July 27, 2004
I just got a digital camera -- hooray! It will make updating a lot faster & easier. Sorry it has been a while ... So where have I been?
THE MERMAID PARADE! I went to Coney Island early & got a great spot -- on a sunny June day in Brooklyn, NY, everyone was in a good mood & the floats were great. Lots of costumes, bands, and half-naked musicians. There's a different king & queen every year -- this time it was MOBY, and his queen was THEO (from the Lunachicks). It was fun running out into the middle of the parade to get pictures along with all the photojournalists. Everyone was mellow & no one minded. The parade has been around since the 80s, so it's a local institution. It starts on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, the next neighborhood over from Brighton Beach (or 'Little Odessa', as it's called due to its waterfront & many Ukrainian residents.)
Which is a good segue to ... Ukraine (yes, again!) Have you heard of LVIV -- the City of Lions -- a beautiful, cosmopolitan place with lots of restaurants, cafes, rooftop views and beautiful 19th century architecture? Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine, spent a lot of time in the past as a Polish town and it has a mix of architectures. It has at least six types of old churches (probably more) and a beautiful old synagogue. There's a gorgeous, walkable city center--well worth a look--so check out the English-language tourist site: http://www.tourism.lviv.ua/en/home.htm
Sunny, lovely weather in eastern European cities means cafes and people-watching. Lviv attracts and produces a lot of artists (it would, with so many ancient churches and sculptures to inspire them). I met some, & also went to a crowded hole-in-the-wall bar where the poets & writers hang out. Most everyone spoke Russian, Ukrainian and some other eastern European language -- those who knew English were embarrassed to speak it to a native English-speaker, so bring a Ukrainian guidebook if you visit!
I was able to see a lot of the region, thanks to my amazing Ukrainian friends, Bogdan, Yuriy, Maria and Svitlana. But showing up alone in Ukraine without knowing the language isn't easy. Lviv has an airport but not much tourist accommodation -- although it's a cosmopolitan city, it's just not set up for English-speaking tourists (yet). It's definitely a bargain (I stayed with a friend and barely managed to spend $100 in a week), so if you're up for adventure, it could make a great three-day weekend stop on your way to Krakow. Just plan ahead!
POEMS & PEOPLE I'm putting together a book of poems. So far, my writing is in 5 books & my goal is to be in 10. They're on display on a shelf over my head so I can look up and get inspired to do more! One important book I was glad to be part of is "Our Choices, Our Lives", a pro-choice anthology that a lot of women contributed to -- if you're interested in the topic, have a look. It's available at http://www.amazon.com
Continuing on a socially conscious tip, let me point you to a great book on New York's east village, Tompkins Square Park homeless community: http://www.curbsidepress.com. Jim, the editor, spent two years interviewing homeless people who live in the park. He took a big financial risk to finance the book, but now homeless vendors can sell it, make some money and tell their story.
Any coolgrrrls want to do some volunteering in or near New York City? Sprout, which takes developmentally disabled people on vacations, is always looking for volunteers to help lead trips all over the country: http://www.gosprout.org/007.html
I've helped out on the 'New England Farm' trip & 'Hudson Valley Getaway' and there's a nice community spirit. Sprout's annual festival, Sproutstock, is coming up! It's like a mini-Woodstock in upstate NY.
I hope you're all having a great summer --
January 30, 2003
Even after Rio, there is so much more to see in southern Brazil.
MINAS GERAIS is a very atmospheric state–the historical area is a cluster of little towns boasting eighteenth-century cathedrals and draped in low mountains and mists. The bus from Rio meanders inland through very peaceful, quiet areas, eventually arriving at beautiful villages nestled in the hills.
Minas Gerais, though isolated, is a real gem – appropriately enough, since the main town, Ouro Preto, means black gold. Minas Gerais was a mining region and you can buy loose jewels at the stalls dotting the town square. Ouro Preto was also the home of Alejandrinho (1738-1814), a religious sculptor whose work still adorns the region's churches. It took me literally all day to see Ouro Preto's dozen-or-so ornately exquisite cathedrals, since the town's gradient rivals that of San Francisco. Each cathedral seems perched on an inaccessible hill–but if you make the hike, you're rewarded by a vista of flowers, mountains and spires.
You can easily pass an interesting, relaxing 3-4 days in Minas Gerais. The area is very different to the sidetrips from Rio pushed by the tourist companies; artistically, it's much more interesting. No beaches but lots of intricate carving and colorful old buildings! Ouro Preto is an easy, comfortable 6-hour bus ride from Rio, and it's well worth the journey into the countryside, off the beaten path and out of the way of the usual tourist haunts. The town stems out from the central square–with colorful stores and cafes going uphill in every direction. Although the shopping/tourist/central area is quite compact, the town has a nice buzz to it. I hear it's actually a college town, although went in January (Brazilian summer) and there weren't many students around. The locals are friendly and kind. They don't know much English but they don't seem amazed by tourists–due, in part, to the youth hostel. There is a good balance to the visitor/local mix. I spent the days exploring and did a lot of uphill walking, so I was happy to hit my bed after dark, but I did go out one evening with some Brazilians and while Ouro Preto didn't seem like a raging nightlife capital, there are certainly places to hear local musicians or have a couple of beers.
Mariana, a neighboring town, is a smaller, quieter version of Ouro Preto. It is also a very beautiful town, and it's a nice local busride through some misty hills from one town to the other. It's ridiculous to pay less than 50 cents for the chance to experience these views, but that's what it costs. Mariana was probably my favorite–by this point in my trip, I knew enough Portugese to converse with the locals, so my proud astonishment at my ability to speak and be understood ensured that I enjoyed this part of my trip.
PARANA, the northernmost of the 3 southern states, was my final stop in Brazil. Although it has fewer "showpieces" touristically than most of the other 5 states I saw, Parana seems like a great place to live. Apart from the Iguacu Falls in the west of Parana, most of the state's attractions are in the east, near the coast.
CURITIBA, Parana?s capital, is a famously well-planned city. Although it's neither compact or particularly beautiful, it's lively and, unlike a lot of Brazilian cities, easy to get around. There's a well set-up tourist bus system: you buy a daily ticket that allows you to jump on and off the bus at any 3 tourist points you choose. You're given a map of the bus route, which includes stops at the train station, the city center and outlying tourist points like parks, zoos and gardens. If you stay on the bus for one complete circle, you get to see a lot of the city's highlights . I was glad to visit Curitiba's Ukrainian Memorial: it turns out there?s a big eastern European presence in the city and most of the immigrant groups have memorials.
"Rua 24 Horas", Curitiba's central mini-mall, is open all night for shopping, eating and socializing. This might not sound like much, but it's definitely useful if you get a midnight urge to go exploring. In many Brazilian towns, language barriers prevent travelers from really entering into the life of the city. But the town is so well set up for visitors that I was able to do a lot in one Curitiba weekend.
VILA VELHA: This is a really beautiful red-rocked state park. A combination of luck and more luck enabled me to see the park, which had been looming in my head for some months. I got The Very Last Tour before the park closed for six months! Vila Velha is halfway between Curitiba and another town, and it's difficult to go without a guided bus tour. I definitely thought it was worth paying for a tour, but it's not for everyone, because it's basically a series of beautiful, strange-shaped, hovering red rocks and geological formations (think a smaller cross between southern Utah's national parks and Stonehenge).
ISLA DO MEL: HONEY ISLAND!
www.ilha-do-mel.com
This is a fantastic place. I took an (overrated) well-known train trip from Curitiba to the coast & bought a boat ticket to Isla do Mel (boats can drop you off on two separate parts of the island: frequent visitors tend to have a favorite section). What's great about this island is that no cars are allowed. There are lots of friendly pousadas (inns) and places to eat and drink. At night, bands occasionally play and during the day, everyone hits the beaches, sometimes to surf.
