Study Abroad, Part 2

Okay, another course in my University of Life:

Brazilian Culture 101: (Specifically focusing on the State of Rio Grande do Sul)

The richest cultural experiences we can have (in general) often focus around holidays or special events. Something that I wasn't expecting when we moved to Brazil was how many holidays and special events we would have.  Maybe it's because we tend to celebrate both American and Brazilian holidays in our family whenever we can, but it's easy for me to lose track of when the next special occasion will be, as there are so many! Not that we celebrate with all-out full-blown parties for every occasion, by any means, but generally Holiday = Day off from work! Which, from the mom perspective, means “Daddy is home to spend more time with us!!! Yay!!” So, just for fun, I decided to list some of the days that we have celebrated (or at least honored by not working!) this year as part of Brazilian tradition.

March 8 (or about 40 days before Easter) = Carnaval! Probably the Brazilian celebration most commonly recognized world-wide, for better and for worse. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on this one. Here's the thing about Carnaval: There are certain places that you probably don't want to be during this celebration, and certain channels on TV that you may decide to flip through more quickly than others, to avoid seeing too much human flesh. There is a huge parade with scantily clad women dancing Samba, which is probably the most famous event associated with this holiday. But really, everyone has a different way of celebrating, and the Brazilians friends and family with whom we associate remain fully clothed and did not even dance one Samba song (that I know of).  For us, this year it meant time off from work for a family beach trip! Which was quite nice and relaxing.

April 21 = Tiradentes. This day commemorates a national hero of Brazil who lived in the 1700's. I don't know his full story, but apparently he is important enough to get a day off from work. I guess it is comparable to President's Day.

March/April/May ? = Paixao de Cristo & Pascoa (Easter Weekend). The biggest difference I noticed in how it is celebrated here is the size and type of Easter eggs children receive here! It is also a tradition for many families to leave out carrots and water the night before for the Easter Bunny, and then in the morning he will have left a 'nest' of eggs for the children to find. We really enjoyed keeping some of our previous traditions from the US, as well as learning some new ones here! And we ended up with about a 2-month supply of chocolate eggs afterwards. :)

Studying Abroad

You know, no matter how much I think I know, it seems there is ALWAYS more to learn.  And the more I learn, the more I wish I knew.  I love learning new things!!  So I decided to sit down for a few minutes and reflect on what I have learned so far in my “Study Abroad” experience in this University of Life.  Here is what I’ve come up with so far:

Portuguese 101, 102, 201, 201, etc. -   This is probably the area I have spent the most effort and energy learning.  Before living here in Brazil, I knew enough to say “Hello! How are you? I am fine, thank you.” and a few other things about myself like “I am a teacher” and “Yes, I am an American.”  I also knew some important phrases such as “Where is the bathroom?” and “I am hungry!”  (Anyone interested in learning such valuable phrases in Portuguese can email me and I will share them with you.  They could save your life!)  Anyway, thanks to my high school Spanish classes, a couple course books for learning Portuguese, and spending a great deal of time listening to others speaking Portuguese, I felt like I wasn’t entirely starting from square one when we arrived here.  Now, after continuing to listen a great deal, reading scriptures and other church materials in Portuguese, watching Brazilian children’s shows for hours each week, and continuing to occasionally study my Portuguese course book, I feel like I’m getting a better grasp on both understanding and speaking in Portuguese.  Now, I can not only ask where the bathroom is, but I can also tell others!  And I’ve learned through experience that when I’m cold, I should ask for a cobertor (blanket), rather cobrador (collector, as in taxes or debt...).  Also, one of my favorite words I just picked up on this past week is bagunça - mess.  Fun to say, and extremely useful when one has young children in the house. :)

Six Months Down...

