Brazil Bound: beach

Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

PRAAAAAIA!

Today was a beautiful, sunny day! Not a cloud in the sky and hot but not too hot. Being that Tiago is now working from 3:30pm - midnight, we decided to hit the beach before he had to leave for work! The water was nice and warm, although I didn't dive in like Tiago did! Bet all you Minnesotans are having fun in the snow! (is there snow yet?)

Walking 2 whole blocks to the beach!

Tiago enjoying the warm water and waves.

Is taking a picture of your feet in the sand an American thing?

Pretty pasty white... for now!

What did YOU do today?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

All Soul's Day

Today was another feriado here in Brazil. Some of you may have already known November 2nd to be "All Soul's Day," but I doubt you got the day off of work! This day is very special to many Brazilians, as it is a day to honor all those loved ones who have passed. It is a day to remember happy times and memories with those loved ones and to bring flowers to their graves. This particular All Soul's Day marks one year since my sweet Nana passed away. I thought about her a lot today.

Nana and I - Puerto Rico 2006

Since Tiago had the day off of work today, we decided to visit a nearby town called Guaratuba. It was a beautiful, sunny day- perfect for the ferry boat ride to get there!

On the ferry boat! (Car parked on lower deck)

Enjoying the view of Guaratuba.

It's no Cristo Redentor... but it's a Jesus statue and I like it.

Tiago and I

Almost hot enough to jump in!

We met up with friends at the beach! Tiago and Neneco.

Elis and I.

What did YOU do today?

Likes and Dislikes

After being here for 289 days (or 9 months, 16 days), I feel like I can give you a fair list of my likes and dislikes of Brazil.

LIKES:
*Amazing scenery everywhere!

*Learning Portuguese.

*Churrasco - Brazil's version of a BBQ...see my explanation here (towards the end of the post).

*The beach!

*Summer 8-9 months out of the year.

*Learning to cook new things! Sometimes Brazilian, sometimes not!

*Sunday. It really is the day of rest here...EVERYTHING is closed. Perfect time for get-togethers with family and friends.

*Feriados- (holidays) I swear there's some random holiday at least once every 2 weeks and everyone gets the day off.

*Futebol- No not the American kind (although I'm still a fan, don't worry dad!)... I'm talking about soccer. I really do enjoy watching the games. AND hearing the fireworks shot off in the neighborhood for every goal scored. AND seeing the reactions of the die-hard fans over their team's win/loss.

*Learning to live simply and be happy with what little you do have...learning from the Brazilians :)

*Arroz e Feijão - rice and bean deliciousness.

DISLIKES:
*Potholes - They're everywhere and they are huge.

Sometimes this really does seem to be the only solution!

*Stray cats and dogs all over the place. - Many of them are injured or have infections/open wounds. It makes me really sad and also concerned for the diseases they could be spreading.... Where's Bob Barker when you need him?? "Have your pets spayed or neutered!"

*Cockroaches - It doesn't matter how clean you keep your house... there's always one hiding somewhere and they're HUGE.

*Novelas - I just can't seem to get into these Brazilian soap operas that take up 95% of the airtime. They are way too dramatic for me. That, and the story lines are just plain ridiculous sometimes! Just take Morde e Assopra for example: Man's wife dies or goes missing (I can't remember). Man happens to be a brilliant scientist. Man creates a robotic replica of said wife. Wife wasn't dead in the first place, returns home and discovers robo-wife. There was also something about dinosaurs thrown in there, but I never watched it enough to figure out what was going on... Okay, so American soap operas aren't much better. I think I remember aliens at some point on Days of Our Lives, but at least soap operas at home only air while everyone's at school/work.

*Lack of security - Don't worry mom! I'm totally fine. Just in comparison to home, there's definitely not that same feeling of security. Everybody has to live behind high walls and barred windows with a pitbull or german shepard out front.

*Corruption - Brazilians pay ridiculously high taxes on EVERYTHING but unfortunately don't receive much in return from their government due to all the money embezzled by corrupt officials.

*High standards for appearance 24/7 - We Americans certainly do deserve the label "lazy" we have been given by the rest of the world. But hey! I can't help it if I like to go to the grocery store in sweatpants and a sweatshirt on Saturday mornings when it's really cold and I have nothing important to do that day. That type of apparel is only acceptable inside your own home, here in Brazil. Once you step outside the door, be expected to have perfectly flat-ironed hair, manicured nails, flawless makeup, and a well thought out outfit with a nice pair of heels! Even if it is just to go to the bakery on the corner...

