hannah*

Shelob

2005-08-28T23:13:00.000-07:00

Along with moving back to Brazil, and discovering that I'd adopted a new bird, (which I named "Fransisco" which is very funny if you've seen "The Elf") we also found and adopted a Tarantula that was in our pool. We named her Shelob. (LOTR, get it? hehe) We thought she was dead, which is why my dad was touching it, taking pictures and everything . He had saved it to play a joke on one of our friends (who, threw all of our chairs in our pool and took off our bumper on our car while we were gone.) My dad's plan was to throw it right next to him and be like "dude, look there's a spider!" (We had just heard of him freaking out about a little bat so we thought this would work well) As my dad goes to throw it, Shelob stars to run! (Keep in mind we thought she was dead. Very dead.) I ran away at that point so I missed the initial reaction of my dad or our friend, but it was quite the experience. To make a long story short, Shelob is unfortunately, alive and well today. She's living in a Ziploc storage container. Watching me as though to say "Watch where you step, because I'm out to get you!" She even eats those cute little gekkos, a creature that I actually like! But it is pretty cool to say that we own a spider. Even though I hate them.
So that was my first (and hopefully last) encounter with a Tarantula.

g'nite ya'll!
hannah*

Back in Brazil

2005-08-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it back safe...with all of our luggage, and an awesome story! I'll post more later as new and exciting things happen!

hannah*

this is for Abby :)

2005-06-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

well, John told me that Abby was missing our blogs, so I decided to post something, just for her.
We are having a great time in the States Abby and I cannot wait to see you at the end of this month! I love you!!!

There, that makes me feel better. *smile*
h*

All Stars

2005-05-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

I got a new pair of shoes! They're pink All-Stars ! I have wanted a pair of them since like forever. And A couple days ago, John...(the best big brother) got some for me! I was so happy!

Well, 2 more days!!!!! (actually 1and a half)

I have to agree with Ben that Blogging is great....lol. :)

hannah*

I'm finished!!!!

2005-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

After like a week of packing/moving out of my room to come home...I finally finished!!!! When I first started, I was like "eh, give me a day or two and I'll be done..." ha! Yea right. It was one of those things that turned into one of the biggest jobs I've ever done. Seriously though. But I'm finally done! I was so proud of myself. Now, I really am ready to come home. :)

Aside from finishing packing, we installed water filter #6 today. It was so cool. The Bairro was Novo Horizonte, almost the poorest neighboorhood in Macapá. The coolest part for me though, was that I got to translate (and for those of you that don't know what language it is that I translate(ed) Lauren Johnson *cough*) AND be the photographer! 2 of my most favorite things to do!

So, I accomplished things today! (not that I don't accomplish things every day, but you know) And for those of you that aren't tired of hearing the countdown yet...(cause I'm sure it's gotten annyoing, sorry) only 4 more days!!!!!

well...

2005-05-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have officially decided that I need a computer. For some reason, I am never able to sit down and post. For one, my dad's computer (which I use most of the time) had to be reformatted. So whenever I could have sat down, I couldn't. And John is designing a few websites for buisnesses, so he is constantly sitting here working. But, John got a haircut today, and so hannah gets to sit down! Alright!
I am so looking forward to coming home in 6 DAYS!!!! The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I cannot believe it has been so long since I have been home. The funny thing though, is that once I leave Macapá, I still have 4 other planes to get on and off of before I am "home". But it'll all work out. I've been gone for over a year already, 24 hours from May 28th can't hurt that much. (lol)
So, I finally posted again. (MAYLA...and was that a heim as in a chata heim...or a pergunta heim?) :) Have a great day, and I can't wait to see all my friends soon! God bless!
hannah*

Dengue Fever

2005-05-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

I was sick. I was really sick man. At first I thought it was like a cold or something, cause that seemed to be going around at church. But when I started feeling really wacky, I knew it was something more than just a cold. For one thing, my nose never got stuffy like it does when you get a regular cold. I just had nasty headaches, and a fever, and my whole body was aching. Kind of like someone hit you in every place that you have bone. (so that would be almost everywhere..lol) John and I were both sick with the same thing, and we didn't really know what the deal was. But on Sunday, we figured it out. We got Dengue fever. It originally was called break-bone fever, and now I see why. And John and I had mild cases of it! But Praise God, we are better now. Hopefully you will never have to deal with Dengue fever in your lifetime, but if you do, I can say that I feel your pain. :) And For those of you that were praying for us, thanks so much!
Until later...
hannah*

o meu blog em Portuguese!

