First few days in Quito, Ecuador!

Here are a few pictures from my first few days in Quito. Enjoy!!

Apparently this is a Virgin Mary Statue... but she has wings, is standing on a snake, and is holding chains.... I don't get it.

Francisco and I having fun and enjoying our first night!!

Me standing at the most important meeting place of the world next to the most exquisite Ecuadorian person - Francisco!! *note the sign...*

Pilsener - typical, all Ecuadorian beer.

Some typical Ecuadorian cuisine, fried plantains, corn cake things, and tamales with chicken.  The sauces are a red spicy sauce that reminded me a bit of salsa but with fewer chunks, and a cheese/milk blend.

This was DELICIOUS soup - potatoes, yucca, avocado, and cheese - YUM

Francisco and I took a cable car ride up to the top of this hill in Quito where the view was just stunning.  The entire city sits in this valley making the city very narrow but very long as it runs between the two mountains.

Hanging out at the top!  I didn't realize that Quito was at elevation and then this hill obviously is higher.  This shot is at about 14,000 ft if I remember correctly.

So pretty!  Quito reminded me a lot of Colorado actually, being at elevation, slightly dry, mountains - very similar!

Taking in the view

The view!

Francisco trying to point out his house to me... I think he was lying about which was his..

Francisco has been interested in flying forever it seems.  And he has been trying to get his pilot's license for a while now, but with work, cost, time etc. he hasn't quite gotten there.  However, he does get to fly with some regularity as he has an awesome friend Felipe who owns a plan and takes him up a few times a month.  Felipe was generous enough to take me up too!  I've been in small plans before (once with a volunteer friend from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and once at Purdue with a friend), but they were both 4 seat planes.  This little guy was only two seats! It was snug but comfortable, and there is something very exciting about being so high up in such a little vessel. 

Inside of the plane - Very fun and very confusing!

View from up top!

Francisco - being awesome!!

Looking down at the clouds.  This view never gets old - be it from an airplane, or on top of a mountain.

Inside of the plane.  It was small, but very fun!

So cute and awesome!

Video of flying!!!

Feel comfortable being uncomfortable.

So I'm coming up on 2.5 months in Brazil.  In 2.5 months I must admit I've made some progress on many fronts.  I still remember a comment my mom made to me when I first arrived in India and I was confident that I should leave on the next available plane.  She said to me "Honey, you're learning something new everyday.  Everyday is going to be easier than the day before.  Just think, today you know where the bathroom is, yesterday you didn't.  That is huge."  Or she said something to that effect.  And the bit about the bathroom is 100% true.  My hostel manager never gave me a tour or anything so I had to wander around on my own to find the bathroom and everything else.  In the grand scheme of things, the bathroom is a pretty important place to know how to get to.

So - with that reminder tucked away that everyday is a little bit better than the last I have to admit that my mom is right again.  Sure, I have my days when it's lonely and scary here.  I have moments at work where I just want to get up and leave.  Walk out the door and know that not a single person will notice I'm gone, or miss me for a while.  I sit at dinner with a group of people (potential friends?) and get really frustrated because I don't understand the joke and cannot join in conversation.

But - mom is right.  I gave my first presentation in Portuguese last week.  A whopping 4 slides (2 of which were just graphs) but it was 100% in Portuguese.  I think that day was leaps and bounds better than the first day I arrived.  Just today I learned where the apostrophe key is on my work laptop.  Since I received my Brazilian laptop I had been mistakenly using the accent mark instead.  Another small step forward.

Every day I am reminded of something another SCMP said during recruitment one year.  We had a panel discussion of current SCMPs talking about their experiences and a question was asked about what the hardest part of the program is.  The response pretty unanimously was all the moving.  It is fun, absolutely it is fun.  But it is also very, very hard to uproot every year and try to make another place feel like home.  And in a single phrase, all the emotions were summed up quite nicely  "You have to learn to feel comfortable being uncomfortable."  

I'm still learning to feel comfortable will all the uncomfortable parts - but as with everything else.  Each day gets a little bit better.

Missing home a lot recently.  Thank goodness I have a vacation next week to be spontaneous and fun again.  And I'll have something to post pictures about!!! 

