terça-feira, 28 de junho de 2011

My first...

So, the other day I was reading Danielle's blog Sometimes Sweet and I came across a very interesting post.
She was talking about this journal thing she used to do with her students back in the day when she was a teacher and it really inspired me to share some of my experiences too.
So, here is the task:


"Here's how it will work- I'll post a prompt, and then write about it below. You can write on the prompt in your blog (feel free to grab the image up top), then come back here and leave a comment with a sentence or two from your entry, and the link.  I know I'd be so honored to be able to read what you write, and I know a lot of others would love to, too. I think this will be a fun way to get a writing community going, and I'm so looking forward to getting to know more of you through your words. All of these prompts come from the notebook I kept in my desk in my English classroom and they come from various places; college writing courses, my own mind, websites, friends and colleagues. I'm so excited to share them here, and bring back the most important aspect of blogging to my blog- writing.  I think this will be a neat way to infuse some creativity into our daily lives too, and inspire each other to write a lot more! So, here we go.

Describe a "first" (first date, first lie, the first time you experienced something, first time in a particular setting, etc). Include as many details as possible to paint a picture."



Here it goes:



"
I’ve been teaching English for ten years and amazingly, I never gave a lot of thought to the fact that this language connects people more than anything else in the world. It’s been two weeks I arrived in Calgary (Canada). I won’t lie. It’s always been my dream. For some reason, Canada has been more present in my life than my own country. I must say, then, that these two weeks have changed my way of seeing things, people, my way of being, of treating people. Of course I won’t take for granted the fact that the city is cold, beautiful, clean, organized. This would catch anyone’s attention, specially if this “one” comes  from Manaus – AM, like I do. But, the thing that caught my attention the most were the PEOPLE. Not because they are beautiful or dress elegantly: they’re more worried about the -41 degrees than with fashion. What makes me smitten with Calgary sums up to one word: politeness.


And when I say “politeness”, I don’t mean random “thank you’s” and “excuse me’s” just like I’ve heard in different places around the globe. I mean attention, humbleness, tenderness – things people aren’t afraid of showing to anyone that crosses their path. I’ll illustrate my point with two stories.

Stephen Avenue

One of my greatest passions is walking randomly around cities that I’ve never been to before. I love reading their maps, trying to find myself in the correct streets, asking for information and taking zillions of pictures. On this very specific day, I decided I was going downtown to explore every millimeter of the city. I got on a train at Whitehorn, where I am currently living, and went straight downtown. I walked a lot, stopped at Olympic Plaza (the place where the 1988 winter Olympics were held and where the Calgary Flames celebrated the Stanley Cup’s 2004 finals), I took pictures, went to the Calgary Tower and then right after that, I decided to take a walk around Stephen Avenue.
When I got there, I took my camera out of my bag and started to take lots of pictures of the Christmas lights that lighten the street as an attempt to keep the cold depression away. Suddenly, a girl from the Red Cross came to me and asked me why I was taking so many pictures.
I told her I was from Brazil and that I loved the lights in Calgary. From this moment on, we started a talk that lasted for at least 40 minutes. Well, her name is Audrey and she dreams about teaching English in Japan – Imagine that! We exchanged phone numbers and emails because she got interested in the teaching course I was doing. And there, at that moment, out of the blue, I made a friend. When would I ever imagine that someone, who was working under such bad condition, surviving -40 degrees, would simply stop in the middle of the street to talk to some Brazilian girl who was only taking pictures? This is is what the people in Calgary are like.

Kensington Road

And then, once again, I decided to explore the city yesterday. My friend Chris, who lives in Calgary, told me about Eau Claire and Kensington and I immediately felt like going there. I just didn’t think through it thoroughly: it was so far from where I was staying!
I left home at 4pm. I got on the same train and started walking through 6th Av SW until I could see Eau Claire. Walking around here is no sacrifice. I don’t get tired, I don’t sweat and you can still look at some handsome guys.  When I realized I’d already walked past Eau Claire and was walking through the Bow Bridge, I thought: should I go further? Should I go to Kesington? I was as far from home as Dorothy (as in the Wizard of Oz)… I just kept going. And I am so glad I did it! That place is AMAZING. Lots of thrift shops around, vintage windows, lots of cafés, Nice pubs and record stores. It was love at first sight.
After walking for almost two hours, I decided it was time I got home. How was I supposed to do that once I was miles away from home?
I immediately saw a cab. I knocked on its window, the driver gives me a thumb up: great it’s free!
He was (the driver) in his late sixties. His hair was not grey, it was all white and he looked like one of those cool grandpas. First thing he did was offer me a Kleenex – I was sneezing b/c of the weather – and right after that he asked me: "Where's this funny accent from? Are you Mexican?", and I said: No, I'm from Brazil!

"BRAZILIANAAAA"

That was the only word we needed to start this 10-minute-conversation that said more than we needed to know about each other. The most interesting thing is that his life story is FANTASTIC: well, he is Polish and used to live in Italy as a refugee. He didn’t have anywhere to go and then Canada came up with this policy in which young refugees could move there and start afresh.  And this is how he started living in Calgary.
I asked him if he liked it here. His answer was so passionate, I wanted to cry: I LOVE IT HERE!
His name is Stan. He made me think that my long journey all the way to Kensington was worth every minute. We both said goodbye and with a handshake I left his cab, with the hope that one day I’d meet him again in one of my enjoyable times around Calgary.
His last sentence to me was “Good Luck, Rebecca”

Well, Thank you Stan, you made my first trip to Canada unforgettable.

