Time

Time…
Time…Where does it go?!  It is hard for me to believe that we are quickly approaching the 3-month mark of living in Brazil.  Before moving here, I really believed I would be so lonely and bored, stuck inside the apartment everyday waiting for the hours to pass.  I bought several new books and photo albums, and ordered over 1000 pictures that had been hanging out in cyber-space for at least two years, thinking that I would have all the time in the world to finally sit down and start organizing them.  I couldn’t have been more wrong!  When I mention to my family and friends that I am so behind on writing my blog, their responses are all the same, “That’s a good thing; it means you are actually out living and experiencing it!”  I guess they are right; it would be a problem if all I did was stay inside at the computer, typing away, while my time in Brazil passed me by.  Though I still have moments where I feel homesick, I am feeling a lot more comfortable here.  However, unlike some of the expats we have met who are here indefinitely, and are OK with that, I like knowing that in a couple of years we will be “going home”.

There are two sides to that sentiment, however.  One afternoon, shortly after my sister’s visit, I was invited to the home of a new friend.  Sandy is a very interesting person with quite a background and has recently moved to Brazil as an expat.  Born in Canada to a Brazilian mother and Italian father, she grew up there until she was ten years old.  She spent the next 14 or so years in Sao Paulo, having to learn Portuguese when she arrived here and went to a school where that was the only language spoken.  She is married to a Dutch man, and they have lived all over the world during the past 14 years, including Hong Kong, China, and Dubai (I think all 3 of her children were born in different countries).  I loved seeing her house, full of unique and beautiful pieces of furniture she has accumulated during her years abroad, and we love exchanging stories about our varied backgrounds – hers much more exciting than mine.  At her home that afternoon, I also chatted with two other ladies – one is the mother of a friend of Alex’s and the other, a neighbor of Sandy’s.  The other mom is British, but lived in Italy before coming to Brazil; her family will be returning to Milan, Italy in June – when they lived there the first time, they bought and restored a house in Tuscany (sounds like something out of a movie), which they still own and use as a vacation home.  Sandy’s neighbor is from Mexico, married to a Swiss man, and has also lived in many countries, including Switzerland, England, and Italy.

I guess my point in describing these women is that I felt like such a “newbie” among these seasoned expats.  There are so many people we have met here who have lived in so many different places in the world.  They have experienced so much, and exposed their kids to different cultures and languages.  I started thinking, maybe we should consider another overseas assignment after this - there is such a great big world out there to see.  Then again, I can’t imagine going anywhere but “home”, which is now Pittsburgh, after our time here.  Yes, these families have seen many parts of the world we may never get to visit, but where do they call “home”?  Do their kids know what it is like to be near family and to establish roots somewhere?  As the British mom stated when I mentioned my thoughts to her, “The grass is always greener…”  So, for now, I am choosing to enjoy my time and really experience life in Brazil, and to make it the best experience for my kids.  Who knows what will happen in two years?  We really never even know what will happen tomorrow.  So, with that said, I’m off to “live” and sit in traffic for an hour to go a mere 10 kilometers – it’s all in the experience!  Tchau!      

Last Days with Jen

The week had flown by and we only had two days left with Jen.  I awoke Saturday morning feeling the effects of my celebration the night before.  I am a complete lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and the caipirinhas I had consumed were definitely affecting me – I was miserable.  We had planned to go to Embu das Artes, a cute town just outside the city limits of Sao Paulo, where you can find store after store of antiques, rustic hand-crafted furniture, and artisan crafts.  It was a beautiful day, perfect to be walking and browsing the unique wares that called out to us – unfortunately, I was too sick to enjoy myself.  Jen, on the other hand, got some amusement out of my poor condition and also found some great things to take home.  Matt and the boys really enjoyed Embu as well, and we made plans to return soon.  By the time we made it home, I was feeling better, and I helped Jen pack her bags in preparation for her return trip the next day.

