The Perfect Storm

Yesterday there was a major rain storm. Thunder, lightning, cats and dogs of rain! It was a challenge getting to work...and when I arrived...I discovered that the roof had collapsed.
This is the cafeteria...where I usaually get my afternoon expresso... Luckily it didn't affect any of the classrooms.

The Weekend

The day before yesterday was apparently the hottest day in Brasilian since the city started...about 50, 60 years ago...I'm not sure of the exact temperature...but it was hot...and dry...and lately we haven't been able to do anything but lay on the bed spralled out...trying not to use any energy. But on a possitive note, the mango's are ripening faster. Last weekend I had class on Saturday and then Leo and I were going to go to this Christian concert that his church was putting on, with a pretty well known Portuguese Christian singer. Usually after class Alex and Aline drive me home, so I was hoping that they could do the same today with Leo as well...and then we would figure out how to get there from there. Well instead...after a bit of Portuguese discussion between Leo and Alex, I found out that they were going to drive us to the concert...which definitely was not on their way to anyway...and was actually quite a ways a way...I was a little concerned because I still had my lap top computer with me, and hadn't planned on taking it to the concert...but they assured me that I could leave it in the car and that they would pick us up later...after the concert. Now this is just ridiculos. No one is that nice. Especially since the concert was not quite as easy to find as Leo had made it sound. We drove around in circles quite a few times...I couldn't stop laughing...but also we were back in Estructual...not the best part of town...but through Aline's quick detective work and Alex's expert driving skills we eventually found it, tucked behind some giant concrete wall.
It was a lot of fun. There were probably 6-8 thousand people there. Mostly teenagers who were all dressed in similar colors to identify with their particular church branch. We got hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner...not exactly the same as we get...the hot dogs were...I think boiled and then heated on a skillet...and placed in a bun with corn and little french fries. The hamburger includes the patty, a slice of ham, a slice of provolone cheese and some little french fries.

Afterwards Aline and Alex picked us up as promised and Aline had made some Pave for me (my absolute favorite dessert...it's like a chocolate pudding type thing) in a to go container. Are you guys understanding how ridiculously nice these people are? They drove us all the way out of their way...and then made my favorite dessert...and then brought it while picking us up and driving us home...which is also out of their way...and then Alex took Leo somewhere...I'm not sure...closer to his house so that he could catch the right bus. Leo lives pretty far away, and the busses are not his friend. None of the busses to his city pass by my house, so he always has to take a combination of busses and the metro to get home...but on weekends the metro stops earlier...so it makes it even harder. Anyway, the next day after church Leo came over again and we had all been invited over to Aline and Alex's for lunch. Alex came and picked us up and we had an excellent meal at their house, complete with Fillet Minion and rice and salad (because they know that Kelly likes salad) and ice cream cake and of course, more pave. Then we watched two movies. One American movie and one Brasilian movie. It was really a nice Sunday afternoon.

the 24th day

Today started like any other ordinary day...I took the bus into Brasilia and started walking down the hill towards the Caixa building. I noticed almost immediately that it was quite...usually their is loud blaring music starting at the crack of dawn, so that the whole neighborhood knows that there is a strike...and there are air horns...and occationally some announcement over a loud speaker...but today it was quiet...maybe it is still early...or maybe...sure enough, when I turned to corner there was no one in front of the building...no Caixa security guards...no one holding signs or passing out flyers...nothing. It was completely silent. So the strike is over.
I went up to the 14 floor...and it was bustling with people. For the past few weeks it has been like a ghost town inside the building...but today was everyone's first day back so they were all chatting and pretending to start working again. Apparently they ended up getting an 8.5% raise, and some other benefits that I didn't completely understand.
So...that's over...until next year.

