P. Alegre II

March 29-30

My second visit to Pouso Alegre was a fun one.

Saturday

In the morning I packed my things, ate a quick breakfast, and headed to CELIL to present an activity for a class. After the presentation and signing-up two students to participate, I headed to the bus station. I took the bus at 10:30 that headed to Campinas. The second stop on the route was in Pouso Alegre, where Tiago met me at the bus station. We then took a local bus that dropped us off in his neighborhood.

I tried a new fruit, caqui (persimmon fruit).

When we arrived at his house, it was lunch time. Tiago had been talking about cooking some beef stroganoff for a few days, and decided to do it then. Meanwhile, I prepared mango juice to go with the meal. I peeled a mango, cut it in to pieces, placed those pieces in the food processor with water, and let it go to work. Once the fruit reached that smooth, juice/smoothie like consistency, I added some sugar and poured it in to a pitcher which I then placed in the refrigerator.


Tiago's stroganoff was tasty although he accidentally cooked with the wrong type of beef. He thought that his mom had left out the filet mignon to thaw that morning, but it was a different cut of meat. So the stroganoff was a little chewy than it otherwise would have been. It was all good with me though. I'm kind of glad it didn't go perfect the first time, because Tiago told me he would fix it again another time, with all the right ingredients. That works for me!

A few hours later we went to Tiago's grandmother's place to pick-up Marlene (Tiago's mom) who was visiting. Tiago's grandma had a pretty bad fall recently in which she broke her arm and acquired a few other bruises- including a black eye. She looked pretty banged-up when we arrived, but her daughters and family have been taking good care of her. Plus, her spirits were up and she seemed to be doing well.

From there, we went to the grocery store to find some ingredients I would need for the weekend. See, Tiago and Marlene have been anticipating and looking forward to trying an American-style breakfast, ever since I talked about it during my first visit. So this weekend we were going to cook that. The fist grocery store did not everything we were looking for (turns out it's not so easy to find maple syrup in Brazil), so we went to another, larger market in town called Hipermercado Baronesa.

They had a variety of international goods there, including maple syrup. We also bought Farinha de Milho em Flocos Pré-Cozida (aka- instant grits), queijo cheddar (cheddar cheese), suco de laranja (orange juice), bacon (bacon- [haha]), calabresa (a type of sausage), pão (bread to make toast), and whatever else was not already in the house. It was tricky figuring out what exactly was "grits" here in Brazil. Also with the breakfast meats, I tried to determine which one was most like typical sausage that I am accustomed to. There's quite a selection here: salchicha, calabresa, and linguiça.

Later I looked up recipes for pancakes and grits to make sure I cooked them correctly. Being in another country, it made for a neat experience finding recipes in Portuguese. Then I could read the ingredients directly from the steps and translate any words or foods I wasn't sure about.




A little before 20:00, Tiago and I headed out to meet up with a friend of his and head to the futsal court. I wasn't prepared to play soccer this trip, having left my indoor shoes back in Itajubá, but any opportunity to play soccer here with Brazilians- I'm going to take! Ha. Tiago did not want to play, so he was able to take some pictures and record video for me as I played. It was pretty fun and I met some new people.







We returned to the house, cleaned-up, and decided to visit another friend of Tiago's who had recently moved. Tiago had not been to his new house yet, and there were a few other friends gathering there to hang-out. Before heading that way though, Tiago ordered for us some esfihas abertas, which were basically like a personal-pan pizza. Tiago had raved about the esfiha de brócolis during my first visit, so I was finally able to try it for myself. Marlene prepared suco de acerola, a fruit that is packed with vitamin C!

I had the esfiha de brócolis...tasty!
The acerola juice was good too. 

I enjoyed meeting Tiago's friend Guilherme later that night. There were 7 of us gathered. We had good conversation over snacks, soda, and cocktails. I did not partake in the alcohol. I got to practice my Portuguese and received some compliments on how well I was speaking after only having been here for a little over two-and-a-half months... [Yesssss!] :)


- We arrived back at the house at 3am, com muito sono.

Sunday

Domingo, I had cafe de manhã (breakfast: coffee, bread, banana) with Tiago's mom while Tiago was still sleeping. We discussed the American breakfast that we were going to fix and I suggested we do it after church, at lunch time. So we were going to have breakfast (again) instead of lunch today, haha. We walked to Mass in a church not too far from the house. This was another new church for me, different from the one I attended on my first visit to Pouso Alegre.

