Brasilian Food

One thing that is always a question when one goes abroad is how will the food be. And as it is the holidays and everyone is visiting family and eating many different delicious plates of food, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about some of the typical Brasilian foods that I have encountered while here.

Probably my favorite thing to eat here is Açaí. It is quite hard to really describe what it taste like, but if you are ever given a chance to try it it is something that you can not pass up! 

Coxinha: It is basically chicken in a cone shape of fried bread. 

Churrasco is something very popular here. It is a BBQ, but with many different types of meats, and many different cuts of meat, its is much more than steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs. 

Brigadeiro: this sweet is made with condensed milk and chocolate powder. 

Farofa is cooked flour, and sometimes has other ingredients with it that is normally consumed with rice .

Pastels: these are made of some form of meat or seafood, with some sauce and then is fried. 

Pão de Queijo : or Cheesy Bread, it is bread that is has cheese baked into it. 

Suco: Although not a food, it is still a very popular thing to consume. It is not though like the juices in the states, as it comes in many different fruits.  

Arroz e Feijões aka Rice and Beans is a very typical thing to find here, and a good majority of all meals will be serviced with rice. If you mix some meats into the beans then you get feijoada

These are just some of the popular foods here in Brasil, and there are many more out there, as well as others that depend on where you live. 

Until Next Time

Brasilian Gesture of Greeting

Much like every culture how people greet each other and interact is something distinct. Here in Brasil that interaction is visible with in a few hours of arriving from a country such as the United States, where things are conducted at farther distances and very "formal". Such as meeting someone for the first time you shake hands, or just wave.

In Brasil the first time you meet someone, whether the first time or they have seen several times you greet them with a kiss on the cheek and probably (depending on the person) give them a hug, which for me I enjoy. Then when it comes to just talking with someone they will have conversations at a much closer distant than that in the states. Another thing that is very noticeable is that people here are much more touchy-feely. In a sense that they give hugs, the kisses on the cheeks and just all around hold closer contact. This closeness also contacts greatly with the Brasilian hospitality, where they are very open to letting someone come to their house and not wanting the person to feel left out.

As a foreigner coming here I have greatly enjoyed this close contact. I feel like it gives more life to the culture and that is really fits the Brasilian way quite well, as they are also very open and super friendly. It will definitely be an interesting experience when I return back to the states and I have to go back to the distant contact and the shaking of hands with people I met.    

Until Next Time

4 Meses No Brasil

Although a few days late here is an update of how my past month has been in Brasil.

The first week ended up being an adventure. One of the days after class had finished I went with some other students to Carnivereses, which is a beach in the north part of the island. The next day me and some of the students went out to a club called Fields, which is where they play Sertanejo. We went to go and celebrate one the girls birthdays, it was a really fun time and I really enjoyed dancing the music. The day after we went to Parma, which is an all you can eat pizza place, and there are like 40 different options of pizza and pizza doce (sweet pizza). For the weekend I went to Jaragua do Sul. The weekend was quite nice, I got to go to some Brasilian birthday parties and even got to experience a funeral. Although it was not something that was happy it was quite an experience. I also got to see some of the city, such as Malwee, which is a park in the city.

The following monday was laid back. I ended up meeting with a friend and we hung out for sometime, then I had to head home and relaxed for the day. The next day I went to Costa de Lagoa, which is a fisherman village in Lagoa, that can only be reached by walking or by taking a boat to. It was such a beautiful place, and it was really nice to visit. The next day my business class took a field trip to basically a Brasilian version of Silicon valley. The next day was a feriado, it was a holiday on the formation of the republic. I ended up going with a friend and we did a trail to Lagoinha do Leste, with some of her friends. It was a really nice time, and although the trail was long it was worth the walk. When we finally arrived to the beach we laid our towels out and relaxed. Then we met her parents at the beach and headed back home with them, as me and her had to get ready to leave to Dream Valley, which was a music festival in Beto Carrero (which is the largest amusement park in Latin America). The festival was a really fun time, but after about 3 hours of the same type of music our whole group was exhausted and ready to go, but as we took a van we had to wait. So we ended up just chilling at the festival until our van showed up. The following day was not the prettiest outside so we just sleep in and chilled at my friends house. Then I went to met up with some other exchange students and we went and saw the 2nd movie of the Hunger Games (a week before it even came out in the U.S.A. may I add). After that we went to Guacamole, which is a "Mexican" restaurant. The next day I went to Campeche, which is a beach near my house. I ended up just relaxing there for the day, then returned home for the evening.

