One month last...

Go live already confirmed ... and we are behind the schedule...
Last week, I had to work till around 21:00 and last Thursday I finished almos 23:00...
At least, I could rest over the weekend and it was good the weather was not good as I spent Sat and Sun sleeping... eating... sleeping...eating...

Today again, finishing @ 21:00 I only could eat (fast food :O) and going to bed with the stomach full of bad food...

It's terrible I know...

More work scheduled till late this week... I just hope we can fix most of the problems this week and I can enjoy a bit the World Cup!

Turma legal!!

Sempre achei q esse pessoal de universidade famosa fosse tudo metido, com o nariz na altura da testa.
Mas essa turma de Harvard e' muito legal! Conheci atraves de um amigo espanhol, nascido na Polonia e trabalhando em Tokyo.
Sao tao bacanas q so' acreditei mesmo q sao de Harvard apos confiscar as carteirinhas deles.
Eles sao de: Portugal, Australia, Turquia e Espanha.
Passamos a noite toda no Mogambo, um bar muito maluco, todo mundo cantando, dancando, bebendo e fazendo festa mesmo!
A essa altura eles ja estao na China, andando no great wall e deixando os chineses maluquinhos...

Foi curtinha a estadia deles mas valeu!! esses meninos sao muito doidos e queridos!! vamos ver se a gente se encontra pelo mundo a fora...

Ja' aconteceu isso com vc?

Emprestar um estojinho do dvd pra uma amiga e depois notar q o dvd mesmo esta' dentro do seu laptop...
Carregar as compras na cestinhas do mercado ate' em casa... e duas vezes por sinal!!!
Escovar os dentes com creme de rosto...
Usar sapatos diferentes (well, o estilo e' o mesmo, com mesmo salto, mas cores um pouco diferentes...)
Pegar o trem q vai pro servico qdo vc precisa ir mesmo e' para a casa de amigos...
Ir pra praia e qdo voltar... ta com a marca do laco do biquini nas costas...
Pegar na mao de um cara q vc nunca viu na vida, pensando q e' o seu namo q esta' do seu lado...

O que acontece depois de um certo tempo...

E' pegar alguns costumes sem querer...

- E' ir ao restaurante e ficar esperando o "oshibori" (toalhinha para limpar a mao, quentinha no inverno e geladinha no verao).

- E' ir ao banheiro e brincar com o assento eletronico:
1o: ligar o sonzinho de descarga pois e' falta de educacao fazer barulho, pois e'...
2o: e' ligar o chuveirinho para lavar tudo... e depois apertar um botaozinho q faz vuuuuu secar tudo q e' uma beleza...
3o: e' levantar e sair sem puxar a descarga pois a descarga e' automatica
4o: e' lavar a mao sem tocar na torneira pois ela tbem e' automatica
Depois, e' secar a mao na maquinha de vento pois e' anti-ecologico usar papel so' para secar a mao... por fim, e' dar de cara com uma senhora na saida do banheiro e baixar a cabeca

- E' ficar caladinha no trem, pois e' falta de educacao ficar falando enqto outros querem ler ou dormir; hoje em dia eu tbem leio e as vezes dou uma dormidinha

- E' tomar banho de "ofuro" (banheira japonesa) todas as noites, com as pernas encolhidas pois e' tao apertadinho...

- E' pedir desculpas ("sumimasen") por relar no fio de cabelo de alguem, e' agradecer porque a mocinha ficou segurando o botao de abrir do elevador, porque homem nenhum faz isso

- E' passar na loja de conveniencias para comprar o cafe da manha do dia seguinte

- E' ir a festa de flor de cerejeira mesmo q sem espaco entre as pessoas (da' lhe "sumimasen")

- E' ir ao festival de fogos, junto com mais 100,000 pessoas e ainda achar uma maravilha

- E' dar chocolatinho no dia dos namorados e ficar feliz por receber de volta chocolate branco

- E' voltar para casa correndo quando tem typhon, largando ate' o namorado te esperando para jantar num restaurante bacana...

