First Few Days (days 1-3)

Well.... my first days in Brazil were quite a whirlwind, a wonderful whirlwind, but never the less a whirlwind.

As I mentioned in my other post, my friend Sandra came and picked me up from my apartment and took me straight to her parents house along the coast just south of Sao Paulo. It was a wonderful visit. Her family was so kind and compassionate, I couldn't have been invited by more hospitable people. Sandra has twin sisters who were there as well along with one of the sister's husbands. So it was a full house of 7 but we managed really well. I almost forgot - 2 dogs also! So lots going on all the time. Sandra was very kind and played translator for me all weekend because my Portuguese is pretty bad. We did a lot of eating and hanging out. One day Sandra and I walked the beach. It wasn't very nice weather, warm but overcast so it wasn't good for laying out. I learned very quickly that I will need to buy a bikini. No one, I mean no one wears a one-piece here. It doesn't matter your body shape, you are in a bikini. So in the spirit of being in Brazil, I will need to invest.

Today we came back to Campinas a bit on the early side and did some things locally. Sandra took me to the mall and I bought two new books to read (because I don't really have much to do and reading is a good activity). I was surprised by the English book selection, for a foreign country it was quite extensive. We also talked to a few cell phone providers about my options for a cell phone. It is going to be a bit expensive I think, but I will just have to be careful with when and how I use it. Basically only to receive calls and make a few - text messages will be a minimum I think. After our mall experience we headed out to have dinner with another friend from the Hammond days, Camila. It was great to see her and it sounded like everything is going well in her world.

Now I am back in my apartment, but I think I'm going to ask to be moved... this isn't really going to work for the long run. I'll do a detailed post about this if/when I have resolution.

Tomorrow is my first day at the plant, I am pretty nervous! I have no idea what to expect, but I am sure glad that I have a stock of Clif Bars, because who knows what tomorrow will bring!