The 21st Day

So the Greve (strike) is on it's 21st day... And it's been a pretty interesting experience for me. I have ben told some horror stories about the strike, but everyone seems to agree that this is a pretty weak strike. There are hardly any strikers...just a few people to hold the sign. I think everyone is just treating this as a vacation. Now, I am getting my information from a variety of sources...none of whom speak perfect English and none of which are the same. But from what I gather...the strikers are asking for 6 hour work days instead of 8, but with no pay decrease...aparantly this is the equivalent of a 12% raise...which seems pretty high. Well last week everyone seemed convinced that the strike was going to end on Thursday or Friday. On Thursday they had a meeting (like everyday) and from what I understood the result was that the strikers were suppose to return to work on Friday, but didn't. They were offered 9% and everyone was convinced that they would accept (let me remind you that this is a national strike, and they workers in my building really can't do anything about it...in fact, Danyel, one of my students is a top advisor to the President of all of Caixa, and he explained to me...that she can't even do anything about it, because it is a federal bank, and the government has to agree to the workers demains...even though it is the company that is lossing money by not having any employees these last few week. It doesn't really make sense to me.) Well anyway, they didn't accept the 9%, so on Monday, the government removed their offer and are now offering nothing! So we are back to square one, and everyone is getting impatience so tension is a little high. The strikers latest tactect is to use giant blow horns and blow then in the faces of people trying to enter. I got there early enough to avoid it yesterday, but I saw some friendly fire on my way out. The other strikers were complaining to the man with the airhorn that he is blowing it too often. Today as I started to approach the building I noticed that they had tied a sign all the way across the front of the entrance...hum...I thought, this should be interesting. There was a man going in a little ahead of me, so I paced myself to see what would happen. The man just tore the sign down with two yanks and the the strikers started moking him and clapping like "way to go old man, you got the sign down." I was really hoping that they wouldn't be able to put it back up before I got there. Well, one man was tying up one side and the other man was just holding it and leaning against the other post. I thought for a breif second of just turning around, but it was a little too late. I was already making good stride towards the door. I found myself right infront of the man holding the sign...I said, in my most humble tone possible "desculpe senhor." (excuse me sir.) Just looked at me and just said, "well you are going to have to go under," (in portuguese of course...or a least that's what I think he said) as he lifted the sign a little and I crawled under. Tomorrow should be interesting. I haven't felt the least bit threatened yet because the security guards hired by Caixa out number the strikers 3 to 1.

Our weekend meals (this one's for you Dad).

This was a pretty busy weekend, and we are all sick from eating too much. On Friday night our friend Leo came over (big Leo...not to be confused with little Leo.) Big Leo is our neighbor and he stops by almost every night, just to chat. This Friday he brought his sax with him. He told us a few weeks ago that he plays the sax and we have been asking him to bring it over and play for us. So on Friday he did. It was really fun. He has a book of church hymn songs that he plays, assumingly with a band, at church. He has a Portuguese one with the music and an English song book. So he played and we sang for quit a while.

That evening we went to Pastor Terezinha's house where we would be staying that evening. We began the preparations for Sunday's meal. Kelly and I sat peeling garlic for a few hours, while Lance chopped sausage, and a few other women pulled apart the chicken, soaked the beans...and I'm not sure what else went on. Some kids from the neighborhood came over, they wanted us to know that they knew some English, but apparently that meant that they were able to count to 10 in English. Kelly took the oppertunity to teach them their colors. She taught them some basic colors and then we played a game of eye-spy...something red. The kids loved it and this went on for hours while we continued to peel garlic. Eventually I started to get really tired. During the week I have to leave for work at 6:30am, so I am used to going to bed pretty early. It was about 11:30pm, and we were just sitting down to dinner. I could hardley keep my eyes open.

Eventually Kelly and Lance went to the neighbor's house to borrow a mattress and Pastor Terezinha gave me a single mattress to set up. She cleared the coffee table and other furniture from the living room, and I set up my bed in the courner.Her house is pretty big, there are four bedrooms and at least three bathroom (although none of the toliets had toliet seats....Kelly and I never could figure that out...toliet seats aren't that expensive...anyway...). When Kelly and Lance got back they were directed to set their mattress down right next to mine. So we had a bit of a slumber party in the pastor's living room. Which wouldn't have been too much of a problem if it wasn't for the fact that we were blocking her son's bedroom, and apparently 12:30am is too early to sleep, and his girlfriend was hanging out with him in his room, and everyone one else was still awake and yelling across the house. Luckily I was tired enough not to notice, but for a few minutes the three of us talked about the oddness of sleeping in the middle of a very awake, crowded house. Lance commented on the cultural differences. What it comes down to is that Americans just have a different perspective on personal space. Personal space isn't that important to Brasilians.

