pei-tien's blog: Day Two Hundred and Seventy

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Day Two Hundred and Seventy

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.

But after spending nearly 9 months at the same place, it's inevitable to fall into a routine. A routine so mundane and which at times makes me feel so incredibly bored, alone, frustrated, unproductive, and easily irritable<--or what others may perceive as PMS! I'm not sure if I'm starting to take this experience for granted, or maybe that there's just this question in the back of my mind that is wondering: Am I where I'm supposed to be? Hmm.. it's a tough call. All I know is that Eu quero voltar mas não quero sair regarding returning back home and leaving Brazil :'(

Can't believe I've been here for almost 9 months.. Como o tempo voa!!

Re: Some News Events

(A Violência em Sampa)

May thru July - PCC in São Paulo: First Command of the Capital (Primeiro Comando da Capital), the regional criminal organization, ordered attacks throughout the capital and surrounding cities, as well as several places from states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Paraná. Attacks included riots in prisons, shooting of police officers, and setting fire to buses. More than 200 people were killed during this period.

(O Brasil na Copa)

June & July - FIFA World Cup: The craze began way before the start of Brazil's first game in the cup on June 13 against Croatia during the first stage of the championship. Streets were decorated in green and yellow, parties and churrascos were underway, faces of Brazilian soccer players appeared on every ad and billboard and in every place in Brazil. Despite the many star players on the team, Brazil made it only to quarter-finals, where they lost 0-1 to France on July 1. Brazil remains 5 time World Cup Champions (Pentacampeão and not the Hexa Brasil as the entire nation had hoped) and the winner of the 2006 cup was Italy, 4 time champion, winning against France 5-3 in the penalties.

The Games and Scores:

Jun 13 Brazil vs. Croatia 1-0 (Stage 1: Group Matches - Group F)

Jun 18 Brazil vs. Australia 2-0 (Stage 1: Group Matches - Group F)

Jun 22 Brazil vs. Japan 4-1 (Stage 1: Group Matches - Group F)

Jun 27 Brazil vs. Ghana 3-0 (Stage 2: Round of 16)

Jul 01 Brazil vs. France 0-1 (Stage 2: Quarter-Finals)

(O Acidente do Vôo 1907)

September - Air Accident: 154 people were killed in the crash of Gol Airline's flight 1907 when the plane collided with a jet heading to the U.S. Two American pilots flew the new business jet built by Embraer out of São José dos Campos and the collision occurred midair over the Amazon region.

(A Eleição Presidential)

October - Presidential Election: On October 29, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, of the Worker's Party (PT - Partido dos Trabalhadores) was re-elected for a 2nd term as Brazil's president. In the second round of the election, Lula gained over 60% of the votes against his opponent, Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB - Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira).

Re: Some Personal Events

March - Arrived in Brazil on March 25. Began my travelling madness.
April - Travel to the beaches on the coast of Sao Paulo State, to Sao Paulo city, to Itajubá in Minas Gerais. First time kayaking.
May - Moved to new apartment. Travel to Santos
June - Travel to Rio where the cariocas meet the foreigners from Egypt, Slovakia, Nigeria, Serbia, Poland, Colombia, Australia, Canada/Taiwan, Canada/Hong Kong, Canada/Ukraine, and Just Canada (yes, this IS what it means to be a Canadian!). Underwent culture shocks.
July - Travel to Caragua, Ubatuba, Rio, Salvador, Recife, Sao Paulo...
August - Travel to Canada for Sister's wedding!!!! Experienced the Portuguese expression: Saudades (meaning something like 'Longing'.. I missed my family like never before).
September - Travel to Parati and Trindad, two of the most beautiful places in Brazil ever.
October - Travel to Santa Catarina State in Blumenau and Florianopolis with 5 people packed in a tiny VW rental car. Best road trip by far ;o)
November - Travel to Curitiba. First time surfing? (I couldn't manage to stand on the board, not even close!) First time birthday in the Spring season on November 21. First time karting (4th place, racing against 6 other people). Underwent more culture shocks of communication.
December - This is a month of parties: grad parties, conference parties, goodbye parties, end-of-the-year parties, staff parties, holiday and secret friend parties, plus more parties to come..

It's impossible to know what returning back home in March will be like. Somehow it seems intimidating yet relieving at the same time. For now I think I'm just gonna stop with the initial complaints about feeling bored, alone, frustrated, etc. and will try to make the best of what is left of my internship. 51: Uma boa idéa.!