I'm back!

2005_18
Originally uploaded by nyjenn313.

Here is proof that I am still alive and well. I have my new glasses (for the smarty pants look) and I just cut my hair. Yeah, i cut it myself. I am so cheap. I am scared of New York haircuts too. Here I am world - new look.

Last day - beach and pizza

Its really late and I should be asleep, so I will make this quick before I forget the recipe of the day. Take kernels of corn and put them in a pan. Boil them, then strain them to remove the shells. Again, mix with some milk and sugar, pour in a dish and chill. If desired, top with cinnamon. It makes a sort of corn flavored custard.

Ok.. trip summary when Im back at my computer and can add all of my pictures. My flight is due back at 6 am saturday morning. Then two weeks till my birthday!! Yay me!

Shopping and a Convent

Today was a long and hot day. First I went with Brunos mother downtown to do some shopping. I came back feeling nasty and sweaty. Probably because I was. I took the most desired shower of my life while rocking out to some Shania Twain (or maybe it was Faith Hill, but I still say theyre the same person.) Then Bruno and I watched a movie while the hottest part of the day passed. Around 4:30 we went with his mother to a 500 year old convent that is at the highest point in Vitoria. The story goes that when the Catholic folk were coming here, trying to figure out where to build, they saw some sort of a sign and followed it to this point. As you travel to the convent, you pass through luscious plants and all sorts of fruit trees, apparently one of the few remaining parts in the area with the original forestry. Once there, I took a ton of good pictures of the whole area. When I am back I will post everything.

Since then I've just been sneaking naps while pretending to read. Today's strategy was to lay on this couch at the top of the wood stairs. If Bruno was coming, I would hear him on the stairs, hurry to pick up my book, and strategically place my ahdn on the side of my face where I imagined the texture imprint from the pillow would be. I'm so zany when Im tired.

A few new recipes again. First is an avocado dessert. It is simple and, again, oddly good. You put an avocado in the blender and puree it. Then add milk and sugar. Done! It makes like an avocado pudding.

The meal of the day was a type of black bean dish. Maybe if Bruno reads this someday (and discovers my sneaky nap tricks) he can post what it is actually called. Regardless, the ingredients are fried bananas, black beans, cut up sausage, and some sort of wheat germ, plus spices.

I've had many different bean dishes. The first night was a black bean soup with noodles in it. It looked like worms in mud, but it was good.

Im hungry. That's enough for now. Only one and a half more days. (No post on Friday since I will be in flight)

vitoria, vista aerea

vitoria, vista aerea
Originally uploaded by nyjenn313.

I think I walked over one of those bridges today. If Im correct, the canal in the lower right is where he lives, house on one bank, marina straight across.

praia de manguinhos

praia de manguinhos
Originally uploaded by nyjenn313.

Yesterdays beach.. I didnt take the picture

Jenny Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Today was sweet! I went with Bruno and his mother to a chocolate factory. I saw how the chocolate was cut into pieces and packaged and everything. Lets be honest though. That wasnt the cool part. First, we had to wear the hair coverings and the gown type blue covering. I just love that. But, we got to eat AS MUCH CHOCOLATE AS WE COULD!!!! There were three different stations that we stopped at and at each station there were three or four different candies for us to eat of much of as was stomachable. The first station was three different types of white chocolate. One was mixed with coconut, one plain, and one with some nut (hazelnut I think). The next station was my personal favorite. They make these round chocolates that have a creamy hazelnut filling, then a wafer shell, then covered in two types of chocolate. The best part about the station was you could taste them in different stages, like before the chocolate coatings were applied. Mmm... The third station was my least favorite. Im not sure if that was because I was getting a little nauseous or the type of candy. One of the candy is experimental and not for sale yet. I hope for their sake it never is. It was called "Lipstick" in portugeuse and it was grape flavored white chocolate sticks. Ick. They had one that was like chocolate covered peanut brittle and another that was sticks of chocolate covered coconut. Not my thing.

So, regardless, I could eat AS MUCH AS I WANTED!!! hahaha.... every little kids dream. Bruno and I walked home.

Food

His mom offered me a mango for breakfast. She handed it to me and a big knife and said "I prefer the big knife. I think it works better." I thought "To cut my hand off with?" I had no idea what to do. So I just started mutilating the poor mango. His mom came back in laughing and showed me how she peels it. I did that and then I was stumped again, so I just started cutting it and stabbing the pieces with my fork. When his sister came in, I was bathing in mango, and she laughed too. I didnt know the shape of the pit, but now that i do, next time will be easier.

Last night we had my new favorite weird treat. Take bread, put butter on it. Sprinkle some garlic. Toast it. mmmmm.... Oh wait, I forgot a step. Put banana slices on it before you toast it!!! Banana garlic bread!! Oddly good.

