Bread and circuses.

I was talking to my research advisor this morning about Carnaval-- we're both going to be IN the Sambodromo. On my end, it's a bit of a touristy thing to do, because I haven't actually been practicing with the school; I'm going there basically the week before to get a fitting, and learn some moves. Traditionally (and if I had the motivation), you go to the Escola de Samba every weekend to practice with the bateria, the dancers, etc. You pay a minimal fee, but at the end of it-- you are part of a group and integrate with the school, I think.

But that's not the point of this post. We were talking about how she actually grew up hating Carnaval, which surprised me because it seems like all of Brazil has been waiting for Carnaval since I arrived. Now, it's all anyone can talk about.

She mentioned to me that back in the 60's, when Brazil was ruled by dictatorships, the policitians would kill people during these holidays. Even today, apparentely, laws and programs get passed under the noses of the Brazilians who are too busy having a good time and enjoying the festivals to notice what is going on in the government.

Another perspective that I hadn't heard of or thought of.

Melhores Destinos.

Here's a good site to find cheap deals on flights all over Brazil (and some international flights as well).

http://www.melhoresdestinos.com.br/

There's also Decolar, but not for deals...

Suco of the Day: Ameixa.

Today I tried suco de ameixa (plum). I actually forgot what ameixa translated to in English, but the minute I took I sip I realized that it was plum juice. It was interesting, perhaps really good with sugar (I asked for without), but I'm not sure it's my favorite one, or even within my top five.

Ipanema: Rio Times

Published again:

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/ipanema-the-best-of-everything-in-rio/

Doce de Leite.

I haven’t had enough time to talk about doce de leite, but there could seriously be a whole blog devoted to the doce de leite of Latin America. It’s most famous in Argentina, but it’s pretty popular here in Rio.

My apartment-mate’s family owns a farm, and the caretaker there made some doce de leite for us. And some bolo de milho (corn cake). She’s made bolo de laranja, bolo de cenoura, and bolo de chocolate already—and they’ve all been amazing.

(there are passion fruits lurking behind the jar of doce de leite, in case you were curious)

Frevo.

On Monday, my apartment-mate and I went to a ensaio in Centro, just near Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. An ensaio is a type of rehearsal, usually for free, as a group starts preparing for a big show. We went and saw a band play different types of Brazilin music, in preparation for their show for Carnaval. I’ve been hearing lots of things about Carnaval, and I’m getting mixed feelings about its arrival—but this particular event was really nice.

My favorite part was watching this couple dance with little umbrellas, to a particular type of music—frevo. From the Northeast (Recife), it’s a hugely popular dance there, and if you go to Carnaval there, everyone is dancing this in the streets. There’s a bloco in Rio that’s devoted solely to this dance, and I’d really like to see it. It’s really difficult—you are constantly bobbing your body up and down, somewhat like a human jack-in-the-box. But the music is upbeat and lively, and the umbrellas and somewhat of a fantastic accessory.

I found a video here that seems to show some pretty good moves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELaEDd2q_g

Mangaba.

Starting this week, I’ve decided to try every flavor of fruit juice in Rio. I realized that I’m getting way too used to my acai, suco de fruta do conde, and my addiction to agua de coco. I simply cannot leave here without having tried them all!

I attempted to drink suco de mangaba (always without sugar), a fruit found in the Amazon. Sorry to say, but I couldn’t get past three sips without throwing it away. It tasted pungent (I know that is a word usually reserved for smells, but there is no other way of describing it), and I’m not sure that sugar would have made it that much better… perhaps, considering it WAS on the menu. I doubt I’ll attempt it again, but it was worth a shot. Let’s see what tomorrow bring….

Abiu

Last week, I picked up a fruit at the grocery store that I had never seen before. It’s called abiu, and apparently it’s from the same family of sapotis (a delicious fruit that I have only found in Rio and India). The fruit tasted similar to sapoti, if not a bit milder, but the after-effects were quite different. The pulp and peel of the fruit (I’m not entirely sure you can eat the peel; I attempted and then decided not to) emitted some sort of gum, clearly a defense mechanism against being eaten by animals. My whole mouth and hands were sticky, and I couldn’t get it off with soap. I’m not sure I’ll buy abiu again, but I am glad I got to experience the taste.

