It has been 11 days since I returned to Rio, and I feel somewhat back in the rhythm of things. I manage early exercise in the mornings when I can, along with classes and blogging, but it still feels like it’s not enough.

I am profiting from the exercise and classes, but the blog is not yet monetised. I tried to do it in England, and I failed. Now, all my energy must go into monetising my blog and YouTube channel from  July. I had put YouTube on hold because I didn’t have a good enough camera, but I felt I needed another one and wanted to focus more on the blog and its posts.

After six months of blogging, I know there is room for improvement, but I have accomplished quite a lot, and for my first experience, it is going reasonably well. However, I still need to find its exact niche, and with a bit of luck, everything will go well.

I’m finishing one of my diary journal books, and then I will revise all of the 200-plus posts when I continue blogging. All the posts are of roughly the same quality.

And my YouTube channels that I have been managing for such a long time, thinking about now, need to progress in the second half of this year. In some ways, I feel I should have set up the blog and established it before everything else, as it is the backbone of all my content.

What was unclear before is now clear: faceless YouTube videos of daily blogs, and videos of me discussing life, problems, trips, restaurants, places, or reviews or discussions on subjects I find interesting for a post.

All of these together should create interesting and engaging content for viewers, and, besides helping people, could also generate a small income for me in my old age.

So my plans from July onwards are set: I will continue what I’m already doing and aim to monetise my blog while preparing YouTube videos from blog posts. The sooner I do this, the sooner I will be able to earn more money.

In the afternoon, I visited Copacabana to give a class to Dona Vera, who is 84 years old.

She gave me a present for my birthday in April, a T-shirt from a well-known shop in Rio,  although technically the class was not perfect, as most of it was in Portuguese instead of English. It was indeed lovely to see her after seven months and to catch up on what had happened in the meantime.

I’m quite surprised. I expected Dona Vera’s health to be worse, but it isn’t; she appears very well. She had a fall last year and broke her shoulder and part of her arm. She needed two or three operations with pins inserted, but now she seems fine.

As soon as I had given her class, I took the metro home to give online classes to Dona Regina and others from 5:00 p.m. onwards.

All this running around I did for over 20 years when I was younger, it was necessary to support my family in Brazil through private classes outside the school. For four or five years, I also had to teach outside the school because the school wouldn’t have survived otherwise.

In life, we often have to do what is necessary, whether we like it or not!

This running around was good for keeping me active, and not just sitting at a desk all day, but Rio, when it is very hot and with all the dirt, grime, noise, and traffic, etc., is sometimes too much, and not forgetting the safety factor.

Food for thought for today!

In bed by midnight.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Tuesday, the 18th of June 2024: “Starting to Get Back in the Rhythm in Rio”!!! first appeared on The Long Gringo.

It is Good Friday, also known as Easter Friday, in Brazil. In Brazil, it is a bank holiday, and everything will be closed.

Traditionally, it is the day when people eat fish instead of meat. This is a Roman Catholic custom and remains very popular in Brazil today. In England, Easter Friday was once a bank holiday; however, it is now at the discretion of authorities and business owners.

Luke, the simple café near my mother’s, is closed and will not reopen until Tuesday. The more popular café on the green will be open. I got up early and did a hard workout in the back living room and outside on the patio.

Some days start beautifully sunny, but soon the weather shifts, and it quickly becomes cold, overcast, and shitty.

The plan was to arrive early at the café on the green, find a small table near the wall with a socket, plug in my laptop, and get some work done. When I arrived, Jim, the owner, was the only one present. I asked if I could use my laptop with his electricity, and he kindly confirmed with his hefty Scottish accent, “not at all”.

The café was empty, so I ordered a pot of tea with my usual limes and focused on my work to get as much done as possible before the village’s bustle begins, since now the café on the green is one of the village’s focal points.

However, it was clear to me that Jim wanted to chat and gossip with me, so I had to give him my attention.

