So I had to post this because it made me somewhat angry.
An article came out yesterday on ESPN that Iowa's top receiver got busted for keeping a 'drug house' on campus and was not arrested and suspended from the team before it's Bowl game on December 28. While there is absolutley no way to condone this type of behavior I am glad he received NO special treatment for being a football player, but at the same time what is wrong with kids these days. My God that statement made me feel old, but my sister and I were so privileged to have parents pay for our education I just can't imagine when 100+k 4 year education and a shot at millions in the NFL didn't become enough. I think I'll run a pot house with some cocaine and prescription drugs on the side.
I've got a couple of cousins in college right now and one of them wants to go into business and I have tried to instill in him the need for foreign languages. We'll see if he listens, and if he reads this, get your butt into a foreign language (NOT SPANISH) next semester.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Updates and I'm spoiled
So as some of you (if you're still actually reading this blog) may know I had some visa issues in Brazil and recently returned about two weeks ago to continue my job, work, and resume living down here. I didn't do any updates in the states because well I figured no one wanted to read that I rode the bus, took the el, worked, and then went home everyday. It was a nice time at home and it was great to see my family but also tough not knowing when the visa was going to be approved and my return was a big ?
For those that don't know I was issued two visas to be in Brazil and they were work visas with 180 day expiration and only a 90 day duration at one time in the country. This new visa is a Vitem V work/residence visa in Brazil and will allow me to stay in Brazil for up to 12 months without leaving (if I so choose). This new visa took 4.5 months to work it's way through the system and be approved by the ministry of labor in Brazil and then be issued by the consulate in Chicago. When I received work that the visa was approved and at the Chicago consulate I went to the consulate to pick-up my visa. Upon arrival (on a Wednesday) I brought my paperwork, photos, passport etc for the visa to be issued to me that day. The conversation went something like this:
Woman: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'm here to pick up my new visa for Brazil
Woman: Did you apply for your visa?
Me: Yes, it's here ready to be picked up.
Woman: Did you apply for your visa?
Me: Yes, I received word that the MOL in Brazil approved my visa and I'm here to pick it up
Woman: Yes, but did you apply for the visa here
Me: Why would I need to apply for it here when it was approved by Brazil and been applied for 4.5 months ago?
Woman: You need to come back on Friday to apply for your visa
Me: Why can't I come back tomorrow?
Woman: It's a holiday we are closed
Me: There's no holiday in Brazil tomorrow
Woman: It's veterans day
Me: That's an American holiday
Woman: Yes I know we take both holidays, Brazilian and American
Me: (sarcastic laugh) Can I have an application to work here?
Woman: Come back on Friday
So that's how my initial encounter with the consulate went. I went back on Friday and it took over 5 hours to issue the applications because I had to make 2 trips to the post office (Consulate ONLY accepts postal money orders) and I had to go back because they told me the wrong amount on the money order. I made the application with them and the girl said I can't process this because you don't have a return itinerary. (note this is now one of those times where you become so frustrated that even as a 31 year old man I wanted to either punch something very hard or cry) I said this is a work residence visa where I don't need to leave the country for 12 months if I don't want to and I can't book a flight 12 months out (also it's worth mentioning that the woman on Wednesday did NOT mention that I needed a return flight because she knew this was not a tourist visa). So luckily I had a flight for Christmas already which means I had to leave AGAIN, go to a kinkos and print and bring back my flight for Christmas.
After the application was done it was almost 11 am and you're thinking okay they are going to issue the visa and I can go, WRONG. Application hours are from 9-11 and pick-up is from 12-1. So I had to leave, take a cab to my office, and then go back at noon to pick-up the visa at the consulate.
All-in-all this was one of the worst experiences I've ever had to deal with, possibly edging out the DMV but that's because I don't have a car in the states anymore and rarely if ever have to go to the DMV.
So now I'm back and I am fully legal, minus needing to register with the federal police which I will take care of before I leave for Christmas and then I am good for another 12 months and will possibly get extended for another 6 months bringing my total stint on/off in Brazil to two years. Work has really picked up the pace down here. I am in what my bosses are calling phase 2 of this position I guess and I am starting to sit in on daily production meetings, forecast meetings, pre-operational meetings, and have been given some additional logistics responsibility for helping the company do their planning for material coming into Brazil from the US. Probably doesn't sound too exciting but it's good to have your days full and makes the days and weeks fly-by that's for sure. I am still taking Portuguese classes 2 days a week for 1.5 hours each so three hours total per week and then of course all of my meetings and things are in Portuguese so it helps with the languages barrier and things are starting to become second nature. I am still having problems with verbs (there are a TON of regular and irregular verbs) and it's tough when you compare to English because English is a much easier language to learn than Portuguese.
I am heading to a gym this weekend to sign-up for a membership, have finally picked out a car for the next year + here (I am now on car # 5 in 7 months) so things are finally starting resemble a real life where things won't be constantly changing. Our company is providing healthy living discounts and reimbursing employees $50 per month for gym memberships, unfortunatley given that everything here is 3-4x more than the states (minus services) it will still cost me $85 out of pocket each month, but it includes the club in Campinas and in Sousas (20 min away) 2 pools, 4 tennis courts, classes, gym, night club, and full service restaurant. Pretty decent deal but being here less than a year is great because you don't have to pay the R$5,000 to join up (US$3,000). If that's the case I'll just keep running and swimming at my apartment building because I am not about to spend that much money on a gym membership.
So as some of you may know I can be and have been somewhat spoiled in my life. That's not to say anything about my work ethic because I've always sought out and achieved my own jobs and success in life, all by the Grace of God, but living here I am starting to get a little worried about moving back to the states in the next year or 18 months. I have hired a maid/cook to clean my apartment and she comes every Monday and cooks, cleans, does the laundry, irons and then leaves a grocery list for the following week based on what I like to eat. She's been great and truly freed up a lot of my time out of work and school for other activities. In addition, included in my rent is a daily service to tidy up the apartment, make the bed, and empty the trash. Well I arrived home yesterday and was wondering why it only took one turn to open my apartment door, walked in an realized that the bed had not been made and the trash emptied and then remembered that it was a holiday in Campinas. I told one of my buddies about this and his response was 'you poor thing.' Ha, precious and classic and then made me realize that I needed to do a lot of thinking and praying about my selfishness and how I am beginning to take things for granted. I guess living alone for the past 3+ years is making me realize that I need to make some slight changes in my attitudes and be a more selfless person.
No serious girlfriend to speak of, I am still focusing on building my relationships with some guys here in Brazil and had a good talk with one of my good friends here the other night. He said that our relationship and with another friend of ours as well has helped him with the relationship with his wife because he never really had a balance before. It was nice to hear that and nice to meet some good friends here that are willing to hang out, talk or help you out if necessary, and he's a golfer so that will be key when I come back in January!
That's about it for now. I've got a couple of other updates that I need to post and of course some pictures, but believe me that is my goal when I am home at Christmas! I will be posting some pictures from my trip to the North East of Brazil and some from our last weekend in Campos do Jordao (mountains of Brazil).
I hope everyone is well back home, you all had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and are gearing up for the Christmas season.
Cheers
Adam
For those that don't know I was issued two visas to be in Brazil and they were work visas with 180 day expiration and only a 90 day duration at one time in the country. This new visa is a Vitem V work/residence visa in Brazil and will allow me to stay in Brazil for up to 12 months without leaving (if I so choose). This new visa took 4.5 months to work it's way through the system and be approved by the ministry of labor in Brazil and then be issued by the consulate in Chicago. When I received work that the visa was approved and at the Chicago consulate I went to the consulate to pick-up my visa. Upon arrival (on a Wednesday) I brought my paperwork, photos, passport etc for the visa to be issued to me that day. The conversation went something like this:
Woman: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'm here to pick up my new visa for Brazil
Woman: Did you apply for your visa?
Me: Yes, it's here ready to be picked up.
Woman: Did you apply for your visa?
Me: Yes, I received word that the MOL in Brazil approved my visa and I'm here to pick it up
Woman: Yes, but did you apply for the visa here
Me: Why would I need to apply for it here when it was approved by Brazil and been applied for 4.5 months ago?
Woman: You need to come back on Friday to apply for your visa
Me: Why can't I come back tomorrow?
Woman: It's a holiday we are closed
Me: There's no holiday in Brazil tomorrow
Woman: It's veterans day
Me: That's an American holiday
Woman: Yes I know we take both holidays, Brazilian and American
Me: (sarcastic laugh) Can I have an application to work here?
Woman: Come back on Friday
So that's how my initial encounter with the consulate went. I went back on Friday and it took over 5 hours to issue the applications because I had to make 2 trips to the post office (Consulate ONLY accepts postal money orders) and I had to go back because they told me the wrong amount on the money order. I made the application with them and the girl said I can't process this because you don't have a return itinerary. (note this is now one of those times where you become so frustrated that even as a 31 year old man I wanted to either punch something very hard or cry) I said this is a work residence visa where I don't need to leave the country for 12 months if I don't want to and I can't book a flight 12 months out (also it's worth mentioning that the woman on Wednesday did NOT mention that I needed a return flight because she knew this was not a tourist visa). So luckily I had a flight for Christmas already which means I had to leave AGAIN, go to a kinkos and print and bring back my flight for Christmas.
After the application was done it was almost 11 am and you're thinking okay they are going to issue the visa and I can go, WRONG. Application hours are from 9-11 and pick-up is from 12-1. So I had to leave, take a cab to my office, and then go back at noon to pick-up the visa at the consulate.
All-in-all this was one of the worst experiences I've ever had to deal with, possibly edging out the DMV but that's because I don't have a car in the states anymore and rarely if ever have to go to the DMV.
So now I'm back and I am fully legal, minus needing to register with the federal police which I will take care of before I leave for Christmas and then I am good for another 12 months and will possibly get extended for another 6 months bringing my total stint on/off in Brazil to two years. Work has really picked up the pace down here. I am in what my bosses are calling phase 2 of this position I guess and I am starting to sit in on daily production meetings, forecast meetings, pre-operational meetings, and have been given some additional logistics responsibility for helping the company do their planning for material coming into Brazil from the US. Probably doesn't sound too exciting but it's good to have your days full and makes the days and weeks fly-by that's for sure. I am still taking Portuguese classes 2 days a week for 1.5 hours each so three hours total per week and then of course all of my meetings and things are in Portuguese so it helps with the languages barrier and things are starting to become second nature. I am still having problems with verbs (there are a TON of regular and irregular verbs) and it's tough when you compare to English because English is a much easier language to learn than Portuguese.
I am heading to a gym this weekend to sign-up for a membership, have finally picked out a car for the next year + here (I am now on car # 5 in 7 months) so things are finally starting resemble a real life where things won't be constantly changing. Our company is providing healthy living discounts and reimbursing employees $50 per month for gym memberships, unfortunatley given that everything here is 3-4x more than the states (minus services) it will still cost me $85 out of pocket each month, but it includes the club in Campinas and in Sousas (20 min away) 2 pools, 4 tennis courts, classes, gym, night club, and full service restaurant. Pretty decent deal but being here less than a year is great because you don't have to pay the R$5,000 to join up (US$3,000). If that's the case I'll just keep running and swimming at my apartment building because I am not about to spend that much money on a gym membership.
So as some of you may know I can be and have been somewhat spoiled in my life. That's not to say anything about my work ethic because I've always sought out and achieved my own jobs and success in life, all by the Grace of God, but living here I am starting to get a little worried about moving back to the states in the next year or 18 months. I have hired a maid/cook to clean my apartment and she comes every Monday and cooks, cleans, does the laundry, irons and then leaves a grocery list for the following week based on what I like to eat. She's been great and truly freed up a lot of my time out of work and school for other activities. In addition, included in my rent is a daily service to tidy up the apartment, make the bed, and empty the trash. Well I arrived home yesterday and was wondering why it only took one turn to open my apartment door, walked in an realized that the bed had not been made and the trash emptied and then remembered that it was a holiday in Campinas. I told one of my buddies about this and his response was 'you poor thing.' Ha, precious and classic and then made me realize that I needed to do a lot of thinking and praying about my selfishness and how I am beginning to take things for granted. I guess living alone for the past 3+ years is making me realize that I need to make some slight changes in my attitudes and be a more selfless person.
No serious girlfriend to speak of, I am still focusing on building my relationships with some guys here in Brazil and had a good talk with one of my good friends here the other night. He said that our relationship and with another friend of ours as well has helped him with the relationship with his wife because he never really had a balance before. It was nice to hear that and nice to meet some good friends here that are willing to hang out, talk or help you out if necessary, and he's a golfer so that will be key when I come back in January!
