My dad had to fly to another area of the mission today and also since I'll be heading back to the U.S. on Monday my mom and I just decided to just enjoy life and play all day. First we went to two different beaches...Cumbuco and Futuro.
I have decided, especially after this trip to Brazil, that I could easily become a beach bum if I lived closer to the beach. I especially love body boarding and especially here in Fortaleza because there is virtually no animal life...I don't know if it is because the water is a little extra salty, or the water is too warm or if there just aren't reefs nearby but you just don't see seaweed, nasty dead fish washing up, or really any animal life...you hardly even see many seashells.
Animal free...just the way I like it. I mean don't get me wrong...I love marine life in aquariums or when you are snorkeling in clear waters or at Sea World. But I don't want to see anything when I'm trying to swim or body board. There must be fish farther out in the ocean here in Fortaleza because you see tons of fishermen but luckily for someone like me, with an intense fear/fascination of sharks and the ocean, there isn't much close to the shore.
Whoa, that was a major tangent, which of course will be too long for my casual blog readers and leeches but not for the die-hards or really bored people or the people who really love me like my mom and grandma.
ANYWAY, after we went to the beach we got cleaned up and then headed to the salon where my mom gets her haircut and where you can get a manicure for 7 Reais, which thanks to the awesome strong dollar, equals 3 dollars U.S. That's right, three dollars. And the salon is pretty nice and they take their time and do a really good job. You can even get a manicure and pedicure at the same time and can even get them both done while you get your hair cut. Talk about multi-tasking. Oh yeah, and the pedicures are 3 bucks too. So you can get a manicure and a pedicure for 6 dollars TOTAL. I almost feel guilty for making someone scrape dead skin off the bottoms of my feet for so little. Not to worry though, I gave them big tips.
Then we were off to the mall which was quite an adventure. The mall is pretty big...at least the size of SouthTowne in Sandy or maybe a bit bigger and yet apparently only ONE store in the entire mall will validate your parking pass no matter how much money you spend in the other stores.
We didn't know that though, so we asked the guy at the movie theatre about getting our parking card validated. Apparently he didn't understand the fabulous Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix my mom and I were using to communicate because he proceeded to gesture in the air how to insert your parking card into the place where you exit the mall parking and then using his arm he showed us how the pole would move from a horizontal position to a vertical position which would then allow us to leave the parking garage. WOW, he must have really thought we were dumb. We just said "Obrigada" and then left the area before bursting into laughter.
Everything is just a little extra complicated here which provides quite a bit of confusion and fun for me and my mom. We decided to grab some Pizza Hut at the mall before heading to the movie. While you stand in line there someone comes and takes your order on a little notepad. Then you still stay in line and then when you get up to the cash register the person who took your order comes up to the register to tell the cashier what you want and then you pay and then they actually start getting your order ready.
And this "help" ordering wasn't just because of the wonderful Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix that my mom and I speak...they were adding in the extra ordering step even for the native Brazilians. Oh, and then when our pizza was ready they didn't call out a number or bring it to us or give us any indication it was ready. It just sat there getting cold until we went to ask about it. Crazy system.
Then after the movie we got gelato. Here you can't just go choose your gelato and then pay for it. You first have to go the cashier area, tell the cashier whether you want one or two scoops, and pay. Then the cashier gives you a little card that tells whether you are a one scooper or a two scooper and then you go over to where the gelato is and choose your flavor. Weird.
Anyway, I've gotten WAY off from what I intended to blog about today which is the movie Marley and Me which is the movie my mom and I went to tonight. First of all and just for the record, even though I am not a lover of dogs or anything to do with dogs, I will just say that for being a movie about a dog it was a sort of decent movie. Sort of.
So here's the rundown for those of you who don't know. Basically this couple (Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson) get married and then buy a puppy and this dog turns out to be the most horrible dog ever and basically (as far as I'm concerned) tries to destroy their lives but for some weird reason they still love the dog and they don't get rid of the dog.
