NFT: The Good Life-Royal Treatment

My new favorite restaurant is Pap Açorda. It is a churrascaria (food buffet where your food is weighed) that also serves an all you can eat pizza buffet. The claim to fame for the pizza buffet is that they have over 150 toppings for their pizzas. (For the record, I do not order the pizza buffet. I did see this outrageously topped pizza that had thick, French fries falling off of it!)

My enchantment with this restaurant is that they have some rotisserie chicken that is more outrageous than that pizza I described. It is dee—lish-ous!! I eat my chicken with salad, rice, beans, spinach, cooked carrots.

It appears that my nickname is Solzinha (single female) or Solzinha Flamengista (Single female Flamengo fan) because I have heard managers and owners refer to me as such. Well, when I, Solzinha, step into the restaurant, the production begins. A waiter takes my bag and escorts me to my usual table in front of the flat screen. If a big game is on, they turn to the channel. When I return to my table, my bread basket, water (without ice) and chair is in place. I am scooted in, and my table is constantly circled. As of late, they have been sending over slices of their dessert pizzas (which are quite rich) and offered me a shot of chocolate (not a fan of the flavored alcohol shots…)

Although I get a mafia boss feel with the owners keeping an eye on me and everything else, I like this place and give it lots of thumbs up. If you are in Leblon, please stop by. The guys may not know all of your preferences because you are not Solzinha Flamengista, but you will be treated quite well!

NFT: The Good Life-Not Everywhere You Want to Be..

Yogoberry seems to be the new “it” place to be. It was featured several times in MTV’s reality show The Hills. Yogoberry is a yogurt shop where you can put all sorts of toppings on your different, fruit flavored yogurt. I have not ever tried Yogoberry’s product offering, but I happened to pass a location while in Ipanema the other day. Here was my chance for a little nostalgic taste of “LA it.”

Unknown to me, the taste wasn’t going to happen on this particular day. Yogoberry in Ipanema does not accept Visa! I didn’t have any cash on me so we were at an impasse, and I haven’t gone back. Visa card members it is not where you want to be, but if you have some cash….you might just taste something worth talking about…

NFT: The Good Life-Back to Kansas

After you run wild with your credit card in Shopping Leblon, you might still have an empty feeling inside. No, it is not the feeling of spending too much money. It is a feeling of “it would be nice to see what my favorite store is like in Rio.”

Don’t worry make-up fiends and Rick Ross Bosses, I have got you covered.

In case you need to gloss up those lips before you hit the beach or the discotech, I have located everyone’s trusty make-up Queen M.A.C.

For the others who want a luxurious rush that gets you noticed in Sandra Rose’s Photo montage of People with their Louie’s, I stumbled upon our favorite luxury provider Louis Vuitton. It is a must see if you are in Ipanema. The staff is divine!

NFT: The Good Life-Can You Deliver?

Sometimes after a long day at work or at the beach, you just want to stay in the house. However, you have groceries to buy, prescriptions to fill and take-out to order. No need to worry. You can pick up your phone and have everything delivered right to your doorstep. Most businesses (grocery stores, restaurants and consumer businesses) have deliverymen that, for a small fee, will delivery everything that you need right to your doorstep. If you are expecting a car or truck to show up, think again. Most of these deliveries are done by bicycle or motorcycle!

NFT: The Good Life-Fashionistas

Ever since I had money in my pocket and a hand full of fashion sense, I have always brought home a souvenir from every city that I have visited. My souvenir is always a nice addition to the wardrobe. If you are like me and you want to pick up a few Brazilian souvenirs to commemorate your trip, ask the bus or taxi driver to point you in the direction of Shopping Leblon. In this multi-level mall, you will find lots of fabulous and unique stores. There is only one misstep. It is the Tommy Hilfiger store (the merchandising choices were shocking).

After you finish procuring enough fashion finds to stuff your luggage bag, head check out the fabulous city view from the food court, check out the hugely popular bookstore or catch your favorite movie. Shopping Leblon has it all!

