Car Shopping

Car Shopping, Air Shipments, and the International Festival

The past week has been full of activity for me.  I started off on Monday with a million “things to do”, wondering how I would fit it all in.  The boys’ school was celebrating International Week, and Alex’s teacher had asked parents to go into the classroom and give presentations about their respective countries.  Since I spend a lot of time in Ian’s class, I thought it would be nice to do something for Alex and agreed to give a talk about the United States.  I was told that the parents usually take something (typical food) to share with the children.  I began brainstorming, hoping Alex would settle for something simple, like PB&Js, since (before the days of allergies) they used to grace just about every American child’s lunch box.  I also offered options of mini-hotdogs – since he hadn’t forgotten our beach hotdog experience he quickly shot that idea down – and red and blue Jell-O, but he didn’t want those either.  Apple pie seemed like a good option, given that I could reasonably find the ingredients to make one, and as the saying goes, “Nothing is as American as apple pie” (or something close to that!) – again, he said “No”.  In the power point presentation I’d prepared for my talk, I included holidays and typical foods we eat – upon being reminded of pumpkin pie, Alex decided that was what he wanted me to take.  Given the fact that there is no “Mrs. Smith’s Pumpkin Pie” in the freezer section of any grocery store here, I sent out a plea for help from other expats.  I was informed that canned pumpkin is nowhere to be found in Brazil, so I’d have to make it from scratch!  One sweet lady offered me her only can of pumpkin - brought from the U.S. – and I couldn’t accept that.  I was definitely not in the mood (nor did I have the time) to hunt for the ingredients and make enough pumpkin pie for 25 kids from scratch.  Finally, Alex agreed that I could take in an apple pie.  I managed to bake the pie that morning, have my Portuguese class, volunteer in Ian’s class for 2 hours, and give my presentation to Alex’s class – and the pie was a hit, there was not even a piece left for me to try!  Busy day!

Tuesday was a breakthrough day for me – I went car shopping!  Matt and I had been talking about the fact that I would need to start looking for a vehicle, but the thought just made me cringe.  Nothing in Brazil has been easy, and I imagined all of the hoops we would have to jump through in order to buy a car.  Much to my surprise, it ended up being the easiest car buying experience I’ve ever had.  We had been given the name of a car dealer who works with a lot of expats, offering very personalized service; I checked out his website and decided to give him a call.  I had spoken with his wife the day before, and she offered to meet me at my apartment so I could follow her to the dealership.  Once there, I looked at the cars that met my requirements – A/C, automatic transmission, and low mileage - and test drove two of them.  Before arriving in Brazil, I had decided that I would like to own a car that I wouldn’t be able to find in the U.S., therefore I had my eye on either a Fiat or Citroen.  There are not too many color choices for cars in Brazil, the majority of them being black, white, or silver.  The rental I was driving was black – and showed too much dirt – so I was hoping for a silver car.  I was in luck, as both cars I tested were silver and exceeded my requirements.  

I loved the 2009 Citroen C-4 Pallas, but I wanted Matt’s opinion before making a decision.  Given the fact that he was leaving the next day for a week-long trip to the States, and there was no way he would be able to make it to the dealership that evening before they closed, the car salesman offered to bring the car to the apartment so Matt could take it for a test drive.  I was starting to see why the expats here like the service this dealer provides – so far, it had been way too easy.  Matt also loved the car, and though it was more than we had planned to spend (big surprise), we decided to buy it.  I called Marcus (the dealer) the next morning with the good news, but explained that it would be at least a week before we could pay him, as the money had to be transferred from our U.S. account to our Brazilian bank.  No worries, he said, he’d be by that evening for me to sign the papers and we would make arrangements for payment.  At 5:30 pm, as promised, Marcus showed up at my apartment with a contract, went over details like the warranty and insurance (which he had already arranged for us), and agreed to accept payment once the money was in our account.  I signed on the dotted line and he promised he would deliver the car to me on Saturday evening.  Now, my beautiful new car is sitting in my garage, and I am smiling, still amazed at how easy this process was!

The rest of the week was hectic, since Matt has been in the U.S. – I sent him with a long list and an extra suitcase so he can stock up on things that we need and are either too expensive or difficult to find here.  Another little kink in our schedule had to do with our air shipment, which we were expecting to be delivered on Friday.  I was so excited, thinking I would have everything unpacked and ready before my sister’s much-anticipated arrival on Sunday.  I made arrangements with the condominium so they would be aware of the delivery, arranged for transportation for the kids to get home from school, and had already asked my maid to come and work on Saturday to help me get everything organized.  Of course, though not surprised, I couldn’t help but be disappointed when we were informed on Thursday that we would not be able to receive our goods until Monday.  After waiting for almost 2 months, it is good to know that we will have some of our own things soon!

