Christmas in Sao Roque....More food than I could handle

Every year Fred's immediately family, including his first cousins, celebrate Christmas in a small country town outside of Sao Paulo called Sao Roque.  They have a beautiful home with a great yard for the dogs, as well as a vegetable garden.

Fred and I arrived on Saturday the 24th, which for Brazilians is the big day to celebrate Christmas.  They have a big dinner around 10pm, and then everyone opens gifts at midnight.  In Brazil, Santa, known here as Papa Noel, arrives on the night of the 24th.  The kids wait to hear a bell, which tells them Santa has arrived.  They run frantically around the house looking for Santa, while the parents bring the gifts out.  It's somewhat different in Brazil, because the gift part isn't as elaborate as it is in the US.  I remember as a kid coming down the stairs to 100 presents- games, clothes, animals sometimes, a new stereo, a new car, but here the kids receive a few nice gifts- a new pair of shoes, new clothes, maybe a board game, but nothing as extravagant as I remember as a child.  For the adults, Secret Santa is a very common way to exchange gifts.  Every family member shops for one person.  This year I coincidentally pulled Fred's name from the basket, which was nice, because I had an idea of what to get him.  After the Secret Santa, more gifts are exchanged, because everyone ends up buying gifts for everyone in the end.  Christmas Eve is a night of food, family, and lots of joking around.  Fred, his cousins, and his brother-in-law constantly pick on one another, which provides humor for the rest of us.

Christmas Sushi Party with Fred's close friends!!

Rubens and Carolina had the most wonderful Christmas party on Friday.  Two of Fred's closest friends recently opened a Sushi Restaurant, so they brought the food:))  It was a great night of laughs and good food. One of the highlights was Rubens' bulldog-- he looked just like my college mascot, UGA.

Update...Lots Happening

I have officially joined a gym, so I feel normal again.  It isn't Equinox, but it's the closest thing to it.  It's called Pele Club, after the famous soccer player.  I'm still a bit nervous about taking a class, as I probably won't understand what the instructors are saying...
http://www.peleclub.com.br/

Last night, we had the nicest dinner (formal, formal---so nice) at Fred's sister's husband's brother's home, kind of confusing, sorry.  Paula, the hostess, is a fashion designer, so her taste is impeccable.  Imagine an apartment with ceilings high enough to have a second floor, crazy modern cool decor, gorgeous chandeliers, with a balcony that could fit at least 20 people-- just amazing.  The attention to detail from the table settings to the hors d' oeuvres to the service--it was an impressive way to get ready for the big weekend ahead.  We had wine and cheese to start, followed by Beef Stroganoff, and of course a delicious dense chocolate cake with Brigadeiro chocolate sauce.  Dinner started at 10, which is something that is so interesting to me.  I think Brazilians can function on less sleep, because I was exhausted this morning for my 7:30am English class.

This weekend we are off to Sao Roque, a country town where Fred's family has had a house for years.  It is tradition to spend Christmas there with the entire family.  The 24th here is the big day.  Everyone opens presents that night, and the big dinner is the 24th as well.  Its going to be different, actually more similar to a Florida Christmas, because it's close to 85 and sunny here everyday.  Fred and I bypassed the Christmas tree, but we're hoping to do a better job next year with Christmas decorations.
http://www.saoroque.sp.gov.br/
Great Pictures of the mountains and countryside, Fred's favorite getaway spot

I'm really excited for my beach getaway coming up.  The whole family is off to the northern coast near Sao Paulo, normally three hours by car, but with traffic it can take up to 10 hours to get there.  I'm leaving on Tuesday, the 27th with Fred's parents, and I will be returning on January 2nd, but unfortunately Fred can't come until the Friday before the New Year because of work (the only upside is that he might have to take a helicopter to get there).  Either way, I'm definitely looking forward to a week away from the city.  On New Year's Eve everyone wears white and goes to the beach at Midnight, so I should have plenty of amazing pictures.  Fred's sister's husband's family has a big beach house there, so we will all be together.

Have a wonderful Christmas Holiday, USA style.....miss everyone very much!!

Birthdays and Birthday Cakes in Brazil are definitely something I enjoy every time!

I'm not quite at the point where I could sing you the birthday song in Portuguese, but I'm on my way...The cake at this party was really good---melt in your mouth chocolate brigadeiro cake covered in chocolate shavings.  I had two pieces and didn't feel bad about it.

One of my favorite girls from NYC is also here living in Sao Paulo-- Andrea Krongold.  We went to a restaurant called Si Senhor for a birthday party...lots of Margaritas and birthday cake.

Christmas Party by the Pool

85 degrees in Sao Paulo today, so what better way to kickoff the Christmas celebrations poolside.  Fred's sister and her husband had everyone over for lunch and some sun:))  Little Joaquim had a great time with his Uncle Fred...

Fred wanted to wear Joaquim's baby hat along with his goggles

 Fred jumping in the hot tub

Olivia (Fred's cousin's daughter) and Joaquim smiling for the camera

Work Visa in Sight!!!!

Last week, I sat down with Mindset Institute, a successful Business English School in Sao Paulo who has already given me 5 students (all amazing people by the way).  They have offered to sponsor me, which is something that was starting to seem close to impossible.  This process is somewhat complicated for two reasons.  One, so many people want to come to Brazil right now, so the country is attempting to protect jobs belonging to natives.  Secondly, Brazil believes in Reciprocity, meaning that they reciprocate the same policies that a country enforces on Brazilians traveling abroad.  The US is very hard on Brazilians in regards to work visas, so Brazil is very hard on US citizens.  Currently the company, in order to sponsor, must have at least 2/3 Brazilian employees, proof that the US citizen has skills that cannot be found locally, and they must be 100% responsible for the employee (salary, health insurance, the employee's whereabouts in the case of a problem).  Mindset has agreed to sponsor me for a work visa!!!  Without a work visa, my 180 days permitted per year as a tourist expire at the end of April, so I was coming up on a deadline that would really hinder my life here in Brazil.

The best part is that I'm going to teach part of the time, but the other half I'm going to be working with a prominent Marketing Director from the telecommunications industry who has offered his services to help Mindset attack this rapidly growing market.  I will be working in Sales/Marketing to expand Mindset's client base.  I will get to do a little bit of everything while also having a very flexible schedule.  The job involves lots of walking, talking to people, and building relationships, so I think for the next year I will be very happy:))

It's Christmas time!!!!!

A tremendous party yesterday....everyone was together to kick start the holidays.  Fred's sister, Graziela, is married to Pedro, and his mother hosted a Christmas lunch at her home.  The food was to die for good-- and of course there were tons of sweets that I couldn't resist.