pei-tien's blog

Here's an interesting and somewhat depressing text which I can relate to at times...



“A rua estava fria. Era sábado ao anoitecer mas eu estava chegando e não saindo. Passei no bar e comprei um maço de cigarros.Vinte cigarros. Eram os vinte amigos que iam passar a noite comigo.

A porta se fechou como uma despedida para a rua,mas a porta sempre se fechava assim. Ela se fechou com um som abafado e rouco. Mas era sempre assim que ela se fechava. Um som que parecia o adeus de um condenado. Mas a porta simplesmente se fechara e ela sempre se fechara assim. Todos os dias ela se fechava assim.

Acender o fogo,esquentar o arroz,fritar um ovo. A gordura estala e espirra ferindo minhas mãos. A comida estava boa. Estava realmente boa,embora tenha ficado quase a metade no prato. Havia uma casquinha de ovo e pensei em pedir-me desculpas por isso. Sorri com esse pensamento. Acho que sorri. Devo ter sorrido. Era só uma casquinha.

Busquei no silêncio da copa algum inseto mas eles já haviam todos adormecido para a manhã de domingo. Então eu falei em voz alta. Precisava ouvir alguma coisa e falei em voz alta. Foi só uma frase banal. Se houvesse alguém perto diria que eu estava ficando doido. Eu sorriria. Mas não havia ninguém. Eu podia dizer o que quisesse. Não havia ninguém para me ouvir. Eu podia rolar no chão,ficar nu,arrancar os cabelos, gemer, chorar,soluçar,perder a fala,não havia ninguém para me ver.Ninguém para me ouvir.Não havia ninguém. Eu podia até morrer.

De manhã o padeiro me perguntou se estava tudo bom. Eu sorri e disse que estava. Na rua o vizinho me perguntou se estava tudo certo. Eu disse que sim e sorri. Também meu patrão me perguntou e eu sorrindo disse que sim. Veio a tarde e meu primo me perguntou se estava tudo em paz e eu sorri dizendo que estava. Depois uma conhecida me perguntou se estava tudo azul e eu sorri e disse que sim,estava,tudo azul.”

(Luiz Vilela, 1977)

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

The past couple of days have been sitting at home and staring blankly in front of the computer screen... The things I've done lately were eating, listening to music while checking for new e-mails (none of which were personally directed to me), replying to Orkut scraps, watching Gilmore Girls on my laptop, more eating, practising the guitar, eating again and basically a whole of nothing and eating in between. Currently I have the apartment all to myself. My housemate/landlady left for the beach last Wednesday with the dog, which means that for the past week I've been blissfully alone and free. I've been taking advantage of the absences of the woman and especially the little terror dog. In fact I'm starting to wonder if I'm one of those undesirable housemates. I'm guilty to admit that after she left I had a party the next day and I've moved all the goods from the apartment into my own room like the fan, stereo, computer speakers.. Of course I cleaned up (as much as I'm willing to ;) after the party , and hopefully by the time she returns, I will have put the stuff back in their original places.

Re: Napkins

I've seen two types of napkins here they put out in lanchonetes (cafeteria, snack bar type places for quick grubs). The first type being these incredibly thin and waxy pieces of paper and the second is these sheets of actual paper, which is painfully rough on the mouth. I don't recommend neither but given the two I'd prefer the first type, which is most commonly used. I use at least 20 of these just to eat a sandwhich 'cuz I'm a messy eater. The conclusion: these napkins are completely inefficient when serving to wipe food and grease off your lips and fingers, however completely useful if you have an oily face to wipe down (like I do) with the thin waxy napkin or if you need to jot something down, the paper sheet napkin is always good.

