On Sunday, Monteiro and I headed over to Ponta Negra beach after our tennis lesson. We bought two cans of Guaranà soda and drank them as we walked along the riverbank. The Negra is so huge that is almost seems like a lake, and the sandy beach certainly reinforces that. Along the way are parasols where vendors have set up shop, at one of which we bought the sodas. As we walked along, though, the sound of a clucking chicken suddenly permeated the air: cluck, cluck, clu-coooo! I whipped my head around to find no beach chicken, but instead a well-tanned elderly man in sunglasses and a hat selling a simple, yet effective, noise-making device. What is basically a thick, paperboard cup with a long blue string stapled to the bottom, the device makes an uncanny chicken sound that echoes throughout the area. We approached him and he showed us it worked by running your forefinger against the inside of the paperboard cup where there was some chalk, rubbing your finger and thumb together, and then, grasping the string, slowly pulling down, short and quick at first--cluck, cluck--and then one long, deliberate pull--c-c-coooooo. And, wallah, beach chicken!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Across the Rio Negro: Day Two
(Part I)
Last September, on our second day across the Rio Negro, we spent the day with a big Brazilian family exploring the Amazon forest. Sunday morning we woke up around seven and emerged from our cottage, had coffee over in the main cabin and then headed over to an area nearby where there were supposed to be lots of wild monkeys. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, we were told the monkeys had already come for breakfast and wouldn't be likely to return until the next day, but we did see some iguanas hanging out in the trees. When they saw me peering at them, they surprised me by dropping off their branch into the brush below and dashing away in the blink of an eye. So we headed back to the car and all piled into Ary's Volkswagon to go through town and hit a cafe along a part of the river where you could see the waters of the Rio and Amazonas run parallel for miles. As we ate our breakfasts, Ary, his wife Samara, her little sister Simara, and Jing and I watched the boats pass by; some small boats were hardly making any progress against the current but Ary said it was easier than making the trip on land.
After breakfast, we stopped by Ary's sister's house which was nearby. Almost his entire family lives in the area, and it is a big family indeed--he is the youngest of 19 brothers and sisters! She said we should go with them out to another sister's house which is located deep in the forest on a plot of land the government gave to her with the agreement that she would maintain the forest. We drove for about an hour, through the hilly, winding road, the only road that passes through that area of forest. The Amazon practically stretches across the entire continent, and people have been living within its boundaries for centuries. Along the way there were deep patches of dense, closed forest, but also places where cattle were grazing, or plots that had been burned illegally. There were, in fact, plumes of smoke visible in every direction; such clearing of even small plots is reportedly responsible for a large portions of deforestation, although the Brazilian rainforest around Manaus is one of the best preserved (98% according to the INPA).
Finally we pulled off the main road onto a car-sized path that led into the forest and to his sister's house. About halfway between the road and the house we stopped and Ary rolled down his window to talk to a sweaty Brazilian man wearing grungy clothes and holding a machete. As they spoke, the man seemed to be looking through Ary, not at him, but they spoke--in Portuguese--as if they knew each other. Suddenly the man threw his machete into the ground and reached his hand into the backseat to shake our hands and say hello. He had a big smile on his face and spoke to us in Portuguese, so Ary yelled back to us that this was one of his brothers. Then he told us that his brother was legally blind and couldn't tell that we weren't Brazilian. Apparently he then explained this to his brother, who didn't seem to mind and just smiled and nodded his head. Ary said he'd meet him at the house later and we drove on.
When we got to the house, we met a few more people, some of whom were related to Ary, others were not but seemed like family anyway. We also met one of the dogs, a dozen ducks and a parrot. We were told the dog was a little bit sad these days because her mother was eaten by a jaguar the month before, but we were assured that most of the wild animals keep out of sight during the day.
Our first stop was about 300 meters behind the house to a small stream where we dipped our feet in the cool water. On the way back to the house, Ary saw a big cashew apple hanging on a tree wrapped in plastic and called out to his sister if he could eat it. She said she was saving that one but we could try another one, so he picked the next largest fruit and handed us a piece. It was like nothing I'd tasted before; sweet and fleshy with thick juice that was refreshing in the hot sun. We got back to the house and all put on our swimsuits to head out into the forest, where we were told there was a great swimming spot. Jing put on her bathing suit and a big-rimmed hat, I put on my trunks and donned my sunglasses and then we slapped another layer of sunscreen on before heading out.
Last September, on our second day across the Rio Negro, we spent the day with a big Brazilian family exploring the Amazon forest. Sunday morning we woke up around seven and emerged from our cottage, had coffee over in the main cabin and then headed over to an area nearby where there were supposed to be lots of wild monkeys. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, we were told the monkeys had already come for breakfast and wouldn't be likely to return until the next day, but we did see some iguanas hanging out in the trees. When they saw me peering at them, they surprised me by dropping off their branch into the brush below and dashing away in the blink of an eye. So we headed back to the car and all piled into Ary's Volkswagon to go through town and hit a cafe along a part of the river where you could see the waters of the Rio and Amazonas run parallel for miles. As we ate our breakfasts, Ary, his wife Samara, her little sister Simara, and Jing and I watched the boats pass by; some small boats were hardly making any progress against the current but Ary said it was easier than making the trip on land.
After breakfast, we stopped by Ary's sister's house which was nearby. Almost his entire family lives in the area, and it is a big family indeed--he is the youngest of 19 brothers and sisters! She said we should go with them out to another sister's house which is located deep in the forest on a plot of land the government gave to her with the agreement that she would maintain the forest. We drove for about an hour, through the hilly, winding road, the only road that passes through that area of forest. The Amazon practically stretches across the entire continent, and people have been living within its boundaries for centuries. Along the way there were deep patches of dense, closed forest, but also places where cattle were grazing, or plots that had been burned illegally. There were, in fact, plumes of smoke visible in every direction; such clearing of even small plots is reportedly responsible for a large portions of deforestation, although the Brazilian rainforest around Manaus is one of the best preserved (98% according to the INPA).
Finally we pulled off the main road onto a car-sized path that led into the forest and to his sister's house. About halfway between the road and the house we stopped and Ary rolled down his window to talk to a sweaty Brazilian man wearing grungy clothes and holding a machete. As they spoke, the man seemed to be looking through Ary, not at him, but they spoke--in Portuguese--as if they knew each other. Suddenly the man threw his machete into the ground and reached his hand into the backseat to shake our hands and say hello. He had a big smile on his face and spoke to us in Portuguese, so Ary yelled back to us that this was one of his brothers. Then he told us that his brother was legally blind and couldn't tell that we weren't Brazilian. Apparently he then explained this to his brother, who didn't seem to mind and just smiled and nodded his head. Ary said he'd meet him at the house later and we drove on.
When we got to the house, we met a few more people, some of whom were related to Ary, others were not but seemed like family anyway. We also met one of the dogs, a dozen ducks and a parrot. We were told the dog was a little bit sad these days because her mother was eaten by a jaguar the month before, but we were assured that most of the wild animals keep out of sight during the day.
Our first stop was about 300 meters behind the house to a small stream where we dipped our feet in the cool water. On the way back to the house, Ary saw a big cashew apple hanging on a tree wrapped in plastic and called out to his sister if he could eat it. She said she was saving that one but we could try another one, so he picked the next largest fruit and handed us a piece. It was like nothing I'd tasted before; sweet and fleshy with thick juice that was refreshing in the hot sun. We got back to the house and all put on our swimsuits to head out into the forest, where we were told there was a great swimming spot. Jing put on her bathing suit and a big-rimmed hat, I put on my trunks and donned my sunglasses and then we slapped another layer of sunscreen on before heading out.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Save the Rainforest
Ahead of Brazil's recent announcement of deforestation reductions, which I mentioned before, Slate's The Green Lantern tried to answer the question: "What ever happened to the Amazon rain forest?"
Mercury
I had my second tennis lesson this morning. Due to my schedule and court availability, I am taking lessons from 6:30 to 7:30 am twice a week. Most people would probably cringe at that time frame, but I prefer to exercise in the morning before work. And the good thing is that, any later in the day, and the heat would be unbearable. The temperature today was already 27°C/81°F when I left the hotel at 6 am...and this is "winter" in Manaus. When I finished practice and arrived at the office around 8:30, I looked at the temp again and it had risen to 33°C/91°F. What's crazy is that today was mild, topping out 34°C/93°F, with a heat index (HI--a combination of air temperature and relative humidity) of 38°C/100°F. This Thursday the HI forecast for is 43C/109°F!
Special Delivery
The Following is Based on a True Story
Having something sent to Brazil using an express delivery service--like DHL, for example--is no simple matter. In addition to the time it takes to arrive from, say, Japan, every package must pass through customs for inspection. When sent, the package must be accompanied by a "CEP number", which, from what I can gather, is similar to an American Social Security number. Nevertheless, when a package is sent from a foreign party outside of Brazil to another foreign party inside Brazil, there is no CEP number, and unless the delivery company is kind enough to tell you to provide, say, a passport number instead when the package is sent, the item is held prisoner at the Sao Paulo customs office. The real kicker is that sometimes, apparently, the recipient must contact the delivery service to find out why his package has not arrived and be told it is being "detained". Then the customer must contact the customs office to discuss the matter and have the goods released.
In addition, the customs office charges a tax for just about every item delivered since it may have resale value; so the government just takes its cut regardless of whether the item is intended for commercial purposes. If you were to send, say, a Windows recovery disk along with driver disks, they would charge about US$35.
Lastly, if you have to leave the country before the package can be released from customs and delivered, which could take over a week after contacting customs, the express delivery service will destroy your property on the 121st day. This is true even if you've spent numerous hours contacting various offices both domestic and overseas, and--in order to avoid being charged double shipping charges for having it shipped back to origin--informed them you will be back to Brazil to receive the package in less than 60 days. Luckily, if you contact them by the 110th day, you can finally receive your package 4 months after it was originally shipped.
Having something sent to Brazil using an express delivery service--like DHL, for example--is no simple matter. In addition to the time it takes to arrive from, say, Japan, every package must pass through customs for inspection. When sent, the package must be accompanied by a "CEP number", which, from what I can gather, is similar to an American Social Security number. Nevertheless, when a package is sent from a foreign party outside of Brazil to another foreign party inside Brazil, there is no CEP number, and unless the delivery company is kind enough to tell you to provide, say, a passport number instead when the package is sent, the item is held prisoner at the Sao Paulo customs office. The real kicker is that sometimes, apparently, the recipient must contact the delivery service to find out why his package has not arrived and be told it is being "detained". Then the customer must contact the customs office to discuss the matter and have the goods released.
In addition, the customs office charges a tax for just about every item delivered since it may have resale value; so the government just takes its cut regardless of whether the item is intended for commercial purposes. If you were to send, say, a Windows recovery disk along with driver disks, they would charge about US$35.
Lastly, if you have to leave the country before the package can be released from customs and delivered, which could take over a week after contacting customs, the express delivery service will destroy your property on the 121st day. This is true even if you've spent numerous hours contacting various offices both domestic and overseas, and--in order to avoid being charged double shipping charges for having it shipped back to origin--informed them you will be back to Brazil to receive the package in less than 60 days. Luckily, if you contact them by the 110th day, you can finally receive your package 4 months after it was originally shipped.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Forest Cover
Today it has been pouring rain for most of the afternoon, reminding me why they call it the rainforest.
Brazil recently announced a 45% reduction in deforestation of the Amazon forest from 13,000 sq km to 7,000 sq km. This is of course great news for Brazil, who can pat itself on the back leading up to COP15 in Copenhagen, but as Greenpeace's Amazon director, Paulo Adario, stated, "a lot of forest is still coming down".
The other day I was talking with our translator here and he told me he will be working on another project next month dealing with carbon credits. Some businessmen from America are coming down to purchase credits and will put them up on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), where American companies can pick them up as an offset. Such a transaction essentially preserves parts of the rainforest, with monitoring done by the company responsible for the value of the credits--giving the right incentive for them to keep a close eye on actual forest cover. It's the type of thing people are talking about when they say "cap and trade".
However, it's still a question as to why there was such a dramatic drop in deforestation. Was it solely because the Brazilian authorities are practicing good governance? Or is a significant amount of that due to less demand on account of the global recession? But a CCX-type offset is the type of incentive needed to provide value to keeping the forests intact. It is offsetting carbon emissions, yes, but also offsetting the imbalance in deriving profit from the forest through destruction as opposed to preservation/restoration.
As the world nears December 7th, when the climate change conference will commence, their is hope in the air. Yet, there is little expectation that a final agreement will be made during this conference on account of slow U.S. legislation on the matter. Whether that will pressure the U.S. to lay its cards on the table or whether it will mean an additional COP 15.5 in the Spring is to be seen, although it's a sad state of affairs when people look to the U.S. for leadership and are given a blank stare in response. Of course the U.S. has a plethora of successes of its own, maybe not at the scale of Amazon forest preservation, but the CCX itself is proof that people are out there working toward a solution despite the failure at the federal level.
Brazil recently announced a 45% reduction in deforestation of the Amazon forest from 13,000 sq km to 7,000 sq km. This is of course great news for Brazil, who can pat itself on the back leading up to COP15 in Copenhagen, but as Greenpeace's Amazon director, Paulo Adario, stated, "a lot of forest is still coming down".
The other day I was talking with our translator here and he told me he will be working on another project next month dealing with carbon credits. Some businessmen from America are coming down to purchase credits and will put them up on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), where American companies can pick them up as an offset. Such a transaction essentially preserves parts of the rainforest, with monitoring done by the company responsible for the value of the credits--giving the right incentive for them to keep a close eye on actual forest cover. It's the type of thing people are talking about when they say "cap and trade".
However, it's still a question as to why there was such a dramatic drop in deforestation. Was it solely because the Brazilian authorities are practicing good governance? Or is a significant amount of that due to less demand on account of the global recession? But a CCX-type offset is the type of incentive needed to provide value to keeping the forests intact. It is offsetting carbon emissions, yes, but also offsetting the imbalance in deriving profit from the forest through destruction as opposed to preservation/restoration.
As the world nears December 7th, when the climate change conference will commence, their is hope in the air. Yet, there is little expectation that a final agreement will be made during this conference on account of slow U.S. legislation on the matter. Whether that will pressure the U.S. to lay its cards on the table or whether it will mean an additional COP 15.5 in the Spring is to be seen, although it's a sad state of affairs when people look to the U.S. for leadership and are given a blank stare in response. Of course the U.S. has a plethora of successes of its own, maybe not at the scale of Amazon forest preservation, but the CCX itself is proof that people are out there working toward a solution despite the failure at the federal level.
