Friday, July 31, 2009

Greetings from São Paulo # 3


Gotham City has the largest Japanese community in the world. Therefore many habits, products and foods were brought into the Brazilian society. One of them is Melon ice cream: Melona. It is so refreshing and tasty... the Dutch would say: heerlijk ! I wonder why it is not produced in other parts of the world. I would have one everyday during summer.


Greetings from São Paulo # 2

On the photo: me and Mrs. Jane Murback during our breakfast at La Table. In a very Mediterranean sphere we enjoyed tropical fruits, muffins, scones and brioches disguised among the rich and beautiful of São Paulo.

Jane has posted today a hillarious text about our meeting in her blog.
I think she was more relaxed than during our first meeting. I always thought she would be taller than I, because she is now and then making fun in her blog about the size of her feet. Actullay she is a short and skinny lady, humourous and witty. Being an engineer, it is a surprise that she can play with words and make jokes so well. She creates new expressions and words, which certainly gives a kick and puts a smile on the face of her loyal readers. That´s why her blog is so successful with more than 2000 hits a day ! I think her husband is also very cool (about her popularity) and courageous: he is now and then the subject of a post. I think it was somehow good for my husband to meet him and change a few words about this hobby of blogging.

We also made arrangements to meet next year in Holland. I suggested them to come during spring, when they can enjoy the bulb fields and it is not (freezy) cold.
Next to the restaurant there is a shop from L´Occitanne. After breakfast they gave us a ride to MASP and after a visit to the museum we took a metro to the Japanese district of Liberdade and later the Ibirapuera park.
To be continued...
Pessoal, quando estive em São Paulo tive a oportunidade de conhecer a Jane Murback. Ela publicou um post hoje sobre o noso encontro no blog dela. Passa lá, passa lá, passa lá ! Os comentários tambem estão ÓTEMOS, recomendinho...

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Greetings from Brazil # 2


Thanks a lot to the new followers of this blog. At the moment I cannot use properly my dad´s computer but anyway... thanks for the support ! It stimulates me to participate in other blogs and blog more frequently. And I hope until the end of this year to reach 50 followers.

Obrigada aos novos seguidores (as) desse blog ! No momento não estou usando o computador do meu pai com a frequência e agilidade que gostaria mas de qualquer modo... obrigada pelo apoio e carinho ! Conhecer novos seguidores me estimula a participar de outros blogs e ter um blog mais dinâmico. Espero até o final do ano atingir a marca de 50 seguidores !

Greetings from Niterói: MAC


The night I arrived in Rio we took a taxi to Niterói. My family doesn´t live there but I do prefer spending one night or two in Niterói than in Rio, before going to my family. Why ? Because it is beautiful, there are great restaurants, amazing beaches, fewer tourists, fewer economical contrasts and much much less crime. Actually, people from Niterói never like other people spreading these facts. Then I stop praising about the city here.
After having breakfast the following day two friends of mine met me hubby and kids on the beach. Niterói faces Rio and has stunning views. The kids were having a great time jumping in the trampolines ont he sand and later drinking water from coconuts with straws. We then all decided it was time to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art to check some expositions.




It is a project of architect genius Oscar Niemeyer and was built in the mid 90´s. It looks like a chalice (or a UFO) and is located in the pensinsula of Boa Viagem. When going up in to the entrance of the museum you can admire the whole Guanabara bay. Once inside there are always different expositions and from the windows of the spacecraft - ooops, I mean museum - you can keep checking the countours of the landascape in Rio. There is also a little museum shop by the entrance and a fancy restaurant under the museum. I made great pics with the kids and friends. By the way, I have already seen in the last years living out of Brazil several shots of this museum in fashion campaigns on European magazines. I also spotted the MAC and other projects of Oscar Niemeyer embelishing the shops of H.Stern Jewellery headquarters in Ipanema (see bellow).


A mesma noite em que cheguei ao Brasil ja me arranquei de táxi com minha família para Niterói. Apesar da minha familia não morar lá, faço questão de sempre primeiro passar uma dou duas noites em Nikiti. Há otimas lojas, lindas praias, bons restaurantes e tudo e´muito mais relax e seguro que no Rio. Mas os niteroienses nem gostam que a gente fique espalhando isso...
Bom, depois do café-da-manhã fomos levar as crianças para a praia brincar nos trampolins e tomar água-de-côco. Minhas amigas chegaram e decidimos ir visitar o MAC: Museu de Arte Contemporânea, um projeto do gênio Oscar Niemeyer. A arquitetura do museu é linda, parecendo um cálice (ou disco voador ?) e as exposiçõs sempre muito variadas. Fica encima de um mirante na Boa Viagem, entre o centro da cidade e o Bairo do Ingá. A entrada e´baratinha, há alguns suvenires (camisetas, pratos, chaveiros, livros de arte) ao lado a entrada e um restaurante embaixo do museu. Eu acho um ótimo programa pra todas as idades e os gringos ficam sempre de boca aberta. Recomendinho.