And really, truly, even though it was a movie I could not at all relate to at all I think that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson did a pretty good job and the movie turned out decent...even though Jennifer Aniston's upper lip looked like it got a little too much collagen or Botox or whatever, and Owen Wilson still has the weirdest nose EVER.
During the whole movie though, I just couldn't help but just want to scream out "Get rid of the stupid dog and your lives will be so much better!" The dog chews up everything, goes to the bathroom where it shouldn't, barks, jumps, etc. ANNOYING! But, they of course keep the dog and it becomes like a family member and then of course it gets old and sick and is at the vet dying and Owen Wilson is saying goodbye to the dog and giving this whole little "Even though you were a horrible dog we love you speech," and at the end of his sad, sad goodbye the movie gets all quiet and all of a sudden SEVERAL (like 10 to 15 people) start SOBBING.
Yes, SOBBING.
Sobbing over this touching part of the movie. Now I have cried during a movie before but I don't think I've ever sobbed over a movie and if I were going to sob over a movie it would not be in public and would definitely not be after an Owen Wilson dog speech. Yeah, so apparently Brazilians LOVE dogs or something. Or maybe they just get REALLY into movies. It was pretty funny. Especially watching people walk out of the theater wiping away tears. One lady's eyes were even all red and puffy. I don't get it I guess. The end.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Marley & Not Me
My dad had to fly to another area of the mission today and also since I'll be heading back to the U.S. on Monday my mom and I just decided to just enjoy life and play all day. First we went to two different beaches...Cumbuco and Futuro.
I have decided, especially after this trip to Brazil, that I could easily become a beach bum if I lived closer to the beach. I especially love body boarding and especially here in Fortaleza because there is virtually no animal life...I don't know if it is because the water is a little extra salty, or the water is too warm or if there just aren't reefs nearby but you just don't see seaweed, nasty dead fish washing up, or really any animal life...you hardly even see many seashells.
Animal free...just the way I like it. I mean don't get me wrong...I love marine life in aquariums or when you are snorkeling in clear waters or at Sea World. But I don't want to see anything when I'm trying to swim or body board. There must be fish farther out in the ocean here in Fortaleza because you see tons of fishermen but luckily for someone like me, with an intense fear/fascination of sharks and the ocean, there isn't much close to the shore.
Whoa, that was a major tangent, which of course will be too long for my casual blog readers and leeches but not for the die-hards or really bored people or the people who really love me like my mom and grandma.
ANYWAY, after we went to the beach we got cleaned up and then headed to the salon where my mom gets her haircut and where you can get a manicure for 7 Reais, which thanks to the awesome strong dollar, equals 3 dollars U.S. That's right, three dollars. And the salon is pretty nice and they take their time and do a really good job. You can even get a manicure and pedicure at the same time and can even get them both done while you get your hair cut. Talk about multi-tasking. Oh yeah, and the pedicures are 3 bucks too. So you can get a manicure and a pedicure for 6 dollars TOTAL. I almost feel guilty for making someone scrape dead skin off the bottoms of my feet for so little. Not to worry though, I gave them big tips.
Then we were off to the mall which was quite an adventure. The mall is pretty big...at least the size of SouthTowne in Sandy or maybe a bit bigger and yet apparently only ONE store in the entire mall will validate your parking pass no matter how much money you spend in the other stores.
We didn't know that though, so we asked the guy at the movie theatre about getting our parking card validated. Apparently he didn't understand the fabulous Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix my mom and I were using to communicate because he proceeded to gesture in the air how to insert your parking card into the place where you exit the mall parking and then using his arm he showed us how the pole would move from a horizontal position to a vertical position which would then allow us to leave the parking garage. WOW, he must have really thought we were dumb. We just said "Obrigada" and then left the area before bursting into laughter.
Everything is just a little extra complicated here which provides quite a bit of confusion and fun for me and my mom. We decided to grab some Pizza Hut at the mall before heading to the movie. While you stand in line there someone comes and takes your order on a little notepad. Then you still stay in line and then when you get up to the cash register the person who took your order comes up to the register to tell the cashier what you want and then you pay and then they actually start getting your order ready.