Yesterday, the boys and I spent a fun-filled afternoon at the International Festival at their school.  It was quite an affair, costing R$ 60 per adult and $R 25 per child, with many countries being represented.  There was wonderful food to eat, music, and performances of dances from all over the world.  Ian and Alex spent the better part of the time playing on the soccer field with several of their friends.  Towards the end of the afternoon, I saw Ian somewhat staggering around – he was looking for me after having been hit in the side of his head by a soccer ball that had been kicked by a boy in high-school.  After getting him an ice-pack, I promised him we would leave after the last act – a performance by one of the Samba schools in Sao Paulo.  Finally, we got a taste of what a Carnival parade would be like, watching the women dancing in their very colorful and scant costumes (i.e. bikinis) and hearing the beautiful Brazilian music.  We had a wonderful time (aside from Ian’s injury) – it was a great way to spend a Saturday!  

Now, the three of us are excited and anxiously awaiting Jen’s arrival.  Although I have been braver about driving on the roads, and I have a new car in the garage, I am still not ready to drive to the airport on my own.  So, I’ve hired a driver, who will be here to pick us up in a few hours and take us to greet my sister and bring her to our new home.  I’ve been looking forward to this day since before I moved here – of course, she started planning her trip the minute she found out we’d be moving to Brazil!  Time to go get everything ready for her!                                   

      

         

                 

                 

Carnival Vacation - Part 2

Carnival Vacation – Part Two

We arrived home from the first part of our vacation late on Tuesday evening.  On the elevator ride up to the apartment, we commented that it really felt like we were “coming home”.  When you live in a new place, whether it is just a new home in the same town, or a whole new country, it sometimes takes a while for it to really feel like home.  I think, after our crazy trip, we were happy to be back in more familiar territory.  But, our stay at home would be short-lived, as we had a second trip for which to prepare.  We were leaving the next day for Pocos de Caldas, the other city where Matt has an office.  We had already planned that trip before deciding to go on our first adventure, figuring that since Matt had to work on Thursday and Friday he could work out of that office, and the boys and I could relax and see something new.  

After unpacking, doing several loads of laundry, and repacking the suitcases, we left at noon on Wednesday for the three hour drive to Pocos – which is pronounced “possos”.  This time we were in our own (rented) car, and Matt was behind the wheel.  Luckily, he knew how to get there, as the GPS was directing us to many roads that didn’t even exist.  I’m still wondering if we just wasted $250 on the two units and Brazil map we downloaded from Garmin!  Pocos de Caldas is a small city (population of about 152,000) in the state of Minas Gerais, which borders the state of Sao Paulo.  It is nestled in the mountains and is known for its hot springs of healing sulfur water.  All over the town you’ll find fountains that are feed by natural springs – both cool fresh water and warm sulfur water.  The center of the city still has a fully operating “Hot Bath House”, where for a few reais you can soak in the supposed healing waters, as well as get massages and other treatments.  

We arrived to the hotel and took in the scenery around us – no tall buildings, no sounds of traffic – just beautiful green mountains, bright and colorful flowers, and the hush of nature.  It was the first time we truly experienced peace and quiet since arriving in Brazil, and brought back memories of being at our camp in West Virginia.  Though our room was small, the Hotel Monreale was great, offering multiple activities (supervised by monitors) for the kids, as well as great fitness and recreational programs for adults.  The kids loved the beach soccer court, the trampolines, tetherball, and the game room, as well as the indoor warm-water pool.  They had a great outdoor pool as well, but the weather was a little on the cool side for outside swimming.  I loved all of the areas that offered respite from busy schedules, including a beautiful reading lounge.  We spent a couple of hours relaxing at the hotel and letting the boys play before heading into the city for dinner with friends, a couple Matt had already met on previous trips.  I had met Fabio, who works with Matt, when he was in Pittsburgh on business; and I was anxious to meet his wife, Fabiane, who is expecting their first child.  We enjoyed delicious pizzas and wonderful conversation, while both boys fell asleep at the table!

The next day, Matt went to work, and the boys and I stayed at the resort.  I didn’t think they would want to participate in any of the activities, since they still don’t understand Portuguese and no one spoke English, but they surprised me and joined the other kids – which left me with precious time to myself!  While they played, I went for an organized hike around the resort and the neighboring farm – the sun was shining and the fresh air felt wonderful!  It was just nice to see blue sky and no rain for a change.  After my hike, I went to check on the boys and was surprised to hear Ian ask, “Mom, what are you doing?” – he was not ready to leave the group.  It was nice to know that despite the language barrier they were having fun.  The next activity on their schedule was “ski-bum-bum” (literally translates into “skiing on your butt” – which involved sliding down a rubber mat on a hill, with soapy water.  They loved it!  After their busy morning, we had lunch and Fabiane picked us up to show us the town and sights Pocos has to offer.  

