This is your chance!

After participating in a similar “game” on Denise´s blog, I was tagged by Fernanda, from A Comentarista, to do it here. Basically, you ask me anything you want and as long as it isn´t too personal I answer here.  Is there anything about me you want to know and never had the occasion to ask?

Who would like to start? 😉

Why I blog…

I’ve been indirectly tagged by Erin to give five reasons why I blog. My answers will not be as elegantly put, but here they are:

1. As a way of keeping in touch

In the past ten years I’ve lived in five different cities in three different countries. My family lives in Brazil and I have friends all over the world. When Alan and I set out to spend a year in Barcelona, we both knew it would be one of those life-changing experiences that we would like to share with our friends. This blog, as the title suggests, was created so that we wouldn’t have to stuff our friends’ e-mailboxes with pictures and stories. This way they are free to log on and catch up whenever they feel like it… And if someone else out there comes across it and learning something about Catalunya and Spain in the process, hey, that’s great!

2.  As a travel journal

Because this has been such an amazing year for us, both Alan and I felt that it was important to keep a record of it for the future. Ideally, I would one day host my blog in my own server so I can be sure the content would never be lost…

Like Erin, the act of writing about my experiences here makes me even more attentive than usual to what goes on around me.

3. To share my photographs

I’ve recently taken up photography as a hobby. It helps me get my mind off my studies and alleviates the stresses of an academic life. Plus, going out with a camera forces me to look at the world very differently and the fact that some of those photographs will end up here later forces me to be more sensitive about what is it about this place that I would like my friends to know, what sort of feelings I would like to share… Besides, my writing is not good enough to stand on its own, I need some pretty pictures to keep my readers entertained 😉

4.  The people

Internet for me has always been about connecting with people.

I still remembered the first time I went on the Internet, back in Jan 1996. Commercial internet was barely on its infancy in Brazil but a cousin of my cousin’s had internet at home since he worked for the WHO (world health organization. We dropped by for a visit, he showed us a couple of websites and then logged on to IRC, an online chat server. It blew my mind away. The idea of being able to talk on real-time with people across the globe was just amazing to me. I had internet at home a few months later.

Through this blog and the blogs of the people who come here, I’ve met many incredible people.  Some have inspired me to be more engaged with the world around me, others have touched me for their open-mindness and positive attitude, some I have met personally, others I keep meaning to, and some are friends or family who have since created their own blogs… The ability to be able to exchange opinions and learn from all the amazing people I have met since I created this blog, keeps me coming back…

5. It helps me think and take a position

People like Denise, Erin, Regina, and my brother Jota, have really inspired me to think more clearly about some of the issues that shape our world today. One of the things I enjoy most in life is to be able to have a good conversation with someone, particularly if that person has different ideas to share. This blog allows me to share something that has been bugging me lately with friends & family around the world, who can then discuss the matter with me…

——-

Anyone else out there wants to take this on? Let me know if you do!

Five things you might not know about me

Following the leads of JP and AN, here’s my list

1. I was a dog-freak as a child and have probably watched every Lassie, Rin tin tin, & Benjie movies out there. It took me until I was 17 to convince my mother that we should get a dog.

2. I didn’t go to kindergarden. My older brother taught me to read and write while he was attending kindergarden – each day he would teach me everything he learned at school that day and by the end of the year we both knew how to read and write. He was 6 and I was 4.

3. I used to be addicted to comic books. I had a huge collection of marvel & dc comics and was on a first-name basis with every comics shop in Rio. I quit cold-turkey when I moved to Canada and started my history degree. My favourite was The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. The man is brilliant. Alan Moore is another genius of the craft…

4. I’ve read the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley about 6 times. It was the first “grown-up” book I read. I used to be a lazy reader and wouldn’t read anything over 100 pages so my brother tricked me by giving me just the first volume of the book (in Brazil it was published in a multi-volume set of 4 books, each with over 200 pages) and betting I wouldn’t go beyond the first chapter. I was 12 and I don’t think I really understood the first chapter but had to prove my brother wrong. By chapter three I was hooked and read the remaining three volumes compulsively. When I finished the last page, I re-started again from the beginning. I became obsessed with England and its monarchy. How I ended up studying the Jews of medieval Iberia is still a mystery to me. I think my undergrad supervisor hypnotized me.

