Buenos Aires, Here I Come!

Today is a glorious day.  I went to the travel agency and finalized my trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is a dream come true for me. While at university I studied Spanish and Japanese in tandem and got the opportunity to visit Japan, but never to visit a Spanish speaking country. Let me make myself clear, an offical Spanish speaking country, as everywhere in the US now is bilingual for Spanish speakers. Not only is Argentina a Spanish speaking country, it is the Paris of South America without the expense of the Euro--fabulous!

Now, the task at hand is the come up with a plan of what spots to visit and what foods to try. I usually judge a country and culture by its food, music, and people, so I am guessing that Argentina will be a new love of mine. The next task will be: remembering Spanish. Yes, I live in Brazil. No, they don't speak Spanish here--it's Portuguese, just for clarification purposes. You're welcome all Brazilians that are tired to death of explaining that the official language of Brazil is Portuguese, not Spanish. With that being said, Spanish and Portuguese are very similar and if you speak one of them, it will be easier for you to learn the other: Latin roots. My Spanish used to be decent, but now after living in Brazil for so long, I have acquired a Brazilian accent when I attempt to speak Spanish. This should be interesting for all parties involved, as I will be mixing Portuguese and Spanish unwittly. Da licenca, eu me gustaria comprar isto!  I can only imagine...

I've even purchased a tango show at Senor Tango! So incredibly excited. I took free tango classes at uni taught by one of the Spanish teachers and came to the conclusion that I am a horrible ballroom dancer for the following reason: I hate to be led. I'll fight it every time. This intuition makes me the worst tango partner in the world; however, I love watching it. It is so passionate and sexy, I can't get enough. Argentina, here I come!

If anyone has any suggestions, please leave a comment... :)

Sex Shop Survey

As many know, I am in Brazil doing my MBA and part of my MBA is a final project. The project is: a viable business plan that includes all aspects of our chosen business in vivid detail. We had many ideas bouncing around the table from, an after-hours hair salon, pet daycare, indoor snowboarding, a gay bar, and many more out-of-the-box business ideas; however, the victor for my group was, drum roll please......... an ONLINE SEX SHOP!

Yes, that was our selection. In all of our research, we couldn't find a decent Brazilian online sex shop that wasn't completely tacky or a pain to navagate. We are purposing an online sex shop that is easily navigable, visually inviting, competatively priced (for the Brazilian market), auxiliary services, quality products, and paradimigmatic customer service. To impart this, we had to spend one Saturday visiting local sex shops in the area and interviewing the owners and workers to find out the nitty gritty about our new endeavour. What we concluded was: An online sex shop is a lucrative opportunity in the industry of sex--sex sells!

My group is still in the early stages of the project and we need your help to fill out a consumer survey reguarding erotic purchases and online buying habits. Please, if you speak Portuguese take this survey and give us your feedback or suggestions for this venture. The link is: SEX SHOP SURVEY.  The survey is completely anonymous and will take only two minutes of your day.

Thanks for the support and yes, I am in the pic above. The little read shorts are quite flattering on my, right?! Just joking! I'm in the pink and white. Off to Corporate Finance class!

Oh Japan, I miss you!

I keep running into Japanese people here in Rio--which should be no surprise since Brazil has the largest Japanese immigrant population outside of Japan itself. The largest cluster is in Sao Paulo and the state of Parana, but there are still some in Rio de Janeiro also. According to Wikipedia, there are over 1.5 million Japanese decent Brazilians  living in Brazil. A century ago the Japanese and Brazilian governments signed a treaty enabling Japanese to migrate to Brazil and occupy coffee plantation jobs. I find it incredibly interesting how the Japanese have assimilated into Brazilian society so well, because the cultures couldn't be anymore different.

For about five years of my life Japan was one of the most influencial countries in my life. My family hosted three Japanese exchange students, I studied Japanese at university and got an Asian Studies minor, visited my foreign exchange sisters in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Okinawa one summer, and went on to studying in Japan for one memorable semester in Osaka. But as life happens, I have lost touch in Japanese culture. Many of my friends in the past were Japanese, but over time people get busy and form new lives and connections. I started studying Portuguese and moved to Brazil to do an exchange program at PUC Rio, after that began working for the government, then now I'm back in Brazil doing my MBA, the inevitable changes of life. But with new life, you can't forget your past and the fabulous experiences you had. The moral to this rambling is: I have started studying Japanese again and realized that I really miss Japanese culture and that I am a hybrid. I am an American that has spent over a decade influenced by cultures outside of my own heavily and that makes me a hybrid that cannot only survive with one culture, one set of beliefs, and one culture of customs. This is impossible for anyone that has lived interculturally for long enough, we become culturally confused, but it's a good confusion.

Today I am a guest columnist at the blog: The Art Reference. I decided to write about one of my favorite fashion trends in Japan while I was there, Visual Kei. I remember daily being visually bombarded with crazy outfit pairings of high heals with baggy cut up jeans, a rainbow of colors, mismatched accompaniments, Baby Lolitas, Ganagurus, dread locks, EnRish phrases on T-shirts, and everything in between. When I went back to the United States, I was so bored with the fashion there in comparision to Japanese fashion. If someone reading this post has never been to Japan, I highly, highly recommend visiting.

Please check out my article on Japanese rock's influence on Japanese fashion: Visual Kei.  次回まで...