Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday!
I just love the idea of taking at least a day to
thank God for everything
that has been happening to me
and around me!

With lots of gravy I wish everyone a great holiday!

Cuddling time

One day, driving around in Uberlândia I noticed how empty the streets were. It always seemed to be so crowd for me and soon, I got myself wondering where did the people and car go?

This interrogation was divagating on my mind for days. I talked to few friends about it, and all of them just had the opposite thought, that Uberlândia was crowder than ever.

I really didn't get. But since my brother and my mother don't live in downtown area, I decided to drive to the busiest spot in the city to check what was going on. Uberlândia has wide well cared avenues crossing the city in all directions, a good traffic system, about 700 thousand inhabitants and a joke that it has more cars than people. So, how come this emptiness feeling got me?

Well, while I was driving my mother somewhere, she commented how crowded the city was and also that it has been complicated to drive around due to the number of cars and pedestrians. I laughed good saying that she needed to see how things work over here, in Taiwan. And then, an answer hit me: Space!
This was the answer for my dilemma. I realized that we do have space in Brasil what doesn't happen in Taiwan.

Just for the records, according to Wikipedia Taiwan's demographic density is 668/km² or 1,730/sq mi, while that of Brasil is 22/km² or 57/sq mi. The difference is huge and it explains the desertic feeling I was having back there.

In Taiwan is almost impossible to get a street with no cars no people and/or no scooters. Usually they are everywhere, anytime day or night! Sometimes it sounds like a flash mob to me, I mean, it seems they all schedule to get out and be in just one place and doing the same thing.
It is really crowded due to the extension of the land and the high number of the population.

Besides that, there is another element that distinguishes my life here and my life in Brasil. Comparing those two countries, it's noticeable that routinely Taiwan is a noisy place and Brasil a quiet one. We speak in lower tone and we don't have this disquietude going on on the streets as here. However inside my home the silence is imperative. I close the windows to block the crazy noisy noise from outside and sometimes the silence is so powerful that I can listen to my breathing.

This never happen when I'm in Brasil. I'm never alone. Even when I'm taking a shower Maria Luíza is talking to me. It's extremely rare a moment of solitude and I do enjoy all the frenzy.

I don't have a loud family but a loud brother. Marcos, my brother, he talks very loud and he loves it. He is an alive party! When we are bored he finds something to do to cheer us up and he always succeeded! Marcelo my youngest brother is low profile, but he is a joker, a practical one and extremely funny! And to complete the circus, my nephew and my niece are very active kids. They talk, sing, dance and there is no space for boredness around them. So cool! I love to hear happy children's voice around. It fulfills a home with so much joy! And I can't forget Márcio and the sound of his cute crying when he is being bathed!

So, as I was saying...there is no way to have a quiet moment if everybody is under the same roof!

Due to my cosmical silence, I get tired of the noisy sometimes willing for a minute without listening to anything...so I drive away. If Maria Luíza sees me leaving and she insists in coming, she doesn't talk much. It's one of our agreements. She knows that I'm trying to calm my mind down.

Here the opposite happens. I have the external noise that disappears as soon as I get home or close the windows because it doesn't belong to me. And in Brasil I have the internal one that follows me in my heart wherever I go!

Well, I've arrived for about 2 weeks now and I didn't go out yet as I'm used to. I went to a mall twice to have dinner, to Taipei to buy a cell phone and to Carrefour once and at 11PM. That's it!

What is going on with me? Am I scared of the noisy and crowdy Taiwan after 3 months in a "desert" or I just want to spend time at home, cuddling myself in my chair with my books, my music, my silence and my feelings? I really missed my nest though.

Besides everything, going to Brasil is always a turmoil of feelings, of expectations and it takes time to put me on the track of my emotions. Every single time I'm back I need to take a break from outside, doesn't matter where I'm living in, to get in touch with this turmoil and re-balance myself. It's a process I face since 1993, when I left Minas Gerais and moved to the south. For sure this was my biggest moving step.

Well, I'm back! Not 100% yet but I'm back home! I miss my friends deeply and I miss going to my massages and to the many nice cafés. But I need to be ready to go out, to get out there. I guess in few days my time will be up and I'll be ready to drive myself into the crowd again.

