My One Month Anniversary

One month ago today I arrived in Brasilia. It's crazy to think time's gone by that quickly! My Portuguese is improving steadily, I've met some amazing people, Brazil is wonderful and being back in the classroom tops the list.

Not that I'm that much wiser in a month, but a few weeks ago Maz (aka Tracy Maz my amazing reading specialist friend from Kaneland) sent me a great list of questions about life in Brazil. I think her questions and my answers make the perfect post for today, my one month anniversary living in Brasilia.

Maz's Random and Odd Questions
(These questions really aren't so odd or random, just curious, that's all and I want to make sure you all know she titled them random and odd, not me!)

So do you find that people who are attracted to international schools are more like "our type of people"...do you not get cranky, rigid people there?
The people are more like "our type of people." From the staff at school to my building's guard to the waiter at dinner tonight, everyone is wonderful and helpful. So far the cranky people here haven't crossed my path.

What is on the radio? American music? Is there Brazilian pop music? I'm imagining tan NSYNC!
No tan NSYNC that I listen to, but I'm sure they're out there! I'm listening to some bits and pieces on the radio but mostly am enjoying the forro (pronounced fo-ho) and samba music. Over the weekend I went to Cornhills, Brasilia's version of an American coffee shop. And it's amazing by the way! Across the street is another bar/restaurant and they have live samba music. People were dancing and it was fun just to sit and watch them. Seriously, felt like I was in some type of dream!

What is on TV? (Not that you've had time to watch much TV). How many channels are there? What are the commercials like? Are they dubbed American shows or Brazilian shows? Brazilian CSI or Brazilian All My Children or Brazilian Family Ties??
I just got my tv hooked up on Saturday. So far I've just watched BBC and an episode of Sex and the City. While flipping through I saw a familiar tv show from the Discovery Channel was dubbed but Sex and the City had subtitles. I hear lots of people talking about watching the Gilmore Girls. Not sure if I can jump on that bandwagon yet, but I'll never say never. Haven't had the chance to watch much Brazilian programming yet, but will update.

How is driving there? What brands of cars do they have there? What's the size of the vehicles there? Are they more on line with the Smart Car or the Excursion?
Most people drive Fiats. Another popular brand is VW. There's a plant in Brazil. There are imports like Honda and Toyota but here those average around $40,000 with a 100% import tax. Yikes! Mostly people drive smaller sedan cars. The school owns a couple VW vans which remind me of the TV show LOST so I feel like I'm part of the Dharma Initiative but much fewer trucks and vans than in the U.S. There's a lot of gray and dark colored cars like in the States. I guess to have additional colors costs $$$. Haven't seen a single large SUV yet! (I have since I wrote this 2 weeks ago, however, they are definitely not common). Love that about here. Sorry, large SUV readers, just a personal environmental issue.

Do they recycle?
Recycling's turning the door here. Stores are starting to sell reusable bags. At school during lunch there are recycling containers. I scrap my tray into the organic can which they're going to use in our garden (I think) and have bins for other plastics, papers and so on. The cafeteria (we call is the canteen) also use trays and plates which are washed rather than thrown away. The only exception to that is glasses. They use thin plastic toss away cups (even for hot coffee) but I saw Erica (my teammate) ask for a real glass which now I do each day. At my apartment, there's no recycling but I bought a bin as others had suggested and several grocery stores and gas stations have them so I'll bring things there.

How's the food?
Oh my god the food. It's amazing! Everything is just wonderful. From fruit to veggies to meat to bread. It's an easy place to eat well!

Have you tried cooking for yourself yet? How are the grocery stores? Or will you buy most of your stuff at the market?
I've done some basic cooking but really not in the routine of it yet. I buy most of my things at different grocery stores. There's small one and larger ones. Just depends. The closest one to my house is about 2.5 Chicago city blocks away. Makes it tough when you're buying certain things...milk, laundry detergent, etc.

Any recommendations for learning Portuguese before spring break? I should see if Gwen wants to get together once a week to bring in the social aspect of our Portuguese training!
Portuguese before spring break's not a bad idea. If you choose to focus on things I'd say numbers, basic phrases (how much does this cost?, ordering from menus, etc). The guest room's all ready so if anyone else wants to visit, just email me and I'll put you down in the reservation book!

So, thanks Maz for the curious questions. They helped me to stop and pause to reflect about my time here but also how different and similar Brazil is to home. Keep the questions coming!