Duas Semanas do Brasil

Well today marks 2 weeks since I've arrived in Brazil.  Things are starting to come together a bit more and with each day that passes it feels more and more like I live here and that I'm not on vacation anymore.  I've spent quite a bit of time in the office the past week and a half (the longest hours I've worked in quite a while) but without TV or Internet at home it's not like I had much better to do.  They assured me these hours were not the norm after I joked about wanting to go back to the U.S. and my old work schedule. I now have a TV, fridge, oven and microwave and the services for TV and Internet have been ordered.  All that is left is the sofa and the table, which are also on their way.  Soon I'll be up and running with everything I need.

The people here have been quite helpful in getting me all set up and keeping me busy outside of the office.  Last Friday a few of them were getting together after work and they arranged for somebody to pick me up and even drop me off at the end of the night.  Sunday I had the pleasure of attending my second Corinthians futebol game, which is quite an experience.  In Brazil, fans don't feel the need to stand for the national anthem while they'd much prefer to bang drums, chant and jump around all game.  The team is much like the Cowboys or Yankees (they have a national following and people either love them or hate them) and has a fan base like the Raiders.  The Corinthians haters in the office say it's a good match for me since I can't read or write Portuguese (yet) and neither can their fans.  My Portuguese is coming along, every day I feel like I can understand more and am learning new words.

I am working on some plans to visit a few other cities in Brazil in the upcoming weeks.  In three weeks there is a huge music festival in Rio that the company is working on getting tickets for me and a few other coworkers.  I've always wanted to go check out all that Rio has to offer and going with a few locals should make it that much better.  The line-up for the first weekend isn't too shabby ..... http://rockinrio.com/rio/line-up/ .  The following week I'm scheduled to head up to Recife, a nice beach town in the Northeast of Brazil, for a work event Thursday and Friday and hope to stay the weekend to really get to enjoy.  Supposedly the beaches up north are to die for so I'm really looking forward to that.

Below is a picture from my office window of the São Paulo landmark Ponte Octávio Frias

3 dias de trabalho

With 3 days of work in the books I can't say I've done a whole lot of actual work, but I'm sure that will come in due time.  I've spent most of my time trying to keep my head on straight with all of the crazy Portuguese going on around me.  I can hold a simple conversation with one person at a time but when they all start talking at once I am completely lost.  I sit here with my little translation book listening to conversations and trying to pick up new words to look up.  Everyone in the office has been very helpful and a few of them speak English well enough to help translate for me.  One thing lost in translation is my name, which is pronounced "Bray-n-do Gee-Tolla" in these parts.

I still don't have anything in my apartment except for the clothes I brought and the bed that was there when I arrived.  Supposedly other items such as a fridge, oven and TV are supposed to be delivered this week but I'm not detecting a great sense of urgency with anything in Brazil.  The lone exception is the apartment building under construction next to mine..... it seems they are working on it 24/7 which can make sleeping a bit interesting.  My big purchases this week have included hangers so I could unpack my clothes and an iron so that I could show up a work looking half way respectable.  It may not seem like much, but it's the simple things in life that make adjusting to a new country that much easier.

Below is an announcement that went out introducing me to the company (it also came with a picture that didn't copy over) and an example of the language barrier I'm working to break through on a daily basis...

		Mobilidade de Talentos: Novo Gerente na VP Finanças
	Estamos incentivando e praticando cada vez mais a mobilidade de talentos nas empresas que integram o DIRECTV Group, privilegiando assim o desenvolvimento das pessoas e das carreiras.   Desta forma a SKY continua com esta prática trazendo Brandon DiTolla, Gerente de Planejamento Financeiro Corporativo que integrará o time de Adriana Gaspar, Gerente de Planejamento e Suporte ao Negócio, e ficará conosco durante o período de 2 anos.   Ele será responsável, entre outras funções, por conduzir a elaboração e reporte do plano financeiro anual e de longo prazo, bem como pelas revisões mensais e estimativas anuais.   Esta é a melhor forma de trazer know how e também levar conhecimentos de operações locais de volta para o DIRECTV Group, garantindo negócios sustentáveis e o desenvolvimento de talentos que possam no futuro contribuir ainda mais com o nosso negócio.   Brandon trabalha na DIRECTV US há 6 anos e desenvolveu sua carreira em diferentes áreas de finanças até chegar em seu cargo atual de Gerente de Planejamento Financeiro.  Desejamos boas-vindas e sucesso para Brandon em seus novos desafios!

Seja bem vindo ao Brasil!

Friends & Family,

I have decided to start a blog so that I can post updates and photos of my adventures in Brazil now that I have finally arrived!  It certainly didn´t take long for me to be reminded that I am now the foreigner and that my Portuguese has a ways to go.  The cab driver did not know exactly where my soon to be apartment was and upon phoning for help the one thing I could hear him say was "o gringo não sabe".  Despite the initial miscommunication, he was able to get me where I needed to go.  Excited to see where I will be living for the next two years I walked in to a completely empty apartment and thought "oh no, what did I get myself into?".  The apartment and building are both very nice and modern but when I walked in there was only a bed with the plastic wrapping still in tact.  Luckily, I was able to sync up with a few co-workers who I had met on my prior visit for lunch and they were able to help my buy sheets/pillows and towels so at least I could take a shower and have a place to sleep.   

For my first night in town, I was able to wander around and find my way to a restaurant I had eaten before.  Still a bit unsure of my Portuguese skills it took a caipirinha (or two) for me to work up the courage to have a conversation with the waiter.  I began by telling him it was my first night in Brazil and that I'd be here for the next two years.  The highlight of my night came when he asked if I had been practicing because I actually spoke pretty well and that he could understand me.

Over the weekend, a friend from work, Higor, invited me to his parents' house about an hour and a half south of São Paulo to celebrate Brazilian Father's Day.  Though most of them didn't speak any English they took amazing care of me and I got to practice quite a bit more Portuguese.  I was spoiled with homecooked meals of all of the local fare and got to experience the local culture.  I could not have asked for a better way to begin my stay!

I found my way to the office this morning (it's a whole two blocks from my apartment) and am taking care of the usual first day items such as trying to log in and get access to everything.  Needless to say, today hasn't been all that productive but I am excited for the challenges ahead.

That's all for now, more to come!  Tchau!

p.s. - I can confirm that toilets do flush the opposite direction south of the equator