Wondering...is this just a sensation or one of the many metaphors of my life?

I taped this video from the Taipei bridge when the last 2 boats started rowing! I have no idea how to talk about row/rowers properly. I never used those terms, even in Portuguese. Sorry!

It was very windy but I guess you can see how it works.

I loved the drum's sound. It gives power and motivation to the rowers! It is the heartbeat of the dragon boat and it is mandatory during racing events!

Dragon Boat Festival

Last night I went to a Disco to celebrate Ciara's birthday, my dearest friend. I didn't stay long because I had fever. I couldn't believe it! I tried to dance it out, but it didn't work out unfortunately.
Well, since my fever didn't go away and I was the only one dancing I decided to drive back home to watch Barcelona versus Manchester match! Yes, Barça won!

So, I woke up much better today after taking a medicine and sleeping heavily for 11 hours uninterruptedly and since today is a holiday in Taiwan I decided to drive to Taipei to enjoy one of the most popular festivals here, the Dragon Boat Festival!

It happened at Dajia Riverside Park with teams from Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, China, South Africa and Taiwan of course. Even though the day was dark, the people and the dragon boats brighted and colored the day in a wonderful way.

Families were having picnic and riding bikes, guys where playing baseball and/or basketball all along the park and besides watching the race, people where enjoying performance by local artists, and amusing themselves greatly with the many activities settled by the local government.

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and is among one of the major holidays in Taiwan. The festival is an effort to ward off diseases and evil spirits. This is a very colorful tradition that has kept itself stronger year after year, going through centuries to the present day.

During this time of the year, people use to make an especial meal that became a very popular snack here in Taiwan. It's called "tzung tzu". It is said that after the poet-statesman Chu Yuan ended his life by drowning, people began throwing balls of sweet rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the Miluo River to keep the fish from eating the patriot's body.

It was a lovely day in a very busy week.

An especial guest

A green scarab came to visit me!

This month I'm reading a lot about Akhenaton, the great pharaoh of Egypt. Since I was a child I got fascinated by Egypt, Sahara, the Nile and Akhenaton's son Tutankhamen and his wife Nefertiti.

I remember clearly how fascinated I was with those subjects in an early age of 6 years old. When I was 7, in 2nd grade, I was blessed enough to have a teacher who was a historian. She started telling us about the sacred Nile and I remember listening to her as she was telling us my own history. I got completely in trance and I didn't miss one single word. How I loved the melody of her voice talking about Akhenaton. Her eyes sparkled because she was really in love with the Egypt history as well.

Akhenaton was brave enough to introduce the monotheist worship of a God without face, which was symbolized by the sun, Aton. He used the sun to try to explain to the Egypt population that God does care about every single one, just like the sun warms every single person or place without distinction of color, race. But the Egyptian wasn't prepared for such an illuminist and Akhenaton was assassinated as well his wife Nefertiti and his 5 daughters and later also the young pharaoh Tutankhamen and his wife/sister also was assassinated to try to erase definitely the thoughts of this great man, Akhenaton.

I really love everything about him and his wonderful ideas. He was the pharaoh of Egypt 3000 years before Christ and he was a man ahead of his time. All his actions were to promote peace among the men and countries. He freed the slaves but the slaves were not prepared to be free and they got mad on this fantastic man.

By the way in Portuguese, Nile is Nilo the name of my father.

One afternoon my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Berenice asked us what was the name of the river that crossed Egypt and one little girl said "It's the name of Leandra's father!". Everybody laughed good and I got very proud. I love to remember that!

Well, one of the symbols of Egypt was the scarab, also known by the name Kheper. Today I was going to change the flowers and I saw a green scarab on a lily. I got completely shivered. I live in the 12th floor and I a scarab decided to visit me in the same day I was finishing a book about Akhenaton.

I love those little surprises and I hope one day Egypt will understand the amazed man Akhenaton was , the greatest pharaoh of all times!

Akhenaton and his family praying to Aton!