The most famous “Cristo” statue in Brazil is the one seen in pictures of Rio de Janeiro, however there are many of these all over Brazil, including in Pocos.  We rode to the top of the mountain, where the Cristo stands, in a cable car and were able to take in a bird’s eye panoramic view of the city and mountains beyond it.  Once off the mountain, back in the city, we stopped for ice cream and headed to a local park.  This is where Ian and Alex experienced the highlight of all of their time in Brazil – they got the chance to be up close and personal with monkeys!  The park was full of hungry monkeys that are accustomed to being fed by humans and ate right out of the boys’ hands.  They were so excited and spent 30 minutes feeding them snacks, handing them to mamas with babies on their backs, and tossing them to others as though they were playing a game of “catch”!  Once I was finally able to drag them away from their newfound friends, we walked up a little path (no mud this time) to a picturesque waterfall – our day was complete!

On Friday, Matt worked while I spent the morning watching the boys play, and even let them exercise a little bit of freedom by allowing them to spend time in the game room without supervision.  This gave them another opportunity to interact with other kids who didn’t speak much English.  Being the only American children at the resort, Ian and Alex were the objects of curiosity and had several children playing with them and exchanging new words in their own languages.  It’s wonderful to see them spread their wings a bit and let go of some of their initial insecurities; I also think the best way for them to learn Portuguese is to get involved in situations and activities where they step out of their comfort zone and are forced to communicate in a different language.  

After another abundant and delicious lunch (I ate entirely too much during the week), Fabiane once again took us out on the town, this time showing us more of the commercial side of the city.  Before we embarked on a shopping spree, however, we visited the town’s Japanese Gardens.  The boys loved the fact that they were able to drink from multiple fresh-water fountains, stopping to lap up the cool water spilling from small cascading falls and fountains every chance they got.  Our next stop was the municipal market, where I indulged in buying cheeses, wines, and “doces” – the sweets for which the region of Minas Gerais is famous.  We also checked out the “bath house”, a beautiful old building which also houses a medical museum.  Next time I go, I’ll plan to soak in the sulfur water and schedule a massage!  

Later that evening, we joined several of Matt’s coworkers and their families at the home of his Brazilian boss.  His place was gorgeous, with a beautiful backyard, complete with an outdoor kitchen, bar, swimming pool, and 2 hammocks.  We ate a fantastic “churrasco”, which is a Brazilian barbecue, drank caipirinhas (now my favorite cocktail!), and sang karaoke.  Alex joined Matt in a rendition of “Country Roads”, and Ian sang “Living on a Prayer” with his dad.  It was hilarious to watch and hear the Brazilians singing songs in English at the top of their lungs; I even sang a few tunes, both in English and Portuguese.  Ian and Alex eventually crashed, each falling asleep in one of the hammocks.  We had such a fun evening, and many of the people there tried to convince us to move to Pocos, believing that the quality of life there is better than in Sao Paulo.  It does offer a more laid back atmosphere – quieter and safer – but, I don’t think I’d be ready to move again!  Despite the fact that I loved Pocos, and Matt’s main office is located there, I think Sao Paulo is the place we’ll call home until we head back to the States – but, I’m already looking forward to our next visit.    We got home Saturday evening and joined some friends for dinner, spent Sunday unpacking, and rejoined the real world on Monday.  Suffice it to say that Part Two of our Carnival vacation was very different from the first part of the week – and it was all the more appreciated because of our earlier experience!                   

      

Vacation - Part One, Continued

This continues the story of our vacation over Carninval...

Monday, a.k.a. “OMG – WTF!?”

 
Monday started off with more rain.  Not to worry, the tour guide reassured us, the sun was shining in Visconde de Maua, an area known for its 100 waterfalls (some of which are used as giant, natural waterslides), where we would be spending our day.  We were told to wear our bathing suits and bring towels because we would be visiting at least two of the waterfalls and swimming in the clear water pools that form in the creeks.  Because the roads where we were headed were narrow, we were loaded into 3 smaller mini-buses, for the one-hour trip.  This is where the “OMG”, as well as another example of “Brazil-Safe” comes into play.  We’ve been on some pretty bad roads in Brazil, but those that took us to Visconde de Maua seriously take “bad roads” to a whole new level.  This is where I would really need pictures to help illustrate for those reading this the conditions in which we traveled, because there really aren’t words to describe it. 

