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!