Quirkyalone

Brazilian and Single? Today Is Your Day!

Aug 15, 2011 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Travel

Today is the official day to celebration singledom in Brazil. Feliz Dia dos Solteiros! I found out when a Brazilian Facebook friend posted a photo of himself cooking alone and called it his “Feliz Dia dos Solteiros” photo! I spent six months of 2010 in Brazil and can testify that there is a growing consciousness among young men and women who prefer to be single rather than settle for a lackluster (or untrustworthy) relationship. Brazilians are also driven by passion and that fits with the quirkyalone penchant for passionate relationships. My book Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics was released in Brazil. Here is the Brazilian quirkyalone twitter account which has inspirational tidbits from my book Quirkyalone in Portuguese. Love.

My friend Laura informed me that South Korea has a National Singles Day too on June 14. Single people get together on “Black Day” to eat noodles with black bean sauce.

Join Me to Launch the Brazilian version of Quirkyalone!

May 02, 2010 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Travel

The quirkyalone movement is arriving in Brazil!

Santa Teresa, a hilltop neighborhood that is often compared to Montmartre in Paris for its bohemian atmosphere, rich cultural life, and (to me) intoxicating architecture is hosting an action-packed literary festival FLIST the weekend of May 15 and 16 and I am going to participate with an event to launch the Brazilian version of my book, Sósingular: Um Manifesto Para Romanticos Irredutíveis (in English, it’s Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics). Here’s a formal invite in English then in Portuguese! If you are nearby, please come by and be sosingular with us.

When: Sunday, May 16, 3 pm

Where: Terra Brasilis, Rua Murtinho Nobre, 156, just opposite the Parque das Ruinas

What: A book launch party for SoSingular: Um Manifesto Para Romanticos Irredutíveis. Join us to learn about the quirkyalone movement worldwide and to talk about single life in Rio. Meet other quirkyalones (or sosingulares) over cairpirinhas!

A quirkyalone is a person who enjoys being single (or spending time alone) and so prefers to wait for the right person to come along rather than dating indiscriminately; relishing equal doses of solitude and friendship; attracted to freedom and possibility.

For more information, visit quirkyalone.net.
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Quando: domingo, 16 de maio, 03:00

Onde: Terra Brasilis, Rua Murtinho Nobre, 156, em frente ao Parque das Ruinas

O quê: A festa de lançamento do livro para SoSingular: Um Manifesto Para Romanticos Irredutíveis.

Brazil Travel Writing, Coming Up!

Apr 14, 2010 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Single Life, Travel

A preamble before more posts to come: Hello dear readers! Since mid-January, I have been traveling, or wandering with my intuition and Lonely Planet as a guide, in Brazil in the South, the Northeast, and back to Rio again. About three months remain in my unplanned adventure. I resolved not to write much (publicly) while I was traveling because I wanted to keep my experience private. Something inside me told me that my experience needed to be completely my own, and not turned into a work product for worldwide consumption. The Internet makes us free, but also more constrained when the audience is potentially everyone and the work forever etched into Google’s memory.

Now I’m changing my mind. I want to take the next three months and see what it’s like if I share more of my experience with an online audience. I can’t promise consistency because the lure of experience is so great, who has time to write, edit, proofread, create links, and post photos? Somehow all these other travel bloggers like Sherry Ott and Two Backpackers and many others document their daily adventures. I don’t quite understand where they find the time, but they do. In the interest of adventure and shaking things up, let’s see what happens when I let my thoughts roam beyond my fantastically light little netbook. My writing will probably be less travelogue, and more meditation on the things I’m learning about Brazil and myself. The perspective will be de facto quirkyalone, since it’s just moi, right now, traveling Brazil in search of some transcendent experience–who knows what, at times!? Stay tuned. I look forward to seeing what the journey is like when it’s shared (with you).

Happy International Quirkyalone Day from Brazil!

Feb 05, 2010 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: IQD

Happy International Quirkyalone Day, or, should I say, Feliz Dia Internacional do SoSingular! This year will be the eight annual celebration of International Quirkyalone Day, a holiday that I have grown to love dearly–for me, it’s on par with Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday. IQD is not anti-Valentine’s Day. It just happens to fall on the same day. IQD turns a cliche-ridden day of angst into a liberating opportunity to connect with others (or to celebrate alone). There are thousands of ways to embrace your life and your significant others, plural. Here are 10 ways to celebrate IQD.

Usually I throw a party in San Francisco to celebrate, but for the first time since launching IQD in 2003, I am on the road on February 14. I am actually in Curitiba right now, a Brazilian city famed for its progressive urban planning. On IQD, I will be in the mad sea of Carnaval in Recife and Olinda, Northeastern Brazilian cities. Recife and Olinda boast a wild and participatory Carnaval (that some say is the best in the country), featuring a wide diversity of traditional music and dance: samba, axe, the drum-driven beats of maracatu and fast-paced frevo. I’ll make sure to hold up a sign, Happy IQD!, at some point. Check back here for a photo.

Quirkyalone was published in Brazil with the title SoSingular. It’s actually my favorite cover of all the international and American versions. That photo of the girl on her bed–what eyes!–is just perfect. I am traveling with a copy to share and it’s a pretty fun way to learn the nuances of a language, reading my own book.

Oh, in Brazil, the Dia dos Namoradas (Day of the Enamored) is actually June 12. They couldn’t possibly celebrate romantic love during Carnaval. Toooo crazy. If I am still here, maybe I will start Brasileiro SoSingular Day on June 12. Book your ticket now.

Wherever you are on February 14, I wish you a fabulous Quirkyalone Day! Let us know how you will celebrate in the comments.

What It Feels Like to Travel Alone in Brazil

Oct 21, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

I have a long post saved up inside of me that I haven’t written, probably because the topic felt so overwhelming I didn’t know where to start. I have wanted to travel for several years. The desire was stored up inside me while work took center stage. For years, I was singularly focused on work, whether it was Quirkyalone, my other book and magazine To-Do List, and my street fashion community website stylemob.com. At long last I decided to take the leap, but to be honest, I was petrified. Petrified and elated.

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