Feliz Natal Brazilian Style

We are officially on our "summer" break now! I just got home from playing our Natal (Xmas) Concert at the Teatro, and now we start our holiday time-off. 

From our experience in Manaus this year and last, Brazilians tend to celebrate more on Xmas Eve than Americans. Last night, Jay and I spent the evening at the house of a friend's family. The popular thing to do for Xmas is to have a big family dinner late on the night before Xmas. We arrived to their beautifully decorated house around 9:00 pm, and snacked on some salgados (assorted finger foods). 

Very pretty outside setting 

Right before we ate dinner, our friend from the orchestra Eduardo played some music on his violin. We were at his mother in law's house, so he was kinda obligated to play. Everyone loved it of course, and we heard some Xmas tunes that are popular here. Then there was a prayer said before we all dug into the tasty dinner. Despite having 30 people there, we had plenty to go around.  

Veggie salad w/chicken, beef, turkey, bacalhau, 

rice, mashed potatoes, farofa, rabanada

By the time midnight rolled around, we had all filled up on all sorts of food, drinks, and desserts. Everyone played a fun game involving trading presents, and Jay and I ended up coming home with a nice key holder from Aracaju that hangs on the wall.  

Our hosts, Eduardo and Aline, in the middle,

Debora and Mark on the right 

21 weeks prego- no way to hide it now :)

While most American kids are encouraged to go to sleep early so Santa will stop at their house, Brazilian kids stay up past midnight and open their presents before going to bed. Everyone sleeps in on Xmas day, and then enjoys a lunch with family. By the time our concert rolls around on Xmas night, everyone is rested and in the mood to be entertained! I'll put some pics from that up on my next post. 

Happy Holidays! 

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

We weren't able to celebrate Thanksgiving on the correct day because no one in Manaus seemed to realize that it was a holiday! Jay worked the whole day and the orchestra had two rehearsals that day. We decided we weren't going to let that deter us from gettin our turkey on, so we postponed the big day til last Sunday.
I invited our closest friends from the orchestra for dinner and several teachers from Jay's school showed up, too. It's always fun for us to get the chance to share our traditions with people here, and many of our friends had never celebrated Thanksgiving.
Because of the quality of ovens here, we put the turkey in nice and early on Sunday to leave plenty of cooking time for it. We spent the afternoon relaxing in between peeling the potatoes, chopping the salad, cooking the green beans, and making the dough for biscuits. Thanks to those efforts, we both think this was the most painless Thanksgiving preparation we've had.

Peeling potatoes while watching football

When people started showing up, the only things left to be done were things that had to wait til the turkey was out of the oven (only one rack)! Despite already allowing an extra 2 hours of cooking time for our 18 pound bird (2 stores and $100R/$60US later), it actually took an extra 3 hours to cook- more than 7 hours total with a recommended cooking time of only 4.5 hrs! We may just have discovered the secret to a juicy turkey though, cause it was definitely the most delicious turkey we've ever eaten.

Beautiful Betsy Bird

We had about 15 people mais ou menos by the time we got the dinner going, and although it was a few more people than we expected, there was plenty of food for everyone. Besides the turkey and gravy, we had a tomato and cucumber salad, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, 3 different stuffings, green bean casserole, and homemade biscuits. It was all sooo delicious! I have to say a big thank you to my mom for sending us fried onions and cream of mushroom soup for the green bean casserole, some Stove Top Stuffing, and heavy duty disposable plates to use. 

Musician friends of ours

Jay and some colleagues 

Once we each had our second round of food, we busted out some games and had a couple different games going simultaneously. Of course, dessert time was soon to follow and the warm caramel walnut brownies I made were a hit, especially served a la mode. One of Jay's friends brought us a chocolate cake, too, that was tasty. 

By the end of the night, I think everyone could understand why we Americans love this holiday so much. It's not just the great food and plentiful football that make it so special, but the chance to spend the day with people you care about.
I know we are both grateful this year for our wonderful friends, our supportive and healthy family, and for the little baby boy that will make our lives even more blessed in May!

It's Jazzy!

Jay started playing with the Amazonas Jazz Band finally, but because of visa issues, he's still not an official member. He has played several concerts with them in the past couple months though, and luckily I got to see one of them at the Teatro recently.
It's always fun to see them play, and this concert had an amazing Italian clarinet soloist. I know Jay really enjoyed the opportunity of working with such a talented musician, and it's nice to have people like that coming to Manaus.

