World Cup 2010

Copa do Mundo! is the Portuguese that we speak everyday now in Brazil! 

Today Brazil won a good game, even my favourite Kaka got a RED card and can't appear in the next game versus Portugal!! 

I understood more how the importance of football (soccer) to Brazilians now, when I watched the TV and saw there are just too many people watching and celebrating in the street all over the countries in different cities! 

I missed the chance to go out this afternoon, but in the house, watch together with 4 other Brazilian men, it's a kind of local experiences too, right?

Learning Portuguese

Used to have Portuguese class with a girl who want to learn English, but because of the heavy work, I need to stop for a while, and I am not sure if we can have the class back too...I have only one more month in Belém...

But I found out that I am now very into learning this language, although I am still very poor in listening, I understand more now, I do think it can be certainly my real 4th language later! (or 5th if I counted my HK sign as a lang, unlike my poor Japanese/french/tagalo...that I speaks just some words...)

I believe everyone has their languages limit, like me, I speak more Portuguese ad English these few months, I started to forget some Chinese words.... I am sure it will be back, but at the same time my Portuguese vocab will be lost...

To write just a little bit everyday

Everyday I learn new things here in Brazil, sometimes I want to make myself remember more, I recorded my voice and even in video. 

but why not write something short everyday when I can have internet before I go home early next year?

It might be just good, to let me remember more my time in South/Central America. 

Thanks for Little monster for inspire me that idea. 

Watching World Cup, England Team vs Algeria....Come on England....

in Brazil, people crazy with football (futebol), on Sunday, there will be great to go to the Belem City Centre, enjoy the Festa Junina here and watch the game with the locals! Full of Fun! 

Becoming a Die Hard Fan's of Brazil team, seriously planning for coming back to watch the World Cup 2014, 4 years later! and good time to see my good friends too!

Got my invitation???

 

Reading

When I was young, I used to read English books, but there were many words that I don't know, I need to use dictionary to check many of the vocabulary, now I am facing the same, using my Portuguese dictionary to read a book! But I am quite enjoying it!

Just a day in Belem.

May 23, 2010

Today is a Sunny Sunday!! I was planning to go to the city and the market with friends, however, the party on yesterday with a 10 years’ old boy was lasted very late that my friends just cannot wake up this morning…..

I stayed at home and just relax myself today.

A little bit more concrete plan for my Central/Latin America trip

July – Early August 2010 --- Brazil, Santarém, Manaus

Mid August -- Boa Vista in Brazil and then go to Venezuela or Guyana

Late August – Jamaica

End of Aug – end of Sep – Cuba

End of Sep – mid of Oct  ----Mexico

mid of Oct – end of Oct ---- Guatemala and Panama

End of October to begin of Nov ---- Colombia

Beginning of Nov – end of November --- Peru and Bolivia

December --- Argentina and South Pole…?

January --- Brazil!!

End of Jan to Feb – London/Europe and Home….

Will u be there…?

Expressing Love

In Brazil, people express their loves more physical. (Ok I am not talking about sex here...)

Friends, Family, Lovers, Colleagues, or people you meet just in a few mins, we hugs and kisses here. 

It's very usual when we meet the people at the beginning, but I see more than that when I lives here for more than 2 months. 

Anytime when people feel they want to kiss and hug a person, they will do so! 

I had lunch with a father and son, the son is already an adult, the father kissed his son, during the middle of the lunch suddenly when they talked about somethings. (ok I don't understand...)

But I know that, he talked about some old things and suddenly reminds how he love his son. 

When I told them we don't have this in HK/China, the older generation parents and children don't even talk on dinner tables, some HKists don't event like to have children, Brazillian friends were all shock... and then come up with many questions of the cultural differents.....

Lovers (no matter how old they are) are more obviously, they will kisses suddenly in front of people wherever and whenever, but the feeling is much different from the HK youngs that I saw. 

People feel and want to kiss another one, because they have a very strong feeling of "Saudade" in their deep heart. It's a word do not have direct translate to other language, missing and nostalgia cannot be completed to translate the feeling. I might say it's a word about "feeling of love" or the "hunger for love", haha. 

 I kiss this little baby boy most of the time although he is very naughty!!!

 

Cultural Shocks

yap I experienced more and more here in Para.

I went to a funeral of a 29 year's old lady. First time see Brazil people hugging in a sad emotion.
She is the daughter of my host father's girlfriend. Pray for her. I don't know what to do without knowing what to say. But sometimes people with understand you with just watching your eyes.
At that moment, I just thought I am really becoming into the family.

The next morning I woke up early like at 6:30am, and went to the beach nearby. And I see the river again. I walked and walked and take beautiful photos, I normally won't take that much of photos for just beach. But this time is different, it's by the RIVER. with beautiful sky. just love it.
And my friend asked if I want to swim, I said I have no swimsuit...and he just said, "come on" I then took off my t-shirt and jump into the water! I never did that before I think, as a Capricorn it's just too emotional and improvise! But I do think I am not a typical Capricorn anymore....

and then I visited my other friend, she is an artist lady, do a lot of small interesting toys and puppets. And I found that she lives in that very basic house in the rural area. Like walls and beds and very very basic furniture.
And again I can see how the mental life is important here in Brazil.

But Hammock is a must in everyone's house here in Para (even the boats to Manaus (the biggest city in the Amazonia State) via River Amazon), no matter how empty your house is!

on the way back home I found a big pieces of area of Mimosa. In HK, I can say it's almost gone even in New Territories, I saw a big pieces only when I was a child.

In the Amazon Region, it rains all the time with good Sun, that make all the plants and tree growth up very very fast. There are trees, especially mango trees everywhere in the city Belem (that's also because the government policy before), People sometimes just pick up the mangoes from the ground, wash it and eat! and it feeds many people I can say. Normally 3 months here, you can see a small tree becomes big trees with mangoes!! In other part of Brazil might take a year?

Finally I stayed in the city and real working hard with the team.
But with the great Caipirinha I can be alive again!! haha, just a very good local cocktails here. It's just too famous here except beer!

should put some good photos on too...a bit later.