Fitness, Buddha, and Mexican

I've been feeling like I need to not only update my blog, but to write more about my daily or weekly activities in this city - to give insight into my life in Brasilia. People always enjoy "seeing" the city where you live through your eyes and not what the travel books and/or Wikipedia write about a particular destination is like. I receive a lot of comments on Facebook whenever I take pictures like these. I'm going to try and add a more personal touch to my posts, as well as pictures that I've taken. I'll start with this post, with this weekend.


Yesterday morning E and I went to Brasilia Capital Fitness at the Convention Center in downtown Brasilia so that E could check out the "fitness scene" in the city and try to get some free samples. We really didn't succeed at either objective. This event was planned, as far as I could tell, to promote local gyms; to sell fitness equipment, workout clothes, supplements, books, and anything related to working out. There were also classes that you could participate in (or "try out" I'd say). These included spinning, a kind of step aerobics, kickboxing, and there were treadmills with people running (maybe some kind of competition?).  They did look like fun, especially the kickboxing class, but I was not dressed for the occasion and I wouldn't have felt comfortable joining by myself. The day before I had gone to a local gym in my neighborhood to get information about joining so I'm preparing to return to working out (and am happy about it). So I was kind of in the fitness mood when we went to the even yesterday.


One thing I noticed were the women's clothes. There was not ONE woman who was NOT wearing tight (in most cases FUGLY) work out pants. I'm talking spandex. And on top of that, most of them wore the 80s type scrunchy socks, but in this case (in this city) they pull them up to their knees. Very very 80s. And when I talk about the colors on the spandex pants, I mean, really ugly patterns with loud colors. Some women even had one piece workout body suits on, with cleavages and camel toes to boot. Holy culture shock! 

E wasn't impressed with the event and found the price of all of the protein supplements to be outrageous because frankly, they were. We ended up just walking around and around the arena until he decided that he wanted to try out "rock climbing". A local company had brought a "wall" with them and anyone was welcome to scale it. Although it wasn't challenging to him, E climbed up since he has ants in his pants and enjoys any physical activity. 

Neither of us was sad to leave this event.


Later on in the evening, after a relaxing afternoon at home, we went to the Buddha Temple in Asa Sul. There was a kind of festival happening there (a few weekends in a row?) where there was food, music, shops, games, music for teenagers, and the temple was open so that we could visit and get a taste of Japan and the Buddhist religion. We went with a few of my co-workers. We waited in a long time to pay for our food, then another long line to pick up our food and drinks, and then we sat down next to the temple and enjoyed our food. I'd never eaten caramel bananas before but man was it delicious (not sure if that's Japanese food) and E and I shared a Yakisoba that was good. We bought some homemade soaps at one of the shops; one was made of maracuja (passion fruit) and smells delicious. In fact, the bathroom is starting to smell the same way so it's great. It was fun to do something different and to support the Japanese community in Brasilia.

Finally, to end my weekend, I had a very Brazilian breakfast with maracuja juice this morning, worked on lesson plans and organized myself for school tomorrow, and then had lunch with some of my co-workers at a nearby restaurant called El Paso. It was pretty good. I had to say that I wasn't expecting it to be very Mexican, but it was pretty close, especially with the decor and the Spanish background music. It was nice to sit back and relax, talk, and eat something different. The food was delicious, too.


Overall it was a good weekend. I got to try visit new places, try different food, and hang out with friends. Next weekend is the garbage pickup in the city and the following weekend we're going out of town to Goias so there's a lot to look forward to.

It's been a month...

I have been a resident of Brasilia for a month, today. I arrived on the 12th of July and even though it's only been about 30 days, I feel like I've been living here much longer. One of my American co-workers told me that time passes slowly here and that's exactly how I feel. I'd say that's a good thing. I feel like my afternoons are much longer, maybe it has to do with the fact that I waste  spend A LOT less time watching TV, or because it quickly gets dark by 6:30 p.m., or because I don't need to spend hours planning since I have more time during my work day to do so. Whatever the reason, I do feel like I've been living in Brasilia for 3 months, not 30 days.