It was the new guy
Brazil still hasn't given an official explanation of the blackout last week, which affected some 60 million people, but there are rumors going around that there was a new trainee at the Itaipu hydroelectric plant who was the last to leave that night. Being a good employee, shut off all the lights and then headed home.
(Of course, this is just one of the jokes people told around the proverbial water cooler the day after the blackout)
(Of course, this is just one of the jokes people told around the proverbial water cooler the day after the blackout)
A home visit
After the tennis lesson Montiero and I drove over to his house. It was about a 15 minute ride from the tennis club and we listened to a Coldplay CD as we drove through the streets in Monteiro's new Chevrolet. We arrived in his neighborhood, a fairly new area where most houses are only about 4 years old, he said, and pulled into his driveway. First we walked around back and Monteiro introduced me to his shar-pei, Hannah, who was chained in the back until he gets his front gate put up so she can run around a bit more. She was a friendly dog and really happy to see Monteiro, but also seemed glad to meet a new person and get pet a bit. The house was simple but very nice, with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. I said hello to his wife, who was preparing lunch in the kitchen, and then took a seat on the sofa to watch a program by the illusionist Criss Angel. Monteiro handed me a glass of cupuaçu juice and said he was going to take a quick shower and then we'd head out. He came back a few minutes later and showed me some model cars that he had, like a 1914 Renault taxi and a 1934 black London cab, as well as some red Ferrari models. This was obviously his favorite spot in the house because there was also some Flamengo paraphernalia, his favorite football team, and some music CDs and DVDs neatly arranged on the TV stand. It was nice to stop by and see where Monteiro lives.
Tennis Lessons
This morning I went to my first tennis lesson. Our driver Monteiro
picked me up at 7:30 and we headed down to the tennis club to meet the
instructor at 8. Since it's easier to train with two people, Monteiro
joined the training as well, and it also served to help me see him do
what the instructor said since I couldn't catch all the Portuguese.
Since it was the first lesson though, we didn't do anything too
complicated; started off with how to hold the racket and then stance,
followed by stepping to the right and to the left. The instruction was
really good and I was hitting pretty consistently both forward and
backhand. Later we did training on the serve, and finally played a quick
singles game where the instructor would start us off either forward or
backhand and we'd volley until someone missed, up to five points, and
then change courts. By the end of the hour I had worked up a good sweat
but felt great. I'll take morning lessons 3 times a week until I leave,
and get to practice whatever I learn during games with my coworkers on
Saturdays.
picked me up at 7:30 and we headed down to the tennis club to meet the
instructor at 8. Since it's easier to train with two people, Monteiro
joined the training as well, and it also served to help me see him do
what the instructor said since I couldn't catch all the Portuguese.
Since it was the first lesson though, we didn't do anything too
complicated; started off with how to hold the racket and then stance,
followed by stepping to the right and to the left. The instruction was
really good and I was hitting pretty consistently both forward and
backhand. Later we did training on the serve, and finally played a quick
singles game where the instructor would start us off either forward or
backhand and we'd volley until someone missed, up to five points, and
then change courts. By the end of the hour I had worked up a good sweat
but felt great. I'll take morning lessons 3 times a week until I leave,
and get to practice whatever I learn during games with my coworkers on
Saturdays.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tennis and BBQ
This afternoon I got together with my coworkers to play tennis. No one
takes the game too seriously and it's basically a way to get some
exercise on the weekends. However, I'm the youngest of our project
members and also the least experienced tennis player, so I decided to
take some lessons while I'm in Manaus. I spoke with an instructor at the
club and he agreed to start lessons with me tomorrow morning at 8am.
I'll take a half-dozen lessons, which will help me to improve my basic
game, and hopefully reduce the number of wild fly balls over the fence.
It will also be good to get extra exercise because tonight we went to
Gaucho's Churrascaria again, a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. I had about a
half-dozen cuts of different meat, and some selections from the salad
bar just for good measure. At the end of the night we were all stuffed
and a few of us decided to walk the 5 blocks back to the hotel. I think
I'll sleep well tonight, and then tomorrow I can burn some calories
during my first tennis lesson.
takes the game too seriously and it's basically a way to get some
exercise on the weekends. However, I'm the youngest of our project
members and also the least experienced tennis player, so I decided to
take some lessons while I'm in Manaus. I spoke with an instructor at the
club and he agreed to start lessons with me tomorrow morning at 8am.
I'll take a half-dozen lessons, which will help me to improve my basic
game, and hopefully reduce the number of wild fly balls over the fence.
It will also be good to get extra exercise because tonight we went to
Gaucho's Churrascaria again, a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. I had about a
half-dozen cuts of different meat, and some selections from the salad
bar just for good measure. At the end of the night we were all stuffed
and a few of us decided to walk the 5 blocks back to the hotel. I think
I'll sleep well tonight, and then tomorrow I can burn some calories
during my first tennis lesson.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Across the Rio Negro: Day One
Back in September, Jing and I spent our last weekend exploring the Amazon with our project translator Ary and his wife Samara, as well as his wife's little sister Simara. The original purpose was to go see the river dolphins, boto, up close. Ary knew a floating restaurant on the other side of the Rio Negro that had been attracting the boto for years, and it would even be possible to jump in the water and go swimming with them. So early Saturday morning Ary, Samara and Simara picked us up at our hotel and we hit the road.
The first stop was the ferry crossing to reach the far shore of the Rio Negro. We arrived early enough that the line wasn't too bad, but it still took about 30 minutes before Ary could drive his car onto a ferry. The ride takes only 20 minutes or so and there are about 8 ferries which can hold between 50 to 100 cars each, but it is the only way to get across the river until the bridge that is now being built is ready next Spring.
We reached the "restaurant" just before noon, but found that it didn't serve food anymore so we dashed off to get lunch first nearby. Afterwards we headed back to see the boto and put on our swimming suits. Maybe it was too late in the day, but only one or two boto were coming near the dock where people were sitting waiting for them with fish. We managed to get a pretty close look at them, although they didn't stick their heads up long enough to get any good pictures. Ary tried to attract them by jumping off the dock into the river, but he neither scared them nor enticed them closer. The rest of us got in the water as well and swam around for a while.
After a while, we decided to head over to a better swimming spot that Ary knew. We arrived at the place and changed into our swimsuits again. There were a lot of local people there enjoying the water already, which was basically a winding river, about 3 meters across and 2 meters deep, filled with waist-deep water. On one end of the river was a knee-high dam, and a long 2x4 was stretched across the river. I looked over and saw Ary was already standing on the 2x4 along with about a half-dozen little kids. There was some slack in the plank but it was strong enough to hold everyone. The kids were jumping off into the water and laughing, and then Ary jumped in too. Without his weight, the plank wobbled up and down and the other kids jumped in before they lost their balance. Then the kids were clamoring back on and asking Ary to do it again. He used his arms to push the plank up and down, making an exciting ride for the kids.
I got in the water too and found it was pretty cold, but since it was sweltering hot outside, it felt good once you got used to it. Jing got in the water slowly, and by then Ary had headed over to where we were, bringing the kids with him. Since the best way to get used to the water temperature is to jump in, we told Jing to get in quickly and dunk herself. When she didn't we playfully gave her a few splashes, but then all the little kids started splashing her too. She had no choice but to get all the way in the water to escape their barrage.
The kids tried to speak to us in Portuguese and when we answered in English they all laughed. One little girl, maybe about 5 years old, knew a few words in English and she tried to talk to us. The other kids chimed in with a few words of English as well and tried to teach us some Portuguese. Jing was doing a pretty good job of it, but when communication faltered the splashing started up again...and I can't say I was completely innocent in the matter. We had a fun time playing with the kids, and even met their granddad, who was in a lounge chair on the riverside, and all took a picture together with their camera. But after a while we decided to go further down to the other side of the river to relax a bit.
After swimming, we went over to see the sunset on the Rio Amazonas and had a light dinner at a cafe there. The sunset was beautiful and we sat along the high-tide break wall--at that point, high above the water--and took pictures and just stared out at the breathtaking scene for a while. When it was dark, we headed to a nearby hotel where they rented rooms in a large cabin. There was also a cottage on the premises, and Jing and I rented the second floor room in it for the night. After a fun day of traveling and swimming, we showered and cleaned up from bed knowing we would sleep well.
The first stop was the ferry crossing to reach the far shore of the Rio Negro. We arrived early enough that the line wasn't too bad, but it still took about 30 minutes before Ary could drive his car onto a ferry. The ride takes only 20 minutes or so and there are about 8 ferries which can hold between 50 to 100 cars each, but it is the only way to get across the river until the bridge that is now being built is ready next Spring.
We reached the "restaurant" just before noon, but found that it didn't serve food anymore so we dashed off to get lunch first nearby. Afterwards we headed back to see the boto and put on our swimming suits. Maybe it was too late in the day, but only one or two boto were coming near the dock where people were sitting waiting for them with fish. We managed to get a pretty close look at them, although they didn't stick their heads up long enough to get any good pictures. Ary tried to attract them by jumping off the dock into the river, but he neither scared them nor enticed them closer. The rest of us got in the water as well and swam around for a while.
After a while, we decided to head over to a better swimming spot that Ary knew. We arrived at the place and changed into our swimsuits again. There were a lot of local people there enjoying the water already, which was basically a winding river, about 3 meters across and 2 meters deep, filled with waist-deep water. On one end of the river was a knee-high dam, and a long 2x4 was stretched across the river. I looked over and saw Ary was already standing on the 2x4 along with about a half-dozen little kids. There was some slack in the plank but it was strong enough to hold everyone. The kids were jumping off into the water and laughing, and then Ary jumped in too. Without his weight, the plank wobbled up and down and the other kids jumped in before they lost their balance. Then the kids were clamoring back on and asking Ary to do it again. He used his arms to push the plank up and down, making an exciting ride for the kids.
I got in the water too and found it was pretty cold, but since it was sweltering hot outside, it felt good once you got used to it. Jing got in the water slowly, and by then Ary had headed over to where we were, bringing the kids with him. Since the best way to get used to the water temperature is to jump in, we told Jing to get in quickly and dunk herself. When she didn't we playfully gave her a few splashes, but then all the little kids started splashing her too. She had no choice but to get all the way in the water to escape their barrage.
The kids tried to speak to us in Portuguese and when we answered in English they all laughed. One little girl, maybe about 5 years old, knew a few words in English and she tried to talk to us. The other kids chimed in with a few words of English as well and tried to teach us some Portuguese. Jing was doing a pretty good job of it, but when communication faltered the splashing started up again...and I can't say I was completely innocent in the matter. We had a fun time playing with the kids, and even met their granddad, who was in a lounge chair on the riverside, and all took a picture together with their camera. But after a while we decided to go further down to the other side of the river to relax a bit.
After swimming, we went over to see the sunset on the Rio Amazonas and had a light dinner at a cafe there. The sunset was beautiful and we sat along the high-tide break wall--at that point, high above the water--and took pictures and just stared out at the breathtaking scene for a while. When it was dark, we headed to a nearby hotel where they rented rooms in a large cabin. There was also a cottage on the premises, and Jing and I rented the second floor room in it for the night. After a fun day of traveling and swimming, we showered and cleaned up from bed knowing we would sleep well.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blackout 2009
Last night I was sitting in the Sao Paulo airport general lobby area as I waited for my 11pm flight to Manaus. As I was getting ready to head through security and get to the gate, suddenly the entire airport went black. Having spent a good amount of time in developing countries this past year, I've gotten fairly used to blackouts, so the sudden loss of electricity didn't phase me. In fact, there seemed to be very little concern around me; I heard a handful of people cheer and clap their hands, maybe excited to be part of something that would likely be on the news. Luckily the blackout only lasted a few minutes before the lights came on. And, according to one news source:
"No flight delays or cancellations were reported at Sao Paulo's international airport, which was operating on emergency generators...
Brazil's national electricity grid operator said 17,000 megawatts of energy had been lost, equivalent to the entire consumption of Sao Paulo state." (Link)
Upon Arrival
The wait at the baggage claim in Sao Paulo was longer than I expected
and, after immigration and customs, by the time I made it to the
check-in counter for my connecting flight to Manaus there were only 20
minutes to take-off. I was told the flight was closed and it wasn't
possible to load my luggage and get me on the flight in that amount of
time. After some argument with one staff of the domestic airline who
wanted me to go back to the international airline I'd just flown in from
Dubai with to rebook a domestic ticket to Manaus, I convinced her that her logic
made no sense and she finally agreed to re-arrange my ticket and put me on the next flight, which departed a few hours later.
That would put me in Manaus 1am, two and a half hours after my scheduled
arrival, but there was nothing I could do. I tried to get in touch with
my coworkers to let them know so that our driver would be there at the
right time, but my cell phone was dead and Skype wasn't getting through
to them. So I sent an email and hoped for the best. Nevertheless, when I
got to Manaus I wasn't too astounded that there was no one there to pick
me up; apparently, no one got the email I sent and my pick-up was
canceled when I didn't show at 10:30. Luckily I had some Brazilian
currency on me and arranged a taxi myself to the hotel, arriving around
3am. So, after about 40 hours on the road (22 of which were in
airplanes, and about 18 in airports), I checked into my hotel and am
very, very ready for bed.
and, after immigration and customs, by the time I made it to the
check-in counter for my connecting flight to Manaus there were only 20
minutes to take-off. I was told the flight was closed and it wasn't
possible to load my luggage and get me on the flight in that amount of
time. After some argument with one staff of the domestic airline who
wanted me to go back to the international airline I'd just flown in from
Dubai with to rebook a domestic ticket to Manaus, I convinced her that her logic
made no sense and she finally agreed to re-arrange my ticket and put me on the next flight, which departed a few hours later.
That would put me in Manaus 1am, two and a half hours after my scheduled
arrival, but there was nothing I could do. I tried to get in touch with
my coworkers to let them know so that our driver would be there at the
right time, but my cell phone was dead and Skype wasn't getting through
to them. So I sent an email and hoped for the best. Nevertheless, when I
got to Manaus I wasn't too astounded that there was no one there to pick
me up; apparently, no one got the email I sent and my pick-up was
canceled when I didn't show at 10:30. Luckily I had some Brazilian
currency on me and arranged a taxi myself to the hotel, arriving around
3am. So, after about 40 hours on the road (22 of which were in
airplanes, and about 18 in airports), I checked into my hotel and am
very, very ready for bed.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
To be continued...
