I didn't bring my camera this time

There was a moment on Sunday evening when I couldn't take it any longer. I'd been sitting in front of my laptop, typing away for the entire day, trying my damnedest to finish one paper so I could start another.

And words started spinning in my brain and I thought I might explode. Yes, yes, had I begun writing this thing months ago, it wouldn't have been this unpleasant. Beginning early would have been an excellent idea. But I used my time on other things. And besides, time sensitive deadlines can provide necessary motivation to get 'er done. Right? Or so I have rationalized.

I think it was around 6 PM. The sky was getting darker. It was almost dusk, but not quite. I threw on my flip flops, stuffed my house keys in my pocket and said to A., "I have to go out."

"Yes, yes you do," she agreed as Cipote laid on her lap and looked at me as he always does when he's next to A. It's sort of a "Don't you come any closer. She's mine!" kind of look. And he will follow it up with a bark or a growl if need be. Of course, if A.'s not there to give affection, he will come looking for me with his adorable I-need-some-love eyes.

Out I went, just trying to get the mess of thoughts in my head to slow down a little. I walked a block and crossed through the bus lane to the street adjacent to the park. It's always full of vendors on the weekend selling organic produce on Saturday and arts & crafts all the rest of the time. They were all closing up their stalls, getting ready to leave for the day.

The street was blocked off to traffic and teeming with people. I made my way to the park entrance. Parents and children and strollers. Popcorn vendors. Men with poles of cotton candy. Chimarrão all around. Teens. Cyclists. Dogs of all shapes and sizes. Elderly couples walking arm in arm. Young couples making out as if their lives depended on kissing. People sitting on the grass, on park benches, strolling, laughing, talking, smiling, running, moving, just being there.

And I was so gratified by how easy it was to just meld into this huge sea of humanity enjoying the park on a Sunday evening. With the sun far behind the trees, the sky almost dark but still light enough so that you could see everything.

I came upon a group practicing capoeira near a fountain and stopped to watch getting lost in the fluidity and grace of the movement of all the participants of all ages and sizes. Their bodies flowed in and out of a dance of complex movements, actions, reactions as if it was that easy to defy gravity. It was amazing. I watched in awe.

This may have been the best "break" from academic work that I have ever managed to take. Of course it choked me up a little too because it just felt so beautiful, because I kept thinking -- as one always does when an 'end' is rapidly approaching -- that I hadn't taken advantage of this nearly enough. But there I was, at least then, on that evening, in my t-shirt that was too thin for the weather, with 5 centavos in my pocket and a sky getting darker and darker with every minute.

Cipote is 1/3 Cat

Last night I sat at my computer typing an email. Cipote approached and looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. I motioned for him to jump onto my lap. He geared up and landed with aplomb. Usually he likes to sit with his back to me, staring out at the world around us or reading what I'm typing. Barking at at the bats living in the non-functioning air conditioner (story about bats to come one of these days!).

This time though he couldn't get comfortable. Or perhaps, I wasn't reacting the way he wanted? He kept putting his front paws onto my shoulder and trying to climb up my torso as if I were a ladder. Initially I felt confused, but then I thought, "Does he want me to hold him? Is that it?"

And so I picked him up and held him in my arms. This made further typing impossible. So I walked with this little dog-cat-baby in my arms into the living room to sit down on the couch. Oh, Cipote. He stayed in my arms, fluttering his eyes, occasionally snoring a little, for the next 30 minutes, until A. scooped him up when she went to bed. I love this creature!

Crazed Enthusiasm with Rubber Chicken

Crazed Enthusiasm with Rubber Chicken
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

I can't get enough of Cipote, as my multiple blog posts about this creature attest. Indeed, in the words of a friend on flickr, he is full of crazed enthusiasm.

Here he's looking at me and saying, "Play with me! C'mon, try and grab this chicken from me. It'll be fun! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! You don't have to worry. It'll be safe! And fun!"

Of course, if you do try to grab that chicken, he will growl and try to bite your hand. But, he will do so with a huge smile on his face. And if he starts to play too rough, he'll usually realize it pretty quickly and apologize by trying to lick your toes.

Love at a Payphone

"I'm going to have to write a post about you answering the phone when we were on the way to the park," I said to A. last night, "I love that you are the type of person who can't pass by a ringing payphone without answering it."

"Well yeah," said A., "You never know who it's going to be. And he was a nice guy."

"Exactly!" I said, "It's like the beginning of a movie, I think."

"Not a romantic one!" said A., "He said that he was of a 'certain age' which certainly means he was old."

"No, no, it doesn't have to be like that," I said. "Let's see, it starts like it actually happened, but I think we'll cut me out of it. You're out for a stroll with Cipote. On your way to the park you pass a turquoise Oi payphone. And the phone is ringing. Immediately without thinking twice you answer it saying, 'Alo?'"

"It's the man on the other end, The Man of a Certain Age," says A., "And he's asking if I had just called him, was I responding to the personal ad he'd placed? 'Oh no!' I tell him, it wasn't me. It couldn't have been me since I have a boyfriend...but maybe it was my friend, I know she's interested in something like that."

"Right!" I say, "And then instead of it ending with you politely wishing him good luck, hanging up the phone and going to the park with Cipote to watch kids playing in the fountain --"

"Ok," says A. "We'll forget about how joyful the children were when they were playing with abandon in the fountain." 

