Hey kids

This is interesting - I am typing on a german keyboard so pllease excuse the mixed up spelling and punctuation. I am staying with Teresa & Ben of BerlinLoopBrasil in their home in Brasilia. It is a condominium in Lago Sul (South Lake) which has a guarded entrance. Brasilia is the capital city of Brazil and this year will celebrate 50 years since it was built. In 1960 Lucio Costa together with Oscar Niemeyer designed the city plan and it´s architecture with such a modern perspective. From above, the city looks like a bird with open wings (or an aeroplane). The wings are called the Eixo and the body is called the Esplanada. The residential buildings are along the Eixo and the Esplanada showcases the Ministries and the National Congress. My host works at the Ministerio do meio ambiental (Ministry of Environment) on the Esplanada and refers to the National Congress buildings as "the big dick" because this is where the men who rule Brazil sit and decide how to spend the people´s money. Along the Esplanada can be found the Bibliotech (library) and the National Museum.

There are few traffic lights in Brasilia due to the ingeniously designed tesourinhas (little scissors) that are loops through which a car can move from one main road to another. There is a joke that in Brasilia if you want to go forward, first you have to go backward. My sense of direction has been challenged daily as not only do we drive on the other side of the road in Australia but the street planning involves signage and a grid network. I will try to upload a map of Brasilia to this blog as it needs to be seen to be understood - it is truly unique!

Today we lunched at Boa Saude (Good health) in Brasilia Radio Center. The system is great, you take a plate and walk along a row taking portions of vegetarian foods. I start with the salad items, lettuce, couve, red papaya, cucumber and grated carrot to which I add olive oil, lemon and sprinkle sesame seeds (gergerlin). Next, take your plate to the counter where it is weighed and the price is written on a slip which you pay at the end. This way, you can return for the warm dishes such as brown rice, quinoa (my favourite grain), polenta and pasta which are weighed and added to the slip. Freshly made juices and deserts are available and there are health food items like bags of lentils and bottles of locally produced propolis honey too. So, it´s like a vegetatian pay by weigh health food store. I love it!

Ben & Teresa are in the process of pitching their project to the Ministry of Environment so they may recieve funding to travel parts of Brazil in a "green bus" demonstrating sustainablity and involving communities who live and work in the Amazon rainforest. It is exciting to watch their progress and to see their creativity in motion. check out Berlinloopbrasil.org to see what crazy and inspiring stuff they get up to!

Until the next installment - love and light !!!