The gringo is no longer in Belo Horizonte, nor in Brazil, but I'm still here.  I won't go into detail about my absence, except to say that I had a falling out with a friend in Belo.  She feels I treated her poorly, and I don't agree.  I feel she did several things wrong to me and treated me badly.  I don't think she would agree.  I think the reason she feels I mistreated her was a bad understanding.  Maybe the same is true of the things I feel she did.

Either way, it doesn't matter.  She was there for me when I really needed it, and I know I was there to listen to her and help when she really wanted it.  The friendship didn't survive.  I hope some day, the friendship will be rekindled, but I don't know how that will happen.  But, at the very least - I have regrets and miss this friend, but I'm no longer angry.  She is a good person, and I hope she is well.  Particularly with the protests happening in Brazil, I pray that she, along with all the people I am still friends with, is safe.

What has happened since I came back to Canada?  I went back to a job that I really hated.  The reasons that I hated the job were still there - lies, manipulation, micromanagement, and general all around bad business practices.  I was there for over a year, saving up money to go back to Brazil.  And then I, along many other people, was laid off.

Since then, I have been trying to build a business as a freelance translator.  It's very slow, and my monthly income isn't great because I don't have very many clients.  My hourly income has vastly improved though.  Even charging half what the market rate is supposed to be, I have made as much as double my hourly rate at my old job.  It has made me realize just how badly underpaid I was for some of my services.

I still plan to go back to Brazil.  The family of a friend has invited me to stay with them in Goiania.  I thought about renaming my blog - but Belo Horizonte is where it all began!  I'm not ready to go back to Belo quite yet, but I miss it a lot, and it has a special place in my heart.  I still have friends there, and some time, I will go back there to see them.  I may not be IN Belo Horizonte, but I will ALWAYS be "a gringo in Belo Horizonte".

It might be awhile before I post more, but I won't stay away for as long this time.

Pra meus amigos brasileiros - sinto falta de voces!  Seu pais esta mudando agora - espero que vai melhorar mais, mas ficam seguros!!!!!  Voces sao meu povo adotado!

Abracos!

A Gringo in Belo Horizonte

Two days ago, the title of my blog became a reality.  I finally arrived in Brazil, and despite some difficulties, I made it to Belo Horizonte.  My parents drove me from Raymond at about 7 in the morning - my first flight was supposed to leave at 1:15pm, but it ended up being closer to 2:30.  The next flight, from Toronto to Sao Paulo - it also ended up being late - we arrived about 40 minutes late - and with a 90 minute layover, that just was not enough.  I'm very lucky that I have a very good friend here in Brazil - she helped me calm down, and waited at the Belo Horizonte airport - she ended up waiting at least 6 hours!

Now that I am here, I am starting to like the place, but I feel very much like a lost child.  The city is huge compared to what I am used to, and VERY busy.  My Portuguese definitely needs much work too.  However, I am currently staying with a lady who is a member of the LDS church - and she speaks very little English, but is very friendly, so I will get a lot of practice.  I am also very lucky - she works at a Brazilian barbecue restaurant, so I have gotten to eat some very good food.

My friend has taken me shopping a couple of times, and has been good enough to cook for me, so I definitely am very lucky - I'm very well taken care of right now (so Mom, quit worrying).  Right now, I am letting my body catch up.  The trip here was very demanding - I had a lot of heavy luggage, and had to do a lot more running around the airport than was expected, so my body is demanding I compensate it with lots of rest.  Soon however, I want to take some time, and do some walking around the neighbourhood, so I can get used to it.

The weather here is definitely much different.  It was raining quite a bit when I arrived, but the rain here is not at all like it is back in Alberta.  The rain was very warm and muggy.  Even now that it is sunny, the humidity is far beyond what I'm used to.  A word to any potential visitors - bring lots of short sleeved shirts!  And plan on staying at least a week to make the airport experience worth it!

The food.  I haven't had very much yet, but I had my first fresh mango, and fresh passion fruit!  I also found something every bit as good as Guarana Antartica... Mate Couro!

Anyhow, I'm off to relax!  Ate mais!

Musicas... de novo! Que surpresa!

Sei que eu ja disse que nao vou escrever mais sobre musicas, mas mudei minha mente.  Hoje a noite, gostaria escrever sobre musicas mais velhas do que eu.  Gosto muito de "rock" moderno e um pouco de "heavy metal" mas gosto de musicas quem influenciou as musicas mais modernas... e musicas mais calmas tambem.

