Leaving Brazil...

This will be very brief, as I hope to finish up and close out this blog site soon...

It is impossible to believe that we have been living back in the U.S. for almost 4 months.  The last 6 months, since we found out we would be returning to the Pittsburgh area sooner than expected, have been a blur of activities and have flown!  My last post (which was done in April, several months behind schedule) was about our time in Cordoba over Christmas.  I had full intentions of writing about our days in Patagonia over New Year's, along with our trip back to the States to find a home, and all of the final preparations for leaving our lives in Brazil and starting again.  I didn't think I would have already seen the fireworks of July 4th before accomplishing all of this!

So, this is just a brief message for the few people who so kindly read this blog that there will be a few more entries, as I don't think my time in Brazil can really be concluded until I share all of the ups and downs of our last few months there.  Thank you for reading...to be continued!

Christmas in Cordoba

This year we decided to stay in South America for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.  With a house-hunting trip scheduled for later in January, we figured it would be a good opportunity for us to travel and see a bit more of the beauties south of the equator while we still had the chance.  Our families were a little disappointed that we wouldn’t be with them during that very special time of year, but they understood and were looking forward to our visit just a few weeks away, especially since it meant that we would be preparing for our return to life in the U.S.  The boys were also a bit sad to be missing time with their cousins and extended family, but we explained that it is okay to do something different once in a while, and that the trip we were going to take was going to exceed their expectations.

Our first stop in our travels was Cordoba, Argentina to spend Christmas with my relatives.  I’ve only spent Christmas in Argentina once – when I was 8 years old.  I have so many fond memories of that one holiday I spent with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – it is definitely the childhood Christmas that stands out the most in my mind.  Thirty years later (gulp!) I was excited to actually be with my own relatives again, even though so much had changed over the years, not to mention the family has shrunk considerably.  We left Sao Paulo on December 20^th – as is normal for air travel, it took much longer than expected (I won’t bore readers with the details of the delays), and 18 hours after leaving our apartment, we arrived at my Tia Pola’s house near midnight!  The heat was bearing down on us – they had recently had temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit – and no A/C, of course!  Due to the late hour, we ate a light dinner of “Sanduiches de Miga” (yummy thin sandwiches) and veggies and went straight to bed!

The next few days were spent lazily lounging by the pool and hanging out with aunts, cousins, and a few friends.  Ian and Alex made friends with some neighborhood boys and swam and played games (soccer, football, tag, Marco Polo) with them for hours at a time.  When I asked what language they were speaking to communicate, Alex answered, “Portuñolish” – his own word for a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, and English!  I love how they have learned to adapt – and kids speak the universal language of “play”.  We were enjoying our time, but really noticed the differences in what we are accustomed to this time of year – the heat, no carols being played on the radio, the lack of familiar traditional foods (such as Nanna’s party mix!).  It hardly felt like Christmas time – the only reminders were the few decorations that my Tia Pola had put out in our honor, including a huge poster of Santa Claus with an English “Merry Christmas” greeting! 

In swimming trunks on Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve arrived and temperatures soared into the upper 90s – the kids spent the whole day in the pool with the neighbor’s boys.  Karina and her niece, Azul, surprised us with a visit that afternoon – while the kids played (not necessarily together!), we sat and drank mate and laughed and talked for a couple of hours.  We thought of Matt’s family, who were gathering at his Aunt Kaye’s house for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, and of my mom, who had gone to spend the holidays with my brother and his family – I thought of my dad, who was spending Christmas alone (as he says is just the way he likes it, but I don’t believe him), and of my sister, who was celebrating with her husband’s family in Virginia.  We were all scattered, but felt like we were together in spirit – I know the boys were definitely feeling the absence of their cousins, imagining all of them running around and preparing for a requisite early visit from Santa Claus. 