On the monday my class took a field trip to the south of the island, where we got to visit a project about otters. We also got to see monkeys that were chilling by the late the project was at. On Wednesday me and the girls went to the favela one last time. This time we showed the kids the  movie UP. It was a really nice time and I was happy that I was able to do some volunteering while here. For that night I went with one of the other exchange students to go play futebol (soccer) with a team of girls here in Brasil. It was such a fun time, even though I am not the best at it, I really enjoyed being able to play and to get a little work out in. On the weekend I went to a friends house in Ingleses and spent some time there. We ended up making dinner, which was pasta. After dinner we got dressed and headed to a Rockin' roll party that was hosted by UFSC. The next day was just a day of resting as it was not that nice outside.

On monday I took a small class field trip, well me and 3 other classmates, went to an other university in Floripa to talk with some tourism students about our experiences in Brasil, and of course it was all in Português. It was a really great time, and a great experience. I also had a surprise, when one of the girls there told me how she did an exchange to this city that is 10 minutes from my house in Indiana, the same year that I went to Italia. The world is really incredible small. On Wednesday I spent the day with my family as they were leaving to go spend time in Argentina, and I wanted to hang out with them some because when they came back I was going to leave to go to São Paulo. In the night time I went and played soccer again with the girls team that we played with the week before. It is such a good time, and I really enjoy learning to play better. On Thanksgiving day I really did not do much during the day. At night though I had a movie night with my host sister (as it was just us two in the house for the week). We ended up watching 50 first dates, but all in Português, so I could learn some more. On Friday I went with some of the exchange students to Fields, for one last time together. It was a nice time just dancing and enjoying each others company. On Saturday I went and met up with a friend and we ended up going out with some of her friends to a club called 1007. It was a really great time, as before we even went, we went to a one of her friends house and chilled and even played some video games. Then we all packed into a taxi and went to centro to go out. Since the next day was a rainy one, me and my friend just went to a shopping mall near her house and went and watched a Brasilian movie called "Meu Passado Me Condena." It was a comedy about this couple who gets married after knowing each other for a month and then proceed to go on a cruise, where they met the girls ex-boyfriend, and the boys childhood crush. Then a bunch of different things happen, but the movie was truly hysterical. On the monday following I hung out with my host sister and we made Brasilian hot dogs.

Now I am starting my vacation. I will be spending it in Matão, which is a city in the interior part of São Paulo with one of my friends that studied abroad to Indiana. Not much has been planned out yet as to what we will be doing, but I will keep update when things occur.

Until next time.

Making the Most of the Time You Have

As the first semester in Brasil is starting to come to an end, and my fellow students that are studying with me are getting ready to head back to the states I decided to dedicate a blog to suggestions for future study abroad students so that they can have the fullest of their time.

1. Probably one of the hardest things to accomplish, and I am fortunate to have learned it while I was in Italy, is to keep an open mind. When one first goes to an new country a lot of things you hear is, "oh this is stupid", "why do they do that?", instead though trying to look at why they might do a certain thing is better. And if you are not willing to accept the difference, or you dont want to take part in that culture aspect, thats fine, but try to at least respect the cultural difference.

2. Take every opportunity given to you. Even if that means you have to skip out on your favorite club/bar, that you have been to a dozen times to go to a Brasilian soccer game (or what ever the experience might be), thats fine. The club/bar will be there next week, but you might not get another opportunity to go to a game (or a churrasco, or what ever the opportunity might be).

