Belo Horizonte is home to two professional soccer clubs: Cruzeiro Esporte Club (ZEIRO!!!) and Clube Atlético Mineiro (GALO!). You have one team you cheer for, and when the games are on it is popular to yell out the window. Or let off fireworks. Or honk your horn. For those of you who are reading this who might be considering a move to Brazil, don't ever imagine that the cities here are quite, peaceful places. They are loud, and when there are games, it is ear-splitting.
The past two days have been especially noisy. Atlético, who's mascot is the Rooster (i.e. "Galo") was playing in the final game for the Copa Libertadores. Thankfully, we were out of town for the last game that happened last Wednesday. Atlético lost, but apparently that didn't make much of a difference in the volume coming fans. On Tuesday afternoon, the horn honking (quarter, quarter, eight-eight, quarter pattern), and m-80 fireworks began. But the game wasn't until 9:00 pm on Wednesday night. My son is a Cruzeiro fan, and the rest of us just prefer quiet, so we were all hoping and praying that Galo would lose. Bummer.
I fell asleep at about 11:30 pm, despite the raucous neighbors, but then when the game was over and Galo had won, it was like Christmas and New Years all wrapped up in one. It was Atlético's first time wining this cup, so people were crazy! I was two delirious to get the camera, but my friend Ling caught this:
We had more m-80s going off right outside our window.
Despite my complaining, I actually don't mind it all so much. But here's what bothers me. My husband was almost late to work this morning because fans were celebrating at Praça Sete and bringing traffic to a standstill. The other thing is that the Paraguayan team was staying at a hotel in Belvedere, and apparently people in the neighborhood decided to make LOTS of noise to disturb their sleep, hoping to affect the outcome of the game. The noise and general craziness got out of hand, and some fans lit something that started a forest fire! I understand that Atléticanos are passionate and excited about this huge win, but really?!?
But to end on a positive note, you may remember this picture I posted last December:
Ronaldinho had been written off, but now with this win he's back in the limelight!
I'm getting a little tired of using my blog to vent about just how busy thing are. But, this is my life. Three kids. Working. Living in a foreign country. Studying Portuguese. It is very full. We've run out of Brazilian holidays until Christmas, so now everyone is just "suffering" until the end of the year. The weather has gotten worse (think "hot" and "humid"). Traffic seems worse (at least to me, since I'm driving the girls to and from school every day). And then there is the realization that the end of the year is coming, so everyone has to finish all the stuff they've been putting off all year. I'm a little bit angry about this, since my oldest daughter is someone supposed to miraculously complete 6 projects (areas of study, like "Mesopotamia" and "Protists") in 10 days. Arg.
But! Vacation is coming! Christmas! 13th Salary! School is out for summer! No more driving across town! Time with family! A trip to the beach! Just as long as we can all keep this in mind, we are going to get through it. Right??!
And, on a totally different note, guess who my husband saw on his flight today?
My son knew right away. Of course he plays for the wrong team (according to my son), but I know he's going to tell all his friends at school on Monday.
Since we moved here (almost exactly a year ago!), we've been thinking about having Sebastian play futsal (like soccer, but with a smaller ball, fewer players, and some different rules). He fell in love with soccer pretty quickly, he's actually quite athletically talented, and heck, this is Brazil! Our school has an after school team that meets two days a week, but our kids are so dang tired by 6:30 pm that we just couldn't make the girls wait around that long. Our downstairs neighbor has been playing soccer with Sebastian, and a few weeks ago invited him to "experimentar" a futsal class, and his Dad even offered to drop him off and pick him up. Sebastian loved it, of course! So we decided to enroll him. Seems like an easy enough thing, right?
Not for an expatriate. Not in Brazil.
The dad happened to go on a trip out of town after the class, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him about the process. So I decided to go to the Club and get information. I got a nice pamphlet with the prices, and was told that I had to get a note from the instructor to allow Sebastian in the class (to verify that he was tall enough, the right age, and at the same level as the other kids) and he had to get a "testado medico" from a pediatrician. Unfortunately, I've still not found a pediatrician yet. I've been asking around for recommendations (yet again, I've got to do a post on the importance of recommendations), and either the pediatricians are not taking new patients, not accepting our insurance, or a 30 minute drive away. Thank goodness our children are healthy! My husband thought that maybe he could get this evaluation at the hospital, and ended up walking there with Sebastian to try to get it, but it turns out that they don't do the tests there. So, it was time to buckle down and find me a pediatrician. I called everybody I could think of, but didn't get any leads. Finally, I decided to just go the a clinic within walking distance, figuring it couldn't be so bad.
I successfully called them and even though I couldn't get in before Sebastian's next practice, the Club said that it was okay for him to go one more time without the doctor's note, and I was able to schedule an appointment for right after his practice, at 10:15 am on Thursday. We booked it from the Club, and made it right at 10:15. There are 3 other people in the waiting room, and it looked like they had been there awhile. At 11 am, someone who looked like a doctor walked in, and I realized, that there was no way I was going to get in before it was time for Sebastian to go to school! I went to the receptionist, who said, "Oh, the doctor is just running little behind." I told her I had other commitments, and she said that I'd have to wait until after the other 3 patients! Ahhh! I told her I couldn't wait, and all I needed was a signed piece of paper so Sebastian could enroll. She said she would get the doctor to sign the paper. Huh? I had to ask her 3 times if I understood her correctly. She said to come back at 2 pm, and she would have the paper for me. This made no sense to me at all, but I got my hopes up that there might be an end in sight. Unfortunately, at about 2:00 pm I got a call from the receptionist, saying that I would have to bring Sebastian in the next day for the exam and to get the paperwork. I told her I only had a limited amount of time, and if I came at 8:30 am, would I be able to be seen and get what I needed? "Of course, of course!"