It has been a little more than 6 months since we moved to our new home, and probably time to update everyone on how we are all doing.  I’ll start with Elissa, as she is the most fun to write about.  Lissie has grown at least one or two inches taller since Christmas, and her vocabulary has grown substantially as well.  People here often think she is around 4 years old, as she is much taller than other children her age!  We speak mostly English when we are at home, so she has still learned more English than Portuguese so far.  Currently, her favorite phrases/sentences to use are “I love ____” (she fills in the blank with such words as chocolate, blanket, dress, shoes, Xuxa, letters, and any other random thing she is excited about at the time) and “I need ____” (the blank is often filled with the same words listed previously).  She is absolutely obsessed with letters and the alphabet right now!  She has a small set of foam letters which she must have with her in her bed at night or she won't fall asleep.  At least once a day, she sits in the computer chair, ‘types’ on the keyboard and says “ABCs??  ABCs????” until I come over and turn on an alphabet video on Youtube for her.  She will then stay seated and continue watching various ABC songs, number songs, Elmo, and pretty much any other children’s video that looks interesting to her, for as long as I allow her.  She also continues to LOVE watching the old classic Christmas shows, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman.  (I keep my fingers crossed that one of these days while playing with her DVD’s, she will scratch these movies so badly they will no longer play...  6 month have passed of not-so-gentle playing, and no sign of lethal scratches yet.  Sigh.)  Elissa has also become quite the singer and dancer, keeping us well-entertained!  One day while watching an ABC song for about the bajillionth time, she suddenly blurted out “I need to dance now!”, hopped off of my lap, and starting running around the living room, every few seconds pausing to stand on one foot or twirl like a ballerina.  As always, she enjoyed showing off and making me laugh, up until the instant I got the camera ready for filming...  Elissa has also recently been singing the alphabet song in Portuguese, and when asked or told to do something that she doesn’t like, she responds adamantly “Nao, nao, obrigada!!”  I’m pretty sure she picked this up at a pizza restaurant we ate at recently, as we passed on several pizzas brought around that night.  However, she feels it applies when told to put on pants, lay down, sit down, put a toy away, etc., yelling as she runs in the opposite direction.

Urug-Why?!

 Last week Tiago and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Uruguay- Brazil border.  As exotic as Uruguay sounds, I can say now that traveling there was about as scenic as traveling through Nebraska or Iowa.  And I don’t know much about Uruguay, but there isn’t much on the border that we saw - no amusement parks, fancy restaurants, cushy resorts, etc.  Still, I’d estimate that every week, thousands of Brazilians and probably Uruguaians travel there - Rivera, Uruguay/ Livramento, Brazil.  Why??  Because the streets are completely lined with stores that sell various items (many name brands, like Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, etc.) for prices considerably lower than you can find anywhere else in the country - Duty-Free shops!  (In most cases, the items sold are commonly found in the US for cheaper still.  I used to wonder why my in-laws always wanted to go shopping in New York City or Las Vegas when they came to visit...)  Since we gave away/sold practically all of our earthly belongings in January and had yet to replace several things, and since I had never experienced shopping in Uruguay before, we were excited to plan our trip.  

The hotel restaurant barbecue

We knew in advance that the hotel we would stay in was no Marriott or Holiday Inn.  I would say it wasn’t even a Super 8.  In fact, had it been in the US, I believe it would have been shut down years ago.  The front desk had no computer system, just a paper calendar book with scraps of paper stapled to it for ‘reservations’.   There was an elevator, which had only a thin door on the outside that swung open.  It reminded me of the front door on a trailer.  The elevator itself felt like it should be in some scary movie where the hero gets caught in it with monsters tearing through the roof.  (The monsters wouldn’t have much difficulty at all.)  Then, there were the hallways and rooms.  If we didn’t know better, we would have thought we’d accidentally checked in to a hospital.  The rooms were small, some with a single bed (yes, A single bed).  Ours had a double.  There was a small, old school tv mounted on the wall, maybe a 15 or 17 inch screen.  Rather than a closet, there was a fairly decent sized wardrobe, and there was a small vanity that looked like it could be an antique.  And of course it had a bathroom, complete  with toilet, sink and shower.  Since it appeared to be clean (other than some spots on the ceiling) and it really was conveniently located right in the middle of all the best shopping spots, we went ahead and stayed in our little hospital - er, hotel room.  It was a great decision!!  After visiting store after store and accumulating several shopping bags worth of treasures, we were very grateful that we could then go back up to our room, drop them off, and relax for a while before going out again.  

