kart racing

i haven't had as much fun on a go-kart since my grandparents brought one home to my sister and me after she made the honor roll in grade school. and she's my older sister. it seems as though kart racing is a prevalent pasttime here, so some of us went to the track after work last thursday. most of the others were terrified of my driving skills since they have never seen me drive here (they think i can't drive). i didn't crash, but i'm not exactly felipe massa either. what a great time... and the socializing afterwards at giovannetti helped wind down after after the adrenaline rush.

pocos de caldas

pocos de caldes is in sao paulo's neighboring state of minas gerais, and i went there this past weekend. it's another one of those small hamlets in brasil where people from sao paulo go for the weekend - how i imagine the US might have been back in the 40s and 50s (people milling around a mountainous town gawking at a sundial, hedges that spell out 'pocos de caldas', and an old school hotel that houses an indoor pool filled with the healing, sulfuric hot waters from pools deep in the bowels of the long-dormant volcano upon which the city is perched). the town even has enclosed bucket cars that take weekenders up to the apex of a mountain on the edge of the city where visitors get an up-close view of cristo redentor (a smaller version of the one in rio). i have seen several of these throughout my travels around brasil, so watch for a future blog with photos of the different versions.

i was invited for lunch in pocos by the family of a colleague, and i discovered mulberries. i believe i can eat my weight in mulberries. but i digress.. pocos has monkeys that eat bananas from your hand, waterfalls by the roadside, and incredible ice cream. however, the region is known for it's cheese - mmm good. hopefully, these types of hamlets can avoid becoming over-commercialized like so many old school US towns from yesteryear.

some updates

• i have been in portuguese classes now for a few weeks - 3 x per week - so the language is beginning to take hold
• i have found that i am most proficient at greeting everyone, wishing people a good weekend, and thanking everyone profusely as these are the words that come to me naturally now
• they tell me when you start dreaming in another language then you are really learning - well, i guess i'm not quite there yet. seems as though my classes begin too early in the morning for much dreaming about anything
• i walk everywhere around cambui
• the dawgs are rated #1 in the states (futbol americano), so i'll catch at least the alabama game while i'm there in september

o casamento de simone e marcello

marcello & simone with andrea & fernando noemi & henrique partaking

simone and marcello got married. on 08/08/08 at 08:08 pm. well, almost. i took a van/short bus to the wedding and reception with some friends (even a few of the wedding party were with us on the bus), but rain and heavy Friday traffic delayed our grand arrival in vinhedo - a hamlet outside campinas. at any rate, simone arrived at the church in a grand, classic white car. the ceremony was complete with movie soundtrack tunes (think score from star wars and lion king tune for entry of flower girl and ring bearer). now that I think about it, the music goes along with the announcement which was in the form of a movie film announcement.

the reception site, lagoa santa rita overlooked a lake (hence lagoa). they really went all out with formal tables set, a huge buffet spread, hired bartenders with specialty drinks just for the occasion, a band, and a huge screen for videos. at some point well into the night, the party favors came out with boas for the ladies, crazy sunglasses, wigs, etc, etc. it was a great time. all the best for marcello and simone!

ilhabela - literally, beautiful island

i decided to take the bus. all the way to the coast to an island called ilhabela. it was an adventure - i took the bus
from campinas (navigated 3 stations), a ferry to ilhabela from sao sebastiao, and accepted a lift to my posada (small hotel) from a great couple i met on the ferry over. it is winter here, but the weather was perfect. the pics speak for themselves on this post. when you come to brasil, make sure you allow time for this trip.

foods I grew up with...

as luck would have it, I had the best meal since I've been in brazil in lindoia @ a roadside restaurant. the name pururuca is the name of the pork once it is cooked and the whole pig is deep fried. the restaurant also had homemade potato chips like I grew up with. well, i didn't really grow up with the deep fried pork, but it was cooked in vinegar which reminded me of my family's traditional christmas eve meal. Brida was my family's house keeper/nanny/3rd grandmother growing up (btw.. she's still there) - so I was right at home with this comfort food.

now for foods that I didn't grow up with... I went to a churrascaria this week. fogo de chao popularized the idea in the states. the concept is the same, but the meat is better here. typical meats such as picanha are served, but I also tried chicken hearts and a variation of the world's largest rodent (the capybara) which was kinda spicy but tasty.

aguas de lindoia

so I finally left campinas... but only after taking a colleague to the hospital for some sort of rash she picked up. like I was of any help. for example, she is from little rock, arkansas - so when the doctor walked into the waiting room (and I use the term loosely), he called for little rock. he actually thought that was her name. rock-ito is now her name.


once i got away, it was like a good road trip. it was interesting traveling through the region towards minas gerais and experiencing lindoia and aguas de lindoia. the views are great from the 'naked mountain' (no trees for you wandering minds) and there is even a smaller replica of cristo redentor overlooking the little alpine village. huh? yes, there is a european style village in brazil. this region is known for it's queijo minas (cheese) and doces (sweet jam-like spread eaten with said cheese).


learned more portuguese - most notably the difference between apple and pasta) and i picked up yet another language teacher. mariana's uncle and his family were there in aguas, too, and he spoke little to no english. therefore, I had the makings of an interested teacher. definitely the most interesting thing to which he introduced me and the other two guys [rafael and bruno (his son)] - the making of cachaca (used to make caipirinhas). it is one of brazil's most shining accomplished creations (liquor from sugar cane). that, and the radioactive water they insisted I try from -- naturally, aguas de lindoia.

