Cesareia de Filipe...

I returned to the Southern Hemisphere on a Tuesday afternoon after a, thankfully, uneventful flight where the only quasi-event was that I was really wishing for my own pair of seats on our not too full flight and ended up next to someone who was particularly chatty about politics, geography, ethnic groups, religion...it was an interesting flight.  I saw a couple from school at the airport when I arrived in São Paulo.  We met in the baggage claim area and found out we had all been on the same 10 hour flight from Chicago and none of us had any idea.  I had Wednesday to rest and unpack and then on Thursday, bright and early at 6:45 a.m., my colleagues and I boarded a big bus to Cesareia de Filipe, a camp outside the city, for our annual PACA teachers' retreat.  We took highway most of the way, but the last leg of the trip took our pretty large bus down a very small road.  Small meaning we needed to back up to let other cars or trucks pass because it was a one vehicle at a time road, small meaning that sometimes there were only inches of clearance on either side of the bus and I could have literally put my hand out the window and touched the wall or tree we happened to be passing with little to no effort.  If I wasn't claustrophobic before, I may have acquired the phobia.  But it was a lovely trip down this small road, trees and flowers e.very.where!  And the camp was just as beautiful, with hills and green and sky in all directions.  I love every kind of camp, and this place did not disappoint.  The only downfall to the beautiful scenery was that the lovely hills surrounding us included a big downhill to the dining hall and thus a big uphill later on and another uphill to the chapel after that.  It was a not so gentle reminder that I am not in shape for four sets of stairs several times a day.  Maybe I'll resolve to be in 'four sets of stairs' kind of shape next winter...we'll see.  I also discovered the next morning at camp that I was without a warm shower, not a huge surprise in a camp setting, but a disappointment nonetheless.  I turned the water on and it was lukewarm bordering on cold.  I turned the handle from one side to another with no noticeable change and then I noticed some buttons on the showerhead so I messed with those too, again no noticeable change.  I eventually just braced myself, jumped in and out as quickly as possible and chalked it up to camp showers.  I got my education on our camp showers, which included an education on electric showerheads, later on at breakfast when my bunk buddy explained what a nice warm shower she had that morning and I tried to blame her for taking all the hot water.  I'd heard of electric showerheads, but had not reached the point of requiring an explanation until that morning...too little, too late.  These showerheads apparently electrically heat the water before it comes out in each individual shower, instead of using a central water heater.  I was told that turning the water on low makes it warmer because there is less water to heat (I had mine on full blast), again, too little, too late.  I also found out that you are only supposed to touch those buttons on top of the showerhead when the water is off, as it is an electrically powered object and can cause an electric shock...I may forget everything else about electric showerheads, but this I will remember for next time.  All in all, it was a fun trip, card games, singing, group activities, unpredictable weather, and cold showers...all the things that make camp fun!