My Morning Wake-Up Call

This morning I was awoken by an 'alarm' that I have been waiting a while to hear:  “Wake up!! No more sleeping!!  Mooommy!!”  Now to be fair, I am pretty sure most of the vocabulary there was learned from watching Finding Nemo over and over again for the past 2 weeks.  (Remember when Nemo plays dead and Darla is yelling at him, trying to wake him up?)  But it was still impressive and made me smile for several reasons (besides the fact that anything my daughter does is adorable to me :)). 

#1 - Usually when Lissie wakes up in the morning or after a nap, we can hear her talking to herself, singing to herself, and occasionally crying.  After letting her play in her bed for a few more minutes while I wake myself up in the morning, I go to her room to pick her up.   “Good morning!!” I say, and “Did you sleep well??”  To which she often responds “Good morning!!”  and then rattles off some jibberish that seems to make sense to her.  But when I offer to pick her up, I get a “No! No get up!!” as she reaches for a nearby book or toy or blanket.  So I then allow her to play for a few more minutes while I brush my teeth and make my bed, and when I go back to her room she is usually ready to get up.  So it was a pleasant surprise to walk into her room, say “Good morning!” and see her smiling and reaching out to me, ready to get out of bed already. 

#2 - She called me Mommy!!!!  Lately to Lissie, Tiago and I - and most other people - are called “Honey.”  (Ie “Honey!?  Liggoo liggoo liggoo chocolate!” means “Mommy, I want some chocolate.”)  Apparently I need to lay off of using ‘honey’ as a term of endearment...  So anyway, for her to actually refer to me as Mommy was a very nice change!   And for her to call out to me like that, rather than crying or using her new trick of fake-crying: the icing on the cake. :) 

#3 - She communicated to me that she wanted something, without the usual morning whining and/or wordless pointing!  Now I know as well as the next mom or early childhood educator that nonverbal communication is an important step in language development for young children, and I have been grateful that she has been making such progress thus far.   Of course our current goal is to get her to use more words (and preferably phrases or short sentences) to tell us what she wants.  And with the introduction of Portuguese into her little mind, with all the new sounds and words being spoken around here, this goal was sure to slow down some as she sorts through everything and learns which words/sounds to use with which person.  But I can’t help feeling relieved each time she does actually try to communicate with words what she is thinking or wanting.  Especially when the words come out perfectly!!

I’ve decided that it’s kind of scary to try to raise a baby to be bilingual.  Yes, I’ve heard all the advice from experts and read the textbooks in college that say that during their early childhood years is actually the best time to introduce a second, third, even fourth language.  And yes, I also get that small children learning multiple languages can seem like they are behind at first, but later on actually can perform better in school because of their bilingual experiences.  It’s a great thing, I know it is.  But somehow it doesn’t make it any less scary when you are going through the ‘seemingly behind’ part.  That is why my little wake-up call made my day. :)  And that is why I smile and laugh so much when I hear more and more new words and phrases spoken and songs sung, in either language, by my little girl every day!! 

Oh and as for her Portuguese, it’s coming along too.  My favorite new trick of hers is when she counts “Um, dois, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, ... queijo!!”  She does love her cheese. :)

Comidas Gostosas! (More Recipes :))

For those looking for something a little different to cook/eat, here are a few more of our favorite recipes:

Pasteis, Risoles, and other snacks served at Lissie's birthday party

Pao de Queijo (Cheese Bread - one of our favorite snacks!  This recipe is from Tiago's grandmother, who makes my favorite cheesebread ever!)

