On our way to Canada

On our way to Canada, we made a little stop in Panama. There the kids rehearsed for our 3 days in New York City. And we were reminded about refined Chinese pleasures.

No Beijing. Panama.

In New York City.
Completing the cycle of celebrations of Hanukkah with our friends Boaz and Stacey and their kids. Lights. Hope. Friendship.
Swinging on an installation of Ann Hamilton, in the Park Avenue Armory, on one of the 42 large wood-plank swings, "The Event of a Thread". Their movements agitates an immense curtain in the middle of the even larger space. Child memories. Happiness. Flow.
Walking among the crowds of Fifth Avenue. Meeting some old Beijing friends near the Rockefeller Center and its huge Canadian tree. Sitting in a Tom Ford booth to get my make up done by an old friend. Street excitation. Anticipation. Wealth of experiences. Experiences of wealth.
Touring a night market. Eating in an art installation. Discovering the crowded new "in" areas of the city at night. More urban bliss.
Yes. I need more of that. We will be back.
Back on a plane now, to Canada.

Celebrating Again

In each new destination I lived in, whether it was Vancouver, Brazzaville, Ziguinchor, Lausanne, I have met the right person who because literally a "door opener" for me in my new environment. I think of Jodi in Beijing, of Jeana in Vancouver, of Isabelle in Toulouse. Here it is not different. I am indebted to Steph for all the friends and contacts she has allowed me to meet, and all her help to get us settled.  With some of her help, I have been fortunate enough to meet many people here that have share their insights on how to maximize the Brasilia stay and take advantage of what this place has to offer. So today, I opened my house to her and all our friends to celebrate her turning of age. Her husband organized a very special evening, gathering about 40 of her best friends, hiding everyone in the living room, to surprise her. It was a very fun evening. Happy Bday Steph!

Oscar is Dead. Vive Oscar.

Today an architecture icon past away. Oscar Niemeyer, the man behind Brasilia, is gone after leaving his indelible mark around the world.
"You may not like Brasilia, but you can't say have seen anything like it - you maybe saw something better, but not the same. I prefer Rio, even with the robberies. What can you do? ... But people who live in Brasilia, to my surprise, don't want to leave it. Brasilia works. There are problems. But it works. And from my perspective, the ultimate task of the architect is to dream. Otherwise nothing happens."
Oscar Niemeyer, in 2005, to the New York Times magazine.

Here is something interesting and more comprehensive about the man and his work.

Expat World

Some destinations have rich and active expatriate circles, where it is usually easy to befriend other foreigners. In several African countries, the chore of the foreigners are linked to the aid business. In places like China, Japan and Korea, a number of foreigners come to find opportunities they could not access back home. Many entrepreneurs are taking their marks in these hyperactives environments. In other cases, the love of the culture brings some to deeply immerse themselves, sometimes as Peace Corps or volunteers, sometimes as foreign language students, sometimes as young interns in local businesses. The nature of Brasilia itself, a new capital constructed inland, away from other Brazilian economic centers, brings very little international businesses, and a rather limited number of diplomats.

In some destinations, diplomats and expatriates organized themselves. Sharing issues linked to linguistic, cultural, even economical barriers can often create a first bond. In Beijing, there was Pékin Accueil, a 300+ group of francophones (mostly French) meeting monthly and organizing a huge number of activities covering a wide range of tastes. Here there is Brasilia Connection. Yet the demographics are different, with more diplomats wives, of a different age group. Yet between Pékin Accueil and Brasilia Connection there is a common shared interested in doing volunteering, in returning some of our own luck and affluence to the poorest and neediest.

This week there was a meeting. Previously at other meetings there were guest speakers. This time it was not the case, and as I arrived late to the gathering, I found the group brainstorming on how to help new comers get integrated in Brasilia, and on how to introduce them to the city. How appropriate for me. I was in awe listening to the listing of all the good things Brasilia has to offer: Good weather all year round. Easy access to cultural events of international standards. Ease to move around the city. Access to interesting natural sanctuaries around the city. Brazilian love of families and children. The list was much longer, and I should have written it down for future references. It was a good exercise to put some of my own difficulties into perspective. 

