Joel's Old Stompin' Grounds

Joel has been so excited to be able to show me some of his "old stompin' grounds" as he calls it. Of course he got to see all of mine with us even living in Saline and experiencing daily life there for the last 6 months we were in the states. It's been fun getting the chance to see how he grew up too...a great opportunity and very special. We only live about an hour from Goiania and his old house. I've had the chance to meet lots of his old friends, see his old house and neighborhood, see his school, and go to his former church. It's been fun.

The day we went and got Gillian from the airport I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon too. We had some time to kill between the appointment and picking Gillian up, so we swung through Joel's old neighborhood again (it's really near the airport) and took some pictures.

That pizza place used to be where Joel's family's friends (the Baptist missionaries) lived.
Eissa entertaining herself (ahh, the joys of a straw) while we were sightseeing.
Joel and his siblings used to play in the empty lots/tall grass where that really nice park is now.
We were coming up on the house of Dona Elena (aka "the animal lady")...behind all of that greenery. You can see the back of her car pulling out in the picture. Her son was taking her somewhere.
Joel telling her hi. There were cats roaming around everywhere. Joel said that she had (and probably still does) cats, birds (all varieties), dogs, monkeys (all varieties), etc. It was a pretty crazy house he said, but always interesting.
Joel and Dona (Mrs.) Elena. By the way, she speaks at least 4 languages she told me...French, Italian, English, and Portuguese.
Looking at the house where Joel grew up (where the green hedges are).
The door/front of their house.
Looking down the street in front of their house...the house is to the left. We went down this street and did a u-ie (made a u-turn) and...
...then here is that nice park again (where the empty lots/tall grass used to be)
A view of their house on the corner (view from the side park). Their house is the one behind that white wall with the red tile roof. Then we went straight down this street and came to...
...this park where Joel and his brother used to ride bikes. The trees at that time were very small and there wasn't much shade.
Looks a bit different now.
It's been great getting to know Joel's old stompin' grounds.