Photo of the month

The photo that, for me, represents this month is an old one, as I've barely picked up the camera this month. How to represent this whirlwind month? In short, I've spent a lot of time on buses. This is the bus terminus closest to the recording studio.

Tuesday, Tat and I were meant to go for a test and interview at a recruitment company. Tat came down with a vicious stomach bug, so we postponed. Instead, I went with Jorge to get my worker's book, another piece of documentation I need to be employed in this country. Turns out that, because I am a foreigner, I needed to go to a different location.

Wednesday, Tat and I went into the recording studio. The publishers are pushing to get this range of material out by mid-April. Both Tat and I had recording work this time. I'm fairly pleased with the way mine went. We got home rather late.

Yesterday morning, Tat and I headed back into town to find the department that would deal with my worker's book. We weren't sure exactly where it was and discovered new parts to the inner city. I wish... I wish I could carry the camera to share the sights with you! We found the building. Luckily, we were in and out there. I was the only foreigner, so the wait was minimal. Unfortunately, because I'm a foreigner, the book isn't immediate, as it is for locals. I have to go back in to collect it when it is ready.

When we were done at the Ministerio de Trabalho, we went to Shopping Light where I reactivated an old clothing account. I love my new-found freedom of being able to quote my own financial and work details. For those new to my list, trust me, it's been a very long road of being pretty much invisible here.

We made our way back through town, stopping to open a clothing account at a different store. We made our way back via Sé to Liberdade. When heading for the bus, we heard a dog bark. That was very odd. This was city center with high rise office blocks. It turned out to be a dog belonging to a homeless man, one who pushes his cart, rickshaw style, around the city, collecting goods for recycling, selling or using.


I was looking for a pic of one of these carts and found one here, along with an article on bureaucracy-free banking in Brazil. That is something of a jaw-dropper for me. Another good example of one of São Paulo's cart guys can be found here.... a very realistic scene. Getting back to the dog. The dog was barking because a second cart guy had come too close to his owner's cart. He was free-roaming, as the dogs of the homeless usually are, but he defended his owner's cart fiercely. This dog had no 'territory'. His territory, like his owner's, was that cart. It was amazing to see. I wish I could have photographed it. Speaking of dogs, do visit this slide show. It is fabulous. Read the description on each dog : )

We got on the bus to go home and had gone but a few blocks when we got a call. Could Tat come in for a recording. We hopped off the bus, walked the few blocks back to the metro station and headed out to the studio. I got home just in time to eat and go to my evening student. Let's just say it was tiring.

This morning, after teaching the morning run, I went in with Tat to bank. I opened a second bank account, as everyone heaves and sighs when I mention the other bank (not a popular one for deposits, being a state bank). It went beautifully. I may just grow to like banks ; ) We resolved the 'misprint' on my other bank card. Turns out my name is too long for the bank card, which was why it was cut short.

When we got home, I got an e-mail from the recruitment agency that there was a school looking for teachers. I called them and it is just the school I've been aiming for! If I can get in with this school, I'll be able to teach for them anywhere in the world and they have excellent benefits. They're the best paying school in São Paulo. The test and interview was so that I could apply to teach at this school. Now it turns out that my profile fits what they're looking for and they wanted me in for testing/interviewing. All a happy more-than-coincidence. Tat has been called in too. I'm thrilled!

What a month. I was just looking back at my calendar and most events from earlier in the month feel like years ago.

Technorati Tags: buses,march madness

Little bug

No, I'm not talking about the arrival of the Conticker virus or whatever, though I'll be dealing with worms tomorrow, I'm sure (more red tape).

Two things reminded me of my mom today. Kippy blogged a similarity to her mom and Heather sent me a news article from a site that also sells these absolutely brilliant South African t-shirts. I shamefully pinched this photo from the site. Hopefully I'll be forgiven on the grounds of advertising for them.

My mom, Annatjie (we add the 'tjie' onto the end of names to create a diminutive), would call me Gogga or Goggatjie - 'little bug'. She never had much to say to me, but she'd tickle me whenever she saw me. I am extreeeemely ticklish, or I was. I have learnt to control it, much to Tatiana's disgust. I remember her laugh too. There are times when I laugh and I catch myself mid-laugh, thinking... Omg... that sounded like my mom. Not the actual laugh, but a certain quality to the laugh. I can't explain it. Certain facial expressions are hers too.

My mom is old now, confined to a wheelchair after a fall. She has Parkinson's. I never knew anyone with Parkinson's until I heard that. Apparently, she's as feisty as ever though. She's

I was looking for a photo of my mom. It seems I don't have one scanned in. I need to sift through my old photo box again.

 

Technorati Tags: ma,annatjie,memories

March Madness

 

March is a Month
Of Madness and Mirth
A world gone tippy
waiting for spring
and autumn
depending, of course
if you're up or down

Strange things I find
outside my back door
A wet world of green
an alien landscape

March is crazy
riddled
with Leprechauns
and green rivers

I love this green
crazy
strange
irresistible month!
Don't you?

  

Technorati Tags: picture-perfect,march-madness,photography,poetry

Wonderfullest day

My birthday started last night. While I was waiting for Tatiana to come home, I got a awesome gift from Kippy and Jeremy... an Amazon gift voucher. Thanks guys! Seriously... I was like a kid in a candy store. Talk about quandary. I have no clue what to spend it on and created a wish list especially, so that I can continue browsing later. Then Katey did a blog that had me in tears and smiles. On her blog (I hope you don't mind, Katey), she posted a poem which was beautiful, but the waterworks started when she described who we'd spend my day. The day would be spent (entirely in our very vivid imaginations), in and around Durban, the city we both hail from. This is the poem:

THE RIVER OF TIME
By Edward Morykwas
 
One drop of time turns into a river
That carries you down to the infinite sea.
And it sings as it splashes in glorious sunshine,
"Come be a sailor, a sailor with me."