Ecuador - HERE I COME!!

They took my pie point....

So in true Smith Family fashion (my mom's side of the family)  I always save the point of my pie to eat last and make a wish.  Plenty of people (some in my own family) think this is absurd and super silly.  I'm of the belief of "who cares, I can use all the magic I can get - real or invented!"  Thus I still cut off the tip of my piece of pie and carefully move it to the side before diving into the rest.  Sometimes I eat the piece backwards which saves the point also.  I thought I was wildly clever when I thought of this method of point saving.

Anyway - I had a small piece of pie tonight for dessert and the damn waiter took my plate with my point still sitting there waiting to be wished upon.  I put my fork down to sip some H2OH (a favorite Brazilian drink) and the blasted waiter snatched my plate before I could do anything.

So I am very sad to report today that a pie point went not only uneaten, which is a sin in itself, but it also went un-wished upon.  I am sorry.  I will try to do better next time.

In other news - Brazil is going well enough.  Two days of off site training/team building this week which is fun - but I realize everyday how terrible my Portuguese is.  Some days I would do almost anything to just understand and contribute to conversations.  I realize that everyday is getting better though.  I understand more and I am able to say more.  So this is progress!!

Just something I found...

Sometimes I get in moods where I like to write, not like fictional masterpieces or brooding dark poems.  But sometimes I jot down little phrases that pop into my head.  Sometimes I write letters to people that I never intend to send but I like to feel like I could tell them something.  (I'm not sure if that is thereputic or not...)

Anyway - I found this small list and thought it was nice enough to share.  Nothing special, just simple.

There is a difference
between managing people and leading them,
between winning and not loosing,
between saying you're sorry and being sorry,
between being hurtful and being abusive,
between being happy and happily being,
between being mistaken and being wrong,
between being and living
between loving someone and being in love with them
between forgetting and forgiving
between growing and aging
between keeping a secret and being deceitful
between information and knowledge
between knowledge and wisdom
between life experiences and experiences of a lifetime
between giving in and giving up
between taking risks and being careless
between being careless and being carefree

Hope everyone had a marvelous weekend!  Missing home a lot... you're all in my thoughts.

Sao Paulo - Party like a Rock Star

Or in my case, stand and pout like a rock star who's assistent forgot to remove all the blue M&Ms from the bowl in my green room before a big performance.

Last weekend I went to Sao Paulo with my new friends Gustavo and Camila.  They had asked me if I would want to go to SP on Saturday and hit up a gay club.  Of course I said yes:

1. I think going to SP sounds like a great time and who cares if the club is gay - that is SOOO Chicago
2. I need friends, so beggers can't be choosers here
3. What was I going to do that was so much better?  Right... nothing

So I am picked up at 9:30ish looking GLAM if I may say so myself.  I finally got my things delivered so I had my full closet to select from.  Lacy knows this means I had 3 pairs of shoes, 5 shirts, 1 pair of skinny jeans, and no jewelry to select from, so dressing was a breeze.  I did my best to glam up the eyes (I tried to smoke them out, but just looked like an addict so I went with the standard)

We get to SP around 11:30 or so (my guess).  A few people in the car are hungry so we stop at two random roadside stalls that are selling hot dogs and random Brazilian street food in addition to a wide assortment of booze. Something about the whole operation made me really question what you would get in an extra dirty martini if you were so brazen to order one.

We approached the club like a standard group of 4 people looking to have fun.  And the outside was PACKED.  I'm thinking - this line is going to take us an hour to get through and it is going to be PACKED when we get inside.  But lucky for us, Gustavo knew someone who knew someone else who had a birthday so we got shuffled into the Aneversario line.  Now mind you while all this was going on there was a lot of conversation among the group about finding a different place because everyone outside was just UGLY and why would we want to be with UGLY people??  I'm standing there (at an admirable 6'3" in my heels - maybe more) thinking... ummm we look like they do... we belong here.  I look like a drag queen from the back because I'm so tall and broad - let's not start judging anyone here.  

