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!!!

Vacation!

I suppose technically neither Jay nor I are on vacation, but being in the States is close enough for me! Jay had to stay back in Manaus, but I flew to NYC a few days ago to spend some quality time with my girlfriends before heading off to Virginia. I had an amazing time in New York seeing friends, going out to eat, shopping a bit, and running errands. It felt great to be back in the states right away, and while I do miss my friends and Jay in Brasil, I am very happy to be here now. As much as I like speaking portuguese, there is just something comforting about being able to say what you want when you want without having to think too hard.
Anyway, I am currently in beautiful Virginia to play in the Castleton Music Festival with Maestro Lorin Maazel. I knew this was going to be something special when I saw the limo waiting at the bus station to drive us to the festival. Definitely got off to a great start! It only got better when we arrived to see what an amazing part of the country this is located in. We're surrounded by big trees, the Blue Ridge mountains in the Shenandoah Valley, fresh water creeks and lakes, and lots of animals. So far I've already seen a fox, raccoon, and deer on the roads, and llamas, goats, zebra, zonkey!, horses, and cows on farms. I left my camera in NYC so I don't have evidence of the natural beauty all around me here (or the zonkey) except using my computer's camera, but when I get it back, I will post some better pics.

Our house surrounded by gardens

Hard to tell, but that is the lake

Out on one the many porches here

We start our rehearsals tomorrow, and I am looking forward to playing with everyone here. The people I have met have all been very nice and down to earth. I'm staying in someone's guest house with other musicians, and my housemates are all cool. Our house is situated on a dirt road with its own lake, trails, and a tennis court from what I hear. I haven't had much time to explore yet, but I plan on exploring tomorrow on a run around here.
The only slightly unfortunate aspect of this place so far is the high temps- 100 degrees today- and high humidity- 85%. Good thing the last year in Manaus has prepared me for it!

Festa Junina

The month of June is a really fun time here in Brasil thanks to the Festa Junina. It's a traditional party popular throughout the country, especially the northeast, and pays homage to three Saints that have holidays this month. It involves dressing up in character as cowboys/country-folk, dancing quadrilha (think square dancing), having a bonfire, and eating traditional foods. Since it's actually winter down here and most places are cold, traditional food includes hot things like quentão, a warmed wine or cachaça with ginger, cinnamon, and orange rind, many foods made of corn like canjica or corn bread, and lots of sweets and desserts. 

To make sure everything was ready for our festa, the girls had a pre-party get together to make the proper decorations- a fake fire since it's already hot enough here and bandeiras, little colored flags cut from tissue paper and hung from a string. Besides the decorations, we had typical country music playing during the night. 

Almost everyone showed up in a costume, and since everyone brought a typical food (I confess- I made Ghiradelli brownies from the States that were the first thing gone), we had tons and tons of food. 

Table full of food

The hostess and me in costume

After we all stuffed ourselves on various cakes, vatapá, rice, pão de queijo, and salgados, we gathered around to start the quadrilha. Everyone partnered up and followed the directions shouted from the leader. We had some familiar do-si-do moments along with some new moves-  for example, "chuva" where you raise your hands above your head to imitate rain falling. We danced around the roof laughing our heads off for several songs, and I have to say that the Americanos impressed the Brasileiros with our moves :)

I know it's blurry, but 

that is Jay dancing in the middle!

All of us on the roof

We were unfortunately kicked off the roof after our hoedown by the building manager (party pooper!!!) and moved the party down to her apartment. Of course the fun continued despite the manager, and we played another traditional game inside, BINGO! Almost everyone ended up winning by the time we finished, and we all got cute little presents to take home. 

I won!! 

This was a super fun and very memorable experience for us both. The atmosphere was part carnival-part hoedown, and you know you can't go wrong with that!!

Copa do Mundo!!

Brasilians certainly do not take their futebol lightly. The sidewalks have been painted in yellow and green stripes for weeks, every other car has Brasilian flags flying, and there are even new murals in the middle of many roads showing their pride. People really get excited for the World Cup and spare no expense here! 

The excitement is actually quite contagious, and Jay and I had so much fun watching Brasil's first game against South Korea. We went to our neighbor's place to watch the game and share some tasty Brasilian food amongst friends. Everyone was forewarned not to bother going if they weren't interested in really watching the game! The funny thing to us was how disappointed everyone was when there were no goals in the whole first half of the game, and how quickly they got disinterested. As a lifelong Arizona fan, Jay had no trouble maintaining his faith in the team no matter how boring it seemed. Luckily the second half went much better, and everyone's spirits were lifted after Brasil scored 2 goals. There was lots of jumping and shouting and fireworks and horn honking during and after the game. I can't even imagine how crazy it's gonna get as the Copa do Mundo progresses! I'll keep you posted.... 

and Go USA!!! 

  

My First Race

I've had quite a few "firsts" since moving to Manaus, but the one I am most proud of is running in my first 10 km race. My good friend Debora and I have been diligently going to the gym since the fall, and I can safely say that all the effort has paid off for us. Sunday morning we completed our first race, and now we can't wait to do another!

We found out about the race on Tuesday night, and I immediately ran 10 km on the treadmill (for the first time although I've been running for 45-60 mins 3x week for more than a month). I ran everyday this week to prepare for Sunday and did another 10 km run on Friday afternoon. My goal was to finish in one hour, but once I got out on the road I thought maybe just having a goal of not stopping at all would be more attainable. It was 100 degrees at 8:30 in the morning when we started and you can imagine how humid it is here in the rainforest. Plus on top of the hot sun and lack of shade on the route, there were so many hills! 

To make a long story short, I finished in 52 minutes and achieved both of my goals. It was a difficult run to be sure, but totally worth the effort. It was such a fun atmosphere there, too, with all the different sorts of runners and who doesn't love free watermelon on a hot day?! 

Before the Corrida Rustica

Debora, Marcelo (trainer at our gym), and me after the race

We did it!!!!