Christmas in San Diego - Hanging w/ My Dad & Brother

I'm currently in San Diego for Christmas with my family. After a very long journey, I made it here on Sunday. I left Horizontina at 5 am on Saturday morning and arrived in San Diego around 11 am on Sunday (or 6 pm Horizontina time). Whew! Luckily, all of my flights, all 4 of them, were on-time and I didn't have any issues! 

Today, I went out on my dad's boat with him and my brother, John. We went in the San Diego Bay and had wonderful views of Point Loma, the airport, Coronado Island and bridge and downtown San Diego. We stopped at Anthony's Fish Grotto, a world famous spot for fish sanwhiches, and enjoyed the fish on the boat. While we were eating, we had a visit from Sammy the Sea Lion. This sea lion was hanging out by our boat and kept putting his head up looking for a free hand out. He was really cute and within about 6 feet of our boat!

Enjoy the pics...Um abraco!  

Mollie

Sammy The Sea Lion

Cabrillo Monument/Lighthouse, Point Loma 

Coronado Bridge

Dad and Johnny

Me and Johnny

Sea Lions Sunbathing

View of Downtown San Diego

Thanksgiving in Brazil Pics (First Ever Brazilian Fall Follies!!)

 

This is part of my front yard. This is Vivi, Josh/Jen's daughter playing in the rain! So cute! 

It was really hot so we had a water balloon fight. Andrew was juggling. My backyard. 

The girls hanging out playing Dominos. Inside my living room. 

Me and Jen

Samantha playing in the rain (Autumn/Andrew's daughter). My front yard in background. 

The feast!! 

Here are pictures from the Brazilian Thanksgiving I hosted a few weeks ago. It was a hot day, then it poured rain. It was really nice to be with some Americans for Thanksgiving and eat some familiar foods! Mmmmm....pumpkin and apple pie! 

Um abraco...Mollie

Aula de Portuguese - About Car Batteries (Portuguese Class)

Normally I have my portuguese class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8:00 am for about 1 hour. After being in Germany for one week, I needed some lessons since my week in Germany was 99% in English.  Well, my portuguese class ended up being an impromptu vocabulary lesson in auto parts and things like that. 

When I got into my car (used Honda Fit), it wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn on some lights on the dashboard. I figured the battery was dead. I went over to my neighbors house for help (the same guy who cuts my grass), hoping he had jumper cables. My communication of the situation went something like this:

Me: Good morning! All is well? How are you?

Neighbor/Grass Man:   Hi. I am fine, how about you? 

Me: I have problem with my car. The batter is missing. 

Neighbor/Grass Man: Missing? Your battery is missing in the car? (Also making a weird face at me). 

Me: Well, no, yes, well the battery has no life. My car will not turn on.  

Neighbor/Grass Man: Oh! Your battery is weak?  

Well, the conversation was slightly more funny in my poor portuguese. Anyway, he came over, but didn't have jumper cables. But, he knew someone to go and get who could come help me. This is typical in Horizontina. 

About 10 minutes later, he returned with some guy (I will nickname him battery man), a battery charger and some cables. The guy spoke REALLY fast and things I didn't understand. I did understand, " oh, your an American...I have a son living in Novo Jersey (New Jersey).....Josh...battery (Josh is a fellow ex-pat living here)....battery....something....something...." 

Well, my car would only turn on for a few minutes and my neighbor/grass man and "battery man", decided they needed to take my car into the shop. I guess I was supposed to take battery man back to his shop and leave my car there. 

On the way to his shop, he told me that he's Polish/Italian and has 3 sons living in the US. Of course the other 50% of the conversation, I couldn't understand, but that's ok. We got to his shop and he started to charge the battery with some doo-hickie, which he said was from the US. Of course, that would make everything better. 

About 20 minutes into this whole process, I realized I wasn't going to make my regular portuguese class so I called my professor (who is so wonderful!!!!!) and told him I had to cancel. He was way cool about it...as is everyone in Brazil when things happen unexpected...or expectedly. 