So we get in - after an awkward conversation about cover fees, drink specials, what you pay, what you don't pay etc.  Turns out the club opened at midnight so the crowd out front was the crowd.  It was HUGE.  This place had front room which was massive, an upstairs, and a FULL outdoor field with raised porch thing.  Seemed nice enough.  There were two bars on the main level and I'm sure one up top but that was VIP only so I just waved from the cheap seats up to the glamorous people.  

I grabbed a drink - a single Smirnoff Ice (which came in a can with a straw... WTF)  I was thinking to myself, don't get drunk, you're at a gay bar in SP with 2000 other people.  You really don't have a plan B in the event that something goes wrong - so keep your wits about you.  It took me over an hour to nurse that Smirnoff down... that should be an indicator of how the night was going to go.

Music started out as a really strange mix - blasting everything from Lady Gaga to Spice Girls and even tossed in a bit of N'Sync to keep it interesting.  My friends and I were dancing (well they were trolling for boys and make out partners and I was doing what I do best - looking like an electrocuted daddy long leg).  At some point we moved from the outside area to the inside part.  It was hot and sweaty and gay men had taken off their shirts to show their beautiful tan and buff bodies.  I was having a fun time.

Then the techno started.  Then I went into some type of time warp.  The techno starts (which I cannot appreciate at all) and every song is I kid you not - the previous song played backwards.  The lights start to strobe, they go black, then like magic everything starts pulsing together with the beat.  Sure it is cool for a few "songs" and you're into it really feeling the bass (literally feeling it because we are next to the speaker and my chest is THUMPING).  I ask for the time.  2:30AM.  No wonder my feet are KILLING.  Good thing we might leave soon.

WRONG - we were here for the long haul.  We were here to see the sunrise.  We were here to RAVE.  I was not there to do any of these things.  And at this realization, that is when the time warp started.  Every song was the same song.  Every dance move was the same dance move.  Every shirtless gay man who walked by was the same shirtless gay man (expect for the overweight hairy ones who apparently thought that they could take their shirts off because they were hot).  I was convinced I was living the same 7 minutes over and over again, just watching the mass of people gyrate in unison to the same beats.  

Thank goodness I only had one Smirnoff Ice.

My feet are killing me.  Heels were a dumb idea.

It's hot... clothes were a dumb idea too - damn - I need to keep those on.

Then the circus starts.  No I'm not joking.  There is a live performance set to the theme of a circus.  A woman comes out and starts singing Gaga and Kesha songs while other people are juggling and doing fancy ribbon acrobats.  More hot shirtless men parade around doing strange dance moves.  I'm too frustrated to care.  Although I'm hoping my friends will leave once the performance is over.... maybe????

This is when I lose Gustavo.  A cute boy is behind us watching this woman drape herself over a trapeze bar while singing Telephone.  Gustavo notices him.  I notice Gustavo noticing him.  I smile thinking how cute it all is.  Then... there is no more Gustavo or cute boy.  Well they are there, they are just smashed together in a massively competitive game of tonsil tennis.  I turn away wanting to give them some resemblance of privacy (more for my sake than theirs).  And then they are gone.  This time really gone. 

My feet hurt.

We are now back outside in the open field.  The cool night air feels nice.  My friends are dancing still and drinking.  I'm standing there awkwardly wanting to sit down.  I'm starting to think if I can slip away in a taxi to the bus station to catch a bus home.  Could I do that??  No, I couldn't do that.  Where did Gustavo go??

I look up and admire Orion.  One of the equatorial constellations that can be seen from anywhere in the world.  Arguably the most recognized constellation.  It's beautiful.  I smile. 

Back inside - why??  I don't know - so Gustavo can find us I guess?  Camila is making out with someone.  No one is trying to make out with me.  That's okay, I didn't really want to make out with anyone.  But it would have been nice if someone tried.  I guess my "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME" stamp that I was wearing on my face is automatically translated into the local language.

My feet hurt.

Back outside - why??  IDK.  We find Gustavo.  Still enthralled in his game of tennis.  Clearly it was a good match up - it's like 40 times overtime in there.  Still dancing.  I'm standing.  Now sitting on a random pipe thing that other people are also sitting on.  Thank goodness!!  Feet get a brief break.

I now notice that it is starting to look different some how.  The entire scene is changing.  Oh... it's sunrise.  5:30AM.  I think I'm going to die.

My feet hurt.

