Três

Se tiverem a oportunidade, nao deixem de ver o filme The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (le Scaphandre e le Papillon). Deve aparecer nos Unibancos da vida em SP, ja ta em DVD aqui. Eh a historia real de um editor da Elle francesa que teve um AVC aos 43 anos, deixando-o completamente paralizado, com excecao do olho esquerdo, porem consciente. O filme eh feito de uma maneira maravilhosa e a historia eh muito inspiradora. Mas pra mim foi muito impactante assisti-lo pq, mais que uma metafora, aquela eh uma situacao real pra mim. Chorei tanto que tive de parar de assistir o filme e retomar no dia seguinte.
Quero muito ler o livro dele na lingua original mas aqui ta muito caro. Re, Napo, poderiam me ajudar? Vou mandar email pra voces.

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Meu novo lugar do coração aqui em NY eh Astoria, no Queens. Esse bairro ganhou pontos comigo pois foi o unico lugar a fazer o Al considerar morar em NY. Impecilhos de precos a parte, ele tem uma paranoia - seria! - de que nao gostaria de morar em Manhattan pq se qq calamidade acontecer, nao tem pra onde fugir pois eh uma ilha (Alguem anda vendo muitos filmes de acao...). Quando fomos a 1a vez ele ja tinha gostado, pois eh etnicamente diverso sem o ar de "gueto" que nos rodeia por aqui, varios restaurantes gostosos, predinhos baixos e lojas de produtos brasileiros - alem de um Dunkin Donuts facilmente acessivel (pra ele, pq eu sou mais o cafe da Starbucks).
Ai ontem voltamos no supermercado de la e descobrimos um outro restaurante brasileiro por quilo, super modesto mas taaao bom e taaao barato que ele ficou vendido! Assim que puder vou comecar a sondar apes por la...

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Hoje temos um pot-luck, almoco em que cada um leva um pouco de comida. Vou levar pao de queijo Forno de Minas e requeijao pra galera. Amanha eh a minha vez de ter feriado, sera muito bem vindo!! Se bem que vou ter ensaio do ballet das 3 as 6h, mas ta valendo :D

Gafe

Quinta-feira fui assistir a apresentacao do Grupo Corpo no Brooklyn (maravilhosa!!!). Na hora do intervalo, fui para o lobby atras de brasileiros para ouvir a opiniao deles (para o meu novo blog...aguardem!!). Aproximo um casal de meia-idade:
Dea:Com licenca, eu sou jornalista brasileira, ouvi voces conversando em portugues. Gostaria de saber a opiniao de voces sobre a apresentacao. Gostaram do espetaculo?
Mulher: Ahn...eu tb sou jornalista, prefiro nao comentar.

uh...ok....radar jornalistico zero, o meu!! :s ate desisti de ir atras dos conterraneos...hehehe

Isto é que é jornalismo irreverente!

(esta é uma das maiores revistas semanais daqui e este é o - agora ex - governador de NY, que renunciou ao cargo após escândalo com uma prostituta)

Eventful day

As vezes ainda me espanto com o quanto de coisa cabe num dia so.

Atentado
Agora sou oficialmente casada no Brasil!! Fui ao Consulado (pela 2a vez, diga-se de passagem), e consegui registrar tudo. So que nessas, cometi um atentado contra meu proprio nome. Sorte que so foi derramada tinta, nao sangue, entao deu pra consertar. No meu casamento aqui nao mudei meu nome. Ninguem perguntou, eu tb nao falei nada, ja que na epoca ainda achava a ideia um pouco estranha e nao estava muito convencida. O Al achou que mudavam automaticamente, mas isso nao aconteceu. Ele sempre fez questao absoluta de que eu pegasse o nome dele.
So que depois comecei a usar o sobrenome dele como nome "artistico", no meu cartao de visitas, aqui no blog, em cadastros de loja, etc., apesar de nos documentos continuar o antigo. Com isso, apesar no inicio ter serias crises de identidade, acabei me acostumando e ficando mais a vontade com o novo nome, tanto que hoje eu ja acho estranho quando tenho que usar o antigo (engracado essas coisas!). Enfim, no formulario do consulado tinha uma linha pra preencher se vc fosse mudar de nome. O cara me perguntou, "vc nao vai mudar o nome?" Eu disse que sim, mas que ia fazer depois. Ele disse "depois nao, se voce for tem que colocar agora, pra sair na certidao". Ai eu pensei, bom, ja que ja vou fazer mesmo, deixa eu aproveitar. Ai escrevi A. S. B. Assinei as duas vias de uma outra folha e sai aliviada que finalmente tinha conseguido finalizar o processo, que comecara 4 meses antes com o pedido de documentos no Brasil. Sai correndo, pq tinha ficado quase 2 horas la, no meio do horario de trabalho, sem ngm do escritorio saber. Ai chego no metro e me lembro - caramba, nao coloquei meu antigo nome inteiro! E agora? Nao queria tirar nenhum, apenas acrescentar o dele no final, pelo menos no papel. Fiquei naquela indecisao, mas acabei voltando pra tentar arrumar, antes que enviassem tudo e eu ter que ter uma dor de cabeca 1 milhao de vezes maior se quisesse arrumar depois. Voltei, os docs ainda estavam em cima da mesa do cara, cortei na frente da mulher que ele estava atendendo e pedi pra arrumar. Ele fez cara de poucos amigos mas rasgou os papeis anteriores e me deu novos pra preencher. Assim fiquei sendo a A. P. S. B., sem mutilacoes! :D
Ainda nao contei pro Al do nome, so que fiz o registro. Amanha vou dar o comprovante pra ele, pra ele ver que eu troquei. Presente de aniversario. :D
Alias, ele tambem vai trocar o nome dele (quer dizer, ele esta analisando a possibilidade heheh)! Ele vai incorporar o S. como sobrenome no meio, assim nossos nomes sobrenomes vao ficar iguais. Ele vai ser A. S. B. (Jr.!). Mas sabia que pro homem mudar de nome eles pedem bem mais docs do que pra mulher? Sacanagem!