I’ve visited the café a few times before it officially opens, and each time we manage to chat because, mainly, there’s no one else around or any distractions. I also believe we’re free to say whatever we like since nobody’s listening, so we don’t need to worry about being politically correct or offending anyone.

We discussed his new dish that he had created, and he offered it to me to try because I had already helped him with some photos for the café. He also wanted me not to pay for my next order, but I insisted I would pay, as one thing has nothing to do with the other.

In return, he offered me his new dish to try and asked for my opinion and any suggestions. I had done this the day before, and he was very appreciative of my written review, which included a few tips.

We also discussed the ‘woke’ culture and how it is affecting modern societies, the transgender movement, and how I love and appreciate ‘Dave Chappelle’, the GOAT, who talks extensively about these topics in his stand-up shows. When I first discovered Dave Chappelle, I didn’t appreciate his work much, but over time, he’s become an incredible stand-up comedian. More importantly, I think he’s a great storyteller, which sets him apart from others in some ways.

We have a nice connection. Jim is a kind person, clearly committed to his family and his work, and now striving to make his new business a success. I had told him before that during the few times I had eaten at the café, it was apparent to me that he cooked with love.

I learned from Nalva that when food on the table is industrially produced, even if prepared by a competent chef, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s made with love and has the best taste. However, when it is cooked by someone who genuinely puts love into their cooking, there is a noticeable difference in flavour; it is so much better, and their food has that.

People started entering the café, so we had to stop talking. Then, my beautiful, little, perfect woman came in to start her shift. We only exchanged compliments, with not even a peck on the lips, before the shift. Now I could get down to some serious work.

I got to prepare and publish a blog post, as well as write two journal entries. This was all I managed to do despite constant interruptions from various regulars who have befriended me over the last four or five months. Because I stayed so long, I ordered a sandwich and one or two more coffees than usual.

At midday, as I was leaving, I sent a discreet goodbye to Julie, Jim, and some others who were there, and I was off. The rest of the afternoon, I did some chores for my mother and prepared to go out with Julie.

She picked me up, and we headed out into the beautiful, lush, rich English countryside. We planned to visit one pub, but as we drove past another in a tiny, quaint village, we decided to turn back and go there instead. It was a charming old country pub with low ceilings and wooden beams, and in the lounge where we sat, there was a small but lovely log fire.

We only stayed for two drinks, but it was enough and very enjoyable. On the way back, we stopped at our now second home, the car park behind the village library, for some kissing. It’s cold outside, but inside the car, it’s boiling.

Julie dropped me off after an hour;  everything was good.

In bed by 1:00 p.m.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Easter Good Friday, the 29th of March 2024: “Great: Café, Coffee and Conversation”!!! first appeared on The Long Gringo.

I’ve been trying to rest, but it’s difficult because I have a very bad cold.

It started on Thursday evening with a slight sore throat. On Friday, I developed a runny nose, and yesterday, the symptoms worsened. Today, I am coughing a lot and feeling weak all over.

I believe this is the first time I’ve been ill this year. I can’t recall having a cold before this year. Interestingly, I think my illness coincides with my regular exercise. Since I started my exercise routine, I’ve been sick very rarely. I’m not sure whether there’s a connection between the two, but I have a feeling there is.

Regarding illness, I want to reflect on the past week. A long-time student of mine recently discovered that he has Grade 1 prostate cancer.

Grade 1 indicates that the disease is still in its early stages. As with all cancers, the earlier it is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome. This news can be overwhelming; it feels as if your world is imploding when a doctor tells you that you have such a serious condition. I have always believed that men are often less prepared to face illness than women. Women seem to be more practical and resilient when dealing with such situations.

I have known Tadeu, whom I consider a friend rather than just a pupil, for over 15 years, almost 20. We shared familiar friends from Flamengo in the past as part of a group of dog owners who would regularly meet at Aterro, an enormous public park. This park is one of the best places to walk dogs in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

We had a mutual friend named Celso, a remarkable man in his late 50s. He was very strong and would have been extremely useful in a fight. At that time, three people in our group discovered that they had cancer: Celso and two women.

