If only we could live at Rio Araguari...

My, my, my, I must admit ... this past weekend was a busy and amazing one! Needless to say, I haven't made my big grocery store run yet. I have so much to blog about, but I am going to have to split the activities into multiple blogs! I am going to start with our Saturday activities.

Fernando, one of the chemical distributors that Dow Brazil works with, invited me and Jonathan to visit his lake house with his family and friends. So, Saturday morning, Jaedino and his wife scooped us up from our apartment, and we headed to Rio Araguari (about 45 minutes away).

It is very difficult to grasp through a camera how beautiful the views are in Brazil, but I tried to show what we were seeing as we drove down the road and approached the lake/river dam:

The location of this water spot is literally in the middle of nowhere, and it's totally worth it! Once we arrived at the lake house, this is what we saw when we got out of the vehicle:

The house to the left is Fernando's. His wife, Rosani, walked us through to look around before we headed down to the water. I absolutely LOVED the cobblestone-looking pathways. The walk from the house to the pavilion was probably one of the prettiest areas I've ever been in:

 



Once we reached the bottom of the hill, we were greeted with this view of the pavilion and water:

Jonathan and I just looked at each other, knowing this was going to be a great day with great people. The pavilion had everything: an area for cooking, multiple drink refrigerators, plenty of tables, radios, etc. Fernando and his family share this pavilion with eight other couples who own the lake houses near theirs. They have people on the property that cooked all of the food for us when it was time to eat. We walked onto the dock, and I was able to steal a picture of Jonathan on the lake :):

We relaxed at the pavilion for awhile and had a few drinks and snacks, and then it was time to get on the boat! Fernando took us around the water to show us the different areas of scenery, houses, and of course....the waterfall!

Fernando and his daughter, Beatrice





Approaching the water fall was like a dream. Fernando brought us so far into it that Jonathan and I got soaking wet! It was FREEZING!

Fernando, Rosani (she is a trip!), me and Jonathan

The guys were having so much fun, we had to get a picture of all that manliness:

And you know I can't leave out the ladies:

After the waterfall, the guys decided to jump into the water and take a swim before we headed back to the lakehouse to eat barbeque. Just as an FYI, keep in mind that the only English-speaking people at the camp were me, Jonathan, Jaedino, Enio and Julia (one of Fernando's daughters). All of our other communication with Rosani or her children or anyone else was through broken Portuguese and sign language. The interesting part about that - you can still figure out what people are saying AND even understand their jokes (don't ask me how)!

Once we returned to the pavilion, some of the other owners (and friends of Fernando and Rosani) started arriving. This little guy was one of my favorites. He schooled me at Angry Birds on his Ipad, and he helped Jonathan with his fishing by bringing him the bait buckets:

Jonathan ended up catching a few fish (which he of course threw back), but not without paying a price. In Brazil, there is a type of fish, the Trahira, that has teeth that actually hurt. Badly. Just as Jonathan caught one, Fernando couldn't get the words out of his mouth fast enough to warn him as he took the hook out of the fish's mouth - his gift from Mr. Trahira Fish was two teeth being inserted into his thumb, leaving holes that bled for quite some time. I guess the fish won in the end ;).



Jonathan's first fish in Brazil (not the one that bit him)!

As the day wore on, Rosani was making me laugh more and more. We talked about Brazilian bikinis and how they are pretty much made of dental floss (which I will never be caught dead in, by the way). I explained to her that American women don't have bubble butts like Brazilian women (at least not white American women ;)). Our hips are too wide (generally speaking)! If I had a bubble butt, was born in Brazil, and spoke Portuguese, I would wear dental floss, too.

As we ate, we all told stories of what it is like to be a foreigner in any country, and how ridiculous the language barriers can make you look. It was at this point that I wish I had videoed Rosani's story of being in Italy, where she tried to tell a handsome man that the curtain in her room had fallen. I am not even going to attempt to explain it, for this is a story you must see in person! Here are a few shots of the food of the day:


Open-fire BBQ

Fried Pacu (a Brazilian fish)

Jonathan just informed me that the fish in the above picture, Pacu, is the type of fish that constantly annoys Jeremy Wade on River Monsters when he is fishing in Brazil. Pacu have teeth like humans! Seriously. I dare you to Google it.

