Winter Vacation

It's Winter Vacation!  I have to remind some of my Northern Hemisphere readers about the how this works (when it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the northern part of the earth is tilted towards the sun--remember the "axis"?  That means that the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away, so we have shorter days and cooler temperature, lesson over).   Most schools here have a 2 to 3 week vacation.  If you have the means and the time off of work, then people like to travel.   We've opted to stay in BH, because the dear hubby has to work LOTS and I'm not up for traveling solo with 3 kids.  I realized this a few weeks ago, so I've made some tentative plans for us.  And this is important, because our dear empregada Irene is on vacation too.  Usually employees save up for one big paid (by law) vacation at the end of the year, but Irene has some things to attend to that require time away from BH.  So, I'm not only in charge of the 3 kids, but all the cleaning, cooking, shopping, and laundry.  So, here's the plan:

1.  Plan lots of play dates.  I was very thorough this year at taking inventory of who is traveling, when they are traveling, and making sure friends knew that we are here and we would love to get together. 

2.  Teach the kids how to help.  I already have the kids doing chores and tasks that actually help me.  But during the next 2 1/2 weeks, I'm going to work at teaching Bea how to take a shower by herself (she's 5, with rather difficult hair), teach Dora how to bake something, and have the kids take out the trash and sweep the floors daily.  Also, I'm going to ask the hubby to take care of the ironing.  Sorry Mom, I still don't share your love for ironing.

3.  Take advantage of the free events.  Even though things get quieter in town because there are more people traveling and less people shuttling their kids to and from school, there are plenty of events going on.  Here are some that we are considering:

Festival Saci 
Park Events
Oi Telecommunications Museum
ArcelorMittal Diversão em Cena performances
Fiat Museum (I talked about this before here)

4.  Enjoy time together as a family!   I'm very grateful that my schedule is pretty much the same as the children's school schedule.  This may not always be the case, and we may not always live in a place that has such a high value for vacation, relaxing, and spending time together as a family.  It's my hope that even though we're not going to the beach or a resort or traveling to the US, that we can relax together, play together and enjoy ourselves. 

Caja Mango

I've been on kind of a fruit kick lately.  It's either write about fruit, or write about the stupid leak (again) in our apartment.  Fruit is easier to deal with.  No surprises.  No not showing up.  No bitter taste in your mouth after confronting so much incompetence.

I found a new kind of mango at a neighborhood market a few weeks back.  Behold, the Caja Manga:

from Brasil Escola

They are little (slightly larger than a kiwi), and they were very green when I bought them.  Our empregada Irene told us that they we should wait to cut them until they look like the picture above, a deep, mustard yellow kind of picture.  She also told us that they are pretty sour, and best used in juices with sugar added.   A little bit of research also taught me that they are pretty stringy, and not so great to eat plain.  I had to wait over 2 weeks for them to change color and ripen.  The smell was really nice, different from a "normal" mango.  The flavor was indeed more sour, a bit more citrus-y.  I did the best I could to cut it into chunks, and then added it to a smoothie with orange juice and yogurt.   Yum!

Dreams, drug stores and dentists

I've been known to have strange dreams.  I remember once dreaming that President Ronald Regan was performing brain surgery on me while I was "awake."  As a child I frequently dreamed about driving a blue convertible car, while wearing a bandana in my perfectly coiffed, 60s style hair.  I've had some odd Brazil dreams in the past 2 years, but since I'm out of practice of writing them down or sharing them, I usually forget. 

But last night I dreamed that I went to the dentist and he gave me bad news (not surprising, I have lots of problems with my teeth).  I could hardly understand what he was saying (this is also not surprising, since my dentist talks SUPER fast and I have to work really hard to understand him).  But he told me I needed a prescription.  He wrote it out.  I went to Araujo (the drug store).  The pharmacist took FOREVER finding what I needed (again, not surprising).  She then brought me a small container of REACH, green waxed dental floss and told me it cost R$33.  I said that there was no way in h&** I would pay that much for dental floss, and left. 



How would you interpret that?