Aniversario
Meu irmao eh muito engracado. Quando ele compra presente pra alguem, nao aguenta esperar o dia do aniversario e acaba dando no dia que comprou, 3 dias antes, o quanto for! hahaha
Eu to me sentindo que nem ele. Nao vejo a hora de dormimos e acordamos de novo pra eu poder dar os presentes pro Al pra ver a reacao dele!! Ja tinha comprado uma colecao de revistas em quadrinhos que eu sei que ele tinha comentado comigo que viu na loja, ta aqui na gaveta aguardando. Tambem resolvi aproveitar um vale-presente de uma loja de departamento, a Lord and Taylor (estilo Macy's), pra comprar umas blusas/agasalhos que ele ta precisando. Ai me empolguei e resolvi comprar uma calca tb pra combinar, mas quem falou que eu conseguia visualizar qual deveria ser o tamanho? Gente, que negacao!! Nao fazia ideia de qual tamanho seria. Sai perguntando todos os homens do andar que tamanho eles vestiam, pra tentar comparar. Comprei uma 38, sai da loja, andei varios quarteiroes debaixo de uma chuva torrencial, depois mudei de ideia e resolvi voltar pra trocar por uma 40 (queria que ficasse certo de 1a pra ele poder usar no jantar surpresa amanha). Mas quando cheguei em casa ja vi que cai do cavalo, uma das calcas eh 36 e a outra eh 34. Acho que estou superestimando a barriguinha (?) dele, coitado! hehehe. Alem disso, nenhuma das blusas que eu pegava na prateleira pareciam bonitas, so quando eu via vestida num manequim ou num poster. Nunca achei que fosse tao dificil comprar roupa pra homem!!
Tambem comprei suco do Brasil, embora nao o Ades, a paixao da vida dele, e fiz um vale-pao de queijo (na impressora do servico) pra ele pq comprei polvilho brasileiro pra fazer a outra paixao gastronomica dele pela 1a vez. E estou ansiosa pra contar sobre o nome!
Amanha pedi pra trabalhar de casa pra poder ficar com ele, mas a razao disso eh que ele ia ter um almoco fora e nao ia ter ninguem pra receber a cesta "de cafe da manha" que minha familia mandou. Ate que tentei faze-lo cancelar sem motivo nenhum, mas nao rolou, claro, e tive que fazer esse sacrificio so pra ele receber esse presente no dia certo tb. E a noite tem o jantar surpresa, que eu temo que ja nao seja tao supresa assim, mas...
Nada mal para os trintinha, neh? :D (acho que tb to compensando, ja que no ano passado nao fiz nem dei absolutamente nada pra ele! hehe)

Ainda turista
Eu queria porque queria comprar uma camiseta I (love) NY pra nossa afilhada e pro meu priminho irmao dela. Hoje fui numa loja de souvenires e olha o que achei:

hahaha me empolguei pouco neh! Fiquei louca com todas as coisinhas I love NY, turistona total!! Tive que sair correndo pra nao gastar com coisas inuteis! hehehe
Ai imagina eu, debaixo de um tremendo aguaceiro, carregando: uma sacola gigante da Lord and Taylor, uma sacola com tres litros de sucos Mais (ou seja, tres quilos), sacolinha I love NY, bolsa grande do trabalho, livro tijolo de 600 paginas que levei pra passar o tempo no consulado (santa ignorancia!) e guarda chuva. Tava morrendo quando cheguei em casa.

