31.05.16 - Cor de burro quando foge

Wotcha,

It's been non-stop since I last wrote, starting with our second anniversary dinner this time last week at the infamous/delicious Coco Bambu - white-knuckled it across town behind the wheel for a cauldron of milk rice and sun meat risotto (their words), and back again, for a jolly good evening all told. 

Then on Thursday (which was Corpus Christi, and a national holiday for everyone except me) we went to Santana de Parnaiba - a village out of town and coincidentally the location of Gaby's much-maligned old job - to check out the "carpets", which turned out to be huge religious-themed tableaux made out of dyed sawdust and chalk, running in a circuit down the middle of the street from the church and main square (pics attached!). 

People had apparently come from all over the country and spent the whole night making them, only for a procession to trample them all into dust at the end of the day, after much merriment, bell-ringing and food-truck-based rejoicing. Makes you think, man. Survived my inaugural trip on the SP motorway on the way back too, which was nice.

On Saturday we went to São Caetano do Sul for Gaby's cousin Luiza's confirmation mass, or whatever the ceremony with the wine, wafers and monk costumes is called. What could have been an overload of religious iconography for one weekend (during the Champions League final, no less) eventually transitioned into a full-blown pancake party back at her house instead, during which I commandeered a tiny pink guitar and sung raucously until the crowds politely dispersed. 

Also of note was Luiza's teenage cousin finally introducing her boyfriend of over six months to about 30 gossiping family members and overprotective father figures at once; I remember going through a similar hazing process when I first came here, so I felt for the lad, but thought he acquitted himself admirably/hid in the corner all evening.

Otherwise I've been enjoying my extended weekend by roaming around São Paulo in the rain, and chain-baking cakes; I've started pilates on doctor's orders, which I'm sure will be a barrel of laughs; and I've discovered a triff brill new site called Radiooooo.com, which as you are no doubt aware creates customised radio stations for each country and decade since the 1900's. I've made a compilation of my favourite finds here (tracklist below), as well as a more conventional Spotify mixtape here. 

My phrase of the day is an extremely abstract way of describing an unidentifiable hue: "the colour of a donkey that has fled". I don't imagine I'll use it very often, but thought I'd share anyway. 'Tis all for now, but looking forward to seeing you all in Paris!

Ciao for now,

Frau

Radiooooo Compilation:

1. Berkes Béla – Valse de Schonbrunn (Hungary)
2. Richard Bona, Lokua Kanza, Gerald Toto – Ghana Blues (Ghana)
3. Khun Narin – Phua Kao (Thailand)
4. Charlo – Nostalgias (Argentina)
5. Rashid Behbudov - Lyubimye Glaza (Azerbaijan)
6. Jaltarang - Ramrao Parsatwar (India)
7. Bachar Mar-Khalifé – Lemon (Lebanon)
8. Telek – Abebe (Papua New Guinea)
9. Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians – That Old Feeling (Canada)
10. Mulatu Astatke - Tezeta (Ethiopia)
11. Fereidoon Farrokhzad - Moondam Az Boodanet (Iran)
12. Dusty Baron - Griboedov's Channel (Moldova)
13. Yanti Bersaudara – Rarakitan (Indonesia)
14. Del Wood – Twelfth Street Rag (New Zealand)
15. Pedro Infante – Angelitos Negros (Venezuela)

24.05.16 - Dar uma de joão sem braço

'Sup y'all. 

Arctic conditions prevail here in São Paulo, as the temperature drops below 15 degrees with worrying regularity, and some branches are blown off trees - cue mass stockpiling of canned goods and a pronounced boom in the eiderdown industry. Our next-door neighbour is playing "Let It Go" from Frozen on a loop, although to be fair he was doing that before the cold snap, presumably to calm his hyperactive child.

I've been channeling my inner Ryan Gosling by driving most every day, so far without incident; on Friday we went to a karaoke bar in Liberdade, SP's Chinatown, for Taynah's surprise birthday bash, which was most amusing (plus I finally got to sing "Kiss" after literally hours of lobbying the karaoke ringmaster); and today is our wedding anniversary so we're off somewhere fancy for dinner. Thanks for your e-mails and pics!

I have made another compilation - less "angry" than the last one, by popular request - and have another saying for you to mangle: "dar uma de joão sem braço" means to "give it the old Johnny-no-arms", i.e. feign ignorance (or a lack of arms) to get out of an unwanted task. It also explains one of the all-time-great Carnaval costumes earlier this year.

That will be all for now; blog dismissed.

Fredders

17.05.16 - Trabalho de enxugar gelo

Bom dia! 

I've been careering round town since picking up my driver's licence on Friday; so far it's gone OK, although having driven to Gaby's university on Sunday, I had to get her to take over when the time came to park (all the cones and broom handles had been replaced by actual cars, which threw me off a bit), and a cruise through the backroads of our neighbourhood last night was derailed by a tropical storm. I'm getting the hang of it though. Death toll so far = 0

On Saturday we went a fair way out of town to Itatiba, and the tranquil country dwelling of one of Gaby's schoolfriend's dads, for a birthday BBQ and general chinwag, involving MOUSSE CAKE and a cameo by a hyperactive six-year-old who suddenly started asking really deep, existential multiple-choice questions - including: "would you rather drink wine or die?" - to the be/amusement of all present.  We also discovered Snapchat and its FaceSwap setting, which resulted in the attached, nightmarish picture (and no doubt a lot of sleepless nights).