I had my first surfing lesson, courtesy of Sandra, an amazing Brazilian surfer who had been surfing for 20 years! She and I shared a room with some other girls at the lovely Full Moon Pousada. Sandra told me she had been one of the earliest female surfers in the area. I loved surfing!!! And I definitely plan to get into surfing at a later date (it's a bit hard in New York City). Sandra also recommended a great psychic to me in Curitiba, so during the last week of my six-month trip, I was able to fulfill several dreams: to see Vila Velha, to get a surfing lesson from a female instructor, and to go to a really good psychic in Brazil (I'd been told from the beginning it was a mystical country...). The great times I had with the Brazilian girls at Isla do Mel helped to make up for the difficulties I'd had with the policies & politics of the school where I had taught. 3 cheers for vacation and all the great people & spots in Parana!
December 31, 2002
Hi Everybody
Happy Holidays! I hope you’re all having a great holiday season. It snowed here in New York on Christmas and the city looked beautiful with the snow falling around the lit-up Christmas trees. Time has flown; last year I was in RIO DE JANEIRO for New Year! Though the year has quickly passed, I want to describe the trip to you because RIO IS AMAZING! The "ciudade marvilhosa" or marvelous city is really miraculous.
What’s great about Rio is that it’s two special cities:
THE BEACHES (the coast) & THE INSIDE of the city.
For Sun-Lovers: You will probably never make it off the beaches. It’s like leaving Paradise. Why do it?! I spent a solid week lying on the beach at LeBlon; maybe once a day, I’d saunter down the strip to the connecting beach of Ipanema. Imagine walking down a wide street with glittering beaches on your right, mountains in the distance, and a line of famous, grand hotels on the your left. Walking up and down the strip with you are loads of tanned, friendly, stunningly gorgeous Cariocas (Rio residents). Many Cariocas take their beach exercise by just walking up and down the strip. The few times I tried to head away from the beach into the city, it was literally like leaving the light: Since hotels block the sun on the side streets, as soon as you leave the beach avenue, you immediately find yourself in a dark, overcast street. It can change your mood in an instant! I gave up my inner-city plans and swerved back onto the beach and into the sunlight more than a few times! I’d been seeing and absorbing so much in Brazil; that week on the beach was a really well-needed rest in the sun.
LEBLON—connects to IPANEMA—connects to COPACABANA
Although Copacabana is the most famous, crowded beach, LeBlon to Ipanema was the best. It’s quieter, there’s a lot more room on the beach, and the area is more compact. Probably a more "upscale" beach than Copacabana, but still free!
ADVENTURES IN RIO SUMMER (Dec-Jan-Feb season):
PEACE PARADE is an annual mini-Carnival, with musicians and dancers dancing down the Leblon-Ipanema strip. Women dress in colorful, full skirts with flags of every country sewn into their dresses. Very imaginative and positive vibe.
NEW YEAR’S EVE in Rio is also world-famous for good reason. Thousands of people dress in white and go down to the ocean to make offerings to the Sea Goddess or Deity, Yemanja. They throw white flowers into the sea and make wishes. It’s a lovely ritual. Plus there are fireworks on the beach and late-night parties!
SAMBA SCHOOLS: Many local, neighborhood samba schools – that’s bands & dancers to you and me – have weekly rehearsals to practice for Carnival. Some groups charge money to watch their rehearsals, but I went for free, since the conductor + pandeiro player for Botafogo samba school invited me. Talk to the locals, it helps!
HOW TO GET THE BEST VIEW OF RIO:
1) HANG-GLIDING IN RIO: What an adventure. To be 100% honest, what first lured me to Rio was a photo I saw in a student travel magazine of a guy tandem flying (hang-gliding) over a beautiful city ... I recognized the mountain and coastline … it was Rio! I wanted that picture. The image stayed in the back of my head … then I had a Brazilian boyfriend who sung the praises of Rio … one thing lead to another, I found a job through the Internet in southern Brazil with the ultimate plan of being in Rio for New Year … and lo and behold, several years after I’d originally seen the photo, there I was—up in the Rio de Janeiro sky.
Hang-gliding is much more fun than paragliding, which I tried near Salzburg by the Sound of Music Mountain. Hang-gliding is more like flying since you are lying down, like a bird, while paragliding is like sitting in a little swing/sling in the sky (scary!). Naturally it requires a little faith to hurl yourself off a mountain, so the scenery, to my mind, has to be beautiful enough to merit it. Rio and Salzburg both made the grade. HANG-GLIDE IN RIO! I did and now I’ve got the pics I’d been dreaming about!
2) SUGAR LOAF
3) CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE AT CORCOVADO
4) Go to a ROOF RESTAURANT at one of the fancy hotels on the beach for drinks or brunch!
GIVE RIO TWO WEEKS. That’s really sincere advice. Unless you have a lot of willpower (or rare bad weather) you will never get off the beach in the first week, and then you will miss a lot of what the city has to offer. Here are some of the main tourist sites & experiences:
THE INSIDE of the city:
Rio is a really big city, with loads of distinct, interesting neighborhoods. I was able to see most of the key tourist attractions in a week – but that was a week of sight-seeing AFTER my first week in Rio, spent just lounging by the sand. Devote at least a week to seeing the inside of the city, if you can.
REMEMBER, Rio can be a very dangerous city, especially after dark. There are interesting street parties cropping up in dodgy neighborhoods at night, but not so interesting as to be unmissable. It’s a lot smarter to party close to your hotel or hostel, especially if you’re not fluent in Portugese. Sometimes the locals want to help you but just can’t, if they don’t know English and you don’t know Portugese. Don’t assume that since Rio is a tourist town, everyone knows English: they don’t! So go out in groups at night and know where you’re going – and more importantly, how you’re getting home!
Rio contains just TOO MUCH TO DO for me to mention it all here—so I’m just going to suggest one not-as-well-known tourist attraction:
A fun STREETCAR that takes you into the hills of Santa Theresa neighborhood --(you can take the cablecar up and walk back down the hill—not alone! It can be dangerous—it’s a bit of a long walk, but as usual in Rio, the views are beautiful)
In sum, Rio is amazing. The city is great—full of interesting little neighborhoods, stores, cafes, and all kind of activities—but at the end of the day, it still can’t compare to the
BEACHES !!!!!
So if New Year in the cold doesn’t suit you – do the research, get some friends, start saving for the flight (with hostels, Rio is surprisingly affordable)—and usher in the next New Year in the Marvellous City!
October 3, 2002
Hey folks I’ve seen so many bands lately that it seems like a good idea to break into my travelogue and give them a shout-out. I just went to Brooklyn’s opening night of LADYFEST (http://www.ladyfest.org) featuring a lineup of female bands. Drag king MURRAY HILL did a super job of MC-ing the night, complimenting the acts and putting everyone in a good mood.
 LIP KANDY were great. The first part of their set was very catchy and tuneful: pop-py in a good way. Next, they played songs from their new album, which sounded a little retro-goth (also in a good way!) They showed range, but their set was sort of a waltz through styles of the past. Not meant a criticism—I like those styles!
HISSYFITS: The Hissyfits were definitely one of the highlights of an all-around fun night. All four musicians are great, and I was especially taken with the strength of the songs. They’re really well-composed and sound like instant classics on first hearing. Built to last. Plus the band has a gorgeous, glammed-up look. I especially liked the wild drummer with hands and hair that never seemed to stop flinging about. Very cool (& a Coolgrrrls band, natch!)
PRINCESS SUPERSTAR: This Princess has gotten a lot of mixed-press in the past, but I’m absolutely a fan. Even if she wasn’t talented, I would admire her for the major guts it takes to be a white female rapper. She’s definitely breaking boundaries. Ballsy women have been taking a lot of flack forever – I still remember how much abuse Sinead O’Connor used to get whenever she spoke out on any issue—and Princess Superstar has kept going in the face of a lot of sniping. I enjoyed her at Ladyfest, and wished her set was longer. Here’s a review I wrote of her Bowery Ballroom show this spring:
 Princess Superstar announced her comedy intentions before she even opened her mouth – driving a low-riding motorcycle-type vehicle gleefully onto the stage like a little kid showing off her new tricycle. It was a good entrance for what turned out to be a quality act. Ms Superstar can rap, and her "songs", as she calls them, are rapped, but she isn’t primarily a rapper. She’s more of a satirist; a pastiche artist in love with hip-hop’s ability to allow her to say her piece, reach a wide audience, and have a good time.
