Tuesday Morning

Hello, everyone..

Well, it's another day in Fortaleza and things are moving along quite well. I've had a touch of the flu so I didn't write anything during the weekend. Also, my computer was down Sunday night.

It's cloudy over the Atlantic this morning; it rained most yesterday and was very cloudy Sunday but Saturday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! We went for breakfast in the morning then walked to Adeota and Dos Pasea malls in the afternoon. We walked all around both malls and had lunch there. Later we had ice cream. Believe it or not, I'm three blocks from the ocean and the humidity isn't as bad as it is in Oklahoma today...lol.

There are no cloths dryers here that I know of; most people hang out their cloths on a rack and let the sun and the breeze dry it; it works except when it rains all the time. If it's a nice sunny day here the cloths will dry in a few hours. When it rains I bring in my cloths and at night I bring them it because it's been raining every night.

The ice cream here is fabulous!!! They have more flavors that Bascom-Robbins and the types they have are really good. There are several fruit-flavored kinds (fruit that normally isn't sold in America), they have at least five different kinds of chocolate as well as the usual types; two scoops in a waffle dish cost about $1.25.

On Saturdays all the malls have musicians in the food court area that play music; in Aldeota they usually have a group that plays jazz and MPB (Bossa Nova, Samba, etc.) The music of this area is primarily Ashee, Brazilian Calypso and Forro. There are several local concerts every Friday and Saturday nights; thousands of locals go to these concerts and usually over-fill the clubs. Very little of the Brazilian music that we are familiar with in the US is played here; that comes mostly from Rio and the Sao Paulo area and is considered the music of the rich and snobs.

This morning, for a change there are no ships in the harbor waiting to come in. There are two harbors that service Fortaleza; one about three miles from here and the other about 25 miles west; I'm told that the one to the west is not the main port for the city. Usually there are several cargo ships that come in and out of the one close to me each day. The harbor has seven sailing boats that I can see; when I walk to the pier there are hundreds of boats moored there.

I'm going to send three pictures of my apartment this time; it will give you somewhat of an idea of what a normal apartment looks like. Of course there are larger as well as a lot of smaller ones here. This is normal for this area and is about 650 square feet with two bedrooms, two baths, a living area, a kitchen and a dining area. I have tried all sorts of methods to either make my pictures smaller or include them in the BLOG, but nothing seems to work for me, so I apologize in advance. If you are on dial-up you might just ignore the pictures.

Anyway, this is this weeks report. The jury is still out as to my long-terms plans; I haven't really been here long enough to make any real decision but I'll keep you informed. Drop me a line or add a remark to my BLOG.

Until next time...

John

Two and a half weeks in Fortaleza

Hi everybody...

Well, I've been here two and a half weeks and am settling in; it's been fun but really a new learning experience. I find that for the most part I'm able to function normally even though there are some things that are different.

I think that anyone who loves long hot showers or hot baths would have a problem here; the water comes out at room temperature which is around 70 degrees. You can buy a heater which will warm it up by ten degrees but it isn't like the US; there are no hot water heaters to store hot water except in the expensive hotels. (My son would never survive.)

Brazilians do things to the minimum; nothing is bigger than it needs to be and that includes bedsheets. They are so small that when sitting on the bed let alone lying on it causes the bottom sheet to come up. I got tangled in mine several times until I decided to take two sheets and put them both on the bottom; one at the head of the bed and one at the foot; now it works OK. I'm having some real sheets sent from the US.

Prices can be very high, especially for electronic goods; because of the high tariffs and shipping costs those items are unbelievable and there aren't any "deals" like in the US.

Drivers here are CRAZY...and I'm not kidding. If you walk, you take your life into your hands; crosswalks mean nothing. The most dangerous thing is cars making right turns; they don't care whether or not you're there; they will make the turn anyway and see how close to you they can come then prove that their horn works! I think it's against the law to let another car be in front of you for more than ten seconds; you HAVE to pass him which means that the speed limit really isn't effective.

Bureaucratic nonsense is at the maximum; you have to buy something from one person, then go to another for a slip, a third to pay, then take the slip back to the second person, then go to the first person who gives it to a fourth person to package for you; I'm not sure whether it's to give jobs or cut down on theft but it sure is aggravating.

Those are some of the "down sides"; on the other hand there are lots of up-sides. The weather, while humid and hot right now (it's the rainy season) is really not bad at all. It's quite tropical with rains in the morning and sun in the afternoon. A breeze generally pops up in the afternoon and while humid is quite bearable, especially if you stay out of the sun.