I definitely feel like I'm living here, versus visiting or even just spending an extended amount of time here. For example, just yesterday two women approached us as we were walking away from our apartment building. They asked us where a "block" was and I answered confidently and gave (perfect) directions; it's an area I often visit and I was pleased that they understood perfectly where I was sending them off to. Then we went to "our" bakery and the cashier (who has been unfriendly before) joked around with us and even smiled. Feels more like home when you're comfortable in your surroundings, when people recognize you, and even more so when they can joke around with you.


I also have a routine which helps me assimilate easier, as well as a temporary ID, a bank account,  I've applied for my carteira de trabalho (or work papers/permit), E is back in school and has a job, and we have friends and plans for the weekend. All of this makes you feel more "at home". This is exactly what I wanted. Now let me be honest and say that not everything is perfect. I get annoyed with a lot and I get frustrated, but that happens with less frequency than when things go my way. I also try to ignore the negative and focus on the positive so that I will be grateful and feel confident with my decision to leave behind my life in the US to move to Brazil. 
So far so good.

"Eu sou catador" (I'm a garbage collector)

These fliers are all over my school :). For more information about this movement (in English), check out this blog.

Wordless Wednesday: Torre de TV de Brasilia

Holy crap it's dry here!

I'd like to start off this post with a few statements - 1) I knew it was going to be dry before I arrived, 2) I'm not dying of thirst, 3) I'm not complaining but am rather stating observations, and 4) I still prefer dry weather over humid weather. But still, dayum, it's dry. Brasilia's weather can be compared to that of a desert, which is very interesting since I picture the state of Arizona when I hear that word - not Brazil's capitol. It hasn't rained since May (so I've been told) and I don't think we can expect rain again until October (correct me if I'm wrong). I've also been told many times that August and September are the driest months. And here were are. 


Now when I take a look at Weather Underground it says that today's humidity is 41% and I don't know much about that since I spent the last 6 years in central Florida where it's hot and HUMID (think 100%), but I know it's dry. Sometimes my eyeballs feel like they're golf balls rattling around in the hole of a mini golf course. And I don't wear contacts. The thing is that I don't often feel thirsty, but I think that can be a problem. We need to drink a lot, all throughout the day. It's common to find jars and glasses of water everywhere, students carry bottles of water around with them, and there's a water dispenser in probably every office in the city. There are also dispensers all over Manaus, but that's because it's HOT and so humid that you sweat and need to hydrate.


I find it interesting and almost funny that I've now lived in two very extreme climates in Brazil - Manaus and Brasilia. I like both of these cities, but if I had to choose only based on the weather it'd have to be Brasilia. I almost never sweat, the weather is warm even though it's the winter, and I know that the rains will return and the city will be green again. It's sunny and comfortable most of the time.


Anyway, I've digressed. Back to the dry weather. If you don't constantly drink water and stay hydrated, you can get headaches, feel tired, and just feel dried out. At least that's how I felt this morning. My skin has not reacted well so I have to use a lot of lotion (suggestions?). I also have to keep a bottle of water by my bed because one night I woke up in the middle of the night because I was thirsty and was dreaming of drinking water. I need to make sure I have a couple of glasses of water before I leave for work in the morning and then drink throughout the day (juice counts because here it's usually all natural). 


I remember one of my principals telling me that it got so dry one year that they had to close the school - send the kids home. We even received a memo from my school about precautions to take during the driest months of the year. You know how in New York you get announcements about winter storms and in Florida it's about tropical storms? In Brasilia it's about dry weather. I've also heard that your nose can bleed; that happened to one of my 9th graders last week. You can use a humidifier in your home, but like everything else in Brasilia they're pretty pricey. Another of my principals said it's not worth it because you have to leave it right in your face. She suggested putting a wet towel over a chair in the room where you're at to leave moisture in the air.


Of course all of this is new to me and it doesn't really bother me too much. I think of it as part of where I'm living. I just need to follow the lead of the locals and I'll be alright. I just hope it doesn't get down to 12% humidity like it has in the past....but if so,I'll just drink more water, soak more towels, and be glad I'm not sweating bullets. 

Jazz and Blues in BSB

I just wrote (see yesterday's post) about the Bourbon Street Fest here in Brazil. This was the 9th year that the festival took place in Brazil, and the first in Brasilia. It really was an amazing show and the crowd was really jumping, dancing, singing, and (to my surprise) smoking reefer everything you turned  your nose could smell and of course drinking. A good time was had by all. The music could be heard from afar and as we approached the stage the singers' voices rose and the music vibrated invitingly.