The next morning Kelly and I walked to the nearest super market to buy breakfast for everyone. When we returned we continued the preparations for the meal. Unfortunately Kelly and I don't know too much about cooking Brasilian, so we were mostly spectators. They cooked the whole chicken...after it was pulled a part...wings, legs, feet...I have to admit, there is something just a little unappetizing about seeing chicken feet cooked and mixed in with the rice.

Eventually we headed over to the crèche where we found about 30 children waiting for us. We served the lunch first and everyone was happy and well fed. After that it was time for registration. I think we were all wishing Gemina was here for this part. It wasn’t very organized, even though it appeared to be. This goes back to that red clock that said nine in the afternoon. Things here in Brasil always look really nice, but underneath they often lack order or function. For example Vilma had put together these really great registration forms, they were printed in color and the paper was even pink for girls and white for boys.

We had theses nice little folder organizers, pink for girls, blue for boys. But then we had to register them after they had eaten and while everyone was anxious to get things started. They were lined up into a boy line and a girl line and Kelly was put in charge of the boys. It was pretty frustrating for her. There weren’t many parents around, and the kids didn’t all know their address, phone number, e-mail address and so on. Anyway, the registration process took a while.

Finally it was time to start the program. We got the kids in a circle and began singing some songs. It was a little challenging since we don’t have an instrument and the echo in the room was pretty bad. Plus there were dogs outside that didn’t stop barking and a couple of the guys decided that this would be the best time to hang up the sign…which required a hammer and nails, and the adults didn’t stop talking, babies were crying, etc, etc, but we got through the song and the kids seemed interested and engaged, so that’s what matters.

After the songs Adam (Lance) came out to tell the story of how God the Father created the earth, and the animals and everything that we see. He explained how God created man, and then women, and about the tree and the snake.
When Adam left we had a few more songs and then the craft. Lance came up with this great idea for the separation of light and dark. This was our main scripture for the day. Genesis 1:3-4. God said, “Let there be light” and then he separated the light from the dark. So we passed out the crafts and the children made their construction paper versions of the first day, (thanks to Judy…there is no construction paper in this country, so this craft would have been quit difficult. Also glue and glitter are hard to come by.)
We then began cleaning up while Vilma and Pastor Terezinha pasted out prizes. Vilma bought these really nice little bags filled with candy. After a lot of hurry up and waiting we finally got back on a bus and headed back to Luziânia. I said to Kelly while waiting for the bus, “I can’t wait to get home.” Then it occurred to me…it takes a trip like this to turn our little, barely furnished, dusty house in the middle of Guará, into home.

The Greve continues

It was a little more difficult to get into Caixo this morning. The stirkers are starting to get creative and block entrances...even though there are only a few of them. I have been using the back entrance and until today there haven't been any strikers in the way, but today the had their sign blocking the entrance and I had to akwardly walk around them. They didn't do anything more than that...and they said something to me, but that's it. I'm glad that I don't drive because they are also blocking the parking lot and giving the drivers a hard time. Unfortunately there really aren't too many other places to park in the area.

Teacher

On Sunday we had our St. Francis Day service. My friend Leonardo and another guy from Leonardo's church, Yuri, wanted to come see the service. They ended up showing up an hour and a half late for the service, and then they stayed until 6 at night.
This is Kelly, Leonardo and Yuri, listening to some songs on the internet that afternoon.
After they left we quickly had to clean up the house and start cooking dinner. My other friends Alexandre and Aline were coming over for dinner. So it was a very busy day.