The great pharaoh Akhenaton

Happy Mother's Day

Stuck Energy

As I do twice or three times a week, for about a year now, I went to Mania SPA today to have my painful, but relaxing lymphatic drainage massage to help my legs to be less swollen and my arms "computorache" free.

I do love to go there. Mania Spa is my home away from home. The girls are so sweet and before I take a steam bath and a shower, I do need to hug each one of them. Those girls make my life much much easier over here not just because they are extremely competent, but mainly because their hearts overflow love and caress, and care. I do love each one of those girls very much.

Mei-hua is the owner of the SPA and the sweetest thing you can ever image. God is so good to me that He gave me a Taiwanese sister. She is always very worried about my well being and even when we are out in a café having fun, she pulls my leg over her lap and starts massaging it. She is simply adorable! She is always studying and trying to find new techniques that could improve my health. She is really the best! Vivian, thank you so much for getting me an appointment with her.

So, today I arrived at the SPA around 11AM and Ciara, my personal massagist, was waiting for me. By the way, God really blessed me with those girls. Ciara is very competent and sweet and funny. We chat a lot or until I sleep like a bear. Her hands are so magical that just few minutes after she starts massaging me, I sleep deeply. I'm not kidding, that's for real! And as my body retains a lot of water due to the thyroid and kidney problem, I swear that sometimes I feel her soft and precise hands gently pressing my body as they were sharp needles on fire just getting slowly into my water lumps. Oh God, that is sooooo painful and even so I'm able to sleep.

Anyway, Ciara was massaging me and I could heard Mei-hua's chuckle and I smelled coffee being made by one of the girls also. My nose got so excited with that strong sweet smell that was coming out of the kitchen directly into my nostrils. I slept a little more knowing I was going to have a hot cup of coffee and good chat with my girls after my relaxation/suffering time.

About 1 hour later, sweet Ciara finished my massage and we got together around the coffee table to chat as we usually do. This was when I noticed some light hematomas on Mei-hua's neck. I started joking saying it was love bites and she said it was stuck energy marks because she used a piece of very smooth wood made in Japan to brush/scrap/rub the blocked energy out of her body.

What is especial about Mania Spa is that it's also a holistic SPA and it's all about balancing the energy centers within the body called chakras. I just love how I became calmer, focused, centered after I started frequenting this place. As I do trust Mei-hua I asked her to check if I had some blocked energy myself. Of course I was very sure about it! So, she explained to me that the tool she uses leaves marks only where the energy is stuck.

She started on my neck and she got amazed how my energy flows on it because it left no bruises. Then she came to my back and you can see on the pics bellow what happened!! It didn’t hurt, but I got scared of how red my back became. She didn't put much pressure on it. We call Mei-hua "dinosaur" because she got strong hands and arms, but she was very soft on me this time.

I was anxious to know what was going to happen to me after that session, and I got very surprised. I felt very energetic. It’s unbelievable how the Asian people hold some secrets on the way to care and treat body’s tiredness and weakness. To them, energy needs to flow freely into our organs to keep them in good shape and working properly.And I couldn't agree more!

What I know about it, it’s that I really feel a huge improvement on my health and on my life style after moving to Asia. Even though Asian people rush crazily on almost everything, they do take time to care and to take care of their health in an alternative way. Well, alternative way for me, westerner.

To them, going to SPA to have massage is part of their days and it’s taken as a serious activity and not just a way to indulge the ladies as we westerns use to think sometimes. It’s incorporate on their life style, male and female, and I did incorporate it on mine!

I wonder, how long those bruises will stay on my back!

I swear, it didn't hurt!

An Evening in Taipei

Taipei Symphony Orchestra at Zhongshan Hall

This week I drove to Taipei to watch a concert . It was performed by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra at Zhongshan Hall, with the especial participation of the pianist Li-Chun Su, known as "Taiwanese Glory", even though she was raised and lives in Germany, due to her phenomenal national and international career. It was amazing!

I couldn't hold few tears while the symphonic played Rosenkavalier Suite by Strauss! It was really wonderful. I could feel the notes bringing the new spring season to the theater. Amazing performance.

