The Brazilian Flag

Following my almost religious reading of Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul, I have learnt a thing or two about the country, in terms of history, culture, politics and so on. Salvador was once the capital of Brazil when it was still part of the Portuguese empire, and so was rich and prosperous and an important port. The churches in Salvador are lavishly dripping with tonnes of gold and silver, but sadly outside, people roam around with no shoes on. Being a busy port city, it had its fair share of slaves coming and going (well, mainly coming), even long after slavery was abolished by England. Like any colony of past great empires, the history of the place is tainted with cruelty and inequality. I don't expect that this will have changed much; with favelas and the central business district lying in close proximity, I fully acknowledge that the atmosphere will be a muddled one.

Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you about is the nation's flag, and if I hadn't been reading this book, I would never have picked up on how interesting it is. There are certain flags which one would recognise immediately: UK, USA, Spain, Japan, Germany, and maybe even Brazil, thanks to the publicity it receives during World Cup season! But it's one I've certainly never paid much attention to, and there is a hell of a lot of detail I've missed. It is possibly the "most laborious flag to get right throughout the five continents." It has a green background, a yellow rhombus and a blue coffee bean. An elliptical band runs through the coffee bean with the words Ordem E Progresso, the result being that an illiterate or a young child wouldn't have the slightest chance of drawing the flag correctly. Anyone could put together the St George's Cross!

Within the bean, there are stars, which appear in their correct constellations, and represent various cities of the country. "You have to draw no less than five constellations inside half a coffee bean to get the flag right: only miniaturists with an astronomical bent need apply." And the best thing: the flag is celebrated every 19th November.

Summer plans in brief

Yup, it's that time of the year again, when, instead of revising hard, I find myself easily distracted by what will be occuring after exams. Come on, who doesn't drift off after days and days of solitary confinement and studying the complex behaviour of electrons and holes in a p-n junction?! Exactly. Thus, I've created a brand-spanking new blog, so that you can keep up with all that goes on this summer, though it's main purpose is to keep people informed about my activities in Brazil...

So, for those interested, after I finish my last exams at the end of May, I will finally be the holder of a degree in Physics (well, okay, not until graduation, but humour me). As long as I get a good grade, I'll be off in September to start a PhD in the broad areas of biophysics/nanotechnology/x-ray optics. Essentially, I want to use lasers and shoot various materials with them and see what pretty flames I produce. Well, ok, there's more to it than that, but its fair to say I've jumped on the bandwagon and chosen areas which are fashionable and innovative at the moment. Where I will go is not yet decided - partly because I haven't heard back from all the universities I applied to, and partly because I can't choose out of those that have offered me a place. Basically it's a decision between Scotland and London, and I really wish someone else would make up my mind for me. Although, perhaps Mystery University X will get their act together and reply, in which case, I'll have to decide between Scotland, London, and I think, the Midlands. Hmmmm, tricky.

But, before the PhD starts, I'm planning to have a proper summer holiday. Having worked every summer since I was 17, I've basically never experienced the full joy of a 3 month stretch of no study, no commitments and a hell of a lot of lounging around. Maybe for a week or two, but never for 3 glorious months. Henceforth, I have planned a super holiday. A month in Brazil (Salvador, capital of Bahia) will be spent learning Portuguese and Brazilian dance. There will be much rum drinking, fish-stew eating, and lazing on the pretty beaches (after class of course)......Hopefully, I will return without a voodoo curse on me (these things happen), or without becoming part of the illegal drugs export industry (again, it could happen). Note, everyone will be getting traditional Brazilian flip-flops as their gifts from me. It's the law apprarently.

Next, I'll be heading into the skies again, but this time to the possibly hotter and closer climes of Turkey (Istanbul), accompanied by my other half. A week or so of wandering through markets, eating as much baklava as the stomach can bear and chillin' by a pool in the afternoon heat sounds like a dream come true. Novelty Fez hats are the gift of choice from here, so let me know your head size in advance!

After that, it may just be time to sit at home for the last couple of weeks of August and spend time with the family, who I haven't really seen very much over the last 3 years. Plus, I'll have a base from which to travel to see friends who've spread themselves across this land. And it'll be time to whip out the barbie and enjoy the English summer with a burnt sausage and a glass of Pimms (minus the cucumber bits).

Ahhhhhh, sounds brill. In the meantime, it's back to those pesky electrons.