It's the least I could do...

Who we love and appreciate and respect throughout our lives, often live their entire lives without hearing how grateful we really are. My parents...my shining stars...my examples...I would not be the woman I am today without them. They taught me, through example, to be honest, respectful, fair, and happy. They taught me that it's ok to be mad but don't be mean. They taught me that people sometimes deserve a second or a third chance. They taught me to stand up for what is right and to protest what I believe is wrong. They taught me that a little goes a long way. They taught me that when life hands us lemons we make lemonade and to count our mistakes as blessings for without a mistake we don't truly learn. Mostly, they taught me to be firm and tender to have fun and be responsible; they taught me to love and trust and how to build a strong family--all through their example.

I have watched my mom and dad live together, raise children together, suffer hard times together, lose their parents together, battle cancers together, pray together, grow together, celebrate life together.

I read Robert Fulgum’s book "All I Really Needed to Know I learned in Kindergarten" but the truth is, "All I really needed to know, I learned from my parents."

As they celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary this Friday, from thousands of miles away, I say THANK YOU for showing me the true meaning of a happy marriage, of a supporting lifelong commitment, and a true partnership

and I LOVE YOU!

Birthday Lunch Celebration

Here's a picture of the group after our birthday celebration last week at Porcao Churrascaria in Flamengo. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, surrounded by friends and way too much food. Once again....moderation....

Eating healthy or Eating Well?

Last night on the return from the shopping center, Joe and I decided to stop at Gavea Sushi and get a sampling of what they have. We both really like Sushi, is was Ash Wednesday, so we couldn't eat meat, and we had both been wanting to see if the the little hole in the wall sushi place on the corner that we pass every day is any good. We ordered the sampler that is shown in the pictures with me and Joe here. 50 pieces of sushi!! I am always surprised by how filling it actually is. As well, every day for lunch I eat a salad. Probably 3 nights a week I make a dinner out of salad only, and recently I took this beautiful picture of a chicken salad Joe made for me one night.
Then I got to thinking, what is healthy eating? You see the size of the salad fills an entire dinner plate (I couldn't finish it by the way). The amount of sushi between the two of us last night was way too much. Yet, all of the ingrediants are "good for you".
Here's what I have concluded...anything, IN MODERATION, can be healthy. So it isn't always a matter of eating healthy. I have concluded that it is moreso a matter of eating well. And for my non-sushi-liking...once you get over the consciousness of what you're eating the stuff is really very good!

List of 4's
I just got a "List of 4's" from my friend Tammy. I thought I'd share it will you all:
FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE
1. Middle Level Educator
2. Nanny
3. Campus Security Hamline University
4. Erickson's Grocery Checkout Girl
FOUR MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED OVER AND OVER
1. Spanglish
2. Return to Me (my all time favorite movie ever ever ever!)
3. High School Musical (not always by choice but by Sierra's choice)
4. Grease (I still remember the dances my sister Dana and I made up while listening to the soundtrack record)
FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1. Isanti, MN
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Houston, TX
4. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
FOUR TV SHOWS I LIKE TO WATCH (I no longer watch TV, but if I did)
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. ER
3. American Idol
4. Candid Camera
FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY
1. All the links on my blog and Tammy's blog (some of you should really post more often!)
2. Teaching Tolerance
3. ASCD.org
4. disney.go.com
FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
1. Puerto Villarta, Mexico
2. Carmel Valley, CA
3. Virginia Beach, VA
4. Door County, WI
FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1. Japanese
2. Brazilian breakfast of bread, cheese, fresh fruit, coffee
3. Picanha
4. Aipim
FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW
1. St. Lucia
2. On a boat (as in my house is the boat 24/7, dock to work and on the sea the rest of the days)
3. Reading in the hammock
4. Next to the pool (it's 10:30 p.m.)

