Today is my last full day here. I fly home tomorrow night and I'll be back in the states Monday morning. Not a whole lot to say today but I figured I should write one last post before I leave. I've been neglecting the blog the last couple of weeks, but to be honest there hasn't been a whole lot of crazy or interesting stuff to write about. More BBQ's, a few nights out, mostly just hanging out at home watching movies. (Did you know you can get 4 bootleg videos on the street corner here for just R$10?? hehe)
We did go to a party at a friend of the familys last week and holy crap! The most amazing house I've seen here yet! We are talking into the multi-million dollar (or real actually) range. The house is not even done yet but the outside area with a beautiful pool, a HUGE BBQ area, bar top, walkways, palm trees, etc... is all done so they were having a party out there. We got a tour of the house and it was really amazing. VERY nice family too. They had an 8 year old daughter that really wanted to meet me apparently so she came over and introduced herself and I found out WHY she wanted to meet me. She had been learning English in school and she wanted to tell me what she knew. She counted up to 15, she knew a lot of fruits and vegetables, she said "nice to meet you", "hello", "goodbye" and quite a few other things. I was very impressed. She said she wants to learn more and I told her she is well on her way. 8 years old and she probably knows more in English than I do in Portuguese!
Edi and I went out to my favorite bar last night one last time. The Irish pub that makes me feel at home. There was a classic rock band playing and they were great. We only planned to stay until 11:00 or so but they were so good we didn't leave until 12:30. Poor Edi had to get his butt up early for work after a late night. Totally worth it though. We had a great time.
Tonight we are going out with Edi's family and the friends that work with his sister Edilaine. It was her birthday a couple of days ago and we are celebrating. I'm excited because I was hoping I would get to see everyone before I left and now I will! Strangely enough, the first Saturday I was here we went to the Caldo de Quenga restaurant with Edilaine and her husband to celebrate the birthday of one of Edilaine's friends. That is where I met all of the people she works with and just started to get to know them. Now my last Saturday(and last night) here we are going to the same restaurant to celebrate a birthday with all of the same people I met that first time. Full circle.
Tomorrow we will do the rounds to say goodbye to Edi's family. Although if it is like any other Sunday there will be a BBQ somewhere and they will all be in one place so finding them all will be easy. I have a lot of goodbyes and a lot of thank you's and a lot of see you soons to give out.
Well I guess that is it. I am excited to go home and see everyone and get back into a routine but it means that it is time to say goodbye to Edi again. At least this time I will know what it is like to be apart and I know what to expect. We'll talk everyday and I'll be back as soon as I can. Hopefully it won't be so hard this time.
Thanks to everyone for reading! I'll see many of you soon! Until next time! Tchau!!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Well that was fun!
Well! It has been a little while since I have written and I promised that I would write about our experience last Saturday. Interesting to say the least. I delightfully posted on Facebook Saturday morning that it was 84 degrees here in Brazil. It started as as a beautiful day. A little bit humid, but otherwise perfect! Sunday was Edi's younger cousins birthday (21 years old) and he had invited everyone to come over on Sunday for a birthday party/BBQ. What he did not know what that his girlfriend had planned a surprise party for him on Saturday night at her parents house. She invited Edi's whole family and some friends of the family too. We got to the GF's house about a half hour before his cousin was expected to be there. It was about 8pm and still pretty hot out. The sky had clouded up but that was about it. No rain was in the forecast. Now on a side note, the house we went to was BEAUTIFUL! There was a business on the first floor of the building so the house itself was on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building. The house design was very cool and the decor, the colors, etc...were gorgeous! The first floor of the house (2nd of the building) had the living and dining rooms, kitchen, bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. The 3rd floor had one bedroom and the rest of the 3rd floor was a patio/BBQ/pool area. I have so very artistically given you the layout of the third floor so you can really understand the situation. See below.
I know, I should probably get a job somewhere in graphic design or something similar. My artistic abilities still amaze me. But seriously, let me explain what happened. Everyone was hanging out on the BBQ side of the roof when his cousin showed up. Up went the lights and everyone sang happy birthday (or the Brazilian version of happy birthday) and I yelled SURPRISE!!! because I realized that I never asked anone what I was suposed to yell when they came in so I just went with my American roots.... He was surprised and he thanked everyone and then everyone started munching on the food thatwas there and mingling, etc, etc... About 10 minutes after he showed up, it started raining outside. Not really rain, but downpouring! Luckily the entire 3rd floor had a roof except for the side that was eventually going to be a pool. So we just ignored it and scooted our chairs in from right next to the wall so we didn't get dripped on. Next, the wind started. First it was just a breeze that blew random napkins around and the tablecloth fluttered a bit. No biggie. Then it gradually got harder and harder. All of a sudden, a big gust of wind came from the hallway (basically the large open area on one side with the other large covered area on the other with a covered narrow hallway in between worked as a huge funnel) and blew the tables and chairs around. Everyone scambled to grab what they could from the tables so everything didn't just blow off the deck into the street. From that point on it was pretty chaotic. At first everyone was just kind of gathering stuff and meandering around but then we realized that it was getting pretty dangerous up there. The guys continued to pick stuff up while the wind whirled around them and some of the women and kids went downstairs. The rest (including me) just moved towards the hallway that led downstairs and watched. Finally, a chair and a large piece of plywood came whipping down the longer narrow hallway and almost took someones head off before it soared over the side of he deck. That is when I moved inside. Everyone was talking or yelling in Portuguese and because of the noise and how fast they were talking I could understand practically none of it. I stood in the small hallway just above the stairs that lead to the 2nd floor and listened. Most of the women had gone downstairs at this point but I was kind of stuck in the hallway not knowing where to go. I heard a window break downstairs and the young kids were crying. All the guys were still trying to move as much as they could out of the way on the deck. Then, as I still stood there frozen, the power went out. Awesome. This was the point when Edi came over and told me to get my butt downstairs before I got hurt. Good thinking Edi. Now, all I have to do is maneuver the narrow, winding staircase with my little summer dress and my 4 inch heels.....in the pitch black. Cake walk.
Probably about 20 minutes later I actually MADE IT down the stairs. There was a little light from candles that someone had lit and from the occasional burst of lightning that lit the whole room but for the most part it was darkness. I realized that the windo I heard smash was in the kitchen and water was pouring onto the floor but nbody could do anything about it yet because the wind was still unbelieveably strong. I made my way to the couch and sat myself down. Again, not understanding what anyone is saying or what exactly we should do or what is going on. Everyone was moving around trying to secure things and watching the scene outside. After a few minutes the rest of the guys came down from the third floor. Suddenly there was a loud banging coming from outside on the first floor. Now in front of the building there is sort of like and awning (I dont know how else to describe it) to over the couple of parking spaces in front of the business on the first floor. The "awning" however, is made large metal shingles(again, for lack of a better word) and the wind was almost ripping them off the structure. That was the loud banging came from. It lifted them up and slammed them back down again. So of course, all the guys had to go rushing downstairs to watch. I didn't know why they were going downstairs at the time, I thought they were going outside or something and I tried to tell Edi not to go but that wasn't happening. I just sat there and waited, terrified. Listening to the wind rip everything the shreds outside, watching the water pour into the kitchen window and very badly wanting to start crying like the rest of the kids that were there, but thinking that since I would be the only one over 5 years old shedding tears, I should hold off on that.
Finally Edi came upstairs to get me and said we were going to go home. Thank goodness!! I couldn't sit there in the dark much longer without either crying or screaming like a lunatic for someone to please tell me what is going on! I was fairly upset and Edi was telling me not to be because it wan't THAT big of a deal. Everyone is fine and they were just downstairs watching everything from the entranceway to the building. I had to explain to him that in a situation like that, for someone like me, it may seem FAR worse that it actually is because all I can do is TRY to listen to what people are saying. When it is loud and scary and dark and everyone is running around and he runs off downstairs and I don't know where he is going I just have to sit there with nobody to talk to it sucks. It is scary enough to be in that situation with people you know and you can talk to, but that multiplies when you can't communicate with anyone. I think he got it. : )
The wind had calmed down quite a bit by the time we started driving home. The rain, lightning and thunder were still in full force though. There were a LOT of trees and branches down on the way and quite a few business signs had been bent or ripped down completely. I mean large, metal signs. That wind was CRAZY! We drove by gas stations and there was debris everywhere and the display cases that hold things like windshield wiped fluid, oil, etc... had been knocked over and strewn about the parking lots. There were a few trees that fell on cars and houses too but the damage wasn't too extreme. We made the rounds to Edi's aunts house to make sure everything there was ok and then to his house. The garage was a mess of leaves and twigs but other than that the house was ok. I was completely exhausted. I am guessing from the stress because it was only like 11:00pm when we got home. So I collapsed into bed and passed out immediately.
So for me, that was a seriously scary situation. It may not have been as frightening for everyone else there but it definitely was a freak and intense storm. People continued to clean up the tree and debris for the next couple of days. The storm was featured on the news the next night. The power came back on by the next morning. (I know that New England was getting hit hard with 10"+ of snow at about the same time and there are people there that STILL don't have power. So I consider myself very lucky) I can say that it was definitely the scariest storm that I have been a part of. I hope I don't see that again anytime soon!
Now, in other news! I have just over 2 weeks left here. I'll be sad to go of course, but I can't deny that I am ready to be home for a bit. I wish Edi could come with me, but sadly that can't happen just yet. I expect you all to get out your calendars and pencil me in for a few dates! I'll be living in Hebron working in Plymouth and making frequent trips to the seacoast so I'll be hopping around the state an want to see everyone!!
That is it for now my loves! To be honest I have been busy and doing plenty of stuff to write about but I'll save the rest for later. I have many an email to write today so I'll leave you with that! Enjoy your weekend!
Oh! I almost forgot. On a final note, a VERY Happy Birthday today to my amazing brother Nedley! And also a VERY Happy Birthday to my dad in two days! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate but I'll see you both soon!
Peace and grease!
I know, I should probably get a job somewhere in graphic design or something similar. My artistic abilities still amaze me. But seriously, let me explain what happened. Everyone was hanging out on the BBQ side of the roof when his cousin showed up. Up went the lights and everyone sang happy birthday (or the Brazilian version of happy birthday) and I yelled SURPRISE!!! because I realized that I never asked anone what I was suposed to yell when they came in so I just went with my American roots.... He was surprised and he thanked everyone and then everyone started munching on the food thatwas there and mingling, etc, etc... About 10 minutes after he showed up, it started raining outside. Not really rain, but downpouring! Luckily the entire 3rd floor had a roof except for the side that was eventually going to be a pool. So we just ignored it and scooted our chairs in from right next to the wall so we didn't get dripped on. Next, the wind started. First it was just a breeze that blew random napkins around and the tablecloth fluttered a bit. No biggie. Then it gradually got harder and harder. All of a sudden, a big gust of wind came from the hallway (basically the large open area on one side with the other large covered area on the other with a covered narrow hallway in between worked as a huge funnel) and blew the tables and chairs around. Everyone scambled to grab what they could from the tables so everything didn't just blow off the deck into the street. From that point on it was pretty chaotic. At first everyone was just kind of gathering stuff and meandering around but then we realized that it was getting pretty dangerous up there. The guys continued to pick stuff up while the wind whirled around them and some of the women and kids went downstairs. The rest (including me) just moved towards the hallway that led downstairs and watched. Finally, a chair and a large piece of plywood came whipping down the longer narrow hallway and almost took someones head off before it soared over the side of he deck. That is when I moved inside. Everyone was talking or yelling in Portuguese and because of the noise and how fast they were talking I could understand practically none of it. I stood in the small hallway just above the stairs that lead to the 2nd floor and listened. Most of the women had gone downstairs at this point but I was kind of stuck in the hallway not knowing where to go. I heard a window break downstairs and the young kids were crying. All the guys were still trying to move as much as they could out of the way on the deck. Then, as I still stood there frozen, the power went out. Awesome. This was the point when Edi came over and told me to get my butt downstairs before I got hurt. Good thinking Edi. Now, all I have to do is maneuver the narrow, winding staircase with my little summer dress and my 4 inch heels.....in the pitch black. Cake walk.
Probably about 20 minutes later I actually MADE IT down the stairs. There was a little light from candles that someone had lit and from the occasional burst of lightning that lit the whole room but for the most part it was darkness. I realized that the windo I heard smash was in the kitchen and water was pouring onto the floor but nbody could do anything about it yet because the wind was still unbelieveably strong. I made my way to the couch and sat myself down. Again, not understanding what anyone is saying or what exactly we should do or what is going on. Everyone was moving around trying to secure things and watching the scene outside. After a few minutes the rest of the guys came down from the third floor. Suddenly there was a loud banging coming from outside on the first floor. Now in front of the building there is sort of like and awning (I dont know how else to describe it) to over the couple of parking spaces in front of the business on the first floor. The "awning" however, is made large metal shingles(again, for lack of a better word) and the wind was almost ripping them off the structure. That was the loud banging came from. It lifted them up and slammed them back down again. So of course, all the guys had to go rushing downstairs to watch. I didn't know why they were going downstairs at the time, I thought they were going outside or something and I tried to tell Edi not to go but that wasn't happening. I just sat there and waited, terrified. Listening to the wind rip everything the shreds outside, watching the water pour into the kitchen window and very badly wanting to start crying like the rest of the kids that were there, but thinking that since I would be the only one over 5 years old shedding tears, I should hold off on that.
Finally Edi came upstairs to get me and said we were going to go home. Thank goodness!! I couldn't sit there in the dark much longer without either crying or screaming like a lunatic for someone to please tell me what is going on! I was fairly upset and Edi was telling me not to be because it wan't THAT big of a deal. Everyone is fine and they were just downstairs watching everything from the entranceway to the building. I had to explain to him that in a situation like that, for someone like me, it may seem FAR worse that it actually is because all I can do is TRY to listen to what people are saying. When it is loud and scary and dark and everyone is running around and he runs off downstairs and I don't know where he is going I just have to sit there with nobody to talk to it sucks. It is scary enough to be in that situation with people you know and you can talk to, but that multiplies when you can't communicate with anyone. I think he got it. : )
The wind had calmed down quite a bit by the time we started driving home. The rain, lightning and thunder were still in full force though. There were a LOT of trees and branches down on the way and quite a few business signs had been bent or ripped down completely. I mean large, metal signs. That wind was CRAZY! We drove by gas stations and there was debris everywhere and the display cases that hold things like windshield wiped fluid, oil, etc... had been knocked over and strewn about the parking lots. There were a few trees that fell on cars and houses too but the damage wasn't too extreme. We made the rounds to Edi's aunts house to make sure everything there was ok and then to his house. The garage was a mess of leaves and twigs but other than that the house was ok. I was completely exhausted. I am guessing from the stress because it was only like 11:00pm when we got home. So I collapsed into bed and passed out immediately.
So for me, that was a seriously scary situation. It may not have been as frightening for everyone else there but it definitely was a freak and intense storm. People continued to clean up the tree and debris for the next couple of days. The storm was featured on the news the next night. The power came back on by the next morning. (I know that New England was getting hit hard with 10"+ of snow at about the same time and there are people there that STILL don't have power. So I consider myself very lucky) I can say that it was definitely the scariest storm that I have been a part of. I hope I don't see that again anytime soon!