3. If you can travel all around the country, or to different countries, while you are abroad, GREAT, DO IT! But if you can't thats fine too. Instead of sulking, go visit another city near by, get to know your area, hang out with locals. Ya you might not get to mark another country off your list, but you get to know the area, and you might discover some untapped beauty, or you really get to learn about the culture that you are in.

4. If given the opportunity to live a host family do it! Ya its nice to have an apartment and you do not have to follow rules, but host families are a great way to learn about the culture and to learn the language. They also can be your life support, if you become homesick. Also for the freedom, chances are they are very understanding, and give you the space you need.

5. A really big one that I learned while in Italy was NOT to expect ANYTHING! No matter what you do there will always be things that you imagine will happen, but if possible try not to expect to much and do not assume something will or will not happen. As chances are what you expect will not live up to the dream or will not turn out how one expects. Plus another positive to not expecting is when something happens out of the blue, it could end up being even greater than that expectation one had.


If you can try to do these few suggestions, in my personal opinion your study abroad will be one of the best times of your life! After all you will be home soon, so why not live it up and enjoy the time you have!

3 meses no Brasil!

Today marks 3 months that I have arrived here. Here is a recap of what I have been up to for the past month.

The first weekend I had an excursion with my program where we went to Agua Morros, which is a hot spring hotel. We spent the weekend there just relaxing, and eating our hearts out. The following week my class took a field trip to Fortaleza de São Joao da Ponta Grossa, which is a fort in the north of the island created by the Portuguese to stop the Spanish from using the channel between the continent and the island. After we visited the fortress we spend some time on the praia (beach) that is next to fort and then returned back to center. The following day me and one of the other student that is studying here with me went to a favela on the continent to start our day of volunteer work. There we are showing videos to the kids and afterwards we talk about what they learned, as they are movies that have life values in them. The first movie we showed was Pocahontas, and talked about how it doesn’t matter of someone’s color of skin, background, or even culture, we all are humans. Upon returning home I was invited to a futebol game of Flumenese and Vasco da Gama, which are two rival teams from Rio, who were playing in the stadium near my house.

The following weekend was full of events as well. Saturday I spent the day in Blumenau, which is a city on the continent of Brasil with a rich heritage of German decent, even until the 40’s (WII) there only spoke German there, and even today you can still here German from the locals. There we visited some museums that talked about their heritage. We also went to the Villa Germanica, which is where the World’s 2^nd biggest Oktoberfest is held every year. After we went to the Oktoberfest parade. It was quite an experience, as during the parade basically everyone that was participating in the parade was drinking, and the floats all had Tubs of beer for the participants. After seeing some of the parade I headed back with the other student who was not going to stay for the Oktoberfest festivities that were going to be held that night. That night I returned back to Floripa and went to festival with some of my friends that study at UFSC (which is the federal university here). I spent the Sunday just relaxing as from all the traveling I had done I was in need of day off.

On Monday we did not have school, since it was a holiday for professors. So instead me and two other students with my program went and took a trail called Costa Santinho, which starts on praia Santinho and ends on praia Moçambique. It was a beautiful trail, and we even saw some old inscribitions from natives that use to live on the island 1,000 years ago. On Wednesday since it was not such a nice day outside, me and one of the other students in my program hopped on some buses and just kind of took a tour of the island/surrounding area. On Friday began on my adventures to Blumenau again, this time though was to go and participate in the festivities of Oktoberfest. I stayed the weekend with one of my friend’s family, along with two other friends of mine. It was an experience as her family had strong German heritage, that when I first arrived at the house I was greeted in German. During the whole weekend we ended up going between Portuguese, German, and some English, I even learned some German words (though nothing to extensive). Because of her families heritage though I was able to use her mom’s German outfit since she was not going to Oktoberfest. At Oktoberfest it was quite interesting as the music was in Português, with a German kind of flare. Friday night there were more people that were from Blumenau, so it was common to see people dressed in typical German costumes. On Saturday night though it there was way more people and it was more people from other cities who were visiting for the festivities. On Sunday since we woke up early to head back to Floripa and it was a beautiful day out we decided to go to beach. Though we ended up getting ahold of a friend and going to a churrasco/pool get together.