On Tuesday we had our Bible Discussion again. This week, Leila and her daughter Sarah came again, and so did Leonardo, and then Kelly's friend, who goes to the Church of Christ and teaches English at the French school, Noela came as well. Since the second week, our bible discussion has been growing by one person every week. I wonder how long this momentum will keep up. I also wonder how much longer until we are out of chairs. We seem to be buying chairs every week. After the Bible Discussion, as everyone was leaving, I hear a shout from across the park.
It was Leonard #2. Another student of mine who lives across the street from us. We discovered that we were neighbors on the first day of class, when we seemed to be following eachother home on the bus. Since then I hadn't seen him in the neighborhood.
But on Tuesday he came over and we chatted for a little while. He wants to practice his English. But of course, as soon as Kelly joined the conversation he comforitably slipped back into his native tounge. His mother makes and sells chocolate, so he has immediately become our best friend in the neighborhood. And he has Skye TV, and he invited Lance to join him to watch the NFL games on Sunday, so he also became Lance best friend. Tonight we had chapter and mass. Right after mass he was at our door. He said that the music was so nice (which, I am sure he was just saying to be nice, because me, Kelly and Lance singing acapela...well...). Apparently he attends Christian Congregation of Brasil in Guara II.
We all took our turn taking pictures with in, and I just couldn't choose which picture to use for the blog, so you get all of them.



What is a little funny is that these two Leonardo's, who are becoming good friends of mine, still call me teacher. Oh, have I not mentioned how everyone here gets called my their profession? They do not call me Ms. Halkyard, or Miss Tanya or even just Tanya. They call me teacher. And it's not just teachers. I have heard them call clerks at the super market, "clerk" and bus drivers "driver." But I think, after you are friends with someone you should call them...well "friend" instead of "teacher"

The 8th Day

So today is the 8th day of the strike. Yesterday...on the one week mark... there was a vote by the union workers to decide whether or not to return to work. Apparently the voted against returning. So the strike continues and it is getting stronger and building momentum. Today the strikers blocked all the entrences to the parking lots, so everyone had to find other places to park. But still, it wasn't very difficult for me to get in. Of course, it may be because on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays I arrive at 7:30am....and strikers don't seem to be early birds. Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't get there until 8:30am, so tomorrow might be a different story.
I was talking with one of my classes today. They said that this strike is a little strange. The strikers don't seem to be Caixa employees. They said that they think the union has hired people to stand out front and strike. Which to me seems to be the oddest thing that I have ever heard. So the strikers aren't actually strikers and in fact they are working? What? That hasn't been varified though.

açai

Açai is a very popular Brasilian berry, and today I had my first açai experiece. They serve it sort of like a sorbert...or apple sauce type thing. They put granola and bananas on top. I went to church with my new friend Leonardo, he is also a student of mine. After church we went to a little late night hambuger joint called Bomba.

This is a close up of the açai dessert.

Also, I met another guy from Leonardo's church, Yuri, who is an English teacher.

Leonardo and Yuri trying to decide what to get next. They both thought that it would be funny to pretend that they are not from Brasil. So they spoke to the waiter only in English and tried to communicate....and also pretended that they didn't understand what the waiter was saying to them. It was pretty funny to watch, but I think that they might have pulled it off.

Apparentely açai turns your teeth purple.

More on the Strike

So it turns out that the strike this year is a "weak strike." Usually it is a lot stronger. It isn't over yet, but hardly anyone is showing up to strike. Most of the strikers just stay home, and many of the union worker are returning to work inspite of the strike. One of my friends works at another Caixa building and when I asked him about it he said, "yes, I was suppose to strike, but I have big project that I need to work on." So, I haven't actually had too much trouble getting in, but it has been a little intimidating, nothing that I can't handle though. Here are some pictures of the strike on Friday. As you can see there aren't too many people there. The men and women in uniform are the Caixa security guards who are suppose to be keeping the empolyees trying to enter...I was told however, that if the strikers get violent, the guards just make sure that no one get hit twice. Anyway, as you can see, there are more guards than strikers.



