Oi gente! Estou contente por estar de volta.

Hi people! I´m glad to be back.

Dando seqüência, decidi escrever para vocês sobre a grande atração turística que marca a virada do ano no Rio: O Reveillon em Copacabana.

Moving on, I decided to write to you about the great tourist attraction which marks the turning of the year in Rio: New Year´s Eve in Copacabana.

Durante esse verdadeiro festival pela paz, milhares de pessoas se reúnem todos os anos no dia 31 de dezembro, a grande maioria vestidos de branco, para esperar a chegada do ano novo em que é marcado por um intenso e inesquecível espetáculo de fogos de artifícios que acontecem à meia noite. Conjuntamente às comemorações do ano novo estão os aspectos místicos e religiosos de muitos brasileiros em que tem como seus deuses, a rainha do mar Iemanjá, cuja festa acontece na virada do ano. Milhares de oferendas à luz de velas são postas às ondas do mar em homenagem a ela.

During this true festival of peace, several millions of people come together each year on December 31, the vast majority dressed in white, to await the arrival of the New Year which is marked with a massive and unforgettable spectacle of fireworks displayed at midnight. Interwoven throughout the New Year celebrations are the religious and mystic aspect of a number of Brazilians which have as one of their gods, the queen of the sea, Iemanjá whose feast day is celebrated with the turning of the year. Thousands of offering of candlelight are thrown out into the surf to pay homage to Iemanjá.

Todos os hotéis se aprontam para a grande festa, preparando sofisticadas refeições e oferecendo aos turistas o máximo em hospitalidade. Muitos moradores saem às ruas para confraternizar e garantir a sua diversão ao assistir os fogos de artifícios das areias de Copacabana. Na verdade esse é o maior espetáculo de fogos de artifícios do mundo que vale a pena ser visto.

All the hotels get ready for the great party, by preparing sophisticated meals and offering ultimate hospitality to the tourists. Most residents take to the streets to mingle and have fun by watching the fireworks from the beach. Indeed, this is the planet´s greatest fireworks show that is really worth seeing.

Além de Copacabana, a prefeitura do Rio organiza festivais em outras partes da cidade, tal como no Parque do Flamengo, Ipanema, Leblon, praias da Barra, centro da cidade, bem como em outros locais das zonas norte e oeste. Em outras palavras, todos comemoram na rua, com exceção daqueles que vão a festas particulares.

Apart from Copacabana, Rio´s city hall organizes festivities in other parts of the city, such as in Flamengo Park, Leblon and Barra beaches, in downtown, and in the western and northern zones. In other words, all except those going to private parties come out to celebrate in the streets.

A festa continua madrugada a dentro e o clima festivo que começou à meia noite continua até o final do verão.

The party goes on into the early hours and the festive climate which started in mid December, continues until the end of summer.

Read more about this in: Rio Convention Bureau

See you next week.

E aí pessoal (Hi everyone), como foi o feriado? (How was your holiday?). Espero que vocês tenham descansado e refletido bastante. Que tal aproveitar que a idéia da páscoa é vida nova e realmente iniciar os velhos projetos? Não importa se você já tentou outras vezes, o importante é dar a volta por cima recomeçar, sempre. Aliás, existe uma expressão americana para descrever isso é “bounce back”. Leia o exemplo abaixo:

It was great to see him bounce back so quickly.
Foi ótimo vê-lo recuperar-se tão rapidamente.

There are lots of ways to deal with disappointment: overcome problems and bounce back.
Existem diversas formas de lidar com a decepção: supere os problemas e dê a volta por cima.

Outra expressão que eu acredito ter tudo a ver com vida nova é “build castle in the air“. Nós podemos usá-la para falar que fulano vive sonhando acordado, mas nunca corre atrás para tentar realizar esse sonho. Exemplo:

Building castles in the air will get you nowhere.
Sonhar acordado não leva a lugar nenhum.

That’s all for today. Have a nice week!

See you!

Hi everyone,

Today is Easter Sunday. We are having record cold weather here in Denver, Colorado with snow, so the children’s Easter egg hunt will be moved indoors. My mother, the matriarch of the family, is planning a special egg hunt to augment the traditional hunt (with boiled and colored Easter eggs). Her egg hunt will use plastic eggs which she has filled with coins for a special treat for her great grandkids.

There is a well visited tourist attraction in the area I am visiting called Red Rocks with an amphitheatre made from special type of red colored flagstone rocks. Traditionally on Easter, they offer a Sunrise Easter Service. The spectacular mountain view enhances the Easter religious experience.

Denver is the Mile High city because its altitude lies one mile above sea level. So, Denverites are one mile closer to Heaven than others–just kidding. hehe The air is noticeably thinner here at this high altitude. People who move here from lower altitudes can feel short of breath when they exert themselves physically (climbing stairs or hiking up the mountains). Athletes who trained here for the Olympics had an advantage because they were accustomed to performing in the thin air could compete well in the thin air and even better in air of normal density.

Denver is famous for the Rocky Mountains with its National Parks. White water rafting, skiing, mountain climbing, snow boarding, hiking, boating, fishing (mountain stream trout is delicious) are some activities that attract the locals and tourists as well. Last time I was here, I visited the grave of Buffalo Bill, an American rodeo performer, an authentic ghost town that has been restored, The Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, Royal Gorge, and stayed in a cabin in Vale Colorado. Yes, there was a science conference in Vale where my husband was a speaker. All of our travels are linked to math conferences. Hehe I will be seeing some of you this May and June when my husband’s math travels bring him back to the math institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Have a blessed Easter, everyone!

ttyl (talk to you later),

Mary

Here in the US it is popular for the family to dress up in their best clothes on Easter and go to church. After church children decorate and color eggs. There are special dyes sold for coloring the Easter eggs. Each child receives an Easter basket and is told that the Easter Bunny brought the basket as a gift. The Easter basket is filled with chocolate eggs and Bunnies and small toys. The family has a big meal, like at a family reunion. All the grandparents, aunts and uncles and sometimes out of town relatives travel to go to the Easter celebration. After the meal, the children have an Easter Egg Hunt. The eggs that they had colored are hidden in the garden, and they search for them. The one who finds the most, is the winner.