NFT: The Good Life-Need A Lift?

If you are living as a family unit in Ipanema or Leblon, it is a high probability that you are enrolling your filho or filha (son or daughter) in private school. Since school is only fours hours each day, it may be hard for you to transport them to school in time for class at 1:00 p.m. Don’t worry; many schools have private buses or vans that will scoop your kid(s) up from the nanny at your residence.

You have to admit. This looks a lot classier than that big yellow or short yellow (for some of you readers) buses that you used to ride to school…

NFT: The Good Life-Free Parking!

Owning a car in Rio is an expensive undertaking. Due to the import taxes, cars cost the same as they do in America. However, the pay wage is much lower. Also, the cost of insuring a car is more expensive here as well.

If you find yourself one of the fortunate few and need a place to park when you run into your favorite Ipanema or Leblon location, do you need to pay for parking? The answer is Yes!

You will not find parking meters. There is a man or woman located in the vicinity of your parking location wearing a vest that reads “Estacione.” This is the person that you need to pay. Otherwise, if you make the choice to skirt the law, I can’t tell you the consequences. However, I doubt that they are pretty…

Not For Tourists: The Good Life…

Many Brazilians would agree that the residents of Ipanema and Leblon are living the good life. Currently, I have the good fortune to be temporarily living in Leblon. I will admit that the Leblon/Ipanema area does have its perks. This latest installment of the Not For Tourists blog series is packed with tons of pictures so each highlight is written as an individual entry. Enjoy!

My Feet Are Precious

I know that my feet are precious. However, if my feet could talk, they would probably say otherwise. Sometimes, I subject them to unnecessary and stressful conditions. (As a self-labeled fashionista, there is nothing more exhilarating than to slide my feet into a serious pair of hot stilettos.)

After my ACL reconstruction, I decided to make a compromise with my feet. Only under the following conditions would I tip in a pair of potentially painful shoes:

1. If a circumstance requires calf flexion and quad display. (these situations do exist)
2. If an outfit will be compromised by wearing flats.
3. If I can quickly interchange the “selected shoes” at a moment’s notice with a more agreeable pair.

So my stiletto struts are kept to a minimum. Therefore, it is common to find me all over the place (club, mall, street, etc.) in some extra hot kicks, sandals or flats. So I shouldn’t encounter any problems, right? Well, not exactly because, all of the “sandalistas” out there know, certain sandals will turn on you if you put to many miles on them at a time.

On yesterday, I felt that my feet were long overdue for some TLC. I selected a pair of cute sandals to make the quite lengthy trek to the nail shop and over to my teammate’s boutique for a little “souvenir shopping.” I glanced down at the intricate braiding at the top of my sandal, and had a thought that perhaps it may cause a problem for me. However, I quickly dismissed it because the sandals were too cute and I wanted the world to see them. (This would be their Rio debut.)

To make a long story short, there was some irritation during my journey. This irritation turned to a few blisters which became even more aggravated during my individual training sessions because I shoot, juggle and pass balls without shoes on.

I tried a band-aid but it won’t stick. It does not feel or look pretty.

As of Wednesday, May 28, 2008, I promise to treat my feet properly in word and action. From this day forward, I am taking all precautions regarding my feet. This includes using the correct ball (beach soccer) when I am juggling barefoot in my spare time (which was wreaking havoc of a different kind (but that is content for a separate entry) and adhering to the limitations of the shoes that I wear.

Fighting Words

One day during the 2007 Women’s World Cup, I was watching a game between China and another team. The commentator was detailing a story about one of its key players who was on suspension by FIFA for attacking a referee. I remember thinking what could make someone get crunk enough to fight an official?

Well, I gained a little more insight on this matter. We had a game today, and the match referee was serious business. (For example, one of our players received a yellow card for moving the ball ahead of the indicated spot to take a free kick.) Now, I was surprised at the call, but she was well within her right to do so. It was apparent that she strictly interpreted the laws of the game.

