I´m in Braaaaaaaaazil!!

Bon dia,

I may just have forgotten to mention that, this Xmas, I am vacationing in Brazil! And, in fact I am here already.... hoorah! Yep, I started my hols last Friday (I have 3 week´s break, which is definitely one of the positives abou my job). I´m writing to you from the lounge of Gustavo´s parents´s house in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, where we are currently staying and it´s very good to be here ... Being a holiday I´m planning on doing as little work as possible so may well have a lot of time on my hands, hence can update this blog a bit more! I will try to upload some pics in the next couple of weeks so you can see what I´ve been up to ... yes this is my first ever Xmas in South America and I´m not sorry one little bit to be missing it in old Blighty ... sorry to rub it in folks!!

We´re in Uberaba for the next week or so, then after that we will be travelling further north to the state of Bahia, to a place called Porto Seguro, which is meant to be a bit of a tropical paradise. Gustavo, me and some of his family have hired a big house with a pool there (mmm mmm mmm) and will be staying there from about 23rd Dec through to 3rd Jan i.e. over the Xmas and New Year period!! It´s going to be really interesting and different spending the festive season here, not least being in a 30-40 degree climate!! Yaaaay!! Having said that, it´s raining here at the moment, which is a bit ironic ... there better be lots of tan-inducing sunshine before I come back or else!

A few other things:

- Yesterday Gustavo´s parents had lots of family and friends en cassa for a Sunday barbecue. This is a bit of a tradition over here. They have a back yard where we all sat whilst the (real?) men cooked lots of delicious meats on the barbie (and I´m telling you, the meat here tastes so much better than in old Blighty). Much beer and food was consumed and lots of chat and laughter took place ... trouble is I can´t speak Portuguese very well but still managed to have a great time! The barbies here last much longer than they might at home - people start coming over at lunch time, drop by during the day and the whole thing doesn´t tend to finish til the early morning hours ... a very social affair!

- As you might have figured, I will be missing Dr Who over Xmas - oh nooooooooo!! However am planning on getting my Mum to record it for me, so don´t forget Mother if you´re reading this! I guess the recompense of being in Brazil just about makes up for it.

- I´ve already caught the latest telenovella being broadcast in Brazil, Caras & Bocas, (Faces & Mouths - great title!) - Brazilians really go in for their melodramatic soaps and this one seems to be no exception. Last time I was here there was one on called Paraiso Tropical. The difference between Brazilian and English soaps is that these ones only tend to run for about 9 months, after which they finish and a brand new one starts up. Somehow I don´t think they could cope with the longevity of Eastenders and Coronation Steet. And you don´t always have to understand the language to pick up on the OTT acting and situations - in one episode I saw the other day, somebody sabotaged a wedding by releasing a load of spiders into an air vent which then proceeded to overrun the wedding venue and frighten all the guests - like you do. The spiders looked suspiciously CGI to me ...

- On a much more serious note, Steve, I was very sorry to hear about you losing your grandfather. He sounded like a real battler and that he had a good innings. Hope you´re bearing up and have a good Xmas in spite of your loss.

Well that´s about it for now, but will write again soon. Ciaou for now!

OC xx