Closing my questionnaire.

As I write this, the finalization of my questionnaire is underway. It's been a few months of pre-testing, adapting, pre-testing, adapting, pre-testing, and adapting again, but we're finally ready to close the survey. It's incredibly exciting to be able to start conducting my field work, the very essence of why I came to Brazil.

I didn't expect my questionnaire to change as much as it did when I first arrived, but I'm already grateful to my research advisors for helping me mold the questionnaire to a more concrete survey instrument. It will be much easier to analyze my results if I am working from a solid survey instrument. In addition, it's been interesting conversing with my advisors about the effects of my research project, aspects I need to think about when starting to write the discussion of my project, etc. You realize how important it is to really understand the culture of the country when creating a discussion and analyzing results. I'm only a resident in Rio for nine months-- it's not enough time to capture the nuances and subtleties of what I'm finding-- especially since my project is very much studying the way--the culture-- of the residents of Rio de Janeiro.

One thing I anticipated before I arrived--but now understand-- is how different the timeline here is to the United States. In the US, we have a tendency to just "get things done," while here, people tend to think much more before they take actions. I also didn't realize just how slowly things move in December and January... the same time period I wanted to start my research.

But this works out well, I think, because I have a much stronger questionnaire, and I will be able to conduct my field work with certainty that my questionnaire is as good as it can get, here, now, in Brazil.

Florianopolis.

Cervantes.

Yesterday I went to Cervantes with some friends, a famous restaurant in Rio de Janeiro known for its late hours and sublime sandwiches.

All the sandwiches are some variety of meat, cheese, and... wait for it... slices of fresh pineapple. Sounds strange, I know, but the combination is fantastic. The sweet perfectly balances the saltiness of the cheese and the meat, and topped with some brown mustard-- for a little kick of spice-- I couldn't stop myself from eating the whole thing (the sandwiches are quite large, and quite stuffed with meat). I'm not sure what type of cheese they use, but I imagine I'm going to try recreating this at home sometime-- tartine style. Slices of fresh bread topped with rotisserie chicken, gruyere cheese and pineapple (perhaps warmed in the oven) with a layer of mustard. The most famous sandwich at Cervantes is the "Especial"-- filet mignon, cheese, and pineapple, but I imagine that nearly every option on that menu satisfies a craving after a long night out.

You can find Cervantes at several locations in Rio, but I recommend going to the original:

Rua Prado Junior, 335 - loja B, Copacabana
(21) 2275-6147

short list: florianopolis.

It's about the size of New York City, but the island of Santa Catarina has no skyscraper in sight-- just beaches and ocean.

where to stay:

We stayed in a friend's home in Campeche, the surf paradise for Brazilians.

what to do:

beach, beach, beach.

Go to Isla da Campeche, a beautiful preserved island that allows only 200-some visitors per day. It's my version of paradise; lush, greenery, few people, clear waters.

We also headed to the beach of Campeche, Joaquina, Praia Mole (known for its surfing), and Praia Barra da Lagoa.

Besides the beach, you can check out the Lagoa-- a huge lagoon in the middle of the island. There are trails around it, which we did, and you can take a boat to different parts of the lagoon and lunch right along the water. Just be sure to know how long your trail is going to take before you head out-- a half hour trail ended up taking us nearly four hours to get to any sort of civilization.

If you're interested in sandboarding-- a sport similar to snowboarding, but takes place IN the sand-- check out Jaoquina-- there's huge dunes and to try it out is pretty cheap-- R$10 for as long as you want. Just be sure to go when the sun starts to set, because the sand gets hot, and the sun is bright. There are stalls selling fresh sugarcane juice (caldo da cana) along the way-- you can get it with a splash of lime, passionfruit, or other Brazilian fruits (I recommend the lime; it cuts the sweet).

what to eat:

There's lot of good seafood on the island, and though I can't recommend a particular place-- nearly everywhere we went had a great selection of fish. Veggies are a bit scarce, but before you embark to the Isla da Campeche, there's a por-kilo that has a pretty abundant selection of greens. They are also right next to a por-kilo ice cream shop, which has fun flavors like ginger and papaya.

notes:

Floripa is NOT public transportation friendly. We spent a lot of time waiting for buses, so I highly suggest renting a car. By the end of the trip, I was actually a bit frustrated with the fact that we would waste nearly half a day trying to go to and from places.