From your very first step, you've heard its voice calling
Smoother than music, sweeter than rhyme.
With every new birthday, your life's great adventure
Is sailing the uncharted river of time.

So set your own course and make your own choices--
To love, to grow, to discover, to dance.
With God as your guide, show your courage and pride,
You won't ever know if you don't take a chance!

Today is a treasure not to be wasted,
Even the richest millionaire knows that it's true.
Time is a stealer but it's also a healer.
Hang onto your dreams because they'll pull you through.

Many years from now, when your traveling ends
And your hair is gradually turning to gray,
You will smile at your circle of family and friends,
Then in a soft voice, you'll hear yourself say:

        The secret of life
        Is to never quit living.
        What's around the next bend,
        No one can tell.
        When things get rough
        And you're surrounded by trouble,
        Just head for the future
        And paddle like hell...

One drop of time turns into a river
That carries you down to the infinite sea.
And it sings as it splashes in glorious sunshine,
"Come be a sailor, a sailor with me."

I woke up to my morning coffee and the smell of baking. Tatiana, who went to bed really late and totally exhausted, woke up early to make my favourite chocolate squares and write a birthday blog for me! She then gave me my birthday gift, a Kippy print! Not just any Kippy print, but the snowman!


My family knew that the snowman would be something that would make me smile every time I see it. Poor Tatiana had to conquer Mt Everest (almost) to get it. Yesterday it rained... boy, did it rain. Tat went in to do a recording session, and from there, she went to collect the print, which Jorge had ordered a few days ago.

We live on a hill. Around us is, essentially, valley then, which turns our situation into something resembling a castle with a moat... or an island (island is probably more realistic). This photo was from one of our 'moat' neighbourhoods:


This video was on our news site:



For those who can't view the video, there are photos here. That was what Tatiana had to come home in. She arrived home at about 11pm. The bus was sardine-can full, with people standing 3 deep. Ah... the lengths she went to to get my birthday gift!! And this morning, she got up before me to bake the chocolate squares too!

It has been lovely wading through all the birthday wishes. You're all soo...... *smiles* Wonderful! Thank you everyone!! I still need to get through a few. I have just spent a... uh... delightful hour or so at the bank, so I'm a little behind, but I'll get around to them all : )

 

Technorati Tags: corrianne,birthday,sao-paulo,rain,floods

** Seffies take note! **

I just got this via my contact with the Dept. of Foreign Affairs : )

Just in case you are interested in voting and were not aware that we can now vote whilst living abroad.

Please note... To check if one is registered, one needs to go to:

www.elections.org.za

 

Technorati Tags: south-africa,vote

A smile to my day

I'm totally bushed, but wanted to quickly share...

This morning, our CPF (tax card) run went perfectly smoothly! I now believe in miracles. We then made our way across the center of town, the same area where we were robbed that last time. We decided to cut through the underground. While down there, I stopped and asked the Metro police for the most direct route to our destination. They were wonderful, directing us very precisely, with street names. They then proceeded to give us the usual warnings about security and how to avoid the 'hot spots'. Then the one said, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but where are you from?" When we told him, he said, "Então, seja bem vindas!" or "Welcome." That was so sweet. It is very rare for us to experience that. At least, we haven't had that so far. He made us smile. That smile carried through to the rest of the day. We thanked them profusely for their kindness. There were three of them. I hope they know what a difference they made to our day today.

 

Technorati Tags: cpf,são-paulo,sê-cathedral,metro police

All wired up

Jorge and Tatiana went into the co-op this morning to sign her up there as a teacher (they got lost... again. That place is impossible). I was moseying around inside, doing some paperwork and cleaning up when I heard a truck idling outside our window. I went to look and found a whole string of trucks, not quite a convoy, but way too many for our little road. Needless to say, when I saw they were working for Electropaulo, our electricity company, I got a little nervous. I was right.

We spent the day without power... again.

I thought, at first, that they were simply here to, for once and for all, repair the street light out front, but I couldn't understand why they'd need so many trucks for that. I learned later that they were replacing the old wiring and that they are not responsible for street lights. That was another division's baby.

They started dismantling the posts... totally. Here, he is passing down a fuse.



Those fuses are big! When that blows, it really blows, I'd say. The garbage bag? That was recycling that someone put out. Thursday morning the recycling truck comes past. Needless to say, their task was made a little more challenging today.




While I was snapping away (I took loads of photos), one worker approached me and asked me what I was doing. I explained that I am a photographer and that these photos are simply because the process is interesting and not to worry, I'm not a journalist. He said, "So you're not from Electropaulo?" It turns out that they thought I was a spy for the company, as they were contract workers. I was happy to assure him that the photos were for personal use. Blogging is personal, right?



Earthing is a huge problem in this country. Nothing is earthed! Before starting work, they drove this corkscrew thing into the ground at regular intervals. It is made of brass, so acts as earthing. Fascinating. I wish I had a photo of it before they started screwing it into the ground.



On their perches all the way down the road. Our whole road was 'blocked off' and a few side streets too.



Hm... 'blocked off' wasn't quite the right term. They left room for cars... barely. This narrow road is usually a two-way street. Today, it became a one-way. Trouble is, no one knew that and there was no one to control the flow of traffic. Our normally busy traffic was now a busy traffic jam.



Huge nail clippers? I really didn't envy these guys their job. They have to wear long sleeved, heavy duty fabrics regardless of weather. Today was pretty warm and very muggy.



Those wooden cross beams were coming down, along with any old metal work.



Did I mention we had traffic problems? This road carries a lot of trucks as well as cars. It was fun to watch them nervously inching along where they'd usually roar along (speed limits here are a joke). See the side walk on the left? That is the reason I won't be taking up walking or jogging in the neighbourhood in any hurry. What you see there is pretty much what you get. That cable hanging down is hanging from the roof of the car port.



