GRINGOLÂNDIA FINDS A HOME
Tuesday, 1. May 2007, 20:23:36
Blog for the week ending Monday, April 30, 2007
TUESDAY, April 24, 2007
Yesterday Bob saw a commercial space that he thought would work for Gringolândia, so this morning we went to check it out. It’s in an office-retail complex on the fringes of Jundiaí, near Anápolis City.
It’s a former restaurant, on the second floor facing the street, with a huge balcony.
It’s a large space, around 1300 square feet, with a kitchen, two restrooms,
and a bar.
There’s good natural light, and best of all, the price is reasonable.
The owner of the complex who showed us the space, Mônica, spent seven years in Texas and speaks English well. We stayed and talked to her until noon. Bob and I set off in search of lunch, and ended up down the street at Scaffa’s. The ratatouille was good.
My fondest wish was to see Heidi, so we walked to the tattoo studio. We found a new route which took us through the Garish Hotel District,
and over the river.
Lexy performed for us, using a bag of cheese puffs as a prop.
Heidi had to go back to Jundiaí to teach at CCAA, so her coworker Alexandre accompanied the three of us on our walk toward CCAA...
with a stop at the ice cream place.
The ice cream place, incidentally, is close to the irresistible Gringolândia site... a real bonus.
After the ice cream break, I headed for the copy center to get materials ready for my potential classes.
Bob worked in his garden...
Which is visible from a mile away. Thanks to the miracle of the telephoto lens, you can even see the garden from the street in front of Heidi's house.
WEDNESDAY, April 25, 2007
Brian came by this morning at 9:00, along with our friend Ricardo.
You can tell it's Brian, because he always blinks for the photo.
Bob and I got a ride with them to Galeria Mato Grosso, the office-retail complex that Bob and I looked at yesterday. We had another look around, and decided that the upstairs space was just the location that Gringolândia English Services needed.
The place even has a view of the neighborhood where we wanted to rent a place.
We took a break for lunch at Chão Cerrado,
went to the Cartório registration office to have our signatures authenticated on the rental document, and then we headed back to sign the final documents and cut a check for Mônica, the helpful woman who owns and manages the property.
Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Brian and Ricardo dropped Bob and me off at Viveiro Imperial,
where we did NOT buy any plants... for the second day in a row!
Bob wanted to find red-white-and-blue flowers for the big huge deck that Gringolândia now has.
I needed a 24-pound watermelon, so I picked one up on the way home.
Somewhere along the way I picked up a couple of "pinha" fruits.
THURSDAY, April 26, 2007
This morning Brian stopped by after 8:00. Bob and I went with him to the airport house, where we met with a real estate agent who wanted to see the house. In fact, it was the same agent, Mônica, from whom we rented the Gringolândia space.
While Mônica looked around the place, Bob dug up a few of his potted plants to transfer to our upstairs garden.
And I took a few photos.
Brian took Bob and me back to Mônica’s real estate agency below Gringolândia. We met with another tenant, Rodrigo, the graphic artist who is designing the Gringolândia logo. We prefer Uncle Sam over the Tacky Tourist logo.
Brian brought Bob and me back home, just in time for the two of us to walk downtown
to Chão Cerrado for lunch.
This is the second day in a row that they haven’t had pequi. After lunch we went to Novo Mundo to look at kitchen appliances for Gringolândia.
We made a quick stop to see our accountant, and then we dropped by to see João, our friendly travel agent, and his assistant Bianca.
From there we went to an office-furniture store. We bought a bar stool, with the idea that if it fits the Gringolândia bar, we can buy another six just like it. I want to teach from the bar, with students seated around me in a semi-circle, so that I can serve fruit drinks during the English lesson.
The next stop was the tattoo studio, where I tried to convince Heidi that she needs to come work for Gringolândia as the Home-Ec teacher. I want her to give cooking classes in English so that she can teach everyone in town how to make snicker-doodles and peanut-butter cookies.
Lexy performed. It’s her job.
Bob and I walked towards home. Bob went to plant nurseries to get supplies, while I went to the copy place to make copies for tonight’s tutoring session. Bob and I had a break before we walked over to Glória and Guilherme’s house for our lesson. Bob worked with Glória on English song lyrics, and I worked with Guilherme on conversation.
Glória's job allows her to hand out free cologne samples.
I wish we knew more people just like them. We feel very comfortable with them, and I forgot that we were working. We came home in time to watch our soap opera, which may no longer be the central feature of our lives.
FRIDAY, April 27, 2007
This morning I got a phone call asking me to do translations. Bob and I walked to Gringolândia’s new home at Galeria Mato Grosso, where we worked with Rodrigo on getting a logo.
We had a bar stool delivered to Gringolândia in the morning... but we’ll hold off on ordering more, hoping to find taller stools that fit the bar better.
We had lunch at Scaffas, nearby.
Avenida Mato Grosso is an interesting street... You might see unnatural colors of plastic... or a truckload of natural cajamanga fruit.
We walked and walked to get haircuts,
and came back to the Galeria to work more on the logo. We took an açaí break, and then got a ride home with Mônica, the woman we rent our space from.
We had time to regroup in the evening before our 7:00 pm tutoring session with Glória and Guilherme... and their dog Ralf.
We got home in time to watch the soap opera “novela”. The long lost twin sister who didn’t get run over is taking care of her sister who did get run over. The guy who just quit his job and moved away ’cuz he was in love with his boss’ wife nearly tripped over her in a town hours away. The girl who’s dating her father’s boss would rather be dating Mateus, the guy who’s biological father doesn’t know that he hired his own son. Daniel is stuck in Africa trying to rescue the hotel employees from a guerilla war. The good gay couple is trying to convince Fabiana to give up on the married man. The bad gay couple hasn’t been heard from since one of them tried to marry the evil twin sister to get his parents’ approval.
Check it out at: http://paraisotropical.globo.com
SATURDAY, April 28, 2007
This morning Bob and I got a ride with our condo supervisor as far as the stationery store on Avenida Brazil. I bought a printer cartridge, and Bob and I walked downtown to a furniture store, and on to Chão Cerrado for lunch.
After lunch I noticed that the street vendor was selling twigs that looked an awful lot like the twigs dangling from the tree behind the cart.
We visited a couple more furniture stores, looking for stools for Gringolândia. At one furniture store I met an Israeli who lives in Brazil. He confirmed that there’s no synagogue in town, but there is a small Jewish congregation that meets.
Bob and I walked on to Carrefour, and beyond.
We went to Rio Vermelho for groceries. While I rushed home with the frozen veggie burgers, Bob took the route that led him to the video store.
I spent most of the afternoon doing a translation into English for a tourism company. It doesn’t pay that well, but it is satisfying to get the English right, after reading so many poorly-translated tourist brochures.
Bob spent much of the afternoon with Heidi, since he ran into her on his way to the video store. Heidi teaches at a school near the video store, so it wasn’t the kind of unlikely coincidence that we see every night on the novela “Paraíso Tropical”.
SUNDAY, April 29, 2007
Bob and I walked to Ferreirinha for lunch, just like we do every Sunday.
After lunch we dropped by to see Heidi, Marcelo, and Lexy.
Bianca had gone to church with friends... But Jurema the Chicken once again filled in for her in her absence.
Lexy found that the chicken was easier to control than her sister.
.....I took a few more pictures of Lexy.
.....I had work to do, so I walked home, and Bob stayed to visit with Heidi & family, and their guest Alexandre.
I spent the afternoon working on a translation for a tourism company. What’s the difference between a flood plain and a wetland? I had about 87 such questions to figure out as I puzzled over the Portuguese text and tried to put it into English sentences that didn’t sound funny. And what’s the word in English for when you go out at night in a boat and shine flashlights into the eyes of alligators? “Focagem noturna” sums it up so well in Portuguese.
In the evening Bob and I watched the movie “Spanglish” with Portuguese subtitles.
MONDAY, April 30, 2007
Today was tax day in Brazil... the deadline for filing income tax returns. I was exempt... But Brian wasn’t. The goal for the day was to help Brian get his (and Shirlee’s) tax returns turned in to avoid stiff fines. Brian came by in the morning, and took me downtown, where we met Bob for lunch at Chão Cerrado.
If you ever want to meet us for lunch, look for the place where they sell intimate apparel on the sidewalks. OK, I just described half of Anápolis.
I took a few photos while we were downtown.
This street vendor is selling bright orange persimmons and yellow cajamanga.
After lunch Bob walked to one of his favorite nurseries in Anápolis City, via a furniture store or two. Brian took me home, and we worked on getting his returns ready. We went downtown to take care of business at the bank and the post office, and in the end, we got everything squared away.
When Bob came home we decided to go for a walk, right at sunset.
Oh, good. Another indication that there might be Jewish culture in Anápolis.
How do we always seem to end up at the bakery?
And did I mention that Gringolândia's new home is about a block away from TWO big fancy bakeries??
TUESDAY, April 24, 2007
Yesterday Bob saw a commercial space that he thought would work for Gringolândia, so this morning we went to check it out. It’s in an office-retail complex on the fringes of Jundiaí, near Anápolis City.
It’s a former restaurant, on the second floor facing the street, with a huge balcony.
