why rice and beans is my favorite protein

o meu brasil: september 2001-april 2003.

here's the brasilian national anthem--scroll down to the bottom and play the "lyric" button to listen to while reading this entry. it makes me get teary-eyed.

this month is the 5-year mark since i've been home from brasil, where i served an lds mission. i can't believe it's been 5 years already! i served in the sao paulo interlagos mission--the city was divided into 4 regions: north, south, east, and interlagos (the western corner). i served in 4 areas (itapeva, varginha, cotia, and ibiuna), had 6 companions (missionaries always travel in twos, called a companionship), had three nametags, learned some of the greatest lessons of my life in a short 18 months, and fell in love with the portuguese language and brasilian culture. i had one american companion for a short 6 weeks; all the rest were brasilian, which is what i wanted--if i was with a brasilian companion i would be fully immersed in the language, culture, and idiosyncrasies and learn faster. i was actually very surprised to have been called to serve in brasil. to serve a mission, you fill out a few papers, mail them in to church headquarters, and 3-4 weeks later a big white envelope is mailed back, telling you where you're going to go. one form you fill out describes your education, languages, places lived, etc. by that point in my life, i had lived in italy, learned italian, and taught it as a night course for the community college of baltimore county. i was pretty set on returning to italy for a mission. but i had other things to learn, and wouldn't have learned them in any other arena--brasil was perfect for me!

a missionary is supposed to wear his/her nametag at all times. the first one i received with my mission packet was for "elder markanich", because my first name is michal. i phoned the church mission office and they told me to get a new nametag at the training center in brasil. so my second nametag correctly said "sister markanich". my third nametag was in tribute to my nickname i gained down there, "sister loira" (pronounced loy-rah). in portuguese loira means blond/fair. my hair is very blond, and only gets blonder in the sun. by the end of my mission my hair was practically white. i had an elder buddy who was serving in the office when i ended my mission, and he agreed to make me a new sister loira nametag for my farewell interview with the mission president, and to wear home.
i left two weeks after 9/11 (i was very worried i would be postponed or sent somewhere else to serve my mission), and spent 2 months in the "centro de treinamento missionario"--the training center for missionaries in sao paulo. it was a very long two months of intense language learning and how-to-be-a-missionary learning.























i was "stationed" in itapeva for an unusual 9 months. itapeva is in the "interior"--into the western countryside and out of the city. i guess you typically stay in an area 4-5 months before being "transferred," or moved to another area, with another companion. transfers happened every 6 weeks, and if you were being transferred you and your companion went to the city center, met up with your new companion, and moved to your new area. some moves were definitely more emotional than others. so in itapeva, i was with my brasilian trainer, sister martins (pronounced mar-cheens) for 5 months. she went home and sister stubbs (american) and i were companions for 6 weeks. at that point i was going to be transferred somewhere else, they just didn't know where. so i got to the city, and they ended up sending me back to itapeva to train sister alves. after about 3 1/2 months i was finally, officially transferred from itapeva to varginha--right in the heart of the city.






















i loved varginha from the start. it was near the city center and was busy, bustling, lights and music at night, street vendors with grilled corn, coconut drinks, and "sanduiches", smiles everywhere. by far, varginha was my favorite area and i had a great companion--sister leite (pronounced lay-chee). by this point my portuguese was good enough people thought i was a brasilian from the south (germans settled in the south, so it wasn't unusual to find blond haired, fair-skinned brasilians down there). i had a good time telling them i was from "virginia", which was located just up north. sister leite and i were there for 5 months, and then we were both transferred and the area was closed to sister missionaries due to safety concerns.





















sister santos and i "re-opened" granja viana, located near cotia, for sister missionaries. sisters hadn't been there for a while. everyone in brasil loves missionaries, but they especially love sister missionaries, so we got a very nice welcome. it was just 2 weeks before christmas, and the ward was very welcoming. this area actually had a ward, not just a branch, and they were so excited to have two sets of missionaries--elders and sisters. i had more of a culture shock going to this area than entering brasil for the first time. varginha was a very poor area where mostly everyone left at 4am to catch a bus for their jobs as maids. granja viana was the area where people employed the maids. huge, gated communities with huge american houses. there was a walmart-like shopping center right down the road from our apartment, which was a huge shock, after having grocery shopped in small corner stores for the last 12-15 months. there was a poorer section to our area, too, and i felt more comfortable there.















