update

Been super busy teaching English as a second language for Berlitz at local colleges (Art Institute, Le Cordon Bleu) and loving it! Orientation is next Monday (18th), and I have already registered for classes, which start on the 25th!! Hoping to make it to Atlanta for the Bama X Clemson game, but everything is still up in the air...will keep you posted...

reconnecting..

Reconnecting has been great. Decided to go meatless, and thinking maybe even vegetarian. Started daily yoga and meditation, as well as thinking about what I want from life. Also started teaching English as a second language, which should keep me busy until school starts. Danilo absolutely loves his job; he is an ocean exporter for South America, and makes daily calls to Brazil, not to mention one of his delivery ports is his home town of Vitória! I start school on August 25th, but have to get registered and attend orientation between now and then so the wheel has already begun to turn.

confused

Really bad last couple of weeks, but hanging in there. Makes you question: why did I make these decisions, why am I here, are my priorities straight??...It seems I have lost my way and forgotten about myself during life's long and tiring journey. I just hope I can reconnect again because I really miss myself. I always feel like I think things through, until I think a little more. Is there a time when you are supposed to stop thinking, or is thinking the path you should take to get you where you need to be, where you are supposed to be? Or are you supposed to be anywhere, or just drifting along here and there...where ever life takes you...

An Inconvenient Truth

So we finally watched Al Gore's documentary the other day... 2 years late, but hey, better late than never!!

VERY GOOD FILM! Well, pretty alarming to be honest (and considering it was released in 2006, by now things should be even more alarming), but definitely something everyone from everywhere should see.

If you have never seen it, we highly recommend next time you go to the local Blockbuster.

Here is the trailer...



Or you can find out more at www.climatecrisis.org

SEC Football fans!!

Here is the 2008 SEC Helmet Schedule for download (pdf format).

Or you can click on the picture below and print directly from the internet browser. I'm not sure how good that will come out so I recommend the pdf....

If you're not a SEC fan, you don't know what you're missing.... but you can probably find one of those out there on the web for whatever conference you root for.

ROLL TIDE.

New pics!

Plenty of new pictures are now posted on our album!
Earth Day, Sam & Loren's wedding, Miami and more...

CLICK HERE!

Back in the business!!

Finally!!! Last week was a great week for us in terms of jobs. I was interviewing everywhere trying to get back in the global logistics industry, and last Monday I found an opening at Schenker Logistics, the company that I had previously worked for here in Miami and Atlanta...

The opening was for a position as an Export Coordinator. I had never done anything on the export side, as I was dealing solely with imports in Atlanta in 2005. I applied for the position and interviewed last Tuesday and later that same day was offered the job. Today I got the green light to start after a week pending drug test and background check results....

Jaclyn was just as lucky. She met with some language schools in the area, trying to get a position teaching either Portuguese or English. The positions were offered to her but the hours and pay were a little less then desirable.

She was then contacted by the Miami Herald, main newspaper of Miami and also Jaclyn's former employee back in 2005. She was offered a position as a free lance photographer which is quite exciting, the $$ is great and she will be able to have a flexible schedule that will be great when school starts in August.

Great week!!! I'll be starting tomorrow after almost 4 months out of work and Jaclyn will be waiting of her first photo assignment... Things are finally getting back in the right track!

WOW!

Thanks Meagan for sharing this with us!!! Pretty good, but looks like nobody really gave a shit. 16 years later and the situation has only gotten worse...

Born and raised in Vancouver, Severn Suzuki has been working on environmental and social justice issues since kindergarten. At age 9, she and some friends started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They traveled to 1992's UN Earth Summit, where 12 year-old Severn gave this powerful speech that deeply affected (and silenced) some of the most prominent world leaders.

Sanctuary...!!!

Surfing in the mall

Whoa dudes...check this place out!!! Adrenalina is an outdoor activities store located inside a mall close to the house, but this is pretty cool, I had never seen anything like that INSIDE of a mall!!

Check out this video...

We are here!!

I ended up getting a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship for the study of Brazil and Portuguese at FIU!!! This means money for school and a stipend! So, we moved down about a week ago, and got a place in Pembroke Pines, right between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Pictures are to come...

Bienvenidos a Miami!!!

We just got back from Earth Day festivities in Atlanta to some great news!!!

Jaclyn has been accepted to the graduate program for Latin American Studies at FIU, in Miami, so it looks like we will be heading back to the Sunshine state after all... Florida International was actually Jaclyn's top choice so we are excited about school and about the opportunity to give south Florida a second chance.

Sun, beach and mojitos, we meet again.

Hang on people, it is not a closed deal yet. We're heading to Miami in the next few days to check out the housing market, try to get a feel of place and maybe visit the school once again before a final decision is made, but it's looking promising!!!

Get your bathing suits ready people.

6-pack anyone??

I got a great workout just laughing at these idiots...

Back in the US...

Leave one place at 40ºC and 10 hours later you're in 40ºF weather. Not good. For those of you not familiar with the celsius scale, we left Brazil at 100ºF and got here at 40ºF, and my dumb-ass walked out of the Atlanta airport terminal wearing shorts and flip-flops... OUCH!

So the Brazil trip is over and now it's time for us to get it together and work on choosing a place to live-work-study-party (not necessarily in that order). Fun times ahead I can imagine....