My plate

After Mass, we returned to the house and started cooking! Tiago's mom and I had fun working in the kitchen. She first started to cook the sausages while I prepared the pancake batter. The first pancake I cooked was a "test" pancake, after I botched the flip. I set it to the side as I poured my second and third pancake on to the hot pan. I then tasted the folded over pancake to see what kind of pancakes these would be, and I was pleasantly surprised how good it tasted. These pancakes were going to be off-the-chain! To tell you the truth, they tasted better than some buttermilk pancakes I've ordered from IHOP before. [ohhhh, no he didn't.... yep, I did.] After the pancakes, I moved to the bacon, then the grits, and finally the eggs. Tiago's mom was here and there, helping me collect things from the kitchen that I needed and assisting with items on the stove. She enjoyed it too, comparing the grits and other food that I was preparing to foods she had seen or tasted before in northeast Brazil. When we finished, we had quite a spread of breakfast foods- American style!

From back to front: yellow corn grits (in pot), maple syrup, honey,
butter, orange juice, toast, pancakes, sausages,
bacon, cheddar cheese, eggs (covered)

The Cooks!

That evening, we headed to SerraSul Shopping again to see a movie- this time, Need for Speed. Tiago's friend Alison joined us. I had first met him the previous night, when he walked with us to and  from the indoor soccer court. Alison is already a pretty experienced traveler. After futsal, he told me about backpacking through the big cities of Europe, catching planes, buses, and trains between Madrid, Rome, Athens, London, and other prominent European cities. He has also traveled to the States, and plans to return and visit New York next year during his vacation time.

We took a corona (carpooled) back to Itajubá that night with some other friends of Tiago. It was quicker, more efficient, and cheaper than traveling by bus- and we were dropped off much closer to our house than if we had went by bus.  

Brazil Bound

On January 8th, my parents took me up to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. After a smooth check-in process and saying our goodbyes, I passed through security and found my gate. During the wait, I met a guy who was flying to San Antonio to conduct basic training for the Special Forces of the Air Force. I have contemplated entering the military, after seeing some friends serve and learning about all the different benefits service men and women receive. For one, it would be an honor, plus there would be opportunities to travel. So that is still a possibility in the future.

Mom + Me + Paps

Reunited @ Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Before boarding the plane heading for Dallas, I updated my Facebook status and received a message from a good bud I had not seen in years, who was also flying in to Dallas the same day. Thanks to social media, I was able to meet up with Tom at the Dallas Fort-Worth Airport and catch-up. He has been busy since last we saw each other: marriage, a baby girl, and a higher-up position within FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). He was heading south to Mexico on FOCUS business. It was great seeing him again and what a cool coincidence that we would be passing through the same airport at the same time, heading to different international destinations.

I boarded the second plane in Dallas later that evening and then embarked on the 9-hour, overnight flight to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. Around 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, a little boy started crying some rows up in front of me. I felt bad for him because he was saying how tired he was, but he couldn't sleep [pobrecito].  Despite this, it was a really nice flight.

Boss-Man

When we landed, I proceeded in to the airport and immediately felt the warmth from outside. Now in the southern hemisphere, I had left winter back home and entered summer in Brazil. After collecting my bag, I exchanged some money and then being inexactly sure where to go, I proceeded in to a shop (which I think was tax/duty-free). After meandering in there for five or so minutes, I exited and then found where I was supposed to go. After passing through the hall-way around the corner, I entered in to an open room where there were many people gathered around the exit. They were searching for their friends or family members that had just arrived and some were holding signs with names. Upfront, I saw my name "ANTON HUGHES," in big letters. The man holding that piece of paper was my boss, Célio!

We promptly exited the airport and headed back towards his home, where he was allowing me to stay my first two nights. We had a good conversation on the way there, and stopped in the city of São Jose dos Campos to eat lunch. The scenery around us along the drive was surreal for me. I had not expected for the region to be so mountainous and scenic. The mountains were lush and green, not hard and rocky like the ones back home. Then I learned quickly that the state of Minas Gerais, where I was to be based during my stay, means "General Mines." When the Portuguese settlers were exploring the area, they discovered gold and other precious minerals and resources that they extracted from the mountains to ship back home to Portugal. Cattle, horses, and goats scattered the hill sides as we passed by. The winding roads, altitude, and jet-lag all contributed to the motion-sickness I experienced during the trip.

Célio showed me to my room and took a nap before dinner. He was extremely helpful and kind to me during my stay. From the start I knew he was going to be a great boss to work for! One that would look after his employees or in my case, the intern. For dinner that night, we ordered pizza.

