Addicted to A/C

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A few weeks ago we had a small air conditioning unit installed in our bedroom. It was a present from my father-in-law which is probably just as well because I have always been rather resistant to buying one myself. Not because of the expense so much, but because air conditioning has always seemed a bit wrong to me. Sure it’s hot, but do you really want to breath air that has been processed? It’s so artificial! You pay a lot of money to have air sucked in from outside, passed over refrigeration elements and then pumped into your home, just so you can achieve optimum temperature?

Ha! You can tell I grew up in chilly England can’t you? Getting A/C felt pretty wrong to me, but do you know what? It feels oh so right when we switch it on 10 minutes before going to bed. Especially when the funk party raging outside makes opening the window a bad option if you want to get to sleep before 6am. I think it is safe to say that I am an air conditioning convert.

Often when I’m searching for ideas and inspiration for Eat Rio, I will ask my wife about whatever subject I have in mind. “What have you got on X?” I will ask, and she will tell me about a saying, a news story or some other cultural oddity that I can work in to the post (my secret is out!). Well I just asked her “What do you Brazilians think about air conditioning” and her reply was “Everyone likes it”. Great, thanks for that! But it appears to be true:

I reckon there are around 70 A/C units visible on the outside of this office building in Rio's Centro district.

 

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Mysterious Lights

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A curious thing happened last night as I made my way home. A curious light seemed to fill the sky. Seriously, it was really odd – everything went a weird shade of yellowy-green. Now I’m fairly sure this mysterious light was a perfectly natural phenomenon – perhaps the low cloud was being caught by the setting sunlight which was being refracted by particles suspended in the upper atmosphere to produce that particularly mysterious shade of yellow. OR, maybe it was aliens!

As I sat on the bus, I gazed in wonder at this strange new version of Rio and felt the need to make blindingly obvious comments to strangers. You know, things like “Wow, look at that. It’s really yellow isn’t it?” and “Doesn’t the sky look weird?”. You know, sometimes I think my timidity with communication saves me from some pointless conversations.

As I neared my destination in Glória, the sun went down (or, if you prefer, the alien mothership flew away) and the strange light faded. I hopped off the bus and was just about to make my way up the steep hill I have to climb to get home, when I happened to glance over my shoulder. Seems aliens were in Rio after all! This is what I saw:

A clear-cut case of aliens, right? Look at them, hanging in the night sky – there is no other explanation for this. I have to say, I was surprised too. But the camera doesn’t lie does it?

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Que Saudade!

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How are you feeling today? Are you experiencing a faint longing for anything? Is your heart a little heavy? Do you feel listless and melancholic? Well you should do, and not just because it’s a Monday. Today, 30th January, is Dia da Saudade. You didn’t know? Didn’t you see the Brazilian Google Doodle today? For those of you who missed it, here it is:

You may find this hard to believe, but I’ve had no formal training. This is natural, raw, diamond-in-the-rough, talent…

 

OK, so Eat Rio and Google haven’t really teamed up (well, in a way, I teamed up with them, but that makes it a rather one-sided arrangement doesn’t it?). I made this myself as apparently Google forgot to check their calendar today.

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Friday Beach Quiz

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I know what suckers you guys are for quizzes, puzzles and other chances to prove how clever you are (don’t even bother denying it). Well, it’s Friday, so I will indulge you. See if you can spot what the following three images have in common (there are many correct answers, but I can only accept the answer I have written down on my answer cards):

Ipanema last weekend…

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Clash of the Corruptions

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People in Rio are always talking about the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. Will they be a success? What will become of Rio afterwards? Will the pacified favelas be abandoned and left to fall back into the control of drug dealers? What will happen to house prices? The list goes on.

A recent story was that Jérôme Valcke, the General Secretary of FIFA (football’s governing body), has been visiting Brazil to oversee the world cup preparations. Mr Valcke kicked up a storm by stating not only that beer must be sold in Brazilian stadiums, but that it will be sold in Brazilian stadiums. This is in spite of the fact that there has been a law here making such alcohol sales illegal since 2003 2008 (thanks Andre)! His words were:

“Alcoholic drinks are part of the Fifa World Cup, so we’re going to have them. Excuse me if I sound a bit arrogant but that’s something we won’t negotiate.”

Highlighting the fact that you're being arrogant doesn't excuse the arrogance. The head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter (also a scumbag), is a big fan of Valcke, saying: "When he began his work as director of marketing and TV in FIFA four and a half years ago, we were in a financial crisis. Currently we have an equity of 752 million Swiss francs."

 

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