BTW, I forgot to mention...

Yes, the fridge DID make it into my kitchen after they took off its doors as well as the kitchen door!!

Most things are fitting into the house, many shouldn't have come at all!!!

No, recycling doesn't come on Thursdays, so I had to put everything back in and wait until next Wednesday. There are 4 different days during the week and I got confused, plus they pick up the trash at night!!!

I still don't know the complete address, but will absolutely get it today before I go buy the beds for the kids...

Still dealing with posting pictures here... check out the Picasa link I put on the blog and when you do, click directly on the picture...

It is getting a little warmer, now I only use my sweaters at night.

OH! Forgot to tell you about the strip mall three blocks away from my house!!!! It's great!!! Consider super small shops of the following: a bank (Banco do Brasil), my bank's ATM (Itau), car wash (gotta tell you about this one later), pharmacy, newpaper/magazine shop, bakery (delicious), bookstore, organic products shop, mini-mart, clothes repair, laundry/cleaners, a "Party City" wannabe, restaurant, coffee shop (not Starbucks, but it works), tire repair , and maybe something else .

We tried a new sushi place yesterday. We didn't understand the way it worked, and ordered what we thought was a California Roll, a Philadelphia and something else. When we got our order, I saw this tiny plate with 3 small round pieces of sushi, not even bite size!!! THAT was our order!!!!!!! You have to ask for the number of pieces you want, so a typical roll would have 6 pieces, and so on. See what I tell you? They make you conscious of what you eat, because it's not the same to say " I want 1 California roll" than to say "I want 8 pieces"... And, since you can order as many as you want, if you ask for something and you don't eat it, they will charge you per piece (left on the plate). Nice way to make people think twice about getting too much and wasting!!

This week at the Macedo's...

WHEW!!!!!! The move-in was brutal! Too many people from the moving company for me to handle alone (about 8), so I called the handyman that the owners had told me about, he got there with his brother. That way, we could divide the work and get things done a little better.

I panicked when I realized I forgot the list that we had been working on days before!!!!!!!!!! I rushed to the hotel and, to make things worse, they had not been able to print it, so I had to do without!!! It did complicate things just a little bit, but in the end it was ok.

We worked endlessly all day long, the guys stopped for lunch, I ate a bag of peanuts on the job.

Tons of paper and cardboard exuded from the house, the trailer took most of it, but they left me with many boxes that needed more time and care, something I must do little by little.

My days consist basically of the following:

6:00 start getting ready, get kids up, showered and dressed

7:20ish have breakfast

8:00 kids start their holiday course at club Marapendi

8:20 arrive home and start unpacking boxes, sorting things out , filling up closets

12:00 maybe get something for light lunch

12:30- 5:00 work, work, work while listening to my podcasts. (I love the ones from "This American Life")

5:30 get the kids, time to start the cool down!

6:00 another shower is due, get ready for dinner

6:30ish - 9:00 go out for dinner with Fernando & kids, talk, watch some tv or play dominoes,

maybe check some e-mail or write this blog...

The kids and Fernando will see a HUGE change when they go back home this weekend! I'm leaving all their stuff for them to sort out, although all their clothes and books have been taken care of.

Eric and Alan have enjoyed their day camp VERY much. They are very happy, surrounded by friends, they teach me a new word every day, and they tell me about their day. Eric has become very popular, especially with the girls. He tells me everybody talks to him and they try their English. For some unknown reason, they call him "Jeffrey", despite all his attempts to change that.

Alan is very cheerful and is always asking for more time when I pick him up. He has ended every day exhausted, and his Portuguese is getting better. Yesterday was the first day he asked to use the computer to send an e-mail... to a girl from camp, and in Portuguese!!!

FREAK OUT!

I'm freaking out!!!

I got the house keys and a "tour" with the [very nice] owners, who explained those little details you sometimes find out the hard way, they made sure we knew before hand and had everything under control.