Continuing on, you know that the event wouldn't have been complete without the drink of Brazil, a caipirinha! You can use many different flavors in caipirinhas, and my favorite so far is caju (cashew). Speaking of that, did you know that cashews are fruits? The cashew nut that we eat is a piece of the bottom of this fruit. My favorite Brazilian juice so far is 'suco de caju' (cashew juice - it doesn't taste the way you are thinking it does) ... and of course, caipirinhas de caju :) :


My 'caipirinha de caju'

Due to my high intake of caipirinhas, I had to visit the restroom at the pavilion a few times. Well, of course, I decided to go into the bathroom at the same time as Mrs. Huge Ass Brazilian Lizard. However, Mrs. Lizard decided to hide from me at first, and then JUMP OUT from behind the mirror as I am washing my hands. So what do I do? What any other American woman would do in Brazil! I went flying out of the bathroom (very calmy, only a few quivers and bolts into the air). At this point, it was dark outside, so I figured nobody could see my private freak-out in my little corner of the grass. 

Then, I turned around - to find 19 heads staring at me. The embarrassment hit me, and I didn't know what else to do, so I gave them a little, nonchalant wave with my hand. Seriously. I waved to the people I had spent all day with like I was just arriving to the party - which of course sent them into fits of laughter.

I know a few posts ago that I said everything was smaller in Brazil. Not everything. For EXAMPLE:

I had never seen a moth the size of an eagle, until Saturday.

The moth is huge, but THIS one tops the charts. You want to see a woman flip out? Pick this thing up and let it hiss at her:


A supposedly HARMLESS Brazilian beetle

That's my flip flop, and I have big feet, so it is actually probably bigger than what you are imagining. Maybe even the size of a small cow. So, with justifiable reason, after the over-sized lizard, moth and beetle, I was swatting at anything and everything that I thought was trying to attack me. The sunglasses on my head really took a beating (as did my head) because anytime they moved, I slapped. 


Rosani and me

We decided to head back to Uberlandia around 10 p.m., and Jonathan and I couldn't agree more on how awesome of a day we had. Brazilians are amazing! We Americans really can learn a lot from them. There is no judgment. Ever. Just pure acceptance and enjoyment of your company.

Rosani has invited me to start running with her group of girlfriends every week - this Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. will be my first day! They run three miles. Did I mention that I haven't run in a year?

Lunch, Love Shacks and Brazilian BBQ

Well, we are slowly approaching the day that we will have our own Internet. The CTBC guy (a.k.a. the American equivalent company that hooks up cable, Internet, phone, etc.) came by today and set up the first stages of connecting our TV and Internet. Keep in mind that today marks the 14th day since our initial contact with the company to get these services. We were assured that the process should be complete within the next five days. FIVE days. I honestly appreciate and am totally baffled at this entire situation all at the same time. I appreciate it for Brazil's ability to make you slow down and LIVE your life (without constantly being connected). There is something that almost de-stresses you about it. You have no control over the fact that you can't check your email, therefore, the fault of something not getting done is out of your hands. How about that? Thank you, Brazil! You have lightened my workload (if I had one at the moment), and I don't feel guilty about it. Until, of course, daily Internet is restored and all hell breaks loose.

Who am I kidding. We have been going to the coffee shop down the street everyday for Wifi. I tried.

Over the past few days we have visited a few new places for lunch. Self-service restaurants are very popular here, where you go through the buffet-style line, weigh your food and pay accordingly. If you like meat, rice and beans, you will love Brazil. Every meal has some type of offering of meat, rice and beans. One of our favorite self-service places is right down the street from our apartment, and it's a good reminder of home:

We also ate at a local pizza place called Hippo Pizza (just like the animal). Pizza here is pretty different than what we are used to, but Uberlandia just got a Domino's! Brazilians seem to eat a good amount of ham and bacon in their foods, which we aren't really used to doing:


Hippo Pizza: half and half

The pizza at Hippo's was pretty good. We weren't so crazy about the white side of the pizza (known as 'a moda' a.k.a. 'house special'). The sauce was similar to Alfredo, but Jonathan swears it wasn't that. It had many types of cheeses, bacon, chicken, ham and ... CORN. Not our cup of tea. However, the other side of the pizza had sun dried tomatoes, arugula, cheese, olives and regular tomatoes under the cheese, serving as the sauce. We really liked that side.

I actually think my most memorable part of going to Hippo's is the drive there. We get to pass a very intriguing store heading that direction downtown, and it took us passing it three times before I had the nerve to ask Mariana and Renata about it:


Just to clarify, yes, it says 'Sex Point'

On that third, fateful passing of the sign, this is the additional view that squeezed the unavoidable curiosity out of me:

Again, for clarification, yes, it says 'Festa Swing' (a.k.a. 'Swing Party')

If you can't see the small cursive writing below Festa Swing, it says 'Ingressos Aqui!', which means 'Tickets Here!' I've known what is says for three days, and I am still laughing as I type!