The first thing to strike me about Princess Superstar onstage is the way she looks. On her CD cover, she’s all stern, Nordic angles, but in person, she’s got a lovely, twinkly, benevolent face--the spitting image of "Clueless" star Alicia Silverstone, with a bit of Mae West tossed in for good measure. Princess’s cheeky smile, sparky eyes and knowing look let fans telegraph to fans that there’s a gestalt to her goofiness. The best comedians can either play faux-naïve like no one’s business or else they emanate a deep, all-encompassing intelligence that encourages their audience to trust them. I trusted Princess Superstar pretty much immediately, either despite or because of the fact that she wafted around stage like Stevie Nicks; a billowy blond swathed in layers of black.
This relentless focus on style may suggest Princess Superstar lacks lyrical substance. Far from it! The girl has things to say: "’cause I’m just a girl … not … I never use the word ‘just’". She’s positive, sharp--"I don’t need psychology to see the dichotomy in me,"—and diverse. In the hit, "Bad Babysitter," she raps about being bored and underpaid; in another number, she defends rappers and MCs from charges that their incendiary lyrics should be blamed for teenage crime.
Although Ms Superstar’s rhymes are nuanced and subtle, she hams up her act with broad gestures throughout. Anyone who compares her with Eminem can stick it where the sun don’t shine, so she pushes out her posterior as her stage sidekick, Seven, mimes shoving a mike up her butt. Since she wants to show she’s wet during a sex song, she holds a water bottle to her crotch, laughing at the gullibility of the guys in the front row. They all stare eagerly, seemingly fascinated by any reference to female genitalia.
Maybe not everybody gets the joke. Which may be one reason why Princess Superstar isn’t everybody’s favorite rapper. I read a review where the reviewer accused her of being too intellectual (read, too middle-class). He stated about hip-hop, "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it". Meaning what exactly? Don’t add anything new? Ever? The subtext here seemed to be, don’t try to rap if you’re white .. or white and educated …and be sure to keep your mouth shut if you’re (God forbid) a white, educated woman. Don’t attempt to bring your perspective to the art form. Etc, etc, etc.
Just for the record, I have no idea whether Princess Superstar went to university or not, but who cares? Reverse prejudice and inverted snobbery won’t do hip-hop any good. Princess Superstar put on a warm, witty and entertaining show. We could do with more like her.
Well, talent, hard work and energy. That sums up Thursday night at Ladyfest East. I had the honor of performing at LADYFEST this summer in London. My friends, Tahni, Tamisha and Lisa came out and we had a fantastic time. The night I was on, KATASTROPHY WIFE, Kat Bjelland’s band, closed the show. Although Kat is a bit of a legend from her Babes in Toyland days, she was so nice, chatty and pleasant to everyone backstage—so un-stuck-up – that I didn’t even realize who she was. She seems like a giggly, friendly girl when she talks to the audience, and then she starts to play … Whoa!!!! It’s like this preternatural wailing growling banshee takes over her body. Tahni and I were laughing at the total changeover. Actually, Tahni’s a big Kat fan and her review in Planetgrrl does a good job of describing Kat’s sound: http://www.btinternet.com/~virtuous/planetgrrlmusic/livemusicreviews.htm
I will always be proud to have done Ladyfest. It’s a really worthwhile international showcase for female performers, and one all the Coolgrrrls should consider getting involved in!
More good acts I’ve seen downtown in the last half-year include DEBRA DE SALVO and Coolgrrrls’ own Kitty Kowalski of the KOWALSKIS. Deb played at Meow Mix. Some of her songs were in the spiritual/New Age vein, and she has a lovely voice for that. But I also heard "Take It Off," one of her songs on the soundtrack of Jill Morley’s Stripped documentary, and "Take It Off" is a lot grittier and rockier. Have a listen and see what you think: http://www.debradesalvo.com/downloads/index.html. Debra’s an accomplished guitarist, and I expect we’ll be hearing more from & about her soon..
As for the KOWALSKIS, I saw Kitty at CBGBs and she had the audience eating out of her hand. They loved her. She’s got that boisterous rock-n-roll energy and positive spirit. I talked to her for a bit and she’s a nice woman, too!
You know, they say that women are like fine wine, they just get better with age. That’s got to be true of the superb talents I’ve seen lately. It’s nice to see a performance by someone who’s stayed in your mind for years, and that’s what happened when I saw Annie Golden of Hair fame at a CBGBs benefit recently. I also got to see Darlene Love and Freda Payne, two legends whose work I was less familiar with (but I’m a big fan now!)
 LOVE & PAYNE: This was amazing. Darlene Love and Freda Payne have put together a phenomenal show. It’s a walk-through-the-hits of the 60s and beyond. The ladies may be mature in years—early 60s & late 50s, though they both look 40-something, but they radiate the kind of energy and girl power we usually associate with youth. Darlene Love, in particular, has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard, and she’s every inch the charming star onstage. Both women were beautiful and glamorous, and the show was really well-arranged: Love and Payne duetted, gave each other time for solos, joked around with the audience and put on a stellar show. I was lucky enough to have found out about to the free dress rehearsal/previews, but at $45, it’s well worth the ticket price. In NY til October 5th.
ANNIE GOLDEN: Annie Golden’s been well-known since Hair and "Hang Up the Phone" (Sixteen Candles). She’s got the cutest, most expressive face and fantastic voice. She sung at Tish & Snooky’s CBGB’s benefit—proceeds went to animal organizations for the Search & Rescue dogs that helped with the World Trade Center disaster. You probably all know Tish & Snooky from their amazing Manic Panic makeup store & makeup/hair dye cosmetics line (http://www.manicpanic.com) They’ve  been around for years – they used to be backup singers for BLONDIE! – and they’ve got a lot of friends. Annie sung at the benefit. Lenny Kaye and Dick Manitoba from the Dictators were good, too! http://www.cbgb.com/shrine/shriners/anniegolden.htm
BEBE BUELL: I’ve been hearing about Bebe Buell forever, and I read her book, "Rebel Heart". A lot of guys in the audience were clearly fans from her old 1970s Playmate-of-the-month days. Is it catty to say she’s aged a lot better than they have? Yes, of course it is. Anyway, Bebe bantered with her fans but seemed a lot more into her cute, young boyfriend (he’s in her band!) The thing is, Bebe has a phenomenal voice – absolutely classic –and she’s relaxed and charismatic on stage. I saw her backstage, looking sweet & sad and saying she was too old to get signed. But I suspect the only thing stopping her is her songs. She writes them herself and though the lyrics in the choruses can be memorable, they’re just not up to the level of her voice, looks & performance. That must be the rock-n-roll trinity: the Songs—the Voice—the Look.. When you get all three going at once, you’re unstoppable!
Well, that’s me signing off (it’s 4:45am—I just got inspired and didn’t want to stop!) Back to Brazil next time xox Avra
September 18, 2002
WOW, I’ve been lagging with my updates. But I have a good excuse! I’ve been traveling through 6 states in the south and southeast regions of Brazil; went to Cornwall, England; did some volunteering; home to NYC; back to Cornwall; then to Moldova and Ukraine! Plus, I stopped in London to be part of Ladyfest 2002. Finally, last month, I moved home to the States for good. I’m tired! But happy to be home and glad I got out and lived in different parts of the world. The mindsets in various places are so different that sometimes my mind literally ached as it stretched and struggled to accommodate new or conflicting ways of thinking. I could feel old perspectives rubbing up against new ones, jostling for space. How many languages are in there now?
I think of it like this: Imagine there’s a party in a big house. The living room has light blue walls, couches and soft lighting. The adjacent room has a disco ball and lots of noise. There’s a door with confetti and streamers hanging down from the doorframe, so you go through it, pushing the paper out of your hair and face. By the time you wade through the door and settle into the new room, the music and colors absorb you and you forget how the previous room looked and felt. Or you sort of remember, and you want to remember, but some of the memories and sensations from the last place escape you as you settle into your new abode. That’s what I felt like wandering into the different countries and their mindsets, anyhow.