Toasting my Tia Pola

  

Dinners are always served late in Argentina, and as is the custom there, Christmas dinner doesn’t even get started until 10:00PM or later.  The boys were completely exhausted by the time everyone arrived (Cecilia and her family, and Liliana and her daughters joined us), but they were determined to stay up and watch the fireworks we had promised they would see at midnight.  Alex didn’t make it past 10:30 – he barely ate a bite and fell asleep (in a very awkward position) watching TV.  Ian, however, forced himself to stay awake, and looked completely bored and miserable – he was definitely missing “home”. 

Alex crashed!

Matt was charming and acted like he was perfectly content, but I’m sure there was a part of him wishing he was in Charleston, WV celebrating with the rest of his family.  Midnight finally arrived, and we propped a ladder against the side of my aunt’s house and climbed up onto the roof to get a better view of the fireworks that were starting to go off around the neighborhood.  Ian, who could hardly keep his eyes open, climbed up and recorded some of it to show Alex in the morning.  Our “festivities” wrapped up at about 3:00AM, just as a very welcome wind storm blew in and cooled things off significantly. 

Watching fireworks on the roof

We spent Christmas day with my cousin Karina at the home of her parents – their whole family was there, including Christian’s girlfriend and her kids, as well as Jose Alberto with his new wife and baby. 

With Karina and Maia

As usual, my Tio Tito and Tia Elsa prepared enough to feed an army and we ate too much – after sitting, eating, and talking for several hours, we headed over to my Tia Chiquita’s for one last visit before departing for Patagonia the next morning.  This Christmas was definitely different than any other we had spent as a family, but it meant a lot to me to be with my own relatives – and it taught the kids that there can be a Christmas without all of the other things to which they have become accustomed.  However, next year we may appreciate those carols, the party mix, and even the cold a little bit more!            

Thanksgiving with Friends and More Farewells

Two days after returning from our memorable vacation to Bahia was Thanksgiving Day.  We originally did not have any plans to celebrate, as it is just a normal day here in Brazil (out of the 20 holidays they recognize and celebrate, Thanksgiving is not one of them).  At the start of the month, Matt had told me he would have to travel for work as soon as we returned from our trip and would not be here on that Thursday.  Since I thought he would be gone, I had just planned on taking the kids to Kung Fu after school, and maybe stopping for sushi afterward.  So, I was pleased and surprised when we received an invitation to celebrate and have dinner at a friend’s home and even happier when Matt informed me the same evening that he would be staying here that week.  There would be five families getting together and my mouth watered with every email that was exchanged planning the menu and deciding who would take what.
 

Of course, that Thursday during the day was “business as usual” for most of us.  While family members in the U.S. were gathering together, cooking, watching football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Matt worked, the kids were in school, and I spent a few hours at the orphanage.  That evening, though, as we joined our friends, the distance from family and loved ones didn’t seem as great.  Juliana and Steven Edwards (their son is a good friend of Ian’s) graciously opened up their home and hosted a lovely evening – we enjoyed a delicious and abundant traditional dinner, from the juicy turkey to the pumpkin pies; but even more than the comfort that the familiar meal gave us, we had the warm sensation of being where we belonged.  

Our gracious hosts

Our Feast!

   

With December upon us, it was once again time to start saying goodbye to families who would be leaving Brazil for good.  Every six months (usually June and December) there seems to be a mass exodus from Sao Paulo and our expat group continues with the ebb and flow of this lifestyle – friends leave, new folks arrive.  This time I was having to say goodbye to my sweet friend, Tina; Denise, my volunteer buddy, also was leaving unexpectedly; my friend, Larissa, who happens to be Brazilian but hated her time in Sao Paulo (she’d lived in the U.S. for 15 years and had a hard time acclimating to life in this big city) had prayed to return to her beloved Texas – she got her wish and her family was sent back more than a year sooner than anticipated – unfortunately, she also was taking her son, Lucas, with her – he and Alex became good friends, as they lived in the same complex and were in the same class at school.  There were multiple farewell lunches and “one last” get-togethers – Matt wondered how many times I had said goodbye to Tina – several, but, then again, you can’t say it too much! 