The game progressed with the referee stopping the game, from time to time, for a series of infractions. On one particular call against a player on the opposing team, the player was not pleased with the fact that she was called for a foul in the penalty box. A word exchange ensued between the player and the referee. Before we knew it, the player lunged at the referee to try and fight her. Fortunately, teammates restrained the player in time (she was quickly ejected from the game). It was quite a spectacle.

I am thinking that the fight triggers could be one or a combination of the following: the whistle, the word falta (foul) or the yellow card.

I really don’t understand what a player hopes to gain from fighting a referee. Anyone who can give me an answer, feel free to comment!

Your Bumper, Your Fault

It was a long day at training yesterday. Our session ran long, and I had to wait to receive my uniform for the next day’s game so I was trying to catch the first bus heading to Leblon. Just as I crossed the street to head to the bus stop, I noticed a Leblon bus approaching. I quickly hopped on, checked the time and hoped that I would at least make it to my fallback dinner restaurant in time to catch the first half of my favorite novella Duas Caras (Two Faces).

Since it was after 8:00 p.m, the bus crowd was quickly thinning out. The bus was moving pretty quickly and I was glad. The last thing that I wanted was to be making the quick (yet dark) walk to my place of residence. About half way through the route, I heard the bus driver yelling as we crossed through an intersection. It was followed by a loud noise, a slight jolt and then we stopped. I thought to myself, “I hope we didn’t hit anything because I don’t want to draw out my trip to Leblon any longer.

Unfortunately, the bus hit the back of a new pick up truck. The bus driver was angry because according to him the driver of the truck caused an unnecessary accident. Of course, the driver thought otherwise and had a demolished back bumper to show for it.

The toll lady told me and the other passenger that we would have to catch another bus. We both were heading to Leblon so we patiently waited for another bus and watched as the two men argue their stances on the accident to one another. Eventually, the driver of the pickup realized that he would have a series of financial repercussions because he was at fault in the accident, and he decided that the police did not need to be called.

The cars stopped honking their horns and everyone went back to their respective places on the same bus so we could continue our journey to Leblon. For precautionary purposes, the lady took my contact information in case I suffered any medical problems from the accident.

Fortunate for me, the situation was cut and dry. Your bumper, Your fault!

Meet the Son of the Sun

Every morning that I have a training session with Paulinho, I try to arrive as early as possible. Usually there is a scrimmage taking place between the pupils of his soccer school. These boys, and on occasion one or two girls, look to be between the ages of six and eight years old.

Unlike many of the games that I have watched in the U.S., these kids display technical flair and a tactical understanding of how and where to pass and play the ball. It is never a dull moment. Sometimes, Paulinho allows some younger players to participate. It is quite evident that these boys are around four or five years old. However, there is one kid that stood out.

This little boy had a really cool haircut (It is the Mohawk that you see a lot of the soccer players and musicians wearing right now.), and he was directing his teammates on the plays. I could not help but laugh because this kid knew what he was talking about, and he was placing the ball perfectly.

A few training sessions later, I was in the middle of a shooting drill with Paulinho, and I could not help but hear a loud echo of Paulinho’s comments. There was a yell of “Boa (Good)!” and “Isso (this)!” when I would place the balls perfectly in the corners. When my balls would graze the bar or slightly fly past the goal, I would hear “Aww!”

I looked up, and sitting Indian style on the top deck of the lifeguard platform, was the little Mohawk boy. I started laughing, and he just smiled. Paulinho’s assistant, who is a goalie for Paulinho’s women’s beach soccer team, informed me that the mini-coach was in fact her son, Kuaun.

Kuaun, whose name translates to filho do sol (Son of the Sun), is five years old. He is hands down one of the cutest and funniest little boys in the world. To make it even better, it appears that he has a lot of soccer experience under his belt already. The world should get ready for the Son of the Sun.