Sunday came too quickly; I had enjoyed my visit with my sister so much, and though I knew she had a life (family, job, etc.) to get back to in Richmond, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.  Luckily, her flight wasn’t until later that evening, so we were able to enjoy a few more hours together early in the day.  Having packed all of her suitcases on Saturday, our morning was free for some last-minute exploring.  We drove into the city to a plaza that holds an artisan fair every Sunday – I was in search of a shawl for my mom (her birthday gift) and the vendor that makes what I wanted has a stand there.  It was a gray and drizzly morning, and many of the vendors had not shown up; but, I was in luck and found the vendor and shawl I had been seeking – Jen also caved and bought a scarf for herself.  Happy that we hadn’t wasted a trip, we hopped back in the car and headed to Jardins, a very ritzy (i.e. expensive) part of Sao Paulo.  This chic (again, pronounced “sheeky”) area of the city is where the rich and famous can often be found shopping and dining (of course, we don’t really know who the famous people are, yet, so we wouldn’t recognize them if they were sitting right in front of us!).  

Jen was happy to finally see a “feira”, street fair, which I had told her about before she came to Brazil.  The feira, where you can find fresh produce, meats, flowers, and stands selling sugarcane juice and pastels (fried pies with a variety of fillings) comes to my neighborhood every Friday.  Since we had left early to head to the beach on Friday, I wasn’t able to take Jen there.  Luckily, the feira in Jardins happens every Sunday.  We checked out the colorful fruits and vegetables, sampled a bit of the super-sweet sugarcane nectar, and went in search of a place for lunch.  We settled on a great Italian restaurant (the same one I had planned to take Jen for dinner earlier in the week) and devoured an abundant and divinely delicious lunch.  

The hours were passing quickly, and it was time to get back to the apartment, collect Jen’s bags and meet the driver who would be taking us to the airport.  It was a rainy afternoon, and though it was a Sunday and traffic is usually lighter on the weekends, we didn’t want to take any chances and gave ourselves plenty of time to get there.  We made it to the airport in a little less than an hour, giving Jen plenty of time to rest and read before boarding her flight.  I made sure she got checked in at the right desk, and it was time to say goodbye.  I enjoyed my time with her so much (I think I already mentioned that, but it’s worth saying again), and I hated to see her go.  We’ve lived away from one another for five years, and our visits together always pass too quickly.  It was wonderful to share a week with her, showing her my new city and exploring it together - I am grateful to her husband for sharing her with me, to our mom for going to her home and helping with the kids so she could make the trip, and grateful to her for taking the time out of her crazy, busy life to come visit us.  Thank you, Jen!!!   

April Fools' Day

Here, a bit more about my visit with my sister (I'm about 3 weeks behind on posts!)....

For as long as we had known that Jen was coming to see us, we also knew she really wanted to visit a beach here.  Brazil is famous for having some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, though most of the nicest ones are in the northern part of the country.  As I’ve written before, we have several beaches nearby (the closest being less than 90 KM away from the city), so we had decided to take a day-trip to visit one of them.  The kids happened to be out of school for a teacher development day, and it was also my birthday; since Matt had been gone for a week, he had planned to take the day off so we could all go to the beach together.  Unfortunately, there was too much work for him to do, and he told me he wouldn’t able to take the day off as planned.  Jen and I discussed our options, which basically came down to brave the drive on our own or stay in the city, and decided to “go for it”, opting to go to Guaruja, which may not be the nicest or quietest beach, but it was the closest at only 1 ½ hours away.  Throughout the week, she had been my driving sidekick, serving as GPS watcher and navigator, and we figured we could manage to get there without too much trouble.  We called and found a hotel that would rent us a room for the day, which allowed us to have a safe place to park the car, a place to shower and change, as well as provided us with beach towels and chairs, and an umbrella. 

