Sticky in the middle :)

A surprising little treat that I eventually grew to love is Pão de Queijo (cheese bread)

Pão de Queijo that is well made, has a crispy outside with a warm soft sticky center. At first it was difficult to swallow, as I was somehow raised with the idea that bread was undercooked and should not be eaten if the center was sticky.

I think the name "cheese bread" is a bit deceiving, I incorrectly though the center was going to be filled with cheese and that would have made sense as to why the center was sticky. It wasn't at all what I had expected when I first bit into one, it is actually the dough that is sticky and has a slight cheese flavor. I have to admit that it was only after I returned home to the USA the first time that I actually realized I liked Pão de Queijo and missed it. Now I consider it one of my favorite breakfast items.

It is one of those things that when I see it, it instantly reminds me of Brazil, like Carnival and Samba. Even though I eat mine in the early morning, Pão de Queijo can be eaten any time of the day.I see it the most in the mornings; many people will stop at a corner bakery and buy a freshly baked Pão de Queijo with a glass of juice for breakfast. It is a salty treat that to me should be listed as a national treasure :).

This post somewhat ties in with the post I made about Window Watchers and the social aspect of Brazil.

I remember the first restaurant I went to in Brazil. I was used to the American style of dinning out and fully expected the majority of the conversation to happen during the time we were eating and then for the check to be placed on the table as soon as the waiter saw that we had a few morsels left on our plate. I remember being a bit distressed that the check did not come when I thought it would and thinking that my friends were all sitting there chatting while they waited for the waiter to get around to us. After about an hour, I turned to my friend and mentioned how slow the service was and that the waiter must have forgotten our check. My friend kindly reminded me that I was not in the USA and that Brazilians think it is rude if the waiter gives the check without you asking for it. There is a feeling of being kicked out of the restaurant if the waiter brings the bill before you are ready to leave. After hearing this, I thought to myself that it was a bit silly to think someone was kicking you out if they gave you the check after you finished, up till that point I thought of it as good service. I somewhat patiently sat through another 2 hours of conversation before we finally got up to leave.

It took me several months of going out like this and socializing after meals to finally let go. I had to learn not to think about the poor people standing outside waiting to get in ; not to ask for the check before everyone showed signs of being ready to leave; not to eat too fast, since there was plenty of time.

When I returned home to the USA in 2001, I found that I had been totally “Brazilianized” and when I received the check before I had even finished my meal, I felt offended by this act. I really and truly felt like I was being pushed out of the restaurant to make room for someone else. I find it curious that something as small as WHEN THE CHECK ARRIVES, can mean something so different in two cultures.

The image is at a recent dinner party I attended.

I'm Easter kinda slow.

I am really slow... I have been in Brazil long enough now that my daily pace and rhythm has slowed down to match that of a Brazilian. So, you can't really blame me for being late with this post can you?

I wanted to post this before Easter, but I think I am lucky that I am getting it posted before the end of April.

Brazilians don't wake up to a basket of chocolate and jelly beans on Easter. The traditional gift for Easter is a large chocolate egg that is filled with more chocolate treats. It is common for you to give one to each member of your family. So, if you have a large family and lots of friends, you might end up with kilos of chocolate for Easter. The eggs can be purchased in a smaller size but the smaller sizes are usually give to children. To give you an idea, some of the largest ones you will see are the size of an American football. The average size is smaller than a football, but still very large if you compare it to the easter bunnies we are used to getting in the USA.

Funny thing happens though each year, the house ends up filled with these eggs, one of the perks of being a teacher. We usually choose one egg we want to keep and we re-gift the others. This may sound cheap and like cheating, but when each egg cost around 30 bucks, it is a great way to not go broke at Easter.

On Demand

There are a lot of things in Brazil that are on demand. What I mean by that, we make it when we need it. One of those things is hot water. You wont see a water heater in a typical Brazilian home. If you want hot water, you do what any normal person would do, you mix water and electricity!!!

I think this is still one of the things I have never totally relaxed about. You walk into a Brazilian shower and you will see a very large shower head with wires running from it into the wall or to a box on the wall.

There is something strange and frankly frightening about standing under live wires while water runs town your face. When I first used these showers, I used to take my shower as fast as I could and then run out, thankful I was alive. I don't think I fear it as much as I used to, I find that I am able to relax and enjoy the super heated water a little more (but it has taken a few years). I have never personally heard of anyone dying from these showers, but is it possible to mix electricity and water and not have accidents? I don't think that little nagging voice of common sense will ever go completely away (at least lets hope it doesn't).

The advantage to having an electric shower head... it is a lot cheaper than keeping the water heater running all day long. Also, lets face it... it is much more entertaining than a regular old water heater shower ... ha ha!

Window Watcher.