 

As had been the case so far on this trip, the rain added another hour to our travel time; so for two hours we bounced along on curvy, muddy roads, winding through the mountains.  I do have to take a moment to say that despite the treacherous drive, the scenery we witnessed was breath-taking.  Brazil is a positively beautiful country, with so much lush green land that it helped to take our minds off of the fact that we could very easily topple off the side of one of those “tropical paradise mountains”.  I had already envisioned the headlines on a CNN news report, “Tour Bus Carrying Two American Families Topples in Mud Slide in Brazilian Countryside”.  I am only partly joking, as we saw the effects of many mudslides that had occurred over the past couple of months – there were visible reminders of the news reports we had seen (while still in the U.S. in January of hillsides just washing away in Rio de Janeiro) right in front of us, on the very roads on which we traveled!  We finally reached a small commercialized area where we stopped briefly to use a bathroom (no toilet paper, no soap, and the toilet didn’t flush – at least there was a sink with running water) and buy a couple bottles of water, before getting back on the little buses to continue on our journey.  Once again, we found ourselves being jostled and bounced on even more narrow, muddy roads.  We did pass a cute little touristy town along the way, which looked like an inviting reprieve from the buses.

This is when the “WTF?!” (I’ll apologize in advance if this offends anyone) makes an appearance in our story.  Three hours after leaving the hotel (remember, we’d been told it would take one hour), the tour guide announced that we had arrived at our destination.  It was cool and still raining – at this point we were thinking ponchos would have been more useful that bathing suits.  We were shown a narrow and muddy path and were told to follow this in order to see one of the waterfalls.  We all looked around, shrugged our shoulders, and thought, we’ve come this far, let’s see where this takes us.  After a short walk, trying not to slip on the rocks, we came to a creek with rushing (not to mention cold) water – there we were instructed to remove our shoes and walk across the creek!  Seriously?!  So, with a bit of irritation mixed in with some humor, and with help from the guys in the group, we crossed the rocky creek to the other side.  Now, those who know me well, know I am a bit finicky about my feet - I don’t like anything between my toes, and I don’t like for my feet to be dirty.  However, with no place to dry our feet and put on our shoes, we continued up the muddy, rocky path to see the falls – in our bare feet!

 

We finally got to the place we had traveled so long and far to see – a pretty-but-not-so-spectacular-waterfall.  We stayed there for about 5 minutes, taking turns posing in front of it, and turned around to trek back through the mud to see what was next on the agenda.  After crossing the creek again, we were able to sit on a rock and dry our feet, and finally put our shoes back on.  Once back at the buses we were informed that because of the rain and muddy conditions, we would not be able to see the other waterfalls.  We would only be stopping for lunch and heading back to the hotel.  Are you kidding me?!?  We came all the way here, risking our lives along the way, to spend 5 minutes in front of one waterfall?  As Porky Pig would say, “That’s all, folks!”

We stopped at that cute touristy area we had passed earlier, at lunch, and headed out onto the horrendous roads (that in the U.S. would never have been allowed to be open for traffic) and back to Resende.  Because our day had been cut short, we returned to the hotel fairly early and decided to join our friends for some much-needed drinks.  I’m not sure if I’ve written about ‘caipirinhas’ before, but they are worth mentioning.  Like a Brazilian version of a margarita, caipirinhas are typically made with cachaca – sugarcane liquor (very popular here) – limes, and sugar.  We spent a couple of hours talking and laughing with Brent and Katherine (our friends, and the only other Americans in our group) about our experience earlier that day.  We were so glad that they were there with us, making our trip a much more enjoyable one; not to mention that Ian and Alex stayed entertained playing with their kids every chance they got.

 

The final day of our trip was a “free day” for us – we were ready to pack up and go that morning, but the bus wouldn’t be leaving until 3:00pm.  We learned that there is absolutely nothing to do in the town of Resende, so we decided to go back to the Finnish town of Penedo.  While walking to some shops, Alex was bitten by a dog on the sidewalk – the dog was on a leash, but managed to reach out and bite him on the hand.  Alex was screaming and crying, causing quite a scene, while the dog’s owner was apologetic and offered us hand sanitizer and a Band-Aid.  She heard Alex talking in English - I don’t think she understood as he was yelling “How does that stupid lady let her dog just bite kids?” and “I hope that dog goes to hell!” – and she found a lady to talk to him.  This bystander kindly tried to explain that the dog had gotten all of its shots and didn’t have any diseases, so he shouldn’t cry.  I explained to her that Alex was not crying because he was worried about getting a disease from the dog, but because his hand hurt!  Once we got him to calm down, we ate lunch, returned to the hotel, and boarded the bus back to Sao Paulo.  Our vacation was over – though it didn’t quite meet our expectations and we didn’t experience anything remotely close to “Carnival”, we managed to keep a good sense of humor about it – and we were happy to be going home!

