Nowhere

Finally, the time I'll be spending in Brazil is coming to an end. It's been quite an experience and mostly not in the positive sense. Apart from the really big issues like corruption, poverty, crime, pollution and lack of organization, there are lots of these small things in Brazil which have started to become really annoying. Of course, there are always some little things in a foreign country, which are a bit of a nuisance and by themselves they are not really that important but together they really have gotten to me. There are so many, that I'll probably write a few posts.
The first part will list everything connected to day-to-day life (excluding work).

1.  Everything in the house is either not functioning well, somewhat broken or askew.
   The drawers of the cupboard in the bathroom are all loopsided. The toilet lid is half loose, the light in the fridge is not working. The walls are not staight either.
2.  Doors and windows never close properly which may not be so bad in a country where it's hot all the time but is very annoying if the neighbors smoke weed and you can't do anything against sitting in that stink. It's also impossible to keep out the outside noises and in case you have air conditioning, it's a total waste of enegery since the hot air seems to come back in faster than the AC cools (but who cares about something like that in Brazil). 
3. Toilets don't flush properly. That's the reason why most Brazilians don't put toilet paper into the toilet but into waste baskets next to it. I can't get use to this habit because I find it disgusting. 
4. No hot water tap. Despite being in a country where the sun shines pretty much all year, the majority of people have not figured out how to use solar energy. Of course the water is not really "cold" rather tepid but if you want to do the dishes I don't really find it sufficient. The only device where you can get hot water is the shower having some electrical device, which brings me to point...
5. The shower has this electric heater attached but you can only choose between a few heating stages. I either burn my skin or the water is too cold. Or I am constantly standing on my toes switching the "cold" and "hot" buttons to get some kind of decent temperature. 
6. The water contains way too much chlorine. On the other hand you wouldn't want to use it without that much chlorine. Big problem for me because I am allergic to chlorine. Oh well.
7. The stove works with gas which would generally not be that much of a problem but on the highest level my potatoes still need about an hour to boil while on the lowest level I still burn something I want to heat up. In addition, you have to get these gas tanks every few months. On the other hand, a gas stove seems to be a good idea if ...
8. There are frequent electricity outages. Sometimes it doesn't even take a thunderstorm for the electricity to be out.
9. If the electricity is working, there is a problem with the internet. Can be quite annoying since I neither have a TV nor a car and doing stuff in the evening is quite limited due to security. 
10. Most washing machines only wash with cold water. I was caught in the rain and got some mud stains on some beige pants in the fist few months I was in Brazil. The stains are still in the pants and I tried soaking, brushing ... etc. No idea what chemical stuff Brazilians put onto their clothes to get them clean but I'd prefer not to know.
11. Despite mosquitoes and diseases spread by them being a really big problem, nobody really cases about mosquito nets. I have some on my windows and doors and an additional net over my bed. It's been months since I had a bite. I also have a spider in almost every corner of my room. They probably take refuge in my home because I don't spray chemical stuff like everybody else. Mosquito nets are much more efficient and in the long run cheaper but I guess Brazilians just prefer to get cancer. 
12. I can understand that people have dogs to deter burglars but what's the use of the dogs barking pretty much all the time and nobody paying attention to them. Furthermore, dogs just run around somewhere on the strees. How am I supposed to know if they are aggressive or not?
13. Water management is another of those things, they just don't seem to understand. Thunderstorms are quite common and it can really rain a lot but at the same time we have a water shortage. This is partly due to the fact that there are not enough reservoirs but also because people just don't get the point of saving water. Yes, it's really important to wash your driveway every day. The trash is just thrown out into the landscape but at least the driveway is clean. 
14. Since there is a water shortage, water could also be collected in a better way but the drainage systems at the houses and in the streets is really bad. The gutters at my place are built in such as ways that water is dropping down for 30 minutes after the rain. Wasn't that used as some kind of torture? Dripping tap!
15. At the shop, you'll get an unlimited amount of plastic bags for free. Even worse, if you let them, they'll pack two things into one bag so you'll buy 10 items and walk out with 5 plastic bags. I used them as trash bags so I don't buy extra plastic but still. 

Now I understand why we have these water tanks on our roofs, where the drinking water is saved (of course those are closed). Apparently this happened the first time here but it was really predictable and could have been prevented by looking for an alternate source (as there are regions in this country where it rains a few times a day). So at least we still had water due to the water tanks and survived those few day without new water supply while still being able to have a shower (coincidentally it all had to happen in a really hot week with 37°C). Others really had no water but if you still have to fill the pool although the water supply is limited, you can't be helped.

 

Then there are of course the cacti which just have thorns (some up to 10 cm which is why hiking boots with a big sole are recommended):

Yes, I'm here in Brazil for almost a week but things have been extremely busy. Until today, I stayed in a university hotel and organized a place to live from there.

My general first impressions:

- People are extremely helpful and friendly but only a few speak English so learning Portuguese is on my priority list once I have managed to settle down

- The weather is actually much nicer than I expected. Of course it's winter but I thought that there would still be extremely high humidity but it's sunny every day and the 25°C I can easily cope with. It's of course still not what I would classify as "winter" but at least I have a few months to get used to the climate until it gets really hot.This has also an effect on the mosquitoes - until now I saw only one and I didn't get any bites yet. Nevertheless I am using insect repellent when I know I'll spend more time outside - you can never be too careful with Dengue fever around.

- Getting settled here is VERY complicated since you have to go to many different places to get what you want. Opening a bank account takes at least a week and I am privileged since I always have a translator with me who is also pushing things along since he knows how to handle the people and cut the waiting time somewhat. Without him I would be quite lost. Despite the complicated administration, the start here feels much easier than the one I had in Norway where nobody really cared if I got my things sorted out or not.

So here are a few impressions of the hotel: