Guess who was caught up in this mess on his way home from Indianapolis this week?
We were first delayed on the ground for about a half-hour, then at one point a police off icier got on the plane asked if anyone had brought an urn on board, which was the first time I heard that question on a plane. Two minutes later, we had to de-plane (I think that's an official term) and go through security again. After long lines for security, then to get back to the terminal, then to get back on the plane, we took off about 2 hours late. Nobody knew what was going on until we got back on the plane.
At the time it was happening, we didn't really know what was the story with the urn. I must admit though, apart from the frustration of de-planing and going through security again, it was relatively well organized, and the TSA did a fine job of moving hundreds of people back through security in a reasonable amount of time. It would be nice if they lines always moved that fast.
After over 1-1/2 years on the market, my townhouse finally sold. This past Friday I closed on my townhouse, and it took all week, but we are now fully moved into our new place. We are renting a little house in a nearby town, just a few minutes from my old crib. Honestly, the townhouse never seemed like home to us after we returned from Brazil. It seemed small, and we just didn't feel the same about it. While we were ex-pats, we had rented the townhouse out for about a year, and it sat vacant for the other year. Over that time, Edge got bigger and we grew accustomed to the luxury of nearly 3x the space and living detached from our immediate neighbors. Our biggest regret was that we didn't put the townhouse up for sale in 2005 or so when the market was at it's peak. I bet it would have sold for another 10% beyond what I got for it this week. But, hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Regardless, I am very happy with the check I received on Friday.
For now, we're renting and plan to wait out the market at least a few more months before getting serious about looking for a place to buy. Why rent? We like this area, and will be looking around here for our new house.
My favorite TV show and the topic of my blog have collided, producing the finest 60 minutes of television since the Sopranos finale. Now that Sopranos is off the air, I'm down to routinely watching just three shows - No Reservations, Dirty Jobs, and Battlestar Galactica - and Battlestar is on hiatus right now. (Yes, Battlestar Galactica, and no, not the Lorne Greene/guy-from-"The-A-Team" version).
"Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations" is on the Travel Channel, Mondays at 10pm. You've probably seen it, if not, your should. Each episode, Tony travels to a different country and offers his New Yorker-edged, surly commentary on how the local culture is influenced by the local foods. He comes off a bit gruff at times, but seems to be a genuine person at heart. I think he'd be the kind of person I could sit an have a few beers with.
What makes the travel aspect of his show different is that Bourdain avoids the touristy areas or cliche attractions, and heads straight to where the locals eat. He has broken down my fear of street food (to some degree anyway) because it's what he claims is the most authentic local cuisines. I'm just about finished with his book, "Kitchen Confidential" which gives a behind the scenes look at life in the kitchen of your favorite restaurants. Really, it's enlightening. You'd be amazed at what's going on back there.
Last night's episode featured Tony in Brazil, more specifically São Paulo. He met up with a couple of his Paulista pals and went to local markets, restaurants, street vendors, and bars. I noticed Tony drinking Brahma, Bohemia, Skol, I believe Antartica, and, of course, caipirinhas. He had Bolinhas de bacalhau (cod-fish fritters), linguiça cebolinha (sausage with onions), cheese on a stick, feijoada, and what looked like picanha. I've told you about all these things before in other posts, so you know that I miss them. He was mainly in São Paulo city, but took a side trip to São Sebastião, a beach town not too far from the city which we had been to many times en route to Ilha Bela. You can tell from the episode that he truly enjoyed being there. The genuine friendly nature of the Brazilian people, that I have tried to explain in the blog, comes through in the episode.
It's on again this Friday night, 8pm and 11pm. Check it out and let me know what you think.
