Happy 2 Year Anniversary! Feliz Aniversario - 2 Anos

This week marked 2 years living in Brazil. Actually, living/working in Horizontina, Brazil.

The past two years have been the most tumultuous, challenging, rewarding, happy, fun, weird, breathtaking, silly, frustrating, fulfilling, lonely, peaceful, soul-searching and a time to really know myself. I have had tremendous personal and professional growth and look back with such pride and gratefulness on this experience.  The friends, relationships, strangers, ex-pats, and family here in Brazil and in the USA all have been my support system in many ways. I am truly and sincerely blessed for all the people that have passed through or into my life.

This experience has taught me many things (will be another blog!). Most of all, it's taught me that I do NOT need to be super-human.

I can be human - make mistakes, laugh at myself and accept openly and without embarrassment the love and support from other people.

In portuguese - Posso ser humana - faco falhas, me sorrio, e aceito aberta e sem vergonha o amor e apoio as outras pessoas.


Here are some photos of my last 2 years. Obrigada amigos brasileiros...obrigada ex-pats...obrigada minha familia....obrigada meus amigos americanos....obrigada as pessoas quem me ajudaram so uma vez no momento critico...obrigada meus colegas na minha empresa....e obrigada minha mae e meu pai por que voce sempre vejam em mim o melhor e me torcer para alcancar.

Paradise/My Vacation...Fernando de Noronha, Brasil

Me in front of Dois Irmaoes/Two Brothers

On a boat ride enjoying myself!

Me, Scuba Diving with the fishes

Brazilian Weddings...Casamentos Brasileiros - Part IV

I went to my 4th Brazilian wedding last night. It was for my co-worker Sergio who married this beautiful and kind woman, Fabiola. He was so happy and he didn't quit smiling the whole night. He is a wonderful guy and I am so happy to have shared in this special day for them.

Like all other Brazilian weddings, it was predictably UNPREDICTABLE! Ceremony started late (of course), had some fun music (Somewhere over the rainbow...2nd time I've heard this song at a Brazilian wedding) and during the reception some Carnival music with drums and such (unpredictable part!).

It was really a fun night and I feel so lucky and truly honored to be able to share these really special and intimate moments with people who are now my lifelong friends in this journey here.

Enjoy! Um abraco!

Mollie

Me, Balestrin, Raquel, Frio and Katia - colleagues

Erion, Juliana and me - Very close friends of mine. 

Some of my favorite ex-pats - Kevin and Sandi

My colleagues! Sergio (groom) is in the middle sitting down. He didn't stop smiling all night. 

Me and Sergio (groom). They use these funny props at weddings. HILARIOUS!!!

Being silly...notice my co-workers in the background. So funny!!

One party goer had too much fun....a bit too much cerveja??? 

Blowing in the Wind...Vento!

A few weeks ago we had a severe storm in our region. It was about 2 am on a Monday morning (Sunday night). I woke up at 1:58 am because I was warm. I realized my ceiling fan in my bedroom went out.

"Great," I thought. " I lost power".

Then I heard this really fierce wind get stronger and stronger. My windows in my room started to shake very violently and I thought the glass would break and come blowing through my bedroom. I darted up out of bed, shut my bedroom door behind me and all the other bedroom doors in the house. Then I ran into my innermost bathroom and hid for 30 minutes. I tried to call some of the other ex-pats, but the cell phone service was not working well and after 20 minutes I couldn't make any calls.

I was sincerely frightened and the wind was blowing so hard and raining with such force. I was afraid water would come pouring through the ceiling or the roof would blow off. Thankfully, none of that happened. Finally, the wind died down around 4:30 am and I went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to a town completely disorganized, littered with broken trees, roof tiles, pieces of sheet metal and telephone poles on the ground. I had no power, no cell phone service and it was raining. So, I could not contact anyone. Once it stopped raining, I walked over to the language school and saw a lot of damage to the city.

I was able to reach the other ex-pats and everyone was safe and no damage to their homes. I found out later many people had their roofs blown partially off and a lot of water damage.