There were more spectators. This guy belongs to the pub owner. He spends his days up there. Apparently it is quite roomy. I would like to bet that he badly wanted to be downstairs where the action was.



Our dogs loved all the action. They got so much barking in!



.... and wagging of tails. Dingo (on the left) only barks at dogs... and wags her tail... hyper-speed. Romany (on the right) is laid back and quite happy to bark... until someone gets too close.

Tonight, when I was preparing to go out and teach, our usually quiet neighbours set up a caterwauling.... some sort of very loud religious... uh... experience. That was a first. I hope it was also the last. I'm all for freedom of religion, but not at the expense of my ears and sanity 0.o

 

Tomorrow, I'll be out all day. I teach the before-work run, then Tat and I are going into town to sort out her CPF, after which we'll hang around town, as she has a recording in the late afternoon. There's no point in busing home only to have to go back into town again.

Technorati Tags: electricity,vila zelina,dogs,electropaulo

Interview with my offspring

I filched this interview from Sandy whose kids gave the most adorable answers. Naturally, my kidlet is a little more 'growed up' (19), so her answers will have a somewhat different twist.

1. What is something Mom always says to you? "Brat!" or "Noob!"

2. What makes Mom happy? When the chores get done without her having to argue about it or supper gets done for her.

3. What makes Mom sad? Arguing (for the most part)

4. How does Mom make you laugh? Being herself (she's very funny when she wants to be)

5. What was Mom like as a child? I didn't know her back then  ... But if she was anything like me.... *cough, cough*

6. How old is Mom? 41

7. How tall is Mom? 1.75m (5'7")

8. What is Mom's favorite thing to do? Blog, chat, take photos and laugh, I think...

9. What does Mom do when you're not around? How'm I supposed to know if I'm not around?? O.O Sneak chocolate? LOL

10. If Mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Writing (she's an awesome writer) or photography

11. What is Mom really good at? Just about anything she turns her hand to, especially writing, English and being really creative though.

12. What is Mom not very good at? I can't think of anything off the top of my head...

13. What does Mom do for her job? She's a mom (sorry, I hog her ;P). Photo restoration, photographer and English teacher.

14. What is Mom's favorite food? I'm not sure... She's a bit like me... If it's yummy and on my plate, I'll eat it! ... Does chocolate count?

15. What makes you proud of Mom? The fact that she's not afraid to be herself. She's brave, unique and everything she does, she pours all her efforts into it. Nothing is left half-done.

16. If Mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? They haven't made one *quite* like her yet

17. What do you and Mom do together? EVERYTHING!!! ... And I wouldn't change that for the world =D

18. How are you and Mom the same? We have similar opinions and tastes on just about everything, we even look alike! People always ask if we're sisters.

19. How are you and Mom different? She's more mature and level-headed than I am. I'm more explosive and slightly violent, while mom doesn't like violence at all.

20. How do you know Mom loves you? She shows it in a million different ways, big and small, but mostly because she tolerates me when I give her sh*t and still hugs me after I've been annoying and crabby all day.

21. Where is Mom's favorite place to go? PARATY!!  Which is incidentally my favourite too.

22. Where does Mom not like to go? Ummm.... She doesn't enjoy being in a big city. She doesn't like being in stuffy places or banks.

Technorati Tags: me,tatiana,interview

Wasteful 'art'

What a wasteful society we are! I received this in my e-mail. Download the PowerPoint show here. The PowerPoint show is well worth watching. It is a large file to download, just over 4mb. You will need to download Microsoft's free PowerPoint viewer if you don't already have it.

Do you recycle? We drink filtered water here, reusing a few bottles we have. I use glass bottles, my personal preference (besides, that keeps the water cold for longer). Rechargeable batteries go a long way towards diminishing battery waste. Smoking? Blegh. Not here, thank goodness. Plastic packets are a problem, though we collect those to use as garbage bags. I suppose I should go back to using my basket, but I usually shop after teaching and carrying the large basket to classes is... well... a little odd. Bears thinking about though. The plastic cups gave food for thought. I think I'll take a bottle with me to work where they use those plastic cups.

I know my efforts are a drop in the ocean, but if we are all more aware... ?

Technorati Tags: waste,earth,pollution

Adventures and strange fruits

Today is Friday and thus Picture Perfect, the theme being "Black and White". It is also the 6th and Dani's photo of the month, where we show a photo that represents the month gone by. To avoid multiple posts, I wanted to combine the two 'events'. I'll be breaking the rules for both events, though, as this blog will take more than just one photo, so bear with me.

This month has been a month of many changes and challenges or adventures in both work and our personal lives, which is why I have chosen the photo of the jackfruit or jaca to represent the month. The black and white version here looks somewhat otherworldly... Would you eat it?

To be fair, here is the colour version. Looks more fruity : )



A very strange fruit, right? The jackfruit pulp tastes like a mixture of banana and pineapple. When we first saw it here, I was put off by the consistency which is... uh... to be polite... unappetising. This month, one of the houses being sold, through the estate agency Tat was working for, had a jackfruit tree, so the agent picked the fruit and distributed it at work. These trees are enormous! Actually, the fruit is enormous. Apparently, the huge seeds can be roasted and taste like chestnuts.

The fruit is large and took a lot of effort to cut open. I thought it would be softer. I now suspect that our fruit was very unripe.



The big butcher's knife struggled through it. The fruit started oozing a very sticky substance, which set into a extraordinarily stubborn glue. No chemicals would remove it from the knife. The 'glue' was eventually scraped of the hard way. The fruit itself stuck to our fingers when we tried to touch it. We were sure this was not what it was meant to be like.




It definitely didn't look the way it looks when the street vendors sell it, soft and squishy. This photo of the vendor will give you an idea of the size of the fruit. The 'pods' inside are also visible here. Our fruit had no 'pods' and few seeds.



Let's just say that was one adventure which went a little awry. Will we try jackfruit again? I don't know. Would you?