 

The most memorable farewell celebration, by far, was a day trip to Rio for lunch – I joined eleven other ladies and literally flew to Rio for the day, just to have lunch!  It sounds crazy, I know, and definitely not something I would normally do.  The more rational side of me thinks it’s nuts to spend that kind of money to go have lunch!?  But, the other part of me, the more relaxed, just-go-with-it side that has emerged since I moved here, thought, “What the heck?  Why not?  Six months from now, when I am living back in the States, I won’t be able to just fly to Rio for the day to have lunch!”  When I talked to Matt about the idea, he consulted his calendar and quickly agreed to arrange his schedule so he could drop off and pick up the kids that day – did I mention I have the world’s best husband?  One of the ladies, whose husband works for an airline company, was able to get us discounts on the steep (due to short notice) airfare – still expensive, but half of what it would have cost – and arranged for a bus to transport our group while in Rio.  We had planned to have a short visit to the infamous Christ statue or Selaron Stairs for a photo-op, and then lunch in the Santa Teresa district of the city, possibly followed by some shopping in Copacabana before returning to Sao Paulo that evening.  Of course, we hadn’t accounted for rain putting a damper on most of our plans. 

 

The Rio Dozen

Due to foul weather that morning, the Santos Dumont airport in Rio, which has a runway that precariously juts out into the ocean, was closed for two hours, delaying our flight.  Finally, the airport reopened and our flight was authorized to take off.  Before leaving, I had called our bus driver to alert him of the delay – he reassured me that he was already at the airport and would remain there until we arrived.  Twenty minutes into the short 50-minute flight, the captain announced that the airport had closed again due to poor visibility – we would be going into a holding pattern, in hopes that things would improve and we could land, which we finally did, two and a half hours later than scheduled.  Unfortunately, when I called the bus driver to tell him we had arrived, he informed me that he was waiting at the international airport, one hour’s drive across the city.  Apparently, when the airport closed again (while we were in-flight), he was informed that our plane would be landing at the other airport and quickly made his way there.  Given that it was already close to noon, we decided to skip any photo-ops (rain notwithstanding) and took taxis straight to the restaurant and arranged to have the bus driver meet us there. 

Champagne toast with Tina on the bus

If you plan to be in the Rio area, I highly recommend the restaurant, Aprazivel, on a street by the same name.  The setting is beautiful and very unique, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was chic yet relaxed.  The 2 ½ hours that we spent there flew by with wonderful food, cocktails, laughter, and conversation – and a hefty check.  With only two hours before we had to be back at the airport, we decided to board our private bus and head to Copacabana to try to get in a few minutes of shopping.  Before we even made it onto the bus, the rain started coming down with a vengeance.  No one was looking forward to getting drenched, so a last-minute decision was made to go to the Copacabana Palace hotel for dessert and drinks.  This luxury hotel is one of the most famous and exclusive in Rio – our loud and large group was shuffled from one area to another until we were able to order drinks, but no luck in getting dessert.  Craving chocolate (after seeing a petite gateaux on the menu at the restaurant that got my mouth watering) I decided my first stop at the airport would be for coffee and a sweet treat.  Someone managed to purchase a bottle of bubbly and snagged some plastic cups for the bus ride back to the airport and we shared a toast in honor of our friends (Tina, and a fellow Aussie, Deb, who was also returning to Australia).  A few hours later, safely home, I reflected on the day – I had spent too much money, a lot of time waiting in the airports (our return flight was also delayed), but was surrounded by a fabulous and funny group of women and had a day I would not soon forget.                       

Farewell!

October and November - Fun with Friends Part 2

The best rewards of having taken on this expat assignment, and coming to Brazil, have been the beautiful places we have visited and the wonderful friends we have made.  Put those two things together, and the fun is multiplied.  We spent the first weekend in October at our landlords’ “chacara” with our friends, Ann and John.  The weather was perfect for swimming and relaxing outdoors, complete with a “churrasco”.  Ian and Alex loved playing with Cooper and William, and I stayed entertained watching Elizabeth run around in her diaper (when she would leave it on!).  We spent the evening in good company and conversation, staring up at a beautiful, clear sky, dotted with many bright stars.  As I’ve written before, it is almost necessary to escape the city occasionally – for the clean air, and the peace and quiet that just never occurs in Sao Paulo.  We were all looking forward to another escape from reality, with a multi-family trip to the state of Bahia for a long holiday in November.

