Barretos . . . finally!

At 4am on Monday morning Jess and I arrived both early and late in Barretos. We were earlier than expected, because the bus had left Sao Jose dos Campos an hour later than it should have, and still managed to here arrive on time. Hmmm. We were later than expected, because our original plan was to be here three weeks ago. Nevertheless, it was an all-around happy arrival, except for the fact that the extendable handle on my (new) suitcase decided to snap when we got here. Which should make it interesting to get around from now on. The other two suitcases we brought along have semi-wobbly wheels that give the distinct impression that they will stop working if not pulled with the utmost care. Jess has already had to take her suitcase apart and fix a wheel that gave up turning. So for now, no more quick getaways. Not that we´ve actually have had to to make any quick getaways yet, but I sometimes imagine the two of us having to tear off with our luggage bouncing behind us in situations of danger. I´ll have to stop imagining those pressing situations now.

Enough about suitcases, on to Barretos. This place is great. I just asked Jess for words to describe Barretos. Here´s her contribution for today: blistering hot. She´s actually saying quite a bit more, but it´s rather random since she just woke up from an uncomfortably hot nap and isn´t thinking straight. It´s currently 33 degrees and . . .

I heard a splash in the pool just now and went to see if what I thought had happened just happened. It did. Jess just let herself fall into the pool clothes and all! It´s that hot.

The population of Barretos is about 120 000. Esdras´mom described the naming of the streets around the house as ´like New York City - they´re all numbered´. So it´s nice and easy to get around. Last night Esdras´ dad and sister took us for a tour of the city so we could get a feel for the place. It´s really nice here! It feels calm and peaceful and, as Jess described, if we had to drive here in Brazil, this would be a nice city to start off in. Right near the house are three lakes that we walked around our first evening here. The city is famous for an annual rodeo that takes place August/Septemberish. A million people pass through over the course of 10 days.

I think I´ll end here for now because it really is too hot to be sitting in front of the computer. I know that many of you are probably waiting to hear about what decision we finally came to about the job, but that will have to wait for another day.