A primeira musica e You Better Run por os Young Rascals - e uma musica dos anos 60's:

A segunda musica e por os Monkees.  Nao sei quantas musicas dos anos 60's chegaram no Brasil, mas com certeza, acho que os Monkees devem ter.  Entao, Listen to the Band: (tem uma traducao http://letras.terra.com.br/monkees/388239/traducao.html)

Gosto do guitar nestas musicas.  Acho que estas bandas influneciaram as musicas de rock hoje.

Gosto muito de um cantor, Jim Croce. E horivel que ele morreu bem jovem.  A maioria das musicas deles sao mais calmas.  Ele teve muito talento, e um voz bem lindo.  Aqui, a sua musica - Operator (a traducao: http://letras.terra.com.br/jim-croce/9132/traducao.html)

Gosto algumas musicas de um outro cara com um voz bonito.  O John Denver teve um voz muito bom, mas infelizmente, ele morreu cedo demais tambem.  Aqui esta uma musica com uma traducao.  http://letras.terra.com.br/john-denver/10454/traducao.html

Agora, acho que precisamos de uma musica mais barulhento.  Voces sabem o Iron Butterfly?  Ele era a primeira banda de heavy metal.  Esta musica e In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.  Deve ser "In the Garden of Eden" (no jardim do Eden) mas por causa de alcool, e este nome.  O escritor tentou dizer o nome, mas ele esta bebado, e os outros ouvi "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" e o nome ficou.  http://letras.terra.com.br/iron-butterfly/453490/traducao.html

Quero colocor aqui uma musica mais nova.  Alguem conhece a banda The Cars?  Esta musica e Tonight She Comes.  http://letras.terra.com.br/the-cars/662522/traducao.html

A maioria destas musicas sao mais velhas do que eu, mas cresci escutando estas musicas.  Tambem, eles influenciam as musicas de hoje.  Devo esuctar musicas com mais frequencia, estou mais feliz quando eu faco isso.

Obrigado por ler meu blog de novo.  A proxima vez, prometo que vou escrever sobre alguma coisa diferente!

After a long absence... it's almost time to leave!

It's been too long since I've written in my blog - this one will have to be a quickie, but better an inadequate post than nothing, right?

I'm down to the final crunch right now.  I have 10 work days left, and my plane leaves for Brasil 28 days from now.  Yesterday, I managed to make one last pilgrimage to my favourite Brazilian restaurant.  Well, I'm not sure if it's the last one, I might try for one more.  After all, I have to say a proper goodbye to the Brazilian food in Canada before I say hello to the Brazilian food in Brasil.

Christmas is going to be different than any other I've experienced.  Because I'm leaving before Christmas, my family will be celebrating next week, on November 25th.  Then, on December 24th, (when Brazilians have their big celebration) I get to do it all again.  My friend Natalia has been kind enough to invite me to spend Christmas with her and her family - and as such, provide me with my baptism by fire.  I'll be surrounded by 40 or so Brazilians, most of whom I understand don't speak any English.  I've got a pretty good idea that Natalia isn't going to bail me out and translate for me either - but I think it's better that way - I need to start speaking the language some time, right?  I've also been told that I'll eat until I'm sick - well, if I have to be sick, at least I get to enjoy making it happen!

New Years is going to be something else too!  I'm going to spend nearly a week in Rio de Janeiro with my friend for New Years.  Any of you who know the song The Girl from Ipanema, Ipanema beach is in Rio.

If I had to pick a foreign location for New Years Eve, I think Rio would have to be it.  The Brazilians have many charming qualities about them - and knowing how to celebrate is definitely one of the ones that they are famous for.  Here's a clip from Reveillon no Rio (New Years in Rio):

Now, I need to hurry up and prepare.  Sensible shoes.  Presents for a handful of people in Brasil.  Clothing that I won't bake in.  Packing.  That's enough on its own, but I also need to quickly spend some time with the people I'm leaving behind.  A month - or two weeks after I'm done work - is not enough time to say goodbye to people.  Hopefully some of the important people will find their way to this blog, and know that I've got them in mind.

Even with all the celebrating aside, I am quite eager to go.  I think this will be a great opportunity for me learn and grow as a person.  I've lived in a foreign country before, but the LDS church took care of all the details for me - failure to make the transition and survive in France was never a real danger.  I've got friends to help me out as I transition to Brasil, but this will also be an opportunity for me to stand on foreign soil, and be responsible for my own success.  I will also get to spend time with a people that I am already starting to admire.  Brasil has plenty of its own problems, as any third world country does.  But for all the things that we have, that they don't, Brazilians seem to know how to be happy and generous people.  While I have definitely known some generous Canadians and Americans, the great wealth we have does not seem to lend itself well to generosity, and the people who can most afford generosity often seem to have the least of it.