The food is cheap and excellent. Brazilians' main meal is the mid-meal which is plentiful. The evening meal is light and just enough to let your stomach know it's stil there; this has taken some adjustment to me because of the way I'm used to eating. However, I'm finding that I'm not eating as much. I've lost about five pounds and hope to loose even more by the time I get back to the States.

The women here are really outstanding; while they come in all shapes and sizes, colors, heights, weights, etc., for the most part they are extremely attractive. Most are typically Latin and have dark eyes, dark hair, high cheekbones, dark skin, very nice shapes and white teeth. I can't say that every one that I've seen would make a Playboy model, but most are very nice looking and FIT. There are very few that are heavy and I have only seen ONE who was obese!! There are 150,000 more women than men in Fortaleza and they are everywhere. Most of the time they wear a halter-top and either shorts, pants or a short skirt that shows off their nice tan legs. It seems that when they smile they light up; they really look beautiful. All the women that I have met are very friendly and will talk if they speak English at all. I can truly say that being here is a pleasure for me!!

I'm getting used to my apartment and finding that it really is comfortable; by American standards it's small but it's very functional and meets all of my needs. It's interesting how much we think we need but when faced with it, we really can do well with less; my TV is a 12" and works quite well; I bought some computer speakers that I have set up to a little travel CD player and have music playing all the time; I have a little table/desk that my computer is on as well as printer and other things and it's really good. I'm in about a third of the space that I was in when I was in Phoenix yet am just as comfortable. I don't have a car but I sure am doing a lot of walking and it works. It's really made me take a second look at my life and my priorities.

Most things other than electronics are inexpensive; Andy and I split a pizza the other day for $5.50 that would have cost $15.00 in the States; my maid costs $6.12 for a half of a day or $12.28 for a whole day and she starts at 7:30 and leaves at 4:30, mopping the floors, washing and ironing all my cloths, cleaning all the cabinets, fixing me a noon and an evening meal, changing the bed, cleaning both bathrooms, cleaning all the mirrors and windows. She's very pleasant and attractive.

There are three malls within walking distance from me and they are really upscale; the prices are quite comparable to the US and the prices would fit US prices. I can't see myself shopping there; there are lots of places in Fortaleza that normal people shop that aren't anywhere as high.

If I had this to do again I'd do it the same way; while I have encountered some frustrations there hasn't been nothing that I haven't been able to deal with. Every morning at 6:30 I get up and start the coffee and look out of my patio door onto the Atlantic Ocean and I have to say that the view is as good as my view was in Coyote Lakes. I watch the ships come in and out of port during the day and see them as they settle waiting for a place to dock; at night they're lit up like a Christmas tree and it's really wonderful. (I just looked out the door and there are THREE ships waiting, all lit up and really need to see.) I can look out and watch the storm clouds over the ocean and watch them make landfall; one minute it's clear, the next it's raining buckets, then five minutes later it's clear again.

I haven't been out to take any pictures so I'll put in a few more from my apartment; I hope you like them. Write me and let me know what you think and if you have any questions.

Until next time...John

I finally got my email up Friday night around 8:30 and spent Friday night and Saturday morning going through and answering the 95 emails that I have received since I've been here. Now I can communicate through something other than smoke signals.

Well, I'm here; it's different living here than visiting, that's for sure. The biggest hurdle is the language; while Spanish is similar in the written form, in the oral form it's totally different. I had hoped to be able to at least communicate a little but the words are spoken completely different and I'm not understood most of the time and can't understand a word that is being spoken.

Everything is done "whenever"; whenever I want to, whenever I can get around to it, whenever there isn't something else to do, whenever somebody more powerful doesn't want it first, etc. Because of that I have been spending a lot of time at the apartment waiting for "whenever"; whenever I can get the lease signed for the apartment, whenever I can get the telephone in, whenever I can get connected to the Internet, whenever I can get cable TV, whenever I can get the shower fixed, whenever I can get the bottled water, whenever I can get the maid here to do my laundry, clean, iron my cloths and cook two meals ($7.00 a whole day!!!)...you get the picture. You had better stop thinking like an American and expect things to operate on "Brazil time"; another word for "whenever".

It's the end of the rainy season so there's been a lot of rain, mostly at night. Thursday and Friday it rained later than usual; usually it ends by 7:00 or so. It can rain very hard but there doesn't seem to be much wind associated with it; it almost comes straight down. Not only that, but it isn't a cold rain; it's almost shower temperature. The weather is great this afternoon; the wind shifted and has dried out the air some.

