A Week in Brasilia!

This past week I went to visit my second Brazilian friend from Trent University in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil's capital city.  This city has quite a unique history as it was specifically built to be the capital city not long ago. In what should have taken fifty years, in just five Brasilia was built on barren land though as the locals say - with a debt of fifty years.  Built in the shape of an Egyptian eagle, the government buildings and the Presidents house are located within the head of the eagle, the city, bank headquarters, theatres and cathedrals spread throughout the body of the eagle, while the residential apartments are situated within the wings of the Eagle.  My first day, Mario picked me up at the airport and took me back to his home to meet his mama and have lunch.  After lunch we did a little driving tour and picked fruit from native Brazilian trees.  Later we drove to an ice cream parlour and I got my first taste of acai ice cream, a Brazilian tradition.  That night we watched the Brazilian movie Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad) based on the Rio drug rings within the favelas with the corrupt police and the Elite Squad that fights to restore order.  It was pretty intense to say the least but a great movie to understand what few see when they see Brazil. The full movie is available on you tube if you would like to watch it too.  Wednesday I got a full, in depth tour of the city travelling to the different landmarks, government buildings, and the famous cathedral.  Mario has connections across the city, and when Robert Plant (lead singer of Led Zeppelin) was playing in Brasilia, we were able to get some great tickets to see a great show! Cooler still, right beside the concert hall was a soccer stadium being constructed for the World Cup! This thing was huge I tell you... And now I almost feel witness to the to the wondrous event. Though this was definitely a fun trip to explore more of Brazil, I was fortunate enough to turn this trip into a working trip, and on Thursday and Friday I was able to conduct a few interviews for my thesis.  One of my interviews had even spent some time in Canada thus it was really great for my research to hear their opinions and comparisons.  My flight was for Saturday evening and before I left we travelled to the last few places within the city left unexplored.  All in all it was a great week.  Relaxing though productive, concurring another region of this large country and great to see an old friend again.  

Sunday Funday.

I have a lot to be thankful for.  This past Sunday, I had the greatest day.  My new roommate made plans with her friends who have a boat to take me out for a day on the lake.  The four of us, early we awoke, went to the grocery store to buy the necessary supplies for snacks and sandwiches then off to the lake we went! It was a manmade lake, about an hour away from Campinas, just North of Sao Paulo.  Being manmade and living on the beach of the Great Lakes, I did not get my hopes up too high, not knowing really what I was getting myself into but wow I was impressed.  The lake was surrounded with mountains, houses amongst gigantic trees, a field of cows, rock walls and waterfalls.  After taking a bit of a tour with the boat and a swim, we busted out the water skis! The boat owners were true professionals doing tricks and going super fast and very, very patient with me, teaching me how to water ski! I have many crash landings and water-up-the-nose videos but I made it up! A thrilling, amazing THREE SECONDS I was up! Now I can say I learnt how to water ski in Brazil!
All being a little sleepy from water skiing we anchored our boat by the waterfall to have our sandwiches.  Others had anchored by the waterfall as well and lets say I saw some pimped out boats :) One boat was so tiny but welled atop was two massive speakers pumping the Brazilian tunes.  We stayed there for awhile enjoying the other boats, watching people jump off the rock walls, and after a swim under the waterfall we headed to a quieter section of the lake.  With the sun beating down, Jack Johnson playing in the background and a nice soft cruising speed we toured the lake, watching the birds swoop into the water and breathing in the experience as we went by.  If that day was not wonderful enough, our friends knew the owners of the marina, and when we arrived back on shore a BBQ was lit.  After a few Brazilian drinks and a nice BBQ we headed home.  A wonderful day I will not soon forget.

Your Next Saturday Brunch Idea.

A twist to the traditional egg breakfast!

The measurements for the ingredients are dependent upon how many people you are feeding thus make as much or as little as you like!

