'A minha sorte grande, foi voce cair do ceu...' Let's mix it up ;)

Hey everyone!

It's been a while again since I've written here, so I made a new year's resolution to write more often on my blog, so I can finish up my story about Brazil and start up on other topics, so as to become a frequent online blogger, and further my writing career ;)

As the old year is coming to an end and the new one is approaching, and my Brazilian host sisters ('zusjes') are coming to visit Holland (yayness!), I guess the thing to do would be to give some kind of year overview and summary... but I won't do that all in one go, because it's all worth a whole blog - or maybe even a book! - by itself, isn't it! A year ago I was celebrating Christmas and the coming of 2010 in Shangai, China, and a few months later I was in Brazil, trying to learn how to dance samba... it's all kind of surreal, and yet I know I was there and all these things happened! I would still like to write more about China here, too... but all these different cultures, experiences and influences are getting so mixed up now, how to keep them apart is the question! Although, I'd like to think that I don't have to keep them entirely apart, and I couldn't really, they all make up what I am now, after all. It doesn't seem to me that I came back a different person per se, and yet I know I'm not all the same as before, and the course of my life may be different now to what it would have been if I hadnt been to China and Brazil, especially the latter :)

I know that the people I met and the hospitality they showed me in Brazil was the main factor which enchanted me with the country. I never imagined that I would be there, in Brazil, although I always dreamed of going to South America, but the dream came true in a rather unexpected way and time, and here I am, perfectly aware of what Brazilians mean when they talk about 'saudade'. But other than missing the people, and the beautiful scenery, and the warm temperature (I write this while we are still covered with snow in Holland... although I do like the way the snow crunches under my feet when I try to make it to the bus stop at 7 in the morning), there are many other things I miss about Brazil. It's funny how a person can become so attached to another culture! I've traveled around, and I spent two months in China, and lived for years in Russia and Holland, yet my 'saudade' for Brazil is very special... and it's so difficult to explain how this happened!

I know there are a couple of things other than what I already mentioned that I love about Brazil - the language, that dancy, musical sound of Brazilian Portuguese, the language I had so unexpectedly gotten to learn! A few years ago, I was still determined to know Spanish, but now my heart went out to it's close linguistic relative :) And now I try to keep it up as much as I can; perhaps sometime I will try to write parts of my blog in Portuguese (and not make any native speakers laugh at my silly mistakes... although in Brazil I spoke with plenty of mistakes for sure, which never stopped me from talking anyway).

And what's definitely related to my love of the language is the Brazilian music. From samba to axé and música popular brasileira, I cannot believe we still know so little about it here in the Northern hemisphere, other than some vague knowledge about samba percussion and the 'Girl from Ipanema'. I really love Brazilian music, and the sound of it keeps my saudade bearable (but sharper at the same time). When I went to a small concert by the Brazilian artist Ceumar (who is living in Holland) a couple of months ago, and she sang so melodiously in the beautiful Portuguese language, it was like honey pouring through me.

Where I will go from here, I don't know. When I will be in Brazil again, I don't know, but I hope as soon as is possible right now. So much still to see and experience, to eat, to dance, to talk non-stop, like the Brazilians do... hahaha! The most honest secret behind my learning Portuguese? Brazilians just don't shut up, and the gringa just has to learn to keep up with them!

Well, and here I will stop talking for the moment! But be sure to hear more, much more, from me soon! Até breve!

Grande beijo para todos, meus amigos!