Figaro! Maybe

No home is complete without a loving and loyal pet. And now I have one of my own! Yesterday I was left in disbelieve when I was told this tiny puppy was my Christmas gift. This little bundle of fur arrived to Tucson from Mexico wrapped in layers of blankets as if he was a new born baby. Of course I took him in with open arms, he was too adorable to resist.

Naturally I had to spoil the little guy. He was upgraded from a sad old shoe box and a scratchy bed sheet to a new king size bed... (well anything looks like a king size when you're that small) and 600 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, jk :P. He's also sporting a new fleece dog-bone sweater to keep him warm during the cool desert nights.

He's very easygoing and quiet. Best of all he love to cuddle :) I guess Santa heard my wish. I was thinking of naming him Figaro but right now I'm also debating between Charles or Charlie. I'm not sure... He looks kind of like a small old man, so I was thinking something like Edward would suit him. But I am also looking for a name that could be easily said in Spanish and English. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

"Prior to" vs. "Before"

So, I know this blog is supposed to be about fun and exciting travel news but this has been bothering me lately. The difference between "prior to" and "before". Being a language critic/lover I notice these small and otherwise unnoticeable nuances. So, I went on a quest to find out why "prior to" felt like nails on a chalkboard to me, when used in casual conversation. My guess was that it was grammatically incorrect and that's why red flags would go up in my head every time I heard it. In reality this is what I found. Quoting from Language Usage Weblog

There is no difference between the two except length and a certain inescapable affectedness on the part of prior to.
Bill Bryson (all references can be found at the end of this newsletter.)
For a less stuffy and bureaucratic tone, replace prior to or prior with before or earlier whenever possible.
Jack Lynch
Previous to and prior to are grammatically blameless, but that does not justify their use as substitutes for before because they are thought to be grander or more genteel.
H.W. Fowler
Prior to is preferred to before by most medical writers. There are grammatical reasons why prior to is incorrect but a better reason for writing before is that ‘before is simpler, better known and more natural, and therefore preferable’ (Gowers). Bryson is less forgiving and describes prior to as ‘longer, clumsier, and awash with pretension.’ Trask writes, ”This ghastly thing has recently become almost a disease.’
Goodman and Edwards (This book is aimed at medical writers and is highly recommended.)

And there you have. There is nothing actually wrong with using "prior to" except it is "pretentious, longer and clumsier."

Up, up and awayyy

So today I wanted to share with you about the day I woke up before 6AM and was excited to do so. It was a beautiful September morning and my cousin Rachelle had invited me to go to the Montague Ballon Fair in hopes of getting a free ride in a hot air balloon (in exchange for a day of work). I very quickly accepted the offer and there we were, ready to work at the butt crack of dawn. We got paired up with a Swiss/Malaysian team who were a lot of fun and very patient with us volunteers who didn't know what we were doing. It was a lot of fun to work with such a diverse group of people, there was also a lady from Belgium I believe. And although we didn't get our free ride as forethought it was still a great experience. Also, I got to meet the cutest baby I have ever gotten to carry. With a name like Coyote Blue how could it be any different. Here are some pics so you can get a glimpse of the beautiful sights and everyone working hard :)

Back in the U.S. of A!

It was worth a try...

Hey guys! Since I've been back I've been doing a little traveling and enjoying spending time with family and friends. One weekend that I got to get away from the restaurant my cousin Jessica and I had ourselves a little road-trip and much deserved R&R.
We went to California's wine country. For me it was a little bit of France not far from home.  It was specially fun because I got to hang with my awesome (and crazy) cousins: Daisy, Carolyn, Rachelle and Jessica. When the three Valverde sisters get together, let me tell you, it's something else... not a dull moment in sight! Here's a pic of the five of us (can you see the resemblance?). If you look closely you can see our driver James sporting the sunglasses inside lol...

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The gang

Ok, so we didn't really have a driver... he was much more than just a driver. That's my cousin Carolyn's (the one right in front of him in blue) hubby John. He really made us feel like princesses. He was our personal butler, packing us gourmet snacks like a variety of ham and cheese (for when the wine went to our heads), homemade delicious pickles, juices and water. He was also our photographer and security guard as well as our designated driver! I have to take my hat off to this guy for putting up with us ALL DAY LONG. And then some. BTW, he also cooked us an excellent dinner. It was a short weekend but definitely well spent. Thanks for tuning in! More to come soon.

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All smiles after all that wine! You can also see a slight tint of purple on our teeth :P

Proud Wildcat for Life!

