When I started taking the bus to work, I noticed that, although people here say that buses don't have fixed time, they do have a schedule that can be more or less relied on. And I noticed that there were some people that were always taking the same bus (plus the driver and the cobrador were always the same).
Categorias:
So I have my first cold after coming back home. I was very amazed at how little I got sick while in Finland, especially considering that I was always doing what my grandmother always told me not to: go from warm places (sauna) to cold ones (balcony at -1 degrees Celsius) and vice-versa.
But now, under the (wonderful) heat from my home country, I got sick. Well, it's just a cold... But it was caused because I was feeling really hot at night and decided to sleep with my window open. I think it might have gotten to +19 at night, but still, I woke up sneezing.
Categorias:
Kyösti asked (about my fear of getting robbed in the bus):
One thing about the buses: are you completely serious about the level of danger as far as getting robbed and whatnot? I wonder if there would be some stats or something about this (sorry, too damn lazy to google.)
Categorias:
After almost one month back home, I can easily say that the best thing around here is how people interact with each other. We say good morning, good afternoon and good evening to strangers, passers-by, colleagues, whoever. We talk about politics in the bus. We ask about random things. And we smile!
Categorias:
Yesterday I went to have lunch with my sister, her husband, my 1-year-old nephew, my mom, stepdad and younger sister. We were at Pizza Hut, somewhere very central in Brasília. The baby was sleeping in the perambulator as we chatted and ate.
Categorias:
Without a doubt, the phrase I have heard the most since I arrived whenever I say I won't buy a car is: oh, but public transportation in Brasília is so bad; you have to have a car. That, or variations of the same thing. And of course, said by people who don't really use public transportation.
Categorias:
Two days after arriving in Brazil, I already had my first big "thing": being part of the Critical Mass ("Bicicletada") against the corrupt governor. It was scheduled to be at 6pm in the center of the city. My work is some 11km away from the center. I didn't have a clear idea of how to get to work by bus, and I would be late for the Critical Mass if I arrived at work too late, so I ended up choosing convenience over the environment and borrowed my brother's car (he is on vacations in the beach). That was my first defeat.
Categorias:
Although the previous day was way too long, my body is not used to the lightness of this country. I went to bed at 3am, and woke up a bit before 8. I still felt pretty tired in the morning, but just couldn't sleep more.
I had to go to work still before noon, so I just started to get ready. My dad gave me a lift to the office, which is reasonably close to my mom's house and kinda on the way to most places downtown. It was nice to be able to talk to him for a little while.
Categorias:
I guess I became more like a Finn than I had thought at first. No speaking to anyone in the plane, enjoying the silence for many hours, thinking about going back, about Matias staying behind, about the snow and the cold... And realising I was really going to miss it all, Finland with all its good and bad things.
But arriving in Brazil was a good surprise, at least in the first contact in the airport. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY was so nice and smiling, helpful, shining in their own ways. It felt really good to be a Brazilian, to be back home.
Categorias:
Há algum tempo eu havia fechado o blog para família e amigos, com a intenção de proteger minha privacidade online. Queria escrever mais sobre meu dia-a-dia, mas não me sentia à vontade para fazê-lo com as cortinas abertas. Fechei o blog, escrevi algumas coisas (não tantas quanto gostaria, claro, mas isso não é novidade)... e percebi que família e amigos não estavam se cadastrando no site. Eles visitavam, mas por algum motivo ficavam do lado de fora. A experiência não deu certo... de que adianta eu escrever pra eles, se eles não lêem?
Categorias: