Water and Star Wars
here the water from the tap is suspect. Although the water from our tap comes from a well deep beneath the building, and is fit to drink, we use the filter and the grocery store. We'll do a taste test soon though and find out whether we like well water too.
For most, water comes through a filter or from plastic bottles. Mineral water is really big here, and after drinking the plastic water for two months, our whole family converted to the bubbly water. This too comes in plastic but the bubbles negate the plastic taste. Water, water everywhere- but no where to drink....
For example one often sees water running down the street, in little gullies along the sidewalk- where there is one- sometimes crossing the street creating a deep enough dip that cars go over them as if they were speed bumps. This water comes from fresh springs under the pavement, and forces its way up to the surface. because there are so many of them, architects devise outlets for the water when they design new buildings. So in some areas of the city there is a constant flow of water in the gutter along the sidewalk.
Or in our case, they use the spring to feed the building.
Water is used in copious amounts to clean terraces- bathrooms, kitchens. All are built with drains in the middle of the floor, and water is just splashed around. Then comes a broom with a cloth on the end of it to scrub the surfaces. Some kind of soap is also used, sometimes. Mostly people wash everything down, on a weekly or even daily basis.
This seems especially important now, in the Winter when the weather is so dry. Dust cruises the air, trolling for open spaces to invade and surfaces on which to settle.
But dust is not alone. In fact it might blow past some of the balconies and open windows if it weren't for its sidekick: pollution. I know many people reading this blog will note that I talk about pollution frequently. Let me tell you I do not mention it as often as I clean it away from my face. The pollution here is a little sticky, blacker than dust, and stubborn. Often we sense that rain is coming, then we look out and see what appears to be a gray cloud rolling in. Rain! I say. Pollution, says the maid.
The water is soft here. For those of you who do not know soft water, this mean your skin does not dry out as quickly, and when you wash your hands, the soap does not rinse off easily. Since hot water only comes into the bathroom and kitchen taps, and not into the laundry room, washing machines here wash in cold soft water. Hence, a cycle can take up to 2 hours to run! Wow-
While we lived in NY, I had shirts made for Alex. These shirts did not need to be dry cleaned, nor did they need to be ironed. Eureeka! I thought. Environmentally sound dress shirts that can be cleaned in an hour! And then we moved here, and I could not get them clean in the cold soft water.(yes, I was doing our laundry in the fancy pansy hotel on Sunday mornings at 7 AM- different story)
So, when shopping for a washing machine for our apartment, I bought one of the only models which will warm the water. I think this cycle takes 2.5hours- but in the end, we'll be sitting pretty!
More water:
To clean the service stair wells in our apartment building - a person stands on the top floor ( 23 flights up) with a hose and sprays water for about 45 minutes and then watches as it cascades down.... finally dripping endlessly from stair well to stair well.
Lets hope there is a restroom at the top and he/she doesn't have to make a quick exit down the service stairs....
My driver: Antonio
We hired a driver in part because my license was expired, and in part because I don't speak enough language to navigate my way out of a fender bender.(frequent ocurrences) Until Tuesday night I was in traffic up to 4 hours a day getting the kids to and from school. Tobias has to be picked up at 12, while Zachary is finished at 3 PM.
My driver's word for the traffic is : "oh-orr-hee-vil" the Portuguese word for horrible. but when he says it he sounds like one of the characters from the Adams Family.
Now that we live in Panamby I spend about 30 minutes in "ho-evil" traffic.
When we moved here, we had to leave all our furniture behind. In fact we were given such a small allotment for shipping that we left most of our household items behind. Including things like hangers- which cost a small fortune here- who knew?!
So, once we found an apartment- which we did over the course of our first few days here in the pouring rain with both kids moaning and groaning behind us-- Alex went off to work, and the kids and I went out to buy furniture.
Shop till you drop... yes we dropped over and over and over.
Final decisions and initial bargaining were done with Alex back in the mix. But in between, the three of us, our relocation manager and a driver cris-crossed the city in search of.....everything.
Zachary and Tobias were understandably bored. Thank the stars for the driver who spoke English! He would take them to other parts of the mall or store or find a park for them to run in. It took about about 2 weeks until most of the big items were ordered- couches, chairs, dining room table, breakfast room table and chairs, beds, night stands, stove, etc etc.
