The other night we went out to a nightclub and saw a local band with Patricia’s sister Priscila and her husband Dede. Can tell by the picture that I had the best view of the stage? The large Brasilian woman leading the band started off by doing a surprisingly uncanny imitation of Michael Jackson singing Billie Jean. I was impressed…at first antway. Later, intermixed with the capably done Brasilian top 40, they attempted to do a few other American songs, most notably was the worst rendition that I have ever heard of Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes. It was painful. Of course a good part of that pain was due to our position directly in front of the speakers at the front of the stage. At times it was so loud I almost felt as if someone was scrambling my brains.
An interesting bit about clubs here is that they record your ID and give you a card on your way in. They mark the card as you buy drinks and then you pay on your way out. Some all you can eat restaurants do the same. Whatever you do, don’t lose the card or you are in for a hassle. Particularly if your Portuguese is as bad as mine.
Travel update:
I am staying in Brasil until 12 December and heading back to Portland to pick up my son Eric and then we are off to Rome, Italy and then Venice for Christmas. After that I take Eric back home and go back to Madrid to continue my exploration of Spain, Morocco, France, and Italy, until I head back to Washington DC in March for the Foreign Service Assessment. Eric will be flying out to spend spring break with me in DC and then I will be off to Brasil again for a month to see Patricia again. From there I head back to Rome to finish going around the Mediterranean.
I had not planned to fly much on this trip, but life happens. To put this deviation in perspective, here is a summary of my air travel from the beginning of the trip through my return to Rome in May:
Portland-JFK-Baltimore-JFK-Dublin-London-Faro-Porto-Madeira-Porto-Madrid-Miami-Sao Paulo-Brasilia—Sao Paulo-Dallas-Portland-Newark-Rome-Newark-Portland-Chicago-Madrid-Rome-Munich-JFK-Sao Paulo-Brasilia-Sao Paulo-JFK-Vienna-Rome.
That is a total of 27 planes, 61,500 miles and over 6 days of actual flight time. Whew! And yes I did sign up for frequent flier miles.
I have also been on 5 different metro systems, 7 long distance buses, and 5 trains.
If I calculated how much time I have spent waiting in line to buy tickets, waiting on metro platforms, and waiting for buses and trains to arrive/leave, I think I would be scared. Patience is definitely a virtue for travel.