Independence

The Bock Family in Brazil is mobile! We are enjoying the city but after two months of looking at these beautiful hills from our apartment we were ready for some independence!

We love the friendly cabbies in Rio but we were ready to start to navigate the Cidade Maravilhosa ourselves!

After years of being independent adults in the US it was an interesting experience to rely on the kindness of others to buy a car. Everything from car shopping to writing out the checks had to be done in Portuguese. It was the ultimate experience in letting go and, more importantly, feeling gratitude for the kindness of others! Thank goodness for our good friends Murillo, Grace and Clarissa! Anyone who has ever car shopped knows it is definitely NOT a great place for kids. Grace, friend and fellow Kindergarten teacher at EARJ, watched the boys while her husband, Murillo, took us car shopping. Clarissa, Kelly's Assistant Teacher, enlisted the help of her father in Sao Paolo, who knew a trustworthy car dealer in Rio. She helped us shop for a car, went to the dealer with us, wrote out the checks and, with her winning smile, helped us secure a fantastic payment plan for our new Honda Fit!

After purchasing our car we were able to take a weekend trip to Itaipava in Petropolis. It is only a two-hour drive from Rio but it felt thousands of miles away. It was a great weekend and our first taste of freedom in Brazil! Check out our photo album here

Itaipava

If we ever had any doubt in the kindness of our fellow humans, it has been restored here in Rio. It is still amazing to us how our lives have been touched by the kindness of others. People we have only known for days have fed us, given us rides, called doctors for us, paid bills for us, gone to the bank for us, helped us get cell phones, translated for us, called taxis for us, cared for our children and invited us into their homes and lives. We are PROFOUNDLY grateful for you and proud to call you our friends!

Kindergarten, first grade, third grade and fourth grade!!!! The last two weeks have been all about understanding the needs of our own children, Zachary (3rd grade) and Jackson (1st grade) but also our students.  Kelly is teaching Kindergarten and Joshua is teaching 4th grade.  Our classes are as unique as ever!  Kelly's class is half Scandinavian with some Brazilian and American mixed in.  Joshua's class is a friendly 4th grade class who threw him the best birthday party ever last week!

We are asked often, how our kids are doing with the transition.  The answer is easy, they love school.  What more could we ask?  There are definitely differences (like Portuguese class for both boys) but overall, kids are kids!  They adapt, make new friends and find ways to be joyful - no matter where they are.  We, moms and dads, can learn a lot!  Kelly and Joshua are certainly glad to have two mentors like Zachary and Jackson!  One of the best perks of being a teacher is that our clientele are the most joyful people in the world - they keep us grounded even when things get tough!

We have been enjoying our weekends as much as our weekdays.  We have been to a few of the touristy parts but mostly we are trying to get out in our little neighborhood, Copacabana.  We finally got bikes this week and were able to get a little further than our block.  Check out the photo album we posted because we know pictures speak louder than words!  We miss and love you all.  We wish we could put you all on a magic carpet and bring you here with us!

September 23, 2012

September 16, 2012

Hippie Fair Copacabana

Jardim Botanico 9.12

First Steps

We have officially been in Rio for 10 days.  Here are the parts we love so far...
Zachary loves playing soccer at school. Jackson loves playing two-square (a version of 4 square) after school.  Joshua loves running barefoot on the beach and moonlit walks on the rocks at Arpoador Park.    Kelly loves learning Portuguese and trying it out on the cab drivers and doormen at our apartment.  Finally, Grandma Jan loves spending time interacting with Kelly's Kindergarteners, especially after spending the last 30 years of her teaching career teaching high school

   We thought you might like to see our first few days here.  Stay tuned...We have more to come!!
First Steps Slide Show

Good byes - for now...

Sometimes it seems that you don’t realize how many people have touched your life until you move away.  Many of you know the lead-up to this adventure has been long. However, you, our friends and family, made it worthwhile! 

We have had the pleasure of seeing so many of you.  Our days and nights have been filled with visits from friends and family.  We don’t know if you all realize how much this has meant to us all. 

You (our friends) have…

played backyard-baseball with us,

brought your babies to meet us,

let our kids hold your babies,

helped us pack,

cut our hair,

reminded us of how special this place will always be,

hiked in Tamarack on full moons,

made us Indian food,

talked school with us,

cooked for us or with us,

eaten walleye tacos with us,

listened to Joshua’s music,

illustrated a book with us,

designed a book with us,

watched the Olympics with us,

read our blog,

had coffee with us,

caught walleye with us,

gotten us out of the house,

packed up our classroom,

borrowed our classroom libraries to put books in the hands of kids,

played music with us and for us,

sang with us and for us,

gave us good reasons to come home,

played Mario on our Wii and our DSs,

gathered around a bonfire with us,

roasted marshmallows with us,

jumped on the trampoline with us.

assumed management of our rental property,

met us at brew-houses,

rented our house,

oohed and awed at our pictures,

laughed with us,

marveled at our bravery (or our craziness),

and there are many more we are sure we have missed.

All of you have made it easier for us to lock the front door, one last time.

We know there are many good people and good children awaiting us in Rio.  We know it will be equally challenging to lock our apartment door one last time to return to Minnesota.

But we want you all to know… because we knew you, we have been changed for the better.

We will remember our long wait fondly and look forward to seeing you in Rio.  We are saving a spare bedroom for you.

Elphaba and Glinda put it best…

It well may seem

That we will never meet again

In this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me

Is made from what I learned from you

You'll be with me

Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring

By a wind off the sea

Like a seed dropped by a skybird

In a distant wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

(Glinda):

Because I knew you

(Both):

I have been changed for good

Read more: WICKED - FOR GOOD LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/for-good-lyrics-wicked.html#ixzz22LrpRago

Copied from MetroLyrics.com

Summiting the First Mountain

We promised to take everyone along on our journey so here was our big first step towards Rio...

This was out summit, at least for Wednesday.  We spent almost an entire day compiling paperwork, checking off checklists so that we could make the 11 minute voyage from 1592 to FedEx on Buerkle Road in White Bear Lake where SOME of our Visa paperwork would take flight to Brazil.

This was the paperwork...

 Below you can see what the boys did while we did the paperwork.  Highly educational and inspiring work!

Here is Jackson's excitement at finally summiting this mountain of paperwork at FedEx...

The golden papers were finally off and we all celebrated, even Joe, the FedEx employee!

Yes, that is the actual receipt for sending the documents to Brazil.  Luckily, it was covered by the school.  

It became clear this week that there will be surprises upon surprises along this journey.  We are trying to celebrate all of the small steps we are taking along the way.  As close as FedEx is from home it felt amazingly foreign.

We will keep you posted as our adventure unfolds.  The encouragement and excitement shown by our families, friends, colleagues and students is wonderful. 

The Journey Begins

Come with the Bock Family as we learn, love, teach and adventure in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! To our families, students, friends and colleagues, this is an invitation to join our adventure! Zachary, Jackson, Kelly and Joshua will post blog entries here to share our learning and our journeys. We will miss you all so much so please comment and post as we try to bridge the distance from the northern to southern hemisphere!


We formally begin on July 21 but have been trying to learn as much as we can about is beautiful country. 


Learn with us...

We will live in an apartment on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. 

We will teach at Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro.

We hear there are monkeys at EARJ that tap on the windows to try to get the attention of the students!

We can't wait to learn along with all of our students, family and friends as we discover Brazil!
Kelly, Joshua, Zachary and Jackson