Busy Bee + Homesick

Alexandre went to his parents' house this weekend. I couldn't go because my boss couldn't find anyone to substitute for me. I had a very interesting weekend alone here.

First, this is what happens when I'm left to my own devices for dinner and I go to the grocery store hungry:

Mmm, delicious! Gatinha agrees. No, I didn't finish all of that, if that's what you were wondering.

I left with an...eclectic dinner of sushi, soupa de mandioca, brie and pão casiero (because I found brie!) and suco de milho.

Don't worry, I'm not pregnant!

After that, I went to another festa junina party with my student-friend Melissa and her people. It was relaxing and we had a nice chat and got to listen to a live country band. :)

Me, Melissa's husband, and Melissa

Saturday, I went into work and found my boss in low spirits. Turns out she had broken up with her boyfriend and was in need of a girls' night out. She's my boss and all, but we're very close in age and life experience. So it was totally fun and nice and one of my best nights out since moving here almost 15 months ago.

I spent the rest of the weekend workingworkingworkingworking (and taking procrastination breaks to play Word Challenge on Facebook-- omg so addicting!). Sometimes I get into very inspired work-mode and can be very productive. It's a sort of obsessive focusing that may not be the healthiest thing in the world, but luckily it only comes in small bursts. (The rest of the time, I'm as lazy as the rest of 'em.)

My student-friend Carol called me on Friday in a panic about her TOEFL test. (If you don't know, TOEFL is a test for non-native speakers to prove their English skills in American universities. It's like an ESL SAT.) The date she wanted was sold out, and so she has to take the test in a month. She got accepted to do research in a British University next year, but needs a good TOEFL score for the Brazilian foundation that's offering to pay for her to go there. (Apparently, the scholarship people don't care that TOEFL is American. Better for me!) So, low TOEFL score = no scholarship. No scholarship = no England. And we have one month!

I have a TON of TOEFL prep material that I downloaded illegally and stole from my evil boss acquired through very lawful and respectable means. I've had it all for months. I kept telling myself that I'd go through everything and develop some kind of syllabus/curriculum/plan of attack to teach the TOEFL. But since none of the many potential TOEFL students had never followed through, I always avoided it. And now... I have 3 days to plan out a one-month course.

It's good though, because now, when students mention to me that they need to take the TOEFL, I can say "I have an entire course planned out!" And I will. Also, I can make Alexandre study for the TOEFL test that he'll eventually have to take! :D

I've also been working on the various editing and translation projects that have been showing up thanks to my student-friends who are biologists who have talked me up to all of their colleagues in the labs at the local public university. Word of mouth is really the best advertising here. I'm learning more than I ever wanted to know about really, really specific things, like the nuclei of red blood cells of a specific species of turtles, the cell patterns of testicals of some fish, and the environmental factors that determine breeding habits of Brazilian frogs, among others. It's ...delightful. Not really. But I do feel very accomplished when I finish! Plus, it's great money.

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Today was Father's Day in the US, but not in Brazil. All of my family was together at my grandparents' house to celebrate my grandpa being the best father/grandfather in the world. Even my family members out in Florida flew over to the west coast. My aunt hooked us up using the MSN talk program, and I got to say hello to everyone. And I mean EVERYONE! Like 15 people.

After we hung up, I came back out to the living room, where Alexandre was watching Brazil destroy Italy in the pre-World Cup games. I plugged my computer back in, and suddenly, the internet stopped working. And then I stubbed my toe on the desk chair. And then I started crying. And Alexandre asked what was wrong. And then I told him that the internet wasn't working and I had stubbed my toe. And then he asked what was wrong again, because he's not silly. And then I told him how I really missed my family and how frustrating and expensive it is to have 2 lives, and how I feel like I work so much here but with the crappy conversion rates, it's not enough to really LIVE here and save up to go home to visit, and mostly I just wanted to be padding around my grandma's house in my socks on a Sunday morning like everyone else, joking around with The Sister and The Cousins, and gossiping with The Aunts and The Grandma, and reminiscing with The Grandpa and telling him how much we love him for Father's Day.

And then we cuddled in the bed for a while, and Alexandre brought in the kitty because she never complains about cuddles, and I gave him a big, long hug, the hug he deserved for being a wonderful boyfriend, and a hug for all the hugs that I wanted to give to everyone I love back home.

Things here are good, and my job is fun, and my life is enjoyable. But my life in the US wasn't too shabby, either. It's not like I'm gonna leave or anything... it was just one of those days.

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I end this on a happier note... Carol bought Gatinha a little catnip mouse toy, which she played with for a couple of weeks before she decided to destroy it.

RaWr! Ferocious baby gatinha.

Have a good week.