And if you thought that was bad...

Not to be outdone by my blunder of asking for tepid orange juice with ice, the very same friend who taught me the difference between natural and da fruta has made a blunder far worse, and much funnier, than mine. As part of a project that he is working on, my friend and his work team were going to go to Canada and take an intensive English course. As he is the one who currently has the most capacity in English, he was elected to write an email to their Canadian contacts letting them know how excited the Recifense team was to have the opportunity to increase their language skills. Knowing that the word excited in Portuguese has several meanings, one of which is clearly inappropriate for a work-related email – kind of like in English – he decided that rather than risk embarrassment, he would look up excited in the dictionary and use an alternate translation, just to be sure. The result? We would like to say that we are very aroused by our upcoming trip to Canada....

Needless to say, we get quite a bit of mileage out of this one! On the positive side, it seems as though the English course was a success – the participants now know all the variations of excite and its synonyms!

Chant'l: Your coffee story was great! I guess one learns to just nod and agree!

Anyone Know What Termites Look Like?

There are termites in my building* - nasty termites that made it all the way up to the top floor - that's a lot of floors - and are busy working their way down. This week it is my apartment's turn to be sprayed as a preventative measure. At least, I hope that it is a preventative measure.... Last night as I was sorting through one of my closets, I pulled out a metal picture frame which had all kinds of minute little bugs scurrying around on it. Since I had always thought that termites were bigger [these little guys are smaller than a pin head], I don't know whether these crawlies are bad or just annoying. I did a websearch on termites and found some highly informative sites - although I have decided not to post the pictures incase anyone is eating while reading this! I'll be cleaning out all the closets later on this week in preparation for the spraying, at which point we'll see if there are any telltale signs of those nasty cupins.

*Yes, my building which is made of pure concrete. Poor termites, there is a serious lack of wood in these there parts.

The São Pauloisation of Recife

Remember this? Well, seeing that a few months have past since I posted my lament about helicopters making their appearance in Recife, I can now attest to the fact that indeed Recife is increasing imitating its eminent neighbour to the south. There's a ton of construction going on in the city and this photo is of one of Recife's newest office towers. Yessir, these luxury offices come complete with an ocean view, armed security, and a snazzy helipad, for those of us for whom driving there just isn't good enough.

I'll have that at room temperature please, with ice

Over the last few months, I have started feeling rather smug. People I know will call the office and ask for me. When I respond affirmatively that in fact, I am me, they launched into an astonished "Nossa Senhora da Virgen Maria, I was sure that you were Brazilian." Gushing, I remain impressed that I still manage to fit through the doorway. My non-work life has also been leading me to smugness, as people I meet will often ask me if I am from São Paulo, Curitiba or Porto Alegre -- all cities in southern Brazil where fair skin is more common -- as opposed to whether I am from Germany, the States, or Argentina. Somehow no one ever guesses Canada.... In any case, I am quite pleased that my Portuguese accent does not immediately betray my provenance.

Well, it was time for a reality check this week. I was having dinner with a friend and decided to order an orange juice. Wanting to ensure that it was fresh and not from a carton or can, I asked whether or not it was natural. The waiter replied that indeed it was. Confident that I was getting the real mccoy, I asked for a glass ... with ice. My dinner companion immediately started laughing and explained that natural in Brazil meant room temperature, whereas da fruta or from the fruit meant fresh. So there you have it. I ordered a room temperature drink with ice! At least it keeps me grounded!

Carnaval is Coming, Part II

More pre-Carnaval fun!

Last weekend, the samba bands were out practising in full force throughout the historical streets of Olinda. Still several weeks before Carnaval, the area was packed. I can only imagine what it will be like when the real thing rolls around!

Sweetness in my Belly

For the past couple of months I have been trying to work my way through Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Although I had rather high hopes for Salt, I find that a better title would have been A Rather Long, Disjointed, and Out-of-Context History of Small Salted Fish, Ham and Other Cured Meats, and Produce - Particularly Vegetables - Preserved in Brine. There is no doubt that some of Kurlansky’s stories of Salt Through the Ages are interesting, but I have to admit that I have found the book to be rather jumpy and out of context. If Salt were my only reference, I would be led to believe that all politics in the world boiled down to this one commodity. And while I now have little doubt that it might have played an important geopolitical role throughout history, it would be good to see it in the broader context as opposed to an isolated element in the evolution of life as we know it.

