Quem come jaraqui não sai mais daqui

(S)he who eats [the fish] jaraqui won't ever leave here

or so the saying goes to those who eat this Amazonian River freshwater fish - he or she will never (want) to leave the region.

But I don't believe this saying only refers to eating the fish. People used to jokingly make this comment to me when they found out I was dating a guy from Manaus, Amazonas. The word "comer", or eat, also refers to sex; therefore, they were implying that my being in a relationship with a guy from the Amazon would mean that I'd never leave. I'd be hooked. Although I did end up leaving Manaus, I can't wait to go back whether it's for vacation or to eventually live there.

And we're still together, so maybe there is some truth in it.

Jaraqui is a fish native to the Amazon River. According to an urban type dictionary, jaraqui is "a tasty fish of the Amazon, it popular, cheap, and abundant". Food is very important to people in Brazil, and fish in particular to the people in the northern region of Brazil. I know for a fact that E misses his cuisine immensely. He drools when he watches TV programs about the Amazon, especially if it's about food and/or fish. When people talk about the local foods that he can't get here he makes comments about how much he misses them all and will eat like a starving man when he returns to Manaus. 

Even though I'm not too much of a fish "fan", I do miss food from Manaus like açaí, tapioca, other tropical fruits like cacau and cupuaçu, tacaca, and more. I really can't wait to go back to Manaus for vacation - to walk the streets downtown, hang out with family and friends at restaurants and their homes, drink a beer at O Largo de São Sebastião in front of the Teatro Amazonas, take a walk down to the Porto and stroll along the river on Ponta Negra at night.  

Com saudade,

Meredith

Musical Monday - Cesaria Evora

Cesaria Evora

(Source: YouTube.com)

A native of the island nation of Cape Verde, Césaria Évora is known as the country's foremost practitioner of the morna, which is strongly associated with the islands and combines West African percussion with Portuguese fados, Brazilian modhinas, and British sea shanties. Évora began singing morna at age 16 after meeting an attractive young guitarist. Her talent soon had her performing all over the islands, and in the late '60s two of her radio tapes were released as albums in the Netherlands and Portugal, respectively.

However, Évora never left her country, and gave up singing in the mid-'70s owing to lack of profit. In 1985, at the age of 45, she decided to return to music and traveled to Portugal to record two songs for an anthology of female Cape Verdean singers. This led to subsequent recording sessions in Paris, which resulted in four albums from 1988 to 1992. Her international fame grew, and she toured Europe, Africa, Brazil, and Canada, with stops in the United States to perform for Cape Verdean audiences. In the fall of 1995, she mounted her first large-scale American tour; subsequent recordings include 1997's Cabo Verde and 1999's Mar Azul and Cafe Atlantico.

With Évora now a certified international star, the new millennium didn't see any loss of momentum for the singer and she continued to record and tour the globe. Her 2001 release, Sao Vicente, featured numerous collaborations, including appearances from Bonnie Raitt, Orquesta Aragón, and Brazilian superstar Caetano Veloso. Already a well-televised figure in Europe, her growing popularity in North America led to an appearance on The David Letterman Show; a DVD, Live in Paris; the reissue of her 1974 album Distino di Belita; and the 2004 Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music recording for Voz d'Amor. The same year she was recognized by French culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon as an Officer des Arts et des Lettres. After another extensive tour, in 2006 Évora released Rogamar, much of which was recorded in her hometown of Mindelo.

One of my favorite songs by this amazingly talented musician is called "Sodade"

And another, more upbeat, is "Carnaval de São Vicente". The images in this video are beyond beautiful. Will someone please buy me a one-way ticket to Cabo Verde?

Wordless Wednesday: I'll miss my favorite English teacher

So what am I watching on TV?

I just wrote a post about cancelling my cable TV in preparation for our move to Brazil and it reminds me that I'll miss not only English language TV, but I'll also miss the regular TV programs that I habitually watch. (I feel like I should add that I've only been watching more TV recently for some reason; I wasn't always this into television. I do love to read. Remember?)