Now, in other news! I have just over 2 weeks left here. I'll be sad to go of course, but I can't deny that I am ready to be home for a bit. I wish Edi could come with me, but sadly that can't happen just yet. I expect you all to get out your calendars and pencil me in for a few dates! I'll be living in Hebron working in Plymouth and making frequent trips to the seacoast so I'll be hopping around the state an want to see everyone!!
That is it for now my loves! To be honest I have been busy and doing plenty of stuff to write about but I'll save the rest for later. I have many an email to write today so I'll leave you with that! Enjoy your weekend!
Oh! I almost forgot. On a final note, a VERY Happy Birthday today to my amazing brother Nedley! And also a VERY Happy Birthday to my dad in two days! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate but I'll see you both soon!
Peace and grease!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tick Tock
Well, the clock is ticking. Only one month left here and it is already feeling very bittersweet. I am SOOOO ready to see my friends and family and be back in the loop with what is going on in everyone's lives. I miss everyone so much and I am ready to get back to work! Something to occupy my time! I love to read, but I have been pretty much reading non stop since I got here. In fact, here is a list of books I have read. This may be boring but what else are you doing? Working? Ya right! And you never know, you may want to read some of these sometime. I'll even give you a 1-5 star system on how good they were in my professional opinion! I will not however give a description as to why they have the amount of stars given. I'm too lazy and you could probably care less. Enjoy!! (Can you tell it is a fairly uneventful day??)
New Reads:
The Red Tent-Anita Diamant ***
Cold Mountain-Charles Frazier ***
The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo-Stieg Larsson *****
The Girl Who Played With Fire-Stieg Larsson *****
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet Nest-Stieg Larsson *****
A Visit from the Goon Squad-Jennifer Egan **
Heaven is for Real-Todd Burpo *
Lovehampton-Sherri Rifkin ***
History Lesson for Girls-Aurelie Sheehan ****
The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins *****
Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins *****
Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins ***
Second Time Reads (so you know they are good)
Three Cups of Tea-Greg Mortenson ****
Life of Pi-Yann Martel *****
Watership Down-Richard Adams *****
A Million Little Pieces-James Frey ***
The Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger *****
Water for Elephants-Sara Gruen *****
Lost & Found-Jacqueline Sheehan ***
Currently Reading: The Abbey-Chris Culver
Next Up: Born Standing Up-Steve Martin
So obviously I have been a reading fiend!
Anyways, as I mentioned, I have a month left. I will happy to see my friends/family but I am getting so sick of goodbyes. Especially to Edi. BUT this is the way things have to be for now. Hopefully down the road we will be traveling together! But not only Edi, his family will be hard to ay goodbye to as well. I have become very fond of quite of few of his family members. Ok lets not think about it now. I'll push the saddness to the back of my mind and focus on having fun while I'm still here.
We did go play painball the other night. It was a little cold but we had a good time. I definitely did not play but I hung out with the girls and ate some BBQ and was the fascinating American girl for all of the people I had not met before. (I'm finally getting used to that) People would come over and say whatever English phrase they know which is usually Thank you very much(muito obrigado) or sausage, oddly enough (linguisa), which is funny in any language. Once everyone realized that I know the word for sausage in Portuguese, it became a big joke. Someone would hold up a sausage that was cooking on the grill and call my name and I would say "linguisa" in my most provocative voice and everyone got a kick out of that. Nice to finally be able to at least joke around a little bit with everyone. The paintball "arena" was pretty cool. Nothing too fancy but it was pretty big with a lot of good hiding places. I don't really know anything about paintball but it looked like fun. Edi got a nice big welt on his leg but other than that he was pretty much unscathed.
Last night Edi and I went out to a very cool restaurant for a late dinner/drinks. We had not been there before. Everything on the menu is served on a skewer. Interesting right? I thought so. The atmosphere was very cool. Bricks, exposed beams, very high ceilings, my fav! It was very open and the tables and chairs were a dark wood which was beautiful! I told Edi that if ever owned a restaurant this is what I would want it to look like. The only thing that is strange that I have noticed in the few restaurants that have a bar also (most places don't even have a bar top area) is that there is a bar but no chairs. I don't understand because the bar at this restaurant was beautifully done. It was a long L shape and beind the bar was a very tall shelving unit with all sorts of liquor bottles with beautiful backlighting. But nobody can actually sit at this bar because there are no chairs.......I asked Edi if people just usually stand around the bar and he said no, they just don't really use it. Why go through all the trouble of making this large, beautiful bar and only use it for service drinks? Edi said that if HE ever owned a restaurant he would definitely have a bar like that, but there would be stools. He's not really sure why restaurants don't take advantage of that idea. It would really add to the atmosphere and draw people in I think. Anyways, enough about me and my brilliant restaurant design knowledge.
Sunday we went to Edi's Aunt/Uncles house. The guys were playing some kind of poker-like card game outside and the ladies were inside checking out some sweet shoes! Fernanda, Edi's cousins girlfriend is opening a shoe store next month and she brought some of the newest shipment over to the house for the ladies to have first pick! Sadly, she did not know that I have monstrous feet (9!) so she did not bring godzilla sized shoes. Apparently all Brazilian women have small, dainty, perfectly sized feet. I'm not kidding, they were all either a 5, 6, or 7. So I just looked and told Fernanda I would have Edi take me to her store when it opens the first week of Nov. and get some shoes for myself! (Also, I will let her know that if she needs help when I come back here, I would be HAPPY to work in her shop! Job in Brazil, here I come!!!)
We stayed there most of the day and eventually it was only myself, Fernanda and Adriana(who knows a little bit of English) inside and I had my ipod with me which has a sweet translator on it. We went back and forth talking about my family, when I was leaving, when I hoped to come back, etc, etc... and I only had to use the translator a couple of times. It was mostly when I was trying to respond to their questions because I am getting pretty good at understanding what people are saying.
I realized something when I was responding to them. With the amount of Portuguese that know, I can respond accordingly to quite a few questions, but my responses are obviously very broken. When they ask me "When are you going back to the United States?" My response is "I go back November 20." When they ask "Do you like Brazil? My response is " Yes, I like. Very nice. Beautiful." Now, I am not the smartest person you've ever met, but I like to consider myself fairly intelligent and well spoken. But, obviously in another language that I am JUST learning, I don't sound too bright. I think that in America, we hear people that are not native to our language and we are sometimes quick to judge. People think they must not be smart, etc,etc... while that could be the opposite of the truth. Just because someone isn't fluent in your language or know your traditions, doesn't mean they are stupid. For example, Edi's English isn't perfect but he is a VERY smart guy. I've seen this in him for a long time, but seeing how much he has made for himself here and seeing what a great businessman he is first hand is just proof of that. Now that I am living this first hand I have nothing but respect for people coming to the US knowing so little about the language or culture and making a life for themselves. I have it easy. I live with Edi's family, I don't have a job, I don't really go out anywhere without someone that knows English. It couldn't get much easier for me and a lot of people that travel to another country to live don't have it this easy. Think about that they next time you meet someone from another country. That's all I'm sayin'!
Well those are my words of wisdom for now. I miss you all! Have a wonderful rest of the week!! Tchau!!
New Reads:
The Red Tent-Anita Diamant ***
Cold Mountain-Charles Frazier ***
The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo-Stieg Larsson *****
The Girl Who Played With Fire-Stieg Larsson *****
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet Nest-Stieg Larsson *****
A Visit from the Goon Squad-Jennifer Egan **
Heaven is for Real-Todd Burpo *
Lovehampton-Sherri Rifkin ***
History Lesson for Girls-Aurelie Sheehan ****
The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins *****
Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins *****
Mockingjay-Suzanne Collins ***
Second Time Reads (so you know they are good)
Three Cups of Tea-Greg Mortenson ****
Life of Pi-Yann Martel *****
Watership Down-Richard Adams *****
A Million Little Pieces-James Frey ***
The Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger *****
Water for Elephants-Sara Gruen *****
Lost & Found-Jacqueline Sheehan ***
Currently Reading: The Abbey-Chris Culver
Next Up: Born Standing Up-Steve Martin
So obviously I have been a reading fiend!
Anyways, as I mentioned, I have a month left. I will happy to see my friends/family but I am getting so sick of goodbyes. Especially to Edi. BUT this is the way things have to be for now. Hopefully down the road we will be traveling together! But not only Edi, his family will be hard to ay goodbye to as well. I have become very fond of quite of few of his family members. Ok lets not think about it now. I'll push the saddness to the back of my mind and focus on having fun while I'm still here.
We did go play painball the other night. It was a little cold but we had a good time. I definitely did not play but I hung out with the girls and ate some BBQ and was the fascinating American girl for all of the people I had not met before. (I'm finally getting used to that) People would come over and say whatever English phrase they know which is usually Thank you very much(muito obrigado) or sausage, oddly enough (linguisa), which is funny in any language. Once everyone realized that I know the word for sausage in Portuguese, it became a big joke. Someone would hold up a sausage that was cooking on the grill and call my name and I would say "linguisa" in my most provocative voice and everyone got a kick out of that. Nice to finally be able to at least joke around a little bit with everyone. The paintball "arena" was pretty cool. Nothing too fancy but it was pretty big with a lot of good hiding places. I don't really know anything about paintball but it looked like fun. Edi got a nice big welt on his leg but other than that he was pretty much unscathed.
Last night Edi and I went out to a very cool restaurant for a late dinner/drinks. We had not been there before. Everything on the menu is served on a skewer. Interesting right? I thought so. The atmosphere was very cool. Bricks, exposed beams, very high ceilings, my fav! It was very open and the tables and chairs were a dark wood which was beautiful! I told Edi that if ever owned a restaurant this is what I would want it to look like. The only thing that is strange that I have noticed in the few restaurants that have a bar also (most places don't even have a bar top area) is that there is a bar but no chairs. I don't understand because the bar at this restaurant was beautifully done. It was a long L shape and beind the bar was a very tall shelving unit with all sorts of liquor bottles with beautiful backlighting. But nobody can actually sit at this bar because there are no chairs.......I asked Edi if people just usually stand around the bar and he said no, they just don't really use it. Why go through all the trouble of making this large, beautiful bar and only use it for service drinks? Edi said that if HE ever owned a restaurant he would definitely have a bar like that, but there would be stools. He's not really sure why restaurants don't take advantage of that idea. It would really add to the atmosphere and draw people in I think. Anyways, enough about me and my brilliant restaurant design knowledge.
Sunday we went to Edi's Aunt/Uncles house. The guys were playing some kind of poker-like card game outside and the ladies were inside checking out some sweet shoes! Fernanda, Edi's cousins girlfriend is opening a shoe store next month and she brought some of the newest shipment over to the house for the ladies to have first pick! Sadly, she did not know that I have monstrous feet (9!) so she did not bring godzilla sized shoes. Apparently all Brazilian women have small, dainty, perfectly sized feet. I'm not kidding, they were all either a 5, 6, or 7. So I just looked and told Fernanda I would have Edi take me to her store when it opens the first week of Nov. and get some shoes for myself! (Also, I will let her know that if she needs help when I come back here, I would be HAPPY to work in her shop! Job in Brazil, here I come!!!)
We stayed there most of the day and eventually it was only myself, Fernanda and Adriana(who knows a little bit of English) inside and I had my ipod with me which has a sweet translator on it. We went back and forth talking about my family, when I was leaving, when I hoped to come back, etc, etc... and I only had to use the translator a couple of times. It was mostly when I was trying to respond to their questions because I am getting pretty good at understanding what people are saying.
I realized something when I was responding to them. With the amount of Portuguese that know, I can respond accordingly to quite a few questions, but my responses are obviously very broken. When they ask me "When are you going back to the United States?" My response is "I go back November 20." When they ask "Do you like Brazil? My response is " Yes, I like. Very nice. Beautiful." Now, I am not the smartest person you've ever met, but I like to consider myself fairly intelligent and well spoken. But, obviously in another language that I am JUST learning, I don't sound too bright. I think that in America, we hear people that are not native to our language and we are sometimes quick to judge. People think they must not be smart, etc,etc... while that could be the opposite of the truth. Just because someone isn't fluent in your language or know your traditions, doesn't mean they are stupid. For example, Edi's English isn't perfect but he is a VERY smart guy. I've seen this in him for a long time, but seeing how much he has made for himself here and seeing what a great businessman he is first hand is just proof of that. Now that I am living this first hand I have nothing but respect for people coming to the US knowing so little about the language or culture and making a life for themselves. I have it easy. I live with Edi's family, I don't have a job, I don't really go out anywhere without someone that knows English. It couldn't get much easier for me and a lot of people that travel to another country to live don't have it this easy. Think about that they next time you meet someone from another country. That's all I'm sayin'!
Well those are my words of wisdom for now. I miss you all! Have a wonderful rest of the week!! Tchau!!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Rainy Days & BBQ's
Today is the first day that I've been here that I can actually feel some humidity. It has been raining on and off for a couple of days and it looks like it is going to continue for a few more. Right now it is sunny and beautiful, but I do see some dark clouds not too far off. Last night there was a raging thunder storm! It was so loud it woke me up and I sat cowering under the blankets for a good amount of time until it died down. I love thunderstorms, but for some reason they always scare me when I've been asleep. It wakes me up and freaks me out! So, as I was saying the humidity is actually getting up there for once and I am not a fan.
Fall is my favorite time of year in NH. Foliage, orchard apples, perfect weather, bonfires, fairs, etc... So I am missing it a bit right now, but also know that fall is short and soon there will be frost on the cars every morning and everyone wearing jackets and scarves and then those awful little frozen white things will fall from the sky. So while I miss the fall, I am happy to extend my summer for a few months before I head back to the NH in its frozen state.
Edi's sister Edilaine had a BBQ on Saturday night. Edi's immediate family was there but it was mostly made up of people from Edilaine's work. This was the 3rd or 4th time I had met most of them and they are just so nice. There is one couple that are loud and funny and love to dance and laugh and they are my favorites! Whenever Gi(the wife) sees me at a party she runs up yelling my name (or sort of my name. When everyone says my name here it sounds like Jany. They have replaced the -et sounds with eeeee!) So she comes running over yelling Janyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! and always has a giant hug/kiss for me. She's hilarious. They invited Edi and I to a party at their house this coming Saturday and I can't wait to go. It seems that I am making some friends here OUTSIDE of Edi's family, despite the language barrier!
Let me say that I am so thanful for Edi's Aunt, Ana Paula. Her English is great and I knew she was going to be a big help to me here but she is even more helpful than I thought. She is always helping me translate when someone is trying to talk to me, but even when nobody else is around she will kind of quiz me and teach me new words which is great. Not only that but it's nice to have someone here to just chat with, girl talk and all that. As we all know, Edi is not much of a talker and I absolutely AM so there is only so much talking I can do without a satisfactory response. It's nice to have Ana Paula here.
