Talking to myself

You know when your internal monologue escapes your lips? I was driving along in traffic the other day when I started to tune into that monologue, it went something like this:

no really, it is the pedal on the right.
signal, please? no really, signal.
the middle is not a lane.
the shoulder is not a lane.
um, this is one way....?
wow. (as a motorcyclist cuts her way through traffic wearing flip-flops, shorts and a tank top)
no. no. no. no. no. (actually nao, nao, nao, nao in response to the people selling things at traffic lights--everything from fruit to kitchen towels to kids floatie pool toys)
oh. my. god.
who is honking????!

and that was pretty much all in just one outing to do some grocery shopping. this driving commentary could become a recreational past-time for me. i really believe that if you can drive here you can drive anywhere....

Rio 2016

Correction: CIDADE GANHADORA!!

Uma Bomba, indeed

This was on the news Friday--a fireworks store in southern Brazil exploded and killed 11 people! Yikes. I am back on my anti-fireworks soap box.
http://terratv.terra.com.br/especiais/noticias/4416-249140/veja-como-ficou-rua-onde-loja-de-fogos-explodiu.htm

Caruru de Cosme e Damiao

On September 27, many Brazilians celebrate the saints Cosme (Cosmas) and Damiao (Damian) who were regarded as protectors of children. This is a religious holiday--both Catholic and that of Cadomble (Afro-Brazilian religion). In Bahia, people commemorate the day by preparing a caruru, a traditional Afro-Brazilian dish, and sharing it with poor children in the community. We went to a "caruru" today at the home of a family friend. When we arrived, there were about 7 boys who had been invited from one of the nearby favelas (poor neighborhoods) for the holiday. They were sitting around a table on the patio, eating their plates of caruru, accompanied by other typical Bahian foods. It kind of looked like this:


Caruru is a dish made of okra and shrimp, served with rice and chicken. It is accompanied by acaraje and vatapa, which I wrote about in an earlier blog. These are Afro-Brazilian foods specific to the northeastern part of Brazil.

After the kids ate, they left and we had our own plates of caruru. B and I sat outside on the veranda where we could see the streets below. Not all kids get invited to people´s homes....some just hang out in the neighborhoods and wait for people to stop. We watched as cars pulled up to groups of women and children walking along the streets or sitting on benches...the people in the cars either handed bags of food out the window or opened their trunks from which they gave out food. Once the kids all had a bag of food, the people drove away. It kind of felt like Halloween in reverse--without the costumes, and caruru instead of candy. Apparently for all of the food sharing there is something to do with giving thanks for wishes come true or hoping that wishes come true...not quite clear on that...but was a really interesting tradition to take part in. P.S. I am not a big fan of caruru, but it is definitely a must-try in Bahia.

Simple Pleasure #2...

...is "suco"---juice. There are so many amazing fruits here, many of which are used for making juice. A glass of cold, fresh fruit juice makes me so so happy. Today I am having pineapple juice with mint. This morning...guava. Yesterday...acerola. A few days ago....cacau. And sort of mixed in between, lime juice. I love ordering "limonada suica" which is lime juice with the skin included-so completely refreshing. There is fresh fruit juice everywhere here. There are even little juice shops in the city that are like the old-school hamburger drive-ins in the states. You pull up in your car, they come over and take your order, then bring your fresh juice to your car and put a little tray on your window so you can sit there and sip it. Brilliant!

Bumps in the Road

Life with an automobile in Salvador for us has had its fair share of bumps in the road. Literally, navigating the myriad of random speed bumps and/or variety pot holes after the rainy season...and figuratively....the process of finding a car, then buying a car, then that very car ceasing to function whilst parked on a sidestreet late on friday evening. We (I) had a misty moment of longing for our old, reliable Japanese import cars. We would have surely opted for one of those here in Brasil were they not taxed like there is no tomorrow. Waaaaaaah.
p.s. said car is functioning again. Go little made in Brazil car by American company, go! (please, please keep going...)

"Learning a foreign language"

Our trip to Cape Town spoiled me...I spoke English freely all day every day. Now, I'm feeling more like this!! (except the portuguese version...). Someday it won't be like this, right???!

I´ve been listening to...

..something we picked up at the record store one rainy afternoon in a little town outside of Cape Town--Freshly Ground--a really lovely South African band. This was our soundtrack as we toodled around in our little rent-a-car!