Aliás, tenho que acrescentar algo: já cansei de ver o MAC como pano de fundo em fotos de campanhas publicitárias de revistas européias. Acho que podemos falar de um "museu-fetiche", uau !

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Greetings from Rio

I was walking around in Leblon, Rio, when I spotted this Dutch bike embelishing the entrance of a shop. Indeed, it belongs to the shop owner. Perfect pic for a a post in this blog !
Andando pelo Leblon dei de cara com essa bici holandesa enfeitando a calçada de uma loja. Isso mesmo: a dona da loja resolveu utilizar uma bicicleta como peça de decoração. Tudo a ver com esse blog, né não ?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Greetings from São Paulo


This week you can find me in four blogs (Portuguese only):
Essa semana estou dando pinta nos seguintes blogs:

Inteirativa, By Faby, Esmalte no Pé and Expatriados.

On the photo: Fabi Foschiani, Mara Pusch, Jane Murback (From blog Mulheres (Im) possíveis) and this blog author. They live in Gotham City and are really sweet girls AND blog stars. I miss you already girls ! Mmm. This makes me wonder... Andy, Isabella, Pinay and Heather: when are WE going to meet up in Amsterdam ?

Greetings from Brazil # 1

Finally I´ve found some time to blog. I have come to Brazil especially for my brother´s wedding and also to visit my family and friends. However, blogland is a curious space. As I mentioned before here in this blog, I also write (in Portuguese only) to another blog called Inteirativa. It is a cultural blog made by a group of women journalists, designers, public relations, publicists, one famous actress... from all ages. I was invited to take part in it by a friend. Finally now during my vacations I had some time to go to Rio and meet the president director of the blog in flesh: Monica Angeleas and her mother Maria Lucia as well. Yes readers, I hadn´t met them personally before. Curious, huh ? They toured me and hubby in South zone of Rio (actually only the Leblon district) for an afternoon. But first there was lunch in botequin Jobi (see photo bellow. Ceci and Monica are happy about the choice of dried meat in flakes with pumpkin purée). The following day we met up in Maria Lucia´s place in Ipanema. You see her on the photo on the top of this post. 82 years old and very busy with body building, samba and salon dance lessons ! She also is an avid news reader and internet expert, always checking the last news about her relatives´lives via the net and discovering how things and gadgets work on the blog. She blogs also in Inteirativa. We discussed about improvements for the blog and how do we feel about certain subjects and comments. I think Monica still didn´t introduce her mother properly in the blog. So I do it now. An active woman who is also very aware of what is going on in the world and her community. And she uses the blog as a tool to express her disagreements, share good news and bring her life experience and perspective to everyone in a very democratic way.
Thanks Ceci, Monica and Lucie for allowing me to participate in the blog and sharing with me your friendship !

Ahhh, finalmente encontrei um tempinho pra blogar. Eu vim para o Brasil no início de julho especialmente para o casamento do meu irmão, e também para ver minha famiília e amigos. Mas a bloglandia é um lugar engraçado, para dizer o mínimo. Pode ser bizarro, mas pode aproximar as pessoas também. Como eu já mencionei antes, eu escrevo tambem para um blog feminino chamado Inteirativa. E´um blog cultural e de variedades escrito por várias colunistas. Há jornalistas, profissionais de recursos humanos, cineastas, desenhistas, mulheres vividas de várias idades... Eu fui convidada para participar do blog através de uma amiga - Cecília - mas nunca tinha conhecido antes a diretora executiva: a Mônica Angeleas. Nem tampouco a mãe dela, a Maria Lúcia. No meu primeiro dia no Rio nos encontramos à tarde no Jobi, no Leblon (segunda foto desse post, Monica e Ceci). Passeamos a pé e no dia seguinte nos encontramos no apartamento da Lúcia em Ipanema. 82 anos e ativa na academia de ginástica. Também empenhada em dança de salão e aulas de samba no pé. Leitora ávida de noticia e também especialista em internet. Serelepe, sabe tudo da vida dos parentes pelo Skype e bloga pra caramba ! Nós aproveitamos o encontro na casa da Maria Lúcia para falar sobre a vida e também nossas impressões sobre o blog Inteirativa, o teor dos textos e comentários, a variedade e abordagem de vários temas. Acho que a Mônica na condição de diretora executiva ainda não apresentou a mãe como deveria no blog: uma ótima escritora que está antenada ao mundo do alto dos seus 82 aninhos.
Muito obrigada Ceci, Mônica e Lucinha por apostarem em mim como colunista do Inteirativa e partilharem comigo a amizade de vocês !

