Wolfpack Family Vacation

I just returned from my family vacation/visit with my parents and 3 siblings! Everyone came to visit me here in Brazil and I organized a tour of Brazil. We went to Rio de Janeiro, Ouro Preto, Iguazu Falls and took a train ride through the Atlantic rainforest to Honey Island!

It was an amazing trip, with a ton of wonderful family memories that I will enjoy for a long, long time!

Here are some pictures from the trip....

Abraço,
Mollie





Iguazu Falls




Honey Island/Ilha do Mel






Mom & Dad in Ouro Preto

Getting Ready for Vacation/Ferias

Man! While it's been a fantastic 2009 so far, it's been very long as well. I've done a lot of travel for work to the US, Germany and in Brazil and had only a few days here and there to take a break from work! So, my upcoming vacation is well deserved and overdue!

My entire family (mom, dad, and 3 siblings) are coming to visit me in Brazil! I am very excited to show them Brazil and spend time with them. They will visit Brazil for approximately 12 days. We are going to visit Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Foz de Iguazu, Curitiba, Ilha do Mel and finally, HORIZONTINA!! I have organized a great trip and it will be fun to see all these new places. I only know Rio so it's really a vacation for me as well.

I have many final things to still organize, like extra mattresses, transportation to/from Horizontina (not as easy as it sounds), and of course, a churrasco!! But, in one week, I'll be on vacation!!!

Um abraco,

Mollie

Semana Dificil!/ Tough Week

Whew! Thank goodness the week is almost over. It was a tough week for me! It was very cold in Horizontina, work has been crazy, getting ready for the Wolf family invasion, and several problems in my house. But, the one that took the cake was when I woke up today (Sunday) to a surprise.

Actually, I woke up early, oddly, for a Sunday. I got a drink of water, was going to feed the cats, then heard something " pinging" onto the hard wood floors. I looked up and saw WATER streaming out of the ceiling fan!! NOT COOL!!!! Not GOOD!

I called Kevin, Sandy, and Emma (American ex pats living here) and they came to my rescue with comic relief, yummy food (oreo cheesecake!! Hershey kisses!), bom senso (good sense) and uber-support! Sometimes, you just need to talk to someone in your own language about the weird things that go wrong in Brazil. Kevin helped to diagnose that " yes, water is coming through the ceiling." I then called someone to come help figure out the source. Turns out some " cana", which is like PVC pipe (I think) had some how came loose from the water tank in the roof and was leaking water. It founds its way to my opening from the ceiling to the ceiling fan.

Luckily, it was quick to fix and no damage to furniture or the floor was done! However, as of this writing (8 pm) there is still some dripping. So, I believe there was a lot of water in the ceiling for who knows how long. UGH!!!

The highlights of the week were good friends, churrascos, and getting some surprise flowers from my new friends, Fernanda and Luiz. Photos of the beautiful flowers attached.

I am thankful to have survived the week with the support of WONDERFUL friends and the week is over.

Um abraco,

Mollie

Pretty butterfly decoration

Such a lovely surprise!

Beleza!!!

49 degrees! Temperature INSIDE my house one morning. Yes, that is real.

Country Living/ Vida no Interior

Living in the " interior" or the countryside has its challenges. Of course there are some wonderful things as well. One of the things I like the most is doing things I have NEVER, EVER done before in my life. Some people call me crazy, I like to think of myself as "adventurous".

I went to a Festa de Julinha (July party) a few weeks ago. I was invited by Luiz. I met Luiz several weeks ago at the supermarket, Supermercado Economico. I rarely go to that supermarket. I was paying for my groceries and then Luiz helped me carry them to my car. He made some conversation with me about where I was from, how long I lived in Horizontina, etc. Typical small talk when people learn I am a foreigner. He told me his daughter, Fernanda, had dreams of going to the United States and she was studying English. I didn't think too much about it after that.

A few weeks after the supermarket experience, I got a phone call at work from someone. He said " hello...this is Luiz...from the supermarket...do you remember me" (in portuguese of course!!!).

I had NO idea who he was and didn't remember him at all. Of course, I pretended I remembered him and said, as enthusiastically as I could, " Oh yes! Of course!! How are you??", like we were long lost friends.