Vacation - Part 1

Carnival Vacation – Part One
I’ve been putting off writing about our vacation over the week of Carnival, trying to find the time to sit down and share our travel experience in detail.  We left Sao Paulo with high hopes of an exotic vacation full of beautiful destinations, and wonderful stories to share.  Instead, we got rain, rain, and more rain, which (quite literally) put a damper on our plans.  However, we did have some humor thrown in, given the conditions in which we traveled, all contributing to our story.  I will do my best to describe what we experienced, but this story would be better appreciated with the photos that we took – thus far I haven’t figured out how to include those pictures into the text or how to post them onto my blog.  

When I last wrote, we were preparing and packing for our trip to the state of Rio de Janeiro, where we were expecting to see beautiful rainforests, tropical islands, and breathtaking waterfalls.  We weren’t ready to go to the capital of Carnival, the city of Rio de Janeiro itself; but we thought we’d have a great time seeing some new places in our new country.  Given the fact that the Friday before Carnival is one of the worst days to be on the roads, we gave ourselves plenty of time to arrive to the Metro station where the bus would be picking us up.    

As it turns out, we gave ourselves a little too much time and arrived at the station almost 2 hours early.  We had taken a taxi (our friends were in a second taxi) and had packed everything but the kitchen sink, so we were loaded down with suitcases and bags.  The place where we were to meet the bus was just that – a place (i.e. sidewalk) where the bus would stop – no bus station, no covered waiting area, and the Metro station was really a block away.  It was dark and raining, and the prospect of standing in the rain, with the kids and all of our luggage, was not an inviting thought.  Luckily, there was a McDonald’s right across the street, so we decided to drag everything and everybody there to wait for the bus.  The kids were thrilled to eat their first McDonald’s hamburger since arriving in Brazil, and I even treated myself to a hot fudge sundae.  At 10pm, we loaded into the bus and were on our way.

Saturday
We arrived at the hotel in Resende at 3:00am – luckily the check-in process was fast and we were in our room and in bed within minutes.  Three hours later, we were up and getting ready for our first adventure – because of the rain, our itinerary had changed, and we boarded the bus at 8am for our first stop in Itatiaia National Park.  The oldest national park in Brazil and situated in the Mantiqueira mountain range, it is home to Brazil's third highest mountain, Pico das Agulhas Negras, which stands at 2,878 meters.  There you can find 250 species of birds; other attractions include hiking and rock climbing.  I couldn’t wait to see the rainforest, the mountain peaks, and waterfalls that can be found there.  

 I guess it should not come as a surprise that in the rainforest we had rain, and lots of it.  The drive to the park was beautiful; but we couldn’t help but be disappointed when we arrived at the park entrance, due to the rain and slippery conditions on the rocky paths, were diverted to the park’s museum, where we would spend the next 2 hours.  It really brought me back to the days of school field trips, to small museums where insects are pinned inside glass cases, and native animals (stuffed, of course) are on display among the native flora behind glass enclosures.  After 30 minutes of looking around we were we getting bored (especially the kids) and were ready to get out of the museum and to see the beautiful nature the park offered.  We finally decided to brave the weather and set out to find an area called “Lago Azul”; so with our ponchos to keep us dry we started down the rocky path, eventually coming to a bridge that spanned a large whitewater creek.  “Lago Azul” literally translates into “Blue Lake” – though it was pretty to see, there was no lake, and nothing blue about the water we were seeing.  After snapping a couple of pictures, we headed back up the trail to the waiting bus.  The highlight of our morning in the park was seeing wild monkeys jumping from tree to tree, just outside the museum.  

Next, we were driven to a small town near Itatiaia, called Penedo – it is Brazil’s only Finnish colony.  Very quaint, with adorable shops and restaurants, Penedo was picturesque, despite the rain.  We enjoyed a long lunch, walked around with our friends, and shopped a bit – at 5pm we boarded the bus once again and headed back to the hotel.  Keep in mind that this was the weekend of Carnival, which is a huge deal in Brazil.  However, though the hotel was nice and clean, with a decent restaurant, it was also a bit dull.  Carnival is famous for its colorful style, with music and dancing – but there was no sign of any of that at the hotel.  There was also no hot water in our room!  After the boys took cold showers (we kept thinking the water would eventually warm up) I went to the front desk to see if they could do anything to warm the water.  I was assured that it would be taken care of, and received a phone call about 15 minutes later telling me the water should be warm.  Not so, as Matt and I each took very quick (and cold) showers, as well.  We were exhausted, and climbed into bed with hopes of a better day to come.

Sunday
On our second day of vacation, we were heading to an area of Rio de Janeiro called Angra dos Reis, which translates into “Islands of the Kings”.  Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Angra boasts 365 different islands – one for every day of the year.  An area best navigated on the water, our boat would be waiting for us at 9:00am, which meant we had to be on the bus at 7:00am.  After our 5:50am wake-up call (yes, that’s 5:50am on a Sunday morning, on vacation!), we got our things together, ate a quick breakfast, and set out on what was supposed to be a 2-hour drive to Angra.  It was still raining, which given the fact that we were on curvy roads through the mountains of Brazil, added an hour to our trip.  We were all starting to feel the effects of motion sickness, which was only made worse when the smell of vomit (as a girl in the front of the bus did become ill) wafted back through the bus.  I had to keep a pillow pressed up to my face in order to be able to breathe deeply and keep from throwing up myself. 

