My first day in Brazil…

So I’ve survived my first week in the jungle of Brazil… It’s hard for me to believe that just last Saturday I arrived at the Manaus, Brazil airport around noon, so much has happened since then… After waiting for what seemed like hours to get through passport control, collect my luggage and walk through customs, I was met at the airport by a patient missionary couple who helped me exchange money for supplies, treated me to my first taste of Brazilian food for lunch (actually very good:), and then took me out of town to catch a small boat to the Puraquequera mission school that was to be my home for the next few months. Sitting in the front of an aluminum boat, riding down the Amazon River with all of my things in back seemed almost unreal, but the hot humid weather made the wind feel good and reminded me that I was definitely not in Ohio anymore. Soon we were unloading the boat at the school dock and some of the missionary kids who gathered on a higher bank as my welcoming committee came down to the dock see what the newcomer was like… after hugs and hellos one little girl said she was hoping I would have red hair because she liked red hair… no red hair, sorry! My assigned housing was in the far back corner of the campus on the very edge of the jungle so I had a short tour of the place on my way there. Several of the houses sat on a high bank overlooking the Amazon River, while the rest of the 15-20 buildings were scattered around the jungle clearing. All the houses have large screen windows all around with just curtains to let in any breeze, no glass at all. Each has a corrugated aluminum roof which can be seen as the ceiling inside that is about  15 feet at the highest peak and a smooth tile floor. My house is a duplex, shared on one side with a single missionary named Beth, and on my side with my Brazilian housemate Natasha. We each have our own bedroom, and share a bathroom with a flush toilet and shower (no hot water though), and a nice large living space that includes a living room area separated from the kitchen and dining room by a low wall. Hopefully I can post some pictures soon because I’m afraid my descriptions are not very clear… Anyway my first day I did some unpacking, then took a nap because the heat and travel finally wore me out. Supper was with a neighboring missionary family and then Natasha and I played Dutch Blitz with their 5 kids until just before 9:30 pm when the campus generator shuts off and forces a “lights out” with no power for everyone until 6:30 or 7:00 the next morning. My first night was quite an experience sleeping under mosquito netting in the heat and hearing jungle noises like crickets, frogs, birds and the occasional monkey all night long. Thankfully I’ve gotten used to most of it already but decided to forget the mosquito net for now… The end of day one :)