While waiting for my battery to charge, I had to use the bathroom. I asked some guy where the bathroom is. He said, "Uh, we only have one for men, but go into that house there and use the bathroom."  I said, "the house??". He said, "yes, my mother is inside." Ah ha! Of course, his shop is next to his home. Isn't everyone's place of business next door to where they live?! 

So, I went into this house and then met the battery man's wife. She was very kind and showed me all sorts of photos of her kids living in the US....gave me hugs and kisses and invited me back to their house sometime. 

At the end of all this, I got the battery re-charged, made some new friends, learned some new vocabulary and it only cost me R$10 or about $4 US dollars.....

Floods in Brazil

I just wanted to let everyone know that the floods in Brazil are not near where I live. They are in Santa Catarina state, which is a really nice state that shares the beaches and the mountains. It is very sad all of the flooding and reminds me of the floods we had in the midwest in 2008. 

Keep all the people who are suffering in your thoughts!

Um abraco,

Mollie

Doces da Natal - Baking Christmas Cookies

Today I hosted a "doces da natal" or sweet things of Christmas. I invited some Americans and  Brazilian girls over to my house and made some traditional holiday cookies. Each person brought some cookies or a recipe and we made it at my house. There were about 12 or 13 of us! It was so cool to exchange cultures and sweets! It was really hot! About 85 degrees! I played some of my favorite Christmas music and decorated with my holiday decor. 

It was so neat to share a little bit of American culture with the Brazilians. I made sugar cookies and we decorated them. They only saw the cookies in movies and it was so neat to see how excited they were to see these cookies for real!!! 

Here are some photos!

Um abraco.....Mollie

Brazil in Spring...When It's Thanksgiving in the US

Ola from Brazil!

Right now it is late spring our primavera here in Brazil. It is becoming warm. For example, the past 5 days have been around 85 degrees! Hot enough for pool weather!! I have air conditioning in my bedroom, but not the rest of the house. I am probably going to buy a few ceiling fans and have those installed before the weekend, since the forecast is for 90 degree weather! YIKES!!! There are also a lot of bugs...mosquitos and other bugs that I cannot even recognize. Somehow, they all manage to find their way into my house. So far, I haven't had anything too freaky....

This week is Thanksgiving. But, it's not a Brazilian holiday since it's an American holiday. Even though I work for an American company. It doesn't matter! The only good thing about working on Thursday and Friday is that I won't get any emails from colleagues in the US! Ha, ha. 

To celebrate Thanksgiving, I am hosting a traditional Thanksgiving lunch/dinner at my house on Sunday for all the American ex-pats. With babies, there are approximately 13 of us!  We made up a menu of foods we like and foods we can find ingredients for here in Brazil. We won't be having any cranberries, but I managed to import a can of pumpkin pie filling! MMM.....It should be fun and I am VERY thankful to have such a wonderful support network here in Brazil and abroad. THANK YOU FRIENDS AND FAMILY!! I love you!!!

So, right now I miss the following:

-Talking with people about their Thanksgiving plans

-My friends - The Girls, Russ/Deb, Hogues, Vonda & the Silvis girls, Keith, Yudith, Julie Ann, Krystal, ...and many more

-My family...the holidays just aren't the same without your family, like Grandmas & funny Uncle Jim (not that I actually have an uncle Jim)

-Looking forward to 4 days off work! :-(

-All the post Thanksgiving sales!!!!!! 

But, I will be ok and I'll be seeing my family soon at Christmas. For now, I'll have to share Thanksgiving with some new friends/family and try to create a little bit of America here in Brazil. 

Lots of love....Um abraco!

Mollie

A Few Pics from Japan with my Aunt Jean

Me at a tea ceremony. I am sitting on the floor. 

Gold leaf shrine in Kyoto.  Lovely!

Japanese schoolgirls in uniform. 

Women in South Korean Market Playing Cards

Traditional Japanese Meal  - SUSHI! SO PRETTY! 