Coming back to NY was a bit of a sacrifice, because I knew my mind would easily readjust to what it was originally used to—a New York mentality—and I’d lose some of the mindsets and perspectives I’d gained abroad. The first few days back I noticed things, like "Why is everyone so busy?" and "Why does everyone immediately ask what I do for a living?" but soon enough, I was a busy New Yorker, too, concerned with getting a job to pay the (high) rent. I’m not knocking New York, a city I love intensely, I just regret that we lose so much when we settle into the perspective of whatever city or town we live in. I don’t think there’s any way around it. Reading and talking to people from other countries can help, but not that much. Every environment is too immured in itself. People complain about Americans being insulated, and it’s true, but from what I’ve seen, people are stuck in their own mentalities all over the world. It’s a mental phenomenon, not an American phenomenon.
 OK, enough philosophical commentary, now onto the beaches!
Southern Brazil has the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen: Jurerê Internacional on the island of Florianopolis. Florianopolis, nicknamed Floripa or the "no stress island," is the capital of the state of Santa Catarina. It’s popular with Brazilians and Argentinians, who fly there to enjoy the 42 beaches. Here’s a map of the island:
www.hipernet.ufsc.br/floripa/portugues/praias/index.html
With 42 gorgeous beaches on one big, excellent island, there’s naturally something for everyone. Some people like the quiet, less touristy Southern beaches. Others prefer more crowded, party beaches like Ingleses. I spent a week on the Northern beaches, at the (recommended) hostel at Canasvieiras:
Address of Hostel: A.J. Canasvieiras, Rua Dr. João de Oliveira 100 esq. Av. das Nações – praia de Canasvieiras - Florianópolis/SC. E-mail: alberguesfloripa@brasilnet.net
The Canasvieiras hostel is very centrally located, just half a block from the buses and the main strip. While Canasvieiras does not have a particularly nice beach, the town itself is very well-loc
ated near the beautiful Northern beaches of Jurerê and Santinho. You can take a bus to either and visit both in a day.
Hostel tips: Before arriving, I’d hoped to stay in the center of the island, but it’s actually better to be out near the beaches. I’ve noticed twice in southern Brazil that hostels in the city center are usually dirtier and more run-down. Get out to the hostels off-the-beaten-track! They have more space/land to play with and can be beautiful.
Also: Bring cash! In southern Brazil, even the most touristy places—like Foz d’Iguacu or Florianopolis—aren’t set up to take credit cards. Americans are expected to arrive carrying loads of dollars. But all I had was Brazilian currency and a credit card, which I couldn’t use! So make sure you bring enough cash to finance your stay. Some hostels and most hotels have a safe where you can store your passport and cash. The people at reception may act exasperated if you need to open the safe every day, but don’t let that stop you. It’s best to keep a fair share of your money locked away because you can’t always leave it in your hostel room, and you won’t want to take too much of it to the beach. If your money does go missing, and you’re somewhere remote, it can literally take hours to get an English-speaking operator on the phone, even if locals are helping you. So avoid being robbed. If there’s a hostel safe, use it!
Now, onto happier topics. Like I said, everyone has their own favorite part of Florianopolis. It just depends on what you’re looking for. There’s lots of nightlife (I can attest to that from the night I went out with the girls from my hostel room), but as for me, I was aching for quiet and serenity. Where to find it:
- Pantano do Sul, towards the south of the Island (the photo with the fishing boats)
- Jurerê or the beach next door, Jurerê Internacional. The sand really is softer than
powder, the waves are wide and calming, and the sunsets are incredible. I saw a girl dancing by herself, by the water, out of sheer joy.
- Praia do Santinho: This upscale beach with blue, blue water can be a bit crowded, but you can wander onto the elevated path that jetties out from the main beach and hotel. The path leads through a series of sculptures and pre-historic rocks. There are spots and moments of intense quiet on this route – sun blazing down, guys snorkeling in the blue below, no one can see you, yet you can see for miles down the coast.
I hope you find your own quiet beach somewhere. I had my first surfing lesson with a nice female surfer on Parana’s Ilha do Mel (Honey Island!) but that will be a future update.
Xox Love Avra
December 10, 2001
Hey, greetings from Brazil. I’ve been here for 4 months now, down in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state. Let no one tell you that  getting used to another language/culture is easy! Still, I’ve met some great people and Brazil is a fascinating place.
CAPOIERA & PANDEIRO: When I first got here, my idea was—try anything that doesn’t involve a lot of Portugese (since, when I arrived, I didn’t know any!) This turned out to be a good philosophy. I joined a capoiera group, which introduced me to an important part of Brazilian culture while giving me a chance to make friends and get (too much!) exercise.
CAPOIERA is variously described as an art form, a martial art, a sport, and a form of exercise with spiritual and historical components. Originally created by Africans brought to Brazil as slaves, it combines elements of movement and music. A typical class involves everyone stretching and practicing various moves; then pairs of students play against each other in a circle called a roda (pronounced "huddah’). Often, while two contestants compete inside the circle, the other group members play instruments like the pandeiro (a type of frame drum) and berimbau (a musical bow) as they chant  capoiera songs.
It’s a beautiful feeling to be part of the musical circle – there’s a real group energy and you can feel the ancient power of sacred circles. Two informative sites:
www.planetcapoiera.com
www.capoieraarts.com
PANDEIRO: I’m learning drumset, pandeiro and music theory. My music teacher says, "music is a universal language!" That may be stretching it a bit (try asking a question about augmented chords in a language you don’t know), but classes have been great. Pandeiro is my favorite—the pandeiro looks like a tambourine with jingles on the side, but to play it well is much harder than it looks, so no jokes about ‘How can you need lessons to play a tamborine?!,’ please! It’s amazing what rhythms such a portable instrument can produce. For an interesting PANDEIRO site, see:
http://rhythmweb.com/frame/index.html
 FOZ D’IGUACU: My favorite trip in southern Brazil has been to Iguacu Falls, which borders three countries. These beautiful waterfalls are considered Brazil’s greatest natural wonder. Recommendations: Stay at Albergue de Campestre, a beautiful youth hostel, full of friendly people drinking by the pool: www.paudimar.com.br. But be sure to bring cash! Hardly anyone in that part of Brazil takes credit cards—even the official Foz d’Iguacu state park doesn’t. The falls have an Argentinian side and a Brazilian side (just like Niagara Falls has a Canadian and a U.S. side). Beware: Entrance and transportation to the Argentinian side is Much More Expensive if you’re coming from Brazil! So much so that I just went to the Brazilian side twice! It was beautiful: butterflies, lizards, and a rainbow in the waterfalls! A butterfly landed on my sneaker and stayed there for a half an hour. I didn’t have enough cash with me, but next time, I really want to take the boat trip under the falls.
Next week, I start traveling around Brazil, so – more soon!
Love, Avra
October 2, 2001
Hi coolgrrrls! I’ve been putting off my Moldova update cos the trip was so important to me that I don’t really know how to write about it. But I’ll try.
My Roots: My mother, her family, and my father’s ancestors come from a place called Bessarabia. Many Jews lived there for centuries, yet most eventually immigrated to places like South and North America because of trouble and violence in the area. My mom and her mother were born in Bessarabia, but escaped after World War II. My grandmother was a real heroine, carrying my mother on her back alone over borders and through countries until they arrived in Canada, where they didn’t even know the language. They lived in Montreal and eventually came to New York. As a child, I had no real sense of where Bessarabia was. I’m not alone in this: Eastern Europe is often seen as a shady mass and treated far differently from western Europe. No one ever says "I’m from Western Europe". They say, "I’m from France" .. or "England" .. or "Germany" or somewhere specific. But eastern Europeans rarely specify—probably because their part of the world gets very little international attention!
Bessarabia, it turns out, used to be part of Romania. Then ‘Russia’, or the USSR, took it over. When the USSR split up, part of Bessarabia became Moldova and the rest of it was absorbed into Ukraine. Bessarabians now speak Russian .. and Romanian! (old habits die hard). Some used to speak Yiddish and German as well. Confusing?! Yes! But I’m very glad I went.
