Lent in Brazil - Campanha da Fraternindade 2009, Non Violence

The Lenten Season is upon us.  I've always wanted to say that, haha.  (Sidenote: For those who don't know, I associate my religious beliefs with the Roman Catholic Church.  I have a theory also that all religions are essentially the same, but I also chose to pick one of the established ones, and this has been my decision, and I hope those of you reading this can respect that.)  

This means yesterday, Ash Wednesday, to me and many other Christians around the world, was the beginning of 40 days of sacrifice, prayer, and preparation for Easter, one of the most important holy days in the Catholic Church.  After a certain age, one considers it more important than Christmas!  

I admit that I have been lacking in my faith recently, which isn't hard to do right now since close to none of the people who surround me here are religious, and prior to coming to São Paulo, I constantly had that family/friends spiritual network.  But yesterday, after having a quarter pounder cheeseburger for lunch (by accident!), I brought myself to mass to get ashes sprinkled on my foreheard... err, I mean, pray.  I went to a church near my house I'd been planning on attending since I discovered it a few weeks ago, and it turned out to be a wonderful idea. 

The Catholic Church in Brazil every year picks a theme for lent called a "Campanha da Fraternidade," or Fraternity Campaign.  This year's theme is non-violence.  All kinds of it.  We, all over the world, live in a violent society.  Some experience violence because of religion, others for money, or sports, or simply survival.  Along with the theme, the Church asks us to reflect on means of ending violence in our lives starting with ourselves, and doing what we can within our reach to slowly, but surely end the violence that surrounds us.  

I think the violence within ourselves point is quite valid, and the priest last night preached this idea by quoting Gandhi loosely, referring to when he said, 

"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence."  

And this is true, no? No matter what we do to "end" violence, if we have any sort of inner violence, what's the point?  Which brings me to my next thought.  I feel lent is a lot about combatting hypocracy as well.  Our own.  We're all hypocrites, and there's no point in pretending to be something you're not.  Which is why I myself take Lent very seriously because to me it's a time to reflect on my own beliefs and how I want to lead my life and distance myself from hipocracy of spirit.  And this is also why I think last night's liturgy was perfect for my own thoughts on the next 40 days which will hopefully extend for much longer, and that is Matthew, Ch. 6, 1-21.  Here's a tiny part of the reading:

⁵“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ¹⁶“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.²¹...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  

So if you'll please allow me to, I will try, once a week for this Lenten season, to reflect on this year's theme, Non-Violence, through this blog.  How does that sound?  

Now go, for those who believe (and even those who don't!) and have a Happy Lent!! 

É Carnaval 2009! São Paulo Parades and Themes

So everyone probably thinks I haven't posted in a week because I've been pregaming for Carnaval and am now living it, which is sort of true.  I was pregaming by working hard at work and then living it by relaxing, haha.  Since funds have been low, I decided to stick around SP for the holiday and fortunately for me, so did most of my friends and family who live here.  For our SP Blog, Paty and I planned out a whole itinerary for who was staying in São Paulo for Carnaval, which wasn't too easy to do because the city isn't necessarily famous for its Carnaval festivities.  You'll barely hear about street parades and to go watch the big parades, you need to spend quite a bit.  So we researched some cheap-o festivities and the intent was to do all of them, but my body wouldn't allow me.  So Friday after work, I ended up getting a beer or 5 at a couple of bars with a few different groups of friends, and spent most of yesterday and Saturday with my aunt, uncle and cousins, including a quick getaway to one of their friends' sitio's right outside São Paulo to breathe in some fresh air.  Last night I hung out with some friends at this park near my house called Praça do Por do Sol, which overlooks a microscopic part of the city and is gorgeous.  Today, the party will officially begin - I'm going out with some friends to a club celebrating Carnaval, so more on that later :-) 

