Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Feliz Páscoa!

Tonight kicks off a four-day holiday weekend in Brazil. All companies and schools have Thursday and Friday off and the city of Porto Alegre will surly decrease in population by Thursday morning. Most people take advantage of one last summer weekend at the beach. However, it is supposed to be a bit overcast, possibly rainy and cool ocean waters in Florianapolis, where we were planning on heading for the weekend. So, we thought we'd take the long weekend to hang out with our new friends and sleep in late in the mornings and further explore Porto Alegre....ahhhh!

By the way, check out more information on Florianapolis (Floripa, as the brazilians call it). It is an amazing paradise island with fresh-water lagoons, jagged cliffs and white-sand beaches. The NY Times named it "Party Destination of the Year" in 2009. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/travel/11party.html
Moreover, this is where we plan on taking our best Des Moines friends to celebrate New Year's Eve. Everyone dresses in white and parties until dawn on the beach. Sure beats the hell out of the ice and snow storms that are typical in Iowa that night!

I digress. I really wanted to share a fun tradition Brazilian's have over the Easter holiday. One of the funniest things I noticed were the "caves" of chocolate Easter eggs that they build in the supermarkets here. They hang these chocolate eggs, of various shapes and sizes and wrapped in bright colors, throughout the main aisles of the market. Check out Derrick trying to navigate his way through:
Being a new-comer to Brazil, Derrick's team teased him and told him that he needed to get an egg for everyone on the team. While this isn't necessarily the case, we decided it would be fun to take part in this fun tradition. Last night we ventured out (along with the rest of the city, I might add) to get the eggs for his team. Most of them have chocolate bon-bons and others have surpresas (or surprises) for the kids. It was a fun surprise for everyone that works for Derrick....and I'm sure they were all on sugar highs by the end of the day!
Admittedly, I don't know much yet about the difference, if any, in religious traditions here. But, I'll be sure to let you know after the weekend passes. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend!

Abraços! 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Eu moro no Brasil agora.

Today marks one month of living in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Yes, I had all the preconceived notions as well: Is it safe to eat the food and drink the water? Will I live in a shanty on the side of a hill? Will I be safe???
In fact, when Derrick was first asked to travel to Brazil for his job about three years ago, he was handed a sheet of paper of the numerous amounts of things he should not eat or drink (not to mention the shots he needed to get!) The list was forever long and we ultimately thought he would starve to death. That is, if he wasn’t run over by a speeding taxi here first. So, we went out for a big (read, expensive) Japanese dinner the night before he left. Come to find out, the food here in Porto Alegre is some of the best (if not THE best) I have ever had. One of the most common cuisines is, in fact, Japanese. More to come on the very delicious food of Porto Alegre in further posts!
What I’d really like to know is, what do you think of Brazil? What are the preconceived notions you would have about visiting or living here. Why? Because, 1) I am sure I had the same thoughts as you did and 2) because, though I’ve only lived here for a month, I’ve been proven wrong on many occasions by this vibrant city and the people who live here. I’d love to give you a glimpse of my new world and the experiences I have while I am lucky enough to experience it. 
Until next time, check out this video from the Porto Alegre department of Tourism. It’s a bit long, but really gives a good glimpse into the city of Porto Alegre. (Thanks, Amber for putting this on her Facebook page!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ3x3jPzWUI&feature=share
Tchau!
-Ashley