♫ Happy Birthday ♪

It's my sister Furley's birthday today.


You have to admit, it's a pretty good likeness!

Happy Birthday Furley!

A New Theme?

I'm giving serious thought to starting a Now I've Seen it All sub-section for the blog. I was having lunch today at my usual lunch place and decided to indulge in some sushi. While I usually stick to the tried tested and true combos of salmon and tuna nigiri and fruit, veggie and fish-filled maki and california rolls, I decided to branch out and try the other creative varieties laid out before me. One variety in particular looked creative and innovative. I couldn't tell quite what it was, but it seemed like a plain rice maki (wrapped in the seaweed) with some kind of soya-y conconction globbed on top....

It was only when I got back to the table and started easting that I realised that it was a chocolate sushi! Yes, I had chosen a seaweed-rice-chocolate-sauce-and-sprinkles sushi! I do have to admit that the taste combination was a little bit odd....

Salvador

Hurray! My three days in Salvador were fun and productive. Here are a few pics:

Elevador Lacerda:


Downtown Salvador is parked on a cliff and is divided between Cidade Alta - the High City - and Cidade Baixa - the Lower City. The Jesuits set up the first rudementary elevator system between the two in the early 1600s, while an electric version has been around since the days of Art Deco. Nowadays, the elevator transports approximately 50,000 people a day and costs R$0.05 [CAN$0.03] per ride. Having spent all my change moments earlier, my colleague generously lent me the dosh thus saving me from having to scale the cliff.


This photo taken from the top of the elevator looks like I had a fisheye lense on my camera. I think that the pier is actually curved though giving it a bit of an optical illusion.

More Phone Fun:


For sure, berimbau phones can only be found in Salvador! A berimbau is the single-string instrument used during capoeira - Brazilian martial arts fight/dance - rodas and is composed of a bow, single string and hollowed out gourd as the resonator. The name is an onomatopoeia - berimbau, berimbau, berimbau.

São Francisco Church:


Along with the Sao Francisco da Penitencia in Rio, a significant amount of the colony's gold also ended up in this church. No photos allowed from the inside, you'll have to go see it yourself!

Now I' ve Seen it All

I used to think that talking on a cell phone, eating, drinking or listening to an mp3 player with earphones while driving were bad. Now I have added watching television while driving as even worse. Yes, one of our cab drivers in Salvador had a small portable television on the passenger seat and was giving us plot updates of the current soap while driving us down a curvy hill and mingling with traffic. We finally managed to persuade him to turn it off....

Off to the Shows

I'm off to a Chico Buarque concert tonight. I was a little offended when the tickets went on sale a few months back, as they cost the equivalent of 1/2 of a montly minimum wage and were what I thought, rather pricey for Recife and clearly out of reach for most. After twirling with my conscience, I decided to go for it anyway since I would likely never again have the chance to see this quintessential Brazilian musician live. Turns out that more of Recife has R$160 to spend on a concert than I thought: two extra shows were added, making a total of five that Chico will play here this week.

Saudade

I was cleaning out my email this week - those who know me will not be surprised that there are more than 5,000 emails languishing in my inbox - when I came across this one. It is too good not to share, and now that I have immortalised it, I can delete it! Enjoy!

You know you live(d) in Quebec if:

☺ Your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May;
☺ You've worn shorts and a parka at the same time;
☺ You've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number [okay, this one sounds more like Brazil....];
☺ You measure distance in hours [totally true! Quebec City is 2½ hours from Montreal, Mont Tremblant 1¾; the Eastern Townships 1. I have no idea how far they are in kilometres!];
☺ You know several people who have hit a deer more than once;
☺ You have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again;
☺ You can drive 120 kph through two feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching [with the best of them!];
☺ You install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked;
☺ You carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them [we also know how to use tracks starting at age, oh, twelve....];
☺ You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit [no kidding! one year my costume didn't fit over a snowsuit and I ended up wearing it under my winter coat and then essentially flashing everyone when they opened the door];
☺ The speed limit on the highway is 100 kph -- you're going 130 and everybody is passing you [alternatively, this is also the case for ex-Montrealers who live in Ottawa racing along the 417 on a Friday night in order to get to Montreal as soon as possible];
☺ Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow [after driving on Brazilian roads for three years, I suspect that I will find Quebec's potholes a walk in the park!];
☺ You know all four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction [seriously! We have a season called Road Construction in Quebec];
☺ You find -6 degrees "a little chilly" [maybe even just "brisk"]; and last but not least,
☺ You actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your Quebec friends & family.