Re: Farewells

Last week I headed to São Paulo to see 2 trainees from Eypt and Slovakia who worked in Florianopólis, approximately 10 hrs drive from here. Younes, the Egyptian from the city of Alexandria, left on Sunday to go back to his country. I met the two guys at the Reception Weekend in Rio de Janeiro back in June, and then again in Florianopólis in October and last weekened would be the last time I would ever get to see them here in Brazil. At least this year anyway... It's funny how we've only met a few times but seems like we've been friends a long time. I guess being the foreigners we are in this strange land automatically connects us and bring us closer faster. It is always sad to say goodbye, and I've had to say goodbye to quite a number of people already. In 2 days Mac, my "brother" here will be leaving as well :'''(

Re: New Years

Saturday I'll go to Rio to spend about a week there before I fly to Fortaleza on Jan. 4. On New Year's Eve (Reveillon) I'll be joining 2 million others in Copacabana for the celebration. The Reveillon in Copacabana is known for its music shows and fireworks. This year Black Eyed Peas will be performing on the beach, and it's tradition for people to dress all in white and to go into the water to jump 7 waves for good luck. Am very excited to be heading back to Rio again :o)

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

In October I changed my flight back to Vancouver from January 2 to March 6. Since then I've been having mixed feelings about my presence in Brazil. Overall, I'm really happy to get the chance to stay longer here, the place where people sweetly sway to the rhythm of xote and energetically jump to the festive beats of axé.. the place where human interaction is so warmed by physical contacts. Speaking of which, I'm actually comfortable now to 'make the rounds' when arriving in a room full of Brazilians, where I say my hellos and greet everyone with a kiss or two on the cheek, and then again when saying goodbye. This can be quite a long process depending on the type of event you're attending and the status of your relationship with the people you are meeting with. But now if I were to only utter a mere "hi" or "bye" it just seems so cold and impolite on my part. Will certainly miss the kiss and greet part of the culture very very much.

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

Mmm.. gostoso!

Yesterday I made a lunch for eight (7 Brazilians plus me) and the desserts I had planned to make were coconut custards. It was a very simple recipe, and I'm sure they would have tasted decent if they had not burn into something so carcinogenic-looking. No worries though 'cuz the guys (Carla, Boto, Pedro, and Monkey) came over with ice cream. It was as if they knew... Huh. But everything else was great. Oh, except for the potato salad, which I accidently dumped a substantial amount of salt into. And also the rice was a tad bit dry. BUT, the lunch was good! Here was the lunch menu:

*Vietnamese salad rolls + my own special Asian flavoured peanut sauce, A++

*Thai red curry, this almost never fails :o)

*Special Asian-flavoured chicken thighs, was finger-licking good! Except here, people don't lick their fingers and rarely do they eat with their hands especially at main meals like lunch or dinner. They use everything with a knife and fork, even for foods like pizza, chicken drumsticks or wings, etc. I've seen people eating a banana using utensils, which I do too at work!

*Potato (soup) salad, water was added to lessen the salt concentration.. should've stuck with the Asian theme and made the Korean potatoes..

*Salad with Japanese ginger dressing, certainly made eating veggies easier!

I stayed in the city for the second consecutive weekend.. it is sooo boring when I do stay here. But then again, the trip to Florianopolis really did some serious damage to the finances.. Aypa! And now I'm more concerned about the coming up weekend, which is another holiday. Hence, another long weekend. Hence, another travelling opportunity. Beautiful isn't it? Except for the fact that I'm pretty sure I've already maxed out the plastic from my Brazilian account.. Not looking forward to those monthly bills...

Re: Holidays
In Brazil there is at least one stat holiday in each month. These holidays are mostly scheduled on a Thursday so that it is excusable to have Friday off as well. Ahh.. Brazilians.. you gotta love their way of thinking! I just feel sorry for those who actually do have to go to work on Friday.. those people's bosses are meanies!

But actually in November there are two holidays. The first one is on the 2nd, the same weekend mentioned previously. The second one falls on a Wednesday on November 15th. Was pretty psyched until I was told that there wouldn't be a 5-day weekend! Yeah, it's pretty shocking to have Wednesday off, and then head back to work on Thursday and Friday :''(

Okay, PROOF that I am not such a terrible cook (at rare moments):

It was Davi's birthday about 2 weeks ago, so Duygu and I made a cake for him. Actually we made the cake a week later, so it wasn't really his birthday and since to write 'birthday' would be a spacial problem, I put "HAPPY DAVi" instead.

Hmm.. could cooking possibly become the new hobby?

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

A hat in which no thinking is required...

7AM AT BOB'S BURGER IN FLORIANOPOLIS

Duygu & Davi: looking cheery in their Oktoberfest beer mugs

Mac, Pedro & Me: trying to look cheery...

