Life in transition

One of the best and worst parts of moving around is the pre-leaving period, when the countdown has begun and the moving date is set. It is a time full of anxiety and expectation: how will the new place be? How will we adjust? But it is also a time full of joy, as you want to enjoy the place you are at the most before you leave. And when this dual feelings come crashing you have some real roller-coaster days.

Like the day before yesterday when 5 friends came over to my amazing new apartment (which I only moved into on May 15th). We had a great time, including dinner, caipirinhas, mojitos, shesha, etc. And at around 1am (pretty late for a Tuesday) we (all expats) agreed: Oslo is not bad if you have friends and a nice apartment. Now that the Summer is here and all is green, people are in the streets and birds are singing it really makes me wonder why I am leaving at prime Summer time.

My living room with a view of the porch (including tea cup and laptop): very nice!

Then yesterday, when the consequential headache from the night before was compounded by a call to A. (who is currently on a trip to Brazil to visit some companies together with classmates) in which he wondered what he is doing in Brazil and whether this move is a good idea at all, life seems like a very strange journey. I've told A. this is not the time to freak out, that now we've put things in motion and it is hard to change course. But I also understand his fears of moving to a country where he is not fluent in the language, where he doesn't know how things (and people) work and where he will be looking for a job as of December. Not easy... it doesn't even sound like he was the one that came up with this crazy idea first!

Then today comes around and is a holiday! I slept in until 10am, had a lazy breakfast on my porch and am preparing for doing a little work. Life is indeed interesting! Let's wait to see what tomorrow's mood is like!

What I will miss from Norway: #1

Having been to Brazil for a week and back I can clearly see that life will be different once we move there. And this has brought a sense of early nostalgia about Norway already. Despite difficulties making friends and getting used to the cold, this is a great place to live. In terms of quality of life, I am yet to find a comparable country. But what will I miss the most?

Public transport! Oslo has an informal "20 minute rule" saying that you can get from anywhere to anywhere else in at most 20 minutes. Trains, trams, subways, buses and even public bicycles make this possible. You buy a monthly pass and it allows you to use any of these as much as you like. Of course there are some far away neighborhoods that bend this rule, but overall it is true. And not only is the public transport available, but it actually works well! Norwegians seem to like to complain about it, but, to be honest, where else in the world can you complain that your train was 4 minutes late? In Brazil you don't even have a certain time for buses... you just go to the stop and wait until yours comes by... sometimes in 5 and others in 45 minutes. And here in Oslo delays regarding urban transport are counted in single digits, with public outcries when something goes beyond that. In line with this is the fact that there were only 2 disruptions in service in the entire time I was here, and one of them was diverting urban trains to pick up tourists from the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championship.

Definitely something to miss in  Brasil...

Brazil: third impressions

After a while of being back you start to realize that things you did not like before you left are still the same... Like status: what people do for status here is impressive. First of all people dress up. All the time. No baggy sweatpants and flipflops on the street. No t-shirts (except for guys, but paired up nicely) and an amazing amount of heels of all sizes, and the thinner the better... As a friend once said in commenting about women's shoes in different countries: "the worst the sidewalk the higher and thinner the heels women use".

And together with status come brands. Everyone seems concerned about brand clothing, shoes, purses, makeup, anything you can imagine. They are not local brands either: CK, DG, Gucci, etc which are flaunted around and make their way into conversations in which I have very little to contribute. Due to import taxes these things are even more expensive than abroad, so you can only imagine what these prices are. Even brands that are not that highly ranked abroad (think GAP, Levi's, Lee) are also high fashion brands here with prices MUCH higher than in the USA (for example you can easily pay USD150 for a pair of Levi jeans here). Considering that the income per capita in Brazil is around 10k per year (adjusted for purchasing power) you can see that people here spend a lot more on looks than in many other places.

A side effect of the search for status and the craze about brands is the belief that anything that is imported is better. While much of the developed world is going about trying to promote local in Brazil we are still looking for something made elsewhere. Even department stores have special tags saying "imported" in glittering capital letters. Why is it that we think so lowly of ourselves? Why can't we promote local and reap benefits from such? Why are we so concerned about our external image? Good questions...

Brazil: second impressions

Being back in your home country reminds you of so many things that you missed and sometimes didn't even realize you missed. Like the amazing taste of fruit in Brazil. After living abroad (especially in developed and colder countries) you definitely learn to appreciate the great flavors of their natural deliciousness. This morning I had papaya... bright orange, super sweet, melting in my mouth. And for dessert after lunch I had a crisp and chilled watermelon... ah, bliss! Fruit here come in unrivaled sweetness and freshness ( A. likes to compare them to fruit in India, which are the best according to him).

Fruit here are not as perfect visually as fruits and veggies in the US or Europe: blemishes, dark spots and uneven colors are the norm. Take a look at how different oranges look here versus Europe/US:

 And it is interesting that even though in Portuguese the name for the orange fruit is also the same as the color orange, oranges are not orange here. Then we have a ton of native fruit that don't grow anywhere else... the fruit that people usually just have in their backyard or are sold in small quantities in local markets in season only. Amazing as well! And they will always have a distinct taste of childhood and climbing trees that come along with them.