Just wanted to add this shot of the three of us from this afternoon. We are outside the restaurant in Flamengo. Behind us is the sugar loaf mountain (Pao de Azucar). Turned out to be a pretty good shot! :-) Lunch with 15 others friends who live here and newly made friends who are visiting was wonderful. Can't complain about this brilliantly blue sky!

Carnival 2007!

Banda de Ipenema para Infantil was definitely the highlight of our Carnival experience. We went to a park in Ipenema yesterday afternoon that was having a Carnival party just for children. The bataria (drum band) parade just around in a circle within the park and the children were all dressed in costumes, enjoying the party.


Here is little Sophia in her pirate(ess) costume made by her grandmother for the occasion.
We spent about 2 hours in the park. Sierra bought 3 cans of that spray foam/soap stuff that is totally gross and she and Mateo, another child from EA, proceeded to "war" against eachother and any innocent bystander who got in the way. Both of them at more than one point were soaked in white foam...as were many of the adults in the group.





Here is Sierra, moderately covered, trying to get away from dad before he retalliates. After the party in the park, we took the beach road home with Julie and Gustavo and Camilla and another visiting friend Marcus and his son Lucas.
I particularly enjoyed watching Sierra have the opportunity to run around through grass and open space for awhile, smiling the whole time.




On the way home, Sierra decided she was hungry, and she and Joe stopped by a street vender grilling sausage and meat (filet meow we like to call the street meat).





Along with the costumes that the kids were in, there were many carnaval-like accessories to buy.
Sierra looks good as a "green" head! :-)

Today we are going for lunch to a churrascowith about 15 other people to celebrate Feb. birthdays. There are 4 people who have celebrated their birthday in the last week, including Joe. http://www.porcao.com.br/br/unidades/ipanema/default.asp
Should be a nice afternoon. The rest of the week will most likely be spent laying low and relaxing. We are considering a day trip to a local island for one day and another day trip to a beach a small drive out of Rio. I'll take pictures at lunch today to post later so that the feel of the churrasco can be displayed....peace and love to all.

The State of the World?

If you read the last post, you know I am struggling with the discovery that the world, namely Rio, is not in actuality as I wish I could view it through my rose colored glasses. Instead, the inequality and injustice of our realty has recently slapped me in the face--hard, knocking off those rose colored glasses I had previously never removed. I spoke to the guarda de pascina (lifeguard) yesterday afternoon upon leaving from my sunbathing post next to the pool, asking him to please explain to me what happened the night before with my friend who was watching my daughter. The first excuse given was that she doesn't live here, therefore she isn't permitted to swim. When I pointed out the dozen non-residents currently swimming, the excuse changed to the fact that she is a Baba (nanny). I reiterated the fact that she is not a baba (as if that should matter) and she is my friend and colleague. He apologized profusely to me, but somehow it doesn't matter. An apology cannot make up for this type of situation. The good news...I successfully "argued" in Portuguese. When I retold the conversation to my friend who is fluent in portuguese, she said, "I understand exactly what you said. I'm actually quite impressed that you were able to communicate that well. That's great." Language gives an amazing amount of power.

My overriding question/concern: Is there a place in the world where classism and/or racism doesn't control the underlying functioning of the society? Somebody please tell me because I would like to know what is wrong with the state of our world. It is 2007, right? People are still people, right? Why is it so hard for that to be accepted? Why is it so hard to get along without judgement, without inequalities, without mistreatment? These situations make me feel very alone, as if I am the only one in the world who just doesn't get it.

What's Wrong with the World Mamma?

I'm not sure how to begin this post, or what exactly to say, or how to word what I am feeling. Images of Martin Luther King, Jr, Mahatma Ghandi, Rosie Parks, Nelson Mandella, even Malcolm X flash through my head...

Do I love Brasil? Yes. Do I love my life in Brasil? Yes. Am I completely disgusted at this place right now? YES.

But what does a person do when they are directly associated to blatent racism? Segregation? Discrimination? Last night, Sierra's babysitter was not allowed to swim with her in the pool when Joe and I were out taking in Carnival festivities. The excuse: she's not a resident in the condominium.