I have been wanting to go to New Orleans for years, but have yet to make it. Therefore, this concert was exactly what I needed to bring the music of New Orleans to me, to hear English spoken by the musicians from Louisiana, and to bring me to my feet to dance to jazz and blues and sing along with the songs that I know surrounded by a crowd of people really enjoying themselves. 

Bourbon Street Fest - Brasilia

If you like jazz and blues and you live in Brasilia, an excellent choice for entertainment this weekend would be to go to the Bourbon Street Fest downtown, next to the Museu Nacional. The musicians come straight from New Orleans and the music is what you'd expect. I went last night and definitely enjoyed the (free) show. If you missed it last night, you can always go this evening.

Do we really need a car?

To buy a car or not to buy a car. That is the question. And it's one that I don't have an answer for yet. Or do I? See, I'd lived all over South America previous to moving to Brasilia and I never had a car in other countries, nor did I really need one. I mean, in Peru we could walk anywhere and everywhere; only when we were in a rush and/or lazy did we take a mototaxi for 3 soles no matter the number of people in the "vehicle" or the distance. I was hoping that Brasilia would be the same (I was OK without a car while living in Manaus). The issue is that I kept hearing that Brasilia was not created with pedestrians in mind. That's probably the truth. So does that mean that it'll be difficult to get around and that we'll need a car? Some people say yes; I'm not too convinced.

I've been living here for 3 1/2 weeks and although not a lengthy time, I don't feel that at this time we really need a car. I mean, I live near a major street not far from downtown (or the bus terminal) so buses are everywhere. I live between two subway stations, even though there are superquadras (HUGE blocks) between my apartment and the metro. I also have free daily transportation to/from work that is very convenient. And then there are taxis. And a great thing is that there is one company - Alvorado - that gives you a 30% just because you call them, versus hailing a cab on the street. You won't get the discount if you catch one on the street - you have to call. It's not a bad deal. For example, a friend and I took a taxi to church last Sunday and the price on the meter read R$ 9.78. We paid R$ 7. Not bad. And it's like that each time you call them. And of course the other option regarding taxis is asking E to make a deal with them and agree on a price before getting in the cab. 

So with these four options of transportation, I'm left wondering, do we really need a car? Do we need to pay for (expensive) gas? Do I need to learn to drive shift? Do we want to pay for insurance and maintenance of the car? The answer is no. At least not at this time. Maybe things will change in a year, or two. But for now we're fine. Now, maybe it is easier for me because I have friends in walking distance, because I have a ride to/from work on a daily basis (and it's door to door). E doesn't have any of that - at least not yet. But he doesn't complain. I know it's not  idea to take public transportation to school each night, but he's a good sport. When it gets old then we can talk more about possibly buying a car. I know it can be annoying at times to have to walk to the grocery store, but that's only once a week for us and it's not far. We also live right next to a kind of outdoor shopping center and there's a bakery, drug store, etc. there and then of course there are a number of other shopping centers all within a short walk. You can find fruit, vegetables, a gym, a movie rental, stores-stores-stores, and restaurants all within 5-10 minutes in all four directions. Maybe Brasilia was built with pedestrians in mind...

At this point we have decided not to buy a car and we have no immediate plans to do so. We'll just play it by ear and save all of the money that we would be spending if we owned a car. In the meantime, we'll spend just a little on buses, the metro, and taxis and appreciate being driven around.

Wordless Wednesday: Brasilia's Metro (Subway)

The house is on fire

My husband did it again. He burned another electronic device...well, this time it was a power strip that we brought with us from the United States. Honestly I don't know why he plugged it in, or where he plugged it into, because I wasn't looking. But this is the third time. You'd think he'd learn. I get the voltage difference "system" and I'd explained it to him on more than one occasions, but ::whoosh:: over his head I guess.


Anyway, you can imagine what an electrical fire looks like and I sure can you tell you how it smells. It burns. Inside your nose. The smell lingers and when I walk into the kitchen where the strip has been exposed of, it stinks even more. No fun. Boo hoo. I saw that fire and heard the noise when it sizzled and burned. And of course the smell was worse.