That's about it for now. I've got a couple of other updates that I need to post and of course some pictures, but believe me that is my goal when I am home at Christmas! I will be posting some pictures from my trip to the North East of Brazil and some from our last weekend in Campos do Jordao (mountains of Brazil).
I hope everyone is well back home, you all had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and are gearing up for the Christmas season.
Cheers
Adam
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Customary lounge/going home/done checking email post
So back in the lounge at SP, just finished the last of my emails for the day and have about 2 hours before I board to head back home. Mom and Madeline are picking me up at the airport tomorrow and then a quick stop in the city to pick up 2 months worth of mail, check on the place, and drop off a suitcase.
All in all a pretty good and uneventful week. Typical work, workout, class, work.....well do it all over again. Was a long busy day today and haven't even had time to think about coming home but I am starting to get excited now.
Pray for safe travels, no delays with the flights, and that everything goes smoothly with my visa (one reason I am heading home this month).
Cheers
Adam
All in all a pretty good and uneventful week. Typical work, workout, class, work.....well do it all over again. Was a long busy day today and haven't even had time to think about coming home but I am starting to get excited now.
Pray for safe travels, no delays with the flights, and that everything goes smoothly with my visa (one reason I am heading home this month).
Cheers
Adam
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
No Jesus part II yet
iPhone got released in Brazil and before people think about complaining about costs etc in the US about, well anything, the same phone that sells for $300 in the states is US$ 1,500 in Brazil.
Also to give you another comparison a Honda Civic goes for US$35k-$40k, gas is 2x-3x more per gallon than the US and all electronics are at least 3x more expensive than the states. Just a little food for thought.
Also to give you another comparison a Honda Civic goes for US$35k-$40k, gas is 2x-3x more per gallon than the US and all electronics are at least 3x more expensive than the states. Just a little food for thought.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sao Luis - You need the Jesus (Part I)
So this past weekend was Brazilian Independence day and as in the states it consisted of a long weekend starting on Friday after work until Tuesday (Independence day). Some friends and I decided to book a trip to the Northeast of Brazil and go to Sao Luis, Lencois Maranhenses, and the Preguicas River for 3 days. You might be curious as to the title of this blog entry, but I will get to that shortly.
The trip started at 4 am on Saturday with a not so nice alarm wake-up signifying the beginning of what would be a long but amazing weekend. We had to drive to the Sao Paulo airport for our 7:20 am flight for which we arrive at about 6:30 am. Myself and a friend (Ergys) were able to get checked in via the kiosks while Dan and Claudia had to fight their way through the line. Ergys and I went for breakfast and of course as soon as we are about to order there are 3 couples in front of us that decided to order 1 of everything on the menu which proceeded to of course tick me right off. We then had to get out of line and go to our gate because they were on the final boarding call for our flight and this is not a flight you want to miss because there are no direct flights. As we get on the plane I see Dan sitting in the exit row and think, man he is lucky because I'd love and exit row for this 4+ hour flight. I asked Dan how he got it and he explained his travel philosophy to me. He sits where he wants until someone kicks him out of the seat then he moves to another seat until he gets kicked out. So I decided to try this out and wouldn't you know it, it worked! Exit row for both flights to Sao Luis, I am now not so ticked that I didn't get breakfast.
We land in Sao Luis around 12:30 pm, get a taxi and he takes us to our hotel. We arrive at the hotel a bit before check-in but they are able to accommodate us at the pool to have a couple of beers before we get into our rooms. Since Sao Luis is near the equator the temperature is a steady 30-35 degrees year round and a UV index of 10+ so I spent the first 10 min at the pool slathering myself in SPF 60 so I don't ruin my weekend on the first day by getting too much sun.
After the pool we headed to a recommended restaurant that has comida regional or local food to the region for lunch. Their specialty is fish, shrimp, and annoying locals. We sit down to order some drinks and some food and about 5 min after we sit down, Marcos is strolling over to our table and starts asking if we are all Americans. Now I should have mentioned this before but we are a melting pot of tourists. I of course am the lone American, Dan is Irish (whiter than me), Claudia is Mexican (Dan's girlfriend), and Ergys is Albanian. So you can say that we are a pretty diverse group but we all live together in the United Nations building (our apartment building's given name) and a couple of us share the same Portuguese professor. I digress.....Marcos proceeds to spend the entire lunch with us drinking, telling stories, how many countries he's visited and worked in all while giving me about 20-30 punches in the arm. Ergys has a great picture that I'll post later where I am about 20 min into the meal and already annoyed with this guy. He is of course still a typical guy where he would forget all of the guys' names but remembered Claudia's name (shocking) and called Ergys, Elvis. That was pretty funny.
After lunch we headed to the beach to walk around since we'd been sitting for almost 8 or 9 hours already and it was only about 4 pm in the afternoon. We walked around until we found an outdoor restaurant and headed to the beach for some coco water, swimming, and to watch the sunset. It was pretty cool to be in the ocean so far north and you could see all of the freightliners and cargo ships heading south toward Brazil carrying goods. Interesting to me because the company I work for down here imports lots of goods from the US and it was neat to see them all heading into port in the northern part of the country.
After the sunset and some more pictures, we headed to the Centro Historico (Historical City Center) to walk around and take some more pictures. This was really neat and it had a lot of tourist shops, restaurants, live music etc. Not really a whole lot to do and it didn't seem as if a lot of people lived in this area as it was pretty run down and some places looked abandoned. We found a big outdoor restaurant and decided to get some juice and listen to some music before heading back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. This is where I had my first Jesus.....I had been hearing about this drink (Guarana Jesus) as Guarana is a very popular soda in Brazil, it is supposed to have natural energy and taste like cherries. I love it and once I heard about the Jesus I had to try one. This Jesus drink is only available in this northern state where Sao Luis and Lencois is located so I had to try it and lemme tell you it tastes EXACTLY like liquiod bubbel gum and it's pink. You know when we were kids and you put 25 cents in and got a giant gumball? Yep exactly like that except you drink it. Anyway, the running joke for the weekend became 'You need Jesus' followed by handing someone the Jesus drink, and I decided that whenever I bought a Jesus I had to take a picture of it wherever we were or myself drinking it. We have Jesus in Sao Luis, Jesus on a boat, Jesus on the dunes, Jesus in a bottle, Jesus in the airport etc. It was pretty entertaining.
We headed back to the hotel about 8:30 to get a nap in before dinner. When I woke up for dinner, got a shower and when I was brushing my teeth decided to check out the night view from the balcony. When I stepped outside there was a big crowd of people standing around, one guy sitting, and a car with it's front bumper off. As some people came and went I saw the chalk outline of a motorcycle and a body sitting next to the chalk outline. There was also a chalk outline around the body and realized the guy sitting on the ground was straddling the dead persons body, and this was no joke directly in front of our balcony looking at the street. It was pretty nerve racking to say the least and besides seeing a covered dead body on the way to the airport one day, this was my only other time. We couldn't figure out why they wouldn't cover the body or move it out of the way and this went on for a good 30-40 min.
After we were dressed and ready for dinner we got some recommendations from the front desk, hopped in a cab and we were off. The restaurant had live music, good food, and it was on a lake so it was like everything else, all open air and outside. After dinner we wandered around a little bit and wound up at a couple of more bars with live music, danced and finally called it a night around 4 am.
Lencois Maranhenses - You need Jesus (Part II) to come later this weekend
The trip started at 4 am on Saturday with a not so nice alarm wake-up signifying the beginning of what would be a long but amazing weekend. We had to drive to the Sao Paulo airport for our 7:20 am flight for which we arrive at about 6:30 am. Myself and a friend (Ergys) were able to get checked in via the kiosks while Dan and Claudia had to fight their way through the line. Ergys and I went for breakfast and of course as soon as we are about to order there are 3 couples in front of us that decided to order 1 of everything on the menu which proceeded to of course tick me right off. We then had to get out of line and go to our gate because they were on the final boarding call for our flight and this is not a flight you want to miss because there are no direct flights. As we get on the plane I see Dan sitting in the exit row and think, man he is lucky because I'd love and exit row for this 4+ hour flight. I asked Dan how he got it and he explained his travel philosophy to me. He sits where he wants until someone kicks him out of the seat then he moves to another seat until he gets kicked out. So I decided to try this out and wouldn't you know it, it worked! Exit row for both flights to Sao Luis, I am now not so ticked that I didn't get breakfast.
We land in Sao Luis around 12:30 pm, get a taxi and he takes us to our hotel. We arrive at the hotel a bit before check-in but they are able to accommodate us at the pool to have a couple of beers before we get into our rooms. Since Sao Luis is near the equator the temperature is a steady 30-35 degrees year round and a UV index of 10+ so I spent the first 10 min at the pool slathering myself in SPF 60 so I don't ruin my weekend on the first day by getting too much sun.
After the pool we headed to a recommended restaurant that has comida regional or local food to the region for lunch. Their specialty is fish, shrimp, and annoying locals. We sit down to order some drinks and some food and about 5 min after we sit down, Marcos is strolling over to our table and starts asking if we are all Americans. Now I should have mentioned this before but we are a melting pot of tourists. I of course am the lone American, Dan is Irish (whiter than me), Claudia is Mexican (Dan's girlfriend), and Ergys is Albanian. So you can say that we are a pretty diverse group but we all live together in the United Nations building (our apartment building's given name) and a couple of us share the same Portuguese professor. I digress.....Marcos proceeds to spend the entire lunch with us drinking, telling stories, how many countries he's visited and worked in all while giving me about 20-30 punches in the arm. Ergys has a great picture that I'll post later where I am about 20 min into the meal and already annoyed with this guy. He is of course still a typical guy where he would forget all of the guys' names but remembered Claudia's name (shocking) and called Ergys, Elvis. That was pretty funny.
After lunch we headed to the beach to walk around since we'd been sitting for almost 8 or 9 hours already and it was only about 4 pm in the afternoon. We walked around until we found an outdoor restaurant and headed to the beach for some coco water, swimming, and to watch the sunset. It was pretty cool to be in the ocean so far north and you could see all of the freightliners and cargo ships heading south toward Brazil carrying goods. Interesting to me because the company I work for down here imports lots of goods from the US and it was neat to see them all heading into port in the northern part of the country.
After the sunset and some more pictures, we headed to the Centro Historico (Historical City Center) to walk around and take some more pictures. This was really neat and it had a lot of tourist shops, restaurants, live music etc. Not really a whole lot to do and it didn't seem as if a lot of people lived in this area as it was pretty run down and some places looked abandoned. We found a big outdoor restaurant and decided to get some juice and listen to some music before heading back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. This is where I had my first Jesus.....I had been hearing about this drink (Guarana Jesus) as Guarana is a very popular soda in Brazil, it is supposed to have natural energy and taste like cherries. I love it and once I heard about the Jesus I had to try one. This Jesus drink is only available in this northern state where Sao Luis and Lencois is located so I had to try it and lemme tell you it tastes EXACTLY like liquiod bubbel gum and it's pink. You know when we were kids and you put 25 cents in and got a giant gumball? Yep exactly like that except you drink it. Anyway, the running joke for the weekend became 'You need Jesus' followed by handing someone the Jesus drink, and I decided that whenever I bought a Jesus I had to take a picture of it wherever we were or myself drinking it. We have Jesus in Sao Luis, Jesus on a boat, Jesus on the dunes, Jesus in a bottle, Jesus in the airport etc. It was pretty entertaining.
We headed back to the hotel about 8:30 to get a nap in before dinner. When I woke up for dinner, got a shower and when I was brushing my teeth decided to check out the night view from the balcony. When I stepped outside there was a big crowd of people standing around, one guy sitting, and a car with it's front bumper off. As some people came and went I saw the chalk outline of a motorcycle and a body sitting next to the chalk outline. There was also a chalk outline around the body and realized the guy sitting on the ground was straddling the dead persons body, and this was no joke directly in front of our balcony looking at the street. It was pretty nerve racking to say the least and besides seeing a covered dead body on the way to the airport one day, this was my only other time. We couldn't figure out why they wouldn't cover the body or move it out of the way and this went on for a good 30-40 min.
After we were dressed and ready for dinner we got some recommendations from the front desk, hopped in a cab and we were off. The restaurant had live music, good food, and it was on a lake so it was like everything else, all open air and outside. After dinner we wandered around a little bit and wound up at a couple of more bars with live music, danced and finally called it a night around 4 am.
Lencois Maranhenses - You need Jesus (Part II) to come later this weekend
Friday, September 3, 2010
What is up with the Bears.....