The truth: she's black.

Just last week, when our friends came to swim, there was no issue when both the adults and their one year old daughter jumped in. Friday, when I checked with the lifeguard about regulations, I was told: no problem, of course. Last night, she was not allowed to swim! I'm saddened, I'm sickened, I'm frustrated, I'm irrate.

Deborah Colker

http://www.ciadeborahcolker.com.br/eng/acia/index.htm

Sierra has been privileged two times now as a guest at the Deborah Colker dance studio in Gloria, RJ. Escola Americana has a dance and language teacher who works with the lower school children as a specials teacher. Lorraine does amazing work with the kids in incorporating dance and language and literature. Sierra has really come to enjoy her Thursdays with Ms. Lorraine, and Lorraine has become somewhat of an adult support person for Sierra at school. If she is having any issues with other students or concerns about classes, Sierra asks to see Lorraine before the school counselor. This speaks highly of Lorraine. Lorraine, who has worked with internationally known dance studios, has a professional connection with Deborah and her dancers. Lorraine has twice now been able to set up a visit to the studio for the students at Escola Americana. Wednesday afternoon, Sierra and I, joined by about 20 other Escola Americana teachers and students, went to Deborah Colker's dance studio for a special viewing of a rehearsal. The particular show we were graced with watching happens in and around the transparent box shown in the pictures. The first photo of the solo woman in the "box" is Deborah herself, the other is part of her company. It was a really fantastic experience. Sierra sat in awe, only feet away from the movement with her mouth wide open the entire time.

Cruisin?

I hope you are able to click on and enlarge one or both of these pictures. Moreso, I hope you can have half the excitement that we experience almost daily as we glance out the windows or over the veranda and catch a glimpse of a passing ship. I have lost count of how many "boats" we've seen to date from our apartment, yet every one feels like the first. One of us will yell, "Hey guys! Come quick!" and shortly there after all three of us will be standing on the veranda looking toward the sea. Tonight we caught sight of two different cruise ships. The pictures here are of the bigger of the two we saw. I think Joe counted 10 floors on the front end of the ship! It was enormous!
Taking a cruise has never really been on my agenda or list of desires; however, I have recently learned that there is a cruise line that ventures up and down the coast of Brasil only. The thought of this type of cruise is interesting to me, especially knowing how remarkable the shoreline is throughout this country. Perhaps one day, we will fulfill this desire.

How many steps a day do you take?

I recall, at more than one stateside school, the pedometer phase. This was part of a McDonald's campaign one year. If I remember correctly, it was shortly after "Super Size Me" made national the possible results of a diet consisting solely off the menu at this famous fast food chain. It was a challenge in those days to log in at least 5,000 steps a day. I remember days when I would feel so healthy after reading 10,000 on my pedometer before turning in for the night--of course those were the 3Day training days too. It is impossible to ignore the effect that a person's environment has on the routine physical activity one endures. I think during an average day at Escola Americana, I could possibly reach the max on a pedometer--assuming it has one. In addition, half of the "steps" would literally be STEPS, as in stairs.

For example, as you can see in this aerial shot of the stairs we take up from the bus ramp every morning on the way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Where we come from at the bottom of this set of stairs is the soccer field and past the soccer field is the bus/car loading and unloading area. Down further from the bus/car loading and unloading area is the teacher's parking lot, which you get to and from by traversing a series of additional stairways that run through the forest. A 15 minute workout on the way to start your day!

After breakfast, it doesn't take long to burn the calories consumed, as what you see when you exit the cafeteria following both breakfast and lunch is here in this picture. As you can see, the first sets of steps is not intimidating as they are only 6 or 7 steps in their entirety. However, making it past these does not ensure an easy climb the rest of the way to your designated division within the school. As you can see in the following

Here is the next set of stairs, and you are still only about halfway to your destination.

