Brick vs glass houses

March 5, 2013

A stretch of ten days of rain is expected. My last days near the beach and I will have to wade along the slushy sand to arrive at the Dunes. Layers of clothing, bright orange peds with my flip flops like the Japanese custom. Pinching my toes a bit but that can’t be helped.

The private transport van arrived with Theo who is animated and chatty about the events at school. He gets picked-up first promptly at 6:10am and dropped off last at 12:30. First graders thru High Schoolers attend class for four hours per day. Statistically the Brasilians rank high in academics in the world. Theo begins English classes this year in fourth grade. He attends a public school attached to the University system which is difficult to get into. The van driver collects six and drops one off at another school along the same route. Denise pays R$750 per month for this convenience. First day of class the group of teachers sang and played instruments to greet the students back to school. I noticed the men were strumming and the singers were all women! Many parents were there to take their kids to school though I understand many of them are met at school and driven home by private companies. The neighbor boy attends Anaba, a Waldorf School that started class a few weeks ago. They continue to adhere to the rules that Taelor lived by ten years ago-no television, no computers, no mirrors in the school, each child learns to knit, embroider and play violin or flute as well as learn two idioms aside from their native language. The students have the same teacher from first thru 12^th grade. The tuition is very high and is out-of-range for many a family.

The office space out back is nearly finished. We were hoping to have an inaugural ceremony for the birthday boy of the house yet that might not happen before I leave the area.  

Damp air circulates thru the house. Homes are not insulated at all and I can see the cracks of air coming through the gaps. The majority of houses are made of hollow brick and cement material is slathered over the top. Quite a number of new homes sit unfinished for months on end waiting for who knows what to occur before the construction begins again. On this relatively small street alone, five houses are in various stages of assembly. Large piles of sand and gravel sit out front, blocking the side of the street making two cars passing one another impossible. The startled driver must drive backwards to arrive at an opening sufficient for the other to go by. Makes for an adventure after dark!