I've been eating good though differently; mostly I have been eating very light compared to what I eat in the US. The main meal here is the mid-day meal; that's one of the reasons why Brazilians remain so slim. The dinner might consist of a couple of pieces of cheese, a little meat and perhaps some grapes and that is about all. I think I've lost three or four pounds so far; I'm noticing that my cloths are fitting looser than before. The pizza here is so good it's unbelievable. Almost everything I have eaten has been wonderful except that most of it has chicken and I'm not a big chicken fan; I prefer beef or fish.

My apartment is nice; I knew what it would be like because I stayed one floor below when I was here in October and they are all exactly the same. It's around 650 sq. ft. with two small bedrooms, two really small bathrooms, a kitchenette, a dining and living area and the bedroom air conditioned (a real plus). Because I don't need a dining room table, I'm going to rent a keyboard and set it up there. The living room is really small, but it has a little TV and such. I've hooked up my portable CD player to some nice speakers I sent down as well as power and have music. (I brought down 130 CDs from Phoenix.) All in all, it's pretty comfortable and I'm surviving quite well.

Fortaleza is big; old but big!!! They're building apartments like crazy and, by American standards they are inexpensive though not as much as a few years ago. (Real estate inflation has hit EVERYWHERE!!!!) I had hoped to look at a penthouse condo here but it had sold by the time I got here. That's kind of good because I wasn't sure I wanted to let loose of the money and buy anything until after I made a decision as to my future. Most of the city consists of older buildings and is definitely "third world". You see an awfully lot of poverty here and even the people that are middle class are not as well off as you see in the US. The only thing that I can say is that after living here, I never want to hear about how poor people have it in the US; they don't even know what it is like!

Because people eat

I finally got my email up Friday night around 8:30 and spent Friday night and Saturday morning going through and answering the 95 emails that I have received since I've been here. Now I can communicate through something other than smoke signals.

Well, I'm here; it's different living here than visiting, that's for sure. The biggest hurdle is the language; while Spanish is similar in the written form, in the oral form it's totally different. I had hoped to be able to at least communicate a little but the words are spoken completely different and I'm not understood most of the time and can't understand a word that is being spoken.

Everything is done "whenever"; whenever I want to, whenever I can get around to it, whenever there isn't something else to do, whenever somebody more powerful doesn't want it first, etc. Because of that I have been spending a lot of time at the apartment waiting for "whenever"; whenever I can get the lease signed for the apartment, whenever I can get the telephone in, whenever I can get connected to the Internet, whenever I can get cable TV, whenever I can get the shower fixed, whenever I can get the bottled water, whenever I can get the maid here to do my laundry, clean, iron my cloths and cook two meals ($7.00 a whole day!!!)...you get the picture. You had better stop thinking like an American and expect things to operate on "Brazil time"; another word for "whenever".

It's the end of the rainy season so there's been a lot of rain, mostly at night. Thursday and Friday it rained later than usual; usually it ends by 7:00 or so. It can rain very hard but there doesn't seem to be much wind associated with it; it almost comes straight down. Not only that, but it isn't a cold rain; it's almost shower temperature. The weather is great this afternoon; the wind shifted and has dried out the air some.

I've been eating good though differently; mostly I have been eating very light compared to what I eat in the US. The main meal here is the mid-day meal; that's one of the reasons why Brazilians remain so slim. The dinner might consist of a couple of pieces of cheese, a little meat and perhaps some grapes and that is about all. I think I've lost three or four pounds so far; I'm noticing that my cloths are fitting looser than before. The pizza here is so good it's unbelievable. Almost everything I have eaten has been wonderful except that most of it has chicken and I'm not a big chicken fan; I prefer beef or fish.

My apartment is nice; I knew what it would be like because I stayed one floor below when I was here in October and they are all exactly the same. It's around 650 sq. ft. with two small bedrooms, two really small bathrooms, a kitchenette, a dining and living area and the bedroom air conditioned (a real plus). Because I don't need a dining room table, I'm going to rent a keyboard and set it up there. The living room is really small, but it has a little TV and such. I've hooked up my portable CD player to some nice speakers I sent down as well as power and have music. (I brought down 130 CDs from Phoenix.) All in all, it's pretty comfortable and I'm surviving quite well.

Fortaleza is big; old but big!!! They're building apartments like crazy and, by American standards they are inexpensive though not as much as a few years ago. (Real estate inflation has hit EVERYWHERE!!!!) I had hoped to look at a penthouse condo here but it had sold by the time I got here. That's kind of good because I wasn't sure I wanted to let loose of the money and buy anything until after I made a decision as to my future. Most of the city consists of older buildings and is definitely "third world". You see an awfully lot of poverty here and even the people that are middle class are not as well off as you see in the US. The only thing that I can say is that after living here, I never want to hear about how poor people have it in the US; they don't even know what it is like!