I am also looking forward to the opportunity that Brasil presents me to stand on my own in my religion.  In Southern Alberta, it's always easy to be surrounded by other LDS members.  In France, I was never far from other missionaries.  Brasil has plenty of members of my faith for those who choose to look, but being surrounded by members won't be something automatic.  I am also really looking forward to learning more about God and religion from people of other faiths.  I have already made friends with Brazilians who are not LDS, and it is refreshing to see how strong and firm they are in their beliefs.  In particular, I'd like to mention my friend Talita, and my friend Jessica - I'm very impressed by how important your religious beliefs are to you!  I am sure that I will also be presented with many challenges to my faith, but I hope and pray that I will be equal to every challenge.

Well, as I have 2 weeks of work left before I leave, I suppose I should go to bed, and get some semblance of sleep.  But on a less serious note - my friends, you have 1 month left to take me to dinner, and properly say your goodbyes!  However, I hope people will continue to stay in touch, and I will make sure to share my news and experiences here for everyone to see!

Ficam com Deus meus amigos.  Se cuidam e dormem bem!

Tchau tchau!

A Musica da Australia

Ola meus amigos!  Ja escrevei sobre a musica do Canada e a musica do Brasil.  Sou meio australiano, entao hoje, vou escrever sobre a musica da Australia.

A primeira banda e o Midnight Oil.  O Midnight Oil e uma banda bem contraversa e politica.  A banda toca musica ativista.  Nao sei suficiente sobre as questoes para formar uma opinao, mas gosto da musica ainda.  Esta cancao e chamado Beds are Burning (Camas estao Ardendo).  E sobre o deslocamento dos aborigenes australianos.

Nao escuto muito ao banda ACDC, mas esta banda e australiana tambem, entao vou colocar um video dela tambem.  "You Shook Me All Night Long":

Uma banda que gosto muito - Men at Work (homens ao trabalho).  Esta musica e Down Under (em ingles, nos chamos a Australia The Land Down Under).  Se voces nao podem entender as letras, nao liga nao - o sotaque australiano e bem diferente!

Nao posso falar sobre a musica da Australia e nao mencionar INXS.  Para meus amigos que nao falam ingles, o nome INXS soa como as palavras "in excess" - em excesso.  A musice a "Need You Tonight" (preciso de voce hoje a noite).

Agora, uma banda loira - A Flock of Seagulls (um bando de gaivotas).  Durante o movimento gotico, eles nao tevem cabelos pretos, eles pintarem o cabelol de loiro.  A musica e "I Ran" (eu corri).

Uma band mais recente e Wolfmother (lobo mae).  Ele soa um pouco como um Led Zepplin moderno.  Esta musica e Woman.

Agora, so uma outra banda.  Meu banda prefira da Australia e Crowded House (casa lotada).  Com frequencia, escuto musica barulhenta, mas gosto de Crowded House porque e mais calma.  Esta musica e "Fall at Your Feet" (caio aos seus pes).

Obrigado por lendo... prometo que meu proximo post nao sera sobre musica!

Abracos!

A Musica do Canada

Meu post anterior era sobre a musica do Brasil, entao hoje, vou compartilhar umas musicas do Canada.  Estou aprendendo muito sobre a cultura brasileira escutando a musica do Brasil.  Entao, outros podem aprender sobre a cultura canadense na mesma maneira se eles querem.

A primeira cancao que quero compartilhar e All Hell for a Basement por Big Sugar.  Esta cancao e sobre meu estado, Alberta.  Ele disse que a Alberta tem "todo o inferno para um porao".  Ele estava falando sobre a industria de petroleo e gasolina, mas poderia significar outras coisas sobre o estado.  Esse estado tem muitos ricos, e muitos empregos.  Mas, com frequencia, povo vem aqui, e descobrir que os empregos que sao disponivel sao bem dificil, e tambem que e bem dificil ser pobre neste estado.  O estado poderia ser um paraiso... ou poderia ser um inferno.

A proxima cancao e por o Gordon Lightfoot.  Ele e um cantor dos anos 60's e 70's.  Ele canta ainda, mas nao e tao bem conhecido agora.  Esta cancao e The Canadian Railroad Trilogy.  E sobre o Canada antes a ferrovia, e sobre os trabalhadores que construiram a ferrovia.  Acho que o Canada tem muitas coisas em comum com o Brasil.  Os dois sao bem jovems, MUITO grandes, e os dois foram contruidos por muitos homens e mulheres duros de trabalho.

