Professional Clothes

I was actually dreading going shopping for professional clothes. And it is VERY unlike me to dread any kind of retail excursion. But to be honest its a bit scary having to go and pick out your first appropriate outfits for your first real job without your Mom there to comment on how short the skirts are and how see-through that blouse is. What is even more terrifying is that Target (or Targee as my Dad calls it) has yet to come to Brazil. So with no Mom and no Target, well, where exactly are you supposed to start?

My roommate, Domi, gave me a few stores to go and check out. I went, and quickly became very discouraged. Besides everything being extremely overpriced, nothing fit. And can I just say that black and tan are not flattering colors on me. Are they on anyone? Plus they are so frumpy. I understand its work clothes but that doesn't mean all fashion sense has to be disregarded.

Making my way back up Avenida Paulista after leaving the last suggested department store, I passed a little shopping mall tucked under a big office building. Upon entering, I saw a lovely navy blue knee-length skirt with pretty buttons in a store's display window. Okay that is more like it. I walk in to the tiny shop to be greeted by two delightful Brazilian ladies. After telling them my dilemma about needing professional clothes, they immediately whipped into action.  Within minutes, we were on a first name basis as they brought me through the racks of skirts, dresses, blazers, shirts, pants, etc. But the best part was yet to come. As I began trying stuff on, again things were not fitting as I had hoped. Not a problem! Little did I know, this was no ordinary clothing store but actually a seamstress! Everything in the shop was stitched and sewed right there! Not a "Made in China" tag in sight. So, when the clothes did not fit right, they could altered. This dramatically changed the whole shopping experience. I felt like Cinderella and these two Brazilian seamstresses, were my fairy godmothers. The only thing missing were little blue birds tying my hair up with silk ribbons as Marcela and Fernanda pinned and fixed each skirt, dress and shirt. And what a relief, not only were these women brilliant with their sewing abilities, their fashion sense was remarkable. The tiny shop was lined with bright pastels and flower patterns, royal blues and vibrant purples. Furthermore, the clothes actually complemented your figure. I am what you would call curvy, and yeah I don't want to go to work everyday looking like a washed up whale. Marcela and Fernanda did not want that either which is why they spent the whole next hour with me to ensure that every article fit just right. As I left the store with a bag in each hand, feeling pampered and important, I felt like I was saying goodbye to new life long friends. But it will not be goodbye for long. Marcela and Fernanda are going to call me in a few weeks when the new Fall fashions are in :)

Now I really can't imagine going back to Target where the clothes are a hit or miss and the dressing room ladies stare at you blankly when asked their opinion on how something fits. It is all very impersonal. And that is why I am truly beginning to love São Paulo. Here I am in one of the largest metropolises of the world, but even so, I am able to find such comfort and kindness amongst the nooks and crannies of the city's streets. Even though I still wish my Mom could have been here, my Brazilian fairy godmothers filled in just fine.

Here are some pictures of my purchases!

Outfit one. Please note flowered cuffs and neckline. Brilliance.

 I really like these buttons because they remind me of seashells on Chappy

 Outfit two: More flowered cuffs.

 Outfit three. Yes, Mom, you can borrow it when I get home. 

Some more shirts to be mixed and matched. They are a really nice light fabric! 

And I am on my way to be dressed for success for my internship! Thanks for reading everyone. And a shout out to my wonderful Dad. Its his birthday today! I love you! Everyone send him an email if you get the chance. Hes turning 29! 

Getting situated

Its been six weeks now since I have been in Brazil. Hard to believe! Time really does just keep moving faster and faster. And although I do sit here and miss home and SLU I have to remind myself that this chunk of time is something very special and truly unique. Once I get back to the U.S. I have one more year of being in my all-expenses-paid-resort, also known as college (thanks Mom and Dad), and then BAM its the real world. I'm not saying that I will stop traveling but doing another exchange like this? Who knows.

