Is anyone ever going to actually come visit me? Or should I stop getting my hopes up?
It's really very easy to get the visa. And you can sleep on the plane ride.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Thank goodness for friends with cameras
These pictures are from Praia do Forte, a little north of Salvador. They have a big sea turtle research/habitat restoration project there. So here's some turtles:
Awwww, cute:
Hey, that's me. And a turtle:
maybe more later....
Awwww, cute:
Hey, that's me. And a turtle:
maybe more later....
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas to most of you, and/or Feliz Natal. Also Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever it is you celebrate.
Everyone at home, I really miss you guys and Christmas (Eve) just isn't the same without you all. Or in 85 degree weather. At least it rained today, which is about as close as I'm going to get to snow. So I hope everyone has a great holiday, just know that I'm thinking about all of you.
Everyone at home, I really miss you guys and Christmas (Eve) just isn't the same without you all. Or in 85 degree weather. At least it rained today, which is about as close as I'm going to get to snow. So I hope everyone has a great holiday, just know that I'm thinking about all of you.
Monday, December 19, 2005
So
as of today I am more or less alone here. Gustavo, Alison, and Ju are off to the US for a month. I wish I could have seen Alison's face when Gustavo suprised her at the Sao Paulo airport (he was supposed to be on a flight a few days later). I really think she had absolutely no idea.
Anyway, so now I have the house all to myself. and the cats. It's very empty-feeling and the porterios keep scaring me because they keep popping their head in the window to let me know that they're around if i need any help. Which is very nice, and what is also nice is the amount of people that have offered to let me spend Christmas and/or New Years with them. Six, i think, so far. I agreed first to go with Marcos, my chiropractor, and his family out to Guarajuba (sp?) where they rent a house on the beach for a week. His wife is leaving on Christmas Eve and he said I could get a ride out there with her, then head back with her again the next day. He spent a few years living in Michigan, so I guess he knows what it's like to be without family, and I am very grateful for the offer.
Besides that, I spent yesterday at a churrasco at Nate and Debbie's condo complex, it was a lot of fun, everyone got really drunk, especially the old folks. It's absolutely amazing how much better my portuguese is after a roska (vodka, mashed up fruit, sugar, ice) or two.
oh, and my camera? it's dead. R$200 to fix it, almost what it would cost to buy it again. Hopefully Santa will bring me Davey's old one or a new one from the US. I just need to figure out who Santa will be, and if he can get through customs with my electronic goodies without paying taxes.
Anyway, so now I have the house all to myself. and the cats. It's very empty-feeling and the porterios keep scaring me because they keep popping their head in the window to let me know that they're around if i need any help. Which is very nice, and what is also nice is the amount of people that have offered to let me spend Christmas and/or New Years with them. Six, i think, so far. I agreed first to go with Marcos, my chiropractor, and his family out to Guarajuba (sp?) where they rent a house on the beach for a week. His wife is leaving on Christmas Eve and he said I could get a ride out there with her, then head back with her again the next day. He spent a few years living in Michigan, so I guess he knows what it's like to be without family, and I am very grateful for the offer.
Besides that, I spent yesterday at a churrasco at Nate and Debbie's condo complex, it was a lot of fun, everyone got really drunk, especially the old folks. It's absolutely amazing how much better my portuguese is after a roska (vodka, mashed up fruit, sugar, ice) or two.
oh, and my camera? it's dead. R$200 to fix it, almost what it would cost to buy it again. Hopefully Santa will bring me Davey's old one or a new one from the US. I just need to figure out who Santa will be, and if he can get through customs with my electronic goodies without paying taxes.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
i don't want to lose my audience, so i figure i better keep updating, even if it's boring.
my camera is being looked at, i'm supposed to call and see if it can be fixed, but i keep putting it off because that's going to be a difficult conversation over the phone. i'm going to try and get to that later today.
if i did have my camera i would post a picture of this sweet spider bite i got today. it's right on the side of my wrist and it's really big. from teh right angle it kind of makes my wrist look broken. the bugs have also taken a liking to my face over the past two nights, i'm just trying not to scratch.
i really have nothing but mundane details to update, which is why i prefer pictures.
-today i went to the pharmacy. after that i went to buy a cake for the maid/nanny's birthday. i was very proud of myself for mangaing to explain that i didn't want the whole thing so could they please cut it into a medium sized cake but then redcorate it to look like a whole cake. also in the works for today is a trip to the monstrous mall nearby, because i need socks. exciting, eh? i might also buy another bathing suit.