A proxima cancao, nao tenho uma historia sobre ela.  Na verdade, normalmente, nao gosto muito desta tipa de cancao - mas gosto disso.  A cantor e K-os.  Ele e canadense, mas nao sei muito sobre ele.  Mas, a cancao esta aqui - "todos os dias sao a noite do sabado, mas nao posso esperar por a manha do domingo":

Agora, vou compartilhar um video da minha banda favorita.  A cancao e Nobody's Hero por Rush.  "Ele e o heroei de ninguem" - e uma cancao que diz que os herois reais sao as pessoas quem faz coisas importantes... os medicos, nao os atores... a policia... nao os jogadores de esportes... como isso.

Agora... uma cancao favorita - Napoleon Sheds His Skin por Red Rider.  Depois, vou compartilhar uma mais famosa.

Esta segunda cancao por Red Rider esta chamado White Hot.  Foi famosa nos 80's.  Rsrsrs... sim, sou um pouco velho.

Talvez ja compartilhei demais, mas quero compartilhar uma mais.  Esta banda e The Tragically Hip.  A banda e velha, mas muito famosa aqui.  A cancao e Ahead by a Century.  E uma cancao linda.  E sobre um homem quem sempre decepcione a mulher na vida dele.  The Tragically Hip era bem importante no mundo da musica canadense.

Entao, compartilhei umas musicas canadenses... espero que voces gostam!

The Music of Brazil

It's been a long time since I wrote in my blog, so I've decided it's time to do so tonight.  This time, it will be in English, so the folks I'm leaving behind in a few months can follow along.  In the future, I hope to write a little more frequently - especially once I'm actually there.

As the title so succinctly says, I'm writing about the music of Brazil - I'll even include youtube videos for those who are curious.  However - I'm not even scratching the surface of Brazilian music.  There's so much of it that I haven't acclimatized my tastes to, or that I haven't even heard yet.  That said, music is a GREAT way to learn a language, and more importantly, start to experience a culture.  Sometimes, because you need to think and pay more attention to a song in a foreign language, you can even find deeper meaning in foreign language songs than you can in music in your native language.

So, the first song - interestingly enough, while the band is Brazilian, the lyrics are in English.  The band is Legiao Urbana, one of the biggest bands to have come from Brazil.  The song is called Mariane.  I think the reason I like this song so much is that it brings to mind some experiences that were quite significant in my life at the time they were happening.  I'm sure others can find their own ways to relate to this song as well.  And here it is:

Now, since I brought attention to one of their several English language songs, in all fairness, I have to show Legiao Urbana in the fullness of their Portuguese language glory.  This one's called Geracao Coca-Cola.  I'm sure a lot of people my age can relate to the "Generation Coca-Cola" - we definitely are quite a unique generation.  Maybe some day, I'll devote a whole post to this song, and what it means - but not today - I definitely wouldn't do it justice!

Capital Inicial is another band I quite enjoy - the lead singer has a certain quality to his voice that brings life to the music.  They are also one of the biggest bands to come from Brazil.  I have found watching their live performances to be quite entertaining.  I've heard stories of women trying to run on stage to grab onto their favourite male singer before - I have even seen a video clip or two.  But never had I seen the like of what this man has had to go through.  At one point, during one of his performances, I saw not one... not two... not even three women simultaneously rush the stage and grab onto him. There were FIVE of them.

Anyhow, I have to admit that this song rings true sometimes.  "Eu quero sempre mais que ontem, eu quero sempre mais que hoje, eu quero sempre mais do que posso ter!" - I always want more than yesterday, I always want more than today, I always want more than I can have!  Here it is:

One thing that has greatly surprised me about Brazilian music is that - I like country music!  No, I still hate North American country music - but Brazilian country music is acceptable.  Even quite enjoyable.  My first example of that - Victor and Leo.  And once again, the song I'm posting has some personal meaning for me.  The gist of it is, the gal abused and despised the one man who valued her most - so now, it's "It's okay, I'm already done and the time has passed - good luck to you!"  Good song, by guys with great voices - Boa Sorte Pra Voce!

Now, I will share one more song.  It's by another country artist.  This one, I shall call The Belo Horizonte Heartbreak.  Her voice is beautiful, and so is she.  And she's not married.  However, any dreams that may come of this fact were horribly shattered when my friend thought it would be funny to tell me that she would have a better chance with Paula Fernandes than I would.  Yes Natalia - you are aboslutely hilarious :P  Paula Fernandes it seems is not interested in the company of men.  But, all the same, she has an incredible voice, and great music.  Here it is, Jeito de Mato:

Now, I need to continue exploring the world of Brazilian music - it is definitely a very enjoyable way to learn the language!