 

Finally, after 3 hours of winding through the mountains, we were out of the rain and arrived at our destination – I think everyone was happy to be off of the bus, but a bit leery about getting onto a boat, since we were already feeling queasy.  Regardless, the tour guides tried to keep a festive atmosphere, and immediately pulled out cases of beer, sodas, and snacks and got the party started.  We have a running joke here that the safety standards here are very different than in the U.S., therefore we refer to things as being “Brazil Safe”.  The perfect example of “Brazil Safe” was upon embarking, a lady in our group handed us life jackets for the kids – that is the first thing you would have to do on a boat in the States (after signing a waiver, of course).  Our boat captain quickly asked us to please remove the life jackets, as they were only for use in case of an emergency.  The tour guide proceeded to inform us that if the “ocean police” saw a life jacket, they would immediately assume we were in danger and we didn’t want to cause any alarm!  That’s the first time we’ve ever been on a boat and been told, “Please, DO NOT wear the life jackets”! 

    

Though the sky was gray and overcast, we were fortunate to not have rain for a change – the sun even managed to peek out a few times throughout the day.  We stopped at a couple of different islands, and also made two stops in the middle of the water for those who just wanted to jump off of the boat and go for a swim.  The beer flowed freely, and a few of the men enjoyed a little too much – they kept us entertained with their singing and dancing (and sometimes falling) along the way.  At the end of our vacation, we asked the boys what their favorite part of the trip was – their answer, “Watching the drunk guys dance”!  Great, just what you want your children to remember about their first vacation in Brazil!  By 6pm, we were back on the bus for the return trip through the curvy mountain highway – fortunately everyone was so tired that most people slept and didn’t suffer from the same motion sickness as they had on the way there. 

 

Once back at the hotel, and desperate for a hot shower, I asked the concierge if they had figured out how to get us hot water.  I had made a second request for hot water that morning before leaving, at which time I was asked if I’d turned the handle on the left.  I explained that there was no handle on the left, only one handle in the middle.  He continued, saying that the handle on the left was the one for hot water; again, I somewhat calmly tried to explain that there was only ONE handle!  He promised he would look into it before we returned at the end of the day.  The young man working at the desk that evening had been made aware that I was hoping for hot water, and he happily explained to me that the reason we had no hot water was because the shower had an electric heater, rather than a gas one – apparently electric heaters don’t get any hotter than lukewarm.  He said this to me with a smile on his face, as though I should be satisfied to at least know WHY I had no hot water.  I, once again trying to remain calm, explained to him that it wasn’t an acceptable reason, and that I wanted hot water – Brazilians love kids, so I made the plea about my poor children having to take cold showers.  So it was, that after our very long day, we were given a new room at 9:00pm, packing up everything (including our now-sleeping children) and moving to a room with a gas-heated shower.  I happily took a long, hot shower and crawled into bed to get ready for the next day’s adventure.              

To be continued........ for the pictures that go along with the story, go to https://picasaweb.google.com/116320405884338150832/CarnivalTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCICm_pGVjZWQxAE&feat=email#

Made Me Laugh

I'm a bit behind on my blog entries.  Our vacation threw me off schedule a bit.  I have a lot to tell about our trips, but just haven't had the time to sit down for a 2 hour block to collect my thoughts.  I also need to figure out how to include pictures in my posts, as the stories of our trip will be much better appreciated if you can have a "visual" to really understand my descriptions.  In the meantime, I thought I'd post an email that Matt sent me last night.  He is traveling in the north of Brazil, in a city near the equator.  This is his first trip away from us since we arrived here, and I went to bed laughing last night, after reading his account of his arrival in Sao Luis.  Enjoy!

"So I get to Sao Luis, all is well so far.  Get the car after struggling through the rental process.  Now, I get the car.  Standard…no big deal.  No power steering, this stinks but is manageable…no AC near the equator…wow it’s hot!  Then the attendant hands me my radio…I can’t leave it connected to the car.

So, off I head to the hotel.  Google Maps absolutely stinks.  The directions I had showed a 2.5 KM drive, 10 min. max…however, Sao Luis apparently has two Sao Luis avenues.  The one I was looking for was about 15 KM from the airport, not 2.5.  So after driving around for 20 minutes looking for the right Sao Luis Ave, I pull a Silvana and go to a “ponte de taxi” to ask some dude to drive me to the hotel.  My directions were horrible, what’s funny is that the location of the hotel on google maps is absolutely wrong! 

