Ok time for another blog post, but mostly because my mommy told me to. :) No I guess it really is about that time, but I really dont know how entertaining this will be because life is not overly exciting right now.
I've been keeping a close eye on the NH weather and I can't believe how nice it is there right now! The other night I was checking the weather and it was like 75 degrees in Dover and 68 degrees here. WHAT?! I hope everyone is enjoying it! Seeing that it was so nice there got me extra motivated to make sure I go out and run or take a long walk everyday because I'll be damned if all my NH friends and family are more tan than I am when I get back.....AGAIN!
Not a lot going on here during the day, as usual. Just hanging out, catching up on my reading, etc, etc... In the afternoons I have been going out a lot with Edi's mom and sister to some baby/kid stores in the area to look for some things that Edi's sister needs. She's due in July. I mostly just walk around the stores gawking at the prices. I found a Calvin Klein outfit for a baby boy that is very similar to one that I brought for Edilaine. I paid $15.99 for it in the US. Here it is R$209.90, which is about $116.00 US. That is so absolutely insane. One single white onesie was R$30. I told Edilaine not to buy any clothes for that price. I will ALWAYS bring her a bunch of stuff when I come back. I don't know how anyone gets anything here without breaking the bank.
After one of our shopping trips we stopped at a restaurant (well it was really just a kiosk on the side of the road) and got an afternoon snack. Um let me tell you what I had was so absolutely delicious I could eat it for bfast, lunch, dinner, whatever. I have Acai frozen yogurt with strawberries, bananas, granola and I think it had like a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk (they use that a lot here) but it was sooooo good and refreshing on the hot day. I wish I had brought my camera because it even looked perfect. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. And it could not have come at a better time because about a week ago I hit what I like to call the "rice and beans wall" One night at dinner I just couldn't do it. It tasted like cardboard in my mouth. Again, its not that the food isn't good because it really is, but I just CANT eat the same thing every day, twice a day. It took me a lot longer last time to feel this way. 2 weeks was just about all I could take this time. So I made some soup that is basically like ramen and then we went out the next two nights and I ate some good ol' french fries and now I'm back in the rice and beans saddle. I just need a break every once in a while. So now I know where to go when I want a really good snack to get away from the rice and beans. Yum!
Edi and I have finally decided on where and when to go on a mini vacation. Edi is completely indecisive and everytime he came up with a place I got excited about it and then he would choose a different place. So after changing his mind 5 times I told him to just tell me when he really decided because I can't take the excitement of looking these places up online only t find out thats not where we are going. So FINALLY he talked to a friend that told him we should go to an island off the coast called Ilhabela (means "Beautiful Island" how can we go wrong with that?) Google image this place! Ilhabela Brazil. Clear blue water, lush mountains, waterfalls, beaches, woooo hoooo! I cannot wait! It is about a 5 hour drive and we have to take the car (and ourselves obviously) over on a ferry because there is no bridge access. We leave next monday and we will be there Monday-Thursday. We will drive back to his house Thusday and then leave Friday morning for Parana, where Edi is from and where his grandmother lives. We'll be there for the weekend since it is Easter or Pascoa here (I think that is how you spell it...) So Edi is taking the whole week off and I am pumped!! I'm ready for some beach time and everyone says that I'll really like Parana too so that should be fun. It's been about a year since I've been able to spend more than 1 full day at a time with Edi so I am really looking forward to this!
Most of my nights lately have been spent watching Edi's two favorite TV shows with him. Or I guess I should say Brazil's favorite TV shows because EVERYONE watches these shows. If we go out to eat, guaranteed the restaurant will have these shows playing and everyone will be watching. From 9:30pm-10:30pm every Monday-Saturday is the novela (soap opera) Fina Estampa. (actually the series finale was last night so I'm guessing a new soap will be one starting Monday) and from 11:00pm-midnight......you guessed it! Big Brother Brasil!! Wow I thought this show was popular in the US, it is crazy popular here. Everyone watches and it is on every single night. It is interesting to watch and see the similarities and differences in the show. That finale is in about a week so I don't know what everyone is going to do without both of those shows on!! Looks like I'm in for some new programming.
I think that is about it for updates. I warned you.....not that interesting. I miss you all and I hope the weather stays warm for everyone in NH! Tchau tchau!!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Take the Bad with the Good!
