The Long and winding road, that leads to Brazil

This is me standing in front of the Argentinian White House, I mean, Pink House. But wait, what am I doing in Argentina?? Don't I live in Brazil? What's going on here?

Well, I'm going to work backwards a bit now to fill in some of the gaps in the Wedding-Honeymoon-Married life story. So let's take it one step back, right before getting home to Brazil. Well we made it back after a whole slew of adventures: the famous Helen, GA; Chapel Hill, D.C., New Mexico, Buenos Aires...

Ok, actually that last one was not on the agenda. The story goes that coming home, as we tried to go through customs in the São Paulo ariport, I was told that my visa was no longer valid! This came as a huge shock because I had gone to the Federal Police in São Paulo and spoken with the head of their foreign visas to ensure that we could go to the US without any problems, but well, without her there to confirm what she had told me, my word was as good as mud, and we were stuck with me unable to enter the country!

One glimmer of hope was that we could call the Brazilian authorities and explain the situation begging for them to wave the problem. When Gui finally got through to someone, they said we could not call them as mere humans, and we needed my government to ask on my behalf. Then I called the US Consulate in SP. They essentially washed their hands of me saying it was my own problem, and they could not do anything to help. So we were back to square one: leave the country and get a new visa at a Brazilian Consulate. The closest Consulate, we were told, was in Buenos Aires.

The emigration officers were very helpful and sympathetic telling us that as they had seen in the past, this option was fairly quick and rarely failed. So given the choice between spending at least $4000 (or more) on flights to the States (not to mention getting back on a plane for 10 hours!), and our other choice: a cheaper, 2 hour flight to Argentina, we went with the latter. Besides, Gui reminded me, hadn't I mentioned wanting to go to Buenos Aires just the other week? Be careful what you wish for!

I've never been deported before. I don't recommend it to anyone, but if you must, Brazil is not such a bad place to check that life experience off from your list. We were treated very kindly, and though we had to spend some 8 hours at the airport buying tickets and waiting for our flight, in the end the whole experience wasn't that bad. I even had a personal escort while in the airport to ensure I didn't run away and break into the country!

We got to Argentina kind of late, and the airport was far from downtown, so Gui, using his Portugnol skills found us a reasonably priced hotel right near the consulate. We crashed hard and then got up the next day, had some nice breakfast (Yes, Mammie, we chose the hotel with the free breakfast offer. You have trained me well.) And we arrived at the Consulate good and early. There was hardly anyone there, and all that we lacked was a photo which we got done very quickly. They were incredibly nice and even waved some of the visa requirements that weren't convenient! So we were told that we could pick it up in 3 days, i.e. we had that day, and two more for sight-seeing!

And well, when life gives you lemons, you take them, because hey, free lemons. (Sorry, that's this T-shirt Gui really want to buy, but you get what I'm saying.) Now, these lemons weren't all that free, but we were certainly going to enjoy our unplanned trip to Argentina all the same!

We went to the zoo one day! It's a zoo unlike any I've ever seen in that, you could feed all the animals, and I mean, ALL THE ANIMALS. See photos...





We also covered some serious ground on foot seeing the cemetary where Evita is buried, an Evita Museum, beautiful churches, government headquarters, and even some Argentine soldiers marching by!



Time went by quickly, but we managed to see just about all that we wanted in those 3 days. We stayed in a nice hostel the rest of our time there. We knew it was good because Gui had stayed there on his trip through South America from last vacation. Every morning we had cafe con leche and bread with buttle and rich, dark dulce de leche. Great way to start the day!

On the last day there, we went straight to the consulate, picked up my new tourist visa right away (a visa for 5 years even though now it'll be totally unnecessary because I'm getting a residency card, but hey, that's alright, the side trip was worth it!)

Besides, Gui got to have his Argentinian barbeque, complete with blood sausage and what I think where grilled intestines. I politely tried, and then went back to my awesome salad...



We made some new friends...



And we celebrated our marriage in style!



Yep, in the end, it was a very fun way to end our adventures! That is, for now!

Married in Brazil!

Hi Everyone!

