party in paraty!

Paraty

so because of brazilian independence day, we had a four day weekend at the beginning of september.  eight of us took off for paraty, a small city on the coast in rio de janeiro (the state, not the city).  we took a cab to the subway, then the subway to the bus station, then a bus to paraty (and the green grass grows all around, all around...)!  we arrived at the hostel in the wee hours of the morning, only to make up our beds and get some sleep.  

our boat

we woke up early enough on saturday to hire a boat for the day, captained by ricardo.  the boat was a crazy pink and red love theme, only adding to the hilarity of the trip.  we sailed (our own private cruise) from cove to cove, beach to beach, swimming, listening to music, and having a few beers.  we swam onto a beach for lunch at a restaurant right on the water.  got some sun, had some great conversations, and generally felt like the luckiest people in the world.  

Trinidade

 

the rest of the weekend consisted of nighttime concerts, good restaurants, beginning to film a movie, playing cards, eating churros, and dancing.  on monday we went to trinidade, a hippie beach village about 30 minutes away.  we spent almost all of tuesday on the bus in the rain slowly inching our way back into são paulo.   what an excellent weekend away! 

grand tour

here's a tour of my apartment!  sorry it's not the highest quality and a bit dark.  

my apartment

My living room

I'm settling into my new apartment here, and slowly adding things that make it feel more like home. Putting away all the suitcases a few weeks ago was the first step in that direction, and the obtaining of cable and internet was another! It's funny how little touches, like a hamper or a bit of tupperware for leftovers make one feel so much better. 

My kitchen the first day (see the gift basket?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My kitchen now

Other side of my little kitchen

Dining area

Having a maid is a wonderful luxury of living in Brazil!  Sandra comes once a week for a very reasonable fee and cleans my entire apartment from top to bottom.  Washing dishes, doing laundry...it's amazing! 

My "office" in the spare room

Main bathroom (shower is to the left)

My room! 

I'll post more pictures of the entire place (and my balcony!) soon.   Speaking of settling in, there are so many shops and restaurants that look interesting in our neighborhood, and we only know our way to and from specific places so far.   So this weekend, we plan on getting lost in Moema!   

hanging on by a bare mayonaisse

Once Cindy and Jeff found out it was my birthday last Tuesday, they promised we would celebrate during the weekend after the first few days of school. And celebrate we did!

It started on Friday evening as we got off the bus from school and walked to a local watering hole that both Cindy and Jeff knew called Frederico's. Joining us were Richard and Bridie, and our collective thirsts for cold beer. We ordered a round, a little food, and began a nice conversation. As the night closes in, I notice that as the waiters bring more rounds, they keep a running tally on a small yellow pad. The math teacher in me sees that it's a 10 x 5 array! I point out that we've had 26 beers so far, and I wonder if any table has ever filled that array of 50 beers. Seeing as how we'd already gone more than halfway, why not go for the whole enchilada? That was the opinion of the others at the table, and the challenge was on! The waiters must have eventually figured out what we were doing, because they stopped asking if we wanted more, and just took away our empty glasses and plunked down new ones before we could blink. We also played some cards, betting packets of condiments (and small amounts of money) to make it more interesting. We filled that card up, and were even given some complimentary beers by the waiters for our bravado. Of course, I was credited the idea for the challenge, and blamed for any decisions thereafter.

Richard and Bridie went home, but we picked up Maggie and headed to Rhino, a pub just down the street from my apartment. Great atmosphere, and a live band, though everyone insisted that the bands are usually better. These guys were a bit hit-or-miss, and I remember thinking at one point, "how are we supposed to dance to a Creed song?!" All in all, a great night.

Saturday was supposed to be a day where a few of us were going to go to school to get some work done, but when we went to pick up Jeff and Josh from the restaurant where they had lunch, they ordered two more glasses for us to help them drink the giant bottle of beer they'd ordered. The weather was lovely, and the invitation too good to pass up, so we put off our work and had a great afternoon sitting in the sun while chatting.

