Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND DOLLAR$
Yeah yeah....I know! I haven~t posted any pics since Ive been back. You want pictures??? get on a freakin plane and take them yourself.
Actually, my camera broke because sand jammed up the lens (gee, wonder how that happened?).
When my friends send me the pics they took, I´ll post them.....but my friends work on Brazilian time. Until then, Google Brazil and click on images. Those pics are free.
Location: FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil
PERVERTED GRINGOS...GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM
That "M" on the bathroom doors in Brasil stands for "Mulheres" (Women in Portuguese). It does not stand for "Men" as it does in English or "Masculino" as it does in the rest of Latin America. The homocide rate of ginrgos caused by 6 inch heels would drop significantly if tourists visiting Brasil would learn basic Portuguese.
Location: SÃO PAULO, Brazil
"IF YOU DON´T KNOW WHERE YOU´RE GOING....ANY ROAD WILL GET YOU THERE." Traffic in São Paulo is actually much more efficient then one might imagine given that this is the largest city in Latin America. Notwithstanding the fact that the street pattern may have been planned by blind epileptics, the traffic moves - - boy does it move. I suspect it may be that the rules only call for stopping at red lights (from 6am to midnight).....other than that, traffic never stops. Pedestrians have the right of way only if they are in the back of an ambulance with sirens and red lights flashing. When you take the pedestrians out of the equation, then there is no reason for traffic to stop or even slow down. This requires quick adaptation....like before you take that one step off the curb!!!!!
Location: SÃO PAULO (SO BIG), Brazil
ONE EXTREME TO THE OTHER......Welcome to São Paulo....that describes this city in one sentance. On top of all the other assaults on your senses, the weather is crazy. Yesterday I had to walk around my apartment covered in a blanket - I even went to the gym to take a shower just to avoid the shock of getting out of the shower - and today I have a 3rd degree sunburn on my face. Spent the day walking around Parque Ibiripuera - the largest park in the middle of São Paulo (somewhat comparable to NYC Central Park). If you were standing in the shade you were freezing - if you were standing in the sun you were burning. Sometimes I think "Paulistas" (as the locals refer to themselves) feel some pity for us Gringos that come here trying to navigate all the extremes. But their hospitality and attempts to make you feel welcome (like most Brazilians will do) goes a long way to balancing all the extremes. After the scorched face routine in the park, I enjoyed an afternoon lunch in "little Japan" (largest Japanese population outside of Japan) with friends who were more then eager to take time from their work day to explore more extremes.......
sublminal hint: start stocking up on your air mail stamps!
BEIJOS DO SÃO PAULO
Location: SÃO PAULO, Brazil
COLD STORAGE...... One thing my warm clothes and I have in common is that we´re both in cold storage.....albeit it in two different countries. I´m freezing.....the weather here is bi-polar (pun intended). But it gives me an excuse to spend the day in the gym or a museum or bed.
Had dinner last night with a fun collaeague from American Cancer Society here on business. We love Alessandra because she has the sophistication of a world diplomat, the confidence of a CEO and the vernacular of a NYC taxi driver. We ate the most fattening item on the Italian menu and chased it with a few caiperinhas. I always welcome a few hours with Alessandra no matter what country or state of mind we~re in.
Location: SÃO PAULO, Brazil
DAY FOUR IN SÃO PAULO.....Settling in the largest city in South America can be a daunting assault on your senses (the good ones and the bad).....of course my friends don~t give you much chance to rest. Brazilians are genetically pre-disposed to partying from Friday to Monday morning and Thursday just happened to be a holiday. Have several friends coming to SP this coming week so here we go again! Brazil´s Presidential election on on Oct 29th, so it~s fun to wach to the campaigns and compare them to ours...not too disimilar....but there are no 16yr olds involved.
It´s Springtime in São Paulo, so the weather is unpredictable, but reasonable from one day to the next in the 70~s (f) most of the time. Perfect walking around weather. Hope to post pictures soon, but not too many.....I~m over the whole tourism thing.
Location: HOUSTON, USA
HOUSTON...YOU REALLY DO HAVE A PROBLEM.....
Well, a funny thing happened to me on the way to Sao Paulo..a rain delay that forced me to spend a day in Houston, TX. The airline put me up in a posh hotel (with every interstate trucker and their female sidekicks) in the middle of nowhere.....it will make me appreciate getting my passport stamped as I enter Brazil.
See you on the other side of the hemisphere.
Location: Wather cooler, USA
OVERHEARD AT STARBUCKS:
Q: "Bob, why are you going back to Brazil?"
A: "Because I can?" Anymore questions?
Q: "How are you able to do this?"
A: "What you are really asking me is "how can you do this?"
Q: "Do they have Starbucks in Brazil."
A: Not if Brazilians have anything to do with it.
