If you’ve been scanning the papers in the last day you may have seen this horrible story (Portuguese/ English) about a 20 year old named Daniel Barroso abusing dogs at a grooming parlour/pet shop here in Rio.
A day after the story broke here in Brazil, it was also reported in Britain.
I think it goes without saying that this is a very ugly story – people entrust their loved animals to be groomed and instead of taking car of them, this guy is hitting them and generally maltreating them. Unfortunately stories like this come up occasionally.
As well as causing a huge amount of outrage and upsetting people there is often a kind of mini-back-lash in which people say “People care more about animals than people”. I actually haven’t seen that one so far, but what I have seen a lot of is this: Vergonha, só no Brasil mesmo! (Shame! Only in Brazil!).
https://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.png00tomlemeshttps://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.pngtomlemes2012-10-19 15:28:322024-02-23 14:23:22Only in Brazil!
We flew into Salvador, the state capital, and spent a couple of days exploring the city before heading south. Our route followed the coast and as we drove I noticed signs indicating that we were on the Costa do Dendê (Dendê is the fruit of the Oil Palm). Sure enough there were Oil Palms everywhere.
Then, just as we reached our destination, I noticed that the signs had changed and we had crossed into the Costa do Cacau. Of course, we traditionally associate cacau (that’s the Portuguese spelling of cacao/cocoa) with chocolate, but the only real contact I’ve had with this fruit since I’ve been in Brazil has been as a delicious, refreshing drink made from the pulp that surrounds the cocoa beans.
Although we were now on the Cacau Coast, we didn’t see much in the way of cacau. Then one day when we were driving through a small town, I noticed this:
“What?” I imagine you asking (that’s what everyone else in the car said when I pointed this out). You should be directing your attention towards the orange patches on either side of the road.
Today I’m taking it easy and letting someone else do the work! I am delighted to say that Rachel from Rachel’s Rantings in Rio is guest posting! I’m sure many of you will already be familiar with Rachel’s blog – it’s a brilliant mix of observations on everyday expat life in Rio, comments on what’s going on in Brazil and in her life and all number of other things in between.
Below is a lovely piece on the idiosyncrasies of the Brazilian family – thanks Rachel! I couldn’t have said it better (and I wouldn’t have dared! ;))
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A Brazilian family is like an entourage, an opinionated and not necessarily accommodating entourage.
This is the “beauty” of a Brazilian family. They actually want to be a part of your everyday life. They would never kick their child out of the house at 18 yrs old. They sure as hell wouldn’t send him to a Scottish boarding school at 12. No, Brazilian families are like the mafia, you are a member for life and if you can live at home in your childhood bedroom so much the better.
Of course, just like the mafia, there are some definite perks. For starters, they love you. Seriously, I’m almost overwhelmed by the love and caring at times. As an American I don’t feel like I return the affection adequately. I’m not comfortable with people invading my red, white and blue bubble. I really have no idea what the Brits do with all the overt Brazilian affection. I’m sure that amount of hugging, kissing, calling, and chatting is far from what the Queen would consider proper.
As a foreigner, when you are really a part of a Brazilian family you know it. For starters you lose at least one Saturday a month, two if both of your spouse’s Grandparents are living. Those days are dedicated to the infamous Brazilian family lunch. By the way, the lunch goes from 12:30pm to 4pm.
[Tom speaking]: If there’s one thing Brazilian family likes, it’s a big group photo!
https://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.png00tomlemeshttps://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.pngtomlemes2012-10-13 12:36:552024-03-04 08:43:38What you need to know about the Brazilian Family
People who’ve never been to Rio often have quite extreme notions of what life here must be like. Some assume it’s a never-ending beach holiday, others think we are constantly ducking bullets and running from armed thieves. The reality for most is more prosaic – bad traffic on the way to the office, work 10am-7pm, bad traffic on the way home. No beaches, no samba, no guns and no fatalities.
Of course that’s not to say that good and bad things don’t happen here. Yesterday on Ipanema beach something quite shocking occurred. As is often the case, there are various versions of exactly what happened, but it seems to go something like this: A large group of Guardas Municipais (Municipal Guards) moved onto the beach. Some reports say that they were there to remove a pitbull dog that had been brought onto the beach – other reports say that they were there to stop a group of kids playing Altinha (in England we call this keepy-uppy) which apparently is not permitted on the beach before 5pm.
I’ve been working hard on some big changes for the Eat Rio site over the last couple of weeks. Because of that I haven’t had so much time to write blog posts (though I’ve been trying not to leave it too long!). The changes are ongoing, but I hope to introduce the first of them to you in the next few days!
In the meantime I’d like to leave you with this photo of the gnarled face of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain) that I took yesterday evening. From a distance it might seem like a nice smooth stone face, but when you take a closer look you can see that this ancient rock (600 million years old apparently) has a fair bit of wear and tear.
The ancient rock of Pão de Açúcar in the background with more recent structures of Santo Amaro favela in the foreground. Notice the pipa (kite) swirling away over the rooftops.
https://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.png00tomlemeshttps://eatrio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/eat-rio-logo.pngtomlemes2012-10-08 14:14:282012-10-08 14:14:28Big changes take time