Lua de Mel

If you are reading closely, or are familiar with this picture (many a tourist before us has taken it)--you are right! This is not Brazil. This is Africa! It has been quite a crazy few months and B and I decided to finally take a honeymoon. We had both hoped to visit South Africa someday and toyed with the idea of going there for our honeymoon for a while--until we decided just to go for it! Besides, B wanted to go see the great white sharks and I figured it best to go before we have any children to orphan (in case we get gobbled up). I am happy to report that we DID see sharks and we DID NOT get gobbled up!!! Here is a picture of one of our shark friends:


While there, we felt it was our obligation to try copious amounts of South African wine. Here we had the opportunity to try a young shiraz right out of the barrel!


Cape Town was bustling with preparations for the World Cup 2010 (Where Brazil is already set to play!!) They are counting down in anticipation:


When South Africans found out B was Brazilian, a football discussion inevitably ensued--South Africans are excited to host Brazil! Here´s B making sure the Brazilians know where to go when they get to Cape Town:



At the top of this picture you can see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. South Africa is trying to pull itself out of that period of history and we found it to have many striking similarities to Brazil--tremendous natural beauty and resources, a mix of people and cultures, a love of football and music, huge disparities between rich and poor, problems with crime and public health. Also, like Brazil, we found the people to be wonderful and the hospitality so warm. We loved our trip and were also glad to come back "home" to Brazil. We will look forward to reminiscing our trip as we watch the World Cup 2010!

Street life

This is the local farmers market on wheels. They come by a couple of times per week advertising their goods over a loudspeaker...passion fruit....oranges....mango....banana....
or my favorite....shrimp, without head or shell. We have never actually bought anything, but I find it pretty charming and it always makes me chuckle when I hear them going by.

My B-day

Yesterday was my birthday---B and I drove up to Praia do Forte, north of Salvador, and spent the day swimming, snorkeling and sipping agua de coco on the beach. I felt grateful and happy to be alive and healthy and celebrating one more year of life. This is what it looked like from the place we had lunch:
Later in the day we drove back home and went to dinner with the family at a nice portuguese restaurant. Then, we came home and had birthday cake. I helped make it--wanted to try this recipe for apricot cake (damasco=apricot):


This is what ours looked like:

Sort of, kind of....it tasted really good so we got something right! It was a lovely birthday in Brazil.

I've been listening to...

Elza Soares! It was the 10th anniversary of Jazz no MAM for which she made a guest appearance. I never realized exactly who she was (famous Brazilian samba singer) but I knew some of her music, and it was so much fun to see her live. At 70+ this woman still sings and moves like crazy. She is amazing. She came out in this sexy cat suit type outfit with huge heels (see video--those haven't changed!) and a huge red head of hair. Her hips seemed to know no limits as she did this samba shimmy shake thing and proceeded to shimmy on down to the ground and back up again. All whilst scat singing with each of the instruments in the jazz band as well as performing some of her own songs...fun, fun fun.

Simple Pleasure #1

Fresh, cold agua de coco (coconut water) is by far one of my most favorite simple pleasures here in Brazil. You can buy it on the street or in fancy restaurants, or buy your own coconuts to crack open at home. So, so delicious. I will pass on a tip, as has been passed on to me by several others--it is pronounced Agua de CO-co, as opposed to Agua de co-CO, which on the contrary, is shit water. Saves a bit of humiliation to be forewarned.

Namesake

There are many things here in Salvador that bear American (or English) names: there is an Auto Center, a Jump gym, a Jet Set Dining Club....there is also my first English student, Jorge Washington. I kid you not. He's much younger and cuter than his namesake, however.

Road Rage

Road rage is alive and well here in Salvador. I don't know where all of these people in their little stick shift cars with all of the traffic lights and speed bumps think they are going is such a mad hurry. People are cheerful and happy out of their cars maybe...but behind the wheel is a different scenario. We're going car shopping this weekend, wish us luck as we venture out with the ragers.....!!!

Cozido

Two posts in one day. Motivated by my lunch---I am still thinking about it. We had cozido, a Brazilian dish that *I think* is a traditional Portuguese dish. I am taking a guess as I first had it at a very traditional hole-in-the-wall Portuguese restaurant here in Salvador. Why the love? I will start with vegetables. Scumptioulicious pumpkin, cabbage, carrots, sweet potato, regular potato, some other brazilian vegetables I know not how to spell the names of and...bananas! They are all sort of stewed up with some nice seasoning and meat, served with a spicy pico de gallo style sauce. Come to Salvador...eat cozido....come to salvador...eat cozido...yum.