It takes me close to an hour to get everyone together to leave.  We all have to pay our tabs.  My single Smirnoff Ice was covered by my cover charge - so I was a cheap date.  Not that it mattered, I would have been a REALLY bad cheap date had it been a date.

Finally back at the car.  Feet hurt.

Back in Campinas - shoes off, feet tingling.  Showered.  Contacts out.  Teeth brushed... on bed - OUT.  9:00AM (ish) the next day.

Never again... Scrabble and a bottle of wine - yes please!!  Crazy all night raves in SP??  No thanks, been there, done that, not my scene.

*wowza*

The Pros and the Cons

So... I've been in Brazil for 2 months now.  My Portuguese is arguably better than when I arrived (this only means I've progressed from the grunt and point method of communication to the name object but still point because I've butchered the pronunciation to the point that it might be a grunt but no one is really sure so they just smile at me method).  I've gained some form of understanding regarding my job at work (although even that I'm not sure about).  And most recently, I may have made a friend.  Like a real one, not a pay for friend, or a pity friend.  But we'll see... can't count your friends too soon else they freak out about being your only friend and leave you friendless because you're the weird foreign girl who just wants someone to talk to...

Here is a brief summary - a list - of what I enjoy and what I'm struggling to enjoy here in Brazil.

Loves:

• Pao de Quijo - Bread of Cheese is the translation and it is scrumptious, arguably an acquired taste, but I acquired it and love it!
• The hug and cheek kiss form of greeting - yes it was a bit strange at first but now I enjoy feeling like the person I am meeting is warm and kind by nature without pretense
• The large joint bottle of beer - at restaurants you get a big bottle of beer and share with everyone at the table.  I love this because I can drink a small glass or 12 small glasses, but I'm never drinking alone!
• People's patience with me when I attempt to speak Portuguese.  Most people I meet are very willing to work with me and try to understand what I'm saying.  It's flattering really. 
• Constant little discoveries about both Brazil and myself.

Struggles

• The toilets inability to flush paper - I always have a piece that remains there, lingering...unless I flush for like 2 whole minutes
• The coffee - I don't enjoy espresso and I really don't enjoy instant espresso or vending machine espresso.  And the plastic Dixie cup is not a coffee cup. Give me a proper mug with coffee, skim, and a pack of Splenda please!!
• Woman's clothing at the gym - full body spandex suits are great if you are in a workout video from the eighties, but please take your magic eye onesie away from me!
• Water that is not safe to drink straight from the tap.  I think potable water is either something I take for granted or something that other (developed) countries have severely mistaken as optional.  If you have the equivalent of Easy Pass for toll roads I think safe drinking water should have been solved a while ago.
• The number of plastic surgery clinics (or rather the med-spa) near me  - every time I walk past I think... should I get something sucked, tucked, zapped, or enlarged?  No - no I should not. 

These lists are ever increasing - hopefully the Loves list grows faster than the struggles list. I'm sure it will.  Everything can only get better as my language skills improve!!

Nothing much has changed

All of last week I was in training to learn how to make powdered laundry detergent.  Pretty interesting stuff really, if you are a technical person who appreciates things like swirl nozzles in spray jets.  It was an intense week with long hours and a lot of power point presentations.  I did meet some really great people and had my third experience with professional translators.  Speaking through a translator is really tricky.  You are half consumed with speaking clearly and slowly and half annoyed that someone else is speaking at the same time you are.  For me, I never speak slowly enough and get really frazzled when someone is talking over me.  I'm not very good at it....

This weekend was also a four day weekend here in Brazil.  I wish I had planned something adventurous and exciting but I didn't.  I really hate traveling alone and that is what I would have had to do.  It is still slow going on the friends front and so if I were to go somewhere, it would have been alone.  I decided against it.  I wish I hadn't.  It was long solitary weekend.

On the plus side, I did meet up with a few people from couchsurfing and went to a gay bar with them.  Campinas is the Gay capital of Brazil (from what I understand) so it was a well attended gathering.  I drank a caparinha too many and was pretty worthless for the next day.  Spent all day watching TV on my laptop and trying to convince myself to eat something.  Not all decisions are good decisions.  BUT - I did meet some new people, and got out of my apartment, so that is great.