 

Technorati Tags: photography,jaca,photo,fruit,jackfruit,picture-perfect

Life and bureaucracy

Last night, I got to the school to find our director in tears. Earlier, she had mentioned that her friend was in hospital and she wanted to visit him, but was worried about being caught in the rain. To get to the hospital, one has to drive through a low lying area that always floods. She ended up going, but was told he had about 72 hours to live. He is apparently an ex-boyfriend of hers from 3 years ago and the relationship was unresolved. Now he has cancer and has contracted pneumonia. She was understandably very shook up. While I was with her, she asked me to take over for her today. Thankfully, she just meant the classes, not the admin, so I'll be teaching this afternoon and night. It was meant to be a day off. Tat teaches tonight too. Timing should be fun.

One of the documents we're required to carry here is our CPF. Don't ask me exactly what it is. I just know it has something to do with tax. Tat and I got our CPF cards shortly before they changed some tax law. All who have those cards have had their cards blocked and need to apply to reactivate them, so they fall in with this new law... or something to that effect. Yes, I know this is vague, but bureaucracy is pretty vague too, right? Oh, and naturally, we have to pay to have the card 'unlocked'.

Tat's CPF is a little complicated now because her Brazilian ID card has expired, now that she is of age, and she needs to either swear in as a Brazilian or get a permanent residency card, like the one I carry. I have the card, so it should be easy. I wish!

I went into the bank this morning. Now banks freak me out in general. I avoid them where I can. Here, we have to go through a revolving door that doesn't allow metal. You put your keys, cell phone, etc into a perspex container, then step back, wait for the door to 'reset', and go through. Once through, you can collect your belongings again.

So I try to go through. The door jams. I go to put my keys in the perspex container, but see that it is locked. I gesture to the security guard on the other side. He keeps telling me to put my keys in. I show him that I can't. He tells me I can. I get frustrated and start muttering and gesturing more. At this time, a smart-aleck behind Jorge starts telling me in English to calm down, which pushed my blood pressure over the limit. Eventually, the security guard gets the point and comes to release the container. I put the keys in... then the cell phone. I was carrying a tiny bag which just holds my purse, so I figured I'd just put the whole thing in. He says, no... not the bag, but I struggled to get the bag out from 'outside'. I can sense the impatience of the people behind me and the idiot still telling me to calm down. I finally got through. Have I mentioned that I hate those doors?

Then it was Jorge's turn. He put his keys in. Blocked. He put his wallet in. Blocked. He put his belt in eventually and was still blocked. I could see him tensing up. I knew he had his pocket knife on him, but that is always a touchy thing here. So he put his knife in, trying to be circumspect about it. The security guard saw and said, Aha! That is the problem. He stepped forward and said, "I'll keep that until you're finished here," at which point Jorge exploded. They started, through the doors, a battle of cursing. Picture Merlin's epic fight with Madam Mim. Thankfully they stopped before the purple pox curse. The security guard insisted that Jorge was 'armed' and Jorge insisted the guy was being an idiot. In the end, they locked the knife up while we were in the bank.

The law as far as 'arms' go is that you can carry a pocket knife as long as it is no bigger than 4 fingers wide. Now this, to me, is a totally stupid law. What 4 fingers?? My own pocket knife, a little Swiss army knife is barely smaller than my 4 fingers, but drowns in Jorge's hand. I have small hands. Jorge's knife is neatly 4 of his fingers long, but Jorge doesn't have hands. He has spades. The security guard had what we call ladies' hands. The knife looked huge in his hands.

We eventually got into the bank. In a matter of moments, I was talking to the lady at the desk. Their systems were down, so she couldn't help me. What? After all that? Would I mind coming back later. Ok. No problem. I have all the time in the world. I needed to go to the supermarket anyway. I returned after over an hour (there was a giganormous queue at the meat counter) only to be told their systems were still down and why don't I try the post office, at which point I thought, "Yay! Should have done that in the first place! No revolting doors." I tootled across the road to the post office, breezed through the process... and then...

*sigh*

"To liberate your CPF, you need to go to the tax offices, as you are a foreigner." Omg! At this point, I wanted to find a corner to huddle in, clutching my security blanket and sucking my thumb.

In short, I need to have a bank account to get my pay. To get a bank account, I need to have my CPF cleared. Pay day is in 5 days time. I have no clue when I will be able to go into town between now and then to clear that card.

The donkeys at the top? Cute, aren't they? I like donkeys (in case you haven't noticed). Here, 'bureaucracy' is written 'burocracia'. Now 'burro' is 'donkey', so they play on the sound of the 'burrocracia'.

Technorati Tags: bureaucracy,work,paperwork

Forget it

I'm done whining. I know the rest of the world has it worse than us. I know that we are incredibly lucky. I tend to just type what I'm thinking at the time. Ok, so my thoughts needed a revision... a reminder that minor discomfort is just that... minor. Yes, made that last blog private. This is, after all, my personal journal too, so I won't delete it.
We are incredibly lucky. I mean, we don't have snow. We don't have cold. We're working (oh yes, I know how very lucky we are with that). I have delicious cold water I can drink (as long as I don't forget it out the fridge.... bath water doesn't taste good). I have amazing friends who take gorgeous snow photos that cool me down (imagination is a wonderful thing).
Can anyone tell me why the spell checker doesn't recognise contractions? Weird.

There... some pretty flowers for you : )

Technorati Tags: heat,complaining,grateful

You know it's bad when...

(Image from BBC News)

Usually, when we feel the heat, the locals are still breezing along. If you go outside, there are few cars on the road. Being outside is now a case of 'only if really necessary'. The streets are empty(ish). The locals that are out are huddled in patches of shade and walking with umbrellas. Everyone is complaining. The cat is lying spread out at the base of the fan. Our temps have been in the 30's (°C). That would be the 90's (°F), I think. The humidity makes the temperature, according to the weather station, feel like 40°C... around 100°F. I think that is what Jorge said - he found it in the news. I may have the numbers wrong, but trust me, it doesn't feel like an exaggeration.


