This is going to be a just-Kate entry as Patrick is on a 3 day field trip up near Salvador - more on that when he returns I'm sure.
So here's a resume of what we've been up to. We had a lovely walk last weekend along a different part of the beach in Rio. We started at Cinelandia in the downtown area to catch the Yann Arthus Bertrand exhibition that has been installed in the square there as part of Rio+20. (Probably the least that's said about what that's likely to achieve the better).
We've seen the YAB photos at various different times and locations and also heard him talking about his film "Home" after a showing at the Edinburgh filmhouse and as a result are big fans of his. The exhibition here included some new (recent?) ones of Rio that we hadn't seen before. While they often have bleak environmental messages attached to them every one of his photos of the earth from above is stunningly beautiful and powerful. We'd highly recommend a visit if his photos ever end up near you!
We then walked to the Modern Art Museum (saved going in for Hugo being out here next month!) and back through Flamengo Park to Botafogo and caught a bus home. You can either walk (or cycle or skateboard, roller blade etc) through the green bit of the park or along the beach as we did with some great new angles on places we already knew in Rio. (Photos in the album). The beach there is much quieter than Ipanema but the sea's not meant to be so clean though it's all relative....
Last week was busy as I started my language classes and we went to the theatre, a Brazilian birthday supper, lunch with a Venezuelan family and Patrick was taken to a football match by one of his students.
The match began at 10pm and they left at 7pm to get there - Patrick did allow himself an hour's lie-in (till 7...) the next morning! I think it was some South American cup and the local side won so I could hear the celebrations in the street here. Football is hugely important here and there always seems to be a game on TV in bars and in everyone's home. Fluminese will meet Boca Juniors next I gather but that may be in Argentina so I assume Patrick won't be going to that one.
Patrick's uni colleague Leo invited us to his parents house to celebrate his birthday so we joined up with his family again and met his aunt and uncle who has an extraordinary memory and spent the evening regaling us with lists of things like the names of the England football team in 1948, the titles of Walter Scott novels and the names of the Bennett daughters in Pride and Prejudice! So far as we could tell through his thick Brazilian accent he was pretty accurate though we never gathered whether he'd actually read the books!
The Venezuelan family were lovely. I'd met the husband in Scotland but not his wife or kids and I'm sure we'll be seeing them again.
Last but not least, my language classes. I signed up for a month of group classes but have in fact now swapped to semi-private lessons with one other girl from the group so we're getting fewer hours now but more attention. We swapped because the other 6 in the group had done far more Portuguese than we had. Having got involved with language teaching out here I've been surprised how theoretical & grammatical this course has been. Sure, I'm learning a lot and know all sorts of obscure sentence constructions now (as well as lots of useful stuff) but I don't feel that much more able to hold a conversation which I suppose is what I was hoping for.
Oh well, at least the money's going to a good cause!
(casadocaminho-languagecentre.org)

Happy Birthday Luke! xxxxxx