At last you turn your corner, and behold...another flight of stairs! I personally have 5 more sets identical to this in order to reach the floor where my classroom is. Many mornings I stop after the first 2, go over to the MS office, check my box and then venture to the remaining flights toward my destination.
Earlier this week, I was reminded of one of my initial fears upon arriving in Rio--STAIRS! Irrational? Not really. Every day, in the back of my head, I worry that Sierra will fall down a flight of stairs, ending with a broken limb. To ward off such events, I recite the Guardian Angel prayer each day as I kiss her farewell and we proceed in opposite directions for the day. This week, my fears came true (kind of). Sierra came to my classroom after school on Monday to report she had "fallen up the stairs" earlier in the day, leaving a medium scratch and a healthy egg on the elbow. I hadn't even realized the threat of falling UP the stairs. Luckily, my worst fears did not come true in that there are no broken bones and today, 3 days later, she is barely complaining about the soreness of her elbow.

So, given the fact that most mornings by the time I'm eating breakfast, I've probably logged 3,000 steps and by lunch time, another 3,000, I think the fact that my lifestyle is currently void of a formal exercise routine is okay. Afterall, this is a chronicle of the walking done solely at school and doesn't include the 2 blocks to catch the bus in the morning or the countless blocks wandering neighborhoods we often do in the evenings and on the weekends. And the view from the top of all those stairs at Escola Americana is quite possibly the best view from any campus in all the world!

Friends out for Samba!

Uma Princessa do Mangueira

With Carnaval approaching quickly, many of the Samba schools across Brasil are in full swing with rehearsals. As part of this, as we are learning, many of the schools are open to "the public" (basically who ever wants to go and has R$20 to pay the cover) Saturdays until the week of Carnaval. Last Sat, since Sierra was spending the night at a friend's house, Joe and I took advantage of the opportunity to visit Mangueira's Escola de Samba with a few other friends and see what this samba business is all about. I have to admit, the energy of the drums is intoxicating--or was it the cervaja of the evening that was intoxicating?

Here's Joe after he took his turn on beerrun!

Me with "the boys".

Our homework now consists of determining which Blocos (Block Party) we'll attend. I have been told of a couple that are geared toward criancas (children) and happen mostly during the day. The parades are another huge attraction and last from 10 or 11 p.m. until 7 or 8 a.m. We have the whole week off from school during Carnaval, which ends on Ash Wednesday, so we should have plenty of time for recooperation following whatever festivities we do end up finding. Should be a great way to kick off lent with plenty reasons to abstain after almost five days of solid parties.

As this finds many of you in the frozen northern hemisphere while we sweat through our days this month, I'll leave you with a beautiful photo of Botafogo beach at night, taken by a friend of ours.

All Good Things Must End!

Tonight, as Sierra prepares for bed, we are thankful for five weeks of vacation together. It has been filled with relaxing, sleeping in, lounging by the pool, venturing on short trips, and much laughter. For the first time in her school career, she is proclaiming, "NO! I don't want to go back to school yet!" I thought these things didn't start until children turned at least 10 years old. I am sadly mistaken. I don't believe it to be the result of not enjoying or liking school. See her here with her classmates. She's in the front second from the right.

And she LOVES her teacher, Ms. Eleanor.
I think it is more a factor of having truly enjoyed this vacation. She made friends with a very nice girl who lives downstairs from us--Luisa. Luisa attends the British school though. She doesn't go to Escola Americana. I think that if Luisa attended EA, Sierra and Luisa both would be looking forward to going back to classes together in the morning. Sierra has also forged friendships with many of the other children who live in our condominium, which has factored into her true enjoyment during vacation. All I can offer her is, "All Good Things Must End." And we have so many future adventures to look forward to, we must get started now.

My View

Again, my friend Tammy started this blog cycle of posting the view from your front door. I have to alter the directions a little though because the direct view from my front door is the front door of the apartment across the hall and the elevator door--not very exciting. Instead, this is the view from my veranda, which is like a backdoor. No one can complain about a view of the ocean.