Jabuticaba

The husband came home from our favorite grocery store with an impulse purchase:





 
They are harvested twice a year--November, and now!   I've had them before (thanks to Fruit Day at school, which has provided me with lots of different exotic fruits to try).  They look kind of like grapes, and they have a big seed (pit?) in the middle.  The skin is a little sour, and my husband prefers to eat them without the skin, but I like them with.

And thanks to my wikipedia research, they are native to Minas Gerais.  They have a very short shelf life (3 or 4 days), so they are pretty much unknown outside of our state.  The other fascinating thing is that the fruit grows on the trunk of the tree.  I've never seen it in person, but someday:

Google Voice to make calls to the States!

Wow, I'm so excited. 

In one of my last posts, I asked about making and receiving phone calls on my new Android phone.  And today I figured out how to do it! I can't promise that my instructions will work for in all situations, but this is what I did.

1.  Get a google voice phone number.  I had to do this while I was in the states, because I needed to have a physical phone line to register the number.  Don't ask me how to do this.  I just found the directions on the Google Voice website.

2.  Download Groove IP on your Android phone.  You can also google information on how this works.  I actually downloaded Groove IP Light from the Amazon.com App store for free!  The "normal" app is about USD $5

3.  You have to make sure that your Google Voice settings are set to "chat."  Again, if this doesn't make sense, do a google search.

4.  Log into Groove IP on your phone.  As long as you have a data connection (WiFi with Groove IP light, or if you pay the USD $5 I think you can do it over your mobile data network) you should be able to make and receive phone calls. 

And I still love technology...

The popularity of the Farmer blow in Brazil??

One of the many "perks" of our current apartment is that we get to hear our neighbors.  We hear them talking on the phone.  We hear them arguing (and they hear us).  And, we hear them clearing their nasal passages.  Not just one neighbor.  But many neighbors.  Loudly. 

I wouldn't post about this, except that I've had other conversations/experiences/observations recently that lead me to believe that the Farmer Blow is an acceptable the method of blowing one's nose for Mineiro men (and perhaps women too).

1.  Someone confided in me that their significant other would clear his nose in the shower.  Every day.  And if I understood the Portuguese correctly, it was perhaps even while she was in the shower with him.  Ew.

2.  At my son's 8th birthday party, we had several boys spend the night.  In the morning, one of the boys was all stuffed up.  He went into the bathroom and proceeded to blow all the crap in his nose into the sink.  With the door open. 

3.  Total lack of Kleenex.  Okay expats:  when was the last time that you saw a box of Kleenex in Brazil?  I know they sell it at Araujo for like R$10 a box, but seriously.  All the places you would normally find it in the states (a waiting room, your mother's bathroom, schools, doctor's office) are TOTALLY vacant of Kleenex.  Is everyone out there blowing their snot on the sidewalk?  Along with leaving their dog poop? 

Anyone want to speak to this?

Apps for Expats

My wonderful, amazing dear hubby got my a smart phone for Dia dos Namorados.  This beauty is to replace the previous cell phone that was duly given tribute here.  I had always told him that I didn't want an IPhone or a fancy schmancy phone, because I have a tendency to be a little rough on things.  And the idea of investing in a small, breakable electronic that I carry all over the place felt like, well.... a risk.  But my husband loves me, and decided it was time for me to grow technologically. 

And I'm surprised at just how happy it makes me.  I never really understood what a "smart" phone was, and I'm not going to explain it here.  But it's so nice to be able to have instant access to so much information.  I'm having a lot of fun playing with it. 

And dear readers, I'm asking for your help.  What apps do you find helpful?  I just found out about Whatsapp, and I know I can get Skype and probably some language apps.  But any suggestions?  Recommendations? 

What I'd REALLY love is the ability to be able to text my sister in Africa (she doesn't have a Smart Phone), and to be able to call a land line in the US, or receive phone calls from the states (for free of course).  I do have a Google Voice number, but I think since I'm outside of the US I can't use it to receive phone calls on my phone. 

Comment away!