I'm back in Brazil so will continue with the blog. First I have a few things to report from the last trip, which I've had on the backburner. Then, for the next 25 days, hopefully some new things to write.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Tropical Hotel: Part 2, The Dinner Show
After the conference ended, the original plans were to go to the Tiwa
Resort across the Rio Negro, but due to the conference going over time,
we were invited instead out to the hotel pool where there was an elegant
patio with tables set up and, a little further to the side, a stage area
where they were preparing for the evening's entertainment. Our team
leader was looking a bit exhausted since he had been sitting on stage
for nearly three hours unable to understand most of what was being said
around him (he didn't make Ary translate all night, only his speech),
and apparently he'd brought some work with him, which he was reading and
revising discreetly on stage. So when drinks were served, he ordered a
beer and drank it quickly, somewhat relieved, but 40 minutes and two
drinks later, dinner still had not begun. He and his wife said they were
too tired and they decided to leave before dinner was served or the
night's entertainment began, but Jing and I stayed behind with Ary to
see the show.
Around 10pm they announced the buffet was open and we all took turns
going up and piling our plates high with lots of Brazilian treats, such
as pirarucu fish fillets, red beets, manioc root (which is similar to
white asparagus in appearance), in addition to a selection of other
meats and veggies. During dinner the show began, which turned out to be
a Boi Bumba performance, an Amazonian music and dance parade/festival
that has dancers dressed in Carnival-like costumes. The festival is put
on every June (I had just missed it my previous trip), but this was a
special "mini" performance for the guests. There was nothing "mini"
about the performance to our eyes, though; the grandeur of the costumes
and dancing was stunning. When an 8-foot jaguar model was rolled out
with people dancing around it, our jaws dropped, but Ary told us the
ones used in the festival in June were at least three times that size.
The show was absolutely amazing and we watched in awe as some 30-plus
performers--two teams, one red and one blue--danced with a seemingly
endless amount of energy, spinning, waving their arms, jumping up and
down, some swirling sparklers, others spinning torches, everyone kicking
their legs high up in the air and smiling emphatically. At one point
roman candles were shot into the sky, but one fireball caught the
outside wall of the hotel and a small flame ignited. It smoldered for a
while until someone jumped on the back of the 8-foot jaguar, was wheeled
nearby and extinguished the flames, all during which the music and the
dancers did not miss a beat. At midnight the show came to an end, the
two teams announcing a draw for the night (although the red team had won
this past June), and a massive fireworks display was launched--without
incident. The dancers hung around as the crowd rushed up to them to get
pictures together with the performers, as did Jing and I, before then
calling it a night, bidding Ary goodnight and grabbing a taxi back to
our hotel, giddy and talking about the evening.
Resort across the Rio Negro, but due to the conference going over time,
we were invited instead out to the hotel pool where there was an elegant
patio with tables set up and, a little further to the side, a stage area
where they were preparing for the evening's entertainment. Our team
leader was looking a bit exhausted since he had been sitting on stage
for nearly three hours unable to understand most of what was being said
around him (he didn't make Ary translate all night, only his speech),
and apparently he'd brought some work with him, which he was reading and
revising discreetly on stage. So when drinks were served, he ordered a
beer and drank it quickly, somewhat relieved, but 40 minutes and two
drinks later, dinner still had not begun. He and his wife said they were
too tired and they decided to leave before dinner was served or the
night's entertainment began, but Jing and I stayed behind with Ary to
see the show.
Around 10pm they announced the buffet was open and we all took turns
going up and piling our plates high with lots of Brazilian treats, such
as pirarucu fish fillets, red beets, manioc root (which is similar to
white asparagus in appearance), in addition to a selection of other
meats and veggies. During dinner the show began, which turned out to be
a Boi Bumba performance, an Amazonian music and dance parade/festival
that has dancers dressed in Carnival-like costumes. The festival is put
on every June (I had just missed it my previous trip), but this was a
special "mini" performance for the guests. There was nothing "mini"
about the performance to our eyes, though; the grandeur of the costumes
and dancing was stunning. When an 8-foot jaguar model was rolled out
with people dancing around it, our jaws dropped, but Ary told us the
ones used in the festival in June were at least three times that size.
The show was absolutely amazing and we watched in awe as some 30-plus
performers--two teams, one red and one blue--danced with a seemingly
endless amount of energy, spinning, waving their arms, jumping up and
down, some swirling sparklers, others spinning torches, everyone kicking
their legs high up in the air and smiling emphatically. At one point
roman candles were shot into the sky, but one fireball caught the
outside wall of the hotel and a small flame ignited. It smoldered for a
while until someone jumped on the back of the 8-foot jaguar, was wheeled
nearby and extinguished the flames, all during which the music and the
dancers did not miss a beat. At midnight the show came to an end, the
two teams announcing a draw for the night (although the red team had won
this past June), and a massive fireworks display was launched--without
incident. The dancers hung around as the crowd rushed up to them to get
pictures together with the performers, as did Jing and I, before then
calling it a night, bidding Ary goodnight and grabbing a taxi back to
our hotel, giddy and talking about the evening.
Tropical Hotel: River, Zoo and Lounge
On the third weekend after Jing arrived, we attended an event at the
Tropical Hotel along with my team leader and his wife. He was giving a
speech at the environmental law conference there, and luckily the
conference didn't require formal attire. Arriving early, we waited for
our translator Ary to arrive, as well as one of the project organizers
from our Brazilian counterpart. In Brazil, people and events are rarely
on time, so we stood around in the lobby for quite some time, but
eventually they arrived, however, only to tell us that the event itself
was running an hour behind schedule and instead of speaking at 6:45, the
speech would probably be around 8pm.
While our team leader headed into the event, he told the three of us we
should wander around the hotel grounds and look around. The conference
would be entirely in Portuguese, so we could just come in before 8
o'clock and see his speech. I'd been to the hotel in June just to look
around and sit by the Rio Negro one weekend after playing tennis with my
coworkers. The Tropical Hotel is considered the most luxurious hotel in
Manaus and it does have a beautiful view of the waterfront, so I took
the ladies down the path of steps through a small forested area to where
we could see the river. I was surprised at how much the waters had
receded in the past two months, since when I was there in June, the
waters were at their highest (and this year was a record level due to
snow melt in the Andes mountains apparently). There was actually some
beach where we could walk and we took a few pictures as the sun began to
set.
Before dark, we headed up to the hotel courtyard where they had a small
zoo... that is, if you can call a half dozen caged animals a zoo. There
was a bored-looking jaguar in one cage, two sleeping aardvark-looking
things in another, and finally, a large caged in area of woolly monkeys,
which were actually pretty fun to watch as they hopped around seemingly
bemused to entertain their guests by swinging with their tails, feet and
hands along the sides and top of the cage. But soon the sun had set and
we headed inside to the lounge to have a coffee and chat to kill some
time, listening to stories about our team leader and his wife who had
traveled to numerous countries over the years for his business trips.
Sometimes they brought their boys with them, once to Chile and once to
Tanzania, although the boys were apparently too young and claim they
don't remember those adventures, but do seem to have a penchant for
travel of their own, having taken trips overseas for leisure over the
years as adults.
The clock neared 7:30pm, so we went into the conference room. It was a
large room with seating for well over 100, but, as it turned out, there
was a big FIFA game between Brazil and Argentina that evening at 9pm, so
most of the conference attendees had already begun to depart and there
were plenty of empty seats. However, the speech was well received and he
even managed to get a couple laughs from the audience that was there. He
kept his speech rather brief, after which more people departed the room,
and the conference dragged on until 9pm--apparently environmental
attorneys are not big football fans.
Tropical Hotel along with my team leader and his wife. He was giving a
speech at the environmental law conference there, and luckily the
conference didn't require formal attire. Arriving early, we waited for
our translator Ary to arrive, as well as one of the project organizers
from our Brazilian counterpart. In Brazil, people and events are rarely
on time, so we stood around in the lobby for quite some time, but
eventually they arrived, however, only to tell us that the event itself
was running an hour behind schedule and instead of speaking at 6:45, the
speech would probably be around 8pm.
While our team leader headed into the event, he told the three of us we
should wander around the hotel grounds and look around. The conference
would be entirely in Portuguese, so we could just come in before 8
o'clock and see his speech. I'd been to the hotel in June just to look
around and sit by the Rio Negro one weekend after playing tennis with my
coworkers. The Tropical Hotel is considered the most luxurious hotel in
Manaus and it does have a beautiful view of the waterfront, so I took
the ladies down the path of steps through a small forested area to where
we could see the river. I was surprised at how much the waters had
receded in the past two months, since when I was there in June, the
waters were at their highest (and this year was a record level due to
snow melt in the Andes mountains apparently). There was actually some
beach where we could walk and we took a few pictures as the sun began to
set.
Before dark, we headed up to the hotel courtyard where they had a small
zoo... that is, if you can call a half dozen caged animals a zoo. There
was a bored-looking jaguar in one cage, two sleeping aardvark-looking
things in another, and finally, a large caged in area of woolly monkeys,
which were actually pretty fun to watch as they hopped around seemingly
bemused to entertain their guests by swinging with their tails, feet and
hands along the sides and top of the cage. But soon the sun had set and
we headed inside to the lounge to have a coffee and chat to kill some
time, listening to stories about our team leader and his wife who had
traveled to numerous countries over the years for his business trips.
Sometimes they brought their boys with them, once to Chile and once to
Tanzania, although the boys were apparently too young and claim they
don't remember those adventures, but do seem to have a penchant for
travel of their own, having taken trips overseas for leisure over the
years as adults.
The clock neared 7:30pm, so we went into the conference room. It was a
large room with seating for well over 100, but, as it turned out, there
was a big FIFA game between Brazil and Argentina that evening at 9pm, so
most of the conference attendees had already begun to depart and there
were plenty of empty seats. However, the speech was well received and he
even managed to get a couple laughs from the audience that was there. He
kept his speech rather brief, after which more people departed the room,
and the conference dragged on until 9pm--apparently environmental
attorneys are not big football fans.
Skipping the Opera
The first weekend in September there was a conference for environmental law in Amazonas State being held by the Public Attorneys' Office, SUFRAMA and a few other organizations. Since the conference had a number of sessions closely related to the project we are involved in, our team leader was asked to give a speech on Saturday evening at the Tropical Hotel. However, the night before that, there was an opening being held at the Manaus opera house, the Teatro Amazonas, which was constructed in the late 19th century. It is a beautiful building, reminiscent of the time when Manaus was said to be the Paris of South America and an oasis in the rainforest.
I'd seen the opera house's exterior during my first trip to Manaus in June and was told I would attend the opening Friday evening, where the Governor of Amazonas would be giving a speech, followed by cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. We were told to bring our wives and that it would be a formal event, which is all fine and good except that neither I nor Jing had packed formal attire for such an event, and, as it turned out, neither did the team leader's wife, so we said our wives would not join us, and I arranged to borrow someone's navy blue Polo blazer. However, after repeated inquiry, we were told it wasn't required that we attend and, no, we wouldn't be formally introduced to the Governor, but we should attend and wear black ties and suits. Our team leader decried in private that such events are excruciatingly boring, and if he wanted to see the opera house, he'd do so as a tourist on the weekend wearing casual clothes, so he called the organizers and said he would have to decline the invitation to the opening but would be present to give his speech the following evening.
As it turned out, since I'd told Jing that we wouldn't be going to the opera house, that afternoon she ventured out of the hotel and took a tour herself. She walked about 30 minutes, map in hand, and arrived at Teatro Amazonas just in time for an English guided tour, of which she showed me the pictures afterward. When that was over, she headed over to the Provincial Palace, where I had been in June (see here) and recommended highly to her. It's the old military police headquarters, recently structurally restored and converted into a new museum which opened in May 2009. I knew she'd love the gallery on the first floor showing works by Brazilian painters, mostly from Amazonas, and photographers, as well as the other exhibits. She reported that the tour was wonderful, and the staff there were so friendly. It was the same impression I'd had and I was glad she was able to go and enjoy herself. After her time at the museum, she was directed on how to take a city bus back to the hotel, and, since my attendance at the opening was canceled, I returned to the hotel not much later. Funny that in the end she was the one that went to the opera house, and although she didn't meet the Governor, she did have a good time.
I'd seen the opera house's exterior during my first trip to Manaus in June and was told I would attend the opening Friday evening, where the Governor of Amazonas would be giving a speech, followed by cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. We were told to bring our wives and that it would be a formal event, which is all fine and good except that neither I nor Jing had packed formal attire for such an event, and, as it turned out, neither did the team leader's wife, so we said our wives would not join us, and I arranged to borrow someone's navy blue Polo blazer. However, after repeated inquiry, we were told it wasn't required that we attend and, no, we wouldn't be formally introduced to the Governor, but we should attend and wear black ties and suits. Our team leader decried in private that such events are excruciatingly boring, and if he wanted to see the opera house, he'd do so as a tourist on the weekend wearing casual clothes, so he called the organizers and said he would have to decline the invitation to the opening but would be present to give his speech the following evening.
As it turned out, since I'd told Jing that we wouldn't be going to the opera house, that afternoon she ventured out of the hotel and took a tour herself. She walked about 30 minutes, map in hand, and arrived at Teatro Amazonas just in time for an English guided tour, of which she showed me the pictures afterward. When that was over, she headed over to the Provincial Palace, where I had been in June (see here) and recommended highly to her. It's the old military police headquarters, recently structurally restored and converted into a new museum which opened in May 2009. I knew she'd love the gallery on the first floor showing works by Brazilian painters, mostly from Amazonas, and photographers, as well as the other exhibits. She reported that the tour was wonderful, and the staff there were so friendly. It was the same impression I'd had and I was glad she was able to go and enjoy herself. After her time at the museum, she was directed on how to take a city bus back to the hotel, and, since my attendance at the opening was canceled, I returned to the hotel not much later. Funny that in the end she was the one that went to the opera house, and although she didn't meet the Governor, she did have a good time.