We still have things like curtains and rugs to find, but we can live here, and be thankful for a spacious apartment with new stuff to jump on! The delivery of the stuff was quite an experience.
Many pieces did not fit in the service elevator. So, the delivery men brought in a small crane company. These three men came in and installed a winch/motor set up on the balcony. Cable was run down the side of the building to the courtyard below. There the pieces of furniture were cabled and then slowly hoisted up 17 floors to the balcony, guided at the bottom by one man, and hauled over the balcony edge by the other two. It was exciting for the boys! I have to admit I found it pretty cool too.
Zachary turns 6 on Monday! WOW!!!!
There are many ways to celebrate here. A typical Brazilian Family (of the type who can afford to send their kids to private school) invites the whole class, and their families to a party place or to the party room in their building, and the hires in the entertainment, the food, etc. I am told an average bill runs about R 12,000.00 (6-7,000.00 dollars)
Sounds like a plan?
Maybe.
We are opting for a trip to the zoo with some friends we've made here, and a party in his classroom. I found a person who makes cupcakes. Now there is no way they will rival Lori Walsh's gourmet treats, but we'll make do!
We thought about heading out to the shore for a few days since Monday and Tuesday are holidays. When I asked Zachary about this, the look on his face was grim. NO more cars! he said. Okay. I get it. we just moved into our new home, and there is still soooo much to do. they just want to be "home".
Star Wars is the theme these past few weeks. Zachary is begging for more figures. We currently have 2 and a few leggo pieces until our sea shipment arrives, and then I think we'll have a few more- I hope because I can't remember what I packed up in May!
Oh-and a star ship, and well- you know the whole thing...so we'll see what we can find for less than the cost of a plane ticket back to NY. Taxes are the culprit. For imported toys (all toys pretty much) the gov't adds something between 100- 200%.
you do the math.
The tax on sugar made here is 27%- just to give perspective.
Now that we are in a home and have figured out how to turn the boiler on, and not blow up the dishwasher, we look forward to settling in and establishing a routine.
We'd like to find a used piano and start lessons. i want to find a drumming class... and we all want to falla Portuguese really soon!
Here is to Spring Water!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Connections
Connections here are like the wind -
-- they come and go, sometimes with ferocity, always with a lot of pollution....
We lost all communication with the world beyond the immediate reach of my cell phone (which then promptly ran out of credits), about 8 days ago. The connection remained down for nearly 5 days, and then came back only intermittently.
The phone was easy to remedy. The internet was not. It took this luxury palace of a place 6 days to restore all connections. No explanation.
Much like the laundry here.... no knows why there are black smears on Alex's white business shirts- not even me and I put them in the drier!
Mind you, no other piece of clothing got the smears. Just the white business shirts.... ARGH!!! I could not of the life of me explain to the laundry lady what I wanted her to do. I kept saying something akin to 'boil the nuts' instead of wash in warm water please... because she gave me such a look! Anyway, the problem is now solved.
We are getting ready to move - finally!!!! In 2 weeks I get to try it all over again in my own apartment.
While a fine residence hotel is nothing to sneeze at- the experience of making a temporary home out of one for 2 months is challenging nonetheless.
Try playing soccer in the "courtyard" and not kick one of the many decorative lights, crush the withering plants, or mangle the droopy red flowers. And don't forge to tell your children NOT to pick up the left over cigareet butts in the grass.
Ohh- but we have fun, and usually get a couple other kids from the hotel to join in.
I can say we have some very interesting neighbors. So when all else fails, I turn my attention to them:
Neighbor A) right across the hall: young and hip. big bank roll. lots and lots of really potent ganja. In fact it is often so strong at 9 AM that it floats or clings rather to me as I pass through it to open our apartment door.
Neighbor B) diagonally across from us does lots of singing, chanting and occasionally, screaming. They also burn a lot of incense. The combination of smells on some mornings is like a momentary transport to another place altogether. The maids posted to these rooms would have something else to say, I am sure. But I don't understand enough Portuguese to listen in their conversations.