MOLDOVA--: Chisinau, Moldova, is the former capital of Bessarabia. Moldova is physically a very beautiful country, full of forests and greenery and sunshine. The women are stunning (I think the next wave of super-models may well come from Moldova) and in the summer,people sit out at cafes and drink wine – it could be anywhere in Europe.
However, Moldova’s considered an incredibly poor country with very little in the way of resources. At an outdoor market, I saw women holding up clothes for sale using only their arms. They had no clothes racks or hangers. This might not seem too remarkable until you realize that they were holding up their arms for HOURS, trying to sell underwear and such for the equivalent of 50 cents. I can hardly keep my arms raised up for three minutes without getting tired, so imagine doing it all day. Things we consider necessities—like soft toilet paper—are nowhere to be found in Moldova. Often, public places like restaurants and train stations have ‘old-style’ bathrooms which are nothing more than a hole in the ground. It takes a lot of getting used to.
The best way to explain Chisinau is to say that it has lots of well-educated, sophisticated, multi-lingual residents who are not too happy to find themselves in such dire straits. Moldova is very near Turkey, and Romanians and Ukrainians also live there – there’s a real mix of nationalities and ethnicities. The people are exposed to many cultures and languages; they’re quite urbane. Yet they lack even basic necessities. It’s a paradox.
In the same way, Chisinau is an interesting mix of rural and urban. It’s a very, very green city—giant trees and forests everywhere—which is good, since the buildings are mostly Soviet-style big, ugly monstrosities. I lived near a housing complex on the outskirts of a forest. In the middle of the forest was a big lake with push-boats and a mini-amusement park. Everyone in the neighborhood went down to the lake to socialize. The people are also fantastic cooks, so there’s a lot of socializing over dinner. The region is known for its wineries, and red wine is everywhere! Since there’s not a lot in the way of fancy entertainment, the people are left to their own devices, and they use the parks and lakes and play instruments. Very relaxing.
TRAVEL NIGHTMARES: I find it’s comparatively easy getting around the various countries of eastern Europe. What’s really tiring is getting between them. The border situation is a nightmare. I took a bus to Iasi, Romania, and was made to wait in the heat for three hours at the border with no air conditioning or food in sight ... But that’s nothing compared to the trains.
My overnight train ride to Bucharest, Romania, involved (1) being the only English-speaker on the train for 14 hours (but what else could I expect?!) (2) getting woken up in the middle of the night by passport control, and having them take my passport away for hours with no explanation (3) waiting with the other passengers in a pitch-black, sweltering train for almost three hours while they changed the train wheels. Moldova and Romania use different wheel sizes on their train tracks, you see, so the wheels must be changed every time a train crosses the border!
EVERY PASSPORT TELLS A STORY: The strangest part of the trainride was the expression on the face of the Romanian girl in my carriage as she leafed through my passport. She had assumed I was a bit stupid, I think, since I looked young, didn’t speak any Romanian and could only sit there mutely and smile. But the passport told a different story. It had stamps from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, the U.S., Israel, and many other far-away places. Places she couldn’t get to, since the economy and even political situation of her country would not permit it. Places she seemed astonished that I’d gotten to. On the train, the Romanian girl was the one who knew what she was doing. I didn’t know the language, I wasn’t familiar with the local protocol, and I was totally reliant on the good will of strangers. So how was it possible that I had made it around the world? Was I some sort of spy? I could see her wondering if she had been duped. I knew there were hundreds of questions she wanted to ask me but she couldn’t, as she didn’t know English. I felt guilty, and she looked suspicious, for the rest of the ride.
Worse of all was trying to get out of the country. My visa had expired by a couple of days – but I was leaving!! – and this did not please the airport guard, who said I had to reapply for a visa and miss my flight. But .. but .. but!!! I had to be in London the next day, and there was only one connecting flight to Prague per day. My pleas (actually, provided by my friend Vlad, who spoke Russian) fell on deaf ears. Finally, the guard walked us out to the middle of a field – I thought he was going to bribe or shoot us—and took us to what looked like an abandoned old building. It turned out to be a police station. I watched him argue with his superior until—with only minutes to spare--they decided to let me on my flight. (Provided that Vlad paid the visa tax after I had gone). Hooray!!!!
 SHAOLIN MONKS: My favorite Moldovan adventure revolved around meeting a traveling Asian martial-arts troupe staying in our hotel. I was walking down the stairs listening to hip hop and –whoa!! suddenly, twenty young orange-clad monks came tearing up the stairs. What was happening?! For a few minutes, as they raced by, I was encased in a swath of orange. They weren’t quiet! They weren’t meditating! Who were they?!! It turns out that they were a touring Europe and they had come to Moldova to give a show for the President at the National Palace. I saw them perform and break planks with their heads. It was pretty impressive, but most amazing of all was the 83 year old monk in the picture with me. He has devoted his life to the study of his art and he performed a beautiful, graceful, serene exercise for us at the National Palace. You can see the strength and serenity in his face.
Much more happened, but that’s enough for now. Look out for a good-looking, talented Moldovan band called The Snails (they do 50s and 60s covers .. in English!). And please email me if you have any questions about the region.
Lots of love, Avra
August 19, 2001
Hi all,
Sorry for lagging on my update – my travels have been spinning out of control! In a good way :) I’ve just spent six weeks in Chisinau, Moldova, a small, beautiful country in eastern Europe between Romania and Ukraine. It used to be called Bessarabia—2 or 3 provinces east of Transylvania (for all you Dracula lovers!) I came here because my heritage is Bessarabian—more about that next update. Now I’m in Brazil to teach English for six months! Exciting. I want to soak up the sun, sand and sensuality Brazil is famous for and practice capoeira, bossa nova and Portugese. For those of you with wanderlust, I strongly recommend getting certified to teach English to non-native speakers. You can do a one-month course in NY, San Francisco or other cities. It’s expensive—be warned—but SO worth it! English teaching can take you around the world. I’ve been using it as a way to travel for years, and it has been fantastic. Working in a country enables you to interact with the natives in a way that just visiting never does.
On the other hand, it can be really relaxing to go somewhere with the total intent of being nothing but A Tourist. Map, camera, geekiness and fun. That was my attitude towards my Berlin and Salzburg trips. Why pretend to be familiar with a place when you’re not? (except for safety reasons …)
 Berlin. Sometimes you hear about a place and want to go immediately. Other places seep into your consciousness gradually, coming more and more to the fore until it's like "Yes! Get over there now!" The latter way is how I got to Berlin. Since I moved to England, I kept hearing Berlin mentioned as a city, which drew a lot of writers and musicians back and forth from London. They seemed to like Berlin's dark, gloomy, wintry aspect, which inversely generates a lot of frenzied creativity (just like London!) Then I heard about the summer Love Parade (a giant street rave) and the revival of Mitte (the old Jewish quarter). So my friend Linda and I took a long weekend and went.
The first thing to know: Berlin is big. After an 8+ hour guided tour (really), we had barely even dented Mitte, which is just one neighbourhood in many. But its central location--'mitte' means middle--historical/cultural importance and excellent hostels make Mitte a great place to start! Our tour was led by Terry, who is famous among Berlin hostellers for leading tours day in and day out. He's an Englishman who has been in Berlin for decades, seen it through all the changes, and is passionate about imparting his knowledge of the city's history. His tour is really inexpensive; it works out to less than a pound per hour. You may disagree with his opinions or style of expression (strong), but his heart is really in his work, and he definitely showed us parts of Mitte we would never have seen without him. So I'd recommend his tour as a great way to get your bearings: www.brewersberlin.com
 Everything about Berlin surprised me. Parts of it had a very similar feel to New York. Graffiti everywhere, abandoned warehouse districts, bars and pubs with upper-west-side facades and a lower-east-side feel. In a city that big, there's probably something to cater for every available taste if you know where to look. Our own hostel, The Clubhouse (www.clubhouse-berlin.de), housed an indoor/outdoor all-night club which spread over two buildings, a courtyard and six or seven rooms. The bar stayed open seemingly forever, yet it was oddly sedate. The crowd looked almost preppy. And although Mitte's main streets had a hip-hop bar, a gay bar and more, I still got the feeling that I was just seeing the surface bit for tourists and that only a local would know what was really going on.
