In June I traveled to Brazil on my own - carrying a backpack and a small hand suitcase.
And there I was, feeling sorry for myself because I had to go in the bathroom carrying 2 hand-luggage with me, when I saw a mother of four young kids leaving the bathroom - trying to keep them all under control.
That's when I realized how good I had it.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
time to go back
There is not a single time that the plane takes off from Salvador that I don't cry like a baby.
How can I not? How can I not look down at the place where I grew up and see it disappear down below without letting my emotions take the best of me.
I never cry in front of my family. I hold back as much as I can when we are saying goodbye.
But I just can't help it when I look out the window and see everything being left behind. My beach. My people. My friends. My family... Everything I chose to leave one day. ...
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
Paul is playing in Boston tonight. I wish I was there.
Mom made fried plantains for breakfast.I stayed home all day waiting for a friend who promised she was coming by. she didn't really. JP had appointments in the morning- mom took him and I stayed home and ... tried to study. while I waited for my friend. I studied and and she the stuff mom bought me the day before - candy, yogurt, Taff-Man E, guava ...
this ain't gonna turn out well - sit down on the couch with a book and eat ... eat east eat eat eat...
then in had lunch, then I ate all afternoon again while I studied.
in the evening mom's belly dancing teacher came. we talked for a while. then we picked up JP and went out to ... EAT! we had moqueca!
Too much eating.
Came home and played War games till midnight.
Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
Studying in the morning. ... and eating snacks. After lunch mom drove me to Salvador. We met gramms and Lelas at the mall and had a snack at the Arabic place.
In the evening I went to the mall with Luana and met her boyfriend Tulio. We had dinner at Bonaparte. We talked , talked , talked, talked, and talked. Then we had another snack at the cheese bread place. Talked, talked, talked, talked. when they were closing the mall, she drove me home and we talked, talked, talked, talked, talked, and talked.
Then I came home and studied till 3:30am.
Thursday, July 11th, 2013
Up by 7. breakfast with Gramms. She made French Toast!!!!!!! Then out to the mall to get my married name ID card. Today was national strike day, but only union workers and businesses located around the demonstration route, like my aunt's place.
We sat down to eat s snack - cheese bread and black&white candy (casadinho) with a very rich cappuccino. We walked a little bit, then Aunt Lea came for lunch at Outback. We walked in the mall till evening. home for dinner.
Friday, July 12th, 2013
beauty salon all morning - that's like torture... lunch at the theater lunch - typical Bahia Friday food, plus desert.
home and sat down to study. ... and ate snacks all afternoon. Evening - out for dinner with my generation part of the fam.
Saturday, July 14th, 2013
Tried to study in the morning. But really I went out with gramms to buy stuff for tomorrow's lunch. Also bought snacks. Aunt Lea picked us up, we bought more snack at the dairy house, and went home for.... LUNCH!!!!! Sat down to study .... chatted with Aunt Lea about next year's trip. Lelas came with his wife and we chatted till midnight... and ate.
I did homework till 2:30 am. Had to stop at 2:30 am BC nothing I wrote made sense anymore.
Sunday, July 14th, 2013
Yam for breakfast!
Did the rest of my homework this morning while Aunt Inaja made my suitcase.
in the afternoon we sang karaoke and and snacks. Aunt Mima and Catarina came too.
Last day... I'm already missing my family time. But I have also gained six pounds ... when these are gone I won't miss them ... oh, dear....
Finally we played games and sang karaoke all night.
Paul is playing in Boston tonight. I wish I was there.
Mom made fried plantains for breakfast.I stayed home all day waiting for a friend who promised she was coming by. she didn't really. JP had appointments in the morning- mom took him and I stayed home and ... tried to study. while I waited for my friend. I studied and and she the stuff mom bought me the day before - candy, yogurt, Taff-Man E, guava ... 
then in had lunch, then I ate all afternoon again while I studied.
in the evening mom's belly dancing teacher came. we talked for a while. then we picked up JP and went out to ... EAT! we had moqueca!
Came home and played War games till midnight.
Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
Studying in the morning. ... and eating snacks. After lunch mom drove me to Salvador. We met gramms and Lelas at the mall and had a snack at the Arabic place.
Then I came home and studied till 3:30am.