On August 17, it will be three years since we first arrived to live in Brazil. I had been there on at least 9 separate trips since January, 2004, but this was when we moved as a family to stay. I still remember the final preparations at home in the US and the ride to JFK airport where we were still straightening out our visa paperwork in the back of the car. We were all fairly nervous and excited about the big move. When we got there, our driver brought flowers for my wife to welcome her, and I think some candy for Edge. When we arrived at our house in SJC, our real estate agent and our soon-to-be best friends in Brazil where there waiting for us outside. This was the first time my wife and Edge had seen the house, and of course there was a lot of excitement as we toured the house. The real estate agent had stocked the 'fridge and pantry with food (some we had never heard of before). Then, Reinaldo (a local driver who also became our friend) spent the afternoon with us driving us around to the important local spots (Walmart, Carrefour, the malls, McDonalds for Edge). Then, if memory serves, I went to work in the afternoon! It was an exciting day I don't think any of us will forget.
Over the next few weeks, we explored SJC on our own, and started becoming locals.
Here's a video I dug up out of my archive that I made to entice our family and friends to come to Brazil.
Three years ago. I can't believe it. I still think of our time there very often, and miss it. It was a life changing event, and a period of our lives we can never forget.
One of the starting realizations that I think we all have now, thanks to YouTube, Break.com, et al, is that there are an endless number of people out there with talent whose skills would otherwise only be known to their friends. From music to clever video editing to stupid human tricks (ok, Letterman was the pioneer of showcasing these). Here are some I found today:
Guitar Kid
I know a guy who probably could have played this when he was 14 too, but with an Eddie Van Halen spin.
I was going through some old papers, and came across a "cow-map" from our favorite Churrascaria in SJC. This particular card is a bit beat-up, since I must've folded it up a few times and stuck in my pocket for safekeeping. There is a name and phone number of company VP on the back which I wanted to save. I remember this particular dinner. There was a VP leadership team in town, and of course, that meant they stopped by our plant for a tour. Afterwards, we all went out to dinner at the Villa D'aldeia since it was our customary place to bring the out-of-towners. It was a great "networking" event for me, and I'm still in touch with some of them today. Being a tour guide for visiting company dignitaries was a fringe benefit of my time in Brazil.
Anyway, as I've probably explained before about Churrascarias, there is a bewildering variety of meats to choose from, and this user-friendly guide helps you to choose which part of the beast you'd like to try. This one had the English translations, which was helpful when we first got there. I enjoyed most of the types listed on the front, except Cupim. What's Cupim, you say? Check out the map.
Another couple movie recommendations this week from FLFB. I'm getting some serious mileage out of my gift Netflix account. And, sticking to my Brazilian theme, here they are:
1. "The Man of the Year".
No not "Man of the Year" (Robin Williams, 2006), this is "O Homem do Ano" (The Man of the Year). The story of a guy who does his community a favor, of sorts, and becomes a local hero. It's kind of what you might get if Tarantino directed Goodfellas on the mean streets of Rio de Janeiro. Action packed, certainly, but no Mr. Wolf. For me, it reminded me of why my boss in Brazil was so worried when we went to Rio by ourselves. One of the central themes of the movie is just how scared the ordinary Cariocas (as citizens of Rio are called) are day-to-day and how commonplace robberies, assaults, and outright murder are there. It's ironic that the more fences, bars, guards, and video cameras you have to protect your home; the more likely the crimminals will target you for a robbing. If you liked Goodfellas, and can handle that level of brutality, rent it.
2. "The Man Who Copied" A more light-hearted, yet still a bit violent, portrayal of life in Brazil. In a way, it's a classic boy sees girl, boy becomes infatuated with girl, boy finally gets his chance type movie ala John Hughes, but without any memorable one-liners. I guess the most notable part for me was the realization of the sense of nostaglia for just ordinary life in Brazil that I've developed. The main character was a Copier-Boy, an actual profession in Brazil. I remember there being copier places all over the cities, even the malls. There are a ton of legal documents that Brazilians have to deal with, and most of them need to be notorized, in triplicate, at these special shops where people stand around for seemingly hours for their chance to get their copies. And every page needs at least 1 or 2 official stamps. The places are awash with brief flashes from the copier, then the STOMP-STOMP-STOMP of high-speed, manual, ink-and-rubber stamping. Kinda charming, really. There would usually be a little snack cart somewhere nearby to pass the time at, eating coxinhas, drinking a cerverja, and chatting it up with the locals. As for the movie, worth a peek if you want to get a glimpse of everyday life there.