Yes, pizza is normally eaten w/
knife and fork

My first opportunity to compare a food here that we also have back in the States. I met Célio's wife, Carmo, and learned that they too had been to Segovia, Spain and seen the Aqueduct. In fact, they have traveled around a good bit to a number of places.

Souvenir plates from the places Célio and Carmo have visited

Rio, Day 7

March 6

Return Trip

Woke up early to make it to the rodoviaria (bus station) on time. On the way there, I was able to snap some shots of graffiti found throughout the city. We also passed by Maracana, the famous soccer stadium that will be hosting the final of this year's FIFA World Cup!

We arrived early, with lots of time to spare before my bus left for Itajubá. I perused some of the shops there and bought a juice and some peanuts for the road. When I found the correct bus, I recognized the driver as being the same guy that drove me out to Rio a week prior. I placed my duffel bag in the storage area below, boarded the bus, found my seat, turned on my mp3 player, leaned back, and relaxed for the next few hours.

The trip was scenic, and it also had some interesting moments. After a few hours on the road, I needed the bathroom. When I walked to the back of the bus, I found it difficult to open the door. After pushing and working the handle, the door finally opened and I heard a 'cling' on the other side as the handle fell to the floor. A minute later, I attempted to open the door from the inside, and it wouldn't budge. I was locked in the bathroom of the bus [ohhh buddy]. Thankfully after pounding on the door a few times and saying "Ajuda, Ajuda!" ("Help, Help!")- a guy near the back helped me open the door. Whew, that would have not been a fun ride back to Itajubá. Later on during the trip, we stopped at a nice rest area that was part snack store, part restaurant, and had bathrooms. It was around lunch time, so I decided to eat there. During the 20-minute break, a few more buses pulled-up and more passengers desembarked to stretch their legs. After finishing my meal and paying, I walked out, and looked for my bus. The bus driver I was riding with signaled to me, and then I realized that he was waiting on me- I was the last passenger to board! Oops. Another kind of close-call. I had known that it was nearly time to return to the bus, but I didn't know everyone else had already done so!

Once back in Itajubá, I walked straight from the rodoviaria (bus station) to the school where I am working for my internship. It was a tiring day to say the least, but what an experience I had in Rio!

Obrigado, Ida!

*This post concludes my trip to Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval!

Rio, Day 6

March 5

Ash Wednesday

My final, full day in Rio de Janeiro began with a brief run along the canal and a work-out in the exercise room of the apartment complex. For breakfast, I tried a flavor of yogurt new to me: orange, honey, and carrot. It may sound like a strange combination, but it worked! It was pretty tasty. On Wednesday's agenda was a trip to Copacabana beach and Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain).

Copacabana Beach

Ida and I took an ônibus to Copacabana. Along the way,  one of the biggest coincidences occured. As we neared the beach, a familiar-looking passenger boarded the bus. Ida and I realized that the girl was the same girl who had been sitting in front of us during Monday night's Samba parade! Out of all the people in Rio, what were the chances that we would meet again? Let alone on a bus!? Probably one out of several million- is my guess. So that was cool seeing her again. Ida said hey and I believe she recognized us to. Ida explained that it was her behind that mask she wore during the parade, haha.

Shortly after our chance meeting, we arrived at our destination. The beach was fairly crowded, and I noticed that this beach had shells- unlike the beach closer to Ida's place. Ida rented two beach chairs, and then we found a place to sit. To our right, I saw a several people out on the water standing-up on boards and using a paddle. I asked Ida about this, and she pointed me in the direction of people along the beach that had brightly colored shirts.

 

"Like this?"

They were instructors and personnel of different stand-up paddle companies whom were providing instruction and renting-out boards. I was interested in trying it out, and asked one of the groups there how much it would cost for half-an-hour out on the water. When the lady responded 30 reais, it was a done deal! I signed up and was assinged an instructor quickly. On the beach there, he showed me the basics and how to start-off and then stand-up on the board. It seemed easy enough. So we carried the board out on to the water, I hopped on, and I began to paddle out towards the sea.

 

Stand-up paddling was a neat experience. I had never done it before, and am glad I got to try it out. 

Afterwards, we headed to a point of the cove where there was a museum. Ida had planned for us to eat lunch there, but unfortunately it was closed. So then we needed to find a plan B. There were numerous restaurants and stands across the street from the beach, so we did not lack in options of places to go. We stopped at one of the first restaurants we came to. The Brazilian Men's National Soccer Team was playing a friendly versus South Africa, and the restaurant had a patio section outside with a television for its customers to watch. We found a table with a good view of the match and ordered our beverages.