Celebrating with Friends

From experience, all international "transplantation" forces one to find his or her marks. And depending on the destination, it can be more or less easy to do. Making friends is a essential part of the process of settling in. In several instances there is the "visual difference", the possibility to be easily spotted among a crowd, helping locating potential friends. Among a crowd, an eye contact with another foreigner among a crowd opens the possibility of a non-verbal exchange of sympathy (for being in the middle of this pushy crowd, or for being watched, or for having the guts to come out of the typical tourist destinations, for example). However, as Brazilians are so mixed genetically, being caucasians or not no longer stands out in a crowd. Of course, my personal status of foreigner gets immediately noticed when people hear me discuss with my children in a language other than Portuguese. Other "Friend making techniques" are required here in Brasilia.
In Beijing, going down to the playground was a guarantied fast way to find potential friends. Kids playing with kids, moms chatting among each other. But here, in the plano piloto, near the city center of Brasilia, where we first moved in, the playground structures are old, ill-maintained and under-used, therefore not really a "source" for potential friends. And in Lago Sul where we live now, there are no playgrounds easily accessible from our house. Beyond the fact that they are not well maintained and exposed to the burning sun.
So one easy way to meet people is at the school, dropping and picking up the kids. And of course, at birthday parties, as parents are expected to attend.  Slowly but surely I was able to meet interesting friends this way. And here as the circles of expats is to the scale of the city, a friend's friend quickly becomes yours too. And here the expat life gets interesting at night.
So when a friend invited us to celebrate her husband's new forty, in a dressed-up surprise evening, we happily joined, imagining to be a few select to be invited. Here are is a glimpse of our fun evening, where in fact about everyone we knew was!

(Desperate) Housewifes Club

I receive an email in my inbox that left me wondering what to do. It was an invitation to a make-up class along with some other friends.

Do I need make up that bad? I am not someone who put a lot of make-up, but I have to admit that here most Brazilian girls take more attention to their image than me. Should I make an effort to integrate better??

Furthermore, am I the type of girl that does this kind of activities? Should I not be writing some more intelligent things instead? Am I the kind of expat wife that does not know what to do with my time? Usually I have always been able to occupy myself with very interesting activities - whether it is yoga, writing, volunteering, and work as well. Here, so far I have been busy with out installation, and with the kids. To be an expat wife often means leaving behind work, and spend time reasjusting to a new environment. In Brasilia because of the administrative nature of the city, it is often more difficult to find a job that corresponds to one's skills and competences. I am not yet hopeless, but I can see that the process will be a tedious one. I was just reading about this here. For my friends abroad, living in Brazil sounds like a superb experience - and I am sure it will be - but the settling in is a tedious process. And some women, after several relocations, simply give up on finding for themselves something meaningful to do other than caring for their loved ones. The process is lengthly and discouraging at times, and the sheer prospect of a departure leaves one to wonder the validity of such efforts. So like many, should I contemplate finding myself activities to entertain myself and stop worrying about it all? Yet so new here, I cannot pretend that this decision should be taken now. Should I allow myself to pamper myself a bit? And to have a good time with my girlfriends? I gave-in, and tagged along. 

And it was fun. I had to leave before the end of the session to pick up the kids in school, and despite feeling sick that morning, the result on my face was very impressive: I looked healthy! Ah!

Carol, our teacher, is one of these young very maked-up girl. Later we learned that she is in fact our age, looking 10 years younger than her age. Like what, it works. 

Still Being

When we get off the JK (pronounce Jakaka) bridge driving to the city, there is a large concrete building on the Northern side of the road that attracted my attention.
I met my first set of girlfriends in that building.  Not obvious to reach by car, like other places in Brasilia (read my post on how we got to the National Museum), the CCBB is well worth the effort. The name of the museum stands for Centro Cultural Banco de Brasil, and like many other cultural destinations in town, is with a free admission. Exhibition are rotated frequently, and their level is of high international standards.
When we arrived first in city, the facade of the CCBB was adorned by a large sign spelling Amazonias. Today there is a cast iron statue of a naked man standing along side the road, not far from it. And a few more of these statues are placed in a few strategic locations in the city. The work of the British artist Anthony Gormley is on display.
The work of the artist is interesting. Working mostly with his own body, casting it and replicating it in various medias and abstraction, the artist is internationally known.  In Brasilia, he produced three different installations, plus one room filled with a number of models of previous work. The main installation is called "Corpos Presentes / Still Being", regrouping a large number of statues of the artist's own body in various positions, installed in an open air space specially constructed for this installation. The effect is quit surreal and impressive.

