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 :).