The question then is, what am I watching on TV?

Meet the Browns

Sex and the City reruns

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations <3

with Steve Harvey



These are my guilty pleasures....

Pictures bring back memories

At this point I have basically gone through all of my personal belongings and have decided what will go with me to Brazil, and what will be left behind (more than likely in the trash can). Phew. Although it was a task, I was "forced" to look through every folder, envelope, and stack of papers to make sure I didn't leave anything out. The labor was worth it though because boy did I find all of my pictures, from 1999 to about 2004. In other words, all of the pictures that I've saved from before we had digital cameras. Oh yeah, I found a number of pictures from when I was baby and throughout my childhood

What is exciting is that most of these pictures are from my travels. In fact, I was able to organize my pictures into 7 piles - Mexico, the U.S. (and this includes the pictures from my childhood all the way up to my undergraduate college graduation), Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. I love it.

Now the memories are flooding in as I carefully look at each photo. Unfortunately I cannot scan these pictures to put them on display (i.e. on my blog) because I've sold my printer/copier/scanner, but I did find one in a friend's Facebook album and saved it to my computer.

The picture I saved is from my first trip to Peru (it was taken in the Plaza de las Armas in Cusco). I was 18 years old and having the time of my life travelling around Bolivia and Peru with other North Americans and a European friend that had been studying with me in Cochabamba. I'm in the center of the photo with a huge smile on my face and my knees tucked up :). This was definitely an unforgettable moment, for all of us.

And it's not just the pictures of friends who live far away, or who I haven't seen since that particular time in our lives, but it's also the pictures of my high school friends and family that are really touching. I mean, I found pictures from my high school graduation and pictures of my now 13 year old sister when she was just a newborn.

I will be safely packing all of these pictures away to take with me to Brazil. When I get there I'll buy a number of photo albums and display them for the world to see...but more importantly, for me to appreciate. The photos of my grandparents, my mother, my sisters, my stepdad, and my dear dear friends who have always been around to encourage, support, and love me, will never be out of reach.

NASA Space Shuttle

Something I'll miss about living in Central Florida.....

Space Shuttle

Orbiter: Endeavor

Launch Target: 3:47 p.m. EDT - April 29, 2011

Mission Number: STS-134 (134th space shuttle flight)

Launch Window: 10 minutes

Launch Pad: 39A

Mission Duration: 14 days

Spacewalks: 4

Landing site: KSC

I'll be expecting to feel the Earth shake tomorrow afternoon.

Source: NASA

Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Maravilhosa

Rio de Janeiro. Cidade Maravilhosa.

We watched the new movie Rio last time and both really enjoyed it. It was so colorful and cute, and of course all of the images brought back feelings of saudade from when we were there in 2007.

In March 2007, E and I met up for an amazing 10-day pre-marriage honeymoon. Previous to that vacation together, we'd spent 8 long months apart. Although we'd met in Manaus years before (and had been dating every since), we had to spend some time apart as we worked on deciding where we were going to live. He wanted me to stay and live in Manaus which I seriously, but was just not ready to stay longer than my contract for a number of reasons. So in the meantime I travelled back and forth between Florida and Amazonas until E finally came back with me 4 years ago.

After those 8 insufferable months apart, we finally met up in Rio de Janeiro for a honeymoon (pre-marriage). Immigration would not allow for E to leave the country right away. But this was no problem because a honeymoon is better after being apart for months vs. after the wedding. It was romantic and lovely.

Rio de Janeiro is the perfect honeymoon spot. We visited all of the "tourist-y" spots, travelled outside of the city to go snorkeling (which we love), and just relaxed - enjoying each other's company at bars/restaurants, on the beach, and just walking around sightseeing and shopping - and celebrating our love. For these reasons, Rio will always bring back lovely memories for the two of us.

And of course we'll always have pictures to remind us...

Cristo Redentor

Rio de Janeiro

Jardim Botanico

Maracana

Angra dos Reis - RJ

I miss you already

Dear Family & Friends,

I miss you already, and I haven't even left yet.