We made it back to Brazil! The journey home is a blog entry unto itself, which should be published shortly assuming I don't get behind in my class plannings!

But how nice to back in Brazil again! Sitting at my little table, I'm having some breakfast- grilled mozzarella cheese sandwich and cafe com leite. This cheese sandwich for breakfast thing is totally Brazilian, anything bread-y/cheesy in the morning. It wasn't too strange for me to adjust to after the year of the baguette in Paris. Brazilians don't really eat sweet things in the morning. Still, Gui and his mom will gladly accept if I make pancakes or muffins. :)

The weather is finally giving us some relief. Well, relief on the one hand in that it's not incredibly hot and muggy. No, fall is in the air...in March!?! My brain just can't seem to wrap itself around this concept yet. March=Spring!! What's going on!?! But I digress. The point is: Yay!! It's cooling off! At the same time, we're smack in the middle of the rainy season! Bummer. I'm not talking just a little drizzling, I'm talking pouring showers every evening that leave whole neighborhoods flooded! By the way, one of my favorite Brazilian songs is about the "Waters of March." In this version sung by two Brazilian music giants, Tom Jobim and Elis Regina, they make rain sound so happy! Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srfP2JlH6ls&feature=related



So a lot of people have been asking, "How's married life?" But I couldn't really say during our month long honeymoon what's it's really like. I think I can finally answer that question as we're starting our new life and settling into our routines.

And the verdict is... Married life is happy! As is life in Brazil! :D I have many things to be so grateful for. Already, this second arrival in Brazil has been so different from when I first came in the fall, I mean spring. See! It's hard! Hehe.

But so many factors have changed. For one, I have a job; a place to go during the day; responsibilities; time constraints. I needed that. I need some structure to function. I'm not sure I could handle retirement... Maybe that's when I start my bakery. :D

But back to my job, it's just great. A gift from God. I found it when I was just out on a long walk one day months ago, before we got engaged. I was in total despair, unable to find a job or to figure out where my life was going. As I was walking, I had seen a language school and passing it on the way back, I summoned my courage and marched up the steep hill (how intimidating, this school staring down at me!) and in my very broken Portuguese, I managed to speak with someone about job opportunities. She told me there was nothing until the next school year started in January. At the time, I wasn't sure I would stay that long, so I just got her email address and went sadly on my way.

A few months later, when we got engaged, my immediate thought, well, after the obvious thoughts like, "Wow! I'm engaged!," "I'm engaged?," and "Am I really engaged?," after these sorts of thoughts, my first practical one was, "Now that I'm definitely staying here for a while, I can get a job!" Something that really helped was that I would be married to Gui so gone was my worry of finding jobs that would provide me a work visa (which as I found through countless interviews, is nearly impossible). This left me to take jobs that were willing to pay me illegally and very poorly. My big fear was still being unable to find work. I was determined not to spend any more time stuck in the house all day by myself!

I remembered that school I had visited and the nice woman there, and finding her email, I wrote to her expressing interest in the coming year. It turns out that she is the school's director! The following week I had an interview and was hired that day! And what a great job it's been so far. They've been giving me formal training, the other teachers are sweet as can be, the school has very nice facilities, my bosses are agreeing to pay me a great salary even while I wait for my work permit to come, and they even helped me open my first Brazilian bank account! It's a great place to work all around. Plus, it's just a 10 minute bus ride from home! When you consider that Gui and Ana have a 2 hour commute both ways, this is quite exceptional!

This is my second full week of teaching, and I really enjoy it! I have only intermediate and advanced students, so they have at least 3 years of English under their belt. I'm teaching groups of all different sizes and ages. Some are middle school, some high school, and my night groups have a lot of adults. The variety keeps things interesting, and I really like getting to my students. They are of course very curious about an American living in their town. :P

Brazilians in general are very curious about foreigners. My middle schoolers are always asking things like "Teacher, do you speak Portuguese with your husband?" Brazilian students call their English teacher "Teacher." I tried to get them to say Ms. Maggie or Mrs. Oliveira or Mrs. Bullock, but have since given up. Every English teacher is "Teacher." I was telling Gui, the only other time I've heard someone called teacher is like in the Bible people talking to Jesus. :P Teacher seems far too great a title for me. haha

Besides having a job, which has really made me feel more like I have a life here, being married, and being assured of me and Gui's relationship as opposed to when we were still dating is so much less nerve-racking. And as we're having a lot of fun playing house! He's very sweet and helps with cleaning whenever he can! :) I just hope it continues this way!