I am surprising Edi's family as well as myself with how much I have picked up here in the last month and a half. I understand quite a bit of what is said and his family can ask me to get something or do something and I can get/do it for them. They can ask me a question and I will know what they asked. I'm still too shy to really answer on my own for some reason....I'm trying but I am still just not comfortable. When I talk to Edi or Ana Paula I have started some Portuenglish. I am speaking English but I' sprinkling whatever words I know in Portuguese into my conversation. It's weird, but it's something at least. I was slightly perturbed the other day when we are out and Edi was talking to 3 people we have met a few times before. They were asking about how we met and how we started dating, etc... and Edi was explaining to them and I was listening and smiling and was picking up on quite a bit of the discussion. The woman turned to one of the men and said "She doesn't understand anything, does she?" And I stopped Edi in mid conversation and said "Tell her that I do understand and she can feel free to ask me if she would like." I know that she wasn't trying to hurt my feelings or anything but it was frustrating. Please don't talk about me right in front of my face. If you are wondering something about me, ask! All well, no big deal, no harm done.
Tonight (if the weather holds up) Edi and a bunch of his cousins are going to play paintball. I am obviously not really paintball material so I thought I would probably just hang out at home but Edi said there is a space there for whoever is not playing to hang out. All the female types will be there while the boys with their toys try and destroy each other with paint and afterwards someone is having a BBQ (do I even have to say that anymore? Just assume that at least twice a week I am at a BBQ) so that should be fun. Edi doesn't have to work tomorrow because it is a holiday (Children's Day I think?) Whatever it is he's not working!
I guess those are all the updates I have for now! Have a great week!
Fall is my favorite time of year in NH. Foliage, orchard apples, perfect weather, bonfires, fairs, etc... So I am missing it a bit right now, but also know that fall is short and soon there will be frost on the cars every morning and everyone wearing jackets and scarves and then those awful little frozen white things will fall from the sky. So while I miss the fall, I am happy to extend my summer for a few months before I head back to the NH in its frozen state.
Edi's sister Edilaine had a BBQ on Saturday night. Edi's immediate family was there but it was mostly made up of people from Edilaine's work. This was the 3rd or 4th time I had met most of them and they are just so nice. There is one couple that are loud and funny and love to dance and laugh and they are my favorites! Whenever Gi(the wife) sees me at a party she runs up yelling my name (or sort of my name. When everyone says my name here it sounds like Jany. They have replaced the -et sounds with eeeee!) So she comes running over yelling Janyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! and always has a giant hug/kiss for me. She's hilarious. They invited Edi and I to a party at their house this coming Saturday and I can't wait to go. It seems that I am making some friends here OUTSIDE of Edi's family, despite the language barrier!
Let me say that I am so thanful for Edi's Aunt, Ana Paula. Her English is great and I knew she was going to be a big help to me here but she is even more helpful than I thought. She is always helping me translate when someone is trying to talk to me, but even when nobody else is around she will kind of quiz me and teach me new words which is great. Not only that but it's nice to have someone here to just chat with, girl talk and all that. As we all know, Edi is not much of a talker and I absolutely AM so there is only so much talking I can do without a satisfactory response. It's nice to have Ana Paula here.
I am surprising Edi's family as well as myself with how much I have picked up here in the last month and a half. I understand quite a bit of what is said and his family can ask me to get something or do something and I can get/do it for them. They can ask me a question and I will know what they asked. I'm still too shy to really answer on my own for some reason....I'm trying but I am still just not comfortable. When I talk to Edi or Ana Paula I have started some Portuenglish. I am speaking English but I' sprinkling whatever words I know in Portuguese into my conversation. It's weird, but it's something at least. I was slightly perturbed the other day when we are out and Edi was talking to 3 people we have met a few times before. They were asking about how we met and how we started dating, etc... and Edi was explaining to them and I was listening and smiling and was picking up on quite a bit of the discussion. The woman turned to one of the men and said "She doesn't understand anything, does she?" And I stopped Edi in mid conversation and said "Tell her that I do understand and she can feel free to ask me if she would like." I know that she wasn't trying to hurt my feelings or anything but it was frustrating. Please don't talk about me right in front of my face. If you are wondering something about me, ask! All well, no big deal, no harm done.
Tonight (if the weather holds up) Edi and a bunch of his cousins are going to play paintball. I am obviously not really paintball material so I thought I would probably just hang out at home but Edi said there is a space there for whoever is not playing to hang out. All the female types will be there while the boys with their toys try and destroy each other with paint and afterwards someone is having a BBQ (do I even have to say that anymore? Just assume that at least twice a week I am at a BBQ) so that should be fun. Edi doesn't have to work tomorrow because it is a holiday (Children's Day I think?) Whatever it is he's not working!
I guess those are all the updates I have for now! Have a great week!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Beatles in Brazil!
So after weeks of talking about it and night after night of plans falling through Edi and I FINALLY went to the "American Bar" that Edi was talking about. Truth be told it was actually an Irish Pub which is of course not an American bar but I know now more than ever what Edi was talking about when he said it reminded him of home. (well, MY home anways)
First of all the atmosphere is great. To me, atmosphere is such an important part of the restaurant/bar experience. Of course we went on a Saturday and we got there between 9:30-10:00 so the place was hoppin'! I was worried we were going to be waiting a while at first because there was a line out the door. Luckily for us it was all from the same group of people deciding if they wanted to get a table. They decided not to wait and off they went. Score! They had a couple of tables left for 2 people so we were able to get a seat right away. The place is not all that big. There is a small outdoor patio area which is really cool with some palm-like trees and green uplighting that gives it a really cool look and feel. Then inside there is a small bar area which could probably hold 7-8 stools but there were none. People just stood where the stools would be and to be honest that makes a lot of sense because there were about 20 people all lined up at a bar where only 8 or so seats would fit. Anyways there was the bar and then there were maybe 20 tables inside ranging in size from a 2 person table to like an 8 person table.
We sat down and perused the menu for drinks and a snack. I was thrilled and shocked to see buffalo wings on the menu. Buffalo Wings! Oh how I've missed you. I also saw a non-Brazilian beer selection which included Guiness, Heineken, Stella, Newcastle, among other things. I looked around at the decor and saw a snowboard hanging on the wall which is hilarious to even think about while we were sweating in the 95 degree heat. Also the Brazilian and Irish flags hung above the bar. The walls were brick and the ceilings has exposed beams. It looked great and it definitely felt like I was sitting at an Irish Pub back in the US. As I looked around I noticed that there was a small stage and it looked like there was going to be some live music. Not surprising since A. It was Saturday night and B. In Brazil almost EVERY restaurant has live music almost EVERY night. I did notice that this looked like a full band setup whereas usually here it is just a couple of guys playing guitar and singing. I then looked at the posters to my left. I nearly fell out of my chair I was so excited! We just happened to come on a night where the band that was playing was a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band!!! (First of all, Bealtes AND Rolling Stones cover band? Have you ever heard of such a thing. I have not. But hey who am I to judge, I was getting 2 bands for the price of none!) I turned to Edi and I am sure I looked like a kid on Christmas "Did you see that?! It's a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band!! This place is great! I love it here!!" Edi looked at me and I am pretty sure he was thinking I didn't get enough sleep last night. "Yeah I see that. That's cool!" I refrained from yelling "Cool? Cool?! This is awesome!!! Best night ever!!" because I didn't need him thinking I had gone off the deep end.......yet.
Let me explain why this was so exciting for me. First let me preface by saying that I truly do love it here and I am a big fan of all the restaurants we have been to, I like Brazilian cuisine, beverages, music, Edi's family, and pretty much anything else that I have come across here. I say this because I know I have a lot of friends/family that are happy I am here but worry about me and whether I am or will be happy here. The answer is yes I am. However, with that being said I have been here, away from my home, friends, family, and comfort zone for over a month. 1 month is not enough time for someone to be totally comfortable in their new surroundings if those new surrounding are in another country. As much as I love it here, I obviously struggle on a daily basis. Although I understand SO much more than I did when I first got here, I struggle everyday with the language barrier. I am living with Edi's family which is hard to get used to, no matter how nice they are. I am used to having my own space, doing my own thing. I don't have a car to go where I want, blah blah blah. Did any of these things change because I was in an Irish style pub? No, but it felt like I was home for a couple of hours at a bar that I would go to in the US. I ate french fries and drank beer from a bottle (I went with Stella. I don't mind it, it's just not my fav.) and listened to a band playing songs in English. It relaxed me. I needed that bit of an oasis to recharge my batteries. We had so much fun. I sang all the lyrics to all the songs, (Edi tried but needless to say he won't be starting a Beatles coverband anytime soon) and drank my beers and ate my food and felt totally comfortable for the first time in a while. We will definitely be going back soon. Also I wish so badly that I could have had a chance to talk to the lead singer of the band because I have heard a few people try to sing songs in English here and the accent usually makes the song sound a bit off or they don't quite the word pronunciation right, but this guy was AWESOME! Was he so authentic that he had a british accent? No but when he was singing it sounded great. Everything sounded clear. I really wanted to ask him if he spoke English or just memorized the songs.
Other than that fabulous night out there is not a whole lot here to report at the moment. I have been trying to run everyday because the whole eating a lot everyday and doing no sort of exercise is beginning to take its toll..... The weather is perfect as usual but I think we are do for a few rainy days later this week. I am in for a big shock when I come home in November. What is wrong with me? I am out of New England for the fall (my favorite season) and I come back for Nov, Dec, and Jan??? If you know me, you know I hate the cold/snow. All well I do love the holiday season!
Miss you all!
Tchau!!
First of all the atmosphere is great. To me, atmosphere is such an important part of the restaurant/bar experience. Of course we went on a Saturday and we got there between 9:30-10:00 so the place was hoppin'! I was worried we were going to be waiting a while at first because there was a line out the door. Luckily for us it was all from the same group of people deciding if they wanted to get a table. They decided not to wait and off they went. Score! They had a couple of tables left for 2 people so we were able to get a seat right away. The place is not all that big. There is a small outdoor patio area which is really cool with some palm-like trees and green uplighting that gives it a really cool look and feel. Then inside there is a small bar area which could probably hold 7-8 stools but there were none. People just stood where the stools would be and to be honest that makes a lot of sense because there were about 20 people all lined up at a bar where only 8 or so seats would fit. Anyways there was the bar and then there were maybe 20 tables inside ranging in size from a 2 person table to like an 8 person table.
We sat down and perused the menu for drinks and a snack. I was thrilled and shocked to see buffalo wings on the menu. Buffalo Wings! Oh how I've missed you. I also saw a non-Brazilian beer selection which included Guiness, Heineken, Stella, Newcastle, among other things. I looked around at the decor and saw a snowboard hanging on the wall which is hilarious to even think about while we were sweating in the 95 degree heat. Also the Brazilian and Irish flags hung above the bar. The walls were brick and the ceilings has exposed beams. It looked great and it definitely felt like I was sitting at an Irish Pub back in the US. As I looked around I noticed that there was a small stage and it looked like there was going to be some live music. Not surprising since A. It was Saturday night and B. In Brazil almost EVERY restaurant has live music almost EVERY night. I did notice that this looked like a full band setup whereas usually here it is just a couple of guys playing guitar and singing. I then looked at the posters to my left. I nearly fell out of my chair I was so excited! We just happened to come on a night where the band that was playing was a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band!!! (First of all, Bealtes AND Rolling Stones cover band? Have you ever heard of such a thing. I have not. But hey who am I to judge, I was getting 2 bands for the price of none!) I turned to Edi and I am sure I looked like a kid on Christmas "Did you see that?! It's a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band!! This place is great! I love it here!!" Edi looked at me and I am pretty sure he was thinking I didn't get enough sleep last night. "Yeah I see that. That's cool!" I refrained from yelling "Cool? Cool?! This is awesome!!! Best night ever!!" because I didn't need him thinking I had gone off the deep end.......yet.
Let me explain why this was so exciting for me. First let me preface by saying that I truly do love it here and I am a big fan of all the restaurants we have been to, I like Brazilian cuisine, beverages, music, Edi's family, and pretty much anything else that I have come across here. I say this because I know I have a lot of friends/family that are happy I am here but worry about me and whether I am or will be happy here. The answer is yes I am. However, with that being said I have been here, away from my home, friends, family, and comfort zone for over a month. 1 month is not enough time for someone to be totally comfortable in their new surroundings if those new surrounding are in another country. As much as I love it here, I obviously struggle on a daily basis. Although I understand SO much more than I did when I first got here, I struggle everyday with the language barrier. I am living with Edi's family which is hard to get used to, no matter how nice they are. I am used to having my own space, doing my own thing. I don't have a car to go where I want, blah blah blah. Did any of these things change because I was in an Irish style pub? No, but it felt like I was home for a couple of hours at a bar that I would go to in the US. I ate french fries and drank beer from a bottle (I went with Stella. I don't mind it, it's just not my fav.) and listened to a band playing songs in English. It relaxed me. I needed that bit of an oasis to recharge my batteries. We had so much fun. I sang all the lyrics to all the songs, (Edi tried but needless to say he won't be starting a Beatles coverband anytime soon) and drank my beers and ate my food and felt totally comfortable for the first time in a while. We will definitely be going back soon. Also I wish so badly that I could have had a chance to talk to the lead singer of the band because I have heard a few people try to sing songs in English here and the accent usually makes the song sound a bit off or they don't quite the word pronunciation right, but this guy was AWESOME! Was he so authentic that he had a british accent? No but when he was singing it sounded great. Everything sounded clear. I really wanted to ask him if he spoke English or just memorized the songs.
Other than that fabulous night out there is not a whole lot here to report at the moment. I have been trying to run everyday because the whole eating a lot everyday and doing no sort of exercise is beginning to take its toll..... The weather is perfect as usual but I think we are do for a few rainy days later this week. I am in for a big shock when I come home in November. What is wrong with me? I am out of New England for the fall (my favorite season) and I come back for Nov, Dec, and Jan??? If you know me, you know I hate the cold/snow. All well I do love the holiday season!
Miss you all!
Tchau!!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Decision accomplished!
Tomorrow marks one month here. I know I say it over and over but it does not seem like that long. Time is really flying! The weather is staying right around 80-85 degrees everyday. (except for today. It is a little rainy so it is only about 70) The nights are the perfect weather. Not so hot that I can't wear jeans but not so cold that I need a jacket. Perfection! I check the weather in Dover now and then just to keep track of what its doing near home and I saw a frost warning the other day. HA!! A frost warning!! Needless to say I am very happy that I will not have to hear about or see frost for a couple more months!
I finally exchanged some of the US dollars I brought with me for Brazilian Real last week. When I first got here I know that $1(USD) was worth approximately R$1.40 (Real) which is pretty low. The dollar had been steadily decreasing in value for quite some time. When I changed it in last week $1 (USD) was worth R$1.64 (Real) so for my $200 that I cashed in I got R$328 which is not too shabby. Now looking at it today the dollar is worth 1.83 real which is great! Hopefully the dollar keeps rising! This is also why I didn't just trade in all my money for real at once. If I don't use all my money here and I change it back to USD I could lose money if it keeps rising and I don't want to lose any $$$$!!!
