So we are finally back in Brazil, after a month of travelling to the Middle East, Hong Kong and Australia for weddings and Tim's work, with our visas and CPF intact! The last (..) bit of paperwork is Tim's 'carteira de trabalha' but we are finally able to start living live here in Sao Paulo.
Since the last post we have decided to buy a house. We found a house in Alto de Pinheiros which needs a lot of work done. We had to take some time to decide whether we are prepared for more bureaucratic headache.... and we decided yes, what better way to learn Portuguese even faster! Tim found an agent to take us around some of the houses in the area. We already decided we want to stay in Pinheiros to make Tim's commute much more bearable. At the moment we are house sitting in Jardins and it can take him upwards of 1.5 hours just one way (bearing in mind it is Christmas season here so traffic is even worse).
We were recommended a couple of architects by friends, one didn't bother to show up so that helped us make the choice. There is a bit of work to be done on the house and she estimates 4-6 months - which I'm translating as 1 - 2 years... see, I'm learning patience albeit slowly!!
Tim has hired a lawyer who has put the initial offer in for us so let's see where this takes us in 2011.
Sao Paulo has lots of Xmas lights and decorations up along Av Paulista and there is a light show in Parque Ibirapuera. We are starting our christmas traditions as a family in sunny Brazil - hunting down recipes for mulled wine, mince pies and christmas pudding which I have managed to make all from scratch has actually been quite satisfying. Apparently the supermarket Casa Santa Lucia has lots of imported stuff but not quite prepared to pay Rs $40 for a box of mince pies...
It's common for most people to stay with families over Christmas (our nanny is having Xmas with her family - all 70 of them!) and everyone travels to the beach for New Years. We're going to do the opposite this year so we're not stuck in 10-12 hour traffic jams to get to the beach which is technically only an hour away... so we are planning on staying put in Brazil. No more flying! We are off to Paraty for Christmas weekend to have some family / beach time and probably chilling in Sao Paulo for New Years Eve. Will remember to take some pictures of us drinking mulled wine on the beach this weekend...
Merry Christmas, Feliz Natal and Happy Holidays to all!!
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