I love learning to cook Brazilian food. I'm getting better and better about knowing my water to beans ratio for the pressure cooker, and I already have rice down. Brazilian grocery stores have barely anything that is almost ready to serve. Little food comes in cans or pre-made packaging. You want beans? Go get a bag of dry beans, soak it, and cook it yourself! Vegetables, fruits, meats, and fish come fresh from the markets and are just wonderful! And I'm constantly discovering fruits and vegetables that I've never even heard of!

So how is married life so far, you ask? Well, I think this is a question you spend your whole life figuring out, but married life in Brazil, working as an English teacher, learning Portuguese, making rice and beans, is a lot of fun! And as Gui and I pray about Grad schools and possibilities of moving after his graduation in December, I can't wait to see where God leads us next!

O Parque Ibirapuera

Today I went to Parque Ibirapuera with some friends from church. Gui's best friend Roberto gave me a ride from the Metro station because I'd gone downtown to have lunch with my friend Monica (also from church). At the park, Roberto and some other guys from church played basketball and I went for a nice walk.

It's a lovely park and the biggest in the city. There are shaded walking trails, stands of various types of trees (which you already know I love), and some big lakes to walk around. Also, there are several museums and a planetarium. I went to the AfroBrazilian Museum back in December, but I want to check out the Museu do Arte Moderna soon. I'm not much of a city girl, so it's nice to be able to get a nature fix. I'm hoping to go back soon! I have a friend who likes to rollerblade, and we're planning to go there a rent rollerblades together. They also have bike rentals! And there are midieval warriors on Sunday! This park has it all!

Pizza Party!

So yesterday's item, because as predicted, I'm already falling behind, was that I really like how my hair feels a lot nicer in Brazil. I don't know if it's something in the water, or all the really nice Brazilian shampoo and conditioner, but I think Brazilians take hair very seriously. Mine has never felt so soft. It makes me happy. Gui's mom is the producer for a TV show, and she's always getting free stuff from guests on the show. Once a lady who owns a hair salon was on, so she gives them all kinds of fancy products for free! Not too shabby.

Today Gui and I went to have dinner with our friends Eliane and Tiago- the very couple who we have to thank for getting married and inviting us to the wedding where we met. We had a great time talking and joking in both Portuguese and English. They ordered pizza, which is just great here! It always comes with lots of cheese. Paulistas will always claim that they have the best pizza in the world. I remember back in Paris that my friends Eliane and Pri always telling us that their pizza was the best. I'm still hesitant to give it such a lofty title, but I will say that it is muito muito muito muito muito muito bom. That is for sure. And it's different from pizza at home. For one, the mozzarella has a stronger taste, and the popular toppings are different too. For example, we had a pizza called a "Portuguese" with ham, green olives, and hard-boiled egg. Another had a soft cheese called catupiry and corn! (To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of catupiry on pizza, I'm more traditional...) They also have pizzas with palmito - which is palm heart, and more classic Italian flavors as well. There's so much Italian influence in the cuisine here!

So if you didn't guess, today's taste of Brazil was pizza. Sorry if you were hungry when you were reading this. You'll have to try some for yourself sometime! For dessert, I brought banana muffins. Normally a breakfast food, but hey, since Brazilians have never heard of such a thing, they can have it for dessert no problem. After all, they think pancakes are for dinner!

Vamos lá! (Let's Go!)

Hey Everyone!

It's me, Maggie! I'm in Brazil!! This blog is going to have a bit of a different format than my French one. Already, I feel bad for having let so much time pass without really keeping you informed. Be assured that I'm doing well and adjusting to my new surroundings as quickly and gracefully as I can manage. I still haven't found a job, but I find plenty of things to occupy my time. I'm learning a ton about life, Brazil, relationships, and Portuguese!

