JA's Jibba Jabba

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JA 7:09 pm on January 16, 2007 | 0 | # |

To my luck, this whole week is going to be filled with showers and the sky will be sunless. That means that most beach related activities will come to a halt. Plan B of course is to visit indoor places or do some admin stuff.

So Today, I head over to the Canadian consulate to declare myself and I am given a form to fill in. It turns out that it was a pointless exercise cos I had forgotten my id card at home, had no idea what my parents’ phone number is in Canada should an emergency occur and someone needs to be contacted and I even forgot my address in Ipanema as well as my phone number!

The lady just looked at me and mockingly asked me to return the following day.

To make matters even more interesting. I left home without enough money so I almost walked back home but luckily I had enough coins to make the fare.

The absence of the sun makes me dumb… that’s the conclusion

Oh by the way… a quick geography lessons to those who never paid attention in school. I am in Ipanema, Rio De Janeiro and not Panama, the country.

Ipanema is a suburb . In Montréal, you have Plateau Mont-Royal or Outremont or Vieux-Port for example. In Joburg, it would be Sandton, Rivonia, Rosebank. In Paris…. you see the point, I hope.

So don’t embarrass yourself by telling people that I am in Panama. I ain’t. I am in Ipanema.

That’s today’s lesson. I am hungry.
JA 12:50 am on January 15, 2007 | 0 | # |

Sunday was an OK day weather wise. The sky was clouded and since it had rained the night before it was useless to go to the beach.

At the same time, I did not want to bum around the whole day like I had on Saturday.

I decided to got to the botanical garden because I figured that it would be nice to see something beautiful on God’s day (btw… if anyone has any idea on how to find an English or French Church in Rio, please help!).

A new met friend offered to go with me.

I had seen some pictures of the garden and read some reviews. Again, the expression “it’s better to see once than to hear a thousand time” was proved right. The Jardim Botânico is so amazing!

I don’t think that I have seen any other better garden in my life. Maybe it’s because the older I grow, the more I appreciate nature’s beauty and God’s awesome creativity but I was mesmerized by the awesomeness of that place.

I could rave on and rave on but I am not a great writer and will not be able to convey the scenic beauty in words. I had my camera and took about 300 pictures. I uploaded about 220 for you to see what I am talking about and why I am loving this city everyday.
JA 12:37 am on January 15, 2007 | 0 | # |

Saturday night, I got to experience Rio’s nightlife. I checked out a few clubs and met some really cool people.

I spent most of my night at a soirée featuring a famous house DJ at a pretty posh venue with obviously stiff people. It’s amazing how these posh parties are always so dull and full of posers.

I told my friends that next time, I want to experience where down to Earth Cariocas party because I feel that they are more lively than what I saw!

Saturday was a rainy day so I spent it indoors catching up on a little bit of work, replying to some emails and doing something called sleeping cos I never have time to take naps anymore! My days are so eventful and so short!

I was nice to relax after a few weeks of getting ready for my trip then making the trip and getting settled. I now feel in tune with Rio’s lifestyle and except for the language barrier, I am pretty comfortable and enjoying every moment spent in this beautiful city.
JA 11:35 pm on January 11, 2007 | 0 | # |

So, today’s been my first week in Rio De Janeiro. I am loving every minute so far. I am glad I chose to come spend time in Ipanema.

It’s a very lively and chill city and the ultimate place to spend the Canadian winter. I am certainly looking forward the remainder of my stay here.

The people I live with are nice (they’re readers of this diary so I have to say that :)), the people in the city are very friendly and life is cheap (although I figured out very fast that it’s a catch cos I tend to spend more money!) and there’s lots to do.

There’s no way I could explore this city and country in a few weeks. Three good months will be ideal.

I need to interrupt this bulletin to get outside cos I have just learned that it’s very beautiful and that I should not be behind my computer but out there. Wanna guess where I am off to?

If you did not guess: the beach, you are not paying attention….

Later!
JA 1:25 pm on January 11, 2007 | 0 | # |

Today, after one week in Rio, the weather made it possible for me to spend a whole day at the beach.

The previous days, the sky was too clouded and the water kind of cold. Not freezing like the Cariocas (people from Rio) were saying but cold enough to make one catch a cold.

Today, there was no sight of a cloud in the sky. I took a beach chair, a towel, my camera and headed to the beach. What was meant to be a short hour turned into 5 or more.

I first let the sun soak in, I will probably get burnt cos I did not have any protection, then I ventured into the water where I would do my thing, come back to drink something and empty my stupid pockets from the sand.

People here know that I am a foreigner cos we are the only ones who do not wear swim briefs also known as Speedos. At first, I was like, there’s no way I will ever wear that but I realized that it’s not that bad and that no one at the beach really cares!

My first hurdle was getting into shorts, then walking around without a t-shirt, so the next step is walking around in a swim brief . When I leave the beach, I can just wear normal beach shorts over them.

I really felt on a holiday for the first time in many years. Just sitting there doing absolutely nothing and feeling stress free. The water was nice and it was a marvelous five hours.