This cartoon comes from esquire.com. Their suggestion for coping with the heat? 

"Move at half speed.

When bicycling, pedal so slowly, you can barely stay upright. When walking, shuffle your feet. When typing, omit vowels."

Shall I try it? I'm wilting. The shuffling of feet and doing things slowly is a no-brainer. It's too hot to do anything with any energy.

Apparently, we're heading into rainy, stormy weather. Wonderful! Have I mentioned lately that I can't wait for winter?

We've been fairly busy this end. Tatiana has been working all day, teaching on Saturday and in the evening and having recording sessions. I've just been keeping up my regular (uh hmm...) schedule of all-hours-of-the-day classes, coming home in between to catch up here, then going out again. Jorge has, fortunately, been getting some translation work in. Other than that, there isn't much to report from this end. It's bad when the most exciting thing you have to talk about is how hot it is....

Technorati Tags: heat,weather,summer

Dear Daughter

When your godmother woke you far too early, you stumbled to the phone, but your inherent bubbly spirit was soon smiling and laughing (pink teddies?). Exhausted, you stumbled back to bed. Naturally, it was reaaally hard to wake you up this morning, as it is every morning, but you pulled through, smiling (major strength of spirit there!). A night of broken sleep and early phone calls and you left home after cake and gifts looking like a ray of sunshine. How do you do it?

Wherever I go, people talk about you... 'simpatico', bubbly, friendly, beautiful, yada yada... Even the packer at the supermarket smiled and commented that, "I see your princess is now working." I think he has his eye on you ; )  Yes, you leave an impression wherever you go.

I will never know what great good I must have done at some point to deserve a daughter like you. Hardly a day goes by where you don't amaze me with your kindness, strength (I won't test your Aikido skills again! 0.o ), courage, and sheer bounce-back-ability.

Once a small child that needed to hold my hand, now blossoming into a beautiful woman!

"ONE"

My child

My friend

My flesh

My blood

My inspiration

My love

My hopes

My fears

My desires

My dreams

My life

All in "ONE"

"MY DAUGHTER"

Happy Birthday, Tatiana! With so much love,
Mom

Visit Tatiana's site: http://mythicalme.multiply.com/

Technorati Tags: tatiana,birthday,tat

é Carnaval!

I've been asked a few times over the past few days why I'm not taking part or at least watching carnival. I'm dragging out the details of our one carnival experience here in São Paulo. You can read about it here if Yahoo cooperates.

Carnival here is extremely expensive for all concerned, except those hanging out at home participating via TV broadcast. They have it lucky, really. The costumes range from R$100 into the millions. The poor save all year for their costume, which they'll get to show off for a whole 20 minutes. The moment one carnival is finished, the organisers, designers, composers, and seamstresses start work on the next year's display. Tickets to watch range from US$88 to over US$1000. I'm not exaggerating. Tomorrow is the official carnival, though business and schools closed Friday and will only open after noon on Wednesday again.

Our carnival experience was in 2006. Carnival fell on Tatiana's birthday. Her godmother thought it would be a great idea for her to experience carnival as part of her birthday. Tatiana and I were among those representing the South African consulate, who thought the theme of the progress of the slaves was fitting. Early on the Tuesday evening, we had to meet at a hall in the center of town. It was an ants nest of moving feathers and sequins, yelling, last minute snacking, temper tantrums when feathers got broken... in short, a cacophony of humanity. Around 10pm, we headed to the buses. We were meant to enter the Sambadrome at midnight or by latest 2am.

Confusion. No one knew who was to go in which buses. The 'lead' dancers got first choice, then the pushy dancers, then the confused masses. A small riot would break out whenever a feather or sequin was damaged, as points would be taken off for the 'school'. The actual carnival procession is a competition with the different regions (they call them 'schools' for some reason) competing for the much-coveted Samba award. Points are given for precision, music, composition, presentation, and more. Points are taken away for being under or over the allotted 20 minutes you are given to display your parade, for losing parts of costumes, stepping out of sequence... and more. Our 'school' was Vai Vai. We packed ourselves into the buses. I mean... packed! I do have a more 'artsy' photo, but this photo gives you an idea of the level of comfort we were in for the next 6 hours. That '6' is not a typo.


The costumes were well made. I was surprised more didn't fall apart. The costumes were HOT! We toasted in our layers of nighty material. I don't know what else to call that fabric. It is thin, shiny, slippery, sweat-inducing, awful stuff. The shoes were of a very thin vinyl... a wear-once-and-toss item. In fact, everything fell in that category. The headdresses were heavy, held onto our heads with brackets. Having your eye poked out a few times during the course of the swirling and dancing wasn't unheard of. The 'thing' over our shoulders had a huge metal bracket anchoring it in place as well. What didn't stick to us, scratched. Not the most comfortable outfit I have ever worn, but what a night!

It turned out that a few of the previous teams were late and messed up in their 'shows', so there were major delays. Our time to enter the Sambadrome came and went. The atmosphere in the bus went from "Let's practice at the tops of our voices" to "Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." We got into the Sambadrome, the actual parade area, around sunrise. Yes, we had been up all night, waiting.


I have a video up on Youtube of the 'practice' singing in the bus. What I wanted to show here was the sheer volume of the actual procession and the energy needed. No, I don't know how many calories get burned, but trust me, it is a Lot! The bouncing on the feet is kept up the entire time, non-stop, along with the twirling and singing.



At the end of the procession, we danced out of the Sambadrome. We could only stop once we were out. We found ourselves looking out over the freeway and over the carnival graveyard. As dancers were leaving, they were dumping their costumes on a heap for the refuse and recycling people to come by and pick up. It looked sad, in a spangled, feathery way. A year's worth of savings and preparations lying abandoned on the side of the road.