One thing I also got to do in my escapades to bars and my aunt's house, etc. was watch some of the parades on TV.  They start at around 10 PM and go until sunrise and then some, so I didn't get to watch much, but from reviews and what Globo showed, not only were the São Paulo desfiles gorgeous, with thousands of people participating in each and huge floats, they had pretty interesting themes.  The themes are always my favorite part since I'm too analytical for my own good, but this years' really got to me.  Unidos do Peruche highlighted different parts of the history of jewel mining and had a whole float dedicated to slaves in Brazil and another to miners in Minas Gerais.  I had mentioned going to a Rosas de Ouro rehearsal, and it was great to see the parade and kind of recognize the music - but watching it made the lyrics all come into place.  The parade attempted to display the magic that is Carnaval and the theme was O Sonho do Carnaval, the Carnaval's Dream, showing on a huge plasma screen in front of one of the floats, the making of that same float.  My favorite school on Friday night was by far Tom Maior.  They paid a double tribute to Angola and one of Brazil's favorite sambistas, Martinho da Vila (who also wrote a song called "Tom Maior") - who was dancing atop a float Angolan style.  There was beautiful choreography portraying Angola's civil war and the near 30 years of strife they faced, which I thought was breathtaking.  

X-9, Mancha Verde, Gaviões, Tucuruvi, and Vai-Vai all had great shows as well, along with the rest of the schools, but I'll be here all day if I talk a little bit about all of them.  

Now I have a movie date with a friend (R$4 Mondays at this great movie theater here!) and then I need to start getting ready for my own personal parade at the club tonight ;-) But here's a clip of Tom Maior's desfile FYE!

beijosss e Feliz Carnaval!!!

Happy One Year Anniversary to Me & Brazil.

Yup, you've got it. One whole year. 525,600 minutes. February 16, 2008, I stepped foot on Brazilian soil for the first time after not having been here for 19 years. And here I am, still 'live and kickin'!

To celebrate, I'd like to write this post listing different happenings and milestones, because this year went by fast, but so much happened that I'm still blown away at how much has been accomplished in a mere 365 days or so...

In one year, I...

- Met 90ish% of my family.

- Got my driver's license for the first time! (since I couldn't in the US due to my status there). And faced (not while at the wheel, but still), miles and miles of traffic.

- Rented my first apartment and have great roommates!

- Have observed things I wasn't expecting to find, what I miss and don't miss from the US, things that have grown on me, politics, things people from São Paulo say, the economy... and more about Brazil.

- Have had A LOT of interviews, two registered jobs and taught a number of students some English - total of 10 months working, and two new professions learned - and still learning!

- Had an American friend visit.

- Spent my first Christmas and Easter away from my parents but near the rest of my family.

- Went to Rio, a number of cities and towns in Minas Gerais, and a couple of beach towns in São Paulo, i.e., kinda dominated the southeast of Brazil.

- Have been to the North, South and West sides of São Paulo City (I have yet to venture into the East side... maybe this year), and have come to terms with how big the city is without whining about taking hour long plus bus rides around the city.

- Have been optimistic about a financial crisis.

- Have gotten lost. A Lot. And in getting lost, have discovered the wonderfulness of SP.

- Have realized once and for all I don't deserve to be as skinny as I am.

- Have NOT lost my accent from Minas despite having lived in São Paulo a good 11 out of the last 12 months.

- Have had 3 haircuts in 3 different cities.

- Have gone to samba school practices, milked a cow, watched a Zé Ramalho concert outdoors at midnight, and been to a drag queen show.

- Had a 4 day birthday celebration with my new friends who I love so much, in my new home.

- Cannot count how many times people have asked me how I speak Portuguese so well and why I'm back in Brazil... and keep asking.

- Have NOT gotten held up, robbed, raped, or witnessed a shootout/drive by, contrary to popular belief.

- Realized I didn't come back as Americanizada as I had thought I would.

and finally, last but not least...

Have written 68 blog posts in this blog as your resident Americaninha, and a number of others in my São Paulo City blog!

Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me for the past year and please know my adventure hasn't stopped here. I still have much more to learn and discover in this wonderful country of mine, where, after an entire year, I can finally say with some confidence, I belong.

beijoosss no coração para todos!

Is it Worth the "Hike"?

This'll be a quick post, I promise, but it'll be reflective, I hope. 

One thing I forgot to mention about my day at the beach on Sunday was something that kept running through my mind almost all day...