My Aunt & a Geisha Girl

Famous Shrine & Traditional Performance

New Places With Old Names

You know you've been living in a place for a while when there is that place everyone knows, like "Hy-Vee at the Crown Center" or the "old mexican restaurant" but then it becomes a hot, new night club or a library. But, EVERYONE still calls it by a combination of its old name and location. 

I guess I've been living in Horizontina for awhile now because there was this place called a fruiteira that I went to a few times that closed and became a clothing store. A fruiteira is basically like a place that only sells fruits and vegetables, kind of like a farmer's market. I went to this one place that was next to the video rental store and a barber. I went there on like a Wednesday and by Friday, it was closed! How weird!!!

Anyway, there is another place that sells fruits/veggies in town, so now I am going there. I can get awesome mangos, papaya, oranges for juice, fresh peaches, and a variety of other things. It's awesome!!!!! 

Um abraco,

Mollie

Taking A Vacation

Hello!


I am writing this blog from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. I arrived this morning!!


I will be taking a vacation to Japan over the next few weeks. I probably won't be blogging until the end of the month. I am going with my Aunt (sister of my mother) and it should be fun. Then I will be in Moline for a few days for one of my best friend's wedding!


I'm sure you'll have withdrawal from not reading my blog, but I promise to have good stuff when I return!!!


Um abraço,
Mollie

Some Things Are Cheap....And Others Are Not

Today was in interesting day lesson on "how much do things cost in Brazil?". 

A few weeks ago, I had wireless DSL internet installed in my house. I had a cable modem in the US, but that doesn't even exist here. I went to the local "Best Buy" and asked them to set it up for me in my house. They quoted me a price for the modem, router and installation of about R$325 or $171 US dollars. Ok, that's kind of steep, but I'll just do it and be done with it instead of having to find someone in the US to buy that stuff for me and bring it here. 

They installed it about 2 weeks ago, but I hadn't paid yet. Totally normal here in Horizontina to buy something and pay...whenever.  I went to the store to pay today after my Portuguese class because they are only open until 6 pm and I can rarely leave work at that time. I went in and guess what??? The price was R$492, or at today's exchange rate $258 US dollars! I guess they quoted me some other modem that is slower, but they brought a fast modem to my house and installed that one. Fine, I decided, I'll just pay it. UGH!! 

Then tonight I went and got my nails done (manicure). She painted them and even did a cute decoration on them. That only cost me R$8...or about $4.50! 

So, I guess it all evens out in the end....

Um abraco,

Mollie

Frogs & Electricity

Yesterday, I got home from work and was in my laundry room and saw these two little eyes staring at me. There was some little creature sitting on the handle to open the window. I wasn't sure what it was, so I took a picture. It was a little frog that somehow got into the laundry room. Probably when Tereshina (the name of my housekeeper) was cleaning, my little "friend" hopped on into the laundry room. 

I wanted to rescue him because he looked so scared. Long story short, I chased him around the laundry room and finally scooted him outside! Yes! He kept jumping around onto the walls and floor and behind the dryer. It was comical. 

9:00 pm - Tonight for no apparent reason (like, it's not raining or anything) my microwave started to beep (I was sitting in the office). I went into the kitchen and the lights were flickering. I thought the power was going to go out, but it didn't. Now, the microwave won't work and the lights are very dim! I turned on/off the circuit breaker, but nothing happened. Great....Guess I get to call the encantador (plumber) to come and fix something....not that I even know what's wrong. And he'll charge me like $25! UGH!!!!!!

9:45 pm - I tried to trouble shoot the electricity problem. Some lights in the house are all the way on, but others are only barely on. It's like some rooms have a 60W light bulb and the others have like a 10W light bulb. I turned on/off the master circuit breaker, but it didn't help....I guess I'll wait.

9:53 pm - I called Jeff & Christine (other ex pats) to find out if they have power and get their advice. They have power...this happens sometimes they said. As I was talking to them, the power in my house COMPLETELY went out! I was in the dark. Luckily, I had a flashlight. I thought I'd go over to my neighbor's house and see what the deal is. I don't know what you do in Brasil when the power goes out. Call the electric company?? I don't even know their phone number!  I tried to leave my house, by exiting the little gate to my yard. The big gate uses a garage door opener, which takes power. Hmm...I have no power. Well, I realized that the key I have to the little gate is in the possession of my housekeeper! Ha! I can't even leave my yard!! Time to light some candles....Magically, the power just came back on! Whoo-hoo!!!! 

