<p>And DTE, it wouldn’t be creepy, because that is what her company does - it’s not like your next door neighbor wanted to clean. It would be great to have a service like that (or manicure or massage) that could be offered to folks who need a pick me up.</p>
<p>Speaking of cleaning, H emailed that he did some sweeping and cleaning the kitchen at our son’s apartment today, noting that the dirt doesn’t seem to bother S1. At home, H claims he can’t see any dirt whenever I ask him to clean. I guess there is dirt and then there is DIRT. When H and I were dating I never saw such a pig-sty as his apartment, so I can’t imagine how dirty a place has to be before H considers it to be dirty. </p>
<p>H also has said that there is no hot water. Apparently, never has been and never will be in this apartment–just not something they have. No air conditioning either and it is extremely hot and muggy. People just leave the windows open (no screens). None of these things were ever worthy of mention by S, so it’s interesting to get this glimpse into his life. He considers his living arrangement to be paradise on earth.</p>
<p>TheAnalyist, please remind me where he is - Argentina?</p>
<p>I don’t understand the lack of window screens. We visited Germany a couple of summers ago. The small hotels in which we stayed didn’t have AC and didn’t need it but we needed to open the windows and there no screens and yes, all manner of bugs came in. Is it so “spoiled American” to not want bugs/flies inside?</p>
<p>missypie, he is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I’m sure there are neighborhoods with all the modern conveniences but it sounds like S is in a walk-up with the clothes lines out the windows and kids kicking the ball in the street kind of place (fits his budget as we pay him the dorm rate at his college and the rest is his cost). </p>
<p>He has to dress in a suit for his job, but the buses aren’t air conditioned so his shirt is soaked completely by the time he gets to work. When he got this job, we shipped him a huge box of clothes both from his closet and borrowed from H who has enough suits from his NYC days to last a lifetime. Luckily they wear exactly the same size. S likes that baggy American look and gets his shirts laundered/starched, so looks great according to H, but I have a feeling his boss would rather see him in European cut suits and shirts which are more closely fitted. From what I can tell, fashion is a very big deal in the business environment there. Normally, S loves to shop (and definitely likes to dress up), but he just doesn’t have time right now. H says he is running on fumes trying to get through exams and deal with heavy work demands.</p>
<p>You just know that in anticipation of the Olympics, the Rio apartment will be advertised as a Shangri La.</p>
<p>Not to mention the World Cup. S took H to a soccer game with 85,000 people in attendance. H says it was a young, rowdy crowd and the police don’t fool around, presumably to keep it from evolving into a riot; he found it pretty scary while S thought it was awesome. People hang off the sides of the buses getting to and from the stadium since not everybody can fit inside. Outside the stadium everybody links arms to form a human chain so nobody can cut in line. I’m glad to be home with my cup of Earl Grey tea.</p>
<p>That’s the kind of thing that is such an exciting experience…as long as you survive to tell the story!</p>
<p>Snow continues here and roads getting slippery. Lots of plows and salt trucks are out but rush hour will be slow going.
Think I will put my pjs on early tonight and sit in front of the fire with a good book and a glass of wine. Told girls to stay in and study! They laughed at me but D2 said there is buzz that classes could be canceled tomorrow.</p>
<p>I think we will get rain here but no snow. I have a Christmas party to go to tonight so I hope the weather isn’t too bad.</p>
<p>S’s boss wants to take him out Thursday night to celebrate his doing a good job on some proposals that went out today. I’m hoping the topic of a post graduation job might come up in the course of the evening. S has some social event with this firm one to two nights a week so it might just be a simple celebration with no agenda other than to continue to cement their relationship, which is a big part of how business seems to be conducted in Brazil. On the other hand, S is hopeful that he will ultimately get an offer. It’s a little like a girl waiting for the love of her life to propose. She thinks everything is headed in that direction, but until the ring is produced you just never know.</p>
<p>Is he fluent in Portuguese? Seems like a difficult language for native English speakers to master.</p>
<p>He seems to be fluent enough. He studied five years of Spanish in high school, which has a similar grammar structure. We sent him to Lima for a language immersion course the summer after his freshman year in college and he came back very comfortable with his Spanish. He spent the summer after his sophomore year in northern Brazil learning Portuguese. He then took second year advanced Portuguese at college last year and has continued to take Portuguese classes while in Brazil since last June. He has known he wanted to live and work in South America since he was in high school and traveled there to play soccer. He just loves everything about the culture, particularly since he is a huge soccer fan.</p>