Also(!)-- bikinis are pretty cheap here in comparison to Rio. I found a cute one in a pop-up store near the Lagoa, and another one in one of the shops near Praia Barra da Lagoa.

List of Sucos.

I've started compiling a list of sucos (juices) that I've tried, and have yet to try in Brazil.

Tried:

Abacaxi (pineapple)

Acerola

Ameixa

Cupacu

Figo (fig)

Framboesa (raspberry)

Fruta da Conde (custard apple)

Goiaba (guava)

Laranja (orange)

Mamao (papaya)

Manga (mango)

Mangaba

Maracuja (passion fruit)

Melancia (watermelon)

Morango (strawberry)

Pitanga

Have to try:

Amora (blackberry)

Berinjela (eggplant)

Beterraba (beet)

Blueberry

Cacau

Caja

Caju

Caqui

Carambola

Cenoura (carrot)

Coco (coconut)

Graviola

Jaca

Kiwi

Laranja Lima (orange lime)

Limonada

Limonada Suica

Maca (apple)

Melao (melon)

Pera (pear)

Pessego (peach)

Tangerina (tangerine)

Tamarindo (tamarind)

Tapereba

Umbu

Uva Italia (grape)

Uva roxa (grape)

End of Horario de Verao.

Today was the beginning of “winter.” Brasil’s version of daylight savings time ended. I’m not sure I love this, because it means I can’t ride my bike past 8 PM without it feeling sketchy. On the other hand, I can wake up early and do things as the sun rises, which is always a nice feeling.

on developing a questionnaire.

Seeing as this is my first REAL research project, it’s been fascinating to find out just how much goes into the preparation. I’ve never done a questionnaire study before—in any format—and while I knew that it would be tricky, my research advisors have really opened my eyes to the number of discrepancies one could fall into if they don’t take care when writing the questionnaire. My questionnaire is an adaption of an NIH one, but that doesn’t mean it will work in Rio. Thus, the past two months have been a lot of pre-testing and adapting to make sure that my questionnaire is OK for when I close it.

avocado smoothie.

my roommate made an avocado shake with milk, sugar, and abacate (avocado). it was surprisingly really good, and reminded me of the other brazilian dessert with avocado---creme de abacate.

A link for the recipe here: http://www.alleasyrecipes.com/recipes/2/7/cream_of_avocado_dessert.asp

Obviously it is a bit weird for us Americans to eat avocado as a fruit, but I'm starting to grow on the idea...

Bananas for bananas....

and cheese sandwiches. Sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon. And toasted. Mmm. Who would have thought? It's basically an Atkin's dieters worst nightmare, but it's a common item on a lot of the lanchonette menus here in Rio.

quejo coalho.

Although it's not exactly legal to sell this on the beach anymore, it hasn't stopped a majority of the vendors from making this fried Brazilian cheese.

It's a lightweight cheese that's sold on the beach for only a few reais, and when you buy it, the vendor sits down, props his tiny handheld charcoal oven, pulls out a slab of cheese on a stick, and burns it. You can ask for oregano, or sometimes a garlic sauce. I went to a restaurant where they served it with molasses and a side of rice. It was quite delicious.

I don't know how you could recreate this dish at home, but I imagine that most cheese would burn easily. Sprinkle oregano, and try it with molasses, if you dare. It's strange at first, but actually quite good.

bem casado.

I've tried this sweet a couple times-- once at Confeitaria Columbo, and once at a small cafe in Leblon.

