Advertising...Propaganda (portuguese word for advertising)

A popular form of advertising in Horizontina is hiring a guy on a motorcycle to drive up and down residential neighborhoods with a big speaker on the back BLARING some advertisement for a grocery store, party, or whatever else is going on. It is deafening how loud it is and quite annoying.

In the past, I didn't understand what was being advertised because my portuguese wasn't so good. Now, I can, unfortunately, understand every word! UGH!  There is so much truth in " Ignorance is bliss"!

It sounds like this..."Come to the new Zaleski where you can get sweetened condensed milk for R$1.50...." or "....SUPER promotion on mayonnaise R$2.59...." always followed by a "...don't miss out!"

I really wonder how effective this advertising is. I wonder if they do follow-up surveys or something to measure the effectiveness, in a quieter way?

Um abraco...Mollie

Saudades....Nostaliga

I really want a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte....I miss the smell of the coffee shop and the reminder that soon it will be Halloween and then Thanksgiving.

This morning I made a faux Pumpkin Spice Latte. I steamed milk in my microwave, then added about 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie seasoning to it, then added some Starbucks brewed coffee. It tasted KIND OF pumpkin-ish, but I knew it was a fake.

I wish I could find a way to get the pumpkin spice flavoring....Oh well. Sei la!

I just found a link to make the syrup flavoring at home...looks like I have a project!!
http://sugarcrafter.net/2009/09/01/pumpkin-spice-latte/

Um abraco...Mollie

Not (yet) the next Venus Williams...Aulas do Tenis!

There's not much to do in Horizontina in terms of outdoor activities. You can walk, run, swim (November to March) and play tennis. That's really about all since the roads are so bad it makes biking very treacherous! (Be careful....those stairs are treacherous....)

For a long time I have wanted to take up tennis at the local " country club"  where I belong. Normally, a country club has tennis, a pool, golf and is quite expensive. It's normally where the "who's who"  of a city hang out, right? Well, in Horizontina, it's a club because you have to pay and it's in the country, but isn't quite a  "country club".  It does have a nice, nice pool so I cannot complain. But, it's only open November until February.  It has some nice tennis courts in clay as well. No golf and it's dirt cheap! They have these choppanas where you can make a barbeque and have a churrasco, a boce ball court and a small hall where people have parties. As a bonus, it is a 1 block walk from my house!

Anyway, I found out there is a tennis professor there and been afraid to call him for months! When I meet new people, sometimes I don't know how they will react to me being an American...usually the experience is good, but sometimes, it's treacherous! A colleague of mine was nice enough to call the professor and arranged an appointment for me for today at 10 am.

His name is Choco (like Shock-o) and a really nice, friendly and patient man! He started playing tennis when he was 35 years old (probably around 50 years old now)! He was so kind to me and even tried a few tennis terms in English! He gave me a 1 hour lesson and I learned the back hand, how to serve and the forward swing. I did this ALL in portuguese!! I was nervous ahead of time about all the new vocabulary, since most of my day is spent talking about forgados, fundidos, chapa and plataformas...technical terms for parts in portuguese!

I hit a lot of balls out of the court, close to his head, close to my head, but in the end, didn't break anything or sprain a single muscle in my body! My arms are sore and I'm tired, but it was great!!! I had a great time learning tennis and new words in portuguese!! We agreed to have another lesson next Saturday...

So, maybe in a few years, I'll be rocking the tennis courts at the US Open alongside Venus or Serena...until then, I'll keep taking my aulas do tenis!

Um abraco.....Mollie

One Year in My House! Pictures of Horizontina

Here are pictures of my home here in Horizontina. It's a very nice home by Brazilian standards and the kitchen is bigger than my kitchen I had in Moline! I don't think I've ever posted pictures of my house and the area where I live. Here are some photos my dad took while visiting me in August. I have been living in this house for 1 year now! Yippee!!!

Front of the house from the street

 

View from the veranda...overlooking a field and my neighbor's house.

View looking into the kitchen

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.