Well, I finally bought a car. It wasn't easy but I got it done. The only problem is that it doesn't start....haha. I test drove the car on Friday and liked it a lot. It's a used car in great condition and it's exactly what I wanted (something simple and easy). It was amazing how quickly we got the deal done. I had lined up my bank to wire the funds and I had all of my documents that they needed (Brazilians are big on providing multiple unnecessary documents to buy anything). I had the keys and was off to go in less than an hour. Just as my friend Maria and I were saying that it couldn't have been easier, of course the car wouldn't start. To make a very long story short, the cars here each have a unique electronic code that are engaged on a car lot to prevent car theft. The car won't start without the code. The "code guy" had come earlier in the day to unlock the car so that I could test drive it. However, at some point the code re-engaged itself and the car wouldn't start. It literally took four Brazilians and three hours to get the car running again. We must have started and stopped the car 10 times to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Wouldn't you know it but as soon as I got back into town (I stopped to get some food), the car wouldn't start again. The used car dealer came and picked it up with a tow truck and the car is currently sitting at the Ford dealership to hopefully (fingers crossed) get permanently fixed. They were nice enough to drop off another car for me to use in the meantime, but the whole saga was so very interesting to say the least (nobody could really explain the whole code thing to me in detail). I was taught two very important things when I got here by another American that have made everything a little easier to deal with. First, if you don't have a sense of humor, you won't last a week in Brazil. Second, you can get anything done in Brazil; it just takes much longer than what we are used to in the U.S.
On another note, I experienced my first localism today out in the water. There was a Brazilian who wouldn't allow anyone to sit to the left of him, therefore, ensuring that he got all of the waves he wanted. He was yelling at anyone (including me) who had the audacity to actually surf to his left. The funny thing about it all is that he sucked. It's always a bummer to run into people like that in the water. It's not what surfing is supposed to be about. Unfortunately, you have to respect localism (most especially in foreign countries), otherwise, you expose yourself to a lot of danger. I just laughed at the guy and went on my way. The waves were around 6-8 feet today and cranking so I had much to be happy about and certainly wasn't going to let some insecure surfer get me down.
Picture #1: sunset view from my patio
Picture #2: meu carro novo
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