And with these two stories I illustrate what I have been living here. A magical moment of discoveries, different stories, a culture full of incredible people that make you feel special. The thing I like to hear the most since I got here is: “How are you doing today?” – You know why? Because They really mean it when they say it. It’s not about asking. It’s about waiting for you to say “I’m fine, thanks.” And I love saying I am. How could it be different?
My first time in Canada definitely changed my life.

Thank you, Calgarians."

 




from scratch.

So.. after a long, cold winter.. I decided it was time I started posting back here. Most importantly, I decided to post everything in English once most of the girls I follow on blogspot are not from Brazil.. it would be so unfair if my posts were all in Portuguese!
I saw some nice comments here! Wow! It's been almost a year since my last post.. and I must say, I truly miss this one!
I gave a lot of thought to what I was supposed to post here.. and I decided I should share my newest addiction: Pinterest!! It's like I will never stop posting pictures over there!


It's so fun.. and it really makes me unwind after a day of hard work!

I think you should try! And if you're already there.. check my pinterest out! ;D

terça-feira, 28 de setembro de 2010

Show it all...

Então...
Estava eu lendo minha querida bíblia brasileira chamada Marie Claire e eis que o hit da estação, queridinho da semana de moda de Londres, mas que já ocupava meu guarda-roupa há muito tempo me sobressai aos olhos: o MINI-SHORT.
Não precisa nem falar que aqui nessa Manaus de meu Deus os mini micro shorts são essenciais, porque senão nós morremos de calor!
Então eu reuni os modelitos que super se destacaram nas passarelas e que podem ser muito bem adaptados para o nosso querido verão de todo o sempre.
Acho que a pedida é se jogar no shortinho e ir trabalhar para todo lugar com ele!


              Julien Macdonald                                                                                 Twenty8Twelve
Se eu soubesse desse novo hit da estação, já estava usando há milênios...
E para ajudar aquelas mais sem idéia do que comprar por aí.. alguns looks do mundo afora que podem ser montados para a nossa cidadezinha capital do calor!


Prometo que no próximo post vem as dicas locais de onde conseguir os shortitos mais lindinhos  para desfilar por aí.

domingo, 26 de setembro de 2010

O primeiro.

Eu sempre fui apaixonada por blogs. E há uns dois anos venho nutrindo a minha paixão por eles com uma série de leituras "obrigatórias" que reúnem tudo que eu acho de mais interessante no blog world. Foi assim que eu decidi criar o Twenties Diaries.
Eu, sei que é um pouco tarde nos meus vinte e poucos para chamar o blog de um diário dos 20, mas ainda tenho alguns poucos anos por vir.
Aqui eu vou compartilhar os melhores posts que acho pelo mundo afora e que trazem tudo fashion-culinária-trend-modern-lifestyle-related.
E para o meu primeiro post, eu vou abrir a minha Blog Bible e mostrar tudo de mais obrigatório num dia de domingo como hoje, meu dia de domingo:

1) Rockstar Diaries 
Eu acho que a Naomi foi a primeira blog girl que eu conheci e comecei a acompanhar. Faz tanto tempo que eu nem lembro mais quando e qual foi o primeiro texto dela que li. O blog dela me traz coisas boas, esperança no amor (linda sua história com Josh e agora o bebê), paixão por fotografias (olgas e dianas), vintage clothing e Washington D.C.



2) A Cup of Jo
Através na Naomi, conheci o blog de Joanna. Ela é uma editora de uma revista de estilo de vida que escreve no blog sobre as melhores dicas de bem-viver que conheço. Dicas de moda, tendências, decoração, DIY e artigos interessantes através da web. Foi com a Joanna que eu comecei a nutrir paixão por fotos de casamentos e noivado e conheci fotógrafos incríveis. Também acompanhei sua trajetória do casamento, o nascimento do seu bebê Toby e a sua vida em geral.



A Danielle é tudo que eu sempre quis ser na vida. Professora de Inglês em uma cidade pequena nos EUA. Mora com o marido Hank e agora espera a chegada do seu pequeno Henry. O que me fez apaixonar pelo blog da Danielle é o simples fato de ela escrever com o melhor inglês que eu já vi. Ela faz uns posts enooormes sobre música, cinema, tattoos e pessoas únicas e diferentes como ela. 



4) Cupcakes and Cashmere
Eu conheci o blog da Emily antes mesmo de ela se tornar essa super tendência mundial e sair em revistas, reportagens (incluindo uma na nossa Marie Claire) e ser convidada para as Fashion Weeks. O que me faz gostar do blog dela é que além das fotos lindas dos outfits que ela usa, ela dá dicas de decoração e receitinhas ótimas para se fazer em casa. É unir o fashion ao normal...



5) MLovesM
Uma das minhas mais recentes descobertas: o blog da Mara. Essa menina da Califórnia que traz todo dia uma coisinha interessante sobre a sua vida, suas receitas e seu lookbook. A Mara é linda e agora está noiva do Matthew.



Essas são as minhas inspirações e o que me fez iniciar esse blog. Espero que eu possa trazer pro blog world tudo que elas trazem pro meu dia de domingo.

Happy Sunday!