The Proposal
The second week after Jing arrived in Manaus, she still hadn't really
gone out from the hotel during the day. This is mainly due to the fact
that, a) it is extremely hot during the day in Manaus, with temperatures
in the upper 30s (90s), and b) without knowing Portuguese, it is not so
easy to navigate your way around. The weekend before we had gone on the
Amazon boat tour, which was fun, and during the following week we went
out to both Suysei and Gaucho's for dinner with my colleagues, but I
wanted to go somewhere alone together. During one of my trips out to buy
equipment for work, I found that Millennium shopping center, not so far
from our hotel, had a movie theater. Later, I checked online and found
that they had a couple movies playing in English with Portuguese
subtitles. One of them was The Hangover, which Jing had already seen
with her friends, and the other was The Proposal, the summer comedy
starring Sandra Bullock that I'd seen posters for all over town in July
while I was in Chicago. So that Thursday, I got home as early as I could
and we quickly ate a nice dinner that Jing had prepared. Then we jumped
in a taxi and headed over to Millennium to see the movie.
The movie theater is up on the 3rd floor and looks pretty much like any
cinema you'd see in the U.S. We bought our tickets and selected our
seats from a screen, choosing two pretty much in the middle of the
theater. After buying some popcorn and soda, we walked into the theater
about five minutes before starting time and saw only two other people
sitting in there; two guys in their 40s. It was a small theater,
granted, but we were surprised when we realized the seats we had chosen
were exactly next to them. I thought of moving to different seats, but
thought that might be a little rude and decided to wait and see what
empty seats there were once the movie started.
Just before the trailers began, a steady stream of people came in and
took their seats, and although there were still plenty of open spots,
the seats were fairly expansive, and we had the armrest between us
pulled up so we could sit together in a sort-of love seat (and for those
who must know, the two guys next to us did have the armrest between
them). We got comfortable and began chomping on the over-salted, but
not-too-bad popcorn and sipping our sodas as the trailers began.
Although most of the audience, I presume, was reading the sub-titles,
there was laughter during the movie, not least of which was coming from
Jing sitting next to me, although I did my fair share of guffawing,
giggling and chortling.
At the end of the movie, we remained to watch the credits, which I've
grown accustomed to do since moving to Japan, where it is common for
people to remain seated with the house lights off until the very last
credits role past (I've been told this is "out of respect" for all the
people involved in making the movies). However, I was reminded that this
is not customary in other parts of the world when the house lights came
on after seconds and the entire room got up and exited promptly so that
only Jing and I sat there, feeling in the way since the staff were
immediately at the ready to clean up the theater, which was, indeed, a
big mess. We gathered ourselves together and exited the theater, threw
away half the bag of popcorn, washed up and headed back outside to catch
a taxi back to the hotel. A fun little date overall and a nice break
from the work week for me.
gone out from the hotel during the day. This is mainly due to the fact
that, a) it is extremely hot during the day in Manaus, with temperatures
in the upper 30s (90s), and b) without knowing Portuguese, it is not so
easy to navigate your way around. The weekend before we had gone on the
Amazon boat tour, which was fun, and during the following week we went
out to both Suysei and Gaucho's for dinner with my colleagues, but I
wanted to go somewhere alone together. During one of my trips out to buy
equipment for work, I found that Millennium shopping center, not so far
from our hotel, had a movie theater. Later, I checked online and found
that they had a couple movies playing in English with Portuguese
subtitles. One of them was The Hangover, which Jing had already seen
with her friends, and the other was The Proposal, the summer comedy
starring Sandra Bullock that I'd seen posters for all over town in July
while I was in Chicago. So that Thursday, I got home as early as I could
and we quickly ate a nice dinner that Jing had prepared. Then we jumped
in a taxi and headed over to Millennium to see the movie.
The movie theater is up on the 3rd floor and looks pretty much like any
cinema you'd see in the U.S. We bought our tickets and selected our
seats from a screen, choosing two pretty much in the middle of the
theater. After buying some popcorn and soda, we walked into the theater
about five minutes before starting time and saw only two other people
sitting in there; two guys in their 40s. It was a small theater,
granted, but we were surprised when we realized the seats we had chosen
were exactly next to them. I thought of moving to different seats, but
thought that might be a little rude and decided to wait and see what
empty seats there were once the movie started.
Just before the trailers began, a steady stream of people came in and
took their seats, and although there were still plenty of open spots,
the seats were fairly expansive, and we had the armrest between us
pulled up so we could sit together in a sort-of love seat (and for those
who must know, the two guys next to us did have the armrest between
them). We got comfortable and began chomping on the over-salted, but
not-too-bad popcorn and sipping our sodas as the trailers began.
Although most of the audience, I presume, was reading the sub-titles,
there was laughter during the movie, not least of which was coming from
Jing sitting next to me, although I did my fair share of guffawing,
giggling and chortling.
At the end of the movie, we remained to watch the credits, which I've
grown accustomed to do since moving to Japan, where it is common for
people to remain seated with the house lights off until the very last
credits role past (I've been told this is "out of respect" for all the
people involved in making the movies). However, I was reminded that this
is not customary in other parts of the world when the house lights came
on after seconds and the entire room got up and exited promptly so that
only Jing and I sat there, feeling in the way since the staff were
immediately at the ready to clean up the theater, which was, indeed, a
big mess. We gathered ourselves together and exited the theater, threw
away half the bag of popcorn, washed up and headed back outside to catch
a taxi back to the hotel. A fun little date overall and a nice break
from the work week for me.
The usual eateries
My coworkers and I have settled into a selection of about three
restaurants around town that we frequent when we go out to eat:
restaurants around town that we frequent when we go out to eat:
Suysei: An all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant run by an elderly
Japanese couple, and their well-mannered cat Goro. We always get there
before 7:15pm and someone turns on the TV, which is set to the Japanese
channel, NHK, to watch a 15-minute television show about some girl with
a radio show (I don't know the show very well, but the theme song gets
stuck in my head, annoyingly). The food at Suysei is amazing, with a
large selection of sashimi, always some pickled veggies like cucumber
and daikon radish, of course rice and miso soup, often a burdock root
salad, and then a rotating selection of tempura, grilled fish, Chinese
dumplings, and once in a while a Japanese brown curry.
Gaucho's Churrascaria: The Brazilian bbq place of choice, mainly because
it is not too far from our hotel and they have shuttle service. It's
kind of fun getting shuttled in to stuff yourself with fine cuts of
meat, from filet mignon to picanha to cow tongue and more, until you
just can't eat anymore... and then getting shuttled back to your hotel
room and bed. Gaucho's gets most of its customers later around 9pm, but
we get there around 7:30 and order a round of Bohemia beers, then hit
the salad bar for some token veggies. Minutes later we have toasted our
glasses of beer and are inundated by a seemingly endless stream of
waiters out of the kitchen with big cuts of meat on skewers. This place
is also all-you-can-eat and you can select anything you want. They also
get creative with things like sausage wrapped in bacon, chicken chunks
covered in cheese, garlic covered picanha rumpsteak, and grilled
pineapple, not to mention ox tail, bull back hump, and other cuts I
didn't even know exist.
"The fish restaurant": A place just a short walk from the hotel, and one
of the only eateries near the hotel. They always have friendly service,
sitting outside at tables on a patio (well, the sidewalk, really), and
we usually order a tambaqui fillet or their tucunare soup, which comes
with rice, salad and potato fries.
Other than those, you can take a taxi to one of the shopping centers to
get something at their food courts, or down to Manaus Port to a
chopperia (bar&grill) for some draft beer and snacks, maybe pizza. Of
course, you can always get a sandwich from the hotel bar as well, which
really are not half bad.
On packing
Before heading out of Manaus and back to Japan, I had started packing 3
days before, and 24 hours before leaving the hotel, I was fully packed
and ready to go. I realized that it's a lot easier to pack when
returning home rather than going somewhere; no need to think about what
to bring, you just have to fit everything in your suitcase. That gave me
some relief the night before to get some work done and clear my
conscience a bit before finishing this assignment. I ordered some room
service--a burger and a Skol beer from the hotel bar--and got all my
files together, chatted on Skype with a few people, did a last check on
things, and got to bed at a reasonable hour. I usually don't like to
stay inside my last night somewhere, but I had done quite a lot of
sightseeing this time around, so I was content... not to mention that
I'll be back in less than 2 months.
days before, and 24 hours before leaving the hotel, I was fully packed
and ready to go. I realized that it's a lot easier to pack when
returning home rather than going somewhere; no need to think about what
to bring, you just have to fit everything in your suitcase. That gave me
some relief the night before to get some work done and clear my
conscience a bit before finishing this assignment. I ordered some room
service--a burger and a Skol beer from the hotel bar--and got all my
files together, chatted on Skype with a few people, did a last check on
things, and got to bed at a reasonable hour. I usually don't like to
stay inside my last night somewhere, but I had done quite a lot of
sightseeing this time around, so I was content... not to mention that
I'll be back in less than 2 months.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Playing Catch-up
Unfortunately, the blog got put to the wayside between exploring Manaus,
working, eating and having time to relax. I have a ton of things to post
though, and two long flights ahead of me where I'm planning to jot some
things down, so stay tuned.
To work backwards though, I am now in Sao Paulo airport waiting for my
flight to New York and then Tokyo. I had originally booked a mid-day
flight from Manaus to connect here, but that flight was cancelled and I
had to take a 7am flight, which left me with about a 9-hour layover.
I managed to kill a couple hours eating lunch and then finding a wall
socket in the airport to plug in my laptop and write some emails to
people, but after that I was edging to get out of the airport. People
watching is fun sometimes, but people in transit usually have
zombie-like expressions on their faces, and that was creeping me out
after a while (not to mention the fear that my own expression was
looking somewhat undead).
So I had a look on the Internet and found out that, even though the
airport is too far from the city center to really go and have a look
around without fear of missing my flight, I did have the option of
checking out a shopping center about 20 minutes away. I asked at
information and found there was a bus, so I headed outside, found the
bus stop and waited. 30 minutes later I was in the shopping center, but
it looked painfully like any other shopping center in the world, and I
had made the mistake of not putting my carry-on bags in a locker at the
airport.
After entertaining the thought of seeing a movie, I thought better of it
being that there will be movies on the flight (although if The Hangover
had been showing in English and not Portuguese, I may have gone for it
anyway), so instead I wandered around until I found... a bowling ally. I
figured "what the hey" and sauntered on in. I got to my lane, put down
my bags, and slipped on my my rental bowling shoes. It was a good way to
kill 90 minutes and I hadn't been bowling for what seems like a long
time. Didn't do too well score-wise, but at least I hit 145 at one point
over the 5 or 6 games I played.
After that, it was back to find the shuttle bus back to the airport and
check in. So that was my day in Sao Paulo; not nearly as excruciating as
I had feared.
working, eating and having time to relax. I have a ton of things to post
though, and two long flights ahead of me where I'm planning to jot some
things down, so stay tuned.
To work backwards though, I am now in Sao Paulo airport waiting for my
flight to New York and then Tokyo. I had originally booked a mid-day
flight from Manaus to connect here, but that flight was cancelled and I
had to take a 7am flight, which left me with about a 9-hour layover.
I managed to kill a couple hours eating lunch and then finding a wall
socket in the airport to plug in my laptop and write some emails to
people, but after that I was edging to get out of the airport. People
watching is fun sometimes, but people in transit usually have
zombie-like expressions on their faces, and that was creeping me out
after a while (not to mention the fear that my own expression was
looking somewhat undead).
So I had a look on the Internet and found out that, even though the
airport is too far from the city center to really go and have a look
around without fear of missing my flight, I did have the option of
checking out a shopping center about 20 minutes away. I asked at
information and found there was a bus, so I headed outside, found the
bus stop and waited. 30 minutes later I was in the shopping center, but
it looked painfully like any other shopping center in the world, and I
had made the mistake of not putting my carry-on bags in a locker at the
airport.
After entertaining the thought of seeing a movie, I thought better of it
being that there will be movies on the flight (although if The Hangover
had been showing in English and not Portuguese, I may have gone for it
anyway), so instead I wandered around until I found... a bowling ally. I
figured "what the hey" and sauntered on in. I got to my lane, put down
my bags, and slipped on my my rental bowling shoes. It was a good way to
kill 90 minutes and I hadn't been bowling for what seems like a long
time. Didn't do too well score-wise, but at least I hit 145 at one point
over the 5 or 6 games I played.
After that, it was back to find the shuttle bus back to the airport and
check in. So that was my day in Sao Paulo; not nearly as excruciating as
I had feared.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A day in the Amazon
Although we started our adventure in a 15-seater van, we were driving through the bumpy streets of Manaus, located in the middle of the Amazon forest, in the State of Amazonas, Brasil. Much of the forest is preserved in this area, unlike in neighboring Para State or in other countries where the rainforest has suffered at the hands of loggers. We are also lucky to be located just a few kilometers from the Amazon River; closest to us is the Rio Negro, which merges with the Rio Solimões an hour down river from the Manaus Port where we boarded our big tour boat. The Rio Solimões and the Rio Amazonas is one and the same river, and one can follow the Amazon from the Atlantic Ocean as it turns into the Rio Solimões near Manaus and cruise upstream all the way to Peru in a large ship, no problem. However, the main feature of our trip was to travel down the black Rio Negro about an hour until the two rivers meet, where the two colors stand out in obvious contrast; the cloudy water of the Solimões--at a different temperature, density and speed to the Nego--running along side-by-side for miles. Our boat chugged along on this "line" for 20 minutes as everyone looked on slack-jawed at the scene for a moment before rushing to take pictures on the back deck. At one point, we were lucky to see a boto river dolphin, and although he was too quick for everyone's cameras, everyone on the boat marveled to see him jump out of the Amazon and head off into the dark waters of the Rio Negro.
As the tour continued, we stopped at a floating dock and took a 10 minute walk to see the giant Victoria waterlilies that sprout in the Amazon every March. At this time of year, the large, round lily pads--which can grow up to 3 meters in diameter--bore no flowers for us to gaze, but were impressive nonetheless. Afterwards, we boarded small 10-seater canoes and proceeded to travel down a small channel into a flooded forest area of the Amazon. Half the year the area is dry land, and from July the waters rise and flood the forest floor, turning it into a swamp where, at night, alligators roam and schools of piranha swarm; luckily, in the early afternoon, neither of these were to be found. On the way back to the floating dock, after buying a fresh coconut with two straws poking out of it, we grabbed the front seats on the canoe and sipped the coconut water as we zipped back through the flooded forest, the canoe operator dodging rubber trees with expertise.
Back at the floating dock, we walked past a pool containing two large pirarucu. They were large for freshwater fish, that is. For pirarucu, they were practically babies, only measuring a meter or so in length and weighing, we were told, about 25 kilograms, or 55 pounds. Pirarucu is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world and frequently grow up to 2 meters in length and over 100kg. We also found out, a few minutes later, that they taste delicious when breaded and fried! We were served a huge buffet lunch consisting of lots of veggies, but also massive servings of pirarucu, tucunare and tambaqui fillets--we took heaping helping of each and devoured it all.