I looked at Renata and said, "Does that say SWING PARTY?" She giggled and confirmed. Apparently, I needed more clarification, so I continued, "You mean as in SWING PARTY?" I also realized that at the very moment I am asking her this, I am attempting to mimic a swing set. As if THAT is going to help anything.

Mariana told me later that during the day, this is your normal run of the mill adult toy store. But at night ... well, let's just say some people go there to ... party. I am not kidding when I say that this place is smack dab, right in the middle of downtown. I think a wine-tasting place is across the street. Fine-dining - two blocks away. And maybe the fact that it screams S-E-X in three different forms throws me a little. Tell me, why, of all things, do they put this in English, but they make me read a food menu in Portuguese?

O.K. new topic!

This past weekend, Jonathan and I were finally able to experience an event that we have heard rave reviews about: a Brazilian Barbeque. It's one thing to go to a churrascaria (a.k.a. Brazilian BBQ steakhouse or Texas de Brazil in the U.S.), but to attend a barbeque in someone's backyard - the food is FAR better. Don't get me wrong, the restaurants are fantastic, but there is something about a backyard barbeque that makes the meat so much more... flavorful. Nah, that didn't do it. Delectable, maybe?

Enio invited me and Jonathan to share this Brazilian tradition with his family and other Dow coworkers:



Jonathan and Renato (Dow station leader in Uberlandia)

Jaedino was doing most of the cooking and most of the mixing of Jonathan and my's caipirinhas, might I add. I don't have as many pictures as I would like because it was so hot that day, and I was distracted by the caipirinhas and food. Picanha is probably the most famous Brazilian cut of meat, known to be better than filet mignon. I am so glad that Jaedino and Enio like the best of things, because that is exactly what Picanha is. The meat was so flipping good:



Enio and Jaedino cooking

I don't know if it's because I am from Louisiana or because I should have been born a carbohydrate, but the rice and garlic cheese bread were my favorite:



Look at all that deliciousness

And now, for my favorite part!

For those of you that know Jonathan, you know that it is a little hard (unless his brother, Chris, is around) to get him to play the guitar and sing. Well, thanks to Enio and his son's love for music and playing guitar, and Jaedino's caipirinhas - I caught it on camera!



Singing :)

I'm framing this :)

And I'm considering framing this:


The man has great legs. Don't you think he has great legs? He is going to absolutely kill me when he sees this, but still, he has great legs. So, I took a picture of them to show him just how good they look. Well, and to show you.

By the end of the night, we had been drinking and eating at Enio's for right around 10 hours! It was a great day, and we were surrounded by the most genuine and friendly people. Jonathan now refers to Jaedino and Enio as his 'brothers' for the way that they have taken care of us, just like family.

I kept telling Jaedino that I 'absolutely loved his fabulous blue-flowered apron.' As luck would have it, I was able to snap the best picture of the day at the perfect moment ... that's what he gets for mixing all those caipirinhas!


I promised his wife a copy ;)

Tomorrow, I am biting the bullet and going to the grocery store by myself to stock our shelves. We'll see how that one goes!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Eat a lot of turkey and homemade dishes for us since we don't get to celebrate the American holiday here :).

Spoiled Americans!

Long time, no blog! We moved into the new apartment (which neither of us can ever remember the name of) on Thursday and finally got to unpack our bags. Yay! We had been living out of our suitcases at the other apartment since we didn't want to unpack and repack just to move again. The new apartment is fabulous, as a previous blog entry has shown. We don't have TV or Internet yet, and in Brazil, it takes TWO WEEKS to set up Internet! When we were told that information about 10 days ago, Jonathan and I both looked at the company person like, "I'm sorry. What did you say?" Wow, how spoiled we are.

Jonathan looked at me and said, "Man, I'm used to making a phone call and having it all hooked up in the same day." Yeah. Me, too ;).

We still don't have Internet; we are hoping to have everything set up within a week or so. Right now, we are at the mall stealing Wifi! Hence, today will be a short post.

Moving on... We have been hanging out in our quiet apartment (which is quite nice). You should see us. It's kind of cute -- the way we count how many times each other blinks. Or at 7:30 p.m., we look at our watch and say, "Not bedtime yet." Once 7:35 p.m. gets here, we are doing pretty well, having only looked at our watch two additional times since the original glance at 7:30. Electronics have INVADED us. The last time we were at the mall, I quickly downloaded a few games on the iPad; DO NOT download Word W.E.L.D.E.R. Your marriage might suffer. I am obsessed.

