o que somos até

So next week we will hit the one month mark of our arrival in Brazil! We are still in our current apartment until June 1^st, so we are currently looking for our next home. It would be really lovely if our complex would open the pool before then. Hopefully the next place that we stay can be a bit more “permanent”.  We are still slowly learning how to function as acting-Brazilians, for the time being.

We don’t really do a whole lot during the week as there’s not a lot to see here. Brasilia isn’t super tourist-y like, say, Washington D.C. Brasilia is the capital of Brazil. So, naturally, all of the official government buildings are here. Some of them are pretty neat and (I’m assuming) were designed by the same architect that designed most of the city when it was constructed in the 1950’s.

Some of the main, recognizable buildings/monuments are the National Congress, Juscelino Kubitschek (JK) bridge, Planalto Palace, Palácio da Justiça, and the Cathedral of Brasilia. We’ve driven around and seen the exteriors of all of these, and I’m not sure if you’re even allowed to go inside. The ministry buildings look like dorms. In fact, I think that’s what I thought they were at first.

National Congress

JK Bridge

Planalto Palace

Palácio da Justiça

I really want to go inside. The Cathedral of Brasilia.

Because this is the interior. It's all stained glass.

Another interesting thing we’ve noticed is that on Sunday from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm they shut down a major section of road in the middle of the city and it is open for bikers, walkers, etc. We like to see our movies on Sundays since the mall is noticeably less crowded (it’s a Catholic nation, so). I think I’ve mentioned it before but we have a mall right next to our complex. It’s an easy way to grab a quick bite to eat.

We have a favorite place there, mostly because it’s very easy to order since you just weigh your plate. They have a variety of traditional Brazilian foods (which I like) and a selection of Italian-inspired dishes (which Brett likes). I have to mention that okra is a very common vegetable down here. I love it, I just never expected to see it outside of the Southern US cuisine. There is also a little café on the bottom floor of the mall that is situated in the middle of the walkway, European style. We’ve also been to the Outback Steakhouse one time, but it was just an okay experience.

I’ve found that people here are way less forgiving if you can’t understand Portuguese. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying your best to speak as much as you know (we always do). It’s apparently really funny if you can’t speak the language. It made me think back to all of the encounters I’d had with people in the US who didn’t speak English. I think I can honestly say that I treated them with way more understanding than we are getting down here. It’s rare, but it happens. We are getting there!

On Saturday we went out to look at some apartments that we are interested in renting. I loved the first one, it has a small man-made pond in front that the dogs could swim in. It also has an open, airy feel to it and it’s situated on a wooded lot. The owner says that monkeys will sometimes come down and eat mangoes out of the trees, so that’s neat! The second one was okay- it had a pool, but no grassy area or yard for the dogs. It was very Californian in that it was entirely paved beyond the driveway gate. It had a lot of room though, and we would have it all to ourselves. We have a bit more looking to do, but Brett knows I really want the first one. How could you resist this?

Also, last weekend I entered the 8.5 km section of the Maratona de Brasilia (Brasilia Marathon). I don’t think many people knew but I was training for a half-marathon that happened to occur the Saturday that we were driving to Atlanta. That was unfortunate, but when we found out that the trip was a go I pretty much stopped training for it. The race on Sunday was fun; I wasn’t trying to improve any times or anything because I was kind of injured for most of the week leading up to the race.

The race itself started right in front of the Palácio da Justiça and passed by most of the major political buildings. It started early (I assume because of the heat) and the course was downhill for probably the first half.. I knew that was a bad sign. But- I finished and had a good experience. And I got a lot of stuff just for entering, so that was a plus. The finisher’s medal was also a bonus that I didn’t expect.

Feeling really gross.

So that’s what we are up to! Nothing super exciting really. Missing everyone back home of course (but not the KC weather). Here's a bonus video of Penny & Dessy playing: