I was wondering...

Am I addicted to Facebook?

According to this survey I am only 36% addicted.

Sounds about right.

http://theoatmeal.com/quiz/facebook_addict

Not so usual...

I think vacation really agrees with me!! I’ve come back recharged and with a new and positive outlook. Even though it’s cold and gray outside. I suppose I’m tapping into my southern tan… J

Since I’ve been back I’ve gotten a ton of stuff done. It’s all easy stuff, but none the less, it’s all done! Yippee!!! I haven’t gotten back into the daily routine as of yet, so it is still post-vacation busy - but the routine will come sooner or later, so I won’t worry about it. Yes, this is me not worrying (haha).

So just on my way home from a busy day running errands downtown I saw something that I found very amusing and yet very humbling.

I was passing by the beautiful Alte Opera and noticing the progress of the renovations on the front façade. Things look good and they have even started removing the complicated scaffolding... suddenly I spotted the German equivalent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Their uniform colours are yellow and black. The 2 officers were female (which I found interesting). As I walked past, I was momentarily distracted by a barking dog (some dogs freak out in the presence of horses as I learned back in my farm-hand days…) so when I looked to the horses again one had it’s tail raised in that oh-so-suspicious way. Sure enough the officers said something in German and stopped their horses. The raised-tailed-horse proceeded to poop (a lot). None of this really phased me – but rather it was the next part: The officer got OFF her mount and pulled out her horse-scaled pooper-scooper kit. Unbelievable!!! I thought almost simultaneously – “I wonder when they’ll find out about the horse-bum-baskets” and “This poop scooping business would never happen in France”.

It's been a while!

So, I realize it's been a while since I last posted an entry.

My daily routine changed at the end of October since that is when my sister-in-law arrived marking the beginning of the travel and Christmas season for us... :D

I posted updates about my visit with Leah in Prague just before Oct. 31st and I will still post:

- general updates from November

- Canada trip in November

- Frankfurt in December

- Christmas with the family in Frankfurt

- Starting 2010 with family in Brazil

- Brazil trip

Having just returned from Brazil yesterday, my 'todo' list is long. But progress has already been made!

Yay laundry, unpacking, email checking and photo sorting!!!! Among other things....

More to follow, I promise!

Sao Paulo, Brazil ~ Jan.2010

I have a new perspective of Sao Paulo as a city to visit. From the age of 16, until now have visited Brazil and my extended family alone. There was the one time that my Mom’s visit overlapped with mine for about 3 days (we had a blast), but other than that, solo. I usually spend time doing whatever there is to be done – you know, daily life with perks of catching-up. Albeit, my family always arranges for many special outings, getaways and gatherings when I visit, but for the most part, I am satisfied just hanging out.

I’ve gotten to know Sao Paulo through these outings, more as a back-drop to the main event and under the safe wings of family who know exactly when and where to go. This time, I actually ventured out beyond my normal. This was easy because I’ve only walked around in Sao Paulo alone a few times.

Fred was hosting us this time, which was really great. He lives downtown in a neighbourhood called Moema. His apartment is really nice, he’s got a cool Poker table “Arena Caminati” but we didn’t play any Texas Hold’em since Fred was scared I’d kick his butt again. So instead we floated around in his pool enjoying his refreshing new outlook on life…

Being at Fred’s was nice. It’s centrally located which gave us flexibility to explore the city more easily. Even with the ease of access and information, I still don’t feel very comfortable walking around as a Tourist target in S.P. and am quite easily spooked. So, I always heed warnings and advice my cousins give and remain on constant, high alert.

So now that you have that in your mind, imagine me, touring Evgueni around. I’m pretty sure he got frustrated with my restrictive comfort levels. Nonetheless, we saw a bit of Sao Paulo safely.

We went up to the top of Edificio Italia, which offers a great panoramic view of the city as far as the eye can see. This is the first time I ever did this and was amazed. Yes, the city is HUGE. Here are some quick stats I found in Wikipedia:

Toronto:

- Metro area: 7,125km2

- Metro population: 5.5 million people

Sao Paulo:

- Metro area: 7,744km2

- Metro population: 19.9 million people

Some of the other places we explored in S.P included walking along Av. Paulista en route to the S.P. Museum of Art, exploring Fred’s neighbourhood of Moema and taking a nice stroll through Ibirapuera Park while Fred and Du had a run. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to go shopping in Du’s neighbourhood (Jardins), but we had lunches, dinners, coffee, fruit bar drinks etc. on different occasions with combinations of friends and family.

There was certainly no shortage of delicious eating (as usual!!) YUM!!

On the first weekend we went to Embu. It’s a really great market full of artisanal arts, crafts and wares. I always love visiting, especially with my Aunt and Uncle, they’re so sweet to always take me there. It’s nice to look at the crafts and find out how they’re made or of what seed, nut or material. It’s a really colourful place. We strolled around lazily letting the rich colours, atmosphere and textures absorb us.