Location: Miami Beach, USA
I'M BACK.......BUT IT'S BEEN ALMOST 9 MONTHS.... since I lasted posted anything. There are two reasons for that. Primarily, my travels stopped early this year due to the death of my father in March. It was not a surprise - but clearly it required me to return home and take care of business. Ironically just before my father died, I was asked to return to the American Cancer Society to assist with the planning of an unprecedented event in Washington, DC called "Celebration On The HIl." It was the successor to a similar, but slightly smaller event that took place in 20002 on the National Mall in Washington. I say ironically, because it was cancer that ultimately took my father. After working for the American Cancer Society for over 5 years, it was the first experience my family has incurred with this disease. And if you're going to go through this experience, there is no organization you want to be working with then the American Cancer Society. My family was lucky....even if the outcome was not what we had wished.
NOW THAT I'M FINISHED - - with the American Cancer Society project, I plan on heading back to Brazil and other parts of South America for a few months while I consider my next move (besides driving my financial planner nuts). I'll be posting weekly with photos and irreverent commentary about all things human. Stay tuned! There's much more to come.
Location: USA
RETURNING TO RIO DE JANEIRO IN LATE JANUARY. SEE YOU THERE
Added photo of Iris and Darnelle.....colleagues from American Cancer Society who were visiting Sao Paulo in November.
Location: MIAMI, USA
I HAVE RETURNED TO SOUTH FLORIDA INDEFINITELY TO MANAGE MY FATHER'S HEALTH SITUATION. I DO NOT HAVE A US BASED CELL PHONE YET. EMAIL AT WHEREISBOB@GMAIL.COM REMAINS THE QUICKEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
THANKS!
Location: RIO, Brazil
OF MICE & MEN.......
Timing is everything, but it´s never enough. When I decided to take this journey, I did so with the intention of being away for up to a year. I had one caveat in mind and that was my father´s health. He has been battling one ailment after another for years now, but his constitution just keeps on going. A few weeks ago, he suffered a stroke that has left him speechless...he literally cannot communicate properly nor can he drive on his own. My sisters have been attempting to reconcile the care he now requires with their own work and family commitments, but such incidents rarely come with "How To" manuals. So with that in mind, I will need to suspend my journey indefinitely and return to Florida to do what is required. I knew in my mind this could occur and it´s why I started traveling when I did....but alas, my timing was a bit off. I return on November 10th and will probably put this blog in cold storage until I know what lies ahead for my family. If it is meant to be, my best laid plans will allow me to return to Brazil (which I have fallen in love with) and I will pick up where I leave off....hopefully. I may post a few more final photos before I suspend this journal. Whatever opportunity lies ahead, I can´t deny the incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity I have ALREADY experienced....even if it is 5 months short of my goal. Dad turns 80 in December. so 5 months pales in comparison to what he has given me for 41 years.
Location: SÃO PAULO, Brazil
HOLY METROPOLIS BATMAN!!!! Arrived in São Paulo yesterday with some friends. This city is huge! Except for the language and the palm trees, I thought I was in midtown Manhattan! Depending on what web site you hit, São Paulo (St. Paul in English), is the 3rd or 4th largest city in the world (who can argue with anyone willing to count). It´s the economic machine for Braziil located about 300 miles south of Rio. I would compare São Paulo to New York City and Rio to Miami. Very different lifestyles and distinct attitudes. Paulistas are more serious, but just as friendly as Cariocas (maybe a bit more reserved). Tonight I will meet up with Darnelle and Iris from the American Cancer Society. They are in town to conduct a training this week for the Brazilian Cancer Association....so we get to catch up on ol times. Plenty to do and no time to do it in so I gotta go. To the Bat Mobile!!!
To my Florida friends.....hold on tight!
Location: RIO, Brazil
BOB´S BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB;
Don´t walk..... RUN to the nearest bookstore and get "A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY" by the literary genius Kurt Vonnegut.