 

In the museum we listened to videos of the artist explaining his methodology, adding a new dimension to the installation. The kids were as fascinated as we were to hear him speak of the development of his project. Another Place, an installation of 100 cast iron figures facing the sea of Crosby Beach, near Liverpool, was the subject of another video. Another video also presented the painstaking approach of the artist to create a giant mecano assemblage of 27 tons of welded steel in the shape of a crouched body. I am not able to remember where this was installed.
The exhibition of the models was interesting, giving us a hint on his approach at deconstructing the body and recreating it in a different way. I really enjoyed the model of his Angel of the North and of Quantum Cloud.
In 1994 Gormley has won the Turner Price for Field for the British Isles. From the exhibition room we walked downstairs into a very dimly lit room, where several pictures of native indians working with clay. For a moment I thought it was the left-overs of the previous exhibition Amazonias. Then around the corner, I discovered the Amazonian Field, a work he created 20 years ago with Brazilian natives. The space occupied by 24,000 small terracota figures,  made by the villagers of Porto Vielho over the period of a week. The effect is very stunning. I was really touched, unaware that Gormley was the author of this well publicized work. And please such famous artist would make the trip to Brasilia.

A New Addition to Our (Extended) Family

While we were busy entertaining our guest, my brother and my sister-in-law were busy welcoming to the world their latest realization: little baby Romane, a cute little bundle of joy of 9.98 pounds (4.53 kg), born on November 23, at 11:19PM.
I can't wait to hold her in my arms!

Warming It Up

I have given our installation process a huge push. I spent the last two weeks running errants right and left to try to get things in place, spending hours in lines at cashiers, driving miles to reach to the place that has the right hook/tool/gizmo for the job. I am so ready move on to a new phase of my life not related to this installation. This process has been taking much time, so much longer than I had anticipated. In fact the process of our installation, if we take it from the moment we learned we were arriving in Brazil, in July 1st, to today, has been painfully long. And today with only a few weeks away from Christmas, despite my efforts, I have the feeling some things will not be fully settled until we are returning from our holidays.
Deep breathing. 
Since the day the movers left our house, I spent time moving things around and trying to fit them in "their" place. I am the type of person who feels at ease in order, light, clean spaces; I feel it helps my head clears up. I fact I have memories of myself playing at ordering the play kitchen of the kindergarden. Maybe it was a sign of my own destiny?! In any cases, with this existential nesting angst as a motivator, I feel good in action, doing the actual organizing, the process helping me anchoring myself in this new place. Despite the miles and the lines, I have been enjoying the process of making a house our home.
To add juice and speed to my organizing schedule, I thought of inviting a few friends over on Friday. I got carried away and ended up with a list of 25 guests. And I figured that good things should not be celebrated alone, and purchased a cake to celebrate Paul's new 35.
In the morning, I invested my kitchen to the dismay of my staff (Brazilian ladies don't cook here, only their maids) and started making dips and salads and meat skewers with asian and mediterranean flavors. The excitement carried me away to what was a full table later in the evening, to the pleasure of my guests. And I spent the afternoon still drilling holes and hanging pictures.
In the end, it was such a lovely evening! I was glad to have made friends with so many interesting people so easily! And I was happy to hear the conversations and feel the happiness flow. Our place was all warmed up by the music, the conversations and the warm lights just installed. My heart was filled with gratitude, and how appropriately! What best for us to celebrate our arrival in the city than to do it around friends, and moreover during Thanksgiving season?! And in some strange ways, despite (or maybe because of) the effort needed, I felt relieved. Like if having friends around was a way for me to close the chapter of "installation" and moving in to the chapter of "living" in this new place.
Cheers to that my friends, and happy birthday to my love!
(Sorry I was holding the cake so I could not take a picture of it, neither of the surprised face of my darling!!)

Big Cats

I am a cat lover. I love to petting a purring furry ball on my laps. But when we got to NEX, I realized that maybe maybe some cats are less my type.
We left Pirenopolis in the morning and drove in convoy to reach the special conservation center called NEX no extinction, a non-governental organization. It is located 80 km from Brasilia, yet it is situated very far away on a dirt road. A very pretty road. Getting there was a little long for the kids, but they forgot about it as soon as we got out of the car.

The center is a refuge for brazilian felines that have been abused or have lost their capacity to be in the wild. There are panthers, black panthers, jaguars, pumas, and a few other smaller types of wild cats. There is about two dozen animals plus a few parrots and a pretty toucan.
The panthers are really impressives. They are angry wild animals, roaring and howling and bellowing with intensity that I never suspected. The dominant male was not happy to be unable to fetch Maya, the dog of our friends. Not that Maya really cared, wagging its tail in content. But I would not want to find myself on the way of this pretty cat, in the wild. We were invited to see it feed, and we assisted to a real fight between pumas who were arguing over who would "win" Maya - or one of our kids - we were not sure.
These animals have been rescued in various ways, some were owned by drug-lords and discovered in their properties during police raids. Other were not cared properly or abandoned by their owners. Some have damages to their fur or marks that prevent them to be integrated into zoos, as they are usually are looking for perfect animals. Some other have been declawed which makes it impossible for them to be reintroduced in the wild. Others have spent too much time in captivity to also be able to fend for themselves in the wild.
It was a very interesting visit. And for some reasons, all our kids understood when we talked about not touching the fence.

