6 months

Howdy folks!  Yes, I'm still here.  Saudades demais.  I made my first bolo de cenoura to eat while we are watching Brasil vs Chile today.  Recipe from Tudo Gostoso, using the blender (SO Brazilian) and vague directions (3 unidades de cenoura?  And what size is a xícara de chá?)  We are missing Brazil and friends a lot.  I've often thought about writing but, well....I've only had one mango since I've been back and it's not been so tasty.  We are transitioning, adapting, learning and figuring out how to live life here.  Beijos to everyone!

Last day in Brazil

Hi there.  I am alive.  I did make it through.  I will not lie:  it has been rough.  There have been tears, and exploding microwaves, payments made in the nature of thousands of reais, broken glass, and promises unkept.  Moving is never easy, but moving internationally is a whole other challenge.  My husband is hoping that they let us out of the country tonight.  We've been told for 2 years that our permanent visas have been approved, and our names have been published, but we haven't yet been called to go to the Policia Federal and pick up the documents.  On December 23rd at about 4:00 pm, my husband realized that our "protocol" (i.e. little piece of paper that is very important) has expired, and there wasn't time to renew it.  My hope is that this is not an issue to leave the country.  But one never knows with these kind of things.  So send up some good thoughts tonight at about 9:00 pm that it all get works out.  

But we did get out of our apartment.  We sold everything except for 12 suitcases and the cello.  We delivered the car to it's buyer.  We have no keys left.  We have said goodbye lots of time, and laughed and cried with good friends.  We are going to miss this place that has been home.  With all it's challenges and cultural idiosyncrasies, it has been our home and and we made our place here.  Before everyone wakes up this morning, I'm going to go into the kitchen and wash and cut a deliciously ripe Haden mango.  I'm going to eat the whole thing by myself, celebrating realized dreams, and thanking God again for the all that I've been given.

Moving sale

Venda-se! Ainda tenho uma mesa com 6 cadeiras, uma secretária, duas camas, uma mesinha, artigos de cozinha, livros e arte para vender até o dia 13 de dezembro. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/107146577@N03/

For Sale! I've still got things for sale: a dining room table and six chairs, a desk, two beds, kitchen items, art, books. Look here: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/107146577@N03/

The best way I've found to sell things here is by posting nice pictures on Flickr and then making a google doc to keep things organized.  Garage sales don't happen here.  Feel free to spread the word!

We're moving

I've been trying to think of some nice, creative way to announce our departure, but I've been just too busy.  We're moving to the United States.  There were many factors involved in our process of making our decision, and the main factor is that we want to be closer to our families.  We moved to Brazil with the hope that we could show our children a different culture, to give them the experience of seeing a different part of the world, and to give them the chance to learn the language and hopefully thrive within another culture.  I would have to say that for the most part, we have learned that.  And I feel pretty proud of the fact that we have a good car, a nice apartment, and we are mostly satisfied with the schools the children attend.  We have figured out how to make a life here, and that is an accomplishment.

And now we are leaving.  Are we crazy??!!???

Probably.  But I would venture to say that everyone is a little crazy.  But I don't want to address that topic here.  My husband and I feel like we've had the chance to teach our children one of our values by living in Brazil.  And now it's time to show them that family is very important.  We have been saying it, but now we can show it.  And we are demonstrating to them that sometimes family is so important that we willingly and joyfully make sacrifices.  

Here are some of the details--

Date of departure from Brazil:  December 26

Last night we will sleep in our apartment:  December 12 (the rest of the time will be spent between friend's houses and hotels)

Where we will move to?  Cashmere, Washington

What we are doing for Christmas?  we don't know

What I will do for work?  look for a position in a school, and work on certification/a master's

What the husband will do? TBA

What the kids will do?  go to school

How we will keep up the Portuguese?  find some Brazilians, Skype, videos, books

What will happen to the hamster?  a friend is taking him

Have we sold the car?  yes

Can anyone rent our apartment?  talk to Adimoveis

Want to buy our stuff?  Send me an email, but most of it is sold.  I don't deal with Correios, so I don't ship.

I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with the sheer volume of stuff I have to do in the next month, especially before we move out of our apartment.  Moving out of an apartment in Brazil is a pain in the hiney (you have to pay a lot of money and paint and fix everything).  And then I have to do report cards, help with 3 talent shows, 2 graduations, do all my normal work, help my children with their final projects, and take care of all the normal things of life.  Not to mention that it's VERY important for the children to have time to say goodbye to their friends, so I'm scheduling parties, sleep overs, final play dates and good bye presents.  Aaaaaahhhh!  

