Garota de Ipanema

Listening to my iPod this morning I heard Bossacucanova's version of Garota de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema). It made me think to add it to the growing list of other versions I have at this earlier post.

This may be the beginnings of a collection of sorts... (My impulse to post various versions of this particular song is really directed at my fellow gringos. I get it that most Brasileiros have heard quite enough of this tune.)

I could not find the version on my iPod from their Brasilidade CD. That one is actually better than this one, I think. But check this out. It gets (much) better as it goes along, so stay with it. Good jazz version.

You know you are in Brazil when

You know you are in Brazil when you begin cooking dinner before 7:00 in the morning. It’s simply too hot to cook in the afternoon.

Just imagine standing over a stove with two burners lit, rice boiling and vegetables steaming, with a hot oven at your knees – all contributing to an even hotter ambient temperature. Been there. No thanks. I literally drip with sweat, soaking my shorts.

Luiz and I do not have air conditioning, except in the bedroom. When I do have to cook in the afternoon I bring an oscillating fan into the kitchen and set it up on a stool. But that just circulates the hot air. Still, it’s an improvement.

This morning I got up at my usual 6:30 am and got to work. First: a pot of coffee. Then I put in a load of laundry (which requires nearly two hours to run its course). Taking some leftover chicken and vegetable stock from a previous roasted medley I set lentils to boil. Using chopped onions and some garlic I quickly sautéed some brown rice and then set it to boil as well. Finally, I scrubbed three whole beets, cut off the greens end, wrapped each in foil and placed them in a hot oven to roast.

With that I escaped to the living room to study Portuguese under the ceiling fan.

By nine o’clock I had completed a green lentil, red onion and brown rice pilaf (my antidote to the ever-present white rice on the dinner table), skinned and sliced the roasted beets and put to refrigerate, hung the laundry, and cleaned the kitchen. All this before the sun crested the tall apartment building to our east.

Dinner has been prepped. Now I can enjoy some beach time, like any respectable Brazilian.

Disney Magic Moments Parade in Copacabana

Below is a partial, loose translation of this news release about the upcoming event.
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This Sunday, November 29th Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and company will be together for the first time in the middle of Copacabana beach, in a show that promises to delight parents and children. The most famous pedestrian street in the country will be filled with joy at the Disney Magic Moments Parade, starting at 9 am. Featuring 350 artists, dancers and actors, the parade will begin at Station 6, near Forte de Copacabana (between the Rua Joaquim Nabuco and Av. Princesa Isabel) and continue to the height of Princess Elizabeth Street.

In honor of Brazil, the Disney Magic Moments Parade will open with the character Zé Carioca, created in 1940 and will have as company Donald Duck. The event will also include seven floats: Mickey Mouse and Friends, Fairies, Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story and Princesses. The parade will also feature entries highlighting The Lion King, High School Musical, Lilo & Stitch, Disney Villains, The Boat of Peter Pan, and Playhouse Disney Mogli. Everything was built entirely in the city to adapt to the pavement's width. For fans of the musical High School Musical, a surprise: the entire cast of the Brazilian film will be on board the car dedicated to this theme.

All dancers participating in the Parade are Brazilians. The attraction will also feature 20 songs especially recorded in Portuguese, in a studio in Los Angeles, so the audience at the site can better appreciate the parade.

Date: November 29, 2009 - (Sunday)

Location: Copacabana beach between Rua Joaquim Nabuco and Princesa Isabel

Parade begins: 9:00

Ending at: 10:30

Hey, if you live in the area and you have kids, this looks like a terrific FREE event!

Does "I'll be there" mean "I'll be there?"

Last night I had a culture clash moment. I have to keep reminding myself that cultural mores are different in Brazil than in the United States. Even when that does not compute.

Last night I was hosting my boss for dinner. We had spoken several times during the week about the night. I had asked what she likes to eat. We decided on a time to get together. Usual stuff.

So I went about making it happen. In true qualidade de vida fashion I didn’t just go to the fish market to buy some fillets, I spent the day at the beach relaxing and soaking up the sun – then bought some totally fresh fish on the beach from a fisherman. (R$10 for 6 fish cleaned and filleted – amazing.)


[Not really my salad, but close.]

After an afternoon nap and refreshing shower I proceeded to prepare dinner: a picture-perfect steamed vegetable salad; rice to my satisfaction (while maybe others here would say it was not salty enough;) and an amazing baking dish brimming with a carnival of fish fillets, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and garlic. Super bom.

I set the table and even dusted the coffee table and shelves by the television.

About 25 minutes before my guest/boss was to arrive the phone rang. (The Brazilians know what comes next.)

“Jim, I’m still trying to resolve a problem with my cell phone. I don’t think I can make it tonight. OK?”

“OK, fine, no problem.” I replied.

What’s up with that? With friends – I get it. But when I am hosting my boss for the first time you would think she knows this is not just pizza with the gang. Luckily I had not already opened the wine.

Oh well. Keep breathing. It’s no big deal, really. I got snagged by my expectations that then clashed with my boss’s sense of casual weekend flexibility.

So half of the beautiful, tasty and completely boneless fish went into my stomach – and the other half went to the refrigerator.

It’s all good. We fall down - we get up.

Today is another holiday

They just keep on comin'

I'm having my supervisor at FISK over for dinner. Long overdue. I asked if she likes fish and she does. So my plan is to spend the day at Itaipú beach and buy some fresh fish from a fisherman who will undoubtedly spread out his catch on the sand for sale.

When the sun gets to be too much I'll come home, take a nap, then get up and prepare dinner.

Ah... qualidade de vida indeed!

Girlfriend - take a pill

Oh my god -- or as the more hip might say: OMG!

You have to see this. Miss Gay Brazil was reveling in her moment of victory when Miss São Paulo got a little jealous and otherwise extremely upset and literally ripped the crown (and wig) off the new reigning queen.

OK baby – don’t be playin' with no drag queen, honey. She will cut you! You know that was not the end of it!

A shout out to my homeboy Tim for alerting me to this travesty. LOL!

There's only one Rio

Yet another delightful presentation of the uniqueness and beauty of Rio de Janeiro.

Even if you don't speak Portuguese, listen carefully: "Só existe um/a..." There is only one...



I pulled this from the relatively new official tourism website for Rio. Check it out. It's got everything!