I kind of figured it was coming but I am still disappointed over the lack of excitement for the kickoff of the NFL season next weekend. Being surrounded by avid soccer fans I was trying to prepare myself but I am saddened by my lack of excitement for college and NFL. The Hawkeyes play EIU this weekend which hopefully will not be a repeat of last years near upset by UNI where Iowa had to block two field goals to hold on for the win. Since I am heading out of town this weekend I will not be able to watch the game but am hoping that they will be able to pull out the W without my support from 5,000+ miles south.
My first fantasy football draft has been concluded and next week will be spent doing some additional reasearch to see which guys are injured, starting, sitting, and can be claimed off waivers since I haven't looked at my roster since draft night. I've been very disappointed in this supposed 'high power' offense that the Bears have tried to install by bringing on Mike Martz and you'd think with 3 (2 ex and 1 current) head coaches they would be able to get their act together and win AT LEAST one preseason football game, but going 0-4 does not instill a lot of confidence in me that they will be able to be contenders in the NFC North. We've got an aging defense where this could very well be Urlacher's last year and some needed replacements will need to be made on that side of the ball. The Bears hired Mike Tice to coach the offensive line and I know that sometimes when I've had a few beers I think I can do anything (hit .208 what Milton Bradley was hitting for the Cubs last year or catch a football given that I'm 6'4" tall) but this guy was hired to give Jay Culter 3 seconds to get rid of the football. I am so far not as disappointed in the offense as I am with the offensive line of the Bears. You hire a new guy to come in and coach maybe 10 guys to give your 'QB of the Future' 3 seconds to throw the ball and it's no wonder that you are no longer a head coach somewhere.
Anyway, I am in no way an ESPN analyst but it seems that this is all I have been reading about that and how many players the Cubs are calling up because they've given up on this season (I hope Lou's mom is doing well though).
So this post, not too much to do about Brazil. I was at the foundry a couple of days this week working on a project that I am wrapping up today (hopefully) and then went to Sao Paulo for dinner. Somehow my GPS got me lost and I wound up in a bus station parking lot. I really loathe driving in Sao Paulo and it's not the city to get lost in that's for sure. I made it to my destination safely and had a nice dinner at a new restaurant for me. This weekend we have a 4 day weekend since it's Brazil's independence day on Tuesday so the office is closed on Monday as well. Some friends and I are heading to Lencois Maranhenses this weekend so if you don't know where or what Lencois is you MUST google it. The pictures look like nothing I've ever seen and can't wait to head up to the Northeast of Brazil this weekend.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day, enjoys the last of the summer weather, BBQs, golf, or whatever your plans entail. Also, for those of you still following this blog and that have any interest, I am returning to the states on October 1 for a few weeks to get my new visa and one of my good friends is getting married.
Tchau
Adam
My first fantasy football draft has been concluded and next week will be spent doing some additional reasearch to see which guys are injured, starting, sitting, and can be claimed off waivers since I haven't looked at my roster since draft night. I've been very disappointed in this supposed 'high power' offense that the Bears have tried to install by bringing on Mike Martz and you'd think with 3 (2 ex and 1 current) head coaches they would be able to get their act together and win AT LEAST one preseason football game, but going 0-4 does not instill a lot of confidence in me that they will be able to be contenders in the NFC North. We've got an aging defense where this could very well be Urlacher's last year and some needed replacements will need to be made on that side of the ball. The Bears hired Mike Tice to coach the offensive line and I know that sometimes when I've had a few beers I think I can do anything (hit .208 what Milton Bradley was hitting for the Cubs last year or catch a football given that I'm 6'4" tall) but this guy was hired to give Jay Culter 3 seconds to get rid of the football. I am so far not as disappointed in the offense as I am with the offensive line of the Bears. You hire a new guy to come in and coach maybe 10 guys to give your 'QB of the Future' 3 seconds to throw the ball and it's no wonder that you are no longer a head coach somewhere.
Anyway, I am in no way an ESPN analyst but it seems that this is all I have been reading about that and how many players the Cubs are calling up because they've given up on this season (I hope Lou's mom is doing well though).
So this post, not too much to do about Brazil. I was at the foundry a couple of days this week working on a project that I am wrapping up today (hopefully) and then went to Sao Paulo for dinner. Somehow my GPS got me lost and I wound up in a bus station parking lot. I really loathe driving in Sao Paulo and it's not the city to get lost in that's for sure. I made it to my destination safely and had a nice dinner at a new restaurant for me. This weekend we have a 4 day weekend since it's Brazil's independence day on Tuesday so the office is closed on Monday as well. Some friends and I are heading to Lencois Maranhenses this weekend so if you don't know where or what Lencois is you MUST google it. The pictures look like nothing I've ever seen and can't wait to head up to the Northeast of Brazil this weekend.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day, enjoys the last of the summer weather, BBQs, golf, or whatever your plans entail. Also, for those of you still following this blog and that have any interest, I am returning to the states on October 1 for a few weeks to get my new visa and one of my good friends is getting married.
Tchau
Adam
Monday, August 30, 2010
Weekend Update
Not too much to report for the weekend. Friday night went out with my expat friends and had a happy hour for a guy that used to work in our building at the front desk as one of our security guards. He got a job at IBM in Brazil and begins working there today so Friday was a celebration for him. Saturday the same group of people minus a few went to the park for our Saturday morning running routine and workout, coco water, juice etc. We all went out for breakfast afterward and then I went to the street fair, bought some fruits, vegetables for the week and then back to my apartment to shower and relax.
Saturday night did a whole lot of nothing. I was supposed to go to Sao Paulo with some friends but they decided to get a hotel room and I didn't want to spend R$100 to get into a club and then another R$200 on a hotel room. We are all traveling together this weekend so I decided to pass and just get some rest.
Sunday went back to the park, ran, lifted (outdoor gym for the volleyball guys to make fun of me) and then went to the supermarket to get food for Deusa to cook this week. Last night I made my way to the foundry for a project that I have due tomorrow and I'll head back to Campinas tomorrow night and possibly a stop over in Sao Paulo for dinner. SP is about 2 hours from the foundry and then another hour or so to Campinas so it's not too far out of the way to stop and get dinner somewhere different.
Weather here was really hot this past weekend, it's been steadily climbing back into the 90s here and it seems as though winter is coming to an end. The humidity hasn't kicked in yet so it's been really dry and lots of forest fires have been flaring up along the sides of the road.
Hope all is well with everyone back at home and see some of you in the next month when I return at the beginning of October.
Tchau
Adam
Saturday night did a whole lot of nothing. I was supposed to go to Sao Paulo with some friends but they decided to get a hotel room and I didn't want to spend R$100 to get into a club and then another R$200 on a hotel room. We are all traveling together this weekend so I decided to pass and just get some rest.
Sunday went back to the park, ran, lifted (outdoor gym for the volleyball guys to make fun of me) and then went to the supermarket to get food for Deusa to cook this week. Last night I made my way to the foundry for a project that I have due tomorrow and I'll head back to Campinas tomorrow night and possibly a stop over in Sao Paulo for dinner. SP is about 2 hours from the foundry and then another hour or so to Campinas so it's not too far out of the way to stop and get dinner somewhere different.
Weather here was really hot this past weekend, it's been steadily climbing back into the 90s here and it seems as though winter is coming to an end. The humidity hasn't kicked in yet so it's been really dry and lots of forest fires have been flaring up along the sides of the road.
Hope all is well with everyone back at home and see some of you in the next month when I return at the beginning of October.
Tchau
Adam
Friday, August 27, 2010
Yesterday was not a good day....
Ever have those days where you wake up and you're just mad or unmotivated and it permeates your whole day? Well, I had one of those yesterday. I don't know why, no good reason for it, I was just unmotivated at work, traffic sucked on the way home (I miss the CTA) and I just in general felt like crap on my run last night. Got home from my run and I hit my head getting into the shower and I just wanted to call it a night.
Today seems to be starting off better with a 6k run this morning before work, got a nice little list of things to get done today and meeting some friends for a happy hour after work and then maybe some poker. More 11k runs this weekend and I think I'll be going back to the Catholic church I visited last week but would like to check out their Saturday service.
I booked my return home for October 1. One of my best friends is getting married in October and the timing is perfect because I need to get my visa renewed and I am hoping that will be taken care of at the same time.
Hope everyone is doing well back home and has a great weekend.
Tchau
Adam
Today seems to be starting off better with a 6k run this morning before work, got a nice little list of things to get done today and meeting some friends for a happy hour after work and then maybe some poker. More 11k runs this weekend and I think I'll be going back to the Catholic church I visited last week but would like to check out their Saturday service.
I booked my return home for October 1. One of my best friends is getting married in October and the timing is perfect because I need to get my visa renewed and I am hoping that will be taken care of at the same time.
Hope everyone is doing well back home and has a great weekend.
Tchau
Adam
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
No real updates
No real updates for this Tuesday morning, just trying to work myself into more of a routine of updating the blog. Yesterday was pretty uneventful, took a rest day from working out since I did a lot this past weekend, my maid made her weekly stop at my apartment so I am replenished with dinners for the next few days. Last nights meal was chicken with onions, broccoli, rice, beans, and salad. I started to prep for my first fantasy football draft and get the teams ready for our draft on Wednesday night of this week and posted some videos of Madeline on Facebook. Monday night football is on TV down here since I get ESPN so it's been pretty cool to be able to get some American sports as well.
Think that's pretty much about it. I did read an article on CNN last night about Trader Joe's and they mentioned some Thai lime and chili cashews, so anyone that lives near a Trader Joe's and feels like sending me a care packaged those sound amazing. I have also been wanting to make my own coffee so if you'd like to pick me up a french press (shipping an actual coffee maker would be too expensive) then feel free to put one in with the cashews :) My friends told me this weekend that I am keeping the Starbucks open across the street from our apartment. Thought it might be time to start making my own coffee again.
Think that's pretty much about it. I did read an article on CNN last night about Trader Joe's and they mentioned some Thai lime and chili cashews, so anyone that lives near a Trader Joe's and feels like sending me a care packaged those sound amazing. I have also been wanting to make my own coffee so if you'd like to pick me up a french press (shipping an actual coffee maker would be too expensive) then feel free to put one in with the cashews :) My friends told me this weekend that I am keeping the Starbucks open across the street from our apartment. Thought it might be time to start making my own coffee again.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Weekend Update & Corrections
So at the request of my niece I was asked to make a couple of corrections to my previous blog entry. It was actually her uncle who while jumping up and down in the ocean accidentally dropped her in a wave but with his cat like reflexes was able to scoop her back up in an amazing .25 seconds, but alas she still started to belt out an awful cry but it was only because she was scared not due to injury. I was also informed that her daddy at a busy weekend putting up her new playhouse and she loves it. Sarah sent out a couple of videos which I will post on Facebook tonight.
This weekend was an extremely busy one for me. Saturday ran 11k with some friends in my building, had our standard coco water after the run, then we went out to a cafe to plan our upcoming trip in the beginning of September. We are heading to the Northeast of Brazil to Sao Luis and Lencois Maranhenses (if you get time to google it do so and you will be amazed at the pictures). After that we headed out for a couple of beers and then went go karting with another group of people. I think by the time I finally arrived home it was about 8 or 9 pm and was just wiped. Sunday we went to the park again and got in about 6k and then had a quick workout in the gym, coco water, and then I headed to my first church service in Portuguese. It was actually what I could understand a nice service and good worship. I am going to go back on Saturday night or Sunday morning this week again and this weeks task in my class will be to translate and study the bulletin so I can understand more of the readings and worship.
Sunday afternoon was another trip to the super market to get more food and utensils for the lady to cook and clean with, went to an Arabian restaurant yesterday for lunch with some other friends and he actually had tickets to the futebol game yesterday afternoon so I experienced my first futebol game live. I cannot even express how many bad words I heard from kids and parents alike. It was a pretty interesting experience. If we used that language even in the bleachers at Wrigley we'd be asked to leave. Last night a friend in my building had his brother and a friend in town from the states and he hosted a Churrasco in the party room so we had some great meat, cheese, and other food. All in all it was a great weekend and one where you feel like you need a weekend from your weekend, but great to have friends and other things to do and people to hang out with and build new friendships.
Hope this entry puts me back in the good graces with Madeline and gives everyone an update on the weekend.