Tuesday my class had another field trip. This time though was to an indigenous village that exists here in Santa Catarina. It was such an amazing experience, and it in a sense took me back to when I was in Ecuador, just how simple their life was, but how they were so open and friendly. Wednesday my family and I went out for pizza to celebrate my host mom’s birthday. It was so good, especially the pizza dulce (sweet pizza). For the weekend I went to a costume party that was hosted by a major at UFSC. Then I Sunday I went to Jurêre International with one of friends and her family. We ended up spending the whole day there just taking in some rays, sleeping, and enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

On Tuesday one of my classes, yet again had a field trip. This time we went to Portobelo Island, which was established in the 1990’s as a place that is for Ecotourism. Meaning that only a limited amount of people can visit the island everyday, and that everything they do there is to preserve the natural wildlife that exists on the island. The island itself was so breathtaking and it was quite incredible what they were doing with the island, and how they preserved it. The next day I spent the entire day at Jurêre, this time with some aunts that were visiting from the West part of Santa Catarina. When we finally returned home, after about 6 or so hours at the beach, my whole family went out for dinner to a restaurant called Boka’s.  There they are known for having good fried shrimp, which I cannot argue with, it was quite good. The next day after my class I met up with my aunts, and this time we went shopping for the entire day. It was quite fun, though seeing the prices on all the clothes was quite a shock, as it cost way more then it does in the USA. On Friday my family went out to celebrate one my aunts birthdays. We ended up going to an all you can eat pizzeria, again my favorite pizza was the pizza dulce. On Saturday night I ended up going to a birthday party celebration with my host mom and sister for one of my host dad’s aunt. Then Today (Sunday) I went to a classic futebol game between Avaí and Figueirense. It was such a great experience, the entire stadium was packed full, and the competiveness was interesting to see.

For the upcoming month, I have not planned anything in particular yet, we will see what comes up. As for my language acquisition, it is coming along quite well. There are still many things that I must learn, but I am able to get around without problems, and I can understand a good majority of conversations.

That is about all I have for now. Until next time. 

21 acabado, 21 mais pra fazer

So one of my goals while here in Floripa is to visit as many beaches as possible, there are 42 total. Today I completed visiting half of the beaches. So for this  post I want to list the ones I've visited. As for which has been my favorite, I still find Lagoinha de Leste the prettiest.

1. Galheta  

2. Moçambique

3. Santinho 

4. Forte

5. Inglêses

6. Lagoinha Do Leste

7. Naufragados

8. Matadeiro

9. Armação 

10. Açores

11. Solidão

12. Pantano do Sul

13. Campeche

14. Ribeirão da Ilha

15. Joaquina

16. Morros das Pedras 

17. Jurêre

18. Canasvieras

19. Lagoinha

20. Santo Antônio de Lisboa

21. Mole

22. Barra da Lagoa

2 Meses no Brasil

Today marks 2 months in Brasil. The past month as been just as adventurous as the first, maybe even with more experiences then the first.

The left off from the first month. On the first Thursday I took a trip to the south of the island and visited os praias das Armação and Matadeiro. The weekend brought a fun experience with an excursion to Balneário Camboriú with ISA and the other students studying here with me. On the trip we visited Parque unipraias, which we took a cable car ride to. As well as we visited a beach on the other side of the mountain and took a priate boat ride to see the city. During the time on the beach we had a pick up game of futebol with some of people who were on the boat ride with us, as well as had a nice meal with some fresh caught seafood. For the rest of the weekend I just relaxed at my house and spent time with my family as I was not up to par for doing anything else.