Something I realized while living in Barcelona and then have come to realize more being here in São Paulo is that you really have to fend for yourself out there. People are not going to hold your hand and guide you along. It's fine. I'm okay with it. It just takes some readjusting. I am happy to be getting little tastes of this reality during my four years at SLU so that it doesn't all take me by surprise after I graduate (eek). Its like this Fall, my parents got a feel for what it will be like to be empty nesters. My sister Jane and I went off to college and our youngest sister, Adelaide, studied abroad in Argentina for six months. Mom and Dad were left at home alone and surprisingly did not move into separate bedrooms. Our dogs, Dwight and Riley, became the new centers of attention and I was impressed with how well my parents managed. In fact, Mom and Dad  had such a surplus of attention to give with their three princesses gone, that when Dwight ate a dead deer behind our house and got very sick, Mom hand fed him chicken noodle soup. She saved little Dwighty Boy's life along with her marriage since for those of you who don't know my dad, spending $2,000 to bring a pet to the vet is what he would call a NDE (Near Divorce Experience). So needless to say, I think they will do well once Adelaide moves out for good, just as I will conquer what ever I decide to pursue after I graduate. 

Now that Carnaval is over, the real new year begins in Brazil. School starts, work picks back up and people's daily routines are underway. My intensive Portuguese class has ended and my regular university classes in the FAAP have begun! This semester I will be taking four classes all in Portuguese that include: International Finance, International Economics, The Brazilian Financial Market and The Formation of Latin America's Economy. This is a relatively light course load compared to other Brazilian students who normally take 8-10 classes per semester. But my advisor here suggested that with my internship (starting either this week or next), four classes will be plenty, and after my first week, I completely agree. 

So what are my first impressions of these classes? 1. Extremely interesting and 2. Very well taught. I have one male professor and three female professors which I think will be great. I have yet to have a female economics professor. I would also like to comment on how well prepared I feel for these courses from my studies at SLU in economics, history, politics and well just about everything else. During my first week, it was a relief to not only follow the whole lecture in Portuguese but to also be able to comment and answer questions using previous knowledge that I learned in my semesters back at SLU. So if you are one of my SLU professors reading this, give yourself a pat on the back from me! Class size is small which is great: about 15-20 students. Kids participate and seem generally interested. All class notes are posted on an academic site for all of us to refer to afterwards which will be super helpful for me when needing to fill in what ever gaps I may have missed. So we are off to a great start folks! Side note: come mid semester with mid terms and papers, I may take all of this back.

Other than classes what else have I been up too? Well, on Monday I attended my first cervejada. What is this you ask? Oh, its just a University sponsored kegger for all new and returning students. Talk about incentives! Go to class or a kegger? Hmm. The still-developing, college student brain chooses kegger! They didn't even charge an entrance fee. All you had to do was bring a bag of powered milk that then would be donated to charity. Brilliance. And the beer selection? Budweiser! Here is a picture from the party of us exchange students. Needless to say, the afternoon/night was a success! Yes Adelaide, those are your shorts, and your shoes, and your bag. Thanks. 

One of my favorite things about Brazil are the weekly farmers markets. Every neighborhood has its farmers market where everyone goes to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, spices, etc. Its great because all the food is super fresh and VERY cheap. Our farmers market happens every Thursday and this week was my second time going to purchase our weeks supply of fruits and veggies. You can hear the commotion from the market as you approach starting from about two blocks away. Upon arriving, you are hit with a tidal wave of vendors wooing you with their very scrumptious products. Everyone wants to be your best friend at the market if it means you'll buy their lemons, or mangos, or papayas, or star fruit. It is hard not to get lured in, especially when you are new to how the whole system works. While standing in front of a massive row of grapes trying to decide which ones to buy, I am approached by a man holding a spectacular looking piece of neon orange mystery fruit. The conversation goes as follows (Please note the sweet talk is all part of the act. Also, when hearing sweet talk in Portuguese it makes your ears melt):

Fruit man: Hello my love, how can I help you?
Elley: Oh I'm just going to get some grapes, thank you.
Fruit man: You are so beautiful, here try a piece of this fruit. (before responding he cuts a generous sliver of the mystery and hands it to me. I try it and my knees just about give out with how delicious it is)
Elley: Wow thats so good. What is it?
Fruit Man: You have beautiful eyes. Here now sample this apricot. (he watches my eyes light up as my palate just about explodes with exquisite sensory overload. He knows I am hooked). My beauty, you must try this strawberry. Do you have a Brazilian boyfriend? Let me take you out dancing. But first my love, try these cherries. Oh, how your eyes light up in the sun. Are they real? Eat a piece of papaya, my queen. You said you needed grapes?

Ever bite he offers is more succulent than the last.  Before I know it I am standing their holding more bags than my arms can carry, of fruit that I don't even know the name of nor even know existed, as the the Fruit man continues to offer me more samples of his proudest produce, while showering me with his skillful Brazilian banter.