Well I do believe I have come to a decision on what my next step will be. I WILL be flying home November 20th when my original scheduled flight is. I will then proceed to work my little (ok not little) butt off for a couple of months and make enough $$ to get back here probably at the beginning of February. *sigh* I really did not want to be home without Edi for another 3 months but I don't really have any better options. I did it before, I can do it again. And this time will (hopefully) be shorter. It would cost $$ to change my flight to a later date and even if I did come back to the US later than I originally planned I would still have to stay home for a few months to make $. That is reall what it all comes down to. Flying back and forth is expensive but options are limited. I originally thought of coming back in January but the tickets are a few hundred dollars cheaper in Feb. Have I talked to anyone about the steps I would need to take to get a permanent visa? No. Should I? Yes. That HAS to be my next step. I need to talk to someone that can really help me because everytime I email a question about my visa to the Brazillian consulate in Boston where I got it, the answers they give me are less than helpful. I really think a lawyer would be my best bet. Immigration lawyer or something? I don't know. I'm new at this.
In the meantime, Edi will be starting the process of applying for a tourist visa to the US. THIS is going to be a process. First Edi needs to apply for a renewed passport since his will expire soon. This could take about 3 months..... Next he needs to try and get an appointment just to apply for a tourist visa. We checked th other day and if he reqested the appointment today, he would possibly have an appointment in about 110 days. Awesome. Next after he applies it takes god knows how long for them to review it, etc... THEN once that is all said and done, he may not even be approved to get the visa. So it toook me a few weeks to get my visa and I was pretty much guaranteed to get it. I never had to worry about that. For Edi however, this process could and probably will take over a year for him to possibly get a visa and have the opportunity to come back. double *sigh* Well at least we know what we are getting into!
Enough about visas and all that boring stuff. Tonight I believe (if the weather gets a little better) Edi is taking me to a place that he says reminds him of The Coat of Arms (which is a bar/restaurant in Portsmouth that I really like) and I do know for a fact that they sell Guiness (yum!) Heineken (Ew!) and Stella (eh...) It's funny because Edi calls this the "American" bar but The Coat of Arms is a British Pub and none of those beers are american beers. But to Edi, The Coat was in America so to him, it's an American bar. Good enough for me!! I'll be interested to see what other things have been "Americanized" there.
Random side thought. I was at a BBQ the other day (shocker!) and I saw something funny that reminded me of someone (I can't even remember what it was now so clearly it was thrilling I'm sure...) but I instinctively went for my cell phone to text that person and then wuickly realized that was not going to happen. Even after a month here I forget that A. My cell phone doesn't work here B. It would not be as simple as picking it up and texting a friends number. That's all, it was stupid but i had a nice little chuckle at myself.
That'll do it! Enjoy your weekend!
I finally exchanged some of the US dollars I brought with me for Brazilian Real last week. When I first got here I know that $1(USD) was worth approximately R$1.40 (Real) which is pretty low. The dollar had been steadily decreasing in value for quite some time. When I changed it in last week $1 (USD) was worth R$1.64 (Real) so for my $200 that I cashed in I got R$328 which is not too shabby. Now looking at it today the dollar is worth 1.83 real which is great! Hopefully the dollar keeps rising! This is also why I didn't just trade in all my money for real at once. If I don't use all my money here and I change it back to USD I could lose money if it keeps rising and I don't want to lose any $$$$!!!
Well I do believe I have come to a decision on what my next step will be. I WILL be flying home November 20th when my original scheduled flight is. I will then proceed to work my little (ok not little) butt off for a couple of months and make enough $$ to get back here probably at the beginning of February. *sigh* I really did not want to be home without Edi for another 3 months but I don't really have any better options. I did it before, I can do it again. And this time will (hopefully) be shorter. It would cost $$ to change my flight to a later date and even if I did come back to the US later than I originally planned I would still have to stay home for a few months to make $. That is reall what it all comes down to. Flying back and forth is expensive but options are limited. I originally thought of coming back in January but the tickets are a few hundred dollars cheaper in Feb. Have I talked to anyone about the steps I would need to take to get a permanent visa? No. Should I? Yes. That HAS to be my next step. I need to talk to someone that can really help me because everytime I email a question about my visa to the Brazillian consulate in Boston where I got it, the answers they give me are less than helpful. I really think a lawyer would be my best bet. Immigration lawyer or something? I don't know. I'm new at this.
In the meantime, Edi will be starting the process of applying for a tourist visa to the US. THIS is going to be a process. First Edi needs to apply for a renewed passport since his will expire soon. This could take about 3 months..... Next he needs to try and get an appointment just to apply for a tourist visa. We checked th other day and if he reqested the appointment today, he would possibly have an appointment in about 110 days. Awesome. Next after he applies it takes god knows how long for them to review it, etc... THEN once that is all said and done, he may not even be approved to get the visa. So it toook me a few weeks to get my visa and I was pretty much guaranteed to get it. I never had to worry about that. For Edi however, this process could and probably will take over a year for him to possibly get a visa and have the opportunity to come back. double *sigh* Well at least we know what we are getting into!
Enough about visas and all that boring stuff. Tonight I believe (if the weather gets a little better) Edi is taking me to a place that he says reminds him of The Coat of Arms (which is a bar/restaurant in Portsmouth that I really like) and I do know for a fact that they sell Guiness (yum!) Heineken (Ew!) and Stella (eh...) It's funny because Edi calls this the "American" bar but The Coat of Arms is a British Pub and none of those beers are american beers. But to Edi, The Coat was in America so to him, it's an American bar. Good enough for me!! I'll be interested to see what other things have been "Americanized" there.
Random side thought. I was at a BBQ the other day (shocker!) and I saw something funny that reminded me of someone (I can't even remember what it was now so clearly it was thrilling I'm sure...) but I instinctively went for my cell phone to text that person and then wuickly realized that was not going to happen. Even after a month here I forget that A. My cell phone doesn't work here B. It would not be as simple as picking it up and texting a friends number. That's all, it was stupid but i had a nice little chuckle at myself.
That'll do it! Enjoy your weekend!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Decisions, decisions
I have officially passed the 3 week mark here. I can't believe it. I think this probably means I should figure out my next move......I am technically scheduled to fly back to the US on November 20th. With my tourist visa I am allowed to be here for 3 months at a time. My 3 months would be up at the end of November. I am allowed to apply for an extension. The largest extension I could ask for this time around would be to extend my stay for another 2 1/2 months because that plus this 3 month stay and my inital 2 week stay would total the 6 months per year that I am allowed to be here. Just because I CAN extend my stay for 2 1/2 months doesnt mean I will. First of all I want to be home for Christmas. I can't imagine not spending Christmas with my family! (not to mention they may disown me if that were to happen) But not only that, if I extend it for the full time then I would have to fly home in Feb. and I wouldn't be able to come back for a few months when it will be a full year since I first traveled here and my visa will renew itself. So much to think over!!
1. Extend my stay into December and fly home for Christmas and stay in the US for an undecided amount of time
2. Leave it as it is and flyback November 20th and stay home for what? 1 1/2 months? 2?
There are obviously many more options (go home and stay for a much longer time, go home and stay home, etc...) but these are not options I want to think about. I do know that whatever I choose I need to make a decision soon because if I do need to apply for an extension I dont know how long that will take. Of course when I ask Edi for his input it is met with what seems to be the typical Brazilian laid-back attitude "We'll figure it out." "Don't worry about it right now." Well I HAVE to worry about it right now. Soon right now will be 2 months from now. I am a planner and I need to know my next step. Not to mention the $$ it is going to cost to come back.... I know that I can work when i go home for however long that is. UNO has told me I'm welcome to come back and I can always go work with my mom like the good old days! Not only will I have to make $ to pay for another ticket but I will need to continue to pay my monthly bills (loans) and my money will pretty much have run out by the time I get back. HOPEFULLY my next trip here I would be able to get a job somewhere to make a little $$ while I am in Brazil. That would help immensely! Honestly, don't mind me. I am just thinking ut loud and it is nice to have my options written down in front of my face. I will obviously keep you all posted on what I decide to do!!
On to the more exciting things! Ana Paula has taught Edi's mom to say "Let's Go!" in English to me so whenever she wants us to go somewhere she say "Let's Go Ana!" (Ana Paula's house) or "Let's Go Shopping!" (Let's go to the mall) or the other day she said "Let's Go Escola!" (Lets go to school!) I figured, why not? I was curious to see if the schools here were any different. It was like 5:30pm so I figured she was going to a parent/teacher conference of something. I figured it would be her and a teacher and me. The school is within walking distance so we walked there and we walked up to the second floor (not surprisingly the schools are pretty much the same, including the ever present writing on desks by students. Hearts, names, etc....) and we entered a classroom and I stood frozen the spot. There were about 20 people in the room. 6 students with their parents and a line of teachers at the front of the classroom. My first instinct was to run in the other direction. I had horrifying visions that they were going to go around the room saying "Hello, my name is _____, I am from ______, and my favorite hobby is ______." and I was not interested in partaking. Trying in front of Edi's family is one thing (which I have been doing much more of lately!) but I was certain I would be ridiculed by a room of 14 year olds. I was scared to death. But I pushed though my fear and took a seat next to Arlete and PHEW! thankfully this WAS a student teacher conference they just do it a little differently. They were doing this in small groups. Very efficient. So I sat and listened as usual and at the end of the meeting, Biel told his foreign language teacher (english!) that I am from the United States. I thought, "Cool!" maybe I would be able to have a stimulating conversation in English with this woman who must clearly be fluent! She didn't really respnd when they told her where I was from. Finally when we were all leaving and she was right in front of me so she couldnt really get away she said to me "It very hot here for you today?" ........ I was surprised. I thought of my high school Spanish teacher and how he was maybe not a perfect person, but his Spanish was impeccable. I was quite taken aback. Then the more I thought about it I realized that it is middle school and I remember my middle school Spanish teacher being less than competent in her field. So I guess I am not that surprised. Maybe the high school teacher has a better english background. And on the bright side, maybe I can be an English teacher at the middle school here sometime in the future!! haha
One of Edi's cousins who lived with Edi in NH has opened a pizzaria here in Brazil. It has only been open a few months but it seems like business is good. He had a BBQ at his pizzaria yesterday for Edi's family/friends. There was a futebol game on and the usual gang was there. It was a lot of fun as usual and everytime I hang out with these people I learn a little bit more and I feel a little bit more comfortable. A few people came back to Edi's house afterwards and we hung out outside playing music, drinking, whatever. It came to a screeching halt when two people had a little too much to drink and they started to fight. Edi brought one of them home and the other stayed on the couch here. Same old story, too much beer, people take things to heart, names are called, etc, etc... No harm done other than waking Edi's sleeping parents up. All is forgiven in the morning.
Oh ya! We went to a BBQ on Sat. too. The same friends of Edi's sister that we all went to dinner with a couple of weeks ago. It was a much smaller, intimate setting. There were about 10 of us all together. Music, dancing, laughing and BBQing per usual. Everyone is so happy here most of the time. It's great!
That about does it for today. Peace and grease!!
1. Extend my stay into December and fly home for Christmas and stay in the US for an undecided amount of time
2. Leave it as it is and flyback November 20th and stay home for what? 1 1/2 months? 2?
There are obviously many more options (go home and stay for a much longer time, go home and stay home, etc...) but these are not options I want to think about. I do know that whatever I choose I need to make a decision soon because if I do need to apply for an extension I dont know how long that will take. Of course when I ask Edi for his input it is met with what seems to be the typical Brazilian laid-back attitude "We'll figure it out." "Don't worry about it right now." Well I HAVE to worry about it right now. Soon right now will be 2 months from now. I am a planner and I need to know my next step. Not to mention the $$ it is going to cost to come back.... I know that I can work when i go home for however long that is. UNO has told me I'm welcome to come back and I can always go work with my mom like the good old days! Not only will I have to make $ to pay for another ticket but I will need to continue to pay my monthly bills (loans) and my money will pretty much have run out by the time I get back. HOPEFULLY my next trip here I would be able to get a job somewhere to make a little $$ while I am in Brazil. That would help immensely! Honestly, don't mind me. I am just thinking ut loud and it is nice to have my options written down in front of my face. I will obviously keep you all posted on what I decide to do!!
On to the more exciting things! Ana Paula has taught Edi's mom to say "Let's Go!" in English to me so whenever she wants us to go somewhere she say "Let's Go Ana!" (Ana Paula's house) or "Let's Go Shopping!" (Let's go to the mall) or the other day she said "Let's Go Escola!" (Lets go to school!) I figured, why not? I was curious to see if the schools here were any different. It was like 5:30pm so I figured she was going to a parent/teacher conference of something. I figured it would be her and a teacher and me. The school is within walking distance so we walked there and we walked up to the second floor (not surprisingly the schools are pretty much the same, including the ever present writing on desks by students. Hearts, names, etc....) and we entered a classroom and I stood frozen the spot. There were about 20 people in the room. 6 students with their parents and a line of teachers at the front of the classroom. My first instinct was to run in the other direction. I had horrifying visions that they were going to go around the room saying "Hello, my name is _____, I am from ______, and my favorite hobby is ______." and I was not interested in partaking. Trying in front of Edi's family is one thing (which I have been doing much more of lately!) but I was certain I would be ridiculed by a room of 14 year olds. I was scared to death. But I pushed though my fear and took a seat next to Arlete and PHEW! thankfully this WAS a student teacher conference they just do it a little differently. They were doing this in small groups. Very efficient. So I sat and listened as usual and at the end of the meeting, Biel told his foreign language teacher (english!) that I am from the United States. I thought, "Cool!" maybe I would be able to have a stimulating conversation in English with this woman who must clearly be fluent! She didn't really respnd when they told her where I was from. Finally when we were all leaving and she was right in front of me so she couldnt really get away she said to me "It very hot here for you today?" ........ I was surprised. I thought of my high school Spanish teacher and how he was maybe not a perfect person, but his Spanish was impeccable. I was quite taken aback. Then the more I thought about it I realized that it is middle school and I remember my middle school Spanish teacher being less than competent in her field. So I guess I am not that surprised. Maybe the high school teacher has a better english background. And on the bright side, maybe I can be an English teacher at the middle school here sometime in the future!! haha
One of Edi's cousins who lived with Edi in NH has opened a pizzaria here in Brazil. It has only been open a few months but it seems like business is good. He had a BBQ at his pizzaria yesterday for Edi's family/friends. There was a futebol game on and the usual gang was there. It was a lot of fun as usual and everytime I hang out with these people I learn a little bit more and I feel a little bit more comfortable. A few people came back to Edi's house afterwards and we hung out outside playing music, drinking, whatever. It came to a screeching halt when two people had a little too much to drink and they started to fight. Edi brought one of them home and the other stayed on the couch here. Same old story, too much beer, people take things to heart, names are called, etc, etc... No harm done other than waking Edi's sleeping parents up. All is forgiven in the morning.
Oh ya! We went to a BBQ on Sat. too. The same friends of Edi's sister that we all went to dinner with a couple of weeks ago. It was a much smaller, intimate setting. There were about 10 of us all together. Music, dancing, laughing and BBQing per usual. Everyone is so happy here most of the time. It's great!
