Wet

Just returned from: Foz do Iguaçu (PR), Brasil

My little poem:

Water water everywhere

Up in the air

down to my underwear

Soaking hair

to slippery stairs

I ask Mother Nature why

but I do not dare

for I fear

that the sky might not again tear.

(I never said I was a poet!)

Trials and Tribulations

Currently located: (Still in) Arujá, Brasil

54 days in Brasil and counting...

• I was suppose to have transferred today to Pomerode, the "most typically German of all German towns of southern Brasil." However, that never happened. When I first signed up to work in Brasil, I thought I would be experiencing Brasilian culture. Had I wanted to live in a German town, I would've moved to Germany. Makes sense, right? Also, living in the area that produces Victoria's Secret models isn't exactly a confidence booster.
  
• I've all but given up learning Portuguese. For some reason, every time I make any attempt, Japanese comes out of my mouth.
• Brasilian BBQ count: 6 with 2 coming up.
• Callan still sucks, but now, it's somewhat manageable. That's because I don't really follow the book anymore. Haha... (Just like old times.)
  

Since I don't have much else to write about now, here are some pictures of my wonderful little town.

The meat store!

Local tagging. I actually like it. It's not really vandalism when you can actually see some theme.

Brazilian Etiquette: Lessons Learned

• I've kissed so many random people that it's no longer funny. (Ok, it's cheek kissing, but still... my blood still says I'm Asian and we just don't do that.)
• Brazilian time means if you're meeting someone, then you must be at least half an hour late. If it's a party, then you should always come a minimum is one hour past the start time. If someone is picking you up from the airport and you've never been to the area, is moving there for at least a year, and you can't speak the language, expect 1.5 hours of pure panic and stress.
• From my travel book: Brazilian women dress "sexy" in all situations, whether business, formal or casual. Foreign women who want to blend in should avoid wearing overly formal, conservative attire. My T-shirts and jeans are apparently too conservative here. My boss even told me to get chicken cutlets to help in certain areas.
  
• While the OK sign means good back home, here in Brazil, it is the equivanent to the middle finger. I had already shown the OK sign to my boss at least 10 times before someone finally told me what it meant.