So aqui
Hoje no path conheci um cara cuja familia eh lider tribal em Serra Leoa, e que desfruta a boa vida NYquina ha 20 anos e esta a procura de investidores pra ele poder explorar os diamantes na area que eles dominam por la mais eficientemente. Nao vou entrar nos detalhes da historia, mas olha so o que a gente encontra por aqui no metro!! O 1% do 1%....!!

Chega!

Fffffotos e fffffffrio

Eu apenas editei o post la de baixo, entao acho que teve gente que perdeu. Tem mais fotos da festa de Halloween aqui e as de DC estao aqui tambem. :D

Aqui em NY ja ta frio de sair fumacinha da boca!! (Bom, mas comparada ao Napo, nao posso reclamar! rs)

Kykuit

Yessssssss! Desta vez acertei na mosca!
O passeio pra Kykuit (le-se kái-kãt), a propriedade dos Rockefeller, foi MA-RA-VI-L-HO-SO!!!!
(hahaha to brincando gente, eu ainda sei separar minhas silabas).
Vou fazer o album e em breve circulo o link! Aguardem!!

Good news

Long time no post! sorry...but it was for a good reason! I finally finished one of the assignments for the newspaper, and on the meantime I had also been sending resumes to the stuff I really wanted to do. Turns out I got it! The first interview was last Friday, and I already started doing things as an administrative intern for an up and coming dance company.no, it doesn't even pay the bills, but I'm really excited! I still have another interview tomorrow for another place, let's see how it goes...(maybe I can even do both together).

Today was a looong day! I spent the morning in a much nicer side of Brooklyn, near Smith Street (lots of restaurants and boutiques), where the dance company's office is. Then I met Al at Columbus Circle (pic, from inside the mall) and we had lunch at Whole Foods, the trendiest New Yorkers' market hehehehe. It's really cool, it's an improved Pao de Acucar, where you can shop for products and also eat in a self-service setting. They had japanese, morrocan, indian, salads, some very good stuff. The eating area sits 1156 people and has a very modern design, with color-changing walls and all. Then we spent some time at the the Time Warner building mall, where I bought Thomas Pynchon's V., an author I discovered through Tonya's blog, and also hang out at the impressive Samsung store, where every product is simply for sampling, they don't sell anything (some are not even released in the US market). You can try everything from phones to laptops to huge plasma TVs sitting in comfortable couches, without being bothered with the pressure to buy anything. Gets you thinking how much money do they have so they can put up something like that.
From there to higlight of the day: ice skating in Central Park! We had soooo much fun! I was really scared to get in that rink, since it was my first time ever, but everything went fine and I only fell once! hahaha we got there when it was still daylight and only left after it was dark (photos on Flickr). It's expensive (12 for each adult, plus 5 for the skate rental and 3.75 for locker rental), but it's really worthy it! (pic: kids sliding on ice behind sax player @ Central Park). It was hard at first, but slowly I was able to slide by myself, and it feels so good. With the music on the background, feels like you're in a movie. In the end my body couldn't go anymore but I just kept going for "one last lap" (my ankle was destroyed but it's ok hehehe)
It was Sunday night, but we could still do some more window shopping at the city that never sleeps, so we headed to the famous 5th Ave. and the drool-worthy Mac Store, and some other fancy stores around. To wrap up the day, US' probably best hamburgers, Jersey City's Fatburger (nothing to do with your usual McDonalds, uh-uh), and that was it!

PS: People always tell you how nice it is to see snow for the first time but they fail to tell you how disgusting is to have to navigate trhough that dirty mess for several days after the actual storm. Ew! Ok, I've had my share of that, can we please go back to clean and walkable streets?

Random stuff

- As the days progress, things become better and better when it comes to the fine tuning between me and Al. It helps a lot that the apartment is finally free of unnecessary clutter and everything we got is on its place, tho it's still a work in progress. hehehe As you know what to expect (and what not to) from each other, the day-to-day life gets easier, and (much) nicer.

- Just to make you girls jealous, Al cooks divinely, and he's cooking dinner and doing the dishes every night! (not to mention the desserts he makes, like this heavenly nutty brownie from yesterday!) hey, pick your jaws off the floor, it's cold! (In exchange, I make the bed everyday and get to clean the bathroom - but he cleans the bathtub. That is, after I "hint" about it for several days in a row) .

- they're changing the name of my ballet class to "advanced begginer", it seems they just realized what it really is! hehehe Anyway, I went to my 2nd one today and it was awesome!
And also I'm getting to know lots of interesting people, if only for a brief moment.

- people here actually stand on the right on escalators and wait untill people get off the train to start getting in. As a heavy user of public transportation, I can only say that's a dream.

