Neff women 2010
One weekend a year, the women who can make it come together to hang. We cook, laugh, talk, eat, do crafts, and share creative spirits. Grandpa is the only male allowed. It's a good time. There are usually kids, but a little quieter with none represented this year. Enjoy the pics!
Lots of good food and people!
1. Great meal with Georgette (ICSA) and Mario. Mario is a chef and all of it was amazing! We had such a great evening! 2. I went to Chattanooga, TN this past weekend for a girl's weekend with Stephanie (CA) and Lauren (TN). What a wonderfully refreshing time! 3. Papa was in town last night, so we had a fabulous dinner in Staunton. We also celebrated our belated birthdays!
SEE PICS
Happy Birthday to me!
Best birthday present = retreat weekend. We unplugged from everything...slept a lot, lots of tv and movies, enjoyed the nice weather, did some shopping, saw Bruni play, and hung out with some friends. Raf has had an intense week and a half with work, so we were exhausted once the weekend rolled around. Back to the grind now, but what a refreshing break! (
See pics)
My view
See pics tab for the flowers that I looked at for 2 weeks straight. I had an intense 2 weeks of very focused paper writing and the flowers were my view across from me at our kitchen table. One more week and then Spring Break!
Concerts
We went to a house concert of a few local friends (part of the artist community) and young people from the Mennonite Church. (see pics)
We also saw Beleza Brazil tear down the house with music and dancing. (no pics)
Last night, as an early b-day present to me, we saw Celtic Woman for the first time. We randomly saw them on tv and thought it would be a good concert. If you can imagine what kind of crowd PBS viewers are, you're right on. In Celtic Woman's cheesier moments, there are lots of hand motions and choreographed steps. However, their violinist shines and in their harmony is penetrating. Enjoy some of the clips and pictures!
Rugged Individualism
2.5 ft. of snow. Almost 2 days later of no power. Neighbors.
We, unlike other neighbors, were very fortunate to have a fireplace that kept us warm. It is not a duty that motivates me to make the rounds to check in on our neighbors.
It is a mutuality. A sense of togetherness. A partnership in life.
* One neighbor (with a baby) would rather risk a night without heat, drive 20 miles to a hotel rather than walk 20 ft. to a neighbor’s house for warmth.
* I found a neighbor huddled with his family by their largest window for warmth. They have a fireplace but never used it, so I helped them get it started. They would rather have gone cold than ask a neighbor for help.
* Another neighbor – elderly couple – managed to make it through one night (11 degrees) with no heat but came over the 2nd day to warm up.
What is it about this culture’s relentless autonomy and rugged individualism that drives people to avoid relying on each other even in such dire circumstances? This is one aspect of the States that I will hopefully never adopt. (See Pics)
Winter in VA
S.N.O.W! 2nd time in VA this winter that we've gotten major snow for these parts. Of course, everyone's going crazy...see pictures tab
Ceremony
I sat waiting for over an hour as “guests” arrived into a separate room for the official ceremony to begin. An enthusiastic white, middle-aged American woman sat next to me and asked me my country of origin and how long the process of naturalization had taken for me. I politely explained that I was actually a guest for my husband’s naturalization ceremony. Without hesitation, she was overjoyed to welcome both of us. She was genuinely thrilled to witness another group of people choosing to become Americans. After the ceremony was over and the 40ish persons were officially granted citizenship, she publicly gave a speech exclaiming that she would, “ like to welcome all the beautiful people into the beautiful American family” and she encouraged everyone to live there lives, “in the most beautiful way they could”.
I’m not quite sure how I completely define myself as it keeps shifting and evolving, but I know that I’ve never felt the same kind of pride as the woman next to me for our country, for any country. My head was spinning with questions of identity, especially since the decision Rafael had made many months earlier was actually here. Maybe I haven’t, yet, arrived at the level of my ceremonial neighbor, but I have felt numb/neutral towards nationalism all my life. Ironic that on the day that Rafael was choosing American citizenship, I was reminded that I define myself in many ways, but rarely by my nationality. I think my neighbor would be disappointed in me. :) See pics below.
FUTBOL!
So, I finally have gotten my act together and joined an indoor soccer league. I am actually a little late in the sign up, (I missed a game) but my first is tonight. I am practically bursting at the seams! Whenever Elisa comes along, she can document some of the action packed excitement! :)
Soweto
Last night we had the privilege of experiencing
Soweto Gospel Choir live. It was of course great fun. You can listen to a sound sample in the video section. There is no actual video, since they did not permit cameras, but we decided to be a little sneaky. ;)
Some More Set Up Stuff
It's probably a little bit obnoxious right now, but I just uploaded a bunch of pictures without any obvious relation besides a time line snapshot. Moving forward, hopefully we can stay a little more on top of things.
Nuestro Mundo - Take 2
...And so begins attempt number two. The difference is usability and focus. This is a place to share pictures. New problem: We need to take more pictures!
