'Twas a slow week in the City of Paul - I'm back on the CFC driving theory bandwagon, with one more godforsaken lesson to go this evening. We've abandoned all pretence of learning anything that isn't in the standard textbook, and spent most of yesterday's class discussing the teacher's recent holiday to Buenos Aires, before watching a video on first aid featuring unintentionally hilarious montages of grievous bodily injuries set to stock '80s pop music. Then presumably I go and take a test at the local DMV, and finally move on to brighter and better things.
We also had Susy and Eduardo round for dinner on Wednesday, and Gaby's parents and grandparents round for a Sunday feast, both of which were highly amusing, and went out for a pizza with Andre and Dany, who if you'll recall got hitched (twice) when I was last here in November, and were keen to trade tips on married life. Andre in particular seemed exasperated by the amount of extra toilet paper he's having to buy, so I might have to take him out paintballing or something equally manly to take his mind off it.
Otherwise it's been business as usual, preparing for our Vienna shindig and sorting out my Eurotrip around it. Let me know if you would like any gorgeous Brazilian things before I get packing... We may be off to Ubatuba this weekend, to charter Claudio's boat to desert islands; however, if the weather doesn't improve we are considering Monte Verde (a small mountain town where São Paulo residents go to feel cold and eat fondue) as a back-up plan.
The titular phrase means "you've knelt so now you've got to pray", meaning basically "you've made your bed so lie in it"; a variant is "se estiver no inferno, abraça o capeta" ("if you're in hell, embrace the devil"), which has been bandied around a lot in CFC, "grin and bear it"-style. Pretty hyperbolic, but I suppose "if you're stuck in an interminable driving lesson designed purely for box-ticking purposes, then embrace the technicalities of roadside safety" doesn't have the same ring to it.
I've also made a follow-up New Orleans mixtape (https://play.spotify.com/user/freddypowys/playlist/6CCdBLI4jZ4ucjysqbHuwr), by popular demand - might make it a running theme and do a different city each time, as long as I secure the necessary funding to do a thorough location recce beforehand.
We shall speak shortly, no doubt - hope all well and see you soon, pantaloon.
Fred
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