During my trip to England I started talking to a British bloke who said that he had once met a man from Brazil. He had dark hair. His name was Bruno. Did I know him? I was young and foolish and rudely replied: "I know I British guy. He is blonde. His name is John. Do you know him?" He got the message. But it was rude. Don't be like me.
My Aha moment came when my mom came home and told us she had a student from Yemen. From where? Where is that? What do people from Yemen wear? And eat? And talk about?
People really should know more about Geography and foreign cultures. Including myself. Truth is we don't know much about other countries, and most of what we think we know, is just a bunch of media imposed stereotypes.
So, I thought it would be fun to give people a little taste of Brazil.
No. I'm not going to tell you about our history and teach you a bunch of words in Portuguese you will never use. I won't tell you about the hoards of monkeys that jump around the trees in my parents backyard or the parrots that chew on their house wiring (I'm doing a terrible job of dispelling stereotypes, aren't I?) I'm also not going to tell you about soccer, or Carnaval or Copacabana beach.
What I AM going to do is tell you a couple of things you can DO to kind of EXPERIENCE a little bit of Brazil. How does that sound? If you are willing to take this journey with me...
... listen to this:
Pure, beautiful, timeless Brazilian music. The composer is Heitor Villa-Lobos and the singer is Djavan (one of my favorite singers in the whole wide world). Makes me cry every.single.time.
...cook this:
Brazilian Black Beans
- 2 pounds of dry black beans
- 1 link of Polska Kielbasa sausage (so not the same, but it will have to do)
- 1 minced yellow onion
- 4/5 minced cloves of garlic
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Pick through, rinse and soak the beans overnight. In a pressure cooker, add the beans, enough water to cover them, the sliced sausage and cook for 25 minutes after pressure has been achieved. Release pressure and transfer beans to a large pot.
Heat the oil and cook the onions and garlic in a small frying pan until they are golden/almost brown (when you think they might start burning- don't let them burn though!). Add that to the pot with the beans. Add the salt little by little and taste. Cook for about 20 more minutes over medium low heat.
If you want to do the most popular Brazilian dish (called feijoada) serve with white rice, sauteed collard greens, pork rinds and orange slices. YUM!
... buy these:
Brazilian flip flops. They're called Havaianas. Buy them once and you'll NEVER EVER be able to wear anything else. Comfortable, durable and oh so fashionable! They come in hundreds of different colors and patterns and can be embellished,bejeweled, bedazzled, etc etc etc You can get them at Nordstrom, Amazon, Ebay and TJMaxx sometimes carries them too.
...drink this:
Authentic Brazilian soda. Delicious mainly if consumed with a slice of orange and some ice. Ask my mother-in-law. She'll tell'ya! You can get them at Mexican grocery stores (and anywhere if you are in Utah. Or Florida. Probably New York. And I'd imagine many places in California.Oh well, just come over and I'll give you some ok?)
...make these for dessert:
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (you can find the Mexican one which is identical to the Brazilian one at Winco- it's called LaLechera and it's made by Nestle)
- 1 heaping Tbsp of butter at room temperature
- 4 Tbsp of sweetened cocoa powder (you can use Nesquick if you have it)
In a deep bowl, mix all the ingredients well. Pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Stir it. Then for 4 more minutes stopping and stirring every minute. Let it cool. Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in chocolate sprinkles or white sugar. Place in cute liners. Don't blame me if your Weight Watchers leader wants to pull her hair out (sorry, Cathy!)
...take a Zumba class and learn to dance this song:
Fun, hun? You can burn up to 400 calories! Just don't expect to dance like the instructor on the first class. Or ever. Just saying.
...wear one of these and look like this:
Because all of us Brazilian girls look like that. It's tough. Especially when I wake up and realize it was just a dream. I just wanted to make sure my husband was going to read this blog post. Don't be like me.
...date a guy that looks like this:
Because every Brazilian guy looks like that. ( before you make them the two recipes I suggested above, that is). I just wanted to make sure I had enough motivation to re-read this post to look for grammatical errors. Don't be like me.
...and get a Brazilian wax:
Just kidding. They are not that popular down there. I mean...You know what I mean!
Don't be like me. sigh.
4 comments:
My beloved daughter,
You're an amazing person!!!
It's such a fun reading your texts!
You're so special that everything you do turns out in something great.
Don't say that this is only mother's opinion. I'm sure people who read your blog and have the chance to be near you will just have the same impression.
Happy birthday and be just as you are.
I LOVE you!!!!!
Mummy
hahahahaha great!!
now that i´m living far from brazil i can see what you were talking about in the begging of your post..
but you should put a photo of myself instead of reynaldo gianecchini, people would be more impressed with brazil
hahahhaha just kiddin´
I love, love, love reading your blogs. I not only learn something but I almost always get a good laugh !! Thanks for sharing.
I love reading your blogs Ana. It really interesting learning about other countries and their cultures, and especially Brazil, because of your briendship!
I hope that you, Ben, and Isabella have a delightful sunday.
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