Family and Friends

Togetherness. Much time spent in mamae´s (mom´s) kitchen either sitting around the large circular table or using my hands to help where I´m able to. I like to watch mamae go about her activities in the kitchen and I think I have learned a few new things from her. While watching Marlene (the younger sister of my sister-in-law, Marilda) last night preparing a salad for a party we were going to, I learned that ketchup goes quite well with fruit - if it´s mixed with `creme de leite`(cream of milk), that is. The fruits were pineapple and apple and the mixture was very good, I thought. Because of my surprise at adding ketchup to a fruit salad, I now joke with Marlene that it´s called `salada de ketchup`- and she cracks up laughing. I love to see her laugh. She´s surviving breast cancer right now after finishing up with her treatments earlier this year. She´s 46 years old and discovered her disease maybe about 2.5 - 3 years ago. A few days ago, she picked up her new Peuguot car - a small, cute, 4-door number with power-assisted (or just power, I´m not sure) steering, which her doctor recommended she drive instead of the usual - manual steering, which some of you may have experienced at some point in your life. And if you haven´t, well..., it can be pretty difficult when the vehicle is not moving or it is moving slowly. I was with her and I took a photo of her sitting in her new car just before she drove away from the dealership.
Last night, I and 4 of my 5 sisters-in-law went to a party at their cousin, Ana Maria´s (married to Manuel) house. That´s why Marlene made the `salada de ketchup`. The party was hosted by their beautiful daughter, Mariana, who I think is about 26 years old, and her German boyfriend, Lars. Lars is a musician and plays classical guitar, and many other style of guitar I think, and he performed for us briefly on his newly acquired, Spanish luthier-made, 8-string guitar. He played some beautiful music and the guitar sounded lovely - he told me he gave the guitar its debut. He also told me that he loves, loves, LOVES Brasilian music, except for the stuff that came out in the 80´s. As many of you might remember, there was not much good to come out in the 80´s music in the United States. Maybe the 80´s were just a dead time in general for music in many parts of the world? I understand that he lives in Frankfurt, Germany for 6 months at a time, playing music and composing, and then returns to Goiana, Brasil to be with Mariana. He and I exchanged email addresses and I intend on learning more from him about his classical guitar playing as maybe he is a candidate to recruit for a performance for the Minnesota Guitar Society. That would be cool for me to be able to arrange something like that.
This morning, I made note of an observation I made after reading an email message I received from a girlfriend in the United States. And that is, happy hours in the USA typically involve meeting friends and co-workers at a bar or restaurant and having an alcoholic beverage of some sort, and maybe a little bite of food, and sometimes even, dinner. Here in Anapolis, Brasil, in mamae´s family and friend circle, it consists of cafe´ and some baked goods, both sweet and salt ones, and lasts anywhere from an hour and up to 3 (which would be unusually long). These daily weekday casual get-togethers occur at someone´s house and begin anytime after 6:30 pm. Sometimes they are planned the day before or the morning of, and sometimes people just drop on in. All are welcome. Everyone talks with one another, sharing what they want, telling stories, with no radio or t.v. blaring in the background. Usually, there is much laughing, too. I like these times. It seems that everyone is really paying attention to and listening to one another.