5 Weird Things

My friend Tammy is a list lover. It was Tammy who originally introduced me to the list of threes I posted a couple of weeks ago. Well, once again, I have been tagged with 5 Weird Things. As Tammy said, there's nothing like a little self-revelation to make an interesting post. Here's how it works...I disclose 5 weird things about me and then I'm supposed to tag 5 people to reveal their 5 weird things. I'm going to be soft and omit the tagging of 5 others, but feel free to comment here on any of my 5 weird things listed.

1. I have to smell my food before eating it. This goes for EVERYTHING! Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Main dish, side dish, salad, dessert. Even if it's something I've eaten many times throughout my life. I always smell before eating the first bite.

2. I don't like to mix salty with sweet in a main dish. I love the salted nut roll candy bar or mixing candy corn with salted peanuts. But no way will I eat pizza with pineapple on it or chicken seasoned with cinnamon. Sweet does not belong in my main course. I don't even like sweet flavored salad dressings. It is quite possible that I am really missing out on a fantastic flavor, but for now, I'll just have to take every body else's word for it. I'm not trying it.

3. I LOVE to burp! I know, weird, but true. I think it feels good. It ranks right up there with a really good sneeze, but belching takes the cake, especially after a good swallow of Coke. I secretly wish I lived in a culture where a good hearty burp at the end of a meal is a compliment.

4. I can't stand feet. They're ugly, smelly, dirty and basically disgusting. The only feet I have ever liked were Sierra's when she was an infant, but once she started walking and her feet got bigger they lost their appeal. I don't even like my own feet.

5. I need order but not necessarily organization. A place for everything and everything in its place is my motto. I get really irritated when I go to get something in its "spot" and it's not there because someone has "put it away." But to me, it was in its spot and all ready put away.

Well, there's my weirdness or quirkiness as some may say. Thanks Tammy!

I am officially spoiled!!!

We spent last weekend in Ilha Grande (http://br.ilhagrande.com/sys/) with our friends Mara and Rodrigo. I thought Paraty was beautiful. Wow!! Ilha Grande is breath taking. These first two pictures were taken from one of the many boats we took over the course of 3 days. Ilha Grande is another place where it is common to island hop and enjoy the paradise-like beaches. This particular vacation spot is only about 12 years old, which may be the reason I didn't even know it existed 12 years ago when I was in Brazil the first time. The history is that it used to house a state prison. The prison workers were the only people who lived on the island, and the prisoners did manual labor around the island to lesson their sentence, for every three days of work they were forgiven one day from their sentence. Since the island was, and still largely is, undeveloped, we aren't quite sure what kind of work they actually did. There are no motorized vehicles on the island and even the trash has to be sent by boat back to the mainland. In 1994, there was an escape by helicopter of one inmate and after that the prison closed. The escapee was recaptured, but not until 10 years after his escape. Once the prison was closed, the island opened to tourism and is now one of the most popular vacation spots in all of Brazil. The Brazilian government is working on passing a law limiting the number of tourists on the island at one time and that law will also enforce a tourist tax that will be mandatory for all visitors to the island. It is actually a great idea in effort to preserve the ecological beauty of the place.
To get there, we headed to Mangaratiba (about an hour and a half outside of the city) on an interstate bus from Rio early Friday morning, hopped a Ferry in Mangaratiba to the island. We checked into the Pousada, changed into swimwear and hopped a Schooner in the main part of the island to the other side of the island to go to Lopes Mendes beach. The water was unbelievably clean and an amazing aqua marine color and very very salty. We spent the entire afternoon swimming, walking, laying in the sun, playing frescoball (like beach paddle ball) and relaxing before taking the short, 15 minute hike back to the dock to catch the Schooner back to the main part of the island where our pousada was located.