Remember that commercial when the guy is standing with his back to a world map on the wall and throws a dart on it to pick his next trip location?? That's probably how we're going to end up, only this time we will be using a map of the Southeastern United States, like this one...

Stay tuned....

Sponge Bob??

Nah... Did not see him... but we did get a glimpse of his buddy Patrick, the starfish-guy, and other types of sea-sponges. Here is more of what we saw while snorkling around Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) at Ilha Grande....

Click here for pics!

We're back!

WOW. What a week...

We're finally back in Vitória, taking it easy today after a week of traveling and partying.

Ilha Grande was top notch. We will need a second round with more time in our hands to finish exploring this place. Pictures from our snorkling adventure are to be developed, but here are the ones from our trip to the island...

Wednesday we headed back to Rio and caught a Flamengo match against Nacional (Uruguay). The game was a must win situation for Flamengo to move forward in the Copa Libertadores, a competition between the top teams in South America. 2x0 Flamengo, good times. I'm still working on uploading the videos from the madness in the stands, but here are the pictures from the game.

Thrusday we visited Rio's Botanical Garden, a site we have been trying to see every trip but never really made it. Very laid back, beautiful place. Here are some of the pics of Jardim Botanico....

Back in Vitória on Friday, we only had a chance to relax a bit, get the clothes that were not dirty back in the backpack and off we went again to Guarapari. We had a great friend as the event coordinator for a huge weekend party for college students from all over Brazil, so everything was free and we could not pass on this one... Party all night long and then watch the sun come up, you can't beat it!! Here are the pictures in Guarapari....

Sleeping on our own bed last night never felt so good...

Busy Bees

So we are back from our trip to Rio!! Got in this morning at 8am, slept all afternoon and now after a few phone calls we are heading out again to a town 30 minutes from Vitória for more partying!!

We'll be back Sunday afternoon, so hang in there for pictures and more details about the adventures....

For now just a little teaser. We met this little guy and some of his best buddies during a hike Monday...

Let the real adventures begin!!

Brazil has been fun. Hanging out with family and friends after 2 years away has been a blessing, but we always save time for a crazy trip to explore this beautiful country and escape for a bit.

Last time we were here in 2006 we went north, discovered the great cities and beaches of the State of Bahia. Salvador, Arraial D'Ajuda and Trancoso.

This time we will change directions and head south, to a paradise called Ilha Grande. Ilha Grande is the biggest of 360+ islands located outside the city of Angra dos Reis, a small town south of Rio.

Exibir mapa ampliado

We will be catching a bus to Rio, then another one to Angra and then a ferry to Ilha Grande where we will be chillin' by the beach for a few days, enjoy some snorkling and other great nature-related activities.

Here is more on Ilha Grande...

BUT WAIT!! THERE'S MORE!!!!

Wednesday we will be leaving this paradise and heading to Rio to watch a soccer match between Flamengo (Brazil) vs. Nacional (Uruguay). We will be there...

After the game we'll crash at a buddy's house for the night, enjoy Rio's beaches and more on Thursday and finally catch the bus home at night.

Busy week ahead of us, should be lots of fun!! Stay tuned...

Night out with the family...

Last night was another partying night, this time though we did it family-style. First stop was a a bar/restaurant for some beer and local food (fried pastries filled with your choice of cheese, beef, crab, chicken or fish).

The place was a little too loud, it was great but we were looking for a more relaxed atmosphere where we could actually drink and talk without having to yell across the table, so we moved the party to another bar and continued the drinking and fun until 2 am...

Isn't it all about the view??

Who would not like to wake up every day to this??

It's beach time!!!

Went to the beach yesterday..it is more beautiful here than I remembered...

opening my mind....

I am having such a good learning experience this time. I have been learning about the situations in school, and now know more about the economic hardships and see deeper into the picture than before. I love trying to imagine my life in the shoes of the people I see, as I see a man pulling a huge cart up a hill on the side of the highway, full of boxes, doing work that, in the worse case scenario, a donkey would be doing...then I imagine being the lady that lives in a one room concrete house in a favela, hanging her clothes on a line outside, wondering what she has inside...and knowing that she still has good days, and remembering the night I was mad at work because I only made $75.....which is what she makes in a month. It makes me really appreciate what I have and know that my life is so good...it is so good that I should not let little bull shit ruin my day because I have it so good.... :)

WHEW!

So the shoes finally made it! Imagine a girl without her shoes...although it would have been the perfect excuse to go shoe shopping!!

We're here!!

So we made it, after spending 24 hours in either a plane or airport.....unfortunatley one of our bags did not...the one with all of our SHOES!! Anyway, we will see what happens with that. We are exhausted today, but hopefully tomorrow we can relax on the beach.

It is great being reminded of the differences of the two places, because you kind of forget after a while. It is so hot! The weather is going to take some getting used to, along with everything else.

Pictures from Jaclyn's birthday are up!!

Pictures from the madness at Jalapenos and Little Willy's are up. Good times.

Follow the "Pictures" link on the right....

Moving is over!!!

The best part of moving is looking at that empty truck after two days of carrying heavy boxes and furniture....we have got everything unloaded into storage and tying up some odds and ends before we fly to Brazil on Monday.

Moving really makes you realize the impermanence of things... It is great though because the people that we have made part of our family will remain so always, and we will always keep in touch.

1-2-3 Testing...

Pictures and crazy stories from our trip to Brazil will follow... March 3rd the adventure begins!