The Band on stage

Jay with the soloist

After the concert

Out of Town Trip

The final must-do for people visiting Manaus is take a trip about 2 hours away to a city called Presidente Figueiredo, home to many cachoeiras (waterfalls). Our friends Debora and Mark are always game to get out of the city, so they went with my brother and me. Unfortunately, Jay had to pass cause he had to work.
We left on a Friday morning by taxi- very reasonable and easy compared to a bus- and arrived in time for check-in and lunch. We stayed at a rather charming place called Pousada das Pedras that was filled with lots of flowers, plants, jungle animal carvings, and hammocks.
After a typical self-service lunch, we headed out to explore a nearby cachoeira. The trail through the forest to reach the waterfall was about a 20 minute walk, and along the way, we stopped to pose with this thick, hanging vine.

Once we reached the water, we had to cross part of the stream and try not to lose our shoes in the process! Here is Aaron up to his knees in the water. 

We hung out in the water for the afternoon and cooled off before heading back before the sun set. That night, we had dinner near our pousada at a very cozy Italian restaurant.  We all split a pizza, decided it was so good we wanted more, and ended up having 3 pizzas in all! It was all homemade and fresh, right down to the basil on top that the chef picked from a plant inside the kitchen. If only this place was closer!!

After getting through the night on an incredibly stiff "bed"- looked like a bed, felt like a plank of wood with a sheet- we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and headed out for another cachoeira. This place was actually a nature reserve and was well cared for with labels on every tree along the trail. 

At the entrance to the park

After a 30 minute hike through forest, we reached our destination to find that we were the only people there. Considering we went on a holiday weekend, it was very fortunate and unexpected. The waterfall was especially beautiful, too. 

Cool effect from a foggy lens :)

Can you spot Waldo? 

We stayed in the water until we were hungry for lunch and caught a taxi to take us to our usual lunch place for grilled meat and all the fixins before heading back to Manaus. All of us slept part of the way back except for Aaron. Having permanent shot-gun ensured that he had the best view for all of the crazy drivers out here who pass on a solid line or on an uphill, pass on the right shoulder, etc. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss! 

It was so nice to spend a couple days away from the city in the middle of waterfalls and rainforests with some of my favorite people.  I'm already looking forward to going back for some of that yummy pizza!  

Typical Week With My Brother

There were a few things that we just had to do with my brother while he was here in Manaus. After checking off the must-do boat trip on the Amazon over the weekend, we still needed to take him to a churrascaria, a typical Brazilian all-you-can-eat-meat-fest. No trip to Brazil is complete without stuffing your face with every variation on beef known to man, especially when it is brought right to your table and sliced fresh.
Jay and I had actually never been to a churrascaria here, only in New York City, but we live only a 10 minute walk from one so we gave it a shot. I sort of figured that on a Tuesday afternoon we might be the only ones there, but I was wrong. Apparently, these restaurants are not just for tourists after all.
Shortly after we sat down with our first course of salad and veggies (trying to not be sooo gluttonous), we were bombarded with waiters and their meat. I started off by thinking I would take it easy and not eat too much, but my good intentions lasted til the first bite. We all enjoyed our leisurely lunch and ate to our hearts' content, or perhaps discontent.

My bro 

Can't get enough 

We also spent some time doing things we would normally do during the week, like go grocery shopping. 

I think he ended up going to three different supermarkets while here, all at varying levels of cleanliness and ranging in size from small to huge. In fact, one of the stores is so big that some of their employees wear roller skates to get around faster! Now that is an idea that makes sense. 

He also got the chance to see some of the crazy high prices for food. Because Manaus is rather isolated from the rest of the country, literally in the middle of the Amazon, lots of things travel many miles by plane or ship to get to us. Produce is unfortunately one of the most expensive things at the store. One medium sized melon, for example, can cost more than about $40US! We have yet to eat grapes here because they are $15US a pound. Here is a pic of a small head of broccoli at our local Carrefour, about $7US. Underneath it, a box of taco shells is more than $10US. I remember when I used to hate paying the high prices in NYC, but they've got nothing on Manaus!

Heart-breaker :(

Another typical weekday experience for him was going to see a concert at the Teatro Amazonas. Our orchestra normally performs on Thursday night, and I was so happy Aaron could be there to see/hear. It's been a long time since he has seen me perform, so it was very special for both of us.

On stage at the Teatro

I'm pretty sure he liked it cause when he came backstage afterwards, he thought it was only intermission (Jay's lil joke on him). It's always a compliment when someone wants to hear more after almost 2 hours of music!

Our First Visitor!!

Jay and I recently had the very great fortune to have my brother in town for about a week. We were with him this summer when he bought his ticket for Brasil, and we've been looking forward to his trip ever since.
After a 3 day trip to get here, he left very late on a Thursday and arrived very early on a Saturday, he arrived in one piece with all of his luggage. Not a bad start for Brasil ;)
Jay and I picked him up at the airport, and I was all butterflies every time the sliding door opened to reveal the next passenger. And then finally it was him!!!!