Here is a picture of Sierra and Joe jumping waves at Praia de Lopes Mendes. It was a great chance for Sierra to do some real swimming in the Atlantic. The shoreline in Rio is really rough and most days we spend at the beach the waves are far too strong for her to really swim...it's just too dangerous, I feel like they're too strong for me most days. We have spent most of the sunny January days at our pool because of this, so it was a great day at the beach for Sierra. She didn't want to leave this beach.

Here's a picture of all three of us at Praia de Lopes Mendes.

During the second day in Ilha Grande, we took a Schooner for 5 hours, stopping at a few different dive spots and beaches and then for lunch on the beach at another location. The entire day was beautiful. Although the water was extremely cold, the weather was beautiful, so a quick 40 min. swim was a great way to cool off while snorkeling a little and watching the fish. It is very common everywhere in Brazil to find a street vender selling just about anything. In the middle of a traffic jam, you'll find people with cold drinks and snacks ready to sell at your car window. What was surprising and hilarious was the coconut vender canoeing around one of the popular Schooner stops.

Here you can see him pulling in between two of the anchored boats looking for sales.

I sadly returned to work today. I have very little room to complain after the very relaxing holiday I just had. Today Joe helped me to organize and count numerous novels that belong to the English department while Sierra played on barbie.com on my classroom computer. Tomorrow I will head to school alone to create a spreadsheet to inventory what we counted today. Wednesday I have an inservice on bullying prevention and all staff officially return Thursday. We teach for approximately 3 weeks and then we have another week long holiday for Carnaval! Life is good!! I'll leave with this last picture that Joe and Rodrigo say needs to become an advertising billboard in Brazil for the domestic beer company--Skol...

View from the veranda of our room in Parati!

Our Brazilian summer holiday began with a lot of work on my master's thesis (now almost complete) and a little respite, and it appears to be ending full of travel. I return to work this coming Monday, January 22, 3 days earlier than required, for some extra, self-induced work with countless novels which are scattered throughout the middle school at EARJ in need of serious organizing. I am a little saddened after being spoiled with a month long vacation. But not before we do some traveling to a couple of local favorite spots.

We returned tonight from 3 days in Parati, a small port city (actually the 2nd port of Brazil) between Rio and Sao Paulo. It was a little slice of heaven! When we first arrived and checked into our room, we enjoyed the view, the flowers, the birds singing, the hummingbirds feeding on the flowers right next to us and we were amazed that an environment minus traffic, children filling the air with the sounds of city play, and honking horns actually still exists--we've adjusted to our noisy urban life and the silence was ironically loud those first 30 minutes. Afterward, we ventured into the historic downtown of Parati for some shopping and browsing.


This first shot is entering the historical part of the city from our pousada's side of town.





Sierra enjoyed the open air shopping market where the locals have their businesses. She LOVES every dress, shirt, short, pant, shoe she looks at.
You can see her negotiating with me here to just "experimenta Mae" (try mom).




After the clothing run, she managed to talk me into the purchase of one dress, and she realized the rest of the shopping would be all fun and games, donning this rather large straw hat at the next store!!

During the second day in Parati, we spent 5 hours on a Schooner with about 45 other "tourists". Here we are in our very attractive snorkeling masks getting ready to jump in and see all the fish which were fed rice by the captain upon anchoring. I'm not sure if the rice was to draw them toward the boat for our viewing pleasure or to fill them up to keep them from nibbling on our toes, either way it was amazing to put your head under the water and see the ocean life! Throughout the day we were lucky enough to see: 4 lizards on a rock, 1 sea turtle, 1 baby sea turtle, 2 starfish, a few eel looking fish and countless other striped and colorful fish.
Here's a more flattering picture of Sierra and I on the boat--minus the snorkeling gear. The woman to our left sat near us the entire day, is from Brasilia, and kindly spoke slowly in Portuguese for me in order to actually have a conversation! She was very kind. At one point, Sierra had gone below the boat to use the bathroom and the woman noticed she was not around. We had just left one of our island stops and she, in a very concerned tone, asked, "Onde e sou filha?" Where is your daughter? I said, "AH, Ela e no o banheiro" She is in the bathroom. She woman, relieved, sighed and said, "Eu estou 'worried' porque nos fomos do ilhe e nao vi ela." I was worried because we just left the island and I didn't see her. I thought it was very kind of her to actually be concerned.