Tchau
Adam
This weekend was an extremely busy one for me. Saturday ran 11k with some friends in my building, had our standard coco water after the run, then we went out to a cafe to plan our upcoming trip in the beginning of September. We are heading to the Northeast of Brazil to Sao Luis and Lencois Maranhenses (if you get time to google it do so and you will be amazed at the pictures). After that we headed out for a couple of beers and then went go karting with another group of people. I think by the time I finally arrived home it was about 8 or 9 pm and was just wiped. Sunday we went to the park again and got in about 6k and then had a quick workout in the gym, coco water, and then I headed to my first church service in Portuguese. It was actually what I could understand a nice service and good worship. I am going to go back on Saturday night or Sunday morning this week again and this weeks task in my class will be to translate and study the bulletin so I can understand more of the readings and worship.
Sunday afternoon was another trip to the super market to get more food and utensils for the lady to cook and clean with, went to an Arabian restaurant yesterday for lunch with some other friends and he actually had tickets to the futebol game yesterday afternoon so I experienced my first futebol game live. I cannot even express how many bad words I heard from kids and parents alike. It was a pretty interesting experience. If we used that language even in the bleachers at Wrigley we'd be asked to leave. Last night a friend in my building had his brother and a friend in town from the states and he hosted a Churrasco in the party room so we had some great meat, cheese, and other food. All in all it was a great weekend and one where you feel like you need a weekend from your weekend, but great to have friends and other things to do and people to hang out with and build new friendships.
Hope this entry puts me back in the good graces with Madeline and gives everyone an update on the weekend.
Tchau
Adam
Friday, August 20, 2010
Finalmente
So I am finally back to the blogging world with a new post before the weekend hits. So far, for me anyway, it's been a very mild winter compared to the single digits, snow (neve in Portuguese), and blistering wind that hits you in Chicago at the turn of every corner. In Brazil I've experienced winter days climbing into the mid 80s although most days consist of days in the 60s and 70s, absolutely nothing to complain about. I have spent the past few weeks getting back into the groove of returning to my life in Brazil after spending just under a month in the US for the 4th of July, family vacation, and most importantly my nieces first birthday.
I arrived back in the states on July 2 and spent that day with my mom, sister, and niece relaxing having lunch and then heading to the dentist. Not a clue why I planned a trip to the dentist the DAY I arrived back at home, but got a good report from him and don't have to return until October or December when I am back in the states next. The 4th of July was a great time and I got to see all of my friends, had a giant 4th of of July BBQ complete with American beer and food from Brazil. The night was topped off with the annual human pyramid and glad to say that no injuries were reported and everyone had a great time. I got in 36 holes of golf over that weekend and then returned to work in Chicago on Tuesday. I spent the next 4 days in the Chicago office working from there, catching up with friends over dinners and drinks, and then left on Saturday the 10th for Florida.
I spent the next week in Tampa Florida with my family and managed to get in 72 holes of golf despite slicing my foot open on day 1 in the ocean and having to make a quick stop at the emergency room to get 5 stitches put in one of my toes. It was however the fastest visit to the ER that I've ever had and one of my nurses said if I had come the day before I would have been there for 4 hours. They had one stroke, one heart attack, a car accident, and one renal failure but I guess it comes with the territory of having a hospital in a place where the average age is 70+ years old. All in all it was a great vacation but not too much to report other than relaxing with my family, a few dinners out, walks on the beach with my niece, playing with her in the water (although her mom dropped her off her shoulders face down into a wave in the ocean, way to go Sarah) then it was uncle Adam to the rescue ;)
The last day was spent with the adult kids where my sister, George, and myself spent about 10 hours on the beach hanging out, having beers, and braving the afternoon storm in the ocean because it was warmer and the past 25 years of experience proved correct in that the storm only lasted for about 20 min and then the sun came back out. We returned to Chicago on Saturday and then on Sunday I headed to Philadelphia for a week of work at my old division, caught up with more friends, and got in a round of golf with the co-owner of the company in Philly. Spent the last weekend with my best friend John at his lake house relaxing, boating, and catching some sun. Returned to Chicago on Sunday morning and had Madeline's first birthday party and man did that kid rake it in again. She got of course lots of money, tons of clothes, a sand box from her polish uncle and other grandma, and then a play house from uncle (tio) Adam and her grandparents. Last report has it that George has not yet setup the playhouse so he better get on that so she can play outside before it turns too cold.
I returned to Brazil at the end of July and spent a 4 hour delay in the Miami airport while they repaired one of the doors that had broken on landing. Of course had to deal with all of the angry people etc, but hey if need to get a new plane or take all night to fix a door be my guest. That is one of the last things that you need to have break when your 30,000+ feet in the air. Finally got an upgrade into first class for my return trip but was only able to get about 3 hours of sleep so it made for a long day when I finally got back to my apartment. My bags arrived with no issues, and the one loaded with all presents and gifts made it through customs with no issues.
So far I've settled back in well, started with classes again for Portuguese and kept up with my running routine of 15-20k on the weekends and then shorter runs 7-8k during the week nights. I still haven't joined a gym and I think I am going to hold off since they are so expensive and even the coldest day here in the 50s is like running outside in Chicago on a fall or spring day so nothing close to what I've had to deal with in the states. I had a new maid start when I came back and she comes every Monday morning at 7:30 am to cook, clean, iron clothes and do the laundry. She's been great so far, an amazing attention to detail, cooks good food so no complaints so far. Funny to me that things here still seem opposite. You'll go to McDonalds and spend R$20 for one person (US$12) or spend R$50,000 (US$29,000) for a car that will cost you US$16,000 in the US (Honda Civic for example) but to have a maid come to my house for close to 12 hours costs me $28 per day. Services here are so cheap compared to goods, but it gives me a real appreciation for my job and the living that I make.
Not too much else to report as of right now. I am continuing to meet new people that are new to the area, a girl that went to Iowa and graduated from a different school in the college just moved here to live with her Fiance and she recently created a group called on a site called Meet Up for English speakers and expats living in Campinas. There are 5 new teachers here from the US who are taking Portuguese at my school, there was a new guy that moved into our building that I met and a bunch of us went to the American School last weekend for the pancake breakfast to get some American food and the school was opening a new gym for the kids. A group of us is planning a trip to the Northeast of Brazil in September over the US Labor Day (Brazilian Independence day) so that is going to be a lot of fun. We are heading to Sao Luis and then to a national park that has natural clear ponds and sand dunes and you can only enter the park on foot or in a 4x4 vehicle so we are going to look at renting jeeps or dune buggies to drive around the park.
I returned to the English speaking church this past Sunday and worshiped there but have really been struggling to get things out of the services. The church is only 20 people if that and there is only one or two couples (of course) that are relatively close to my age. Everyone there is extremely nice so I am going to continue to go back on Sunday's but praying that I start to get more out of the service so it doesn't just feel like I am going to go to church. I always (well not always) went in the past because I felt a connection and I am just not getting the same experience here. I am hoping that once the Portuguese language for me comes farther along I can find a larger church and get more involved with a community.
Things are still progressing slowly with my application for a visa in Brazil so please keep that in your prayers. My 180+ days is coming to an end in October and without this visa I will not be able to return to the country which means no job so I am hoping that things progress in a more timely manner and I can get it approved so it's ready to be picked up at the consulate in Chicago when I return in October. I spoke with my aunt this week and she was having a good week but still continuing to struggle with cancer. Please continue to pray for her and the treatments.
I hope all is well with everyone back home. I miss you all very much, stay in touch via email, Facebook, and I have my US cell phone on here in Brazil so don't be afraid to pick up the phone and give me a call.
Tchau
Adam
I arrived back in the states on July 2 and spent that day with my mom, sister, and niece relaxing having lunch and then heading to the dentist. Not a clue why I planned a trip to the dentist the DAY I arrived back at home, but got a good report from him and don't have to return until October or December when I am back in the states next. The 4th of July was a great time and I got to see all of my friends, had a giant 4th of of July BBQ complete with American beer and food from Brazil. The night was topped off with the annual human pyramid and glad to say that no injuries were reported and everyone had a great time. I got in 36 holes of golf over that weekend and then returned to work in Chicago on Tuesday. I spent the next 4 days in the Chicago office working from there, catching up with friends over dinners and drinks, and then left on Saturday the 10th for Florida.
I spent the next week in Tampa Florida with my family and managed to get in 72 holes of golf despite slicing my foot open on day 1 in the ocean and having to make a quick stop at the emergency room to get 5 stitches put in one of my toes. It was however the fastest visit to the ER that I've ever had and one of my nurses said if I had come the day before I would have been there for 4 hours. They had one stroke, one heart attack, a car accident, and one renal failure but I guess it comes with the territory of having a hospital in a place where the average age is 70+ years old. All in all it was a great vacation but not too much to report other than relaxing with my family, a few dinners out, walks on the beach with my niece, playing with her in the water (although her mom dropped her off her shoulders face down into a wave in the ocean, way to go Sarah) then it was uncle Adam to the rescue ;)
The last day was spent with the adult kids where my sister, George, and myself spent about 10 hours on the beach hanging out, having beers, and braving the afternoon storm in the ocean because it was warmer and the past 25 years of experience proved correct in that the storm only lasted for about 20 min and then the sun came back out. We returned to Chicago on Saturday and then on Sunday I headed to Philadelphia for a week of work at my old division, caught up with more friends, and got in a round of golf with the co-owner of the company in Philly. Spent the last weekend with my best friend John at his lake house relaxing, boating, and catching some sun. Returned to Chicago on Sunday morning and had Madeline's first birthday party and man did that kid rake it in again. She got of course lots of money, tons of clothes, a sand box from her polish uncle and other grandma, and then a play house from uncle (tio) Adam and her grandparents. Last report has it that George has not yet setup the playhouse so he better get on that so she can play outside before it turns too cold.
I returned to Brazil at the end of July and spent a 4 hour delay in the Miami airport while they repaired one of the doors that had broken on landing. Of course had to deal with all of the angry people etc, but hey if need to get a new plane or take all night to fix a door be my guest. That is one of the last things that you need to have break when your 30,000+ feet in the air. Finally got an upgrade into first class for my return trip but was only able to get about 3 hours of sleep so it made for a long day when I finally got back to my apartment. My bags arrived with no issues, and the one loaded with all presents and gifts made it through customs with no issues.
So far I've settled back in well, started with classes again for Portuguese and kept up with my running routine of 15-20k on the weekends and then shorter runs 7-8k during the week nights. I still haven't joined a gym and I think I am going to hold off since they are so expensive and even the coldest day here in the 50s is like running outside in Chicago on a fall or spring day so nothing close to what I've had to deal with in the states. I had a new maid start when I came back and she comes every Monday morning at 7:30 am to cook, clean, iron clothes and do the laundry. She's been great so far, an amazing attention to detail, cooks good food so no complaints so far. Funny to me that things here still seem opposite. You'll go to McDonalds and spend R$20 for one person (US$12) or spend R$50,000 (US$29,000) for a car that will cost you US$16,000 in the US (Honda Civic for example) but to have a maid come to my house for close to 12 hours costs me $28 per day. Services here are so cheap compared to goods, but it gives me a real appreciation for my job and the living that I make.
Not too much else to report as of right now. I am continuing to meet new people that are new to the area, a girl that went to Iowa and graduated from a different school in the college just moved here to live with her Fiance and she recently created a group called on a site called Meet Up for English speakers and expats living in Campinas. There are 5 new teachers here from the US who are taking Portuguese at my school, there was a new guy that moved into our building that I met and a bunch of us went to the American School last weekend for the pancake breakfast to get some American food and the school was opening a new gym for the kids. A group of us is planning a trip to the Northeast of Brazil in September over the US Labor Day (Brazilian Independence day) so that is going to be a lot of fun. We are heading to Sao Luis and then to a national park that has natural clear ponds and sand dunes and you can only enter the park on foot or in a 4x4 vehicle so we are going to look at renting jeeps or dune buggies to drive around the park.
I returned to the English speaking church this past Sunday and worshiped there but have really been struggling to get things out of the services. The church is only 20 people if that and there is only one or two couples (of course) that are relatively close to my age. Everyone there is extremely nice so I am going to continue to go back on Sunday's but praying that I start to get more out of the service so it doesn't just feel like I am going to go to church. I always (well not always) went in the past because I felt a connection and I am just not getting the same experience here. I am hoping that once the Portuguese language for me comes farther along I can find a larger church and get more involved with a community.
Things are still progressing slowly with my application for a visa in Brazil so please keep that in your prayers. My 180+ days is coming to an end in October and without this visa I will not be able to return to the country which means no job so I am hoping that things progress in a more timely manner and I can get it approved so it's ready to be picked up at the consulate in Chicago when I return in October. I spoke with my aunt this week and she was having a good week but still continuing to struggle with cancer. Please continue to pray for her and the treatments.
I hope all is well with everyone back home. I miss you all very much, stay in touch via email, Facebook, and I have my US cell phone on here in Brazil so don't be afraid to pick up the phone and give me a call.
