure I will continue to do so. I don't think I put much thought into this small aspect of my life. That is until I met my husband. When we first met I couldn’t help but notice his subtle head shakes when I would fall down the stairs, scratch my arm on a chair, and drop things out of my bag while walking on the beach.

I must say that he doesn't just shake his head at me anymore. My husband is quite vocal when it comes to my accidents. I have gotten all sorts of comments ranging from "don't run on the stairs" to "I really don't think you should walk while carrying babies." It really angers him when I hurt myself with my little accidents.

This brings me to my latest story. I came home from work and got to work on dinner. I prepared a nice little pasta dinner and sat down with my dear husband to eat. A few minutes into the meal I feel a sudden burst of cold on my legs, and I hear Aarão start to grumble at me. What he hadn't realized is that he had actually knocked his cold tea in my lap. He stopped himself from complaining, because he realized he was the one that spilled the tea. It's interesting when the table turns.

Hopefully I showed my dearest how to react when accidents occur. I've become so used to these little life mishaps that I don't give much of a reaction. I mean come on; I'm sitting here as I type with a huge bruise on my leg from hitting the corner of a table not once but twice in a matter of five minutes. I have learned to put things in perspective. Little accidents really don’t require huge reactions.

Putting little accidents in perspective isn’t all of the story. I’m working on perspective in all parts of my life. With the start of school right around the corner, it is important to keep this in focus. Life is full of little accidents, mishaps, and annoyances. If we all learned to react less and put things in perspective, we would all be much happier and much more relaxed. So, here is to falling, getting up, and laughing about!

Beauty and the "Beast"

The Cabral Fest is a family reunion that we attend every year. It is the only party that I attend that begins at 9 pm. This is late for an ole’ country girl like me! I don’t know if I will ever get used to parties that begin at this time.  Dinner is served at around 12:30 in the morning! I probably will never get used to the loud Brazilian music that comes with this party either! However, it is wonderful to see such a huge family get together to talk, dance, and enjoy each other’s company.

Cabral Fest 2011

 Now, from past experience, I know that I must pack a nice dress and shoes for this party. I go through the same ritual every year to get ready. Makeup and hair are prepared and the dress is ironed and put on with the final touch of some kind of jewelry. This year was no different. So, I am ready and feeling quite pretty, I must say, when the blow comes!

I walk my stylish, high heels into the living room to leave with my husband. I’m feeling good and confident! This is when the comment comes. This is the comment that no girl wants to hear! “Hmmm, she has gained some weight, hasn’t she?” I hear one word in slow motion, “gordinha.”  If this isn’t enough, the comment is repeated. “She has gained some weight hasn’t she?” “Gordinha, Gordinha, Gordinha.” The word echoes in my head. I turn toward my husband’s blank expression. “What is she saying?” I ask. He doesn’t respond, but I don’t need a response. If there is one word in Portuguese that I will understand in this context it is this!

I slowly walk out of the door and repeatedly ask my husband the same question. “What did she say?”
“Well,” he stumbles for the right answer. “You have gotten a little bigger,” he says. I have nothing to say in response. I just look down and my shoulders droop. My confidence balloon pops in an instant!

This is a dramatized version of an actual event that happened to me last Friday night, and this is the event that inspired me to ponder the concept of “beauty” on a deeper level.

My mother has always said to me, “pretty is as pretty does.” I grew up hearing this all of the time, especially when I was being “ugly.” However,  did I really believe this? I know that I didn’t always live by this rule. Or should I say, I have been “ugly” on many occasions in my life. I do think that this is a grand rule; however, I have come to the harsh realization that the societies we live in don’t necessarily follow rules.

There are beauty icons in both cultures that I have been a part of. I never hear anything about how they act in their daily lives, and this doesn’t affect the fact that they are viewed as being beautiful.  People are viewed as being beautiful because of their physical appearances alone according to the media, Hollywood, and many people like myself. The harsh reality about this is that many people spend a large amount of their time trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. This “beast” can drive both men and woman to an unhealthy obsession with outward appearance.

I know that the “beast” has affected me in many ways, but the one I will focus in on is the issue with my physical size. Yes, I have gained weight since I got married. I am openly admitting it to the world. Not that I needed to. It is quite obvious.  Do I feel that this is a topic that anyone needs to comment on? No. However, it is the truth. Is this a bad thing? Yes, in the world’s eyes, it is. However, it really isn’t all that bad to me (I‘m trying to believe). The times in my life that  I have been a little “gordinha” have been the times that I have been enjoying life and feeling happy. So, judging from my size, I have a happy marriage and I am enjoying it.

I am not at all excusing the fact that my health is very important. Anyone that knows me knows that I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle. However, it is time to  walk tall with my head high no matter who says that I am a little “gordinha.” My focus should not be on my physical appearance. Instead it should be on my inner appearance.  I want to be kind and loving to everyone I meet. I want to be beautiful in ways that matter. I want to be happy and confident no matter what I am wearing, how high my heels are, the shade of my lipstick , or the shape that I am. So, “pretty is as pretty does.” Amen!