Jan. 14, 2008 - Fitting in
It seems no matter how hard we try to blend in with Brazillians we always seem to stick out. It may be the fact that we are a family of seven or it may be the fact that our hair color is so much lighter than nations or the fact that we talk to each other in English, we just can't figure....
Brazillians typically have dark or olive skin, dark or black hair, and most of them are small and not very tall. When you look around you do see some people with blonde hair. Most of them have dark eyes and eye brows and you can tell they are not naturally blondes. Our teachers even use the word for blonde when they talk about Abigail's coloring. Abigail's hair is an auburn color. When we walk into a store (as a family) everyone turns and looks at us. Joshua is getting used to people patting his blonde head. This annoyed him when we first arrived but now he doesn't say much about it.
When walking through the mall one day around Christmas I heard a lady counting our children as we went by. I had a good laugh.
There is a large population of Germans in Brazil but not in the area that we live in. We have been asked more than once if we are German. When people find out we are Americans often they try to speak to us in English. It is very popular here to learn English. There are English schools all around.
Maybe once we know the language better we will fit in better. But maybe not. We will just have to let the Lord's light shine through us so that we can lead others to Him.
