Well officially yesterday the 23rd. Gotta ring my mother to wish her 'Sun neen fai lok' or 'Gong Hei Fat Choi'. It's supposed to be a lucky year round, year of the dragon.
I missed the opportunity to go to Liberdade to watch the lion dance. I guess I wasn't really in the mood to go. I really should go out more and meet new people. That means not relying so much on particular people all the time, to give me a call when they are free.
Well to summarise, been here for almost two months now. On the job side- managed to get a few private students through friends and friends of friends. I even managed to attend my first interview here in SP after donkey years. It's gonna be the same shit, teaching business English, but according to the companie's style. (Don't know if I want to do this)
Where I am living is a good place. Very central and easy to get to via bus and the metro. It's a nightmare to drive to though. I realised last month, that I live at the end of a street famous for prostitutes. I told the porters that I'm not a prossie, cos a lot of my friends have been meeting me where I live to collect me... but I'm looking to move out as soon as. I realised that I don't need a whole apartment to myself. I spend most of my time on the netbook or watching tv, so that suits me fine... and by the way, I can't be paying R$900 every month for an unfurnished apartment.
Sites and scenes. There's nothing to look forward to in SP city. The only place I want to see is Hopi-Hari and that's near Campinas. So going there by bus from the bus station, I assume that it'll take a couple of hours or so. I am planning on going back to Rio next month, for a long weekend or so. Hit the streets of Lapa and get into the 'groove'.
sexta-feira, 27 de janeiro de 2012
Encounters in RJ
So these
are the people in RJ who I felt had made an impression on me. Good or bad, they
all had an impact during my stay there. As I was staying in Zona Sul, I
encountered a mixture of Carioca’s, Mineiros and a few gringos. It was good to
explore different parts of the city and meeting new people. So all of these
people I knew originally from the Internet, Couch Surfing meet-ups, meet-up
group or were friends of friends.
Thank
you Rio for the experience... we’ll meet again
Mr RJ- The studious and clever clogs one.
Nicest person I’ve ever met in Rio. Also the longest person I’ve known. The
problem towards my stay in RJ was managing to meet-up with him. But a very
cool, funny and social guy.
Mr
Welder- Good friend
also. As he worked on a rig, he spent most of his time off-shore. Every weekend
he always went to Lapa. He’s an American wannabe...
Mr
London- I met this
guy when I was in London. One of the people who ‘offered’ to marry me so that I
could get a marriage visa. Yeah, not on your life! Marriage is for life, not
just for visa. Anyway he only wants it so that he can stay in London. (Fat
chance)
Mr
Tarado- The health
and safety inspector. His Facebook photo is of him posing next to a lifeguard
stand. He thought he was David Hasselfhoff. ALWAYS a party he’s been invited
to. The life and soul of a party.
Mr
Captain- The good
ole ‘born again Christian’. Everyone has
a friend like this. The one spreading the Good News of the Bible. He is the one
always telling me to watch my mouth and stop swearing. I need a bottle of
bleach to clean my mouth apparently. (lol)
Mr
Apaixando- I didn’t
understand about 60% of what this guy was telling me in Portuguese. He knew
English, but wouldn’t speak a bloody word of it. I found him annoying, as he
kept on staring at me. I was constantly thinking to myself ‘crap!’.
Mr
Nerd- always one in
the group! (again). Wanted to study IT, wore the stereotypical glasses, funny
hair, t-shirt, jeans and trainers. Whenever he spoke English, he would sound
like a ‘posh’ English person. Didn’t know if half the time he was being genuine
or just taking the piss.
Ms
L’oreal- a power
lady, with a powerful position at a powerful company. First couple of times I
met her, would speak in Portuguese. Then when I started giving her English
classes, she would then speak English. She loved gringos. Always busy because
of her work and hard to get hold of, but an extremely nice person.