In about a week or so, it'll be 1 year since I left Brazil. I can't believe it.
I came across this on the web today, and I realized I don't think I've mentioned our three trips to Rio de Janeiro.
Our first was in February '05, just about 6 months after we moved to Brazil. Our best friends in Brazil (an Austrian and Brazilian couple) had been to Rio numerous times, and were our guides. There was also some big meeting at the plant that week, so there were a bunch of "gringos" in town and, well, when in Brazil it seems to be a requirement to visit Rio. So, we went. What stands out in my memory from this trip is caipirinihas on Ipanema beach, finding the "Top Beer" in Ipanema, and making the Rio to SJC run in record time (about 3-1/2 hours). Of course, the awe of seeing Rio for the first time is indelible. It's a beautiful city. Good times, indeed.
Our second trip was in September '05 when my brother, his wife, and 2-year old son came down for a visit. This time, we drove into Rio ourselves, unescorted. A big step for us. My boss was like a nervous father about us going alone. He called me the night before to make sure I really knew what I was doing. I assured him we'd be fine. You see, even Brazilian's have a fearful respect of Rio's high crime rate. I would say 75% of my co-workers had never been to Rio, and would never go. I guess it's similar to what we might say about visiting Camden or Newark after dark. We hired a tour guide for the day, who showed us the highlights of the city.
Our third trip was in March, 2006, when my friend Brian visited. We hired the same tour guide, and again had a great tour of the city. We spent one afternoon walking the length of Ipanema beach, even past Posto 9, and onto the rocks between Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. (Posto 9 means, basically, block 9 of the beach - it's where all those with the best bodies supposedly hang out) We had a few cervejas along the way, of course.
Rio is beautiful, there's no doubt about it. Someday, I'll go back. For now, I'll just enjoy the memories.
When you register as an ex-pat with the US Consulate in Brazil, you are placed on their mailing list to receive Consular Warnings. These notices come out from time to time with cautionary advise when trouble is perceived to be imminent. Here's the one I received today:
U.S. Consulate Sao Paulo, Brazil May 11, 2007
Security Alert Regarding PCC Anniversary
This warden message serves to alert American Citizens resident in Sao Paulo that this Mother's Day, Sunday May 13th will mark the one year anniversary of the First Capitol Command (PCC) violence that plagued Sao Paulo one year ago. The PCC was responsible for three major attacks in Sao Paulo since May 2006. The attacks involved widespread violence throughout the city and the State of Sao Paulo and disrupted public transportation. Public buses, government buildings, banks and gasoline stations were amongst the targets of attack. Although there is no indication at this time that there will be any repeat occurrences of these acts this weekend, the potential and the uncertainty surrounding the PCC's activities continue to exist and the potential to be in the wrong place at the wrong time can occur at any moment.
U.S citizens should be cognizant of potential police activity in their areas with respect to checkpoints and roadblocks and exercise caution especially when using ATM machines. These incidents in particular highlight the importance of insuring that you have good communication at your disposal, including cell-phones.
The incident they are referring to happened just before we left Brazil. It was probably the most notable security-alert situation we encountered during our 2 year stay. The violence erupted when the leader of the PCC (a ruthless Brazilian prison gang - think Bloods or Crypts, only not as nice) was placed in solitary confinement after causing some kind of ruckus - apparently involving a denied request for TVs for the prisoners to watch the upcoming World Cup. The PCC inside, contacted their PCC brethren on the outside (they had cellphones in jail), and what amounted to a mini-war broke out. PCC were shooting police, even off-duty in their homes or out to dinner with their families. Police were shooting PCC members on sight. Tons of buses were burned (they allowed the bus riders to get off first). Burning tire barricades were erected. All the major highways in and out of Sao Paulo were empty - an eerie sight for roads which are normally some of the most congested in the world. Even the malls in SJC were empty.
The violence was mainly centered in Sao Paulo (the city), but it was contagious and soon spread throughout Sao Paulo State. SJC had it's share of incidents as well, and we would all gather around the "Nescafe" espresso machine the next morning to review them. I remember a story of a school teacher in SJC who was killed while walking home from school - just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
We were moderately concerned for a weekend or two. Since we were in a gated community, I think we convinced ourselves the chances were low anything would happen to us, but that was perhaps a bit naive. We limited trips to the Carrefour to a minimum and otherwise kept a low profile.