School is going really well. Tobias and Zachary have made a few friends. Tobias belongs to a posse, Zachary is still working on one. They paint and sing, read and write to various degrees. Zachary now experiments with foods- "but only at school", he explains to me when I try to get him to eat salad at dinner.
Tobias is picking up the language mostly by repeating words over and over and over again. It is a little like have a walking parrot around.
According to Tobias we " do NOT live in Brazil, mommy. we LIVE in New York."
Well, in fact we often think of ourselves as very temporary.
There are so many differences to absorb. One forgets sometimes to just be- I forget to stop trying to understand, to stop cobbling words together in an effort to reach out, to stop and just be still. The stillness in body and the silence of the tongue are as important a part of this process of being here as "fitting in". In the stillness I remember me. In the silence I hear my own voice in a comforting tone, with confidence say, 'okay try again later.' And in those rare moments, I re-connect with the me I packed into 8 suitcases and brought over here.
-- they come and go, sometimes with ferocity, always with a lot of pollution....
We lost all communication with the world beyond the immediate reach of my cell phone (which then promptly ran out of credits), about 8 days ago. The connection remained down for nearly 5 days, and then came back only intermittently.
The phone was easy to remedy. The internet was not. It took this luxury palace of a place 6 days to restore all connections. No explanation.
Much like the laundry here.... no knows why there are black smears on Alex's white business shirts- not even me and I put them in the drier!
Mind you, no other piece of clothing got the smears. Just the white business shirts.... ARGH!!! I could not of the life of me explain to the laundry lady what I wanted her to do. I kept saying something akin to 'boil the nuts' instead of wash in warm water please... because she gave me such a look! Anyway, the problem is now solved.
We are getting ready to move - finally!!!! In 2 weeks I get to try it all over again in my own apartment.
While a fine residence hotel is nothing to sneeze at- the experience of making a temporary home out of one for 2 months is challenging nonetheless.
Try playing soccer in the "courtyard" and not kick one of the many decorative lights, crush the withering plants, or mangle the droopy red flowers. And don't forge to tell your children NOT to pick up the left over cigareet butts in the grass.
Ohh- but we have fun, and usually get a couple other kids from the hotel to join in.
I can say we have some very interesting neighbors. So when all else fails, I turn my attention to them:
Neighbor A) right across the hall: young and hip. big bank roll. lots and lots of really potent ganja. In fact it is often so strong at 9 AM that it floats or clings rather to me as I pass through it to open our apartment door.
Neighbor B) diagonally across from us does lots of singing, chanting and occasionally, screaming. They also burn a lot of incense. The combination of smells on some mornings is like a momentary transport to another place altogether. The maids posted to these rooms would have something else to say, I am sure. But I don't understand enough Portuguese to listen in their conversations.
School is going really well. Tobias and Zachary have made a few friends. Tobias belongs to a posse, Zachary is still working on one. They paint and sing, read and write to various degrees. Zachary now experiments with foods- "but only at school", he explains to me when I try to get him to eat salad at dinner.
Tobias is picking up the language mostly by repeating words over and over and over again. It is a little like have a walking parrot around.
According to Tobias we " do NOT live in Brazil, mommy. we LIVE in New York."
Well, in fact we often think of ourselves as very temporary.
There are so many differences to absorb. One forgets sometimes to just be- I forget to stop trying to understand, to stop cobbling words together in an effort to reach out, to stop and just be still. The stillness in body and the silence of the tongue are as important a part of this process of being here as "fitting in". In the stillness I remember me. In the silence I hear my own voice in a comforting tone, with confidence say, 'okay try again later.' And in those rare moments, I re-connect with the me I packed into 8 suitcases and brought over here.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
First week of school- check!
Wow, what a difference a school makes. Both Zachary and Tobias are navigating well. The daily onslaught of tantrums has given way....perhaps because they are just too tired.
I get up at 5:45 AM. They are woken up at 6:15. We are dressed, fed and in the car by 7 AM!
I feel good if I haven't forgotten a shoe, a backpack or a child! We drop Alex at work and then head off to the other side of the river. This section of town is called " Morumbi".
In addition to the American School, the Albert Einstein Hospital ( yep that is where I am going to get my brain transplant), and the Governor's mansion, it also home to Sao Paulo's largest Favela (=ghetto).
