Policies and Procedures

Sorry Oprah...I really wanted to follow your "No Phone Zone", but sometimes you just have to answer your cell in the car. At least David started the conversation with "you may want to pull over before I say what I have to say". I didn't pull over, thinking if he tells me we're not going to Brazil, I might just drive there myself.

After a weekend of list making, researching schools, cleaning closets, and anticipating the house sale, I was pretty on my way to Sao Paulo.

What did he possibly have to say to freak me out?

His company will not navigate our house sale when we leave for Brazil. They WILL do it when we return. So do WE sell the house? NO. The house will remain ours, sit empty, and be taken care of by a caretaker of sorts.

This is a complete shock and hard to digest at first. Yet, after a couple of days, it's a much less stressful option and more financially advantageous. No worrying about the housing market, getting the house ready, showings, storage, selling the cars, where we'll live when the house sells. We'll just pack our clothes, designate the furnishings for Brazil, lock the doors and go. Guess we should have read the policies a little more closely up front. We could have had more fun last weekend.

Crazy problem number two- the American school is full for next year. There are no spots for either child. Next best location is a British school which may have room, but it is very stuffy and we may only apply in person. They'll get one look at us and also have no room. Choice three is a Christian school at the South end of the city, which would be over an hour commute for the kids one way. Fourth option is a Catholic school. We're not Catholic which will place other Catholic applicants above us, not to mention the amount of time devoted to mass everyday. Bottom line is, we have no school for the kids to attend next year, so we're exploring options and crossing our fingers that there will be an large exodus from The Graded School next year.

In spite of all this, we're still extremely excited. All the details will be worked out at some point and until then, we're familiarizing ourselves with Portuguese, although the kids may end up speaking with a British accent.