So, all to say, you may not see very much of me in the next month. But my husband has taken to blogging, so read what he has to say here.

Açaí (ah-sah-eeee)

I can't believe I've never posted about açaí before (besides including it in the top 100 foods list)!  Açaí is a berry/fruit that grows on the Açaí palm, which is native to the Amazon.  It is usually served as a juice or a puree, sweetened with honey and mixed with yogurt, granola and bananas.  It is delicious, refreshing, and has lots of healthy antioxidants.  It is more common in the Northeast, but it can be found all over Brazil, and is a popular afternoon snack, served at ice cream stores or snack shops that specialize in smoothies and salgados (salty snacks).  

In the past 6 months or so, we've noticed a sudden increase in the amount of these snack shops in Belo Horizonte.  They are popping up everywhere, and they usually have the same kind of signage (a rectangular sign with images of fruits in the background) and the açaí included in the name of the store. I think that there is a new chain in town, but now people are piggy-backing on the idea, and without much creativity.  In fact, I've seen at least one store open RIGHT NEXT to another new store.  My oldest daughter loves to tell me all the names of the different stores, because some of them are just downright silly.  Here's a list of what she remembers:

1.  Rajaçaí--the açaí place on Avenida Raja

2.  Megaçaí

3.  Daçaí

4.  Taçaí

5.  Topaçaí

6.  Refresçaí

7.  Savaçaí--in Savassi

8.  Praçaí

9.  Peçaí

10.  And our favorite, Thaçaí, because Brazilians have a very hard time pronouncing the "TH" sound.

If I opened my own açaí place, I would called it "Saci açaí" (pronounced "saw-see-ah-sah-eeee") and have a picture of Saci frolicking amongst the fruits, eating açaí.  Anyone else have a names they can add to my list, or a creative name for an açaí business?

Suco de Cupuaçu

http://www.pomarvirtual.com.br/frutiferas/84-mudas-de-cupuacu-delicioso.html

I mentioned in my last post that I had Cupuaçu ice cream, and that inspired me to try out some different flavors of fruit pulp to make juice.  We tried the Cupuaçu blended with water and sugar.  A little bit tangy, but refreshing and enjoyable.  

Cafe do Mirante

Me and my sister, "mirante" in the background

My sister is here visiting, and she loves coffee.  Her love of coffee has rubbed off on my husband.  So we decided to visit a coffee farm while she was in Minas Gerais.  Unfortunately, due to our schedules, we couldn't plan a return trip to Fazenda Cachoeira, but several friends recommended Cafe do Mirante in Santo Antonio do Leite, which is relatively close to Ouro Preto (about an hour and 1/2 from Belo Horizonte).

I was able to schedule a tour via email (in Portuguese, but they were very quick about getting back to me).  For R$14 a person, we got a tour of the coffee farm, to see the production and storage area, sample the coffee, tour the distillery (alimbique), sample some cachaca, and tour the pousada.  The kitchen was closed, so we weren't able to eat there, but we brought a yummy picnic and enjoyed it on the grass yard with a beautiful view.

Picking Jabuticaba

The woman who made our sample of coffee was great, and we REALLY enjoyed the sample (her method was a surprise, and a little bit of a shock,but so worth it).  I also got to mark something off on my Brazilian bucket list: pick jabuticaba fresh off the tree!  November is the month to harvest, and there were  a few trees at the pousada.  It's delicious!

The library bus at Jeca Tatu

On the way back to BH,  we stopped at Jeca Tatu, a restaurant/museum unlike anything we've ever seen before.  There are several old American school buses that have been converted to rooms that hold books, memorabilia, old records, and all sorts of fascinating stuff.  Well worth the stop.

We also stopped for ice cream at Arte e Manha.  There were signs everywhere along the road, advertising their unique ice cream flavors, such as violet, guava and cheese (romeu e julieta), rose, and many unique Brazilian fruit flavors.  I had graviola (aka soursop) and cupuaçu (tropical rainforest fruit somewhat related to cacãu) and seriguela and cajá.  My sister had the goiaba e queijo.  I'd highly recommend any of they unique flavors.

We had a great day!