an experiment in culture shock

Yesterday, I was informed that the local police are still under the assumption that my car is stolen. If they were to catch me driving my car, they would arrest me, many believe at gunpoint. So, in order to avoid an unfortunate event, such as death by the Brazilian Civil Police, Mari and I drove down to the Division of Theft and Robbery yesterday afternoon to report my car found. Once we arrived, we were told that we were at the wrong place and we needed to be at the Division of Theft and Robbery of Vehicles, which, not suprisingly, was about 30 minutes away. Once we finally arrived at the correct place we were given the necessary information that we actually needed the car with us. Hopefully, Monday when I drive it to the police station I won’t get arrested on my way there.

Lesson learned: if you commit a crime in Brazil, you don’t have to leave the country, just the neighborhood since clearly the police can’t communicate with each other.

During my bi-weekly trip to the Municipal Market, where I usually go for fresh produce, good wine prices, and gourmet cheeses, I had to supplement my very grown up purchases with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies. I must admit, it makes me feel a little dirty to pay three times the price for mac and cheese made with a powder, but there’s something about seeing American products. Mmm, powdery cheese.

Well, my third Carnival is winding to a close and I am slowly preparing for two days of work and then 5 fun-filled days of travel with 25 of my closest students. I’m off on another trip to Angra dos Reis. I can’t complain. It’s my third year to travel to the 5-star beach resort. Hopefully the weather will be as good as my trip this week to Praia Mariscal (the same beach I went to with Todd, Kirsten and Riley). Several friends and I decided that we would take a break from the mania that is Brazilian carnival and head some place quieter. We found it. We stayed at a great little pousada that had no close neighbors. It was quiet, peaceful and totally relaxing. New photos are up, though if you saw the set from when Todd and Kirsten were here these aren’t that revolutionary. Though we did make it to the top of Morro de Macaco. Pretty pictures of the view are available here.