Super Starter

Today I pulled something in my neck.  Ouch!  I can barely turn it to the right.  A normal day, but had to run to the bank after we picked Ben up from school.  On hot days, if I run the car too long it won’t start.  This is a problem when I have to run to the bank and then go anywhere else after that.  No drive troughs in Brasil as far as I have seen, so I have learned how to park.  I have to walk a bit longer but I park on a hill so that my car will roll and I can then put it in second gear, let off the clutch and away we go.  I am an absolute pro now at starting a car in second. 

Anyway, on my way home from the grocery store I called Rodrigo and he told me that we were going to have family stay the night.  I called him to see if he wanted me to bring him lunch but after the news, I went straight home and started cleaning.  I organized, did laundry, cleaned, made salsa & cooked dinner for hours.  No, this isn’t the first time but it was worse today because I had a kink in my neck.   By the time I hit school I was exhausted.  Well, at least chores are done and house is clean…but for how long?

I say “Kind of funny” a lot and sometimes it makes me wonder if I try too hard to find the humor in all of these situations. 

Baratas

The other night we took our friends to our favorite neighborhood Launches place.  While we were sitting there we were becoming surrounded by cockroaches “Baratas” coming in from her neighbor’s house.    It was disgusting, I was jumping around screaming.  At one point one ran over my foot.   This was the first time I had ever seen so many at one time and I could tell the lunch lady was super embarrassed.  Oh well, it was kind of funny and she mentions it every time I see her.   

What can I say, another holiday weekend is here.  Kids have been gone for a few days and I am so happy to have them back, but they had a great time.  Tomorrow shall be relaxing and we will take the kids to Rodrigos new shop. 

Horses & Bicycles

Sometimes I don’t always say the crazy things that I see every day in my neighborhood.  For instance, in my neighborhood many people only ride bikes for transportation and going double on a bike is very common (boyfriends/girlfriends, Friends, and Families).  I have seen a family of four on a bike many times.  From the first moment I thought… I want a bicycle.  Then there is the for hire horse pulling a trailer used as a moving/delivery truck, the cows that walk around in the morning on the streets going through trash, the construction workers in thongs or people riding motorcycles barefoot and you know what I think?  I want a horse.

Then other times when life is hard…I think why are you so fucking understanding?  What is normal anyway? I have had many head trips over the last year and finally I think I am starting to figure out one thing…That comparing two countries as different as the U.S.A & Brasil is impossible.  Remember the old saying “you can’t compare Apples and Oranges?”  Sometimes I like to repeat those sayings but never really think about how they apply to me.  Rodrigo has said to me, since my arrival, stop comparing! Stop trying to see Brasil through American eyes…however, it was a personal journey no doubt and I wanted to feel it all.  I think I am in need of a vacation to America to process this last year of my life and when I return, it will be time to get busy fitting in.  Cuz wherever you go; foreign country, shitty job or drinking on an island…There you are. 

So since I started out with what I see daily in my neighborhood, let me give you another fun example.  One Saturday as we were coming home from the Trout Farm this is what saw as we entered into my neighborhood.  1^st there was an older lady walking hand in hand with a naked 2 year old baby boy down the main road.   Then a minute later there were 3 guys on bikes pushing our car into the oncoming traffic instead of moving to the side of the road, then as we turned onto our street there were 2 horses walking down the street side by side. Good thing we were home.  However the most surprising was last Thursday when the kids and I walked down to pick up our pizza and on our way back there were 50 cows being herded down the middle of the street.  Ben got scared and I thought if this was Nebraska and we were in the middle of the field; we’d better run.  However, in the middle of the neighborhood and assuming that the cows are used to people, I realized that we were safer than we thought and maybe this would be a great time for Gabi to pet her first Cow.  J