Holidays in Brazil seem to come along every other week – Matt gets about 20 days off for holidays a year.  It’s funny, if you ask most people what holiday is being recognized, they can’t tell you – all they know is that it’s another day off of work.  The best scenario is when a holiday happens to fall on a Thursday or a Tuesday, guaranteeing the Friday after, or Monday before as a free “bridge” day.  It just so happened that two of these long weekends occurred at the same time in the middle of November, giving most people six days in a row to get away.  Since we arrived and started hearing of all of the great places Brazil offers as vacation destinations, a trip to Bahia had been on our list of places to visit – this extra-long weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity.  Several of our friends, including Ann and John, had the same idea, so we decided to plan a group trip.  Working with a travel agent, five families got together for a very memorable and fun-filled vacation.  Some of us knew each other well, others had only met a couple of times or were only meeting for the first time; with so many people, it can be hard to know how the dynamics may be – but we need not have worried, everyone got along beautifully and had a great time together, and the kids were especially happy to have their friends with them.

Matt with John, Ann, and Bill at our pousada in Salvador

On the main street in Pelourinho

 

The eleven adults (Ann’s brother, Bill, was visiting and joined our group) and thirteen children between the ages of two and thirteen (including 3-year old triplets!) flew together and were met by our guide in the city of Salvador, which is the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia.  Salvador’s climate is very tropical, warm and humid year-round.  The city sits on a triangular peninsula between All Saints’ Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  Its historical center, Pelourinho, is known for its Portuguese colonial architecture and historical monuments dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and has been declared a World Heritage Site.  After being shuttled to our little pousada in town, we took a tour of Pelourinho – walking along the original cobblestone streets, we were able to appreciate the bright colors and cheerful facades of the preserved buildings.  Women dressed in the traditional Bahia style – colorful turban-style headdress, a full dress (usually white), a shawl and plenty of jewelry – were found on street corners and in store fronts, happy to pose for pictures in exchange of a few reais.  The kids were “troopers” and really did well, despite the heat, having traveled the same day, and a lot of walking – after several hours of sight-seeing, our exhausted group returned to the pousada and spent the rest of the evening there, ordering a delivered dinner, adults talking and enjoying cocktails, and the kids running around and playing until they dropped.

Our adorable group of kids - they were so good!

  The next morning, the shuttle buses arrived early to take us to the port, where we boarded a catamaran for the three-hour ride across a 60 KM stretch of All Saints’ Bay to the island of Tinhare, where we stayed in the village of Morro de Sao Paulo (MSP).  The main destination on the island, Morro de Sao Paulo offers beautiful beaches, coves, and calm waters, as well as vast coconut groves.  The village’s name comes from the ruins of Sao Paulo Fort, which sits atop a hill at the northernmost point of the island, where you will also find an old lighthouse.  There are no cars allowed in the village, so the main means of transportation is your feet –you have to walk everywhere.  Occasionally, you will see a tractor or a horse-drawn “taxi” for those who have to go longer distances between beaches.  If you have a large load to carry, you can use the local method of moving goods from point A to point B – a wheelbarrow!  Once our catamaran pulled up to the dock, we were met by several local men who loaded our luggage into wheelbarrows and we followed them in a procession through the quaint town to our hotel.

Our luggage, loaded onto the wheelbarrows 

 Once settled into our hotel apartments, we walked a short distance to Segunda Praia (Second Beach) and found a place to have lunch.  It took a while to get all 24 of us situated and seated, and then the wait began…waiting to have our orders taken, waiting for our drinks (and for someone to bring a bottle opener so we could consume those drinks!), waiting for our food…the restaurant staff was very busy trying to tend to all of their hungry customers, but they also seemed to show the true meaning of “island time” – they were in no hurry.  While we waited, we walked to the edge of the water and couldn’t get over how calm and clear it was; the beach was crowded with women in scant bikinis and men wearing Brazilian sungas (“speedo” type swimwear) – there were people sunbathing, playing soccer, and practicing capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music.  Eventually we returned to our table and finally had a seafood feast in the sand – with our bellies full, we returned to the beach for the rest of the afternoon and reluctantly dragged ourselves away as the sun began to set.  