Tchau
Adam
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The drive
Went to the mountains this weekend to get away and relax. Pretty funny to me that Brazilians, who can be warm pretty much all year long, actually pay (quite a bit) of money to go out of town to be cold. I cannot tell you how many people were taking pictures next to the giant temperature sign at night when it reached 7 degrees C on Friday night and 5 degrees C last night. It was pretty funny. I was in a North Face shell and everyone else I saw was in hat, gloves, and parkas running for hot chocolate and coffee.
Anyway, on the drive home today there were tons of police cars, roadside assistance trucks and about 20 cars all stopped as traffic came to a crawl for about 500m (just over 1/4 of a mile). Thought there was a big accident, NOPE, turned out that a beer truck had turned over on the highway and all the cars were stopped to pick up free Skol. I about died laughing. I guess those 40 or so people are well stocked for the game tomorrow.
Three more days until I head home and see friends and family. Getting excited, but also a little stressed with all the work and traveling I have to do when I get home. Off to relieve some stress by running 8k and then figuring out what to do for dinner in between loads of laundry. An exciting Sunday night!
Cheers
Adam
Anyway, on the drive home today there were tons of police cars, roadside assistance trucks and about 20 cars all stopped as traffic came to a crawl for about 500m (just over 1/4 of a mile). Thought there was a big accident, NOPE, turned out that a beer truck had turned over on the highway and all the cars were stopped to pick up free Skol. I about died laughing. I guess those 40 or so people are well stocked for the game tomorrow.
Three more days until I head home and see friends and family. Getting excited, but also a little stressed with all the work and traveling I have to do when I get home. Off to relieve some stress by running 8k and then figuring out what to do for dinner in between loads of laundry. An exciting Sunday night!
Cheers
Adam
Friday, June 25, 2010
My luck continues.....
So my luck with rental cars while traveling for business continues. For those that don't know when I used to travel to Philly every week for work I would have to rent a car, and during that time I came close to totaling one of my rental cars. Let me tell you, you think dealing with a rental agency is bad when you have to just rent a car, try wrecking one and telling them you don't have insurance with their company but are covered by your company. Another side note here, most company policies DO NOT cover loss of rental income for the rental company if you wreck one of their cars (ie the income they lose while the car is being fixed). I was told of course after the fact that the simple $5 per day coverage would have negated the $1k bill my company got for loss of rental income. So next time you rent a car it might be wise to ask about simple loss of income coverate for a rental car, in my opinion worth the $5 per day.
I was at the foundry this week for work finishing up some things before I head back to the states next Wednesday and I have been noticing that one of the tires on my car has been low on air. I stopped to get gas, had the car washed real fast (free with gas) and then put air in my tires. As I am heading back to Campinas (where I live) I went through the toll and as I am shifting into fifth bear, BOOM, hubcap goes flying off the tire out in front of the car, I hit the hubcap in mid air on the left side of my car and then of course the car is lobsided as my front passenger tire has gone flat. Only by God's grace was a Sao Paulo roadside assistance guy driving behind me and saw this awesome spectacle and pulled over to assist me in changing the tire. Thank God I had a full size spare in the trunk as well so I was able to drive normal speed to make it home. I am currently having the spare tire fixed as I am supposed to travel out of town this weekend to the mountains so hoping that it will be fixed in time.
On top of all of this, I got home last night to check emails, FB, etc before going for a run and my computer wouldn't load my profile and connect to my network for work. AWESOME! Let's just say yesterday was an extremely long and I am ready for the weekend. The office is supposed to close at 10 am today for the Brazil match at 11 am but I am going to be here all day before heading out for the weekend.
Bom fim de semana.
Adam
I was at the foundry this week for work finishing up some things before I head back to the states next Wednesday and I have been noticing that one of the tires on my car has been low on air. I stopped to get gas, had the car washed real fast (free with gas) and then put air in my tires. As I am heading back to Campinas (where I live) I went through the toll and as I am shifting into fifth bear, BOOM, hubcap goes flying off the tire out in front of the car, I hit the hubcap in mid air on the left side of my car and then of course the car is lobsided as my front passenger tire has gone flat. Only by God's grace was a Sao Paulo roadside assistance guy driving behind me and saw this awesome spectacle and pulled over to assist me in changing the tire. Thank God I had a full size spare in the trunk as well so I was able to drive normal speed to make it home. I am currently having the spare tire fixed as I am supposed to travel out of town this weekend to the mountains so hoping that it will be fixed in time.
On top of all of this, I got home last night to check emails, FB, etc before going for a run and my computer wouldn't load my profile and connect to my network for work. AWESOME! Let's just say yesterday was an extremely long and I am ready for the weekend. The office is supposed to close at 10 am today for the Brazil match at 11 am but I am going to be here all day before heading out for the weekend.
Bom fim de semana.
Adam
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Copa do Mundo 2010!!!
I realize that it's been over a month since my last post so I will do my best to give all the updates possible. I do have a long story to share about a weekend adventure last weekend to the beach, but I had to let the week pass before I was able to post about it because I was so annoyed at the time. I digress......it's Saturday afternoon now and I finally got a chance to catch up on some sleep and am getting ready to head out into the city and take some pictures of everything they have setup for the Copa do Mundo 2010 (World Cup 2010). The closest thing it reminds me of is the 4th of July decorations or Christmas decorations in Chicago. The whole city is decked out in yellow and green and they have setup some huge tents and big screen TV is in the city circle where they will be showing the Brazil games for the next month. Not sure what my plans are for Tuesday's game yet so I still need to figure that out. The bars around here of course take advantage of the games and its costing guys between R$70 and R$120 just to get in to watch somewhere. That doesn't include any food or drinks so it's a pretty steep charge to watch 3 hours or so of TV. First things first though, the US v England game is today so I am going to head out and watch that. Being one of the few gringos in Campinas has it's advantages because no one will really be out watching this game so I will have my choice of where to go. (quick side note here it's now Thursday morning when I am finishing this post) as I have been side tracked by a visit from the boss and am finally getting back into my routine.
Weekend was good and as I mentioned I watched the game with some friends on Saturday and then Sunday I came down with some 24 hr bug. I spent most of the day in bed resting and did some work off and on and made it to the store real fast to pick up some food, water, gatorade etc. My boss from the US was in town this week and Monday we were in SP for meetings and a dinner with a customer and man that was a long day. We went to one of the original Fogo de Chao's for dinner in SP and the dinner went until just after midnight then I had an hour or so drive home to my apartment, finally went to bed at 2 am and was up at 6 am work for since we have different hours for the World Cup. Tuesday we worked from 7 am until 1 pm and then went left work to watch the game. We have to make up the hours during the next couple of weeks and the next World Cup game is at 11 am and the hours that day are 5 am until 10 am. Office closes at 10 am for the game and then we come back the next day.
Tuesday was pretty crazy for the game, but it was awesome to see how the whole country shuts down during the games. There is NO ONE on the streets because everyone is inside watching the games at either a bar or their homes.
So the past month has been good but very busy. I have been mainly working out of my main office which is about 20 km from my apartment, but I was at the foundry for two weeks in a row and I think I will be heading there again next week for a couple of days to make sure I have everything wrapped up before I head back to the states. I was finally able to do some traveling to some of the beaches here and I went with a friend to Ubatuba, Sao Sebastiao, Ihlabelha (island off the coast), Maresias, and Juhquey. I know I misspelled some of the places, but if you look at the map of SP state if you find Ihlabehla you can easily find the other beaches. We hit so many because they are in a row and we started at Ubatuba on Friday night and then spent the rest of the weekend driving down the coast. The main reason was to go Kiteboarding but when we called on Saturday morning there was no wind, and when we showed up on Saturday afternoon there was too much wind. It turned out to be an extremely long weekend of driving for me and I spent close to 17 hours driving over the course of three days. For those that really know me, know that I LOVE driving so it was a lot of fun for me (hopefully you detected the sarcasm here).
The past couple of weekends have been spent in Campinas relaxing and I think the last weekend before I head back to the states I am going to head to Monte Verde and spend the weekend there. It's about 3 hours from Campinas in the mountains and it's supposed to be beautiful and cold. Great food, great wine, great place to hike and take some pictures so I am looking forward to it.
I did finally get my camera (thanks again Kurt) and I have about 100 pictures that I need to edit and upload. I will be spending some time at the beach over vacation and I plan on working on editing and uploading some pictures of the places I've been, Wold Cup pictures, pictures of my apartment, and Monte Verde. I know everyone is looking for pictures but my computer here doesn't have editing software nor do I have an SD card reader on my laptop. I have one at home and will be uploading them once I return to the states.
I hope everyone at home is doing well, I miss you all and will see you in a couple of weeks!
Tchau
Adam
Weekend was good and as I mentioned I watched the game with some friends on Saturday and then Sunday I came down with some 24 hr bug. I spent most of the day in bed resting and did some work off and on and made it to the store real fast to pick up some food, water, gatorade etc. My boss from the US was in town this week and Monday we were in SP for meetings and a dinner with a customer and man that was a long day. We went to one of the original Fogo de Chao's for dinner in SP and the dinner went until just after midnight then I had an hour or so drive home to my apartment, finally went to bed at 2 am and was up at 6 am work for since we have different hours for the World Cup. Tuesday we worked from 7 am until 1 pm and then went left work to watch the game. We have to make up the hours during the next couple of weeks and the next World Cup game is at 11 am and the hours that day are 5 am until 10 am. Office closes at 10 am for the game and then we come back the next day.
Tuesday was pretty crazy for the game, but it was awesome to see how the whole country shuts down during the games. There is NO ONE on the streets because everyone is inside watching the games at either a bar or their homes.
So the past month has been good but very busy. I have been mainly working out of my main office which is about 20 km from my apartment, but I was at the foundry for two weeks in a row and I think I will be heading there again next week for a couple of days to make sure I have everything wrapped up before I head back to the states. I was finally able to do some traveling to some of the beaches here and I went with a friend to Ubatuba, Sao Sebastiao, Ihlabelha (island off the coast), Maresias, and Juhquey. I know I misspelled some of the places, but if you look at the map of SP state if you find Ihlabehla you can easily find the other beaches. We hit so many because they are in a row and we started at Ubatuba on Friday night and then spent the rest of the weekend driving down the coast. The main reason was to go Kiteboarding but when we called on Saturday morning there was no wind, and when we showed up on Saturday afternoon there was too much wind. It turned out to be an extremely long weekend of driving for me and I spent close to 17 hours driving over the course of three days. For those that really know me, know that I LOVE driving so it was a lot of fun for me (hopefully you detected the sarcasm here).
The past couple of weekends have been spent in Campinas relaxing and I think the last weekend before I head back to the states I am going to head to Monte Verde and spend the weekend there. It's about 3 hours from Campinas in the mountains and it's supposed to be beautiful and cold. Great food, great wine, great place to hike and take some pictures so I am looking forward to it.
I did finally get my camera (thanks again Kurt) and I have about 100 pictures that I need to edit and upload. I will be spending some time at the beach over vacation and I plan on working on editing and uploading some pictures of the places I've been, Wold Cup pictures, pictures of my apartment, and Monte Verde. I know everyone is looking for pictures but my computer here doesn't have editing software nor do I have an SD card reader on my laptop. I have one at home and will be uploading them once I return to the states.
I hope everyone at home is doing well, I miss you all and will see you in a couple of weeks!
Tchau
Adam
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Happy Cinco De Mayo (late) and they were naked......
I decided to go with one of those catchy tag lines in the title so it makes you want to read more, but in reality there is also a true story behind that. It seems that each time I go running in the city I live in there is always some sort of adventure that happens, and that's part of what keeps me running 5 or 6 times per week, that and I don't want to come home muito gordo. So on my running adventure this week I left Tuesday night around 9 pm after I had Portuguese classes and headed out on my normal route. I came to the area where the 'working ladies or men (sometimes you can't tell until they turn around)' usually hang out on the weekends and there were a couple that decided to head out on a Tuesday night to make some extra money. Anyway, as I am running up the hill I am noticing that it doesn't look like they are wearing any clothes and as I get closer, what do I see, but not two 'women' not wearing any clothes standing on the corner. Now unfortunately there is a stop light at the top of the hill and of course what happens......I get stopped at the light waiting for the cars (refer to a previous post about stop lights and signs being optional) so there are cars coming from all directions. One of the 'women' decides to start walking toward me, and I of course start to side step the other way. Not much of a climax here, but just another interesting tid bit about how things seem to work in different parts of the world.