The whole Sambadrome experience is something that everyone in Brazil should experience at least once. Many thousands do it year after year. As for me, I've had my once-in-a-lifetime experience and frankly, it will stay a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I enjoyed it once it really got going, though the endless waiting was a killer. I'm don't like noise and the noise of carnival was definitely not enjoyable. At least I can say I did it. It is a story to tell the grandchildren, if you know what I mean.

The main carnival points are places like Rio and Salvador, though it seems many are going to the beach towns to celebrate in smaller crowds. São Paulo isn't a touristy place at all. Outside of the Sambadrome, if it weren't for the tabloids and television, we'd be blissfully unaware of carnival. I think I like it that way : )

Technorati Tags: são-paulo,carnival,brazil

Digging into the past

I was talking to my brother the other day and I suggested, rather strongly, that he calls our mother to talk to her. She's old now and very frail. When my gran died, not that I'm saying my mom is about to die, I lost, with her, a lot of the old stories and family history. The same goes for Jorge's dad. When he died, all that was lost. Today, this makes me sad. My mom is our final link to the older generations. This photo is of the first page in our family Bible, which was handed down to the oldest daughter in each generation. As I was raised by my gran, the Bible came to me when she died, so it skipped my mom's generation.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail that linked to a page that had interview questions on for genealogy purposes. It reminded me of Kippy's blog on the subject too. 'Interviewing' our family members seems a little odd though, but, I think, depending on the person, it can be fun. I can't see myself ever doing a straight interview with an older family member... none that I know anyway. My mind does tend to ramble and rush around grabbing at straws when face with an intense conversation over the past though, so I think that having a list of questions one can refer to can well be handy.

I think that what I would like to do is interview the younger members of my family with these questions, or at least some of them. Ok, again, not an interview, but as a basis for digging into the past. Perhaps using an 'interview' format will make it less intense as well? Nah... if the past is intense, it is bound to be an intense process. I actually think a list of questions like this is great blog fodder too, encouraging writing one's memories. What do you think?

The list:

1. What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?
2. When and where were you born?
3. How did your family come to live there?
4. Were there other family members in the area? Who?
5. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
6. Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
7. What is your earliest childhood memory?
8. Describe the personalities of your family members.
9. What kind of games did you play growing up?
10. What was your favorite toy and why?
11. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
12. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
13. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
15. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
16. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
17. Who were your childhood heroes?
18. What were your favorite songs and music?
19. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
20. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
28. What do you know about your family surname?
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
31. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
35. What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
38. Where and when did you get married?
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
41. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
42. How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
43. Why did you choose your children's names?
44. What was your proudest moment as a parent?
45. What did your family enjoy doing together?
46. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
47. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
48. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
49. What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

Thank you to Eileen for referring me to Geni.com, a super, fun, and easy site where the entire family can interact to build the family tree.

Technorati Tags: history,stories,interview,family

I learnt today....

(photo swiped off Tat's pc, taken by her in our old garden)

...that little things can add up to make it a good day. I am not at my own pc. My video board's fan is dying fast and very noisily, so Jorge has taken my board in to try to find a new fan. But... in the meantime, I went to shop for our meat for the week. Our supermarket has some really good specials on Wednesday morning. So... the little things...

• I saw our favourite dog on the road into the village, Phantom (our name for him because of his black and white comic face), playing ball with his owner. He stopped playing ball to greet me. Ok, he barked. I say, he greeted me, so don't tell me otherwise.
• When one of the butchers recognises you out of the crowd, in spite of being very busy and smiles and greets you
• I didn't turn and slap the woman behind me for repeatedly shoving her shopping basket up my rear. Three cheers for self control ; ) 
• Getting to the cashier to find that, in spite of being prepared to have gone over budget, I was under my budget enough to dash back into the store for some dessert for tonight
• When I asked if the cashier minded if I dashed in to get one more item, he smiled instead of scowling and there was no one behind me in the queue (I had left the monster queue at the butcher)
• I was so proud of myself for being within budget, that I smiled..... and lo and behold... people smiled back ; )
• The sun is shining. It is a bright day with clear blue skies (ok, I'm sweating like a pig and humidity is super high, but...)

Oops! I just remembered. I need to get laundry down and do supper, as I won't be around at supper time. Pity is that I can't work on the photos today either with my pc out of commission. I am teaching the two groups of teens today. I keep wondering what they are saying behind their hands *rolls eyes* Hope you're all having a splendid day!

Technorati Tags: thoughts,happiness

A quick blog

There is such a thing? A quick blog?

I have the morning off today, so I'm wading through housework and doing a photo restoration job I need to complete, in snatches, before Friday. I learned this week that one of the local photo printing places (not the place that charges the equivalent of US$200 per photo) has had a major promotion going for 'photo restoration'. My deal is to now undercut their prices and give better quality. Hey... if I earn 10 bucks per photo, at least it is a 10 I didn't have before, right?

I got a job in. The cleaning lady at Tat's work saw my flier and asked if it is very expensive. Of course not! ; ) The original is a tiny 2 x 3" photo, but luckily I got to scan it, so it is high resolution.

I have a couple of other photos to work on, which are actually a bit harder, as their resolution is very low, but they're doable. I just hope I can get a printable quality out of them. This is great! I am enjoying keeping busy, but I miss my friends here.

Oh, remember our infamous potholes when it rains here? This one was not in São Paulo, the city, but fairly close and still within state lines.
http://noticias.terra.com.br/transito/interna/0,,OI3578452-EI11777,00.html
Click on the top link to view a photo slide show, which will give you a good idea of what they're dealing with here. The driver was alone in the vehicle and died in the fall. That crater that opened up was over 10m (around 32 feet) deep!! Apparently, there was a water pipe below the road.

Ok, let me get back to work : )

Technorati Tags: são-paulo,photo restoration,work,crater

A quick blog

There is such a thing? A quick blog?