Reflections

I've been home for about 2 weeks now and in this time I've had a lot to think about and reflected about my trip. I thought, why do people travel? Well, for me it's for the novelty. To experience something new, different, exciting. Which leads me to my next reflection. Disappointment. That's how I felt upon my return. I knew expectations could lead you down a road of false hope and yet I couldn't help myself from trying to foresee what things would be like. It's in my nature, I guess. I look back now on a less experienced version of myself just two months ago... I was so excited to be visiting a new country. Eager to experience a wide-range of new flavors, scenery and smells. Enticing all my senses. But much to my disappointment, I was met with something somewhat familiar. (Don't get me wrong there were some new experiences but for the most part I felt like I had already seen these things...). Aside from Rio, which is definitely a city I would like to visit again, the Northeast region where I stayed was shockingly similar to Mexico. The houses, the climate, the atmosphere, the people. Maybe they are not all the same but it was all too familiar.

Now to a more positive reflection. Appreciation. Being away always makes me appreciate what I have back home. Starting with the food which is what I missed the most. I don't know what I'm going to do when I move away and leave behind my dad's delicious food. I guess I will just have to try and mimic his cooking expertise in hopes that my food is half as good as his. There are so many things I am grateful for, it will be hard to name them all. For one, the peace of mind I have being at home, or on the street or anywhere, really, and knowing that for the most part I'm safe and don't need to protect myself from everyone... even the police. This leads me to freedom. Since I feel safe, I am not confined to anywhere. It has dawned on me that cars really equal to freedom. If you have a car you are free to go anywhere. Well... sorta, you also need money. Now on to more petty things, like the fact that no one ever has change or doesn't want to give you any. So whenever you have a 100-reais bill (equal to 50 American dollars) everyone will give you the stink eye and ask you for a smaller bill. Also, why is it so hard to get some ketchup. Everywhere we went french fries were a staple but... lo and behold... there was no ketchup!! Even when we asked for it would take a couple tries before we actually got any. Also, I'm grateful that everyone here isn't trying to rip you off or sell you something. It gets to be exhausting having to deal with that nonstop.

UPDATE: It just dawned on me that in reality (or at least my reality) this trip was truly eye-opening. I guess what I'm trying to say is that before this trip I lived in fairyland. Everything was nice and beautiful looking through my rose-colored glasses and this trip really shattered this concept. Maybe this is where I made my transition from a naïve small town girl perspective to a more realistic way to view the world. I was having a hard time processing all this until I figured it out. 

Well that's all for now! Thanks for reading and until next time. Next trip is New York, coming up shortly :)

Update

Hey guys, I realize it’s been a while since I last wrote so here’s an update. In these last two weeks we’ve kept really busy. Last weekend we went to a concert with my host mom and roommate Marisa. We saw Jorge Bem Jo who is well-known for his song “Mais que nada”. It was really fun even although I didn’t know a lot of his songs. The concert was at the beach so it was cool to be in the sand, listening to great music. Also, we met some nice boys which made it more fun. We made it home at around 5:15am! I really like the fact that going out with one's “mom” is nothing out of the ordinary and that she can handle being out all night. It’s great! The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet since we had to catch up on sleep and get back on track with our homework… since that is our main purpose here in Brazil. School has been getting better. Classes are more challenging and we are getting into our routines. On Monday, I started my volunteering at an orphanage called Casa de Jeremias. My first day there was good, met all the kids and workers. It didn’t take long to realize that the older boys were a handful and had to be watched carefully. Otherwise, next thing you knew you had silly goo all over your hair, clothes and floor. I also got a glimpse of the babies in their nursery (couldn’t spend much time with them since the older boys kept me so busy). There are two small babies, a little 4-month old girl and a 2-month old tiny baby boy. The baby boy, Samuel, was born premature so he basically looks like a new born. It’s sad to see these little babies start out their lives like this, in an orphanage. But, I can say they are well cared for and will hopefully go to a good family. I've gotta run to class! I will be posting again soon. Hope everyone is doing well. Ciao gente!

Fortaleza, School and more

Hey guys! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the 4th of July festivities. I've been having a good time here in Fortaleza and getting used to my new routine. My roommate Marisa and I got to my host family's house on Sunday to great feast of traditional regional food. We were greeted by my host mom Norma, our host dad Antonio Maria, our host sister Kenia and her friend Carol. Dinner was delicious and lots of fun to meet everyone. 

 My "mom" is an English teacher and Psychology professor who loves music. She's lots of fun and loves to party (in a mom kind of way). She listens to everything from Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees, Pink Floyd as well as Brazilian and music from all over the world. She has a huge repertory of all kinds of music. 

