I wrote most of this post already and Audrey deleted in in less than a second. Ahhh!!! Let’s try this again:
Who knew that one could gather so much stuff in less than a month!? I came with so little and am leaving with two large suitcases more than I came with! Wowzas! Granted, I am taking one duffle bag of stuff for a friend of ours (to give to the friend’s parents). The other large suitcase, however, is filled with toys and books I got from Walmart and ThredUp (over the 3 months I was in Brazil), some things friends sent to my USA address for me, and Cheesecake, cornbread, and Hamburger helper (one for each month I’m in Brazil– I’ll make one American meal a month at least!).
Today my friend, Laiene (an awesome, generous and thoughtful person) brought a large garbage bag filled with clothes (both winter and summer) for Audrey. The clothes belonged to a lady who’s house she cleans, and are BETTER than I could have BOUGHT for Audrey. Soooooo super duper cute! Also some almost new shoes too (though the shoes and winter coat are probably about a year too big– it’s something to look forward to).
I also am working on buying my plane tickets. As it appears, for travel to and from Brazil is cheapest at BACC Travel (though I will wait to completely review this travel service until my ticket is purchased and I’ve finished my trip. In any case, we decided that with BACC it’s best for us to buy a one-way ticket to Brasilia. That way we’re only paying for one ticket and we can arrange the ticket back to the States when hopefully we can buy all three together (keep that in your prayers). In any case, below is a comparison of BACC and Expedia prices:
Expedia
One-Way, Audrey as a lap infant– $2,000+
Two-Way, two people (because Audrey will have her 2nd birthday in Brazil, I would have to buy a second ticket for her)– 1,400 per person
BACC
One Way, Audrey as lap– $5-700
Two Way, two people– $1,097
Why I still like Expedia (even though I won’t be using them on this trip:
1– No change fees. I haven’t tested them on this, but it sounds like a good thing to be reassured of.
2– When I booked with Priceline, I couldn’t book Audrey’s ticket together with mine. I had to call the airline and add her to my ticket and pay the infant lap tax directly to the airline. Expedia is pretty much inclusive and included the taxes (including lap child) in the final price.
3– Unlisted hotel prices. I once saw a four-star hotel for $73
While most of these advantages work best in the USA, I think they all reflect good customer service, and I believe it’s worth noting.
On another note, had a great lunch with Marissa Burr, and some great conversation with both her and some ladies from the church. I’m blessed to spend this time away from my husband surrounded by such amazing people.