Ms
Baiana- important
lady in an important company. I met her at a meet-up called ‘Aprender Ingles,
learn Portuguese’. She was always in constant contact with me and checking to
make sure that that I was doing ok. Pity I met her towards the end of my time
in RJ, she became one of my closest friends.
Mr
Braga- a friend of
Ms Baiana, from Portugal. He promised to cook Portuguese food for me next
time... so I’m holding him to that promise!
Mr
Mineiro- the first
of his kind I encountered. A bit of a chunky monkey, but he was ok. Though I
did feel he was as sly as a fox. Didn’t trust the guy.
Mr
Salgado- Joelho!
When I was in RJ, we would meet almost every day and catch-up on events. We
both worked as English teachers and were staying in Copacabana. I think it’s
cos of him that my English has become infused with American English. (EW!)
Every time we met, he would eat salgados. Bad influence on anyone who is on a
diet- junk food addict.
Mr
Marine- I know what
you’re thinking. But no, he’s not gay. Very heterosexual. Nice guy who lived
‘over the bridge’ in Sao Goncalo. His English slowly improved towards the end.
I gave him 3 classes and he was progressing well.
Mr
Biscoito-
Communicated with him for a couple of months online before we met in person. An
extremely nice guy, who didn’t speak English with a Brazilian accent. We got
along well as he had visited London twice and I enjoyed our talks about
football. I felt that he understood me
better and knew exactly where I was coming from, as he had visited and lived in
my city. It’s been difficult trying to explain my views on certain things or my
behaviour, probably down to cultural difference. But he understood and I’m
grateful for this.
He’s very
passionate about the game and very loyal supporter of Fluminense football club.
A guy you can definitely have good conversations with and a good time. He’s not
just a pretty face...
Mr
Forro King- Invited
me to CCC Centro Cultura Carioca something something. Was a pretty cool night, even managed to help
teach my American and Aussie friend forro.
segunda-feira, 9 de janeiro de 2012
Second week of New Year
I had made some new year rules.. well wouldn't really count them down as resolutions. But you get the drift...
As follows:
1- Stop drinking alcohol- not for health reasons (as I am blessed with wash board stomach & excellent health) but more so because from head to toe I turn bright red when under the influence of this stuff.
2. Stop hanging around with the wrong people- it's not about the quantity, more so the quality.
3. Have more clean, honest fun. So that means, attending social gatherings and going out with good, honest, reliable people who I can trust.
4. Behave myself more. I am a person of law, I must honour and protect my reputation. (hehe) After all ... I am an angel in disguise... :)
5. Spend more time with friends and family. Back home in London and over here.
6. Maybe start becoming more stable in my personal life and 'look for a boyfriend?' (In Brazil, is that possible, plus any takers?)
As follows:
1- Stop drinking alcohol- not for health reasons (as I am blessed with wash board stomach & excellent health) but more so because from head to toe I turn bright red when under the influence of this stuff.
2. Stop hanging around with the wrong people- it's not about the quantity, more so the quality.
3. Have more clean, honest fun. So that means, attending social gatherings and going out with good, honest, reliable people who I can trust.
4. Behave myself more. I am a person of law, I must honour and protect my reputation. (hehe) After all ... I am an angel in disguise... :)
5. Spend more time with friends and family. Back home in London and over here.
6. Maybe start becoming more stable in my personal life and 'look for a boyfriend?' (In Brazil, is that possible, plus any takers?)
sexta-feira, 6 de janeiro de 2012
And on the 28th of December children...