- E' pesquisar antecipadamente na web, o horario do trem, a estacao para troca de trem e por fim qual o carro mais proximo da saida da estacao

- E' reclamar quando o trem das 8:09 chega as 8:10, pois dai' pode ser q nao de tempo de pegar o outro trem q parte 2min e 30seg apos o 1o chegar...

- E' sair para beber quase todo dia depois do servico

- E' se maquiar (se bem q eu so' passo base em po' de leve e um batom) sempre antes de sair de casa, mesmo q seja so' para ir ao super-mercado (isso nao fazia mesmo qdo estava no Brasil)

- E' nao lavar os vidros de casa com frequencia (tem gente q lava 1x/ano)... eu ainda fico irritada com vidro sujo entao lavo 1x/mes (q horror! eu sei eu sei)

- E' ir a Hokkaido so' para fazer snowboard e ir ao onsen (hot spring)

- E' ir a Okinawa para .... ops, ainda nao fui!!

- E' baixar o olhar qdo um gatinho fica te secando... ops, mentirosa! ok, baixo um vez mas logo dou uma bizolhadazinha assim meio de lado

- E' guardar todo e qquer tipo de lixo dentro da bolsa para jogar no lixo de casa ou do servico

- E' exclamar: "Que linda!!!!" para uma florzinha branquinha de capim no meio da montanha

- E' ... hmmm ... bom, e' torcer para o Japao na copa do mundo, mas sabendo q o Brasil e' q vai vencer hehehehehe

Only for women

Today, my line also started with "car only for women"!
I think this started last year with other lines... cars especially for women, of course some smart guys get it "by mistake"... Usually the last car, during week days, in the crowded peak hours are designated for women.

Many years ago, women started suffering with men (usually old salary man) touching them inside the crowded trains. Now, the authorities decided to keep them away or protecting the girls ^-^

Actually I never saw any problem inside the trains, probably because I don't take crowded train probably.

But I can say it was wonderful to have an empty car to go to the office today. I could do just as the most of japanese in the train: read in peace.
Btw, Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes is great! Sorry, I cannot avoid laughing myself even in the train!

Mother's Day in Japan

Ginza is the most materialist representative place.
All famous brands are there and the parking price is around 500JPY for 30min, while in the other areas is 250JPY.

Every Sunday, they close the main street only for pedestrians and there are tables and seats with the huge green sunshade... even without any sunshine today ^-^
As Mother's day, I thought it would be much crowded. I guess people just buy those expensive LV bags for themselves and not to their mom...

In a TV program, they showed the girl buying a 3,500JPY hat to her mother and the mother has to buy a 7,000JPY bag to the girl! this is amazing, how the girls are educated these days!!

A day to give my mother something really important is very expected! I hope this day will come soon!

I thought mexicans street singer only exist in other countries, never expected to find them in front of the Matsuya Ginza...


I miss my mother! Still early in the other side of the world to say Happy Mom's Day!!!

BRIGADISSIMA PELO OTIMO FERIADO!!

Esse feriado vai ficar em minha memoria para sempre.

Um super obrigada aos meus amigos, que sempre fazem
com que meus dias sejam repletos de felicidade, emocao,
carinho, muita risada, adoro-os de todo o meu coracao!!

E obrigada mesmo por aturarem uma louca como eu... mas
vai, vcs se divertem comigo... confessem q sem mim nao
teria graca nenhuma hhehehehehehe

Mais que toda a verdade do mundo, q lindas as pessoas que
encontrei nesse GW! Sempre dez! Pra cima! Topam tudo!
Fizeram um feriado inesquecivel, um feriado q achei q
fosse ser muito chato, sem graca nenhuma e acabei tendo
momentos muito especiais!!

Maluquetes e bebuns, vcs fazem parte de minha vida!

Agradeco a Deus por ter colocado voces no meu caminho!!

