The Greatest Job on Earth

I don't know how you apply for something like this or who you have to know but I have discovered possibly the greatest job on earth.  I was introduced to an American guy who is down here for two months on a work project (I'm using the term "work project" very loosely here).  He is a photographer and is creating a "Girls of Floripa" calendar to be marketed in the U.S. to Maxim and other sources.  To make a long story short, I have spent a lot of time with him surfing, partying, searching for models, etc.  Every girl in Brasil wants her picture taken so finding the models is surprisingly easy.  The hard part is getting the courage to approach beautiful girls and speak to them in broken Portuguese about taking photographs with someone they don't know.  Anyway, a few days ago he asked me if I would like to join one of his photo shoots.  After checking my extremely busy calendar and deliberating for approximately 1.5 seconds, I agreed.  We discussed my role in the shoot and determined that I would be the guy who stood there with the light reflector basically doing nothing but staring at the model.  I'm sending in my resume to Sports Illustrated this afternoon with my fingers crossed.  Wish me luck.

To the side you will see some pictures from the shoot.  Her name is Fernanda and she is as charming as she is beautiful.  Imagine that.

Two Crazy Days

A huge swell arrived here earlier this week and I've been surfing great waves since Monday.  The last two days have been the biggest.   The surf report says it is eight feet but I think it's easily a few feet bigger than that.  Joaquina, which is right around the corner from me, was so big that they were doing tow-in surfing with jet skis yesterday.  The only problem is that most of the local waves don't hold their shape when it gets big like this.  I walked over to Praia Mole yesterday with my surfboard ready to give it a go.  However, when I got there, there wasn't a single person surfing, which is always a bad, bad sign.  There were signs everywhere saying "Local Danger."  The waves were HUGE and they were mostly closing out.  I saw two guys try to paddle out and they got demolished and came back in.  I sat on the beach for awhile and tried to determine my plan.  I knew exactly what was going to happen but I couldn't resist the temptation to give it a try.  I found the channel and actually made it out fairly easily (I can paddle all day long now, which has been one of my biggest improvements) and found my spot.  I then decided to play it safe and paddle out another 20 yards or so.  Sure enough, an enormous set wave came rolling in about a minute later and I had no chance.  I paddled like a mofo and saw my life pass before my eyes as I looked up at 15 feet of powerful water about to close out on my head.  I ditched my surfboard and tried to dive as far down as I could.  To no avail, I didn't make it and got thrown around like I was in a washing machine for a good 30 seconds (it felt like 10 minutes).  All I kept thinking was, "I hope to God there isn't another wave behind this one."  I finally made it to the surface and luckily there was nothing coming.  I thought about my options and wisely whitewashed it to shore immediately so I could live to surf another day.  Every once in awhile I get reminded that the ocean must be respected in a VERY BIG WAY.

Today I decided it was best to have a short memory and I paddled out again.  The north end of Praia Mole was going off but it's typically a pretty local spot.  However, I'm finally at the point where I'm comfortable enough with my surfing and just the local vibe in general so I said "screw it" and paddled right into the mix (I would not have done this a month ago).  Everyone was cool and I caught some of the best waves since I arrived here.  Unfortunately, my luck was running low again today.  Another huge wave came out of nowhere and we were all caught out of position.  I paddled as fast I could but had no chance.  I tried to duck dive but the wave was so big that it just barrelled me over.  It was so powerful that it snapped my leash.  My board quickly went to shore and I was stuck out there wading like a duck.  This happened to me once in college in Ventura County, and I learned just to stay cool.  It's actually easier to get under the waves without the board.  Therefore, I just took my time and swam to shore where a nice Brazilian girl was waiting with my board, and I quickly forgot all about what just happened....only in Brazil.

I'm exhausted now but I've been laying low all week so I'm ready to let loose a little bit.  The crew is headed to a club that opened last week (we were at the opening party and the place is fantastic).  As someone once said, I'll sleep when I die.  What a wise, wise man.