Thursday, July 11th, 2013
Up by 7. breakfast with Gramms. She made French Toast!!!!!!! Then out to the mall to get my married name ID card. Today was national strike day, but only union workers and businesses located around the demonstration route, like my aunt's place.
We sat down to eat s snack - cheese bread and black&white candy (casadinho) with a very rich cappuccino. We walked a little bit, then Aunt Lea came for lunch at Outback. We walked in the mall till evening. home for dinner.Friday, July 12th, 2013
beauty salon all morning - that's like torture... lunch at the theater lunch - typical Bahia Friday food, plus desert.
home and sat down to study. ... and ate snacks all afternoon. Evening - out for dinner with my generation part of the fam.
Saturday, July 14th, 2013
Tried to study in the morning. But really I went out with gramms to buy stuff for tomorrow's lunch. Also bought snacks. Aunt Lea picked us up, we bought more snack at the dairy house, and went home for.... LUNCH!!!!! Sat down to study .... chatted with Aunt Lea about next year's trip. Lelas came with his wife and we chatted till midnight... and ate.
I did homework till 2:30 am. Had to stop at 2:30 am BC nothing I wrote made sense anymore.Sunday, July 14th, 2013
Yam for breakfast!
Did the rest of my homework this morning while Aunt Inaja made my suitcase.
in the afternoon we sang karaoke and and snacks. Aunt Mima and Catarina came too.
Last day... I'm already missing my family time. But I have also gained six pounds ... when these are gone I won't miss them ... oh, dear....
Finally we played games and sang karaoke all night.
Monday, July 08, 2013
Thursday - July 4, 2013
Got to the airport where Aunt Léa, Aunt Inajá and Gramms waited for me.
Before anything, I stopped at the Duty Free to buy my brother Lelas special licqueur... But I could not recall the name of the thing.
"Honey," I told the girl at the store, "it is something with M... Malaga, Maluga, Ma-something..."
"Where is it from?"
"Oh, I don't... Mexico?"
She let me walk around te store and look for it. And I looked around in absolute exhasperation as I had no clue what to be watching for.
Oh, there it was! AMARULA! From AFRICA! ... Yup, this is me...
Just as I thought, my checked in luggage didn't make it to Salvador. Good thing I had checked in an empty suitcase and brought everyone's orders in my hand luggage.
After filling in the missing luggage paperwork we headed straight home for some fam-time:
- openning gifts
- setting up electronics
- telling jokes about each other
Aunt Mima, Mateus, Catarina, Mom, and of course my brothers Lelas and JP all came for lunch. Black Beans and ....
"Where's my Guaraná, people? You know I don't drink this Coca-Cola thing..."
As usual, Lelas and I had an argument over lunch. An argument that would never end...
As usual grandma got flustered about it.
As usual Mom said, "That's why every time they started arguing I left the room and only came back much later to check if there was any blood to clean and body pieces to collect."
As usual we all had lots of fun zapping each other with witty jokes - especially about Mom's ex-husbands ...
Good Old Fam Time...
By the end of the day I had a busted toe - my cursed second toe on my left foot - which kicks everything it finds in front of it and is in a constant state of pain. I tied bubble wrapt around it and became the joke of the rest of the evening.
Friday, July 5th, 2013
Trying to study all day ... Our out-for-breakfast plans were thwarted bc no one showed up on time. Lelas showed up for dinner and we finally drank some of his amarula drink.
More family time - zapping each other with jokes, teaching my aunts how to use some electronics, eating boiled peants, and... buyng songs for my karaoke and installing them on the device.
Saturday, July 6th, 2013
In the morning, I went up and down the 21 floors 3 times to work out ...
...
Bad idea ... 6 hours later my 2 calves were sore and my knee was busted - I tried to do the bottle top dance later that afternoon and could not hold my legs all the way down.
At around 8 am - Off to the Island with Gramms, Aunt Léa and Aunt Inajá. Mom and JP arrived later, bc JP had class in the morning.
In the evening we sang karaoke till 2 am.
When we arrived at the house we found it was surrounded by water - I had never seen it like that before. It had rained a lot, ok. But that isn't natural - all that flooding. Something is wrong with our plumbing or with the street plumbing. Gramms will have the handyman look at it this week.
Gramms also told me the plot next door, which I intended to purchase, is about to be built on soon. That's just too bad. I guess I can't buy that plot and extend our property.