Making my way up the street I approach a scene that you would most likely see on a travel food network. You know one of those television programs that makes you want to drop everything you are doing to go and try what ever is being featured on that days show. Today's special: something so classic here in Brazil: A Pastel stand. A red pop up tent covers a massive eating frenzy as people yell out their orders and hoover down the Brazilian specialty. The smell lures me into join the chaos as I squeeze myself into the group lining the counter waiting, and eating. Its mid day and this is clearly where people come for their lunch break. I look over at the bubbling oil in the massive steal frying pan as the pastels sizzle and pop. The smell is a mixture of garlic, sauteed onions, seafood, sugar,  fried dough, minced meat and sweat. The list of overwhelming choices hangs overhead: shrimp, chicken, beef, beef and cheese, chicken and cheese, shrimp with some weird thing thing I can't pronounce, random parts of a cow all mixed together, that again but with cheese, nutella, nutella and banana. Going to the market is really a excellent vocabulary review. Disregarding the fact that I had just eaten I decide I want to purchase this delicacy for a mear 3 reals (about a $1.50). Side note: part of being a foodie is not eating when hungry but eating when ever you encounter something enticing. If this happens to be every 25 minutes, so be it.

Unsure of which one to chose, I look around me to see what the locals are inhaling. I keep hearing the lady behind the counter yell out "camarão, camarão." Okay this means shrimp. That seems like the most popular. I'll get a shrimp one then. But then the guy next to me bites into his steaming pastel breaking the crunchy dough to expose a medley of minced meat, cheese, onions, tomatoes and garlic. My tummy rumbles. It knows. After a quick inner battle I decide that the best thing to do is to get two pastels in order to really take advantage of this experience. When in Rome, right? "Mosa, mosa" I call out to get the lady's attention. Within minutes I am standing there holding my two fresh pastels wrapped in wax paper to keep in the heat. Following what I see around me, I tear back the paper to bite into the perfection. The crisp dough crunches and the savory shrimp is well, heavenly. The freshness is overwhelming but also the flavor is just indescribable with its mixture of different spices. Its one of those flavors that with every new bite, you discover a different taste. It also seemed to get exceedingly more mouth-watering as I ate it. Despite its impressive size, I finish my shrimp pastel in a matter of two minutes. Actually probably less. Without waiting for my stomach to tell my brain that it was now full, I bite into my second meat and cheese pastel. I first noticed the surprising taste of sun-dried tomatoes within the hodgepodge of wonderfulness. It caught me off guard, but was totally brilliant. The bittersweet, chewiness was the perfect accompaniment to the other salty ingredients.

The whole pastel extravaganza lasted about 7 minutes. There is no lingering once you are finished. You eat and then you move, before someone else, moves you. To quench my thirst I turn around to yet another magnificent scene: pudgy Brazilian women blending and mixing any fresh juice you want. I order my usual Maracujá juice assuming that I know what is coming. I watch as she takes the fresh juice out of the fridge and pours a splash into my glass. She then reaches for another pitcher of a suspicious mixture to fill the rest of the cup. Handing me the concoction, I smile to pretend I know what I have just purchased. Putting my lips on the rim of the cup, I take my first sip of the mystery beverage. Let me tell you people, I think at this point I actually had an out of body experience. I don't know if it was the combination of the Fruit Man, the pastels and then this juice but I could barley stay upright. This mystical potion was pure mother nature. Something that they would serve to you upon arriving in a biblical paradise. Aphrodite's beverage of choice, for sure. Its almost as if every sip rejuvenates your body. Where on earth did it come from? I make out some of the tastes: fresh coconut water, a hint of ginger, Maracujá. But there is something else. Something so magnificently sweet, but not from sugar. I thought about turning around to ask the woman what was in this enchanting drink, but I decided I would keep it a mystery.

I walk down the opposite side of the market in a gastronomic daze, barley able to pry my lips from the straw. The bags of fruits and vegetables no longer feel heavy and the blazing sun no longer feels hot. I feel satisfied and accomplished after such a triumphant and tasty market adventure.

I don't have the best pictures but I did manage to get a few. Most importantly here are some of the pastels. The red is the reflection from the roof of the tent.

Here you can see the steel frying pan that is used to cook the pastels.

Some of the flavors.

I tried to capture the eating frenzy. This picture does not really do it justice. 