Full from Amazonian cuisine and exploring--not to mention a couple glasses of Skol beer I had with lunch--we couldn't help but snooze for a bit on the big boat back to the port of Manaus. Our day had been truly amazing and will be one to remember.
As the tour continued, we stopped at a floating dock and took a 10 minute walk to see the giant Victoria waterlilies that sprout in the Amazon every March. At this time of year, the large, round lily pads--which can grow up to 3 meters in diameter--bore no flowers for us to gaze, but were impressive nonetheless. Afterwards, we boarded small 10-seater canoes and proceeded to travel down a small channel into a flooded forest area of the Amazon. Half the year the area is dry land, and from July the waters rise and flood the forest floor, turning it into a swamp where, at night, alligators roam and schools of piranha swarm; luckily, in the early afternoon, neither of these were to be found. On the way back to the floating dock, after buying a fresh coconut with two straws poking out of it, we grabbed the front seats on the canoe and sipped the coconut water as we zipped back through the flooded forest, the canoe operator dodging rubber trees with expertise.
Back at the floating dock, we walked past a pool containing two large pirarucu. They were large for freshwater fish, that is. For pirarucu, they were practically babies, only measuring a meter or so in length and weighing, we were told, about 25 kilograms, or 55 pounds. Pirarucu is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world and frequently grow up to 2 meters in length and over 100kg. We also found out, a few minutes later, that they taste delicious when breaded and fried! We were served a huge buffet lunch consisting of lots of veggies, but also massive servings of pirarucu, tucunare and tambaqui fillets--we took heaping helping of each and devoured it all.
Full from Amazonian cuisine and exploring--not to mention a couple glasses of Skol beer I had with lunch--we couldn't help but snooze for a bit on the big boat back to the port of Manaus. Our day had been truly amazing and will be one to remember.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Brazilian Rules Football
I was talking with one of the local consultants here yesterday, and he asked me how I liked Brazil. I told him I was having a good time, and I even played <s>soccer<s/> football with some guys last Saturday. He told me that a lot of times in Brazil, they make a rule that each time you get a yellow card penalty, you have to pay R$10, and for a red card they make you pay R$50. This way they can control the fouls people might be tempted to make. He said this system also works to "make things interesting" because a team will usually put R$100 into the pot for a Sunday tournament. They play against a bunch of teams, and the team at the end wins the pot. Maybe each player on the winning team can get about R$100 (about US$50) for playing football on a Sunday. The short game I played last Saturday was much more casual than this, but I could see how, in a more serious game, they would need some "incentive" to keep people from letting things get out of hand.
Grammar Point
The other day, as I went to the airport with our driver Monteiro, we were trying to converse in Portuguese and English, as usual. I had a few questions of Portuguese words I keep seeing and asked Monteiro, and then we were using the dictionary in the car to look stuff up. As we talked, he told me that Portuguese grammar is very difficult, and if he couldn't give the right answer in school when he was a kid the teacher would make him hold out his hand and then she'd smack it with a ruler until he got the answer right. He said he got his hand smacked so many times, now his Portuguese grammar is pretty good. I laughed, but was thinking, "Wow, that's terrible." Maybe Monteiro could see it in my eyes, because then he told me, "But if teacher does now. No. Call police. Teacher hold out hand," and motioned that, instead, the teacher would get punished.
The Botu Man
This weekend we plan to take the Amazon River tour to see where the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes come together to form the Amazon. The two rivers are different colors--black and yellow--different temperatures and different densities, so the contrast is apparent before they mix for some 6 kilometers.
Today I was speaking with one of our tech support staff, Monica, and she told me that you can see the river dolphins, botu, jumping back and forth from the black side to the yellow side. But she said she is scared of botu dolphins, because they are "wild animals" they are unpredictable and she would be scared to swim with them because they could drag you off down the river. I asked Monica if there were any incidents like that and she said she didn't know if the stories were true or not.
Then she told me there was one story about botu though. When a woman in Brazil is pregnant and doesn't want to say who the father is, she will sometimes say, "The father is Botu." Apparently, as lore would have it, on full moon nights a botu can appear as a very handsome man, dress up, come onto land, and then romance women. They are supposedly very good dancers, and they will lure women to the river, and then take them away. The women will come back pregnant with the Botu man's baby. So Monica said when she was younger, she would check the top of any good looking man's head to make sure he didn't have a "hole for resperation". "I don't go dance with man who has hole in top of his head," she declared.
Today I was speaking with one of our tech support staff, Monica, and she told me that you can see the river dolphins, botu, jumping back and forth from the black side to the yellow side. But she said she is scared of botu dolphins, because they are "wild animals" they are unpredictable and she would be scared to swim with them because they could drag you off down the river. I asked Monica if there were any incidents like that and she said she didn't know if the stories were true or not.
Then she told me there was one story about botu though. When a woman in Brazil is pregnant and doesn't want to say who the father is, she will sometimes say, "The father is Botu." Apparently, as lore would have it, on full moon nights a botu can appear as a very handsome man, dress up, come onto land, and then romance women. They are supposedly very good dancers, and they will lure women to the river, and then take them away. The women will come back pregnant with the Botu man's baby. So Monica said when she was younger, she would check the top of any good looking man's head to make sure he didn't have a "hole for resperation". "I don't go dance with man who has hole in top of his head," she declared.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Saturday Night Football
Last night I was lucky enough to be taken out to the local soccer football club with Monteiro, our driver, to play futsol. We arrived a little before 8pm and there was a game just winding down. The field was full size, outdoors, but completely enclosed in netting. We sat down and put on a natural bug repellent cream that had Monteiro brought, which left my skin feeling cool and a bit tingly, but I didn't get a single mosquito bite, so I suppose it worked like a charm. Eventually, the game came to an end and we ran out to the field. They turn the lights off between games, but the club lights flooded enough light onto the field to see, so we practiced shooting goals. In no time, other guys arrived one by one until there were about six of us taking turns shooting goals. The guy playing goalie was extraordinarily agile and was diving, rolling and blocking most of the shots. Monteiro, who everyone called "Teiro", introduced me to everyone by name, but also added that I am American, so for the rest of the evening I was known as "American", but it worked for me. Teiro introduced me to one guy who spoke pretty good English, and I was told his name was Portugal.
As more guys arrived, I noticed a few guys weren't wearing any shoes. In particular, the guys who didn't wear shoes, as I found out as we began to play, were some of the best players. I suppose it gave them better control over the ball, but it didn't seem to slow them down at all, nor did it hinder the power in their goal shots. Even with bare feet, these guys could thwack the ball with great speed and accuracy toward the goal, although most of the time the goalies would fly through the air almost perpendicular to the ground and block the shot. So it soon became obvious to me that most of these guys were absolute football fanatics, even if they just played it for, quote-unquote, recreation. I later asked Armando, one of our tech staff at the office who arrived partway through the game, and he said most of these guys play every day, although not always at the club, but probably in the street, anywhere.
There was also a good dose of sportsmanship in the air, so there were no fights. A good balance was struck, as well, because each game ended as soon as one team scored two goals, and then people from the losing team would switch out with guys on the sidelines. So, as it turned out, you were constantly switching teams and playing with the guys you had been playing against before. Nevertheless, a few guys were adamant about fouls and fought for every chance for their team to get control over that ball, and I saw it as part of being a good player--the ref would occasionally have to give in.
I played offense most of the time, so I got quite a bit of exercise running up and down the field either with my team or to guard the other team. I didn't get any shots at the goal, but I passed alright and blocked a few passes by the other team. Not too bad for not having played since I was about 10 years old, but really, at the end of the day, these guys were playing to have a good time and, most of all, for their love of the sport.
After an hour or so, our time was up and most of the guys went home, while a few others hung around and had a beer and played at the billiard table in the clubhouse. Monteiro, Armando and I went back out on the field and I got some pointers on how to shoot and pass, how to make a high goal kick and how to keep it low and in the corner. But as it neared 10pm, we decided to call it an evening and head home. On the way out, I guzzled some water, collected my things and then, remembering I had brought my camera, we took a picture together. As you can see, I was looking pretty exhausted, but feeling good. But, Monteiro invited me back to play again next week if I wanted, and, well, I just might give it another shot.
As more guys arrived, I noticed a few guys weren't wearing any shoes. In particular, the guys who didn't wear shoes, as I found out as we began to play, were some of the best players. I suppose it gave them better control over the ball, but it didn't seem to slow them down at all, nor did it hinder the power in their goal shots. Even with bare feet, these guys could thwack the ball with great speed and accuracy toward the goal, although most of the time the goalies would fly through the air almost perpendicular to the ground and block the shot. So it soon became obvious to me that most of these guys were absolute football fanatics, even if they just played it for, quote-unquote, recreation. I later asked Armando, one of our tech staff at the office who arrived partway through the game, and he said most of these guys play every day, although not always at the club, but probably in the street, anywhere.
There was also a good dose of sportsmanship in the air, so there were no fights. A good balance was struck, as well, because each game ended as soon as one team scored two goals, and then people from the losing team would switch out with guys on the sidelines. So, as it turned out, you were constantly switching teams and playing with the guys you had been playing against before. Nevertheless, a few guys were adamant about fouls and fought for every chance for their team to get control over that ball, and I saw it as part of being a good player--the ref would occasionally have to give in.
I played offense most of the time, so I got quite a bit of exercise running up and down the field either with my team or to guard the other team. I didn't get any shots at the goal, but I passed alright and blocked a few passes by the other team. Not too bad for not having played since I was about 10 years old, but really, at the end of the day, these guys were playing to have a good time and, most of all, for their love of the sport.
After an hour or so, our time was up and most of the guys went home, while a few others hung around and had a beer and played at the billiard table in the clubhouse. Monteiro, Armando and I went back out on the field and I got some pointers on how to shoot and pass, how to make a high goal kick and how to keep it low and in the corner. But as it neared 10pm, we decided to call it an evening and head home. On the way out, I guzzled some water, collected my things and then, remembering I had brought my camera, we took a picture together. As you can see, I was looking pretty exhausted, but feeling good. But, Monteiro invited me back to play again next week if I wanted, and, well, I just might give it another shot.
(Armando, me, Monteiro)
Notes from the Mall
Yesterday afternoon I headed out to Manauara Shopping Center to get some lunch, browse around, and maybe do some shopping. I spent about four hours there and realized that "the mall" is a nice little microcosm of any city. There you can see a subset of so many demographics, i.e. the herds of teenage boys in the game center, the gaggles of teenage girls in the food court, the couples holding hands as they browse, the families, the elderly couple, and of course the tourists.
After walking through most of the first floor and surveying what was on offer, I headed up to the second floor and walked into a small botique clothing shop that sold some very cool looking jeans and shirts. The shop guy who was helping me couldn't speak English, but did his best to show me around. Eventually, an older woman (the manager, maybe) who spoke some English helped me decipher a few things. Mostly, by finding out where there was a tailor in the mall to hem the length on the jeans, which were much too long. I bought a very nice Brazilian brand of stonewashed jeans called Iodice, walked down to the first level and found the tailors. There, after they measured the hem, I was told to come back in 40 minutes. To confirm this, I ended up tapping the time into a calculator they had near the register, and the girl nodded her head, so I gave her a thumbs up, took the receipt and headed to the food court.
Again bypassing the hamburgers, I ended up going to a taco stand for their carne burrito, and another shop where I got a baked potato covered in a brown sauce, sprinkled with cheese and dabbed with sour cream. The 40 minutes passed by quickly and I could only eat half of my food, but then I headed to the tailor and my jeans were ready.
After a couple more stops--to a music shop, where I picked up a few CDs by Brazilian musicians, and a homewares store, where I picked up a little cup to use when brushing my teeth--I strolled back to the exit and the taxi stand. I showed a driver the card for my hotel that I have in my wallet, and ten minutes and $10 reais later I was back in the lobby.
I found the mall a pretty fun place to hang out, and although it's a little scary at first to try and shop without knowing Portuguese, it's the best way to get your feet wet and try and converse with people, using thumbs up, broken sentences, written notes and even calculators. And the best part is, when I got home, I slipped on my new jeans, and I must say, they are by far the softest, most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever bought. I will likely be lounging in these for the better part of the remainder of my time here.
After walking through most of the first floor and surveying what was on offer, I headed up to the second floor and walked into a small botique clothing shop that sold some very cool looking jeans and shirts. The shop guy who was helping me couldn't speak English, but did his best to show me around. Eventually, an older woman (the manager, maybe) who spoke some English helped me decipher a few things. Mostly, by finding out where there was a tailor in the mall to hem the length on the jeans, which were much too long. I bought a very nice Brazilian brand of stonewashed jeans called Iodice, walked down to the first level and found the tailors. There, after they measured the hem, I was told to come back in 40 minutes. To confirm this, I ended up tapping the time into a calculator they had near the register, and the girl nodded her head, so I gave her a thumbs up, took the receipt and headed to the food court.
Again bypassing the hamburgers, I ended up going to a taco stand for their carne burrito, and another shop where I got a baked potato covered in a brown sauce, sprinkled with cheese and dabbed with sour cream. The 40 minutes passed by quickly and I could only eat half of my food, but then I headed to the tailor and my jeans were ready.
After a couple more stops--to a music shop, where I picked up a few CDs by Brazilian musicians, and a homewares store, where I picked up a little cup to use when brushing my teeth--I strolled back to the exit and the taxi stand. I showed a driver the card for my hotel that I have in my wallet, and ten minutes and $10 reais later I was back in the lobby.
I found the mall a pretty fun place to hang out, and although it's a little scary at first to try and shop without knowing Portuguese, it's the best way to get your feet wet and try and converse with people, using thumbs up, broken sentences, written notes and even calculators. And the best part is, when I got home, I slipped on my new jeans, and I must say, they are by far the softest, most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever bought. I will likely be lounging in these for the better part of the remainder of my time here.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
When in Rome Manaus...
When Manaus bid to be the host city for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, most of its residents were probably aware that holding the games in the middle of the Amazon jungle, in a city with few roads connecting it to the rest of the country, was a stretch of the imagination. However, soccer, or football as it's known outside of the U.S., is so popular in Brazil (think Pelé) that the residents, given the chance to host the World Cup, probably didn't give a hoot about road connectivity.