That is our retirement home, you know. I'm investing on it.
Sunday, July 7th, 2013
We were up by 10... JP was up by 1 ... we ate breakfast at 12 and lunch at 3.
Mommy fried plantains for breakfast... oh, they smell so good! they taste even better!
We couldn't walk to the beach because the path was soggy and people had gotten stuck and lost their sandals trying to make it there.
While Gramms cooked lunch, I sang on the karaoke. I love singing! I stopped singing when one of my aunts reminded me I had to go study... argh!
Lunch was a bunch of left overs with fresh farofa and fried sun meat.
My fam is pepper crazy and that's how they eat it:
Late afternoon - We cleaned up and drove to the ferry. Back home by 9:30 pm and Gramms decided to order pizza for dinner since the food she cooked last Thursday was finally eaten up that afternoon...
Aunt Léa gave me her Claro chip to use in my phone so I don't have to buy another chip this year.
Not a problem to her - everyone in Brazil has several different chips of several different carriers. A case study, if you ask me ...
Monday, July 8th, 2013
On the road to Feira de Santana at 6am.
We got to Feira, dropped JP off at class and I had to walk downtown with Mom so she could go to the doctor's.
It felt like a blast from the past. The roads I knew so well (3 years of my teenage years spent there).
I really dislike the place. I feel like I have left nothing of importance in Feira to make me go back. But mom insists on my coming here every time I come to Brazil. I come to hang out with her ... but she can come to Salvador just as well and we can go to many places together. It's a sad thing that she still lives in Feira. It is a sad excuse to drag me there. I don't miss Feira, and I know that no one in Feira misses me.
Tried to study in the afternoon.
Completing my U.S. History I online summer class has been extremely hard since I set foot on Brazil. I am so not motivated. As much as the subject is exciting, I just want to hang out with the fam... Come on, Vika, you can do this.
I noticed the txt message I sent to Beta last night never went through, so I resent it. Hope she can till find a way to come visit.
Mom and I went to the store to by Brazilian snacks that I like. Bought Taff Man E - one of my favorite drinks growing up. Found out the darn thing has WINE in it!!!!! What? Really? And that´s a kid drink? ok, I drank wine throughout my childhood. Hehehe - alcoholic little girl...
Got to the airport where Aunt Léa, Aunt Inajá and Gramms waited for me.
Before anything, I stopped at the Duty Free to buy my brother Lelas special licqueur... But I could not recall the name of the thing.
"Honey," I told the girl at the store, "it is something with M... Malaga, Maluga, Ma-something..."
"Where is it from?"
"Oh, I don't... Mexico?"
She let me walk around te store and look for it. And I looked around in absolute exhasperation as I had no clue what to be watching for.
Oh, there it was! AMARULA! From AFRICA! ... Yup, this is me...
Just as I thought, my checked in luggage didn't make it to Salvador. Good thing I had checked in an empty suitcase and brought everyone's orders in my hand luggage.
After filling in the missing luggage paperwork we headed straight home for some fam-time:
- openning gifts
- setting up electronics
- telling jokes about each other
Aunt Mima, Mateus, Catarina, Mom, and of course my brothers Lelas and JP all came for lunch. Black Beans and ....
"Where's my Guaraná, people? You know I don't drink this Coca-Cola thing..."
As usual, Lelas and I had an argument over lunch. An argument that would never end...
As usual grandma got flustered about it.
As usual Mom said, "That's why every time they started arguing I left the room and only came back much later to check if there was any blood to clean and body pieces to collect."
As usual we all had lots of fun zapping each other with witty jokes - especially about Mom's ex-husbands ...
Good Old Fam Time...
By the end of the day I had a busted toe - my cursed second toe on my left foot - which kicks everything it finds in front of it and is in a constant state of pain. I tied bubble wrapt around it and became the joke of the rest of the evening.
Friday, July 5th, 2013
Trying to study all day ... Our out-for-breakfast plans were thwarted bc no one showed up on time. Lelas showed up for dinner and we finally drank some of his amarula drink.
More family time - zapping each other with jokes, teaching my aunts how to use some electronics, eating boiled peants, and... buyng songs for my karaoke and installing them on the device.
Saturday, July 6th, 2013
In the morning, I went up and down the 21 floors 3 times to work out ...
...