After it was all over with and the burning busses were extinguished, by the following weekend, things seemed pretty much back to normal. We even ventured our to Sao Paulo a few more times.
I received 3-month "Netflix" subscription and I've finally started catching up on some movies I haven't seen over the past decade or so. I used to go to movies quite regularly, but I guess with travelling so much and working a hectic schedule, it's been tough. My fist rentals were "Babel" (4 of 5 stars) and "Rushmore" (4 of 5 stars). "Rushmore" has been on my list for years. just never got around to getting it. This was Bill Murray's prototype for his character in "Lost in Translation", which ranks as one of the top movies I remember seeing during all my flights to Brazil and back. I saw "Office Space" (4 of 5) this weekend, another one I hadn't gotten around to, and I can see now why people consider it a classic. The sorta "Beastie-Boy-video-esqe" scene of them smashing the fax machine is hysterical.
I rented "Central Station" the other weekend. I had not heard of it previously, but it received high marks in the foreign film section on Netflix. It's a Brazilian film which won a bunch of international film awards in 1998 when it came out. It's a good story, and not what exactly what I expected. I recommend it if you're looking for a good drama, and want to see some of the more rural areas of Brazil.
The movie follows the main characters from Rio de Janeiro to the some of the poorest regions of Brazil in the Northeast. This is an entirely different Brazil than we were exposed to. Let's face it, we lived a somewhat sheltered and a very comfortable life there. The town we lived in was rated one of the top best in Brazil, was relatively safe, and was in the most affluent state in Brazil. By contrast, the Northeast is the Third World. It's eye-opening to get a glimpse into the lives of the people that live there through this movie. Although extremely poor and struggling at every turn just to get their next meal, they keep a nearly fanatical devotion to God and family. I guess in those circumstances, you need to have something else to focus on rather than reality. See it and you'll know what I mean.
A video mashup of two of my favorite movies. Congrats to whoever made this:
As a director, producer, videographer, key grip (whatever that is), and editor at zip1010productions, I wish I had the time and a vision to put one of these together.
Summary of first six Sopranos' seasons in 7 minutes. Excellent work. Congratulations to whoever made this. It will no doubt soon be everywhere on the net. No, not just 'cause I linked it...
Then again, this isn't so bad either... Click here for FULL SCREEN.
The past couple of weekends, I was in France. One of the projects I am involved with at work required a weeklong visit to a client's site in Grenoble, France. Travel is one of the perks I have in my job, but the chance to travel internationally has been unfortunately rare as of late. So, I jumped at this chance, even taking my wife along for some vacation time. We wound up spending about 11 days total in France - starting with three days in Paris, about a week in Grenoble, then a weekend in Lyon. The trip was great - we saw the famous sites of Paris, ate a lot of fantastic food, and had the chance to explore a bit on our own. Our vacation style can be best described as "active self-guided exploration". Prior to the trip, we scoped out the places we wanted to see on the internets, and then found our way once we got there.
What surprised us the most about travelling across France might surprise you too. Rude French people? No. Actually, we felt like we busted that myth. We found the folks there to be downright pleasant and helpful. The shocking thing was that there is graffiti everywhere. Finding it in the cities was not shocking, but looking out the train window for three hours en route from Paris to Grenoble, it seemed every brick wall, overpass, and stationary object was decorated with some type of "street art". Somehow, now I don't feel as bad about the tagging I see in Jersey.
Here's a travel tip: When driving lost in a city, for instance Lyon, find yourself a bus-stop and check out the little kiosk. You will often find a map of the city with a "you are here" (vous êtes ici) indicator which you can use to adjust your route. Worked for us. Perhaps it was fortunate we found our way safely to our hotel. As you can tell from this photo I snapped, it appears that Lyon has some fairly liberal gun laws.