This sweet is pretty famous in Brazil-- it's usually served at wedding or bridal showers, given to guests at the end as a sort-of party favor, to help bring luck and prosperity to the newlyweds. Bem casado is two cookies with doce de leite or egg custard in the middle (like an oreo), covered with iced sugar. One side of the cookie represents the groom, while the other represents the bride-- unified together by, well, the doce de leite. Traditionally, egg custard is normally found in the middle (and is more common in areas like Rio de Janeiro, where there is a significant Portuguese influence), but now you can find doce de leite also (especially in cities like Sao Paulo).

I've tried this sweet on a couple of occasions. The first time-- at Confeitaria Columbo-- was too sweet, and the doce de leite tasted a bit like rubber. The second time-- yesterday at a cafe in Leblon-- was sublime. The sugar melted on your tongue and the doce de leite and cookie collided together to create a wonderful mix of textures and flavors. It is incredibly sweet-- I actually split the tiny sweet into two, and couldn't even finish my half.

Bicycling in Rio.

If there is one thing I strongly urge everyone to buy in Rio de Janeiro (if you live there), it's a bike. Do what I did and buy a used one, preferably looking a little junky-- chances are you're bike won't get stolen when it looks like it might fall apart. I splurged a bit and added a basket and rack for a surfboard-- but you don't have to. On second thought, get the basket. Not only will you look cute, but it's incredibly convenient.

The whole set-up cost me less than a month and a half of using the bus system in Rio, and I'm happy to say that it's actually FASTER to commute via bike than bus. I head straight through Rio Sul to Copacabana and Ipanema, for my yoga and futvolei classes. Yesterday I met up with a friend and we rode to Leblon for lunch. I go to the farmers markets on my bike. I go to the grocery store on my bike. I even put my skateboard on my bike rack to go skateboarding along the paths by the beach.

Really, it's such a pleasure to be able to be outside, get some exercise, and enjoy the bliss that only being on a bike can provide. Really, seriously. Go buy one.

My suggestions to those who live in Rio:

There's a used bike shop on Rua Assunicao in Botafogo. You can also check balcao.com, or ask the porteiro of your building, who will usually know a thing or two about these matters. I bought mine at the shop in Botafogo, and the owners were kind enough to replace the brake, and spruce it up to (nearly) perfect condition.

CJR: In Deep Water.

And another one: http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/in_deep_water.php

Urca in The Rio Times.

I'm being published!

Check out my article here: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/urca-under-sugarloaf/

like in England...

I switched Havaianas with someone in my yoga studio the other day, and it made me realize how flip flops here are analogous to the umbrellas in England. You can walk in with one, and out with another. I threw out the flip flops, because it's a little gross to be using someone else's shoes, but it was a funny experience nonetheless.

Litorania and Barreado.

Reflections on my pilot study.

I have completed a few questionnaires for my pilot study, for the pre-test. It's exciting to actually be doing field work-- I feel like it's been going so slowly to get my project running off the ground.

With some changes I made with the students from VER-SUS (who completed my first pre-test), I think my questionnaire is almost ready. My supervisor will take a look at it this weekend, and hopefully next week I can start.

My research team has mentioned to me a few times that there may be some cultural nuances I will miss when I go out and do my research. For this reason, I will be supervised sometimes. It's interesting to me that this is even a possibility, because something like this would never happen in the United States-- people tend to give research grantees (students or professors) much more independence, and only help when asked. Here, I've been getting a lot of assistance, which is highly unusual and interesting to get accustomed to.

Foz do Iguacu.

Curitiba.

Curiosity.

People don't leave their bags on the floor here because apparently there is a superstition that if you leave your bag on the floor, your money will disappear. Interesting.

Getting University Authorization.

I received pending clearance for my research project, which means that while the bulk of my project was approved, there were still some uncertainties about some of the methodology of my research.

The biggest concern the CEP had with my project was the lack of university authorization, since I am going to be using UFRJ (the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) as my study site for my field work.

I had to go with Denise to UFRJ, Faculdade da Letras, and speak to an advisor who signed a paper stating that we could do field work in this area. We tried to do the same with PUC, but after an endless phone tag, we decided to limit our study site to UFRJ, and instead an another emphasis on the analyzation of the effectivity of the questionnaire, rather than a comparative study.