5. I lived in the Amazon when I was a child. We lived outside the city and my brother and I used to disappear in the jungle (I was 3, he was 5). Don’t know what I was thinking; I have a phobia of snakes.

New Year’s meme

It’s the first line of the first post of each month. Mine goes back only as far as April, because that’s when I started this blog. I found it at landismom’s site.

Wednesday, April 17th – Standing on a 45 degree angle from the surrounding Eixample grid system, this hospital was built by Domènech i Muntaner based on the notion that aesthetic harmony and pleasant surroundings were good for the health.

Wednesday, May 3rd – In the basque language (Euskera),txacolín is a fizzy, dry white wine poured from a great height.

Thursday, June 1st – Enjoying some cava and tapas on our balcony…

Monday, July 3rd – Now… this one I didn’t foresee: that no only would Brazil forget how to play football but that we would have to be reminded of it by the French.

Sunday, August 6th – Some cities are beer cities while others are wine cities.

Saturday, Sept 2nd – One of the things I most enjoy doing is learning about different cultures and participating in popular cultural events.

Sunday, Oct 1st – My parents, my brother, his wife and three-year old child have just left Brazil on their wayto Europe.

Saturday, Nov 4th – Tonight we went to the movies with Jackie, Sebastian, Francisca,Isa & Jordi to see Copying Beethoven.

Dec, 1st – Christine, a friend from Montreal, was visiting last week and in between tourist sites, we took her to Wushu, our favourite restaurant.

New Year’s meme

It’s the first line of the first post of each month. Mine goes back only as far as April, because that’s when I started this blog. I found it at landismom’s site.

Wednesday, April 17th – Standing on a 45 degree angle from the surrounding Eixample grid system, this hospital was built by Domènech i Muntaner based on the notion that aesthetic harmony and pleasant surroundings were good for the health.

Wednesday, May 3rd – In the basque language (Euskera),txacolín is a fizzy, dry white wine poured from a great height.

Thursday, June 1st – Enjoying some cava and tapas on our balcony…

Monday, July 3rd – Now… this one I didn’t foresee: that no only would Brazil forget how to play football but that we would have to be reminded of it by the French.

Sunday, August 6th – Some cities are beer cities while others are wine cities.

Saturday, Sept 2nd – One of the things I most enjoy doing is learning about different cultures and participating in popular cultural events.

Sunday, Oct 1st – My parents, my brother, his wife and three-year old child have just left Brazil on their wayto Europe.

Saturday, Nov 4th – Tonight we went to the movies with Jackie, Sebastian, Francisca,Isa & Jordi to see Copying Beethoven.

Dec, 1st – Christine, a friend from Montreal, was visiting last week and in between tourist sites, we took her to Wushu, our favourite restaurant.

Ten things I want to do in 2007

1. Spend less time on Internet and more time at the gym

2. Become less politically alienated – learn more about the issues that plague the city, country, and world in which I live

3. Be more creative – I want to rejoin the Hart House Camera Club and take more photography classes. I also want to take an intro to Art History class

4. Teach. I’ll be a TA (Teaching Assistant) for the first time this year, which is something that I both need and want to do. I’m also a bit nervous because I really want to be a good teacher…

5. Learn Hebrew. It’s only fitting since I study Jewish history…

6. Do volunteer work. I worked as a volunteer in Montreal in an elementary school and at the volunteer bureau’s office. It was a very fulfilling experience and one I hope to repeat one day.

7. Start writing my thesis. eeeeeek.

8. Take an Indian Cooking class. Hopefully my friend Gen will join me! Anyone else from Toronto care to join?

9. Show Toronto to my Barcelona friends

10. Read more literature

What about you? what do you want to do in 2007?

It’s Friday!!

