Introducing The JoinValley Newsletter

 Say hello to the first ever JoinValley newsletter!! 🎉

We will use this to share our adventure will you all. Many people asked if we would do something like this because they were interested in keeping in touch and seeing how life is down here. We will send it out once a month. We chose the name JoinValley because we are the LaValleys, and we are living in Joinville, Brazil. Be sure to read all the way to the end because we have another special announcement.

Now, let’s kick this thing off with each family member’s:

Top 3 moments of the month

Fred: 

1. Hiking to the top of the O Mirante (“the viewpoint” in Portuguese). It is the highest point in Joinville and they built a tower on it. 

2. Driving for the first time in Brazil. 

3. Preaching for the first time in Portuguese.

Rachel: 

1. Going to the beach.

2. Exploring/discovering the city

3. Meeting everybody in the church.

Caleb: 

1. Going to the beach. 

2. Eating seafood for the first time in his life. 

3. Exploring/discovering the city. 

Naomi: 

1. Exploring/discovering the city. 

2. Going to the beach.

3. Going to the mall.

Joanna: 

1. Going to the beach.

2. Getting her light up shoes

3. Looking at the city.

Portuguese Vocabulary Words

• Good morning is: Bom dia, pronounced (Bom-jia)

• Good afternoon is: Boa tarde, pronounced (Boa-tarjee)

• Good evening is: Boa noite, pronounced (Boa-noiche)

• Boa Constrictor … just kidding. This snake was hiking up O Mirante too.

Culture 

• You eat most foods with a knife and fork, including foods like pizza, hamburgers, donuts, etc. (I know, so weird).

• On Saturday, the city is dead. People usually go out of town or to the beach. All the restaurants close at 2:30 PM and some don’t open for the rest of the day. But others (like pizza places) open back up at 6PM.

• They use 24-hour military time. So, for example, 1PM is 1300 hours, and 7PM is 1900 hours.

• You can start working at the age of 14 with your parents' permission.

• People love their jobs. They have great attitudes and are very helpful. When you walk into a store, one of the employees will walk up to you and ask you what you need. If they don’t have it they will tell you if another store has it instead of giving you something that wouldn’t work out as well.

Interesting facts

• Most of the streets are only one way, meaning cars can only drive one direction on each street.

• Joinville is only 20 feet above sea level!

Now time for one more topic…

What our family thinks about Brazil

Fred: I enjoy seeing how relationships are so important. I’ve always heard it and remember a Latin American Business class I took in college where they emphasized how this is such a big deal. They were not lying or exaggerating. Relationships and people are everything. Until you get in the car. When they drive, it’s like their alter-ego takes over!

Rachel: I am enjoying trying different foods, being able to walk to shops nearby and meeting new people.

Caleb: I am loving Brazil. It already feels like home to me and I am glad to be able to learn a new language and talk to people.

Naomi: I am enjoying Brazil. It is exciting, and the people are really nice here.

Joanna: I love Brazil so much. I love to go to church and play with the baby in the nursery.

We have a special announcement:

We have a family YouTube channel!!! 

The name of our channel is JoinValley (@Joinvalley). We will post videos weekly so you can see what's going on in our life. Please, go ahead and subscribe.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our first ever JoinValley Newsletter and look forward to our newsletter next month. In the meantime, you can watch our YouTube channel videos while waiting for the next newsletter.

Until next time…TCHAU!