- I had an allergy all over my face that was making me look like a monster, and I was using so many new stuff that it was diffcult to figure out the cause, but I think I finally did, it was probably the make-up remover cloths....(I was used to liquid ones)

- I went to Newark today. I didn't like the city itself a bit.
But

- I finally got my nails done and also some waxing! Yay for Brazilian salons (one in every corner)! One thing, tho....while the nails and the underarm pricing can be equivalent (10 dollars each, or 8 dollars the underarm at a Boticario store) - meaning they will not always be, u can find it for waaaay more if you want - don't expect the same for your "bikini area". Cheapest I found, even on the brazilian salons, was 30 bucks!! :(

- Last and least, I got a freelance gig on a Brazilian newspaper (#1 reason I went to Newark). Unlike Al, I can't say I'm excited about it, cause I'm gonna be writing for the business desk, which is pretty close to what I did in Sao Paulo, only it's very far from what I really want to do. But it's something already... Also it's looking as a great opportunity to put Al in contact with some potential clients (which would be great!), so let's see...

Union Square + Brooklyn =

Perfect Weekend! On Saturday Al and I hang out for the whole day at Union Square. I checked out an interesting store called Urban Outfitters, then I tasted all of the samples at the Farmer's Market, where farmers sell their organic products, and we bought some very good stuff (sheep's milk cheese, yogurt, sheep's sausage, "seriously good bacon"). The setting is exactly like our feiras there, only everything is organic (and pricey!) hehehe For lunch we headed to an asian fusion restaurant called Republic (yum!) , then I got me some real winter boots at a sports store Al likes to go to, then to Barnes & Noble, a 4-story bookstore where I lost my earmuffs. After reading some books sitting on B&N floor, we caught a veeery good movie, Children of Men. It's by the same director of Y tu mama tambien, Alfonso Cuaron. It's amazing, serioulsy, you guys don't miss it when it opens in Sao Paulo. Then we went back to B&N to search for my earmuffs one more time, and they had found it, yay! To top the the perfect Saturday, we had dinner at this ridiculously good chocolate place called Max Brenner. I can't even begin to tell you how good it is...you just gotta check for yourselves. (We did all that in no more than 2 or 3 blocks! It's really great that area)
On Sunday we spent most of the day doing more home maintenance, we installed the air conditioning (not that we're gonna be needing it anytime soon, it's just that we really had to take that huge thing out of the way!). Took us a really long time to do that, it was supposed to be a 2 big men's work! I even had to climb on the filthy hundreds-year-old fire escape to help put the thing in place...:S Then I learned how to do laundry (and hung the clothes on the bathroom...oh well...what you're gonna do...) and we installed the new shelves we got for the library area (hahahah makes one think we live in a mansion doesnt it?).
On the evening, I went to Brooklyn (!) to see a dance performance Tonya invited me to (pics = Manhattan Bridge, dancers warming up). Afterwards, we met Tony, a dance technology teacher that writes on The Winger, and we hang out with him and two friends at a suprisingly nice restaurant nearby (surprisingly because thse surroundings of the theater were not that "nice" if you know what I mean....hehehe). Funny thing is that Tony had ordered a pizza and it came sliced as an appetizer...I was waiting untill someone other than him got a slice so I could get mine...And when i did, the cheese that was on my slice just wouldn't separate from the other slice cause it was melted together, and we didn't have any knife on the table...I didn't want to put my hand on the other slice to separate it (I would if I were between my friends...but not with foreign strangers...!), so i ended up eating a cheeseless slice of pizza hahahaha I had a really good time.
When we were about to leave, they even started playing Brazilian music on the background (The standard Bossa Nova, you know...). I am very suprised, everything Brazil seems to be very en vogue. I hear Brazilian music in the most different places we go, even at "Babies R Us" (before you think anything, we were just hanging out with Al's friend, who is 9 month old pregnant)
PS: I'm gonna update Flickr with more weekend pics, cause I've got tons!

The quest for a ballet school

Manhattan top to bottom. That was my whole day yesterday, in the search for a ballet school. I had reasearched 3 schools, Steps, that's uptown, the Ailey School, midtown, and Dance new Amsterdam, downtown. I was gonna begin by Alvin Ailey, and I got to their nearest station, Columbus circle, just fine. I was so proud of myself and thought that I had finally mastered the system. But then I decided to begin at the one uptown and work my way down. But I hadn't researched which train I had to take, so I took the same that I had taken to Ailey, the A, but it was an express (doesn't stop in all stations) so I ended up in the 125th!!! (Steps is between 74th and 75th). hahah Anyway, I easily found my way back, and I was really proud of myself at the end of the day cause it was the first time I did everything on my very own, I feel more confident now. (pic: Central Park West, my first stop)
The Schools
Steps

Steps is on the second floor of that 3-story building. It was packed when I got there. I was really surprised cause I was expecting something more... spacious...cause their website is really huge and they have all sorts of programs and etc. They have two big studios, one medium-size one and a small one, all connected by one hallway, and the dressing room on the end. I didn't have the best 1st impression, cause people were all spreaded in the hallway, stretching, eating, and mothers were changing their toddlers right there, it was just a mess!The dressing room was three times a mess, bags and coats everywhere and etc. Apart that, they seem to have a very good faculty, and their students seem very good too. It was funny cause there was no dress code so they had people taking class in these rags, in scarves, loose hair...hehehehe. They were having a ballet class that i couldn't figure out if it was intermediate or beginner, but the teacher only had 2 students in class and even so she seemed a little bit careless, not corecting them enough...I don't know...The rate per class is $15 and no membership is required.

