One Month

January 18th was the one month mark since I landed in sunny Brazil. I thought I better give you all an update on what's been going on since I last posted! (Sorry it's been so long-- the internet was down for awhile.)

As you all know, Tiago and I have been on what seems like a never ending journey to get him a visa to be able to come to the US. We tried the K1 Fiance visa which would allow him to enter the US and we'd then have to get married within 90 days. Visas are extremely hard to get and we were ultimately denied after spending lots of time, money, and Tiago's long trip to Rio de Janeiro for his interview. Without a visa, Tiago is unable to enter the US, even for a short visit.  After graduating from Winona State University in December, I decided to go to Brazil so Tiago and I could get married and try for the K3 Marriage visa. From the research we have done, it seems like it might be easier to obtain a visa once you are married, but there are no guarantees.

It is much easier for me to legally become a citizen in Brazil than it is for Tiago to try to do the same in the US, let alone step foot on US soil. However, there is still a lot of paperwork to do and all sorts of hoops to jump through. Since I arrived, we have been calling, emailing, and researching exactly what we need to do before we are allowed to marry. We are making some progress on the paperwork, but it pretty complicated and time consuming, not to mention expensive! Hopefully we can get it all sorted out soon. All this government paperwork is pretty stressful!

Anyways, there have been a lot of fun and exciting things I have been able to share with Tiago's family since my arrival.

February 7th was Tiago's 26th birthday! Half of one of my suitcases was filled with new clothes I had eagerly been waiting to give to him since I got to Brazil on January 17th, but I made him wait until his birthday to see them. He was delighted to have new clothes all the way from America! He brought a big mirror in to the living room and tried them all on. Perfect fit (Thanks Mom!)

Strolling along the bay- Tiago sporting one of his new birthday shirts!

The day before his birthday, we went to their beach house to have a huge home cooked lunch made by his grandma. There were so many dishes and I'm never quite sure what anything is, but is was all REALLY good. I've never been big on fish, but the fish we had was excellent. After lunch we headed to the beach:

Ceres and I giving the birthday boy a kiss at the beach!

Duda thoroughly enjoying a fudgsicle at the beach house.

The day of Tiago's birthday he had a bunch of friends over to celebrate. Here's a picture of him blowing out the candles:

 Blowing out the candles with family and friends

The next big event I must tell you about is.... Duda's first day of school!!! Yes, she is only 2 years old but she looks SO cute in her school uniform. Gabi (Tiago's sister/Duda's mom) was so excited to be sending Duda to such a wonderful private school and had tons of fun picking out all her school supplies, especially her pink "Monica" backpack. Tiago, Gabi, Ceres and I all were there to send her off on her first day of school. We thought she might be a little nervous/scared once we left but the second she step foot on the playground, she forgot about us and was having a blast with all the other little tykes. I even got to meet her English teacher! I informed the teacher that she's got a head start on animals and colors ;).

Duda looking cute in her "Anchieta" school uniform and new high-tops.

Her pink "Monica" backpack.

Walking into the school on Duda's first day!

Duda and her cousin on the playground!

More to come soon!

Thanks for reading :)

Bridal Rosary

In addition to meeting Tiago while I was studying abroad in Spain, I met some wonderful friends! Fabio is one of Tiago's closest friends and has become a really good friend of mine as well. Tiago, Fabio and I have some really fun memories both in Spain and Brazil! Shortly after arriving in Brazil, Fabio's mother gave me a beautiful crystal rosary. She handcrafts all sorts of rosaries and necklaces with saint pendants. This particular rosary is worn during the wedding ceremony. It is typical for Brazilian brides to carry a rosary down the aisle in addition to flowers.

The rosary given to me by Marcia (Fabio's mom).

Rosaries can be wrapped around the boquet...

Or draped around the wrist/hand something like this.

Duda Learning English!

                       Duda singing along to "Old McDonald" or "EE I EE I OOOO" as she calls it!

So far since I've been here, she has learned animals (cow, pig, chicken, duck, sheep, horse, dog, cat, bat, lion, butterfly, rhino, bird, bear, frog, fish), colors (red, blue, purple, green, black, pink, brown), and a few other random words (please, yes, no, ready?, jump, I love you).

She's one smart 2 year old!

First few days in Brazil!