I looked once again at the empty house, love the marble floors and the details it has all over, love the pristine condition it's in, and the fact that the owners repeatedly told me they will do anything to keep it like that, I can ask for all the changes I need [they even mentioned changing the AC if I so desired, so I can have one with a remote control]! But then I took a closer look at the size. It is basically all that you need, no excess at all, the bedrooms rather small...

Over the weekend we got the long-waited for call: Your shipment is ready for delivery, will Monday be a good day for you???

hmmm, let me check my calendar- wait, it's empty, heck, yes!!! Monday is fine!!!

So, the moment of truth has arrived... will it fit in there??? Of course it will, I'm just exaggerating...

Fernando and I spent a lot of time deciding where we would put things, the kids chose their rooms, and we started remembering the details. So, did we bring those book cases here or sent them to Mexico? Here.

ok.

And what about those big desks? Here.

hmmm

And the extra folding tables and chairs? Here.

oh, yeah, but I'm glad all the tools went over there. Hmmm, not really...

And so on.

But then again, I'm exaggerating. I'm trying to remember just how big our fridge really is... that space sure seems way smaller... I'll ask Fernando, maybe my sense of space has changed... and then I saw his face, confirming my night terror: the fridge will not only not fit, but it will have a mighty hard time going in through the door!!!!!! So, we called in a handyman who will take away the stove and the hood, as well as the door so the fridge can go into the kitchen, then he will remove a cupboard so it fits in that space... hopefully if we take of the fridge doors then it will go in. If not, it'll have to stay outside, next to the washing and drying machines that I'm not sure will fit either (thank God I returned the dishwasher).

We went through each and every item in the 10 page long list, deciding which room it will go to so that the movers can at least put them in that room. With every one I was getting more nervous, and for those of you who don't know, when that happens, I start laughing uncontrollably. So, we had a very "funny" afternoon, making list after list, of numbers which will hopefully make some sense tomorrow, when the movers arrive.

Fernando is feeling sick, so he is going to the doctor and to a meeting he has- I will greet our stuff alone! GULP!

Now can you see why I'm freaking out?!

It's almost midnight and I'm not a bit sleepy- it's almost as though I could keep it from coming if I'm awake...

I better get some sleep!

Night night!

p.s. thank you, my dear [5] readers, you make me want to write more!

ooops, wait!!!! Why did we bring the piano here????? whose idea was it????

Here comes that lady!!!!!

We started a basic routine this week by going to Marapendi Clube, having lunch there and then the kids go off to their lessons. People know who we are because we are basically the stand-out foreigners that don't speak well.

Then, on Thursday, as I was driving out of the club to search for cars, the guard at the entrance stopped me- something that had never happened before, and most certainly not at the exit gate...

I rolled down my window and he started talking full speed ( I can understand most if they speak slowly), so this is the closest to what I could understand:" hello, @#$ @#$ bla bla bla, lady, blabla, cantina [in spanish it means bar, what bar???], she said, kkjjk 18 bla bla, cantina, {this guy and his bar, what's with this???] you, bla bla, go, bla bla, bla ,bla" and then suddenly I heard the equivalent to" you no pay", and it dawned on me: Eric and I walked out of the snack bar without paying!!!!!!!! He kept on talking and then I understood that the lady had said I could pay later if I wanted, but I was so embarrassed that I went there Immediately.

From there on, she smiles widely at me!!!!

Day to day...

Eric's lessons have been very different to what he was used to, starting with the fact that the tennis courts are clay, but he ahs liked them so far. He told me it isn't the best way to meet people because they concentrate on playing! ha !

