Happy Thanksgiving!

When we woke up on our most favorite of holidays this morning, I have to admit, we both felt pretty sad. Being so far from our family and friends is a big change for us. Of course living on the East Coast meant being far from our family in the Southwest for years, but there is just something lonely about being in a different hemisphere. Not being able to pick up the phone and call just doesn't feel right.

After talking to our families on Skype though, we both started to perk up a bit, and once we got the business of cooking underway, we got out of our collective funk. We spent the day getting some things from the grocery stores here- all with no last-minute, crowded rush like at home- and got busy chopping, mixing, boiling, and baking. We found the biggest turkey at the store, a whopping 10.5 pounds, and marveled at the little thing. The turkey was the least of our worries, since we had to make everything from scratch for the first time. No help from Stouffer's or our dear friend Joe who has helped us celebrate in style the last 6 years.  In the end though, mostly thanks to my hard-working hubby, we had our delicious turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, salad, rolls, roasted vegetables, and key lime pie. Not bad for having no measuring cup and only one rack in the oven!

Taking a cooking break... can't take that heat!

Our beautiful bird

Look at that carving concentration

The Bounty of Thanksgiving

Us and the big PIE!

Once our friends showed up, we couldn't help but be happy and grateful for their friendship and presence in our lives. I know I have said it before, but the people here go a long way to make up for the comforts lacking in the city itself. Everyone happily volunteered their pans, plates, and silverware to make sure we could pull this dinner off. And we certainly did. Except for our one American friend, it was their first time celebrating Thanksgiving, and it was a hit!

Let's get the party started!

We had to pour the wine through a funnel

cause the cork was all messed up!

A trilingual conversation of

spanish, portuguese, and english

The adorable engaged couple :)

Que bonita!! My flowers from Noemi

The only downside is that, unlike in the US, we all have to go to work tomorrow, so good night for now... And Happy Thanksgiving!

Frequently Asked Questions

We've started to notice that people here are very fond of asking us two questions. The same two questions.
At least once a week, we are asked these by a Brazilian, whether it be someone we already know or someone we've just met.

 "Do you like Manaus?"     and
 "What do you think about Portuguese? It's harder than English, right?"

(Ok, ok. Technically that would be 3 questions, but the third is just more of an affirmation than question.)

Anyway, people are very fond of asking how much we are liking Brazil, liking Manaus in particular.  Obviously, the only correct answer would be that we are liking it a lot. There isn't much room for discussion about this topic with a Brazilian. The one time I gave a "yeah, it's ok, I guess..." kind of answer, I realized from the perplexed and disappointed expression on my friend's face, that that would not do.  Now we stick with the "oh, yeah, it's so great!" response.

For the question about Portuguese, it is pretty easy for me to say, "Yes, Portuguese is difficult." But how can someone whose first language is English compare it's level of difficulty to a new language? Of course it is hard and English is easy, but that's because I already speak English! I have had various people try to tell me how much more advanced of a language Portuguese is than English (more rules, harder grammar), which leaves me to wonder... if English is so much easier, why don't you remember what you learned in your years of English classes in school?!  Before I sound like a complete brat, I have to say that I think Portuguese is a very beautiful language, and I am really enjoying hearing it, learning it, and speaking it.

Just please don't ask me to compare it to English!

First Things First

Since moving to Manaus, for better or for worse, we've been through our share of "firsts." It seems that I like making lists, so here goes some new ones for us.

          First Time...

• having a porch- not exactly Riverside Drive, but it's fun just people-watching.                                  

• eating a carambola aka star-fruit. Our landlord has trees in the backyard and often gives us some. Hard to describe the taste, but it's good and juicy and has lots of Vitamin C.

• having part of the rainforest in our backyard. Hello, oxygen!

• having cable at home. That way, you have the best chance of catching 2, maybe even 3, different football games on Sunday! Greeeeaaat.

• having a washing machine! In the bathroom! Too bad it is really just a glorified bucket that holds water. It doesn't agitate or spin at all, so we basically hand-wash everything in our "washing machine." 

• having tile through-out the entire house. It makes sweeping up and cleaning super easy, and there are even drains in the floor for the dirty cleaning water. The only downside is that now I realize just how much hair of mine is everywhere! Turns out Jay was right all along :) 

• defrosting a freezer. Jay has done it the last 2 times, and it doesn't look like a fun job. 