Well it certainly has been an eventful week here. Unfortunately the events have not been ideal. On Wednesday Edi's cousin got in a motorcycle accident. It was pretty bad and he broke his leg, had to have surgery, and has some pretty bad road rash. He is home a recouperating but he will be off of his feet for at least 3 months and then he will begin physical therapy. Yikes! His fiancee is American and she flew down the next day and will be here for 10 days total. This is the first time I have met her and she is very nice. It's nice to have another American girl down here for at least a litle while.
So anyways that happened Wednesday and then Saturday night I noticed that I started to get a little bit of a rash on my neck and chest. I figured it was just some sort of heat rash or something so I didn't pay much attention to it. Well I guess it didn't like that because I woke up Sunday morning with a full on itchy rash all over my body. My face was the worst. i was doing alright for a little while. I just laid on the couch most of the day with a cold rag on my face to stop the itching. I knew scratching would only make it worse. Edi kept saying he would take me to the hospital but I told him it wasn't that urgent an we could just make an appointment tomorrow. But by 7 that night I couldn't take the itching on my face anymore so off to the hospital we went! I was obviously a little nervous because I had never been to a hospital in any other country before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Well they treated me very well, the were very nice, my doctor spoke quite a bit of English and they let Edi stay with me the whole time since I couldn't communicate that well to the nurses. The doctor checked me out and determined that it was definitely an allergic reaction to something, Probably something I ate. Then I got a shot and an IV with something to relieve the itching/redness and a prescription for pills to take for the next week. Now when they told me I had to have a shot I rolled up my sleeve and the nurse just stared at me and Edi started chuckling......apparently they don't give you a shot in the arm here.....awesome. We had to hang out at the hospital for a couple of hours until the IV meds were all gone but as soon as the bag was empty I took a look in the mirror and the redness was WAY better and I wasn't nearly as itchy. Whatever they did worked! So today I am much better. Still a tiny bit red and itchy but the meds are definitely working. I still have no idea what it was that made me sick so hopefully I won't come in contact with it again.
On a more fun note, we did go to Edi's great uncle's birthday party last night. I got to see some of his family that I hadn't seen yet since I've been back so that was nice. Also we have been researching a buch of places we might want to visit next month. Edi wants to take a week off of work so we can do a little traveling. We were originally going to go to a resort in the forest with zip lines and rope bridges and fishing and horseback riding and 4 wheeling, etc, etc... but now that we have been looking, a beach vacation is just so hard to pass up so I think we changed our minds. Needless to say I will keep you all updated on where we are going.
That's it for now kids. Sorry there's nothing more exciting to report. Talk to you soon!
So anyways that happened Wednesday and then Saturday night I noticed that I started to get a little bit of a rash on my neck and chest. I figured it was just some sort of heat rash or something so I didn't pay much attention to it. Well I guess it didn't like that because I woke up Sunday morning with a full on itchy rash all over my body. My face was the worst. i was doing alright for a little while. I just laid on the couch most of the day with a cold rag on my face to stop the itching. I knew scratching would only make it worse. Edi kept saying he would take me to the hospital but I told him it wasn't that urgent an we could just make an appointment tomorrow. But by 7 that night I couldn't take the itching on my face anymore so off to the hospital we went! I was obviously a little nervous because I had never been to a hospital in any other country before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Well they treated me very well, the were very nice, my doctor spoke quite a bit of English and they let Edi stay with me the whole time since I couldn't communicate that well to the nurses. The doctor checked me out and determined that it was definitely an allergic reaction to something, Probably something I ate. Then I got a shot and an IV with something to relieve the itching/redness and a prescription for pills to take for the next week. Now when they told me I had to have a shot I rolled up my sleeve and the nurse just stared at me and Edi started chuckling......apparently they don't give you a shot in the arm here.....awesome. We had to hang out at the hospital for a couple of hours until the IV meds were all gone but as soon as the bag was empty I took a look in the mirror and the redness was WAY better and I wasn't nearly as itchy. Whatever they did worked! So today I am much better. Still a tiny bit red and itchy but the meds are definitely working. I still have no idea what it was that made me sick so hopefully I won't come in contact with it again.
On a more fun note, we did go to Edi's great uncle's birthday party last night. I got to see some of his family that I hadn't seen yet since I've been back so that was nice. Also we have been researching a buch of places we might want to visit next month. Edi wants to take a week off of work so we can do a little traveling. We were originally going to go to a resort in the forest with zip lines and rope bridges and fishing and horseback riding and 4 wheeling, etc, etc... but now that we have been looking, a beach vacation is just so hard to pass up so I think we changed our minds. Needless to say I will keep you all updated on where we are going.
That's it for now kids. Sorry there's nothing more exciting to report. Talk to you soon!
Monday, March 5, 2012
I'm Baaaaack!