Alvin Ailey
Wow. I knew the company and the school even before they moved to their new building (last year or the previous, something like that). But they are just wow. They have this whooole building custom built, state-of-the art facilites, everything is shiny and beautiful. I was only allowed to browse in the 1st floor, where there were 3 big studios. Students were neat and teachers seemed very focused and attentive. Rate is $15, no membership required and I can take the school classes (the ones offered to the graduate students, as opposed to the extension classes, open to the general public) if I have the appropriate level.

Dance New Amsterdam
I know that they're a traditional NYC dance studio that changed their name and location recently. The place looks great and organized, and they have 5 studios, some small ones and some medium-to-big. All of them have one glass wall facing the hallway, it was a great way to observe the classes. The beginner ballet class was packed, but the teacher seemed very attentive. The dressing room was spacious and neat (and it has two bars for stretching!). The rate is $18 wihtout membership, and $16 with anual membership of $30.

I got lots of flyers from each one, I still gotta do the math, and also check the schedules...they all have lots of afternoon classes, which is horrible for when I start working....
For now, I think I'm more inclined to Alvin Ailey, 1st because I always wanted to take classes there, 2nd because they're the medium combination between price and location...Steps is as cheap, but farther, and DNA is closer to where I live, but more expensive....Anyway...I gotta think about it now, and I'll let you know when I decide...I might even go in each one again to take a drop-in class and see what it feels like...

I had a really great day, cause I went walking from one place to another, so I could also do a lot of sightseeing too, and that area is really nice! (pic: The Warner Building at Columbus Circle). When I got to DNA, that's right across the City Hall, it was night already so I couldn't see much, I definetly wanna go back there in the morning cause it must be beautiful too. And to top it all, I even went to meet Al and his friend Mari at a nice allegedly Brazilian restaurant at Union Square, called the Coffe Shop (I asked the waitress and she told me that some guys involved in the foundation were Brazilian, so the menu had a "Brazilian flair (flare?)", as she put it, but the owners or anybody else there are not Brazilian). hehehehe

The moment you've all been waiting for

I got soooooooo lost yesterday!!!!!!! oh my, it was really bad. I was going to meet Tonya in person for the first time and, of course, we set up to see a ballet performance. Well, in the morning, Al and I went to a home improvement store called Lowe's, and we got a little carried away (him more than me actually! hehehe) so I didn't have time to come back home and change, put on some make-up, nothing. That was to begin with. So I left her a message saying I was gonna be a little bit later than the 1:30 pm we had set, and went...I was supposed to get off the PATH train on 33rd st, the last stop, then get the D train then the 1 (that's how Al had told me). But I was kindda alseep in the train (that's always happening here!!) and I end up getting off two stations before, on 14th. I looked aroudn to see if I could catch the MTA (ny subway) from there, and I could...but when I got to the entrance there was no D train there...but there was the 1, so I figured it was the same that I'd have to catch later. The thing is that this NY subway is a maze, and there are a million platforms, a million lines coming in each platform, and a million different stairs that lead you to hundred different directions. So I waited for 15 mins untill the train came, only to realize I was in the wrong platform (I was trying to follow the signs but it didn't quite work!!! :S). Then I finally got to the right platform...and then comes a 3 train....and then a 2...and then a 3 again!!! I'm like "wait a minute, what's happenning here???" But I heard the voice on the speakers saying sth about "1", so I asked a guy "is this the 1?" He said "yes, it's going local". Hum...ok...what's that supposed to mean?!?!?! So the train marked 3 becomes 1 cause it's "going local"...Geez! At that point, I was so frustrated and so mad with myself cause I hate letting people waiting for me, that I just thought I should take the chance. Gladly, it did left me where I wanted...only I got there one hour later!!! and the performance began at 2! It took me some more minutes to figure out where the entrance to the theater was, then I got in and I must've looked so lost that the security people "recognized" me right away and asked if "my firend was supposed to have let something for me". Yes!!! thank goodness Tonya made the right decision and got in the performance (a little bit late tho), leaving me the ticket in the box office. I got upstairs and people were begining to get out for the intermission. I spotted her right away and I was almost crying with embarassment! I don't remember feeling that embarassed in years!!! Gladly she's very sweet and understandable, and it was great meeting her! I watched the second half of the program, then we ate at this cute french bistro nearby, Le Pain Quotidien. (in which, by the way, the tea bowl is twice as big as the soup bowl! hahaha go figure...). My huge embarrasment aside, I had a really good time, and we're definitely meeting again, right Tonya? ;-) This is a rushed pic of he beaaaaaaaautiful State Theater (cause the guy wouldn't let us take pics inside.)