Beach day

Today was a day of fun in the sun. I woke up, finished reading this 30 page article on the relationship between job types and epidemiology written in 1978,ate some papaya for breakfast, then we headed off to the beach. It was a perfect day today - a cool breeze, sunny, but not too hot. Bruno's parents also went with us. We took a walk along the beach to the area where they lived when bruno was growing up. Its very beautiful. Either no paved streets, or the main streets are stone. Nice and quaint. The water is extremely clean, except that the type of sand is a kind that mixes with the water a lot. In pictures, it looks murky, but it isnt pollution at all, just the sand. I hadnt been in the water for a long time, and it felt really good. I miss the Idaho rivers a lot.

I dont miss the Idaho mosquitoes. There are enough here in Brazil to make me remember them well. Theres a little gecko on the wall in the room next to me as I type. Interesting.

One of my arms is already red, and the other seems to be racing to catch up. (I swear I wore sunblock Mom!!) I think it may be from the sun on the way there in the car. My scalp is also a fighting contestant in the pinkish red competition. Scalp burns annoy me more than anything. Anyone have any good ideas for how to avoid them? Tomorrow I think we are going to a water park, so its gonna be the same story there too. I need to just mess up my hair more. Its not a problem with long hair because pulling it back gets rid of the part, but with short hair it wont go away. OH, my incredible woes. (hahah.... that was a joke...Im sitting in Brazil, come on!)

So, that's all for now. Hey mom - since I know you will read this... can you get me addresses for family people to send postcards to and email them to my gmail? Chris, Tim, Travis, Brandan. thanks!

Best wishes to all! Stay warm!

Video day

Todays activities centered around food, videos and sleeping. I woke up around 11. We went to the marina, which isnt what we mean when we say marina. It is actually a boat garage. His parents right now have 26 boats that live there and when people want to take them out, there is a crane and stuff to put them into the water. So its not a ton of boats sitting in the water. THe water is actually kind of gross here. However, all along the rocks and walls are mussels and crabs. Neat! His mom made lunch which was this pasta with steak and a thick alfredo sauce. Yummy, but really rich. I was soooo tired afterwards. Ive been really tired both days. I dont know if its adjusting to the climate, the food, catching up on sleep, or all of the above.

We went to a video store. I dont feel like I look so horribly out of place, but when Bruno and I speak to each other, little kids especially stop and stare. We had a fun time looking at how all of the video titles were translated. He loves smallville, so we rented season 2 to watch a bit since it was pouring rain all day. When I thought bruno wasn't looking (he was sitting on the floor and I was on the couch) I tried to sneak a nap. (I've been doing that all day- 5 or ten minutes here and there. Im not even very sneaky with the whole drooling problem) Then we went back to the mall and saw the Meet the Fockers movie, or ENTRANDO NUMA FRIA MAIOR as it was listed here. Afterwards I tried sugarcane juice (mmmm yummy) and this pastry thing with ham and cheese. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it was okay.

Im having a moral dilemna. The mcdonald's here have banana pies that he said if Im curious about, this is the only country that has them. However, as Ive proven before, I would rather risk having an accident in public than to even give that company a dollar so i could use a restroom. So, I dont know if i will try that.

Tomorrow, if it stops raining, we are doing something with his family. Tomorrow is the only day his parents have off. Im glad they want to spend time with us, even if I dont understand half of what they say (at least I DO understand the other half). They really are taking good care of me.

Interesting info - there are SOOOO many different types of bananas!

Taco

Today I went to Bruno's parents marina. I can see it from the back balcony across the water. His dad came and picked us up in a boat. Fun! Then we went to where he went to school until he moved to the US. I cant imagine having gone to school on a beachfront. I will post my pics when I return. THe highlight was realizing that in the southern hemisphere moss grows on the SOUTH side of the tree!! We decided it is because of the angle of the sun. We made it up though, but it worked in my head.

We went to the mall next. It was a large mall. The food court had shops like "Bobs Burgers," "Fry Chicken," "Montana Grill" (with pictures of brazilians in cowboy hats), "Hunger," etc. The favorite of the day.... I see this store... Clothing, trendy looking. The signs and posters look familiar. I realize that it is attempting to simulate a common store from america - The Gap (which they did have in the airport in Sao Paulo). However, the name of this store....


Taco.

Necesito aprender falar portugeus!!

I should have studied my portugeuse better!! I didnt realize that in Sao Paulo I would have to take a bus to a different airport about an hour away. All on my own. And nobody spoke english. Plus, my flight was delayed in NY, so I missed my connection and had to rebook my ticket in Sao Paulo. That wasnt too tough, but I had to call my friend to tell him what happened. That was the trick. All pay phones here use a card that you have to insert. I had to find out where to buy the card though, which was not just like a vending machine near the phones. There is an actual office with people on a different level of the airport. Who dont speak english. Then, since it was right next door, I went to the post office also. THey also didnt speak english but I communicated that I needed to send post cards to the US. When she asked if I had the 10 cents also, I understood and in fact did have it. I was thrilled.