"We Are Here On Earth To Fart Around....Don´t Let Anyone Tell You Differently." KV
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/158322713X/ref=sib
dppt/102-5627913-7658505#reader-link
Location: IPANEMA, Brazil
NEW PHOTOS UPDATED TODAY - "ROUTINE RIO"
Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD: Ahhh, not really! Having settled down in one loaction after 5 months of backpacking from one posada, hotel, guesthouse to another across S. America, I am becoming quite the student of Pavlovian theory on human behavior. I am falling into a routine that (with the exception of having to work) apppears very much like my life back in the US. Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Rio - - all my friends were on the beach and I found myself running from one appointment to another (Gringo stand out - Brazilians would never rush to an appointment no matter how late). Dentist, Bank, Portugues class, lunch with friends and advancing some hot spots for friends coming to visit. I was wiped out and found myself momentarily back in the US of A. Eating at the same establishments, hanging with the same friends, frequenting the same night life venues....in short, I have returned to what I wanted to escape....the same old daily rat race routine! I fiind it interesting and not all that uncommon that humans are drawn to a routine no matter where they are or what they do. I´ve become an amatueur anthropologist watching people go to work (foot, bus, bike, subway, limo) just like in the US and although they come from all walks of life (rags to riches) they have one common denomintor - - that is the will and the need to survive. We all share that inate drive regardless of how we label it...what divides us is the process we go about achieving it (or the station in life we were born into). Lawyer, bus driver, cook, beach vendor, thief, farmer or panhandler...they are all just trying to survive the way they have learned or were trained. The style or culture may be nuanced, but the basic drive remains the same. In that regard, we are all the same and my observations in 5 months have reinforced what I consider fascinating human behavior. So with that, I will continue my routine and hit the post office to speak with the clerk continuing her routine so I can hit the beach and see my friends doing their routine. Here Fido, go fetch a bone!
Location: THE WHITE HOUSE, Brazil
THE PRESIDENT´S DAILY BRIEF: Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed." "OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!" His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands. Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"
A "Brazilian" would qualify as a whole country that is dumbfounded the American people re-elected this man. It´s all I ever hear about; "Yeah, Bush is dumb, but you re-elected him....who´s dumber?"
Location: Brazil
DAY 27 ON MY RETURN TRIP TO RIO and it has rained 20 of those days. Spending much of my time at the gym, studying Portugese and sitting at the nearby cafe with new Brazilian friends and the many expatriates from mostly European countries commisurating about the weather. Spring is in the air and soon the sun will be shining and the whole city will flock to the beach (regardless of work schedule). The catch-22 in Rio is that in order to see most of the wonders elsewhere in the city, you need to have nice weather. But, if you have nice weather, you want to be on the beach where everyone you know is. Also explains why I have not posted any new photos yet. I feel so much as home here, and like most people in New York who never go to the Statute of Liberty or D.C. residents who could not find the White House, I am becoming settled. Plan on venturing out soon as the weather clears. A few visitors from Miami, New York, and Dublin will force me to play tourist guide in a few weeks.
Location: RIO, Brazil
CAUSE THAT´S WHERE THE MONEY IS....STUPID! Im not sure what´s more difficult...earning the money to deposit into a Brazilian Bank, withdrawing it or walking into one. In many banks here, you must walk through a "trap door" to get into a bank but to a foreigner, you may consider it a torture device. If you have anything metal on you, the revolving door will lock...and not just lock it will stop you in your tracks with a "THUNK!" causing you to trip, jerk, bump your head or something else equally ungraceful. Now you must locate the "metal" object and remove it before attempting to move the door further. But wait, now that you think you found the metal object, you must now go back past the red line and start all over again. Meanwhile, a dozen pissed off and sweaty people behind you are burning the American flag and looking at their watches imagining what you would look like buried up to your neck on the beach. By the time you figure out what is setting off the metal detector, you are down to your underwear and all the money you have deposited in the bank is now needed to pay off the assisins hired to kill you by the people waiting outside. AND DON~T EVER HIT THE RED BUTTON ON THE ATM MACHINE.....IT´s AN ANTI-THEFT DEVICE INTENDED TO AUTOMATICALLY EAT YOUR ATM CARD AND BLOCK IT FROM FURTHER USE SHOULD YOU BE HELD UP AT THE MACHINE........GO AHEAD.... BE AN ASS AND ASK ME HOW I KNOW THAT!
Location: RIO, Brazil
WHERE IS MICHEAL BROWN WHEN YOU NEED HIM? Well, today is the 10th anniversay of my 31st birthday and I came as close as one gets to not making it. Yesterday, I decided to take full advantage of the day and go running on Ipanema Beach. The surfers were out in force because the waves were hitting 8 to 15 feet....there was a scattering of very white tourists laying on towels (Cariocas never do this) trying to convince themselves the sun was shining. The waves were too tempting so before I could recover from my run, I dove in and exhausted myself getting out to where the waves were crashing (Don´t try this in your bathtub). Of course, if you zig when you should have zagged in front of a 15 foot wave, you get what you got coming. So before I could catch my breath, I took the brunt of "Mommy Dearest" (my new name for Mother Nature). If you belonged to the right fraternity in college, you may know what it´s like to go through the wash cycle in the laundry machines....well this is much worse even sober. Mix this with an undercurrent that could re-arrange George Will´s hair, the nearest lifeguard about a mile from you and you have have an olympic opportunity to miss your birthday.....all of them! Of course, I am me and when I finally washed up on shore (I think it was Argentina) all I could think about was the quote on the top banner of this site which is how I began the day in the first place.
