Hoje Tem Aventura

Today has Adventure.

I wanted to go to the temple one last time in Brazil before our June gets crazy (with Jamison traveling back to Utah for a week, Abby's birthday, Festa Junina, World Cup, and somewhere in there packing and sorting and selling and getting ready for our return home.)

So I asked a friend if she wanted to go to the temple with me today and she asked a friend too so the three of us met at 5:30 a.m. and started our temple trip. I planned to go to Campinas but as this was the last day it was opened I thought it might be too busy and my friend assured me that getting to the Sao Paulo temple was very fast.

It was pretty fast.  90 minutes or so.  And the GPS wasn't even working so we got there with only one wrong (20-minute) turn.  I think that is pretty good.

The temple is beautiful as always.  This temple has beautiful dark cherry wood (I'm pretty sure it isn't cherry wood but it looked like that to me) plus some amazing stained glass windows.  I could almost do a session in Portuguese but I am glad I had a headset that had English.  I started reflecting on our experience here and how grateful I am for it all.  This has been a tremendous experience.

After the temple I got a text from Jamison saying he hurt his knee playing soccer with the kids.  It was bad enough he couldn't walk.  And that he wanted me to not delay my return home.  So me and my friends had a snack in the car and started on our way.  The GPS was working again and we got some directions from some people at the temple.  It probably had been better if the GPS had stayed broken.

At the beginning I had one wrong turn (which was in fact following the directions of the GPS but not the people from the temple).

I thought we would be fine, but in just a few minutes we hit super bad traffic.  The GPS automatically takes the shortest route which in this case was right through the middle of a city of 11 million people.  Very, very bad. In my head replayed all the horrible things my friends have sad about driving in Sao Paulo.  It is all true. 

We decided to try to get back to the temple and try again.  Again we made lots of other wrong turns.   Every time I thought we could just drive around the block the one way roads and dead ends made it absolutely impossible.  Impossible!   Every turn!  We asked 4-5 different people at different points directions back to the freeway. I am so glad I had my friends who could ask for help in Portuguese but tell me what to do in English. 

Amazingly though I didn't panic.  That is amazing for me.  It may take us 3 hours to just get out of the city but I had faith that we would eventually get out. This was a huge blessing to me. 

We finally got to a free way.  I was now following the signs for the Dutra highway, and we thought we were just fine.  Then of course the highway split and of course there wasn't any sign of the Dutra on the sign.  And of course I was in the wrong lane.  This of course led me to a little bit of crazy driving which included me driving over some cones (that were previously driven over ) to make the turn I needed to and made lots of cars honk at me.  "I don't care if you are honking I HAVE to get back on that road." 

Finally, the highway we needed.  It seemed like a 90 minute ordeal.  But we were finally on our way.  My friends said I was a very good driver.  I guess so since I didn't cry or yell or crash into anyone.

I tried my best to keep up with the Portuguese conversation and I had a nice time with my friends.  We stopped at the Chalet De Milho (the Corn Chalet) where you can buy everything corn.

Corn Juice, Corn Pudding, Corn couscous, Corn Pamonha, Corn Ice Cream, Corn Dessert, Corn with Salt.  So many different ways it was unbelievable.

A little Corn Juice?  Or Corn with salt and butter?  Or maybe Corn and couscous?  Or a Corn, Chicken Pie?

At home Jamison lets me know that by some freak collision with Oliver his knee cap seemed to slide over and then back.  Super weird.  He couldn't walk.  Luckily his friend/boss who lives in our condo complex was walking by.  Jamison waved at him to come help him (he managed to get to a bench).  Our friend, Tim, thought he was inviting him to play and he did a polite wave back that he wasn't interested.  But Jamison persisted and got Tim to come over and help Jamison get the kids back in the car, and drive our car back to our house.  I am so glad Tim walked by (and didn't ignore) Jamison at the right moment.

When I came home, Jamison was using the RICE method for his knee, which in this case was actually frozen rice (leftovers from last week).  (Rest Ice Compression Elevation is the usually interpretation).  He said it was OK and he didn't need a doctor.

I had really deep nap on the couch which I estimated to be about 5 minutes until I was climbed upon by a child, but I was so tired I could have slept for an hour.  Then I got up, made Texas Sheet Cake for a church activity.  Picked up my friend (who just went to the temple with me) to go to the church, when I got there I learned I didn't need a Texas Sheet Cake (which was such good news for my family who REALLY wanted a Texas Sheet Cake) because it was a Talent Show.

It was so fascinating and entertaining to watch this talent show.  Each of the wards had a group that did some kind of dance.  I was amazed that there was no self-consciousness as they performed.  It didn't matter there age or size or talent they were all having a really good time!  It was so refreshing!  I don't think I will ever see anything like this again.

(Here is where a picture should go but since we have a tiny problem with the 24,000 photos on the computer not pulling up, I need a bit more time to sort that all out. Sorry!)