I´m FINALLY writing my first official post from Brazil!--sorry for taking so long! The internet is kind of slow here and it´s so hot it´s pretty much impossible to do anything unless you´re sitting directly in front of the fan.

Everything went well with my flights. I flew from Minneapolis to Charlotte, Charlotte to Rio de Janeiro, and from Rio de Janeiro to Curitiba.  I met a girl from Brazil named Isadora on my flight from Charlotte to Rio--She had been living in California for the past year. Luckily, she was also flying to Curitiba so I had someone to help me through the airport and customs in Rio and on to my next flight. She asked the ticket agent to give us seats next to eachother too! We were both pretty anxious. She hadn´t seen her family in over a year and I was a little nervous to see Tiago as well since I hadn´t seen him since August! (my last trip to Brazil) We had a 5 hour layover in Rio so we spent most of the time chatting, sharing pictures, and watching NipTuck on my laptop(Thanks Jenna and Katelyn!).

 I arrived at the Afonso Pena International Airport in Curitiba at 6:10 pm local time, gathered all my luggage and made my way out the doors of the baggage claim. Unlike the MSP airport, visitors/family/friends cannot wait in the baggage claim. Instead they wait right outside the doors to the baggage claim. This is the third time I have flown in to this airport and every time I walk through those doors I feel like I'm walking the red carpet. The people waiting are in an anxious frenzy, snapping photos and letting out squeals of excitement at the sight of their loved ones coming through the doors. I always scan the crowd looking for Tiago-- and without fail, he is always there waiting for me with a bouquet of flowers. This time, red roses :) It takes about an hour to get to Tiago's house from the airport in Curitiba. Curitiba is at a much higher altitude and as we drove down the winding roads through the mountains to the coast of Brazil, I could feel the temperature rising. By the time we got to his house in Paranaguá, I was a sweaty mess!

Since my arrival, I have spent a lot of time with Tiago's family (Mom (Ceres), Sister (Gabi), Niece (Maria Eduarda, or "Duda") and friends. My family sent some gifts and they are always delighted to receive something from the US. Duda especially loved her "magic" expanding Dora the Explorer towel.

Duda saying "CHEESE" with her magic Dora towel.

Watching the magic towel grow!

I have also spent lots of time with the "boys" watching soccer or "futbol" as the call it on TV. Pretty much the entire population of Brazil can be considered soccer fanatics. I have never seen/heard such emotion while watching a game. They REALLY get in to it! 

At Heros Bar watching "futbol".

Manu (Manuela) and I at Heros Bar. (I'm still working on my tan...)

Just yesterday (Sunday Jan 30), we went to a futbol game at the new stadium here in Paranaguá. It was really cool! Paranaguá's team is called Rio Branco. We played against a team from a different town called Ponta Grossa. Our friend Elise is from Ponta Grossa but now lives in Paranaguá so we had fun trying to find her in the crowd on the other side of the stadium. 

Tiago and I watching the game!

Daniel, Manu and friends at the game. (The stadium looks empty but it
was actually pretty full on the main sides!)

Here's a video I took at the game-- Rio Branco missed a shot at a goal!

We ended up losing the game 2-1 but it was still a blast! I'm looking forward to going to another game...hopefully next time I'll have a brand new Rio Branco jersey to wear!


Finally... it wouldn't be a Brazilian summer without a "churrasco" or what we Americans would call a Barbeque. Every churrasco I have been to here in Brazil has three main components: Meat (and LOTS of it-- steak, chicken wings, pork skewers, and sometimes even chicken hearts), "maionese"- a delicious dish similar to potato salad, and Skol beer.

Getting ready for the Churrasco.

That's all for now! I think I've caught you all up on my first few days here in Brazil! I look forward to sharing new adventures with you all!

TCHAU!

Flight Cancelled

My flight was supposed to leave yesterday but it got cancelled due to bad weather! I called US Airways - the soonest they could reschedule me for is Sunday! I guess I get to enjoy a few more days of our wintery weather before hitting the beaches of Brazil!


In the meantime, here is map of Brazil:

I will be living in Paranaguá. This is the city Tiago's family lives in. It is a small port town in the south of Brazil, located on the eastern coast, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

Photos of Paranaguá:

*Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/14221837@N06/3778798026/

*Photo courtesy of http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/2009/08/paranagua-brazil.html

*Photo courtesy of http://www.ladycbarra.com.br/sul/parana.htm