We left early on Friday morning, hoping for an easier experience than what Matt and I had on our first trip to the beach.  It was a beautiful day, with forecasted sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s.  After enduring the morning rush hour traffic in Sao Paulo, we made it onto the open highway (at least until we reached a stretch of one huge tunnel after another) and took in the sights of Brazil’s beautiful mountainous countryside.  We arrived at Enseada Beach in Guaruja before 9:30am without any problem, save the very pitted dirt and mud road that led to the main boulevard on the beach – I wasn’t sure if my new car would come out unscathed!  The hotel allowed us to check in early and had our chairs and towels ready for us.  Wasting no time, the four of us walked the short distance to the beach and found ourselves with soft sand beneath our feet, picturesque islands jutting out of the water, and almost no one around us.  The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and we practically had the beach to ourselves.  

Vendors selling everything from hats to ice cream to fried cheese can be found making their way up and down the shoreline of Brazilian beaches.  A couple of vendors had passed by several times, offering to give us henna tattoos, promising that they would last up to 15 days.  We turned them down a few times, but since it was my birthday, and also April Fools’ Day, we eventually decided it would be fun to pull a joke on Matt.  For a mere R$5 I settled on a Japanese symbol for “Love” for my left shoulder – of course, it could have meant anything, and I wouldn’t have known.  Jen snapped some pictures and posted one on Facebook; I think there were actually a few people who believed it, but those who know me well figured out pretty quickly that it was an April Fools’ joke.  Having told Matt about my new tattoo over the phone (I cannot lie in person – I have no poker face whatsoever!) I even had him fooled for a while – and I got the feeling he wasn’t too happy about his wife having a tattoo!  I had so much fun spending time with Jen and the boys by the ocean - we lounged and relaxed, played, swam, ate, and agreed that it had been a great decision to go; it would have been nice to have Matt with us, but we definitely made the best of our day.

Not wanting to get home after dark, we left Guaruja at 4:00 pm, with hopes of avoiding the worst of rush hour traffic.  Unfortunately, getting home did not prove as easy as our drive earlier that day.  Not far outside of the beach town, we encountered a line of traffic that spanned multiple lanes for several miles, at one point taking one hour to go 10 KM.  As beautiful as the day had been, the clouds moved in and we also had to deal with major fog and rain along the way.  Once back in Sao Paulo, I followed the GPS instructions, which took me off of the highway about 8 KM too soon, but were leading me in the right direction – however, I felt completely lost and a bit panicked as I didn’t recognize anything around me.  By this time, we had been in the car for two hours, it was already dark, and the boys were getting tired.  Another hour passed before we finally made it home, and all of the relaxation I had felt earlier in the day had been wiped away by the stress of driving.  

I was exhausted, but the night was young and I had a birthday to celebrate.  Matt was anxious to see my tattoo, and breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that it was fake – I really couldn’t believe that he truly thought I had gotten a real one.  I was also met with a surprise in my front entryway – my friend, Katherine, had decorated it with a “Happy Birthday” sign, balloons, a dozen pink roses, and a little apple tart complete with a candle.  The Friday night happy hour and gathering of expats in our complex was also underway; Jen had been wanting to join our group for a drink – she had even schemed with my friend to try to get a cake and surprise me (however, after my repeated warnings that we may not make it in time, she finally told me of her plan – I thanked her and told her to skip the cake).  So, with renewed energy, we headed down to the restaurant and had a great evening – too great, as I enjoyed 2 ½ caipirinhas (very strong ones, I later realized) and was a bit beyond tipsy.  My sister and I stayed up talking, laughing so hard we were crying, and posting crazy messages on Facebook.  By midnight, the long drive home from the beach was a distant memory; it had been a perfect birthday!       

Visit with Jen, continued...

As I've mentioned, the days and weeks are passing very quickly here.  I have been so behind on my blog entries, and am posting a little at a time.  Here, two more days of my visit with Jen...

On Wednesday, we woke up to very grey skies and wondered if we would be able to see and do everything we had planned.  I had been wanting to get to know an area of the “Centro” (the old downtown) called 25 de Marco (translates to the 25^th of March) for a few weeks.  Named after the main avenue that is the focal point of the several blocks that surround it, 25 de Marco is like a Chinatown of sorts, without the Chinese influence.  It is block after block of little stores selling purses, shoes, costumes, fabric, party supplies, toys, and junk – mostly at low prices – as well as vendor after vendor on the street trying to sell massagers (for your back!), pen drives for the computer, “brand-name” T-shirts, etc.  I also wanted to take Jen to the Municipal Market, which I had visited once on our trip in October – also in the Centro, the market is in a gorgeous old building with domed ceilings and stained-glass windows and is full of stands and vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and meats. 