Ah... mangoes, pineapples, lichees, pitanga, jabuticaba, uvaia, guava, sapota, etc, etc, etc: here I come!

Brazil: first impression

After a long flight (4 hours from Oslo to London and then an additional 10 to Rio de Janeiro) I finally arrived in Brazil this morning at 6am. As we taxied to the terminal the stewardess announced the usual welcome and the weather: 18oC (65oF) and clear skies. The temperature sounded great for that wee pre-sunrise hour but this was a quick and fleeting thought. Soon the sun was rising, turning the skies pink as I walked through immigration. Then I had to get my bag, go through customs and recheck it. By now the sun was up and lighting the airport hall with rays reaching far into the building. Without thinking I was immediately draws to the sun and its warmth and decided to go outside. And as I was approaching the external doors I felt myself stiffen and didn't quite grasp it until I got outside. The outside temperature was the same as inside!! And I realized what Oslo has done to me: I was bracing for the cold crisp air to whip my face as soon as I walked through the door. And what a relief to be in a place where the fear of outside doors is unnecessary!!

Sunrise in Rio... not the view I had from the airport, but almost :P

And then when my final connection left Rio towards Brasília I was sitting by the window and could see the main city postcards, just like I did every so often when I lived here a year ago... right around when I started this blog. I like it when life goes round a full circle like this... you keep moving on but also realize that everything is intertwined somehow.

Welcome to Brazil!

Brazil on our mind

Life is crazy...
I suddenly got an email yesterday asking if I could attend a meeting in Brazil next week. I answered nicely saying that the main constraint was my current location... a bit far, in Norway. I thought this would be the end of that. Not so... I soon got a reply asking if I'd come to the meeting if they paid my ticket! And I said "of course" (even though I tried not to seem overly enthusiastic), I mean, who wouldn't want to spend a week in Brazil with all expenses paid for?? I know, I know it is for work... but still... By the end of the day I had exchanged several emails and at 1:30am bought the ticket!!! The craziest detail?? I'm traveling tomorrow! Being a budget traveler I always wondered who in the world buys such expensive last minute tickets... guess I know now.

On a related topic, A. got his permanent visa for Brazil yesterday as well! This is the culmination of the whole certifying the American marriage certificate - getting a Brazilian marriage certificate - applying for the visa process and waits in between. But the final stage, waiting for the approval of the VIPER (interesting name for a permanent visa, isn't it?) was actually much faster than expected. We were told it takes 2-3 months to get it approved in Oslo (against 1-2 years if you apply in Brazil) and therefore A. applied for a tourist visa, just in case. He was supposed to pick up the tourist visa yesterday and they emailed him that the VIPER was approved (in little over 3 weeks!!) and that he could get that one instead of the tourist visa in the same day itself. This is a major celebration point for us since now we are set for our move... and A. has authorization to work, study or do anything else!

A. is going on a Brazil trek with his MBA next week. Which means both of us will be in Brazil... but unfortunately not in the same cities... he will be in São Paulo and I will be in Brasília (that is, 800 miles or 1300 km apart). Oh well... at least we both get to go!!!

May 17th

May 17th is Norway's National Day. What does that mean? First of all, it is a holiday, but not just that, it is one of the most (if not the most) important holiday for Norwegians.

In the morning there are parades of children and bands who walk up to the palace for a royal blessing: the king, queen and prince wave to the crowd from their balcony.

Never saw so many people in the streets in Oslo!

The royal palace and the crowds watching the bands make their way up the hill.

See the royal family waving from the balcony?

But the main attraction during the parade was to see all different type of bunad, the traditional Norwegian dress. Each part of the country has its own, and even every village has a different patterns. Until a while back you were only allowed to wear the bunad from where you come from (instead of picking your favorite or the most beautiful one). Until today they are only made in Norway, and therefore are super expensive. A nice bunad can easily be sold for 10 thousand euros (USD14 thousand!). Usually each person has 1 and it is used only on special occasions (such as May17th and weddings). The interesting consequence is that apparently Norwegian women wear the same clothes size throughout their lives! Just to fit into the bunad...

Some simple bunads.

More embroidered bunads.

Men dress up too!

An interesting looking family in bunads.

Even kids dress up!

And now some details of what makes them special:

Detail of the embroidery.

Some have fancy hats too!

And some other headdresses!

Each has a matching purse...

That is attached to the belt.

And look at the shoes: they look like witch's shoes!

Of course, there are exceptions as well:

Which make for very interesting contrast.

And after the parades, what else is there?

In Grønland (the immigrant neighborhood) there was an amusement park and a international food fair!

And in my new neighborhood people were sitting out, watching live bands and barbecuing.

Indeed a very nice day to spend in Norway!

You can read more about it here.