we are sending this one to dad to show him that we are going to school. we are eating some pastries.

I have been with my husband for 11 years. When I started dating him I was living in my mother’s house. At that point he was living here and traveled too, but he lived here more than he does now. He traveled to Belo Horizonte and I went there too, but he went to one place in the city and I went to another. Later, we both returned here.



Oh Joca, when you write to your letter to your dad, tell him that you hope he has good luck with his work. Tell him that you hope he is really healthy. And what else…for him to stop drinking. Yeah, tell him to stop drinking. And, let me see, what else?

You know this little one, my youngest child, is the one who obeys me. The others are a bit crazy and difficult for me to deal with because they were raised by my mother when I left to work in Belo Horizonte. When I tell them to do something, they often run to their grandmother's house.

This pile of clothes. Yeah, this is the way it is.

I am starting to go to school again now. Now that I have stopped breast feeding. I started to study last year but I stopped. It was too difficult with this one so little still needing my milk.



My husband was a bit reluctant to allow me to start studying again. He worries that the kids will get into trouble while I am at school. But right before he left he bought me a notebook. I saw this as a sign of his support. He knows that I leave one kid with one family and others with another, and that I return right on time. he trusts me to do this.
My dream is to get a degree. You cant find good work here without a highschool degree.

I used to have very little confidence in school. I used to be scared to call out to the teacher when I didn’t understand something. Now I demand their attention, I demand that they teach me. I say, excuse me, I didn’t learn this, please help me.