Well I figured since I'm back in Brazil I should start up the blog again. Needless to say this one won't be as frequent because we all know at least 2 days of the week will consist of gong to a BBQ and I'm sure you don't all need to here about every single one. However I'm sure there will be plenty of fun and exciting things to enthrall you with. So far nothing too fun and exciting has happened as far as you are all concerned, but just being here is enough fun and excitiment for me to last a lifetime.
As far as the trip down went, it was nice because I took pretty much the exact same flight path and schedule as last time so there were no surprises. Leave Boston @ 3pm, get into Miami at 7pm, leave Miami at midnight, get to Brazil at 10am. However for some reason this trip kicked my ass way harder than the last one. The layover in Miami felt so long compared to last time but it was the same exact schedule. Then we did have to sit on the runway in the plane for about an extra 30 minutes before takeoff because of something stupid so I was nervous they were just going to tell us we had to park back at the game, get off the plane, get on a new flight, blah blah blah but luckily none of that happened. Then unfortunately for me I only slept about 2 hours of the 8+ hours that i was in that plane. Usually I can sleep longer than that but I was just really amped up this trip. I wasnt even in the mood to read, watch movies, play games, etc....so I mostly just sat staring straight ahead. Awesome. That totally makes the time fly. At least the lady next to me slept peacefully for 7 hours! Even today my back and legs are killing me from sitting for so long yesterday.
Well the flight felt long but I made it at last. We got into Sao Paulo airport about 30 mins later than expected. I busted my butt to get off the plane quick and get ahead of a few people so I could be on of the first few in the customs line which thankfully I was. Just about 10 people ahead of me and about 300 behind me. Nice! Got through customs and went to the luggage carousel. I waited about 20 minutes before my luggaage showed up and I was starting to get nervous! I can't imagine what I would do if my luggage got left in Boston or Miami. How long would it take for them to get it to me all the way down here? Luckily that is a question I dont need an answer to because my luggage made it safe and sound! (One piece did have the piece of paper from the US saying they searched it. That is 3 for 3 trips where some of my luggage got searched.) Anyways, got my luggage and headed for the exit! There were a LOT of people waiting to greet family when they got off the plane so thank goodness Edi is so tall! He was in the back but I could make him out right away so I broke into a run with my luggage cart, probably knocked down some eldery ladies and a small child and made my way to him! I was sooooo happy to see him (obviously) and I wasn't nervous like I was last time after the long absence. Our first conversation however, is still cracking me up.
*Hug*
Me: "Hi!"
*Kiss*
Edi: "Hi! I missed you."
*Another hug*
Me: "I missed you too!"
Edi: "Wow, you are REALLY white!"
Me: "Ya and you are really dark. We complement each other perfectly. Now lets get the eff out of here."
Ahhhhh so romantic. I mean he's right, I am REALLY white. My forearm fried to a crisp just from leaning out the window on the car ride home. I've got to work on that while I'm here......
Well get the eff out of there, we did. We grabbed his brother and cousin who were exploring the airport and made our way to the car. Now the weather is absolutely beautiful but I'm sure most of you know that already. However there is definitely some humidity in the air that I didn't feel the last time I was here. Even still the humidity is at like 60% so it could be a lot worse. I am definitely not complaining because sitting here comfortably in a tshirt, shorts and flip flops is leaps and bounds better than being huddled up in a sweatshirt, jacket, and winter boots at home!
The rest of the day was great. Seeing Edi's family is getting easier and easier each time I'm here. I'm now using short phrases to answer questions and say hello rather than the 1 word answers I was using before. I'm still of course having a hard time picking up what people are saying when they are talking fast or there are a few people talking at once but I'm slowly learning more wth each trip so this one should be no different.
We spent most of the afternoon just unpacking my stuff and organizing our room/bathroom. I have to say I got Edi in the cleaning/organizing mood and our room is mow more organized than it was the entire 3 months I was here last time. And Edi (bless his heart) saw that I was sweating even just hanging around and cleaning so he took me to the mall and bought a fan for us so we could sleep easier (and by we I mean me because he has been sleeping in this heat all summer). I like the heat but they don't really use fans or A/C at all here so when its hot, its just hot. So thank you Edi! Especially since it cost R$50 for the small fan. Yikes!
I brought some baby clothes for Edi's sister who is having a baby boy in July. Everyone oooh'd and ahhh'd over those for a while. (I have to admit they are pretty adorable) and then we just hung out. Nothing too crazy yesterday but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Edi is working today. He came home for lunch. Now I'm just passing the time until he gets home. Thanks again everyone for all the well wishes. Edi says hello to everyone and he misses everybody and can't wait until he can come back and visit! Talk to you all soon! Stay warm!!