i thought i was going to end my mission in granja viana, but there was a surprise transfer for me--with only 5 weeks left, i was sent to ibiuna to be with sister carvalho (pronounced car-vall-yoh). it was kind of an odd situation--i was kind of an odd sister out. we were together for 2 weeks, and then sister tua'one was coming to join us, whom sister carvalho was going to train. a senior couple, elder and sister nelson, were also joining us, and i was supposed to work with them to teach them portuguese, and "train" them. so while they learned rudimentary portuguese the first 3 weeks of their mission, i re-learned english the last 3 weeks of mine. ibiuna was back out in the country, and it was nice to see the rolling hills again and fresh air.


so what have i been doing since i've been home? i worked at a family practice back in virginia when i got home (they "saved" my position for me) until i moved out to utah to be with david so we could date in person; david and i got married june 19, 2004; i worked at a rheumatology office for 3 years in orem; i have worked at a pediatric office for the last 3 years (i worked at both offices for about a year 1/2); i will graduate with my bs in community health in december 2008 (finally--my ten-year bachelor!). that's about it. my portuguese is a little rusty. i still read my book of mormon in portuguese, but that's all. i miss rice and beans (i can't seem to make it quite like it was in brasil); pao de queijo; peruas stuffed beyond a legal limit; sun; putting -inho on the end of words (it's a suffix tacked on when you want express something is very cute, or very small, or the poor little thing, etc.)--bonitinho, baixinho, tadinho, etc.; hanging my clothes in the sun to dry; speaking, thinking, breathing portuguese.
thanks for being a little nostalgic with me!

tagged

ok, so jenny tagged me.  here's what i am supposed to do:

1. grab the nearest book 

2. turn to page 123

3. find the 5th sentence

4. post said sentence on your blog

so, i have three books here by the computer: 1. the bluest eye by toni morrison, 2. bless me, ultima by rudolfo anaya, and medical anthropology in ecological perspective by mcelroy & townsend.  i think the 3rd book is the most interesting, and here's what pg 123 line 5 has to say:

"The practice of cannibalism of dead relatives at funerals among the fore of paupa new guinea, which began around 1910, turned out to be maladaptive due to the chance introduction of a pathogen that contaminated the tissues consumed by women at these funerals."  

the tally is in: hotels are more comfortable than yurts

so we survived our road trip--super long and super fun road trip.  quick recap: 

number of cities we stopped in overnight: 7 (reno nv, brookings or, florence or, newport or, seattle wa, butte mt, billings mt)

estimated number of miles we drove: 2, 925

estimated amount spent on gas: $409.50

number of nights in a yurt: 1

number of meals cooked while camping: 2

number of hotels stayed in: 4

number of days we had sunshine: 3 or 4 out of 8

number of books on cd we listened to while driving: 3 (bless me, ultima; the golden compass; the subtle knife)

number of sand dollars beachcombed: 7

ok, enough of that--let's get to the photos!

this was in crescent city, or, when we first reached the coast.  we had just come out of the winding roads through the redwoods and were carsick, and this was the best place to pull over.  we smelled the salty sea air, the ocean wind on our faces, felt the sea mist--it was perfect!  the first thing we did was run to the ocean, david plunged his hand in the water and we licked the water residue to make sure it really was the salty ocean and not just a really big lake we'd driven to.  off-season for swimming, but it was fun to walk along the beach with the ocean wind at our backs.
here's the long-awaited for yurt.  outside and inside photos.  our first stop along the coast: brookings, or.  as far as camping goes, this is the most comfortable i've been.  the campground was just up the hill from the beach--maybe a 2 minute walk.  as you can see, the yurt came fully equipped with lights, a space heater, a futon, bunk beds, a couple chairs, and a table.  the showers and toilets were located in the "community outhouse" area about 50 yards away from our yurt.  don't worry, there was a girl and boy side, and everything was very private.  david could even do the dishes in the shower the next morning without fear of being seen or intruded on!  the park attendant told us further north near coos bay there were deluxe yurts!--kitchen area, toilet, and shower all included in the yurt.  we were excited to try one of those out, but by the time we got to the park it was raining cats and dogs, it was super wet and cold, and the campground only had regular yurts available.  we decided it was too wet to cook and camp (i know...whimps!), so we kept on driving to florence, or. and stayed in a bed and breakfast.


