My life as a soap opera star...

I wonder if Mariana Ximenes, star of the Brazilian soap opera Cobras & Lagartos, knows that she´s been spotted several times in Fortaleza recently? I´m sure it would come as a surprise to her, especially were she to find out that the person who keeps getting mistaken for her is none other than little ol´me...that´s right, a gringa with blue eyes (instead of green) who bumbles around like a fool in heavily accented portuguese! Personally, I´m very flattered. And it´s a great conversation starter once people realize that I´m not in fact her. The fact that I would never otherwise be mistaken as Brazilian usually leads to quite a lot of chuckling. I´ve taken to watching her soap opera if I´m home at the right time so that I can discuss what´s going on in "my" life.

My body has now begun recovering from my first hour-long attempt at practicing capoeira... last week!! Talk about muscles that I never knew existed. Whew. Given my utter lack of grace and style when it comes to anything involving dance-like movement, my first class at a local gym was also the source of great amusement for the guys who were working out nearby. Luckily, I had a companion from Tucson who was willing to make a fool out of herself as well, so we simply laughed along with everyone else.

Other than that? I have a great host-sister, who I get along with very well. She´s a lot of fun and as a result I seem to have become a sort of ad-hoc social co-ordinator for much of the Arizona group because I´m frequently in-the-know about fun places to go. So far, my trip has been a lot of beaches and all-night samba and/or forro dancing, a little bit of Portuguese study, and some intense world cup fanaticism. Some of you may remember when I sent out a link to 2night.com New Orleans after my photo was posted from JazzFest? Well, if you´re so inclined, check out: www.eceara.com.br Along the left sidebar, click on the photo album for the Brazil vs. Ghana game, barraca crocobeach. I´m in a photo with some friends a few pages into the album, in a bright yellow Brazil shirt. The game was at noon this past Tuesday and as everything, including the Federal University where we have our classes, was closed for the entire day, we spent our time watching the game and frolicking on the beach. It´s a tough life...

xoxo

Rediscovering the Inner Tomboy

Climbing on Monday was fantastic! For whatever reason, however, I have a tendency to sacrifice the integrity of my body (by completely disregarding it) when there is a challenge to overcome. Last fall, my friend Liz's mom sent me a card in which she reminisced about watching me compete in a halloween bob-for-apples event at the stable where Liz and I used to train. I remember the event in question well because I was thrown from my Mustang pony about 75 times before completing the challenge and still managed to finish with one of the best times. In fact, I think I might have won...but that's slightly beside the point. Liz's mom sent me the card to remind me of all the times I climbed back on that pony during lessons, events, horseshows and the like until the day came when he could no longer shake me quite so easily. Since then, I have acquired many more bumps and bruises along the way. After overdoing the adventure activities on a family vacation in Hawaii, I will never forget backpacking through Eastern Europe with a severe ear infection, a black eye, and feet that looked like they had taken a trip through a meat grinder. Since I spent the first part of the trip hobbling and unable to ride up any elevators, I'm sure my traveling companion Nell remembers those days (uhh...fondly?) as well! My personal favorite, though, is the time that I re-fractured my foot less than a month before the Belfast marathon and then attempted and finished it anyway. Nevermind that I've gone running less than 10 times in the six years since then, or that the splinter of bone just sort of chillin' in my left foot occasionally stops minding its own business and reminds me that it's still there... I wanted a "Belfast Marathon 2000" medallion, and I got one! We all have our priorities, after all.

So it came as no surprise when we piled into Julie's car after climbing on Monday that my knees looked like they belonged to the corpse of some unfortunate soul who had just irish-jigged cross-country with her feet tucked up behind her butt. Can't quite conjur that image up? Let's just say: black and blue + scratched, scraped, red, and puffy = well, not pretty. And with less than a week to go before braving not only Brazilian beaches but Brazilian beachwear to boot, it was a little disheartening to realize that I had just transformed my pale, freckled skin into a virtual connect-the-dots masterpiece of scratches, scrapes, and mottled bruises. Oh, and let's not forget the odd sunburn on my back that vaguely resembles a sprouting set of wings...everytime I turn around and glance at it in the mirror, I find myself wondering whether or not we'll ever know what becomes of Warren Worthington III if they don't make a 4th X-men movie. Just call me Archangel Meg...

Yet up Mt. Lemmon at about 6500 feet, the temperature was mild (relatively speaking - 80s early on, 90 degrees or so by midday), the views were incredible, and our party of five had a good mix of climbing and getting-to-know-one-another banter to keep ourselves entertained. I wouldn't trade in a single moment of our day for scratch-free skin. The marks on my hide will fade and eventually heal; I hope the memories from Monday never do!

The images posted here are from our first and easiest climb. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died shortly thereafter. Ooops. I seem to have left my spare set behind in the mysterious black hole in which we all managed to leave our cash, sunblock, hiking shoes, and xtra food. When I get back in August and go again, I'll make sure to get more shots...and have someone else spread the sunscreen on my back!

I'll write next from Brazil... in the meantime, keep smiling!

Tucson June 2006

It's great being back in Tucson! With a little bit of time to just settle in, hang out, and play before I head to Brazil, the reality of my move back to Tucson has finally sunk in. As usual, I'm content with my new surroundings. There's just always so many wonderful things about any given location, that it's impossible to focus on the negatives unless you make it a point to do so...and now that the shadow of Katrina isn't looming over me, I'm back to recognizing all the positives and consequently not minding the negatives (such as the fact that there doesn't seem to be any water whatsoever out here in this darn desert...go figure).

Despite the remnants of cacti in my hands from an overly ambitious solo hike the other day, I'm loving the setting and scenery out here more than ever. I'm going outdoor climbing for the first time in my life on Monday, so I'll be able to check off one more item on that list of "things I've always wanted to do." Yippee! Seeing as how my climbing experience is limited to one trip to a climbing gym in Rhode Island years ago and one recent trip here in Tucson (with maybe one more to be squeezed in before Monday), I'm not overly confident in my body's ability to defy gravity. Should be fun and silly...look for photos here afterwards!

So...this will be the spot to check for news and photos from Brazil, Hawaii, and wherever else the coming weeks/months take me! More soon...