2013

Snow Land

It was something anticipated for a long time. Something I have missed for many years now. The snow. The real white snow, fluffy, falling from the sky.  The snow, the cold and the mysterious drape of richness the landscape wears on for a while. The snow that does not melt in 24 hours. The snow to play with.
I love winter. Hard to justify to people born and raised under the tropics, but I love it deeply, it is in my blood. And now after a long period of no-winter (for me the Beijing no-snow land is not really winter, despite its below zeros moments), I was happy to take everyone for a real Canadian one, during the holiday season.
So our landing in the white landscape was successful. For the entire duration of our stay, we had a daily dose of snow, and very mild (winter) weather (read: nothing below -8 degrees). It was wonderful.
The kids enjoyed the pleasures of winterland and there was many first times: sledging, skiing, skating, snow fights, snowman construction. Even ski-dooing for the big boy. The best snow for skiing ever. Grand-papa had as much fun as the kids.We watched a real hockey game, complete with a fight (oops!) and saw a distant cousin repeat her figure skating solo for her next provincial competition. We even did some bowling (a winter indoor sport, that is!). There were more snow days, days with cousins and distant cousins, food at one aunt or another. And lots of gifts. Santa knew about our trip, it was good we prevented him in our letter.
We enjoyed some winter sliding galore in Quebec City with the kids before heading in the street of the old city, where we celebrated the new year with old friends, under the snow, with the music of DJ Boy Georges. We stayed in the most interesting hotel of the region, the Hôtel-Musée of the First Nations, in Wendake (indian reserve). The New Year brunch there was exceptional.
Montreal's streets were covered in snow after the snowstorm of the century, and me pulling the kids around in a sled. The vibrancy of its streets. Visiting old friends after so many years. Good food. Oh did I say good food?! More outdoor fun. More fun with the cousins.
The only damper to all this was dressing/undressing of the kids in little winter mummies, in itself a Canadian mom national endurance sport.
Some pieces of evidence here:

snowman

sliding

happy

after midnight - santa was there (see the plate?)

stockings opening

christmas morning

 unexpected moment: fixing the plower

walking in the woods (1.4 km)

watching hockey

skidoo fans

absolutely the best snow ever to ski

 riding up the mechanical lifts on a tube

native way - but not our hotel room

New Year celebrations in the old city

ridding a montreal bus

small hobbits in Montreal street, post-century storm
hobbits at the biodome

getting dressed

watching the ballet of snow animals from our windows
keeping ourselves well-fed

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!