The Brazilian Thumb. It seems like everyone here uses the thumb to signal everything is A-OK!! Tudo bem. (I think using the circle with the thumb and index finger while holding the three other fingers in the air is actually an offensive gesture, so it makes sense why the thumb is used more often.) Well, Emma's a little bit shy of strangers, which can be good and bad. Sometimes she's just downright rude to people and sometimes people are just weird and I'd hide my face if I were her too. So I came up with a way for her to be nice to people, but also honor what I perceive as her being introverted. I told her she doesn't always have to say something, especially in Portuguese, but she's not allowed to be rude to people, so she at least needs to give them the Brazilian thumb. Well, she's a pro now! This week in Porto Alegre, so many people smiled and/or laughed when she gave them the thumb that she began walking up to people just to show it to them. Funny how she's not shy of anyone now! She also loves to tell us that she's going to suck her Brazilian thumb. (Yes, she's still a thumb-sucker, but she's only allowed to have it when she's going to sleep. I'd take it away if I could, but I can't. I've heard duct tape works well for things like that.)
So serious.
We stayed in a new hotel in Porto Alegre for this trip. Just outside the hotel is another building that happens to hold the corporate offices of John Deere. I've never been inside, because I don't have clearance, but I've heard it's amazingly beautiful up there on the 15th floor! The landscape around the building is pretty and Emma loves waterfalls, so we spent some time there after lunch one day.