Alan's "colonia de ferias" (something like holiday camp- I think) has been very good for him. It has given him a chance to play with outgoing kids his age that are curious about him and the things he says- or doesn't know how to say. Some are trying to speak English with him, some are trying to speak Spanish (both languages are taught as foreign languages), and he has had a good time climbing on trees, chanting unknown songs, playing soccer and doing other things. The first day I sent him off, he was immediately sent back by the teacher because "he forgot to give you a good bye kiss!". When I picked him up, the teacher told me that he wasn't able to swim because "his swimming shorts are too long and they are not allowed here. He must wear the short kind! You can buy them at any store that sells swimming gear." . Alan has been refusing to even go and see them, so he has been doing other things while his friends play... maybe this coming week he'll want to!

I found out what to do: while the kids were at camp, I went to the movies and finally saw "the Proposal" with Sandra Bullock. I laughed very hard at all the silly and predictable things going on, very glad I had seen it, making the rush back to pick them up well worth it!!

All the other days have been filled with my car hunting. It has been confusing because of the fuel complexity, the language, getting there, etc., but I have been able to test drive several and decided I want anything close to a mini van, since I hope we'll have visitors and we need space. Besides, the other ones are way too small and the price is not very different.

The last model I saw is a Zafira, a smaller and lower quality, albeit more expensive, version of what I used to have! I already saw a used one and we'll go on Saturday to check out a brand new one to compare.

I also went back to the mattress store I had been to when we came to search for a house. The sales lady, Fernanda, received me with a hug and asked how the moving was going on. We tested the mattresses with the kids and she pulled out the numbers she had given me then and told me that she would send me an email with a better offer, I should wait and come back on Saturday... I already received it and she went down on the price a couple hundred bucks!!! Nice going! (BTW, I have already researched other stores and they compare), so we'll get beds over the weekend!

a new schedule... or so I wish

First of all, sorry about the Petropolis post, for some unknown reason the layout is totally wrong, and I can't seem to fix it!!!! (but I did it to see who noticed...)

Fernando had to go on a business trip this week, leaving us at the hotel from Monday-Friday, with "the huge truck" that I'm almost afraid of driving. Yes, you read well... imagine that!!! People here drive crazily, I call the motorcycles the suicides, the buses are the bullies...

I ventured into the wild today in order to get my laundry done before we all ran out of clean clothes. I managed to arrive there without getting lost, hit or mad and decided to do the laundry myself: last time I went there I told the lady I'd leave the clothes there so she could wash, dry and fold them, but I didn't realize that they count piece by piece!!! So, a bucket carries 24 pieces regardless of size, ie one sock is equal to one shirt or pair of jeans, but the worst part (from where I stand) is that the lady takes your bag and takes piece by piece out, in front of everybody, counting each and every single item- those wishing to remain anonymous step aside please...

If you decide to do it yourself, you can put as many items as you wish into the machine, but you have to wait for the cycle(s) to run and, DIY, the price is really not that much less, but you have the benefit of privacy... no need to be showing anybody's undies all over the place...

On the way there I saw a couple of car dealerships and went to look for my car. We had started the quest on Sunday, but I need to see more, I can't get used to the models here- or the lack of color choice: you can have basically 3 colors: any silver, black or white shades/names you can think of. A couple of makes have a red, a champagne and maybe even a very dark blue or green, but the models are very limited when that happens.

The other limiting factor is that I am adamant on getting a car with automatic transmission. 90% of the cars here are NOT!!! Even though I drove gear shift for many years, I do not want to go back to that if I can help it. So, my options go down noticeably to a couple of models:

Honda Fit, Mitsubishi 4x4, VW Jetta and some others I can't think of now. I set up a couple of test drives for the week, I'll write about that later!

Then we headed to a local club, Maripendi Clube, to ask about tennis lessons for Eric, swimming for Alan. I got info on a "summer " course- that's what I call it -because we're in winter here now- that started this week. I will enroll Alan there, starting tomorrow. I think he's a little reluctant after last year's idea, he did say that my choice in summer course is usually poor...