On Thursday, there was a live band under that tent, and a few people were kicking around a soccer ball in the space in front. I think Friday that all just decided to stay home though. However, the do have a DJ who pumps really loud obnoxious music out of there speakers.

Banqueiros em Greve

Today was not a good day to forget my camera. Early in the morning, I headed to Brasilia to teach at Caixa. This Tuesday I only have one class, and it's my small conversation class. When I got off the bus and started heading towards the building I hear loud music coming from speakers right in front of Caixa. I figured it was some sort of promption or something. I have seen that before in other areas. But as I got closer it looked like some military award show...there was a line of men and women in...police uniforms in front of the building. They were sort of in the way of the entrance, so I decided to go around the building to the back...there is another entrance below by the garage. But as I walked around...something wasn't right...this wasn't celebration music coming from the speakers, it was like angry music...and no one was smiling (which is very unlike Brasil). I then noticed that in front of the line of police officers there were some people holding a long banner that went all the way across the entrance to the building. "Banqueiros em Greve." Hum...banqueiros looks like bankers...what is greve...so I stopped an looked it up in my dictionary...and just as I was beginning to suspect...Strike! Bankers on Strike. I walked around to the other entrance, and it was barricaded just the same. Hum...I was supposed to be at work in 5 minutes. I had a few options. I could turn around and go home, or I could try to some how get in. My motivation for getting in was A) I needed to money from the job. B) I didn't want to lose my job by not showing up, and I didn't have any phone numbers to confirm anything and C) which was the most motivation...I was looking forward to an hour long conversation class where we could discuss this strike. So I watched for a minute and I saw one man make his way in. You really have to be quite bold. There was a large empty space between the crowd of on lookers, where I was, and the row of stikers and police officers. I really wanted to get in though. I waited until another girl decided to go for it and I followed closely behind her...hey, I was the ignorant American if anyone asked, right? It was very intimidating, but I successfully crossed the picket line. I went up the the 13th floor like normal, but it was totally deserted. There were probably 5 or 6 people in the whole area, which is a sea of cubicals usually holding...over 100 people. I sat down for a minute...I wonder if my class will even be here. Darn, I really wanted them to tell me what is going on. After about 8 minutes Cristina...one of my students got there. She said, "I thought you were not coming today because of the strike," and then we started class. She was the only one who showed up, but she explained that every year September is the month for negotiations between the bankers and the government. Apparently some of the banks in Brasil are government run. So every year there is a Strike right around the end of September, because they never agree before that. Every single year. And this strike wasn't just for Caixa, it was for all government banks, which include Caixa and Banco do Brasil. 21 years ago the strike lasted a month, and it was terrible because people couldn't get their money out of the bank, they couldn't pay bills, and this was before online banking. She said that nowadays the strikes usually last a week. The first day they will let you pass, but as the week goes on they will start making it more and more difficult. They will stand in front of you, pull your hair, and sometimes they hit and punch. The police are actually Caixa security guards and are there to stop them from punching again...She also explained that they get metrol and soak a rope in it. Then they lay the rope across, and anyone who tries to cross, they either trip them, or cover their clothes with oil.
I didn't go in today, but I am going to attempt again tomorrow. I think because my class with Danyel is so early...they won't be there yet. Cristina explained that they usually start at 8am. Danyel's class is at 7:30am...so maybe I'll be ok. If not, I might have another interesting blog tomorrow...I'm not going to forget my camera this time.

Oh...and you probably want to know what they are striking for...they want to have 6 hour work days, instead of 8, but without a pay decrease. I will repeat that, they want to only work 6 hours a day, instead of the 8 that they are currently working, but still make the same amount of money as an 8 hour work day. I should also add, that as it stands now, after one year of employment, they get 30 days of vacation time....yes, that's 30, one full month. They also get 18 leave days, which can be added up over the years or used as a materinty or sick leave, and they also get 5 personal days. One of the guys that I teach has accumulated his days and next year he is going to take 6 months off....and he may only be working 6 hour work days...anyone else want to join the Brasilian work force?