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!
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