(Last year I decided to enroll them in the Chinese Community course, from 9 am to 5 pm. At the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever, imagine, what an opportunity to be there, even if it did include some "school work". Let's just say that I would've loved it... Well, Eric ended up having (among other things) Algebra and poetry recital, all in Chinese, while Alan had history and song singing, also in Chinese. They were the only non-Chinese amongst 200+ students, so they became very popular... at least give me that credit! Needless to say, they were not happy about the arrangement, especially when I made it clear that we had a deal and they had to finish the whole week... I guess they wouldn't like to go in my dream trip and spend a whole summer in China, huh?).

Back in Rio, I found a tennis class for Eric, so , starting tomorrow the kids will go to their classes from 1 to 5:30 pm- hey, I'm letting them sleep in !!!!

Now, I've got to think what I'M going to do!!!!! Any suggestions???

going to Petropolis

In a nutshell, Petropolis is the summer place created by Pedro I and Pedro II, former rulers of Brazil in the 1800's. It is close to 800 m (2400 ft) above sea level, making it cooler than Rio, just a little over an hour away... if you don't get lost in the way...

The drive is around a mountain covered in green, jungle like plants.We even saw a sign warning about monkeys jumping into the road! Every now and then we saw people selling things they make or fruits and food. The view is great, once you reach the top you can see a set of mountains, a

flock of large birds, and the winding roads full of cars, everything else is green.

Petropolis is a very busy small city, spread out around the mountain, with German style houses built a long time ago. Being an old town, the streets are narrow and crowded, some are cobblestone and they are all twisted and crooked, wrapped around the mountain, going up and down.

Again, we took a wrong turn and ended up in "Rua Santa Teresa" instead of downtown, but this was a fortunate turn of events because we wouldn't have known about this otherwise. Santa Teresa is one

of the busiest places I have ever seen, and you can trust me on this one! It's about 2 km of shop after shop, one right next to the other and thousands of people shopping, carrying very large bags full of things. People go around in their tennis shoes, busily searching for the best prices (I saw VERY good ones) and offers, sometimes flooding the street where vendors, cyclists and cars go about as well.

We didn't stop,but that will certainly be a place I'm going back to, although I need to go with girlfriends instead of kids!!! Anyone want to join me?, I can't go there alone :-D!!!!!

We were lucky to find a spot to park, accross the street from the Imperial Museum. I went to stand in line, a long and slow one, while Fernando took the kids to watch some kind of street dance. Once we

reached the front of the line, and to my dismay, I barely understood that the tickets were not sold there, but at a booth!!! Fernando and the kids ran there, but had to stand in a line there as well and I had to go back to the end of the line!!!!!! I was upset about that one!!!!!!

The visit went well, nice summer house, and lots of paintings and stuff (check out the link I posted).

Once outside, while we were taking pictures, a group of teenagers came to talk to us. People are really

friendly and curious when they hear us talking in English or Spanish. It was a group coming from another

city, 4 hours away. they asked us if they could take a picture with us- well, with our kids to be precise-

and were so happy when we did! they also asked Eric " voce tein uma enamorada?" (do you have a girlfriend?)...

o.k. so, girls here don't beat around the bushes, huh? Eric and Alan were really happy about this!

We love our day trip and said we'll be back, we didn't have a chance to see many other things, and

we will bring our guests here!

our life, a constant comedy.

"Mom, we're living in a comedy!", Eric said tonight after Alan spotted a "Monster truck" getting gas at the "posto de gasolina".

-"no, Alan, that's not a monster truck, that's a regular pick up with slightly larger wheels!", Eric pointed out, and we all laughed at how fast it had been for Alan to get used to small cars!

Then we arrived at the hotel and we saw one of our favorite waiters, a young man who teaches us words in Portuguese and serves us breakfast with a huge smile. "Oi, Eli!", the kids and I chorused as he passed and waived . Fernando had a puzzled grin and said, "his name is Bruno, not Eli." He paused and then clarified, "Eli means 'he' in Portuguese!"... and then we realized, we have been calling him "He" all these days, no wonder he smiles so much at us!!!