After giving him a day to get settled in and rest a little, our friend Debora, Jay, and I took him out on the river. We decided to wing it at the port this time instead of pre-planning a trip with a guide/boat. We settled on a guy with his small, covered motor boat and went on our way to see the Meeting of the Waters (where our 2 local rivers come together to form the Amazon). 

Debora, Jay, and Aaron headin out

After about 45 minutes of bumping through the river on rough, metal seats, we slowed down and watched the two rivers run side by side without mixing. Jay and I have been to this point many times now, but it is still really cool to see. The best part of all is that if you're lucky, you can see some dolphins jumping around. We typically have one person see one, then we all look too late, and we have to live vicariously through their description. Aaron must have been our lucky charm though cause we saw schools of dolphins all around us. It was so incredible! A few would jump out of the water, swim a bit, then jump some more. I couldn't get any pics, but I do have some good video to prove it. You can take my word!

We headed back to the port once we got our fill of the dolphins, and we were doing pretty good until the boat stopped. It had been doing this off and on since we left that morning, but the guide always got it going again. Probably should have tipped us off sooner, but what can you do once you're in the middle of the river? Anyway, the boat didn't just start again this time because we ran out of gas! What the??? 

The driver got some other guys in a boat to come over and sell him some gas, and then he managed to get it all over my seat while pouring it into the tank- which is why you should never wear nice clothes on a boat trip. 

We bounced our way back to the port in silence and all rejoiced when we were once again able to stand up and stretch out our legs. All in all, I think it made for a super memorable experience for my brother! 

Still smilin :)

Better Late than Never

Wow, I can't believe it's already been more than a month since I last posted a blog. My bad! Having very sketchy internet is gonna be my excuse for now, but we recently switched to a more reliable internet service so that should help from here on out. Also, I now can use my own computer which means photos of mine can be added to the blog again (if it doesn't take f o r e v e r).

We've basically been up to the same things as usual since the last post. I've been having rehearsals and concerts, and Jay's been working hard preparing and teaching his English lessons. He also started playing in the jazz band here recently after a year of waiting for things to work out with his visa. Things haven't officially "worked out" completely, but at least we are on the right road now.

One unforeseen benefit of the trouble with visas in general is that Jay got to spend a week in NYC in October, courtesy of a Brasilian who needed something from the states but couldn't get a tourist visa. I have to admit it was a bit strange to be the one left behind while he got to travel somewhere fun, but I guess there is a first time for everything! And I certainly ended up benefitting from his stateside trip since he brought back a suitcase full of edible goodies for us.

Just a sample of the foods we miss and don't have here in Manaus.... peanut butter, pretzels, mac&cheese, maple syrup, pancake mix, tortilla chips, taco seasoning, refried beans, and bagels. We can live without most of the food we're used to, but it's hard to get over the loss of Mexican food. We're trying our best to make the nachos, burritos, and tacos last as long as possible!

That would be my toasted everything bagel 

with peanut butter and butter. It was heaven!!!

I know that the experience of living here will leave us with a very deep appreciation for all of the choices and conveniences of food in the States. In the meanwhile, we will continue to savor every jar of peanut butter to the finger-lickin end!

If it's not one thing....

One thing we have learned to accept about living in Manaus is that nothing ever works out in the most simple way. Barely a day goes by that we don't look at each other and say, "How Manausian!" about one thing or another. A year into our life south of the equator, I am proud to say we have learned to adopt attitudes that allow us to get over any bumps in an instant (or two!)
Last week really seemed to present us with more than a normal share of 'if it's not one thing, it's another' situations. Before Jay took his vacation in the states this summer, we heard about a friend of a friend who was moving and selling her 12000 BTU wall air conditioner. We jumped on board right away because there is no central air anywhere here, and our 2 ac's were just not cutting it. Fast forward to last week when we had to hire an electrician to come change the voltage in the wall since, of course, the ac wouldn't turn on properly, and we had yet to be able to use it. OK, no biggie. The guy came, didn't have the proper tools, came back the next day as promised and did a great job. Just when we start thinking this seems too easy, we realize that we've spent several hundred reais on a big fan that blows hot air! Not so pleasant when it's more than 100 degrees outside with 85% humidity. With the help of some friends, we found an ac maintenance company that came out to take a look at the unit, and after dropping some more reais, we now have a relatively cool 2nd bedroom. Now we're looking forward to their return next week when they clean and repair our other 2 units. Hopefully our days of wiping away sweat while lounging on the couch and watching tv are almost over!
Another one of those 'one things or another' this week was not having working internet or computer at home. The crappy internet service is something we have resigned ourselves to accept, but it gets especially frustrating when you're in the middle of a skype call with family and the connection suddenly drops. Not just once or twice either. We're talking like 5 or 6 times in a span of only 10 minutes! When Jay's computer just wouldn't turn on one afternoon this week, we were quick to remind ourselves that this stuff seems to happen here. Luckily for us, one week and many attempts to turn it on later, we are able to use it again. And the internet is even working well now, too!
How very UnManausian....