Al and I were supposed to go to his friend's b-day at night, but we both were so tired that we just flicked it... :S We had been in the mall here in Jersey City to get my phone (which was serioulsy in demand!!). Turns out a guy at the T-Mobile kioske there found a way to "bypass" that 90-day rule. Yay!!! I'll email you guys my number so we can text each other. (I even got MSN on my phone!)


Yesterday we had dinner at Times Square and then we watched Babel there (higly recommended!) at AMC theater, this huge complex with 25 rooms! It had been the coldest day in two years here, and in the morning my limbs were almost falling off frozen. :S I'll update my flickr with pics of my paralized and miserable self waiting for the bus (and more!). Here are some pics of the Times Sq and the restaurant we ate.


Also the day before yesterday, I was cleaning the bathroom and there I was throwing water all over the place, when Al gets by the door and asks "what are you doing?" me: "cleaning?" he: "but you can't throw water like that, there's no drain (ralo) in there!". Wow!! how I was supposed to know, I've never seen a bathroom without a drain in my whole life!! One more lesson learned.

Exploring

The dreaded moment finally came! On Wednesday I was home by myself in the morning while Al was in a meeting. Then he came back almost before lunch time (which for me is between noon and 2 pm), and I was doing some stuff and munching some snacks. Then he asked if I wanted to have lunch instead of eating snacks and I said yes, then he replied "ok, you can make whatever you want causeI'm not hungry". Then it hit me! I had totally forgotten that if I wanted to eat, I had to make something, the food is not gonna show up in front of me like it used to (good times!). I think I hate cooking, but actually I don't know cause I never had to cook at all in 23 years of life, always had someone else to do it for me. It's a whole new mindset you have to get used to. Luckly (for me), we were gonna go out soon so I just clumsily made some cheese omelettes and we left.

Then we went to his office in Manhattan, and I went upstairs with him so I could see the view, the building is just next to the WTC site. It's quite a view! We were in the 23rd floor. The PATH train that I have to get to go from Jersey City to NY passes inside the whole, it's this tunnel on the left side of the pic.

While he was in his meeting, I hang out around that area, that's Wall Street, and I walked up to the way up to the Saten Island Ferry, but unfortunately my camera was outta batteries so I don't have pics. (this was taken with Al's, that I forgot to take when he went for his meeting).

When I was near the Bull, a symbol of the financial district, a guy (in a heavy accent) stopped me and told me "u look like my desktop". "Computer". "The color scheme". hummm....ok. Am I supposed to be happy abou it???

Then we tried to buy my cell phone at T-Mobile (to get acess at Starbucks) but they didn't let us!! Al had cancelled a line from them in less than 90 days ago, so he was considered a returning customer, so he couldn't get the discount offered for new customers. And that would double the price of the phone! (advatange said to be that we wouldn't be subject to a 2-year contract and could cancel it at anytime, but why would I wanna cancel?). We got so upset! So now we're waiting untill Feb 15, when this stupid 90 days expire.

Yesterday I went out for the 1st time on my own! I was a bit worried cause Al hadn't really explained things to me, I was just following him the whole time, but I went fine, I didn't get lost! hehehe I had bought gloves and earcovers at Century 21, a department store, but I couldn't find the scarf of the same color, so I went to Macy's to search for it. Macy's is humoungous!!! well, they're actually the biggest store in the world, it's not just advertising. I think it's at least the size of the whole Shopping Paulista. They have one whole building for men and one for women, restaurants, things for the house etc. Tourists everywhere. Lots and lots of Brazilians (specially mineiros! o mineirada!! hehehe). Unfortunately, I didn't find the scarf I wanted.

I crossed the street and went to Victoria's Secret to browse. More Brazilians, this time both shoping and posing on the walls, Giselle Bundchen and Adriana Lima. I was a bit disappointed by their selection of underwear and pjs, personally I think our stores tehre have equivalent or even nicer stuff, but their make up and cosmetics are really great! Surprinsingly, I didn't buy anything, cause I figured I still can come back whenever I want! :D

To wrap up the day, I came back home, stopped for groceries and decided to make a nice dinner. A hard task, given the fact that we still only got one pan and one pot! We took 2 hours to make the whole thing (Al arrived and made the delicious pork chops), in which I count as my first official meal ever! Here's a pic. (note the disposable untensils, dishes and cups, and brown paper as a tablecloth! hehehe we're working on the house room by room, we're just done with the bedroom, now it's the kitchen turn, definitely!).