I also noticed tonight that I have a bird that has decided to nest on the top of a column on my front porch. I noticed this when I went out my front door to try to leave. She must have made a nest which fell to the ground, but she made another one. Lucky me! If she sticks around, I'll have to name her. 

Here are pics of my new friend.....Froggy. 

Um abraco,

Mollie

Jatao Fashion Weekend...A Festa que e ridicula (Warning..Content Not Suitable for Kids!!)

Crazy Guys Dressed Up Like WomenMe and Jeff Nelson...My "ridicula" outfit
Me dancin' it up with my new amigas

Random People
You can see the street was full of people!!
So, my Brazilian experience continues...

Last night was this big party in Horizontina called Jatao fashion weekend or " a festa que e ridicula", which means " a party that is ridiculous".  This local carnaval club, kind of like a fraternity, organizes it. The purpose is to wear the most outrageous clothes you can find and parade around the streets. The group, Jatao Choppado, closes off sections of the streets near the center of the city and they hire different bands to play music. It sounded like a fun thing to do and EVERYONE in the whole town was going...or it seemed anyway. It was like the most talked about thing at work all week. 

I planned to go with my friend, Marcio, and some of his friends. I met a few of them earlier in the day at a churrasco (barbeque) and they seemed like fun girls. I dressed up in a denim skirt, with a funky pink apron someone gave me as a gift (err...my mom...), orange and brown knee highs, red shoes and a bathing suit top over a shirt. I put my hair in two Britney Spears (pre-K Fed...Oops I did it again...) pigtails with pink fluffy ties and painted freckles on my face. It was pretty comical and non sensical--PERFECT!

We went to the party and it was insane! The streets was closed off and FULL of people! People were drinking in the streets, which is totally allowed in Brazil and even families were out with their kids at 10 pm at night. It was around 10 pm when we arrived at the party. I didn't realize it at the time, but we were actually at the pre-party. The actual party was on another street! So, for the next 3 hours, we danced to music, ran around from group to group and had fun!  I ran into some people from work ( a little embarrassing considering my outfit--but they looked funny, too!) and some of the other ex-pats. 

The outfits were outrageous!!! The most comical thing was the number of guys that were dressed up as women or pregnant women as their "costume".  I don't quite get the infatuation they had to dress up like women, but it was by far the most popular outfit. Weird!!! 

Well, what made the night the most interesting was my indoctrination into how Brazilians party. I spent most of my night with these two girls I met earlier in the day, Kelly and Andreasa, who are both Brazilians. They pretty much took me wherever and would just say "Mollie, vem", which means, "Mollie, c'mon". They would grab me by the hand and we'd go to some other street, dance, etc.  Well, at one point, we are talking to some people and this guy comes up to me and asks my name (in Portugues, of course). I tell him. Then ask him his name. The next thing I know, I am being assaulted by his tongue in my mouth!!! EWWW!!!! This random guy was kissing me!! I backed away and wiped my mouth with my hand. He kind of looked at me like I was a freak and I was staring at him dumbfounded. I didn't know that asking someone's name meant an invitation for a yucky, sloppy kiss. 

My friends tried to explain something to me in Portuguese, but I didn't get what they were saying. They were telling me something about "kisses" and that "the women choose", etc. I didn't know what they were talking about. At this point, I've gotten a good grasp of the work lingo, but the social life words are still difficult. I started to see my friends kiss these random guys over and over and then I realized that what they were telling me is that the guys ask if they can kiss you and then the women choose if they want to be kissed or not! CRAZY!!!! I felt like I was 21 years old again and not going on 31! It was very comical after that and luckily I knew how to avoid kissing any frogs. :-) 

Well, we finally went into the actual "party" around 1 am, listened to some guy that kind of is like the Weird Al Yankovic of Brazil, and around 3 am, I was out of juice! I called it a night and went home. My friends stayed until 4 am, I guess. By that time, I was turning into a pumpkin! I have to get some pictures and will post them in a few days. 