The first thing that was "burned", or destroyed, in this house was our cordless phone. We don't have or need a house phone in Brasilia; the only reason we bought one was to use with our Magic Jack. Luckily for us, it turns out that our neighbors found an extra phone in a closet in their apartment when they moved in and since they're not using it we've got it. All we had to buy was a phone cord and that cost less than 50 cents (American).


What fried next was a real disappointment to E because he loves to listen to music, as do I. It was our iPhone speakers. It's too bad because those bad boys worked really well. What I don't get then is why E plugged in everything immediately - as soon as we arrived in the country. I mean, you'd think it'd be a better idea to check the voltage before doing anything, right? That's what I did. Our laptops and battery chargers work (either with our without an adapter), and frankly, that's what's most important. Our apartment was furnished and came with all of the appliances we need. All we need a transformer for, really, in the kitchen, is our rice cooker. 


So we no longer have a cordless phone or speakers for our iPods/iPhone. But these were fried within the first day or two of being in Brazil. Now it's been three weeks and E still plugged in the power strip, which is now lying to rest in the trash can. I'm hoping that that's it. We got a transformer today so we can finally hook up our wireless adapter (thank goodness!) and we can both use our laptops at the same time as well as clean up the mess of cords that were like vines hanging from a tree all over the living room. Our apartment will eventually cease to smell like fire and we'll get back to normal, just with less electronic equipment. 

Trying to play catch up - 18 days

E and I have been living in Brasilia for 18 days. I don't feel like I've really summed up what we've been doing these past 2 and a 1/2 weeks and so I'd like to play catch up. First off, I'd like to say that we are both happy here. E particularlly thinks that the city is beautiful and he really is enjoying being back in his home country. In fact, he said last night, while waiting in a looooong line at a rock concert, that he missed this - people having a good time, drinking in the parking lot, chatting with friends, just having fun. He said at the end of the night that the US is not fun (I do believe he meant in comparison, or at least it's a different kind of fun).

I'd say our first week here was predominantly settling in to our new apartment, unpacking, shopping, cleaning, and trying to orientate ourselves. I also visited the school a couple of times to talk to administration since they wanted to make sure we were comfortable and not lacking anything in our apartment. We also hung out with friends in Brasilia (one of which I had been introduced to by a friend I have in the States) and another is a childhood friend of E's who lives in Brasilia. We had lunch, drove around the city in the neighborhoods where they live, met their family members, and were given a friendly introduction to the city. In addition, my friend AP took us to the post office to make sure our CPFs (the equivalent to the SSN) were "regular" and that my maiden name was changed to my married name on mine. (I had gotten it years ago in Manaus when I was single). So we had to visit voting registration for E to pay a small fine for not having voted while living in the U.S. for 4 years. This constituted a lot of running around, but in the end it all got resolved (at a cheap price) and then AP treated us to a delicious afternoon meal.

Once the other two Americans arrived we had a short tour of some major attractions in Brasilia and then went to lunch with our executive director and we spent time with her. Our second week was then spent driving around to various places to make sure that we have registered with the federal police, that the other girls have their CPFs, that we have bank accounts, etc. We also had to have our medical exams for our health insurance (and that doctor was from Manaus - small world). We've filled out information for our dental plan as well. And finally, at the end of last week we had orientation and introductions to the school - just for the new teachers. We were given a tour of the school and the elementary school teachers were given their classrooms. The middle and high school are in the process of having new classrooms built, so I don't know yet where I'll be teaching, but it'll all be worked out. At least I have my schedule.

And this last week was the first week of school; it was the pedagogical week for teachers. It was full of meetings and introductions, delicious breakfasts and lunches, a time for us to collaborate (if just a bit), and I was able to look over my curriculum maps and plan out the first quarter for the three classes that I'll be teaching this year - 9th, 11th, and 12th grade. I'm very grateful to the English department for their assistance, especially to the other 11th/12th grade teacher, a friendly/knowledgeable Canadian, and my coordinator, a North American born/raised in Ecuardor and now living in Brazil. There are not just a number of nations representated in the students at my school, but in the staff as well. There are Brazilians, a Canadian, Ecuadorian, Cuban, Spanish, Americans, and probably more.

I was given lots of resources to help me start out the year - articles, a movie, lesson plans, a workbook, and textbooks. I'll need to do a lot of reading on my own this weekend and make sure that my plans are all set for the first week of school. I'd say I'm more nervous than excited. I'm just glad to have support from other teachers to make my transition smoother. If I were on my own I'd be in trouble...With that being said, my schools follows the North American curriculum so I'm not too much out of my element.