The concert had 3 acts and the last 2 was performed by the pianist herself in beautiful solo presentation. The tears I got in the first act, was substituted by a crazy involuntary or voluntary will I had to laugh my lungs out.

I'll explain: Even thought the program was all set to Strauss, the pianist played Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 by Liszt as well. It was a great surprise because I love this melody so much! If you don't know or remember it, it's the melody that was "immortalized" by Tom & Jerry in the famous "The Cat Concerto" made in 1946. I won won an Oscar that year.

Every single time I watch this cartoon and I watch it a lot, it cracks me up! I just can't stop laughing!

So, when the pianist started it, immediately the image of Tom bothering Jerry's sleep came to my mind and I guarantee that it was a humongous sacrifice to not laugh good. Oh gosh! Internally I was laughing good for sure!

The theater ambient was austere, people were really paying attention and enjoying the concert. I keep asking myself what would happen if I couldn't hold my laugh. I guess I would be deported as a hideous criminal.

Oh Gosh, why she did that to me? Why did she change the program without previous notice! For sure I wouldn't go or I would go prepared if I knew I was going to appreciate Hungarian Rhapsody No 2!

I loved classic music, especially in concerts. The last time I went to a concert was in Warsaw, at the Teatr Narodowy, the National Theater! It was one of the best nights of my life, cultural event speaking! I had a wonderful time in Poland. I miss traveling in Europe...

After the concert, I went to Ali Baba's. It's a Pakistani/Indian restaurant and the food there is absolutely delicious. I just love it.
There I met this cute little girl named Bhanu. I guess she is daughter of the owner but I'm not sure. She was on my lap for long time and I really enjoyed playing with her.

She really likes mango lassi

Bhanu got her own style to do the famous "peace" gesture

present in every single pic by Asian teenager

Cultural Shock in the Gym

Photo by Spencer Tunick!
18,000 people, Zocalo square, Mexico City

I just felt as I were in the middle of those 18.000 people today.

I'll explain:
Last month I got a huge urge to join a gym and start some fitness program again. I used to do it, and I was missing it a lot.
So, I found a very good one near my home. Just like less than 10 minutes driving it the transit were cooperative. Yes driving! Even thought Taiwan is a tiny country nobody uses to walk here because it's almost impossible to cross a street if not in normal walking areas. And this gym is at Taimall, a huge mall in Nankan.

Nankan is another citied just glued on the one I'm living now, Taoyuan. So walk to there is really impossible because there is a road separating the two cities.

Anyway...I got my gym bag and I happily drove to Extreme Fitness Center, hoping to get a relaxing sauna after the sweating session!

Well, before I got into the above picture, I must remember you that I'm from Brasil. That almost all year long sunshine days, with beautiful beaches and very tiny bikinis.

What it has to do with the gym and the pics?

As soon as I got at the gym, I went to change and as soon as I open the door of the female changing/restroom I got into a huge cultural shock. Every single woman over there were naked, completely naked. They were even blowing their hairs naked. Talking friendly to each other naked. Some of them were stretching just like in the picture above, naked.

Oh God, I really really got scared. I never saw such a scene in my life. If would be better if you don't try to imagine it, trust me!

Yes, I'm from Brasil and over there we use a very tiny bikini. That's true and I must admit I just buy really tiny bikinis even for Brazilian standards.
However I never went to a sauna in Brasil where 100% of the women were naked, talking as they were in a cafe. I never went to a changing room and see towels on the floor and women talking naked as they were in their living room. I never in my life saw so many women naked. It was around 50. I'm not kidding!

I guess I never changed my clothes so fast. I tried to find a corner where I could find an empty locker to put my bag and my clothes in and as soon I found it, it started getting crowed of naked women. Oh gosh, it was really embarrassing to me and I know for sure it would be embarrassing to every single Brazilian woman I know.

I sat on a bench to unzippering my boot and when I lifted my face it almost reached a naked ass. Firstly one woman bent over to put a shoes on! Then many follow her. It was also the first time I saw someone starting dressing from bottom to top, from shoes to T-shirt!. It isn't funny, I swear to God.

