Hiding Out
Trip Start
Jan 15, 2006
1
21
52
Trip End
Sep 05, 2006
Gramado, Brazil
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
We spent an evening with one of Kia's high school classmates, Preston, on his newly purchased farm about 40km north of Punta del Este. Preston was escaping from nothing more dramatic than the routine of city life. In just three months, he has amassed a collection of pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs and a single cat.
Like a happy child with a new toy, Preston seems quite amused with the fertility of the various members of his menagerie. It seems that each animal is pregnant, nursing a new litter or just a few months from beginning to breed
1 - Kia, Preston and Friends
. (Preston and his girlfriend have even gotten into the act and are expecting next fall.) Kia and I left early in the morning in case this was contagious.Seriously, Preston has developed a very nice little operation, but he asked us to mention that visitors are most welcome. If you are in the area, he is a great host and would appreciate the company.
Yesterday, we crossed the border into Brazil and stepped into a different world. The first problem we encountered is that Portuguese sounds nothing like Spanish. We can generally parse out the meaning of written words, but when we are listening, it might as well be Mandarin. Not that many Brazilians speak English. (I am not sure if they study Spanish or just are just reveling in their secret little language that nobody else can speak.) We are back to a combination of charades and pointing to what we want while emitting a grunt. As those of you with a two-year old are aware, the latter method is a surprisingly effective way to get what you need.
The traffic is a little heavier, the towns a bit more urban, the outfits a bit skimpier, the skin tones more varied and the vibe is a lot more developing nation
2 - Preston Feeds the Menagerie
. The temperature is also much hotter. We hit triple digits in the jeep today and are both a bit wiped this afternoon. Tomorrow, we get a dawn start to beat the heat. This afternoon we are holed up in the mountain (maybe 3000 feet, but, hey, Brazil is not known for mountains) town of Gramado. The place was settled by Swiss and southern Germans who have decided to create a faux Tyrolean town complete with 25 different places to get fondue.
Tomorrow we head for the beach. Watch this space for pictures of Kia in her new Brazilian thong bikini.
Comments
Waiting for Gnarly Photos
We're waiting for gnarly photos of Kia windsurfing in a thong bikini.
Mom & Dad
Wow Kia in a dental floss bikini!
Okay, so I'm joking but you certainly look skinny enough to sport one should you dare! Looks like both of you are losing weight due to the constant travel! Hmmm, maybe I need to quit my job and travel! ;-) Enjoy the beach, we're still jealous.
Saved by the rain!
Gee, thanks for the compliment Tanya. But, for the majority of you who feared I might actually don a teeny brazillin bikini (called fio dentals here, or dental floss), there is NO CAUSE FOR ALARM. We just arrived at the small beach town, and IT IS RAINING. So we are hiding ourselves, from the rain, in an internet cafe. Darn though, I was hoping to try windsurfing here. Oh well.
Cheers, Kia
Gramado is a great place
Brad and Kia,
Gramado was the location of the international adventure race I did in the fall. Great little mountain town with the fatastic canyons just to the west. Hope you enjoyed as much as I did.
Ries
About Portuguese
'Yesterday, we crossed the border into Brazil and stepped into a different world. The first problem we encountered is that Portuguese sounds nothing like Spanish. We can generally parse out the meaning of written words, but when we are listening, it might as well be Mandarin. Not that many Brazilians speak English. (I am not sure if they study Spanish or just are just reveling in their secret little language that nobody else can speak.)'
- Portuguese DO sound a lot like Spanish. They are both latin languages of the same region (Iberian Peninsula). Ask another latin languages natives (italian or french);
- I am sure that much more brazilians are able to speak English than americans (or britsh) are able to speak any other language than their own;
- NO, Portuguese is not a secret little language that nobody else can speak. Today it is one of the world's major languages, ranked 6th according to number of native speakers (between 191 and 230 million). Portuguese is the official language of Angola, Brazil (190.6 million), Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal (10.6 million), São Tomé and Príncipe and Mozambique.It is also one of the official languages of the special administrative region of Macau (with Chinese) and East Timor, (with Tetum).
Re: About Portuguese
Will -
I apologize if you found my comments on Portuguese to be offensive. I had two observations. First, in Brazil at least, pronunciation is quite different than that of Spanish. We had a very hard time understanding spoken Portuguese but our limited Spanish gave us a head start for written Portuguese. Second, it seemed that far fewer Brazilians spoke English than citizens of most other latin american countries.
Let me know if you disagree with either of these observations. (I am well aware that both Spanish and Portuguese have similar origins and I understand the geography of the Iberian peninsula.)
My opinion is that English has become the de facto standard second language of the planet. When a Chinese businessman meets with his Brazilian counterpart, what language do you think they are likely speaking? How about a Japanese native meeting with a Argentine? A Dutchman and a Frenchman? If you were a Brazilian, what second language would you want your child to learn? What would provide the best head start for business, diplomacy, the arts or even tourism?
I believe Brazil is making a mistake by not including more emphasis on learning English in their schools.
I stand by my comment that Portuguese is not spoken much outside of Brazil nor is it a major langueage of international commerce, the arts or diplomacy.
Your thoughts?
Brad