I miss our house in Brazil. As you can see in the pictures, it was a good looking place, and the perfect size for the three of us. Actually, it was spacious for us - it had 4 bedrooms, 4-1/2 baths with a jacuzzi in the master bath, large den, huge kitchen, maid's quarters, pool, sauna, deck, attached patio BBQ area (my favorite spot in the house), and was easily 3x as large as our house here. The details were top of the line too - exotic hardwood floors and tons of closet space. The living room had slider doors to the deck, and with the doors open, it had a great "bringing the outdoors in" feeling.
Like all the other houses in the development, it was walled off on three sides, the only open side was to the street. This gave the backyard a more private feel, but considering the house next door had bedroom windows that directly overlooked our pool area, and the incessant barking of their pack of dogs, you couldn't completely block out the rest of the world. We were lucky though to have no neighbors behind us - behind us was the common park, tennis courts, BBQ area, and playground - so I believe it was one of the best locations in the development. The pool and sauna were great. My wife took care of the pool cleaning and chlorinating duties; she liked the challenge. There were plenty of palm trees and other exotic flora around to make the backyard a great place to hang out. In the mornings, hummingbirds were usually drinking from the birds-of-paradise plants. Little lizards were everywhere.
Other houses in the neighborhood were just as nice. Our friends lived across the street in this house. We spent a lot of time over there, enjoying some of Brazil, Chile, and Austria's finest beverages.
Having a comfortable house to live in made the Brazilian expat experience all the more enjoyable for us.
Well, I finally made the update I said was on it's way. There's still some tweaking to be done around the edges, but it'll be ok like this for a while. What started all this was that I liked the 3-column layout better than the two, but it quickly became a game of "well, if I'm going to change this, I might as well change that too", and so the project grew. There are a ton of resources out there on the net for this kind of a conversion, and it was a good chance to dust-off my old coding skills.
It's not recommended to be viewed at resolutions less than 1024 x 768, and best at higher rates.
I have a few more ideas up my sleave, but I am not going to promise any timetables.
Just a quick note that I'm still here. I've clearly fallen off the wagon in terms of my weekly posting schedule for FLFB. I have a pretty big change coming for the look of the blog, but I haven't been able to work on it lately. I'm still interested in sharing my Brazilian experiences, and I've been going through a ton a photos and videos I made during our time in South America, so there is enough fodder to keep the site going. I just need to get to it.
Below are a few pictures (not mine) of places I'll eventually be discussing.
Here's a shot from Sao Jose dos Campos, near the mall, about 2km from where our house was:
Here's a scenic shot from Iguazu Falls. About 1 year ago today, we took a 14 hour road trip across Brazil to visit these falls. They were spectacular beyond words, and beyond all concept of what you probably think of when you think of waterfalls. (You're probably picturing Niagara Falls). The place puts Niagara Falls to shame. For some perspective, in the middle of the left edge of the picture, you can see a footbridge. This footbridge was about 1km long, and the picture is probably showing about a third of it. The picture shows only a few of the 275 falls that are in this area.
Ok. So, I didn't quite hit my self-described deadline of getting the new and improved FLFB up and running over the Holidays. Sure, I had time off, but I was running around quite a bit to family affairs and the like. And, it takes time to redesign the site, and a lot of research on how to program in Blogger script. I'm getting there. Be patient if you can.
Also, I'm still having some nagging issues even logging into Blogger. It seems since they went from Blogger Beta to Blogger 2.0, I somehow lost my ability to login directly. So, even logging in to make the changes takes a little longer.
While you wait, here are some happy scenarios to ponder. Happy Thoughts.
Now this, this is fantastic. A great and inspiring new way to interpret this classic scene. Big Kahuna Burger, indeed.
Another funny Skol commercial
A zip1010 Productions classic
Sao Jose dos Campos
Our house in SJC
Mission Statement
I started this blog with all good intentions of recording for posterity my thoughts on ex-pat livin' in Brazil. Sadly, I was not very diligent about posting. However, now that I have repatriated, I have started this blog anew to reminisce about my Brazilian experience. Warning: I may make sweeping generalizations about Brazil based on the perceptions I formed during my time there. Just remember; I mean no harm. This is one man's recollections of a very positive, life-changing experience