That about does it for today. Peace and grease!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Back at It
It's been almost a week since I last posted on here but there have really only been a few days of action to write about so I figured I would start spreading these out! As most of you know already this weekend was Edi's birthday. It actually happens to fall on 9/11. That being such a sad day in US history it is nice to have something happy to celebrate. And actually his Aunt's birthday is the same day and his cousins birthday is 9/13 so it was quite the party!
As I mentioned before Edi's family rented out what I called an event hall of sorts but that really isn't what it is. I'll try and explain it better. It is a property that the owner rents out. It has a house (2 bedrooms, 1 bath, dining room, living room, kitchen) with a large outdoor area that is covered with a big stone BBQ pit for cooking. It also has a pool, a covered garage sort of area, a smaller yard close to the pool and a larger yard with goal posts for playing soccer (or I really should say futebol) It is about 20 minutes outside of the city that Edi lives in. It is in a much more rural area. It is down a dirt road and the only other things down that dirt road are more rented out properties so it's private which is nice too. Basically families rent out these properties for the weekends so they can have fun and be as loud as they want and stay up late, and eat and drink without having to worry about bothering neighbors, etc... I remember going to a couple of these types of properties the last time I was here. His family likes to do this whenever there is a birthday or something to celebrate or sometimes just so the family can get together. Edi's family is so big that none of his family members houses would be able to accomodate everyone comfortably. Plus it is a nice bonus to have a pool and a nice big yard.
They rented it out for Saturday and Sunday but most people had things to do during the day Saturday or they had to work so we went up once Edi and Marco got out of work. There were only about 15 people there Saturday night. We got there around 7pm. We had dinner and just hung out. All of the ladies grabbed chairs and started chatting while the guys hung around the BBQ cooking and telling stories. They started the music and the ladies started dancing. I obviously joined in. I spent most of Saturday night hanging out with Edilaine(sister) and Fernanda (cousins girlfriend) which was nice. Edilaine is always very nice to me and she knows some English so she was helping translate some things for me. Fernanda I don't think has a mean bone in her body. She is always smiling and always pleasant. Eventually a Katy Perry song came on and I got very excited because I could actually sing the words to this song so I belted them out. We stayed until about midnight then it was time to pack up and head home. All in all a pretty low key, fun night.
Sunday was when the real festivities started. We got to the house about 11:30am. We were some of the first people there but shortly threafter the whole family started arriving. I cannot get over how big his family is. I can say that I am very thankful that I was able to come to Brazil with Edi when he moved back in May. I at least got to meet most of these family members at that time. I know that last time I was VERY quiet, VERY shy and stuck VERY close to Edi's side anytime that everyone got together. This time I was happy to do my own thing and sit with whoever I felt like and some of them know a little English so they would try to tell me what they know. Or they would say something in Portuguese and I would stare at them, squinting, listening as hard as I possibly could and ask them to repeat themselves a few times and eventually I would get the jist of it and respond the best I could. People were asking me to come sit with them or go in the pool with them and it was nice to feel like part of the family. I didn't feel like so much of an outsider this time around.
Ana Laura wanted to go in the pool pretty early on and nobody wanted to go in with he so I bit the bullet and went in. She had a blast. I was FREEZING but I had fun with her anyways. She just LOVES to jump off the side of the pool and have you catch her. I remember doing that all the time when I was little yelling "Mom! Mom! Watch me! Mom!" she was pretty much doing the same thing. When she started shivering so much her teeth were chattering I figured it was time to get out. I watched the boys play soccer, ate some food, listened to music, just relaxing. I had changed out of my original outfit because it had gotten a little wet near the pool. That was a mistake. I knew that the boys had started throwing water on each other and throwing each other into the pool but I wasnt paying close enough attention. Ana Paula (Aunt) was sitting next to me at one point and told me to be careful because she could hear them plotting to throw me into the pool. I told her they would have to try pretty hard, "I'm stronger than I look." Well about 30 seconds later I would eat my words because I didn't see it coming until it was too late. Edi's cousin Sydney (he lived in the US for about 4 years) came charging at me and Ana Paula with a giant bucket of water. SPLASH!! My dry change of clothes was now soaked from head to toe. I think a few of the family members were watching to see if I would be mad. They don't know me that well so who knows how I would react? Well obviously I didn't care. I laughed and told Sydney that I would get him when he least expected it. Then I figured since I was soaked I might as well go back into the pool! i never did get Sydney back but I have plenty of time. The rest of the day was fun. We left around 6pm and came home and crashed after a long day of fun. All in all I think Edi probably had one of the best birthdays he has had in years getting to spend it with his family finally!
That is it for now I guess. I'll update later this week! Miss you all! Tchau!
As I mentioned before Edi's family rented out what I called an event hall of sorts but that really isn't what it is. I'll try and explain it better. It is a property that the owner rents out. It has a house (2 bedrooms, 1 bath, dining room, living room, kitchen) with a large outdoor area that is covered with a big stone BBQ pit for cooking. It also has a pool, a covered garage sort of area, a smaller yard close to the pool and a larger yard with goal posts for playing soccer (or I really should say futebol) It is about 20 minutes outside of the city that Edi lives in. It is in a much more rural area. It is down a dirt road and the only other things down that dirt road are more rented out properties so it's private which is nice too. Basically families rent out these properties for the weekends so they can have fun and be as loud as they want and stay up late, and eat and drink without having to worry about bothering neighbors, etc... I remember going to a couple of these types of properties the last time I was here. His family likes to do this whenever there is a birthday or something to celebrate or sometimes just so the family can get together. Edi's family is so big that none of his family members houses would be able to accomodate everyone comfortably. Plus it is a nice bonus to have a pool and a nice big yard.
They rented it out for Saturday and Sunday but most people had things to do during the day Saturday or they had to work so we went up once Edi and Marco got out of work. There were only about 15 people there Saturday night. We got there around 7pm. We had dinner and just hung out. All of the ladies grabbed chairs and started chatting while the guys hung around the BBQ cooking and telling stories. They started the music and the ladies started dancing. I obviously joined in. I spent most of Saturday night hanging out with Edilaine(sister) and Fernanda (cousins girlfriend) which was nice. Edilaine is always very nice to me and she knows some English so she was helping translate some things for me. Fernanda I don't think has a mean bone in her body. She is always smiling and always pleasant. Eventually a Katy Perry song came on and I got very excited because I could actually sing the words to this song so I belted them out. We stayed until about midnight then it was time to pack up and head home. All in all a pretty low key, fun night.
Sunday was when the real festivities started. We got to the house about 11:30am. We were some of the first people there but shortly threafter the whole family started arriving. I cannot get over how big his family is. I can say that I am very thankful that I was able to come to Brazil with Edi when he moved back in May. I at least got to meet most of these family members at that time. I know that last time I was VERY quiet, VERY shy and stuck VERY close to Edi's side anytime that everyone got together. This time I was happy to do my own thing and sit with whoever I felt like and some of them know a little English so they would try to tell me what they know. Or they would say something in Portuguese and I would stare at them, squinting, listening as hard as I possibly could and ask them to repeat themselves a few times and eventually I would get the jist of it and respond the best I could. People were asking me to come sit with them or go in the pool with them and it was nice to feel like part of the family. I didn't feel like so much of an outsider this time around.
Ana Laura wanted to go in the pool pretty early on and nobody wanted to go in with he so I bit the bullet and went in. She had a blast. I was FREEZING but I had fun with her anyways. She just LOVES to jump off the side of the pool and have you catch her. I remember doing that all the time when I was little yelling "Mom! Mom! Watch me! Mom!" she was pretty much doing the same thing. When she started shivering so much her teeth were chattering I figured it was time to get out. I watched the boys play soccer, ate some food, listened to music, just relaxing. I had changed out of my original outfit because it had gotten a little wet near the pool. That was a mistake. I knew that the boys had started throwing water on each other and throwing each other into the pool but I wasnt paying close enough attention. Ana Paula (Aunt) was sitting next to me at one point and told me to be careful because she could hear them plotting to throw me into the pool. I told her they would have to try pretty hard, "I'm stronger than I look." Well about 30 seconds later I would eat my words because I didn't see it coming until it was too late. Edi's cousin Sydney (he lived in the US for about 4 years) came charging at me and Ana Paula with a giant bucket of water. SPLASH!! My dry change of clothes was now soaked from head to toe. I think a few of the family members were watching to see if I would be mad. They don't know me that well so who knows how I would react? Well obviously I didn't care. I laughed and told Sydney that I would get him when he least expected it. Then I figured since I was soaked I might as well go back into the pool! i never did get Sydney back but I have plenty of time. The rest of the day was fun. We left around 6pm and came home and crashed after a long day of fun. All in all I think Edi probably had one of the best birthdays he has had in years getting to spend it with his family finally!
That is it for now I guess. I'll update later this week! Miss you all! Tchau!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Keeping Busy!
So it has actually been an eventuful couple of days! I have been out and about running errands, etc... with Edi's mom sister and Aunt quite a bit during the day which is nice. It makes the days go by faster.
On Tuesday I went grocery shopping with Edi's parents. I have been to a couple of stores before but they were more like the Wal-Mart type of store. This was the actual grocery store like a Hannaford or Shaws or whatever. Let me tell you this was one BUSY grocery store. Yikes! Now, here is something my old roommate Leah can attest to: The level of anxiety I get while grocey shopping is quite frankly, ridiculous. It is pretty much uncalled for but for some reason the grocery store stresses me out! There are always so many people there, I feel like whenever I go they are stocking the shelves, and the amount of carts all trying to get to the same place.....ugh. I shudder just thinking about it. Leah and I had the unwritten rule that she pushed the cart while I was I charge of the list whenever we went grocery shopping. I was much more comfortable with this setup. Well of course Edi's parents don't have a clue about any of this. So naturally, I was put in charge of pushing the cart through the sufficiently busy store. Oh. God. Needless to say I survived. Whew! It was definitely touch and go there for a luttle while though. A couple of things I realized while maneuvering my way through the store behind Arlete:
1. she knows a LOT of people. Every aisle there was someone there that knew Arlete and said hello and introduced themselves to me and Arlete told them who I am and they said hello
2. The amount of fresh fruits and vegetables available in the grocery store is unbelieveable. There are SO many choices.
3. The amount of people BUYING fresh fruits and vegetables and the amount that they were buying was incredible. The majority of everyones carts were fruits and veggies and then a few other things thrown in. Meat, milk, bread, etc... Don't get me wrong people are buying cookies and candy too, but its used as a treat, not as an everyday thing. Its so good to see an entire culture basing their diet on fresh fruits and veggies. I feel like in this respect, we Americans could learn a lesson.
Wednesday Edi had the day off! Independence Day here in Brazil. (As I'm sure a lot of you may have seen on the Google homepage.) We went to the zoo which was fun. It is apparently within walking distance from Edi's house and I had no idea! Was it the best zoo I've ever been to? No. However, was FREE! A free zoo? Nice! I don't think I've ever seen that before. I think that is a great idea. Now that I know that I may just walk there and walk around. It was really beautiful with all the vegetation. The amount of animals was eh... Still, there was plenty to look at and I had a good time.
We went out last night with some cousins and friends of cousins. As usual we went somewhere with live music and good beer. It was a low key night. No dancing. Just sitting, talking (or listening in my case) and enjoying each others company. My kind of night. Per usual, the girls at the table that I has never met kept staring at me when I talked. Flabbergasted at my crazy language! haha They were all very nice and a fun bunch!
I've noticed that my blue eyes come into the conversation here quite a bit. Blue eyes are a lot harder to come by here. I noticed that Edi does have 1 cousin with blue eyes but that is really all I've seen. A lot of people comment on them because they don't see them much.
Ana Paula (Aunt that speaks English) is back and she has been a helping a lot with letting me know what is going on and telling me how to say certain things. I'm very thankful that she is so helpful and she is around quite a bit. It makes me feel more comfortable being able to get across what I am trying to say to other people through her so it won't be completely misinterpreted. I went shopping with her, her daughter (Ana Laura), Arlete and Edilaine today. We just walked around a few shops and they bought some clothes. They had some cute stuff and everything in the stores were only $10! Probably not the best quality but I wouldn't mind going back and buying a few things.
Edi's birthday is Sunday! Funny enough so is one of his Aunts and his cousins is the 13th. So they have rented a place for Saturday and Sunday for the family to go and hang out and celebrate. It is basically like an event hall of sorts but is is outside and I know there is a pool for sure but I'm not sure what else. So needless to say that is where I'll be spending most of my weekend!
I guess that is it for now. I'm sure I'll have an update after the festivities this weekend. Tchau!
On Tuesday I went grocery shopping with Edi's parents. I have been to a couple of stores before but they were more like the Wal-Mart type of store. This was the actual grocery store like a Hannaford or Shaws or whatever. Let me tell you this was one BUSY grocery store. Yikes! Now, here is something my old roommate Leah can attest to: The level of anxiety I get while grocey shopping is quite frankly, ridiculous. It is pretty much uncalled for but for some reason the grocery store stresses me out! There are always so many people there, I feel like whenever I go they are stocking the shelves, and the amount of carts all trying to get to the same place.....ugh. I shudder just thinking about it. Leah and I had the unwritten rule that she pushed the cart while I was I charge of the list whenever we went grocery shopping. I was much more comfortable with this setup. Well of course Edi's parents don't have a clue about any of this. So naturally, I was put in charge of pushing the cart through the sufficiently busy store. Oh. God. Needless to say I survived. Whew! It was definitely touch and go there for a luttle while though. A couple of things I realized while maneuvering my way through the store behind Arlete:
1. she knows a LOT of people. Every aisle there was someone there that knew Arlete and said hello and introduced themselves to me and Arlete told them who I am and they said hello
2. The amount of fresh fruits and vegetables available in the grocery store is unbelieveable. There are SO many choices.
3. The amount of people BUYING fresh fruits and vegetables and the amount that they were buying was incredible. The majority of everyones carts were fruits and veggies and then a few other things thrown in. Meat, milk, bread, etc... Don't get me wrong people are buying cookies and candy too, but its used as a treat, not as an everyday thing. Its so good to see an entire culture basing their diet on fresh fruits and veggies. I feel like in this respect, we Americans could learn a lesson.
Wednesday Edi had the day off! Independence Day here in Brazil. (As I'm sure a lot of you may have seen on the Google homepage.) We went to the zoo which was fun. It is apparently within walking distance from Edi's house and I had no idea! Was it the best zoo I've ever been to? No. However, was FREE! A free zoo? Nice! I don't think I've ever seen that before. I think that is a great idea. Now that I know that I may just walk there and walk around. It was really beautiful with all the vegetation. The amount of animals was eh... Still, there was plenty to look at and I had a good time.
We went out last night with some cousins and friends of cousins. As usual we went somewhere with live music and good beer. It was a low key night. No dancing. Just sitting, talking (or listening in my case) and enjoying each others company. My kind of night. Per usual, the girls at the table that I has never met kept staring at me when I talked. Flabbergasted at my crazy language! haha They were all very nice and a fun bunch!
I've noticed that my blue eyes come into the conversation here quite a bit. Blue eyes are a lot harder to come by here. I noticed that Edi does have 1 cousin with blue eyes but that is really all I've seen. A lot of people comment on them because they don't see them much.