Impressions

I know I'm in huge debt with this blog, but there's just so many things to be done that it's difficult to stop to write.
Anyway, some random impressions so far:

- Every food item here is GIGANTIC! It upsets me so much! I wanna have a little something in the middle of the afternoon...impossible. I went to Starbucks on wednesday (my first!). To begin with, the smallest coffe you can get is the tall one! (copinho americano? esquece!). Then, I wanted sth like the size of a pao de queijo or a little salgado, but all you can get is those monster sandwiches or big slices of cake and etc. The bagel, one of the most popular breads here, one quarter of it gets me full. Even industrialized stuff that are the exact brand here and in Brazil, are bigger here...a package of Doritos is bigger than the biggest ones we have there, and even the Activia yogurt cup (by Dannon) is bigger!! No wonder obesity is one of the main public health problems here.

- It seems that for every 5 stores, 1 is a Starbucks and 1 is a Duane Reade (big pharmacy chain that's like a Brazilian supermarket without the food part - but they do also have snakcs!). They're everywhere. (I gotta admit Duane Reade's been a lifesaver. Every personal stuff I needed so far I bought there)

- The language mix - the conversations you hear in the streets can be divided as following: 1/4 English, 1/4 English with heavy accent from some place else, 1/4 Spanish and 1/4 random languages from all over the world.

- Sooo many things much more sense to me now! Hand moisturizers, for example. They're not just a "frescura", your hands get really dry and rough without them. It's a new must have item in my purse. Ballet legwarmers, pockets...everyday I figure out something new. It's a whole new world revealing itself for me! hehehehe

- Men wear lip balms and they're not shy to reapply them while they're in the train or in the streets. I found that so cool! I was suprised when I saw the first but now I've seen many more doing that.

- I feel tired and sleepy the whole day, and only today I realized why! It's not jet lag, it's because it's so cold you spend more energy trying to keep your normal body temperature. Now hybernation makes more sense too! hehehe

- Walking in the streets still feels like it's a dream or an hallucination. It feels like at any moment all the scenery will come apart and I'll be back in the streets and places I know. Also when people talk to me (expect Al), I get a weird feeling that their voice doesn't really belong to their body, and that at any moment they can switch form English to Portuguese. It also looks like anyone could be Brazilian, for their appeareance. (Or should I say that Brazilians can look like they're from anywhere, maybe that's more accurate. hehehe)

- I thought I'd feel more "out of place" here but I don't. I thought I'd feel too different, too short, too dumb...but I don't at all! that's a good thing! :D

- It's already Friday but it feels like it's still Monday. Since I don't have a routine to "tell me" that my day ended, I don't feel the time passing at all.


I'll try to post more often and take more pics.

First day

It's amazing how many things can happen in such a short amount of time! I'm gonna write in items so it's easier to get an overview of how things went/have been going. Oh thanks for the welcome, Tonya! :D

THE TRIP
- the ride itself was really smooth, no delays, ok service, etc.

- the suprise: I ran into a guy from my building (!) at the departure gate, and turned out he was gonna be at the same flight. And not only that, but we found out we were sitting next to each other! It was so good to have someone I knew, and that had so many experience travelling abroad. (He was gonna make a connection in NY to Indiannapolis). It helped aleviate the anxiety a bit, but I was still nervous the whole flight, I couldn't sleep straight for more than one hour and a half.

- airplane movie: Woody Allen's Scoop (don't waste your time, really). I didn't know they played such recent movies onboard.

- immigration service: we had to wait for the long Americans line to finish untill they started to call people ar the foreigners line. Tiago, the guy I knew, told me they're usually nicer and have some booths for Americans and some for foreigners. Despite the long wait, the "interview" itself was ridiculously quick. Officer (speaking fast and inwards): "u student?" me: "no, tourist" Officer grabs the stamp and prints my passport. That was it, exactly like this.


ARRIVAL


- and off I went! Al was waiting for me with extra scarf, gloves, hat and coat. Inside the airport was warm and I couldn't wait to feel how negative temperatures (in Celsius) felt like, a first! It was -3 (28o F) when I got here. We just waited outside for the (very fancy) cab a bit, so it wasn't really a schock. But everything was great and exciting!





- the cab had this cool navigation system that showed our Ukranian driver the directions instantly. For what they said it's pretty normal here but for me it was a first too to see one of those actually "in action".



DEVELOPMENT


- I got here, ate something, then rested for the most of the day. Al had a very nice surprise to me (and this time it was really a surprise! hehe), he printed a poster size of his favorite pic of us, framed it and hanged on the bedroom wall. It's beautiful and really sweet! :D



- At night he took me to dinner at Sarabeth's, on the Upper West Side a nice and cozy restaurant that served "typical American food that's not burguer", in Al's own words, hehhee. I loved it! Next, headed for dessert at Cafe Mozart. I had a tricolate mousse cake. (three chocolates. you get the picture. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm). All very nice and romantic. At the end of the day I was exhausted already (and still feeling a little headache from the jet lag and the cold wind). At least our house is really close to the train station, so we got back fast!


