Friends & More Friends!

January and February were very unique, as I could meet some VIPs ! :-)

Pam, Reg and their son Paul came from Adelaide to watch the Australian Open!

Reg was my supervisor in Adelaide during my Master's degree! It was very good to chat about a number of different topics: technology, business & Australian Open! :-)









And we had some Coopers (very traditional brewery from Adelaide)!

See ya soon in Adelaide Pam and Reg!












Then, Yvette and Martin -very good friends from Kathleen Lumley College, my University Residence during my Master's in Adelaide - came to Melbourne!

Yvette works for the National Arts Council Singapore and Martin is a Researcher and Lecturer at the National University of Singapore...

We gossiped about our good times at KLC in Adelaide!








Talking about gossip: I was probably the first one to find out they were a couple... How? Top secret, sorry mates! ;-)

And we had beer too! :-)













Few days ago Cathy - a colleague from the University - came to our house to receive Kimono classes from Naoko!

There are special techniques for dressing a Kimono... Interesting, no?



















Hey, Cathy looks like a Geisha, doesn't she?


















Hey, you guys know me... I would not loose the chance of dressing like a NINJA...

Well, but since I did not have the adequate clothes, I got one pink Kimono from Naoko, a Japanese band that I brought from Brazil and my yellow socks...

Not bad, uh? Just need some KARATE classes to improve my leg movement... :-)







Last, but not least!

This Saturday I went to David and Linda's house! We had a nice lunch there...

David is a friend from NEC Australia! We did a memorable project in Brazil few years ago...! Broadband access in Brazil started with us in Bahia State (my state in Brazil).

Their boys are lovely: Ryan (left) and Alex (right)!








David and Linda invited a couple of friends for the lunch: Rita and Christian!

Rita is Brazilian, but she speaks Portuguese as an Australian ... She has been here for 20 years...!

Christian is a Law Professor at the University of Melbourne!

BTW, they have 3 children so far... Plans for more? :-)







Hey, the children were enjoying their food...!

Australian Open 2006!

The Australian Open was a big happening in Melbourne... I would say the environment reminds me Brazil during the World Cup... People only talk about Tennis!!!!

Federer won the final - Well done Frederic! Frederic, as you already know, is my Swiss house mate!

I know, I know, Gustavo Kuerten (GUGA) was not playing, but I could not resist to wear my Brazilian t-shirt!

The matches were played in a very sunny (HOT!) day ...

I likedvery much this photo! Look at the ball & the public! It really shows the spirit of the Australian Open!

Later on they decided to close the domme! The weather forecast was previewing some rain... Do you see any clouds in the sky?

Believe or not, few hours later we had very heavy rain!!!

More games... Now with Air conditioning! Thanx God!

BTW, Karenina and Carlos were there!

I believe they enjoyed lots the matches! :-)

Brazilian Festival - 22nd January, Melbourne

The Brazilian Festival is an annual event that happens in Melbourne... You can buy typical drinks & food and enjoy Brazilian music!

Look at the Brazilian flags ... Near the Australian Open flags! More about the Australian Open on the top! ;-)
















Samba, Mulatas (ops, they are white skinned!) ...

This "almost" looks like Brazil!














More Samba! :-)


















And a Samba group (Escola de Samba!). They are dressing the Flamengo t-shirt (very famous team from Rio de Janeiro) and, incredibly, they play very well!






You can find more photos at the website : http://www.melsamba.com/slideshow/vivabrasil2006/

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU VISIT THE WEB SITE ABOVE! :-)