With love,
Meredith
 ----------------

Today a good friend of mine called me as I was driving home from work, and one of the first questions she had for me was, "What am I going to do when you move to Brazil?". My response, of course, was, "oh, don't worry, you can call me anyway. I'll have a U.S. number over there". And becuse she's a good friend, who lived in Europe for years, I trust that we will maintain our friendship despite the distance.

We will be getting an international phone plan that allows us to have a U.S. phone number while in Brazil. Because my family lives in upstate New York, we'll get an area code that matches theirs so they can call us in Brazil as if they were calling a neighbor down the street. We'll also need to increase the frequency that we Skype (which is already a decent amount seeing as that we're all in the U.S. still). I'm even looking forward to reverting back to sending snail mail. I mean, who doesn't like to receive letters and cards? I sure do, and my friend Kim is wonderful at this. I love it. I always get excited over the holidays because I know that an Easter, Thanksgiving, and/or Christmas card is in the mail.

Thinking of all of this, and after another talk with another good friend this evening, I got to thinking about how much I'll miss my family (of course!) and the friends that I see and/or talk to on a regular basis. I don't feel like I take any of them for granted, especially with our impending departure, but still... I like knowing that my friend Heather is going to call me when she has a bad day at work and needs someone to talk to. I look forward to my talks and walks with Caridad and her daughter about our futures, families, and the best ways to save money. You know, it's the simple things with people that you care about that you miss when you leave.

I always feel guilty when my friends tell me that they're going to miss me. My family doesn't say much about missing us yet because they know that it's hard enough and at the same time, this is something that I really want. I love to travel and live abroad, and I've wanted to teach English (again) in Latin America for, well, years. I'm thrilled that my family is so supportive of us as we move back to Brazil, even though it will be difficult for them, too. I know that not every expat, or want-to-be expat, has the same support system that I have. And for that, I am grateful. I know that my family loves us and wants what's best for us. We also know that they want to see us at least once a year. We want the same.

To my family and friends in the U.S., thank you for your love and support. I miss you already and love you very much. E and I are truly  blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Ten things I'll miss about living in the U.S.

As I sift through my belongings and organize, discard, and box up books to leave the U.S. and emigrate to Brazil, I do a lot of thinking. I imagine what life will be like for E and me in Brasilia. Of course this makes me excited and anxious, but at the same time it gets me thinking about what I'm going to miss here. I know it's cliche (and maybe cheesy), but I read a quote the other day that said "don't count the days, make the days count". So, that is what I've decided to do. As I try to take advantage of what I have here, I've decided to compile a list of 10 things that I'll miss from the U.S. I'm not going to include family or friends on here because that is inevitable. I hope to add to the list as our departure date gets closer.

I will miss....

1. Giving my name to the hostess/host at a restaurant when asked who we're reserving a table for. I can't do this in Brazil because they look at me like I'm speaking Russian and then say "o que??" (what??) and then murder my name by pronouncing it like it's a dirty dirty word.

2. Speaking English. Now I am fluent in Portuguese. I speak it every day, and I actually enjoy speaking Portuguese (and am looking to getting back what I've lost from being away from Brazil for a few years). BUT, I'll miss not having to do any thinking when I go to a store or make a call (wait, I do live in the U.S. and as a result of outsourcing I speak to Indians when I have a problem with my laptop, but that's beside the point). Regardless of the fact that I'll be teaching in English, I'll miss speaking English to native English speakers everywhere I go. It's like I'm looking forward to speaking Portuguese, but at the same time I'll miss speaking English. Make sense?

3. Bubble Tea. Need I say more?
For those of you who have never had it, you're missing out. Big time. (see picture)

Bubble Tea

4. Having my own car. Although I'd prefer it if we were a one-car family, it is very convenient to have your own car. (We'll probably just have one car in Brazil).

5. MTV. I love MTV and all of the reality shows they play. For instance, I could watch episodes of "Jersey Shore" and "Teen Mom" again and again, regardless of how trashy they are or how much my husband complains. Brazil's MTV is b-o-r-i-n-g.