Beautiful MSP with the fort and lighthouse in the background

 Our second day in MSP was designated as a free day, with no scheduled tours or activities, however, the beaches offer a wide variety of options for fun and relaxation.  A zip-line runs from the lighthouse at the top of the fort to the beach a few hundred meters below – most of the kids were too small to try this, but the one teenager of the bunch couldn’t wait to give it a go.  Matt and the boys had been looking forward to snorkeling; they rented a kayak, rowed out to a reef and were mesmerized by the number of colorful fish they saw; they said it was the best snorkeling they have ever done.  A few of our friends decided to relax on the beach and swim in the natural pools formed amid the many coral reefs, while a large group of us took advantage of horseback riding on the wide and practically deserted Quarta Praia (Fourth Beach).  It had been many years since I had been on a horse, but I was only nervous for a few short minutes.  Once we started on our way, all I could focus on was the sheer beauty surrounding me.  I have been blessed to visit so many amazing places with incredible views that I run out of words to describe them.  The crystal clear watered shimmered in the sun, the coconut groves lining the beach provided a brilliant green backdrop on the other side of the soft, white sand.  I was surprised and amused to see an official soccer match (with teams in uniforms) being played on the beach – we even had to stop our horses so one of the players could retrieve a ball that had rolled into our path.  After our ride, Matt and the boys, and some of our friends met up again at an outdoor restaurant and spent the afternoon eating, talking, laughing and relaxing on the beach – such a nice carefree feeling – it was my favorite day of our whole vacation.       

                  

 Our final full day in MSP was one we had all been eagerly anticipating, as we were to take a boat tour of the bay and some of the other islands.  I think I’m not the only one who had envisioned a peaceful, easy cruise on calm waters – boy, was I wrong!  The first sign of trouble came when the boat could not come close to the shore, due to its large motor – there was a risk that it could become caught on the coral below.  So, with bags and small children being held up high, we had to walk through water (above waist-level for most of us) to go out to the boat.  Unlike our very first boat ride in Brazil, when we were told NOT to put on the lifejackets, the first thing we did was to put them on the kids.  Though the sky was beginning to turn dark with storm clouds, we took off – and, I mean, we really took off.  Our boat drivers were going so fast through the rough and choppy waters that some of us were afraid the younger children would bounce out of the boat.  After bumping along for about 30 minutes, we stopped in the middle of the bay (along with several other tour boats) for a few minutes of snorkeling.  I wasn’t tempted to get into the cold water, especially given the fact that the air temperature was dropping and the sun was nowhere to be seen; but, Matt and the boys (and a few other brave souls) jumped in for a few minutes, only to come back disappointed because they couldn’t see any fish.  Once everyone was back on board, we sped off again to our next stop for more snorkeling.  Unfortunately, the storm was really moving in by then, so after only a few minutes, it was decided that we needed to move on and get to land, bypassing stop number three at a smaller island with no shelter.

 By this time, we were all feeling a bit cool, and even those of us who had not gotten into the water were wet.  We arrived to the island of Boipeba and sought shelter under the canopy of an open-air restaurant – we were all getting hungry, so it was a perfect place to rest after our wild ride and have some lunch.  While we waited for our food for entirely too long – island time again – and ate, the rain stopped and the sun came out.  Unfortunately, during this time, one of our friends, Lauren was watching one of her sons closely and seeing that he was developing an allergic reaction.  Conor, one of the triplets in our group, is severely allergic to all nuts; his mother is always very careful to monitor everything that he eats and drinks and always carries Benadryl with her.  When it became apparent that he had been in contact with something containing nuts, she gave him two doses, but was seeing that his condition was worsening.  Having left the Epi-pen and nebulizer (with which she always travels) back at the hotel, she started getting nervous and tried to figure out the best way to help her child (Conor’s last reaction landed him in the hospital for two days).  After weighing all of our options, including having everyone return to the hotel, one of the guides informed us that there was a clinic within walking distance.

