Stuck in a Pickle Between Second and Third

Sorry about the gap in the blog everyone! It’s been a busy past month. But due to multiple requests, I will do my best to keep it up-to-date for the rest of the summer.

I’m not sure if it is because of the current MLB All-Star break, or because we taught our friend how to play the American baseball-like game "pickle" at the beach the other week, or if it’s simply a symptom of withdrawal from watching baseball and the American culture as a whole, but recently I have been thinking about our 12-week Brazilian stint in terms of a baseball analogy. I began my time here stumbling out of the batter’s box (obviously after blasting a fastball into the 420’ Fenway Park center field “Bermuda Triangle”), trying to learn the ins and outs of the Brazilian culture, my way around Fortaleza, and the Portuguese language. By halfway through week number four (my last blog post), I was rounding first and heading to second, thinking triple. I was all systems go, adrenaline pumping, trying new things and visiting new places. The language began to come more naturally, I was learning slang and conversational bits, and I am now actually able to carry conversations and make friends with people who, a month ago, I couldn’t speak more than a couple of sentences with. As I prepared to round second two weeks ago, I glanced at the third base coach, who was waving me around to third. I looked forward to arriving safely at third. I knew more excitement was ahead of me during the next 90 feet: beautiful beaches such as Canoa Quebrada and Jericoacoara, a Ceará futebol game at Estádio Presidente Vargas, and a 4^th of July celebration -- Brazilian style. However, all this thinking ahead made me lose focus and I tripped over second base as I was rounding. I regained balance, but now, heading into week eight, I find myself caught in a pickle halfway between second and third. I am still enjoying my summer here, but due to some events back home, as well as just being away from home for an extended period of time and the knowledge that I will only be home for a few days when I get back before departing for Ann Arbor, I have found myself a bit homesick. Furthermore, last weekend and into early last week, I had some sort of bug that gave me a fever and kept me from doing much (Quela and Megan, if you’re reading this, you knew this part was coming). Anyways, as I attempt to advance to third base, I will summarize my past four weeks for you…

Churrascaria Gheller – A churrascaria is a Brazilian rodízio style steakhouse, at which one pays a fixed price for entry, and in turn receives access to an all-you-can-eat salad bar and assortment of meats. We left stuffed and thirsty -- water at restaurants in Brazil is not free (everyone drinks bottled water because the pipes are “bad”) and the majority of the meats were heavily salted.

Viagra Day and Açaí – Not what it sounds. Praia do Futuro has become our local beach of choice, and learning to surf our activity of choice. Ben and I deemed our third such trip “Viagra Day”, as we were going to “get up” and catch a wave on our surfboards, regardless of what it took. We both proved successful, each catching multiple of the monstrous ten-or-so foot waves that crashed down on us. After tiring ourselves out at the beach, we like to recharge with Açaí -- a smoothie made of blended acai berries and banana, topped with granola and chocolate.

Hanging out at Naiara's apartment.

Naiara’s Apartment and Real Lanches – We have become regulars at a cheap, local restaurant called Real Lanches (“Real Snacks”). It’s a small restaurant that serves a variety of styles of hamburgers. While they don’t stack up to the Nitty Gritty or Blimpy Burger, they are as close to American food as we can find in Fortaleza, and we have enjoyed them on multiple occasions (including the 4^th of July, or “Liberation Day” as David called it -- he attempted to “liberate” Brazil by telling everyone that they were now American and that they were liberated and free to do as they chose, but he found a bit of resistance). Real Lanches is only a block or two from Naiara’s apartment, so we always go there and hang out and watch a movie afterward (Naiara and her sister, Virginia, both speak fluent English, so we are able to enjoy movies in English). Last time we were there, David and I made guacamole and introduced it to them.

A view down Yury's street.

Traditional forró attire.

Yury’s House and Forró Competition – Over the past month we have also visited Yury’s house a few times. It is interesting to see what a Brazilian city’s “suburban” neighborhood looks like. I enjoy the familial feel that accompanies the neighborhood, as most of the neighbors seem to know each other, and everyone hangs out in their front-porch area. This feel reminded me a little bit of San Cristobál, the neighborhood I lived in when I was in Panama four years ago. One night while we were at Yury’s house, there was a local Forró competition. It was very interesting to see the entire neighborhood come together in its center for a festival and watch the competition.

The crew at Boteco Praia.

An intro to Jäger.

Bars and Clubs – We have visited various bars and clubs over the past month. Boteco Praia (“Beach Pub”) is a nice bar/restaurant along Beira Mar. We had a fun time going there with Felipe and meeting some friends of his. Also with Felipe, we went to Fahir, a bar/club, where we heard a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band perform. While they were far from the actual RHCP, it was nice to hear some classic American music. I went with Naiara and some of her friends to a friend’s graduation party at Barril 85 (“Keg 85”) where I introduced her to Jäger. Interestingly, Jäger is not found in most bars here. In fact, it is only found (legally) in Orbita Bar, which I spoke about in a previous post. I am not sure why it is so restricted here, but I found this interesting.

Ceará Futebol – A couple of weekends ago, we went with Felipe to Estádio Presidente Vargas to take in a professional Brazilian soccer match. Despite having a capacity one-fifth of that of the Big House, the atmosphere rivaled that of (and maybe even surpassed) any American stadium that I have ever been to. Ceará pulled off a 1-0 upset in an exciting fashion that featured a first-half goal, and a last minute penalty kick save by Ceará’s goalie, who is said to be one of Brazil’s finest.

Canoa Quebrada – Last weekend we went to a beach town a couple of hours away called Canoa Quebrada (“Broken Canoe”). We spent the day relaxing, swimming, and exploring the interesting red sandstone formations that lined the beach. It was a refreshing, and much needed, escape from the concrete of Fortaleza.

Work – Lately, I have been working on the tubulação (“piping”) for a 7,200 horsepower, 350 ton, 50 meter Fast Supply Vessel. There are 20 or so different piping systems, and I am verifying what has already been completed, and working on a report to summarize what must still be purchased and completed. It is very interesting to see how all of the systems interact, and I enjoy watching as the boat comes together (this particular boat is fairly close to completion).

 

Anyhow, that more or less summarizes my trip from first base to where I am right now. I assume that I will make it out of this pickle and on to third base soon. But until then, tchau! Don't forget, you can see all of my pictures here!