Of new and old habits.

Happy 2007!

Day 4 of the New year already!
How Time flies...The photo here is from the Copacabana NYE show.

I meant to write a new post earlier, but some inertia was keeping me from it.
I am intrigued, since I put a counter on my blog, I see the number of visits rising, but nobody leaves me any comments...

Bueno ni modo, espero algun dia saber de mis lectores, si es que hay alguno.

By the way, this is one of the new habits I will try to have: I'll write in Spanish a little bit as well...
I still haven't decided if I will write entire posts in Spanish, or if I will only pepper them with some.

This year started very different from the previous ones. Given my geographical situation, I felt compelled to receive the New Year on the beach...so I dragged Dr. O to the beach with me, not before spending best part of the last day of the year, under the insipid rain of Rio, getting together all the things necessary for such an occasion : Food, drink and blue flowers!

Let me explain: In Rio, they celebrate the Sea Goddess of the "Orixas": Yemanja.
To her, you have to thank, and ask for...you have to pay respect, and send her flowers.
Which apparently have to be blue!

So I went out to buy blue flowers...which prove to me quite difficult...
But I found them (12 of them, I wanted less, but my Portuguese is not yet good enough as to argument with street vendors with big Machetes!)

We had dinner earlier than usual -normally we would only be allowed to eat after midnight) and headed for the beach...it was like a mass procession...everybody walking towards Copacabana, most women dress all in white, holding flowers (of all colours!). Men would prefer yellow for their clothes (apparently attracts money!) and they would tend to hold champagne bottles instead of flowers.

There was a point where we could not walk anymore. It was around posto 9, in Ipanema beach. It was 11.30pm. The techno music pumping from the special stage was maddening. Everybody around us was like 20 years younger than us (or felt like it!)

We waited there for the New Year. It came. People shacked the champagne botttles before opening and trying to spray the most quantity of passers-by.
People swam in the sea...throw flowers...hugged and shouted...tried to see the Copacabana fireworks through the top of the Ipanema high-rising hotels.

We drank from our flutes, which were holding 12 grapes (without seeds) which we tried to eat quickly, while wishing for the new year...in the best of Mexican traditions (nota: parece que es costumbre tambien en Brasil, a juzgar por la cantidad de uvas que aparecieron en los mercados en los ultimos dias del anio).

Este anio, decidimos no sacar las maletas a pasear...en primera porque no hubiese sido practico caminar hasta la concurrida playa con maletas...y en segunda, porque decidimos que quizas este anio pasado exageramos en los viajes, y ya podriamos disfrutar um poco de estabilidad.
Pero como medida suplementaria, comimos um poco de lentejas...

After that, off to the sea (Dr. O didn't want to come in the end to jump waves and give flowers!)
Jumped 7 waves the best way I could without getting totally wet, and got rid of my flowers on the sea...
When I came back to where I had left Dr O, I found him (rather he shouted at me!) surrounded by three men, alleging they wanted us to shoot a souvenir photo of them, with our digital camera...I never got to find out if they had another thing in mind, cause I pretended we didn't have any camera...they left in peace...surely one needs to be really silly or drunk or friendly to fall for that one!

There was a concert of the Black eyed peas further along the beach...to which I tried to go...but there was too many people, so I manage to only hear the first few songs, from the distance...every time more distant, since O was dragging me back home.

Since that day, I have tried to implement my New Year's resolutions. So I have been researching Gyms around home. I have also agreed with my friend/professor some working sessions, and I have started attending the famous Summer course at IMPA.

Mientras leia los blogs de unas amigas virtuales mexicanas, me decidi a aumentar mas un proposito a mi lista: Leer un libro ( o mas) al mes.
Asi que tendre que ir a comprar alguno prontito...los libros son caros en Brasil, y mi amiga que me presta libros esta por el momento de vacaciones en USA.

Another one of my projects is to dance with a Samba school in the Carnival.

I had informally agreed to go sometime next week to the Cidade do Samba in the Centre of Rio to buy our suit with Joana! She pleaded with me for us to pick a very light one (!).

So, watch this space!