• having a hammock hanging in the house. Gotta love the pre-installed hooks in the walls. 

• cooking with a non-automatic stove and oven. Honestly, it took us a while to figure out how it works- you have to use a match to light the burner or oven every time- but now we are experts! 

• our friend made her first soft taco. Ok, it's not technically our own "first," but we couldn't believe that she had never made her own burritos or tacos. I guess that means we need more Mexican themed dinner parties! 

• going to bed listening to the sounds of bats outside. That is, when the 5 dogs downstairs are not barking. 

• eating brigadeiro. The best, most delicious creation ever! And so easy to make- just heat up condensed milk, chocolate, and a lil butter. I could eat this everyday. Try it. You will LOVE it!!

Makin' Music

Before you get the idea that we don't do anything but go on trips and go to parties, let me show some actual proof that we do work down here.
Luckily for me, I have had the past 2 weeks off from orchestra, thanks to the Amazonas Film Festival, but return next to week to play some great repertoire. We'll be playing Ravel's Bolero, La Valse, and Saint-Saens' Violin Concerto.  We've already played Brahms Symphony No. 1, Schumann Symphony No. 3, and various challenging pieces by the Brazilian composers, Claudio Santoro and Heitor Villa-Lobos, among others.
For those of you who are curious, the schedule for this orchestra is amazing. We typically have concerts on Thursday nights, and we rehearse Monday through Thursday in the mornings. I have really been enjoying this whole only having one job thing, the three day weekends, and the part where I get paid for playing trombone!
I tried to find some pics of me with the orchestra, but seeing as that would be up to Jay to take, I had no luck. But here is one before my first concert and one after the first concert Jay saw me play. By the way, we were at an all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant in the second pic. It was really good pizza actually, and they come around to your table with dozens of different types of pizzas. There is no waiting in line for your pizza, no pushing for the last piece, and you don't even have to tip. The best part was the dessert pizza... melted chocolate, fruit, yummy, warm goodness!
                                                  

Jay was also quite busy during October and part of November. After introducing himself to the director of the pro jazz band here, he was invited to their next rehearsal. That same night, he was told he would be a featured soloist with the band at the end of October. It just so happens that the third trombonist in the band had to have surgery at the same time, so Jay played his part while he recovered. In addition to having jazz rehearsals three nights a week, he also taught lessons 3 mornings a week at the music conservatory here (all in portuguese!!!). Altogether, he ended up playing several gigs with the band, and he will hopefully get more opportunities like this in the future here.

His solo features were awesome. Several of our friends came out to hear him play, and everyone loved it! And since I had the camera, we have plenty of pics to prove it :) Oh, he even got his name in the newspaper before the concert!

Teatro Amazonas at night

The soloist up front

Backstage after the concert

See, we really do work here... well, kinda!

Road Trip

In the month of October, my orchestra got almost 2 weeks off!  Is this job sweet or what?

Since we'd mostly just been hanging around our little casa all day, we planned a little road trip with another couple from the orchestra who are our good friends, Mark and Débora.

We originally were going to rent a car to drive the 1.5 hours or so to the town of Presidente Figueiredo- a town with hundreds of cachoeiras (waterfalls) in the rainforest. After calling and speaking to someone from the first agency with a good price, we hopped in a cab to quickly reserve a car before they closed. When we arrived, we were told that price is not correct and it would be much more expensive. Strike 1. OK, fine. We don't need you anyway- there's another agency across the street. Of course, that was too expensive, too, and didn't include kilometers with the rental. Strike 2. The final place we rushed to in another cab seemed pretty hopeful at the start, until the salesman told us that no company in Manaus offers rental insurance for their cars. We were shocked to discover this, and we all walked away realizing we will probably never rent a car here. I certainly don't want to be held responsible to pay for an accident in a city where people drive down the center of the road in a 2 lane street and ignore red lights. Strike 3.

We checked out the bus options next, and Débora spoke with someone from the bus company who gave her the bus schedule to Pres. Figueiredo. For a very reasonable $16R each way, we solved the transportation problem. Of course, this being Manaus and all, it couldn't actually be that simple. When we showed up the next morning for our 8:30 am bus, we were told that that bus wouldn't be stopping in Pres. F., but we could catch the 10:30 bus instead. What happens after Strike 3? Hit the batter or something? Anyway, we bought the last 4 tickets for that bus and patiently waited at the bus station for our time to board. Despite all of these early setbacks, we got on the bus on-time, left on-time, and arrived only a couple hours later.