When I arrived in Vitoria, I didnt realize that when you get off the plane you get your bag there on the runway. There was a baggage claim in Sao Paulo. So, since I was like the 4th person off the plane, I just went inside. After wandering around, I tried following the lead of others, and quickly realized they all had bags. I had to explain to the desk person that I had no idea what I was doing, which Ive become sufficiently adept at expressing, and he found my bag, while I found my friend in the meantime.

So far, so good overall. Geckos, bugs, but waterfront property. Amazing view. The run the marina across the river, so we may kayak across. Crazy.

I will try to update regularly, or at least a couple of times during the trip. I will be safe!

Onde e a correio?

There's my phrase... where is the post office? I spent weeks listening to portugeuse tapes, and I feel that is maybne the only useful phrase that I learned. Okay, maybe a few other things like food words and some basic verb conjungations, but essentially nothing of any use. However, if anyone would like a postcard (aka, a certain Nevadan) they should email me their address and I will make sure I find a local post office , using my immaculate portugeuse, to send one.

My flight leaves in 4 hours. So I leave here in 45 minutes... Two subway trains, then the air train to get to JFK. Then a plane to Sao Paulo Brazil and another to Vitoria Brazil. yay!


What's on my mind...
There was an article about the Kyoto protocol issues in the NY Times yesterday. (it's so weird that I read the NY Times actually in print... in new york) I am always horrified when I look at the statistics regarding the emissions issues. America accounts for 20 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. We are some of the dirtiest, world polluting people. And yet, we refuse to agree to the clauses set forth in the Kyoto document because we insist that we should get credits because we have so much cropland, and it should be counted the same way that forests are counted as carbon sinks. But, croplands don't clean the ick out of the air that we are putting into it. Plus, if the crops were counted, we would get so many credits that then we wouldn't even need to reduce emissions (probably the point, right?). I don't understand how we can consider ourselves so advanced and "world-savers" when we are destroying the air and the environment that everyone shares. IN the article, someone said that it isn't like America is just polluting a river that we only drink out of... we are contributing to a pollution type that affects all other aspects of the world.... the soil, the temperature, the water... and in all other countries also.

My quote of the week last week...

Matt said to me, "Are you going to watch the state of the union address?"

I replied... "What? The state of the union? i KNOW the state of the union... I don't need the president to tell me that the state of the union is that everyone's stupid and selfish." Besides, he probably won't say that anyways and everything else is just crap.

Off to Brazil!!!! Thank goodness for a week off in February! Adeus!

Leaving on a Jet Plane again

12 hours and counting! I am off to Brazil!! Crazy. I cant believe that I am going to cross the equator. I can't wait to check the toilets!

Things have been crazy busy the last couple of weeks. Teaching Statistics is really fun, and its great because there is no state test at the end of the year, but there is no textbook or curriculum so it means a lot of extra work. Fun work though. I am also going to these training sessions every two or three weeks for Assistant Principals. Yay!!! Its funny because Im like 30 years younger than everyone else t the meetings. They are all talking about hiring issues and all these other things that I dont know about at all. It is a three year program though, so I am going to try to talk my school into actually making me the official math department lead teacher. We really need it. But, everytime I go to one of those meetings it means preparing substitute lesson plans then grading whatever work I left for the students.

So, overall, I have had a lot of things to do, but all very positive and good things. Im really happy. The thesis class that I am taking is ridiculous and the people in it are ridiculous but its only 50 minutes. The Organizational Health Psychology (OHP) class is great. I have to read tons of articles each week about these groundbreaking studies on the relationship between work and every other aspect of life, but it is VERY interesting. It's funny the ways that organizations could restructure to save themselves money and improve the lives of their employees. For example, Volvo decided that instead of using the assembly line, which seperates the worker from ever seeing the product of their work, they would create "teams" that would each build a car from start to finsh, therefore allowing them to see the finished product and increase job satisfaction. Neat.

Have to teach. I will post once more before I leave.

My New Toy

I got my new laptop!!! Yay!! It took me like 30 seconds to get it all set to go with my wireless router, so I now no longer have to sit at my kitchen table to use a computer, as I was doing before. And, this computer is super fast. To test it, I tried to think of a graphics-heavy page. Of course, I thought of the mad tennis webpage. Lickety-split, it was loaded. When I clicked on each picture for a larger view, fast as lightning.

What this little experiment has proven is that in this cases, the masses are correct - technology has improved since 1999.