high and low lights

nossa senhora! it has been more than one month since my last blog...and not coincidentally more than one month since i had internet at home...so here are some random "lights" from the last 7 weeks shenanigans...

it has definitely been a mixture of highs and lows...

sorry cant get the photos to work again!! :(

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highest high and descent
the highest high being 12 000 feet - that was the height from which i jumped out of a plane - with parachute :) i went with some of the aiesec trainees here near a place called boituva...it was AMAZING!!! such an indescribable but wonderful feeling...the speed and thrill of the free fall...then the serenity and perspective of floating down to earth with time to see it all...brazilians say that we had a "ceu Brigadeiro" - which means a perfectly clear sky - because Brigadeiro was an airforce pilot who would only fly if it was a clear sky....and that meant i could keep my "high" on the way down because of the view...it was also great to have a "cheer squad" of friends there to support you on the way up and when you landed. as soon as i landed i wanted to go up again...maybe next time over a beach

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40 hours in rio
my spontaneity is something i have been trying to (re)capture...perhaps deciding to go to rio for the weekend with two hours notice is a nice start? Thanks to an invite from Tutu and Marta to join them in Rio and Guga’s hospitality, we had an amazing 40 hours in the old Brazilian capital city…cable cars and clouds on Pao de Acucar…extreme site seeing on the tram back down from Santa Tereza….watching sun set on Ipanema beach…partying with the die-hard fans of Mangueira samba school while they picked their song for next year’s carnival…early morning sunshine on Copacabana beach…singing and cheering at the famous Maracana football stadium as the Flamengos defeated the Carinthians and ending the marathon with a nice dinner by the lake J unfortunately my camera batteries decided to die so I don’t have many shots from the weekend…I guess a downside to spontaneous trips ;)

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making holes and hanging memories
thanks to the furradeira (drill) of my Portuguese teacher, Julio, and the brilliant handy-(wo)man work of karl and denise, my birthday paintings from Amsterdam are now hanging happily in my apartment – bringing colour and happy memories to my white walls…unfortunately the heel of my shoe did not provide an adequate substitute for the hammer we needed to hang my framed photos despite our best efforts…so they remain on the table…waiting also to grace my white walls with their colour and memories…it is also a pity that there are lots of recent memories lying around the house that need to be cleaned up :P

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drinking and dancing with laura and adam
adam is an aussie guy who works for the bank in London, but just finished a one month secondment here in brasil…and he was living in the same building as laura…while he was here we did our best to show him the town…and it was actually a nice feeling to realise that I do know some places to take people J as my friend ana elvira said, adam looks like a serious guy, but just wait till he has a couple of caipirinhas!!

from “far out brussel sprout” (one of my fave poetry books)…
Mothers’ meeting, fathers invited
Children can come if they don’t get excited
Admission free, pay at the door
Seats all around, sit on the floor

from sao paulo…
Have new ideas, but tell us first please
Two way communication, plus hierarchy multiplication
Open to hear, but not to listen
Culture or organisational phenomenon?

I guess some of my “low lights” so far have been fighting feelings of frustration at work and loneliness…not being able to express myself and my ideas and professionalism with my colleagues…and also I think feeling really alone for the first time in a long time…I have some really great people around me here, but of course they can’t know me (yet) like my family or older friends…and this, along with submersion into a totally different culture, language and way of life has given me a lot of time to listen and think and question who I am, what I am doing here and how I live my life, what and who is important to me…I realise how easy I had it all doing my traineeship and working in Amsterdam…but also what a great opportunity I have to understand myself and grow…

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caiprinhas on the beach = definition of an “ilha bela” (beautiful island)
After a pre-sunset bus and ferry ride, laura and i arrived on Ilha Bela (about 3 hours away from Sampa) and at our nautical hotel, which should win an award for cheesiest hotel in brasil J Ilha Bela definitely lived up to its name and I barely managed to survive while we caught lots of sunrays, had a shiatsu acupuncture massage and refreshed ourselves with caipirinhas…was so nice to get out of the stress and bustle of sao paulo and return to a more relaxed pace and natural views

election jingles
as you have probably heard, lula recently won the presidential election in the second poll…it might have come a surprise to outside observers given the litany of corruption charges against him and brazil’s poor economic performance, but given his support/handouts to the poor majority (depending on your perspective) his victory was not a surprise…what was surprising to me was the advertising approach of the both of the candidates…both lula and alckmin used jingles to win votes…I am not sure how they sound to brazilian ears, but cheesy and remarkably similar are the only ways I can think to describe them…and lula even has a samba version! My Latin American friends tell me that it is quite common in this region – anywhere else? You can hear Lula’s jingle here: http://www.lula13.org.br/home.php

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Florianopolis – the island of “witches”
November is my favourite month – here in brazil we have three public holidays J I decided to extend the one last week (for All Soul’s Day) for four days and visit my friend Carol in Florianopolis, 12 hours by bus south of Sao Paulo. It is a really beautiful region with countless beaches and normally lots of sunshine…well we got to see a lot of the beaches but we were a little short on sunshine…we made up for it though with an ice-cream buffet and great conversations…I’m still not so sure why, but this area is known for its mysticism and witches…and I think in the eyes of carol’s 10 year old brother we continued this with our tarot card reading J and I had a very interesting reading…I asked about regaining my self-confidence and belief…the past card revealed the melancholy and sadness I have been feeling off and on during my first two month roller coaster ride here…the inverted meditation card…the present card revealed stops and starts…starting and stopping…and the future card was “The Crazy”….which reveals energy and excitement…and also a warning against hasty decisions…and my message card was to not create too many expectations…but go with the flow…all of these were perfect messages for me to hear right now…I think the magic continues in Florianopolis!