PARATY, RIO DE JANEIRO

Driving along the coast to Paraty, another beautiful beach in the state of RJ

A galera na barco
A galera na agua As meninas no centro da cidade

A couple dancing in the square at night

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

Aiya! I didn`t blog in August... q pena!! Getting lazier and lazier each day... :p

Last weekend I was at @ITA`s conference for new members and SNs, and today was a special day at work, where selected 3rd year students take over the roles of all employees at the school while the teachers and the rest of my collegues and I were attending a special meeting of our own. Both conferences were great because for the first time since my arrival, I was actually taking part in the events and getting information out of them.

At the weekend conference, I conducted a session called "Understanding My World" where we talked about cultural understanding and culture shock. It went really well, although I was a bit nervous starting out. There, I was also pleasantly surprised by the great sessions led by some of the ITA guys. I was amazed by their professionalism and the quality information given at the sessions. The boys had certainly made me view them in a different, brighter light. Of course, during the night parties they were just as crazy as they`d always been! ;o)

The meeting held at work today was awesome. The breakdown of my taking in information given in Portuguese is as followed:

-French Film, with Portuguese subtitle: 85%
-Discussion followed by film: 45%
-Session on Congresso Pitagoras 2006: 40%
-PowerPoint from session: 85%

The film we watched was Les Choristes (Eng. title: The Chorus; Portuguese title: A Voz do Coração). It really helped that I had already seen the movie before. Interesting thing was that when I watched the film the first time in Canada, I think a year ago or longer, I`d never thought that I`d be watching it again from an educator`s perspective. And in Brazil at that!

Re: Culture Shock!

Wow, I didn`t expect to experience such shock after returning to Brazil in August. You`d think that the trip back to Canada would 'mata a saudade' but as it turned out, it was difficult to leave Canada again. I was really feeling homesick the first week when I arrived back.

Re: Becoming a Brasileira

Nmm... well I found out that being on Brazilian time in Canada doesn`t always quite work out as my family and I were late for my sister`s wedding (thanks to me). But here it`s almost a social survival skill, which I`ve already mastered some time long ago. The good news is that lately I`ve noticed my Portuguese is coming along much better now, although I think I could of course always study harder. Last weekend, for the first time ever, I was starting to get the hang of sambaaaa!!! And last but not final to the list, I`m able to drink the world renowned Brazilian alcoholic beverage, Caipirinha!!!!

Aéé!

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

1st pic: Humpty? (Turkey), me, José, Camila and Vitor (Vitinho) at Vitinho's b-day in Gravatá

2nd pic: The Recifes: Vitinho, Erika and Laercio (Camila's brother) in Olinda

Lindo, lindo, lindo!

It's another one of Brazil's many beautiful cities located in the coast in the state called Pernambuco. The city is like Venice because of the islands which make up the city and is decorated by many colourful European styled buildings and churches. In this city is where you get the impression of a tropical Brazil where monkeys roam the streets!! Hehe, that's 'cuz where I stayed was a bit out of city centre and my host Camila and her family's backyard has all kinds of tropical plants, animals, reptiles and insects!!

People have to be careful when going to the beach, esp. in Boa Viagem, 'cuz of the sharks... yieeee! Didn't have much luck when I was there 'cuz of the rainy season they are having right now. It was really cool 'cuz the Recifes took me to nearby cities of Olinda, Gravatá and Porto de Galinhas!

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

1st pic: a view of heaven from the national museum next to the Elevador Lacerda

2nd pic: yucky pic of me and yummy pic of Kabelo ;)

3rd pic: the girls of @SS and me

The night before I left for Salvador I was sad just the thought of leaving Rio. I thought I couldn't love another city like I love that city ;) But Salvador (and Recife) also gets great reviews.

It was a short trip in Salvador... 4 days and 3 nights, which I was kindly hosted by João (Kabelo) from @SS and his family. He's such a sweetie!!

It was a nice change 'cuz the city had many Afro-Brazilians and a different culture. The food there tend to be heavier 'cuz of the amount of oil they use and a lot spicier!! Mmm.. comida pimentada.. gostoso! Apart from tasting acarajé, bolinho dos estudantes, moqueca de camarão, and another dish I forget the name, I went to a show of a group called Olodum in Pelourinho, a place near where African slaves were auctioned and whipped. The band played samba/reggae music using many drums. There were families and many tourists, English speakers also, at the show. The place was very very packed and near the end of the night my flip flops were literally stuck to the ground.