The ocean/mountain picture is taken looking toward Parati. What beatiful natural wonders the mountains and the sea and the landscapes produce. I'm really starting to enjoy photography thanks to the multitude of interesting images I am surrounded by so frequently.

The other major attraction during our three days in Parati were the street performers who totally enticed Sierra's attention. Throughout the day, you can turn any random corner and find a "statue" standing perfectly still. Until, a passerby drops a coin into the urn placed at their feet and then almost robotically, they begin to move. Some shake or kiss the hand of the generous passerby, others hand tokens, jewels or fortunes, all of them completely capture Sierra's attention. Here are two whom she "paid" and received a fortune and jewel as well as a picture moment. What's funny is she told me after the photo with the white "statue" that her left hand, which is behind her back, actually has her fingers crossed for good luck because even though she knows they are "just real people" under all that make-up, they're "still freaky".

Before catching the interstate bus back to Rio this afternoon, we enjoyed a horse and buggy ride through the historical part of Parati. Sierra sat in the front next to the driver and as you can see from the smile on her face was in heaven!!!
Friday will bring another quick trip for us as we venture to Ilhe Grande, an island off the coast of Rio. We were supposed to go a couple of weeks ago with some friends and had to reschedule the trip. Despite the forcasted rain, we are making plans to go this weekend. One last hoorah before heading back to reality of working every day. That's ok....I'm starting to enjoy this easy life of holiday, sleeping in, travel and lounging a little too much. Any longer without working and I might get too used to it!!!

This afternoon we headed into Leblon and Ipenema. Kind of a routine weekend walk. We were heading toward H. Stern and other jewelry stores for some window shopping, but I suspected they were all closed as it was a Sunday afternoon. Instead, we casually passed countless boutiques and sidewalk venders and simply enjoyed the walk, ending at a favorite boteca--Sindicato de Chopp--for lunch/dinner. As we were eating, a large party gathered at the table near us, and the waiters brought over this 3 liters Beer vat. We of course stared in disbelief, laughed in amusement and got up to take a picture! We don't know the man posing here with the beer, but he was kind enough to comply.
We are heading in the morning to Paraty, a small port city between Rio and Sao Paulo, for a few days. Staying at what is called a Pousada (very similar to a Bed and Breakfast). www.pousadamorrodoforte.com.br
We are looking forward to the quiet of a more rural setting for a day or two and the adventure that taking the interstate bus and navigating our way around an unfamiliar place will of course bring. And, I'm told they have a Havaianas store in Paraty bigger than Buzios!!

Havaianas

(better known to most Americans as the standard flip flop)
Flip flop: reminds how many of us of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, right? "I blew out my flip flop, stepped on a pop top..."

Well to Brazilians, it is not the flip flop that holds popular trivial attention. Instead, it is the Havaiana!! I realized yesterday late in the night that for the last three weeks I have had nothing on my feet except havaianas...for the entire 20 days...with the exception of about 3 or 4 hours Monday night when we went for Sushi in celebration of my birthday and I dressed up and wore heels. However, my friend Mara still wore havaianas to the restaurant with her very cute, strapless sundress.

It made me wonder: What is proper havaiana etiquette?

#1: the beach--kind of a no brainer, I know, but I feel it needs to be mentioned that indeed Havaianas suit the beach well. They slip off easily once you reach the sand, or you can keep them on comfortably while walking through the sand on the days that the sun is scorching hot sand and the sand is unbearably hot to walk on with bare feet, and they allow for the remaining remnants of sand to dry and fall off on the walk after the beach at the end of the day without having to go barefoot on the boardwalk.