Later that night, we meet up at Jeff's for some darts and cards before going out to a club. Flavia has put our names on the list for a place called The History, where the music changes to a new decade every half hour, and the floor lights up like Studio 54 (or what I imagine Studio 54 was). After the craziest entrance into a bar I've ever experienced (men dressed in all black, people handing you cards, taking your cards, opening doors, closing doors...I felt like a celebrity), we checked our coats and proceeded to dance for three hours straight. No stopping (there was a bar right on the dance floor), no sitting, no resting. The music was really fun, and team America definitely showed the Brazilians a thing or two about dancing (people were looking at us like they'd never seen The Sprinkler before! Imagine that!). I got home around 3:30am, and we left a few of us there to continue on the night!

What an awesome (two day) birthday celebration and introduction into Brazilian nightlife!

boa noite!

I don't know exactly how to describe the last two weeks, but I'm going to try. Life in São Paulo has been incredible. I arrived at my new apartment around midday on Saturday, July 31 and haven't stopped going since. The building is lovely, and the space even better once I was able to unpack everything and put away the suitcases a week later. I'll post pictures soon!

On Sunday (August 1), the expats got on a bus with our principals and superintendent for a trip out of the city to a village called Embu, where there is a market every Sunday selling everything you can imagine. We were looking for things for our apartments. Most of the other teachers had been in the city for four or five days, so they knew of some things they wanted. I'd only been in town for about 24 hours, so I was not prepared to purchase any furniture! I did buy a lamp for my bedside, however, along with a colorful rug and a couple pictures from a local artist. Maggie and I were even able to negotiate the price on the pictures - pretty good for the second day!
One of the best things about my new life is the people I've met. Getting to know the other foreign teachers has been wonderful, and a few of us have already formed a fairly close bond. There's some Aussies, a Brit, and several Americans, though this isn't the first international teaching job for many of them. It made me feel fairly intimidated in the beginning, but not at all now. And Cindy and Jeff have been here for a year already, so they've been great taking us newbies under their wing.

I find I am really enjoying life in a big city. It really helps that I'm in such a great neighborhood with shops and restaurants on every corner. And the restaurants are fantastic. I haven't been disappointed yet. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside for hours, on the sidewalk, just enjoying the company you're with.

I like taking an elevator down to the lobby, waving at the doorman, and walking down the street. It feels like I'm in a movie! The sounds are totally different, of course. Not only are there cars honking, occasional sirens, and airplanes flying overhead, but loud fireworks after a soccer match. I find it all really exciting. Only ever having visited big cities before, staying in them for maybe a couple weeks at most, I have no frame of reference to how life here in São Paulo compares to life in another large city. But I can compare it to the life in suburbia, and I find the change very refreshing.

Now that I have internet and cable tv, I find myself feeling much more settled and at home. I hope to post more specific events and happenings now that I'm connected to the world again, but wanted to give a general update of my mindset after two weeks. tchau!

Reflections

There is a strange, disgusting irony to watching "Hoarders: Buried Alive" on tv while sorting through and packing up your stuff to move. Which is something I've been doing now for about two weeks. Gradual packing is somewhat less stressful than trying to do it all within a 72 hour time period. However, it just feels like a constant ticking clock and the anticipation and anxiety just keep increasing.

Rather than spending this entry discussing the items I've decided to donate to Goodwill or the intensity of trying to obtain my Brazilian work visa (hope to hear any day now!), I wanted to write about my feelings as I prepare to migrate to a place I've never been.

Granted, I am leaving a lot behind here in Alabama. My parents would be at the top of that list. Except when traveling, I've never lived more than a couple hours away from them. Going somewhere that I might only see them in person a handful of times a year will be an adjustment for all of us. I'm giving up several "firsts" this summer. My first car. My first (non-college) apartment. My first classroom. My first (non-summer) job.

But what a lot of firsts I'll be gaining! First time in South America. First job in a foreign country. First apartment in an enormous city where I don't know the language. I cannot adequately express how excited I am. To combine a career goal of mine with my love of travel just seems too good to be true. I want a new setting. I want adventure. I want an experience of a lifetime.

To all the friends and family reading this: thank you. Thank you for your unfailing support. While leaving will not be easy, I am so touched by how positive and enthusiastic everyone has been, knowing I've been working toward this goal for several years.

I am hoping that this will serve as a means of communication for the next little while. While I'm unsure of upcoming internet speeds, time, etc., I hope to give some insight into my life as an ex-pat teacher in São Paulo. Next time you hear from me, I'll be south of the equator!