- And it snowed lightly!! Wo-hooo! (I know, I know, that's so tourist-y...but I can't help it!). Al said it was a "freezing drizzle". It was so cute, the tiny snowflackes coming down. :D But I still got to see some "real" snow, that one good to build snowmen! hehehe I'll count that as a preview.


- I think Northern Hemisphere's winter is my new favorite season. Because it's soooooooo dry, my hair looks like I just flat-ironed it (chapinha)! How cool is that?



2nd DAY


-Today we spend the morning looking for nightsands, then went to Bed Bath & Beyond to get things for the house (sooo many options! you go crazy!). Next, we had lunch at a very nice cuban restauran't in downtown JC called Hard Grove Cafe, then came back home, where I finally finished unpacking. WIth all the new stuff, the apartment is getting cozier and cozier, I really love it here and I couldn't been happier!! :D When I finally settle to a routine I'll be able to tell the stories with more detail, but I guess you can tell I'm loving it! ;-)

Run, Dea, Run!

I´ve been in such a rush these days. Today I picked up some college´s documents - my academic history and a statement proving that I finished the course - and closed one of my bank accounts. Then I came to work and decided to sign my resignation today, thought I´m still working untill tomorrow. Brazilian labor laws are really complicated, so there are lots of steps in the process untill I actually get my money and all. I´ve got to undergo a health check up exam, then go to the union to get some papers...and I can only do it after they deposit my money...but they have 8 days to do that, which means that I´ll only complete the whole process on the last minute, the last friday before I go!! :s (I totally forgot I´d have to do all that when i set up the date for the trip...but I don´t regret anyway...hehehe)
Tomorrow I´m gonna have my hair cut (and etc ;-) in the morning, then I´ll come for my last day at work, then I´ll probably go to MG (Minas Gerais - the state where part of my family lives) to say bye to some of my relatives, especially my dear grandma Geralda. I´ll spend three days there.
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Today I had lunch at the mall and at the elevator I ran into a girl in a very neat bun...which reminded me that it´s Cuballet time! aw, man! How I miss it!! Cuballet is a ballet (obviously) summer intensive course that lasts all of January, with great Cuban teachers, offered at the academy at that mall. I attended it last year and it was fantastic - very few things can make me happier than spending the whole morning every single day of the week taking dance classes (one of then being spending the whole morning AND the whole afternoon at the classes, which I couldn´t do because of my work!). I´d be there now if I wasn´t traveling this month already... I can´t wait to resume my classes, seriously!!
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And I´m not even there yet but I already got things on my schedule. Yesterday Al´s friend invited him for his birthday on a NY club...only six days after I get there!! What a test!! And also another friend invited us to visit her in Boston and go skiing with her and her husband! How cool is that! Can´t wait either!!

Fashion Emergency!

People have warned me already, but seeing it in pictures (on the previously mentioned The Sartorialist and on Fly Girls*, who are now on my blogroll) makes it worse. I´m definitely gonna need a change of style when I get there. I mean, not really a change of style, cause I know what my style is and I´m not changing it. I just need new pieces to go with it. When I was cleaning my closet, I realized I had too much clothes from many years ago, which means my teen years! (not very appropriate for now, I guess...). Not that I´m complaining about having to go shopping for clothes, tho...heeheheh
Erica told me NY girls love layered looks, and that´s something I always liked too but never managed to pull off. Yesterday I gave it another try, layering a dress with skin tight ankle lenght pants, complete with ballet flats and my big necklace my mom got me from Christmas. I forgot to take a picure but I think it looked nice... :)

*american girl with Brazilian family, nice coincidence!

It doesn´t hurt to ask

When this first came up, some friends sent it to me right away. New York Time´s Questions couples should ask (or wish they had) before marrying is a nice little article that gives food for thought even if you are miles away from walking down the aisle. Personally, I think most of them are common sense, but it´s never too much to think about those things before giving such a huge step in life. Having known Al for 8 years (and both of us being veeery talkative about every and anything), we had pratically tackled all of the subjects. But it was still nice to get his (spontaneous) email with all of the answers :) There always can be one little thing or another that you didn´t know of...or, if anything, it can make you very happy with some of the answers :D

On a different note, I found a very interesting thing on Suburban Bliss´ Melissa Summer´s site Buzz Off (I´ll borrow her own description): "For as little as $4 a month, More Thyme will help you plan your meals each week. Using your own recipes or theirs, you can easily fill your calendar with menus and let them give you a shopping list". yeah...they do make money out of anything on the US! But I might as well try a few days of the free trial version, since planning meals, rather than making them, is my worst nightmare!! :s

Last, for when you have nothing else better to do, check out this guy´s blog, The Sartorialist. He goes around NYC taking pics of people he finds well/interestingly dressed.