95 degrees, last seats, windows bolted shut, heater, toxinous b-room smells

At one point during the bus ride home, Quinn actually shouted out:

LORD, HAVE MERCY ON US ALL

...and that was only half way home.

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In other news: We have been served many figs and pastes made of figs as we visit members. Quinn has lost many pounds and is starting to look lethargic. It is humbling, what we have seen. I have done service projects in Mexico and thought I had seen poverty before, but really I had no notion of what poverty is really like. Tonight was the most difficult. We spent the entire day in sweltering heat and humidity sitting in the stairway of a `house`and listened to a family describe their life and offer us things we new they could not afford. It was very very difficult to come back to the Sheraton and walk into our air conditioned room with carpet and see all of our things. It was an undescribable experience that I hope I never get over. It has been very difficult to visit the members in the heat and with the distance and danger, but it has been humbling to the core. More later.

We go to Salavador tomorrow morning for the last leg of our trip. I think we shall sit on the beach and not move the entire time we are there. We are exhausted... and hungry. Then it~s a day in Mexico city and we´ll be home.

Love you all!

Q and Nic

Caçapava

We are now officially backpacking the country. We stored our luggage and hopped a bus into the mountains to see Q´s fave area. We also got to meet/remeet his first contacts and baptisms. It was emotional and so amazing to watch them talk. I had no idea and continue to have no idea what anyone is saying but I love it because I know that I may be the only person in America to ever have heard Q speak Portugese. I always thought he was attractive- but there´s something completely compelling when he drops the English. Incidentally, I am completely and totally dependant on him. No wonder there are no tourists here. If you didn~t speak the language, you would be lost forever!!! We stayed in a pretty... what´s the word... run-down place last night. It´s supposed to be the nicest hotel for miles. I´ll just say, while I was lying in bed, a bug crawled across my face.

Cest la vie. I´d do it again to visit the members and see their faces when they opened the door and SUPRISE- elder Hadley was back 8 years later. There´s my French again. Sheesh- why is it that I can remember every phrase and word I ever learned in French and Spanish but I cañ´t possibly remember more than 2 words in Portugese? This language is so weird!

The people are so nice and giving, generous and humble. It has done me good to see how people are totally content living in dirt shacks because they have the gospel and eachother.

Hope all is well.

Q and N

Feliz Natal

We have made it to the mission and are planning a nice Christmas Eve dinner of room service and sprite (YIPEE!- it´s been a while since me and sprite). Q has a pretty nasty hornet sting that´s not going away any time soon but we made it through the rain forest at Iguacu unscathed. Today we stopped by the mission office and were able to plan our next 4 days. Tomorrow we will take a bus to Caçapava and then back to Porto Algre for church and temple stops.

Happy Christmas!

Q and N

PS: Mom Hadley- Two Words: panatone season!!! (-says Q, DOUBLE YUCK says Nicole)

One phrase you DO NOT want to hear in bed

It´s not all kicks and giggles.
Here I am, happily lying in my bed in my little hut in the Amazon when all of the sudden Quinn jumps up, startled, and with a wild look in his eyes.

"DON´T MOVE!" He yells.

I´m a bit curious about his hustle at this point but too tired to be overly alarmed... until he finishes the rest:

"There´s a snake crawling up your pillow."

From the Amazon

Hello All,

Wanted to let you all know we are in Brazil and alive (at least for now). We were both in quite a bit of culture shock for about a day and 1/2. Seriously different here- definitely third world. I keep asking Quinn how he lived like this for 2 years and all he says back is,`I brought my own bedding.` Q´s language is coming right back, you should see him talking to everyone in this crazy foreign tongue. Its not a thing like Spanish´at all- it sounds so European. I can´t believe MY husband speaks a completely other language like it´s nothing. My favorite thing is to take taxii rides and listen to Quinn speak with the driver the whole trip. I don~t care what we had to spend, hearing Q speak portuguese for 17 + days is worth every penny!

You may be pleased to know that Mexicana Air is great. They serve lots of meals and pass out sleeping kits with nice socks and chapstick. Also, there are no regrets what-so-ever in splurging for the upscale hotels. In fact, I would venture to say that the resorts are the only way an American could stay here and live to tell the tale of it. The service is great and the people are so happy all the time.