Maybe the most interesting experience I had was going to check out a local klezmer band. Klezmer is old eastern European Jewish music—much of it danceable. Several years' back, it got really popular in NY, with all kinds of new wave klezmer, etc, bands, popping up downtown. At this particular Berlin venue, in the heart of Mitte, none of the musicians or even the audience members were Jewish. After a long day of being shown the area of Hitler’s bunker and various relics of WWII, I found the total absence of Jews at the klezmer show a bit disconcerting.
"Well, Mitte is ‘Jewish Disneyland,'" said my dance partner scathingly. "It has a nice synagogue so the neighbourhood has been reconstructed for tourists. But there aren’t many Jews left in Berlin. There are some in Germany who got stuck here after the war, but they mainly live outside the city." He was studying to be a Lutheran minister and had joined a weekly klezmer appreciation club, "partly out of guilt for what happened (in the war)," he said.
"It’s a difficult question: Should non-Jews play klezmer?" one band member mused. She was really friendly and open: She had learned klezmer in Yale University’s klezmer band and then moved to Berlin. "The same (Jewish) klezmer musicians, like Brave Old World and the Klezmatics, give workshops to all of us – the Jewish bands, the non-Jewish bands. So they must think it’s all right."
Music, I know, is a universal language. Love for all different kinds of music is widespread around the planet and sincere. And personally, I’d be gutted if someone had told me I couldn’t host my college radio hip-hop show because I wasn’t black. But it was interesting for me to experience being the only Jewish girl at the klezmer concert since I saw that the audience didn’t know the dances; they were uncomfortable with the steps and rhythms, and they didn’t really seem ‘at home’. They almost seemed to be ‘borrowing’ the music & its culture. Whereas I was surprised to find I remembered all the steps from childhood, and guys kept asking me to dance since I seemed to know what I was doing. I felt a bit strange. Part of me thought my heritage was being appropriated, and I understand why other people complain about the same thing. But then again, music should be open and available to everyone. We have to believe that it can help heal feuds & rifts and bring people together – that’s part of what it’s for, after all! What do you Coolgrrrls & guys think about it?
If you’re interested in klezmer, there’s a pretty comprehensive site at: http://www.klezmershack.com
I really hope to get back to Berlin—a place where there’s always going to be more to do and see. Next time, I’ll try to stay longer & give the city the time it deserves!
 A completely different, and fantastic, trip was five days in Salzburg with my friend Evie. We left from London, where www.ryanair.com had roundtrip flights for 40 pounds!!!!!! Unbelievable. Evie had never been to central Europe and she didn’t know what to expect. But she’s gotten used to humouring my strange ideas, "Evie, let’s take Norwegian lessons in Arizona," "Evie, go ask that cute drunken guy to sit with us," "Evie, let’s go to Glasgow … Edinburgh … Salzburg." Over the years, she has admitted that my brainstorms usually work out well, no matter how unlikely they sound. And Salzburg didn’t disappoint.
The Sound of Music tour was our first stop. A very camp tour guide, who seemed to have found the job of his dreams, took a big van of happy passengers to the Sound of Music’s best-loved sites. Did you know they had to move the gazebo from its original location since fans were climbing the fence to dance around it at all hours of the morning? Then an enthusiastic 80-something grandma tried to copy Liesl’s dance in the gazebo and broke her hip! So now they don’t let anybody into the gazebo at all.
Also, we tourists quickly learned that the Sound of Music is not a favourite with the locals! I think they hear about it too much. Plus, there’s a long, complicated history of the film, involving a prior German-language production and an evil plot by Hollywood to pay off the real Maria Von Trapp when she complained about inaccuracies in the script! All very interesting stuff—they sell a book about it throughout  Salzburg explaining the whole story.
I was lucky enough to see the real Nonnberg Abbey—so beautiful it beggars belief. Salzburg looks like a fairytale, like a baby Prague. Domes, spires, inclines and breathtaking views characterise its small central city, as well as palace and cathedral interiors dripping with hundreds of years of history and wealth. The best-known neighbourhoods all drape the Salzach River. When the sun shines, the most beautiful sections of town are very easy to traverse.
After the Sound of Music escapade, I was happy, but Evie is a high culture girl and wanted to explore the various Mozart museums (there are at least 3). The city sells a 3-day tourist pass that’s a great buy – it lets you into loads of attractions, all within walking distance of each other.
 The highlight of our trip absolutely had to be paragliding. We must have been out of our minds, but we thought, "on one hand, we’re too young to die paragliding over the Austrian Alps" and "on the other hand, we’re not getting any younger; we’d better do it now!" So we did. Tandem half-hour flights with two experienced instructors. At first, I felt fine gliding high over the lakes and mountains (in what seemed like a baby’s cradle). But then my instructor started chatting from behind me about problems that other students had had in the air. I desperately tried to change the subject, "So who owns that yellow mansion down over that way?" but he wasn’t having it! "I don’t know; it’s nothing very interesting," he said flatly, and returned to his horror stories of other paragliding students who couldn’t hack it up in the sky. Scary! I was glad to come down.
 Although I did well for a first-timer, I knew in advance that I wouldn’t be cool enough to hang onto my camera all those miles up in the air, so the great foot-in-the-sky photo is courtesy of Evie! Paragliding turned out to be a real confidence-booster; after that, we felt like we could do anything! (not that I’m in a rush to try it again any time soon ..) Some people are just athletic by nature – like our instructor, who was planning to take his wife and kids on a straight hike up Untersberg Mountain for Mother’s Day. That would be my idea of torture –the gradient! – but then again, he might hate my idea of fun. That’s what makes horse races J …
 Salzburg and the neighbouring areas are just breathtaking. Go in early May, before the tourists arrive in throngs for the international music festival in the summer. There’s so much to see and do in a compact space, and there’s something for everyone—culture, nature, sports, etc. The only thing we couldn’t find was much nightlife: over and over, people told us, "There are 2 Irish pubs by the river. That’s where everyone hangs out." We tried at least 8 pubs but couldn’t find anything special. Then again, it might be one of those places where you need to be shown the nightlife by a native.
Anyway, I hope you’re all having a fantastic summer. xxx more to come …
May 6, 2001
Perpignan and Alabama 3. How’s that for eclectic?! My birthday fast approaching and no money in my savings, I clicked on www.ryanair.com and found a great deal to a place I’d never heard of: Perpignan. It was in the south of France, so that was good enough for me. But when I bought a guidebook at the airport, it said "Perpignan: Dead City". Whoops! Luckily, that proved untrue. Life was springing up everywhere in Catalonia. I wandered to the Castillet, the entrance of the old city: There was an anti-racist event: the theme was ‘don’t touch my friend’ ("ne touche pas mon pote"). Hip hop djs were spinning while hundreds of people gathered around dancing, watching and drinking at the outdoor cafes.
But you didn’t need a crowd to be creative. Farther on, a woman in an empty alley sat on a stoop, playing accordion. In Collioure, a nearby beach  town, a little girl with plaited braids juggled three brightly-colored bowling-type pins out in the sunshine of her garden. I could see her, and the rooftops in the distance, from a perch in the fragrant olive groves. At Perpignan’s Palace of the Kings of Majorca, three super-fit people were practicing handstands and capoiera in the courtyard. A guy from Portugal played some amazing instruments, which I’d never seen before and can barely describe. One looked like a bow and arrow; the other was a special kind of tambourine. It seemed like everywhere was a mixture of ancient, quiet buildings and lively, vivacious people.
Coming from a grey, chilly city, I felt like a character in a movie where the director switches from black and white to color. Sunshine; sparkling water; multicoloured beach pebbles; salmon-colored houses; gentle breezes; prickly pear cacti; castles in the distance, scents of herbs, strawberry tarts, wine. No wonder Picasso, Dali, Chagall and so many artists were so at home in this part of France. I also visited Carcassonne, the fairytale medieval city. Sometimes the surfeit of beauty just became exhausting, but I, for one, can never leave France without sounding like a travel ad. I just love it!