I will definitely do that more often although it will be nice to visit the many different beaches that are found in Brazil.

Check out the gallery for a special rendition of my day at Ipanema Beach.
JA 8:21 am on January 10, 2007 | 0 | # |

This post has nothing to do with my traveling, Rio or anything else.

I just want to tell you all about Apple’s forthcoming iPhone. I have been trying to find the perfect smartphone for the past four years or so. I think we have a winner in iPhone.

I just wonder how much it’s going to cost!!!!

I know what I am getting myself as a “welcome back to Montréal” gift!
JA 1:14 pm on January 9, 2007 | 0 | # |

Today, I took the bus from Ipanema, where I live, towards Copacabana. It’s certainly a more vibrant area than Ipanema and there’s so much going on around that to keep one’s awareness requires some skills that I do not possess yet.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics to show cos people had told me that it was kind of sketchy and that my camera could be jacked. Of course, I think that they were over exaggerating cos the area is really safe. It’s in like every city I guess, you just have to walk around as if you had a sense of purpose.

One immediate noticeable difference between Ipanema and Copacabana was in the pricing of goods and services. For insance, a pair of Havainas slippers will cost over R 15 in Ipanema whereas in Copacabana you can get the same pair for less than R 9! The same goes for food and so forth.

Copacabana is also more messy and less posh too. But I still liked it. I’d rather spend my days there but spend my nights in Ipanema cos that city is NOISY! Crazy…

On Friday, I will have to head back to Copacabana where the Canadian consulate is (I have to register my presence), and this time I will take my camera with me.

I’ll keep you posted
JA 5:16 pm on January 7, 2007 | 0 | # |

Just came back from a nice and short dip into the ocean. The water was cold according to locals but I found it OK. I got almost KOed by a seemingly small wave that had become a monster by the time it got to me.

It wiped me out and by the time the water went away I was lying on the beach wondering what the devil had happened lol.

Right now, I am back at home where I will have something to eat then head back to the beach where some big trance DJ (his name shall remain under wraps to avoid giving him publicity) is spinning. It will be a good opportunity to see how Rio goes down.

For obvious reasons, I could not take many pics cos my camera is not waterproof and I don’t really trust a stranger to take pics of me while I am in the water cos that might be the end of it.

Next time I will head out with one of my flat mates who will take nice snapshots of me. Men here wear Speedos to the beach and it will be quite a bit, I get to that level. I will see if I am ready to let the world see me close and personal 🙂

Am I liking Rio? I am LOVING it.
JA 2:06 am on January 7, 2007 | 0 | # |

Today’s day was nothing short of lazy. Woke up at 11h30 (everyone here sleeps late). Checked my emails, swallowed some cereals and went on a quest to find a automatic teller machine that would allow me to have more cash at my disposal.

After that I went for lunch at this great restaurant where you pay for your food by the kilogram or for 30 Reals (Brazilian currency), you can eat as much as you want. They had such a wide variety of meat that I went nuts. I almost crawled back home where after replying to some emails I passed out for a proper and well deserved nap.

Woke up in the evening, updated my various sites, did a little bit of work (yes, I still have to work!!!!) and someone suggested that we go out for dinner. Now, have no idea what dishes we had cos the names are all in Portuguese but the food was awesome. Again, I ate like a pig. I did take a snap of the restaurant so check out the pic gallery for more about that.

After dinner, we hauled ourselves to a dessert place where I ate a huge chocolate cake.

I was planning to go out tonight but right now I am so full that I don’t feel like moving an inch. So, I will just clean-up my emails, reply to some messages and go to bed.

Tomorrow, it will be another long day and since I have not tracked down a church where English is spoken, I will dedicated some time to chill with my Father in Heaven and also thank him for the privilege and opportunity that He has given me.

One thing is for sure,if I keep stuffing myself like I do, I will gain more weight. Since it’s one of my resolutions for 2007, I am on the right track.
JA 9:19 pm on January 5, 2007 | 0 | # |

So, after 24 hours in Rio, I have gathered some observations (in relationship to Canada):

– I am in trouble with the lack of Portuguese. But it’s very easy to guess with my French
– There’s a variety of car brands from Europe such as Renault, Fiat, Peugeot, Opel, Citroën and so forth. Brands I have not seen in many years
– It’s humid…. 90% I am told. Love it. Three showers a day will be mandatory and no skin lotion is necessary
– Girls are not bad. Those who like half-casts will be in paradise.
– Running shoes seem to be a big clothing accessory. Only tourists wear flip flops it seems!
– I haven’t bumped into many Blacks yet
– People speak Portuguese to me: good, I don’t look like a foreigner or worse, a tourist
– L’air sent le pipi lol
– People are overly polite. “Obrigado” is a word heard in every conversation.
– I overpacked. I won’t need as many shoes and jeans and I need to purchase more flip-flops and shorts.

That’s all for now. Check out the gallery for my first 24 hours in pictures.

Here’s a sampler:

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