GA Days 37 & 38 (January 11 & 12, 2024) - My orientation to Florianópolis (Floripa) continues, as does my transition to my new environment and determining how best to get my routine established. Needless to say, my routine has been in perpetual evolution (interuption?) for over 30 days now with frequent changes to time zones, work spaces, meal schedules, distractions, vacation, and shifting ebbs of energy. One thing I have known about myself for decades is that I hesitate to take full breaks from my routines as I fear losing track of where I have left off on projects, fear losing momentum to complete thngs, and fear not being productive enough that I will be replaced by someone who is. It really is a twisted state of mind to be in, but I am the product of my generation, my upbringing, and the programming that goes with this in that Victorian-era Protestant work ethic - the expectation to do things right, on time, and with attention to detail has been, at times, literally beaten into me. Admittedly, there is a huge part of me that enjoys working, being productive, and doing things that have meaningful impact - is it all just the social programming I have been exposed to or is it some kind of quirky character flaw? That philosophical exploration is probably best left for another discussion but having crossed the 60s threshold I find myself reflecting on this a lot and questioning the best use of my time left on this earth. It also might explain my internal conflict I have regarding the academic hamster wheel. However, there is nothing quite like being in a totally different environment and culture as I find myself now to force one to be introspective on the meaning of life (in spite of the seriousness of all this, Monty Python still manages to creep into my headspace!).
Thus it was that Day 37 began at the beach. Angela had a nephew and his family visiting from a more northern part of Brazil; they were staying in a small resort town on a spectacular beach that stretched forever in both directions. There was a brief instance where my mind turned to what should be my priorities…ok, work 🙄 But I had blocked out time in my calendar for “Orientation” and, really, I had to get on with discovering my new environment - I think geography is important to truly immerse one’s self in a new workspace. Also, going to the beach at 7:00 a.m. here is 4:00 a.m. CST, so I imagined not too many colleagues or research assistants would be waiting for an email reply. So off I went with Angela and her friend, Marlene (pronounced Mar-lay-nee), for an early morning walk and swim.
Upon arrival, there were few people out but already the sun was bright and quite warm. The area where the beach is located is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by a fairly high ridge of “mountains” so the water is calmer and warmer than the other side. As for the sand, it was pretty amazing - smooth, fine, and exceptionally clean. I have experienced a few good beaches in Canada but not many compared to this, aside from near Tofino - the closest comparison I can make are beaches in Hawaii. We walked almost 3 km eastwards along the water and back having great conversations that often involved using an app on Angela’s cellphone. For me, it was relaxing and inspiring at the same time as I took in the vistas, the resort villas along the shore, the fresh air, and people watching. At times I got a bit lost in my head reflecting and processing that Angela became worried I was so silent 🤭 I reassured her through the app that I was taking it all in, feeling a very deep peace, and fully appreciating the moment. I was also busy trapping those pesky squirrels running amok in my head and attempting a type of “catch and release” program…we’ll see how successful I am at that for the long term.
As more people filled the beach I was in awe how less body conscious most people seemed to be here; as one who has struggled with weight and body image much of my life (since teen years), it felt quite comforting and, at the same time, liberating - not that I would ever be caught dead in a Speedo or thong. People of all shapes and sizes, some scantily clad and others quite covered, but all just doing their own thing and having a great time. One of the curious things I noted was the culture of tattoos - I had seen a bit of this in Buenos Aires, however it seems much more prevalent here in Brazil. And not I do not mean just a couple little pieces of dermal ink art but complete sleeves on arms and legs, and ones that extended up the neck. Having a couple tattoos myself it is not something I am adverse to…just that it is not quite as evident in Canada to this extent and I do find it intriguing because of the unique symbolism it would have to each person. For most there were a range of exquisite designs ranging from religious references (e.g., crosses, hearts with thorns, faces of Jesus) to ancient symbols (e.g., Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sanskrit text) to animals (e.g., elaborate koi fish or serpents weaving around an arm). And then there were inscriptions of names, brief sayings/quotes, and cultural calligraphy (e.g., Chinese and Arabic words).
This first morning at the beach was really a treat in that it set off the day in a rather energizing way for me. We were back at the condo as the first emails of the work day started to flow in and I was ready to get back into the hamster wheel, er, work routine. There was still the matter of getting my computer sorted out and Arthur (Angela’s son) contacted the local Dell support service who not only located the warranty for my computer but also discovered there were only 2 - 3 weeks of warranty left! Earliest time to get an appoint would be next Monday morning and it would be a house call. So in the meantime I would have to limp along and do the best I can with my old, decrepit laptop I had brought along mainly for picture back-up for my camera and on my iPad. Limiting…but completely out of my control. Como a vida!
Day 38 began with grey and overcast skies compared to the day previous. It was still warm and muggy and, by the end of the day, we would experience some pretty active thunderstorms and a lot of rain. Getting my routine partly on track I was up early to start clearing emails and attending to some of the priority project work that had been set aside during my vacation time. But to break up the day I went for a morning walk just to get more familiar with the neighborhood. On block and adjacent streets to where Angela’s place is located it is mostly condo buildings with a mix of new and old on well-maintained streets with a lot of vegetation, Just off of this core are streets with individual residential units pretty similar to what we have at home…except almost all of them are behind fences and secure entrances. I must make a point to ask about this as it is not the exception but very common everywhere I have been (not that I have yet seen much of Floripa), yet I have not seen anything in this area to suggest that crime is a huge issue.
There is a fairly prominent local police presence, as well as military police who roam around. Given the number of people out and about, ranging from young kids to older adults, I have seen nothing to suggest that safety would be a concern. The population of Floripa proper is just over 500,000 and I imagine combining the population on the island would be far less than Winnipeg’s population; given the violent crime rate in Winnipeg we do not see the same response of security. There may be something I have not yet been privy to explain this or it may just be part of the way things are for some historical reason.
One similarity this neighborhood has to any Canadian city is road work and orange pylons - nothing like “construction season” to make one feel so at home ☺️
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