A new concept of time

When we started our paperwork to obtain the Brazilian visa, we noticed the people at the Embassy took their time while doing their work and that should have been a sign as to how people see and handle time here.

Our first dinner was at the hotel. We were tired and hungry, but also excited and ignorant of how things work here. Alan was the hungriest, so we asked the waiter to bring his dinner first, asap because he had not had a hearty lunch. We waited, talking about the trip, our first impressions, we talked some more. Fernando had gone to work and he wanted to take a shower, but we were waiting for the food, so he figured he'd go after dinner. We waited some more. And yet more. We asked about our food and got an "almost ready" answer. After f o r t y - f i v e l o o o n g minutes, he decided to rush upstairs and take a quick shower, asking us to start without him. It was getting late. Everyone around us was talking, no rush, it didn't matter if it was a Wednesday night either... We were running out of talking themes...

Fernando came back and our dinner was delivered 5 minutes later, a good hour later. (Alan's express only took 50 minutes...). the food better be good, and it was, but "the [time] price" was too high!

To be considered legal here, one must report to the police Department, something we had to do today. Leo, the company driver, picked us up at 8:30 am and took us to the first place, some government office where we were able to correct Eric's visa (24 days to 24 months) and my mom's name on my papers. Of course we waited in line, but were lucky enough to get out of there around 11:30. Then we met Fernando at the other post to continue the process, which we thought would take another 2, maybe 3 hours, since it was a 'low movement week'. We took numbers 377-378-379 and went to have lunch while the driver waited there.

Fernando waited some more with us until about 1:30, when he decided he had to leave to a meeting.

We waited, chatted, played, read, finished my sudoku booklet, and yet the numbering system was still on number 371, the same number we had seen since we arrived!!! When I asked why, they told me the government workers went out to lunch...

at 3:05 our number, 377 finally came up!!! We went through the process and came back "home", arriving here at 4:30 pm, barely 8 hours after we had left!

Patience is tested frequently here.

Going from TEXAS SIZE to Rio Size, the evolution

Have you seen an email where they show how the swimming suit trend has been from the longest and largest to the very smallest??? Well, that was because the Cariocas had something to do with it! This effect has trickled down to many things in Rio, such as cars, food, clothes size, houses, etc.

The vast majority of cars are very small; the Honda Fit is considered a mid-size car, as is the Toyota Corolla, Mercedes has the A-5 version and all the other manufacturers have their own models. When Fernando arrived on Monday with his brand new silver Mitsubishi Pajero SUV, we thought he was driving a school-bus-size car! It seemed so big compared to the others ones, but he pointed out that it's probably smaller than what he was driving in the US, not to mention my van. Although it fits everywhere, trying to park it within the lines at the mall is a challenge, since it basically covers the whole space, so we have to park far away from everyone in order to be able to get out of the car. I can't say that all the others have that much more space either, the slots are very narrow, especially after Houston's.

Our first shock was the food portion. We were already used to Texas size upgrade-it-all kind of size and then we had our first lunch, half an hour after arriving... we thought it was the appetizers!!! Even the size of the plates is smaller, the coffee mugs are the expresso kind (thimble size) and if you ask for a disposable cup you will get the smallest available- slightly bigger than what is used in the bathroom to rinse your mouth. So, my teenage boy has had to ask for double portions, Fernando and I shared yet another one and people would open their eyes in disbelief. The first night we went out of the hotel, we went to a buffet restaurant (very popular here) and when we went out and payed, the girl thought that the quantity was a mistake and didn't charge for a whole serving, probably thinking it was too much!!!

There is also the "kilo" option, which makes you totally self-conscious because they actually weigh your plate and tell you exactly how much you will eat!!! (It does work to make you realize you don't need to eat that much)...