<p>H says he is very impressed with his Portuguese–or at least it sounds good to him and he speaks quickly and easily. He can read novels but is probably still working on some of the finer points of grammar. Everybody speaks Portuguese at the office where he works and his engineering classes are being taught in Portuguese, so I’m guessing he is OK with the language. One of the skills he brings to this job, however, would be his knowledge of English. This firms has clients in England, Canada and other English speaking countries. While all of the engineers can speak English, there is an advantage of having a native English speaker on staff as well.</p>
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<p>LOL, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were one of those “bragging parents” discussed on the other thread. In reality, I’m quite impressed. I have absolutely no aptitude for languages…incredibly pathetic.</p>
<p>We know this Brazilian guy who has done some hardscaping around our house (paths, etc.). He’s been in the US for quite some time but manages his entire business with a working English vocabulary of about 50 words…we can’t really deal with him over the phone or by email, but in person things just go fine. I get such a kick out of him, because I always think he’s the Portuguese-speaking version of me…if I moved to Brazil, I’d be trying to conduct my life with a tiny vocabulary forever.</p>
<p>missypie, I had the same thought - if TheAnalyst’s S is working and studying in Brazil he must speak Portuguese. wow! go ahead and brag, TheAnalyst - that is very impressive.</p>
<p>my H was a foreign exchange student in Brazil and spoke very little Portuguese. he had the “tiny vocabuary” you mention - he knew just enough Portuguese to impress the Brazilian girls he met on the beach ;)</p>
<p>I would love to learn Portuguese. Some beautiful songs written in that language that I would like to sing</p>
<p>I could go on and on about the skills that seem so commonplace on cc that he most assuredly does NOT have. Ordinary GPA. No technical aptitude in the least. Very much of a space cadet (ADD but won’t take the meds). He studied engineering as an English avoidance plan. I can see him doing well in sales, but heaven forbid he would actually have to build or design something. </p>
<p>This engineering consulting firm may be a good fit because they do a lot of client entertaining, which is a skill he does have. This is where things like a strong golf game (which might seem like a very stupid basis for hiring someone) could actually be important to the firm. That sport isn’t big in Brazil but is likely very big with some of their clients in other countries. I used to pay attention to golf handicaps when hiring because I hate to play golf and therefore the more people I hired who could play the less often I was forced to play. If he doesn’t get the offer, then I think the job probably would be too technical for him and it is for the best because technical he is not. They seem to like him. He plays on their company soccer team and has been put on a team for an upcoming corporate sponsored 5k race (he is fast). It’s just a matter of figuring out what he could actually do for them that might be useful. Heaven knows I never expected much productivity out of my new hires, however, so I’m hoping they will be able to think of something to keep him busy.</p>
<p>Wow the analyst that sounds so impressive.</p>
<p>Have y’all received the Uncommon Goods catalogue in the mail? If not, their website is
[Unique</a> Gifts With A Creative Twist | UncommonGoods](<a href=“http://www.uncommongoods.com%5DUnique”>http://www.uncommongoods.com). There are a few items that I think would go over big with some of your kids.</p>
<p>Like the Geek clock:
[GEEK</a> CLOCK | Math Formula Clock for Geeks | UncommonGoods](<a href=“http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?source=family&itemId=18145]GEEK”>http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?source=family&itemId=18145)</p>
<p>Or the Ninja umbrella (for those guys who are too cool to carry a normal umbrella):
[NINJA</a> UMBRELLA | Samurai, Ninjas, Umbrellas, Funny, Kung Fu | UncommonGoods](<a href=“http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=17901]NINJA”>http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=17901)</p>
<p>There are some really cool, unusual items, and not terribly expensive.</p>
<p>Just ordered the math geek clock
thanks for the tip missypie</p>
<p>D16 had a basketball game on the other side of town that began at 5:30. Talk about a parking lot of a drive! The wind is howling and the snow is piling up. I am hoping it’s a snow day tomorrow (which is doubtful) if only because I don’t want to drive her to school!</p>
<p>Snow Day here in CT! Doesn’t affect us here in the empty nest as far as school goes, but H is supposed to be flying to CA later this AM. By then it’s supposed to turn to rain, but … And he has to change planes in Chicago, which will also be a mess. I plan to stay inside and get a jump on decorating.</p>