Anytime someone mentions a trip to “25”, as it is known, others ask to join in – as I’ve mentioned, traffic and driving (not to mention parking) in Sao Paulo is not pleasant, so people are eager to go places when someone else is behind the wheel.  So, despite the impending rain, two friends (who have been to “25” and could show us where to go) joined us for the drive into the city.  Because it was Wednesday, we couldn’t leave too early, as it was my “Rodizio” day – when I explained this to Jen, she asked me why I hadn’t mentioned it in my blog yet.  Rodizio has a couple of different meanings – one is a style of eating that basically translates into “all you can eat”, as in “Rodizio Sushi” and “Rodizio Pizza” restaurants; the other “rodizio” refers to driving.  Because of the ridiculous number of cars on the roads in Sao Paulo, they have devised a system in an attempt to reduce the traffic congestion that occurs here.  Depending on the last number on your license plate, you are assigned one day out of the week when you cannot be on the major highways (nor can you cross them) between the hours of 7am and 10am, and again between 5pm and 8pm.  If you are caught breaking this law (the roads and intersections are monitored) you face points off your license, as well as a fine.  People find ways to get around this – if they own more than one car (most families have at least 2 cars), they make sure their license plates are different so their rodizio doesn’t fall on the same day – they just drive the other car.  You can also take the long way and find back roads to get to your destination, or just plan your schedule around the restricted times.  Luckily, Matt’s office sits just on this side of the “line”, so it doesn’t affect him, and I don’t go anywhere early on the days I am restricted.

After sitting in traffic for over an hour, we finally made it to 25 de Marco – of course, it started to rain as soon as we got there.  Despite the damp weather, we walked around for about three hours, stopping to buy typical Brazilian fast-food (coxinha – chicken wrapped in a potato batter and deep-fried; pastel de carne – a fried meat pie; and a bauru – a baked ham and cheese sandwich) and ate along the way.  “25” is not the cleanest place, and is crawling with people on the hunt for a good bargain – I’m told that in the days leading up to Christmas it is impossible to walk the streets because it gets so crowded.  After everything on our shopping list was crossed off, Jen and I made a quick stop at the Mercado Municipal so she could get a glimpse of all of the beautiful produce and other goodies that are sold there.  We could have stayed longer, but needed to get back to pick up the boys from school – so we paid the R$ 26 parking fee (very steep for just a few hours!) and headed home.  It was fun to have the chance to explore a new part of the city with my sister, and we both agreed that it is a must-see for visitors. 

During the days that Jen had been with us, Matt was away on business in Texas.  He got home Wednesday evening, bringing with him a suitcase full of things I had asked him to purchase.  So, for the third time in less than a week, it was like Christmas again!  He had stocked up on taco seasoning, flour tortillas, new DVDs (yoga and cardio workouts for me and a movie for the boys), candy, and random cleaning supplies.  It was great to have him home!  With Matt home to stay with the boys, Jen and I had originally planned to go out to dinner at a “chic” (which here they pronounce “sheeky”) restaurant in a very chic part of the city.  After our long day out, we decided to hang out at home and drink caipirinhas while we worked on a little project of making stirrers and appetizer picks out of glass beads we had bought at the market.  The finished products turned out so great that Jen wanted to go back and buy more beads – since our schedule wouldn’t allow for another trip to “25” I promised her I would load up on the needed supplies and take them to her when I visit in July. 

Since her arrival, Jen had been on the hunt for a new purse – anyone that knows her knows she is a sucker for purses and shoes.  Being in Brazil, there is no shortage of either of those items.  She had something specific in mind, as well as a price limit.  However, sticking to a budget is not easy in one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Thursday was a beautiful day and we headed out to Moema, a great area of the city that is residential mixed in with a great collection of shops and cafes – it was also quite a contrast to “25”.  After walking and window shopping for a while we stopped for lunch at a sidewalk café, having to stop our conversation every few minutes for the noise of the planes that passed overhead. 

