As Geoff likes to say almost daily, "It's pretty awesome."
We have been living in Brazil for one month and although we know homesickness will likely set in at some point, we're having a lot of fun right now and really enjoying all the new-ness of this experience. I think we've successfully embraced that it's not like home here, which is good because this would've been a long way to move to experience more of the same.
We've had some frustration (actually, just getting an apartment), some confusion (I used the male bathroom, which is doubly confusing because I do know the words for male and female) and made some etiquette faux pas (three people told us it's not OK to use the main elevator for suitcases, but rather the service elevator), but our first month has been good. Really good.
Some observations:
People: Brazilians are incredibly warm and friendly. And they love children. Eri is showered with candies, treats and juice when we're out. People here love that we speak Portuguese and engage us in conversation at length. We literally leave stores, restaurants, etc. with hugs from the staff. Other people we encounter, more often than not, give us their emails and phone numbers. We've made friends and people are extremely patient with our speaking skills, which are good, but still elicit laughs, though not in a condescending way by any means.
Safety: Florianopolis seems to be a very safe city. We chose an apartment with security and are cautious when and where we go out and about, but have not had any issues. The one asterisk is the driving here. Cars do not yield to pedestrians - ever. It's actually really scary trying to cross a street. Other than that, I never feel afraid, and go out by myself or with just Eri all the time.
Food: The city has a strong Italian and German influence, so we've eaten a lot of pizza. We've tried other typical Brazilian dishes, which are good. Eri and I love pao de quiejo, which are little balls of bread with cheese in the middle, and cochinas, which are breaded chicken blobs that look like big Hershey kisses. We live a block away from a farm-direct market, so we eat lots of fresh fruit, veggies, chicken, fish, bread and eggs. Love it. Smoothies are incredibly popular here and our favorite is acai with banana. Milk is boxed and sits on a shelf until opened, but doesn't really taste much different. Packaged snacks, like pretzels and, to Eri's dismay, Goldfish crackers aren't common. People stop at little kiosks and snack on an empanada in the afternoons. Brazilian beer is cheaper than water, but tastes the same. Geoff and I love caipirinas, which here are like margaritas are in Mexico.
Expense: Some things are incredibly expensive, mostly goods like clothes, shoes, toys and household items, like bath towels or dishes. Services and labor, though, are considerably cheaper here than in the states, like domestic employees and handymen, childcare, pedicures (whew), etc.
Day-to-day: We've spent a lot of time out-and-about to explore, practice speaking and because we don't have any furniture other than a table and chairs and a couple beds. The weather is usually in the mid-70s, so we walk around, go to the parks, and run up and down the trail that separates the downtown bustle from the ocean. (The jogging stroller is a real head-turner, but I don't mind because I'm gawking in return at the super hot women in full spandex bodysuits. I don't think Geoff notices them though.) We've taken the city bus to explore other parts of the island while we wait for our car to arrive. We've had a lot of together-ness (in a good way!) and are mostly just using this time to get settled and be comfortable here.
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| Riding the onibus. Standing like the other big kids.
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