People tend to dress fairly casual, even in business situations, in Brazil. So it may come to no surprise that I often see people at the local government office where we're working wearing football jerseys of their favorite team to work. Die-hard fans have plenty of car regalia, mobile ringtones, and even tattoos in some cases of their favorite team. FIFA football is a way of life in Brazil, and Manaus is as proud as could be about their involvement in the 2014 games. People mention it daily. Children likely imagine themselves playing in the World Cup when they play matches in the parks on the weekend.
Our driver, Monteiro, is no exception in his love for football. Well, his love of the sport is exceptional in the sense that probably 10 minutes don't pass without Monteiro thinking of the game. When walking from the car to the office, he'll often give a practice kick with his foot in the air, daydreaming right along with the kids in the park.
So I was rather honored when Monteiro invited me to playsoccer football with him on Sábado (Saturday). He knows that as an American I know next to nothing about FIFA, but I do like the game itself.
Actually, what we'll be playing isn't football, but an abbreviated style of the game, with a smaller field, five people to a side, and a smaller ball. Monteiro said this style of the game is called futebol de salão, or futsal. We'll be playing in the evening since it's too hot in Manaus to play while the sun is out.
I'm expecting the other people there will be fairly serious about the game, even a casual, weekend futsal match amongst friends. So it's a good thing that Monteiro is rather protective of me (note: I'm in charge of payroll); he said he would bring me some shin guards. But, actually, I think Monteiro mentioned that our translator, Ary, and tech staff, Armando, will be joining us, so it should be a fun evening.
(The picture is of Charles Miller, revered "Father of Brazilian football" and inventor of futsal)
People tend to dress fairly casual, even in business situations, in Brazil. So it may come to no surprise that I often see people at the local government office where we're working wearing football jerseys of their favorite team to work. Die-hard fans have plenty of car regalia, mobile ringtones, and even tattoos in some cases of their favorite team. FIFA football is a way of life in Brazil, and Manaus is as proud as could be about their involvement in the 2014 games. People mention it daily. Children likely imagine themselves playing in the World Cup when they play matches in the parks on the weekend.
Our driver, Monteiro, is no exception in his love for football. Well, his love of the sport is exceptional in the sense that probably 10 minutes don't pass without Monteiro thinking of the game. When walking from the car to the office, he'll often give a practice kick with his foot in the air, daydreaming right along with the kids in the park.
So I was rather honored when Monteiro invited me to play
Actually, what we'll be playing isn't football, but an abbreviated style of the game, with a smaller field, five people to a side, and a smaller ball. Monteiro said this style of the game is called futebol de salão, or futsal. We'll be playing in the evening since it's too hot in Manaus to play while the sun is out.I'm expecting the other people there will be fairly serious about the game, even a casual, weekend futsal match amongst friends. So it's a good thing that Monteiro is rather protective of me (note: I'm in charge of payroll); he said he would bring me some shin guards. But, actually, I think Monteiro mentioned that our translator, Ary, and tech staff, Armando, will be joining us, so it should be a fun evening.
(The picture is of Charles Miller, revered "Father of Brazilian football" and inventor of futsal)
These Two Words
Staying in a foreign country for a few weeks, it's often necessary to learn some of the local language just to get around. Luckily, being a native speaker of English, I can manage to make myself understood to most people who understand basic English, but beyond that, it's a nice thing to try and learn at least a few words in the local language. Thus far I've learned only very minimal Portuguese, and I've found that with just two words it's possible to "dialogue" with someone.
The hotel we're staying in has apartment style units which we're using, and I've been using the utility sink on the balcony to wash some of my clothes by hand; mostly socks, underwear, undershirts, running shorts and the like. The problem was that there was nowhere to string a laundry line on the balcony so the clothes could dry. Given the 100°F/40°C weather, it wouldn't take long for the clothes to dry, but there's just nothing to attach a line to. The only other option would be to put stuff on hangers and hook them on the air conditioner unit, but the obvious drawback to this is, using the a/c, the unit would drip water all over your clothes--rendering that option useless.
So I was very happy to come home one day and find that the cleaning staff had put a clothes drying rack out on my balcony. The cleaning girl must have seen my clothes on hangers hooked on the shower rod (where there is a window for a slight breeze) and decided to help me out. So when she came to clean my room today I pointed to the drying rack and used one of the most important words to know in a local language: thank you, which in Portuguese is "obrigado"*. She said something back which I had to guess was the equivalent to you're welcome. Then, since she was done cleaning the room, the only thing left to say was "Ciao". Not the most sophisticated of conversations, but it got the point across.
*For women, it would be said "obrigada". For more on how to express your gratitude in Portuguese, see HERE.
The hotel we're staying in has apartment style units which we're using, and I've been using the utility sink on the balcony to wash some of my clothes by hand; mostly socks, underwear, undershirts, running shorts and the like. The problem was that there was nowhere to string a laundry line on the balcony so the clothes could dry. Given the 100°F/40°C weather, it wouldn't take long for the clothes to dry, but there's just nothing to attach a line to. The only other option would be to put stuff on hangers and hook them on the air conditioner unit, but the obvious drawback to this is, using the a/c, the unit would drip water all over your clothes--rendering that option useless.
So I was very happy to come home one day and find that the cleaning staff had put a clothes drying rack out on my balcony. The cleaning girl must have seen my clothes on hangers hooked on the shower rod (where there is a window for a slight breeze) and decided to help me out. So when she came to clean my room today I pointed to the drying rack and used one of the most important words to know in a local language: thank you, which in Portuguese is "obrigado"*. She said something back which I had to guess was the equivalent to you're welcome. Then, since she was done cleaning the room, the only thing left to say was "Ciao". Not the most sophisticated of conversations, but it got the point across.
*For women, it would be said "obrigada". For more on how to express your gratitude in Portuguese, see HERE.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Chasing Cars
It's something I've heard about more than I've actually seen. The other day I saw two stray dogs, a white one and a brown one, and they were out playing in the street together. They were actually chasing cars. I saw a car approach, and as it did their faces lit up. Then, as the car passed, I lost sight of them for a moment, but then they appeared behind the car, running at full speed, tongues wagging. The white dog gave up first, and skidded off to the side of the road, almost sliding into a ditch. The brown dog slowed down and then trotted over to the white dog and trounced playfully. Then another car approached and they were at it again.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Don't Drink the Water
Today, during the power outage at the office, I went to the shopping center with our translator Ary. We are about the same age, and although he speaks a few "European" languages, he says it's amazing that I can speak Japanese, which he insists would take him 20 years to learn. Nevertheless, his English is outstanding, and he translates documents like an efficient machine; churning out 5 pages in a couple hours at times. After we finished exchanging money, we headed over to the bookstore because I am looking for some books or software to start learning Spanish. I was looking for the Rosetta Stone series, but the tiny book store at Millennium Shopping Center didn't have it so he suggested the large, two-level bookstore inside the Manauara Shopping Center, so we headed over there. The bookstore there was, indeed, rather impressive, but they didn't have that particular series. I looked at a few others, but ultimately decided I would just order it from, yes, ironically, Amazon.com.
After we finished at the bookstore, we headed over to the food court. They have McDonald's there, as well as two Brazilian fast food joints, one called simply Bob's and the other Girafa's. Ary said both of them were terrible and if we were going to have a burger to get Micky D's Big Tasty. But we decided to bypass the heart attack food and, instead, go the an Italian restaurant in the food court. Ary ordered a fillet mignon parmigiana with pasta, and I ordered a vegetarian spinach lasagna. We also both ordered fresh juice, and I got the orange with acerola (a.k.a. Barbados cherry). Lunch was great, and afterwards we headed back to the office.
On the way, we were talking in the car, and Ary was telling me that he is also working as translator on another project to contract for a water treatment system in Manaus. He reminded me not to drink the tap water in Brazil, as it's probably full of who-knows-what. He said you have to be careful with ice cubes and juices, and that restaurants will sometimes claim they have a private well or something, but don't believe them. I'm pretty careful with that sort of thing usually, but then I reminded Ary that we'd just ordered fresh juice at the Italian place. He told me, "Oh, well, that's a big shopping center so they probably have their own private well." "But you just told me not to believe anyone if they told me that!!" I said, almost laughing from the irony of it.
Luckily, over 12 hours later and I've experienced absolutely no ill effects, so I suppose the juice at Manauara was safe.
After we finished at the bookstore, we headed over to the food court. They have McDonald's there, as well as two Brazilian fast food joints, one called simply Bob's and the other Girafa's. Ary said both of them were terrible and if we were going to have a burger to get Micky D's Big Tasty. But we decided to bypass the heart attack food and, instead, go the an Italian restaurant in the food court. Ary ordered a fillet mignon parmigiana with pasta, and I ordered a vegetarian spinach lasagna. We also both ordered fresh juice, and I got the orange with acerola (a.k.a. Barbados cherry). Lunch was great, and afterwards we headed back to the office.
On the way, we were talking in the car, and Ary was telling me that he is also working as translator on another project to contract for a water treatment system in Manaus. He reminded me not to drink the tap water in Brazil, as it's probably full of who-knows-what. He said you have to be careful with ice cubes and juices, and that restaurants will sometimes claim they have a private well or something, but don't believe them. I'm pretty careful with that sort of thing usually, but then I reminded Ary that we'd just ordered fresh juice at the Italian place. He told me, "Oh, well, that's a big shopping center so they probably have their own private well." "But you just told me not to believe anyone if they told me that!!" I said, almost laughing from the irony of it.
Luckily, over 12 hours later and I've experienced absolutely no ill effects, so I suppose the juice at Manauara was safe.
Battery Power
This morning we arrived at our office and began work as usual. However,
after about 30 minutes, the power suddenly cut out. About 10 minutes
later it came back on for only a split second and then cut out again.
Everyone unplugged their computers for fear of an electrical surge, but
the power still didn't come back on. After a couple hours, our laptop
batteries had just about been drained, so our project manager announced
that we'd go back to the hotel to work, where they have a generator, and
if the power at the office came back on to call us. Our office is in
such a large complex, it would probably be difficult for them to have a
generator to run electricity for the entire place. It's not surprising
though because, what with the weather here--in the upper 90s F (30s C)
everyday--people have the air conditioners running full blast in every
room.
Instead of going back to the hotel, I went with our translator Ary to
the Millennium Shopping Center to exchange some traveler's checks. I was
relieved to see the shopping centers all had generators, and thus were
operating normally. Apparently Manaus is currently in the process of
getting an underground natural gas pipeline installed. It should be
ready soon, and once they have that, it will supposedly solve the power
outages. Otherwise, I was told that it's not uncommon for this to happen
every so often until the end of the year!
Later, around 2pm, we did finally get a phone call and headed back to
the complex where our office is located. The power stayed on for the
rest of the day, although on the way there we noticed another government
office was shutting down for the day, apparent from all the people
getting on federal buses to take them home at the end of the day. So we
wondered, maybe they got to have power in the morning and then we took
their power for the afternoon?
after about 30 minutes, the power suddenly cut out. About 10 minutes
later it came back on for only a split second and then cut out again.
Everyone unplugged their computers for fear of an electrical surge, but
the power still didn't come back on. After a couple hours, our laptop
batteries had just about been drained, so our project manager announced
that we'd go back to the hotel to work, where they have a generator, and
if the power at the office came back on to call us. Our office is in
such a large complex, it would probably be difficult for them to have a
generator to run electricity for the entire place. It's not surprising
though because, what with the weather here--in the upper 90s F (30s C)
everyday--people have the air conditioners running full blast in every
room.
Instead of going back to the hotel, I went with our translator Ary to
the Millennium Shopping Center to exchange some traveler's checks. I was
relieved to see the shopping centers all had generators, and thus were
operating normally. Apparently Manaus is currently in the process of
getting an underground natural gas pipeline installed. It should be
ready soon, and once they have that, it will supposedly solve the power
outages. Otherwise, I was told that it's not uncommon for this to happen
every so often until the end of the year!
Later, around 2pm, we did finally get a phone call and headed back to
the complex where our office is located. The power stayed on for the
rest of the day, although on the way there we noticed another government
office was shutting down for the day, apparent from all the people
getting on federal buses to take them home at the end of the day. So we
wondered, maybe they got to have power in the morning and then we took
their power for the afternoon?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Surreality
Being jet lagged makes regular, everyday phenomena seem slightly surreal. Yesterday, my 3rd full day in Manaus, we had a weekly meeting of all the members of our project; over 20 people, so we met in a large auditorium where they have a U-shaped row of desks in front of the stage for small conferences. People use microphones to speak because the room is so large that the sound is dissipated quickly. The meeting started from 3pm, at which point I was already feeling a little tired, and by 4 o' clock my eyelids began to feel as heavy as lead (if you'll forgive the pun: eye-leads).
Most of the project members were speaking in Portuguese, and discussion had become so heated that our translator had pretty much given up covering every word and would just give us summaries at the end. That meant 10 minute stretches of people speaking back and forth in Portuguese on microphones, sitting in this dimly lit auditorium. And to make matters worse, I had forgotten to wear my glasses so that the people facing us sitting on the other side of the desks were slightly blurry, which made them look like frenzied talking heads. My head began to spin and I could barely hold it up any longer; as the jet lag kicked into high gear, my body clock was signaling that it was 5a.m.
Luckily, the meeting wound down and I shook myself awake for the last 10 or 15 minutes. I found my legs and stood up as they announced the meeting over and shuffled back to our project office. It was time to go home.
Most of the project members were speaking in Portuguese, and discussion had become so heated that our translator had pretty much given up covering every word and would just give us summaries at the end. That meant 10 minute stretches of people speaking back and forth in Portuguese on microphones, sitting in this dimly lit auditorium. And to make matters worse, I had forgotten to wear my glasses so that the people facing us sitting on the other side of the desks were slightly blurry, which made them look like frenzied talking heads. My head began to spin and I could barely hold it up any longer; as the jet lag kicked into high gear, my body clock was signaling that it was 5a.m.
Luckily, the meeting wound down and I shook myself awake for the last 10 or 15 minutes. I found my legs and stood up as they announced the meeting over and shuffled back to our project office. It was time to go home.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Beachfront
Yesterday, after a couple hours of tennis, we went to the "Black Port" beachfront area near the Rio Negro, just down from the Tropical Hotel. Monteiro, our driver, led us around the area and showed us the sights. The river is still too high for there to be any real beach, but there is a promenade that runs along the river where families were gathered, couples cuddled together, and groups of teenagers goofing around. One area featured a wooden deck that protruded out over the river, and a group of boys were jumping off the railing, some doing flips, others just flailing in the air for a bit, before they were caught by the black waters of the river.
