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!