Ana Paula (Aunt that speaks English) is back and she has been a helping a lot with letting me know what is going on and telling me how to say certain things. I'm very thankful that she is so helpful and she is around quite a bit. It makes me feel more comfortable being able to get across what I am trying to say to other people through her so it won't be completely misinterpreted. I went shopping with her, her daughter (Ana Laura), Arlete and Edilaine today. We just walked around a few shops and they bought some clothes. They had some cute stuff and everything in the stores were only $10! Probably not the best quality but I wouldn't mind going back and buying a few things.
Edi's birthday is Sunday! Funny enough so is one of his Aunts and his cousins is the 13th. So they have rented a place for Saturday and Sunday for the family to go and hang out and celebrate. It is basically like an event hall of sorts but is is outside and I know there is a pool for sure but I'm not sure what else. So needless to say that is where I'll be spending most of my weekend!
I guess that is it for now. I'm sure I'll have an update after the festivities this weekend. Tchau!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Ugh...segunda-feira
You know, even for someone like me with no work, and no current life goals or ambitions, Mondays still suck. Job or no job, the weekends are always just better. This is even coming from a girl that used to work EVERY Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, and then cut it back to just the Fridays and Saturdays. I may have been working but it was always more fun than the weekday workdays because it was busy, there were more people working, etc, etc... So here we are in another country living a completely different life, but the weekend is still the weekend.
I completely fogot that it is Labor Day weekend in the states until I was on Yahoo and saw a news article. So Happy Labor Day! Yay for those of you that don't have to work today. Those of you that do, welcome to my previous life. HERE everyone is back to work and back to school today. The weather is back into the 90's. I am currently sitting at the dining room table because Arlete called me out for as I am now calling it "snack time." I feel like a first grader and I love it. The snack laid out for me today: Guarana (a Brazilian soda. Very sweet and very tasty) and some crackers with butter. Yes that is right, they spread butter on their crackers as a snack. Some of you may think this is gross. I on the other hand am in heaven. I used to try and sneak a SPOONFUL of butter behind my moms back when she was cooking. So, next time you see me, plan on me being approximately 100lbs heavier.
I am also listening to some Brazilian music I just downloaded. I have been searching the songs/artists online and translating them line by line. The current song I am listening to seems to be one of Edi and Biel's favorites and I like it a lot too. It sounded innocent enough. It is very upbeat and fun to dance to. Seems like something people would maybe play at a childs birthday party or a family reunion, but after the help of google translate, it turns out the song is very dirty. Well played, Brazil. Well played.
We were planning on going to the circus yesterday and we did go (Edi, myself, Biel and Lucas) but when we went to purchase the tickets we found out they were R$30 each! Yikes! We decided it wasn't worth it. If we change our minds it will be in town for a few weeks. We went down the street and played some pool instead. Good enough for me!
When we are driving around anywhere I am constantly asking Edi what that means or what this means. Does that sign say 3 brothers mechanics? Does that say you can only park here for 15 minutes? I have also taken to trying to translate every sign I see to myself first so I am doing a lot of mumbling. He finally said something to me yesterday which is very true. He said "you know a lot of words in Portuguese and you know what we are talking about a lot of the time, you are just too scared to say anything yourself." True. Stil trying to get over the fear of failure. I know I've got to try more but I'm not quite there yet. I did get a good tip from my Aunt for an app on my ipod that not only translates but it conjugates verbs for you and tons of other stuff and you don't have to be connected to the internet for it to work so I definitely took advantage of that. Thanks Aunt Deb!
Looks like it's coffee time. Arlete has the coffee maker out. That is also something I am glad I didn't get hooked on in the US. Iced Coffee. Don't get me wrong I love a good iced caffeinated beverage but I don't NEED it. I know a lot of friends (UNO's peeps especially) that would go crazy without their fix. Sorry folks, no Dunks or Aroma Joe's around here! (I have seen redbull though..) They don't drink iced coffee at all. Hmmm....perhaps a business venture in my future.
Well that's about it. Talking to my mom later tonight. yay! Other than that no big plans. I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and have moved on to The Girl Who Played With Fire. Loved the first one! I think I will love this one too! I'll let you know! Tchau!
I completely fogot that it is Labor Day weekend in the states until I was on Yahoo and saw a news article. So Happy Labor Day! Yay for those of you that don't have to work today. Those of you that do, welcome to my previous life. HERE everyone is back to work and back to school today. The weather is back into the 90's. I am currently sitting at the dining room table because Arlete called me out for as I am now calling it "snack time." I feel like a first grader and I love it. The snack laid out for me today: Guarana (a Brazilian soda. Very sweet and very tasty) and some crackers with butter. Yes that is right, they spread butter on their crackers as a snack. Some of you may think this is gross. I on the other hand am in heaven. I used to try and sneak a SPOONFUL of butter behind my moms back when she was cooking. So, next time you see me, plan on me being approximately 100lbs heavier.
I am also listening to some Brazilian music I just downloaded. I have been searching the songs/artists online and translating them line by line. The current song I am listening to seems to be one of Edi and Biel's favorites and I like it a lot too. It sounded innocent enough. It is very upbeat and fun to dance to. Seems like something people would maybe play at a childs birthday party or a family reunion, but after the help of google translate, it turns out the song is very dirty. Well played, Brazil. Well played.
We were planning on going to the circus yesterday and we did go (Edi, myself, Biel and Lucas) but when we went to purchase the tickets we found out they were R$30 each! Yikes! We decided it wasn't worth it. If we change our minds it will be in town for a few weeks. We went down the street and played some pool instead. Good enough for me!
When we are driving around anywhere I am constantly asking Edi what that means or what this means. Does that sign say 3 brothers mechanics? Does that say you can only park here for 15 minutes? I have also taken to trying to translate every sign I see to myself first so I am doing a lot of mumbling. He finally said something to me yesterday which is very true. He said "you know a lot of words in Portuguese and you know what we are talking about a lot of the time, you are just too scared to say anything yourself." True. Stil trying to get over the fear of failure. I know I've got to try more but I'm not quite there yet. I did get a good tip from my Aunt for an app on my ipod that not only translates but it conjugates verbs for you and tons of other stuff and you don't have to be connected to the internet for it to work so I definitely took advantage of that. Thanks Aunt Deb!
Looks like it's coffee time. Arlete has the coffee maker out. That is also something I am glad I didn't get hooked on in the US. Iced Coffee. Don't get me wrong I love a good iced caffeinated beverage but I don't NEED it. I know a lot of friends (UNO's peeps especially) that would go crazy without their fix. Sorry folks, no Dunks or Aroma Joe's around here! (I have seen redbull though..) They don't drink iced coffee at all. Hmmm....perhaps a business venture in my future.
Well that's about it. Talking to my mom later tonight. yay! Other than that no big plans. I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo and have moved on to The Girl Who Played With Fire. Loved the first one! I think I will love this one too! I'll let you know! Tchau!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under....?
Well I have officially been here 1 week today! Time is flying. It's actually been a busy couple of days (or nights really) so that always makes time go by faster.
We did end up going out on Thursday but we didn't go out to a bar. Most of the bars around here are mostly outside and it was just too cold! So instead Edi took me to dinner. It was just the two of us which was nice because his house is always so busy with family and friends that we don't always have a lot of time to just hang out, just the two of us. At most restaurants here there is a button on your table that you just push when you need something and the server sees it on a screen out back and goes over to your table. I like that concept. Dinner was good. We ended up just splitting an app and a sandwich. I let Edi order for me because I have no idea what most of the menu says. I still browse it but I let him deal with the actual ordering business. It is hard to get used to the idea that you don't tip here, but you just don't. Servers get a salary here or a higher hourly wage. Which as a server I think that's cool on one hand, but also it allows the service to be sort of below par. The waitress was attentive, but not really friendly by any means. In the US you have to go above and beyond to make your guests happy in order to make some decent $$ and sometimes that doesn't even work. Here you are going to get paid as long as my meal gets in front of my face in a decent amount of time.
Nothing too interesting to report on Friday. I did go down the street to Edilaine's house (sister) with Arlete and hung out there while Arlete cleaned. Edilaine works during the day and has school at night and her husband works with Edi at the car wash so they aren't home a lot. So naturally as the housewife of the century, Arlete goes over there once a week and cleans the house, does the laundry, etc... They JUST moved out of Edi's parents house about a month ago so she figures she was doing it for them here, why not there too? It's only about a 30 second walk from here to Edilaine's house.
Last night was fun fun FUN! As soon as Edi and Marco (Edilaine's husband) got home from work we all sat outside with the music playing, drinking beers. They do sell smaller 12oz bottles here, but they also sell by the liter, which is what everyone normally gets. Then everyone gets a glass, (just like 8oz) and passes around the bottles, sharing. 2 bottles turned into 4, then 6, then 8, then I lost count.....to be fair there were like 6 of us drinking. As I mentioned in my facebook, the music was BUMPIN'! But nobody cares because it is the weekend and its time to party!
At about 8:30 Edi and I went with Marco and Edilaine to a restaurant for dinner. It was one of Edilaine's friends birthdays so we were joining a crew! On the way there, Marco said he would put in some "American" music for me..... Next thing I know we are listening to Shania Twain's "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" hahahaha Really? I appreaciate the effort, that's for sure. Anyway we got to the restaurant and buckets of beer were ordered (4-1 liter bottles in each bucket) and platters of grilled meats and veggies and baskets of bread and everyone just passes everything around and shares. I was introduced to everyone and said it was ncie to meet them (muito prazer!) and then everyone wanted a picture with the American girl! I didn't mind. I was having a lot of fun. Everyone wanted me to say thier names and see if I could pronounce them correctly. When I did they all clapped. Then the live music started more beer was ordered and I heard my name being called over the loud speaker. Apparently Marco told the band about me and they wanted me to stand up. I did. Then everyone clapped. Woo hoo! Estados Unidos! Then.....we danced. Middle of the restaurant everyone got up from the tables and started singing and dancing. I didn't know the words but i liked the songs so I danced with everyone. We said our goodbyes at about 12:30. I like those people. I hope I see them again!
Now don't be fooled by the time. Just because it's 12:30 does not mean the night is over! This is Brazil dammit! Marco brought us home (the night WAS over for he and Edilaine) and we grabbed Edi's car. We met his cousins about 5 minutes away at a bar/club. I call it this because I feel like it was a little bit of both. Had a bar feel, but dancing and lights like a club. Anyways, it was HUGE and it was pretty much packed. (Did I mention that I love the fact that I don't have to worry about getting carded? I don't even havebe fooled by the time. Just because it's 12:30 does not mean the night is over! This is Brazil dammit! Marco brought us home (the night WAS over for he and Edilaine) and we grabbed Edi's car. We met his cousins about 5 minutes away at a bar/club. I call it this because I feel like it was a little bit of both. Had a bar feel, but dancing and lights like a club. Anyways, it was HUGE and it was pretty much packed. (Did I mention that I love the fact that I don't have to worry about getting carded? I don't even have to bring in a purse or wallet. Freedom!!) We made our way in ($15 cover for the guys, $10 for the ladies woot woot!) and I don't think I had one drop to drink while I was there (probably a good thing) we just made our way straight to the dance flor and danced until we left. Now I have to say, I really like the way everyone dances here. First of all, the music is live pretty much anywhere you go. I already love the songs that I'm hearing. Oddly enough it is kind of pop music with a country sound, or the other way around. I don't know but I like it and its fast and everyone sings along. But there's no RJ's (shout out to my Dover peeps) nauseating bumping and grinding, etc... It is like one hand around my waist, the other hand in my hand and we are actually taking steps and moving around and actually dancing. I'll have to get video on my ipod next time because its fun to do and cool to watch. AND Edi was actually dancing. Who would have thought, I tried to get him to dance numerous times. All I needed was some Brazilian music and some legitimate dance steps. So at about 2:30 I was hot and tired and falling asleep on the dance floor so we called it a night, but that place was still jammin'. I have no idea what time it actually dies down, if ever.
So there you have it. All in all a fantatic Saturday! Today I don't know what is on the agenda, but the circus is in town (literally) and I think we night check that out tonight! Thanks for reading! Miss you all!
We did end up going out on Thursday but we didn't go out to a bar. Most of the bars around here are mostly outside and it was just too cold! So instead Edi took me to dinner. It was just the two of us which was nice because his house is always so busy with family and friends that we don't always have a lot of time to just hang out, just the two of us. At most restaurants here there is a button on your table that you just push when you need something and the server sees it on a screen out back and goes over to your table. I like that concept. Dinner was good. We ended up just splitting an app and a sandwich. I let Edi order for me because I have no idea what most of the menu says. I still browse it but I let him deal with the actual ordering business. It is hard to get used to the idea that you don't tip here, but you just don't. Servers get a salary here or a higher hourly wage. Which as a server I think that's cool on one hand, but also it allows the service to be sort of below par. The waitress was attentive, but not really friendly by any means. In the US you have to go above and beyond to make your guests happy in order to make some decent $$ and sometimes that doesn't even work. Here you are going to get paid as long as my meal gets in front of my face in a decent amount of time.
Nothing too interesting to report on Friday. I did go down the street to Edilaine's house (sister) with Arlete and hung out there while Arlete cleaned. Edilaine works during the day and has school at night and her husband works with Edi at the car wash so they aren't home a lot. So naturally as the housewife of the century, Arlete goes over there once a week and cleans the house, does the laundry, etc... They JUST moved out of Edi's parents house about a month ago so she figures she was doing it for them here, why not there too? It's only about a 30 second walk from here to Edilaine's house.
Last night was fun fun FUN! As soon as Edi and Marco (Edilaine's husband) got home from work we all sat outside with the music playing, drinking beers. They do sell smaller 12oz bottles here, but they also sell by the liter, which is what everyone normally gets. Then everyone gets a glass, (just like 8oz) and passes around the bottles, sharing. 2 bottles turned into 4, then 6, then 8, then I lost count.....to be fair there were like 6 of us drinking. As I mentioned in my facebook, the music was BUMPIN'! But nobody cares because it is the weekend and its time to party!
At about 8:30 Edi and I went with Marco and Edilaine to a restaurant for dinner. It was one of Edilaine's friends birthdays so we were joining a crew! On the way there, Marco said he would put in some "American" music for me..... Next thing I know we are listening to Shania Twain's "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" hahahaha Really? I appreaciate the effort, that's for sure. Anyway we got to the restaurant and buckets of beer were ordered (4-1 liter bottles in each bucket) and platters of grilled meats and veggies and baskets of bread and everyone just passes everything around and shares. I was introduced to everyone and said it was ncie to meet them (muito prazer!) and then everyone wanted a picture with the American girl! I didn't mind. I was having a lot of fun. Everyone wanted me to say thier names and see if I could pronounce them correctly. When I did they all clapped. Then the live music started more beer was ordered and I heard my name being called over the loud speaker. Apparently Marco told the band about me and they wanted me to stand up. I did. Then everyone clapped. Woo hoo! Estados Unidos! Then.....we danced. Middle of the restaurant everyone got up from the tables and started singing and dancing. I didn't know the words but i liked the songs so I danced with everyone. We said our goodbyes at about 12:30. I like those people. I hope I see them again!
