Brazil 4-20

Presently i am staying in Sorocaba, a city of about 125,000 about an hour from Sao Paulo, in the state of the same name. The family consists of a pa stor and his wife, three young adult children, one married, and one granddaughter. She is quite active and industrious. Although the television is on all day, mostly cartoons, she does not actively watch all the time. At least daily she changes into a blue "princess" dress. Yesterday the mother, son, and one daughter and i went to the town center. We toured a small railroad museum, which, if i have the story straight, tells of the work of a Hungarian immigrant named Maylasky, who pioneered the first railroad into the interior of Sao Paulo state. After this we strolled through the market area. Although Brazil has supermarkets as in the US, much food is sold in little shops that specialize in meat, or bread, or other things. I ended up buying a pair of sturdier sandals. i was even mistaken for a Brazilian, according to my hosts. In the evening the other daughter and her friend and i went on an exercise walk. My conversational skills are gradually improving. I even was given the opportunity to recite my nine memorized verses in Portuguese to see if they made sense to my auditors. Apparently they did. One commented that most Brazilians speak Portuguese ungrammatically, so perhaps i am not all that unusual. The family has a "fusca", ( VW bug) dating from 1978, and a Fiat, which are very popular here. As a former hippie, it is fascinating to see how many of the old VW's have survived in Brazil. The family works a lot. The pastor does not receive a salary because the congregation is so poor. He works during the day at a regular job, and teaches subjects at a school at night. My friend, the son, works during the day and goes to school at night. One sister works during the day, and leaves early. The mother is in the kitchen all the time, but when i asked, she said she really enjoys cooking. As usual, they want to feed me far more than I need. Today it is raining which curtails outdoor activity. I have begun reading a different version of the Bible in Portuguese, and decided to read aloud. Even though this is slower, i think it will give me better comprehension, and maybe aid my pronunciation.