I came across this list on this site. Since we all know I like a good self-discovering list, here it goes. Feel free to post your answers in the comments!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:15 am – or at least that’s when I started pushing “snooze”

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Copying Beethoven – the story itself isn’t that special but has superb acting by Ed Harris and it also features Phyllida Law, one of my favourite british actresses.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
at the moment, Lost and Everwood.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
hmmm, cheese sandwich (very tasty baguette bread with tomato) and an espresso at the bar. I know, not that best, but I’m afraid I pushed the snooze button one too many times to have time to prepare my own breakfast.

6. What is your middle name?
Eni

7. Favorite cuisine?
not the kind of question to ask a foodie. it changes every month anyways. Right now I’m discovering Indian cuisine
8. What foods do you dislike?
can’t eat meat fat. i’m always closely inspecting my steaks and cleaning even the tiniest bit of fat away. i guess that’s not really a dislike, my body just rejects it right away. i also tried snails (escargot) and didn’t like it. cannot make myself eat brains.

9. What is your favorite crisp (potato chip) flavor?
I have to agree with the lady that did this before me: “like plain Spanish chips, which are done in olive oil.” Very yummy.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
hmm, don’t have a favourite cd at the moment but my iTunes has been playing a lot of Legião Urbana (Brazilian rock), Ramones, The Donnas, and Jesse Cook.

11. What kind of car?
a white and yellow mini cooper

12. Favorite sandwich?
again, hard to pick a favourite food thing. I have been eating a lot of “bodadillos de tortilla francesa”, which are omelette sandwiches served in a baguette bread rubbed with tomato & olive oil.
13. What characteristic do you despise?
nothing bothers me more than people who have no respect for others and people who discriminate against others based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, you name it.

14. Favorite item of clothing?
at the moment, my camper shoes…

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation
where would you go?
right now? New Zealand… It’s been 10 years now since I wrote to a park in the South Island and started dreaming about hiking there. On another note, India has been growing on me since I met my friend J. and got interested in photography.

16. What color is your bathroom?
it’s sort of mismatched tones of blue. nothing to do with me, I swear!

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
anything that fits properly. i have a non-standard body in a world that only makes clothes for standard people. i really hate shopping for clothes; it’s very depressing. I see lots of really nice clothes, get all excited, select dozens of them only to come out of the dressing room all depressed because nothing fit… ARGH
18. Where would you retire to?
don’t really know. actually, i don’t even know where I want to live before i retire!!

19. Favorite time of the day?
sunrise and sunset. it’s just magical.
20. What was your most memorable birthday?
16… I made it really memorable for all my friends in high school. I reminded them daily of the event for 45 days prior to the date. I recently ran into one of my high school friends on the internet; she still remembered my birthday 😉 That one was most memorable for others. For me, I guess it was when I turned 20. I loved getting out of the teens.
21. Where were you born?
Resende, a town by the mountains, 170 km from Rio de Janeiro.

22. Favorite sport to watch?
Football (soccer for those of you in North America). Dont miss a Barça game.

23. What fabric detergent do you use?
no idea. Alan does the washing.
24. Are you a morning person or a night person?
I’m a morning person who has a hard time getting up in the morning. Does that make sense?
25. What is your shoe size?
7.5 US/38 Euro

26. Do you have any pets?
not anymore.
27. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with
friends and family?
It’s Friday!!

28. What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I wanted to be a veterinarian (what child doesn’t?) but then I saw a Miss Universe competition where the winner won all sorts of awards (a house, a car, tons of clothes & jewelry…) so I decided I was going to be Miss Universe. Later on I decided I wanted to be a diplomat.

It’s Friday!!

I came across this list on this site. Since we all know I like a good self-discovering list, here it goes. Feel free to post your answers in the comments!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:15 am – or at least that’s when I started pushing “snooze”

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Copying Beethoven – the story itself isn’t that special but has superb acting by Ed Harris and it also features Phyllida Law, one of my favourite british actresses.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
at the moment, Lost and Everwood.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
hmmm, cheese sandwich (very tasty baguette bread with tomato) and an espresso at the bar. I know, not that best, but I’m afraid I pushed the snooze button one too many times to have time to prepare my own breakfast.