I have the morning off today, so I'm wading through housework and doing a photo restoration job I need to complete, in snatches, before Friday. I learned this week that one of the local photo printing places (not the place that charges the equivalent of US$200 per photo) has had a major promotion going for 'photo restoration'. My deal is to now undercut their prices and give better quality. Hey... if I earn 10 bucks per photo, at least it is a 10 I didn't have before, right?

I got a job in. The cleaning lady at Tat's work saw my flier and asked if it is very expensive. Of course not! ; ) The original is a tiny 2 x 3" photo, but luckily I got to scan it, so it is high resolution.

I have a couple of other photos to work on, which are actually a bit harder, as their resolution is very low, but they're doable. I just hope I can get a printable quality out of them. This is great! I am enjoying keeping busy, but I miss my friends here.

Oh, remember our infamous potholes when it rains here? This one was not in São Paulo, the city, but fairly close and still within state lines.
http://noticias.terra.com.br/transito/interna/0,,OI3578452-EI11777,00.html
Click on the top link to view a photo slide show, which will give you a good idea of what they're dealing with here. The driver was alone in the vehicle and died in the fall. That crater that opened up was over 10m (around 32 feet) deep!! Apparently, there was a water pipe below the road.

Ok, let me get back to work : )

Technorati Tags: são-paulo,photo restoration,work,crater

CCN

Back home, the car license plates always had an abbreviation that told the world which town you're from. CCN was the abbreviation for Uitenhage. As with all things, we'd add to it, jokingly. CCN, for example, stood for (in our humour) "Courtesy costs nothing", just as CAW (for the town, George) stood for "Cold and wet". Port Elizabeth's (my hometown) number plate was CB, which we maintained stood for "Come back", as those who left the town invariably returned. The car pictured here was our 'old faithful'. The odometer had ticked over twice. We did over 250 000km in that car. It was eventually sent to happy driving grounds when a newly installed exhaust fell off on the freeway, which inspired the cops to take a closer look at the rest of the car. Let's just say that car had been through the wars and more. We loved our canary-yellow Toyota : ) This photo was taken at Yellowoods, outside PE (Port Elizabeth). The park was named because of the abundance of Yellowood trees growing there.

Hm... now why was I going on about number plates? Oh yes! I went to the supermarket, which was overflowing. Queues for everything going on for miles upon miles. I had a basket with a few items, bread being the bulkiest. The 'express' queue wove itself up and down a couple of isles, so I scrapped that idea and parked myself in a queue with a couple of trolleys (carts to you). My mind was drifting over the week and I wasn't paying much attention to the people around me until a man in the next queue who had two trolleys tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if that was all I had. "Yes," I said and he offered to let me go before him. That was so nice. It is rare to encounter that here. It made my day.

Kippy suggested I blog about a typical day teaching. That is something of a misnomer. 'Typical' doesn't exist in my teaching world.

The students I used to have were interesting enough. I taught most of them for a few years, though I did have students who didn't last, such as R. Now he would arrive at my class (at his offices - all my students back then were taught at their places of work or at their homes) and within moments, he'd be fast asleep. Now I know that I'm not the most charismatic person I know, but... ! It turned out that he used to go to nightclubs (this is during the week) until 5am, Sleep an hour at home, go to work, then catch up on sleep during my class, which was during the lunch hour. Then there was C. She was sweet. She's Japanese, but born here. She had a book on business English, which we were making our way through, but we didn't make much progress. Our discussions were just too interesting. We became fairly good friends. I was sorry to stop teaching her when we moved out here, but to start her class at 7am, I'd have to leave home at around 5am *shudder* I'm not a mornings person. Then there was L and her kids. I've mentioned them before. I started out teaching her at work, but she asked me to teach her privately at home and take on her kids too. Their English was far in advance of the English they did at school and she wanted them to learn more advanced English in a fun environment (translate that to 'surrounded by the toys and games'). The condition was that Tat goes with to speak English to them while they play (yeah right... show me kids who'll, unsupervised, speak a foreign language while playing). I was to teach the mom first, while Tat 'taught' the kids, after which I'd teach the kids using books. They loved lessons I'd create from the Goosebumps and Hardy Boys series. It was for them that I created a Scrabble set... no board, just the letters, made from card with points, with which they had to make words in Scrabble style. The rule was that they had to use the dictionary, so they'd learn new words. The mom would sometimes give us the most divine Creme de papaia with Licor de Cassis in summer as a snack. Omg! Delicious. That, alone, would have kept me going back there.  Creme de papaia is basically papaya blended with vanilla ice cream. Over this, you pour Licor de Cassis. The kids had theirs with Groselha, a syrupy 'juice' made from a local fruit. I had a lawyer, a financial director for Playland (the local amusement park... he stopped because he was always travelling and just couldn't keep up), a psychologist specialising in bariatric surgery cases who needed English for overseas conferences, a group of engineers who were working on the of our underground system, a handful of computer programmers, and a couple of housewives who were just looking for something 'more' in their lives.