Back in London, I had been making the best of the chilly weather. Alabama 3 played a series of Mondays at Camden’s Underworld. They’re a quirky, tuneful, acid-faux- country band. "Ain’t Goin to Goa" was my favorite song a while back: the lyrics are so clever that poets can’t help but love ‘em. In the U.S., they’re better known for singing the theme song of the tv show, The Sopranos. Singer Eileen Rose joined them onstage and A3 packed the place out—pretty impressive for a Monday! By mid-set, it was mobbed (mainly with boho thirty-somethings); the guys jokingly dedicated a song to "all the older ladies—anyone over 21". Even though A3 are not the sort of band to inspire chaotic-with-desire type groupies, a bouncer copped an attitude when I asked to go backstage to see my friend John. He’s the one to watch; an auxiliary band member who just stands onstage during the set beaming benevolently at the crowd and looking cool. He’s kindly remixing "You" for me, and when I did dodge the bouncers and go backstage to see him, the vibe was mellow as could be.
There’s a paper here that runs a piece called "the difference a day makes". They get a formerly depressed person to talk about the day they got some good news out of the blue—news that changed their life. It’s a smart idea cos London can get very slow and depressing in the long winter: it’s hard to make energy move or get things to happen. I’d given my song "You" to two producers—one here, one in NY—back in November, and eventually forgot about it. Then, out of the blue, on the same day, months later, they both got in touch to say how much they liked the song! Maybe the moral is: you can’t make things happen as fast as you’d like, but hang in there, and things will happen in their own time. At least that’s what I plan to learn!
St Patrick’s Day was great. Hundreds packed into Filthy McNasty’s, an Irish pub on Amwell Street. Much friendlier crowd than usual for London; strangers actually talked to each other while Pogues songs played in the background. The pub runs a Vox-n-Roll series where writers dj and give readings. Worth checking out. I was up til 5am at a house party, and awake again at 8am to go to a museum! Pre-Raphaelite artist Simeon Solomon’s early works were on display. Very soulful painter.
One last thing! Attention aspiring writers: Publish your work on the web at ABCtales (http://www.abctales.com). People have already uploaded thousands of poems and stories. ABCtales magazine (available from the Body Shop in the UK) will publish some writing from their site. I’m one of the poetry editors, and we want everyone to unleash their creativity, so go for it! The site’s connected with the Big Issue (which works to prevent homelessness) and there’s a bunch of good people working there, so go upload your stuff for fame, glory and … well, personal satisfaction, really.
xxLove Avra
February 3, 2001
 Fantastic start to the (second) new millenium! I ushered in the new year in beautiful Barcelona, surrounded by wine, champagne, grapes and a gorgeous travel companion. Our restaurant served the biggest piece of chocolate cake I'd ever seen--so giant I couldn't even finish it (first time that's ever happened!) We were given masks, tiaras--the whole nine yards. After midnight, chefs and waiters danced while diners popped 12 grapes into their mouths in about 12 seconds (a fun local custom).
I loved Barcelona. It's a buzz-y, friendly place, chock-full of astonishing buildings and hidden gem-type neighborhoods. The city itself drips with balconies, gargoyles and Gaudi-esque Modernist architecture. We took the tube to Barcelonetta by the sea, wandered down little side streets, soaked in the sea breezes and drank sangria. You can also go to Monserrat, a shrine to the Black Madonna set high in the hills. I nearly got crushed by the crowd waiting for a cable car which went from the train station to the shrine, but once there, mystical Monserrat made it almost worth it.
 Back in London, I had gigs coming up. I sung my song, "You" in front of lots of people at the ICA and found out I like singing on stage! Good to know. I plan to do a lot more of it. Sky TV interviewed three poets: Victoria Mosley, MC Jabber and me. It's not that easy to be articulate (a) on camera (b) on the spur of the moment, but … I tried! Hats off to Victoria, who put the night together. Poets are hard creatures to organise, never mind the dj and video link-up to New York. I'm also playing Express Excess with Tahni Lamonde-Lyle. We've started a band, Minerva's Mouth. We write the lyrics and vocal lines, and the music is by anyone who wants to help us! At the moment we're using backing tracks. Tahni wants to learn guitar. We expect to have a really good time with it. Will keep you posted.
December 26, 2000
Happy Holidays, all! I like to count my blessings at this time of year, and my favorite one has got to be friends. Most of us couldn't get through the day without our friends. I like spending time by myself, but I know my friends are only a phone call or email away. Lately, all of my friends have been doing cool things: one finished her Ph.D, another had a baby … and my old friend Jillian is becoming a mega-entrepreneur with her cool Spa Cadet online health and beauty website! It's a great site with a great attitude:  http://www.spacadet.com. Jillian and I met as feminists at university together (we both worked in the Women's Resource Center,) and now she's on her way to mega-success and I'm … still poor!! But that's ok. I've always been more focused on artistic creation than material success, and since I'm writing for the web, performing and writing songs, I feel I have much to be thankful for.
My new song, "You," is now on Coolgrrrls as a featured MP3. (What a cool holiday present for me!) I wrote the song to counteract an idea that is still sold on the radio a lot: namely, that you have to be a coy young virgin to be valued in our society (no offense, virgins--I know it's not your fault some people think this way!). I wanted to write about a girl who has been around and is telling her lover, "I had an interesting life until I met you and I'm glad about it. Let's start from here, not pretend I had no life before". Wow, heavy theorizing for a song that barely has any words!
From friends and songs, my mind naturally combines the two and goes to HEROINES! Basically this is just an excuse for me to put these cool pix on the site, but here's me with Debbie Harry (I love it when people go, 'is that your mother?') and with Wanda Jackson, known in the 50s-60s as the female Elvis. I saw Wanda do a show in Tucson in the late 90s; she was 58 and still totally rockin. She has a backlog of so many hits that she could probably sing for hours without stopping, and she handled the audience with charm and finesse. What's amazing about the photo is that my outfit is so dowdy it makes hers look really subtle! Maybe I can get Jillian to start a website for the fashion-impaired: I'll be her best customer.
Anyway, I've gotten all teary-eyed thinking about the friends and heroines who've inspired me over the years. I hope all you  Coolgrrrls have a fantastic holiday season, a lovely new year and the BEST 2001. Some people think the new millenium starts this year, so make it a good one! XXX AVRA
Pix: with Jillian, with Debbie Harry, with Wanda Jackson --HAPPY NEW YEAR!
December 1, 2000
A year ago today I set off for my trip around the world. The high point: Five weeks in the land of Oz (or Aus). I’d been dying to see the Great Barrier Reef ever since I’d heard it mentioned in "Beyond Belief," an old Elvis Costello song. Snorkeling was amazing. There’s a whole underwater world that many of us never see. Pink coral, fish of every hue, size and description—my eyes opened up to a secret realm. It’s as if God had a burst of imagination and made all this. I felt like a child in Candyland. Every second near the sea floor, I thought, "I’ll never forget," but within a day, the vivid impressions  faded & I was left with a hazy mist of remembered pleasure. My memory couldn’t cope with all the new information it had received. And my underwater camera, which seemed a brilliant invention at the time, turned up 36 photos that looked fuzzy, foggy and similar! The prints showed nothing but a few pieces of coral shot from different angles. I guess some things are meant to be experienced and not recorded.
On to the Northern Beaches. I stayed in Newport with a friend whose hill-top porch opened out to a tropical paradise. Birds rippling with color landed on her railing—six or eight at a time. Also white cockatoos. The scenery was superb. The thing about Australia, however, is that if the highs are higher, the lows can be lower. I love sunshine like nobody’s business. I blossom in sun (which causes major problems living in England). But the Australian sun is something to be feared, even on overcast winter days. My skin started peeling in sheets of flaky white and everyone just said, "Welcome to Australia!"
