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!!
Monday, October 3, 2011
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!
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