Alface

Uvas

Manga e abacate

Temperos e ervas

Bananas

You didn't think I was going to leave without telling you what the mystery fruit was did you? After typing"neon orange fruit that looks like a tomato" into Google it has been determined that this is a Persimmon. A very common fruit here in Brazil. I eat one now every day for breakfast amongst my fruit medley of papaya and banana all mixed together in yummy Greek yogurt. 

Some of my purchases at the market! All exquisite. 

Thanks for reading everyone! More coming soon! 

Photos from Rio de Janeiro

Oi Pessoal!

As promised I am posting some photos from my Rio trip to give you all a little imagery of the experience. I tried to find some good youtube videos of the Sambódromo parade that I went to but actually had a difficult time. So I am posting the link to their website that has great photos from the parades that you can look at.

http://www.rio-carnival.net/photos/rio_carnival_photos.php

If anyone has any good videos that they find on the parade feel free to leave them in a comment at the end of the blog! 

Taking the train up to the Christ Redeemer statue. Being good exchange students, we woke up at 6:30 in the morning to make it to the staue by 8:00 when it opened. We were the first ones to see the spectacular view as the sun rose over the city. 

Here is the statue from the back. It is 99 feet tall! I took this walking up the stairs from where the train let us off.

Is that Jesus in the background?

Here is a picture of the infamous, breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro. As you can see the sun is just getting settled. 

Here we are infront of the statue. From the left Abel (Mexican American), Elsa (Mexican), Martin (Argentine), Me and Rodolfo (Mexican). 

Looking out over Copacabana Beach

                                     

                                       

And over to Ipanema Beach

Here we are at the Sambódromo parade. Caipirinhas in hand!

Late night on Copacabana Beach

Picture taken from Apartment window 

Here are some pictures of the Blocos. In the background you can see the truck that is actually a big beer can float with a Samba band playing on top of it. 

With my friend Inaê who I went to Rio with and her friends at a Bloco.

All of us in our Gypsy costumes at a Bloco! This was a really fun day!

First Day of Blocos. From the left Inaê, Marcela, Me and Amanda

Picture of the bloco from the apartment. This does not really do it justice

Here in the background you can see the beer stands I talked about in my blog post. They are literally everywhere. 

Following the big beer can with little beer cans in hand!

Copacabana beach!

Ipanema Beach!

That warm, delicious Brazilian H2O

Picture of a favela taken from the street down below. 

Carnaval no Rio de Janeiro

So I made it back in one piece from the world's biggest five day party: Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. My first word to describe the experience: overwhelming, my second word: mind-blowing, my third word: exhausting. Where do I start? There is so much.

So what is Carnaval? It is a five day festival before the beginning of lent that starts on Friday and ends mid-day on Ash Wednesday. The word Carnaval comes from the Roman Catholic word carnelevare which literally means to remove meat. Traditionally Catholics and some Christians abstained from eating meat during lent as a form of fasting. Carnaval, therefore, marks the beginning of this period. Okay so there is your classic Wikipedia info to give you a little background.

So what is Carnaval in Rio? It is five days of drunk free-for-all with all the Cerveja (beer), cigarettes and piss in the streets you want. Okay its more than that but at first glance in the eyes of a 21 year old girl who has barely been in Brazil a month, this was my first impression. The only religious aspect of it is the occasional glance up at the famous Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue that stands above the whole city and is visible from the streets down below. I couldn't help but almost feel guilty as I participated in the Carnaval mayhem with this statute hovering over us. I am not religious but I can't imagine what could be going through Christ's head as he observed: "Really guys this is how you prepare for the time set aside to reflect on me?" Because after all that is part of what lent is about, to contemplate the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ. But I digress, back to the inebriated chaos!        

Carnaval in Rio and in all of Brazil is famous for what are called Blocos, block parties. But don't get too ahead of yourself. This is no neighborhood barbecue. Furthermore, there is no one way to describe a bloco. They vary depending on the region in Brazil. In Rio, and the Southeast of Brazil in general, the blocos are filled with pure Samba music. Different Samba schools have their bands play on the top of big moving trucks and the school members dance throughout the city. People gather to follow the truck to dance and move along with the music. You have blocos of all sizes that go on all day. Some start at six in the morning others at four in the afternoon, so people just bounce (or should I say wobble/crawl) around from one bloco to the next. And everyone has some sort of costume on. Nothing too dramatic because granted its 95 degrees out in the hot sun, but yes some sort of costume. My friends and I were Flintstone characters, gypsies, princesses, etc. Every ten feet or so you have a little cart with a big blue umbrella sticking up over the crowd where you can find a wonderful selection of Antartica Beer (Brazilian equivalent to a Bud Light), Water and Red Bull. I would say the beer consumption for the average bystander was a beer every 10-15 minutes. An incredible rate really. That is about 5-6 beers an hour starting as early as six in the morning and going until 10 at night for five days in a row. Is your liver quivering? From time to time a cart would pass by with Caipirinha popsicles. These were really a treat, especially for people like me who do not enjoy drinking beer.