You may wondering how a Brazilian woman who walks on the beach wearing a tiny bikini can be shocked with such a scene! Well, it is simple. We do have a small bikini but we do wear one, and our bikinis are tiny but they cover what must/should be covered. And when we, Brazilian women, are in public changing room we do wrap ourselves with a towel.

Brasil is a catholic country and catholics usually think that naked body is offensive, or immoral, or even indecorous! We learn from early age that we can't be naked in front of people, especially those who are not close family!

And then on the other side of the world, I go to an innocent gym and a whole new world is out there, literally out there. I may sound prudish, but I am not, really!

Well, what I know is that I will from now on leave home wearing my gym clothes. I really didn't feel comfortable around so many naked asses!

Paella para mí! Paella for me!

My dinner today! Sooo delicious!

Oh God, have mercy!!

Sunday evening, cold weather...
It calls for a good red wine and comfort food!

Comfort food for me is something that I really feel embracing my soul already at the first bite. There are many dishes that I call comfort food and one of them is this delicious and beautiful Spanish dish called paella.
It's so simple to make and the aroma it spreads on the air is really fantastic.

The wine? A 2003 Tapeña, Garnacha!

Oscar on Monday morning....

I love to watch the Oscar. I always did and I wait for it anxiously!
I got used to be awake all night long waiting for the red carpet and then to the real and glorious moments to get know who will take Mr. Oscar home.

Every single year I get mad because of my favorites didn't get much. Every single year I swear to myself that I will never watch the Oscar again and every single year I break my word. I guess it belongs to the gossip part of being a Oscar's fan!

Now if there is something strange is watching the award on Monday mornings. It's so so bizarre for me. No all night long, no cuddle myself on the sofa, no...nothing...

It's almost 8AM here in Taiwan of Monday and guess what...I didn't sleep yet!
May be I was pretending I was waiting for the show on it's "right time". So, I spent all night long copying and saving and organizing files from one USB hard drive to another, backing up everything because I almost lost all my data such as work and pictures and songs and videos and so on.
Hopefully the cyber angels were not too hard on me and allowed me to do the job before everything is gone. Thank God you exist! Thank you guys! lol

Well, let me see if the Oscar is on, because the day is up already.

It's Carnaval!

Gigantes da Lira, by Andréa Lion!
Rio de Janeiro, yesterday!

Gigantes da Lira, by Andréa Lion!
Rio de Janeiro, yesterday!

It’s Carnaval!

I love Carnaval! I really do! I decided today that I will not be away from Carnaval anymore. I just love to go to the streets and dance for about 12 hours without stopping. Suddenly you meet a friend you don't see for ages and a huge smile and a tight warm hug say everything and seal anything!
Late at night, you need a strong bean soap to restore your energies! So you grab a friend, order your soup, sprinkle some fresh parsley over it and life sounds beautifully good under the equatorial line! Oh my goodness, nothing is better than the simplicity of life!

Oh Carnaval!! It’s like a summer affair! That kind of affair that has a date to end, so you don’t put too much effort on it, you just relax and enjoy it as much as you enjoy the sunny days. Summer affairs have a perfect timing, just like Carnaval. When things are extremely good is time to pack and go home to face reality, leaving that taste of “I want some more” on your heart. And you know what? It sounds great because you know summer will come again, Carnaval will come again and new summer romances will be waiting for you just 2 blocks away.

Tomorrow, officially, starts Carnaval in Brasil and I'm so out of it! Oh God, I love absolutely everything about it. I said officially because in many cities it started already and millions of people are on streets warming up to celebrate this festival of pure enchantment and magic!

So to get into the Carnaval happiness here in Taoyuan, I took a speaker with my IPod to the bathroom and I danced and I sang very loud the Carnaval songs I love. I prepared the bathtub with very very hot water to simulate Brazilian summer days, and lots of foam to try to get into the fun mood I know is all over my beautiful country. Oh it was good!! I almost forgot I’m in the other side of the world!

Yes, I’m in the other side of the world but I know summer will come again and Carnaval will come again and I’ll be there! Yes…it feels good!