Start with making a pot of brown rice. (This is just a side dish but necessary to complete the meal)

In a fairly deep frying pan (the closer to a wok like pan would be ideal) heat some olive oil on medium low heat and then add a significant amount of nicely chopped tomatoes, onions, green peppers, parsley, and a pinch of salt. Grated garlic is an option too if you like. Heat the mixture until it is warm and a little soft but not yet brown.  Add a cup and a half of water, (I would suggest a cup and a half if you are cooking for three or five eggs).  The water will act as a preventative from turning your veggies brown and will help cook the eggs so judge accordingly. Take an egg and break it over the mixture.  Repeat with as many eggs as you would like but each egg should have its own space to cook.  Replace the lid and wait for the eggs to cook.

Now prepare a salad!

Every few minutes you want to check on the mixture, give it a gentle stir without disrupting the eggs too much.  Once everything is ready spoon the rice onto your plate and add the eggs and tomato mixture on top of the rice.  Fill the rest of your plate with salad and viola! Your brunch Brazilian Style!!

Let me know how it goes!! :)    

Weekend in Ourinhos!

This past weekend I travelled to Ourinhos to support a friends little brother's Regge Festival.  I knew it was going to be a long bus ride as I am at one end of the state and Ourinhos is on the other but I underestimated what an eight hour bus ride is... Let me just say I was proud of myself for downloading some TV episodes to watch on the ride.  I arrived in Ourinhos and we went straight to the party.  It was hosted on a little farm that was meant for parties.  Being 'family' of the host came with a little bit of a perk...  We were able to go behind the line and meet a few of the bands that were playing and take some photos! A couple hundred people showed up and everyone at the party had fun.  After a nice sleep in on Saturday the girls of the house went out for lunch and a little shopping and I finally, with much excitement, bought two Brazilian bathing suits! One full piece covered in Amazon flowers and one orange bikini! Another task complete on the Brazilian To Do list!  After a crazy Friday night we just wanted to do something calm on Saturday night so we went to a pub for some food and beers although little did we know Anderson Silva, the UFC Brazilian Champion, was fighting.  Thus, the place was packed.  Silva won, the place went crazy, and I was happy to have seen it all.  We had a BBQ on Sunday lunch and a Fondue party Sunday night with a few friends.  It was the perfect end to the weekend.  I write this now as I wait to catch the night bus back to Campinas where I will arrive in the morning ready to start another week!

My New Place Has A POOL!!

Well I arrived in the middle of the night in Campinas, the last place on my Brazilian tour! I cannot believe I am here... It was a bit of a crazy last day in Santo Andre with meetings, Skype calls, and an impromptu site tour for my research, and maybe the fact that the girls and I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning having a dance party in the kitchen might have taken away some of the energy that I may have had but it was my last night, so what are you going to do? So far in the first 12 hours, everything has been great! I am staying with a fellow student in my lab and her family... except her parents are working in France until January so it is just us! The place is really nice, AND THERE IS A POOL with lots of sun so I am super excited for the opportunity to continue my tan which is coming along nice I may add :) This weekend is a holiday and I will be heading to the hometown of a friend for  a Regge Festival, so it should be exciting! I hear its getting pretty cold at home... Its really hot here so I will try and send some heat your way! Hope everyone is well!  

School and Shopping.

Well I have to admit, since I have gotten home from Rio not a whole lot is going on... I have been doing a lot of school work... boring I know but I am working on some top secret stuff that I cannot really tell you at this exact moment but come time for me to go home I will let you in on the know... But with all my work I did take last Saturday to explore the bargain shopping district of Sao Paulo.  The neighbourhood of Bras (pronounced bra-ss :) ) is a shopping district with streets lined with shops all clothing and shoes.  There is one section that hosts a market in a permanent covered tent, where hundreds of vendors are packed inside trying to sell you things shipped from China as you navigate your way through.  If you walk around first you can spot the vendors with the same items and compare prices.  After we checked out the market, we hit to the streets.  The experience was different, there was not a moment where my brain thought for a second it was back home but it was not drastically different.  The only thing was, none of the stores allowed you to try the clothes on! You had to put the clothes up to your body, guess, and hope it looked good let alone fit.  Looking back this was probably a good thing as I would have most likely spent much more than I did that day!I have one more week left in this city and then I move again!