So, Sebastian and I went back the next day, waited almost 15 minutes, and finally got into see the doctor. He didn't even say hello, and started barking orders at Sebastian. He weighed him, poked him, and measured him, and then gave us a piece of paper with Sebastian's named misspelled, the wrong name of the soccer club, and the wrong age. But I had the paper! I asked the doctor what had happened yesterday, and he just shooed me out of his office and told me not to worry about it. So, if you are looking for a recommendation for a pediatrician, I would say DO NOT go to Dr. Adjar Mendes da Silva .
And what about the note from the instructor? Well, I had to call the club 4 times to try to reach the instructor (one of the times, I got hung up on because who ever answered the phone didn't have the patience to deal with my accent and mangled Portuguese). Finally, I got his personal cell phone number, and he said that Sebastian should just come back. My husband took him that next day to practice, and was told that he could be a part of this team for a few more weeks, but he might get bumped down to the younger group (he's only 6, but he's been playing with the 8 to 10 year olds) because he needs to work on some of the basics. And he did get a note from the instructor, but he couldn't buy Sebastian's uniform until he actually had the doctor's note.
So, yesterday! We finally got the doctor's note, the uniform, and Sebastian was "matriculated." But of course, we have to go back to the secretary at the Club on Tuesday before practice so Sebastian can get his ID card and his code, and then Matt and I have to get our cards and codes so we can accompany him. I would say that this whole process probably took me about 8 hours, with appointments, phone calls, waiting, writing notes, and plenty of wasted time.
But it's all worth it when I see Sebastian in his uniform, and watch him practicing his drills.
It was a sad day today. Since June 11th, we've gotten caught up in the hype/excitement/joy of the World Cup. Here is a walk through some of our experience Before the big day, buildings displaying Brazilian pride Matt, ready to enjoy the first game After the first Brazilian goal, we got so excited we broke a glass--whoops! Our wonderful friends, Nathan and Elise My view from the bar where we enjoyed the first game; standing room only Before the second game. We were on our way to Neto's house. The requisite paraphernalia and vuvuzuela, the kids are on their way to watch the game at school. Classes are canceled, or delayed on game days.
Sebastian was SO sad today that Brazil lost, he cried.
I'm actually pretty surprised: the noise for the Brazil-North Korea game didn't start until 7:45 am. Someone is blowing a whistle and then there are a few horns. We're going to meet up with some folks from the orchestra at a bar. Sebastian wants to go out and buy a horn, and Dora wants to transform her white tee shirt into a Brazilian Flag. Go Brazil!
I have to admit it. I really don't follow sports at all. And 6 months ago, if asked about the World Cup, I probably would have said "the thing you win for hockey?" But a craze has hit Brazil: there are green and yellow streamers everywhere, cars with flags, green and yellow jewelry, and horns. Lots of horns. The funny thing is that the first game in which Brazil is playing isn't until Tuesday! My Tuesday English student asked if we could reschedule so she could watch the game (she is not a soccer fan; she only watches the World Cup games). And I've been told that if I need to go anywhere that night, I should give myself an extra hour, because after the game is over traffic will be crazy. If Brazil wins, the streets will be impassable, and if Brazil doesn't win...well that won't happen! The kids' school will be showing the game in the school auditorium (i.e. who can try to study during the fun!), and I've been told that all stores and services (except maybe the bus) will shut down. I'm actually pretty excited to watch the game--I still know almost nothing, but who can help but get caught up in all the excitement!
Matt's friend Michelle from the Orchestra came over today, and accompanied me to the Public School that is right behind our apartment. Unfortunately, we were told that there is a waiting list, and we can come back the first week of April and put our kids on the list for the chance to be enrolled. We were told that it is more hopeful to get Dora and Sebastian in than Bea (we weren't really thinking about enrolling her, but hey...). I guess it is very popular because it is one of the few schools in the area that has all day instruction. So I'm feeling a little disappointed, but trying to look on the bright side, and realize that at least we know more now! Michelle offered to call a few other schools and see if there are openings.
Tomorrow the kitty arrives, and we have most of what we need. It is very popular in our neighborhood to have pets (especially cute lap dogs), so there are LOTS of veterinarians and pet supply stores within walking distance. It will be a little boy kitty, which makes Sebastian happy: we will have an equal male to female ratio in our household.
Matt is searching online for an oven thermometer. Our gas oven does not have any indication of what the temperature is, so we're pretty much guessing the temperature. I've been looking online at information on Cruziero. We're completely oblivious to soccer, and realizing it might help us relate to folks if we have a little knowledge. Plus the other night, in a game of "What's that noise?" I realized that there HAD to be a soccer game, because everyone outside our apartment started yelling, and fireworks went off. Kinda like when we were in Arizona our first year, watching Shrek on our computer and we heard all our neighbors freaking out when the Diamondbacks won the World Series....Might be helpful here to pay attention to soccer.
Belo Horizonte (pronounced bell-oh oar-ee-zonch) is the the 3rd largest city in Brazil and is almost completely unknown to the outside world.
How to contact me
I can't promise that I will respond quickly, and I can't promise that I will have the answers to your questions, but if you'd like to reach me, you can email me at srkelz (at) gmail (dot) com.
