Blogs from Santa Catarina, Brazil, South America - page 22

So... I think I should write about my worst night in Brazil: last Saturday night, also, conicidentally, my first night in this country. I thought about just attaching in this journal the blurb that I wrote just after this incident occured, but I decided maybe some hindsight could do me some good. So here goes the story. We arrived to Florianopolis in the evening and were taken by private bus from the airport to our Pousada in Lagoa, a very touristy and wealthy area of the island that is a mixture of Atlanta´s Buckhead (the way it used to be) and Midtown with bars, restraunts, cafes, shopping, and little kitshy stores. Think of the little strip off of Peachtree Street with JR Thomas and Shipfifers, and that´s what these places look like. Anyway, we got to ... read more

Greetings everyone! It's our last day in Florianopolis and I am finally feeling A LOT better. I just had breakfast with Par. He is coughing and a little feverish so I sent him back to the room for some rest before we take our final walk on the Canasvieres beach. Our flight leaves at 15.00 so we have to be ready and packed for the shuttle at 12noon. Today we head back to Sao Paulo where we will be met by a driver who will bring us to Jundiai. This is where Lena's friend and Conti colleague Karina lives. Ca~n't wait to see her again, it's been almost 4 years since we met at a training course in Hannover, Germany. Well, gotta go pack. Hope everyone is doing well! Hugs!... read more

Today is race day. The start was at 7 am this morning and judging from pictures it was a beautiful sunrise, a little chilly but it has warmed up. I am spending the day in the hotelroom due to a nasty fever/cold/sore throat combination that makes me feel a bit weak and I don't want to get anyone else sick. Par had a slight fever this morning so I hope he has enough energy to finish the race. He has some of great grandma Ida's skorpor in his special needs bag. :-) Yesterday we went on a leisurely boat tour which was great. We caught some sun (!) however the trip back was a bit windy which I'm sure didn't help us feel better. We were on an old wooden sailboat (but no sailing) and went ... read more

Participating in an event called “Go hard or go home” at our sports club, I thought it was time to talk about sports in Brazil - not football. Sports is very important. The majority does it, the minority pretends to do it - by dressing like going to the gym. Dressing codes at the gym do not exist. You can were your oldest t-shirt and look like a potato or bring your sparkling underwear along. The less the better: The more flesh the merrier! In both cases, you will get your kiss. To be more precise, not just one kiss. Every trainer will sneak behind you until he is able to give you this Brazilian style welcome. And, of course, everybody knows your name and is keen on chatting with you. Lessons in Brazil are very ... read more

If anyone wants me to bring back some chicken, let me know. The big story here is that a few Eastern European and Middle Eastern Countries cut off imports of chicken from Brazil using bird flu as a pretext (despite there being no bird flu in Brazil). Most of the chicken in Brazil is raised in the state of Florianopolis, so the supermarkets are overstocked and sellling packs of chicken with Arabic writing for about US$0.25 a pound. I am also taking orders for Viagra and Cialis, which are sold in big display cases by the checkouts in pharmacies. No prescription needed. What Am I Doing? Who am I kidding? The weather is pretty nasty today, and I already used up two rainy days exploring the center of the city. So, I am catching up on ... read more