This was something else that had impressed Jen – the fact that there is an airport smack-dab in the middle of the city.  She couldn’t believe how the planes passed just above the buildings, and when coming in to land almost looked like they could scrape the tops of the cars on the highway with their landing gear.  When she was still planning her trip and buying tickets for her flight here, I had mentioned to her that it would be great if she could fly into Congonhas Airport, as it is only 10 minutes (without traffic, of course) from my house.  Once she saw how the planes come in for their landing, and how they take off at such a sharp angle, she swore she would never fly into that airport, and also made me promise not to encourage anyone else to do so! 

Once we had our fill of delicious food, we resumed our hunt for the perfect purse – and we found it!  Of course, it was much more expensive than what Jen had planned to pay, but it was marked down to almost 50% of the original price of R$ 840.  The purse was unique, made of braided leather, and gorgeous.  We decided to look at a few other stores for something more reasonably priced, but her heart was already set on it.  I’m not sure who was happier, Jen or the salesclerk, who did a happy dance when we returned to make the purchase.  With her new bag in hand, and her budget blown Jen decided to skip any shoe-shopping, but helped me pick out a new pair.  Like two giddy school-girls we left feeling very accomplished – did I mention how great it was having my sister here?!?

Days 2 and 3 with Jennifer

My visit with Jen, continued....

We turned in early on Sunday evening and awoke to a beautiful morning on Monday.  The weather in March had been pretty bad – very cloudy, rainy, and cool – so it was nice to have a warm day with a clear and sunny sky.  I took Jen for a walk around a neighborhood near our complex, then returned to the apartment to await our air shipment, which was to have arrived at 9:00 AM.  As has been the case when it comes to receiving our things, there was yet another delay and we were informed that the shipment would be delivered later that afternoon.  After I got over being furious about the lack of communication from the shipping company (and subsequently got our case manager removed from our account) Jen and I decided to make the best of the time we had and headed to a local rock store.  I know that doesn’t sound very exciting, but it was amazing!  This store is a must-see for anyone who comes to visit us; it is full of stones and gems that are mined in Brazil.  Jen and I got carried away buying trees made out of the stones – one more beautiful than the last.  We bought so many trees (Jen bought far more than I) that the guys in the store were joking that we were taking a whole forest!  We enjoyed lunch in a little café and headed back to the apartment to wait for my delivery.

After almost 2 months of waiting, my air shipment finally arrived at 2:15 that afternoon.  It wasn’t much (only 430 pounds worth of stuff – I think we brought more in our suitcases), but it was so great to finally see some of our things from home!  Tania, my maid, was there and she worked fast to help us unpack and get things organized.  By 5:30 PM we had every bed made with my own bedding, all of the towels and clothes were put away, and the empty boxes were in the hall to be collected.  Tania is so sweet and hard-working, and she and Jen were happy to have a chance to meet one another.  Later that evening, we had dinner at Estancia, a churrascaria owned by the father of a friend of Ian’s – we all enjoyed an abundant meal (delicious meats, rice dishes, sushi, salads), and took our full bellies to bed!

Tuesday morning, unfortunately, started with a migraine for Jennifer.  We started our day a bit later than anticipated, but still managed to see what we wanted.  I took her to explore Ibirapuera Park, which I’ve written about in the past.  It is a beautiful oasis of green, and provides a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.  After listening to Jen complain about being hot and sweaty, I gave her respite from the humidity (it really wasn’t hot at all!) and took her to a local shopping mall.  Relying on the GPS, we made it to “Shopping Morumbi” without too much trouble.  I think Jen suffered as much sticker shock as I had when I first arrived, so we did more window shopping than actually buying anything.  The highlight of Jen’s day was savoring delicious Arabic food at a restaurant in the mall – I have to admit, it was the highlight of my day, too – sitting across the table and sharing lunch with my sister was pretty sweet!