I was without power for 3 days, internet for 3 days and no water for 2 days. I had several cold showers (while I still had water) and ate and cooked by candlelight for 2 nights. It was kind of romantic to dine that way, but became annoying after the first night.  Finally, I got city services restored and was EXTREMELY thankful and IMPRESSED how quickly a small city in the countryside was able to restore these necessities.

Here are the pictures of the storm damage. It was really unbelievable. I found out later the speed was 140 km/h or about 90 mph winds!!!!

Abraco,
Mollie

This is around the corner from my house. Telephone/electric wires on the ground.

Part of a tree that fell onto a utility pole and into my neighbor's yard. 

 

Another picture of the same tree in his yard. 

You can see the balcony (brick) of the top level fell to the ground from the force of the wind. 

Trees in the road

The town center. Trees were split in two. 

This is at work. It used to have the company logo and say "John Deere", but it got blown off. It was on both sides of the tower and blew off. 

The grain mill across the street from John Deere. There were also utility poles made of concrete that came crashing to the ground. It was impassable for  2 days. 

Cultural Differences

Conversation had today with a colleague (Brazilian):
Him: “Mollie, do you mind if I turn the lights on?” (During lunch they turn off some of the lights in our office to save energy…or people sleep AT THEIR DESK.)
Me: “No, please turn them on.” (I HATE that they turn the lights off….)
Him: “Oh, I thought maybe you wanted to….what’s that word in English….sonecka?”
Me: “Oh, you mean a NAP”?
Him: “Yes, I thought maybe you wanted to take a nap.”
Me: “Um, no.” (Like the thought to sleep at my desk EVER would cross my mind!!!!)


The moral of the story: In some cultures, it is appropriate to use your 1 hour lunch break to sleep at your desk. And it’s ok to turn off the lights.


Sometimes, I am just TOO American…

Trip to the Beach...Florianopolis; Viagaem a praia - Floripa!

A few weeks ago I needed to get out of town and to the ocean/beach! Now, the ocean is about 700km or roughly a 8 to 10 hour drive away from Horizontina. It was the end of summer and I wanted to hit one of my favorite places during the low season (temporada baixa). I did a search on Tripadvisor.com for a little pousada or bed/breakfast and found one with a good rate. Checked flights from Porto Alegre to Floripa and found a decent rate. I decided to book it and I did. It was Monday and I was leaving that same Friday...nothing like last minute trips!! I tried to get some friends to go, but no one was as crazy as I was to travel 8 or 10 hours for just 2 days. So, I decided to go alone! No worries...I'm a seasoned traveller.

I hitched a ride with some friends Friday afternoon after work and made it to Porto Alegre around 11 pm. Caught my flight at midnight and was at the beach by 1:30 am! Went to my pousada and the next morning around 10 am, I was on the beach.

Here are some photos of Praia do Santinho and a few other beaches I visited on the island. I really enjoyed my time there to just relax, do what I want and re-charge my batteries.

Abraco,
Mollie

Praia do Santinho

Praia da Mole (sounds like Mollie)

A small hike I took above the beach

Lagoa or lake. The ocean is on one side and the lagoon on the other. 

Carnival in Horizontina

Carnival in Brazil is a very, very big event. The whole country closes down for 4 days. Even shops/restaurants are closed for the big feriado. From Friday until Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), don't expect any work to get done or be able to contact people or businesses by phone. Everyone is on vacation. It's kind of annoying, especially since all of Brazil is on vacation, except for Horizontina. I had to work today, but the rest of the country had a day off. What benefit is there with this ex-pat stuff anyway?!!

Here are some pictures from Carnival (12 Feb) in Horizontina. It's a big street party with some presentations by the different carnival groups (sororities & fraternities). They compete for money on best dance, best costume and best all around. 

    Nedge, Mollie, Cris and Carmen

One of the male carnival groups. They are in skirts.

Katia from my team. She is dressed up like a gladiator and participated in one of the female carnival groups. Her group won first place.

Katia's carnival group getting ready for their performance. Their name is Enkblatas. No idea what it means....

Me and my friend, Cristiano. He's a really great friend!

One of the carnival groups. They had drums, fireworks and a lot of adult beverages....too much, in fact. It was entertaining!!