What We Eat!

A lot of people seem to want to read about what kinds of foods/dishes we eat here.  I like to keep my public happy, so here is a quick post on a simple lunch we had today that's a pretty typical, everyday meal.  I sautéed some bife acebolado [steak with onions] to go along with some puréed black beans that were cooked with oil, salt, garlic, and green onions.  Today we had a side dish that we don't normally make.  Hubby says he doesn't know what it is called, but we first had it at his mom's house.  It's really simple and super delicious!  You will need the following ingredients:

• 2 small, ripe plantains [or 1 large, ripe plantain] about 1 cup's worth
• 1 large collard green leaf
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• Oil
• Salt

We had leftover white rice, but otherwise I would just prepare the rice in the usual fashion for this dish.  First, I chopped the plantains into chunks and sliced the collard greens into thin strips.

Next, I covered the bottom of a small sauté pan with oil and put the burner on medium-high heat.  Once the oil had heated up enough, I added the plantains to the pan.  I kept an eye on them, stirring once after a few minutes.  You are looking for the plantains to start to brown and caramelize.

Pure deliciousness

Once the plantains had finished cooking, I took them out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate lined with paper towel to cool and get rid of some excess oil.  Once the plantains cooled, I just combined the rice, collard greens [uncooked] and plantains.

The colors!

I added some salt to taste to counter the absolutely dreamy sweetness of the plantains.  This dish is so yummy because the rice fills you up, the collard greens are still fresh and a little crunchy, and the plantains are just a tiny bit crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth sweet inside.  When Hubby's mom made this, she also added some cooked, rinsed black beans and a chopped fried egg.  It's a versatile dish that lets you add and subtract ingredients to suit your palate.  Not pictured is the fresh pineapple juice I made.

So this is what we had for lunch today and it was a hit.  Little Man loved it and made a big enough mess that he had to be hosed down in the shower before his nap.

Cultural Differences: Parenting Practices

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Let's face it--being a mommy is a tough job no matter where you are in the world.  Most people have their own opinions about how you should be doing your job.  Many of those people are even willing to share their opinions with you [thanks]!  I had only been a mother for about six months by the time we moved to Brazil.  Still, I have encountered some distinct differences between Brazilian child-rearing ideologies and my own.  Here are just a few Brazilian parenting tips that I'm up against:

Your baby is crying because he's cold.  Even if it is 90+ degrees and he's dripping with sweat, he's cold.  For the love of God, put some socks on that baby before he freezes to death!  I try to explain that there was a giant snowstorm the day Little Man was born, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Once a baby is six months old, he can eat and drink anything, including coffee.  His first tooth signifies that he is ready to start chowing down on steak and sausage at the next churrasco.  I tried to keep my father-in-law from feeding Little Man an orange when he was only 6 months old basically by yelling "No, no, no!" [limited language skills].  He laughed and fed him the orange anyway.

8:00 p.m. is waaaaay too early for a one-year-old to go to bed.  Don't you know all the best parties don't even really get going until at least 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.  We've disrupted a couple get-togethers by leaving too early at 9:30 or so.  I think it's funny that everyone wants Little Man to stay up late, but then keeps asking why he's a grump when he's up past his bedtime :)

A bar is a perfectly acceptable place for a baby on a Friday or Saturday night.  The bars are all open-air patios so he'll barely notice all the cigarette smoke swirling in the evening air.  I suppose it is important that children learn to socialize.

How about you?  Share your best strange parenting advice in the comments!

What I Miss: American Breakfast

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One thing I really miss about life in the United States is going out for the big "American" breakfast.  Most mornings, I try to be as health conscious as the next gal--a typical breakfast for me in the States was oatmeal, berries or fruit, and, of course, a cup [or two] of piping hot coffee.  However, my family and I have a thing for going out for breakfast.  I don't know what it is about it exactly, but it is my absolute favorite meal to eat at a restaurant.  Maybe it's because when you first wake up you're starving but have zero interest in figuring out what to eat and then actually putting in the effort to make it a reality.  I just love heading out to a diner and laughing with my family over a hot cup of coffee.

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In Brazil, breakfast [café da manhã] is pretty low key.  It typically consists of fresh pão francês [bread purchased from a local bakery] and crackers [both salty and sweet varieties] eaten with a margarine spread or creamy cheese spread.  A few times I have seen sliced cheese and presunto [ham] laid out for making a quick breakfast sandwich.  There is also coffee which most Brazilians drink with lots of sugar and no milk.  The largest meal of the day here is lunch, and it happens at about 11:00 a.m., so people don't fuss a lot for breakfast.  I've never seen a restaurant with a breakfast menu, or one that serves solely breakfast.  In short, the only way I'm getting my "American" breakfast is if I make it at home.  The weird thing is that even when you gather all the necessary ingredients and assemble the breakfast, there's just something that tastes different about it.  Can't put my finger on it--it's just not quite the same thing.  Needless to say, heading out to a diner for a delicious, stereotypical American breakfast will be mandatory whenever I make my way back to visit the States.