The Turning Point

Well, the fellas are finally gone.  It was one hell of a stretch.  We really hit it hard on the beaches, at the house, and in the night clubs.  I slept 14 hours Sunday night because I was so tired.  Partying like that takes its toll on this guy but I wouldn't change it for the world.  Jed and I finished off the week with an amazing trip to the restaurant Ostradamus (the best oysters you'll ever have), a trip to Guarda (a beach about an hour away), and three consecutive nights of unbelievable times.  Our goal was to have a big steak dinner at Confraria on Saturday night and be home by 2AM.  I think our actual bed time ended up being around 7AM.  It was just too hard to leave.  All in all, I had an absolute blast with everyone and I can't wait to have more visitors.  As I said before, I was very much looking forward to having friends around to enjoy this with me.  Also, it's a lot of fun to see the look on peoples' faces when they come here.  I remember talking to Jed about the lifestyle here when he first got here and he told me that he was honestly skeptical.  For those of you that know Jed, I urge you to ask him what he thought.  It's safe to say that he is no longer skeptical....

The only downside of visitors is that I end up speaking too much English.  When you're learning a new language, especially one as hard as Portuguese, you need to be studying, reading, and thinking in that language at all times.  Therefore, I've been cramming the past two days to get back up to speed.  Also, Alessandra ended up opening my eyes up to something really important.  I have one friend in particular who helps me with a lot of random stuff.  Part of that is because he has been here for 3 years and knows his way around but part of that is because it is, at times, very intimidating to venture out in an unknown world where I don't speak the language.  Ale said to me, "what will you do if he's not around?"  That simple question changed my paradigm instantly.  Now I realize that I need to really do things on my own and that will only help in my progress here.  My first instinct prior to this was always to pick up the phone and call someone.  Now I just sack up and go get it done without any guidance.  I went on two road trips with Jed, which I probably would not have done before, and they were both tremendously rewarding.  Today I had a bunch of errands to do today and I just went out and did them without calling or talking to anyone.  I know that doesn't seem like such a big deal, but trust me, it is.   We take an extraordinary amount for granted in our day to day lives and living here has really opened up my eyes to that.  Imagine trying to go the DMV in a foreign country where you don't speak the language and having a car switched into your name.  Just thinking about that used to scare me to death, but now I've reached the turning point and there's no looking back.   

A took a short video from the point above the waves at Guarda.  It's an amazing spot to view all of the scenery.  The waves were very big that day and I was psyched to catch a few.  Some of the sets were big league size and this was one of them.  For perspective on the size of the wave, watch how far inside the surfers are.  Surfers typically sit right where the waves break but these guys had to paddle 50 yards so they don't get crushed....and most didn't make it.  Enjoy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nmlxRwCDsd0

As always, I have included pictures.  There is one picture from a club opening we went to on Friday night and the rest are from our day at Guarda.

A Night in Floripa

People always ask me what the nightlife is like in Floripa and I always answer the same way: you would have to see it to believe it.  Brazilians take their partying very seriously so if you're going out, you better bring your "A" game.  My friend Chris said it best when he said, "You have to dance when you're in a club because everyone else is.  If you are not dancing, you look like an idiot."  Truer words were never spoken, and I thought it was a pretty funny way to describe a night out.  When you're not dancing (everyone needs a rest now and then), you are probably staring because the talent will stop any man in his tracks.  In an attempt to give you an idea of what a typical club may feel like, I took a short video on Saturday night from KM7.  Turn up the volume and welcome to Floripa! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePeem6aO0xA

Good Times

Justin and Chris have now been here for almost a week and Jed has been here for a few days.  It's been quite a change of pace for me.  It goes without saying that it's great having friends here.  There are so many fun things to do here and it's a blast to do them with your friends.  The weather has been off the charts nice, and yesterday was the best beach day I've had since I moved here.  We surfed (twice, actually), played football, played fresca ball (similar to paddle ball), and just lounged around the beach all day.  The weather was so nice that we stayed on the beach until it got dark.  After a little bit of rest, we had a very big night out at Confraria.  They were having a special party for the owners and it was an open bar.  Brazilians don't typically spend a lot of money when they go out (especially girls) so you can imagine what it was like to have everyone drinking a ton more than they're used to.  Inhibitions went out the door and good times were had by all.  I'm hurting a little bit today but it was undoubtedly worth it.  I hope the guys feel the same.  Here are some pics from the last few days....