Jazz at the MAM

B and I went out to "Jazz no MAM" on Saturday at the Museum of Modern Art, it was great. It takes place in the courtyard on the lower left-hand corner of the picture. The rest of the complex is a museum, cinema and cafe. Enjoyed the sunset, music and a crepe-on-stick, (sort of like a hot-dog-on-a-stick but yummier in my estimation). This is a weekly event, we'll be going back for more. er, music. and crepes.

I've been listening to...

Vanessa da Mata. Beautiful music, this is a collaboration with Ben Harper:

Caminho das Indias

People, I'm hooked. The telenovela has cast its cheese-ridden spell and I have been sucked in. Caminho das Indias is the prime-time telenovela in Brazil, broadcast six nights per week. It runs one full hour--except for Wednesdays, when it ends early due to the broadcast of national soccer games. It is set partially in Rio, partially in India. Each night at 9pm, televisions across Brazil are glowing white-brite with Caminho das Indias. My television included.

Street food 101

Acaraje: a fried ball of black eyed pea mush fried in dende oil. Synonym: gut bomb that I like and hate all at once. We went down to eat Acaraje (Ah-kah-ruh-ZHAY) at a popular spot in town, in the neighborhood of Rio Vermelho. There are 2 acaraje stands there---Acaraje de Dinha, the most famous, and Acaraje de Regina, seemingly more revered by locals. I think the locals may be swayed by the fact that Regina has a small T.V. behind her stand that is tuned in to the telenovelas. So, you can get your acaraje on and keep up with the latest telenovela in one grand evening. Although, to be honest, I would not recommend eating acaraje in the evening--I learned that the hard way. It is "heavy food" as many people here have told me. I like it. I don't love it---though many people seem to--but when in Bahia, you have to try it. It is kind of like a giant falafel ball stuffed with shrimp and vatapa (vah-tah-PAH), a thick sauce made with shrimp, nuts...you'll have to ask Regina. Or Dinha.... and can be served with a spicy sauce that resembles salsa. I do appreciate the spice as Brazilian food in general does not have much of that. So, when you visit, bring your Pepto-Bismol and we'll head on down to visit Regina. You cannot visit Bahia without trying acaraje.

Images of Salvador

Caipiroska: mmm, mmm, mm.

While on the subject of alcoholic beverage, allow me to introduce my most favorite beverage here in the Brazil: the Roska. I find great delight and refreshment in this drink. Which is perhaps why I order it wherever we go. It is basically made with vodka and sugar, muddled with loads of fresh fruit served on ice. The standard caipiroska offerings in most restaurants and bars are pineapple, kiwi, strawberry and lime. Frequently, though, there are other offerings of more regional tropical fruits such as siriguela, caju and umbu which, for a gringa like me, are fun and adventurous. So, it is like a sweet delightful adventure in a glass. Thus, my favorite beverage.

Beer etiquette

My husband's cousin informed me yesterday that I was committing a "cree-mee"--that's a "crime" in Portuguese. My offense? I was drinking beer that was not, well, ice cold. It was not warm--though that was what I was accused of--drinking warm beer. My less-than-ice-cold-beer was then promptly dumped out and my glass was refilled with sparkling golden ice-cold Brazilian beer. It did actually make a positive difference in my beer drinking experience. I may become an ice-cold beer snob before long. I was thinking in the moment--wow, what would they say about the red plastic cups at the keg parties in the States? Major offense.

Apparently, Americans--and probably Brits alike--have a reputation for drinking warm beer. Not because we serve it that way, but because we drink pints, or pitchers of beer that inevitably get "warm" (read: do not remain ice cold). In restaurants, beer is kept in special refrigerators where the temperature is boldly displayed to assure you it is near-freezing. Then, beer is served in a small glass, called a "chopp" (SHO-pee) so that it does not have time to get warm. If you order a larger bottle of beer, it is put in a beer bottle koozie. There is an affinity for the beer koozie here. And where there is no koozie, your beer may be kept on ice in a cooler at your table, another recent experience. So, moral of the story: when in Brazil, do not settle for less (or be caught drinking anything other than) ice-cold beer.