Thanks to Deb for forwarding these to me way back when!

There will be a Rain Dance on Friday Night, Weather Permitting

Well it seems as if winter has hit Recife in full force this week. It is grey, rainy, dreary, and windy. All day long. It's definitely not cold (28º - 32º), but the stores in the mall have all started displaying their winter lines - sweaters, leather jackets, scarves, toques. Who wears this stuff? Rain ≠ Cold. Rain = Dreary + Floods. We keep the air conditioners at the office extra low these days, just to add to the sensation!

For those who may have just purchased tickets to come visit me, fear not, I have requested a special dispensation for the weeks that you will be here....

Weirdness

I can see my apartment building if I am sitting on the right side of a plane on the runway at Recife's airport.

Checking it Twice

Ize off to check one more item off my list.


I have to be in Salvador for work next week and finally it has worked out that I can go a day early and aproveitar.

Até mais!

Fun with Firewater

I have discovered two new yummy drink concoctions recently. I use the word discover in the same sense that the Europeans discovered the Americas.

Drink 1: Caipicitrus

A twist on the standard caipirinha. Place in a martini shaker: the pulp and seeds of one passion fruit; 1 shot firewater [cachaça, vodka, rum]; 2 shots orange juice, ice, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Shake. Definitely shake. The benefits of this over a traditional caipirinha is that one, you get a whole fruit serving included, and two, the orange juice cuts the acidity and means less sugar needs to be added. Win-win.

Drink 2: Mangolicious

A simple batido but without the super-caloric condensed milk that is usually used here. Place in blender: pulp of one mango; milk; ice; firewater. Blend. Pour. Drink. Kind of like a smoothy for adults. The benefits of this one are also clear I would imagine, one whole fruit and no sugar. Win-win.

I guess we could also get our fruit servings but just eating the fruit itself, but this way is much more fun, I am sure you agree!

A Sight to Behold

Even though I've seen it a million times before, I never cease to be impressed with the site of a huge, dark, tropical storm sweeping in off the ocean. Having to sop up all the water that pours in my apartment once the storm arrives, I could do without, but watching it arrive continues to remain a thrill.

Sumiu

Sometimes I feel like I live in a weird science fiction novel.

The verb sumir in Portuguese means to disappear or vanish and is most commonly expressed in the third person past tense sumiu, meaning Where did you go? Where did it go? or Whatever happened to you/it? [As an aside, I love how one word can sum up a whole variety of sentences in English]. Anyway, back to the tale. Tonight, when I headed out to my newly established Tuesday night badminton match, I ended up circling around and around and around [yes, three times and lots of voltinhas or returns] looking for the entrance to the court. I had made it to the court quite fine a mere seven days earlier and couldn't understand why I couldn't find it this time around. There was only one possible explanation - sumiu. It had obviously disappeared. After the third round, I finaly stopped, asked for directions and was pointed in the right direction. Turns out that it had not disappeared, but that in fact, I had missed a turn. A turn that I have no recollection of from last week even though everything else was crystal clear in my memory....

The Photos Are In!

When my friends arrived for two weeks of Carnaval fun back in February, the agenda was diverse: beach, sun, fun, carnaval, music, eating, dancing, visiting, relaxing ... and diving, as it turned out. On the first day of Carnaval, hours before most of us were even dreaming of consciousness, Mark and Colin headed out to join one of the local dive groups to explore a nearby shipwreck, toting along the underwater camera that we picked up last year. The photos - and the jury - are finally back! How cool are these?



Now I wanna learn how to dive! One more for The List....

Seasons

One of the things that requires accustomisation in the tropics is the lack of seasons, especially noticeable around holidays. For me, the various holidays sprinkled throughout the year serve to mark not only the holiday itself, but also the passage or transition of time. Easter means spring is on its way. Victoria Day means summer is around the corner and that is it time to either haul out the barbeque or open up the cottage. St. Jean Baptiste is the official beginning of summer and end of school. Labour Day [first Monday in September, not the first of May] means that the nights are getting cooler and summer is winding down. Thanksgiving coincides with the brilliant fall colours. Remembrance Day is always dull and dreary as is most of November, and of course, the lights and cheer of the Christmas season cleverly coincide with the start of winter. When every day in the tropics is another day at the beach, the holidays don't quite have the same association that they do back in the northern hemisphere. Fortunately though, the Easter = Chocolate Bunnies association is alive and well here so my senses aren't totally out of whack!