this is cape blanco lighthouse.  it was on the road between brookings and florence.  this photo doesn't do justice--it was raining so hard and the wind was at least 50-70mph, so the rain came at us sideways and felt like bullets!  we could hardly push open the car doors to get out of the car.  david jumped straight up into the air and landed about 2 feet in front of where he had originally jumped from--all from the wind. 
driftwood on the florence beach.  well, more like a drifttree.  we loved florence, or.  we weren't even planning on staying there, but we ended up having a much better vacation because we didn't stick with our plans and went where the rain blew us.  florence is a little artist alcove, has the best beachcombing beach, the nicest folks, and the best seafood restaurant anywhere!  we stayed at a cute little bed & breakfast, and the owner suggested we eat dinner at the waterfront depot.  the atmosphere is amazing--it feels like a quaint, intimate living room, has a new york city buzz about it, the most amazing menu, and prices that can't be beat.  we had an appetizer, soup and salad (the most amazing clam chowder ever--i need to master that recipe!), main entrees, shared a dessert, and the bill was $40.  the most expensive thing on the menu was the surf 'n turf at $13.50.  they obviously make their money from the drinks at the bar; as we don't drink, we escaped with a pretty good bill!  if you ever go near the state of oregon, you HAVE to go to the waterfront depot--it's worth the drive from whichever part of oregon you are in. 
this is outside the sea lion caves between florence and newport.  one of our bright, sunny days, as you can see.  so we're standing above the cave right now.  you pay to ride an elevator down 250 ft, right into the heart of the cave, and listen to all the sea lions down on the rocks.  it was amazing!  there was a skeleton found in the early 1800s by an explorer; the sea lion skeleton isn't dated, but they've obviously been coming to this cave for a long time.

this is the view from the cave looking outside.  i couldn't get over how rough and frothy the ocean is along this rocky coast.  i am used to the east coast beaches of delaware and maryland--long stretches of golden sand, brownish greenish waves with a couple crests before rolling into the beach.  on this coast, the waves crashed while still 100 yards away from the beach, and kept right on crashing, creating an ocean of rough white waves.  
the next three photos are of the tidal pools in newport, or beach.  we went beachcombing during negative tide, and so we could go really far out along the rocks and look for starfish and other marine life.  ironically, much of what we found in the tidal pools was the exact same marine life on display in the oregon coast aquarium in newport!




these photos are in the aquarium.  in the above photo we are standing in a real live prehistoric shark jaw.  the guy taking the photo said to look scared, but he took so long taking it that david looks like he's just kind of laughing at me and i look like i'm searching for cavities.  below is an example of the original diving hats!  

we finally made it to seattle!  christian and robin took us on a spectacular night tour of the city, as we arrived fairly late, and we think we got the best view of the city this way!  we loved seeing the lights across the bay.
this is the troll who guards the bridge.  he's smashing a car in his left hand.

the next morning they took us to the market--it was sooo cool to walk up and down the old brick roads and see all the fresh fruit, smell the flowers, look at jams and chocolates, watch the cheesemakers (photo below), and eat freshly fried doughnuts.  seattle is a very busy city!  it's sort of like the busyness of new york, the tiny roads of europe, the eclectic beatnik feel from the 60s all rolled into one city with major roads and bridges and water all intertwined.  




from seattle we traveled on to billings to see david's family.  i don't know why i didn't pull my camera out in mt, but the fruit stands in seattle is where our photos stop.  

on the road to billings we finished the golden compass and began the subtle knife, the first two books in the dark materials trilogy.  philip pullman presents interesting concepts, but neither of us felt attacked as christians.  i thought his ideas were very similar to madeleine l'engle, whose works i devoured as an adolescent.  overall, they were very intriguing and it kept us awake while we were driving.  

in billings we had a bbq with all the cousins and aunts and uncles, and it was great to catch up with everyone.  we also drove all around town looking at potential neighborhoods we'd like to live in when we move there, and found out msu-b has potential to accept david as an in-state student to finish his bachelor's, which is promising news.  we still need to call and get specific information, but we feel very hopeful about being able to move in the next 12-18 months.  we're excited to keep moving forward!!    