Until then, Kuaun is content diving to block shots, crossing balls to his teammates, yelling encouragements to me during my training and riding in the backseat on his mom’s bike down the beach boardwalk. The Son of the Sun has a busy schedule, but he was kind enough to pose for a few shots for the camera. Enjoy!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Your guess is as good as mine. I looked up the other day and realized that I have been so busy that I have not posted an entry in three weeks! Sinto muito (I´m sorry). I have been hard at work behind the scenes making sure that you know what is going on with me in Brazil. I am going to post another Not For Tourist series of entries as well as many others.

For those of you that registered to be notified when I post new entries, I am apologizing in advance because I am going to try and load over 12 entries in the next couple of days....It should be enough reading to keep you entertained for at least the next week (if you pace yourself)!

Nice To See You Today!

I received a text message at 7:50 a.m. notifying me that our training time would be an hour earlier. The professional men´s team, Sport Club do Recife, would be using our training location to prepare for their championship match against Botafogo on Saturday.

Now, I had just watched these guys play on television a few days ago. I was pretty intrigued that I might get an upclose opportunity to watch these guys practice.

Fast forward to 3:55 p.m. I am playing defense in our scrimmage, and there is a line of guys leaning on the wall surrounding the field. Who are these guys? They are the jogadors for Sport Club do Recife!!

We quickly wrap up our scrimmage, and watch the guys take the field. There are camera truck(s), reporters and photographers. I get the opportunity to watch them warm-up, stretch and run through passing and possession drills.

I want to send out a good game wish to each and every player for Sport Club do Recife. It was nice to see you today!

My First Time: May 8, 2008

Date: May 8, 2008

Time: around 10:30 a.m.

Location: Posto 11, Leblon Beach

I wonder how many people remember their first time. If you ask Puffy or Serena or Ronaldinho, would they be able to give you an answer?

I am not sure so, to give myself an off-site memory backup, I am giving myself an electronic reminder just in case this day happens to get buried underneath other, important first times.

I was in the middle of my training session with Paulinho. A gentleman on a bike yelled out to Paulinho, as so many people like to do. (Paulinho is a popular guy.) I noticed the guy seemed pretty average. However, he had an extra fabulous camera hanging around his neck. I did think it was slightly strange.

The guy yelled to Paulinho that he need stopped our drill too soon. Paulinho turns to me and says that the guy is a paparazzo. The photographer walks over to Paulinho and begins talking to him.

Eventually, the photographer, speaks to me and shows me a picture that he snapped of me during my workout. The guy hangs around for a few more drills, snaps some more shots and waves good-bye.

Well, it is official. I have had my first encounter with a paparazzo. He has taken my picture and he knows where to find me (at 10:30 a.m.). I hope one day he gets some good money for those images...

The $2.00 Lunch

Did you spend go over budget on drinks at the club? Has the bank put a freeze on your card because you made too many purchases while on vacation? Are you that Gen X or Y, world traveler that is living on shoestring?

If you remotely identify with any of these scenarios and find yourself in the great city of Rio de Janeiro, I have a lunch deal for you.

Utensils: stove, knife, spoon, fork, three pots and dining dish

Ingredients:
onion 0.17R ($0.10)
carrot 0.16R ($0.09)
salt 0.05R ($0.03)
tomato sauce 1.08R ($0.64)
pasta 1.35R ($0.79)
French roll 0.50R ($0.29)

-Chop ½ of the small onion
-Chop ½ of the carrot
-Pour ½ of the tomato sauce into the pot. Add a little salt and the onion.
-Cook the pasta in the second pot.
-Cook the carrots in the third pot.
-Pour the water off of the cooked pasta and carrots.
-Mix the carrots and pasta with the tomato sauce

Lunch is served (with a fabulous piece of French bread)!

My Secret Weapon: The Extra Mile

I like to ask questions. Anybody that knows me should have observed this by now. My questions are not random. They always have a point.

On one particular day, I was at my gym in Atlanta, and I was asking a fellow athlete a series of questions. This guy has played at the highest level in his sport, and alongside some great players. So I asked him to tell me his opinion of what makes an athlete a great athlete. He pretty much summed up a great athlete as a person that gets to the weight room early to get in extra reps and stays late to work on different aspects of their game. This person goes the extra mile.