It’s a large space, around 1300 square feet, with a kitchen, two restrooms,
and a bar.
There’s good natural light, and best of all, the price is reasonable.
The owner of the complex who showed us the space, Mônica, spent seven years in Texas and speaks English well. We stayed and talked to her until noon. Bob and I set off in search of lunch, and ended up down the street at Scaffa’s. The ratatouille was good.
My fondest wish was to see Heidi, so we walked to the tattoo studio. We found a new route which took us through the Garish Hotel District,
and over the river.
Lexy performed for us, using a bag of cheese puffs as a prop.
Heidi had to go back to Jundiaí to teach at CCAA, so her coworker Alexandre accompanied the three of us on our walk toward CCAA...
with a stop at the ice cream place.
The ice cream place, incidentally, is close to the irresistible Gringolândia site... a real bonus.
After the ice cream break, I headed for the copy center to get materials ready for my potential classes.
Bob worked in his garden...
Which is visible from a mile away. Thanks to the miracle of the telephoto lens, you can even see the garden from the street in front of Heidi's house.
WEDNESDAY, April 25, 2007
Brian came by this morning at 9:00, along with our friend Ricardo.
You can tell it's Brian, because he always blinks for the photo.
Bob and I got a ride with them to Galeria Mato Grosso, the office-retail complex that Bob and I looked at yesterday. We had another look around, and decided that the upstairs space was just the location that Gringolândia English Services needed.
The place even has a view of the neighborhood where we wanted to rent a place.
We took a break for lunch at Chão Cerrado,
went to the Cartório registration office to have our signatures authenticated on the rental document, and then we headed back to sign the final documents and cut a check for Mônica, the helpful woman who owns and manages the property.
Around 3:00 in the afternoon, Brian and Ricardo dropped Bob and me off at Viveiro Imperial,
where we did NOT buy any plants... for the second day in a row!
Bob wanted to find red-white-and-blue flowers for the big huge deck that Gringolândia now has.
I needed a 24-pound watermelon, so I picked one up on the way home.
Somewhere along the way I picked up a couple of "pinha" fruits.
THURSDAY, April 26, 2007
This morning Brian stopped by after 8:00. Bob and I went with him to the airport house, where we met with a real estate agent who wanted to see the house. In fact, it was the same agent, Mônica, from whom we rented the Gringolândia space.
While Mônica looked around the place, Bob dug up a few of his potted plants to transfer to our upstairs garden.
And I took a few photos.
Brian took Bob and me back to Mônica’s real estate agency below Gringolândia. We met with another tenant, Rodrigo, the graphic artist who is designing the Gringolândia logo. We prefer Uncle Sam over the Tacky Tourist logo.
Brian brought Bob and me back home, just in time for the two of us to walk downtown
to Chão Cerrado for lunch.
This is the second day in a row that they haven’t had pequi. After lunch we went to Novo Mundo to look at kitchen appliances for Gringolândia.
We made a quick stop to see our accountant, and then we dropped by to see João, our friendly travel agent, and his assistant Bianca.
From there we went to an office-furniture store. We bought a bar stool, with the idea that if it fits the Gringolândia bar, we can buy another six just like it. I want to teach from the bar, with students seated around me in a semi-circle, so that I can serve fruit drinks during the English lesson.
The next stop was the tattoo studio, where I tried to convince Heidi that she needs to come work for Gringolândia as the Home-Ec teacher. I want her to give cooking classes in English so that she can teach everyone in town how to make snicker-doodles and peanut-butter cookies.
Lexy performed. It’s her job.
Bob and I walked towards home. Bob went to plant nurseries to get supplies, while I went to the copy place to make copies for tonight’s tutoring session. Bob and I had a break before we walked over to Glória and Guilherme’s house for our lesson. Bob worked with Glória on English song lyrics, and I worked with Guilherme on conversation.
Glória's job allows her to hand out free cologne samples.
I wish we knew more people just like them. We feel very comfortable with them, and I forgot that we were working. We came home in time to watch our soap opera, which may no longer be the central feature of our lives.
FRIDAY, April 27, 2007
This morning I got a phone call asking me to do translations. Bob and I walked to Gringolândia’s new home at Galeria Mato Grosso, where we worked with Rodrigo on getting a logo.
We had a bar stool delivered to Gringolândia in the morning... but we’ll hold off on ordering more, hoping to find taller stools that fit the bar better.
We had lunch at Scaffas, nearby.
Avenida Mato Grosso is an interesting street... You might see unnatural colors of plastic... or a truckload of natural cajamanga fruit.