That's one more "experience" to add to my Vida in Brasil (Life in Brazil)!!!!!!!

Um abraco,

Mollie

Re-Wearing a Bridesmaid Dress....Brazilian Wedding

I went to my first Brazilian wedding last weekend. It was for a colleague & friend of mine that I have known for 2 years. He is Brazilian and we have become very good friends. His name is Daniel and he married his girlfriend, Cris. The wedding was in a town called Lages, in Santa Catarina state which is about 6 hours away by car.  I decided to go to the wedding because I have never been to a Brazilian wedding and I thought it was a good reason to get out of Horizontina for a weekend! 

I didn't want to drive myself there because I didn't know the way and I'm still not comfortable driving in Brazil so Daniel helped me arranged the trip. I had to take a bus 7 hours to Porto Alegre where I then caught another bus that Daniel and Cris rented to take people to Lages, which should be a 4 or 5 hour bus ride. 

Well, I thought this sounded like an adventure and I love adventure!! I started my trip Friday night on the 10 pm bus to Porto Alegre (POA) and arrived at 5:30 am. I slept most of the trip on the bus so that was ok. In POA, I then took a taxi to the house of Daniel's parents where I met his mother, father and sister. They welcomed me into their home and we had a nice breakfast before we met the rest of the group at 7 am to take the bus to Lages. 

Of course nothing is ever on time in Brazil so the bus didn't depart until about 7:45 am...then the bus driver got lost and we finally arrived in Lages around 3:30 pm! UGH! It was a very long bus ride....but luckily I got to take some cat naps. 

Weddings in Brazil are very formal events. Women dress up in formal gowns and the men wear very nice suits. I inquired about the attire before the wedding and I decided to re-wear a bridesmaid dress from my best friend's wedding a few years ago. It is a beautiful, champagne colored dress and  I put a small black shawl over it to dress it up a bit more. Yes, I actually re-wore a bridesmaid dress!! Whoo-hooo!!!! 

After arriving at the hotel in Lages, where I shared a room with Daniel's sister, Laura, I took a much needed nap. Then got ready for the wedding. It was supposed to start at 8 pm in a cathedral/catholic church. Well, again, nothing in Brazil (not even weddings!) start on-time! People arrived at the church around 8 or 8:15 pm. I befriended this older woman and her daughter and they gave me a ride to the church. They were some relatives of the groom. I sat with them at the ceremony. The older woman, Anne, who is probably like 80 years old was a hoot!! She was full of moxie and personality! I decided that when I'm 80 years old I hope I am like her!!! 

Finally, the ceremony started around 8:30 pm and it was...interesting. It was in a catholic church, but the music was very modern...like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and some other very modern songs were played. I really didn't understand all of what was said, but more or less the bride and groom promised "all the days of their lives"...blah, blah, blah.  Only the bride and groom stand up at the alter. The bridesmaids/groomsmen sit in the pews and their each wear what they want - no matching of dresses or tuxedos! It was cool...very toned down from American weddings, but still beautiful. 

After the wedding, I went to the reception. Holy-moly! Do the Brazilians know how to party! It was really, really beautiful inside this hall..lots of flowers...lots of drinks and champagne and wonderful food! Mmmm!!! After dinner, there are these little chocolates and wedding cake. They had a 7 piece band with two singers. It was so cool! The music was a mix of American pop rock, disco, oldies and Brazilian music from different regions of Brazil. It was SOOO much fun!!!! We partied until 3 am! 

The next day I met these friends, Bayard and Juliana, for breakfast. They are from Horizontina and they were kind enough to let me ride back to Horizontina with them to avoid the long bus ride. They are very wonderful people and I hope they become good friends. 

Enjoy the pics!

Um abraco,

Mollie

Ironing My Underwear....

Hello Friends!

