December 5: I’ll be leaving Brazil in February. As a result of some clear thinking about how to use an opening the ambassador-to-be gave me to push him early on how open he’d be to my sort of professionalism. He then made his own clear decision to have me leave a week after he gets here in late January. I have some loose ends to tie up the Department, like what my next job will be....
December 12: Watched a little of a modern remake of The Tempest this afternoon. Struck me that I was also a sort of magi who used powerful words to call down a storm and shipwreck the man who did him a dishonor. Of course the results of magic, even when it works, is not entirely predictable. Dealing with the quick saida has caused me some discomfort. But it is simply impossible to walk down two paths at once. In my case, I am tired of being a foreigner, tired of thinking about others people’s problems and telling them what to do about them. (And no mistake, we are not all the same, all one family. We are different nations and I doubt there are many who live abroad that would deny this.)
Note: The new ambassador was a political appointee.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Friday, February 9, 2018
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
A Journal Interlude from November 28, 1999: Hiking the Itiquira
Yesterday, went for a hike along the Itiquira River a few hours outside the city.
A bunch of us -- led by the motor pool dispatcher, who knew the way to the fazenda (farm) at the trail head because he rocks-climbs waterfalls and who came to us recently as a result of downsizing at Xerox Brasil after many years as a supervisor of technicians and is somewhat over qualified for his present position but hopes to move up -- drove off at 8am and had a jolly old time (accompanied as we were by a Brit). The trail was probably just five or six miles but it was in a narrow valley in the cerrado (bush) along the river. Going between ridges and walls of rock covered in tropical green, the trail went up and down and crossed the river at several points. The river was little more than 10-20 feet wide but was running very high and fast due to this being rainy season. We waded into sometimes waist-high water that fought us all the way. But we had only 1 ½ dunkings and got to enjoy the challenge. (The only way to ford on foot a river running quick is to face upstream.) Descending with the river, we passed by repeated rapids and a 125-foot falls that was majestic but almost totally hidden. We stopped at one point to swim, though it was not warm on top of the plateau. After around two hours, we arrived at the top of Itiquira Fall, a 500-foot drop. Peering over the edge was a bit scary but it was difficult to see to the bottom since the falling water turns to mist about a third of the way down. We climbed down along the side of the falls, a very steep slope where we had to be careful not to start an avalanche of rocks for the folks below.
On the way home, we stopped at a very modest restaurant and made the staff’s day with our considerable consumption of food and drink. The sun came out while we were there so the owner sent somebody onto the roof (of tin) to wet it down with a hose to keep the gringos down under cool and comfortable.
A bunch of us -- led by the motor pool dispatcher, who knew the way to the fazenda (farm) at the trail head because he rocks-climbs waterfalls and who came to us recently as a result of downsizing at Xerox Brasil after many years as a supervisor of technicians and is somewhat over qualified for his present position but hopes to move up -- drove off at 8am and had a jolly old time (accompanied as we were by a Brit). The trail was probably just five or six miles but it was in a narrow valley in the cerrado (bush) along the river. Going between ridges and walls of rock covered in tropical green, the trail went up and down and crossed the river at several points. The river was little more than 10-20 feet wide but was running very high and fast due to this being rainy season. We waded into sometimes waist-high water that fought us all the way. But we had only 1 ½ dunkings and got to enjoy the challenge. (The only way to ford on foot a river running quick is to face upstream.) Descending with the river, we passed by repeated rapids and a 125-foot falls that was majestic but almost totally hidden. We stopped at one point to swim, though it was not warm on top of the plateau. After around two hours, we arrived at the top of Itiquira Fall, a 500-foot drop. Peering over the edge was a bit scary but it was difficult to see to the bottom since the falling water turns to mist about a third of the way down. We climbed down along the side of the falls, a very steep slope where we had to be careful not to start an avalanche of rocks for the folks below.
On the way home, we stopped at a very modest restaurant and made the staff’s day with our considerable consumption of food and drink. The sun came out while we were there so the owner sent somebody onto the roof (of tin) to wet it down with a hose to keep the gringos down under cool and comfortable.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
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