yurt dream come true

in my other life i was a dreamer, i wasn't very grounded, and when i grew up i wanted to be a nomadic pastoralist in kyrgyzstan. what most intrigued me about this profession was living in a yurt.
here i am, 10years later, and my dream is coming true!! david and i are taking a pretty big road trip, and we are going to be sleeping in yurts along the way. we are leaving saturday after i get off work and we're heading west--yep, that's right--toward the coast! once we get in the sight and smell of salty ocean air we're going to head north along the oregon coast. we plan on packing our camping stove, sleeping bags, and non-perishable food, and we'll sleep in yurts conveniently located 1/4 of a mile from the beach in various state parks along the way. during the day we will beach comb, whale watch, take a tour of the tillamook cheese factory, and eventually make it up to seattle, to visit my brother and sister-in-law. after a seafood fest in seattle we'll make the 12-hr trek to billings, mt to visit david's parents for a couple of days.
i can't believe all the good things we're getting next week--the ocean, seafood, family, and yurts!!

WHAT?!

definitely the weirdest headline i've seen this week! how do you miss that one?!

inspiration

there is a family in our church who has had a very touching experience. their son and daughter-in-law had a baby a few weeks ago with many health issues. they knew he would enter this life with these issues and chose to go full-term and offer him life (however short) rather than abort early on. check out their blog to learn more about their experience and how they relied on God to understand this experience, and the knowledge that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings eternal families.

what's your super power?

i've recently discovered my own, personal incredible super power. even though i was born with this power, i had no idea of its potency, much less its presence in my life, until david pointed it out a few weeks ago. now i see it everywhere i go. it's almost become a curse. here are some photos of me growing up; let's see if you spy my super power:

in the top photo i am 13 months old, in the bottom probably 3 or 4. i think my super power is much more visible in the bottom photo, simply because there is an obvious glowing difference between me and the rest of my family. the unbelieving might blame genetics. here are a couple more examples, then you can tell me if you agree with genetics or super power:


the top photo is from when i was a nanny in italy. i spent every day watching the kids on the beach. the sun definitely adds strength to my super power. as you can see in the middle photo of christian and me, however, the sun doesn't work in the same way, even on blood relations. this photo was taken after christian had gotten back from his lds mission to italy, where he'd spent time walking around in the sun all day every day. i, meanwhile, had been home from italy for about 9months, and was living in central pa at the time. my power was still outshining his. the last photo on the bottom is of my two brothers and me, taken maybe a week after i'd gotten home from my lds mission to brasil. it is so obvious here i think you have guessed it by now: i am blond. super blond. i have never colored, dyed, or even so much as highlighted my hair. the sun does that for me. i guess you could say i am like superman in that respect: i draw my strength from the sun.
i guess i never noticed this power before because it's what i've always had and always lived with. here's when this power was drawn to my attention: a few weeks ago david asked me to bring his work shoes to red wing to get them waterproofed for him. so after class i drove to the store and asked the guy to waterproof the boots. he gave them back to me in a box, all gelled up and ready to go. i thanked him for being so kind and went on with my day. when david got home and saw his boots super-gelled waterproofed, sitting in a box, we had a conversation that went something along these lines:
"he did this because you're blond!" david exclaimed.
i looked at him incredulously, "what? he's a really nice guy, david. i think he was just doing his job. i said thank you."
"he's never given me a box before! and these are like, super-gelled waterproofed! he's never done this nice of a job for me. it's because you're blond. this always happens!" he complained. this isn't the first time david has made this complaint. he often says "it's because you're blond", but i typically brush off the comment because i have no idea why he can't accept people simply being courteous or doing their job.
"what are you talking about?! i think you're acting a little insecure. there are a lot of other blond connotations out there, you know, none of which have to do with getting a good waterproofing job as far as i know. give me some more proof, then maybe i'll believe you."
david then proceeded to list a number of occurrences in which he saw my super power in action:

• whenever we go to a fast food restaurant, we always stand in line next to each other so we can order together. i usually order first, and rather than turning their attention to david, the cashier person (usually male) always then states the amount due. he doesn't even look at david; it's like he isn't even present. david has to interject and order for himself.
• david says guys are always looking at me when we go jogging together; i don't notice--i'm focused on breathing. he always thinks guys are hitting on me, too. i think they are just trying to strike up conversation.
  