While Hubby and I were living in Manchester, New Hampshire, two of our favorite breakfast places were Murphy's Diner and The Bridge Cafe.  Go check 'em out for me!!!

How about all of you?  Do you enjoy breakfast as much as I do?  

Weird News: Capivara in Colatina

This guy was 40kg (88lbs)

In the past two months, there have been two instances of this strange animal, a capivara, showing up in the city of Colatina!  My research indicates the capivara is indigenous to Brazil, but usually lives in wooded areas.  These rodents look like giant guinea pigs and are very social animals, living in packs with as many as 100 others!!!  Can you imagine stumbling upon 100 of these things all just hanging out?!?

The big guy pictured above was discovered in the patio of a school [story in Portuguese here].  He was captured and released back into the wild.

The second capivara sighted in Colatina in recent weeks was not so lucky.  The animal was found dead in the middle of the road.  I'm not sure how big it was, but based on the video here it was a pretty hefty fella.  The video is in Portuguese, but basically, residents who live near where the animal was found were concerned because no one from the city came to collect the animal for an entire day.  They were nervous about the potential for the spread of disease.  Hmmm.  Interesting, because it looks like several people were still hanging out right next to the carcass!

I find these animals totally creepy and I just hope none of them wander into our neighborhood!  Did any of you realize that the capivara was a thing?

Cultural Differences: Surprise Visitors and Spur-of-the-Moment Plans

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We've all seen a romantic comedy or TV movie where the love interest offers the heroine the clichéd spontaneous trip invitation: "Come to Paris with me, tonight.  My jet is waiting on the airstrip."  The heroine, of course, accepts right away.  Who wouldn't?!?  It's so unexpected and extravagant!  It'll tell you who probably wouldn't: me.  It has taken me some time to come to terms with the fact that I am not a spontaneous person.  After all, it's often portrayed in pop culture that flying by the seat of one's pants is glamorous.  Call me a bore, but I like to know ahead of time when something is going to happen.  Our move to Brazil was something we talked about hypothetically for YEARS before it actually happened.  Much like the Scouts, I prefer to "be prepared."  This is something about my personality that I feel has only been amplified since having a child.

Well, this is just not how things work in Brazil.  When we first arrived here, there was a revolving door of aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, third cousins, etc. showing up unannounced to see Hubby and the baby.  I totally understood; Hubby had been away for years and everyone was itching to give him a great big hug and snuggle an adorable 6-month old baby.  I can't tell you how many pots of coffee I brewed during that time, as it is customary to at least offer guests coffee, even unexpected ones.

As an American, I foolishly assumed that the "new car smell" would eventually wear off and the surprise visits would end.  Boy was I wrong.  There are still days where we have 3 or 4 separate unexpected visits from family and friends.  I have entertained guests while wearing wrinkled pajamas covered in baby spit up and my hair looking like I stuck my finger in an electric outlet.  I have exited my son's room wearing only a nursing bra and some undies after nursing him to sleep and been forced to sprint to my bedroom because there is a surprise male visitor in the living room.  There can be a sink full of dirty dishes and the garbage pail piled high with diapers, and people stop on by to visit.  This can be rather anxiety-inducing for me.  But, as Hubby pointed out to me during a heated discussion about my dislike for these types of visits, "this isn't America where people make plans six years ahead of time."

I get it.  When in Rome, right?  But I don't need six years of lead time.  I just like to know if someone is coming over so I can put be sure to put on some pants, comb my hair, and make sure there is nothing in my teeth [amiright, people?].  As my older sister put it when I shared this cultural difference with her, "No more hanging around your house naked."  Indeed.

In addition to unplanned house guests, there are also spur-of-the-moment trips.  This stresses me out even more because with a baby, there's a lot more that goes into getting ready for a trip.  No longer can we simply throw some underwear and our toothbrushes into a plastic shopping bag and head out the door.  We need several outfits in case the baby has a blowout, at least a million diapers and wipes, burp clothes, snacks, sweatshirt/hat/socks in case it gets cold, toys, Sleepy Blanket, etc., etc., etc.  Still, I've gone on a few trips since getting here that were planned the day of departure.  Sometimes I think this happens because my husband is on the phone making plans with people in speed-of-light Portuguese and assumes I have understood it all.  I don't like to be the wife who asks what's going on immediately after my husband gets off the phone, but I kind of have to be that person just to stay ahead of the curve.

I do my best to roll with these things.  I try to say 'yes,' more often than I say 'no.'  I understand that I'm in a different country with different cultural practices.  Still, this is one of those things that I don't think I'll ever get used to, no matter how long we end up living here.

Have any of you ever experienced something like this while living in a foreign country?  What customs were difficult for you to deal with?