Ok, I'm not exactly feeling inspired or motivated to do anything productive right now. I guess, I should try to summarise what 'jolly adventures' I've been on. But I dunno... maybe I need to be slapped on the face with a fish or a pair of gloves (whack whack)
On Wednesday, went tourist sight-seeing. So that meant bringing out the big ass map and circling places that Joel and I wanted to go, Journey started at 11am, as we walked to 25 de Marco. Definitely 'chingling', dirty streets full of people selling odds and sods. Then we walked up-hill to metro station Sao Bento. Down this path were a lot of fancy dress places, so if ever there is a fancy dress party coming up, then I know where to get my costume. (But most of the merchandise looked to be safadinha) tisk tisk
Next on the list Ibirapuera Park. Though I can not for the life of me pronounce this place, I still like it! Went to Ana Rosa metro and had one long ass journey of a walk. We managed to see a place called 'Vanessa's, (it's a depilation place) Joel insisted I take a photo in front of it. I was too worried that the owner would come out of the shop and give us a bollocking over it. Anyhow, we got to the park and took a few photos, then we went to the kid's adventure playground and like ALL big kids we couldn't resist having a go on the rides. So the see-saw, the ridiculously low swing, the Flintstones car and then the climbing frame. We were WAY too big for the apparatus there and it bloody showed!
On Wednesday, went tourist sight-seeing. So that meant bringing out the big ass map and circling places that Joel and I wanted to go, Journey started at 11am, as we walked to 25 de Marco. Definitely 'chingling', dirty streets full of people selling odds and sods. Then we walked up-hill to metro station Sao Bento. Down this path were a lot of fancy dress places, so if ever there is a fancy dress party coming up, then I know where to get my costume. (But most of the merchandise looked to be safadinha) tisk tisk
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'genuine Cucci bags' |
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Ching-Ling! |
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Us showing the kids just how we do it! |
Then back up the long path of hell to go back to the metro station. Yet, somehow we ended up coming out of a different exit and hence going to a different metro station further away.
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Footy museum! |
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Pizza Rodizio with friends |
Ok now, onto one of my favourite subjects... FOOTY. Onto the football museum. Now the walk going down is not a problem, (although you do have to walk by a big cemetary) but going back up... aint no way was that gonna happen. So we hailed a cab. Museum was good and informative. The shop though, load of rip-off merchants. Then after an eventful day, it was back to the Batcave for a well earned power nap. After powernap was done, it was onto a pizza rodizio in Zona Leste. Good stuff there. Mr Salgado, Joelho kept on saying yes as the various pizza's kept on flowing. Never seen a man consume so much pizza in my life (apart from those eating contests), I was worried that he would explode and I was sat right next to him!
Then by the Grace of God, we were given a ride home. That night, I couldn't sleep. Had a nightmare of a headache and I kept on tossing and turning in my sleep. I think that I managed to say 'crap' aloud. I had some markings on elbow and hand because some days ago. I was in a rush and tried to get up from an inflatable mattress. Now, those things are bloody dangerous and should come with a warning sign! I stumbled and fell, crash, boom, bang!
29-12-11= another fell well for Joelho
So after waking up in the middle of the night several times, I managed to take a few headache tablets. It was only after taking these that I went for a nap and felt fine afterwards. So the plan was... Masp and then museum of Portuguese language. I found the Portuguese language place more interesteing. Apparently the word 'bra' came from England... I have to research into that. (Wikipedia)
There is an urban legend that the brassiere was invented by a man named Otto Titzling ("tit sling") who lost a lawsuit with Phillip de Brassiere ("fill up the brassiere"). This originated with the 1971 book Bust-Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra and was propagated in a comedic song from the movie Beaches.[17]
Yeah waste of time, didn't help. ..
Then i was back to the apartment to pack and head out to some diner for food. Prato Feito! I've become addicted to beans and rice since arriving here. Gonna have to watch my waist line.
So from there it was straight to Rodoviaria, due to the ever changing weather I had managed to acquire a cold and therefore went into a pharmacy to try and buy a medicine for this... R$25! Might as well sweat it out over the next couple of days... so I didn't get it, went home and slept... (bastards extorting money!)
quinta-feira, 5 de janeiro de 2012
Dum dum dum.... Happy Friggin' New Year!
. Well yes, I'm still in SP. I have to be careful of what I say about Paulistas/Paulistanos as you may never know... there could one day be a mysterious knocking on my door ...
