Ribbons and Bows

This is a little late, but I am Brazilian now, okay? It's how we do things.

As most of you know, I came home and surprised my family for the holidays by popping out of a wrapped Christmas present in my driveway on the 23rd of December. Good times. Well, thanks everyone for keeping up with my travels and I will be happy to share my photo album and other harrowing tales in person with all of you!

Good to be back in cold old Ohio! Saudades!

Notes on Brazil

Here is a list I have compiled for someone wanting a (gringa's) insider look at some Brazilian culture. A lot of the music I haven't listened to yet, and I tried to link as much as I could. Enjoy!

ART/DESIGN
Roberto de Vicq - designer who made Bembo Zoo
Gui Borchert - works for R/GA in NYC, Nike's Design by Nature, eyepunch.com
Gianguido Bonfanti - artist and illustrator
Ivan Cardoso - photographer, filmographer we saw an exhibit on him at the MAM
Favela Paintings Project - bringing art and culture to the favelas
Bananaplac - new eco-material made from banana fibers that kids @ESDI developed

SAYINGS
segura esse abacaxi - to solve a problem (lit. peel the pineapple)
deus é brasiliero - lit. god is brazilian, which is why brazil is so beautiful
depende da chuva - depends on the rain
está viajando na maionesa - someone who is not quite with it (lit. traveling in mayonnaise)
café com leite - someone who has everything easy

LITERATURE
João Guimarães Rosa Grande Sertão Veredas (The Devil to Pay in the Backlands in English)

MOVIES
Tropa de Elite(not yet released in English), Cidade de Deus (City of God in English),
Mutum, Quase Dois Irmãos, Ônibus 174 (Bus 174 in English)


MUSIC
brazilian electronic - Fernanda Porto
axé (music from the north of brazil) - Ivete Sangalo, Jamil, Banda Eva
ritmo bahía (african influence) - Babadonovo
pop rock - Skank, Charlie Brown Junior, Jotaquest
sertanejo (similar to country music in the states) - Bruno e Marrone
mpb (música popular brasileira) - Marisa Monte, Dejavam, Ana Carolina, Caetano Veloso, Tribalistas, Gilberto Gil, Elis Regina, Céu
bossa nova - Jorge Ben, Tom Jobim

BEAUTIFUL PLACES AROUND RIO
Ipanema, Ilha Grande, Búzios, Cabo Frio (Praia de Forte), Prainha (just south of Rio), Parque do Flamengo : ), Lapa, Jardim Botánico, Santa Teresa

Final week of school @ESDI

Last Friday was our last day of school at ESDI. It feels good to be done, but of course there were a few disappointments/frustrations with how things ended. Our final screenprinting project that Krista and I were really excited for and took extra time to complete, was never finished because our professor kept not showing up. So I have the proposed design and the fabric, but nothing else. Magazine class was frustrating too because the other students in my group did not have their part of the work done for our presentation. I had to present my own work to the professor separately. And my presentation for interactive design went smoothly except that no one clapped at the end of it except our professor. Okayyyyy?

South America. I guess that's all you can say. Caraca.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Aqui o Natal é diferente. Christmas is different here, or so says the slogan of the local grocery store, Zona Sul. I would say that about sums it up. Ooh, here, squirrels are a Christmas animal, and mushrooms are a key to your nativity scene. What I don't understand is why Santa is wearing a full red fur suit and mittens in the sweltering heat. It's all backwards. One thing, people don't really have chimneys here; don't worry, Santa will get into your living room somehow. I have seen these little Santa-on-a-ladder ornaments hanging out of apartment windows. As far as Christmas decorations go, I was expecting some kind of native-looking Santa wearing a speedo and hauling around a bag full of pineapples and coconuts, but the Brazilian Santa is still the same fat white guy. What a shame. So much for cultural diversity.

The best thing I did this week was go to the birthday party/churrasco/cookout of my doorman, Jarbas. We went to the area where he lived, which isn't so safe, but it was worth it to meet his family and friends. We drank Itaipeva beer, ate lots of meat with farofa and just had a great time practicing our Portuguese. It was also nice to be around a family again. One of the many things I miss! Lindsey, here's your shoutout: you have the best updates on life in Ohio out of everyone. Okay, time to finish some homework and then it's samba night in Santa Teresa! Ate logo.