I am told I should NOT walk anywhere.
In Tobias' class there are 18 children. A leap from last year's 7 children and 2 teachers. He vowed he would NOT talk to girls this year.
I guess talking is not necessary for a trio of trouble makers- he two partners in crime are Emily and Natasa.
Zachary is still focused on a little bi-lingual boy from Brooklyn named Joshua.
There are 13 children in his class and 2 teachers. They say 3 more children are coming sometime this semester.
Both classes use Montessori as a teaching model.
They don’t ask to watch tv because they know what I’ll say. And since there is a tv on EVERYWHERE we go, they can get their fill just going to the super market with me.
I finally convinced the hotel to give me the remote control for one of the tvs in the breakfast room and so now there is a tv free side, and a brain numbing side. The problem is they can’t understand why in the world I wouldn’t want the kids to watch cartoon at 6:30 Am! I am looked on as a strict ( = mean) mother deproving my children of joy.
Imagine that!
Wow, what a difference a school makes. Both Zachary and Tobias are navigating well. The daily onslaught of tantrums has given way....perhaps because they are just too tired.
I get up at 5:45 AM. They are woken up at 6:15. We are dressed, fed and in the car by 7 AM!
I feel good if I haven't forgotten a shoe, a backpack or a child! We drop Alex at work and then head off to the other side of the river. This section of town is called " Morumbi".
In addition to the American School, the Albert Einstein Hospital ( yep that is where I am going to get my brain transplant), and the Governor's mansion, it also home to Sao Paulo's largest Favela (=ghetto).
I am told I should NOT walk anywhere.
In Tobias' class there are 18 children. A leap from last year's 7 children and 2 teachers. He vowed he would NOT talk to girls this year.
I guess talking is not necessary for a trio of trouble makers- he two partners in crime are Emily and Natasa.
Zachary is still focused on a little bi-lingual boy from Brooklyn named Joshua.
There are 13 children in his class and 2 teachers. They say 3 more children are coming sometime this semester.
Both classes use Montessori as a teaching model.
They don’t ask to watch tv because they know what I’ll say. And since there is a tv on EVERYWHERE we go, they can get their fill just going to the super market with me.
I finally convinced the hotel to give me the remote control for one of the tvs in the breakfast room and so now there is a tv free side, and a brain numbing side. The problem is they can’t understand why in the world I wouldn’t want the kids to watch cartoon at 6:30 Am! I am looked on as a strict ( = mean) mother deproving my children of joy.
Imagine that!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
New Experiences to Note
First Day of School is Tuesday. ( tomorrow...)
Tobias is in K3- essentially a repeat of a three's program. Except here, he is in school for 4 hours every morning, 5 days a week. They feed him a snack. Lets hope it is more healthy than the breakfast options at the hotel. Left up to his own devices, he'll eat only jello and cake!
Zachary is in the T1 class. This is a transitional class between Kindergarten and First Grade. Because of the cut off, neither boy made it to the next level. The transition class at least takes into account the skills Zachary developed last year at Hillside Elementary. Again, they feed him a snack and lunch. He will be in school from 8 - 3 PM every day!
Here is a big bonus: in Brazil, in addition to an extra set of clothing, they also must bring a tooth brush, tooth paste, and dental floss!
* * * * * *
My driver's license is expired! Oh planning....
Even though I'd thought about not driving until December, I was going to leave myself the option. And since my first foray into traffic went well- reasonably well- I was thinking I would be driving by October. A driver + car can cost as much as $4000.00 per month!
Aside from the exceptional cost of a driver- I am limited to a 10 hour day Monday - Friday. Since the kids have to leave by 7 Am to get to school, this means I am stuck at home starting at 5 PM.
The up side: driving here is nightmarish. Signals are not used much, lanes are an idea as opposed to a practice, speeding is a must (though if you are caught by a camera or a cop standing on the corner with a speed gun the fine is outrageous), and motorcycles are like the Tasmanian Devil appearing out of no where, racing past a car, jumping lanes, and all in a whirl of Paulista dust.