• i was in line at the grocery store doing a produce run, so the conveyer belt was full of fruits and veggies. the guy in the line behind me was doing some "fit" promo, i think. he had about 15 "fit" bowls with fit-in strainers and the "fit" fruit and veggie wash. he starting talking to me about eating well and complimented me on my food choices. he then offered to give me a "fit" fruit and veggie washing kit for free. after my skeptical looks he explained there were no strings attached, and he put one in my cart and told the cashier lady to charge him for it.
• i always made really good tips as a waitress, got a lot of stares, and even got asked out once. would this have happened had i been brunette?
  
• when i was in italy and brasil i constantly got whistled and stared at. i was using the pay phone in italy once when a random guy walked up to me and told me i had stars in my eyes. i think he'd had a little too much vino...
• when i worked as david's runner over christmas, i got called honey, babe, gal, and was whistled, winked, and stared at.
• i was on my deathbed sick with the flu a couple weeks ago, and when i returned to school i was still coughing a little bit. i was sitting in the lunchroom, reading my textbook before class, and started to cough a little bit. no big deal. i happened to be sitting next to the cashier guys. one guy completely stopped traffic, literally knelt on one knee as though he was about to propose, wrapped an arm around the back of my chair and very earnestly asked if i was ok. he didn't leave until i'd explained i'd been sick, but i was fine now.
  

anyway, as david listed more and more items i realized i have been getting preferential treatment nearly my entire life--and i haven't even noticed it until now! this got me thinking: do i have a 3.9gpa because i'm blond and the majority of my professors have been male? have i always gotten the job on the spot because i'm blond and not because of my resume? i usually befriend guys before girls because they're easier to talk to...do i have friends only because i'm blond? did david marry me because i'm blond? after i posed this concern to him, david assured me that although he may have become my pen pal because i was blond, he married me because he'd fallen in love with me. phew.
so david thinks i have a super power that gives us more opportunities than if i were brunette or redhead. but even after all the examples he listed, i still have to put my two cents in. i mean, if you're blond, you also have the blond curse. all you natural blonds out there know what i'm talking about. when we wear make-up, we look natural. without make-up, we look dead. then there's the "blonds have more fun" stigma, and the "dumb blond" stigma. do people always envision greek goddesses as blond? i've always pictured athena as brunette, and aphrodite with flowing red tresses. i bet all the brunettes and redheads out there picture blond princesses in fairy tales.
if i've ever made anyone do something due to my power, i sincerely apologize. it was completely unwittingly. now that i am aware of this super power, i will definitely try to keep its effects to a minimum. i mean, i certainly don't want to go through life thinking it's just my hair and not me that's making a difference!

P.S. david has a super power, too (he was jealous i didn't include this earlier). legend has it he was getting his physical to begin working as a driver for ups. part of the exam included an eye test. the proctor asked him to stand behind a predetermined line and read the smallest line of letters possible. david cheerily responded, "ok, i'll read line 8." (who knows if it really was line 8, he can't remember, we just put that number in there to further the plot) the proctor disbelievingly replied, "what line?" you see, even though she was standing right next to it, she couldn't even see a line 8 with her simple 20/20 vision. david then proceeded to read without hesitation, backwards and forwards, every letter of the line perfectly. you see, folks, he has been gifted with 20/13 vision. genetics or super power? you decide.

rocca my world

we were first introduced to mo rocca while doing saturday morning errands and listening to npr's "wait wait...don't tell me!" radio gameshow program where you can win carl kassel's voice on your answering machine (!). mo was one of the commentators and we laughed every time. he has a dry, matter-of-fact way of stating the comically obvious.

we next saw him on food network's iron chef as a judge. as always, the amusingly dry comments, which seemed even funnier in this arena because he isn't a "foodie" like the rest of the judges are. he definitely made the show a little quirkier, which is an improvement.

we then met mo in person at uvsc last wednesday!! he came to little old uvsc (most likely on a connecting flight from somewhere to somewhere), and made us all laugh with how to be an expert in any field you so choose. a little political discussion on the presidential candidates was thrown in for good measure. david and i stood in line for a book signing after the program, and we were both very impressed by how approachable he is. neither of us have ever met a celebrity before, so we don't know how they really act, but mo seemed genuinely interested in talking with the people who were getting their books signed. he didn't seem like he was in a hurry, or thought it was annoying or boring. he gladly had girls kiss him on the cheek while taking pictures, shook hands, and personalized each book. way to go mo!