Now don't be fooled by the time. Just because it's 12:30 does not mean the night is over! This is Brazil dammit! Marco brought us home (the night WAS over for he and Edilaine) and we grabbed Edi's car. We met his cousins about 5 minutes away at a bar/club. I call it this because I feel like it was a little bit of both. Had a bar feel, but dancing and lights like a club. Anyways, it was HUGE and it was pretty much packed. (Did I mention that I love the fact that I don't have to worry about getting carded? I don't even havebe fooled by the time. Just because it's 12:30 does not mean the night is over! This is Brazil dammit! Marco brought us home (the night WAS over for he and Edilaine) and we grabbed Edi's car. We met his cousins about 5 minutes away at a bar/club. I call it this because I feel like it was a little bit of both. Had a bar feel, but dancing and lights like a club. Anyways, it was HUGE and it was pretty much packed. (Did I mention that I love the fact that I don't have to worry about getting carded? I don't even have to bring in a purse or wallet. Freedom!!) We made our way in ($15 cover for the guys, $10 for the ladies woot woot!) and I don't think I had one drop to drink while I was there (probably a good thing) we just made our way straight to the dance flor and danced until we left. Now I have to say, I really like the way everyone dances here. First of all, the music is live pretty much anywhere you go. I already love the songs that I'm hearing. Oddly enough it is kind of pop music with a country sound, or the other way around. I don't know but I like it and its fast and everyone sings along. But there's no RJ's (shout out to my Dover peeps) nauseating bumping and grinding, etc... It is like one hand around my waist, the other hand in my hand and we are actually taking steps and moving around and actually dancing. I'll have to get video on my ipod next time because its fun to do and cool to watch. AND Edi was actually dancing. Who would have thought, I tried to get him to dance numerous times. All I needed was some Brazilian music and some legitimate dance steps. So at about 2:30 I was hot and tired and falling asleep on the dance floor so we called it a night, but that place was still jammin'. I have no idea what time it actually dies down, if ever.
So there you have it. All in all a fantatic Saturday! Today I don't know what is on the agenda, but the circus is in town (literally) and I think we night check that out tonight! Thanks for reading! Miss you all!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Little Bit Stir Crazy
Well today is a boring one. Just hanging around. I am definitely enjoying the rest and relaxation but that is just sooooooo not my usual style and it is very hard to get used to. Also I am sleeping so late because I have no reason to wake up and it is making it almost impossible to get to sleep at night. I also blame this on my previous life of closing UNO's bar and not getting home until 2am multiple nights of the week......damn you UNO's! p.s. I miss you! (The staff not the work) I suppose I could set an alarm for myself to wake up earlier but what is the fun in that? I'm on an extended vacation here people! Not to mention what the hell would I do for those extra hours of alertness? I can barely find enough to do as it is.
We did not end up going out last night because it was rainy and a little bit chilly (55 degrees!) which is a perfect recipe for procrastination and laziness. So we hung around and I watched Edi play video games with his brother Biel(14yrs) and cousin Lucas(13yrs). It was a soccer video game. Obviously. (did I mention that Edi turns 28 in a week and a half and yes I said he is playing videogames. My brother would be so proud.) Anyways I sat there in the living room with them with my Port/Eng dictionary (per usual) trying to pick out words and look them up. The problem with this is that so much of what they are saying is slang and smack talk that the words aren't even in the dictionary. Hmmmm....perhaps there is an online urban dictionary for Portuguese words like there is for English. On second thought, I don't even think I want to go there.
Edi PROMISED we would go out tonight which is great because I have not set foot outside of this house since Tuesday afternoon and I think I'm going insane. Look forward to future blogs outlining the shenanigans that are sure to ensue with me actually going out in public. Even when I was here in May we never actually went out the bars. Restaurants? Sure. Family parties. Yes! But no local bars for this girl. So this should be riddled with embarassing moments. I'm tempted to tell Edi that I want to order the drinks just so I can see the look on the bartenders face as I stumble my way through a drink order. Time to break up the monotony!
Tomorrow Ana Paula(Aunt) arrives! She lives down the street but she has been visiting Edi's grandmother which is about 8 hours away. I am looking forward to seeing her. I met her in the US a few months after Edi and I started dating. She moved back to Brazil last December. She was a HUGE help to me in May because her English is very good and she always tells me what everyone is saying and helps teach me and helps me translate. Edi tries to help but he only tells me what is going on when I ask. I think sometimes he forgets that I don't know. Ana Paula tells me no matter what and she is at Edi's house most of the day. She doesn't work, she takes care of her 3 year old (Ana Laura) who is very cute. Very loud, but very cute. I eagerly await their arrival.
I mentioned to Edi yesterday that I want him to show me how to use the washing machine here. I am doing almost nothing here so I should at least help out by doing my own laundry. They have a washing machine but they do not use a dryer. Everything gets hung on a line. I also wanted to buy a drying rack or something to put on the patio attached to our bedroom to hang my clothes. I know its normal for them but I am just not comfortable with my skivvies hanging out in the wind for the whole family to see. He just laughed and said his mom didn't mind and his family doesn't care, but if I felt more comfortable doing it myself then he would show me this weekend. Well little did I know Arlete(mom) is a sneaky woman. She lured me out of our room today by telling me it was time for lunch. While I was eating she came into the room and took my laundry. haha I didn't notice until after lunch that she had taken my pile of dirty clothes. To be fair I don't think she has any idea that I was planning on doing it myself and I don't think she was trying to be sneaky, only helpful. She does all the laundry, cooks all the meals and cleans the house (it is impeccable) everyday. (She also went ahead and swept and mopped our room and bathroom!) Don't get me wrong, having someone to cook and clean for you is like a dream come true but I am not DOING anything so I don't want it to seem like I am lazy or taking anything for granted. I am happy to help if I only knew what needed to be done. She probably doesn't see it that way but I do. I am used to doing things for myself. I am an adult after all! Well, sort of. All well, for the time being I will thank her and once I learn a little more Portuguese I will be able to tell her to point me in the direction of the broom and the detergent!
That's it for today folks! Until next time!
p.s. I am currently reading The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. So far it is very good. It is the first in a three part series and I am so mad at myself because I bought the first and second book but not the third! I think I am going to regret that. I'll let you all know what I think! (Apparently I just turned this into a book review blog also) Tcahu!
We did not end up going out last night because it was rainy and a little bit chilly (55 degrees!) which is a perfect recipe for procrastination and laziness. So we hung around and I watched Edi play video games with his brother Biel(14yrs) and cousin Lucas(13yrs). It was a soccer video game. Obviously. (did I mention that Edi turns 28 in a week and a half and yes I said he is playing videogames. My brother would be so proud.) Anyways I sat there in the living room with them with my Port/Eng dictionary (per usual) trying to pick out words and look them up. The problem with this is that so much of what they are saying is slang and smack talk that the words aren't even in the dictionary. Hmmmm....perhaps there is an online urban dictionary for Portuguese words like there is for English. On second thought, I don't even think I want to go there.
Edi PROMISED we would go out tonight which is great because I have not set foot outside of this house since Tuesday afternoon and I think I'm going insane. Look forward to future blogs outlining the shenanigans that are sure to ensue with me actually going out in public. Even when I was here in May we never actually went out the bars. Restaurants? Sure. Family parties. Yes! But no local bars for this girl. So this should be riddled with embarassing moments. I'm tempted to tell Edi that I want to order the drinks just so I can see the look on the bartenders face as I stumble my way through a drink order. Time to break up the monotony!
Tomorrow Ana Paula(Aunt) arrives! She lives down the street but she has been visiting Edi's grandmother which is about 8 hours away. I am looking forward to seeing her. I met her in the US a few months after Edi and I started dating. She moved back to Brazil last December. She was a HUGE help to me in May because her English is very good and she always tells me what everyone is saying and helps teach me and helps me translate. Edi tries to help but he only tells me what is going on when I ask. I think sometimes he forgets that I don't know. Ana Paula tells me no matter what and she is at Edi's house most of the day. She doesn't work, she takes care of her 3 year old (Ana Laura) who is very cute. Very loud, but very cute. I eagerly await their arrival.
I mentioned to Edi yesterday that I want him to show me how to use the washing machine here. I am doing almost nothing here so I should at least help out by doing my own laundry. They have a washing machine but they do not use a dryer. Everything gets hung on a line. I also wanted to buy a drying rack or something to put on the patio attached to our bedroom to hang my clothes. I know its normal for them but I am just not comfortable with my skivvies hanging out in the wind for the whole family to see. He just laughed and said his mom didn't mind and his family doesn't care, but if I felt more comfortable doing it myself then he would show me this weekend. Well little did I know Arlete(mom) is a sneaky woman. She lured me out of our room today by telling me it was time for lunch. While I was eating she came into the room and took my laundry. haha I didn't notice until after lunch that she had taken my pile of dirty clothes. To be fair I don't think she has any idea that I was planning on doing it myself and I don't think she was trying to be sneaky, only helpful. She does all the laundry, cooks all the meals and cleans the house (it is impeccable) everyday. (She also went ahead and swept and mopped our room and bathroom!) Don't get me wrong, having someone to cook and clean for you is like a dream come true but I am not DOING anything so I don't want it to seem like I am lazy or taking anything for granted. I am happy to help if I only knew what needed to be done. She probably doesn't see it that way but I do. I am used to doing things for myself. I am an adult after all! Well, sort of. All well, for the time being I will thank her and once I learn a little more Portuguese I will be able to tell her to point me in the direction of the broom and the detergent!
That's it for today folks! Until next time!
p.s. I am currently reading The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. So far it is very good. It is the first in a three part series and I am so mad at myself because I bought the first and second book but not the third! I think I am going to regret that. I'll let you all know what I think! (Apparently I just turned this into a book review blog also) Tcahu!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
It's a Learning Process
OK so the days are flying by here! I'm really not even doing much but hanging around, sleeping, reading, and eating! But somehow 3 days seem like 3 minutes.
I know that I have mentioned that a lot of retail products here are crazy expensive (sneakers for $130 in the US are R$600 here) but i got my first taste of how everyday items can be expensive also. Edi and I went to the market the other day to get shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream. R$30 later we had our stuff!! CRAZY! The shampoo and conditioner weren't THAT bad but the shaving cream was ridiculous. R$20!! I cannot believe that. I wish I had known. I would have brought like 10 cans and sold em for R$15 a pop!
Edi has been coming home for lunch everyday around noon and then calling the house to talk to me around 3 each day so that's nice. It breaks up the day nicely. I didn't really come out of our room much on Monday. I left the door open so I didn't seem like I was trying to shut myself away but I just hung out on the bed reading, going online, etc... Edi told me his mom was concerned because I didn't come out and eat in the afternoon. She says I don't eat enough. haha! If she only knew me. I came out and ate lunch with everyone but I forgot that they almost always drink coffee and have an afternoon snack. Crackers, cake, whatever they have around really. I made sure today that I came out and had some coffee and crackers with Edi's mom. She seemed pleased.
Yesterday around 2pm, Arlete (Edi's mom) came and asked me a question but I had NO idea what she was asking me. I gave her my Portuguese/English dictionary to see if she could point out a word or something that would help but no dice. After about 10 minutes she finally she called Ana Paula (Edi's aunt) and asked her to tell me in English what she was asking. She wanted to know if I wanted to go with her and Givaldo (dad) to run some errands. I definitely wanted to get out of the house so I said yes. Actually I said vamos (let's go!) and off we went!
We went to a few stores checking out doorknobs/locks for Edi's house which should be finished next week and ready to sell. I just followed them around listening to them talk to the salespeople and trying to pick out words that I already know. Arlete asked me is I understood anything they were saying (entendeu?) and I said I understood when they said on top(em cima) and underneath (embaixo) and keys (chaves) but that was about it. At the next store I knew I recognized the area and when we got out of the car Arlete pointed down to the bottom of the hill ahead of us and said "Edivaldo embaixo" and I knew that she meant that his car wash was at the bottom of the hill. It literally meant Edivaldo is underneath but she was using one of the few words I told her I knew so that was really nice and I knew just what she meant. After that store we went to visit Edi at work. It was freaking hot (I'm not complaining!) so we only stayed for a bit and then we were homeward bound to cool off! They don't use air conditioners or even fans for that matter because they don't need to. The houses are so much cooler than the outside since they are all made with brick and cement.
The rest of yesterday was pretty low key. Dinner, errands, and watching some ridiculous Brazilian television. I am almost positive that even if I knew what they were saying, I would think they are ridiculous. Some of the game shows, etc... that have on during the daytime are hilarious to watch. I dont know what is going on but yesterday some guy was pulled out of the audience, covered in honey and feathers and then a bunch of midgets came out and danced around him.....and that was it. No reason. No prizes. No clue.
I woke up this morning around 6:30 to hail pelting off the metal roof. Yes hail. From 90+ degree weather to hail this morning. Not sure how that works but whatever! The hail stopped and it has been raining all day and it's only like 60 degrees. Edi only worked from 8-12 since nobody wants their car washed in the rain. Now we are just hanging out. I think I am going to venture to the gym with Edi and Biel(brother) later. That should be interesting. And I asked Edi if we could go out tonight because I'm getting a bit stir crazy so I think we are going to one of the bars near his house. Sweet!
That's it for now! Tchau!
I know that I have mentioned that a lot of retail products here are crazy expensive (sneakers for $130 in the US are R$600 here) but i got my first taste of how everyday items can be expensive also. Edi and I went to the market the other day to get shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream. R$30 later we had our stuff!! CRAZY! The shampoo and conditioner weren't THAT bad but the shaving cream was ridiculous. R$20!! I cannot believe that. I wish I had known. I would have brought like 10 cans and sold em for R$15 a pop!
Edi has been coming home for lunch everyday around noon and then calling the house to talk to me around 3 each day so that's nice. It breaks up the day nicely. I didn't really come out of our room much on Monday. I left the door open so I didn't seem like I was trying to shut myself away but I just hung out on the bed reading, going online, etc... Edi told me his mom was concerned because I didn't come out and eat in the afternoon. She says I don't eat enough. haha! If she only knew me. I came out and ate lunch with everyone but I forgot that they almost always drink coffee and have an afternoon snack. Crackers, cake, whatever they have around really. I made sure today that I came out and had some coffee and crackers with Edi's mom. She seemed pleased.
Yesterday around 2pm, Arlete (Edi's mom) came and asked me a question but I had NO idea what she was asking me. I gave her my Portuguese/English dictionary to see if she could point out a word or something that would help but no dice. After about 10 minutes she finally she called Ana Paula (Edi's aunt) and asked her to tell me in English what she was asking. She wanted to know if I wanted to go with her and Givaldo (dad) to run some errands. I definitely wanted to get out of the house so I said yes. Actually I said vamos (let's go!) and off we went!
