Limeira, SP - Brasil

I am liking this little town very much. Or maybe is has more to do with Samara's family being so absolutely wonderful! But more on all of them another time. Limeira is about 120 km from SP and it is a small compared to SP..... but from the 18th floor of the building.... looks bigger than I imagined. One of the main businesses here is orange cultivation, and a lot of the people I know here have something to do with it. So it was only appropriate that my first churrasco (brazilian BBQ) was in an orange grove. Wonderful food and beautiful scenery.... and I made a new friend. Vanessa, a childhood friend of Samara's and a dentist in Limeira... did I mention I hate dentists..... ohhh well.... I forgive her for her profession!

That was Saturday.... now on to Sunday! I went with Fe and Ri to do a "Clown" visit to the local nursing home. It was one of the most rewarding things I've done in years. I took lots of pictures and as always you can see those on my picassa site http://picasaweb.google.com/darwin33. Also check out Ricardo's work with bringing a little laughter to those who need it most : http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=21053178

That night we all went out to see an Elvis impersonator.... who was fantastic..... another great night! The rest of the week in Limeira was spent mostly with Samara's mom, Lurdinha. She has been great to me and even managed to get me a Brazilian ID, CPF. With that I can open a bank account and not have to carry around as much cash! She really is an amazing woman, very giving and loves to take care of people.... I guess I need that too sometimes.

I'm in Brasil!

The trip was easy, LAN Chile is a good airline with great prices! The flight stopped in Lima, but we were there just long enough for them to clean, refuel and pick up more passengers.  Even better going through customs was quick and they did not look at any of my stuff... which was a little bit of a problem for me since I was loaded with my own usual technology wares and in addition a bunch of stuff Samara ordered.  Our prices are usually 2 times less than what they pay in Brasil for the same product!  I waited for Samara for a while.... thinking, weekday, traffic, but then decided to buy a SIM card and call..... she was at the wrong terminal.... forgot the flight number at home..... no problem... because when she came around the corner.... she had Fernanda and Ricardo with her!!!! What a great feeling to have 3 wonderful friends pick you up at the airport.  I was so happy and so energized... no problem that I hadn't slept..

From the airport we went to Fe and Ri's house to drop off my bags so we could go and get lunch after we got a little crazy.  To stop larica we went to the Mercado Municipal for lunch.  Great sandwiches, cold beer and then a surprisingly good sweet.... ahh first day... excellent.... but the night only got better.

After lunch Samara and I went to her sisters house so I can shower and rest for a bit.... but then Caruline got there and after my shower I caught up with her. It was great to have so many friends around my first day here.  Samara already had a fun night planned for us. We went to Bom Motivo, her favorite bar in the very cool bar district of Vila Madalena.  This bar plays live MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) one of my favorite types of music.  About 15 of her friends showed up and it was great to put faces to so many named I had already heard a lot about.  Our group was big, because in addition to all of her friends we also ha Lisandra (Samara's sister) and 2 of her friends, Fe and Ri, and also Caruline.  What an awesome first night! But by 2 I was falling asleep... I just wanted to go back to the apartment..... the last hour there felt like forever!.

The next day we went to a crazy shopping street called 23 de Março... wow sooo many people and my first fresh coconut in South America in a very very very long time.... they just taste better down here!!!!! After we went to Limeira..... home for the next 6 months.