The week that came to follow had many activities that occurred. To start the week off ISA had a Forró night for us where we learned about the history of the dance and also tried to learn a little bit of how to dance Forró. It was quite an experience, I still have some more practicing to do though before I can become a professional at it. The next day after our class was finished, two other students studying with me went to Praia Ingleses, where we were hoping to take some sun in. Since though it was cloudy up there we just walked along the beach and kicked the futebol ball around. The adventures do not stop there. On Wednesday, which we have no classes, we took an adventure to Lagoinha do Leste, which is a secluded beach in the south of an Island, and can only be accessed by an hour hike. It was probably one of the most challenging adventures that I have since I have been here, but it is so far my favorite place on the Island and I plan on returning there. To finish up my week and move into the weekend was an experience. I was given the opportunity to go to a formutaria, which is a Brasilian graduation from college. It is not the same though as what we have in the states. The day before the actual ceremony there is a mass to celebrate the graduates. After that me and my family went to have pizza, and I was able to try pizza dulce, quite different but delicious. The following day was the actual party. To start the party off we got all dressed up, as this event is a formal event and everyone wears almost like prom dresses to the event. We left my house around 4 pm, which we headed to the place where the actual ceremony was going to be at. Around 6pm the ceremony began. During the ceremony everyone goes up to get their diplomas, difference is though they place their caps on their heads after they are given a blessing and that proves that they are officially graduated. After that many other things happen, though I did not fully understand it all. There was a part though that the graduates go out into the audience and give their parents a rose to thank them for all they have done. Once the ceremony is finished, and many photos are taken it was time for dinner. My host family and some other graduates had their dinner at a Churrascaria in São Jose. It was a great experience as I even got to try Caraçãozinho, which is chicken heart. After the dinner we went back to the place where the ceremony was held, this time it was time for the party. It was a dance party for them where all the guests and graduate go for the last part of the celebration. Of course my family stayed until the end, at 6 am. Once it was time to go, we headed home and headed straight to bed. That day we woke up around 12.30 and everyone got ready to head out to eat. We went to a nice little buffet place in Campeche. After we finished our lunch we went to Campeche beach were we spend some time walking around and taking in the sun, since it was a gorgeous day out. When we finished our beach time we went back home and relaxed outside with some popcorn. The weekend was a great experience and an eye opener to both similarities and difference here for things such as graduation.

The week after included several events as well. On Monday my class had a field trip to UFSC (which is the federal university here). We went to two museums there, once was about the Azorean culture and the other was over women rights. On the Wednesday we had off we went to take a trail in Barra da Lagoa that was suppose to end in Praia Galheta. Unfortuntely we were unable to find half of the trail, so we just spent some time in Barra da Lagoa, then hoped on the bus and went to Praia Mole, where there was another entrance to Praia Galheta. We walked up and down both beaches and took in some of the sites. Then since it was getting dark we decided to head back. On Friday was another funfilled day. ISA had a meeting and there we celebrated my birthday with bolo (cake). After the meeting me and two of the other girls in the program went out for sushi at an all you can eat place. It was probably the best sushi I had, and it was probably the most amount I have eaten at one time. The next morning I was given an opportunity to go visit my friends that I went to Balneário Camboriú with to celebrate my birthday and also other of the other girls, who birthday was during the week. We went to Jaraguá do Sul, which is where they lived. After having a really nice lunch/churrasco with my friends family, which I also helped to make, we enjoyed more bolo. Then we went over to her boyfriends house where we had a get together with some of their friends. We ended the night by watching Rockin Rio, which is  a huge music festival that occurs in Rio. The next day was my Birthday! I had a great day, first I had a nice brunch at my friends house. After our lunch it was time for me to head back to Floripa. When I arrived in Floripa I was greeted by my family with birthday wishes and Havaianas! To end the day we made brigaderia, which is AMAZING dessert thats basically a chocolate ball. Although I did not do any special party or anything of that such for my birthday, I must say it was probably one of the best birthdays I have had. It was actually kind of emotional as I was just so grateful for what everyone did, even though they did not have to. It turned out to be a great day, and weekend that I will not forget.