Thought I would lead off with that story as I found it pretty funny and so did some of my co-workers. Seems like they all get a kick out of all the things I see and experience since I have been here. Happy Cinco De Mayo (late) as well. They don't celebrate down here so it was just a normal Wednesday for me.
I arrived back in Brazil on Monday after moving up my return date by about a week since I got put on some projects and thought it would be best that I come back down here to make sure they got done by the deadline I was given. Next week my boss from the US and the CFO from our parent company are coming in on Tuesday for some meetings in Sao Paulo and then Wednesday is our monthly operational meeting.
The time at home was great and I got to see a lot of friends and of course my family. Madeline is growing up so fast it's amazing. I had to make sure that I closed up my suitcase because she is becoming very adapt at unpacking things and taking things out of drawers and cabinets that she can reach. She is refusing to crawl from what I have seen and heard but she LOVES to walk. I walked with her in Chicago last Sunday at brunch and she got to pet some dogs along the way which she thought was great. I went to two Cubs games, one on Tuesday with some of my best friends and man was it cold outside, and then one on Friday with another one of my best friends and it was the complete opposite as it was 75 degrees, sunny, and they won. The wind was blowing out at about 25 mph so there must have been 3 or 4 home runs in the game. I got in a round of golf on Saturday and then Sunday it was time to re-pack and head back to Brazil, which was a lot tougher to leave the second time around than I thought. I think being in a routine at home and being in my own apartment and my own bed really set in with me when I was there, but it was also great to come back to Brazil. I have been very thankful that I haven't been too lonely and occupy my time with studying, working out, and have met some people to go to dinner with and go out for drinks with on the weekend.
Portuguese is coming along well and my teacher says I am doing a great job. I had class this morning and then went to the Rua Feda (street fair) bought a couple of DVDs for R$10 and got a pastry and some Guarana zero.
Not too much else going on, but will continue to update as I have more time here. I have a camera on the way and hopefully it will be here next week so keep and eye out for a lot of pics on my picasa album or Facebook if you're friends with me.
Continue to pray for safety and patience for me as I continue to learn a new language and adapt to a new city and culture, and also please continue to pray for my aunt who has begun treatments. There are always good days and bad days, but please continue to lift her up.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! It's dia de Mae's as well in Brazil tomorrow so all of the restaurants will be packed with families. Could be a McDonald's (helping that stock Ricky Boy) or Subway day tomorrow. Also thinking of going to see Iron Man 2 if it storms like they are predicting.
Tchau for now and as always, feel free to email me if you'd like.
Adam
Thought I would lead off with that story as I found it pretty funny and so did some of my co-workers. Seems like they all get a kick out of all the things I see and experience since I have been here. Happy Cinco De Mayo (late) as well. They don't celebrate down here so it was just a normal Wednesday for me.
I arrived back in Brazil on Monday after moving up my return date by about a week since I got put on some projects and thought it would be best that I come back down here to make sure they got done by the deadline I was given. Next week my boss from the US and the CFO from our parent company are coming in on Tuesday for some meetings in Sao Paulo and then Wednesday is our monthly operational meeting.
The time at home was great and I got to see a lot of friends and of course my family. Madeline is growing up so fast it's amazing. I had to make sure that I closed up my suitcase because she is becoming very adapt at unpacking things and taking things out of drawers and cabinets that she can reach. She is refusing to crawl from what I have seen and heard but she LOVES to walk. I walked with her in Chicago last Sunday at brunch and she got to pet some dogs along the way which she thought was great. I went to two Cubs games, one on Tuesday with some of my best friends and man was it cold outside, and then one on Friday with another one of my best friends and it was the complete opposite as it was 75 degrees, sunny, and they won. The wind was blowing out at about 25 mph so there must have been 3 or 4 home runs in the game. I got in a round of golf on Saturday and then Sunday it was time to re-pack and head back to Brazil, which was a lot tougher to leave the second time around than I thought. I think being in a routine at home and being in my own apartment and my own bed really set in with me when I was there, but it was also great to come back to Brazil. I have been very thankful that I haven't been too lonely and occupy my time with studying, working out, and have met some people to go to dinner with and go out for drinks with on the weekend.
Portuguese is coming along well and my teacher says I am doing a great job. I had class this morning and then went to the Rua Feda (street fair) bought a couple of DVDs for R$10 and got a pastry and some Guarana zero.
Not too much else going on, but will continue to update as I have more time here. I have a camera on the way and hopefully it will be here next week so keep and eye out for a lot of pics on my picasa album or Facebook if you're friends with me.
Continue to pray for safety and patience for me as I continue to learn a new language and adapt to a new city and culture, and also please continue to pray for my aunt who has begun treatments. There are always good days and bad days, but please continue to lift her up.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! It's dia de Mae's as well in Brazil tomorrow so all of the restaurants will be packed with families. Could be a McDonald's (helping that stock Ricky Boy) or Subway day tomorrow. Also thinking of going to see Iron Man 2 if it storms like they are predicting.
Tchau for now and as always, feel free to email me if you'd like.
Adam
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Adapting and Efficiency
I am currently sitting outside at Starbucks chatting with some friends on FB, having my morning coffee and eating some pao de queijo (bread with cheese and it's awesome!). Some things never fail to disappoint in that I got 12 pieces of this bread for the next few days for R$ 6,20 and at Starbucks one piece is R$ 2,50. So I will be eating breakfast for the next 4 days on what I could afford 1 day at Starbucks. Coffee here is still Starbucks standard, insanely expensive but it's still part of my daily routine, but I did hear that there is a Dunkin Donuts here, but it's too far away for me to stop on the way to work. I can hit Starbucks from my apartment balcony (yeah yeah yeah, pictures.....they're coming!).
It's about 75 degrees right now, not a cloud in the sky and I am going to wind down in a few minutes and head to the pool. A friend is coming in from SP tonight and I think we are going to hit sushi and then go to a pub or club somewhere in Campinas.
More updates to come later but heading home to stock the fridge and hit the pool. Couple quick prayer requests, one for my aunt who is having some health issues right now (pray for strength as treatments are set to begin soon), and safe travels this coming week for me. I leave Tuesday for the states land Wed at noon, then fly out again at 8 pm for St Louis for our Finance conference.
Tchau
Adam
It's about 75 degrees right now, not a cloud in the sky and I am going to wind down in a few minutes and head to the pool. A friend is coming in from SP tonight and I think we are going to hit sushi and then go to a pub or club somewhere in Campinas.
More updates to come later but heading home to stock the fridge and hit the pool. Couple quick prayer requests, one for my aunt who is having some health issues right now (pray for strength as treatments are set to begin soon), and safe travels this coming week for me. I leave Tuesday for the states land Wed at noon, then fly out again at 8 pm for St Louis for our Finance conference.
Tchau
Adam
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Using my heat?!?!?!
So today at work I was FREEZING! For anyone that knows me knows that I am always hot and for me to be cold, it has to be cold. We actually opened the windows at work today because it was warmer outside than it was in the office and we think that the air conditioning was still on. When I got into my car I actually rolled up the windows and turned the heat on for the drive home. It was pretty suspect looking on the drive home tonight and not to mention we are getting into fall and winter here so it's getting dark earlier, so I opted for an inside workout and then hung out in the sauna for a bit. There is no heat in the apartments or houses here but thankfully I am on the 12th floor of 14 and heat rises so I should be good for the night.
If you don't have Facebook and if you do and aren't friends with me then I will share my sighting of the day here as well. I was driving home from work tonight and saw a man on his bike riding home from what I assume was work. Not an uncommon thing here at all. Side note, bikers and motorcycle riders will pull over on the highway to put on rain suits here that's how many motorcycles and bikes are on the road here. Anyway, as I get closer to this guy I see that he has his baby in one arm and a diaper bag in the other riding his bike. Just another Tuesday here I guess......
It's been kind of a tough week so far. Easter was nice but difficult being away from home on such an important day for me and my family. I realized that this is probably one of the only Easter's (I don't recall if I made it home in college or not) but one of the only Easter's that I've spent away from home. I attended a sunrise service that was rained out and then had a breakfast with some of the members of the church. Everyone has been very welcoming and I am glad that I have found a place to worship.
We've got a big presentation redesign going on right now and has to be done before the 20th for a couple of reasons. First being that is the day of the presentation and second is I am heading home for a couple of weeks. Specific prayer requests is for friendships and meeting some more people to hang out with on weekends. Time at the pool is great, but weekends can get lonely so I am looking to make some more friends and meet more people to go to dinner with or hang out with, and secondly that work continues to go well and we get this project done.
Last big item to report this week is I successfully ordered a pizza on Sunday night (Easter dinner) and had it delivered to my condo with no help from the concierge. I know the bread sticks are what I ordered and pretty sure the pizza was a supreme so I am calling this one a success.
Hope all is well back in the states and I pray to God that the Cubs can rebound from that worst opening day loss in 126 years. Just when I think they can't set any more records over 100 years they find another one to break.
Tchau
Adam
If you don't have Facebook and if you do and aren't friends with me then I will share my sighting of the day here as well. I was driving home from work tonight and saw a man on his bike riding home from what I assume was work. Not an uncommon thing here at all. Side note, bikers and motorcycle riders will pull over on the highway to put on rain suits here that's how many motorcycles and bikes are on the road here. Anyway, as I get closer to this guy I see that he has his baby in one arm and a diaper bag in the other riding his bike. Just another Tuesday here I guess......
It's been kind of a tough week so far. Easter was nice but difficult being away from home on such an important day for me and my family. I realized that this is probably one of the only Easter's (I don't recall if I made it home in college or not) but one of the only Easter's that I've spent away from home. I attended a sunrise service that was rained out and then had a breakfast with some of the members of the church. Everyone has been very welcoming and I am glad that I have found a place to worship.
We've got a big presentation redesign going on right now and has to be done before the 20th for a couple of reasons. First being that is the day of the presentation and second is I am heading home for a couple of weeks. Specific prayer requests is for friendships and meeting some more people to hang out with on weekends. Time at the pool is great, but weekends can get lonely so I am looking to make some more friends and meet more people to go to dinner with or hang out with, and secondly that work continues to go well and we get this project done.
Last big item to report this week is I successfully ordered a pizza on Sunday night (Easter dinner) and had it delivered to my condo with no help from the concierge. I know the bread sticks are what I ordered and pretty sure the pizza was a supreme so I am calling this one a success.
Hope all is well back in the states and I pray to God that the Cubs can rebound from that worst opening day loss in 126 years. Just when I think they can't set any more records over 100 years they find another one to break.
Tchau
Adam
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Updates on a study break
I didn't think it had been two weeks since I last updated but who am I to argue with the internet. Not really sure what all has happened in the past couple of weeks but figured I was due for an update. I've been traveling to our foundry, sorry let me back up. My job has become more defined down here and I am filling into more of a Controller role and assisting the Director of Finance and working with the finance teams in Hortolandia (Car Build plant) and Cruzeiro (wheel foundry and casting facility). Now back to where I started, I have been traveling to the foundry each week since I returned to work more closely with the finance team here. There are about 40+ people in the finance dept at the foundry and 6 in Hortolandia so makes more sense to spend my time here during the week and when I have projects to do.
The foundry is about a 3 hour drive and it's not too bad but driving here you always have to be aware of your speed, and of course other drivers. It is not the complete opposite of driving in the states but if anyone comes up on you here all you have to do is look behind you and you'll see their blinker on which means they want to pass you. No middle fingers, no flashing lights or horns, just a blinker and you respect it and get over. There are no police on the road here to pull you you over for speeding so that's why i made the comment about watching your speed. Brazil seems to have beaten the US to this one and they installed radars along the highway's here to catch speeders. I've started to learn where they are so I can slow down, but 1 KMH over and you'll get nice fine in the mail.
On my nights when I am in Campinas (where my apartment is) work day starts between 7:30 and 8 and goes until 5:15. I didn't know this until last week but Friday's the office closes at 4 pm to start the weekend, but I haven't been at that office on a Friday so that was news to me, but makes sense with the earlier start time the other four days during the week. After work I usually head straight to Portuguese class for 2-3 hours, get a workout in if the weather is nice, and then grab some dinner, email, Facebook, etc. I think it was a week or so ago on a Friday about 9 pm that I went running and as I was running, just listening to my ipod I look ahead and I am thinking, man it's pretty early for this girl to be all dressed up on a Friday night. Well as I get closer I realize that this girl, is well, not a girl which explains why he/she is all dressed up and ready to work for the night. After I got back to my apartment I talked to the guy at the front desk and he mentioned that he knew the area and to be careful around there especially on a Friday. That advice has been heeded and I haven't been back to that area unless it's during the day.