And this "help" ordering wasn't just because of the wonderful Portuguese/Spanish/English/Sign Language mix that my mom and I speak...they were adding in the extra ordering step even for the native Brazilians. Oh, and then when our pizza was ready they didn't call out a number or bring it to us or give us any indication it was ready. It just sat there getting cold until we went to ask about it. Crazy system.
Then after the movie we got gelato. Here you can't just go choose your gelato and then pay for it. You first have to go the cashier area, tell the cashier whether you want one or two scoops, and pay. Then the cashier gives you a little card that tells whether you are a one scooper or a two scooper and then you go over to where the gelato is and choose your flavor. Weird.
Anyway, I've gotten WAY off from what I intended to blog about today which is the movie Marley and Me which is the movie my mom and I went to tonight. First of all and just for the record, even though I am not a lover of dogs or anything to do with dogs, I will just say that for being a movie about a dog it was a sort of decent movie. Sort of.
So here's the rundown for those of you who don't know. Basically this couple (Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson) get married and then buy a puppy and this dog turns out to be the most horrible dog ever and basically (as far as I'm concerned) tries to destroy their lives but for some weird reason they still love the dog and they don't get rid of the dog.
And really, truly, even though it was a movie I could not at all relate to at all I think that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson did a pretty good job and the movie turned out decent...even though Jennifer Aniston's upper lip looked like it got a little too much collagen or Botox or whatever, and Owen Wilson still has the weirdest nose EVER.
During the whole movie though, I just couldn't help but just want to scream out "Get rid of the stupid dog and your lives will be so much better!" The dog chews up everything, goes to the bathroom where it shouldn't, barks, jumps, etc. ANNOYING! But, they of course keep the dog and it becomes like a family member and then of course it gets old and sick and is at the vet dying and Owen Wilson is saying goodbye to the dog and giving this whole little "Even though you were a horrible dog we love you speech," and at the end of his sad, sad goodbye the movie gets all quiet and all of a sudden SEVERAL (like 10 to 15 people) start SOBBING.
Yes, SOBBING.
Sobbing over this touching part of the movie. Now I have cried during a movie before but I don't think I've ever sobbed over a movie and if I were going to sob over a movie it would not be in public and would definitely not be after an Owen Wilson dog speech. Yeah, so apparently Brazilians LOVE dogs or something. Or maybe they just get REALLY into movies. It was pretty funny. Especially watching people walk out of the theater wiping away tears. One lady's eyes were even all red and puffy. I don't get it I guess. The end.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
That's funny. I saw that movie this weekend. It was ok. Didn't love it though. I read the book quite awhile ago and the movie follows the book very well. I actually wrote a blog post about the book. You know that part of the movie where they are showing pictures and Owen Wilson is talking kinda fast to give a summary of everything in his life that has happened. That's basically what my blog said the book was like. I felt proud of myself.
don't people in Brazil eat dogs?
Ahhh, a woman of my own heart. I even once emailed KSL and told them they needed to not do so many DOG stories on the news.. After all, not all of us are animal lovers. That is pretty funny. I think I will probably skip that movie.
Ugh. I refuse to watch that movie. I knew it would be like that---kind of like "Meet the Parents" where the whole time, you just want to yell:'just dump her and go home!"
I am an animal lover, but geez. Today a girl from work was telling us about those Sarah McLachlan commercials with the dogs and she starting crying.. then someone asked her how she usually reacted when she saw suffering starving children and she stopped crying and just shrugged- like who cares.
Ugh. there is MY tangent
Wow. 2 words: spoiler alert
I'm just sayin....
Don't worry, though - all is forgiven if you brought back Passatempo Recheado's.
The book is better than the movie. It goes in to more detail about why the dog is so great and why they don't get rid of it. I cried at the end of the book, not the movie.
The sobs were weird and I don't think we are heartless dog haters. I cried in "Old Yeller." I wonder what would happen in a movie theater here if an REAL hero died or even a dog like Lassie that saved peoples lives or at least didn't destroy everything. There would probably be wailing going on.
Post a Comment