The women underwent various treatments and, despite their struggles, survived and are still living healthy lives today. Unfortunately, Celso started his cancer treatment but quickly fell into a deep depression and passed away within a year.

About two or three months before he died, there was a meeting with friends at a local bar in Flamengo. When I met him, I was utterly stunned by his appearance; cancer and chemotherapy had devastated him to the point that I was now looking at a man, my friend, whom I ideally respected and liked very much, but who now looked like he was in his 90s: slow, weak, and confused.

It completely shocked me how much my friend had changed in such a short period. A little later, after that meeting, he passed away.

Cancer is a terrible disease, and for men, it can be even more challenging than for women. It’s difficult to admit this, but it seems that men often lack the emotional tools and conditions needed to face and fight against the disease.

I believe there was a moment when Celso looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t recognise the person staring back at him. Was he ashamed of who he had become? This led him to depression, and ultimately, he passed away.

In contrast, the two women who were diagnosed with cancer at the same time as Celso confronted the disease with determination. They resolved not to give in to it and continued their daily routines without letting cancer slow them down.

Their strength and resilience are awe-inspiring and admirable. They are still living their lives today.

Steve Jobs was a billionaire who, despite all his resources, could not escape the reality of life. This is why I always say that we cannot predict tomorrow; we must live each day as it comes. If you happen to have cancer, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, it’s crucial to maintain a positive mindset.

I believe that tomorrow will be better. If tomorrow isn’t better, I hope the next day will be. And if it isn’t better that day either, trust that the following day will bring improvement. This is the only way I know to face such a terrible illness.

Today is the presidential election in Argentina. A lot is at stake in these elections, and it will be interesting to see whether the left continues to hold power or if the right takes over.

Argentina is struggling significantly, with inflation exceeding 100% per year and 60% of the population living below the poverty line. Endemic corruption is also associated with the left, which has become a social cancer.

The right-wing candidate is an economist with a unique personality who aims to free Argentina from the constraints of social and economic stagnation caused by a corrupt left-wing government that has been in power for too long.

I’m looking forward to seeing the election results. What happens in Argentina will directly impact Brazil, both economically and politically. Let’s see what unfolds. I’m crossing my fingers because Argentina is a very special country, like any other country.

Today was mostly spent doing very little. In the morning, I took a walk with Perola and then relaxed for the rest of the day.

How good is that?

Be kind and be happy, and if you can’t be happy, still be kind, but not naïve!

In bed by midnight.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Cancer | Health, Friendship and Hope first appeared on The Long Gringo.

It is Thursday, and as usual, I have a lot of classes today: twelve classes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., including one with Dona Vera in Copacabana.

So, I am up early and taking a long walk in the cold of the Carioca winter, only 16 °C in the early morning. I pass by the Portuguese baker’s for an early morning coffee before arriving home to begin classes.

My one o’clock class is with Tadeu, a seventy-four-year-old retired man originally from the northeast of Brazil who has been alternating between Rio and Belo Horizonte for the last sixty years.

Tadeu is a statistician and a professor who has worked in education with local, state, and federal governments all his professional life.

He has two daughters from his first marriage, Clarissa and Ana Leticia. Clarissa is a doctor, married to a surgeon, and has two children. They live in Campinas, about 120 km from São Paulo.

Ana Leticia, the elder daughter, is fifty now. I went to her wedding twelve years ago to Gabriel, an Argentinian she had met in Australia. They have lived in Perth since then and are now in South America for the first time in five or six years. They intend to stay two weeks in Argentina with Gabriel’s family in Buenos Aires and five days in Rio to visit Ana’s family.

During their penultimate visit to Rio, about ten years ago, Tadeu hosted a large feijoada lunch.

Feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, is a hearty stew of black beans and various meats such as smoked pork loin, bacon, and chorizo sausage, it’s truly delicious. The event included a Roda da Samba, a samba circle dance that derives from the indigenous term for a dance circle. Indigenous peoples historically danced in celebration during Catholic festivals, religious ceremonies, or spontaneously, all to vibrant samba music.

