All By Myself

So Alexandre has been in São Paulo since last Wednesday, and will be there until the Formatura on November 11th. He is there for reviews for his residency tests... 8 hours of class, Monday - Friday, for 12 days. But that means a lot of weekdays here by myself. Dear Buddy Bruna went home until the graduation (she's not doing the reviews), which makes it even harder! Poo. They're all in São Paulo without me.

Alexandre and I met at his parents' house this weekend because it's between our house and São Paulo and also because we needed to finish up the last of our formatura shopping (yes, all shopping must be under the watchful eye of the MIL! At least we're done). And now he's back down there and now I'm back up here. 

I don't do well with soooo much alone time. Like, I'm all about having an afternoon by myself or whatever, but I already have mornings to myself when Alexandre is here. And Wednesday nights, because that's soccer night. And most Sunday afternoons, because that's soccer afternoon (Oh, the perils of having a Brazilian husfriend!).

I'm trying to fill all this alone time with lots of walks and work and making to-do lists of things that I don't want to do (most involve cleaning) but that I'll have to do at some point before the in-laws arrive next week. 

On my morning walk on Thursday, I followed a little river that runs close to the apartment. I was only in a 2-mile radius or so, and I saw 10 different kinds of birds...and those are just the ones I can name and recognize. And that's just the birds. The biodiversity astounds me.

I don't mind walking alone, but I hate eating out alone, which means more cooking (ok, more delivery) while Alex is gone. This is a blessing in disguise, I guess. Saving money and calories. 

Today, I had the long bus ride back home by myself. I don't mind the bus rides so much. I can listen to my headphones and read and gorge myself on the stunning views of the countryside out the window. 

But now I'm back home. I think I've read all of the internets.  I might just go to sleep early like an old retiree so I can more easily resist the temptation to make myself a caipirinha out of boredom.

I AM planning a little barbecue for the girls I hang out with for the holiday on Tuesday, and so far, all the RSVPs have been "yes". So don't worry, I AM trying to be social instead of just hiding away in the apartment. When I've got my little group here on Tuesday, I'll try to make plans for the other nights of the week, too. The problem with being more social is that I teach afternoons and evenings, so the bulk of my free time is before lunch, when everyone else is at work.

I moved my Friday afternoon class so that I can meet Alexandre in Sampa Querida and we can play in the big city for the weekend. Bruna's gonna take the bus back with me on Sunday, and then it's formatura week! I just need to keep myself busy for the next few days.

Any suggestions?