However if the Alcoa thing doesn’t work out I have a great future as a taxi driver in Sao Luis…stop signs? What stop signs?  No left turn, not for me…Red light…are you kidding!

Any way, I made it here about an hour ago. All is well. The hotel is very nice, and very air conditioned.

            I forgot to add, before I did one of my U-turns, I saw a donkey eating out of the trash."

Ah, living in Brazil - always an adventure!  Stay tuned, there's more to come!!!

 

Changes - Part 2

Changes, continued…
One thing we’ve learned since arriving in Brazil is that the country does not really “open for business” until after Carnival – the biggest celebration of the year.  Picture Mardi Gras in New Orleans, on steroids!  Carnival is a 4-day celebration during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday.  The city most famous for its Carnival parades is Rio de Janeiro, though there are massive celebrations all over the country.  Sao Paulo, among other cities, also celebrates with parades full of scantily clad women, others in colorful costumes, impressive floats, bands, and most importantly, dancers from various Samba schools.  These parades take place in big open spaces, lined with bleachers, and require paid (also expensive) tickets to attend.  As described in Wikipedia, “Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities.^[2] The consumption of beer accounts for 80% of annual consumption and tourism receives 70% of annual visitors.”

As quoted above, the entire country pretty much shuts down for a whole week.  This means that absolutely nothing gets done during Carnival – no matter how pressing the issue.  Since we finally got all of the documentation complete for our shipments to be sent from the U.S., we have received notice that our air shipment is due to arrive on March 10^th.  Of course, it has to clear customs before it can be delivered to us, and there is no way that this will happen next week.  We also got surprising and unexpected news that our sea shipment actually left the Port of New York on February 15^th, which means that it should be in the Port of Santos (near Sao Paulo) by now.  Again, we’ll have to wait at least a week longer for anything to be done with that container – once in the port here it usually takes about 6 weeks to clear customs.  So, the waiting game continues.

As soon as we arrived in Sao Paulo, we started hearing of people’s plans for vacations during Carnival – also the most expensive time to travel in Brazil.  Most businesses close for the week, and all school children have a week-long vacation, as well.  We’ve heard that Sao Paulo clears out during the week of Carnival, beginning early in the day on Friday – a mass exodus of cars and people can be witnessed jamming the streets of the city, leaving peace and calm in its wake.  We had decided to save money and take advantage of the quiet and less congested streets to get to know our city a bit better – until we had a change of heart and plans.  The opportunity presented itself for us to travel with our friends, the Deeps, on a bus tour to the state of Rio de Janeiro (not the city itself) to multiple touristic locations for 4 days.  Seeing that the price was reasonable, considering the short notice, and there was space available, we decided to go.  It will be a great opportunity to visit new places, all known to be beautiful, and enjoy some relaxing days away from Sao Paulo.  We figure we’ll be here for a while – we can always get to know it later!  So, tonight we’ll board a bus at 10pm (due to the extremely heavy traffic, we are giving ourselves 2 ½ hours to get to the bus station, which is only about 12 km away), with an anticipated arrival time of 2am at a hotel in the town of Resende.  Over the next three days we will visit the towns of Angra dos Reis, with its beaches, islands, and a blue lagoon; Itatiaia, with a large rainforest preserve; and Visconde de Maua, with several waterfalls, including some that are like giant natural waterslides.  Though we may not be celebrating Carnival in the traditional sense, at the parades in Rio or Sao Paulo, we are excited and ready for this new adventure - let the fun times begin!            

    

 

         

                 

Changes - Part 1

Changes

It goes without saying that a move like the one we’ve made will bring a lot of changes: new continent, country, culture; new foods, styles, people; new language, friends, driving habits…the list goes on and on.  We’ve been here one month, and though things are definitely getting easier, we are constantly adjusting to the changes we are facing.  I’ve written about some of these in previous entries, driving, traffic, adjusting to the heat and humidity without air conditioning, buying groceries, and hiring a maid. 

