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Concerned Colleague/Friend: So, let me get this straight . . . you're driving down to Rio, getting in late tonight, and staying the weekend with some people you've only 'met' on the internet.
Eric: Well, yeah, basically, I guess that's it. She and Emily have been emailing for almost a year, they keep up with each other's blogs . . .
CCF: You know you have to be careful with Cariocas (people from Rio). I mean some of them are real sly and really know how to lure people in and take advantage of them and . . .
Eric: Yeah, well, this is a Canadian couple, they're just expats like us.
CCF: Well, they say they're Canadian, but some Cariocas . . . well, do you personally know anyone who has met them? I mean, really, you never can be too careful.
One of my bloggy friends and I have been trying to get together and meet in person ever since she and her husband moved to Rio almost a year ago now. We've shared a lot in common and thought it'd be fun to hang out sometime (moving to Brasil as newlyweds, figuring out our new role as an expat wife, being sucked into the world of blogging, and now we are both pregnant and due within a month of one another!)
This weekend both of our schedules opened up and Eric and I made the drive south to go soak up a little beach time and finally meet 'the Canadians in Rio' (as my husband was prone to refer to them - he sometimes has a hard time keeping up with all people I tell him about from blogland!) They were kind enough to open up their home in Leblon (and only 2 blocks from the beach!) to us and keep us entertained for the weekend.
The weather this weekend turned out just gorgeous (albeit more than a smidgeon hot and humid) and we filled our days with some beach time, walks through Leblon and Ipanema, great food, and lots and lots of conversation about prenatal care, birth plans, cord blood banking, parenting theories, babies' in-the-womb movement patterns, pregnancy-induced nasal congestion, and all the other stuff that you really can only talk in depth about while around another pregnant couple. And being that my contact with other pregnant women has been rather limited - especially someone at basically the same point in her pregnancy - I was excited to compare notes and get to talk about all the stuff nobody else cares about. The husbands were real good sports too and never once complained about all the baby-talk. (I might even go so far as to say they were interested participants in the discussion!)
We had a really great time down in Rio for the weekend and are so appreciative of our gracious hosts! Hopefully they can make it up to BH sometime and we can return the hospitality!
Our neighbors-to-the-north-turned-neighbors-to-the-south take a more anonymous approach to their online presence, so I won't share any pictures that include them. But, here's a few of Rio, Eric, and me.
Eric and I hit the beach each morning before 9:00 am. By the time we left (12:30 on Saturday and 11:00 on Sunday) the beach was starting to fill up. It is definitely vacation season around these parts!
The best thing about the beach when you're almost 8 months pregnant: you can dig out a hole in the sand and lay on your belly! Of course, much longer and I'd need a shovel (or maybe a backhoe?) to get that belly-hole dug!
Because I wanted to show off how gorgeous the sand, water, and sky was this weekend. (Or, because it has been a long time since I've shared a picture of Eric in his sunga . . . it's hard to really put a label on my motivation sometimes.)
Going for a walk from Leblon to the Hippie Fair in Ipanema. (Or, proof that we do actually cover ourselves with clothing . . . sometimes.)And for all you fellas who put up with my baby talk week after week and are forced to see pictures of my growing belly . . . here's a little Rio de Janeiro 'postcard picture' for you:
You're welcome.
Yes, Brasil has some mighty beautiful women (of all ages . . . we guessed the woman in the middle to probably be the mother of the other two - who were most likely in their early 20's.)
Meanwhile, Eric's colleague and friend was happy to see him safely back in the office yesterday morning. He had been worrying about us over the weekend . . . ;)
13 comments:
hahah, That's so funny! I am glad you got to meet youur canadian friends, I think I know who they are, I read her blog too!!! And it's even better that you guys have so many things in common. Sometimes I try to meet some brazilian expats here in Tucson that are also married to americans, this way we all have "something in common" but it's hard, not many brazilians around where I live and not many married to americans... now everybody we know (even our older friends) are pregnant and we are feeling a little "out of place"...
