Saved by a Trio of Dachshunds

Some news, as I wait for Victor’s mother to come take us to lunch.

Last night I had a great encontro com chopes with Armando, a very dear friend who lives in Arpoador (between Ipanema & Copacabana) normally an easy walk. He is such a dear friend, and lost his partner of many, many years (he is 74, and his partner then was 82 I think). It’s still hard for him, and I promised next time M & I would stay with him. So we talked about Braum, and on the way back I realized that I hadn’t yet done something with his cinzas… so when I got to the beach walk near posto 6, and since it was full of people, I took off my shoes and walked the way down to the beach, wished Braum well and thought, there are lots of folks walking with dogs… what could go wrong…

Now I know better than this, and I have never, ever had any problem here… but last night I let down my guard… so I walked a little, and suddenly two kids came up to me, with a knife, I remembered that my policeman friend said to make one hell of a racket, so I hit them with a book I had gotten to give to Victor, and lost my balance… in so doing a bunch of folks ran over, and three dachshunds as well, chased the bastards a way… but I lost my glasses… nothing to be worried about, I am just very angry at the kids, and at myself. Thank gawd I brought my spare glasses. So, the guys came back and of course Luiz had to give me a stern lecture about walking on the beach at night by myself (I hate it when he is right).

So at anyrate, we went to a loja de oculos here in Copacabana, and the moça took the measurements of my glasses, but she wasn’t able to have them ready for me my Thursday evening desembarque… que pena, because they were even cooler than the ones I left to Braum and Yemanjá (the goddess of the sea that people revere here, especially on New Years, and the reason Copacabana is the center of New Year’s parties here). She’s very jealous, so I think I better go get some flowers.

So lets see:

I have a Brazilian husband

I have a sogra

I have a Brazilian family

I have a CPF

I have a bank account in Bradesco

I have Brazilian underwear and shirts

I have many friends here

I speak Portuguese

I have been a CNPq scholar

Now that I have been baptized… all I need is a job, and I am brazuka.