I've started to take stock in things that I am missing back home besides friends and family, so mom/dad when you read this I need a box to check on the airplane for when I come back down and I've added a few things to the list since we talked last week. There is NO peanut butter here, granola bars, I need some spray starch, Honey Nut Cheerios, Power Bars, and I will keep adding to the list. I just need to keep the box under 70lbs which I should be able to do!
Guess the last update for today is that I found and attended an English speaking church this past Sunday. There were a whopping 21 or 22 people there and I was the youngest by about 20 years with the exception of one couple who had a 4 year old daughter. They are having an Easter sunrise service and breakfast at a woman's house and I was invited to attend so that will be good to celebrate and get to know other people in the area. The pastor this past week was from Albany Georgia so that was pretty cool to talk to him after the service and find out where he is from and how long he has been in Brazil. I told him I grew up for the first 5 years in Georgia and he knew all of the places where my family lives.
Hope all is well back home, I promise to post some pictures when I return home in a couple of weeks and look forward to seeing anyone I can while I am back home.
Tchau
Adam
The foundry is about a 3 hour drive and it's not too bad but driving here you always have to be aware of your speed, and of course other drivers. It is not the complete opposite of driving in the states but if anyone comes up on you here all you have to do is look behind you and you'll see their blinker on which means they want to pass you. No middle fingers, no flashing lights or horns, just a blinker and you respect it and get over. There are no police on the road here to pull you you over for speeding so that's why i made the comment about watching your speed. Brazil seems to have beaten the US to this one and they installed radars along the highway's here to catch speeders. I've started to learn where they are so I can slow down, but 1 KMH over and you'll get nice fine in the mail.
On my nights when I am in Campinas (where my apartment is) work day starts between 7:30 and 8 and goes until 5:15. I didn't know this until last week but Friday's the office closes at 4 pm to start the weekend, but I haven't been at that office on a Friday so that was news to me, but makes sense with the earlier start time the other four days during the week. After work I usually head straight to Portuguese class for 2-3 hours, get a workout in if the weather is nice, and then grab some dinner, email, Facebook, etc. I think it was a week or so ago on a Friday about 9 pm that I went running and as I was running, just listening to my ipod I look ahead and I am thinking, man it's pretty early for this girl to be all dressed up on a Friday night. Well as I get closer I realize that this girl, is well, not a girl which explains why he/she is all dressed up and ready to work for the night. After I got back to my apartment I talked to the guy at the front desk and he mentioned that he knew the area and to be careful around there especially on a Friday. That advice has been heeded and I haven't been back to that area unless it's during the day.
I've started to take stock in things that I am missing back home besides friends and family, so mom/dad when you read this I need a box to check on the airplane for when I come back down and I've added a few things to the list since we talked last week. There is NO peanut butter here, granola bars, I need some spray starch, Honey Nut Cheerios, Power Bars, and I will keep adding to the list. I just need to keep the box under 70lbs which I should be able to do!
Guess the last update for today is that I found and attended an English speaking church this past Sunday. There were a whopping 21 or 22 people there and I was the youngest by about 20 years with the exception of one couple who had a 4 year old daughter. They are having an Easter sunrise service and breakfast at a woman's house and I was invited to attend so that will be good to celebrate and get to know other people in the area. The pastor this past week was from Albany Georgia so that was pretty cool to talk to him after the service and find out where he is from and how long he has been in Brazil. I told him I grew up for the first 5 years in Georgia and he knew all of the places where my family lives.
Hope all is well back home, I promise to post some pictures when I return home in a couple of weeks and look forward to seeing anyone I can while I am back home.
Tchau
Adam
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Another new apartment
I finally just got re-connected to the internet after moving into my apartment, what a God send. The router and connection seemed to be working fine but my computer just would not connect. It was such a tease for the past couple of days, but I finally am back into the real world and can Skype and get on FB again. (Sorry guys for not being able to hop on Skype yesterday and say hey to everyone at the annual St Patty's Day party)
The apartment is great, but tiny. The amenities here make it all worth it though so the size of the apartment doesn't really bother me too much. I won't be in here very much between work, traveling on the weekends, classes and studying but still nice to have a place that resembles home. I get valet parking, a party room for rent, chef, maid, in apartment laundry, queen size bed, internet, cable tv (although its crap because 90% of the channels are in portuguese), and a gym and pool.
So I seem to be getting some repeat posts about things down here so hopefully this will put a few things to rest:
One last thing to note is that my niece started talking this week!!! She is saying baba, dada, and mama, but my sister says she says dada because it's easier and well she is a daddy's girl. I can't wait to see pictures or a video (Sarah if you're reading this, get on that and Skype).
I love and miss everyone back home.
Tchau
Adam
The apartment is great, but tiny. The amenities here make it all worth it though so the size of the apartment doesn't really bother me too much. I won't be in here very much between work, traveling on the weekends, classes and studying but still nice to have a place that resembles home. I get valet parking, a party room for rent, chef, maid, in apartment laundry, queen size bed, internet, cable tv (although its crap because 90% of the channels are in portuguese), and a gym and pool.
So I seem to be getting some repeat posts about things down here so hopefully this will put a few things to rest:
- The women down here are beautiful but I am in the part of the country where some of the women look exactly like some women back in Chicago (fair skin, blond hair etc), but the rest of the women are very dark skinned, dark hair, and green or blue eyes, absolutely amazing.
- I am taking Portuguese lessons and started last Friday night after work. I have met a few girls that speak English and Portuguese so that makes things easier.
- I haven't taken any pictures yet because I don't have a camera. I took some with my Blackberry, but I haven't uploaded them yet. They will probably be uploaded sometime soon so keep checking back.
One last thing to note is that my niece started talking this week!!! She is saying baba, dada, and mama, but my sister says she says dada because it's easier and well she is a daddy's girl. I can't wait to see pictures or a video (Sarah if you're reading this, get on that and Skype).
I love and miss everyone back home.
Tchau
Adam
Friday, March 12, 2010
Drawing a blank....
I am drawing a blank on a subject for the post today since it's been a whirlwind of a week down here. I haven't posted in a few weeks as I flew home on a Monday, left Tuesday at 4:30 am for Philadelphia, proceeded to get stranded in Philly for two extra days, and then finally home on a Friday afternoon. The following week were International meetings with all of the Managing Directors for their respective countries so that was a long couple of days learning about different business, the struggles facing each company not only externally but internally as well, crime, corruption, and the demands on each location. It's humorous to me because economics in college was a class that I didn't particularly enjoy and now I feel that I am in the throws of economics and see the daily effects of currency exchange rates, impacts of the government and not only what it means for the people, but also the company for importing and exporting goods. I digress......
I arrived back in Brazil on Monday for a 5 week stint before I head back to Chicago for probably 3 weeks or so in mid April. Monday's are always long days because its 12-13+ hours of travel between being at the airport for the flight, flight, layover, and another flight. I didn't sleep too well on the plane, but I had a nap in the taxi on the way to the hotel. Tuesday we left after work to drive to Cruzeiro (300 km) for the operations review and meetings on Wednesday and then back to Campinas on Wednesday night. I got my car on Tuesday morning and it's been an interesting experience learning how to drive on my own in a foreign country. "Rules of the Road" the book that we used in IL when we were 15 learning to drive would be used to start a fire out here because the rules of the road here are don't hit a pedestrian, and don't hit anyone on a motorcycle. Other than that anything is game....driving on the shoulder, middle of the lane, stop signs are optional at night along with traffic lights as long as it's late. I did get a GPS when I was at home and it's been a lifesaver. It doesn't take me on the correct route to work so I am still learning the quickest route because some of the roads are not on the GPS and they are not paved. Today was probably the most that I have freaked out since I have been here. I missed my exit to get to work and the GPS re-routed me through the slums of Hortolandia and I was supposed to be on that road for 4km so I immediately turned around, and it re-routed me again through a small slum or neighborhood where I was definitely the focus of attention. The car they gave me (Ford Fogus (focus)) is about R$ 50,000 ($30,000 US) compared to under $20k back home, so it's a very nice car and a new one as well. That combined with the fact that I have GPS mounted in the car makes me an easy target so I am constantly aware of what's going on, hence why I got off the dirt road and re-routed myself to a safer location. I did make it into the office finally (a little late) but better late and safe then not making it in at all.
I start my tutoring lessons tonight at a school that specializes in teaching Portuguese to ex-pats, students, diplomats, etc so I am pretty excited and a little nervous as well. I can get by with what I know but it's not more than a few phrases so it will be great to learn more and be able to converse with people better than I do now. I go for 2 hours tonight from 6-8 pm and then another 2 hours tomorrow from 10-12. I think Monday will be another 2 hours after work and then I am going to Cruzeiro for the remainder of the week to work with the Finance team on some issues and learn more about the business. They have a few people that speak english but most people speak Portuguese so I signed myself up for the intense classes for Portuguese. I think this first month will be around 40 hours if not more.
My apartment lease was signed and the check delivered to the agency yesterday so I should be moving from the hotel to my apartment tomorrow morning. I will send pictures of the city, some friends, and my apartment when I can. I don't have a camera but I am going to purchase one when I am back home. In the meantime I will take some with my phone and post them on FB or my blog.
Tchau
Adão
I arrived back in Brazil on Monday for a 5 week stint before I head back to Chicago for probably 3 weeks or so in mid April. Monday's are always long days because its 12-13+ hours of travel between being at the airport for the flight, flight, layover, and another flight. I didn't sleep too well on the plane, but I had a nap in the taxi on the way to the hotel. Tuesday we left after work to drive to Cruzeiro (300 km) for the operations review and meetings on Wednesday and then back to Campinas on Wednesday night. I got my car on Tuesday morning and it's been an interesting experience learning how to drive on my own in a foreign country. "Rules of the Road" the book that we used in IL when we were 15 learning to drive would be used to start a fire out here because the rules of the road here are don't hit a pedestrian, and don't hit anyone on a motorcycle. Other than that anything is game....driving on the shoulder, middle of the lane, stop signs are optional at night along with traffic lights as long as it's late. I did get a GPS when I was at home and it's been a lifesaver. It doesn't take me on the correct route to work so I am still learning the quickest route because some of the roads are not on the GPS and they are not paved. Today was probably the most that I have freaked out since I have been here. I missed my exit to get to work and the GPS re-routed me through the slums of Hortolandia and I was supposed to be on that road for 4km so I immediately turned around, and it re-routed me again through a small slum or neighborhood where I was definitely the focus of attention. The car they gave me (Ford Fogus (focus)) is about R$ 50,000 ($30,000 US) compared to under $20k back home, so it's a very nice car and a new one as well. That combined with the fact that I have GPS mounted in the car makes me an easy target so I am constantly aware of what's going on, hence why I got off the dirt road and re-routed myself to a safer location. I did make it into the office finally (a little late) but better late and safe then not making it in at all.
I start my tutoring lessons tonight at a school that specializes in teaching Portuguese to ex-pats, students, diplomats, etc so I am pretty excited and a little nervous as well. I can get by with what I know but it's not more than a few phrases so it will be great to learn more and be able to converse with people better than I do now. I go for 2 hours tonight from 6-8 pm and then another 2 hours tomorrow from 10-12. I think Monday will be another 2 hours after work and then I am going to Cruzeiro for the remainder of the week to work with the Finance team on some issues and learn more about the business. They have a few people that speak english but most people speak Portuguese so I signed myself up for the intense classes for Portuguese. I think this first month will be around 40 hours if not more.
My apartment lease was signed and the check delivered to the agency yesterday so I should be moving from the hotel to my apartment tomorrow morning. I will send pictures of the city, some friends, and my apartment when I can. I don't have a camera but I am going to purchase one when I am back home. In the meantime I will take some with my phone and post them on FB or my blog.
Tchau
Adão
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Heading home
So these first two weeks in Brazil have been great so here's a quick recap:
- Started a new job at Amsted Maxion in Hortolandia Brazil.
- Found a new apartment in Campinas, BR
- 2010 Carnaval (eeeesh nuff said)
- Job part II in Cruzeiro, BR (the running joke here is if you've never been to Cruzeiro, you're not missing anything)
- Another weekend in Campinas relaxing, working, and working out
- Sunday morning by the pool, little too much sun (DOH!)
- Safe
I've heard from far too many people to be safe and I wanted to let you know I appreciate your concern and that I am safe. I was told that while I stick out as a gringo (a girl told me a joke grin-go-home) I am a big guy and in Campinas will not be messed with. Cruzeiro is a small city where people are born, live, work, and die. Somewhat sad, but there are two companies in the city that employ about 90% of the population. Everyone has been very nice, welcoming, and even while having dinner alone people come up and talk to you. Granted I catch about every 5th word, but at least I am catching some things.