My worst experience of Australia, though, was not sunburn but anti-American hostility. Before I left London, an Englishman warned me to beware, since, "Everyone hates Americans." Naturally, I thought he was just speaking for himself. Londoners generally despise Americans. They think we’re idiots: uncultured, bullies and obsessed with money. The British press rips apart the U.S. on a regular basis, using language and generalities that would have everyone screaming ‘racism’ if directed at any other group anywhere in the world. Still, I didn’t see why this would affect the Aussies. But here’s what I experienced:
A tourist bus to the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains. A macho bus driver proceeds to "entertain" the bus with a long, creepy joke about a koala bear having sex with a prostitute. He then favors us with another gag in which he sneeringly informs us that you only need 5% of your brain to be American. At this, the European tourists laugh uproarously. I say very quietly, "I don’t think it’s nice of you to do this—you have a microphone and I’m the only American on the bus." His eyes narrow and he snaps, "I’ve got no qualms about it, mate."
The Northern Beaches. Christmas at the Newport Arms. I’m having a drink, listening to two new friends chat away. A stranger sits down with us. In three seconds, he’s making snide remarks about Americans. My new friends look at me, embarrassed. "She’s American," they say. "Oh," the stranger replies, never missing a beat. "A quiet American! You’re alright."
The Melbourne train station. I ask directions. "Here’s a map." The station manager tells me. "Maybe it’s too difficult for an American?" By now, I’m at the end of my patience. "Why," I ask in a steely tone, "because I’m asking directions to a place I’ve never been?" The people behind me stare. To his credit, the manager backs down. "No offense meant," he says, and takes me to the correct platform.
 The Twelve Apostles near Melbourne. Probably the most beautiful and mystical place I’ve ever seen. On a day tour, I meet a lovely girl from San Francisco. "I don’t know what it is with the people around here, " she tells me. "But I’ve been telling everybody I’m from Canada. If they want me to be from Canada, I’ll be from Canada."
Now Aussies may protest we’re oversensitive, can’t take a joke and don’t understand irony. But some "jokes" brim with hostility instead of mirth and this hostility is what jumped out at me. Luckily, my genius friend Jeltje explained matters in Melbourne. "It’s the American face of the multinationals," she told me. "Multinational companies are taking over Australia and these companies have an American face and an American voice. This means that people who’ve been at the same job for twenty years are now getting instructional videos with an American actor explaining their jobs to them, and it’s causing a lot of hostility." Well! Thank you, Jeltje. At last, the mystery revealed! Now we could have an informed discussion. Much better than trying to guess why strangers were taking pot-shots at my intelligence, for no apparent reason.
I write this update about anti-American prejudice not because I dislike Australians. Far from it. Although I don’t like some people's attitude towards the U.S., I thought the younger people in Oz, particularly, were great: fun-loving, fantastic-looking, and brimming with good cheer. But traveling and living away from the States has made me aware of how much hostility there is towards the U.S. in far-flung places, and whether or not we like or agree with it, it’s worth knowing that this feeling exists. The U.S. is such a physically huge country that when I lived there, I was sheltered from knowing how the rest of the world perceived me. I could say that ignorance is bliss—but on the other hand—it really has been a learning experience.
Photos: snorkeling, The astonishing Twelve Apostles
sassy bartering, lp lounging, and mingling with manga
October 27
London
Wow, what a weekend.
Saturday: My quirky friend Miss AMP invited me to the opening of her new swap-shop in London's boho-ha ven Brick Lane. V and I lugged down huge bags full of clothes, thinking we would find a bunch of girls sitting around trading t-shirts. But Miss Amp had other ideas! Scattered around the store were numbered items--everything from used books to weird toys. "I'll trade you all these clothes for 3 Sassy magazines and a pair of maracas," I told AMP, thinking she'd be thrilled with the deal. "Ooh, I don't know if I want to sell those Sassy's," she said. "They're very hard to get in this country and they have sentimental value. What can you offer me that means a lot to you?" Huh? A store run on the concept of emotional value rather than monetary value? Genius! To be fair, my old clothes meant nothing to me--that's why I was trying to unload 'em. I had to think fast. Luckily, I had a recording of my new song and an eight-page interview with Debbie Stoller of Bust magazine. I'd brought them along to give to AMP, but I quickly wised up to the idea that I'd better barter them or I wouldn't be getting any maracas. V traded her old stuff for Kyra Joliffe's "Cheap Date" anthology and people wandered around practicing their sales pitches as a guy with a videocamera filmed the transactions. I liked watching people trying to convince Miss AMP to accept their offers. She drives a hard bargain. Check out Miss AMP's great webzine at http://www.ampnet.co.uk. It gives the store's details, so if you're in London, go down to Brick Lane for a new kind of shopping! But be ready for the consequences. V and I spent the rest of the night cheering up our friend who had recklessly bartered away her Neil Kinnock political button for some James Bond paraphernalia. She never realized what Neil meant to her til he was gone ...
Sunday: Lunch with John Bird, founder of Big Issue magazine. He's done a lot of great work to combat homelessness and now he and his lovely daughter, Diana, are starting a literary website meant to encourage all writers (especially the shy ones). It's still in the planning stages, but more to come as it progresses...
The Embassy Bar's excellent 'We Play Records' night took care of my Sunday evening. This Essex Road, Islington pub has a nice, buzzy atmosphere while still retaining its mellow feel. Must be the comfy couches. There are guest DJs, surreal movies projected on the wall, and--as the night progresses--lots of people. Get there early if you want a seat.
Monday: (not quite the weekend, but why not try to stretch it?) Went to the Monarch in Camden to see Miss Teen Scene UK, Mira Man ga, and her band. Unfortunately, I forgot how early gigs can start in this country and just missed them! I did get to meet Manga and she kindly gave me a bunch of Coolgrrrls zines. She said the gig had been 'volatile but interesting'. Sounds like my ideal band! I'm definitely going to see them play soon.
Pix: Performance art at the Colony Rooms: V, me, and the angel mannequin. Upper Street, Islington--my biased favorite bit of North London
Avra
October 19, 2000
Hello and welcome to eclecticgrrl's left-side view of the world! I'm pretty much an urban girl, growing up in New York City and living now in London, but I travel a lot (and love it!). I did a round-the-world-trip this year: London--Singapore--Great Barrier Reef--Sydney-- Melbourne--Auckland--Fiji--L.A.--London! I also checked out mystic haunts in Wales, Stonehenge, and Glastonbury.
In my Eclectic Grrrl column I'll tell you the coolest bits of the trip, but this will be more than a travel column. My goal lately seems to be to cram as many strange adventures as possible into a short space of time, so I'll let you in on some of those! As a performance poet & vocalist, I go to a lot of gigs and meet some off-the-wall talented people. They have a lot of eccentric performers in the UK--bound to fire your imagination! I've been privileged to see some surreal, strange stuff...
Of course, you can take all kind of journeys without ever boarding a plane. And if you mix drag-you-down drugs with ecstatic visits to celestial realms, it can get a bit overwhelming. That's why my sweet friend V, an angel channeler, checked into North London's Priory Hospital. The Priory is home-away-from-home to the rich, famous, and bummed-out. Celeb guests are too numerous to mention, but the Priory also lets in low-income patients when the UK's National Health Services hospitals are overcrowded, so there's a nice mix of people. The Priory is set deep in a lush park, and I visited V there at night, when the grounds were moonlit and deserted. The outside was very impressive, but the inside looks a bit like a Holiday Inn! V said, "You thought it would be more glamorous, didn't you? So did I!" Luckily, after two weeks of drama therapy, art therapy, and group therapy, V is now safely back home. Hooray!
V is the real deal--she really does talk to angels--and her friendship has ignited my already-vivid interest in the spiritual. Last week I saw past-life regressionist Dolores  Cannon give a talk at the Theosophical Society. Dolores believes the Virgin Mary and Jesus' disciples were buried in Glastonbury. I was there in June for the Festival, so I can attest to the fact that Glastonbury has some amazing spiritual vibes! It's covered in mystical ley lines, or alignments of ancient sites, and these ley lines generate an energy which helps to keep everyone in a good mood. Case in point: I had the best conversation ever there with someone I'd fought with for four years ... but, hey, that's another story ...
Til next time
Love Avra
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