Forced myself to work out this morning.  i give myself about 75% on that effort - but i did get sweaty.  so not all is lost.

Making friends.... how on Earth do you go about doing that exactly??  *sigh*

Happy Birthday Katie Hamilton!

Today is a very very special day indeed.  On this date (some 25 years ago) my GREAT friend Katherine A Hamilton was born.  Little did the world know what just happened.... little did the rest of us.

Katie is awesome... But pictures are worth more than words... so here are a collection of her and I.  Traveling the world and being amazing.

Happy Birthday Katie!  Sorry I cannot be with you to celebrate.  Miss you and Love you!

When Katie and I first met.  RA training Fall 2007

Kaite, me, and Vicky - Power rangers for B-Fast club!

We were still smiling after completing our first full 7 days together, 24 hours each day.  Roatan, Honduras Spring Break 2008

Roatan, Honduras - where we learned how well we traveled together

We did it!!  Katie is an ME, I am a ChemE.  We both got GREAT jobs coming out of school and we both are still very happy.  Lucky for us, Purdue let us go!!

Graduation Trip - Morocco!  Summer 2008

Katie and Nabil... little did we know about Nabil...

I think this might be the wedding photo... We still aren't really sure what happened that night with Nabil and Katie... But Katie got a great magic eye dress out of the deal and we both got Henna tattoos.  Mine was like a gross green blob on my leg, Katie's was nice.  Lucky bride...

Still smiling after another 7 days straight together in Morocco!

Katie and I kissing Humpty Dumpty in Las Vegas (Feb 14th 2009).  Humpty is such a stud for Valentines Day!!

Stipper 101 Class in Vegas!!  We are fully trained in lap dances and completed beginner pole dancing!

When I moved to NYC, Katie and I got to see each other much more frequently.  This might be my favorite weekend though - when we got to play MUD VOLLEYBALL with her coworkers!  Katie, you always do such cool things!

Katie in Peru (Spring 2010) she wasn't doing so well with the elevation. 

On our accent up towards Macchu Picchu (PS Katie - where is my Do the 'Chu shirt??)

We made it!!  And yes - still smiling!!

Next on the docket:  Brazil 2011!!!  Get excited - because I know I am!

Miss you Ms. Hamilton - so lucky to have you in my life!  *Abracos*  

Celebrate the small wins

Starting out here in Brazil, I knew it would take me much longer than normal to dig into the company and factory and really drive change.  I knew that the language barrier and the cultural differences would be road blocks that I normally wouldn't encounter if I were in the same position in the US.  I also knew that a huge portion of my ability to succeed hinges on other people's willingness to be patient with me and help me through the incredibly steep learning curve.  

I've been very fortunate to have found many such people here in Brazil.  People willing to take a little extra time to help me get through the day and to be successful.

My manager gave me a bit of advice the other day which I feel like I already knew, but it was nice to be reminded about:

Celebrate the small wins.   

I am not going to change the world today.  I'm not going to change the world tomorrow.  I'm probably not going to change the world by the time I leave for the US in 11 months.  Thus, we should not wait for world changing events to celebrate; we would be waiting for far too long.

Today I am going to celebrate my small wins by sharing a few key milestones here:

1.  I conducted my first meeting in Portuguese - and everyone confirmed they understood.  

2.  My manager was very impressed with the amount of work I've been able to accomplish considering all my unique challenges. 

3.  I confidently asked a young girl at the academia for her phone number and I think we might have lunch sometime.  I am supremely proud of this actually.  It is step one to maybe making friends. I did it again with my Portuguese teacher, because she is AWESOME.

4.  I let go of a relationship that was hurting more than helping.

These are without a doubt small wins.  However, these small moments in my life felt like huge boulders while I was going through them and I am proud.  These small hurdles, while not world changing have helped to propel me forward and hopefully upward.

Now - time for pictures :)

Christian brought a six pack of Fat Tire from Chicago for Pia, little did he know I love it too!

The group out on the town in Campinas!!

Pia, Sandra, Carlos, me, Christian - out celebrating Carolina's birthday

Pia and Fernanda - Such a cute couple!!