I have always been a fan of the extra mile. As a result, I have been keeping an eye out for someone to direct my extra mile efforts. Yes, I run the beach. Yes, I juggle the ball. However, when you have someone pushing you, correcting small details and getting you lots of reps, it really elevates your game so that you can make your best contribution to the team.

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Paulinho Pereira. Paulinho is an ex-player for Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama is one of the four major soccer clubs in Rio de Janeiro.
We had our first session this morning, and it was absolutely excellent. Our training session took place at the beach. Working out in the sand has several advantages.

1. It is harder to run in sand. Therefore, when you get back on grass you are must faster.
2. Working out in sand helps to keep your ankles strong.
3. You are forced to correct your touch on the ball. Since you are barefoot, a wrong touch will hurt your foot.

Today, we did a series of dribbling and shooting drills. All of the drills involved cones and incorporated a number of direction changes (backpedaling, shuffling and diagonal runs). It was a quick, hard workout. I am definitely looking forward to our session in the morning.

Missed That Memo

For the last couple of weeks, the weather has been acting pretty strange. We have had lots of rain. It starts getting dark around 6:00 p.m., and I have had to pull out my jacket a time or two. Moreover when I was walking down the street yesterday, I saw a little girl wearing velvet!

I came home and asked my host to confirm my suspicions. Is summer over? He laughed and said it was over quite some time ago. We are in fall. This is news to my ears, and it makes me a little sad. Although I have officially been in Rio for three months, I do not feel as if I had my full summer in Rio experience!

Well, this calls for some action. From this day forth:
1. I will have to make sure to be cognizant of the weather forecast and take full advantage of every sunny day.
2. I vow to have my bikini on hand so that I can jump into the ocean at a moment’s notice.
3. I will comb the sales racks for summer clothes. I may make it to the U.S. just in time to have another summer!!! (I am smiling at the thought of feeling the humidity of Atlanta, and seeing the South Beach strip in Miami.)

Not For Tourists: 2nd Installment

I know it has been a week, but this entry is worth the wait! This is the second installment for my Not For Tourists journal. This time I am focusing on a neighborhood that has become near and dear to my heart-Castelo. Enjoy!

Castelo, Rochina, Pauvuna-I am there.

After reading my Good Times entry, you have made the decision that you must spend a few days in Castelo, Rochina or some other favella that is near and dear to your heart. Your best bet is to have an established relationship with someone who already lives there. Trust me.

Are You Up for the Challenge?

This is an important question that you may want to ask yourself. During my short stint, I quickly came to the realization that favella life has physical requirements. Coordination, Agility, Balance were all tested during my stay.

· On numerous occasions, I had to hop over holes in the alleyways. Most of these alleys are hard dirt and intermittently covered with small wooden boards so the ground is not even and treacherous. At night (due to little or no lighting), if you don’t have good vision and footing, you may just take a tumble.
· Most of the favellas are built into the sides of the mountains. So you will be doing a lot of walking uphill. If the neighborhood that you are in is flat, you will still have to climb steep, cement staircases. Sometimes these staircases do not have railings. One false move and…I don’t want to paint that picture for you.
· It is common to come across large standing pools of water or trenches of water on your path. As we headed to training one day, we approached the main entryway of the house to see a large trench filled with water. The water pipes were being repaired or something. I had to carefully walk the trapeze to the end of the corner.
· There is usually a small wall dividing the main doorway to each residence. When we returned home from the club, there must have been some miscommunication on leaving the key for us to get in. Consequently, my hostess had to kick off her flip flops and quietly climb over the wall (about 6ft) to gently unlock the front gate to let us in.

Please Don’t Stop the Music!!

Rihanna’s song sums it up. You will hear music, and it will be loud. There are no noise ordinances here.