Afterwards, we visited my Grandmother (Vovo) who at 91 years of age, has just recently moved into a seniors residence. It is actually more like a neighbourhood where seniors live. It’s nicely laid out and is quite pretty with its small houses and tropical landscaping. The community is of German design so my Grandmother really likes it – she kept saying my Grandfather would have loved it (my Grandfather was part German). My Vovo was really cute with Evgueni. She liked holding his hand and speaking to him in French, English and German. She was very impressed with him and was actually beaming with pride. (I’m SMILING!!!)

We also visited Dudu in his new ginormous apartment then at his office. At home, he’s mastered the minimalist look with only the bare necessities i.e. large fridge, no stove. Why bother!?! It all suits him just fine! At work, he’s so professional and proper (and respected as he deserves) that it’s almost impossible to believe that he’s the same person that makes all those terrible and infantile jokes outside of the office (Hahaha!!)

Gustavo and Viv’s place is also looking great. They are well settled in now and continue being as lovely and as happy as ever. Gustavo’s work is going really well too. To see for yourself, check out his website: http://www.maarquitetura.com.br/ It’s pretty amazing stuff!

I won’t go into much more detail, but spending time with my relatives is always amazing. We have concentrated visits; talk in depth about everything and anything that affects us in our lives. We have foolish, ridiculously fun times, which rejuvenate and revitalize my soul every time. I truly feel like my cousins are my brothers. I am always grateful for the time each of us has together.

I’ll write about my Aunt’s Atelie and latest projects in a separate blog. Yes, it’s a lot of good stuff as usual!

The second last night we were in S.P. we went out to a bar and did more hanging out with friends and family. We were out really late – it was great. Ultimately, by the end of the trip we had lined-up several ideas for trips in the near future. These visits are always too short and so much fun that we must continue them!!

The last night Evgueni and I were in S.P. we spent indoors. This sounds mild and tame, but it wasn’t!!!! A very dubious me and a barely less reluctant Evgueni agreed to play “Singstar” on Playstation 3. To me this is Karaoke and I’m not a fan. But with his very unassuming and friendly way, Fred had turned the game on and set-up the microphones. Before we knew what happened Gustavo and Vivian were over, the blended fruit drinks and shots were flowing fast and we were gorging on salty and sweet snacks topped off with loads of Vanilla Ice. Help us – help the neighbours – help all the poor howling dogs until the wee hours. Suffice to say, we had a glass-shattering time seeing if Evgueni or Gustavo would score the worst. It was fantastically hilarious.

Sao Paulo & Rio Photos ~ 150+

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=387624&id=790580483&l=a2d2f6493e

Full moon #1 ~ S.P. Brazil

Brazil. A big word for me.

Evgueni and I went to Brazil to visit my extended family. It was his first time there and meeting everyone. It was really wonderful for me to have him be there and to meet extended family, as they form a critical part of who I am. Everyone welcomed him warmly as a new member in our family. He really enjoyed himself as he told me, but I could also see this was true. He was quite relaxed and very much himself with everyone. Everyone had fun together, especially the ridiculous kind. It was a joy to see!!

Our arrival was celebrated with a ritual enjoyed at my Aunt and Uncle’s house since my 1991 visit: pizza with Guarana*. Once we were fed and caught-up a bit we were ready to rest-up for the New Years celebration.

Party central was my Aunt and Uncle’s place for a traditional Brazilian BBQ. Before starting, my Uncle Rodolfo, Fred, Evgueni, Gustavo and Ragu (the ever-loyal dog) set-up a waterproof shelter. I say shelter because it had an eaves trough system over the BBQ to prevent any interruption of the evening festivities.

Before long, Fred and Gustavo were at the grille preparing cheese skewers, sausages and the most tender and juicy beef ever. We dipped everything into my Aunt Paola’s deliciously crunchy farofa**.

Magically, Fred was constantly refilling my glass of Caipirinha***. In a serious way. So my recollection of the evening is spotty at best. I do remember having my wine glass topped up as well, so I actually don’t really know what was going-on.

I hadn’t seen Vivian yet so we were reunited at the BBQ. Then her parents, Roberto and Gloria arrived too. I’m pretty sure Edu was under the table as fast as I was because he had started making funny faces in each of my photos. Although, he could also have been dead sober and it wouldn’t have made any difference.

Eventually I stumbled over to check on Evgueni (I don’t remember where I went – I could have just been traveling mentally…) when I noticed that Fred was being liberal with E’s Caipirinha’s as well. Wow… Then more friends arrived. All the meanwhile we ate and ate and ate… There was a short-lived rainfall to satisfy the resident engineers that the meticulously calculated eaves design exceeded stringent testing.

We stopped eating at one point to celebrate something. It was 2010!! Before I knew it, my husband had a giant knife in-hand and was sabering a bottle of Champagne****. Then, more glass filling, drinking and eating… and then we celebrated something else: I specifically remember my Aunt pointing out the full moon. It was beautiful!

My attempts at photographing the full moon were unsuccessful at best since the moon moves more quickly in the southern hemisphere…

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaraná_Antarctica

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farofa

*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caipirinha

****http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrage