In many ways I feel like I have made it back to familiarity., which is a nice thing. I believe Brazilian culture is roughly similar to the US and Australia. Not only that, but there are so many things that are remind me of the states, like hearing songs on the radio I am used to hearing. There are some new ones too that apparently have been out for months, guess I have been traveling for a bit :). I think also living with a family again was such a nice change of pace.
Well, the hammock idea only lasted for 2 paragraphs, so it is now in the evening and I am sitting at the table. Let's see how this goes.... Where were we? Ah, yes the Brazilian culture. The main difference in the culture here, as far as I can tell after 10 days with a family, is actually just when they have their main meal. This affects a bit more than you might think. For the most part Brazilians eat a small breakfast, perhaps some bread and cheese and maybe some fruit. Than for lunch they have a large meal, almost always including rice, beans, meat, and other bits that vary. Those that can go home do and have lunch as a family. This affects everything because everything is based on being before or after lunch.
For dinner they usually eat the same thing they had for breakfast, or perhaps something else that is small. The second area where there is a cultural difference is that most middle class families all have a maid. This actually keeps many of the Brazilians employed, as unemployment is a big problem here. If people stopped having maids, there would be a huge spike in unemployment. The maid comes in the morning cleans the house & cooks the lunch & ensures the house is kept up and leaves in the afternoon. This allows many more women to work outside of the house as well. I found the system of having maids very interesting and a bit different. I think both systems, Brazilian system (having a maid) and not having a maid (like the states) have their positives and negatives.
(Jumping in Pelourinho - the Historic Centre, I loved the colorful buildings in Salvador!)
Ok, so the table worked for one paragraph. Now we are back from the beach house, let me try again....I came here to Brazil not only to see Brazil, but also to visit my friend Thamis. As hinted to above, I have been staying with her family; Thamis, her parents and her sister, Tamara in Salvador, Brazil. Which has been such a great experience. Her sister, Tamara, speaks English, but her parents only speak Portuguese. At the beginning her mom and I would sit at a computer with Google's translator and have a conversation typing back and forth and making hand gestures. As time progressed I started speaking some more Portuguese & Thamis' parents started speaking more English. More importantly though we have got very good at communicating with hand gestures and the little Portuguese I started speaking.
I have been so surprised at how much Portuguese I have picked up. I know some Spanish from a long time ago and Portuguese is very similar, which has helped a lot. But, after a week here I was talking to Thamis' parents with no one else around & they were teaching me more Portuguese & we were discussing the different things going on around us. Very elementary conversations, but yet we communicated and got along quite well. We had so much fun together! By the time I left Salvador, being there only about 10 days, I was able to recognize the conversation topic and some context when the family was speaking.. Thamis' mother & I keep telling each other that if I stayed her for one month, she would be able to speak English & I will be able to speak Portuguese. I have always struggled with languages. Not with standing my first language, English. So, this all so surprising to me how fast I am understanding the language, maybe there is hope for me after all.
(Jumping in front of the Lacerda Elevator at the Model Market)
Thamis, Tamara & both of their boyfriends have been showing me around Salvador. I have gone to the markets, walking through the streets & have enjoyed the view from some of their many lighthouses along the ocean. For a couple days Thamis and I took a boat to an island, Morro de Sao Paulo, and stayed in the village there. It was good fun relaxing on the nice sandy beaches, swiming in the crystal clear water, and climbing the hill up to the lighthouse at the top. We went kayaking to a smaller island near by and went snorkeling around it. Thamis had never been snorkeling before, so it was great to have her enjoy the experience. The reef was a barrier reef though, which usually are not as pretty as the other types of reef, so there was not too much to see, but there were some pretty fish. The man we hired the kayaks from came with us to the small island and showed all sorts of starfish & these spiky little black fishes.
(Thamis, Tamara & their boyfriends Igor & Innaqui (sorry Innaqui I am sure I spelt that wrong))
I am not really sure why it has been so hard for me to write this blog, as I clearly have lots to say and I really loved the experience. Now I am sitting here in the Sao Paulo airport trying to finish this blog so I can post it. I am thinking, I will write about my experience here in Sao Paulo, and than finish telling you about Salvador in my next post as there is quite a bit to still tell you about. So here we go....
Almost every blog I have, including this one talks about the great side of traveling, well this time I am going to give you a bit of a sob story, as I am not so happy right now. The story is a bit long, so I will leave some of the background information out and just say that my travel agent changed some things and made a mistake on one of my layovers causing me to miss my flight out of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition to this my itinerary has been locked by my travel agent, so no one here at the airport can change anything. My travel agent being in Australia has been closed since I got here. I have been here for over 6 hours & I have another 4 hours before my travel agent's office opens up. Which hopefully at that point I can either get access to Skype & call them, or they will have received one of my many emails to all of the addresses I could find for them & they can sort out the problem. However I have little hope in this solution right now as I have been told by the people here at the airport that there are limited to no flights until about the 26th, which is more than 10 days away! So we will see what happens, but this sitting here just waiting with no plan is driving me insane! Right now, I am tired & honestly, I just want to get to Cincinnati to see my sister.
However I do have a small story that has lifted my mood a bit. In my time sitting here playing cards, reading, typing and watching people I saw something that put a smile on my face and helped me feel a bit better and realize that the world does not revolve around me. There are two elderly ladies sitting here, I am guessing from Florida. They are both obviously struggling to get around & one has a cane & her feet are raised up on a bag. I have not seen the one with a cane try to get up, but she is obviously in a lot of pain when she moves either of her legs. They were hungry & the lady not sitting with her feet up went to get pizza at the closest restaurant. After a bit of time the lady walked back here with a waiter from the restaurant & told him, “look she can not go there, can I bring it here, I will bring back the try.”. Apparently there was some confusion that she could not get the pizza as take-away when she thought she could. The man said ok, and the two of them walked off. After a bit more time I see a line of 4 men walking out of the restaurant followed by the lady. The men were carrying a table, chairs and all of the food. Instead of making the woman go to the restaurant, they brought the restaurant to her. The woman were than able to eat without the trouble. It is always so great to see a good deed occur right in front of you.
Where will I be next time? Who knows. If I can't get a flight for a number of days, maybe I will travel around South America a bit more. I am even having thoughts of taking a bus and train all the way up to the states. In reality that is a bit ridiculous as it would probably take weeks from here, but I really don't like just sitting and waiting! I know this may shock some, but I like to have plans. I don't do well with out at least a basic concept of what will be happening. Perhaps all this worry and wait will be sorted in 4 hours and everything will work out here & I will end up in Cincinnati before the end of the week. Who knows! Either way, I will try to use my spare time wisely & finish the next blog & let you know where I am at.
Chow!
~Laugh & Love Life~