He invited to me to a party with his daughter, Fernanda, for the following Saturday. I graciously accepted, gave him my home address and we hung up. I gave him my home address to pick me up and hung up.

After we hung up, it still hadn't clicked to who the guy was. I had NOOOO idea who I just gave my home address to and I didn't know anything about this guy!! I told my colleagues and they thought I was crazy (and not safe) to agree to go somewhere with a total stranger.

Well, the day of the party, he arrived with his 18 year old daughter, they picked me up, we went to this party on the edge of town, and I met 50 other of his employees! Turns out, he is the owner if the supermarket and it was an annual party for his employees!! And they invited me as their special guest.

I was so touched!! It was a lot of fun. We had roasted pig (with the head and all!!!), potatoes, meat, salad, and your usual Brazilian desserts. I made US cupcakes and they were gobbled up immediately!! I even made homemade chocolate frosting....YUM!!!

So, the two things I have never done before, I did. And they weren't so bad after all....becoming friends with a complete stranger and eating the meat right off the pig.

Here are some pictures....

Abraco,

Mollie

My new friends, Fernanda & others. Fernanda has the long hair and white scarf.

Riddle

What do you get when you have 30 degrees fahrenheit outside and 51.5 degrees inside????

A really, really cold house....cold feet.....cold hands.....and a COOOOLLLLDDD shower.

Oh yes, this is Brazil ladies and gentleman. No " Girl from Ipanema" weather here. Just good ol' fashioned C-O-L-D.

After 1 hour, the house has warmed to 52.5 degrees with 3 space heaters running. It's a heat wave!!!!!!!!

Abraco,

Mollie

Time is Relevant

In Brazil, time is relevant.

20 minutes can mean 1 hour

A little later can mean never

Tomorrow can be tomorrow....or the next day....or the next month

7 am means 7:15 or 7:30 am

Get the pattern?

Well, the guy came weeks ago (see an earlier post) to fix a leak in the wall. 1 month and counting and still have a hole. Leak is fixed! But, still a hole in the wall. Spoke to the home owner today. Guess the guy is coming next week....or never.

Here's the proof.

Senor Geleski....You have a special place in my heart!

Just when I think I can't be amazed or surprised at anything new in Horizontina after living here for nearly 14 months, something happens that makes me go "wow".

Friday morning, I was backing out of the garage to go to work. As I backed out of the driveway, I heard a noise in the car, like a creaking. I kept backing out, but still heard it. I decided that it couldn't be good, so I pulled back into the garage. I got out of the car and I had my FIRST ever flat tire!!! (I don't remember even having one in the US in my 15 years as a licensed driver).

"Hmm...", I thought. "It appears I have a flat tire. Great. Well, better call someone to help me fixi it!" Then I decided that I better call someone first for a ride to work and deal with the tire later. (NOTE: This was the 2nd car issue this week...car battery died earlier in the week.) I found a colleague who could pick me up. Then I called my trusty mechanic, Geleski (last name). He is half polish/italian and an extremely kind, sympatico (sympathetic), and helpful man who has helped me many times with my car. He talks super fast, has 5 grown children (3 of whom live in the US), a few grandchildren, a very kind wife, and is my reliable mechanic.

I called him and explained the situation. However, he told me he doesn't work on flat tires! Drats!! However, he told me, he can take care of it for me....sem problema! (no problem). Well, after a few phone calls in Portuguese, some of which I can't understand because he speaks SOOOO fast, I understood he came to my house, put the spare tire on the car, took the tire to a borracharia (place that fixes tires), and had my tire in the back of someone's car. Then he put the spare tire (the one which was flat and he had repaired) back into my car. And, this is something the guy normally doesn't even take care of!!!!!

I just cannot believe the kindness and how hard people try to help you with whatever problem you have. He went out of his way to help me and take care of my car and in return, he asks for almost nothing. He does it all with a smile and acts like it's so simple. I am sure for him that it is, but for me was absolutely amazing!!!! I continue to be shocked, amazed and most of all humbled at the total kindness, generosity and help that people here offer to me...and expecting nothing in return. I am sincerely lucky to know and humbled by the people of Horizontina!!

Senor Geleski, tu vai ter sempre uma lugar no meu coracao!!!

Um abraco,

Mollie