We walked and walked to get haircuts,
and came back to the Galeria to work more on the logo. We took an açaí break, and then got a ride home with Mônica, the woman we rent our space from.
We had time to regroup in the evening before our 7:00 pm tutoring session with Glória and Guilherme... and their dog Ralf.
We got home in time to watch the soap opera “novela”. The long lost twin sister who didn’t get run over is taking care of her sister who did get run over. The guy who just quit his job and moved away ’cuz he was in love with his boss’ wife nearly tripped over her in a town hours away. The girl who’s dating her father’s boss would rather be dating Mateus, the guy who’s biological father doesn’t know that he hired his own son. Daniel is stuck in Africa trying to rescue the hotel employees from a guerilla war. The good gay couple is trying to convince Fabiana to give up on the married man. The bad gay couple hasn’t been heard from since one of them tried to marry the evil twin sister to get his parents’ approval.
Check it out at: http://paraisotropical.globo.com
SATURDAY, April 28, 2007
This morning Bob and I got a ride with our condo supervisor as far as the stationery store on Avenida Brazil. I bought a printer cartridge, and Bob and I walked downtown to a furniture store, and on to Chão Cerrado for lunch.
After lunch I noticed that the street vendor was selling twigs that looked an awful lot like the twigs dangling from the tree behind the cart.
We visited a couple more furniture stores, looking for stools for Gringolândia. At one furniture store I met an Israeli who lives in Brazil. He confirmed that there’s no synagogue in town, but there is a small Jewish congregation that meets.
Bob and I walked on to Carrefour, and beyond.
We went to Rio Vermelho for groceries. While I rushed home with the frozen veggie burgers, Bob took the route that led him to the video store.
I spent most of the afternoon doing a translation into English for a tourism company. It doesn’t pay that well, but it is satisfying to get the English right, after reading so many poorly-translated tourist brochures.
Bob spent much of the afternoon with Heidi, since he ran into her on his way to the video store. Heidi teaches at a school near the video store, so it wasn’t the kind of unlikely coincidence that we see every night on the novela “Paraíso Tropical”.
SUNDAY, April 29, 2007
Bob and I walked to Ferreirinha for lunch, just like we do every Sunday.
After lunch we dropped by to see Heidi, Marcelo, and Lexy.
Bianca had gone to church with friends... But Jurema the Chicken once again filled in for her in her absence.
Lexy found that the chicken was easier to control than her sister.
.....I took a few more pictures of Lexy.
.....I had work to do, so I walked home, and Bob stayed to visit with Heidi & family, and their guest Alexandre.
I spent the afternoon working on a translation for a tourism company. What’s the difference between a flood plain and a wetland? I had about 87 such questions to figure out as I puzzled over the Portuguese text and tried to put it into English sentences that didn’t sound funny. And what’s the word in English for when you go out at night in a boat and shine flashlights into the eyes of alligators? “Focagem noturna” sums it up so well in Portuguese.
In the evening Bob and I watched the movie “Spanglish” with Portuguese subtitles.
MONDAY, April 30, 2007
Today was tax day in Brazil... the deadline for filing income tax returns. I was exempt... But Brian wasn’t. The goal for the day was to help Brian get his (and Shirlee’s) tax returns turned in to avoid stiff fines. Brian came by in the morning, and took me downtown, where we met Bob for lunch at Chão Cerrado.
If you ever want to meet us for lunch, look for the place where they sell intimate apparel on the sidewalks. OK, I just described half of Anápolis.
I took a few photos while we were downtown.
This street vendor is selling bright orange persimmons and yellow cajamanga.
After lunch Bob walked to one of his favorite nurseries in Anápolis City, via a furniture store or two. Brian took me home, and we worked on getting his returns ready. We went downtown to take care of business at the bank and the post office, and in the end, we got everything squared away.
When Bob came home we decided to go for a walk, right at sunset.
Oh, good. Another indication that there might be Jewish culture in Anápolis.
How do we always seem to end up at the bakery?
And did I mention that Gringolândia's new home is about a block away from TWO big fancy bakeries??
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 2. May 2007, 00:14
Hi Kevin,
I've been thinking about you, because I recently saw a man with a great tie.
My only complaint about your blog is that there aren't enough pictures of YOU!
Helen (from critique group)
Anonymous # 2. May 2007, 16:01
Kevin,
Give Bob the camera once in awhile and let us see what you like like. As for Bob, he is looking very ex-pat and quite Hemmingway-esque. I see some clouds in your pictures, yet they are always very bright and clear. Are you using a flash or do you really have naked sunshine? Business question: will Gringolandia be bidirectional? Perhaps you can offer English-to-Portuguese translation to companies or persons in Canada and the U.S.
Rick of the Rains