-yesterday i went to the beach out near praia dos flamengos, which is on the north side of town. a bunch of teachers at the american school live out there. the beach is gorgeous there and since it was a monday it was nice and empty. the lifeguard told me i was a very good swimmer ( i said, uhhh, thanks i've been swimming since i was about 4 or 5 so i hope i'm okay) and that he owns a surfing school at another beach and so debbie (girlfriend of nate, a teacher at PanAm) and i should come out and take lessons. if my burn is gone by later this week i think i will. i can't stop thinking about jellyfish while i'm in the ocean though; i don't know if i'll make a good surfer.
Okay, that's all. I'll take suggestions on things anyone would like me to write about.
my camera is being looked at, i'm supposed to call and see if it can be fixed, but i keep putting it off because that's going to be a difficult conversation over the phone. i'm going to try and get to that later today.
if i did have my camera i would post a picture of this sweet spider bite i got today. it's right on the side of my wrist and it's really big. from teh right angle it kind of makes my wrist look broken. the bugs have also taken a liking to my face over the past two nights, i'm just trying not to scratch.
i really have nothing but mundane details to update, which is why i prefer pictures.
-today i went to the pharmacy. after that i went to buy a cake for the maid/nanny's birthday. i was very proud of myself for mangaing to explain that i didn't want the whole thing so could they please cut it into a medium sized cake but then redcorate it to look like a whole cake. also in the works for today is a trip to the monstrous mall nearby, because i need socks. exciting, eh? i might also buy another bathing suit.
-yesterday i went to the beach out near praia dos flamengos, which is on the north side of town. a bunch of teachers at the american school live out there. the beach is gorgeous there and since it was a monday it was nice and empty. the lifeguard told me i was a very good swimmer ( i said, uhhh, thanks i've been swimming since i was about 4 or 5 so i hope i'm okay) and that he owns a surfing school at another beach and so debbie (girlfriend of nate, a teacher at PanAm) and i should come out and take lessons. if my burn is gone by later this week i think i will. i can't stop thinking about jellyfish while i'm in the ocean though; i don't know if i'll make a good surfer.
Okay, that's all. I'll take suggestions on things anyone would like me to write about.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
:-(
Well, it looks as if this blog will either be switching to writing or going on a break for a little while.
My camera fell from a height of about 5 feet onto a ceramic floor, and it landed right on the lens. The lens itself isn't broken, but everything around it is. The metal/plastic surrounding it is smooshed, the little metal parts that hold the lens cover, and the cover itself are in a few pieces. It also makes a funny rattling noise when I shake it. I'll try and find somewhere to take it to see if it can be fixed, because I sure can't do it myself. It looks like it's going to be hopeless though.
I'm really mad, I guess at myself since there's no one else to be mad at.
Soooo my beloved parents, I guess you know what I could use for Christmas now... though I have no idea how it would get here; Alison is already taking back a bunch of electronics and there's a limit on the dollar amount. And cameras here are ridiculously expensive.
:o(
Please leave your condolences for my camera in the comments section.
My camera fell from a height of about 5 feet onto a ceramic floor, and it landed right on the lens. The lens itself isn't broken, but everything around it is. The metal/plastic surrounding it is smooshed, the little metal parts that hold the lens cover, and the cover itself are in a few pieces. It also makes a funny rattling noise when I shake it. I'll try and find somewhere to take it to see if it can be fixed, because I sure can't do it myself. It looks like it's going to be hopeless though.
I'm really mad, I guess at myself since there's no one else to be mad at.
Soooo my beloved parents, I guess you know what I could use for Christmas now... though I have no idea how it would get here; Alison is already taking back a bunch of electronics and there's a limit on the dollar amount. And cameras here are ridiculously expensive.
:o(
Please leave your condolences for my camera in the comments section.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Saturday
Saturday we went downtown, lots of heat, lots of walking, lots of people trying to sell the gringas things we didn't want. Later we went to one of the city beaches, Porto da Barra, which was good people watching. I even saw a transsexual in a bikini. Here is a picture of Alison, Gustavo, and Julian, at his first sunset:
Random beach shot:
A blurry picture of the beach from above:
Just random buildings:
Another blurry shot (still trying to figure out how to take good night pictures), this one of the coast, taken from our table while out to eat later that day. That glowing thing in the background is the elevador lacerda, that takes you from the lower city to the upper city:
Julian being serenaded at dinner:
Random beach shot:
A blurry picture of the beach from above:
Just random buildings:
Another blurry shot (still trying to figure out how to take good night pictures), this one of the coast, taken from our table while out to eat later that day. That glowing thing in the background is the elevador lacerda, that takes you from the lower city to the upper city:
Julian being serenaded at dinner:
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