We have been to Sao Paulo and Manaus and are now deep in the Amazon jungle. We are staying in little huts on stilts in a river and we have a pet alligator that we named carl whom we feed from our porch about 4 feet away. We also have bright red and blue Macaw parrots living in the jungle trees above our swimming pool.

We have sweated off a few pounds but so far, no need for pepto. Shouldn´t have jinxed it though. Tonight we had a mysterious lime drink that was too tantalizing to pass up and we may live to regret it. Tomorrow is pirhana fishing and another jungle treck. The next day we get to see the RIO NEGRA and AMAZON meet, then it~s off to Iguaçu. This may be our only internet access so I suppose we´ll fill you in with all the details when we get back if you want them.

See you in a couple weeks! Feliz Natal!

Quinn and Nicole

PS- we are going through 100% deet like there´s no tomorrow!

Matt, I hope you can forgive me but I just drank out of a pop can with a straw.... I hope we can still be friends...

BEST OF 2009- nods to EM-SHIZZLE

So I have this friend, whose name for all intensive purposes is named Em-Shizzle. I only knew her for an incredibly daring and thrilling month abroad in Spain but I am convinced we were secretly friends in a past life. I stock her blog about once a month and often wonder what she ever did about that guy who had a crush on her in Andalusia. She doesn't know it- but she is one of only two or three people who I feel totally get "it"- life I mean. A little sarcasm, some introspection, and lest we not forget a dash of cynicism all mixed in with an air of les et fair that simply poses as a front for really caring. Seriously, her stuff is one of the very few things worth reading online.

She's real. SO...... back to THIS.

Or getting there actually. I'm not a conformist, but Em-shizzle has peaked my interest so that I want in too. Here it is- late, completely depressing because 2009 bombed on my charts, but here none-the-less because whether I got the idea from someone else or not, it is a good idea (of course it is, it's from Em-Shizzle) and I'll be glad I have it some day.
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BEST OF 2009
1. What was your best trip in 2009?

OK- it's my first entry and I'm already depressed. Have I mentioned how insanely DEPLORABLE 2009 was? Usually Q and I travel quite a bit but this year we "pour"ed every penny into paying off our second mortgage thus kissing two years of salary good bye for good (yep- that sucked). Anyhow, my two trips of the year included a PLC teachers conference with my principal and SCMS teachers, and OGDEN for Q's Dad's funeral (during which I was so beyond sicker-than-a-dog --not to mention how hard that was for Q and his Fam--).

There was a smigin of travel on the docket that is worth remembering however. Q and I escaped to ZION for an overnight spring get-away. The best part I can remember are the toilets at the Motel (capitol M). Not being fasceous here, those toilets were amazing! You could flush 7-10 hotdogs down at once. How do we know this? My uncle owns the hotel and his brother-in-law (who researched and installed the toilets) runs the place. He spent 20 minutes telling us about them when we checked in. We were so impressed we vowed to use the same brand one day in the next millennium when we can afford to build our own house. Some day some day. Other than that, the hotel was free and it was much needed for a married couple who hasn't lived alone in over a year. We watched TV the whole night (in case you were wondering).

2. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

For sure the best eatery splurge was Scallops and Shrimp on the rock at Anasazi. We even coughed up a pretty penny for the cheese fondue appetizer and chocolate desert. Go there. Actually, save $$ for a year, then go there.

3. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

It was one... I'll have to find it again, the LA police chief wrote about the persecution of Californian Mormons concerning prop 8. I loved the way he didn't use cheap anger, sensationalized tones, or play victim to shout out two simple messages: Mormons weren't the only ones who voted so they shouldn't be targeted, and the persecution was a double standard. Rioters were invoking their right to free speech to persecute Mormons who had used free speech and freedom to vote to defend their beliefs.

4. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

Where to start right? Actually, books are something I know and I know well. If you haven't read this puppy then you haven't experienced life in its literary fullness. How good is Sweetness? Let's just say my top 11 books list had to be altered (first time since The Book Thief) and it was no easy task saying goodbye to The Old Man and the Sea. Also, I'm considering Flavia for the name of our first-born daughter. Just read it. You won't regret it... and if you do, you're weird.

P.S. THE ROYAL RIP OFF OF THE YEAR: NO IRMITAS AT DICKENS!!!!! WHAT A SHAFT!!!