I will finish Salt. Possibly even in the near future, as I do want to see how/if salt is still a political commodity in our day and age [I just recently learned that salt is not iodised in Paraguay … conspiracy theorists, Start Your Mark….]. However, to break the monotony a bit, last week I picked up Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb, one of the many books that I acquired over the Christmas holidays. In keeping with food analogies, I devoured Sweetness - the story of Lilly, a young, white, familyless, Muslim from Ethiopia who struggles with issues of colour; religion; belonging & displacement; custom & tradition; love, loss, & hope; and political & social upheaval in both Ethiopia and the swirling London world of refugees and immigrants - within a matter of days. It transported me to another time and place and I just couldn’t get enough of the story.

Sweetness is so entrancing that it gives you two options, either to consume it as quickly as possible in as few sittings as possible or to make a conscious decision to drag it out so that it will last longer and never end. Although I would have liked to have kept the main characters with me for longer, I simply could not resist the temptation to consume and devour. And now that my belly is full, I am sure that I will find myself dreaming the sweet dreams of contentedness. Sweetness will be launched in the UK, Australia, and the States this winter/spring [February through April]. Get your copy!

caipirissima review: 9/10 [small loss of points due to a few inconsistencies in the storyline and the fact that I cannot imagine any character so naive and innocent to believe that politics and religion don't mix]

Post Election Blues

Well, I do have a little post-election blog to go up, saved in draft and everything ... however, I am still countering my blog vs. politics strategy. Stay tuned....

Election Night in Canada

Although my blog tries not to be, ahem, overtly political, it's pretty hard to ignore world (or domestic) events as they happen. That being said, it's election night in Canada. Kind of like Hockey Night in Canada except only once every eighteen months [or three or four years in the case of a majority] rather than every few days. I voted in the advance polls over the holidays, which I have to say was a bit strange as it meant that I had to make up my mind without all the last minute soul-searching about whether one should vote for a party or against another. It's tougher than it seems. I'd stay up to watch the results via webcast, but with the time difference I am not sure that I will make it. Until tomorrow then, when hopefully the sun will still rise in the east and set in the west.

For all the election coverage anyone needs, check out Rick Mercer's take no prisoners blog.

A Feast of Tiles

One of the architectural characteristics of Recife, Olinda, and neighbouring cities is the significant use of ceramic tiles to decorate as well as protect the outside of houses. The height of personal [as opposed to religious] tile use was in the 19th Century during which time tiles were imported from Portugal, France, England, and Holland. Unfortunately, although there are still stunning examples of these tiles around, many tiled houses are found in areas of little economic value in which the owners have neither the means nor the knowledge to keep their tiles in good condition and are thus falling into serious states of disrepair. One of the pleasures of a walk around Olinda though, is finding these hidden treasures, including the tiles pictured above.

Advertising Pays - or - When dealing with Brazilian bureacracy, it pays to call the right company

Internet access in Brazil requires two service contracts, the first with the local phone company who provides the line and the second with an Internet Service Provider which provides access to the web. A complicated procedure that means that I pay for my internet line through my monthly phone bill and then my web access through an account that is charged directly to my credit card every month. Surprisingly enough, the web providers are pretty advanced and can charge credit cards [even international ones!] without a signature or even seeing you in person [i.e.: we set it up over the phone -- an unusual characteristic here]. In November, my credit card expired and I received my new one in the mail. Of course, even though I knew that I needed to inform all my auto-credit accounts of the new expiry date, things were busy and I let it lag.

A few days into the new year, the friend staying in my house sent me an email letting me know that she was no longer able to access the internet from my computer. My negligence having finally caught up with me, I settled down to call the service provider to provide my card's new details. First, I sent off an email to the company with my internet account number and the new expiry date of my card. Their reply was that I would need to call them and change the details through the call centre. So I called the call centre, only to find that they had no record of my account. The fellow on the other end of the line searched by my name, by my CPF, and by my phone number. No luck. We got disconnected once and when I called back it was the same guy! Perhaps a call centre with only one person working??