Oh well, in about 4 or 5 year we will catch up, haha.
I love reading your blog by the way.
Thanks for sharing!
You always have the best vacations! When I saw the picture of you laying on your belly, I thought, how on earth can she do that? Then I read the part about digging a hole- brilliant!
That's funny! I thought the same thing as Laural, how is she laying on her stomach? :) hehe pictures are gorgeous! Definetely jealous of the hot weather!
Glad you had a great time!! So true about mineiros and mistrust!! Of course, my husband is carioca and he as plenty to say about mineiros too!
I didn't know that people were warning you about us - too hilarious! We should have called Eric's coworker with a ransom request...
Thanks for coming to visit! We had a great time with you two. I think we should plan on a fall trip to BH so the little ones can meet!
Só não diga que uma foto mostrando bundas de mulheres na praia, é um cartão postal do Rio de Janeiro.
O governo vem lutando contra esse tipo de associação, pois estimula o turismo sexual, que é crime. Sei que você fez de boa intenção, mas não fica bem do mesmo jeito.
Anonymous,
First off, my apologies if I've offended you.
But, I must admit I'm a bit surprised. I can't count the number of Brasilians who've bragged to my husband and I about how Brasil has the most beautiful women in the world. (I personally am always in awe at how comfortable women are with their bodies here - which certainly adds to the beauty in my opinion! It's not just anywhere in the world that you can find grandmas comfortable in bikinis!)
And any North American who has ever visited the beaches of Rio would be lying if they said they didn't notice a lot more skin than you do on the coast of the US or Canada (especially in the bunda department).
But um, for the record, I would like to offically state that I do not encourage sexual tourism - anywhere. In fact, just the name itself carries a bit of an "eewww" factor for me.
ok, how do I know you and Eric arent in fact evil sly cariocas???? I must be careful, or my bank account can be swiped clean simply by reading your carioca blog! :D lol
anyway, I didnt know there existed american men that would be courageous enough to wear speedos.
its quite interesting, but wearing speedos IS NOT common all over the country. From São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul, most men will wear bermudas on the beach.
You don’t need to apologize. I know you wrote that as a way to eulogize the beauties of the city. I’ve just told you that thing about sexual tourism, because the association between brazilian women and prostitution is very common outside the country, and I know your blog is very well visited by foreigners. The government is trying hard to eliminate those kinds of photos out of postcards and so.
I like your blog and I hope the best to you, your husband and your daughter, who is coming.
Marcio.
Mulheres de biquini (e homens de sunga?) são atrativos naturais de uma praia. Não vejo motivo para tanta preocupação por causa da palavra "postcard". Os próprios brasileiros exploram bastante a imagem das mulheres brasileiras, que são sempre "as mais lindas", "bundudas". Qual a diferença do post deste blog e relatos turísticos que se vêem aos montes na internet, falando da beleza das italianas, da beleza das loiras suecas, "atrativos de suas terras"... Talvez a questão é que ao viajar para a Itália ou Suécia, as ruas estarão cheias de prostitutas e travestis brasileiras! É isso que destrói a imagem das mulheres brasileiras no exterior e estimula o turismo sexual, não fotos de mulheres na praia (ainda mais uma família) que estão totalmente dentro do contexto de todo o blog.
Evidentemente o governo não deve tolerar publicidade totalmente direcionada ao turismo sexual. Agora, esse radicalismo em cima de fotos de um blog, com um enfoque nada diferente do que se veria em qualquer outro lugar do mundo, numa situação semelhante... É um blog, oras, não um folheto turístico oficial.
I´m sorry, I had to write the previous post in Portuguese. It´s hard to argue in another language, specially in this kind of issue. I saw the translation made by Google, and it's pretty OK, so if you have any difficulty, you can get the idea there hehehe
are all anonymous posts here posted by the same person or there are two anonymous arguing with each other?
To the other anonymous,
I have a different opinion and I just gave her an advice. Besides, I already explained her why I wrote that post.
Marcio.
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