6. What is your middle name?
Eni

7. Favorite cuisine?
not the kind of question to ask a foodie. it changes every month anyways. Right now I’m discovering Indian cuisine
8. What foods do you dislike?
can’t eat meat fat. i’m always closely inspecting my steaks and cleaning even the tiniest bit of fat away. i guess that’s not really a dislike, my body just rejects it right away. i also tried snails (escargot) and didn’t like it. cannot make myself eat brains.

9. What is your favorite crisp (potato chip) flavor?
I have to agree with the lady that did this before me: “like plain Spanish chips, which are done in olive oil.” Very yummy.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
hmm, don’t have a favourite cd at the moment but my iTunes has been playing a lot of Legião Urbana (Brazilian rock), Ramones, The Donnas, and Jesse Cook.

11. What kind of car?
a white and yellow mini cooper

12. Favorite sandwich?
again, hard to pick a favourite food thing. I have been eating a lot of “bodadillos de tortilla francesa”, which are omelette sandwiches served in a baguette bread rubbed with tomato & olive oil.
13. What characteristic do you despise?
nothing bothers me more than people who have no respect for others and people who discriminate against others based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, you name it.

14. Favorite item of clothing?
at the moment, my camper shoes…

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation
where would you go?
right now? New Zealand… It’s been 10 years now since I wrote to a park in the South Island and started dreaming about hiking there. On another note, India has been growing on me since I met my friend J. and got interested in photography.

16. What color is your bathroom?
it’s sort of mismatched tones of blue. nothing to do with me, I swear!

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
anything that fits properly. i have a non-standard body in a world that only makes clothes for standard people. i really hate shopping for clothes; it’s very depressing. I see lots of really nice clothes, get all excited, select dozens of them only to come out of the dressing room all depressed because nothing fit… ARGH
18. Where would you retire to?
don’t really know. actually, i don’t even know where I want to live before i retire!!

19. Favorite time of the day?
sunrise and sunset. it’s just magical.
20. What was your most memorable birthday?
16… I made it really memorable for all my friends in high school. I reminded them daily of the event for 45 days prior to the date. I recently ran into one of my high school friends on the internet; she still remembered my birthday 😉 That one was most memorable for others. For me, I guess it was when I turned 20. I loved getting out of the teens.
21. Where were you born?
Resende, a town by the mountains, 170 km from Rio de Janeiro.

22. Favorite sport to watch?
Football (soccer for those of you in North America). Dont miss a Barça game.

23. What fabric detergent do you use?
no idea. Alan does the washing.
24. Are you a morning person or a night person?
I’m a morning person who has a hard time getting up in the morning. Does that make sense?
25. What is your shoe size?
7.5 US/38 Euro

26. Do you have any pets?
not anymore.
27. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with
friends and family?
It’s Friday!!

28. What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I wanted to be a veterinarian (what child doesn’t?) but then I saw a Miss Universe competition where the winner won all sorts of awards (a house, a car, tons of clothes & jewelry…) so I decided I was going to be Miss Universe. Later on I decided I wanted to be a diplomat.

10 things I would like to do before I die

Inspired by the book Unforgettable things to do before you die by Steve Watkins and Clare Jones, I came up with my own list of 10 things I would like to do before I die. What about you? What would you like to do?

1. Learn Hebrew, German, Arabic, and an Asian language (possibly Korean) – in that order

2. Spend 1 year in Paris

3. Volunteer in an orphanage or pre-school in Africa

4. Write a book

5. Walk the Camino de Santiago

6. Take a cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris

7. Take a trip around the world

8. Learn to meditate

9. Widen my niece and nephews’ horizons by taking them to different parts of the world
10. Look back and feel that I have made a positive impact on at least one person’s life

Of course, there are at least a million other things I would like to do, but those were the first 10 things that came to mind.