Moving on (again)...Being that we hadn't washed clothes since we arrived in Brazil, on Thursday, I decided to try and work the washing machine in our apartment. Not happening -- All of the instructions and buttons are in Portuguese. I took one look at that thing, gave up, and called Mariana. She came by Friday morning and showed me how to work it. Once you wash clothes, there are no dryers to put them in. It's the good 'ole hang 'em up and air dry. The use of a dryer is VERY rare here.

I've been told two different things: 1.  Most people who own dryers are very, very wealthy; 2.  The dryers here do not dry very well and take forever to do so.

I do not know which is true, but either way, we don't have one. Also, everything here is much smaller than the U.S. Cars, cups, trash cans, washing machines....so, you know how most of us are used to saying, "Oh, no! I forgot to iron my shirt. I'll just throw it in the dryer," or "Honey, I'll have your shorts washed and dried before you leave in an hour,".... not in Brazil! You must plan! I have been washing loads of clothes everyday, and I STILL am not done washing our first 10 days worth of stuff:

The part we find the most interesting is the size of the kitchen trash can. I have set it beside the refridgerator to give you an idea of its actual size:


Can you even see it sitting there? ;)

I keep asking myself over and over, "How do they cook?!" There is no garbage disposal in the sink, so everything must be thrown away. I asked about this mini-garbage can phenomenon and was told that Brazilians just take their trash out. A LOT. We have gone through 11 garbage bags in three days. Are we wasteful? 

Coconut water, anyone?

Jonathan and I haven't been doing much over the last couple of days. The weather has been rainy, and Jonathan has been doing a good bit of computer work. However, we were able to steal a small piece of sunshine when Mariana and her husband, Daniel, took us to the Praia Clube (a.k.a. Beach Club) here in Uberlandia.

Recently, Mariana asked us if we planned on joining a gym while we were here. We nodded our heads in agreement, SWEARING that we are going to get back into shape and go home looking fabulous. We'll see. Mariana suggested we become members of the Praia Club where she and her family are members. Membership is invitation only, so sweet Mariana wanted us to come as her guests to see if we wanted to get memberships of our own.

Let me tell you, this place has everything. It's not your average gym. It's more like a country club/water park/summer camp/work out area/restaurant/night life/separate day spas for men and women (one hour massages for around $30)... seriously, it has every single one of those things. Here is the layout:

The club has an area for kids (it's much bigger than this with small water slides and pools as well):

Here's the gym (which is behind one of the multiple soccer fields surrounded by a walking track):

Don't let me forget the different bands that play every weekend:

After you walk past the band/dancing area, you cross a bridge with a river running through it (no pun intended) and a viewing area:

Next, we went down a walking path with an incredible view:

The path led us to one of our favorite parts, the Brazilian squirrels! Well, monkeys actually, but Mariana said they don't have squirrels here. Instead, they have these small monkeys (the pictures aren't that great, I only had my small digital camera with me):


Monkey see...



Monkey do! (Eating his mango)

The first monkey is the dominant male. At first, he was jumping around the trees making a lot of noise, so our attention was focused on him. Then, we saw the little guy in the second picture :). Mariana and Daniel explained that the male monkey was "acting a fool" on purpose to distract us from focusing on the little one while he eats! I thought that was pretty cool. Mariana said, "The male is protecting the family -- as ALL males should (not just monkeys)!"

Of the five pools I saw at Praia Clube, this is probably the one where I will spend the most time:


That view is spectacular in person

The part that I found to be amazing was the price. In U.S. dollars, it is around $85 per month for your first two years; then, you are practically a lifetime member, and the price drops to around $55 per month. For everything this place has, there is no WAY you could find that in the U.S.!

As we ended our first visit at Praia Clube, we were all thirsty, so Mariana ordered four coconut waters (a.k.a. coconut milk in U.S.) on our way out. Before I go any further, let me just say that I am a "logical" thinker, I usually try to use logic to find out why things are the way they are. When I received my coconut, I saw the hole that is cut into it with a straw sticking out:

And I asked the simple question, "So, how do they do this? They just drill the hole in the coconut and pour the water in it?" Apparently, that was not the thing to say, because Mariana and Jonathan burst out laughing (Daniel wasn't in earshot, thank goodness)! They both clarified that the water comes in the coconut already. Oopsy.


Me, Jonathan, Mariana and Daniel

For the record, after the above incident -- I no longer believe that I could survive alone like Tom Hanks in Cast Away.