Floripa House Party

Now that my brother has arrived in Floripa, I finally had a housewarming party at the new house.  Justin and Chris were great in helping getting everything together and my buddy arranged for an unbelievable chef to cook all the food and make some local cocktails for the guests.  Everything went off without a hitch.  We had a lot of girls (which obviously is important), all of my friends, and even the hippie hoppie DJ from El Divino.  What else do you need?  It was quite a shock when we woke up to a clean house the next day thanks to the early arrival of my maid.  Brazil really is the best....

Campeche Island

I finally found the time (haha) to make it to Campeche Island.  It's a small, beautiful island that is about 20 minutes away by car and 20 minutes by boat.  I went over there with Alessandra and we spent a few hours playing volleyball, soccer, and just lounging around.  I'll keep it short because with Campeche, pictures speak louder than words....

If you look very closely at the last picture, you can actually see an island in the distance.

An Interesting Question

A girlfriend of mine from home asked me today what I missed most and I really had to think about it for awhile.  It made me realize that there are very few things I miss from home outside of the obvious (family and friends!).  The food is incredibly good here with a wide variety of options.  If there was any kind of food that I miss I would have to go with Chinese food.  There really isn't any of that here and of the Chinese food that does exist, it is pretty awful (trust me, I tried).  God I miss orange chicken.  Luckily, there is extremely good Thai food here, which I would consider a great alternative.  I thought today that I missed waking up in the morning and having a latte from Starbucks but suddenly realized how great it is to be "off" coffee.  All other things that I crave are here.  I constantly eat my favorite food of all-time, acai with bananas and granola, and there is a plethora of smoothies and guava juice here.  What else could I possibly ask for???  Obviously, from a lifestyle perspective, it's tough to say that I miss my daily routine in SF when I spend the majority of my days at some of the best beaches in the world surfing and hanging out.  I do miss the fact that I didn't ski this season.  I really slacked in that department this year since I was so focused on getting things together for the move.  The good times in Tahoe are unbelievable and I wish I would have taken at least one trip this season.  There are days when I miss speaking English but I realize how important it is to keep learning and trying even if I can't really explain to people what I'm really feeling (I can't possibly explain how hard that is).  The number one thing I would say I miss most is just having many friends around to do whatever.  I suddenly have all the free time in the world and not many people to enjoy it with.  Luckily, I don't mind being by myself and I am most certainly fully entertaining myself during the day.  I don't want to use the word "busy" and risk offending someone from back home but let's just say that I try to stay very "active."  With that being said, I realize that part of the fun of all of this is meeting new people and having new experiences.  The good news is that Brazilians are the friendliest people I've ever met.  Therefore, over the past few weeks I've been trying to make an effort to really meet new friends and do more things with them.  These things take time and I'm enjoying the process, difficult as it may be.  The interesting thing is that 90% of my friends here are girls but I guess that is a product of the environment.  I'm having a party at the house next week and I realized today that I'm inviting about 30 girls and 5 guys and it's not even intentional.  I hope my brother and Chris appreciate it!  

I would add that the one thing I don't miss is wearing shoes.  I probably wear shoes here once a week and maybe twice a week.  I live in sandals and my bare feet.  Again, what else could I ask for?  I also don't miss the mass consumerism of the US.  People here eat less, drink less, etc. and it's very refreshing.  It's amazing to step back and see how other cultures exist.  If Brazilians can live like this and still be as happy as they are, couldn't we all???

I'm sure my friend was expecting a lot more from me out of the question but the truth is, life is good here and I have very, very, little to complain about....