This is Jay's fake no-way-am-i-annoyed smile.

Once we arrived to our pousada/hotel, we did a quick tour of the beautiful, lush grounds, ate lunch at the self-service restaurant, and changed into our swimsuits and hiking gear.

Our cute, back-2-back rooms

 

Our view of the Amazon rainforest

After grabbing a ride with some hotel employees, the four of us started our search for the waterfall. This particular cachoeira is called Iracema Falls, and we were immediately impressed with its size when we first saw it. Of course, it appeared that tons of other people were, too, so we continued on to find the next less-crowded waterfall.

Along the way, we passed a really cool cavern that was super dark and quite large. The walls are covered in white bat poop, and we even spotted a bat hanging upside down from the ceiling. Gross for the girls, cool for the guys.

We explored some more along the trail and eventually made it to the next waterfall. It was much smaller than the first, but also much less crowded. We all waded out into the water and were totally surprised at how strong the current was. There was one part in the middle of the river that literally knocked you down, and the water was only knee-deep! Once past that part, we climbed up the rocks and found some nice nooks in the rocks that were perfect for sitting. It was really relaxing and felt like a really strong massage as the water went rushing past. It was a little hard to leave this behind...

but knowing that we had a deadline of about 6 pm (when the sun sets), we had to head back to the pousada. We all took a shower and a nap before going back to the restaurant for a delicious dinner. After dinner, we stayed up really late playing card games and eating caju from the local trees. For those who don't know, cashew nuts that we eat actually come from a fruit off a tree. There is an apple-sized yellowish fruit that grows with one cashew nut on the end of it. The fruit has a weird texture and doesn't taste at all like the nut, but we now have soooo much more appreciation for the amount of work that must go into creating an entire bag of cashews. No wonder they're so expensive!

To make an already long story shorter, we walked to the falls the next morning and hiked to see what the trail would bring us. We were able to discover one more big waterfall further along the path, but since we had to catch an afternoon bus back to Manaus, we had to cut our exploration short. We were able to spend an hour in the morning at the biggest waterfall though, and it was even better than we could have imagined. The constant flow of water leveled out the rocks to create a rather walkable and smooth floor in the river.  The other cool thing is that the rocks are very climbable, making it possible to sit in the middle of the rushing waterfall. Sometimes the pressure was pretty crazy, but again, it mostly feels like a great massage!

We're in there somewhere!

The beautiful walk back to the hotel

We completed our short trip by sharing a big lunch in town of fresh fish, rice, beans, farofa (type of flour), and some Guaraná (type of soda w/lots of caffeine, courtesy of the guaraná). This type of meal has to be our favorite thing to eat. We usually don't even know what type of fish we're eating- something from fresh water- but it is always delicious, and there are never any leftovers!

Hopefully we will have the chance to explore a little more of Brazil outside of our state, Amazonas.  It's hard being so isolated from the rest of the country here, but at least we've got our waterfalls!

Festa Time

One of the things that is awesome about being here is how much our Brazilian friends love getting together. This week alone, we went to 3 parties! It may be the fact that we have more free-time here compared to Americans, but I think Brazilians would find a way to squeeze in some socializing at any cost. Let the parties begin...
The first party was an impromptu get together on our friends' rooftop that involved a chef from Argentina, some cervejas, and a bunch of great people. We were already impressed by the delicious meat (picanha) prepared by Brazilians, but if you've never had meat prepared by an Argentine- and a chef at that- you are really missing out! Mmmm mmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it. And as if the night couldn't get any better, we were actually "cold" for once- must have been mid 70's- and I got to wear long sleeves for the first time!!! It really is the little things...
The next party was a couple days later back on the rooftop for our friend's 30th Birthday! She didn't go the churrasco/bbq route this time because of the quantity of people (about 50), but we had yummy dips, cheeses, breads, and homemade caipirinhas. Throw in some music, dancing, joke-telling, and cake, and you've got yourself a good time. It was also cool for us to be able to speak portuguese so much that night. Since there aren't many Americans around, people love practicing their English on us, which is great and all, but we already know how to speak English! I have to admit though, it is nice to give your brain a break for a while.

The beautiful birthday girl and me!