The gathering was sublime, with excellent food, lively music, plenty of drinks, laughter, jokes, and often dancing to the captivating rhythms of samba. In situations like these, when everyone is happy and lively, it’s common for people to tease each other, especially if there’s an Argentinian present and football is the main topic of conversation.

It was fascinating to see Gabriel, despite having a good job and situation in Australia, openly admit that this kind of banter, playfulness, joking, and human connection is not common in Australia or Argentina.

At the end of our class, Tadeu told me he would be meeting Gabriel for a drink tonight and that, if everything were confirmed, he would send me a message. I thought it would be nice to meet Gabriel again; it is always good fun when we are together.

I gave classes for the rest of the day, including going to Copacabana to give Dona Vera a class. When I arrived home, my last class was cancelled.

As I was doing nothing, I thought maybe Gabriel and Tadeu were having a drink at the place he said they would be. I hate watching TV nowadays, so I thought that, at worst, I could do some necessary shopping for home and pass by the bar Tadeu said they would be at to see if they were there.

Unfortunately, they were not. What a pity! I did my shopping and had a coffee with Yasmin at the baker’s. I was tired on Thursday night, thinking about what to do tomorrow and over the weekend, but that’s good.

Be kind and be happy, and if you can’t be happy, still be kind, but not naïve!

In bed by 10.00 p.m.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post A Day of Classes, Friends | And Good Times first appeared on The Long Gringo.

It has turned out to be a pretty productive day, even though it wasn’t expected.

A heavy exercise session from 5 until almost 7 am to begin classes. A speedy shower, a change of clothes and right into giving a couple of classes, one after another.

I then went to the local greengrocer to buy lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, onions, and other salad ingredients for the next few days.

I have a large Tupperware container that seals reasonably well. After cleaning everything in the kitchen sink with water and vinegar, I dried the lettuce and arugula as much as possible so they wouldn’t go off too quickly.

I added the cherry tomatoes and onion. Now, on standby in the fridge, I have a container full of fresh salad that I can use with almost anything, at any time, for a meal. Last week, I mixed some salad with cold rice and added extra virgin olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper, and it was terrific.

I don’t know what is happening, but I am feeling more serenely confident with everything I am doing and living at this moment.

I am learning to give myself some slack and not to be too hard on myself. It is an ambiguous feeling of well-being that I cannot quite pinpoint, but it is there with me all the time, everywhere I go. It feels good.

In the afternoon, I gave a class to Dona Vera, who has been studying with me for at least 5 or 6 years. She began before COVID. When I had to close the school due to the lockdown, she didn’t feel comfortable with online classes but continued to pay every month.

I felt embarrassed because I was receiving something I hadn’t worked for. Despite my insistence that it was unnecessary, she continued to pay me every month. When the world began to return to normal after COVID, I offered to give her in-person classes at her home in Copacabana to reciprocate for her past kindness.

She gratefully accepted, and I felt better about giving back what she had already paid for during the long pandemic.

For the past year and a half, I have been teaching English classes twice a week to Dona Vera in person at her home in Copacabana. She is the only student for whom I offer presential lessons. I do this to show my appreciation for what she did for me during the lockdown. Despite receiving multiple requests for presential classes from others, I have declined them all and now only give them to Dona Vera.

Dona Vera continued to pay me during the pandemic despite having no obligation to do so.

I feel grateful and compelled to repay my debt to her, even though she has never demanded anything in return. It makes me feel good to do so.

The classes we are having together now are more therapeutic than English, with us both speaking English and gossiping about past pupils from the school and about life in general. There is always something to learn from old people; it is just a question of stopping and listening, and you can learn a lot from them.

I like her company and her friendship. Unfortunately, lately she has been slowly receding, with her light not as bright as it used to be. I am grateful to have known her and to have her in my life. Thank you, Vera!!!

After arriving home from Dona Vera, I talked a little to Yasmin, gave a class and went to bed early.