I apologize for my long hiatus from blogging. Long story short, I had a trip to the US which was great, got back to Brazil and moved into my house (finally!) and just yesterday finally got Internet in my house! 

I have a lot to blog about related to moving into my home here. It's so nice to finally be in a house and have some familiar things from the US. It hasn't been without a lot of problems...like getting water established, then getting hot water, installing a phone line and numerous other things--all in a foreign language! But, I have survived!! There is so much truth in the phrase, "that which does not kill us, makes us stronger"!

I promise to keep my blogs up now. I leave this evening for a Brazilian wedding in the state of Santa Catarina for a co-worker and very good friend of mine. It should be an adventure!! Here is a funny story from today I had to share! 

Today my housekeeper, who has been working for me for one week, asked me the following: “Would you like for me to iron your underwear?” I wasn’t sure I understood her correctly because she asked me in Portuguese and I have to still translate some words in my head.

 

“Iron my underwear”, I thought. Why would I iron my underwear?

So, I asked her “Por que”, or “why”? She told me that some people want their underwear ironed and some don’t. She wasn’t sure what I wanted.

 

I told her (in Portuguese), “No, I don’t. At this time the only person who is seeing my underwear is me, so it’s really not necessary.” Ou para meus amigos Braslieros...."Em neste moment, so eu vai ver elas!"  

She laughed really hard. I don’t know if she laughed at my Portuguese or the fact I made a joke.

 

But, I figured that I must be learning the language pretty well if I can crack jokes in Portuguese.

Um abraco!

Perspective After 12 Weeks in a Foreign Country

With my 12 weeks of experience in a foreign country, namely Horizontina, Brasil, which is a foreign country in itself, I've learned a lot of things and decided to pontificate and share my words of wisdom...

A) You really don't need all the stuff and things that you accumulate in your life.

I've been living in a very small hotel room for 12 weeks now. I have a 10 x 14 size room with a double bed (thank God for that!) and a bathroom/shower. I have a 2 x 2 "desk" and a very uncomfortable chair, which has become a coat hanger. I have a suitcase that functions as a dresser and 4 boxes of other stuff (food, photos, books, etc.) that were part of my air shipment (thank you John Deere!!!) . Underneath my bed, I have all my shoes stored and a second suitcase. It's a small room, but I have everything I really need. I realize that I don't NEED all the stuff I had in the US....but it was sure nice. You really can get along and survive without so many "things" in your life. Life is a little more simple this way!

B) John Lennon said " I get by with a little help from my friends." 

Well, all my friends are really helping me! Photos of friends & family TRULY are priceless! As well as the cards and other things I've gotten in the mail down here. I have some family photos and photos of my friends on a makeshift dresser and it's a very warm reminder of my great support network back in the US! I've gotten some very sweet, thoughtful and touching cards from friends (um, mom...still waiting for my home baked cookies!) and they REALLY brighten my day and make the distance seem a lot less than it actually is. 

C) "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted"--Aesop   

I am living in a foreign country by myself.  Wow. Sometimes I really can't believe that I really live 5,000+ miles away from my home country. Everything I do here is a challenge...the language, communicating, listening, driving, etc. I love the challenge and am conquering all of those things with 110% of myself. However, I could not have survived these first 12 weeks without the kindness of the Brasilians and other new friends. My first night in Horizontina, I was greeted with a lovely welcome party someone threw in my honor! I have been invited over to people's homes several times and didn't meet them before I showed up on their doorstep to enjoy a churrasco or some other event (no, I didn't just randomly walk around looking for people to adopt me! I was invited as a guest of someone else!!). Or the countless other people who are extremely patient with my Portuguese and try to understand me even when I say the word for "fog" when I meant to say "heart". Note: They sound very similar!!! The kindness of other people here has been so wonderful and appreciated!!

In summary, you know, when you go through a difficult situation or time, you get some new perspective on life. These first 12 weeks in Brazil have been a huge challenge, but it's given me some new perspective on life and I hope it will help make me be a better person and friend & reciprocate all the of the wonderful kindness, gestures and simple things in life! 