Anyways the cart vendors are what fascinated me the most. Most of them most likely live up in the favelas (city slums) and came down to the flat, developed part of the city to make their years earnings selling beer and water to Carnaval goers. The whole dynamic shows how separated the society is in Rio and all of Brazil and really most developing countries. There was one cart vendor that caught my attention as I stood amongst the free-for-all : A young mother with her two daughters about 11 and 13 years old. I first saw the youngest daughter walking through the crowd carrying the big, empy Styrofoam cooler over her shoulders towards her mom. Someone accidentally bumped her and the corner of the cooler poked her in the eye. Between the sweat drops and the bump the poor thing could not open her eye. Finally making her way through the mass of people with one eye closed she set the heavy cooler down and started rubbing her eye. Her older sister, anxious to refill the empty cooler, started pestering her to start helping, but the little girl could not stop rubbing her eye. The two of them started arguing and it reminded me of how I would bicker with my little sisters over some toy when we were younger. However, these girls were not fighting over some materialistic desire but rather over bucking up to the pain in order to make ends meet for the rest of the year. The argument ended with the youngest girl sitting on the curb next to her mom's cart with her head in her hands. I stood and watched as she sat there invisible to the mass of people standing around her. I wanted to sit down next to her and give her a hug or get her an ice pack. I looked over at her mom as she passed out one beer after the next. From her cart looking up a the hill there was a favela, looming over the boulevard in all its despair.

I don't know why this image stuck with me so much. It was mostly confusing being there during Carnaval, a time that represents Brazil's famous happy-go-lucky mentality, but still seeing so much misery within the cracks of the city. Last year I wrote a research paper on the street children of Latin America for my Latin American Politics class. I wrote a lot about Brazil because, although better now, it is infamous for its issue regarding homeless children. Mostly because of  the Candelária Church massacre in 1993 when Brazilian police men killed 8 street kids in Rio de Janeiro. So being there and seeing all this socio-economic turmoil that I read about in books and worked so hard to put into words for my final paper, was, well, very difficult to internalize. You go to college and learn so much about the world and all the issues and hardships that people face to then get graded on your knowledge about it. Then you have this grade and its like okay sweet. But you really don't know anything until you see it right there in front of you. And there it was over and over again from the little girl sitting on the curb rubbing her eye, to the group of street kids waiting on the corner to rob a lost tourist, to the two men smoking crack on Copacabana beach after a long day in the hot sun.

But don't be fooled. There is a reason why the New York Times just put Rio as the number one tourist destination for the upcoming years. It is a spectacular city filled with so much character, spunk, and not to mention loads of history. I loved walking along Ipanema beach humming the famed Bossa Nova song, "Girl from Ipanema", by Antônio Carlos Jobim and listening to live, late night Samba music outside old Carioca bars on the tranquil side streets as the day's festivities came to an end. I was also lucky enough to go to the world renowned Sambódromo, an all night parade featuring the best samba schools with meticulous costumes and extraordinary floats (youtube videos to follow). And of course, being a good tourist, I took the train up to the top of the small mountain where the Cristo Redentor statue stands to look out over the entire city of Rio de Janeiro. As cliché as it sounds, the view is absolutely breathtaking.

So what is my advice to you? Rio? Yes. 100% you gotta go. Buy one of those special underwear fanny packs that you put under your pants though. Thats a necessity. I want to go back so if anyone wants a travel partner, you got me. Rio during Carnaval? For me, probably would not do it again. Is it something that everyone should experience? I don't think so. If you are into 5 day parties with beer showers and pee in between your toes than yes, by all means go for it. But really, Rio has so much to offer outside of Carnaval so why not just skip the chaotic madness and go during a calmer period.

I am going to post pictures, videos and all that good stuff but am still getting them organized. So stay tuned for those coming up next! I am off to the beach with my roommate and her friends for the weekend. Stay warm, or cool depending on the hemisphere. Beijos para todos!