6. Shopping malls. Not that I shop that much, but I like the outlets and sales and variety of the stores I go to. I also like that no one bothers me when I walk into one.

7. The radio. I guess this kind of goes along with number 2. I'll miss listening to the radio programs that make me laugh on my way to work. In English. My culture. Jokes that only Americans would understand. The prank phone calls.

8. Redbox. Does anything like this exist in Brazil? (I haven't been there in 4 years so I hope that I'm not too off on what I'll miss from not being in the U.S.).

9. Black Americans. I work at a "black school", my (step) dad is black, and I have amazing co-workers and friends that are black.  I'll miss working with my black co-workers, their culture, their jokes,.... I haven't come across or met many black Americans all the years that I was in Latin America and I always missed them.

10. My phone plan. I'll miss my seemingly unlimited minutes and my unlimited text messages. Cell phones in Brazil are expensive (though so is my iPhone plan) and each minute is precious. I guess what I will really be missing then are my (animated) text messages.

My love affair with Manaus

I somehow knew, even before I received notification that I'd be teaching in Manaus, that that is where I was going to spend one year of my life while teaching EFL in Brazil.

I first went to Manaus in 2004 after being accepted into a program that allowed me to work as an intern teaching English at a language school. I was "hired" by a Brazilian NGO called IICA  (Instituto de Intercậmbios e Cultura Americana) that placed me in a very well known Brazilian school called Fisk. The school teaches English and Spanish; there are schools ALL over the country - and even in the movie that I love, "Bossa Nova". The particular school that I worked at is a franchise and the owner (my boss) frequently requests native English speakers to work at his schools in Manaus and in the nearby town Itacoitiara. In fact, there had been Americans working at his schools in the past, there were two while I was there, and there were more after my time. It's a great opportunity for both the American teachers and Brazilian students. It is truly an exchange program.

I worked in Manaus for a year. It was one of the best years of my short life. I had been to Brazil before, and I had volunteered in ESL classes in the United States, but this was a unique chance for me to really experience Brazil, learn the language (one of my goals for going to Brazil in the first place), learn more about teaching English, and spend more time in South America, the continent that I love.

There is not enough space here for me to describe why my year in Manaus was so unforgettable and just down right amazing (for lack of a better word) and I'm afraid to start and leave anything out. I'm sure that one of the best reasons was that that is where I met my husband, my love, E. (There is a post about him on this blog somewhere). But it's more than that. Manaus has so much to offer - a wide array of tastes and smells, of welcoming and wonderful people, culture, nature, contrasts, heat....

I fell in love in Manaus and at the same time with Manaus. I miss everything about the city and so much about the life I lived there. I miss what I did while in Manaus, I miss my job, my students, my friends, my trips, the Amazon River and forest, the neighborhoods I lived in, the places I frequented, the parties..... The city, and all that it encompasses, will always have a special, sweet place in my heart.

There will be another time when I will be able to find the words to describe in more detail my love affair with Manaus.

Saudade

I miss Brazil. A lot. But I guess that's obvious. I mean, we're moving back to Brazil this year. And the title of this post can be loosing translated into "nostalgia".

All of this "returning to Brazil" business has started to make me think about the city Manaus; my E's hometown, the city I lived/worked/loved in for a year (after college).  I love Manaus, Amazonas and miss it like crazy. I can't wait to get back and am planning to visit next Christmas/New Years there this year.

These pictures were not taken by me, but they do represent my experiences.

Teatro Amazonas

The Port of Manaus

The Port of Manaus

The Amazon River (outside of Manaus)

Ponta Negra

In addition to the three trips that I made to Manaus (and I stayed there for one of those trips to work), I have also visited Porto Alegre (my first ever trip to Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (twice), and São Paulo. What is there not to like?

Porto Alegre

São Paulo

Rio de Janeiro

These pictures make me miss Brazil even more. Bateu saudade mesmo.