:-) Happy Reading! 

Happy 4th of July!

Pictures from my Brazil 4th of July cake! The woman who makes these amazing cakes at the hotel made this for me. I asked her to use raisins, but she had the great idea to dye the gelatin blue to get the background on the flag! It was a wonderful, wonderful cake!

She even went out to the Internet and found a picture of the American flag so she could make the cake in the right way! 

Torneio do Costelao (Tournament of Ribs)

This blog is a few weeks late! But, it was quite an experience worth sharing. Warning......these photos could be shocking to some viewers!!! (Heh, heh)


Most of you know that I'm not a fan of red meat and try not to eat it out of protest to the fast food industry in the US (I won't pontificate about the ills of the fast food industry here). Well, since I've been in Brazil many times the only options are red meat/beef when you go to a churrasco or grill out at someone's house. I don't want to be rude or a picky eater, so when in Rome...you do like the Romans!


A word about the beef here: It's very lean. The fat is normally limited to the outer portion of the meat. The cows are all grass fed and presumably without hormones. So, it's a much healthier animal to consume compared to how it's cultivated in the US.


Well, I've turned into the biggest meat/beef lover known to man! I CRAVE eating beef every day and this tournament was quite a hoot considering that 1 month prior I would have rather starved than touch a piece of beef!!!


Now, onto my story about the Torneio do Costelao (Tournament of Ribs)....I got invited by some guys on my team to this "country club" where they were having a competition for which team can make the best ribs. It sounded like a neat cultural experience so I went with two friends (Brazilians).


Basically, the "teams" are composed of mainly men who camp, have horses and get together to share their love of gaucho culture. It's similar to a fraternity. They wear the authentic clothing of a gaucho (like a cowboy) as well.


The tournament was composed of approximately 4 to 5 different teams. Each team grills a HUGE, HUGE rack of beef ribs on the churrasceria (actual grill used) for hours. One team started at 7 am so the ribs would be ready for judging by 2 pm! The teams compete on the quality and taste of the ribs, the presentation to the judges, and the decorations of their team. The winner gets a trophy and of course bragging rights.


The people who attend the tournament (people like myself) also get to eat the ribs after the judging has taken place. MMMMMMMMMMMMM..........You eat meat, salad, bread and of course consume your beverage of choice. It's a very social event. It was a lot of fun and I got to see how some guys from my team celebrate their culture and heritage and enjoy some REALLY good ribs!!!!!!!


So...here are some photos from the event!!!!!!

Five Weeks in Horizontina...

So, I've been in Horizontina, Brazil now for 5 weeks! It really has flown by and so much has happened in such a small amount of time.  I've started to establish some routines and form some sort of new life here....

I'm still living in the Hotel Ouro Verde, which is a basic hotel, but comfortable. I'm making friends with all of the staff and even got in good with the woman who does all the baking of these WONDERFUL breakfast cakes! She told me I can request anything I want and she'll make it for me (at least that's the translation I made up in my head). They  have Internet (although spotty at times), a daily breakfast (lots of fresh mango!), clean my room daily and do my laundry. 

I have my air shipment which has everything I sent in one piece! I was so happy to get my Kashi granola bars and even a can of tuna. I was so happy to see my yoga mat and my 5 lb weights, too!!! Not to mention some books and DVD's (Thank GOODNESS for Sex & the City!)

My diet consists of:

Fresh fruits

Cakes & Sweets

Beef, beef and more beef (Brazilian style)

Rice and beans

Salad

Pizza

There is a lot of buffets here in Brazil. I think another word to describe Brazil would be buffet. Brazil and buffet have 6 letters each. Coincidence????????

I've found a coffee shop here. Well, it's the ONLY coffee shop. It's in the back of a grocery store, but they have an espresso machine and while it's no Starbucks, Coffee Hound or Living Room, it fills the need to hang out someplace and drink coffee...and eat....Here is a picture of it. It is called Zelandia. 