2005-04-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

for those of you that are English speakers...this blog will be no fun. :) Sorry.

este blog é pros meus amigos Brasileiros. eu vou escrever tudo em Portuguese, sem Mayla. Então, por favor tem paciêcia comigo. Queira explicar como importante vocês são para mim. As vezes, eu me sinto sozinha, que não tenho nem um amigo aqui no Brasil. Mas, cada vez que eu me sinto nesse jeito, eu sempre pensar em vocês, Pois sei que vocês são amigos verdadeiros, e me ama como sou. Agradeço a Deus por cada um de vocês! Obrigada pelo seu encorjamento para mim, e minha família. Brasil é o País para ser! J Tá bom...so isso que tenho para escrever...vocês são 10!!!!! Amo vocês!!!!!!!!

aninha*

conquering my fears

2005-04-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

There is something that I have been really afraid to do since we've been here. And that is speak in Portuguese around English speakers. I guess that it's partly because when I was first learning, a few English speakers used to laugh at my every mistake, therefore making me not want to mess up in front of them, i.e. not talking in Portuguese around them because 9 times out of 10, you make mistakes every time you talk with someone. Weird, I know. BUT... this past Sunday, I did something that I hadn't done since we'd been in Brazil. I spoke in Portuguese to a group of about 10 people, and the majority of them were Fluent English speakers. I was so nervous beforehand, (yes, I knew I was going to speak) that I cried and felt sick. It was awful. It made me remember when Helana and my dad forced me to go on the rollercoaster at seaworld. (alright, they didn't force me, but the both said "oh Hannah, we strongly encourage you to do this, and you'll so be missing out if you don't." Who wouldn't go under that peer pressure? lol.) End of that story, is that I gave into peer pressure,(the "good" kind...if there is such a thing.)went, and absolutely loved it!

But anyway....
I kept telling my mom. "I really don't think I can do this." But my mom, being the wonderful, supportive woman that she is said, "Oh yes you can." The whole time I was getting ready, my hands were shaking, and I was on the verge of tears. We left our house, at like 5:10 (to be there by 5:30) so the whole time we were driving there, I was still....on the verge of tears.

To shorten this story, because it could get rather lengthy, (and possibly already has) I will leave out a few details. Which goes against (and for those of you that are like me, I know you're out there....MICHELLE!) my very senguine nature. But, I will. :)

So, there I was, sitting at church, listening to the "nugget" for that Sunday. My hands were shaking, so much so that I couldn't even open my Bible. There was talking for what seemed like forever, and when they finally called on me to talk, I got this sudden courage! I took a HUGE deep breath, (that I'm sure everyone in the circle heard) and started. It was so cool, because after I talked, everyone clapped for me. It made me smile. :)

So, I conquered my fear....although I don't plan to conquer any more for awhile. :)
Well, until the next post...God bless!

hannah*

My...

2005-04-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

mom is sick...so I, being the oldest and most responsible daughter, took over her responsibilties while she's not feeling well. Well, part of that was figuring out what was for lunch today. I don't know about your momma, but when my momma's sick, no one goes to the store. So, we kind of eat everything in the house...and then it never gets replenished. *lol* Anyways, I had to make lunch for everyone today, with pratically nothing to work with. Well, I found this package of gravy sausage mix, from the U.S. So, I made that, and some homemade biscuits. I knew that wouldn't be enough to feed everyone that we had at our house. (We had our 6,plus Mayla for Portuguese, and Vanusa our helper) So, we made eggs. Everyone said they really liked it a lot, so it made me feel good. And my mom was glad that I helped her out. That is my story of lunch today. We did it...although momma needs to get better fast! Santa Lucia is calling your name! *smile*

hannah*

Me and Suellen

2005-04-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

Me and Suellen, Mayla's sister. I taught her what a "twinkie" is on Sunday...it made her laugh.

The trick to learning a second language...

2005-04-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

is to realize the fact that there is no trick. :) It just takes time, and patience, and STUDY which we all love! I've been learning Portuguese via study books since last August, 5 days a week, and I am still learning! Something crazy that we just discovered is that for EVERY verb in the Portuguese language there are 42 DIFFERENT conjugations! That's just insane. That means like, if you want say the verb "to eat" you need to decide out of the 42 conjugations which is the right one to use at that exact time! A missionary to the South American Indians said that in their language, (which used to be only spoken) they have 21 different words, JUST for the color red!!! The reason for that is because they don't just look at the color red and say "oh, it's red" they look at the surroundings of it, and that's how they decide. I'm glad we only have 1 word for red in both English, and Portuguese though! But the really neat thing about the 42 different conjugations, is that I have already learned them all! So, I thought that was pretty neat. God is good!
hannah*

I'm back!

2005-04-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it seems like I fell off the face of the earth,but I didn't! I just haven't been posting. (since December..lol) But, I decided that it's time to start blogging again. Now I have lots of missionary stories to tell! Well, hope you all like my new look (yes, in case you wondered, pink is my favorite color) :) Until the next blog....
*Hannah

2004-12-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

Rachel and I with her little friend Leticia at a christmas party. For more pics from christmas, check out www.staubfamilyinbrazil.com/christmas or www.johnwjstaub.com/christmas :) hope you like em!