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Brazil, Facts & Odditites

1- It is the fifth biggest country in the world.
2 - There are more than 190 million of people.
3 - ... and they speak all the same language (Portuguese).
4 - Two thirds of them live near the coast.

5 - Capital: Brasilia. Main cities: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Fortaleza, Salvador, Vitoria, Belem, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Florianopolis.

6 - Brazil has 20% of the world's water supply (China has 20% of the world's people).

7 - You cannot tell a Brazilian by simply looking at them (we have the most diverse mix of races and cultures in the world). It is mixed for so long that you commonly get 16 shades of white to black to indian and Asian. Sociologists consider this mixture a meta-race, since a true genetic melting pot is still at work, decanting weak genes and physical traits.

8 - Every year we host the biggest parties in the world: Carnival ! or New Year's Eve for the world's second biggest party. Third is... Oktoberfest !
9 - Brazil produces 50% of the world's coffee.
10 - Iguazu Falls, in the southern state of Parana, is bigger than both Niagara and Victoria Falls.
11- Brazil has far the highest number of species of primates, amphibians and plants in the world, and is in the top five in the world for number of birds and reptile species. A typical acre of Amazonian rainforest will support around 250 species of trees, compared with around 10 species an acre in typical forests in Europe.

12 - As well as being expert dancers in samba, zouk, pagode, chorinho, bossa nova and forro, Brazil is also home to capoeira, a unique blend of dancing, martial arts and traditional music.

Dear readers, I am off on vacation and I shall see you again in August. Till then I wish you lots of fun with 150 posts of this blog. There are also links to fantastic blogs and Dutch sites on the right side of this page. Bye now. Tot ziens. Hasta la vista. À bientôt. Ciao. Até mais galera, tchau !
_____________________________________
Text source: "Rio for Partiers, Visual Travel Guide to Rio de Janeiro", author: Cristiano Nogueira, Sol Cat Publishing. For purchase check: www.amazon.com or click here . If you wish to know more about Brazil click here or check its official tourism site: www.braziltour.com If you wish to know more about Dutch colonies in northeast Brazil then click here.

Sarah and Abraham


A very curious cultural habit of the Dutch is the celebration of 50 year old anniversary. Men are then named "Abraham" and women "Sarah". Family and friends make fun of the age passage decorating the outer side of the person's home with posters, banners and sometimes a giant doll dressed in old fashioned clothes (see picture below). It is so typical Dutch telling to the world outside that a child has succeeded in exams, the couple has had a baby boy/girl or that one of the house owners has met "Abaham/Sarah".



Um traço cultural estranhíssimo dos holandeses é como valorizam o aniversário de 50 anos das pessoas. Um homem ao fazer 50 anos é chamado de “Abraão” e a mulher de “Sara”. Também ridicularizam de forma humorística os aniversariantes colocando faixas e cartazes diante da casa, ou fotos da pessoa pelas ruas da vizinhança de onde mora . Acham engraçado, se divertem durante dias antes do acontecimento. As vezes colocam ate um boneco em frente a casa da pessoa, de óculos e barbicha branca. Eu hein ? Quero isso pra mim não !

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

My-Your-Our Trash [Lugar de Lixo é no Lixo]

Since the temperature has gone higher I have noticed these ads at bus stops. In a first moment I did not pay much attention and even did not get the picture. Early in the morning, a bit asleep to go to work, no patience to check posters or small letters of texts... Then I started to see it more and more. It is a bubble gum. A chewed buble gum on the floor with a lovely fucsia bow around it. The text says: "do not make of your trash, a gift to other people". Mmmm. Summer means more tourists and more people celebrating life on the streets... therefore more trash.

"Do not make of you fag a gift to someone else". I like such campaign A LOT because it is very visual and goes straight to the point. It is well humoured and calls a lot of attention - however I think it could be more useful to tourists if it was also in English.
Desde que as temperaturas começaram a subir na Holanda eu venho percebendo esses cartazes no ponto de ônibus aonde vou todos os dias esperar meu cascudinho. A princípio não saquei o que era essa mancha rosa com um lacinho fofo na cor fúcsia. Lendo o texto achei bem legal: "não faca do seu chiclete um presente para os outros". E também: "não faça da sua bituca um presente para as pessoas". Para meio entendedor meia palavra basta, né galera ? Essa campanha é necessária porque agora na primavera verão a Holanda recebe mais turistas, há mais gente nas ruas e mais lixo é produzido. Vai direto ao ponto com bom humor e chama bastante a atenção para a falta de educação de algumas pessoas. Moral da história: lugar que permanece limpo não é o que mais foi cuidado mas o que menos se sujou.