First day in Brazil- Nova Cidade

         On our way to Brazil we had a 3 hour layover in Dallas, Texas which turned into 4 because our pilot was late. But when we were flying over Sao Paulo it was exactly like Dayne described, he said Sao Paulo is the "concrete jungle". Look at all of those buildings! Sao Paulo really is such a massive city. Garbage and bums line the streets and dogs roam everywhere you look. Lets just say it was a total culture shock.

 
         As we were landing after our 10 hour flight the thought came, "What the crap did I get myself into?" It was the first time that I realized the reality of us might not having everything planned that we probably should have, you know, the details. For example, yeah we are taking a bus to Nova Cidade, specifically to Paloma's house, but WHICH BUS? It was official, I was beginning to panic. Not only am I realizing we should have planned more but this is our first BIG INTERNATIONAL trip without my parents. Can we actually do this? And then the thought came, "this will draw you closer to one another". So we grabbed a bus, uncertain if it would take us where we want, and 3 buses later we arrived in the vicinity of their house. Dayne really wasn't recognizing the area at all, we took it to the end of the line (now we were the only ones left the bus and absolutely nothing looked familiar (Oh boy, lets just say the trip isn't off to the best start). After a mile walk with our broken wheeled 40lb bag, we finally found the first family's house. 

          Before we left for our trip we went to the health department where they told us to NOT drink water unless it's from a sealed water bottle, don't drink anything with ice cubes, don't drink juice unless from a sealed bottle, and don't eat food unless its steaming hot or boiling. So far we have done every single one of those and we haven't even been here for more than 12 hours. It's hard to turn down any drink when you are sweating and dehydrated from walking 20 miles (Ok maybe not 20 miles, but you get what I mean). 
          So far we have Paloma and William (members from a ward Dayne served in) who we will be staying the night with. Most everyone in Brazil live on the same property as their other family members. So Paloma and William live on the same property as her parents, sister and her family, and a few other family members. They are all so welcoming! 
         After resting our legs for a bit we headed out to Liris and Leondro's house for a late lunch. The food was actually pretty good! After lunch I watched the soccer game that was on and Dayne went out back and through a football around with their boys.

         We also went to Mamae and Caio's house for dinner. We had Sanduiche De Miojo which I was going to say how to make it but Dayne just stopped me, apparently it is a "mission secret". Sorry folks all I can say is that it is a Top Ramon Sandwich. 
         When we went back to Paloma's house they had pizza there or us (our 3rd meal in less than 6 hours). I tried calabreza for the first time, the meat wasn't too bad but the entire pizza was covered in a ton of onions so I was a little turned off from the get go. For the most part, so far the food is good. 

         My favorite part of the day? Seeing Dayne's and the members eyes light up upon seeing each other after nearly zero contact for the last 6 years.