I Like Privacy

I like privacy as well. However, you are going to have to compromise. Depending on the way your residence is structured, you may have many places in your living quarters that are open to the entire world. For example, every morning people had the ability to watch me walk to and from the bathroom to handle all of my personal business. Due to the size and set-up of the bathroom, I was not able to get dressed there so…my shoulders and legs were free for the world to see! (I guess, when I am more famous, paparazzi will know where to get good pictures when I am partying in Castelo…) I, on the other hand, had the ability to see people cooking dinner, watching television and taking a bath.

I am not talking about open windows. Some residences lacked coverings for entry ways or window areas. It felt a little weird to be able to see all of these things, but the occupants seemed totally immune to it.

Meet the Locals

I would like to point you to a novella that I watch here every evening called Duas Carras (Two Girls). It is a soap opera that lots and lots of men, women, boys, girls, dogs, cats & birds watch Monday-Saturday at 9:00 p.m. The setting for this drama is a favella. Now, some of the details of this novella are a little over-the-top. However, the actors and actresses are a good reflection of the local population.

Ladies, there are a lot of guys who took the challenge to be physically fit to live in the favella. (Likewise gentlemen, there are ladies who are doing the same as well.) I was extremely pleased with the guys that crossed my path. They were running around carrying surfboards, riding motorcycles and waiting at the bus stop waving to me as I passed them by on the bus. It was quite entertaining.

I am sorry guys. As far as what the ladies were doing, I am not exactly sure. I will tell you that they were dancing hard in the club if that is any indication.

Pedestrians Take Heed

People commonly complain that driving in Latin America lacks a certain adherence to laws. My experience has found this to be quite true. Therefore, if someone is driving anything (bike, bus, car or motorcycle), please take heed and move as far away as possible. Wild driving, no sidewalks and dirt roads can spell disaster. For example, an oncoming car ran over a small portion of my foot while I was in Castelo. I think the driver ran over at least one other girl’s foot as well because she started yelling. Fortunately, it was only a small part of the tire and my foot was fine.

Wardrobe Check

I don’t have any tips on what you can do to blend in. I am starting to believe that no matter where you go people will be able to sniff a stranger out.

For example, when I bring my friends to Seneca, South Carolina they wonder why people stare. I tell them it is because people can tell they are not from Seneca. (It is actually reaching a point where I get a few stares sometimes.)

Now imagine trying to play chameleon in a Brazilian favella. It doesn’t matter if you speak the language or look the part. I have been working on the “blend-in” for the last 3 months…

Therefore, I am going to give you a couple of tips on what you can do to call less attention to yourself.

1. Leave all Jordans, Airforce 1s and rare sneakers at home. I took a prized pair of my kicks but they never saw one inch of Castelo. I realized that I had enough stares when I was staying in Copacabana. Plus, the grounds are too unpredictable to keep your kicks clean and it will send off an alarm that you are an estrageiro (foreigner) with cash. (In case you don’t know, tennis shoes are expensive here. They are selling non name brand sneakers for around $60 USD. Nike Shox start at $150 USD.)
2. Everyone wears the flat flip flops. However, most of the girls have at least one pair of the platform flip flops. They will save your feet when you have to step in puddles of water (inevitable when it rains).
3. Always good to take a look at the wardrobe of your host or hostess. This is an excellent indicator of the types of clothes that are commonly worn.

Follow Your Guide When…

1. You hear gunshots. If your friend is calm, follow their lead. Sometimes locals like to shoot in the air to start a party or to celebrate when the home team wins a match.
2. You see a fight. They are still using fists in Castelo. I am not sure what they are doing in other places. Therefore, if your friend stays to watch the bout, enjoy the entertainment also.
3. You see your friend immediately and/or random leaves a location. Don’t ask any questions. Just move. Usually it means that they are trying to move away from a potentially dangerous situation.

2,000 Words

There is a common proverb that says "a picture is worth 1,000 words." This week has been a little hectic so I am going to give you a 2,000 words to hold you over until my next post--These are images before and after our physical training at Barra Tijuca Beach.