A few weeks ago, Kevin came home and told me he had a staff Christmas party to go to in a town about two hours away - an overnight Christmas party/business meeting. I didn't think too much of it, but noted it in my head. A few days before the party, one of his colleagues said something to me about how fun it was going to be and asked if I was excited. After a few minutes of trying to understand what she was saying, I asked her to say it in English. She informed me that it wasn't just a party for the staff, but also for their spouses! That sounded fun, but I figured I wouldn't go anyway because I didn't have a place to leave Emma. I told Kevin about it and we decided I wouldn't go. The night before they were to leave, the HR manager asked if I was going. I told him no, and he said if we were having trouble finding a place for Emma, we should just plan to take her with us. Kevin gave me a look with raised eyebrows and I knew we'd be going. I was a little nervous because I knew we'd be the only ones with a child there. I knew dinner wouldn't start until later in the evening, like 9pm or so, and I knew we'd be up really late. Sometimes that just makes me cringe. I like our schedule and I like Emma's early bedtime. However, as I prepared to go, I felt like God was asking me to put aside my routine and my plans and just go and have fun with the other spouses and love people well. So, I baked a bunch of cookies and packed our bags and prepared for a late night. We took a charter bus to the little city about two hours away and Emma took a nap on the way. I spent some time talking with two female colleagues of Kevin and even read a little. Because this is Brazil, there really weren't any plans for the evening other than dinner, at least none that were announced. We met in the lobby of the hotel and then walked around the corner to a bowling alley. Great. . . I was wearing heels and pearls! Totally unprepared. There wasn't a place to exchange my shoes, so I made do with what I had!
Kevin's flipflops seemed to work just fine!
This is the first time we've bowled since moving to Brazil and it's the first time Emma's ever been to a bowling alley. She rolled the ball a few times, but mostly she just played with the adult women who were there. She didn't mind that she was the only child and everybody else seemed to love that she was there, including me!
After two hours of unsuccessfully (at least me) rolling balls at pins, we all went to our hotel rooms. Dinner was set for 9pm on one of the upper floors and I was shocked that it started at about 9:05pm! We were trying to be Brazilian by showing up a little late, and we were just about the last ones to show up! Sheesh, just when we think we have the culture figured out, they go and pull something like this!
Little girl ready to par-tay!
We sat with Harald, the German ex-pat.
We had live music (Emma also wanted to sing a solo), good food, lots of laughs, and then. . .
. . . this comedian showed up! I'm not sure whether it was a man or a woman, and nobody else was sure either, but I'm leaning toward saying "it" was a he.
I wish I could have understood everything he was saying, but he was speaking so fast and loud and the background music didn't help any. People were laughing a lot, though, so I figure he must have been pretty funny. After a few minutes of jokes, he turned up the music and had everybody dancing. . . and I mean, everybody! People who couldn't dance were dancing and I felt like they were all having so much fun! The best part about the music was that almost all of it was in English and I could sing like I knew what I was singing! Watching people dance to "Twist and Shout" was my favorite! Emma looked like she was about to fall asleep when suddenly she found her second wind and she was dancing around with everyone!! She was the center of attention and even jumped up on the stage to dance with the comedian! She was having so much fun! The dancing seemed to go on forever and nobody sat down for a break! We called it a night around midnight and headed back to our room. The comedian had taken a break from dancing and was telling jokes again and my mind couldn't keep up! After several hours of Portuguese, my brain just hurt. That, and I kind of thought midnight was pushing it for a little 3-year old! We all crashed when our heads hit the pillows! Kevin was gone when we woke up. He had a meeting in Horizontina early that morning, so he and a few others took a van back before the bus. Emma and I had a late breakfast and then boarded the bus back home.
It really was a fun evening. I'm so glad we went and were able to be a part of celebrating the end of the year with Kevin's colleagues. Sometimes I'd rather stay home and speak only English and hide out with my family, but every time I've made an effort to spend time with the Brazilians, I have been thankful for the time with them. They are so gracious and patient with my language and everyone just adores Emma. I love that about this country.
