the week that was...
(sorry do not know why the photos aren't working!! :(
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On the weekend, with the help of Karl and Denise, I bought most of the stuff I needed for my apartment – crockery, cutlery, towels, sheets, pots and pans and, of course, a kit to make caipirinhas. (Don’t worry mum, I will buy an iron, I promise!) However the sheets I bought were not big enough for my bed. So I went back to the store to exchange them. I went up to an employee at the front of the store and said, “Boa noite. Por favor você me ajudar? Ontem eu comprei estes lencões, mas eu quero trocar. Como eu posso trocar deles?” (Good evening. Can you please help me? Yesterday I bought these sheets, but I want to change them. How can I change them?”) He asked me nervously, “Você fala Inglês?” (Do you speak English?) I told him yes, but why do you ask? He asked me to wait there, and he proceeded to go and find some random shoppers in the fruit and veg section and asked them if they spoke English. They said yes so he brought them over to me. He motioned to me to speak to them. So I repeated in Portuguese what I had said to him. They looked very confused, wondering why he could not understand what I wanted to do. They told him, she wants to change the sheets. He said, “Sim, mas ela fala Inglês” (Yes, but she speaks English). So I repeated my simple request in English which, judging by people’s faces, just increased the confusion. So I politely said “Obrigada” (thank you) and went to find someone else to help me. I found the little old man who had helped me to pack all my things and asked him the same thing in Portuguese. He told me where I should go and off I went and changed the sheets!!!
In this occasion I was saying the right thing but was not understood. However other times I say the wrong thing, but I unfortunately I AM understood! One night this week I was coming back home after enjoying quite a few caipirinhas at a bar with a cool lounge jazz band (above). The taxi driver was a fairly young guy and we were chatting away. He told me he is from the north-east of Brazil which has beautiful beaches and the people are very relaxed and happy. Then somehow we got onto the subject of the upcoming national election. I meant to ask, “No Brasil, votar é obrigatório?” (In Brazil is it compulsory to vote?), however the caipirinhas must have taken over my tongue because I asked “No Brasil, foder é obrigatório?” (In Brazil, is it compulsory to f**k?). After much laughing, during which time I realized what I had said, he answered, smiling “Sempre, sempre é obrigatório” (It is always, always compulsory).
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I went to the Mercado Municipal – Town Market – which is an impressive old building housing numerous food stalls with fruit from all over Brazil and also Italian delicacies, like cheese, oils and meats. I went with Camila, a colleague from work, and her sister and mum. It was fun exploring the different stalls and doing taste tests and I even tasted fruits, a couple of which I actually liked!!! I know that shock and horror is spreading over the faces of several people as they read this, but it is true! I cannot remember the names of any of the fruits that I liked except for açai – which is a fruit from the Amazon which tastes like chocolate – what is not to like?!? ;)
Went to my first Latin-style Brazilian bar – which had live salsa band playing and everyone dancing – had a few dances with Vlad, Colombian trainee and AIESEC alumnus. Was really nice to hang out with trainees who were all speaking Portuguese with each other and Brasilians around them.
I am allergic to exercise!! Since the gym at my building is not yet opened I went for a walk on Tuesday morning at a nearby “square” since I was told it is not very safe to go walking in the Trianon-MASP Park by myself. After about 20 minutes I was getting a bit dizzy cos the square is not that big and I was walking round and round like a rat on a wheel…but my legs started to get really red and itchy…so uncomfortable that I had to stop and go back to the house. At the coffee machine later that day I was joking to my colleague that “Eu tehno alergia para exercício” and she said her sister had the same thing. Her doctor told her that if you have not done exercise for a while that when you do, your body releases some toxins through your skin, which is what makes you itchy. The cure? Doing more regular exercise!!!
