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.

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."

Park Day

We Are All Without School
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

Monday (segunda-feira) is the designated "sports" day for the youth group that I get to hang out with.

And so, we went to the park. Armed with those popsicles - the kind that come as heavily-sugared juice in plastic the size of a bookmark that you have to freeze - we all stood at the bus stop waiting for the right city bus. You have to tear them open with your teeth. The first time I tried, bright orange juice went everywhere. But that's just how I roll.

Imagine a line of teenagers all with bright blue or bright red or bright orange popsicles in their mouths waiting patiently and laughing quietly with each other.

We sat in the asphalt at the park, did a little breathing, did a little stretching and then the teenagers got to play as they pleased. A game of soccer began with some of the boys. Those who were wearing just flip-flops took them off and played barefoot. I saw broken glass on the edge of the court. I hoped to God no one was going to step in it.

The girls taught me a game with a volleyball.

It was hot, even in the shade.

One girl walked with me up a hill to the edge of the park to show me the water. We looked across the street towards the shimmering Guaíba. Some insist it's a river, but really, it's a lake. This girl told me earlier that she is 16 and the last time she went to the beach she was 4. And now she was telling me all the places she wants to see in her country and around the world.

Part of me was thinking how it wasn't fair that I so (relatively) easily could travel here. And once here, could so easily travel to places she's never been. And part of me was hopeful just to listening to her. I love to hear people dream out loud, because if you can put words to them, then I think you're one step closer to them, even if you're still a million steps away.

Cooling Off in the Park

Yesterday a heat-wave began that also ensured that all conversations would center around how hot it was. And how hot it's going to be all week long. The weather certainly keeps us humans fascinated. Myself included.

The heat was also oppressively in my face. My cute little room in the hostel had no fan and so sitting in there felt like I was hanging out in a sweat lodge. And I'm not exaggerating. For a few hours I retreated to the kitchen because there was a ceiling fan. I made adzuki beans and rice enough to have lunch for the rest of the week. So that was good.

Unfortunately I had some research to do on the internet and I didn't want to take my laptop out into one of the hostel's common areas because I'm just paranoid like that. No point in advertising one's valuables. So, I sat in my room, stripping off items of drenched clothing and gulping down water.

Eventually the sun lowered enough so that I could open my window and faint breezes drifted in. Around 7 PM, I felt that some cold coconut juice might help ameliorate the heat, so I set off a nearby convenience store to buy some. Not as fun as drinking the juice with a straw straight from the coconut, but refreshing all the same.

I took my little boxes of the juice to a tiny park nearby.

On the way, I passed by the same lady outside her house who I often see. She was enjoying chimarrão with about six friends. All in the shade in fold-out chairs on the street corner. 

I sat there with a book in hand that I wasn't reading, just so happy to feel a real breeze and to sit in the shade. I happily watched the cast of characters in the park and sipped on my coconut juice. Thrilled that the heat of the day was subsiding and that so many others were out enjoying that fact too. They included various residents of the neighborhood, families, and homeless folks... [Side note: Upon watching the homeless guy go through his possessions, I found myself thinking about how we often associate being homeless with not having anything. Almost some sort of Buddhist state of non-attachment to things. However, it seems that even when we're without a roof, we still carry our baggage around with us.]

 

  

 

P. S. Luckily, I joined A., the Man-Who-Came-From-Italia and Cipote for some ice cream later that night and A. had an extra little fan that I could borrow for my room. Sweet relief! Sleeping was a blissful experience when not covered in a thin film of sweat.

Sunday in the Park

What to do on an early Sunday evening around 6 PM after a lovely leisurely lunch in the company of wonderful people (including of course, a certain dog named Cipote)?

Why go to the park of course!

And, it was the perfect thing to do. The day was sunny with a little bit of gorgeous cloud covering, breezy. Not too hot. Perfect for strolling.

And people watching. Because everyone and their mother was there.

Hanging out.

Drinking the chimarrão (mate) I was talking about in an earlier post. See the mug with a thick straw in the picture below? It contains an herb made from mate. And the green thermos the guy in white is holding has hot water to add to it whenever it gets low.

Yup, a cute couple drinking chimarrão on the park bench on the picture below. You see tons of this stuff for sale in the spice rack underneath the cinnamon at the supermarket...

And more.

I think I may have been the only one there not enjoying a cup of this brew...

The energy in the park was relaxed and content...

People playing...

People singing and playing guitars...I even heard an angsty Portuguese rendition of The House of the Rising Sun. This appears to be a required song for everyone to know how to play when they pick up a guitar, even internationally...

Swimming in the fountains...kind of an icky thought when you look at the actual water in the fountains, but hey if you're feeling hot and far from a pool, why not take a dip in your clothes?

Clowing around...

Watching people clowning around...

Practicing martial arts...

And teenagers too, of course, segregating themselves and looking cool...which is totally uncool of me to say I know...

The popcorn man....

And the cotton candy man...

So many different people out enjoying the beautiful afternoon...

[insert sigh of contentment here]