This is basically how my last 18 days have gone. But what I should throw in here is that it's not all been work. I've done city explorations on my own, with E, and with friends. I've watched famous MMA fighters train, E and I have eaten Brazilian food that we'd missed greatly, we've taken the bus and the metro with no problems, we've gone to a huge rock concert with bands from all over the country and the US, and we've still got a lot more to do. E has returned to school; he's taking a course that he is really enjoying a learning a lot at and is busy job searching, getting his transcripts from Manaus, and finding schools where he can continue with this studies.

I feel like we have just only begun our sightseeing. In fact, I have just made plans (that still need to be finalized) to travel to a neighboring state next weekend to "get out of town" and to see more of Brazil. As of today I've only been to 5 states - Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Amazonas, Sao Paulo, and Distrito Federal. There are still 22 more states to visit, and I barely "know" Brasilia. I'm beyond excited about all that I will get to experience, see, feel, and taste while in this gorgeous country. So with that said, time for me to clean my apartment and head out.

Libras - Brazilian sign language

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I have wanted to be a translator for many years - whether it be ASL (American sign language) or Spanish/English or Portuguese/English. I love languages, I love being able to communicate with people who are from different cultures/backgrounds, and who speak other tongues. Hence, my place in an international school in Brazil.
Speaking of my new job at the school, I have learned that there are a number of hearing-impaired staff at the school. One woman in particular reminds me a bit of a good friend's sister so I immediately liked her. She works in the library.Today I wrote to her on a piece of paper that I want to learn sign language from Brazil (I was told years ago that sign language not only differs by language, but by country) and that I know ASL. She told me that it's called libras (sign language) in Portuguese and we compared the alphabet that I know with the one she knows. I was also able to understand most of her gestures and she even taught me the sign for "friend".

I'm relieved to find out that the two alphabets do not differ much, and when they do it makes sense to me. For instance, the symbol for the letter "t" in ASL means a woman's intimate body part in Brazil, so that letter is different. The same goes for the letter "f" which is a derrogatory symbol in Brazil. The "m",  "n", and "g" are slightly different, but it's easy to learn. Soon my ASL alphabet will be replaced with a Brazilian sign language alphabet - much like how Portuguese replaced Spanish in my head.

This is what I found on-line while my co-worker was standing next to me - so she approved. If you know ASL you'll see that it's not all that different.

I believe that my co-worker will be a good teacher (to me) and she seems patient, so I'm grateful and will be trying to learn as much BSL (Brazilian sign language) as possible. She also pointed out another deaf staff member and I briefly met another one on accident; I realized when she didn't respond to me that it was because she couldn't hear me. She could read lips very well, though. I think it's wonderful how my school has hired so many hearing-impaired people, and how the hearing staff can communicate well with them. In the work place there seems to be little to no disparity between those hearing and those impaired. 

I'm so happy to be able to learn a new language and be able to make new friends. It's even more amazing how the woman who works in the library, who I mentioned above, has learned English on top of libras and Portuguese. So she's trilingual. And she is quite knowledgable about ASL, too.

I am looking forward to all that I can learn in my new position. I know I haven't written too much (yet) about my life and work here in Brasilia but I will do so as soon as I have some down time. I got my schedule for the school year today and it looks really good.

I have met some fabulous people at the school and I'm now ready to meet the kids and am excited about the novels that they'll be reading this first quarter - Tuesdays with Morrie, 1984, and Of mice and men. Back to school it is...

Wordless Wednesday: Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida

I took all of these pictures about 10 days ago when we visited the Cathedral in downtown Brasilia. We were short on time so I need to go back and see more, but here's a taste of what I saw that afternoon.

It's almost that time of the year again...

....and when I say "that time of year" I mean back to school. I realize that this is not the case for my far-north-North-American-residing friends, but it's true for me. I guess in all honesty I'm not too far off from what I was used to in Florida. Teachers in the Sunshine State prepare to go back for the week of pre-planning during the 2nd or 3rd week of August. Right? I'm going back the final week of July. School starts the first day of August. I think I'm almost ready.