In bed by 9:00 pm.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Tuesday, the 28th of February 2023: “Productivity and Gratitude”!!! first appeared on The Long Gringo.

In Brazil, the new year starts on the first Monday after the carnival.

This tradition carries both symbolic and metaphorical meanings; however, given current circumstances in Brazil and the modern world, it is unclear whether it remains valid.

Saying this…

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

In the morning, I did my routine. I am up at 4.30 am and do two exercises before leaving home. I am out on the street at 5.15 and usually arrive at the end of Leme to start my workout around 5.30.

What kind of workout do I do at the end of Leme? A year ago, I bought a set of TRX exercise straps because I thought they would be an excellent, versatile way to exercise.

They have some limitations, but they are light, you can carry and set them up anywhere you want, and most importantly, they are a cheap investment.

Right at the end of Leme, in front of the mountain and the army barracks, there is a recessed circular square surrounded by a half-height wall. This wall forms a raised platform around the square, where people can sit, stand, etc., at an elevated level.

At the far end, on the opposite side of the square, are the dog owners with their dogs. They can let their dogs out to play safely. I have made friends with the principal dog owner there, who is usually there before me or often arrives at the same time. Occasionally, I have arrived before him, but only a few times.

Paulo is a retired postman with two dogs, a Rottweiler and a mongrel.

I love dogs, but I have always been a little wary of Rottweilers because they are often close to, or even jealous of, their owners. However, his dog is adorable, and whenever I am there, she comes to compliment me.

The mongrel he picked up in the street is more conservative and suspicious of people; she was probably badly treated before Paulo took her in.

She likes me too, and if I ask her to give me her paw, she will, and if you ask for the other, she will give it to you, too.

Usually, when I arrive and Paulo is alone, I talk to him for four or five minutes before starting my session, compliment the dogs, and then return to the opposite side of the square to start my workout.

I unpack my skipping rope and TRX, then secure them to a lamppost just in front of the square. On one side, I have a lamppost with my TRX for working out, and on the other, a half-height wall I use as a platform for skipping and general cardio.

I usually start with the TRX straps and do four or five arm exercises, with 12 to 15 reps per exercise. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Then, after a short rest, I do a series of three or four leg exercises, with at least 20 reps each. The leg exercises typically make me sweat like a pig. I’ve sweated before, but leg exercises make me sweat even more.

After finishing the leg exercises, I get onto the half-height wall and skip. The wall is about half a metre high and a metre wide, and it surrounds the whole recessed square. When I am on top of the wall, I am in an elevated position so that I can see everywhere around me, and everyone can see me, too.

At first, I sometimes thought it was a little pretentious; now, I feel it is normal. I don’t care what people think or say, and it also helps preserve my skipping rope, as the wall’s surface is much less abrasive than the Portuguese stones on the ground. My rope lasts much longer when I skip on top of the wall.

I like to skip for at least 15 to 20 minutes, which is more than enough. Sometimes, when skipping, I do other cardio exercises to break it up a little.

At the end of the session, I was half-dead but feeling very happy and relieved. I then unfixed the TRX from the lamppost, packed it in my rucksack with my rope, took out my flip-flops, and changed from trainers to flip-flops to go home. Sometimes, I even changed my glasses from the ones for working out to the ones I like for everyday use.

With everything packed and ready to go, I am on my way home. I usually stop by a bar to buy a bottle of mineral water to drink on my walk home. It takes me about 20 to 30 minutes to walk from the end of Leme to my home.

So if I leave home around 5.15 in the morning and return around 7, that’s about 1 hour and 45 minutes of exercise, including about 6km of walking and at least 10 activities, depending on the day.

WHAT A WAY TO BEGIN THE DAY!!!             

When I get home, I throw off my sweat-soaked clothes, take a long, hot shower, put on a clean, fresh change of clothes, and make green tea. Then, I am ready to begin work!

THE PERFECT BEGINNING TO THE DAY!!!

Oh, and A HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN!!!

In bed by 9 p.m.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post Starting the New Year and My Morning Workout first appeared on The Long Gringo.