Eating well and becoming reacquainted

Today at lunch, I ate something new to me and unique to this plateau area of Brazil. It´s called `pee-kee`, and although it is not in season right now, Mamae had some frozen and she cooked some with rice. I do not know what `pee-kee` looks like in nature. And I do not know if what I saw had it´s outside peel (if there is one, that is) on or off. What I saw, first of all, is that they´re winter squash-orange in color and are sized like a golf ball and smaller. They are not round, but shaped slightly oval, with a shallow flat indentation on one side. They are smooth in texture. They have an unusual flavor, unlike anything else I remember ever eating. You pick this fruit up with your fingers and put it to your teeth to scrape off its rather thin layer of edible flesh. I´m told that if you bite too deep, you will get pricked with the thorns that are inside (under the flesh). I ate 3 of them with my meal and did not get pricked. I liked them and their unique flavor. It´s my understanding that some people enjoy `pee-kee` while others do not. I suppose it´s like anything else, huh?
Last night, we went over to cousin Marta Christina´s house where she lives in Anapolis with her spouse, Gil, and their toddler, Henrique (pronounced Enhickey). Marta and Gil used to live in the United States in Philadelphia - that´s where they met each other, in fact. They speak some English, Marta more than Gil. Marta made fresh pizzas for all of us (18-20). Everyone in the family says that she makes the best pizza of them all. She made her own tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil and a lot of love, she said. Pizzas were put into a small, efficiently-sized countertop oven to bake, two pans at a time. One pizza had slices of palm hearts, one with thinly sliced eggplant. The second round of baking brought one with olives and capers and one with bacalaho (dried cod fish). The third round of baking produced seconds of earlier ones. They were all very good (muito gustozo)! In addition, we had a few different bottles of Portuguese red wine (vinho tinto) that were very different from one another and each very good in their own right. And finally, Marta presented a beautiful dessert she´d made - fresh whole pineapple that had been sliced open in half and the fruit inside had been sliced and there was a custard on top of the sliced fruit and then a baked merangue on top of that. It was wonderful and different for me. It was so pretty that I took a picture of it.
During the evening, I became reacquainted with members of Marilda´s family whom I met 3 years ago, and I also met a few new people. One of them is one of the adult sons of Manuel and his wife, Ana Maria; his name is Leonardo. Leonardo is married to a woman from Switzerland and they have a daughter together. Right now, the mother and child are in Switzerland for a visit with her family. The other new face belongs to the boyfriend of Mariana (the beautiful daughter of Manuel and Ana Maria); he is from Frankfurt, Germany, and his name is `Lass`. Mariana and Lass have been together for 4 years. They live together in Goiania for half the year and the other half they live in Frankfurt. Lass plays guitar, electric mostly, but acoustic and classic, as well. It was a pleasure for me to see them as they seem very happy together.
Next Friday, Mariana announced that she will throw a party for everyone at her father´s house and there will be a guitar player performing later in the evening. We all promised to be there so I will be fortunate to see her and many others once again.
That´s all for now, folks!
Jennifer

Life in and around Anapolis

I´m feeling more settled into life here at mamae´s (mom´s) house. My head is swimming slower now (instead of spinning like a top) with the Portuguese language being spoken all around me, and all of the time. I drink espresso cafe (coffee) at least twice each day, more like 3 or 4 times each day, and am enjoying many wonderful treats to go along with that cafe. I enjoy tremendously all the different foods I encounter and I will try everything, if only once. Today we spent all day at the farm (fazenda) of Marilda´s aunt. The soil there is very red and since it´s winter time here, it´s very dry and windy and so a lot of reddish dust is in the air and on everything. The farm is located in virgin land. This open, unadulterated landscape is immense and so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. Lovely hills (maybe they´re mountains?), sparse but large trees, varied landscape colors of green and golden and brown (since there´s been no rain for 3 months), livestock speckled around grazing, horses hanging out in the road having a nice chat with one another as we approached to pass by them in our vehicle, and absolutely no road signs in this area. You have to know where you are going in order to reach your destination, if you have one, that is.
I had an early rise today and it´s now nearing 11 pm and I am ready for sleep. So for now, boa noite (good night). I hope that you are all well. Jennifer

12 July, Saturday
Today, I and Marilda fly to Goiania, which is very close to our final destination, Anapolis.

Yesterday, I had my second `Power-Plate`exercise session with Rick (pronounced `Hick`), the owner of the studio. He is an American and speaks English and was helpful to me in that he´s knowledgeable about the body and injuries.

Now, it´s time to go to the hotel to retrieve my luggage and then we´re off to the airport.

Ciao!

Bom dia,
I and Marilda are in Sao Paulo and spending time with her cousin, Vera. We each had a personal training session today on a machine called `Power-Plate´and we will do again on Friday. It is sunny and warm in the sun, but cool once in the shade. We ate at a Middle Eastern restaurant last night and enjoyed some delicious Lebanese food. My friend, Mahin, will be happy to know this, I think. We all shared a salad fatoushe, tabouli, lentils and rice, and some grilled Brazilian fish, called ´pintada´, and ate thin pita bread with a very thick, creamy yogurt.

**Brother John, would you please contact Paul for me to ask him what is the size on the label in the blaser he bought in Brazil 3 years ago, and then let me know? I am unable to get into my email (visi.com) from here right now, and don´t know whether it will be a continuing problem or not. Muito obrigada.

Ciao. Jen