The school year at my international school in Brazil is the same length as that of the schools I've gone to/worked in, it's just that the start/stop/vacation times don't coincide with those where I've studied/worked before. We may begin school earlier, but I'll have a month-long vacation around Christmas time versus the two-week period I've been accustomed to. It all works out in the end. I guess I just feel I need a bit of a longer break now because since I finished the school year in June, I've been busy packing and moving to Brazil and then once I got here I've been busy unpacking and settling in. However, these last couple of weeks running around preparing for work have helped me almost feel like I'm ready to go back to work. 


At least I'm going to start working here...

I am looking forward to this new adventure and after my teacher orientation last week I'm even more excited about teaching at an international school. Even though the majority of my students are of one nationality - Brazilian - they are very multicultural/international. There will be students from about 30 countries in the school - of various religions, ethnic groups, past experiences, etc. This of course is one thing that attracted me so much to the school. That and the bilingual aspect. I'm bubbling with excitement of being able to meet my students and get to know them well. I've always enjoyed teaching Brazilians (and students from other multicultural backgrounds).


Nervous as I may be (even if just a little bit, and aren't we all when a new school year begins?), I'm anxious and happy about what's to come, about meeting the other teachers, attending in-service  training, setting up my new classroom (which will be temporary because a new wing is being built for high school students, scheduled to open in September/October :), and preparing my lessons. I hope that everything goes smoothly and that I have a nice transition into this school. I became so exhausted and burned out from uninterested students, from parents who wanted nothing to do with the school and frankly couldn't care less about education, and from the lack of support from the government in the U.S. that I need to be here. Hence, part of the reason why I moved to Brazil, to work in a private school.


I am excited about the books I'll be teaching and about the opportunity I have to teach reading and writing to ESL students. I have new clothes for the new school year and already the staff and administration I've met have been fabulous, fun, and supportive. So I'm ready, right? Let the school year begin....

The post office and my Kindle

I don't know if I mentioned it on here, but my Kindle (the second one I got) is defective. This makes 2 for 2. Very bad, Amazon. The initial one I bought had to be returned because it wouldn't turn on after being switched off. I'd only had it for a month or so. So Amazon immediately rushed me a new one and I sent back the old one courtesy of them. Now I hadn't used the second one that much since I was trying to read my paperbacks before heading off to Brazil. I read maybe 2 or 3 books on it. You can imagine how unhappy I was when I discovered that both were defective.

I brought it my Kindle to Brazil in my carry-on and everything was fine - or so I thought. Once the plane landed in Brasilia I tried to turn it on. Not only would it not come on, but white lines appeared across the image of Jane Austen, the author, which was the screen saver and it progressively got worse to the point where instead of looking like Jane was in jail, it looked like she was on the other side of a mosquitoe net. Not cool. So I used my MagicJack (you HAVE to get one if you go abroad) to make a free call to Amazon. Since the second Kindle was also under manufacture warranty, they said they'd give me a new one for free AND reimburse me for the postage I'd have to pay since I'm out of the country (that I'll believe when I see it).

I asked Amazon to mail my new (the third one mind you) to my mom's address and I'll later decide the best way for her to send it to me. Suggestions? If my neighbor's mom comes to visit from Texas next month then she offered to bring it; that way my mom will just have to mail it to TX and then it'll be almost free for me to get it. Otherwise my mom will send it to me. But I still had to return the defective Kindle to Amazon. I was e-mailed the return UPS label (again, courtesy of Amazon) which I obviously can't use from here. But I went to the post office today with the label so that I'd have the address and I mailed it to Amazon for only (about) $22, and that's priority mail. It's supposed to arrive in 10-15 days so please cross your fingers. I don't want to be charged for it.

I'm relieved that my trip to the post office, or correio, was a success. A couple walked in right before us but because he didn't grab the ticket to be attended to, and I did, I got to go before him. I guess it paid to follow the rules. The woman at the counter was nice and helpful and let me take my time filling everything out. She explained everything to me and I was able to use my credit card from the States. I was a bit worried there'd be a problem using it in Brazil. All in all, today was a good day as far as running errands and going shopping. I finally found hangers for less than a fortunate and Havaiana flip-flops for R$8.50 instead of R$12 or more.