As I sat on my beach chair, barely under the umbrella, staring out into the ocean and looking around at all the people, I realized I had travelled nearly 3 hours to go to the beach for a mere few hours, or "day."  And then I started to try to think of the last time I had done this in the U.S. 

When had I travelled 3 hours to go anywhere for a day?  Boston and Philly are equidistantly 2 1/2 - 3 hours from my hometown of Danbury, CT.  Nope, always went for at least a night's stay.  Rhode Island and Long Island beaches are no more than 2 hours from Danbury.  I remember going to Long Island when I was much younger with my family.  Rhode Island beaches?  Only on the way back from Boston or Providence.  I would think it was ridiculous for anyone to visit me in Providence for just a day when coming "all the way" from Western Connecticut (2 hours, 20 minutes).  And as I sat there contemplating this, I recalled thinking what an effort it was for my friends and I to even drive to Hartford or Fairfield for a day (45  minutes - 1 hour)!

Living in São Paulo's capital city, a 40 minute trip anywhere isn't far at all, at least using public transportation.  It seems here people are more willing to go a little further for relaxation or entertainment.  There are beaches that are only an hour away from SP City, but the better beaches are a little further north.  Why is it that my friends and I found it so tough to make it out to the beach or city or ski mountain if it was more than an hour drive for a day in New England/Tri-State Area, and here I find it a walk in the park hitting the road for a few hours just to make it to São Paulo's northern shore as opposed to the southern?  And it's not just the beach either, I've taken day trips to sítios (small farms) and small touristy/historic towns in Minas a couple hours outside the city without even a pause to say, "Oh God, that's so far..."

I have some thoughts on the "por que" of it all, but would rather listen to your opinions first and give you something to chew on. ;-)

beijos!

Oh Baby, it's Summertime!

This weekend, the sun finally decided to make an appearance in São Paulo after a few weeks of rain, clouds, and more rain. 

Friday night, the sky was already relatively clear, and some of my friends and I hit up a bar for happy hour and then a GREAT club, Sarajevo, which is kind of underground, and there was lots of dancing involved.  There was a great live band playing, and another room playing 90's rock which made all of us reminisce over our adolescent years (and made us realize we're officially adults, haha).

Saturday, I did a little bit of walking and went to the pool with my friend Marcos.  the goal is to go every weekend at least once!! My workout plan for an indefinite period of time now is swimming 1-2 times a week and yoga twice a week.  Decent enough, right? I hope... 

Saturday night, my friend Fabi called and said she was planning on going to the beach Sunday, if I didn't want to go with her... I had tons of things to do Sunday - work I had brought home, laundry, I had to stop by a few stores to pick up a few things... and so I said, "Sure, I'll definitely hit up the beach with you!"  Despite having tons of things to do, I was also needing some relaxation and SUN.  I hadn't been to the beach since October when I went to Rio, and let's be honest with ourselves here, moro num país tropical! 

So Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early, and Fabi, Juliana and I hit up Juquehy, on São Paulo's north shore, where one can find some of the prettiest beaches in the southeast of Brazil (or so they say - I can't say anything because I haven't been to many beaches, but I can definitely say I was more impressed with SP's north shore than with Rio!).  The day was gorgeous, the water was wonderful, and the company was great!  Juliana, who also had tons of work to do, and I kept saying how we would have regretted not going to the beach.  Because of the gorge weather, I left the beach super impressed with the great tan I had gotten too.  I realized I hadn't put on as much sunblock as I could have, but those are some of the downsides to being tan and thinking the sun doesn't affect me as much as it does pasty light skinned people, hehe. 

On the way home, we stopped at a pastelaria to have some of Bertioga's famous pasteis.  Pasteis

 are kind of like deep fried empanadas, and these were HUGE and wonderful.  I didn't know they were so famous, but definitely learned why.  