In any case, half way through our second conversation, when I was beginning to think that my negligence had led to all traces of my existence being erased, I realised that I had been calling the wrong company. Yes. It was true. All this time I had been sending emails and calling the company that advertises the most, but wasn't actually my internet service provider. Rather embarrassed and not able to admit that I had been calling the wrong company, I told the poor guy who was trying to figure out why he couldn't find me in the system, that I would have to check a few details and call back when I found the missing information. After hanging up, I called my actual service provider and had every thing fixed within a matter of minutes -- making this transaction one of the faster and most problem-free ones that I have ever had! Of course, it makes me wonder why, if the internet providers can take credit card numbers over the phone, no one else seems to be able to ... but that would be a story for another day.

The moral of the story is that if you are going to get riled up over procedures, at least make sure that the rilee is the appropriate target! Although I am embarrassed, I maintained my patience [must have been all that seasonal eggnog & rum...] so nobody got mistreated for the wrong reasons. Phew!

Brazilian Bureaucracy: 1
Karen: 0

Erdogan, Kirchner and Me

What do Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and I have in common? That's right, we were all booked into the Blue Tree Park in Brasilia this week. I think that Kirchner didn't stay in the end -- do too many Heads of State spoil the buffet breakfast? -- but Erdogan and I definitely crossed paths. Clearly the Turkish aren't as nuts about security as some other to remain nameless countries, as I just sauntered in behind them, asked the front desk for the gossip on what was going on, and headed to my room. Out of courtesy, I took the stairs as the Turkish staffers were busy cramming luggage in and out of the elevators. As it turns out, perhaps I should have been more cautious. According to Mark, one of the only [or the only?] diplomatic assassination in Canada was of a Turkish diplomat. Coincidence ... or not? Dum dum dum....

And to leave with an image of my friend the Turkish Prime Minister and my joint scenary this week -- introducing the Blue Tree Park Brasilia:

1/3 of the Power

I've expounded on Brasilia in previous posts, but the perfect weather over the past four days combined with my quiet spot on the edge of the lake with the water lapping at my feet so serenely and the funky restaurants that I enjoyed with my friends, I started to forget the downsides .... Oh no! Could it be that I am getting old???

The original design for Brasilia [it has since expanded] was in the shape of an airplane. The government ministries and buildings form the body of the plane, the residential areas the wings, and the president's office, the supreme court, and the legislative bodies -- also known as the Three Powers -- the cockpit. The picture above is of one third of the three powers. The convex structure is the senate, the concave the legislature and the twin buildings the offices. The president's office is across the street to the left and the supreme court to the right. The second photo is of the federal ministries side by side -- or one side of the body of the plane. When I flew to Brasilia last August, I landed on a cloudless night and was amazed to see the plane twinkling on the ground below me. By night, you could really distinguish the forms from above. An amazing sight.

It still seems like a bit of a moon colony to me, but after four years, I am managing to find more of its attributes as opposed to its strangeness, something I never thought that I would hear myself say!

Coitado Félix

Poor Felix. Two hours shy of my being home for a week, I up and left him for Brasilia. Now I do have to say that both Felix and I lucked out over the holidays as I had a house sitter for the entire time that I was gone [we crossed paths in the airport when I landed and she departed]. I must have done something rather worthy in the past to have deserved such perfect karma ... but I digress ... let's just say that knowing that Felix was being lovingly cared for allowed me a restful holiday as well. Fortunately Felix will only be on his own for a few days this time around, but it always breaks my heart to leave him since it is clear that he is always well aware of what is about to happen.

Carnaval is Coming....

Although Carnaval 2006 will officially take place February 25-29, the festivities -- or at least public practices for the festivities -- are an extended affair, particularly in the Northeast. Yesterday, I headed to Paço Alfândega for a bit of a walkabout and found myself face to face with this giant Bumba Meu Boi [Dance/Grind My Bull].

Bumba is an extremely popular folkloric character throughout Brazil and is roughly based on a legend about Catrina and her husband Francisco. While variations of the story exist, the basic premise is that Catrina is pregnant and craves ox tongue. Of course, not only does she crave tongue, she graves the tongue of the star bull of the landowner's herd. Her husband, Francisco, kills the bull and presents the tongue to Catrina. When the dead [or in some versions, badly wounded] bull is discovered, the landowner is outraged [in some versions, Catrina and Francisco are slaves while in others Catrina is the goddaughter of the landowner] and orders an investigation. Francisco is caught and brought to trial. In order to save Francisco, a slew of Native and African curandeiros and shamans are summoned and through a series of dances and rituals succeed in bringing the bull back to life. Thus Francisco is saved and the ordeal ends with a massive community celebration and dance.