Feliz Natal....Christmas 05'

2004-12-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a great christmas this year. Honestly, it was really sad, but it was still fun. There were huge differences though. Like normally, on Christmas eve, we stay home as a family and celebrate. We make a ham, potatoes, all that good stuff. Then after dinner, we watch "It's a wonderful life" (which I know that a lot of people hate that movie, but we have watched it every Christmas eve for as long as I can remember. So, I like it for the tradition.) Well, this year, we had to have our dinner at lunch, and then watch the movie around dinner time, b/c we went to a Christmas eve party at the Spinos' house. The weirdest part was that it didn't start until 10:30 at night! So, we were there until like 1:30 am, and then we went home. I did have a really good time. We played this game called "secret friend" where you draw a name, and then get them a gift beforehand, then at the party you say a whole bunch of stuff about your friend. So, that was fun. I spoke in Portuguese for the first time in a microphone too...so that was cool. I almost won at a ping-pong game too, but John found a frog, and decided it best to put it in my face during the game. :( So, I lost. (lol) But oh well...it was still fun anyway.
The next morning, we got up and opened the presents that my Aunt and Uncle had sent from the U.S. for us...which was so awesome. (one thing they sent was LOTR: return of the kind EXTENED!!!! John nearly cried) then I made homemade cinnamon rolls for our family. (I have now been named the "cooking goddess"in our family by John...lol) Later that night, we had a worship service at our church. That was fun too. So, that was my Christmas eve and Day. Oh yea one more thing....IT RAINED!!!!! God is so nice that he allowed it to rain on Christmas eve. It hadn't rained in over 4 months, so we were ready! It rained like all day, we had flash floods and were getting a lil concerned that it was going to come into our house, but it didn't. And it got down to a freezing temperature of 76! Man, I was so cold! So, I did feel a little bit of your pain. :)

Well, hope you all had a good holiday, and HAPPY 2005!!!!!!
-Hannah*

2004-12-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our christmas tree

O Christmas Tree

2004-12-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, we have a christmas tree. (as you've already seen) I was so excited that we actually found one here, because I didn't think that you could celebrate christmas without snow! (just kidding) But we found a little buddy, and we put white lights and gold ornaments on him. I still cannot believe that it is December 2nd, and I am so hot. The way that we all rely on traditions is really weird. I mean seriously, it's been so hard to not get sad about not having snow...or being with friends in downtown chicago, or singing a christmas medley in choir. (yea, yea, Beth!) But after all, it is Jesus' birthday, right? So, it's different, but cool (or hot...lol) My favorite song this year though is "There won't be snow in Africa" because I won't have it either. :) So, if you hear that song, think of me, and my snowless city. (even though we DO know that it's christmas time!) We are having a christmas eve party. It will start at 10:30, and go all night. YIKES! But that is how they do it. No one celebrates on Christmas day, just christmas eve. And at midnight, like on New years, they break out the champange, and cry and hug and give eachother "blessing hugs." So, that does sound like fun. And at home for all of December,I still get to listen to my radio station.. WLIT the Christmas lite. So, I am going to have an awesome christmas, if only because I make it awesome. ( cause I can't do anything boring...:) I will go for now, but I do have to say one thing: Michelle, "I won't be home for Christmas, not even in my dreams." LOL!
until later....

2004-12-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Werley,John Ezekial,Me,Erich,Rachel and Brian at the "Holy Generation" concert...Werley (on the far left) was one of our good friends that left on Saturday to move to Itaituba...far far away from us. :( Agente ama você Werley, e temos saudades de ti!

2004-12-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

Werley, John, Me and Mayla at a "Holy generation" concert.