The decision was made that I would go with Lauren, as I was the only one in our group fluent in Portuguese, and our Brazilian guide; the other guide (who spoke English) stayed with our group.  Lauren and I were wondering what kind of clinic we may find on a small island off of the northeast coast of Brazil, and we were surprised to see a gleaming, new building, only recently opened, thanks to money provided in preparation for the 2014 World Cup of soccer.  Our guide spoke to someone and explained the situation, and despite the large group of people in the waiting room, within minutes we were in a room and speaking with a nurse.  While we were waiting for the doctor, Lauren figured out that what had most likely caused the reaction was orange juice that she allowed Conor to have.  In Brazil, a very common fruit juice is that of the cashew plant – below the cashew nut, a fruit grows.  Lauren had not allowed Conor to eat French fries, due to not knowing what kind of oil they used, and to compensate, let him have some orange juice.  More than likely, the juice was prepared in the same blender as the cashew juice, hence the cross-contamination.  

Once the doctor arrived and examined Conor, he decided it would be best to keep him there for a few hours, ordering intravenous fluids and steroids, as well as three nebulizer treatments.  Our group was still waiting back at the restaurant, and the tide was starting to go down – the boat needed to leave in order to get onto the nearby river for the return trip to MSP.  I stayed with Lauren at the clinic while our guide went back to tell everyone what was going on and contracted a separate smaller boat to take us back when Conor was discharged.  While everyone else cruised (much more leisurely, I’m told) down the river, we sat at the clinic and waited as he gradually improved.  After all of the treatments were finished, the doctor deemed him well enough to leave, but wrote prescriptions for four different medications, which were filled immediately at the clinic pharmacy.  Lauren had asked about payment options, wondering if the clinic would accept credit cards – we were both astonished when we were told that the care Conor had received was completely free of charge – including his prescriptions.  We walked away from that clinic with a new appreciation for the free health care that was offered there and relieved that her little boy was back to his normal, healthy self.  Cruising back to join our families and friends, still a bumpy ride, but better than the ride earlier that day, we were able to watch the sunset – as the sky turned from blue to pink and orange and the sun dipped below the horizon, Lauren and I talked about the dramatic turn the day had taken – we were very grateful that in the end, all was good.

 We woke early on our final morning in MSP – the boys were in our room at 6:30AM asking if Matt would take them snorkeling “one last time, please, Dad!”  My initial reaction was to say no, that it was too early and we had to get ready to leave in just a few hours; but, apparently, Matt had promised and keeping his word, got out of bed, agreeing to take them.  I decided the packing could wait, and I joined them for the walk down to Terceira Praia (Third Beach) where the snorkeling is best – while they snorkeled, I continued walking on Fourth Beach and took in the breathtaking scenery one last time.  As I came back around to meet Matt and the kids, I watched them swimming back and forth and excitedly calling to one another about the fish they were seeing.  We were returning to Sao Paulo that day, but our friends were staying in Salvador one more night – they left a little earlier than we did, returning to the city via a five hour land transfer – or as they put it, “a boat, a bus, another boat, and another bus”.  Since we had a flight early that afternoon, we returned to Salvador by air taxi – a six-seat twin engine plane, a short 25-minute flight that took us straight to the Salvador airport.  None of us had ever been on a plane that small – the inside of it no bigger than our old minivan.  As we took off over the bay, with the coastline of MSP receding behind us and the turquoise sea below, we stared in awe and wonder at the beauty we were witnessing.  Again, I marveled at the wonderful experiences this opportunity of living in a beautiful foreign land has offered us.  I hope that these are memories that Ian and Alex keep with them forever – I know I certainly will.       

My little snorklers