#2: around the house--in MN, especially in the winter, it is common for visitors to bring along their "house shoes" during a visit. People hanging out at home, watching TV can often be found wearing their "house shoes". Many times homeowners have extra "guest" pairs of "house shoes". The purpose of the "house shoe" I believe is warmth more than comfort during those colder months. In Brazil, it is the havaiana that replaces the traditional "house shoe". Some have a specific pair of havaianas they ONLY wear in their house. I always have havaianas on at home, but it is not always the same pair. They keep my feet clean. Once I forgot to change my shoes when leaving for work and ended up wearing my havaianas all day at school, thankfully, they matched my outfit!

#3: riding a bike--I can hear my mother's voice in my head every time I see a biker passing on their bike, wearing havaianas "Put on tennis shoes! You can't ride a bike in flip flops." As much as I don't like to contradict my mother, it is possible to safely ride a bike in havaianas, and I see it several times a day.

#4: running errands--if one were to sit at a sidewalk, boteca and observe the passersby, keeping tallies of how many people are wearing havaianas vs. how many are not, the results are phenomenal. People seemingly grocery shopping, wearing havaianas, people seemingly heading to the dry cleaners, wearing havaianas, people seemingly heading to the bakery for breakfast, wearing havaianas. It's amazing! I started thinking, Wow, this is bigger than Nike. I want to meet the person responsible for inventing havaianas. He/she is brilliant.

#5: work--the pool guy (of course I know) but also, the water delivery guy, the guys who clean the streets, the venders at market, the flower vender, the retail employees, the cashiers at the bakery. As a matter of fact, the only on the job situations that didn't involve havaianas to date are our doormen and the policia militar--they don't wear havaianas, they wear boots and drink beer (this is a topic worthy of its own posting and will come at a later date).

#6: fashion statement for every ocassion--this is my favorite, as just last week Joe said, "Oh, hon, you need a pair of brown havaianas to go with that dress." It is a must to have white havaianas for New Year's Eve in Rio as well. It is true, not only are they extremely comfortable and durable and did I mention under $5 (US dollars) a pair, they come in EVERY color you could imagine, and recently, they're adding patterns. Buzios has an entire store, about the size of a typical Dominos take out restaurant in the states, of ONLY havaianas, floor to ceiling, wall to wall, men's, women's, children's..havaianas havaianas havaianas! Remember earlier, I mentioned Mara wearing havaianas with her cute, strapless sundress to dinner the other night with havaianas. Her havaianas were the same rose color of her dress--matchy matchy! And it is an absolute fashion MUST that at the very least your havaianas match your bikini. I have two bikinis (well, I really have 5, but only 2 of them are the Brazilian style, which could possibly be another post topic--The Brazilian Bikini, anyway). I have one bikini that is mostly blue and of course I have a matching pair of blue havaianas for when I wear that suit, and I have another that is mostly green, so I have a matching pair of green havaianas for when I wear that suit.

#7: Havaiana style: since the onset of the havaiana craze, the people at havaiana have adapted the traditional flip flop style to include additional styles; including but not limited to, havaiana heels, havaianas with slingbacks, havaianas with a little Brazilian flag on the strap, and havaianas that wrap around your foot (see purple havaianas shown). I wake each day wondering what new style these creative imaginations will come up with next.

It amazes and impresses me when something hits the market that becomes such a commonly used item. We could probably go back through the last 100 years and find a number of such things; the television, the cassette tape then the compact disc, the microwave, the vcr then the dvd, the computer desktop and laptop...the list is infinite. Just as in the United States it is nearly impossible to find a home without at least one television set in 2007, I dare say it is nearly impossible to find a home in Brasil without at least one pair of havaianas!!

I've attached their webpage here if you're interested in seeing more havaiana styles and if you're looking for locating havaianas in your hometown, google havaianas. You'll be amazed what you find. But, could the lyrics to Margaritaville be slightly altered to: I blew out my havaiana, I stepped on a Fanta. I guess we may never know.

http://www.havaianas.com.br/