I have spoken A LOT of Portuguese this weekend. I'm drunk right now so I can't really go into a lot of detail, but not for lack of trying!!!
Sunday night - GOD this 'weekend' (Sunday - Tuesday) feels like a weekend for me. All of my Monday students cancelled because of Brazilian Independence Day today. All of my Tuesday students as well! But why doesn't anyone do anything for Independence Day here?!?!?!?! Fireworks? Barbeques? Parties?? No???
Então, I spend the afternoon grocery shopping with minha sogra and partying with minha cunhada. GOOD TIMES! I'm glad I convinced my MIL to go shopping because I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't helped her, she wouldn't have gone. Food in house, check one.
My SIL invited me to a barbeque (not for Independence Day - just a coincidence) of a friend who I know so I went and ended up knowing a couple of others there (hey, what's this now? I know people in the neighbourhood??). It was a good ol' caipirinha time there.
On Sunday night I went ALONE to a churrasco at my husband's Aunt's house. Alone without my husband but with my family. Afterwards the cousins went to Casa Rosa in Larangeiras. That place was really fun. And really fun going with some peope who I can actually consider my FAMILY. I've never gone out with my cousins before so I feel priviledged that my 'new' family lives close and I can spend some time with them.
I really wish I could be more specific right now but I'm more or less just reporting on what's new. I really like reading Fiona's blog because she has articulated so much nicer the things that I felt (and still feel) about adjusting to life here.
All I can say, people, is that it gets better if you want it to. You just have to find the things you like (it's not always easy - it takes effort, sometimes a lot of effort and sometimes too much effort) and, like Rachel said, you can't be picky about your friends. You may just find yourself spending time with people, though, who you never expected to be friends with. It's kind of a fantastic thing, this living abroad.
Sometimes I feel like I can't stand it anymore and sometimes I feel like I could live here forever.
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I love that last line because it is OH SO TRUE. People ask me if I am happy here, like really happy. I tell them for the most part yes, but it depends on the day you ask me :)
ReplyDeleteLike you things have been getting better here. More social, more friends, more going out, more trying on my part and it has definitely made all the difference. I am starting to feel more like me...and i realized how much I had missed me! Glad things are going well!
I refer to those days as "I hate Brazil days." My husband (a Carioca) has learned to recognize them. When I, for example, start cursing the mold on my boots loud enough for the neighbors to hear, he raises his eyebrows and asks, "Are you hating Brazil today?" Other days, I pull the boots out and clean them without batting an eye. Like you said, it just depends on the day.
ReplyDeleteAfter a few years here, I've noticed those day when I hate Brazil, while not gone forever, are few and far between. You're right. It gets better if you hang in there.
Singing to the choir! There was a period of time where I locked myself in a room in my in-law´s apartments, smoked something that wasn´t cigarettes and watched reruns of friends. It just made me feel better.
ReplyDeleteDo whatcha gotta do! Maybe a beer night with foreigners in Zona Sul would also help :D