A big change for us is going from living in a house to life in an apartment.  We are fortunate to be situated in a beautiful condominium complex, with a lot of open green space, soccer courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, and gyms, among other “perks”.  The complex is surrounded by walls and electric wires (that line the tops of the walls) and is completely gated, with 24-hour security EVERYWHERE!  Inside the walls of the complex, known as Casa Grande, we feel completely safe.  We are constantly being watched – in the garages, elevators, common areas – by the doormen and security guards.  Now that we are used to the idea that there are always eyes on us, it is comforting to know that we really don’t have to worry about our safety here.  I joked one day that there was always someone at the front desk, monitoring who was coming in and out of the building, while the back door remains open and unguarded, and wondered how that was monitored.  One day, coming back from the pool to grab some snacks for the boys, I got my answer.  I followed the condo’s rule of using the back (aka “service entrance”) when in swimming attire – I was also wearing a ball-cap and sunglasses.  Once on the service elevator, by myself, I was confused and surprised when I heard a voice coming from the wall, “Alo, alo, quem e?” – which translates into, “Hello, hello, who are you?”!  I hadn’t realized the guard was watching me via the security camera in the elevator, and he didn’t recognize me because of the hat and glasses.  Once I told him who I was, and my apartment number, he thanked me and I was allowed to continue on my way!  The same happened to my friend, when her daughter fell in the garage – she was greeted by a voice coming from “somewhere out there”, asking her if the little girl was hurt, as the guard had seen her fall via the cameras in the garage.  I seem to always be humming the old song, “I always feel like somebody’s watching me…” – and it’s true!

  Along with the benefits of living in a complex like this (i.e. no yard work, little maintenance), we also have the disadvantages of sharing the space with others.  It’s hard for the kids to understand that they can’t be as loud as they want, since we have neighbors to our left, above, and below us.  Yes, that means they cannot kick and bounce the soccer ball around the apartment, or chase each other around the house as they are accustomed.  Another disadvantage is the elevator situation.  Luckily, our elevators move quite fast, but in a building with 32 floors, plus 3 subterranean garage levels, you can find yourself waiting for several minutes.  For those of us who are used to just running out the door at the last minute, this can be a challenge.  We’re learning to leave at least 5 minutes earlier than needed, allowing time for the elevator, as well as the time it takes to make our way out of the garage, and to creep slowly over the cobblestone road to the entrance of the complex.

Cooking in Brazil is another change I’ve had to face.  By no means am I a gourmet chef, but I enjoy sitting down together as a family to a meal I’ve prepared – and it’s even sweeter when the boys actually eat what I’ve cooked.  I feel like I know my way around a kitchen pretty well, but during my first few weeks here, I felt completely lost in this one.  I miss my kitchen in our old house, where I had everything I needed within arms’ reach.  To begin with, I still don’t have all of my cooking utensils, so I’ve had to use what little I brought in the suitcases, and have borrowed a few things from a friend.  Add that to the fact that many ingredients that I’m used to using are hard to find, or just very different (or too expensive), and I’ve found myself wanting to just give up and go out for dinner more often than not.  Since our budget would not allow for nightly meals at a restaurant, I’ve had to make do and improvise with what I have on hand.  I’ve had some successes, and some minor flops, but they’ve all been learning experiences.

One evening, Matt decided to help by getting dinner started while I ran over to a neighbor’s to borrow something.  I gave him the recipe I wanted to try, chicken with capers in a cream sauce, and pointed out the main ingredients.  Once back from my neighbor’s, I offered to jump in and take over, but he declined, stating that he was “in a groove”.  “Great!” I said, and let him have the kitchen while I showered.  With the delicious smell of dinner wafting through the apartment, I helped set the table, and took a peek at the sauce.  It didn’t quite look like what I was expecting, given that the name of the dish included the words, “cream sauce”, and it didn’t appear to be very creamy.  When I asked how much cream he’d used, he replied, “I threw in the whole block”!  “Block?”, I asked, quite confused, and opened the fridge to find a whole container (i.e. bottle) of cream still sitting on the shelf.  Yikes, I thought, as I realized he’d used a whole block of butter instead of the cream the recipe required!  In the end, though more of a butter sauce, than a cream sauce, the dinner turned out ok – I figured that since butter really starts off as cream anyway, it wasn’t too far off base.

One of our favorite dinners back in the States was Taco Night - cheap, easy, and everyone loves it!  Not the case, here.  Taco kits are ridiculously expensive, since they are an imported item – where at home you can feed a family of 4 tacos for $10, in Brazil the same meal can cost upward of $30.  Cheddar cheese is hard to find, and costs a fortune when you can come across it.  Sour cream doesn’t even exist here – and I still didn’t have the recipe to make my own.  So, imagine tacos without tortillas or shells, and no cheddar cheese or sour cream.  I had decided to splurge on a small packet of Taco Seasoning, figuring I could divide it into 2 uses, therefore justifying the cost.  For tortillas, I substituted wheat wraps, and I used mozzarella that I sliced very thinly and painstakingly pried apart, layer by layer.  We couldn’t really find a substitute for sour cream, so my friend let me have some ranch dressing she had found.  I prepared everything and held my breath as I placed everything on the table.  Until now, most of what I’ve prepared has been met with, “This doesn’t taste the same as at home” by the boys, so I was ready for the complaints to begin.  Much to my surprise, the kids gobbled them up and asked for seconds!  It may not have been the standard fare for Taco Night, nevertheless, it was a success!