"So, instead of that tranquil ending, you hear how much loneliness is in the voice of The Man of a Certain Age. And since you're the type of generous person that will accompany strangers to the pronto socorro emergency hospital, you agree to meet this man. And a beautiful friendship blooms between the two of you. Now you want to find him a partner...so you're setting him up on all these dates with your single friends...But, unfortunately something goes wrong on each of these dates. Something funny of course, since this is a comedy....But you're at the end of your rope and you don't know what to do for this poor Man of a Certain Age. You're out walking Cipote again one afternoon and all of a sudden a Woman of a Certain Age starts telling you how much she loves your dog!"

"The woman who we really did talk to right before I picked up the payphone!" says A. laughing. "She was so funny. Do you remember how she said that at her age she wasn't jealous of anyone except people with dogs for pets. She told us that she had been married for 50 something years and made us guess how old she was. She was 80, right?"

"Something around there."

"She looked great for her age! And her husband who wouldn't let her have a pet. And she, for love, decided it was better to keep the peace than fight for one. But she told her husband, 'The day after you die, you know there'll be a dog living in this house!'"

"And so...in this movie, you run into this woman again. You've been trying to set The Man of a Certain Age up with eligible women for months with all these wacky mishaps and nothing's working out. And this woman is now out walking her own little dog and she compliments yours. You realize in a flash that her husband has died. She confirms this and says that she's been a widow for many months now. She always thought a dog would help her fill the void, but it hasn't. She feels lonely still. And looking at her you realize that she is the The Woman of a Certain Age who would be perfect for The Man of a Certain Age, who conveniently happens to adore pets. You set them up. It's love at first sight! The movie ends with you walking down the street leaving the two lovebirds and their pets to fall in love. You're walking down the street with Cipote and the same payphone rings again. You look at it and raise your eyebrows. We're left wondering if you will answer the phone again...The end."

"Oh my gosh Alison," says A., "I think you're really tired. You better go to bed."

Meanwhile, in Porto Alegre

Studying with Cipote
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

I am following doctor's orders, convalescing at home and hoping that if I'm good about healing, this pneumonia will never return. The anxious part of me that is calculating internship hours has me reading about academic conceptions of Brazilian youth for a portion of every day.

Luckily, Cipote is here to keep me company through all of this.

Actually, I'm convinced that he's at least 1/3 cat the way he'll just twist himself around so that we can both fit on the couch. Also, like a cat, he'll often just plop himself right down on the notebook that I happen to be writing in.

In his own way, I think he's monitoring both myself and Samosa, making sure we don't study too hard. Or at least that we don't get so engrossed in our thoughts that we don't take a break to give him some love and affection.

However, at the end of the day, it's obvious who his true love is.

His ears begin to perk when he knows it's around the time that she'll be coming home. He gets just a little on edge, unable to fully get comfortable. Usually around this time, he'll also start patrolling the city from the top of the orange couch of this seventh floor apartment, peering down at the rooftops, barking a little when necessary to keep the calm. And when he hears A's keys turning in the lock, he becomes a happy dog indeed.

Back in Porto Alegre

Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

We drove into the city last night in our rental car. We'd made good time from Santa Catarina. And then, in some apparently subconscious attempt to counteract that, we spent at least 30 insane minutes trying to access a gas station to fill up. From there we hopped a ride ride back home to A.'s with an angry cabbie who refused to make a U-turn to the correct side of the street.

Ahhh, it felt so nice to be back! Especially since I'd somehow managed to come down with some sort of flu-like sickness while at the beach (Seriously?! Getting sick at the beach. Not cool!). I was so grateful to have a comfy bed to lie down on to sweat away some of the sickness.

But, the real question of the day was: will A's dog Cipote, who notoriously does not like men, get along with my boyfriend? They had met each other briefly the morning we left for the beach, and Cipote had warmed up to him, surprising both A. and myself. We crossed our fingers that this was a good sign.

However, Cipote's vigorous, threatening barking as soon as we walked in the front door did not bode well for their relationship. "Oh no," I thought, "This may be difficult."

Luckily, my boyfriend first bribed Cipote with food and then took the time to give him lots and lots of affection (after Cipote deemed it okay, of course). This morning I walked into the living room to see the two of them hanging out together on the couch. I think Cipote has allowed my boyfriend to be an exception to his no-men rule!

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P.S. After what feels like absolute ages away in Foz do Iguaçu and Praia do Luz, I have LOTS to write about and many photos to share. More posts to come!

Meet Cipote

Cipote
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

One of my current housemates is the lovely Cipote. A. wrote me about him before I arrived. "He only likes women," she wrote, "He becomes very jealous of men." Luckily for me, I fit the description. It was love at first sight. When I'm sitting, he'll jump on my lap and sit there, on guard. Yesterday in the late afternoon, I was re-making my way through my old Portugues para Estrangeiros textbook and he snuggled with me on the couch. I fell asleep with one hand holding the closed book and one hand on Cipote. A. came in a little while later, dressed for the gym and asked me if I was ready to go, saying I could just stay there if I wanted. "I think I better go," I replied, "Or I'll stay here all evening."