Goodbye USA, Ola Brasil!

After almost two blissful months in the US (3 weeks for Jay), we are back in Manaus now. It was a very fun-filled time seeing our friends and family throughout the country and was definitely the longest vacation either of us has taken.
I'll try to start from where I left the blog a month ago, and I promise to be brief...
Jay and I spent a few days with our dear friends in Washington, DC, and then headed up to NYC by double-decker bus. The next week in NYC flew by between meeting friends for coffee, lunch, and dinner, and getting our fill of our favorite old spots.
The next leg of our trip was spent with family in Arizona, and we stayed super busy with both sides. It's fortunate that both of our families are in the same area, but at the same time, it adds a challenge to the planning since we all want to see each other as much as possible. We crammed in all sorts of fun adventures in AZ, including 90 minute horseback riding lessons, watching a Cardinals training camp practice in Flagstaff, eating the famous Brooklyn-style pizza at Grimaldi's, and seeing a Diamondbacks game.

Happiness on a Horse

Go Cards!

Pizza Party with the Cousins

One of the highlights of that trip was also getting to spend a couple days with our adorable niece.

From there, Jay went to see his family in Tennessee, and I went to Las Vegas with mine. My best friend since I was about 5 years old met us with her bf in Vegas, and we had a great time walking the Strip at night, eating as much as possible at the buffets, and laying out by the fancy pool at Planet Hollywood! 

BFF

Our first buffet at the Rio Hotel

Poolside @ Planet Hollywood

One of the most fun nights of my entire summer was spent in a casino with my brother, my best friend, and her bf doing karaoke and dancing til the wee hours. The memories from that night of Ms. Marlene and Antonio Winnick on stage are priceless. (Everyone needs a proper Vegas name, of course!)

On stage w/Antonio

Jay and I met at the airport in NYC next, and spent the last 5 days of our US time seeing friends and running errands. I spent a day out in the Hamptons, soaking up the good life with good friends and good food, while Jay took care of some visa business at the consulate. Our last afternoon was a very special one for us because we got to spend some time chillin with our friends that are moving to LA at the end of the month. Lucky for us, they had a going away party planned in Manhattan on our last night with other friends of ours! And even luckier for us, we got to see the sunset over the Hudson River from that rooftop party that just so happened to be the former residence of Duke Ellington! We were both totally thrilled at the idea of walking in the same place as Sir Duke! Since we had to leave for the airport at 3:30 in the morning that night, we pulled an all-nighter with some of our most favorite people in NYC! It was a totally cool way to bring our vacation to a close.
On that note, we had a good trip back to Manaus. We are happy to be here, even happier to be unpacked. And I already have my list of requests from the states started for our next trip!

ps I left my charger for my computer in NYC, so when I can use my computer again I will try to post some pics on here ;)

U S A wesome

It's been way too long since I wrote the last blog post, and I really don't have much of an excuse to offer. I've just been so busy reveling in all of the goodness that is the United States! There is something so comforting about the familiar, and despite being in the middle of nowhere in Virginia for the last month, knowing that there were abundant stores and restaurants just a drive away gave me great satisfaction. 

The Castleton Music Festival ended Sunday night with our last performance of all Beethoven. Overall I had a good time practicing, rehearsing, and relaxing with new friends in the hills of Virginia.  Here are some pics from the beautiful countryside...

The white tent in the background 

is where we rehearsed and had concerts

Rolling hills spotted with moooo cows

Lake on Maestro Maazel's farm

Horsie :)

Zonkey (zebra/donkey) on the farm, 

one of many animals we saw everday

ugly emu

The Orchestra- I am somewhere in the back

My view of the Maestro

After a concert

Jay came to join me in Castleton on the last day of the festival, and it was wonderful to finally see him again after being apart and to show him where I had been living for the last month. Our longtime friends Joe and Dana also came to see the concert, and it was really nice for all of us to be together again. Both boys tried to get some good pics of me on stage, but it is just not meant to be. But we did get the beautiful sunset afterwards on camera!

Joe and Dana and me post-concert

Now Jay and I are having fun hanging out with our friends in Washington, DC, and we'll be heading up to NYC soon. I will definitely try harder at updating the blog while we are out here- especially since the internet is so much faster and pics don't take an hour to upload! Oh, yeah- I also had a very happy birthday weekend at Virginia Beach that I will share in my next post. Viva America!!!