ok. so i skipped over all of three weeks of southeast asia on the blog, but I am here in brasil - as planned - for a major work project. arrived on friday the 13th of june - nothing happened as i am not particularly superstitious. am living in the city of Campinas, Brasil which is about an hour outside (NW) of the largest city in the western hemisphere - sao paulo. the city is approximately 1M people strong.
I have moved three times since I arrived - from one hotel (one night only) to another hotel, and this weekend I moved to a semi-permanent flat in Cambui - a mighty fine little neighborhood in Campinas. the neighborhood hosts markets in the parks (many parks in this area) every saturday and sunday. so.. I get the opportunity each week to stop by and order a homemade chicken torte (with either corn or heart of palm) and a fresh orange juice. the first time I ordered this simple meal it was a complete disaster.. but now I have picked up enough portuguese to order, pay, and exit without incident. UNLESS.. there are questions. when the questions start, i get this enormous confused look on my face, and i slowly back away. (I visited the language school twice now - we'll wait to see if they e-mail me back). brasil time is a much slower way of life than I am accustomed to.
however, my colleagues are great. i have met ex-pats and locals through work, and all have been extremely helpful. i.e. they drive me everywhere. before taking on this assignment, I had grandiose ideas of a great train system and a work site in Campinas. not much is as it seems in those regards! I'm not quite ready to take on the task of driving with no language skills, and I still don't understand the randomness of the one-way streets here. oh.. and after nighfall it is OK to run a red light. no worries there, huh?
I have moved three times since I arrived - from one hotel (one night only) to another hotel, and this weekend I moved to a semi-permanent flat in Cambui - a mighty fine little neighborhood in Campinas. the neighborhood hosts markets in the parks (many parks in this area) every saturday and sunday. so.. I get the opportunity each week to stop by and order a homemade chicken torte (with either corn or heart of palm) and a fresh orange juice. the first time I ordered this simple meal it was a complete disaster.. but now I have picked up enough portuguese to order, pay, and exit without incident. UNLESS.. there are questions. when the questions start, i get this enormous confused look on my face, and i slowly back away. (I visited the language school twice now - we'll wait to see if they e-mail me back). brasil time is a much slower way of life than I am accustomed to.
however, my colleagues are great. i have met ex-pats and locals through work, and all have been extremely helpful. i.e. they drive me everywhere. before taking on this assignment, I had grandiose ideas of a great train system and a work site in Campinas. not much is as it seems in those regards! I'm not quite ready to take on the task of driving with no language skills, and I still don't understand the randomness of the one-way streets here. oh.. and after nighfall it is OK to run a red light. no worries there, huh?
