What I particularly like about her is the resemblance between her and our mother, physically and also in her personality.

   My sister Myrian is very tolerant towards all strong-tempered people in our family, mainly me. She always has the power of overcoming the disappointments caused by others, accepting people like they are, with their qualities and their faults. According to her, you should focus your attention in the best qualities of people, so you will get on very well with everyone. But you shouldn’t mistake her good temper. She is also very frank and determined enough to lead her not-easy life.

   The most distinctive thing about Myrian is her capacity for working hard. She is a competent teacher and even so she is a housewife (a desperate housewife? Well, I would be). Besides, my sister is a dedicated granny, being responsible for everything in the life of a tween, a eleven-year-old girl.

   I suppose the first thing one notices about Myrian is the colour of her eyes, sometimes a greenish brown and sometimes they seem to yellow like our mother’s. She is small and has gained weight since her forties.

   My sister loves wearing simple clothes, but the colourful ones. We can notice how beautiful Myrian is when she is ready to a party.

   I’ve already talked about my nephew Thiago, who studies in Manaus city, the capital of the Amazon state, in north-western Brazil. Thiago will graduate next December and his parents hadn’t known that city until last month. My sister Myrian and her husband Alberto had a great opportunity to go there finally.
   After one week, Myrian and Alberto came back home; they were very impressed by the greatness of the Amazon region. And to think that I could have gone with them!
   The photos taken by them, portraying the exotic beauty of the place, delighted me so much that I’d like to share my enthusiasm with everyone.
   Manaus city is situated on one bank of the Rio Negro, one of the many tributaries of the Amazon river. It’s a developed city whose city folks live as everybody else, they drive their cars, work hard and at the end of the day go back home in high buildings or other kinds of house. It’s a hilarious mistake to think that snakes, monkeys and other exotic animals wander around the streets among naked people.
   Manaus was one of the richiest cities in the world, during the rubber boom, whose splendour still has witnesses from that glorious time – the historic buildings.

The most important is the famous “Amazon Theater (Opera House), built in 1896. Built in Europe with Italian marble, English iron stairways and Murano crystal chandeliers, it was brought over by boat to be assembled in Manaus – Brazil. You can see its French architecture mixed in with much influence from Amazonia. The “meeting of waters” is widely portrayed in inlaid wood on the floor and in details on the walls. There is a large ballroom with splendid outdoor terraces overlooking Manaus city. I had reminded my sister not to miss a performance of the Amazonian Philharmonic Orchestra in the Opera House. Myrian was lucky enough since it was the opera season and so she went there for an opera performance. Alberto told me the acoustic in the Opera House is very good and Myrian was delighted by the view from the balcony.

        
   Another old building of Manaus is the market. Thiago told his parents to pay attention to the beautiful details, the iron work, the stained glass and the woodcarvings. He took photos of many weird fishes and his mom bought some Amazonian lotions. There are lots of special plants and herbs that are used for medicinal purposes.
   One night, Thiago took his parents to see a regional show, beautiful tanned girls adorned with colourful feathers and performing a lively dance. I watched their video.