Because people

I finally got my email up Friday night around 8:30 and spent Friday night and Saturday morning going through and answering the 95 emails that I have received since I've been here. Now I can communicate through something other than smoke signals.

Well, I'm here; it's different living here than visiting, that's for sure. The biggest hurdle is the language; while Spanish is similar in the written form, in the oral form it's totally different. I had hoped to be able to at least communicate a little but the words are spoken completely different and I'm not understood most of the time and can't understand a word that is being spoken.

Everything is done "whenever"; whenever I want to, whenever I can get around to it, whenever there isn't something else to do, whenever somebody more powerful doesn't want it first, etc. Because of that I have been spending a lot of time at the apartment waiting for "whenever"; whenever I can get the lease signed for the apartment, whenever I can get the telephone in, whenever I can get connected to the Internet, whenever I can get cable TV, whenever I can get the shower fixed, whenever I can get the bottled water, whenever I can get the maid here to do my laundry, clean, iron my cloths and cook two meals ($7.00 a whole day!!!)...you get the picture. You had better stop thinking like an American and expect things to operate on "Brazil time"; another word for "whenever".

It's the end of the rainy season so there's been a lot of rain, mostly at night. Thursday and Friday it rained later than usual; usually it ends by 7:00 or so. It can rain very hard but there doesn't seem to be much wind associated with it; it almost comes straight down. Not only that, but it isn't a cold rain; it's almost shower temperature. The weather is great this afternoon; the wind shifted and has dried out the air some.

I've been eating good though differently; mostly I have been eating very light compared to what I eat in the US. The main meal here is the mid-day meal; that's one of the reasons why Brazilians remain so slim. The dinner might consist of a couple of pieces of cheese, a little meat and perhaps some grapes and that is about all. I think I've lost three or four pounds so far; I'm noticing that my cloths are fitting looser than before. The pizza here is so good it's unbelievable. Almost everything I have eaten has been wonderful except that most of it has chicken and I'm not a big chicken fan; I prefer beef or fish.

My apartment is nice; I knew what it would be like because I stayed one floor below when I was here in October and they are all exactly the same. It's around 650 sq. ft. with two small bedrooms, two really small bathrooms, a kitchenette, a dining and living area and the bedroom air conditioned (a real plus). Because I don't need a dining room table, I'm going to rent a keyboard and set it up there. The living room is really small, but it has a little TV and such. I've hooked up my portable CD player to some nice speakers I sent down as well as power and have music. (I brought down 130 CDs from Phoenix.) All in all, it's pretty comfortable and I'm surviving quite well.

Fortaleza is big; old but big!!! They're building apartments like crazy and, by American standards they are inexpensive though not as much as a few years ago. (Real estate inflation has hit EVERYWHERE!!!!) I had hoped to look at a penthouse condo here but it had sold by the time I got here. That's kind of good because I wasn't sure I wanted to let loose of the money and buy anything until after I made a decision as to my future. Most of the city consists of older buildings and is definitely "third world". You see an awfully lot of poverty here and even the people that are middle class are not as well off as you see in the US. The only thing that I can say is that after living here, I never want to hear about how poor people have it in the US; they don't even know what it is like!

Because

First night in Fortaleza

Hello, everybody....


Well, I finally made it!!!! Boy, it's a really log trip; about 20 hours of flying before I finally arrived. Andy was at the airport to pick me up...I sure was glad to see him!!! I'm getting settled into my apartment this morning; I've unpacked everything and now have to go shopping for food and some items that I need.

It rained this morning for a short while; unlike Phoenix and places in the US, the rain seems to come down at a light to moderate pace and comes STRAIGHT DOWN. My windows were open and I didn't even know it was raining until I looked outside.

Because this is the rainy season and because it rained it's humid today! I can see an average of two changes a day during right now; I'm sweating a lot more than I usually do. (Perhaps I'll lose some weight...lol.

I've gotten settled in my apartment; I'll post my address later when I get a phone. I unpacked this morning and have everything put away already. (My Virgo personality...) I still have to get some things so that I can set up my CD player and get music as well as get my computer up and running. (Right now I'm on Andy's.)

Anyway, I'll tell you more at the end of the week; hopefully by then I'll have everything up and running and ready to go. See you in about six months...

John

SORRY

Hello, everyone...

I'm sorry, I thought that this would work so that you could view my photos, but I guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board. I'll work on it down in Brazil.

John