So tomorrow (aka Wednesday/yesterday) I walked to the video store by myself. It is 9 blocks away with 2 turns, so Murilo thought it would be a good idea to write my name, address, and contact info on a piece of paper and put it in my pocket for emergencies. I thought: that's ridiculous, I'm not a child; I said: good idea, honey; then thought: that's actually not a bad idea. So I wrote the info on a paper towel and tucked it in my shorts (next to my mace) and off I went.
Encounter #1: I asked the front gate guy to write the address on my piece of paper towel (smile...nod...) and between what I said and what I wrote, he understood and wrote it down for me! My first success.
Encounter #2: As I was walking I passed a band of 6 or 7 girls who looked to be about 10 or 12 years old. As I passed, one of them looked like she jab stepped or tripped towards me (I chose to think she tripped). As I walked on by I felt something hit the back of my shorts, so I turned and saw PART OF A SANDWICH on the ground. The girl had thrown a SANDWICH at me! Really? REEEALY? I tried to come up with all possible reasons that a part of a sandwich would/could have become a flying projectile in my direction, but despite my creative gene, I came up blank. When I told Murilo he just said (in chorus, now), "These things only happen to you." Good heavens, let's try to be a little more creative in our hate crimes, shall we, people?
Encounter #3: I arrived at the video store, picked out my movies, and approached The Desk. The lady there said something to me to which I gave my usual apology for not speaking portuguese, smile, nod (I'm getting good at this), and she was so great! She smiled, spoke slowly, gestured wildly when she could see my confused glaze, and then gave me a Twilight popcorn bucket. Which, by the way, is the second Twilight popcorn bucket the movie store has now given me. Movie store: 100 points, Little girl thug gang: 0.
I was feeling so great after my redeeming video store/Twilight bucket encounter that I decided to go crazy and go to the supermarket. So Encounter #4 was a successful buying of groceries where the most difficult part was figuring out which bottle was shampoo and which was conditioner. And, luckily enough, the checkout guy didn't ask me any questions, so I was able to just smile and nod (and therefore blend in perfectly! mwahaha)
Today my adventure was walking to the beach (only three blocks, but I brought my paper towel identification card, none the less). I de-diapered Toby and off we went. We walked down the beach for quite a while. It's pretty un-populated directly in front of the apartment, but as we walked the beach became more populated with restaurants and people. The water was a gorgeous, sparkly blue today and the sun was out in full. Luckily I had remembered to wear sunscreen, and Toby with his curly black fur didn't mind - he was too preoccupied with all the trees calling to him (and he didn't disappoint ANY of them...) At our turn around point I talked myself into buying a coconut. I had to work up to it, practice all the words I might have to use in my head, pick out the right coconut seller, make an escape plan, and then I went for it. And low and behold, the guy sold me one! I was a little confused about how/when to pay, and he was a little confused that I wanted to sit on the wall right next to his stand and drink it, but he eventually walked away, so I figured I would just pay later. Then I had to think about how to get his attention and tell him I wanted to pay when I left (ah, so many details!) so I observed other people, and apparently you just make eye contact, lift your finger, and open your mouth a little bit like you're about to say something. I found out today that I was born to buy and pay for coconuts: the gesture worked flawlessly and the guy didn't even charge me the tourist price (Murilo later informed me that 2 reis is a good price for a coconut).
The final adventure for the day was putting Toby's diaper back on. Once I figured out where they were, it wasn't too hard - I think he likes it.
What adventures will I have this weekend, you ask? Well, Luiza is leaving for the weekend, so it will be my first time with no interpreter!!! I'm a little scared, so I think this will be adventure enough, but you never know - I'll keep you posted. Smile and nod, just smile and nod.
Sleep well, queridos!! (And good night, Murilo, I love you.)
Nice work! I think the phrase "Brrr" would work very nicely there too! Just in case you haven't tried that yet....Need a coconut? Look at the man and say Brrr..!
ReplyDeleteI've found that smiling and nodding works well here too, except you also have to throw in a little bow. :) Glad you're adventurous! Good work Murilo on making her carry around her address! She might need it!
hahaha, I'll have to try the bow - I'm sure it can't hurt! And I'm so good at the Brr usually, but when I get nervous I can't incorporate it. I'll practice, good idea ;)
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