My students and classes are very different now. I'm teaching at a school... no more traipsing around to students, though the co-op I'm registered with wants me to go back to teaching business English at the companies. My schedule doesn't allow for that though. So far, I have R. He is a tax accountant with an English bank. All their courses are apparently in English, so he needs to study. He's a quiet sort of chap, but interesting to talk to. He's intermediate and is working through a book that involves discussion, listening (we listen to recordings on cd and he answers questions on them), grammar and vocabulary exercises and so on. The class lasts an hour and is before work in the morning. I have two groups I teach using what they call open conversation. The book is a series of images in subjects and we are to have two hour long discussions of those images... not as easy as it sounds. What do I know about verbs related to rock climbing and ice hockey? The one group is a group of teens ranging from 15 to 19 years, except for one talkative chap who is 38. Their English is fairly good though. Then I have F who is delightful. She is so enthusiastic and I love teaching her, if for no other reason than she showed me how to use the DVD player *blushing* Here I was, (I don't own a TV and haven't had one for over 15 years) faced with a TV and slimline DVD player... and a video player. There were at least 5 remote controls. Help! She has both video and audio in her classes to improve listening skills. The rest is discussion. She asked to be taught by me because she wanted the challenge of hearing a native speaker, as opposed to a local teacher. Her classes are at night. She works in marketing. I suspect that one of the teens I teach is her son, as he studies at the same school. Then I have M who is sweet enough, but getting her to stick to English is tough. The moment she is 'lost', she breaks out in very fast Portuguese. When I got her as a student, I didn't know that she had already started the book we're on, so I prepared the first unit. I got to class and ended up having to 'wing it' when I discovered she'd already done that. I embarrassed myself this Saturday though (I teach her on Saturday afternoons for 2 hours, right after my teens, who are also for 2 hours), as I had just moved on from the teens. I hadn't had the book to prepare the lesson from this week, as there is a shortage of books in the school, so I rushed into her class, opened the books I'd just been handed, saw the unit I didn't recognise and proceeded to teach. She said nothing. It turned out that it was one of the lessons she'd already done before getting to me. Ugh. No problem... consider it revision. The school's director thought it was amusing and said, when I lamented that M didn't tell me she'd already covered that, that this student was one I could throw anything at and she'd quietly take it *sigh*

I have two sets of groups waiting that I haven't met yet. The schools here start tomorrow for the year. On Friday, Carnival week starts, during which time, nothing functions. Only after that will we get on with actual school and life will settle into a routine of sorts.

There! Have I made up for my lack of blogging during the week? ; )

Technorati Tags: courtesy,teaching,license plates

The working world

It seems that I'm back in the world of English (ESL) teaching in full force now. I went today to register with the 'corporativa' (co-op). Hearing 'corporativa' all day made me think of "Corporasie stories". Remember that series? It was a South African tv series way back when. The 'corporativa' here seems to be some sort of a union type of organisation. I don't rightly care what they are. They are organising a bank account for me. Heck, I don't even need to go into the bank to get it. The girl from the 'corporativa' fetched myself and my translator (Jorge) from the School and drove us back. She offered. She said it was too unbearably hot to walk and bus back. She had a point. The car was like an oven. Trust me, we were grateful for the ride.

I'll be teaching every day, it seems. Not all my students are back into 'school' mode yet, but Monday to Saturday will be the norm, with classes in the morning before the working day, in the afternoons (those would be the kids after school), and in the evenings, ending at 10pm. Then there's Saturday morning and afternoon. Next time you hear me complain about lack of work, please kick me. The 'corporativa' wants me to go back to private teaching where I go to the students' companies. That will mean going into the city in the evenings by bus. It will also mean more money, but I'll be taking a very late bus home every day. I'm fairly keen to do it, but the idea of all that travelling isn't appealing.

Tat was chatting to George tonight. Their chatting sent me on another trip down memory lane... the parts I don't usually explore. He got me thinking about my mother, who is now an old lady in a wheelchair with Parkinsons, still as feisty as ever from what I hear. And Christmases. Funny... with both my brothers, my gran's cooking is what seems the most memorable. It has been interesting comparing each 'child's memory. I need to upload more photos for them to see, not that I have many. I wonder where all the photos went. Jim, my grandfather, always had his camera on hand in its brown leather case. When not in use, it hung behind my bedroom door. I would fiddle with it in secret. I'm surprised it worked.

Oi... I'm tired and rambling. I'm off to bed. My social life has come to a grinding halt. I'm now having to make myself useful. Omg... that takes work! ; ) Oh and the photo? That was the two Japanese kids I taught. The condition of my teaching them was that Tat would go with to speak English to them while I taught the mother. Needless to say, that particular English never happened. I taught the kids for some years... close to 4 if I remember correctly. Ugh... I'm starting to ramble again...

Technorati Tags: teaching,work,english,memories,ESL

It's raining again

Ok, so you probably won't understand the video. Part of this was filmed right at our old home.

Technorati Tags: rain,são-paulo,brazil

Masp

The morning dawned hot, with warnings of rain. We've had heavy downpours in the afternoon every day so far. This, to me, is typical São Paulo weather... hot as blazes, then 4pm, the heavens open, until around 6pm, at which point someone up there turns the tap off and the city drains until the next day.



Jorge headed into town with me. My plan was to go to the antiques fair on Avenida Paulista to distribute my photo restoration fliers. The antiques fair is held in the shadow of the monolithic Masp, an art gallery that I keep threatening to actually visit. Reflected in the glass in the above photo is the crafts fair that Masp looks out over. Masp is a well known landmark in São Paulo. It has two huge red 'feet' standing in ponds. The actual gallery is a couple of storeys up.

Ah... there comes the rain now. Hm... I love the smell of rain.

Delivering fliers were, as Jorge put it, like fishing. Wonder if there'll be any catches. It's too soon to tell. It turned out that we couldn't hand them out in the antiques fair itself, or security would stop us. I wanted to hand them out at least until we were stopped. I ended up handing them out in front of the fair, to passers by. The trouble with that was the jaded Paulistano's who decline fliers, politely of course. The most disheartening part was seeing one of my fliers thrown on the ground and trampled. We then crossed the road to the crafts fair where I managed to hand out a few before we gave up and headed home.

On the bus ride home, we were desperately wishing for rain... anything to cool off. As the bus meandered home, there was a church on a hill off to one side. Sliding down the grassy hill on scraps of cardboard were a group of brown skinned boys. The white-toothed grin the one presented us with as he reached the bottom made me grateful it wasn't raining. They were having so much fun.

I think we'll just have sandwiches tonight. It is far too hot to cook.

Technorati Tags: paulista,photo-restoration,masp,cl photo studios