storytelling

This passeio (field trip) with the Projeto Vidinha kids had been in the plans for a while. I'd invited Tiago, as he's on vacation these two weeks, to come along as an extra volunteer. The day started off with a phone call. And then another. All in all, Dandy called me five or six times before 1 pm! First it was to confirm that I was coming. Then it was to remind me about something. Then it was, "Julia (her daughter) is in the hospital with appendicitis..." and "you and Tiago are the only adults going!" That's right. The American, the Brazilian visitor, and a teenager, in charge of eleven wired kids on an air conditioned bus heading to downtown Rio. Well, of course, they're only half expecting us, which means that once we find the right door in this huge bank building with at least three entrances, we still have to wait in the lobby for another fifteen minutes as the actors get ready and they find the people who are supposed to show us around. This means lots of kicking, punching, wriggling, and general ADD behavior from each of the identically dressed boys, tattling and preening from the girls, and lots of threats from me. Good thing Tiago knows how to keep order...he disappeared halfway through our wait and I thought, "here it is...scared him off for good!" So I'm running my fingers through my hair and remembering how much he's mentioned how he dislikes wild children and trying to figure out how I'm going to handle them all by my lonesome...when he appears out of nowhere with a sack full of candy to distribute as a nice bribe for silence. He may attempt gruffness and grumpiness, but the man's got a heart of gold! The play was fabulous, a bit of music and banter thrown in with first-class storytelling. I loved it as much as the kids did, and was disappointed that it only lasted an hour.

Ben's back in Rio, so the three of us went out to eat at the outdoor "street" cafe area in the Nova America mall. It's all cobblestones and soft lighting and there was even live music playing...definitely not your typical food court. I ate so much pizza that I feel slightly off-balance. Lost count of the slices. Uck. Tomorrow I eat things that are good for me!

I guess here's as good of a time as any to mention that Tiago and I have moved from just dating to namorado/namorada! And that's enough for tonight, because at this hour, and with the full moon, I could wax quite sappy. I'll spare you that!