Bumba Meu Boi the legend has turned into a major celebration and dance which is either incorporated into other celebrations -- like Carnaval -- or is a celebration on its own, particularly near Christmas or in June during the Festas Juninas. One of the biggest Bumba festivals is in the city of São Luis, the capital of the State of Maranhão.

Recife, la nuit

A cool pic that one of my Recife-bound visitors took last November. Pretty much one of the only moments of true desertation on the beach!

Why Appetizers Were Invented

During the holidays, my mom and I rummaged through a few of my grandmother's cookbooks looking for recipes for Christmas cookies (lemon squares and almond crescents. Mmmmmmmm). One of the books we came across was a second edition, and for some reason, I started skimming through the introduction. The book's editors talked about the success of the first edition and the numerous changes that could be expected to be found in the second. Reasons behind the changes included traditional ingredients from the first that were no longer easily available; new ingredients that had come into existence since then; a more international palate due to increased traveling; and finally, the increasing popularity of appetizers in North American cuisine. According to the editors, appetizers were invented to keep husbands and guests OUT of the kitchen so that a good wife could continue her preparations and dinner would not be further delayed by the former's meddling "help". All this in 1972! Not all that long ago!!

The Inbetween World of Karen Lall

Through the forces of both nature and nurture, I have discovered that I am no longer fully Canadian, however nor am I fully Brazilian....

It all started in preparation for my trip back to Canada for Christmas. Even though the seasons are opposite, and it is always hot in Recife, I was looking forward to doing a bit of shopping back home. I don't always find it easy to buy work clothes in Brazil due to a variety of factors [synthetic materials and different styles that somehow look amazing on Brazilians, but not quite on this poor Canadian] and thought that I would surely be able to find a few items for purchase and import/export. Ah! Who was I kidding? Here is me reacting to clothing in both Canada and Brazil:

On the amount of material used to create an article of clothing:
Me in Brazil: I couldn't possibly buy that. So little material. Makes me look like I am going to the beach.
Me in Canada: I couldn't possibly buy that. Too much material. Makes me look frumpy.

On colour:
Me in Brazil: Too bright! What's with all the fushia?
Me in Canada: Too dreary! What's with all the gray?

On waistlines:
Me in Brazil: Ack! These Brazilian waistlines are much too low.
Me in Canada: Ack! These Canadian waistlines are much too high.

On heels:
Me in Brazil: Too high!
Me in Canada: Too low!

On seasons:
Me in Brazil: It's 30º!¹
Me in Canada: It's 30º!²

On sleeves:
Me in Brazil: Nothing here has sleeves!
Me in Canada: Everything here has long sleeves!

On fabrics:
Me in Brazil: So many synthetics.
Me in Canada: So many synthetics. Wait a minute....

So you see, I hover, always in search of the happy medium. I hover between seasons. I hover between styles. I hover between textiles. And I hover between countries. However, you can bet your bottom dollar [worth US$0.86] or your bottom real [worth US$0.44] that whenever I spot that gem, whether in the northern or southern hemisphere, I snatch it up and thus have thus created a wardrope with combines the best of both worlds!

¹ Above zero
² Below zero

Low Temperatures, Highlights

Even though my sweaters and turtlenecks have been lying in a heap at the foot of the washing machine for less than twenty-four hours, my brush with winter already seems so long ago! Many thanks to all who made the time to share in the Christmas 2005 cheer -- although it may not look like it from the highlights, I did actually take my jacket off every now and again! Actually, lest I offend, these are only a small few of the many many highlights -- just not all were digitally documented. Perhaps la prochaine fois will be south of the equator!

Braving the C-c-c-c-old

New Years Eve

Ah, Montréal, je t'aime

Lar Doce Lar

Just Can't Get Enough of That Gore-Tex

And last ... but definitely not least, he who is known by his witty rejoinders

Trading Places Part II

This afternoon, after a mere twenty-three hours of transit, I arrived back in Recife and traded my

for my

Overall, my holidays back at home were terrific and I managed to share some Christmas cheer with lots of groups of friends and family. My main shock upon arriving back in Recife? Boy, is it ever humid here!! I can almost wring myself out! Quite a change from the static cling of an eastern Canadian winter! Highlight pics to follow in the next few days....