Beijos enormes.

How to pray in a Jinja

Every Jinja has some stairs and a box to give some money, and a bell.
I've seen many people praying, they have some common way and some different action order...

Fortunately, this Hachiman Jinja has instructions how to pray ^-^


For the 1st time, I've seen this instructions in a Jinja.

1st: worship; 90 degrees (yes, 90)
2nd: worship again
3rd: put your hands up till the chest high and "applause" twice
4th: stop your hands and pray
5th: worship to finish

Hachiman Jinja

Hachiman Jinja is a beautiful temple in downtown.
A huge bonsai tree on a bridge is a charmy, with little turtles and red fishes (koi).





Every temple has a small "house" where you should wash your hands and mouth before getting into the temple.






There are always this type of bamboo cup with handle.





This temple teaches you how to do it.

1st: wash your left hand
2nd: wash your right hand
3rd: put the water in your left hand and wash your mouth

Kurofune

Close to the city, there's a port where the famous Kurofune (black ship) goes around the peninsula...

It's quite fast and seems very comfortable... but maybe boring for us at that time hehehhe



There's a new bridge between the kurofune area and the city, very clean in a Europian style.






The city's map is very easy, English, Chinese and Korean.
We walked around almost all those places, enjoying the weather, the ice-cream, food, decoration, nice people (how relax they are!).

Shirahama Jinja

The famous portal (Shirahama Jinja) with the huge bonsai on the left...

Walking on the left of the bonsai, there is a beautiful view...



This one...








and the other side, there's another beach, Shirahama Chuo, with many rocks and more waves.

Shirahama Beach

The beaches in Japan are not that beautiful as Brazil. The sand is really dark and most of time there is not sand at all, only rocks...

Shirahama (white sand in Japanese) is the only beach I know around here... more beautiful than here is Okinawa of course.

Luckly to find out this place which is close to Tokyo and we can just go there over the weekend.

The beach is wonderful, the weather was good, people are nice... water is green, many surfists (some handsome hehehe) and they are quite open... not shy at all.. they come to talk to you as you're friends for a long time. I liked that. It reminds me Brazil!






It's wonderful to find a place in Japan empty, not crowded at all during GW!!

It was the best place we could find and take all day sunny and warm feeling.

The windy was quite strong and cool, so that we didn't feel that too hot sensation as in July ^-^ Perfect! I can say!

Shimoda

Arriving @ 8:40 in Shimoda City, got some maps and checked where to go ^-^
As I'm not Japanese at all to plan things months in advance, I just decided the places to go when I got there...

The most beautiful beach is called Shirahama Beach and it was only 10min by car from the main train station.


After getting to Shirahama, I had to search for a hotel heheh
Nothing booked, like a crazy I know... but I always do that and if we couldn't find a nice place to stay, we would sleep in the beach anyway.

Luckly, many hotel (inns) around the beach and easily I found a room to stay heheh.. just changed the clothes, no time lost and went to the beach!

Golden Week

The Golden Week (GW) in Japan is a long national holiday in May:
May 3rd: 憲法記念日 (Kenpou Kinenbi) / Constitution Memorial Day
May 4th: 国民の休日 (Kokumin-no Kyuujitsu) / National People's Day
May 5th: こどもの日 (Kodomo-no hi) / Children's Day

This year was great, having 5 days in row to have a wonderful rest. As one of the highest season for trips, the prices go up about 5x than usual.
Then, the best option is to go where nobody goes and Brazilian needs to be ^-^
Japanese don't go to the beach out of the season; the weather forecast was positive and in 5min I decided where to go and got tickets.
Waking up at 5:00am to be seeing this wonderful view in Atami and Ito. Shinkansen last stop in Shizuoka is Atami and it's necessary to take an Ito Line to Shimoda city, Shimoda Peninsula in Shizuoka. As it's too early no direct train is running.
The trip was very good, seeing wonderful views from the train and were very excited to get to the beach...