The week after that was filled with traveling around the island and other events. To start the week off we took a trip to Ribeerão da Ilha, which is a fisherman village in the south of the island. There we went to a little restaurant and enjoyed some pastels. The next day we had a great experience by being given the opportunity to go to a favela in a nearby city called Palhoça. Although that day we did not do any work we became acquainted with the program. We will be working with CADI, working with at risk youth. It also does other programs to help the families, teach the families and children about health. We learned the week after that we would be showing the children movies about morals and ethics and play activities with them that reassure what they learned. Following that experience we went to the praia Lagoinha, which is in the very tip north of the island. There we just relaxed for the day. On Saturday I spent the day on UFSC with some of my friends I met there. We went out to a festa in Brasil  that was hosted by a major at UFSC. Then I spent my Sunday with the family celebrating my host sisters birthday.

To these last few days I have done a few activities. On Tuesday since it was nice day out and we had no class in the afternoon we headed to the dunes in Joaquina where we just relaxed and walked around for some time. Yesterday we went back to CADI where we just found out what activities we would be doing with the kids and also planned our agenda for our first lesson, which will be next week. There are some events coming up that I am looking forward to, such as a trip this weekend to the mountains of Santa Catarina, where we will be rafting and visiting hot springs. Also I will be going to Blumenau to experience Oktoberfest. It is the biggest Oktoberfest outside of Germany.

My Portuguese is coming along quite well. I still have a lot to learn, but my progress is getting better.

Balneário Camboriú

Praia Galheta

Praia Campeche

Brigadera

Ingleses

Lagoinha do Leste

Almoçao

Matadeira

Favela I am working at 

Dunes of Joaquina

That is all for now!

13 Signs to show you're Brasilian

Here are  things that I've noticed most Brasilians I have met do; Gente acham que estes são verdade?

You know you are Brasilian when you:

1. own at least one pair of havaianas

2. have been to several churrascos

3. have had coraçãozinha at least once

4. have café at least twice-a-day

5. Know what I mean when I say Annita

6. Have a house thats floors are only tile

7. Eat Pão de Queijo

8. Have a favorite futebol team

9. Know how to dance either seraneja ou forró

10. Escape to the beach during summer break

11. You go to the States (or a place where clothes are cheaper) pack your suitcase completely full with all your purchases

12. Add an -e ou -i to the end of an English word to make it sound Português, etc. Facebook, Film, ou Shrek

13. Wait until the last minute to do something, or start events never on time (Being from the states where everything is very punctual it is very hard to get use to)

Brasilian Hospitality

 Every time I have gone to Latin America, or even when I met someone from Latin America I am reminded how hospitable and friendly people from Latin America are, and why I love to visit. This is true also here in Brasil. That is even a main reason why I really wanted to come and study abroad here. As the people I met abroad while in Italy that were from Brasil, were very hospitable and made the country sound amazing….and it is! Now that I am here I can say with certainty (at least in the encounters I have had) that this friendliness and openness is quite true. Everyone I have met has been so nice and included me in events, even though my Português skills are not the greatest. They have been so welcoming and inviting, it makes my time here so much greater.  Even talking with other students studying abroad with me say they have experienced the same hospitality. As here it is for the company of others, even when one does not have much to offer to someone. Here it is more they want to make the person feel at home and welcomed, as well as they enjoy learning about other cultures and want to teach one about their culture and lifestyle. And to go along with this way of life, when one goes to get together, expect loads of food and meeting loads of people.  It is hard though to truly explain this way of life to someone who has not encountered it. What I can say though for certain is if one is ever invited to a Latin get together, or to travel “south of the boarder” take the opportunity. As the people one meets in Latin America makes the experience so much better, and unforgettable.