I had read previously in my Brazil Travel Guide and other travel sites about a cocktail that people like to have on the beach. The drink is called caipirinha, and I wanted to give it a try. Boy was it too strong for me. Ida ordered salmon and I ordered a different type of fish from the menu [Ash Wednesday], along with mashed potatoes, a shrimp sauce, and rice with broccoli. My fish arrived wet and undercooked, so I opted for a filet of salmon like Ida had. It was good!

After lunch and Brazil's thumping of South Africa, we found a taxi to take us to Sugarloaf Mountain. Walking up to purchase our tickets, I had to take a picture of the cool mural painted on the wall there. Ida was too nice and paid for my ticket too. At least I had my student ID with me so that I received a discount. Our trip up to Sugarloaf Mountain consisted of a total of four cable-car trips, two up and two down. The first car took us to Morro da Urca (the smaller of the two mounds).

View from one side of Morro da Urca. Pão de Açúcar is to the right --->

There was a helicopter pad there and tourists could pay for a ride. After some photos, we proceeded to the next cable car station to ascend to Sugarloaf Mountain.

The views from the various look-out spots were really nice and provided for some good angles of the city.  Just outside of the gift shop on top of the highest part of Sugarloaf Mountain, there were some monkeys!

Also, there were a number of trails that slightly descended one side of the mount, with tables for relaxing or having a picnic. We purposefully arrived during late afternoon for a chance to view the city at night when the city would be lit-up. As the sun set, the lights along the beach began to appear and in the distance, up high, the Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated. This made for some great pictures and cool views of Rio de Janeiro.

It was an adventure in itself finding our way back to Ida's apartment, but we finally managed to find the right type of taxi. We were on the other side of the city, in Botafogo I think, and apparently taxi drivers have jurisdictions. Haha. I didn't realize that until one driver stopped, asked where we were going, and then continued without us. After waiting for a long time, we eventually made it back. What a day!

Rio, Day 5

March 4

--Bom Dia (Good Morning)

The samba parade lasted throughout the wee hours of the morning. Each school had a maximum of 82 minutes, so basically an hour and-a-half, to completely pass through the avenue and finish their show. Multiply that by six, and add in 15 minutes breaks between each school, and that makes for a loooooooong night! Thankfully I had rested-up Monday before going, so I didn't get too tired. Plus, the atmosphere there was so energetic, it would have been pretty difficult to go to sleep- [although I did see some people catching some zzz's.]

Once the last school, Tijuca, had passed by, we headed for the exit. The vans that had brought us there were not picking us up, that was just a one-way trip. We walked to the metro. The nearby station was packed with samba fans, but we made it through ok without too much of a delay. Once we boarded, I stood next to some folks who had participated in the parade competition. This was evident because they were carrying parts of their costumes they had worn as they danced down the avenue of Sapucaí.

The metro does not yet have a station close to where Ida lives (they are actually in the process of constructing one), so after the metro we had to find a bus or taxi. I believe it was already 6am when we started our feeble attempts at hailing a taxi, of which none stopped for us. Thankfully after waiting a good while, one of "our" buses headed our way. Ida's husband José Carlos picked us up from the bus stop once we had reached their side of town. We finally arrived back at the apartment some 13-and-a-half hours after we had departed the previous night!

Needless to say, I did not do very much Tuesday. Aftr resting through the afternoon, I got up and mozied-around. We ordered pizza for dinner. I also had a good conversation [in Portuguese ofcourse ;-)] with Carina's boyfriend who was at the apartment, Freddy. I told him that I would like to do some more traveling while I am here in South America before returning home, and he recommended a travel website that has many reviews posted by travelers, of different places both in and outside of Brazil: Mochilieros. It's basically a website for travelrs, by travelers. I plan on reading some different reviews and learn some insider information on the places I intend to visit.

Rio, Day 4*

March 3

"The Greatest Show on Earth"

When Ida and I were making plans for my trip to Rio, I mentioned a few different places I hoped to visit druing my stay. One of the things that most interested me about being there in the city during Carnaval, was the world-reknown parade that occurs each year. The "parade" as I call it, is something else altogether. It is an explosion of music, dance, color, creative costumes, and elaborate floats. The 12 Samba Schools of the Special Group in Rio, perform in a stadium-like environment on a strip of avenue (Avenida Marquês de Sapucaí) called the Sambódromo. I recommend watching this National Geographic documentary on the 2007 Carnaval in order to gain a better understanding of just what a massive event and production it is!  