Most photos are Paul's.

Moving in Large Packs

There was a "Feria" on Thursday, which meant that the country was not working for a day. Not sure why they would not try, like in China, to move the special day around to create a long weekend, but in any cases, we decided that we would make our own version of a long weekend: kids will skip school, and Paul work, on Friday.
We headed to Pirenopolis with a few friends and their kids.
Pirenopolis is in the state of Goiàs, adjacent to the DF - District Federal, where Brasilia is situated. It is a three hundred years old colonial town with roads paved of long and narrow uneven cut stones, with small colorful buildings and a relax feel of slowly being trapped in time. With its walkable sidewalks, its cafes and small artifacts stores all over the place, it feels convivial and quaint. Something that Brasilia doesn't have.  The original settlers were Portuguese who came for the gold found in the region. Today it is a near touristic destination for the inhabitants of the capital.

What started as a trip of 3 families (us tagging along with two families) turned out by Friday night to be a group of eleven adults and eleven kids. And it was so much fun! We essentially took over our resort, Alter Real.

Adults hung out while kids played. We dipped ourselves and fool around with the kids in the pools. We walked in nature to some some natural waterfalls. We ate excellent food, homemade, from homegrown produces, either in town or at Vagafogo, where the waterfall was. We ate more. We shopped for local crafts (and came back with vintage outfits instead). We practiced some light yoga. We drank a few G&T, and more. It was fun to move slowly in packs. The kids got along perfectly, the older girls playing together, the boys chasing each other or planning the next mischievous trick. It felt a bit like a summer camp, and it was lovely.

In summary, we are looking forward to the next time!

Everything Will Find Its Place

Things are moving slowly into place. After three full days of unpacking and mounting furniture and putting things in a pile, the movers left. I kind of missed them right away! They were so kind at moving heavy stuff around! Now this is on me to organize and place, and eventually make this place feel like our home. So as slow as it might feel for me - the hyperactive type A - as good as it feels at the end of each day to see that some things have shifted, and that slowly we are finding our own homey version of the perfect Brasilian feng shui. (We can't leave China quite fully yet).
Of course it involves some trips to the store, and some discussions among ourselves on where and how to organize things. And more trips to the store, and more discussions. There are still many things to be organized (and that you can't see in these pictures). Books and books and books and office papers and files and papers. The least fun part. And our bathroom. And my closet. Well, I guess most of the upstairs.
Meantime, here is the state of things.

Delivery!!!

After five long months of living our of our suitcases, our stuff finally arrived Monday! It came in the same container it left China, all bunked and rusted, specially after sitting 2 months in Tianjin, because of a simple paper missing, the famous CPF.
I was so skeptical that I refused to move our mattress until the truck would arrive. I was sure it would be postpone, like so many other things were, since we arrived here.

So in any cases, it took three guys two days to unload things and mount the dismantled furniture. Like usual, some of our stuff got damaged. Nothing as serious as when we arrived to DC from Liberia (there was for about 20$K of damages then, plus a family of cockroaches shipped directly from Africa). I have not gotten used to this yet, finding some of my precious things damaged. And wondering again on how is it possible for our italian couch to loose a leg. 

In any cases, it is amazing to see the house getting filled with stuff. At first it is only boxes and then slowly things get unpack and furniture starts to appear. What was for so long an empty space starts to have a new life of its own, once a sofa or a table is placed in it.
Overall, it is a very exciting moment for us. I can finally see that are settling process is getting to an end. Well I guess not until all is unpacked, organized and installed.
So let me go now, I have yet to do more!!!

The container just pulled up in front of our yard. 

Some people are really happy.

The state of the living room after 24 hours.

Just books.

It takes a truck to clear the empty boxes.

The state of the living room after 48 hours. 

Expat Blues

I have the expat blues. I am not feeling settled. It has been months now that we are "settling in". Since the month of June, we have been "moving", first preparing the move and all sorts of related logistical issues, then moving around places and countries for a couple months, then landing here, finding a place, waiting for the place, then waiting for our stuff (which is supposed to arrive tomorrow, by the way). But after 5 months of "nomadism" and despite almost 3 of them here in Brasilia, I am not feeling settled at all. And it is starting to bother me seriously.