Christian and Rodrigo sharing a moment... and a Caparinha

Pia, Christian, and I - enjoying some nightlife

It says Cookies Chocolate... I cannot think of a more wonderful sounding place!!

I have been changed For Good....

"Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you
I have been changed
For Good."

These are the lyrics to a wonderful song in the show Wicked which I thoroughly enjoyed both times I've seen it. It is a delightfully fun play (if you are into plays of course). For some reason it popped into my head and I immediately started thinking about Ms. Lacy Morris and all my wonderful friends back in NYC. As I was on the bus home from work staring out the window, I started to think just how much a year in NYC altered my course.

A few things that I still do because I lived in NYC with Lacy
1. Drink copious amounts of water
2. Attempt to work out
3. Blow dry my hair (or I plan to once my hair dryer makes it here!)
4. Debate shoe purchases of hundreds of dollars
5. Make veggies in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper
6. Consider weather or not I can wear red shoes with a red shirt or if that is too much red (I have been told that is too much red... I tend to disagree)

"And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten my by being my friend"

Now that I no longer live in NYC (tears!) here are a few things I no longer do:
1. Eat Dove dark chocolate or even buy chocolate
2. Drink wine on the weekends (I've switched to caparinhas)
3. Watch reality TV - I am blissfully unaware of any news relating to the Kardashians, John and Kate, that couple that live in Chicago... I think she works for E or something....
4. Take long walks as a form of exercise - this is a real shame
5. Ride my bike along a glorious waterfront path (despite the pedestrian traffic)

"Who can say if I have been changed for the better
I do believe I have been changed for the better
Because I knew you, I have been changed
For Good."

I've been asked multiple times if I like Brazil and what I miss about home. I do like Brazil, it is different, it is personally challenging in ways I never thought about before coming, and it has given me an opportunity to really work on some self improvement. And yes, I miss home. More specifically I miss my family and my friends. It is always the people and it will always be the people. I'm not very good at keeping in touch with people. It isn't so much the out of sight, out of mind (because I promise you are not out of mind); I'm just bad at it. Perhaps I should add this to the list of self improvement opportunities that I am working on down here.

A weekend away - Curitiba

Last weekend I took the first of what will hopefully be many small weekend getaways. Christian flew in from the US to visit Pia (a mutual friend) and Pia took us both down to the south for the weekend. We visited his uncle's small farm, met his older brother and sister, met his mom and dad, rode horses, took a delightful train ride, ate more food than I care to admit, spent hours in a car listening to America's top 40, discovered a delicious snack I will call Peanut Butter Tater Tots, and managed to not freeze to death over night. We did plenty of laughing and there were plenty of awkward silences when Christian shared some of his Portuguese knowledge. He only knows the bad words (which I avoided learning on purpose) so it made for some wonderful jokes that I totally didn't understand but the rest of the group always were in stitches laughing or being delightfully awkward.

Here are some pictures to help capture the weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hope to make it back to visit again for more horseback riding, lake swimming, and if I'm really lucky... RIVER TUBING straight into the ocean!!! I have yet to swim in an ocean south of the equator - I think that must be fixed this year!!

I was really excited about getting to ride horses. I love horses.

Pia and Christian plus our wonderful hosts! How lucky they are to live on such a beautiful little farm!

Christian kept asking "which way to Montana" and shouting 'Howdy!' to all the Brazilian ladies. It was hysterical.

Back from our ride!

I went to horsewoman camp growing up - TWICE. Can't you tell. I look so natural on a horse.

Bruno, Christian, and I after we were done with the horses. FUN!

I'm not sure why Christian is wearing a chef's hat. I'm not sure why Christian does a lot of things though, so this isn't that unusual really.

Botanical Gardens in Curitiba

So we wanted to get one of those really fun shots with everyone jumping into the air, but we failed and got this instead. Ado has some wicked vertical though.

Brothers! Pia and Ado. Ado is an amazing musician from what I understand. Pia is good at being bad...

Pia and I leaning out the train window. The dogs may have it right, this is a pretty nice way to travel! Windows down, faces out, smiling...

Sometimes there are no words to share how you feel - there are only expressions

Anyone who is anyone wears North Face

We made it! Beautiful ride!

83.3