Eat Rio Blog - Page 51 of 106

Being Brazilian

27/02/2013/35 Comments/in Musings

Hi everyone. I mentioned recently that I had taken on a new contributor and today is the day of her first contribution! I won’t give her a big introduction, I’ll just say that I met her almost 3 years ago and Reader, I married her.

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I have never seen myself as the typical Brazilian. After Mr. Eat Rio and I got married, I joked several times that his friends would be very disappointed when they met me. I’m not tall, I’m not tanned and my samba skills are questionable. But in the same way that happiness only exists with sadness and beauty with ugliness, thinking of myself as a true Brazilian only made sense when I compared myself with my loved Englishman.

So over the last years, I’ve learned I’m very Brazilian indeed. I’m loud; I touch people I don’t know very well; I engage in deep conversation with people I don’t know at all; I snap my fingers to call waiters; I think it’s normal when my family discusses family members’ lives on Sunday lunch. But I think the major aspect that sets me apart from my husband’s nation is this: I interrupt.

My best Rio Carnival moment of 2013

23/02/2013/0 Comments/in Musings

I know I know, carnival is over – just accept it and move on… Well I’m not ready to move on! Back in 2012 I told you about my best moment of the carnival that year (just an entire carnival bloco invading the airport – if you haven’t seen it then don’t miss the video). This year’s carnival moment was perhaps not quite so dramatic, but as an example of the spirit of Rio carnival, it’s hard to beat.

The Google Maps Markers! The markers were actually joined by a rope which made for some interesting manoeuvring!

One thing I’m struck by each year at carnival is how often I see the same people at multiple blocos. One of us will nudge the other and go “Look, it’s those Google Maps Markers again” or “Check it out! It’s that girl in the monkey suit from yesterday!”. Well one team I saw both during carnival 2012 and also at several blocos this year were noticeable because of a sign they held: Ceará Livre!:

What is Brazilian food like?

21/02/2013/39 Comments/in Food and drink

I saw a comment on Facebook the other day that got me thinking. Someone had posted something about the food not being great in a certain part of Brazil and then someone else had responded “Well, no one goes to Brazil for the food”. My initial reaction was “Harumph! That’s rather dismissive of Brazilian food!”. But then I thought back to my first few months in Brazil.

Back then I was not impressed with the food at all. There was my first taste of farofa which reminded me of a mouth full of dry sawdust. Then there was some weird gooey slop with prawns called Bobó. The rice and beans were OK, but if you had asked me about the best food in Latin America, I would have told you about the Ceviche in Peru, almost everything in Mexico and, of course, the sublime beef and red wine of Argentina.

Two fat Argentinian steaks, one bowl of delicious chimichurri and one happy Englishman!

So maybe that Facebook comment was fair after all? When people think of a holiday in Brazil they generally think of beaches, samba, carnival and football – not the food. But even if people aren’t obsessing over the food when they arrive in Brazil, what do they think of it when they actually try it?

Photo Post: The Leysian Mission

21/02/2013/0 Comments/in Musings

The Leysian Mission sounds like some kind of spy thriller doesn’t it? Well in fact it is this fine building that I snapped on my way to work on Tuesday. London really is rather magnificent sometimes…

Originally this was a Methodist school which also offered a “poor man’s lawyer”, a relief committee, feeding programmes, meetings for men and women, and a range of services and musical activities.

London vs Rio

20/02/2013/13 Comments/in Musings

Did I mention that I’m back in London for 2 weeks? I’ve been really busy since I got back, but I started writing this on Monday morning as I made my way to work:

This is the first time I’ve been back to England in a year. I landed less than 24 hours ago and already the contrasts with Brazil have been jumping out at me. Here’s how today started…

Duvet

Everyone in Britain sleeps under a duvet (sounds like DOO-vay). A duvet is a thick quilt, traditionally stuffed with goose or duck down, nowadays more commonly filled with cheaper artificial fibres. Outside the temperature is just a few degrees above freezing, so the single sheet that I used back in Brazil would be useless.

A duvet (AKA quilt). It keeps you cosy when it’s cold, but getting out of bed in the morning can be tough.

Morning Water Torture

Getting out from under the cosy duvet is really hard, but things get worse when you get to the shower. Of course the water comes out hot, but in older houses especially, the bathroom itself is often freezing! Back in Brazil I used love a long, cool, refreshing shower in the morning (and usually at least one more later in the day). Here in London it is like cold water torture…