In fact, I feel I should know better. I have moved houses and countries now more than anyone I know. From my hometown to cool and fun Montreal. In a village in India, probably the most intense culture shock ever. In Vancouver, same country but different mentality and weather. In the warm and happy Toulouse, in the South of France. In Lausanne, pretty and quiet. In slow Ziguinchor, in the lush Casamance, the southern-most province of Senegal. Back in Montreal, welcome back reverse culture shock. In Brazzaville, recovering from the war, yet troubled. In Liberia, discovering the peacekeeping world and sub-culture and learning surfing on my free times. In Washington, back to civilization, yet a stranger in the American culture. A year later, in Beijing, digging deep in this millennial culture. And now Brasilia.

All my experiences have come with an intensity of their own, with questioning and soul-searching, and at one point or another, with resistances from my part to "be part" of the new culture. In almost all cases, there were struggles not only with a new language or new expressions, but also with new ways of dealing with problems, and new ways of thinking. And of course in some cases, it came with the impression to be a bit of a circus animal for the local who watched me bemused. At times, I had the impression that I had to mourn something inside myself, some part of me, or maybe some beliefs before being able to enjoy my new "home". But in all cases, in various degrees, I was able to settle, immerse myself in my new place, and enjoy it. 

This time is no different. Same struggles on different grounds. The language. The orientation in a new culture. The new settings. Figuring out what are the "special rules" of Brazil, whether it is socially or on the road. Meeting new people, making new friends. Searching for the good addresses, scoping stores searching for the right ingredients or the rights produces. Determining the value of things. Finding differences. Looking for similarities. 

Yet this time this move is different. Settling in with two kids is not the same. The freedom to explore rapidly this new city is limited. The choices are more complex, more involved. The kids requirements - food, play, school, bathtime, bedtime - make for a schedule that is more regimented, taking our days on a rhythm leaving less room for impulsive explorations and unexpected discoveries. But in fact, it is this coupled with my difficulty to find a nanny/household help that leaves me stranded with very limited time for anything other than the mere "mundane". In fact this has been one of the most important factor infringing my quest of "making my own place" here. 

But beyond this, it is Brasilia, the city itself, and its structure that has also been, in a very unexpected way, a factor of "pain". I am using the word loosely here, but in fact I refer to the frustrations resulting from how this city forces us to do or not to do certain things. The hyper-segregation of everything in sectors  (commercial, medical, education, housing, recreation, all in their respective corners of the city), the distances involved daily, the risks related to security issues, the lack of physical center to the city, its awkward line of commercial buildings in some places, and the lack of a physical street front almost anywhere else, the impossibility to walk around. All these elements have contributed to my incapacity (yet) of "falling in love with the place". Of course this compounded by the difficulty to get things done quickly and efficiently adds up to my frustration. But that should be the subject of another post later!

So so so. So what to do? Earlier in September, feeling a wave of frustration, I dropped everything for a day - language classes and errands - and baked. The result was good, for the soul and for the tummy. For those who know me, I never bake (I usually limit myself to cooking meals). Later, I escaped with my newly made friends to do some yoga for the weekend. At times I go to playdates with new friends (and enjoy some time with new mommy friends while kids are playing) or drop everything to join an special event. But I know now I need to find the perl to replace our beloved ayi so that I can start having a bit of time to make my soul feel at home here. 

A banana-cake tatin, made with the instructions of Ricardo, the famous Quebec Chef.
Despite all of this, all hopes are not vanished yet. I am still hopeful to settle happily. When it comes to  expat blues, there is an abundant literature. This resonated for me: "When you live abroad, you realize that, no matter where you are, you will always be an-expat. (Read more at here). So indeed, and consequently, as an expat, I was forced to grown adaptive tools and mechanisms. These make me much faster at ease in a new, unknown or difficult environment. And knowing this, deep down, leaves me with no panic. I will learn to love to be here, I will learn to extract the best out of this place. It is the slowness of the process that drives me in sane. As the Brazilians say: "Devagar". Slowly.
I need to meditate a little more on that. 

Things We Did While on Holiday

Two weeks of holiday came to a close today. As part of their "assignment" for this special time, the kids had to draw or represent some of the things they did over the holiday. Here is a quick summary:


We printed images from the internet and colored them

We baked macarons - specially imported from France

We went to the dentist for a follow up after the accident
We watered the garden

We planted some vegetables

We swam in our pool

We ate outside

We had friends over to do some art

We discovered large insects in our house

We played games

We got caught on the road by a very intense storm

We went shopping with mom for some plants

We went on a trip to Floripa

We visited friends in new areas of the city we did not know - the condominiums

We tried our new rain gear in the rain.

We celebrated Halloween with friends.