The final party we went to was actually a small wedding ceremony for a couple of friends that just recently moved here from São Paulo. They are a very cool couple, and we were happy to be included in their celebration. There was more good food, more cake, more friends, and more music. And a little bit of crying, but it was a wedding after all. One of the most touching sentiments in the groom's toast was when he said how quickly everyone has come to feel like a family here. Most of our friends are transplanted musicians in the orchestra, and while not living in a different hemisphere than their family like we are, they are living 1000's of miles away from them. I think partly because of this, and partly due to just their general niceness, it is easy to feel like you are cared for and thought of by many people here.
What more could you ask for in a party?!

Some observations

Moving to any new country opens up a whole world of new experiences and observations. These are just a few of ours....

1. The fact that it is more than 100 degrees outside with 90% humidity does not deter people from wearing jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and even jackets here.

2. On that note, not very many people wear sunglasses here. Surprising, considering we are so close to the Equator and the sun is really bright.

3. Driving rules are merely suggestions. Looking both ways before you cross a street here entails looking both ways, in front of you, behind you, and both ways again.

4. Telling someone that you don't speak Portuguese well may encourage them to speak a little louder and a lot faster!

5. Buying a lightbulb at the hardware store can involve 3 different stops with 3 different people in the store. But they do plug in the lightbulb to make sure it isn't a dud before you leave!

6. People don't leave voicemail messages on cell phones because most people don't waste their pre-paid minutes checking them. You just call repeatedly until they pick up their phone.

7. Parents bring their kids of all ages with them when they go out. It's really nice to have young kids and teenagers at orchestra concerts!

8.  Calling a bus station to get their bus schedule does not mean it will actually be correct. Same applies for rental car prices.

9. We have yet to find a sidewalk that doesn't require your constant attention to avoid tripping over the uneven surface.

10. Overall, Brazilians seem to be extremely gracious and generous people. You get the feeling that when they say, "Let me know if you need anything," they really mean it.

11. People eat Halls, the cough drop, like candy here. They are sold right amongst the real candy and people are surprised to find out that they have a medicinal purpose in the US.  Hmmm, let's see... should I get the M&M's or Halls today?

Cruisin' the Amazon

I now realize I should have started this blogging business a little sooner, since we've been here for a few months already, but better late than never, right?!
The very first weekend Jay was in Manaus, we took an awesome boat trip with friends on the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões, aka the Amazon River.  We started out early at the dock downtown, and one of our friends got to work finding someone with a boat. That part was fairly easy, but it took some friendly negotiations to agree on a reasonable price for the six of us.

Once that was settled, we climbed aboard the small speed boat and cruised down the river to see the "Meeting of the Waters". All but one of us had seen this before, but it was still so cool to see it again. Because of the density of the two rivers, when they meet, they flow side by side for miles without mixing. Oh, and we even saw a dolphin frolicking when we stopped the boat to take pictures. Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of that, but you can take my word! 

On our way to the next destination along the river, a small boat of natives pulled beside us with lots of indigenous animals for us to hold. Jay and I both preferred to watch our friends hold the huge snake and crocodile, and I should have known better when the guy handed me a sloth. Granted, they do look kind of cute, but they use their sharp claws to hang onto trees all day long, and in this case, to hang onto my legs!  It was my fault for not holding him the right way, but how many times do you practice holding a sloth?!

We continued on up the river to Vitória Régia, which should have been full of beautiful 3 feet wide lily pads like last year. However, because of no rain or too much rain- I can't remember now- there was only one small and shriveled lily pad. The trip there was still worthwhile though since we had a great buffet lunch of fish, chicken, salads, fresh fruits, rice, and beans at the floating restaurant.

          

After a satisfying lunch, our boat driver took us down the river to see a beautiful part of the river where the trees are submerged in the water. It creates a very peaceful and quiet setting- we even turned off the motor on the boat to take advantage of the serenity there. There is one enormous tree in the water, and our driver told us that the locals hit it in certain patterns as a form of communication in the jungle.

The final part of the day was full speed ahead in the boat back to the port in Manaus. It was so much fun feeling the wind on our faces. Such a nice break from being so hot and sweaty, although we got hot again on the walk back home and just had to stop for some ice cream!

This was such a memorable day and an experience we will definitely share with any of you who come visit! And we won't make you hold any wild animals :)