Manicure with a twist – went to the salon at the bank for a manicure but got a free weight consultation as well. I should have known something strange was going to happen from the start when she took my hand and placed it on her stomach while she was removing my old nail polish…I was not sure why that was happening…but then she started to tell me that I was fat and to make matters worse, perhaps just in case I could not understand “Eu acho que você está gorda” (I think you are fat) or maybe for extra emphasis and public embarrassment she proceeded to grab my stomach in several places to make her point. Then she offered her help and assistance – that she does massages that will make me thin and beautiful – for just R$40 at my house. She also emphasized this point by making the hour glass shape of a woman’s body with her hands, also holding the nail file. Then she asked me what kind of exercise I do. I said that the gym right now is not opened but I went for a 30 minutes walk. Not enough she told me. Again grabbing my stomach she told me that I need to do at least 1 hour exercise per day. She now begins to remove the cuticles on my nails. Then she starts to ask me how I am enjoying my time in Brazil. Finally, I thought, we are moving away from the weight issue. But no. After I told her that I was enjoying my time so far, she said she agrees that Brazil is a great country. Great weather. Great food. Great men. BUT, she said, “Homems do Brasil não gostam mulheres gordas” (Brazilian men do not like fat women). But I should not worry, there is hope for me yet apparently, because she can give me this amazing massage for just R$40 and I will be thin. The rest of the manicure managed to proceed without any further stomach grabbing, just a small investigation about what I eat in Brazil. And of course a reminder to call her to book a massage ;) I somehow wasn't angry though...but more than slightly amused by the "encounter".
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I met up with Pablo Handl again for a couple of drinks. It is more than 3 years since we last saw each other after working together on AIESEC International for a year (last time I remember he was recovering from chicken pox!). Pablo is doing some really interesting work here with social-entrepreneurship and starting to establish “The Hub” here as a space for social-entrepreneurs. It was really nice to meet up and reconnect with someone after a long break, and also discover that there is a vibrant scene here in São Paulo interested in topics like social-entrepreneurship, sustainability, chaordic processes and spirituality. Hoping to connect to this group more during my stay here.
Discovered an Australasian bar here called Kiaora – which has a Kiwi name but is filled with Australian aboriginal-style painting inside, as well as the Australian and NZ flags and rugby jerseys. Not sure how it happened but managed to stay out until 5am on Thursday night with Guga and some of his friends from his work training course which brought him to Sampa from Rio.
In Amsterdam it was very rare that I would eat dinner alone - normally I would have dinner with Maria, Brenda or other friends, often cooking at my house or theirs, or going out for a meal. Sharing a meal is an age-old and universal way of connecting with people. But since I moved to Sampa I have had too many meals alone at my new place. So in order to reconnect with this practice and also to thank them for all the help they have given me since I moved here, I invited Marcio, Karl and Denise over for dinner on Friday night. I tried to make locro again (Bolivian vegetable stew) which was quite famous from my Amsterdam kitchen, but it did not seem to work out as well this time. Anyways, luckily I bought a yummy ice cream and my guests brought wine and shisha so it ended up being a nice evening. Unfortunately we did not manage to drill the holes for my paintings because there is a law that you cannot drill after 10pm (guests did not arrive till 10:30pm), but hopefully will get around to that this week before my next dinner guests come on Thursday. Hopefully it will not take long for the dinner invites to be more spontaneous and the atmosphere less formal.
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The week ended on a great win. On Saturday I went with Marcio, Laura and Onno to watch the Australian Opals win the World Basketball Championships at Ibirapuera Stadium. After a slow start, the Opals dominated the Russians for the rest of the match and won by nearly 20 points. There was a bit of support for the Russians from the Brazilian crowd because the Aussies knocked Brazil out of the competition but thanks to the Brazilian love of women Lauren Jackson managed to swing the crowd back to the Aussie side J Was great to be back at a basketball match after many many years and always great to see your country win a world championships! Unfortunately could not find any Aussies to party with afterwards but it was great to be there for the win.
here is a glimpse of the beach from the path that went from the house to the shores of praia fortaleza...if you want to see more you can check them out 