Update: Internet, School, Apartment

I am connected again! It's so great having Internet at home. If you live abroad then you understand the importance of being able to talk to family and friends, as well as handle your "business" at home on-line. We've been here for fewer than two weeks so it wasn't too long that we were without, and I probably checked my e-mail at least once every two days previous to having Internet at home, but still...Now I can use Skype, my MagicJack, and update my blog :).

Internet - We weren't too sure on how to go about getting hooked up so when we were at my school last week (maybe Wednesday?) we were told to go ahead and contact the company NET using the secretary's computer. I guessed that due to that suggestion (to contact NET) that they must be a good Internet/cable company. We decided not to get cable at this time and chose the 1 Mega Internet option (at only R$ 54.90/month); the faster Internet options were much more expensive. What we got is a reasonable price. That's maybe $35/month, roughly. We don't need cable at this time because we do have about 6 channels (in Portuguese) at no cost and we brought a lot of DVDs with us. We can also watch TV on-line. Our Internet speed is perfect, too. The company sent me a text this past Tuesday notifying us that the technician would be here the following day (yesterday) and he was. Quick and easy. The only issue is that only one computer can be connected at one time and we can't use our wireless adapter yet since we don't have a converter (the voltage is different here than in the US).

Apart from now having Internet, I've also had orientation with the executive director of the school, the woman who hired me, and the coordinators and principals of the school. This all happened this morning. Since I'm teaching 9th, 11th, and 12th grades, I have two administrators and two guidance counselors. See, in Brazil, 9th grade is considered the final year in middle school, but we know that in the US it's the first year of high school, so the principals overlap (as do the counselors). This sounds good to me. I REALLY like the principal that I met at the job fair and the other is very nice as well (I just don't know him as well). The orientation that we had for teachers in international schools was very helpful and informative. I'm more excited about working, especially to such a diverse group of students. The coordinators were all very nice and offered to help us in many ways. 

I was also set up with my school e-mail address, was given a tour of the beautiful campus, and had another delicious lunch. The food at the school is out of this world mouthwatering and it's healthy; there is a nutritionist at the school who makes sure of that. And we were told this morning that it's the law that we be given an hour for lunch (on a daily basis of course). That's what I'm talking about. I also really like how the school is a bilingual school. This way there is a lot of Portuguese being spoken around the school; with that being said, I need to give off the impression to my students that my language skills are rusty so they don't try to speak Portuguese with me. We'll see how well that goes.

It was nice to visit the school for orientation and introductions since we've been doing a lot of running around to get our documents taken care of. In addition to visiting the policia federal and getting my CPF (like my Brazilian SSN), I also had to have a medical exam for my health insurance, open up a bank account, sign documents, among other errands. It's good to now have a temporary ID and to know that I'll soon have a local bank account and health insurance.

Everything with our apartment is good. We've gotten to know the doormen (there are three) and it's nice to never have to open a door (haha). Sebastian is also getting used to his new home. I have to clean this place differently than in the US since there are no carpets (thank God!!) and since we're in the dry season and it hasn't rained since about May, it's not only dry but also dusty outside. I've found myself dusting more often and have realized that sweeping is not as useful as I thought. I need to "mop" the floors. But the "tools" that I have to use to clean the floors are easy to use and it takes less time than it did in the US (or so it seems). Today the school dropped off a chair for our spare bedroom since we only have a computer desk when we arrived. In addition, I found a nice bookshelf at the school that was no longer being used; in fact, it was in storage only to collect dust. I was told that once it was sanded down it would be delivered. I'd say that apart from those two pieces of furniture we're all set. 

We've also been sightseeing, have hung out with friends, have been trying to get E resettled in his country, and of course have been busy running errands and trying to explore/get to know our new city. E's been job hunting, trying to get his school transcripts so he can go back to school, and has found a gym where he can train MMA and BJJ. There are some big time fighters there to train with so he's really challenged. I was able to check it out the other day so that was exciting for me because we met a UFC fighter and I love to meet famous people :). 

Speaking of settling in, I need to organize this place (I've been so busy that I haven't spend more than a few hours at a time here), clean up a bit, and find the closest post office so I can send my defective Kindle to Amazon before they charge me for another. Now that I have Internet I should be updating more often so keep your eye open. Talk to you soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Santuario Dom Bosco

The other day we took a short trip to the Santuario Dom Bosco while sightseeing around the city of Brasilia. Here's what's inside and outside.

Very beautiful if you ask me.