Otherwise we've been looking after Susy's cats while they were away on holiday, and I've been baking up a storm, flawlessly executing a tricky orange cake double-pike on two separate occasions, to make up for last weekend's tapioca fiasco. No compilation this week, but I found a rather amusing saying: being put to work "drying ice", basically any chore which is ultimately pointless in nature, like washing the car during a thunderstorm. Doesn't really translate into English, since the dry ice business is a fine and booming industry, but I enjoyed it.

Until next we speak,

Fredders

10.05.16 - Água de salsicha

Hallooo! 

The week since my last update peaked early, when I got up at the crack of dawn on Thursday to pile onto a minibus to a particularly feral part of the Zona Norte, and passed my driving test like a boss at the second time of asking - with an assist from Old Man Irineu of my now-defunct driving school, who showed up and let me practice in his car for a bit, and the test instructor who turned a blind eye to my still-patchy parking skills while I dodged dead chickens and packs of wild dogs on the road. Then as an encore I went to pick up my guitar, which now works like a charm after a deep clean and a re-string, and put in a decent shift at the football in the evening.

On Saturday we picked up Gaby's cousin Luiza in São Caetano do Sul and took her out for a burger and a wander in the fashionable (and absolutely packed) Vila Madalena district, to make up for her not being allowed into my karaoke-fest last weekend. Then on Sunday we all went to her grandma's for a Mother's Day BBQ bash, where we gorged on meat and grilled cinnamon-pineapple, had a jam and flopped about to our heart's content, before heading back via Ridaut's parents' place, and finally getting my hands/ears on the new Radiohead album (which, after the first few listens, thankfully does not suck).

In other news we're planning various trips for later in the year; I've turned my hand to indigenous recipes from Granny Diana's Brazilian cook book (my first attempt at halloumi & tapioca squares was a gooey disaster, but the lime mousse fared a little better...); and obviously I'll be hitting the road once my driving licence gets issued, hopefully this week, so watch out São Paulo! Seriously though, do watch out...

It's another week, another compilation for your listening pleasure; as for my phrase of the day, Adny reckons "água de salsicha" ("hot dog water") is a pejorative term for a ginger person, although I've also heard it refer to anyone who serves absolutely no purpose. Either way it's pretty great, and I intend to use it more often in conversation, out of earshot naturally. 

Let's speak soon, baboon! 

Radiofred

03.05.16 - Robocop Gay

Greetings from an actually-genuinely-quite-chilly São Paulo; after the Indian summer of the past few weeks, normal service has been resumed and the weather is now reminiscent of a particularly bearable English spring - sweaters and duvets have been taken out of mothballs, fondue kits are being dusted off, etc.

Friday was, of course, my birthday and I turned 29 with SURPRISE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE for breakfast (cunningly smuggled into the fridge by Gaby the night before disguised as leftover chicken (the cake, not Gaby)), followed by a trip to the Denmark Street of São Paulo to shop for guitars. I ended up just turning my old twelve-string over for a deep clean - if that doesn't do the trick we'll go back again this week and look for its successor, but I still hold out hope for its eventual electroacoustic resuscitation. 

The day was rounded off with a medley of fondues - cheese, meat and chocolate/fruit, for those of you keeping notes - in a bizarre, half-empty, distinctly chilly but somehow still appealing Swiss chalet up in the hills (that played "What a Fool Believes" when we walked in, amazingly), in the delightful company of Dany and André, sporting a Gryffindor scarf and spouting endless Brazilian proverbs for my ever-growing collection.

Then on Saturday we went to a gated, be-laked community out of town, for one of Ridaut and Adny's friends' annual birthday feijoada blowouts, where we ate plenty of meat & beans, downed a caipirinha or two and made a hasty getaway for the evening's main event, a karaoke marathon in town with various well-wishers in tow. Somewhere among the six hours of off-key Brazilian pop hits (including this cult classic about a gay cyborg by a band called the Killer Breasts - an obvious standout) Gaby and I got some songs in edgeways and had a whizzy jolly time, offset by plenty of napping on Sunday.

Yesterday we were granted a rare Bank Holiday off, so I went wandering round the Avenida Paulista in the sun for a bit until Gaby finished uni for the day; I also got in a bit of parallel parking practice with Ridaut at the weekend, which left me more confused and apprehensive than anything else, although I've got another, official lesson tomorrow afternoon before Test 2.0 on Thursday; and we've confirmed our jaunt to Iguazu Falls in September, which should be a fun place to visit, and to say, even.

That's all for noo - many thanks for your birthday wishes, and let's speak anon...

Fredr

PS: Nearly forgot: NEW COMPILATION, featuring hot-off-the-press Radiohead and much whimsy beside. Enjoy: https://play.spotify.com/user/freddypowys/playlist/4oG9tOsrhlu55capK44PG5