 My "dad" is hilarious. He walks around the house all day shirtless and with a radio attached to his ear. He's retired but owns some kind of fishing company (I think). From what I understood, he owns a fishing boat but doesn't go out to sea. Instead, he has a crew of fishermen go out and he then distributes the fish to different restaurants. He kind of reminds me of my grandpa because he doesn't talk much but whenever he says something it's usually really funny. 

my silly sister

My sister is a peppy 25-year old who works a lot. She's studying to be a P.E. teacher and works at a school and a gym. She has a boyfriend (although I would say he's more like her fiancé) named Felipe and he's a super nerd. It's really funny and even admits it himself. He loves to "economize" as Kenia put it and is always looking for coupons on a site similar to groupon.com. Kenia and Felipe have already bought a house together and even wear matching wedding band-esque rings.

Everyone is super nice and really welcoming. We all live in a quaint little apartment. I also have a host brother, Victor, but he doesn't live with us. He has a five year old and who's really cute. 

Victor, Marisa and I

Now, a few memorable moments this week:

made it to the 1st day of school and still smiling

Freemasons

• On the first day of school our mom walked us so we could learn the way. The school is less than a five minutes away which makes it super convenient. When we were almost arriving to our school when I stepped on something squishy. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I stepped in poop. Then, not even thirty seconds after that, the strap to my purse broke and there I was left with a stinky and dirty flip-flop and a broken purse. Luckily, my string of bad luck ended there.
• I drove a manual car in Brazil for the first time. What a ride! The person I was riding with had a lot too much to drink and told me to drive. I wasn't sure which was worse, him driving drunk or me driving a stick shift in Brazil. 
• Also, I bought and inaugurated my 1st Brazilian bikini (don't worry mom, it's not a thong). It's very tasteful ;)
• We attended a lecture at the Masonic Lodge were our dad is a member. It was interesting but felt strangely cultish.

That's all for now, Happy 4th of July friends!

My Rio Experience

Hi guys! Just wanted to update you on my Brazil trip. Rio was kind of a blur. Our time there came and went so fast and much to my chagrin I was not able to see the Christ up close due to bad weather. But besides that the people were super nice and very good looking. ;) There were a lot of gyms around the city, like one every two blocks. They also had workout centers all over the beaches.

            We stayed at hostel at the Copacabana beach that provided the basics… well sorta, we didn’t know they wouldn’t have towels… so I improvised and used my shirt, which worked out ok… our first night we went to a nightclub called Melt. That was a lot of fun (we even made it to the VIP lounge)! On the first floor there was a live band playing samba and on the second floor they had techno. We found out the hard way that “cariocas” (Brazilians from Rio) are super persistent… The pick-up line for the night was “have you ever experienced a Brazilian kiss? Tonight might be your only chance!” I wonder if that works on other foreigners??? Well anyway, they had good music and once we made it to the VIP lounge we got rid of all the creepers.

            The second day we snuck on to a special bus that was reserved specifically for those invited to the UN conference. That took us on an hour and a half scenic ride through Rio. When we got there we were worried they would notice we weren’t part of the conference and get thrown in jail and premier on the next episode of Nat Geo “Locked up abroad”. My friend Anya and I were getting a little worried but we made it all the way through security just fine until they asked us for our documentation and needless to say we didn’t have any. So we just took a bus back to the biggest shopping mall in Rio. It was a pretty fun and exciting experience.

            On the last day we went to downtown and did a little shopping. It kind of reminded me of New York and Chinatown with all the little vendors. From there we went to Corcovado which is the hill where the Christ is, but when we got there they told us that there was zero visibility and it was raining so it wouldn’t be worth going up. That took up all our time and Rio and we were very disappointed we didn’t get to see the most famous statue in all of Brazil. I guess that just gives me an excuse to go back! Also, no hang-gliding for me :( I’m sure there will other opportunities to do other stupid and dangerously fun activities J til next time!  

Status: In transit

In a few hours I will begin my 25 hour journey to Rio! After the anxiety of having to wait for my visa and passport to arrive through snail mail. It finally came in on Saturday, so I can now relax and enjoy the ride. I will arrive in Rio on Tuesday and stay until Friday morning. There will be a United Nations conference in Rio this week called the Rio+20. More info at: http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html
****Hmmm... maybe I could drop by... network, flash a few smiles and maybe land a job :D...**** Alright enough for wishful thinking. See you in Rio!

Welcome!

In a few days I will embark on my first trip to South America! I will be living in Fortaleza, Brazil for six weeks and can't wait to see what this adventure will bring. I will try to keep you posted along the way. More to come soon so be sure to check back. I will try to post at least once a week. Bon voyage and happy reading!