Here's the kicker though, on the ride home, I was exhausted, and when I got home, started feeling kind of light headed, but thought it was just the excess of sun and normal post-beach tiredness.  I had made plans to have sushi with my friend Thiago, and got ready to go.   Once we get to the sushi place, I realize I wasn't eating as much as I usually eat, and started feeling kind of nauseous and was super cold, even though it was a ridiculously warm night.  Thiago said I had probably gotten insolação, which is kind of like a heat/sunstroke.  We quickly realized I had a fever, so we finished our dinner and he took me to the pharmacy for me to get some fever reducer.  I picked up some meds and attempted to sleep, to no avail.  This morning, I called my aunt desperately asking her what to do because I felt super sick, was nauseous, my head hurt, my throat was sore, and much more.  She said my uncle was on his way to pick me up and take me to the hospital.  I get to the emergency room and the doctor confirmed Thiago's diagnosis and puts me on an entire liter of serum with medication because I was ridiculous dehydrated.  They poked me in four different places because my veins kept exploding and so it took a whole 4 hours for me to finish off my liter of medicine and liquid.  I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up an anti-inflammatory for my sore throat and slept the rest of the afternoon.  I'm feeling much better now, but have definitely learned a wonderful lesson from all of this - drink lots and lots and lots of water at the beach and keep your head out of the heat... duh.  

I have no regrets though... despite this being the first time I legit got sick here in Brazil, I got a baller tan and look GOOD. haha 

More on love and life coming up this week! 

beijooss

Brasileirismos and Carmen Miranda Celebrates 100 Years!

When I was at São Paulo Fashion Week a couple of weeks ago, we watched Neon's show on a big screen outside the room, and despite the collection having been fabulous, one thing that caught my eye even more, was a paragraph on each side of the screen with the same thing written on the wall, entitled, "Brasileirismos." Brazilianizms. That was the name of SPFW Winter 2009 edition, and this little paragraph said it all. It talked about the little things that Brazilians do that make them Brazilian. Like making jokes out of anything and everything, the knowledge of how noble the founders of samba schools are, playing with toothpicks at a corner bar, nicknames, slang, and more.

The biggest point of this though, was to emphasize the importance of Carmen Miranda and to celebrate her 100th birthday, being celebrated this year, and not only was she one of Brazil's biggest fashion icons, she was my inspiration for the title of this blog.

For those who don't know who Carmen Miranda is, follow the link. But in short, she was an actress and singer, originally born in Portugal, but moved to Brazil at a young age. She went to the U.S. to perform on Broadway and then went Hollywood. Upon her return to Brazil, she was criticized for having become "Americanized," and so in response, she wrote, "Disseram Que Eu Voltei Americanizada," or They Say I've Returned Americanized... aha! I, like Miranda, had every reason to be as gringa as they come. But I surprised a lot of people and at the same time maintain some of my "Americanisms." I have always known deep down, however, and know today more than ever, that I relate much more with my Brazilian side, and my Brasileirismos. For better or for worse, topo a noite inteira a velha batucada e digo eu te amooo.

beijoosss amores!

Below is the text that was featured at SPFW in Portuguese:

Existem coisas que o brasileiro faz de um jeito que ninguem mais faz. Para o bem ou nem tanto. E a gente nem percebe que, se não segurar essas coisas, elas podem desaparecer, como tantas outras já sumiram na onda global. A principal delas é achar graça de si mesmo, e de tudo o mais também. A piada fica pronta segundos depois da pior notícia. Sempre. Mas a maioria são as coisas pequenas, delicada e sempre bem humoradas que estão espalhadas por todo o país. E a frase na traseira do caminhão, cada vez mais rara, que nos faz abrir um sorriso mesmo no pior trânsito. É o heroi Atlas, que por aqui carrega um saco imenso de bolas coloridas pelas rua, seu fardo e sua graça. É a nobreza das velhas guardas do samba. É jogar palitinho no boteco da esquina. São os diminutivos, os apelidos, as gozações. Não são coisas de grandíssimo porte, são brasileirismos, a graça da vida, alegria puta que é a nossa maior qualidade. Vamos comemorar essa disposição para a alegria, nós que rimos quando misturam chiclete com banana e quando nos veem meio bananas meio rumbeiras. Vamos comemorar os 100 anos da nossa grande musa do estilo e da graça, Carmen Miranda. Sorria, você esta no SPFW!