I will be back in the states for the next two weeks and probably not updating my blog as often as I have been, but then return to Campinas on March 7/8 for an extended visit of 4-5 weeks. Again, I am safe, somewhat tan/burned and ready to be at home to handle a lot of loose ends for the next couple of weeks.
On a side note, if you are a blogger contributor you can follow my blog, otherwise if you have any comments or want to talk to me you have many options; email, Facebook, or Skype (should have connected to this sooner).
With that I am signing off, going to grab some more food, a drink before the 8 hour flight to Miami in hopes of getting a couple of hours of sleep.
Prayer requests specifically over the next couple of weeks:
- I can get everything done at home logistically that I need to accomplish (lease on my house, apartment, taxes, bank accounts, volunteer work, mail, going away party, first birthday party for a friends daughter, living with a roommate who is subletting my Chicago apartment, Business visa, international drivers license, and finally PACK for 5 weeks/moving into a new apartment in a foreign country). I think that about does it for this round of prayer requests.
Cheers
Adam
- Started a new job at Amsted Maxion in Hortolandia Brazil.
- Found a new apartment in Campinas, BR
- 2010 Carnaval (eeeesh nuff said)
- Job part II in Cruzeiro, BR (the running joke here is if you've never been to Cruzeiro, you're not missing anything)
- Another weekend in Campinas relaxing, working, and working out
- Sunday morning by the pool, little too much sun (DOH!)
- Safe
I've heard from far too many people to be safe and I wanted to let you know I appreciate your concern and that I am safe. I was told that while I stick out as a gringo (a girl told me a joke grin-go-home) I am a big guy and in Campinas will not be messed with. Cruzeiro is a small city where people are born, live, work, and die. Somewhat sad, but there are two companies in the city that employ about 90% of the population. Everyone has been very nice, welcoming, and even while having dinner alone people come up and talk to you. Granted I catch about every 5th word, but at least I am catching some things.
I will be back in the states for the next two weeks and probably not updating my blog as often as I have been, but then return to Campinas on March 7/8 for an extended visit of 4-5 weeks. Again, I am safe, somewhat tan/burned and ready to be at home to handle a lot of loose ends for the next couple of weeks.
On a side note, if you are a blogger contributor you can follow my blog, otherwise if you have any comments or want to talk to me you have many options; email, Facebook, or Skype (should have connected to this sooner).
With that I am signing off, going to grab some more food, a drink before the 8 hour flight to Miami in hopes of getting a couple of hours of sleep.
Prayer requests specifically over the next couple of weeks:
- I can get everything done at home logistically that I need to accomplish (lease on my house, apartment, taxes, bank accounts, volunteer work, mail, going away party, first birthday party for a friends daughter, living with a roommate who is subletting my Chicago apartment, Business visa, international drivers license, and finally PACK for 5 weeks/moving into a new apartment in a foreign country). I think that about does it for this round of prayer requests.
Cheers
Adam
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Last Day of Carnival
Last day of Carnival is today and all I can say is thank God. It's been a great weekend getting to know the new city in which I will be living in, but it's been crazy even in a non-Carnival city. Also, for those who are interested in coming to visit for Carnival next year I heard El Salvador is the #1 place for Carnival and Rio is #2, just something to think about.
I found an apartment on Friday and it's got everything included in the rent, the only downside is the size. Places here are naturally smaller than anything you would see in the states. My new place is 50 sq meters which means it will about fit into my living room at my apartment in Chicago. The apartment includes a party room for rent with an indoor BBQ which I can hire a cook for, wireless, cable TV, AC, valet parking, gym membership and an out door pool with a 25 meter lap. Starbucks is outside on one corner, Citibank is down the street, lots of restaurants, pubs, and a grocery/fruit store as well. Great location and safe.
I am heading to Cruzeiro tomorrow where our wheel plant and the majority of our finance team is located. It's even the running joke around here between people at the plant that I am based out of, if you don't visit Cruzeiro you're not missing anything. I think next month's operations review is there so it should be a different experience for the people coming from Chicago that haven't been there before. It's a far cry from the 4-5 star hotels in Campinas that we stay in.
I am off for the night. Hope everyone is staying warm back home.
Cheers
Adam
I found an apartment on Friday and it's got everything included in the rent, the only downside is the size. Places here are naturally smaller than anything you would see in the states. My new place is 50 sq meters which means it will about fit into my living room at my apartment in Chicago. The apartment includes a party room for rent with an indoor BBQ which I can hire a cook for, wireless, cable TV, AC, valet parking, gym membership and an out door pool with a 25 meter lap. Starbucks is outside on one corner, Citibank is down the street, lots of restaurants, pubs, and a grocery/fruit store as well. Great location and safe.
I am heading to Cruzeiro tomorrow where our wheel plant and the majority of our finance team is located. It's even the running joke around here between people at the plant that I am based out of, if you don't visit Cruzeiro you're not missing anything. I think next month's operations review is there so it should be a different experience for the people coming from Chicago that haven't been there before. It's a far cry from the 4-5 star hotels in Campinas that we stay in.
I am off for the night. Hope everyone is staying warm back home.
Cheers
Adam
Friday, February 12, 2010
New culture....same traditions
Had my first happy hour last night with my new colleagues and it was a blast. The bar was packed (to me) but they said it was a slow night. Everything here as you can imagine, especially in summer is open air and outdoors. Weather has been amazing and it was in the 70s last nigh when we were out.
It was funny to see that even in a new culture and new place that traditions do not change. All four of the women in our group went to the bathroom at the same time, I witnessed my first Brazilian fist bump explosion (hilarious), and when you're in love with someone yes, you still have to hold their purse (this was not me).
Had a great time and everyone has been very welcoming, and extremely nice. I am off to find an apartment today, I met a girl in HR last night that is assisting me in finding a tutor to learn Portuguese, but they have been great about speaking English and asking me how to say words, slangs etc in English when I am around. Hopefully I will catch on soon. The language doesn't seem to difficult but the speed in which they speak I cannot even come close to staying caught up to what they are saying.
Cheers
Adam
It was funny to see that even in a new culture and new place that traditions do not change. All four of the women in our group went to the bathroom at the same time, I witnessed my first Brazilian fist bump explosion (hilarious), and when you're in love with someone yes, you still have to hold their purse (this was not me).
Had a great time and everyone has been very welcoming, and extremely nice. I am off to find an apartment today, I met a girl in HR last night that is assisting me in finding a tutor to learn Portuguese, but they have been great about speaking English and asking me how to say words, slangs etc in English when I am around. Hopefully I will catch on soon. The language doesn't seem to difficult but the speed in which they speak I cannot even come close to staying caught up to what they are saying.
Cheers
Adam
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Olá do Brasil
Eu decidi escrever este blog em português, only kidding. I can't believe it's been since June since I have updated my blog, but time has really flown these past 8 months. Funny after reading that last post how much has changed in my life in such a short time. Our family has been blessed with the birth of our first granddaughter and niece in Madeline Grace and it has been an amazing almost 7 months watching her grow. Each time I see her she is doing something different, but I am still waiting for her to hit a growth spurt so that my dreams of a volleyball dynasty will come true!
I digress.....if you're are taking to following this blog and keeping up with things going on with in my life then you know many of the changes that I am talking about. The past 8 months have been a great opportunity for me professionally as I took on the position of Controller in one of my companies divisions in West Chester, PA (which I am thankfully not in this week as they were hit with over 30 inches of snow). I have received pictures from our office and a few from the roads and restaurants that we frequented and it is just amazing. One of my co-workers there said that all the hotel employees were required to stay at the hotel until the storm blew past the east coast, and he mentioned that he was able to stock up on Chick Fil A as it was actually open for 3 hours but run only by the manager during that time. As these past 8 months have been great for me, a new opportunity has arisen at our joint venture in Brazil, and I recently accepted and began working working down in Brazil this past week.
So far everything has been going well, but it's been pretty tough getting acclimated to the culture, location, and language. I know these things don't come overnight, but everyone that knows me, knows how when I want things, I want them immediately. Patience has never been one of my virtues and something I still struggle with daily. I think making this move will be good for me as this culture seems to do things at a different pace so that will help force me to work on this lacking virtue. Everyone here has been very welcoming to have me on board and starting to work with their team, but one thing I am finding is that once I get outside the office the lack of English speaking people is high. Again, one of the things that will force me out of my comfort zone and into learning a new language and teaching myself something new. I am also starting to learn more about the metric system and do conversions. I ran on the treadmill last night and the writing was all in Portuguese and distance and speed were in kilometers and kilometers per hour. I set the treadmill around 7 which is what I would run pace wise in the states and I was still walking until I realized what was going on. It was a good thing I had my heart rate monitor as I know my what avg HR is when I run time and distance wise.
Carnival begins this weekend and I was invited to go to Rio and experience it, but the hotels still available range from $500 - $800 USD per night. I would love to go but not for $3,000, maybe next year. I was also invited to go to Obra, which is a giant music festival that begins tomorrow and goes until Tuesday of next week, so I am going to look into that as well. Only downside with that is that only one person will speak English and the city it's in is 400km away, and I don't yet have a car. So it is looking like I will be staying in Campinas for the weekend as it stands right now. The hotel is great, people are very nice, they have a great workout room and it will give me a chance to explore the city and some sights so I can familiarize myself places to eat, drink, shop, etc.
I think that's about it for now, but one last thing. If you are able to sign up for Skype then please do so. My username is Hawkvball02 and I would love to video chat and stay close with everyone back home while I am away. I have been using it during this week and it works great. Computer to computer is free and it only costs 2 cents per minute for me to call the states.
I hope everyone back home is doing well. Continue to pray for safety (the city is very safe, but being 6'4", pale white, and unable to speak the language very well makes me stick out), patience in learning yet another new job within my company, and perseverance in learning the language.
Cheers
Adam
I digress.....if you're are taking to following this blog and keeping up with things going on with in my life then you know many of the changes that I am talking about. The past 8 months have been a great opportunity for me professionally as I took on the position of Controller in one of my companies divisions in West Chester, PA (which I am thankfully not in this week as they were hit with over 30 inches of snow). I have received pictures from our office and a few from the roads and restaurants that we frequented and it is just amazing. One of my co-workers there said that all the hotel employees were required to stay at the hotel until the storm blew past the east coast, and he mentioned that he was able to stock up on Chick Fil A as it was actually open for 3 hours but run only by the manager during that time. As these past 8 months have been great for me, a new opportunity has arisen at our joint venture in Brazil, and I recently accepted and began working working down in Brazil this past week.
So far everything has been going well, but it's been pretty tough getting acclimated to the culture, location, and language. I know these things don't come overnight, but everyone that knows me, knows how when I want things, I want them immediately. Patience has never been one of my virtues and something I still struggle with daily. I think making this move will be good for me as this culture seems to do things at a different pace so that will help force me to work on this lacking virtue. Everyone here has been very welcoming to have me on board and starting to work with their team, but one thing I am finding is that once I get outside the office the lack of English speaking people is high. Again, one of the things that will force me out of my comfort zone and into learning a new language and teaching myself something new. I am also starting to learn more about the metric system and do conversions. I ran on the treadmill last night and the writing was all in Portuguese and distance and speed were in kilometers and kilometers per hour. I set the treadmill around 7 which is what I would run pace wise in the states and I was still walking until I realized what was going on. It was a good thing I had my heart rate monitor as I know my what avg HR is when I run time and distance wise.
Carnival begins this weekend and I was invited to go to Rio and experience it, but the hotels still available range from $500 - $800 USD per night. I would love to go but not for $3,000, maybe next year. I was also invited to go to Obra, which is a giant music festival that begins tomorrow and goes until Tuesday of next week, so I am going to look into that as well. Only downside with that is that only one person will speak English and the city it's in is 400km away, and I don't yet have a car. So it is looking like I will be staying in Campinas for the weekend as it stands right now. The hotel is great, people are very nice, they have a great workout room and it will give me a chance to explore the city and some sights so I can familiarize myself places to eat, drink, shop, etc.
I think that's about it for now, but one last thing. If you are able to sign up for Skype then please do so. My username is Hawkvball02 and I would love to video chat and stay close with everyone back home while I am away. I have been using it during this week and it works great. Computer to computer is free and it only costs 2 cents per minute for me to call the states.
I hope everyone back home is doing well. Continue to pray for safety (the city is very safe, but being 6'4", pale white, and unable to speak the language very well makes me stick out), patience in learning yet another new job within my company, and perseverance in learning the language.
Cheers
Adam
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