Last night I had an appointment here in the neighborhood and I decided to be a little more Brazilian and walk there instead of taking the car. I have two sets of keys and I absentmindedly left the one set in the lock on the inside of the door. When I returned home, I tried to unlock the door and it would not unlock. I don't even know how I got it locked in the first place, but I was stuck there with no way in. I then checked all the windows and was totally in luck, I had forgotten to lock one of the windows and was able to reach in the window and pull the keys out of the door lock (bruising my arm in the process). Anyway, I had been thinking about the fact that I had not written anything for my blog yesterday and for some reason at the moment I was messing with the window, it reminded me of something I found interesting about Brazil the first few weeks I was here.

I didn't have a car the first time I was here, so I would take the bus everywhere I went. It was such a different experience from the bus rides I had been on before. It felt like no matter where I went, I would always see something I had never seen before or experience something I had hundreds of people waiting a single bus stop; seeing houses stacked on top of each other on a hillside with not a spot of ground showing between the homes. The point is, it was all new and I was just sucking it all in. One thing I noticed right away that seemed to be consistent every day were the window watchers.

I don't know what else to call them but "window watchers". As I was watching the houses from the bus, we would pass by house after house were there was someone standing or sitting just looking out the window. Some had cups of coffee that they sipped on as they watched the world outside their windows. I don't know what it was about this whole scene that captured my attention. I just remember thinking to myself, how do these people have time to sit and watch people from the window. It was certainly strange, but I loved it! I have always been a people watcher, I love sitting in a public place and just watching peoples interactions. Anyway, I found it fascinating that life was going on at such a pace here in Brazil that people had time to sit at the window and watch what was going on around them.

I did get my own opportunity to window watch one time... it really was very interesting. I got to see a little boy crash his bike and then be helped by several people passing by at the same time; a woman walking home with a basket of something on her head (this is not as common as it used to be so I was lucky to see that); a man pulling a hand cart as he was collecting recyclables from the garbage bins. I actually took pictures of the window watching event... but those images have since gone missing. I just might have to take some time out and do it again soon and take some pictures for you... that way we can all be window watchers for a few moments.

Fountain of superstition.

I thought Americans were superstitious, I have been amazed though by how many things Brazilians are superstitious about. I could make a list that went on for pages and pages of the superstitions I have encountered while I have been here. I wont though! I will just tell you a few of my favorites.

First there is the superstition about eating lentils on new years. You have to eat them so you will have luck all year. More of a financial success rather than just good luck.

You wear a certain color of underwear on new years and depending on the color it will bring something to you for the new year. White clothes will give you luck.

You need to have a pepper plant in your home to ward off the "evil eye".

Placing a bottle of water with charcoal in it at your door will absorb any bad energy that comes past it.

If you carry a American dollar bill in your wallet, you will never run out of money. This one is my favorite... My mother visited Brazil and gave a dollar bill to a lady. The lady was going through a divorce. She found a new man within 3 months and is now a very happy and rich lady. So... who knows, maybe there is something to this.

That is all for now... I might post again some other day, with some more of these superstitions.

Don't forget your ID

I heard it the other day through the window.
Young neighbor girl arrives home and I hear the sound of the chains on the gate opening.
The girls mother comes out and shouts at her for not taking her identity documents with her.
The girl doesn't reply.
The girls mother shouts again and tells her she has no idea how serious it is that she isn't taking her seriously.
My roommate/friend turns to me and starts up a discussion about this type of attitude.

Surprisingly we were not talking about the girl not paying attention to her mother. We were talking about the mothers fear. This is not the first time I have had this conversation about ID, nor do I think it will it be the last time. The problem is, the dictatorship only ended in the mid 80's and Brazilians have only had a short time to recover. Most people don't like to talk about it much, but you might get lucky and find someone who will open up about it.

Many people here know of, or have someone in the family, who was either arrested, beat-up or tortured during the dictatorship. So the idea of leaving the house without identification would truely frighten anyone above the age of 25. It isn't as dangerous anymore to leave without ID, you can't just be stopped anymore and asked for your documents. I think though that just like the neighbor lady did to her daughter... the older gerneration is passing this fear on to the younger generation.

The effects of the dictatorship are not only seen in the fear of the police and being caught outside without identification, but it can be seen in many aspects of the Brazilian culture. Just an example of this, is the lack of censorship on Brazilian TV. It is really common to turn on the TV during the day and see a half naked girl dancing around a group of boys in a studio.

I was shocked when I was here in 1999 and Feticeira was on tv dancing in nothing but a g-string and a cloth covering her..... mouth! I turned to my friend and asked how they could allow that on tv with little kids watching. It was then that I realized that the truth is, the people are not ready to give up the freedom they have to not be censored and it is only recently that they are starting to slowly place a few restrictions on what can be shown on day time TV.

I guess it is like a child that has grown up in a repressive household and when they get out on their own... they want to experience everything and they don't want anyone to come in and place rules again.

I have several friends who's family members were tortured during the dictatorship... so, I learned to hold my tongue when it comes to wanting to make comments about the lack of censorship and the irrational fears of the police. I don't leave the house without ID, but that is for clearly different reasons than those of my Brazilian friends.

See this box? This is my space!