The Original Jesus

An Easter Story

Last year on Good Friday, my mom - who was en visite - and I headed out to see the 550-actor strong Passion Play carried out in the city-theatre of Fazenda Nova or Nova Jerusalem, 180km from Recife. This year, a friend and I decided to see the locally produced version of the play which was being staged at Marco Zero in Old Recife. Before heading out, I was having a conversation with Mark. It went something like this:

Mark: So, any plans for Easter?
Me: Well, we were thinking of going to the Passion Play in Old Recife.
Mark: That's cool.
Me: Yeah, it's starring the original Jesus.
Mark: The original Jesus?
Me: Yeah.
Mark: The very first Jesus?
Me: Yeah.
Mark: Really?
Me: Yeah. You know, the guy who first played Jesus in Fazenda Novo back before Globo took over and started casting their starlets of the day and reality show winners as the main actors.
Mark: Oh, that original Jesus.
Me: [lightbulb goes on] Riiiiiiight.

You would have thought however, that it actually was the original Jesus from the way that the crowd went wild when the actor burst out of his tomb in a sound and light show to rival the hippest of night clubs.

List Update

It turns out that I am not doing too well on my list of things I want to accomplish before heading home. Let's see:

The A List

Serra da Capivara: Still hoping, but no plans. At least I saw the paintings at the Lajedo da Soledade.
Praia da Pipa: It's only three and a half to four hours away. What am I waiting for?
Fernando de Noronha: A woman can dream, can't she?
Expresso in Sao Paulo: Surely I can manage this one. But when?
Frevo: A-ha! I did have a spontaneous frevo lesson last month, so I feel like I can check this one off. ☺
Gorge on Macaxeira: No problems with this one. In fact, I think that I have eaten nine months worth in two. ☺

The B List

Trek through the Chapada Diamantina: No plans yet.
Visit Salvador: A-ha #2! Work will be sending me back to Salvador before the end of the month. ☺
Dance with the bois in Sao Luis: Looking unlikely.

I will continue to work away and try to schedule things in. Seeing that some of the things on my list are actually repeats, I guess I shouldn't feel too bad if I don't get to do them again. There are also some new additions which weren't on the first list, including trekking in the Chapada dos Veadeiros, a national park located 300km north of Brasilia, plus there are some pretty cool things that I have done which weren't on any list. In the end, I am sure it will all balance out. I can't believe that two more months are already gone....

That Ain't No Honey, Bee

So, yes, as alluded to, the downside of my adventure to the Interior was that I managed to get myself stung [three times to be exact] by a certain unidentified variety of Gigantic Mad Killer Brazilian Wasp. I admit that I was slightly at fault as I stepped on their nest, but it was hidden away, clearly out of human sight - what was I to do? In fact, there was nothing I could do except run - which incidentally, while I always thought running to be a rather humourous response to being swarmed by bees or wasps, it works! It really does. Unfortunately the instinct to run only kicked in after being stung.

I have to say, aside from the intense pain of the stings, I never dreamed that my ankle and wrist would swell to the magnitude that they did. My ankle looked as if someone had gone at it with a baseball bat - red, purple, swollen, painful! A week later, it is still swollen, although my ankle bone has started to show itself again which is a good sign. Not sure whether or not I should be worried, I got myself checked out by an Allergyologist who gave me a prescription "for next time". Here's hoping I'll never need it. Hobble, hobble, hobble.

Prehistory versus the Aliens

The final stop of the Adventure [which, in fact was actually the first and unanticipated stop] was the Pedra do Ingá - or Rock of Ingá - located part way between Joao Pessoa on the coast and Campina Grande 150km in the interior. The Pedra do Ingá is a giant slab of rock measuring 24 metres by 4 metres and is covered with densely engraved images and designs. Essentially, no one in Brazil or elsewhere has any idea about the orgins of the designs. Some camps attribute them to indigenous groups from way back when [c. 3,000 - 5,000 years] while others attribute them to aliens. A third camp says that the whole thing is a hoax. Who knows, but the drawings are still kind of neat.