We went to a few stores checking out doorknobs/locks for Edi's house which should be finished next week and ready to sell. I just followed them around listening to them talk to the salespeople and trying to pick out words that I already know. Arlete asked me is I understood anything they were saying (entendeu?) and I said I understood when they said on top(em cima) and underneath (embaixo) and keys (chaves) but that was about it. At the next store I knew I recognized the area and when we got out of the car Arlete pointed down to the bottom of the hill ahead of us and said "Edivaldo embaixo" and I knew that she meant that his car wash was at the bottom of the hill. It literally meant Edivaldo is underneath but she was using one of the few words I told her I knew so that was really nice and I knew just what she meant. After that store we went to visit Edi at work. It was freaking hot (I'm not complaining!) so we only stayed for a bit and then we were homeward bound to cool off! They don't use air conditioners or even fans for that matter because they don't need to. The houses are so much cooler than the outside since they are all made with brick and cement.
The rest of yesterday was pretty low key. Dinner, errands, and watching some ridiculous Brazilian television. I am almost positive that even if I knew what they were saying, I would think they are ridiculous. Some of the game shows, etc... that have on during the daytime are hilarious to watch. I dont know what is going on but yesterday some guy was pulled out of the audience, covered in honey and feathers and then a bunch of midgets came out and danced around him.....and that was it. No reason. No prizes. No clue.
I woke up this morning around 6:30 to hail pelting off the metal roof. Yes hail. From 90+ degree weather to hail this morning. Not sure how that works but whatever! The hail stopped and it has been raining all day and it's only like 60 degrees. Edi only worked from 8-12 since nobody wants their car washed in the rain. Now we are just hanging out. I think I am going to venture to the gym with Edi and Biel(brother) later. That should be interesting. And I asked Edi if we could go out tonight because I'm getting a bit stir crazy so I think we are going to one of the bars near his house. Sweet!
That's it for now! Tchau!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Longest Day of My Life
Prepare yourselves! This is a VERY long post because it is filled with 2 VERY busy days!
Ta da!!! I made it! I cannot believe day 1 is already behind me. The past 2 days or so I have been in 2 airplanes, 3 airports, and 2 countries on 2 completely different continents. Not to mention 2 hemispheres which means 2 different seasons. But if we are being honest the seasons don't really feel any different because I left an 80+ degree summer to come to an 80+ degree winter. HA! Suck it New England!
But seriously, I am lucky to have made it here without any major glitches. I am pretty sure a lot of NH and MA got quite the bitch slap by little miss Irene and I really hope that everyone is safe and those of you that still don't have power get it back soon! I know that Logan Airport was closed yesterday among others. Its a good thing Irene didn't have the balls to mess with my itinerary. That's all i have to say about that. And thank you Edi for asking me to schedule my flight to arrive in Brazil on a Sunday!!
Highs/Lows of the travel days? Lets review.
-Thank you mom for driving me to airport and spending my last few hours in the US with me!
-Also thank you for not letting my freak out when my suitcases were over the 70lb weight limit. We would have had to pay $200 until this very nice American Airlines employee told us not to worry about it and waived the fee! THANK YOU RANDOM STRANGER! (That was after we tried to stuff as much of my stuff in my carry on as possible. I'll blame my back problem later in life on this event)
-My flight from Beantown was only delayed 40mins so I was free and clear on that flight except for having to sit by the window next to a rather rude couple who knew nothing about personal space. I cannot tell you how many times I was bumped/nudged by that woman. But honestly, nothing was going to ruin my mood. I was at least ON the flight to Miami!
-Got to Miami and had plenty of time to hang out. Called Edi and was even able to get him on Skype and talk to him that way for a few minutes to let him know I would be on time. The time went by fast and next thing I knew we were boarding. Thanks again mom for upgrading my seat to an exit row so I had no seats in front of me and I was on an aisle for the 8+ hours! Sweet! We did have a bit of a delay getting off the runway because we had to wait for some luggage. I really didnt mind because if it was my luggage we were waiting for, I would GLADLY sit.
-Bada Bing Bada Bang Bada Boom! 8 hours later I was landing in Brazil. This flight was probably the only part of the trip that didn't feel like it was going by fast. Quite the opposite. 8 hours felt like about 20 and I only slept about 2 of that. But whatever, I was here!
BRAZIL!!!! I got off the plane, through the customs line, got my luggage (which was just as hard as I imagined. I need to lift some weights the next time I plan on lifting 80+lbs by myself.) and made it thought the gate. I only panicked for a second when I didn't see Edi right in front of my face. I started trying to remember all the Portuguese I know in case I actually had to ask for help or try to use a phone. But low and behold right past the first group of people was Edi!!
Now here is what I was not prepared for. I didn't realize I would be so NERVOUS to see Edi. I was literally sick to my stomach. I don't know why but I just was. So, this was not at all the reunion you would imagine after not seeing your boyfriend for 4 months. There was no slow motion running, no beautiful music, no jumping into his arms etc, etc, etc... After my entire day of traveling by myself and finally seeing the one person I had been waiting to see for months EVERYTHING hit me. I felt nervous, anxious, exhausted, sick, hot, and sooo many other things that it was all I could do to walk over, give him a hug and a kiss and say hi. I think he could tell I had pretty much shut down because he just said hi, he missed me and then grabbed my bags for me. His aunt and uncle had come with him so I said hi to them too. I then proceeded to not say a single word the entire 2 hour car ride to his house. Fairytale reunion? I think not, but hey that's how life goes right?
We got to his house and his family was there. I said hi, I saw the "Welcome Janet" signs posted around the house (love this) and we brought all my crap in. I was thakful that his family just each said hi and gave me a quick hug and left me alone because I don't think I could have handled a bunch of people right then. Next, I took a shower, ate some lunch, and took a nap and felt completely rejuvinated! This is good because i was awakened from my nap by Edi's cousins BANGING on the door because they had just arrived and they wanted to say hi.
I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is to be in a group of people that don't speak your language and you pretty much don't speak thiers either. Everyone was sitting in a circle outside and I joined them. I felt a bit like a circus act because these were his younger cousins(18-20 most of them) and I think they get a kick out of asking me to say things in Portuguese and seeing if I will actually say it, etc, etc, etc... They really are nice to me and I know they like me and they don't mean any harm because I know they have never been in this position and don't know what it feels like to be this person. I'm a pretty good sport so I usually laugh along but I just wasn't in the mood yesterday. I excused myself and went to unpack some more of my stuff. It is frustrating to me because I know that a lot of Edi's family members have the same sense of humor that I do and they are a lot of fun and I would love to join in that fun if only I KNEW THE LANGUAGE!! All well, I will get there eventually and then those boys won't know what hit em!
So the rest of the night was pretty low key. Most everyone left and it was just Edi's immediate family and me hanging out outside people watching. I am always most comfortable with his parents and siblings because they don't hassle me. They just let me sit and listen and if I want to join in I can.
Today I am just hanging out. Unpacking, organizing, and realizing that there is not enough space for both of our stuff. Everyone is at either work or school except for his mom and I. It is 90 degrees today so I'll be spending most of my time inside. I have a nice relaxing day ahead of me and that sounds like just what I need! Talk to you all soon!
Ta da!!! I made it! I cannot believe day 1 is already behind me. The past 2 days or so I have been in 2 airplanes, 3 airports, and 2 countries on 2 completely different continents. Not to mention 2 hemispheres which means 2 different seasons. But if we are being honest the seasons don't really feel any different because I left an 80+ degree summer to come to an 80+ degree winter. HA! Suck it New England!
But seriously, I am lucky to have made it here without any major glitches. I am pretty sure a lot of NH and MA got quite the bitch slap by little miss Irene and I really hope that everyone is safe and those of you that still don't have power get it back soon! I know that Logan Airport was closed yesterday among others. Its a good thing Irene didn't have the balls to mess with my itinerary. That's all i have to say about that. And thank you Edi for asking me to schedule my flight to arrive in Brazil on a Sunday!!
Highs/Lows of the travel days? Lets review.
-Thank you mom for driving me to airport and spending my last few hours in the US with me!
-Also thank you for not letting my freak out when my suitcases were over the 70lb weight limit. We would have had to pay $200 until this very nice American Airlines employee told us not to worry about it and waived the fee! THANK YOU RANDOM STRANGER! (That was after we tried to stuff as much of my stuff in my carry on as possible. I'll blame my back problem later in life on this event)
-My flight from Beantown was only delayed 40mins so I was free and clear on that flight except for having to sit by the window next to a rather rude couple who knew nothing about personal space. I cannot tell you how many times I was bumped/nudged by that woman. But honestly, nothing was going to ruin my mood. I was at least ON the flight to Miami!
-Got to Miami and had plenty of time to hang out. Called Edi and was even able to get him on Skype and talk to him that way for a few minutes to let him know I would be on time. The time went by fast and next thing I knew we were boarding. Thanks again mom for upgrading my seat to an exit row so I had no seats in front of me and I was on an aisle for the 8+ hours! Sweet! We did have a bit of a delay getting off the runway because we had to wait for some luggage. I really didnt mind because if it was my luggage we were waiting for, I would GLADLY sit.
-Bada Bing Bada Bang Bada Boom! 8 hours later I was landing in Brazil. This flight was probably the only part of the trip that didn't feel like it was going by fast. Quite the opposite. 8 hours felt like about 20 and I only slept about 2 of that. But whatever, I was here!
BRAZIL!!!! I got off the plane, through the customs line, got my luggage (which was just as hard as I imagined. I need to lift some weights the next time I plan on lifting 80+lbs by myself.) and made it thought the gate. I only panicked for a second when I didn't see Edi right in front of my face. I started trying to remember all the Portuguese I know in case I actually had to ask for help or try to use a phone. But low and behold right past the first group of people was Edi!!
Now here is what I was not prepared for. I didn't realize I would be so NERVOUS to see Edi. I was literally sick to my stomach. I don't know why but I just was. So, this was not at all the reunion you would imagine after not seeing your boyfriend for 4 months. There was no slow motion running, no beautiful music, no jumping into his arms etc, etc, etc... After my entire day of traveling by myself and finally seeing the one person I had been waiting to see for months EVERYTHING hit me. I felt nervous, anxious, exhausted, sick, hot, and sooo many other things that it was all I could do to walk over, give him a hug and a kiss and say hi. I think he could tell I had pretty much shut down because he just said hi, he missed me and then grabbed my bags for me. His aunt and uncle had come with him so I said hi to them too. I then proceeded to not say a single word the entire 2 hour car ride to his house. Fairytale reunion? I think not, but hey that's how life goes right?
We got to his house and his family was there. I said hi, I saw the "Welcome Janet" signs posted around the house (love this) and we brought all my crap in. I was thakful that his family just each said hi and gave me a quick hug and left me alone because I don't think I could have handled a bunch of people right then. Next, I took a shower, ate some lunch, and took a nap and felt completely rejuvinated! This is good because i was awakened from my nap by Edi's cousins BANGING on the door because they had just arrived and they wanted to say hi.
I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is to be in a group of people that don't speak your language and you pretty much don't speak thiers either. Everyone was sitting in a circle outside and I joined them. I felt a bit like a circus act because these were his younger cousins(18-20 most of them) and I think they get a kick out of asking me to say things in Portuguese and seeing if I will actually say it, etc, etc, etc... They really are nice to me and I know they like me and they don't mean any harm because I know they have never been in this position and don't know what it feels like to be this person. I'm a pretty good sport so I usually laugh along but I just wasn't in the mood yesterday. I excused myself and went to unpack some more of my stuff. It is frustrating to me because I know that a lot of Edi's family members have the same sense of humor that I do and they are a lot of fun and I would love to join in that fun if only I KNEW THE LANGUAGE!! All well, I will get there eventually and then those boys won't know what hit em!
So the rest of the night was pretty low key. Most everyone left and it was just Edi's immediate family and me hanging out outside people watching. I am always most comfortable with his parents and siblings because they don't hassle me. They just let me sit and listen and if I want to join in I can.
Today I am just hanging out. Unpacking, organizing, and realizing that there is not enough space for both of our stuff. Everyone is at either work or school except for his mom and I. It is 90 degrees today so I'll be spending most of my time inside. I have a nice relaxing day ahead of me and that sounds like just what I need! Talk to you all soon!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Don't Judge Me, I'm New At This
Well here goes nothing! My very first blog and very first blog post! When talking about leaving for Brazil a few people mentioned that I should really startup a blog for a few reasons: 1. so that my friends/family can follow my life in Brazil 2. so I have a journal of sorts so that down the road i can look back on this and remember not only the big things that happen in this new stage of my life but the minor things as well and 3. so I will have an outlet when I am having a bad day and I miss home and all I want to do is let loose in my native language. So there you have it. I would say those are 3 very good reasons to get this started.
A few things to know while reading my blog. It is sure to be filled with punctuation mistakes, misspellings, and grammatical errors. Ignore all of this and consider me one of the greatest young writers of our time! Thank you. Also, this being the first time I have done this, I really have no idea what to put in here....do I write everyday? Every week? Write about everything that happens or just the major events? I have no idea, so I am going to do whatever I want and you will love it.
I am guessing the first few days or so may be a bit boring for me since Edi will be at work and I will be adjusting to my new place of living (AKA Edi's rents house) so I will most likely write everyday and knowing me it will be long winded and boring. I will write about how I woke up, showered, got dressed and proceeded to not understand a damn thing that anyone is saying (I'm working on that) The highlight of my day will be my Portuguese lesson with Edi's mom which will consist of her pointing at things and repeating herself in Portuguese until I repeat her and then she will clap encouragingly. (It's the little victories)
Eventually I will get better at the whole Portuguese thing and I will regale you with tales of courage, knowledge, and adventure!! Or perhaps I will just be thrilled to tell you the story about me walking to the store and purchasing shampoo all by myself.....
Well whether I am fighting off wild amazonian natives or just basking in the 85 degree winter weather, I promise to try and make this as interesting as possible. I supposed that is it for today friends. I am sitting in Miami waiting to board for Brazil! I'm sure I'll have some time tomorrow to write again. I miss you all already! Thanks for reading!
A few things to know while reading my blog. It is sure to be filled with punctuation mistakes, misspellings, and grammatical errors. Ignore all of this and consider me one of the greatest young writers of our time! Thank you. Also, this being the first time I have done this, I really have no idea what to put in here....do I write everyday? Every week? Write about everything that happens or just the major events? I have no idea, so I am going to do whatever I want and you will love it.
I am guessing the first few days or so may be a bit boring for me since Edi will be at work and I will be adjusting to my new place of living (AKA Edi's rents house) so I will most likely write everyday and knowing me it will be long winded and boring. I will write about how I woke up, showered, got dressed and proceeded to not understand a damn thing that anyone is saying (I'm working on that) The highlight of my day will be my Portuguese lesson with Edi's mom which will consist of her pointing at things and repeating herself in Portuguese until I repeat her and then she will clap encouragingly. (It's the little victories)
Eventually I will get better at the whole Portuguese thing and I will regale you with tales of courage, knowledge, and adventure!! Or perhaps I will just be thrilled to tell you the story about me walking to the store and purchasing shampoo all by myself.....
Well whether I am fighting off wild amazonian natives or just basking in the 85 degree winter weather, I promise to try and make this as interesting as possible. I supposed that is it for today friends. I am sitting in Miami waiting to board for Brazil! I'm sure I'll have some time tomorrow to write again. I miss you all already! Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)