As far as the trip down went, it was nice because I took pretty much the exact same flight path and schedule as last time so there were no surprises. Leave Boston @ 3pm, get into Miami at 7pm, leave Miami at midnight, get to Brazil at 10am. However for some reason this trip kicked my ass way harder than the last one. The layover in Miami felt so long compared to last time but it was the same exact schedule. Then we did have to sit on the runway in the plane for about an extra 30 minutes before takeoff because of something stupid so I was nervous they were just going to tell us we had to park back at the game, get off the plane, get on a new flight, blah blah blah but luckily none of that happened. Then unfortunately for me I only slept about 2 hours of the 8+ hours that i was in that plane. Usually I can sleep longer than that but I was just really amped up this trip. I wasnt even in the mood to read, watch movies, play games, etc....so I mostly just sat staring straight ahead. Awesome. That totally makes the time fly. At least the lady next to me slept peacefully for 7 hours! Even today my back and legs are killing me from sitting for so long yesterday.
Well the flight felt long but I made it at last. We got into Sao Paulo airport about 30 mins later than expected. I busted my butt to get off the plane quick and get ahead of a few people so I could be on of the first few in the customs line which thankfully I was. Just about 10 people ahead of me and about 300 behind me. Nice! Got through customs and went to the luggage carousel. I waited about 20 minutes before my luggaage showed up and I was starting to get nervous! I can't imagine what I would do if my luggage got left in Boston or Miami. How long would it take for them to get it to me all the way down here? Luckily that is a question I dont need an answer to because my luggage made it safe and sound! (One piece did have the piece of paper from the US saying they searched it. That is 3 for 3 trips where some of my luggage got searched.) Anyways, got my luggage and headed for the exit! There were a LOT of people waiting to greet family when they got off the plane so thank goodness Edi is so tall! He was in the back but I could make him out right away so I broke into a run with my luggage cart, probably knocked down some eldery ladies and a small child and made my way to him! I was sooooo happy to see him (obviously) and I wasn't nervous like I was last time after the long absence. Our first conversation however, is still cracking me up.
*Hug*
Me: "Hi!"
*Kiss*
Edi: "Hi! I missed you."
*Another hug*
Me: "I missed you too!"
Edi: "Wow, you are REALLY white!"
Me: "Ya and you are really dark. We complement each other perfectly. Now lets get the eff out of here."
Ahhhhh so romantic. I mean he's right, I am REALLY white. My forearm fried to a crisp just from leaning out the window on the car ride home. I've got to work on that while I'm here......
Well get the eff out of there, we did. We grabbed his brother and cousin who were exploring the airport and made our way to the car. Now the weather is absolutely beautiful but I'm sure most of you know that already. However there is definitely some humidity in the air that I didn't feel the last time I was here. Even still the humidity is at like 60% so it could be a lot worse. I am definitely not complaining because sitting here comfortably in a tshirt, shorts and flip flops is leaps and bounds better than being huddled up in a sweatshirt, jacket, and winter boots at home!
The rest of the day was great. Seeing Edi's family is getting easier and easier each time I'm here. I'm now using short phrases to answer questions and say hello rather than the 1 word answers I was using before. I'm still of course having a hard time picking up what people are saying when they are talking fast or there are a few people talking at once but I'm slowly learning more wth each trip so this one should be no different.
We spent most of the afternoon just unpacking my stuff and organizing our room/bathroom. I have to say I got Edi in the cleaning/organizing mood and our room is mow more organized than it was the entire 3 months I was here last time. And Edi (bless his heart) saw that I was sweating even just hanging around and cleaning so he took me to the mall and bought a fan for us so we could sleep easier (and by we I mean me because he has been sleeping in this heat all summer). I like the heat but they don't really use fans or A/C at all here so when its hot, its just hot. So thank you Edi! Especially since it cost R$50 for the small fan. Yikes!
I brought some baby clothes for Edi's sister who is having a baby boy in July. Everyone oooh'd and ahhh'd over those for a while. (I have to admit they are pretty adorable) and then we just hung out. Nothing too crazy yesterday but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Edi is working today. He came home for lunch. Now I'm just passing the time until he gets home. Thanks again everyone for all the well wishes. Edi says hello to everyone and he misses everybody and can't wait until he can come back and visit! Talk to you all soon! Stay warm!!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Ta Ta For Now
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!!
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!!
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!
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