We've now been here 3 weeks and 3 days. It has definitely been an adventure so far. This is Meghan's first week to go to school all day so I'm hoping I'll find more time to sit down and write about these adventures :) Here's a recap of what's happened so far:

The flight - I was a bit nervous about the flight.  It had been a while since I'd flown and this was the girls first time.  You never know how kids will react to new things. Luckily, they both did extremely well. I think it being their first time to fly actually helped.  Everything was a new experience for them which made it very enjoyable.  Isabel loved being served breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the plane. Meghan loved pushing all the buttons and making her seat sit up, lie down, sit up, lie down...you get the picture. We sat on the runway in Houston for an hour and a half before take off.  Meghan had fallen asleep during that time so she missed all the excitement :(  Isabel thought the take off was totally cool!  The flight was 14 hrs and oh my gosh...it felt like 14 hrs. But we made it, got through immigration rather easily, got our bags, and met daddy on the other side.

Leaving the airport - I had seen pictures of street scenes from other women here but its definitely not the same as seeing it in person. The air smells a little like sewer and there is trash virtually everywhere! The streets are lined with people selling everything from fruits and vegetables to irons and baby dolls. The housing  reminds me of the local housing in Jamaica.  One room cinder block homes that I'm assuming have no water or electricity.  After a 30 minute ride, we finally arrived at our compound.  The houses are nice, the view is beautiful, and the grounds are green, lush, and CLEAN. Insert big sigh of relief here :)

Local Housing

Local Housing

Street Scenes

The View From My Terrace

Seeing our home for the first time - Brad gave us a tour of the house and introduced us to our maid, Anastasia.  We were greeted by two wonderful ladies that live on the compound. They had prepared a pasta dinner for our arrival :)   It took Isabel and I just a few days to get over the jet lag. It took Meghan a good week!

Welcome!

The Girl's Room

Living Room and Dining Room

Girl's Play Room

Life on the compound - This is pure heaven for kids.  There are children of all ages here and they all seem to get along wonderfully!  Both Meghan and Isabel have found their place and are really enjoying it.  The compound is very safe so the children play outside until they have to come in for dinner! Reminds me of my childhood and I'm so happy for them.  I haven't seen Isabel on the Ipad since we've been here and the only TV they watch is in the mornings while getting ready for school.

Life is good here for me, too :)  I've always got someone to work out with, someone to chat to, and my hobbies to keep me busy.  I'm also taking tennis lessons. I'm not good by any means but I'm really enjoying it. I start my Portuguese lessons next week.  I've got a maid 5 days of week that does all the cleaning and laundry.  I'll have to admit, it's simply wonderful. I haven't had to tell my children "I can't right now" or "In a minute" since we've been here. If they ask me to go on a bike ride, we go! If they want to play a board game, we play!  I can't wait to create wonderful memories with my family here :)

Isabel's Tennis Lesson

Meghan Just A Swingin'

Our First Tennis Lesson

Life outside the compound - This takes some getting use to. I was with a friend in the car today who said it best. She said she never tires of the car rides here because it's always so interesting. The items people sell, the housing, the kids playing alongside the roads - its all so different and interesting. And lets not forget the men urinating in public. YUCK!

 My biggest struggle is not knowing the language. I had someone from the compound who speaks Portuguese go with me to set up an account for water delivery.  I basically did nothing. My friend did all the talking and I just signed my name.  That was a tough morning and I had a good cry when I got home.  However, the experience made me want to learn the language even more so I REALLY plan to work hard and do a lot of studying.

Grocery shopping is another obstacle here.  I can't find a lot of things that I'm use to cooking with.  All of the products are written in Portuguese so it's kind of a guessing game at times. But, our bellies are fed everyday and thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who helps with the cooking and grilling on the weekends. One of my best grocery shopping experiences happened last week while at Food Lovers.  As I was shopping, Tanya Tucker's Delta Dawn came on over the speakers.  I couldn't help but smile and sing along in my twangiest southern voice :)

I've probably forgotten a few things but this will have to do for now. Ignore all grammatical errors :) This is basically just a diary that I want to share with my friends and family :)