We didn't head all the way down the promenade, so instead we swung around the upper parking area, where there were a number of small shops selling souvenirs and snacks. One shop was selling
t-shirts, another had hand-carved wooden goblets, pestle & mortar, and bowls. One shop had a massage bed and there were three attendants wearing white lab coats under a sign that said "shiatsu massage". The port looks like a popular spot for people to hang out day or night,
and certainly a central feature to the city of Manaus.
We didn't head all the way down the promenade, so instead we swung around the upper parking area, where there were a number of small shops selling souvenirs and snacks. One shop was selling
t-shirts, another had hand-carved wooden goblets, pestle & mortar, and bowls. One shop had a massage bed and there were three attendants wearing white lab coats under a sign that said "shiatsu massage". The port looks like a popular spot for people to hang out day or night,
and certainly a central feature to the city of Manaus.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Looping into a New Rhythm
Day two in a new time zone and the body begins to adapt to the new sleep cycle that it is confronted with. To do this, I try to balance my sleep time on the flights and, after arrival, push through any fatigue during the day. As long as I can get a decent night's sleep, it's usually just a couple days until I adapt.
I've heard that, if near a large body of water, getting in for a swim will help you adapt because you feel the rhythm of the tide. Other people insist that it's best to just take a sleeping aid and knock yourself out. However, I feel that the best way is to simply drink a lot of water, eat light meals and get some exercise.
I've heard that, if near a large body of water, getting in for a swim will help you adapt because you feel the rhythm of the tide. Other people insist that it's best to just take a sleeping aid and knock yourself out. However, I feel that the best way is to simply drink a lot of water, eat light meals and get some exercise.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Latin Kite Runner
I go out on my balcony and survey the scene before me. It takes me a
moment to realize that, with the backdrop of buildings, there is a kite
flying just a couple hundred meters away. I can't see who is flying it,
but the long tail streams to the side as the kite dips down and then
floats back up over the rooftops.
moment to realize that, with the backdrop of buildings, there is a kite
flying just a couple hundred meters away. I can't see who is flying it,
but the long tail streams to the side as the kite dips down and then
floats back up over the rooftops.
Domestic Flight in Brazil
I was surprised to speak to a colleague of mine who flew in on Japan Airlines to Sao Paulo and was scheduled to fly the 9:10 on GOL airlines to Manaus when he told me that it had been canceled. He was moved to another domestic airline, TAM, and flew out on their 9:30 flight. At least in theory, I could have made the TAM flight since I was at the check-in area 22 minutes before they took off.
Getting Settled In
When I got to Manaus, I collected my luggage and headed out to the general airport area, where Monteiro, our driver, was waiting. After a reciprocal thumbs up (which serves as communication between Monteiro, who doesn't speak much English, and myself and my colleagues) he dashed off to bring the car around. Once in the car, though, I found Monteiro had been studying English and had a bilingual dictionary in the car for us to work through a few sentences, say some greetings and have a few laughs.
Not much later, we arrived at Slaass Flat Hotel, where I'll be staying during my trip. I got put into a corner room, which is slightly larger, has a better layout and double the balcony space than their normal apartment-style rooms. Not that I will really use the balcony; it's hot as hell out there.
Monteiro told me that it had been about 36 degrees (about 96F) the day I arrived, so I was sort of happy to have arrived in the evening, where it was still pretty muggy, but nothing to formidable. Anyway, I've currently got the A/C cranked and it feels cool in here as we rapidly approach noon.
I was able to get a pretty good night's sleep and wake up around 7:30 this morning. After a run on the 8th floor treadmill (which provides a decent view of the city), I showered and got some breakfast. Slaass Hotel does serve a heck of a good buffet breakfast, complete with pineapple, mango and other fruits, lots of breads and sandwiches, eggs and chouriço sausage, coffee, juice and yogurt, etc. Then I sat back and read the Rolling Stone magazine I'd bought in Newark and drank a couple cups of Brazilian coffee, and then I headed over to the grocery store nearby.
Thirty minutes later I was back in my corner room with 7 bags of groceries, including a few bottles of Santa Claudia agua mineral com gas, a few ripening pears, a package of almonds and cashews, a box of raisins, a bottle of Argentine red wine and a cheap corkscrew. I also bought a bucket and laundry soap so I can do some washing here when I don't have time to run to the laundromat. So I should be all set for a little while at least.
Apparently my colleagues have reserved the tennis courts uptown this afternoon. I'm not sure I'm up for it after all the travel, but it's probably better to get out and move around, and get some exercise. Unfortunately, when I play tennis, the exercise usually comes in the form of chasing the balls I lob into the stands and other courts.
Not much later, we arrived at Slaass Flat Hotel, where I'll be staying during my trip. I got put into a corner room, which is slightly larger, has a better layout and double the balcony space than their normal apartment-style rooms. Not that I will really use the balcony; it's hot as hell out there.
Monteiro told me that it had been about 36 degrees (about 96F) the day I arrived, so I was sort of happy to have arrived in the evening, where it was still pretty muggy, but nothing to formidable. Anyway, I've currently got the A/C cranked and it feels cool in here as we rapidly approach noon.
I was able to get a pretty good night's sleep and wake up around 7:30 this morning. After a run on the 8th floor treadmill (which provides a decent view of the city), I showered and got some breakfast. Slaass Hotel does serve a heck of a good buffet breakfast, complete with pineapple, mango and other fruits, lots of breads and sandwiches, eggs and chouriço sausage, coffee, juice and yogurt, etc. Then I sat back and read the Rolling Stone magazine I'd bought in Newark and drank a couple cups of Brazilian coffee, and then I headed over to the grocery store nearby.
Thirty minutes later I was back in my corner room with 7 bags of groceries, including a few bottles of Santa Claudia agua mineral com gas, a few ripening pears, a package of almonds and cashews, a box of raisins, a bottle of Argentine red wine and a cheap corkscrew. I also bought a bucket and laundry soap so I can do some washing here when I don't have time to run to the laundromat. So I should be all set for a little while at least.
Apparently my colleagues have reserved the tennis courts uptown this afternoon. I'm not sure I'm up for it after all the travel, but it's probably better to get out and move around, and get some exercise. Unfortunately, when I play tennis, the exercise usually comes in the form of chasing the balls I lob into the stands and other courts.
Getting to Manaus
The flight from Sao Paulo was transferred from Gate 20 to Gate 14A, and although there was an announcement, it was made in Portuguese. It certainly would have saved me some stress and running if I had understood the announcement. However, as luck would have it, I noticed that boarding was not happening in a timely fashion at my gate, not to mention the fact that a lot of people had disappeared from the area I was in. So, duh, I realized it was time to get offline and figure out where the heck I was supposed to be.
Check monitors. Flight 8696. There it is. Gate: 14A. Where the heck is that?
Luckily it was just a short shuffle down a hallway, to the left and down a flight of stairs. The bus was waiting as people boarded and they told me there was still plenty of time before they moved us out to the tarmac.
Check monitors. Flight 8696. There it is. Gate: 14A. Where the heck is that?
Luckily it was just a short shuffle down a hallway, to the left and down a flight of stairs. The bus was waiting as people boarded and they told me there was still plenty of time before they moved us out to the tarmac.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Dog Owner Update
Thought I might as well give a quick update on the dog owner I mentioned earlier that stopped for her little dog to poop in the hallway at the airport. As I headed back down through Concourse B, I saw her again and her dog had a diaper on! I'm not making this up. Also, the spot where she had left her puppy's deposit, had been cleared of the offense. So I don't know if she was stopped by the fezes policia and her doggy ordered to wear Pampers, or she rectified the situation on her own accord, but I felt it worth commenting that the airport is actually fairly clean and the people polite after all.
Next in Line
After grabbing a sandwich and double espresso for lunch, I decided I might as well check in for my domestic flight and wait by the gate, (where I am now). I suppose it's a good thing (or maybe not, read on) that I left plenty of time to do this because it took an hour to complete the process.
I don't know if it's Brazil in general or just GOL airlines, but waiting in line, it seemed like the only thing moving was the clock. Sure, there was some movement behind the counter, where GOL staff milled about, but nothing that looked overly purposeful. Except every once in a while, someone would announce that a flight was boarding, so the ground staff would call out, "Is anyone in line for flight 123 leaving in 10 minutes?!" and a few people would raise their hands. These people were ushered to the front of the line so they could check in and catch their flight. Effectively, this gives zero incentive to check in early and lots of encouragement to wait until the last minute, when you'll be dealt with promptly.
Sadly, it took me 30 minutes to get to the counter and there were only four people in front of me--and one of them was later removed from our line for "express processing". So that puts the per passenger processing time at 10 minutes per person, compared with, say, the minute and a half it took me to check in at Narita in Japan.
But I digress. Actually, once I got to the ticket counter, it didn't take long at all for her to check my confirmation number and issue my ticket, then check in my bag. And all that was done without knowing a word she was saying in Portuguese. Maybe that helped move along the process??
After that, I went through security and then a police check of some sort (not really sure, but it was similar to going through Immigration, but for domestic travel), and all that seemed to go fine. Then I strolled on down to Gate 20 and, luckily, found a power outlet to plug in my laptop (44% and charging).
I don't know if it's Brazil in general or just GOL airlines, but waiting in line, it seemed like the only thing moving was the clock. Sure, there was some movement behind the counter, where GOL staff milled about, but nothing that looked overly purposeful. Except every once in a while, someone would announce that a flight was boarding, so the ground staff would call out, "Is anyone in line for flight 123 leaving in 10 minutes?!" and a few people would raise their hands. These people were ushered to the front of the line so they could check in and catch their flight. Effectively, this gives zero incentive to check in early and lots of encouragement to wait until the last minute, when you'll be dealt with promptly.
Sadly, it took me 30 minutes to get to the counter and there were only four people in front of me--and one of them was later removed from our line for "express processing". So that puts the per passenger processing time at 10 minutes per person, compared with, say, the minute and a half it took me to check in at Narita in Japan.
But I digress. Actually, once I got to the ticket counter, it didn't take long at all for her to check my confirmation number and issue my ticket, then check in my bag. And all that was done without knowing a word she was saying in Portuguese. Maybe that helped move along the process??
After that, I went through security and then a police check of some sort (not really sure, but it was similar to going through Immigration, but for domestic travel), and all that seemed to go fine. Then I strolled on down to Gate 20 and, luckily, found a power outlet to plug in my laptop (44% and charging).
Getting into Sao Paulo
It helped that I was seated near the front of the airplane, but never before have I gone through Immigration, baggage claim and Customs in less than 15 minutes! This was, nevertheless, extremely pleasant and frustrating at the same time. The reason being that I had a domestic flight booked from Sao Paulo to Manaus. I knew that the early flight--which was originally slotted for 9:30 but had been moved up to 9:10am--was highly unlikely, so I had already changed my ticket for the 2:30pm flight; leaving me with a 5.5 hour layover. However, getting through the entry process so quickly, I actually made it to the domestic check-in counter at 9:08! I looked at the attendant standing near the back of the line and asked her, already knowing the answer, if there was any way (in hell) I could get on the 9:10. She just looked at me and said, "No."
Fair enough. Luckily I found a seat in the airport hallway near check-in where I'm getting a good wireless signal and can fool around online for a bit. At least until my battery fades out: 48% and counting.
The flight from Newark to Sao Paulo was pretty good; even entertaining, to say the least. I sat next to a hyperactive German businessman who had flown into New York from San Fransicso and made a quick phone call on his Blackberry to a colleague in Singapore before the cabin doors were closed. Before making his call though, he made some small talk with me, became buddies with the flight staff and had ordered champagne. He was obviously a very frequent flyer, and in the next few hours pulled off a fine balance of barking orders at the staff to get what he wanted and flattering them with praise for how wonderful everything was; a real sign of a true businessman, I suppose, is being able to do this properly. Anyway, while on the phone, in pseudo-multi-tasker mode, he circled what he wanted on the menu and handed it to the flight staff. After take-off, when the seatbelt sign was off, before dinner, he made a quick stop to the lavatory, and 5 minutes later was getting plied with the best champagne on offer, which he knew by name. At that point I hadn't even gotten the beer I ordered, and when I did it was a Corona and not the Fosters that I'd requested. The flight staff poured him the last of the champagne by dessert and then he ordered some port with his cheese, crackers and grapes, and finally, before turning in to sleep for the remainder of the flight, he ordered a congac and bottle of water; and then we was out for the duration. When he ordered the cognac, he was emphatic that I try it as well, ("Really, they are so wonderful here," he exclaimed, well within earshot of the staff), but I declined.
As he drank his cognac and readied for slumber, I was sipping a decaf coffee topped off with Baily's and reading an article in the Atlantic about "intelligence augmentation", using technology--like cell phones and web clouds--and even drugs like modafinil--a prescription drug for narcoleptics and, increasingly, frequent business flyers--that are basically stimulants that the author claimed can make you smarter. I looked over at my seat neighbor and decided then and there that this was exactly the type of guy the article was describing. I don't know if he was on modafinil, but I wouldn't have been surprised, although I don't know how well that mixes with champagne, port wine and cognac. But he was a nice enough guy, professional looking, polite, direct and--maybe most importantly, very smiley. And since the movies on the flight were of no interest, he provided me with some entertainment during the flight.
I also managed to sleep through most of the flight, and then awoke 2 hours before landing to have breakfast, read the NYTimes and have coffee--my chosen "intelligence augmenter"--sans Baily's, con caffeine this time. Since I still have 3+ hours before my next flight, and the PC battery is now at 25%, I suppose I'll go exchange some money and see if I can't find a good article to read on Brazilian dog owners letting their puppies poop in the middle of Concourse B and then walking away (I wish I was kidding).
Fair enough. Luckily I found a seat in the airport hallway near check-in where I'm getting a good wireless signal and can fool around online for a bit. At least until my battery fades out: 48% and counting.