Pelourinho

Today we met a friend for lunch in Pelourinho. This is the "old city" of Salvador echoing its Portuguese colonial heritage (pictured in the MJ video previously posted). Walking through the cobblestone streets you could easily imagine you were somewhere in Europe....like, let´s say, Portugal...though Brazil´s culture, specifically the African-influenced Bahian culture, comes shining through. There are inummerable shops selling anything from tourist trinkets to chic boutique items. There are often people playing music. If you visit on certain days, there may be a special concert, capoeira performance or an Olodum practice. For the benefit of tourists, there are women in traditional Bahian dress selling Bahian food like Acarajé (ah-kah-ruh-ZHE). Tourists are usually roaming the plazas and winding side streetstreets taking pictures of the architecture and colorful buildings. There are also churches. Lots of churches. By churches I mean 17th century cathedrals. You can stand in one of the main plazas and have at least 3 sizeable, beautiful "igrejas" within sight. Many Bahians will tell you that there are at least 365 historic churches in Salvador, enough to visit one every day of the year. If you come to Salvador, undoubtedly visit Pelourinho. It is touristy but also extremely worthwhile.

Mr. Man the Robber

My mother-in-law goes to a morning fitness class a few days a week. Today, she came home with this story, as relayed to her by her fitness class instructor--this is the basic rundown:

Fitness instructor was parked in her car, window down, when a man with a gun (a.k.a. Mr. Man) approached her and demanded her cell phone and money. She gave them to him, he left. Fast forward one week later. Fitness instructor is again parked in her car. Mr. Man again approaches her, gun in hand, and says "Give me your money and your cell phone". At this point fitness instructor recognizes Mr. Man as the man who robbed her one week earlier. She said "I don´t have a cell phone because you stole it last week and I don´t have money to buy a new one because you stole my money too". To which Mr. Man replies, in basic translation "My bad! I´m sorry!" and left.

I think I have totally freaked out my friends and family, no? While robbery is completely unsettling (understatement), at gunpoint no less, this was funny. Admit it. In general, if you are aware of your surroundings and keep a low profile while out and about it is fine. It is definitely different from home--security, especially robbery, is always on my mind here, at least in the city. Unfortunately, there is poverty everywhere and a huge, in-your-face disparity between people who have and people who don´t. This, to me, is a major challenge of living here and I believe for the country and its citizens in general. On the other hand, there seems to be this sense of joie de vivre from citizens on all levels. I have read that Brazil is a land of contrasts...no doubt, the contrasts seem to be everywhere.

Happy 4th of July!

If I were in San Diego, this is what it would have looked like...happy 4th to all of my favorite Americans in SD and beyond!

What is Bahia?

Someone asked me this--I realized I take for granted the use of "Bahia" when talking to friends and family about where we live. It prompted me to find out a bit more, particularly since yesterday was Bahian Independence Day celebrating their independence from Portugal in 1823.

Bahia is a northeastern state of Brazil, of which Salvador is the capital. It is approximately 564,692 square kilometers, making it the 5th largest state in Brazil. It borders the Atlantic ocean its eastern coast. That is where you will find those postcard perfect stretches of palm-tree lined sandy beaches. The inland areas are diverse--rolling hills, rivers, dunes, mountains, canyons, waterfalls--though i will add an personal comment here that the roads *stink* and road signs, well, it seems those aren't really important around here. It is beautiful though, make no mistake.

The population of the state in 2008 was estimated around 14 million, approximately 3 million in Salvador. Bahia has strong African influences in food, culture and customs as Salvador was the processing point for the slave trade from Africa in colonial times. I plan to write more about these influences as I have a chance to explore them. In the meantime, I would like to thank Wikipedia for providing the factoids.

Parabens Ana Alice!