When the kids and I ate at "Habib's", a local fast food place, I asked about certain dish and pointed out that it was small. The girl instantly said, "no, no , it's BIG" and showed us an approximate size with her hands... Eric and I laughed at that later on, saying she hasn't seen big portions...

One day at our now famous Barra Shopping, I went into a shoe store with big signs offering a great sale, only to realize that I don't know what size shoe I wear (Brazil uses a different size from the US, Mexico or Europe). I let the salesperson know that, and was waiting for the foot measurement, when she called out to her partner and then they both inspected my foot and guessed my number!! I couldn't believe it! they were actually very good at it, but I thought the whole thing was very funny.

I haven't yet tried to shop for clothes, but from what I've seen, I instantly went from a North American M (medium) to a Brazilian G (grande), if not a GG (extra large)... I'm not letting anyone guess on that one!!!

Housing is yet another example of smaller sizes. Almost everyone lives in an apartment here. We saw several and just couldn't picture ourselves in one, when you do have the option of a house. We finally got the house in a nice neighborhood as close as we could get to Fernando's job and the Escola Americana. It's a nice, clean and comfortable house with a swimming pool in the back and a guest room for you. I went to check it out with the realtor yesterday, the kids & I liked it very much, but I'm still thinking that my fridge will not fit through the doors, we really didn't need to bring the dryer, and I should've sent those bookcases to Mexico... oh well!!!

Adventures!!

The boys have had a blast so far. They find it very funny to try to understand the language and figure out all the things to eat. Eric met a kid his age at the tennis court and played with him several hours. Alan tried to understand "A Era do Gelo 3" (Ice Age 3) and forgot it was in Portuguese by the time it finished.

Fernando has dealt with getting lost a couple of times to and from work- the last time it took him 30 minutes to find a way back; he was already driving to Sao Paulo!!!

I, on the other hand, have had a good laugh just by looking at the people trying to figure out what I'm saying! Take today in the morning : we were having breakfast downstairs and a gentleman sat next to us, and like a good Carioca, started talking to us (in Portuguese, of course). He chatted away, telling us about his 8 children, 26 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. I was amused at the whole story and was replying, and according to me , I was even asking questions... all of a sudden he abruptly and without any kind of sign or warning, changed into French and kept on going . I was able to keep up, but he never went back to Portuguese even though I tried... what an elegant way of letting me know he didn't understand a bit of what I said!!!

While at Barra Shopping, we saw a group of people playing "Rock Band" guitars and drums in front of a crowd, which we later found out was part of a sales event from Master Card (for every R$100 in MC vouchers you had one chance of "feeling like a rock star"). Guess who wanted to do that??? Well, both Eric and Alan were excited at the idea (my coy little ones) but when we turned in our vouchers we were R$32 short. The guy saw them so excited about it that he waived the amount, got them some Mohawk wigs, and set them on the stage, with the bright lights and loud music, the crowd cheering and photographers. Alan sang while Eric played the drums to "The Eye of the Tiger" and of course Mom & Dad cheered and clapped. They each got their t-shirt with the leyend (in Portuguese) saying "feeling like a rock star... priceless with Master Card").

We apparently have been surrounded by Brazilian tv stars and ignored them; a famous football (soccer) player stayed at the hotel. I saw him at the beach surrounded by fans, and the driver told me today that he's really famous.

As we came out of the hotel yesterday, we had to walk through cameras, buses, people, etc. - it turns out they are filming some kind of soap opera here.

We saw the Hannah Montana movie today (speaking Portuguese, it was hilarious!), and as we walked out of the movie theater, we almost bumped into two young ladies that were being followed by a HUGE camera that was filming something... hmmm guess we have to watch more tv here!!! OR maybe they know we are here already!!! HEY Paparazzi: can't you see we're hiding?!

shopping mall and eating out

We are oficially in Barra de Tijuca, one of Rio's suburbs. there are lots of buildings and some subdivisions with houses. All the houses are different from one another in every possible way, and the subdivisions are separated from one another and all with different services. I still don't know if we'll have a tennis court where we'll live, I'll check the house out tomorrow and let you know!