I have an agreement with Gui that I have to tell him one thing that I like about Brazil everyday. I'm going to try- though I know already that there will be days I forget -to publish this item as my blog. That way, rather than putting off starting for some day that I feel like writing a small novel of all that's happened, I'm going to start giving you a steady supply of tasty, bite-sized pieces. Consider it your daily dose of Brazil. Hmm...not a bad name for a blog. Better than my original, uninspired, "Hey Look, Everybody! This Time Maggie's in Brazil!"

So let's start with your daily dose of Brazil. Actually, today is a special day that you get several doses since we started this on the 10th...

September 10: The apparent simplicity of life here in São Bernardo do Campo (the suburb of SãoPaulo where I live with Gui and his mom). It just seems like there's a nice community with kids playing in the streets, neighbors chatting on the sidewalks, and friends gathered in the restaurants and bars everyday swapping gossip and trying to stay out of the rain.

September 11: Brazilian trees. They're crazy compared to ours! They have bright purple and red and pink flowers. Some are completely covered in spikes, others in ferns. Some have weird, green fruits the size of softballs. They're always entertaining.

September 12: Cigarette warning labels. There's one with a naked guy and a strategically-placed hand giving a thumbs down and a label reading "Impotency."https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sP5lf1nNVwBGv3ofox1uOWOVdN2Uo98Jt1v8K-5gl6SjZAGbsnAEYIZbeMSWKQK8FCh1ihpKUwa5-QLa5PrdMjFNECnxh4EVaHQj-uC16ijJMhEuRDyBU2EUlpSTHo3mVI26lLwfWClE/s400/cigarro-4.jpg

September 13: Djavan, a great Brazilian musician, and one of Gui's favorites. I especially like dancing around to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y106vlqyQ3Y This one's really nice too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey2Us5AQ844&feature=related There are so many good ones!

September 15: Free MASP Tuesdays! MASP is the main São Paulo art Museum. They have a nice collection of European and Latin American artists, and it's not so big that you can't see everything in an afternoon.

September 16: Godfried, the gecko that was on the wall in the living room when we got home one day! Gui didn't think it was anything exciting to have a lizard in the house. In fact, he was just kind of annoyed. I however, was very excited. I only ever heard of spiders on the wall, not geckos!

September 18: Friendly people on the bus. I'm so impressed with how nice and helpful people are riding public transportation. Gui's mom and I were going to a museum and needed to ask for directions but were too far away from the driver so a little boy was acting as our messenger asking the driver things for us. Then other passengers overheard and started chiming in to help. The buses can be kind of confusing, but thank goodness people will help you out!

September 20: Battling the medieval warriors in Park Ibirapuera. We went to the park with friends from church to go to the planetarium, but it was closed. Then walking around, we ran into a group of teenagers playing with homemade jousting spears and swords made of plastic and duct tape. They noticed us staring and we decided to go ask them about what they were doing. They were eager to tell us all about their role playing troop of knight warriors. It was pretty crazy. They were very sweet and let us try out there "weapons" and taught us the rules of combat. In the end their leader called them to assemble so that we could take a picture with them all. You can check it out on facebook. Something you never think you'll do...especially not in a Brazilian park...

September 21: Only taking one hour to get home from downtown! I was sincerely happy about what good timing we made. Normally it take at least an hour and a half. Everyone starting laughing and exclaimed that I'm becoming a real Paulista as my sense of what a good communiting time becomes radically changed.

Today: Avocado smoothies. I'm in love with them! Gui's mom, Ana, introduced me, and now I'm hooked. Now she buys big, sweet avocados every week. :) There avocados here are much larger than ours, much less fatty, more light and sweet, and also so much cheaper! You can get 3 for 2 reais. That's like a dollar! Oh avocado smoothies, how I love thee! Speaking of which, I just finished drinking one...hehe

So there you have it! Now that I've got the ball rolling, I hope you'll tune in from time to time. :)

Boa noite, gente!