Michel Telo...Go Big or Go Home?

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In case you haven't heard of Michel Telo...he's pretty much the biggest thing in Brazil right now because of the following hit song.



He's trying to make it big internationally (so far with quite a bit of success in Spain from what I hear...)
I'm not sure how far he'll get with English speaking audiences...but you can judge for yourself with his English version of the song:

Cha Ching Cha Ching

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Today, my bank account grew. Not much. But it went up for the first time since I've been in Brazil. Got paid from my student who's taking private French classes with me.

I'm looking forward to having some growth in my bank account giving me freedom to travel around a bit.

I'm currently doing a training with CNA (Cultura Norte Americano), a private English school. This week we trained on an e-board (aka Smart Board). I have to admit that Brazil was the last place I imagined I'd be doing a paid e-board training. Awesome!!

Looking forward to working at CNA...the staff are awesome and the boss is really supportive of his employees. The school is all about finding creative ways to teach real language. Very excited about it.

The only down side is that I haven't been able to go to the beach all week. But tomorrow I plan to spend a solid few hours there soaking up the sun in my 'sunga'!

Sending you lots of warmth Canada.

-PhilBrazil

If you don´t mind, we´ll be skipping your English interview

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Arrived back in Macae after a great time in Niteroi and Rio. Getting back to Macae, meant I´d be getting back to business.

Seeing my bank account decrease in funds was enough motivation for me to leave my resume at every English language school within walking distance from my place.

Had three interviews. While there´s normally an English component to the interview. Two interviewers felt too embarassed to speak to me in English, and the other was questioning his choice of vocabulary every 10 words.

I was offered all three jobs (on the condition that I pass their training). The pay range was considerable. As low as about R$11/hr ($6.50CDN/hr) to as high as about R$30/hr. I say ´about´ because here everything is calculated as a monthly rate rather than an hourly rate.

So I accepted one of the positions, I´ll read all the fine print on Monday, and if all is kosher, I´ll sign the contract and begin a two-month paid training (seems a bit long, I know). I see it as getting paid to take a TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. Not complaining.

It´s been a relief to get a job, I have to say, too much free time, even when a beach is close at hand, can drive you nuts.

Busting out the ´Sunga´

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As one girl kindly told me: only fat people and surfers where boardshorts. ´Sungas´ (speedos) are the swimwear of choice.

So, as I´m attempting to re-intergrate to my own culture. I made my way to several shops, looking for speedos.

"Do you have anything bigger than this?" I´d ask. Tried one on. My white thighs are such a contrast to the rest of my body´s colour. I have to say I felt embarrassed with this thing on. haha.

But two days ago, I gathered the courage to bust it out on the beach. One small step for Phil, one giant leap for his re-integration to his Brazilian roots.

I'm afraid to update.

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Im afraid of updating this blog. The task seems enormous, and it appears to grow daily. Since my last post, so much has happened. There is so much I want to say about Tiba, and then news since I've been back in Macae. My family in Canada came down and visited. And now I'm enjoying Niteroi (Rio's neighbour). I'm going to work backwards, starting with the latest updates, then going back in time all the way to Tiba. I'll try to give the highlights and insights from my experiences while avoiding writing a novel on here. New updates for 2012 to come...