A Roça [The Farm]

Hubby left early this morning to join his brothers at the family farm.  They are working together on planting coffee, and he won't be home until tomorrow evening [late].  The farm is remote.  There's no cell phone service and the last leg of the trip is a bumpy ten minutes on a dirt road, at times driving precariously along the edge of a steep drop-off.

The scenery is beautiful.  The surroundings are peaceful.

The food is fresh and delicious.  Every time we go, we return home with a giant box full of mangos, bananas, or whatever else they have to share.  They extract the juice from sugar cane and boil it down to make rapadura, a sweet treat that tastes like molasses.

A recent haul

Rapadura [photo stolen from my brother-in-law's Facebook]

It is nature up close and personal--I've seen lizards, colorful birds, and even one huge, hairy spider!  Hubby's mother has a gorgeous vegetable garden and beautiful hanging plants and orchids on the veranda that wraps around the main house.  It is the kind of place that forces you to relax; there's no way to constantly check your e-mail or scroll through your Facebook newsfeed.  It's a wonderful place to truly get away from it all.

Hello again!

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Hello people! Long time, no blog, eh?  I haven't posted anything since before Christmas! This is partially because the holidays are a busy time.  We went to Hubby's parents' farm for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day only then returned home.  There was a lot of delicious food and about 40 to 50 lovely people there.  Christmas Day was hot and dry, with churrasco-cooked beef and sausage, and tons of salads and side-dishes laid out buffet style.  The most exotic food option was armadillo [but I chose not to partake]. Little Man was the star of the show with all of Hubby's girl cousins and I got a lot of help with holding him and carrying him around.

There were some tough moments, too.  For example, Little Man slept in a Pack n' Play in the same room as us on Christmas Eve.  I don't know if it was because of the close proximity to his favorite milk factory, but he woke up nearly every hour. The entire night. Needless to say, I was running on fumes.  On Christmas Day he was really amped up with all the excitement of the preparations that were underway for the guests that would be arriving later.  He refused to nap! I spent the entire morning nursing him, further adding to my exhaustion.  It's no wonder I inhaled two heaping plates of food later on.  In general, it was painful to spend the holidays away from home and my family as well.  Even if we don't always get a white Christmas back home, a chill in the air and at least a dusting of snow really says Christmas to me. My family isn't religious, so Christmas really is about the traditions [like stockings and new jammies to wear to bed on Christmas Eve], family, and food [cookies, fudge, sweet potato casserole, etc].  Family visiting and eating a big meal were really the only things that bore a slight resemblance to my typical holiday celebrations.  I sound like a giant complainer, I know.

Which actually leads me to the other reason why I haven't been blogging. I feel like I'm backsliding, people. For anyone who doesn't know, most experts agree that culture shock has four stages:

• Honeymoon stage: everything feels new and exciting, colors seem brighter, you get a thrill when you speak broken Portuguese to someone and they seem to understand!!

• Frustration stage: you realize that everything is unfamiliar and that you can't carry out even the most basic tasks. You realize that when you ordered bread in Portuguese at the bakery, you mispronounced it and actually ordered 6 dicks*. You idealize your home country and may even feel hostile toward the new culture.

• Adjustment stage: You start to find you place in the new culture and maybe even make some friends. Every day doesn't feel like a total struggle and there is some [dare I say it] happiness creeping in.

• Acceptance stage:  You totally fit in and can see the good and bad aspects of both cultures. You might feel like you don't want to leave your new life behind.

This process isn't like a ladder; people don't move from one step to the next until [yay!] they've reached acceptance and never look back.  Unfortunately, there will always be bad days and bad experiences that can bring you back down to one of the lower levels.  I seriously felt like I had started to move into the adjustment stage.  I missed home for sure, but I felt like I was making connections with people and starting to figure out how things work here.  I don't know what caused it, but I am definitely sitting right back in the middle of the frustration stage and it has been going on longer than a temporary blip.

I try to tell myself that I am strong and I can tough this out, but then I worry that I'm not really as strong as I think I am. The least complex way to describe it is that I feel like I'm in limbo here; I am not working and even as an English teacher I don't have enough Portuguese to feel comfortable working yet, I want to start trying to have another baby but I am terrified of being pregnant/giving birth in the public health system here, etc.  I am approaching 30 and I feel like I'm on "pause." In any event, I am working [again] on brainstorming ways for me to feel fulfilled. These include: blogging, exercising [I have reached the point where I'm out of breath going up stairs], and trying to look on the bright side.

Sorry for being a big old Negative Nancy on the blog today, but I'm trying to be authentic here, and I really have felt recently that I have been walking around pretending to be perfect for everyone else. It's exhausting. So, if this post hasn't chased you off, stay tuned for [hopefully] more blogging to come focusing on the brighter side of my life [I promise]!

*This didn't actually happen to me.  I think I read about this happening to another American expat blogger, Rachel's Rantings, formerly Rachel's Rantings in Rio.