I am fascinated by life on the streets in Salvador. Any given day there is something new (and everyday, so far, fireworks). Today, I witnessed what I would call the Brazilian equivalent of the singing telegram. It was about 8:30 p.m. and we'd just finished our evening meal when music and a voice over a PA system erupted from the street below. Basically, a small car pulled up at the building next door and opened its hatchback to reveal a television and some big speakers. A man with a deep Casey Kasem-esque D.J. voice began speaking over the PA, wishing Ana Alice (Ah-nuh Uh-lee-see) a happy birthday. So, Ana Alice, along with--I'm guessing--friends and family hung out on the sidewalk for the celebration. This consisted of a few songs, a slide show (I think) of Ana Alice on the television and the D.J. talking over a microphone about what a wonderful lady Ana Alice was. It went on for about twenty minutes or so as several more people gathered and a mix of music and birthday wishes continued to blare over the loud speaker. The celebration culminated in a birthday song and an acceptance speech by Ana Alice, who, I might add, sounded like a very sweet lady. I think she liked her birthday telegram. It was definitely a party on wheels. Hilarious. I stood there with a giant grin on my face watching as I rushed my husband to get the camera so I could record, as I hardly felt I could do it justice by description alone. Here are a couple of takes, note the FIREWORKS (!) in the second take:

GO U.S.A!!!

Phew, there, said it. The USA vs. Brazil game just ended. Brazil won...each goal accompanied by fireworks in the streets, beeping of car horns and yelling from windows. I had to bite my lip the entire time for the sake of my marriage...usually I would be cheering for Brazil, but in this case, my heart was with the USA. I thought they played a great game and the goalie was pretty fantastic, he deserved that Golden Glove trophy! Good job, USA. Congratulations, Brasil!

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

I was watching CNN world news when the news broke about Michael Jackson's cardiac arrest and subsequent death. Since then, Brazilian TV news and newspapers have been filled with coverage of his death and tributes to his life. I definitely danced my heart out to "Beat It" at the age of 6 and gave the moon walk my best attempts--uh, yeah--anyways--from all of the news I've seen I was only one of the masses. Michael Jackson truly was a global phenomenon. It's hard to believe he's gone. As the news was swirling, I learned that he had collaborated with a percussion group here in Salvador called Olodum. He came to the city to film a music video for his song "They Don't Care About Us" on his HIStory album, directed by Spike Lee. The song itself apparently stirred some controversy in the U.S. As for the actual filming of the video, word on the street from reliable, English-speaking sources is that Michael Jackson was very nice and polite to the people here. I was told he loved all of the tropical fruits in Bahia, which were supplied in abundance for him. This is the aforementioned video, recorded in the old historic district of Pelourinho in Salvador with the percussion group Olodum. Parts of it were filmed in Rio, but the street scenes with colorful buildings and drumming are all in Salvador. There is some good footage about 4 minutes in:

"Uma Bomba"

When I first heard the popping sounds outside of our building, I more or less dismissed them and thought "Wow, some of these cars are seriously backfiring"....until they persisted...at which point it dawned on me that it was the popping of fireworks. All day, all night....fireworks. Festival de Sao Joao=fireworks, got it! And my goodness how people like fireworks here. I have jumped out of my seat a few times when they've gone off close-by. There was an article on the front page of the paper about 200+ injuries in a fireworks war in one neighborhood not far away. If I were to start an anti-fireworks campaign...let's face it, the thought has crossed my mind...here are some of the graphics I might choose from:

For the children--I don't know what this says, but the screaming monkey with his butt on fire is pretty scary. This one is more straight to the point:

And one for the business owners:

I'll let you know if i make any progress with my campaign.

Festival de São João

I arrived in Salvador on the cusp of the Festival de São João. We all love holidays, but I think Brazilians, in particular, really REALLY love holidays. With the exception of a few local celebrations, the city was basically a ghost town for 5 days as people traveled to the country to attend festivals of Forro music (pronounced Foh-haw, supposedly from "for all" since it's music for the people). We went to one festival, the Forro do Piu-Piu, about 3 hours outside of the city. This is one of the better known festivals where both Forro and Axé bands played. Both types of music are extremely popular in the state of Bahia--Forro usually involves an accordian and the best I can liken it to is country square dance with an extra kick....there were some serious back-up dancers involved (note buns and thighs of steel, girls)!

Some popular Axé artists played as well---this is another type of music from Bahia that combines rock-ish type styles with more traditional percussion--not typical São João music but it was a Bahian party, what the heck. This is my favorite Axé singer, Alexandre Peixe, giving us a special V.I.P. shout out:

After lots of dancing and drinking, we took a break and went to relieve ourselves at the "Mobile Pipi" (why is this stuff always so funny??) I missed the picture of the "Snob" brand napkins we had with our sandwiches for our "Peeky-neeky"...oh well...until next time.

All-in-all it made for a nice welcome-to-Bahia!!!