2 cups Polvilho Azedo (which on Google Translator comes up as "Sour Powder"... other translations I found are  Mandioca Flour and Tapioca Starch, and supposedly you can find it in Asian grocery stores.)

2 eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt 

4 tbsp grated cheese (usually parmesan)

1 cup milk

Grease muffin pans.  Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Mix wet ingredients in a blender.  Add dry ingredients and blend again.  Pour mix into greased pan(s).   *Note:  After experimenting, this batter does NOT lend itself to rolling into balls.  My mistake before, sorry!  They should grow some while cooking and will be a light brown on top when ready.  Some people cook them less as they prefer the gooier middle.  And yes, they SHOULD be a little gooey in the middle, but crispy on the outside.

Cachorro Quente (Hot Dogs)

There are many variations on this recipe, but here is how we eat Brazilian hot dogs in our house. :)

1 package hot dogs, sliced into bite-sized pieces about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

Tomato Sauce (about 1 cup)

Corn, Peas - either canned or frozen work.

Water (about 1 cup)

Hot Dog buns

Parmesan Cheese

Boiled Eggs (about 1 per person), chopped

In a medium sauce pan, mix hot dog pieces, tomato sauce, water, peas, and corn.  You should have sort of a runny stew at first.  If too thick, add more water and/or sauce.  (I usually cook this by sight so not sure exact measurements.)  Bring to a boil, continue cooking at a lower temp until the hot dog pieces become plump.  Add salt, pepper and other seasonings of your choice.  

When ready to serve, put a large spoonful of hot dog mix on bun and top with eggs and parmesan cheese to your liking. 

Of Bunnies, Eggs & Chocolate

This past Easter weekend was an especially exciting one for our family! I had never experienced first hand Brazilian Easter traditions until this year, and I must say, Santa Claus definitely has a HUGE rival in the Easter Bunny around here. I asked a friend one day how their family celebrated Easter and especially how it worked for the children, and this is what she said: Long before Easter, her daughter (currently age 7) starts looking at all the different large easter egg options in the stores for the ones that she thinks will have her preferred toys or candies. She then writes a list for the Easter Bunny of the ones she would like most. On the night before Easter, she then leaves out some carrots and a bowl of water for the Easter Bunny to snack on when he visits her house. The next morning he will have left a hidden “nest” with treats and eggs and such. (Let me clarify here that hard-boiled eggs are not normally involved in these festivities, but rather large, hollow chocolate eggs wrapped in fancy papers. There are some chocolate bunnies and smaller chocolate eggs as well, but as they do not have as many nice toys inside, the children prefer the big eggs.)  There will be a few bunny foot print clues and some dirt and things that mark a trail for the little girl to follow, which eventually lead to the nest. Then of course she gets to open all of her eggs, ignore the chocolate shells (or at least most kids do), and play with her new treasures.

While we definitely enjoy trying out local traditions for all of the holidays and special events, we also tried to incorporate a lot of my family's American traditions as well. (I'm just not sure I can let an Easter go by without coloring some hard-boiled eggs!)  This proved to be a bit more of a challenge than expected. Since there were no egg-dying kits for sale in any of the stores here, we decided just to use the good ol' reliable food coloring, like our family used when I was growing up. :) There was only one problem: None of the stores we normally shop at carried food coloring. There is one candy/party goods store that we were pretty sure would have some, but on the day before Easter (yeah, we kinda procrastinated this one a bit) when we stopped by, there was no parking and long lines at each check-out register. (Remember Walmart the day before Christmas?) So rather than hunting 30 minutes for parking and waiting another hour to check out for just a few bottles of food coloring, we decided to try one more grocery store. Still nothing. It was time to get creative: Jello!! It comes in so many colors, and stains everything it touches! Surely it would work on eggs too!! :) (Kool-Aid was my other idea, but here there is no Kool-aid powder without sugar already added... Equally sticky either way.)  So we bought some jello packets, went home, poured in some boiling hot water, and dunked those eggs.