I'm making some friends, but slowly. It's tough to start over with making new friends. I spend time with the Americans here, but am also trying to meet some Brazilians. I like the people here so much. They are so warm, welcoming and open to new people. They always welcome me into their homes and I appreciate that so much. 

I'll write more soon....Mollie

A Big Accomplishment Today! And Some Good News!

I had a pretty big accomplishment today at work!

I have several weekly meetings on various projects with people from other departments. Normally, a person from my team goes with me to the meeting since I am still working on mastering the language. I had a meeting that started at 2 pm and I decided at the last minute to go to the meeting on my own, without any help, and give it a try.  I told this guy on my team and he said if I needed help to just call him. 

So, I went to the meeting, which started 15 minutes late (typical in Brazil). I survived, however, the next 45 minutes in Portuguese and a little English!!! I actually understood most of what was said....well, ok, about 70% and even threw out a few comments to add to the meeting. They are still pretty cavemanish, but at least I did it!!!! I even got assigned a few action items! Whoo-hoo!!!

A little bit of other good news for me:

1. I think I've got a house lined up now! It's a pretty house with a fireplace and a lot of space. It's owned by a John Deere guy who moved away. I saw him earlier this week and I think we made a deal!
2. My air shipment (16 cubic feet) of my STUFF from the US is supposed to arrive in Horizontina on Monday!!!! I can't wait to get some different clothes, my momma's handmade quilts and my KASHI granola bars!!!!!!!!
3. I got some intercompany mail today from my buddy, Russ!! I love to get mail down here.....I have some issues of Runner's World to read! YEAH!!!!!

Here is my address:

Mollie Wolf - Horizontina Pouch

One John Deere Place

Moline, IL   61265

If you send me something through intercompany mail, just put:

Mollie Wolf - Horizontina Pouch

DMAT/Supply Management

That's all for today!!!!

Just Another Sunday in Brazil...

So...what's a girl to do on a Sunday in Horizontina, population 18,000?? You do what any self-respecting "gaucho" (kind of like a cowboy) would do--go to a churrasco!!

I started the day off with an easy run with a new friend, Marcio. He is working for Deere on a special project from Sao Paulo and we decided to go for a run together. Let me tell you...running at 9 am on a Sunday and conversing in Portuguese is no easy feat! But, I did it....it went something like this:

" Um, (pant, pant, pant) como vai sua (pant, pant, pant) noite ontem?" (which basically means...How goes your night yesterday? (Let me just tell you that it's not grammatically correct....). I'm sure as painful it was for me try to converse in Portuguese, it was even more painful for my new running partner to try to decode what I just said. 

Anyway, after that, I figured I was off the hook the rest of the day for Portuguese and could waste my day away thinking and speaking in English. Well, I got invited to a churrasco in some town close by. I decided to go for it, because I needed to get my fix of freshly barbecued MEAT!!! It meant having to spend the afternoon in Portuguese, but I figured I needed to practice. 

I went with Marcio and his friend Marcia (female) and Enio (male) to this town close by called Santo Antonio. We entered this huge hall filled with about 400 people at these long tables with chairs. Everyone was eating family style and really enjoying themselves. I met Marcia's family and her 9 year old niece. Her niece, Anna Carolina, was pretty interested in me because I was from the US. It was so sweet!!!! I showed her an American Dollar and she got a kick out of it. I never thought someone would be so interested in the US Dollar! After the lunch, there was a some music and some traditional gaucho dancing (see videos). It was fun and a great cultural experience!!

After the lunch and dancing, we drove to the town called Doctor Mauricio Cardoso. Yes, this is really the name of a town. He was someone who did a lot for this town so they named the town after him. See the attached picture to prove that is the name of the town! We went to the Uruguay River, which is right on the Argentina/Brazil border! It's a pretty big river, maybe about the size of the Mississippi or a little smaller. It was very tranquil and peaceful. The car we had got a flat tire (the second one I've had in Brazil) . After a quick tire change, we were on our way back to Horizontina. We stopped in Horizontina at Zelandia, a small coffee/bakery/grocery store in town. We had some coffee and a small snack and that was about it for the day!

It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed meeting some new people!!