Right new years eve. I was feeling kinda bored. It's not a big thing to me, new years in the Gregorian calendar. But I figured, better to spend with friends rather than couples etc. So ended up travelling to Villa Marilena or something like that to meet a friend who would collect me and we would go to Santo Andre. We had discussed specifically before meeting, that meeting point would be at the ticket counter. So when I arrived 10mins early (being the Brit that I am) I found that they weren't there. So I stood there waiting like a lemon. Then an hour and a half had passed and I picked up the courage to ask a stranger if I could borrow her phone to send an sms to this friend. She was kind enough to let me. Then we found out that this friend not only arrived at the metro, but rather than bother to enter the actual station, he decided to wait outside in his bloody car (cos it was raining) and then bugger off. The audacity of some people! So 2 hours later we arrived in Santo Andre. A lot of people were there, and it was ok. The usual happened, I ate some stuff and drank some beers real quickly. Then was sick and then slept through new years. WAHEY!
Then new years day. Nothing special to be honest. Ate some sausage and meat. Drank some soda. rsrs I wasn't exactly in a hungry mode. :p So that was my new years! But the company was nice, a mixed crowd of the mature, the incredibly young folk (who ask way too many nosey questions) and the young teenagers who just smoke way too much and drink too much. I mean c'mon, they idolise Bob Marley. Like how old are they! Get with the times man! :p
Ok moving on, on Tuesday I went to Shopping 3 to meet someone to start giving private English classes. Now why on earth Av Paulista needs shit loads of shopping centres is beyond me. PLUS they need to fix that metro map that they have been distributing. I had to go to Consolação metro station. I changed at Paulista metro and saw an exit that said 'Rua Consolação' so I followed it all the way up the never ending escalators. Then when I got out of the exit, I thought to myself.... 'hang on, this doesn't look like Av Paulista'. They don't actually tell you that you have to turn left out of the station, then turn left again and walk down. I took the other turning and walked down the street til I noticed a highway and female instinct kicked in and said 'let's turn back'. It didn't help that I was wearing my bright green 'I Love London' t-shirt and shorts. I must have looked like a right pleb! But I arrived in the end and had the lesson.
The next day I gave another lesson but this time in front of the library. Private classes for friends, is SO much more enjoyable and fun. I think I should join the trend of getting business cards printed. But I will distribute the business cards to those ONLY interested in learning English and not tarados. I've come across too many of those lately and since this is a new year, it's time to turn over a new leaf and behave like a really GOOD GIRL... so no tarados!
Right new years eve. I was feeling kinda bored. It's not a big thing to me, new years in the Gregorian calendar. But I figured, better to spend with friends rather than couples etc. So ended up travelling to Villa Marilena or something like that to meet a friend who would collect me and we would go to Santo Andre. We had discussed specifically before meeting, that meeting point would be at the ticket counter. So when I arrived 10mins early (being the Brit that I am) I found that they weren't there. So I stood there waiting like a lemon. Then an hour and a half had passed and I picked up the courage to ask a stranger if I could borrow her phone to send an sms to this friend. She was kind enough to let me. Then we found out that this friend not only arrived at the metro, but rather than bother to enter the actual station, he decided to wait outside in his bloody car (cos it was raining) and then bugger off. The audacity of some people! So 2 hours later we arrived in Santo Andre. A lot of people were there, and it was ok. The usual happened, I ate some stuff and drank some beers real quickly. Then was sick and then slept through new years. WAHEY!
Then new years day. Nothing special to be honest. Ate some sausage and meat. Drank some soda. rsrs I wasn't exactly in a hungry mode. :p So that was my new years! But the company was nice, a mixed crowd of the mature, the incredibly young folk (who ask way too many nosey questions) and the young teenagers who just smoke way too much and drink too much. I mean c'mon, they idolise Bob Marley. Like how old are they! Get with the times man! :p
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had it been Skol I would've been fine... |
Live music down Av Paulista |
Rules for the metro... pt1. |
Saw this in Liberdade |
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