[National Geographic - Inside Rio Carnaval (2007)]

Monday

I accompanied José Carlos, Ida's husband, to the padaria (bakery) this morning to buy some bread. Each day someone would go retrieve fresh french bread from the local bakery. It was ideal for breakfast and making small sandwiches. He works for PetroBras, a huge petroleum/oil/gas company here in Brazil. I think José enjoyed having me stay the week with his family because he constantly practiced his English with me. It made for an interesting conversation, because I would reply to him in Portuguese.

In the afternoon, Carina, Ida, and I played cards. They tought me a new game called mush-mush (I think it was). The point of the game was to be the first player to get rid of the cards in your hand. Each player began with seven or so cards and each player got rid of their cards by pairing them up in threes, with consecutive cards of the same suite, or by having the same card spread across three different suites. For example, I could play a 2, 3, and 4 of spades. I could also put down a 3 of hearts, a 3 of diamonds, and a 3 of spades. Once the sets of three cards are laid down on the table, other players can then begin playing off of your sets and making different combinations- but their first move each turn must be to form a new set of three cards. This is where the strategic part comes in. It was a fun game. Later, I showed Carina how to play "speed." I'm glad I had a game to teach them [good thing I played shortly before leaving home, thank you B. Mixon].

Later that evening we dressed and gathered our bags for the trip downtown to see the samba parades. Earlier in the day, I made some sandwiches (with that french bread) for us to take with us and Ida had already bought water bottles and soda. Thus, we had two koolers packed with sustanance for our night out. José Carlos dropped us off near the ticketing office where Ida had purchased our tickets. There we had a short wait before boarding the vans that carried us to the Sambódromo. While stopped at a red light during our transit, we watched this guy dressed in a tu-tu standing in front of the vehicles in the lane to our right. I guess he thought that he should provide some entertainment during their wait, because he put on a little show in front of the cars. Haha. I'd say he was probably a little under the influence too. Traffic was pretty thick, but we arrived in decent time- about an hour and a-half before show time! Upon entering the venue, we were handed several different magazines and pamphlets with information about the competing samba schools: their histories, show themes, all-time ranking since they began judging the event in 1984, and lyrics to their samba music. This year's parade marked the 30th anniversary of Samba in the Sambódromo!

"The Temple of Samba"

We climbed the stairs, passed the concessions, and met up with Ida's sister in the stands. She arrived before us, and saved us some good seats close to the front. The highly anticipated event began with Brazil's national anthem, followed by the offical song of Rio de Janeiro, "Cidade Maravilhosa." <--[a nice rendition of Rio's anthem.] After a few more announcements, things kicked-off with fireworks down at the other end of the Sambódromo, where the parade began.

See, we were seated in section 10 which was closer to the end of the avenue. I liked our seats because we could see more of the action below, and because we were situated across from the area where the bateria (the drum core from each school) would march in and continue playing as the remainder of their school's participants passed by. <--If that sounds confusing, the video should better explain.

As Escolas de Samba do Grupo Especial
(The Samba Schools of the Special Group)

The parade occurs over a period of two days (three, if you count the champions parade the following weekend where the top six schools have an encore). Six schools perform Sunday and the remaining six on Monday. What made this event extra special for me, was that another one of Ida's sisters was actually taking part in the parade. She performed for the Samba School named Portela. Their mascot is an eagle... which means it was meant to be. Haha. The eagle is my favorite animals and it holds significant meaning for me [Eagle Scout, mascot of Georgia Southern, symbol of freedom, ...]. Ida, Igor, and I received Portela t-shirts from her to wear and represent. So we arrived to the Sambódromo dressed the part.

Here is a list of the six schools I saw Monday night, in the order they performed, with their theme, and a video clip:

1. Mocidade, Outer-space

2. União da Ilha, Childhood Toys & Games

3.Villa Isabel, Portrait of Brazil.  

4. Imperatriz, Soccer.

5. Portela, History of Rio de Janeiro.

6. Unidos da Tijuca, Hommage to Ayrton Senna.

And the winner was..................Unidos da Tijuca! The final school to perform turned out to be this year's champion. Salgueiro (Ida's favorite school) finished runner-up and Portela came in 3rd. It was a spectacular event and I am very fortunate to have been able to attend. Here is a link to view some great photos: Rio De Janeiro Carnival's Samba Finale Provides Spectacular Close To 2014 Fiesta

EAGLES! Portela Samba <-- Cool Video Link!