That is just too much for me! Don't get me started on gym apparel... since when is it okay to exercise in a hooker-looking, leopard print, spandex suit !?!

This is for real! These ladies are on their way to/from the gym.
How do you exercise in THAT without exposing yourself?!

All in all, there are more "likes" than "dislikes" (I counted!) so it seems the positives are outweighing the negatives. Adjusting to life in another country is never easy, but is always very rewarding! I find it really interesting to see how other people live their lives and to see all of the cultural differences. Sometimes it is overwhelming, and can even be frustrating trying to adapt, but little by little it gets easier and the craving for American culture/way of life subsides.

Friday, October 28, 2011

A day at the beach!

Summer is finally kicking in and we are loving every minute of it! The temperature is perfect. In the 80's, not too hot, but hot enough to hit the beach. Pretty soon we'll be back to puddles of sweat and the 3 showers a day minimum.
Tiago and I were lucky enough to have a little visitor today....Duda! Tiago picked her up after work and brought her back to the beach. She arrived kicking her little legs, and squealing with excitement to see me...okay, well maybe it was because she loves being at the beach! But either way, she was all smiles!
I turned around and before I knew it, there she was, naked in the middle of the living room, struggling to pull her swimsuit up above her knees. With a little help and a bit of sunscreen later, we were out the door.

Sandy trail to the beach, na canguta do tio!

It was sunny...

We found a Duda-sized palm tree!

Photo shoot!

Sleep over! All tuckered out.

They barely made it through Alvin and the Chipmunks.... Happy Friday!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Back to the blog!

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for so long! Tiago and I have been living at his grandparents' beach house for the last few months with no internet connection! We have finally returned to modern times and found a way to install internet! So... we have a lot of catching up to do! Let me fill you in on the last few months with a few pictures/captions.

MARCH/ MARÇO:

Carnaval in Paranaguá!

Espetinho!

Paranaguá's slightly smaller parade of samba schools. :)

Duda, ready to celebrate carnaval at school!

Tiago: Proud new owner of a '96 Fiat Elba.

APRIL/ABRIL:

April 14th, 2011: Tiago and I signed "the papers" making us Mr. and Mrs. !!!
We want to save the excitement (and $$) for our actual wedding (tbd) so we didn't make a big deal of the day.
Just a quick, 10 minute, sign-the-papers ceremony. Afterwards, we had a few friends and family members over to the house to have cake and champagne.

ALSO, I have yet to track down the pictures from that day...so I will leave you with our engagement announcement clipped from the local newspaper in Paranaguá!

MAY/MAIO:

Sometime in May, Tiago and I moved into his grandparent's beach house!

It is conveniently located 2 blocks from the beach... :)

We love when Duda comes to stay with us for the weekend.

-Duda (sporting her very fashionable, hot pink, Barbie sunglasses!

Thanks Tia Barbie!) and Tiago near our house, walking to the praia.

Flying a kite on the beach with Tio Tiago.

Making mini-pizzas with Tia Kelli!

Duda and Gabi hanging out in the hammock at the beach house.

JUNE/JUNHO:

June 12th, 2011- Dia dos Namorados/Valentine's Day!

No...I didn't get the date wrong. Brazilians celebrate V-day on June 12th!

This day also happens to be the birthday of our friend Fabio's lovely mother, Marcia.

To commemorate this extra special day, we had lunch in Antonina. (a beautiful, small town near Paranaguá, pictured above.)

Sometime around June, I received my Carteira de Trabalho.

It looks like a passport, but it is essentially a work permit. Just like a passport, you get stamps,

but instead of countries visited, the stamps are for the jobs you have had.

Mine is green because I'm an estrangeira. For Brazilians, they are blue.

My mug shot and finger print! They wouldn't let me smile- so not me!

(ps. check out my name!)

Now I just need a job...

JULY/JULHO:

In July we had to make a trip to the American Consulate in São Paulo to get a document I needed for my "Legal Resident" process. Seeing as our friend Fabio's girlfriend lives in SP, we made a mini-vacation out of it!