Thanksgiving day

2004-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we had our first big holiday here in Brazil. It was a lot of fun. 25 Americans, Brazilians, and New Zealanders all gathered together in our house to celebrate Thanksgiving day. It felt a little the same to me as far as people being around all day, except that it was our friends that have kinda turned into family here. But as far as the food goes, we so were not in Kansas anymore! I mean, for 25 people, you would normally have like a 20 lb. turkey right? Well, we didn't have a 20 lb. turkey. We had like an 8 lb turkey, and boy was it sad looking. I mean, I have seen frogs bigger than this bird. I guess their birds have growth problems? (lol) But we were brave enough, and we cooked her. John and I took it out of the oven, and John said to me "that is the most pitiful looking turkey that I have ever seen." So it was really funny. But, we did our best with the stuff we had. Luciene, (a lady that is married to an American missionary, so she lived in the U.S. for 7 years, and knows that Thanksgiving is really important) made green bean casserole. It was really good. But besides mashed potatos and gravy, a turkey that tasted wild, some deviled eggs, and the green bean casserole, everything else was strange. Like this nasty salty fruit thing that they eat every holiday. And then this shrimp type stuff that was good, but not "normal" thanksgiving food. The thing that was nice though, is that after everyone left that afternoon/evening, we made good ol' American stove top stuffing from boxes that someone sent down to us. We had a brazilian girl try it, and she wasn't too impressed with it. But we enjoyed it. Our New Zealand pals tried their best to make a pumpkin pie, something they do NOT eat in N.Z. (so we're told) So, all in all, it was a really good day. Being with friends that have become family, and just being thankful for all that we have. It really got me though about how much tradition we put into the holidays. I mean, like it's gonna be Christmas, in a few weeks, and I'm still sweating just standing still. I think that it will help me to keep my mind focused on what Christmas really is in the first place, instead of the beautiful snow, or lights. I'm really looking forward to Christmas and New year, especially cause it means that I will be visiting soon! :)
Well, until the next blog- Hannah*

lines...

2004-11-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted anything besides pics, so I figured I'd start up again. Today we went to get our C.P.F.'s. (it's this little card, that helps you be able to do everything here) The reason we are able to get them is because our permanant visa's are "pending", meaning that they aren't done yet, but we don't have to leave the country. So we went to get our cards today. Of course, there is only ONE place in all of Macapá that you can get your C.P.F. And of course, they are only open from 10:00 -1:00. So, we show up at this place, at 5 after 10:00, and there is already a huge line. (I can't say it surprised me, because I don't think we've ever done anything without a line involved :) So, we get in this line, and wait until 10:45, and then they finally let everyone in to a different room, to guess what? wait again. So, we waited in there for another 20 minutes when the girl called us to the front of the line because of Noah!!!! So, we go up there, John and I thinking that we've gotta wait like 10 more min. at most, and we ended up waiting for another hour and 15 minutes. But it was all good...we got to watch people stare at us. (I never knew I was so weird looking) :) We also saw this real drunk dude, and he was like saying and doing craziness. It made me feel bad for him though. What a sad exsistence, you know? But anyway, that was my day...waiting in yet ANOTHER line to do something. I think I have an understanding of why people in the U.S. hire so many workers, that way we don't have to endure stuff like this. :) But there are good things about it too...I mean c'mon, what other time can you sit and play brick attack on your cellphone for a long amout of time? And we did end up getting half of our C.P.F.'s (that's another thing, you cannot do everything in one place, you gotta go to two places. But that'll just have to be for a different post) so that is a step farther then we were. So, I think I win the award for "I had the most fun today!" :)
Until next time....

2004-11-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

John, Pastor Jon, and Me out on a river trip back in September...we like to call ourselves "The Three Riverteers" The big amount of water that you see behind us is the Amazon River. (for those of you that don't know) :)

2004-11-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

Me, Patricia, and Mayla...messing around and having fun after the party.

2004-11-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Who will be the next covergirl? Brian or Nei? :)

2004-11-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Me with Micheal and Rachel Trengrove..two of the coolest New Zealanders that I know! Rachel is a little over 2 months pregnant with their first child, who will also be Brazilian like Noah.

2004-11-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

This is John and I with one of our good friends, Nei Oliveria

2004-10-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Me with some of Vanusa's family. They all came to surprise me on my birthday too. (From left to right: Michelle's son,Douglas-2, Werley-15,Michelle-18, Hannah with Michelle's daughter Cibely-5 mnths.,Vanusa-22, Vanusa's son Rayduan-6, Christiandeson or "sasa"-17

2004-10-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

My 16th birthday party...it was a surprise! I was saying how the candles kept going "like this!"

2004-10-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

My family at the Expo-Fair...Cowboy forever man!

2004-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Me and Vanusa Costa Sousa. 14.8.2004

2004-10-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

friends at Fazendinha. (from left to right) John, Nei Olivera,Mayla Andrade,Patricia lobato, Hannah, Erich and Brian Spinos.

2004-10-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

I don't know, don't ask :)

2004-10-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Rachel swinging through the trees...well, kind of :)

2004-10-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

John and I at church...24.10.2004

2004-10-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

My favorite little sister in the whole world, Rachel Elizabeth.

2004-10-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mayla and I at the 2004 Expo-Feira...and yes, she is as small as she looks. :D

2004-10-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hannah Staub. :)

2004-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Me and John at the Expo-feira

2004-10-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

me and my sweet little brother...Noah

2004-10-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Me and Brian Spinos. 24/10/2004

2004-10-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

me and my hero...Erich Spinos. :)

2004-10-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Me : )

2004-10-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Me and my great friend, Mayla Andrade!