Plastic Bags and such

Okay the first thing a gringo needs to learn before coming to Brazil is this phrase:

Eu nao preciso de saco.
I don´t need a plastic bag.

As Krista says, "it´s not a question of paper or plastic, it´s paper AND plastic." Literally you order a juice to go and you get a cup with five plastic bags around it. The thing is more sealed than a cholera outbreak. This is the case everywhere. I started unwrapping the bags at the store because I don´t want to waste so much plastic. Whatever happened to the Amazon deforestation issue?

Thanksgiving was great! All the newcomers realized how awesome a giant meal with the people that are close to you is. Good work at the Turkey Shoot-off John. PSsss. Josh, you are the fave to win charades at sibs weekend, so don´t worry.

It´s time to start thinking about travel plans after school is out in three weeks! So close but so far....Right now we are looking at Bahia in the north but we might just stay around Rio after all. It would be nice to stay with Brazilian friends/the roomies for Christmas.

Today I saw 5 monkeys at the Pao de Acucar mountain! So cute. I´ve been waiting to see them just swinging around. Finally.

Pressure

Ay. I am starting to feel the pressure! Only 3 weeks left after this one. Time to start cramming in all the beach/suco/lapa/islandhopping I can before I go back to Ohio to become white and pasty. Too bad I have homework. Arg.

We are planning a Thanksgiving Dinner for tomorrow with the roommates and a few Brazilian friends. I don´t know if we can find a turkey so we might be eating goose or something weird like that. Anyway, it will be a good "holiday" - we still have school, rats - with friends/myfamilyinbrazil, just like it should be.

To all my family in Dayton: Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat some pumpkin pie for me!
John, I am rooting for you to win the Annual Smith Family Turkey Shoot-off Pool Tournament. Beat those uncles!!!!

Here is a photo for all of you to enjoy. I grabbed it from Krista´s flickr!

Boa tarde!

Oi! Hello. Last night the roommates and I were talking about all the never-ending kids songs we used to annoy people with. This is the song that never ends....haha. 99 bottles of beer on the wall. There is a version in German about ants and bees. Anyway, this is the kind of conversation we have been having in our apartment since we are going on 2 days of non-stop rain. I have cabin fever! Yesterday I made pancakes to pass the time (banana-nutella and apple-cinnamon). I needed baking powder for my mom´s recipe (nice and fluffy ones) but you should have heard me trying to explain what it is in Portuguese. First of all, no one eats pancakes here (que, panqueca?) and according to our Brazilian resource, no one uses baking powder. Since this was my first time baking anything here, I hadn´t realized that there is no baking aisle full of powders and sodas and creams. So I am not really sure where all these desserts on every corner are coming from... Anyway, eventually I looked on the ingredients list for a cake mix box and found bicarbonato de sódio (aka baking powder). The employee at the grocery store said they indeed did have bicarbonato de sódio, and handed me a can of fermento. Once I got home I realized with the help of my German roommate that fermento is a mix of yeast, baking powder, and other little secret ingredients. I decided not to throw that into the pancake batter. So, while they didn´t taste or fluff up exactly like Mom´s, it was nice to have some warm comfort food on a rainy day.

Updates for the week:
-Saw Cristo Redentor (giant stone Jesus statue overlooking the city)
-Ate a traditional Brazilian meal (Churrasco misto: pork, beef, chicken with rice, fries, veggies, and farofa)
-Fought with a cab driver trying to rip me off (you know your coming along a little in Portuguese when you can argue with someone)

Thanks for keeping up with my blog, everyone. Anne, I know you are my number one fan, so you get an extra special prize from Brazil. Also, this is a shout-out to Mrs. Reeder, I had so much fun with your daughters this past week!

Last night Sebaastian found out that he is a godfather/uncle. His sister had a baby girl and she is named Floor(flower in Dutch)! If any of the Van Hecke crew reads this, congratulations!