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

This is my passion...

1st pic: Marta, me and Felipe in Jadim Botânico early in the evening

2nd pic: Me in Vista Chinesa in Floresta da Tijuca

3rd pic: Cristo at night

4th pic: Beach and Nieyemer Museum in Niterói

5th pic: View of Pão de Açucar and the city of Rio from the otherside

Rio is known as Cidade Maravilhosa and it truly is. I was there in June for @RJ's Reception Weekend for the trainees and CEEDers in Brazil. We went to many tourist sights but also missed many planned places of attractions. I didn't worry though 'cuz I knew I would go back to Rio again and again.

After the weekend at the beaches in São Paulo, I began my vacation up north to the State of Rio de Janeiro with Davi, who hosted me for almost a week and took me everywhere in the city of Rio.. During the last couple days of my stay there I had lost my voice from all the nights out in Lapa :o)

Places I visited from both the Reception Weekend and my vacation:
-Cristo Redentor in Corcovado
-Pão de Açúcar
-Floresta da Tijuca
-Jardim Botânico
-Neighbourhoods and beaches of Lagoa, Santa Teresa, Ipanema, Copacabana, Barra de Tijuca, Lapa, Centro, Ilha do Governador (where Davi's mom lives), and Niterói (where Oscar Niemeyer's Museu de Artes Contemporânea is located and it's also where Marecelo a member of @RJ lives)

Apart from all the marvels that Rio offers, violence and poverty are evidently shown by the presence of militant police, sounds of gunshots fired throughout the city, and the sick and poor living on the streets. Even the Cariocas take certain precautions within the city such as by locking the car doors when driving, not stopping at red lights during night time and taking only what they need when heading downtown. One of the guys who goes to ITA had a fake student ID made to carry with him in case of robbery just 'cuz his school ID from ITA identifies him as a military student, which he said would increase the chance of him getting killed...

Not to leave things on such dejected notes, the good parts about Rio and its exuberance makes me wonder why I am living in São José... The city has everything except for a Chinatown!!!

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience

Gosh, it's been a while since I came back to this thing... millions of thoughts and don't know where to start. First defining the title... 'The Good' things in my internship are the vacation I had in my job and overcoming some problems with work and culture shock, which are 'The Bad' part of my experience. 'The Beautiful' definitely describes Brazil...

During the last month of June, I was unexpectedly hit by culture shock. Yes, the thing we all know about and have come to fear since people are always trying to prepare themselves for it. There were many factors for my experience of culture shock, some of which included (and still include):

- me não falo português, especially since I don't understand most of what were being spoken around me
-going to work was becoming dreaded, largely due to the above as well as the lack of communication between me, the coordinator and other collegues
-big changes happening back in Canada
-lack of support from various people, including my own family!
-the crazy Brazilians (and dog...)
-trying to figure out what's next

The list goes on just a bit more.

The whole last month I felt irritated and asked myself why the hell I choose to put myself in this discomforting position (i.e. going off to live and work in a country far from the familiar and where I don't even speak the language). Hehe, I guess the answer came in recognizing what I was feeling was culture shock. From there on I thought since I was going through this, why not do an activity with the kids at school about this. The freedom I have from work is the principal driver of all my miseries as well as the joy and perks. To sum few things in short, I started to flip through my English-Portuguese dictionary and Como Dizer Tudo em Português book; sat down with the coordinator and talked to her about my proposals for a workshop and other tasks for me to do in the new school semester which starts in August. Another thing I realized was that I needed to stop feeling so frustrated and helpless with everything that has to do with Portuguese.. I needed to gain independence and what better ways to do so than try to do everything myself first without the help of the Brazilians and also do the things I'd like to do regardless of language constraints.

First week of July was damn boring when my vacation started. I stayed home most days as I am an extremely lazy person.. hehe.. but after one week of much idleness, I packed my bags and went off to the Northeast to escape the harsh Brazilian winter in São José... to be cont'd...

Labels: Door #1: The Brazil Experience