Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
US Embassy's Fourth of July Picnic
The fourth of July picnic was on the 6th since this is Brazil and for some reason they don't consider our day of independence as a national holiday. Go figure. It was held at the former Ambassador's residence, a big house with a huge park area that is perfect for the 1,500 or so people that came. Only about 200 were Americans.
There was a lot of food, many games for the kids, a high climbing wall, a really good cover band, the Marine Band, a lot of food, and fireworks at the end. While the Marines made the best big juicy hamburgers, there were hotdogs, cotton candy, popcorn, Outback Steakhouse, Burger King, TGI Fridays, and Hooters (with the Hooter's girls). Everything was free of course.
When Ambassador Sobel spoke, I was ashamed. He has been here for two years (appointee not Foreign Service professional) and the small amount of Portuguese he spoke should have reflected that. The little he threw into his address was beyond terrible. It showed that he has put no effort at all into learning even the most basic pronunciation. He sounded like a phrasebook toting tourist that was 10 minutes off the plane. It made me cringe in embarrassment.
He introduced his new second in command, a woman only in-country for a week and she proceeded to continue his lack of sensitivity. She was quoting a Bush speech that would have been appropriate in the USA, but in front of a predominantly Brazilian crowd, the comment that "the US is the greatest country in the world" fell a little flat.
After these two things I was a little worried when, during the fireworks show, the fireworks display that spelled out the words "We love the USA & Brazil" lit up, it only said "We love the USA &". Not a good thing. The "Brazil" part was delayed by about 6 seconds. It was a good show though.
Overall, it was a great picnic, good food, good decorations, it felt generally American. I talked to a few Americans (all embassy family or staff) and one said I spoke very good English. Every time I spoke to an American I could always see a question in their face as to whether or not I was a fellow citizen. You cannot tell a Brazilian by their looks since the country is so diverse, but it is funny how easy it is to spot Americans among the Brazilians by the way we dress.
There was a lot of food, many games for the kids, a high climbing wall, a really good cover band, the Marine Band, a lot of food, and fireworks at the end. While the Marines made the best big juicy hamburgers, there were hotdogs, cotton candy, popcorn, Outback Steakhouse, Burger King, TGI Fridays, and Hooters (with the Hooter's girls). Everything was free of course.
When Ambassador Sobel spoke, I was ashamed. He has been here for two years (appointee not Foreign Service professional) and the small amount of Portuguese he spoke should have reflected that. The little he threw into his address was beyond terrible. It showed that he has put no effort at all into learning even the most basic pronunciation. He sounded like a phrasebook toting tourist that was 10 minutes off the plane. It made me cringe in embarrassment.
He introduced his new second in command, a woman only in-country for a week and she proceeded to continue his lack of sensitivity. She was quoting a Bush speech that would have been appropriate in the USA, but in front of a predominantly Brazilian crowd, the comment that "the US is the greatest country in the world" fell a little flat.
After these two things I was a little worried when, during the fireworks show, the fireworks display that spelled out the words "We love the USA & Brazil" lit up, it only said "We love the USA &". Not a good thing. The "Brazil" part was delayed by about 6 seconds. It was a good show though.
Overall, it was a great picnic, good food, good decorations, it felt generally American. I talked to a few Americans (all embassy family or staff) and one said I spoke very good English. Every time I spoke to an American I could always see a question in their face as to whether or not I was a fellow citizen. You cannot tell a Brazilian by their looks since the country is so diverse, but it is funny how easy it is to spot Americans among the Brazilians by the way we dress.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
4th of July Picnic
Like every red-blooded American, I celebrated the 4th of July with patriotic dignity and a big fat juicy hamburger. Where better to do that than at the British Embassy, where I could stick it in the face of our former overlords with a "ha-ha! Look who the imperialist is now!" I wanted to wear my American flag t-shirt, but Patrícia "talked" me out of it.
Actually I behaved myself quite well, particularly considering that I was not able to drink anything because of the new drunk driving law in Brazil that makes 0.02 the legal limit. And because I need a little to loosen up my dancing parts, I had to watch Patrícia have much more fun than me in the Parrot Perch, the Embassy's outdoor bar/dance floor. I sort of danced, but not really, just that dorky, stuffed-shirt white guy thing. The sauced up Brits and Brazilians were really funny to watch dance.
I did have a really good hamburger with some great homemade barbecue sauce.
We went home at 2 am.
Actually I behaved myself quite well, particularly considering that I was not able to drink anything because of the new drunk driving law in Brazil that makes 0.02 the legal limit. And because I need a little to loosen up my dancing parts, I had to watch Patrícia have much more fun than me in the Parrot Perch, the Embassy's outdoor bar/dance floor. I sort of danced, but not really, just that dorky, stuffed-shirt white guy thing. The sauced up Brits and Brazilians were really funny to watch dance.
I did have a really good hamburger with some great homemade barbecue sauce.
We went home at 2 am.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A New Life - A New Website
I know that I have been unreasonably delinquent in my blogging--shame on me. I'm sorry. I will now attempt to correct the error of my ways, but not all my ways, if you know what I mean.
A quite a lot has happened since I abruptly stopped relaying my adventures (and or misadventures). The last thing I said was that I was leaving Hawaii with Eric.
In a nutshell, I went back to my beautiful woman in Brazil, took a side trip to twisted little Paraguay, then back to Brazil, decided the time had come to let a few years of dust settle on my backpack, ran back to the states to get some stuff and introduced my family and the woman of my life, went back to Brazil again, and started doing the best thing a now poor traveler/business manager/photographer/entrepreneur is qualified for: low paid English teacher. But, I am not complaining. Well, actually I am, but only about the low-paid part.
I will soon give more details about the gap events and I am working on a way to upload all of my posts and pictures from my old site, be patient. This is my first post after a frickin long time so I am starting slow.
A quite a lot has happened since I abruptly stopped relaying my adventures (and or misadventures). The last thing I said was that I was leaving Hawaii with Eric.
In a nutshell, I went back to my beautiful woman in Brazil, took a side trip to twisted little Paraguay, then back to Brazil, decided the time had come to let a few years of dust settle on my backpack, ran back to the states to get some stuff and introduced my family and the woman of my life, went back to Brazil again, and started doing the best thing a now poor traveler/business manager/photographer/entrepreneur is qualified for: low paid English teacher. But, I am not complaining. Well, actually I am, but only about the low-paid part.
I will soon give more details about the gap events and I am working on a way to upload all of my posts and pictures from my old site, be patient. This is my first post after a frickin long time so I am starting slow.
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