Bad idea ... 6 hours later my 2 calves were sore and my knee was busted - I tried to do the bottle top dance later that afternoon and could not hold my legs all the way down.
At around 8 am - Off to the Island with Gramms, Aunt Léa and Aunt Inajá. Mom and JP arrived later, bc JP had class in the morning.
In the evening we sang karaoke till 2 am.
When we arrived at the house we found it was surrounded by water - I had never seen it like that before. It had rained a lot, ok. But that isn't natural - all that flooding. Something is wrong with our plumbing or with the street plumbing. Gramms will have the handyman look at it this week.
Gramms also told me the plot next door, which I intended to purchase, is about to be built on soon. That's just too bad. I guess I can't buy that plot and extend our property.
That is our retirement home, you know. I'm investing on it.
Sunday, July 7th, 2013
We were up by 10... JP was up by 1 ... we ate breakfast at 12 and lunch at 3.
Mommy fried plantains for breakfast... oh, they smell so good! they taste even better!
We couldn't walk to the beach because the path was soggy and people had gotten stuck and lost their sandals trying to make it there.
While Gramms cooked lunch, I sang on the karaoke. I love singing! I stopped singing when one of my aunts reminded me I had to go study... argh!
Lunch was a bunch of left overs with fresh farofa and fried sun meat.
My fam is pepper crazy and that's how they eat it:
Late afternoon - We cleaned up and drove to the ferry. Back home by 9:30 pm and Gramms decided to order pizza for dinner since the food she cooked last Thursday was finally eaten up that afternoon...
Aunt Léa gave me her Claro chip to use in my phone so I don't have to buy another chip this year.
Not a problem to her - everyone in Brazil has several different chips of several different carriers. A case study, if you ask me ...
Monday, July 8th, 2013
On the road to Feira de Santana at 6am.
We got to Feira, dropped JP off at class and I had to walk downtown with Mom so she could go to the doctor's.
It felt like a blast from the past. The roads I knew so well (3 years of my teenage years spent there).
I really dislike the place. I feel like I have left nothing of importance in Feira to make me go back. But mom insists on my coming here every time I come to Brazil. I come to hang out with her ... but she can come to Salvador just as well and we can go to many places together. It's a sad thing that she still lives in Feira. It is a sad excuse to drag me there. I don't miss Feira, and I know that no one in Feira misses me.
Tried to study in the afternoon.
Completing my U.S. History I online summer class has been extremely hard since I set foot on Brazil. I am so not motivated. As much as the subject is exciting, I just want to hang out with the fam... Come on, Vika, you can do this.
I noticed the txt message I sent to Beta last night never went through, so I resent it. Hope she can till find a way to come visit.
Mom and I went to the store to by Brazilian snacks that I like. Bought Taff Man E - one of my favorite drinks growing up. Found out the darn thing has WINE in it!!!!! What? Really? And that´s a kid drink? ok, I drank wine throughout my childhood. Hehehe - alcoholic little girl...
Work from home
I love those announcements: This is your chance to work from home! Be your own boss! Make your own schedule!
Anyway - work from home. It seems that my idea of "work from home" is different than that of the people behind the announcements.
See, when I think "work from home," I think, "get up at 6:30, tidy up my house, change out of my PJs? H'm... if I want to. Get a cup of tea, sit by my computer or phone and do the work I could be doing at the office - just that I will be doing it from home - while I watch the cat's obnoxious behavior."
Most of those Work from Home announcements - when you reply to them - turn out to be sales. "Work from Home" in their mind means, "go to other people's homes and demonstrate our products to them. Spend your whole freaking day going to other people's homes!"
How's that for a work from home situation?
Meh, I'll pass. I'll go to he office.
Anyway - work from home. It seems that my idea of "work from home" is different than that of the people behind the announcements.
See, when I think "work from home," I think, "get up at 6:30, tidy up my house, change out of my PJs? H'm... if I want to. Get a cup of tea, sit by my computer or phone and do the work I could be doing at the office - just that I will be doing it from home - while I watch the cat's obnoxious behavior."
Most of those Work from Home announcements - when you reply to them - turn out to be sales. "Work from Home" in their mind means, "go to other people's homes and demonstrate our products to them. Spend your whole freaking day going to other people's homes!"
How's that for a work from home situation?
Meh, I'll pass. I'll go to he office.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)