A quick update

Oi Gente!

Big news: I got an internship here in São Paulo at Deutsche Bank! About four months ago the Brazilian Government passed a new law that allows exchange students to have internships while studying abroad  here. It makes perfect sense. At the FAAP (my university) I will have only night classes from 7-10 making it so I have the whole day open to have an internship. Its great! The whole thing happened very quickly. A friend here put me in touch with people at Deutsche Bank, I sent them my resumé and they asked me to come in and interview. So then yesterday I got myself to the building (after chasing down my bus like a crazy person so I wouldn't be late) and had three different interviews. I don't think I have ever had such shaky hands or thought I was going to pass out while sitting down. After my third interview I got a tour of the building and then was sent on my way. Once I got home, I had an email waiting for me from the guys at the Bank saying congratulations on getting the internship! So there you have it! The first step into my career. You have to start somewhere. And hey, the Germans are really holding things (as in Europe) together right now so working at their bank is a good bet. Anyways I will be working in the electronic trading division for the Latin American region. Here is the Wikipedia link for electronic trading, don't worry I had to look it up too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_trading

I really do not know much more than that at this point. I feel like the biggest deer in the headlights. I do know that I am going to be speaking ALOT of Spanish since more of the clients are Spanish speakers. But then there in the Deutsche Bank office everything is in Portuguese. I will keep you all updated as much as I can. To be honest, I think there is a lot of confidentiality stuff that I am going to have to sign making it so I can't talk about things. I really have no idea. But everything I can share I will!

As for other updates: I spent a marvelous weekend visiting my Brazilian friend Maria and her family in their city Piracicaba, a small city located in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Maria and I met in Barcelona and had so many adventures together including going to Morocco for a week and then Italy. We hadn't seen each other in three years so it was very special to be able to be together again after so long. And this time we were speaking Portuguese! It was great. And of course her family could not of been more hospitable and kind. There really is nothing quite like the Latin American hospitality that you find down here. They treat you as if you are part of the family the second you walk into the door. And what comes with wonderful hospitableness? DELICIOUS home style Brazilian cooking. A new thing that I tried and loved and am actually craving right now as I write this: costelinha de porco, pork ribs. What did you think it was going to be something other than meat? Of course not. Let me tell you people, these are delicious, and I have never tasted anything like them. Erase all images of messy barbecued ribs that you get at Ruby Tuesday's out of your mind right now. Now imagine a big cast iron pot with sizzling oil and garlic, then think of a little pig and what its rib cage probably looks like. Now think of all those little ribs cut up into cubes and dropped into the cast iron pot. The meat is crispy on the outside but oh so tender on the inside. Its possible I ate the whole left side of the pig. Just saying. A delicious new experience.

I am posting some pictures here below that I took of my mini trip. Sorry none of the piglet chops.

 Here is the picture of an old Sugar factory in Piracicaba on the Piracicaba River

 Pedestrian bridge to go across the river

 Adorable little port on the river. I felt like I was in Storyland. I love all the different colors

 Cool pots

 This is a famous dessert/snack here: Acaí. Its a brazilian fruit that they than make into a really yummy sorbet almost. You get it with all sorts of toppings like granola, banana and strawberries. You can't actually see the acaí because of all the toppings but it is a dark purple and tastes somewhat similar to blueberries. It is delicious.

 Where we ate the Acaí

 For dinner we went to Maria's Parents friend's house and has an unbelievable seafood meal. Here they are cooking the seafood in the cast iron pots over a wood fire. Its all so civilized.

 The wood fire warms the surface so the food cooks.

 Finished product: Peixada. You got fish, shrimp, squid. Amazing. God this is painful. The other stew to the left is a fish head stew. Super scrumptious especially with the rice. Again, I had never met these people in my life but they treated me like I was family. It was a lovely evening.

 Here we are out at a Samba Rock bar. It is great here all the bars have live music. From left Me, Bruna (Maria's friend), Ana (Maria's sister), and Maria

Here Maria and I are three years later after Barcelona!


Thats all folks. Tomorrow I take off to Rio de Janeiro for Brazilian Carnaval. It is basically the biggest five day party that happens in the world. I am going with my other Brazilian friend who I met in Barcelona, Inaê. She and a bunch of her friends rented an apartment in Rio and invited me to come along. I am VERY excited to say the least. So look forward to updates from that at the end of next week! It is going to be wild!

Tchau Gente! Beijos!