Motorcycles work in packs--at a red they maneuver up to the cross walk and rev motors until the light shows an inkling of changing to green. The roar is deafening if you happen to be amongst them!And if you hit one of them as you are changing lanes, I'm told it takes about 10 seconds before you are surrounded by motorcyclists haranguing you....hmmmm
The boys are thrilled beyond belief about the motorcycles. And we spend most of our time in traffic counting motorcycles. It is not unusual to get up to 80 or 90 in a 15 minute drive.
To challenge the counting game, we've decided:
And then there are the helicopters to count. If one is traveling across the city in a big hurry, and one has a lot of money, one avoids all the plebeians down below and instead flies from landing pad to landing pad. (helicopter crashes are counted on an annual basis- i don't have a hard number as of yet) But when we were here in February the big news was two helicopters had "fallen from the sky". In this city, it is a miracle they didn't crash into a building or crush multiple lanes of traffic.
* * * * * *
Things we have heard/seen/ experienced:
Tobias is in K3- essentially a repeat of a three's program. Except here, he is in school for 4 hours every morning, 5 days a week. They feed him a snack. Lets hope it is more healthy than the breakfast options at the hotel. Left up to his own devices, he'll eat only jello and cake!
Zachary is in the T1 class. This is a transitional class between Kindergarten and First Grade. Because of the cut off, neither boy made it to the next level. The transition class at least takes into account the skills Zachary developed last year at Hillside Elementary. Again, they feed him a snack and lunch. He will be in school from 8 - 3 PM every day!
Here is a big bonus: in Brazil, in addition to an extra set of clothing, they also must bring a tooth brush, tooth paste, and dental floss!
* * * * * *
My driver's license is expired! Oh planning....
Even though I'd thought about not driving until December, I was going to leave myself the option. And since my first foray into traffic went well- reasonably well- I was thinking I would be driving by October. A driver + car can cost as much as $4000.00 per month!
Aside from the exceptional cost of a driver- I am limited to a 10 hour day Monday - Friday. Since the kids have to leave by 7 Am to get to school, this means I am stuck at home starting at 5 PM.
The up side: driving here is nightmarish. Signals are not used much, lanes are an idea as opposed to a practice, speeding is a must (though if you are caught by a camera or a cop standing on the corner with a speed gun the fine is outrageous), and motorcycles are like the Tasmanian Devil appearing out of no where, racing past a car, jumping lanes, and all in a whirl of Paulista dust.
Motorcycles work in packs--at a red they maneuver up to the cross walk and rev motors until the light shows an inkling of changing to green. The roar is deafening if you happen to be amongst them!And if you hit one of them as you are changing lanes, I'm told it takes about 10 seconds before you are surrounded by motorcyclists haranguing you....hmmmm
The boys are thrilled beyond belief about the motorcycles. And we spend most of our time in traffic counting motorcycles. It is not unusual to get up to 80 or 90 in a 15 minute drive.
To challenge the counting game, we've decided:
- we can't count the same motorcycles
- each of us gets a color- yellow, red- but not black because they are overwhelming in number and that makes it too easy to win.
- we count the number of helmet-less riders
- we count those with really big boxes on the back of the bike.
And then there are the helicopters to count. If one is traveling across the city in a big hurry, and one has a lot of money, one avoids all the plebeians down below and instead flies from landing pad to landing pad. (helicopter crashes are counted on an annual basis- i don't have a hard number as of yet) But when we were here in February the big news was two helicopters had "fallen from the sky". In this city, it is a miracle they didn't crash into a building or crush multiple lanes of traffic.
* * * * * *
Things we have heard/seen/ experienced:
- Female taxi drivers wear high heels (most women do- it is just strange to seen one loading people into a taxi and then flooring it!)
- Cleaning products smell nice (sometimes) but don't actually clean anything--
- Paper towels don't absorb, they disintegrate
- Sugar is added to everything ...i.e. milk, except when salt is added....
- Toilet paper cannot be flushed in every toilet - look for covered waste cans... (now I get the bidet)
- There is a blaring TV everywhere-no kidding everywhere! (i.e. we have three in our hotel room= no. pf bathrooms we have...??? correlation??)
- if you use the credit option on your debit card, you will be charged 171%. Alex fell off his chair!
- Everything can be paid in installments, anywhere from 3 to 12. (See above note on credit options!)
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