portuguese classes - or lack thereof

it was great to get away from campinas for a bit.. and to see how some of the rest of the country lives (since I had a couple of slight episodes the past few weeks -- no returned e-mails from language classes, not able to retrieve laundry from lavandaria, no money due to lack of international ATMs, etc. etc. etc.).

actually, one morning i awoke early in hopes to start with yet another portuguese language course. as with everything else that week, not only did I wake early and walk 30 minutes to arrive @ 7 a.m. (nothing like the first day of school!), but the center was closed. the definition of irony is to arrive @ a language center to find the door locked and only the cleaning service there (who speak only portuguese). In my broken portuguese I was able to decipher that my contact there was coming in -- but not until 9:30.

I have picked up some random words here and there (my colleagues say I'm doing good), but I've got a long way to go -- and a short time to get there.

festa junina

invited to festa junina by Simone and Marcello (a couple of colleagues who are engaged to be married in august) on a small farm (farmito - my crude attempt at a joke) outside campinas. as you can tell by the photos, it is customary to wear farm clothes, plaid shirts/dresses, and straw hats to this fest. the ladies often add freckles to complete the look.

festa junina is a festival in brasil to celebrate three saints in june - Antonio, Joao, and Pedro. as it is winter here, the typical foods for the fest are popcorn, cao quente (hot dogs, but not any ordinary dog - more on this later), corn on the cob, canjica (sweet popcorn), more food including peanuts, and tons of homemade sweets. as for drink - it is typical to serve vino quente (akin to a hot sangria) for the fest along with a quentao (spicy ginger drink with a strong kick of cachaca) and lots of brasilian beer. more on my discoveries with cachaca and caipirinhas later.

back to the cao quente - literally, hot dog. first, the dog buns here are deep to hold a lot of food. with the dog in the bun, it's customary to pile on small fried potato strips, a kind of salsa in vinegar, corn, and smashed potatoes (yep! smashed potatoes!).

once the festivities got really going, the fireworks started and continued well into the night. one of the highlights was alighting and launching tissue paper balloons (see photo) -- and attempting to shoot them down with real, live fireworks. along with the fireworks, we had a huge bonfire and the neighbors did, too. after a few rounds of english vs. portuguese (yes, i was the main attraction for a few minutes and lost miserably!) and dancing a jig, the fest continued...

Brasil!

ok. so i skipped over all of three weeks of southeast asia on the blog, but I am here in brasil - as planned - for a major work project. arrived on friday the 13th of june - nothing happened as i am not particularly superstitious. am living in the city of Campinas, Brasil which is about an hour outside (NW) of the largest city in the western hemisphere - sao paulo. the city is approximately 1M people strong.

I have moved three times since I arrived - from one hotel (one night only) to another hotel, and this weekend I moved to a semi-permanent flat in Cambui - a mighty fine little neighborhood in Campinas. the neighborhood hosts markets in the parks (many parks in this area) every saturday and sunday. so.. I get the opportunity each week to stop by and order a homemade chicken torte (with either corn or heart of palm) and a fresh orange juice. the first time I ordered this simple meal it was a complete disaster.. but now I have picked up enough portuguese to order, pay, and exit without incident. UNLESS.. there are questions. when the questions start, i get this enormous confused look on my face, and i slowly back away. (I visited the language school twice now - we'll wait to see if they e-mail me back). brasil time is a much slower way of life than I am accustomed to.

however, my colleagues are great. i have met ex-pats and locals through work, and all have been extremely helpful. i.e. they drive me everywhere. before taking on this assignment, I had grandiose ideas of a great train system and a work site in Campinas. not much is as it seems in those regards! I'm not quite ready to take on the task of driving with no language skills, and I still don't understand the randomness of the one-way streets here. oh.. and after nighfall it is OK to run a red light. no worries there, huh?

Panama - the country

hola. panama es muy bueno. there were four travelers in total, and it made for interesting times. mostly good. pics give an idea of the diverse landscape of panama. the first is in bocas del toro area where the boat solicitations are everywhere, and the second from boquete - land of coffee growers and eco-tourism. we started in panama city, of course, where uruguay street provided appopriate diversions (read british pub) from hectic airports and work schedule. boquete (hostel nomba) turned out to be a quiet mountainous village. hiked up volcan baru' (yes, all the way to the top reciting some kind of delirium mantras) after a rowdy night of poker.. but that's another story in itself. last leg in bocas del toro with snorkeling, scrabble, night boat rides (did lee really fall out of the boat?), bearded ballerinas @ mondo taitu, and a full moon. what a long, strange trip it's been...

Prague in January

in less than one total week, i planned for and signed up to head to prague for an extended mlk weekend. it was a great trip - as trips to europe go.. but the food was by far the greatest of the weekend. that is a grand statement in that i toured the pilsner urquell brewery and tasted the goods from a wooden barrel (only brewed for quality against the slick, metal types these days). cabbage soup is my nirvana. i could not get enough.. and who even knew that goulash was actually a tasty dish? overall, prague is a cold place. not necessarily temperature-wise as it was actually colder in atlanta that weekend. the people in their dark clothing and the dark architecture make for cold relations with the city.