Moving and working

Tuesday was moving day - still cold and humid. While I was waiting for Manuel to come home so I could move in I got into talk with the receptionist at the hotel. Funny guy - he complains about the lack of polite behaviour in Brasil and acts very arrogant. He was the one who was pissed at me one evening where I came home and was trying to talk Portuguese to me: 'I speak English you know, not the others, no one speaks English here but I do!' (in a very arrogant and unpleasant way). Anyway, he tells me about his experiences abroad and how he hates the place - guy, you are in the tourist business!

Manuel is back - I take a cab and here I am in my new home for the next two months. Manuel puts on music, we go grossery shopping, he cooks (at 11 p.m.!) and Jenny, the neighbour from downstairs drops by. She doesn't speak much English neither, so here we are pointing at stuff in the kitchen, and translating them in Portuguese and English.

Wednesday is my first real work day. Or not so real... I mean I am asked to prepared a presentation of my background, research and knowledge of Danish architecture and urban planning traditions and tendencies (with focus on energy, transportation and sustainability). Easy peasy - how I look forward to share all these stuff with them! I have wondered so much around in Copenhagen that it is a pleasure to just communicate my impressions. And it seems that the work and projects done in Amsterdam and in Aalborg interest them quite a bit and would be relevant for some of the projects.

The evening is Manuel's goodbye dinner, at a very nice Italian restaurant. Nice people, some I met before, some other new ones. All lovely, crazy, charming...wonderful! Leo, Mary, Louise, Pedro, Ryan...the other Pedro, Sheila... all great and fun.

Thursday and Friday... I just get to know better the people at the office, chatting over a coffee, asking what project they are working on, going for lunch. Cell phone numbers are exchanged and before going on weekend today, they made sure I had some to call in case of emergency, in case I am bored and have no plan. Well, plans were quickly and spontaneously made since Wednesday: Louise's party on Friday, Couch surfers' reunion and party on Saturday, and lecture and visit at the Curitibanese contribution to modernism - Casa Vilanove Artigas. I have the number to a guy who makes tourist tours on bike, between three and four hours in some districts of town. How could I ever get bored?


Ow, and I have a Jaime Lerner mail adress now! christina@jaimelerner.com Yay!