Over the weekend, I went to visit a friend of mine. She gave birth to two boys about a month ago. She has been trying for almost 20 years to have a baby and after many unsuccessful IVF treatments, she finally gave birth. I was holding Henrique in my arms and watching him snuggle up to me, and started to think seriously about something. At what point in our lives do we start to reject this need for closeness and start to draw the invisible line around our bodies ? You know what line I am talking about, it is that line that very few people can cross and not make us feel like taking a step back. Most of us started out as cuddly little creatures with an insatiable thirst for cuddles and attention, why then, do we grow up needing our free space?

I recognize that this personal boundary line is bigger in some cultures and smaller in others. There are even some cultures where the line does not exist at all. Most Americans have an understanding about the boundaries that each individual has. The majority of people in Brazil don’t have a personal boundary line, and if they do, not many people know that it is something to be respected. Being an American, I started drawing my line at a young age, as I got older this boundary line got wider and more solid.

Something amazing happened though over the last few years. I had hundreds of Brazilians trampling over that line, that now I can't even tell it is there. I have actually felt my boundary shrink quite a bit. I no longer cringe or lose focus when someone steps into my space. I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I think it is kinda like what my Grandma J used to always say… "you can like it or lump it". I didn’t have a choice when I got here, it wasn’t like I could tell every single person I knew, that I had a boundary and then go into an explanation about what it was and how I got it. I just had to accept it and move on.

It was hard at first to feel any comfort with someone holding my arm or my hand when they talked to me, it is very common for an older person to talk to someone younger this way. Brazilians are not afraid to show affection and this even includes school aged children. It isn’t uncommon to see two boys all up in each other’s space.

I am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing. I just know that it feels much better having one less thing I need to worry about. Now… the big problem is when I go back home for a visit, I wonder how many people I am going drive up the wall with my boundary crossings.

Peanuts!

I know this is another post about food, what can I say, I love the stuff!

Peanut butter is something I have found myself craving since I have been here. If you go into a Brazilian supermarket expecting to pick up a jar of the good old Jiff, you will be disappointed to find out the creamy goodness is missing from the shelves.

I know, can you believe it? What do these poor kids eat? I can't imagine my childhood without peanut butter!

What do they have? Well... I did find this (see picture) thing called Amendocrem (translated means peanut cream). the only thing similar to peanut butter is the color and that it is made with peanuts, the similarities end there. It is some strange concoction of peanuts, sugar, honey and oil. You can feel the sugar granules scratch against your tongue as you eat it. The peanuts are a mix of chunky,smooth and stale. I was thinking today about how the texture reminds me of a facial scrub.

A tub of 250 grams of this stuff will cost you about 5 Reais (about $2.30). So, I think I am going to smuggle some real PB into Brazil the next time I travel home. Maybe if these Brazilians get a taste of Jiff, they might stop looking at me like I am crazy when I say I am craving Peanut Butter.

Udderly Strange!

At first I was going to write this big long
text about the milk box, but instead I am just going to throw it out there and you can look it up if you’re interested.

I love milk, and prefer it to soda. There is a pleasure when I go to the refrigerator and pull out the gallon jug and fill up a glass full of that cold white stuff. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to mess with that process. So, imagine my surprise when I saw my friend pouring me a glass of milk straight from a cardboard box that was in the cupboard. I have to admit, there was a lot of stuff going through my mind when I was drinking it. I could not stop thinking about the bacteria and how warm it was. I wanted to spit it right back up when I first tasted it. It had nothing to do with the taste, it had everything to do with my head.

UHT milk is the milk you will find in Brazil. You can find pasteurized milk, but it isn’t as common and it is sold in plastic bags, not in plastic jugs. UHT milk is processed with a higher heat to kill all the spores in the milk. It has almost the same nutritional value as Pasteurized milk(it took me a year to take the time to look that up on the internet). Once I did a little research I was able to relax a bit more and enjoy my milk once again. I just put the box in the fridge the night before I want to drink it.

If you do some research on UHT you will see that the shelf life is up to 6 months, it is being used to ship to starving families in third world countries, it does not use refrigeration so it helps with the environment . So, I bet you can come up with a lot of reasons to switch to UHT.

Taste: Well, I think it tastes a bit sweeter than what I am used to. I think the sweetness comes from the fact that some of the sugars in the milk get caramelized during the heating process.

So, if you are ever in Brazil, don’t go to the refrigeration section to look for milk.

Blog is heading in a new direction.

I have been a bit jaded with my blog and didn't really know what direction to take it. This morning, over my cup of UHT milk and toast the idea hit me, I need to share the life and culture of Brazil. What I have read and seen on the internet about Brazil, is mostly a tourists or natives view. My blog will be a perspective of my life as a foreigner living and trying to assimilate into a foreign culture. Living in a culture and tying to assimulate gives a totally different perspective than that of a tourist who only visits the places set up for them. I want to bring the Brazil I know to life for my family and friends. I think the idea is a good one, and I am excited about it. Enjoy!