The flight from Newark to Sao Paulo was pretty good; even entertaining, to say the least. I sat next to a hyperactive German businessman who had flown into New York from San Fransicso and made a quick phone call on his Blackberry to a colleague in Singapore before the cabin doors were closed. Before making his call though, he made some small talk with me, became buddies with the flight staff and had ordered champagne. He was obviously a very frequent flyer, and in the next few hours pulled off a fine balance of barking orders at the staff to get what he wanted and flattering them with praise for how wonderful everything was; a real sign of a true businessman, I suppose, is being able to do this properly. Anyway, while on the phone, in pseudo-multi-tasker mode, he circled what he wanted on the menu and handed it to the flight staff. After take-off, when the seatbelt sign was off, before dinner, he made a quick stop to the lavatory, and 5 minutes later was getting plied with the best champagne on offer, which he knew by name. At that point I hadn't even gotten the beer I ordered, and when I did it was a Corona and not the Fosters that I'd requested. The flight staff poured him the last of the champagne by dessert and then he ordered some port with his cheese, crackers and grapes, and finally, before turning in to sleep for the remainder of the flight, he ordered a congac and bottle of water; and then we was out for the duration. When he ordered the cognac, he was emphatic that I try it as well, ("Really, they are so wonderful here," he exclaimed, well within earshot of the staff), but I declined.
As he drank his cognac and readied for slumber, I was sipping a decaf coffee topped off with Baily's and reading an article in the Atlantic about "intelligence augmentation", using technology--like cell phones and web clouds--and even drugs like modafinil--a prescription drug for narcoleptics and, increasingly, frequent business flyers--that are basically stimulants that the author claimed can make you smarter. I looked over at my seat neighbor and decided then and there that this was exactly the type of guy the article was describing. I don't know if he was on modafinil, but I wouldn't have been surprised, although I don't know how well that mixes with champagne, port wine and cognac. But he was a nice enough guy, professional looking, polite, direct and--maybe most importantly, very smiley. And since the movies on the flight were of no interest, he provided me with some entertainment during the flight.
I also managed to sleep through most of the flight, and then awoke 2 hours before landing to have breakfast, read the NYTimes and have coffee--my chosen "intelligence augmenter"--sans Baily's, con caffeine this time. Since I still have 3+ hours before my next flight, and the PC battery is now at 25%, I suppose I'll go exchange some money and see if I can't find a good article to read on Brazilian dog owners letting their puppies poop in the middle of Concourse B and then walking away (I wish I was kidding).
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Back to the Amazon... on Continental Airlines
I'm headed back to Manaus this week for a nearly 40 day assignment. Last time I flew on Japan Airlines, but due to various new regulations put in place by our government contracting agency induced by the "economic downturn", I am flying on Continental this time. It's my first time to fly this airline, and instead of flying into JFK, I'm at Newark Airport at the moment. Continental has a huge hub here at Newark, so I'm currently in their "Presidential Lounge" looking out a window at a half dozen jumbo jets with their insignia emblazzoned on the tailwings.
Continental also offers a special "J Support" service for special Japanese travellers, and since I'm on an official "technical cooperation" project, I automatically qualify for this. It entails attaching big yellow tags that say J SUPPORT to your luggage and carry-on so that (a) your luggage comes out first at the baggage claim (it did!) and (b) an attendant meets you as you disembark from the aircraft. This second benefit, however, did not go quite as smoothly as one would hope.
The attendant is meant to assist Japanese travellers through the US customs and transfer process, and a brochure I received about the service assured that the attendant speaks Japanese and English. Well, I figured I really did not require such service since I would be transfering in my own country in my native tongue afterall. Well, when I got off the airplane, there was a woman holding a sign that said my name on it, so I stopped and she said she would meet me by the baggage carousel. I said okay, headed on to Immigration, which went smoothly, and I was at the baggage claim some 10 minutes later. My bag came out right away and I picked it up and then waited for about 5 minutes. I didn't see her so I thought, "Meh, I'll just go on my own," and headed for customs. Note to self: "When offered a special service, stick around for it!"
I was almost immediately stopped by a customs officer (homeland security?) for a special inspection of my luggage. He quized me about my trip, how much cash I had on me, went through my bags, my papers, asked if I speak Japanese, wrote down my company name, etc. Then, at the end of it, I was told to repack my things and shown the exit. Now, on the other side of customs, I heard an announcement of my name on the loudspeakers. The attendent was likely looking for me, but there was no way I was going to get back IN to customs, so after craning my neck a bit looking for her, I carried on.
After dropping my check-in luggage off to be sent on to Sao Paulo, I headed to check myself back in so I could get to the lounge. The line was loooong and looked like it would take at least 30 minutes, if not more. I pulled out a magazine, but was soon told to head off to Check-in Counter C-1 for a shorter line. Of course they don't mention that it takes 10 minutes to walk there and another 5 to wait in that line. But still, I suppose it was faster than waiting where I was, and besides, my flight wasn't for another 5 hours anyway!
So now here I am in the lounge, camped out in a corner chair with a glass of complimentary white wine and wireless Internet. So far the trip is going well, I suppose, considering I was able to sleep comfortably on the flight for at least 6 hours, and that was after watching Annie Hall (had never seen it before!), and Pretty Woman (a classic, but now classically outdated knight-in-shining-armor movie). Upon getting to the lounge, I tried to talk to the receptionist about the J Support attendant, since I sort of felt bad at that point. However, no one I spoke to had ever heard of the program, and probably couldn't figure out why I was talking about a service for Japanese travellers anyway.
Well, it's now 8pm and I can board for my next flight in a little over an hour. I'll get to Sao Paulo in the morning and then have a 5 hour layover there before I can take a 4 hour flight to Manaus. This is far too much travel time to feel like the 21st century, but I suppose in the meantime, I'll make the most of the complimentary wine to pass the time.
Continental also offers a special "J Support" service for special Japanese travellers, and since I'm on an official "technical cooperation" project, I automatically qualify for this. It entails attaching big yellow tags that say J SUPPORT to your luggage and carry-on so that (a) your luggage comes out first at the baggage claim (it did!) and (b) an attendant meets you as you disembark from the aircraft. This second benefit, however, did not go quite as smoothly as one would hope.
The attendant is meant to assist Japanese travellers through the US customs and transfer process, and a brochure I received about the service assured that the attendant speaks Japanese and English. Well, I figured I really did not require such service since I would be transfering in my own country in my native tongue afterall. Well, when I got off the airplane, there was a woman holding a sign that said my name on it, so I stopped and she said she would meet me by the baggage carousel. I said okay, headed on to Immigration, which went smoothly, and I was at the baggage claim some 10 minutes later. My bag came out right away and I picked it up and then waited for about 5 minutes. I didn't see her so I thought, "Meh, I'll just go on my own," and headed for customs. Note to self: "When offered a special service, stick around for it!"
I was almost immediately stopped by a customs officer (homeland security?) for a special inspection of my luggage. He quized me about my trip, how much cash I had on me, went through my bags, my papers, asked if I speak Japanese, wrote down my company name, etc. Then, at the end of it, I was told to repack my things and shown the exit. Now, on the other side of customs, I heard an announcement of my name on the loudspeakers. The attendent was likely looking for me, but there was no way I was going to get back IN to customs, so after craning my neck a bit looking for her, I carried on.
After dropping my check-in luggage off to be sent on to Sao Paulo, I headed to check myself back in so I could get to the lounge. The line was loooong and looked like it would take at least 30 minutes, if not more. I pulled out a magazine, but was soon told to head off to Check-in Counter C-1 for a shorter line. Of course they don't mention that it takes 10 minutes to walk there and another 5 to wait in that line. But still, I suppose it was faster than waiting where I was, and besides, my flight wasn't for another 5 hours anyway!
So now here I am in the lounge, camped out in a corner chair with a glass of complimentary white wine and wireless Internet. So far the trip is going well, I suppose, considering I was able to sleep comfortably on the flight for at least 6 hours, and that was after watching Annie Hall (had never seen it before!), and Pretty Woman (a classic, but now classically outdated knight-in-shining-armor movie). Upon getting to the lounge, I tried to talk to the receptionist about the J Support attendant, since I sort of felt bad at that point. However, no one I spoke to had ever heard of the program, and probably couldn't figure out why I was talking about a service for Japanese travellers anyway.
Well, it's now 8pm and I can board for my next flight in a little over an hour. I'll get to Sao Paulo in the morning and then have a 5 hour layover there before I can take a 4 hour flight to Manaus. This is far too much travel time to feel like the 21st century, but I suppose in the meantime, I'll make the most of the complimentary wine to pass the time.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Provincial Palace
In March this year (2009), the renovations done on the Provincial Palace were finished and the museum was open. The building was originally constructed in the 19th century but had become completely dilapidated over the years. So it was amazing to see all the work they did on the structure, not to mention the exhibits inside.
There are five primary exhibits in this free museum: an art gallery, a museum of image and sound where you can borrow and view Brazilian film, an archeological exhibit, a numismatic (i.e. coins) museum and an exhibit on the history of the Amazonian military police.The reason for the latter, the military police exhibit, is because the building was used by the M.P. and contains prison cells in the basement.
I didn't know about this place, but had just been wandering around town when I stumbled upon it. I went inside and was offered a free tour in English by a young Brazilian. After he told me about the renovations, he took me to the art gallery where another Brazilian explained the works of art to me.
She told me a number of amazing stories, elucidating the meaning behind some of the art. One was a sculpture that appeared as one body with three heads. This was a story of an obese Brazilian artist who went through three stages in life: one where he felt silenced by his obesity, one where he underwent surgery for weight loss, and the third when he had experienced heart failure. Another story was that from a painting showing a girl being eaten by a crocodile. The reason for this was told in a tale of two sisters. They were twins, as a matter of fact, but one of them was strong and dominant while the other was weak and sickly. When the weaker one was misled by her sister into dangerous Amazonian waters and killed, the lies the sister told to cover up her role in the death eventually led to justice: she was eaten by a crocodile herself.
After the art gallery, I went through the archeological exhibit and then, with a guide named Eduardo, the military police exhibit. Eduardo--who by far had the best English of anyone I'd met that day, although it sounded like he picked it up either directly from a fast-talking New Yorker or watching a lot of television--seemed to have a complete routine put together for the tours. He told lots of jokes, such as how the uniform from the '60s, which looked like it was covered in Good&Plenty, was judged too "fruity" for the military police and changed. However, that uniform was made with thick, brown fabric, to which Eduardo said, "What were they thinking? This is the Amazon! So now they changed it to what that guy over there is wearing," at which point he waved and gave a thumbs up to an actual military officer patrolling the exhibit.
The final exhibit on coins--some ranging back hundreds of years--was interesting from a historical point of view, and the guide told me how she had given a tour to a US Senator who had come a few weeks ago, although she couldn't remember the woman's name.
After that tour, I called it a day. The impromptu tour had taken about two hours, but I found myself feeling energized from friendliness I was shown by my guides, and the exhibits were truly interesting. I thanked all of them on my way out, and then headed through the park outside on my way back to the main road to catch my taxi. In the park, there were plenty of couples and families, many of them gathered around a gazebo where a small band was playing music.
It turned out to be a great day; maybe one of the best I spent in Manaus, so I went back the following weekend to pick up a pamphlet and have a coffee at the Palace coffee shop, Cafe do Pina.
I ordered an ice coffee, or at least tried to (instead, I received a cup of coffee and a glass of ice). As I headed back toward the exit. I ran into the first guide who told me all about the renovation during my first visit. He said he was glad to see me again, but he was disappointed that I wasn't out exploring more of Manaus. I told him the museum was great, I had been in the area and I wanted a pamphlet, which he went and got and gave to me, but again with encouragement to go into the rainforest and explore more. He said this with real concern and also with a smile, so I thanked him and told him I would certainly do my best.
Slaass Hotel
The hotel we are staying at, "Slaass Flat Hotel", seems to be pretty popular. Lately it seems there are more and more people staying here since most of the tables are full at breakfast. The breakfast buffet is pretty awesome though, and I would almost spend a night here just to eat the next morning. There is a conference room available here and even on the weekends there seem to be events, which means you have to get there a little early to get the good stuff.
The hotel actually has apartments--hence the word "flat" in the name--which range from small singles to "luxury" suites with kitchens and doubles with two rooms and a kitchen. It is reasonably priced and they keep it clean, with convenient services (like wi-fi) and a helpful staff.
The elevator is probably one of the most interesting features though. It is one of those old-style lifts where you open a regular door and step inside. From there, a sliding metal safety door closes, so it's not one of those ancient gated elevators, but the style is still a bit more classic than I've ever used before on a regular basis.
There is also a pool, although it is rather tiny and I don't think anyone really uses it. I haven't used it myself, but took a look at it last Sunday and it seemed that the deep end was no more than a few feet at best. I ended up laying back on one of the lounge chairs by the pool and reading my book though. An hour later, I realized that I had gotten a bit of a sunburn. Ouch! Well, coming back from Brazil a bit sunburned is probably better than coming back pale white.
We will be staying here next time we are in Brazil, as it seems to be the best deal in terms of space, convenience and cost. Now I just need to figure out what the heck "slaass" means.
The hotel actually has apartments--hence the word "flat" in the name--which range from small singles to "luxury" suites with kitchens and doubles with two rooms and a kitchen. It is reasonably priced and they keep it clean, with convenient services (like wi-fi) and a helpful staff.
The elevator is probably one of the most interesting features though. It is one of those old-style lifts where you open a regular door and step inside. From there, a sliding metal safety door closes, so it's not one of those ancient gated elevators, but the style is still a bit more classic than I've ever used before on a regular basis.
There is also a pool, although it is rather tiny and I don't think anyone really uses it. I haven't used it myself, but took a look at it last Sunday and it seemed that the deep end was no more than a few feet at best. I ended up laying back on one of the lounge chairs by the pool and reading my book though. An hour later, I realized that I had gotten a bit of a sunburn. Ouch! Well, coming back from Brazil a bit sunburned is probably better than coming back pale white.We will be staying here next time we are in Brazil, as it seems to be the best deal in terms of space, convenience and cost. Now I just need to figure out what the heck "slaass" means.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Suysei Japanese Buffet
Some of the best food in Manaus, if you can believe it, is at a little Japanese restaurant called Suysei. The façade is rather unassuming, and you have to ring the doorbell for them to open the security gate, but once you are inside, it is a comfy atmosphere. Suysei is run by an elderly Japanese couple and they serve up a homestyle buffet for R$35 (about $18) which includes sashimi, octopus and cucumber tsukemono, a hot dish such as grilled fish or tempura, and a steamed dish such as gyoza (pot-stickers) or oden veggies in broth, not to mention miso soup and steamed white rice. And it's all-you-can eat!
I swear I ate the food sitting right-side-up so I have no idea why this picture uploads sideways.
I swear I ate the food sitting right-side-up so I have no idea why this picture uploads sideways.
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