There are lots and lots of shopping malls, all styles and sizes, the largest one is called "Barra Shopping" and it's HUGE, I mean REALLY huge. We have been there 3 or 4 times already and haven't yet covered it all.

There are all kinds of stores, local and foreign like Chemise Lacoste and Mont Blanc. They have 18 movie theaters and lots of fast food. Local, fresh and "natural" fast food, served in real plates and with real silverware, served by waiters. I told you they don't like disposables...

Mc Donalds is here, too (although you pay twice as much), and they also have a Hard Rock Cafe, Outback, Applebees and the pizza places. Everything else is a local brand and quite good too! On Saturday we ate at a local grill, Fernando and Eric were ordering at the counter and the lady asked "sobremesa?" (which in Spanish is literally "on top of the table") and Fernando and Eric both pointed to our table and said "si, si, sobremesa". The lady couldn't help an outburst of laughter and then pointed to the desserts and repeated "sobremesa, sobremesa"... Now we know how to say dessert in Portuguese!!! ha ha ha ha

There are a couple of huge libraries, including the French FNAC.

We are still trying to figure out which communication company to get (ie, tv, internet, cell, local phone, etc), there are quite a few and with all the different plans you can imagine. Plus, we have to understand everything, it was quite confusing when they started mentioning "torpedoes" and then we found out it's the IM's.

People hang out in groups or couples, they love to sit and talk, so you see coffee shops all over the place with people hanging out there talking. I always see groups of men, more than women, chatting away and having a good time.

All the ladies wear high heels no matter what. Jeans, a cute blouse and high heels is the norm, unless they're really old, really young, or unless they are foreigners (like me and my pink crocs). Now we can go around easily pointing out the tourists !!! And yes, they are slim for the most part, some are very skinny and good looking and they like to show it off, I think they are really competing in that sense!

Their taste is very different to what I'm used to and I can't quite define it yet, but I'll try to take pictures to show you what it's like, some of it I love and some I just can't picture myself wearing it!!!!

We have gotten lost a couple of times, but nothing we can't fix. Fernando has had the worst, he has gotten lost a few times and has had to go back to the office and get someone to show him the way. the kids and I haven't really gone anywhere else, so there's not getting lost at the beach or at the hotel.

Today I took a bag full of clothes to the laundry, hoping I understood all she told me...

First days in Rio

So, we're at the hotel trying to fit all our luggage into the tiny closets and getting it out of the way... Fernando leaves at 6 am and the kids and I are having a hard time trying to wake up at 10 so we can make it to the breakfast buffet downstairs...

The waiters are very friendly, they try to decipher what we say, we are learning a word everyday.

Yesterday's word was napkin (guardanapo), today's was spoon (culier - not sure that's how you write it). People here keep as far away as they can from disposable things, but they don't frown anymore when I ask for a "prato descartaveis"- disposable plate- to take back to Alan who couldn't wake up today.

Our days have been very slow, after breakfast we come upstairs again, spend some time here and then go to the beach. We walk accross a street into a dock where a small flat boat picks us up and takes us to the other side of the canal. Then we walk a large block, cross an avenue and we're at the beach. The waves are high and strong now, and at that time of the day it is usually empty. Some people may be playing foot-volleyball in the sand (it looks really cool, but hard). It has been windy lately and cloudy, remember this is winter, so the temperature goes to a low 64 and Alan and I have been "cold".

The kids build sand castles while I look out into the blue sea.

Time for lunch!

There are several little stores along the beach and we get a fresh coconut and some local pastries. Delicious!!!!!

By now it's time to go back, shower and read or watch tv until Fernando gets here and we all go out for dinner.

Hey, this is tough but someone's gotta do it!!!!