Learning Brazilian Portuguese

Rio de Janeiro definitivamente é uma muito legal cidade! Eu amo aqui.

I really think that Rio de Janeiro is the most friendly city I have ever been to. It is always given a bad reputation that in some ways is due for its crime, but if you are sensible and self aware, I think the majority of problems can be avoided.

Anyway, I have a few pieces of advice for "A Cidade Maravilhosa".

Learning the Language... It all depends on how much you want to spend on learning and how self motivated you are to learn.
There are hundreds of language classes available here, some look more reputable than others. I have never used these, but I hear they are reasonably expensive (at least by south american standards)
Other options are to find an independent teacher. This is possibly the best paid option as you will reap the benefits of one to one interaction, whilst making sure that the money actually goes to a person who needs it (i.e. the teacher) and not a big company.
I use a book that I bought from a shop here named "português, um curso para estrangeiros". It is hard work, but if you buy a dictionary to translate the tough words, it will progressively improve your language skills.

The fourth option is come here and make friends. Learn at least a little Portuguese before you arrive, and soon you will have lots of new friends. Brazilians love to meet new people from other countries, and are always impressed when someone has bothered to learn their language too. It is not globally widely spoken and for many it may not be the best language for most to learn. Big Kudos for this.

And the best option by far is to incorporate all of the above ideas!

If you really want to stay in the home of a Brazilian, make some Brazilian contacts first. they may be able to point you in the direction of people interested in this too.

I use a website called http://www.couchsurfing.com, which is based on building trust as a community and meeting other like minded travellers. If "couchsurfing" seems a bit too far out for you as a concept, do not dismiss the website completely. the Rio de Janeiro group is a great place to meet other locals and travellers in the area, and can help in arranging meetings, for coffee/tourist activities/dancing/drinking etc.

another place to check out is http://gringoes.com, I don't know much about it, but it could be useful as it has a lot of information from people going to/living in Brazil and other south american countries.

I hope some of this might help!

Abraço
Matt

Brazilians Part II

Ok, I was gonna make you all wait a little longer before I was gonna update "Brazilians" Part II, but I am too impatient.

I left off at...

The Tangas...

So, what is a Tanga? you may well be asking.

A book I read soon after I arrived in Rio de Janeiro gave possibly the best definition possible.

The book is called "How To Be A Carioca The alternative Guide for the Tourist in Rio, by Priscilla Ann Goslin (not the most Carioca of names) a woman who moved to Rio as a child.
In the book Priscilla makes very good observations about the "Carioca" that even my Carioca friends have had to have a good laugh at!

Anyway, to make a short story longer and in case you don't know, a Carioca is a native of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The nickname was given by the Tupi-Guarani Indians to the first white men who came to live in Rio de Janeiro: CARI (white man) + OCA (home).

Ok, so this is not a book review, but I like to give a bit of background to what the hell I am going on about, otherwise I mmay as well make this blog two lines long!

tanga ['tun gah]: tiny triangular pieces of material usually held together with strings. Worn by Carioca women as a bikini on the beach.

In fact, if you look back at the books cover picture you can see an illustration of what I am talking about!




Anyway, again as I was saying in the last blog...

If you look back at the beach you will see another beautiful sight too.

The Tanga...
... to be continued

And continue we shall...

I had always heard that in Brazil the women wear small bikinis and more or less I didn't doubt it. But my god...

That first day walking along the beach, I stood on a dying wasp and it stung me in the sole of my foot... I am not gonna lie and say it wasn't too bad, because it fucking hurt! So I decided to have a little sit down and whine to myself about my sore foot.

I had probably only been walking for about 2 minutes and I had been so enamoured by the skyline that I had neglected to really look at the people around me. But while i was sat there rubbing my tootsies, I looked over my shoulder...

and there was a bikini...

well, there was some of the bikini...

the rest had been gobbled by some beautiful monster!

In fact the vast majority of that bikini was internalised by the wearer I think!



But I remember bikinis from my holidays to Greece and France... the ones that cover the arse! Here they are after as much exposure as possible.

I have a little theory that the reason the bikinis here are so small is because unlike the beaches in Greece and France where almost every girl has her tits out (which I do not complain about), here it is illegal. So as a compromise, someone decided to make sure that these bikinis are as miniscule as possible, to maximise sun exposure.

My foot soon stopped hurting and I decided to go for a bit more of a walk. (After what I had just seen I probably should've taken a quick dip in the sea to calm down!) And it was whilst I was continuing my promenade along the beach that I realised something else about Brazilian women and the tanga...

I thought that the super tiny trinangles were only reserved for the super, fit bodied, young ladies on the beach...

This I have in fact found to be not exactly right.

The tanga is universal... I'm not gonna say one size fits all, but...

The fatties wear them too!

Good Farofa! Where?

I took a trip recently to a place called Cachoeiras de Macacu* (literally translated is Waterfalls of Macacu), which was one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the fortune to visit.

Me jumping

into a waterfall

It took us approximately 2 hours and 14 minutes to get to Cachoerias by car from the big bus station in Rio de Janeiro, although all the guides will tell you it is about an hour and a half away. i know this because I managed to listen to a 2 hour and 11 minute podcast from start to about 30 secs from the end of the journey and I wasn't being totally unsociable when I first got into the car... well, for at least three and a half minutes!

I don't know if you listen to podcasts at all, but I am rather pleased I bothered to investigate them. Although the quality of broadcasting is sometimes questionable, there are some hidden gems in amongst these lumps of coal... My current favourites being the Collings and Herring Podcast. Basically they talk about current affairs in the papers back in sunny England, which is a bit strange because after 5 months with very little knowledge of England's news, suddenly all I really have is a satirical overview! Not complaining though.

Another

waterfall

I have also downloaded stuff to help me improve my Portuguese as I am a bit rubbish still!

Anyway, I am considering making my own podcast (let me know if you think this is a shitty idea) on something, but I know I need some half decent material to begin, but who knows... I may be on millions of peoples i-pods around the world one day... I doubt it though!

It's a

hard life

Where was I?

Oh yeah, Cachoeiras...

Got there and checked out a hotel that was in the most grotty part of town and didn't really appeal... then we drove to this absolutely amazing place called Pousada de Escultor. It was beautiful! It even had its own waterfall! We knew we had arrived at our home for the next few days. And it cost us R$18 (about a fiver) per night

OK... I don't really wanna tell you everyting about this place, as I would rather you went and found out about it for yourself. But lets just say Me and Suzi found our own private waterfall, which was nice! Also in general the landscape was some of the most spectacular ever.

I must mention that while I was in this place I also saw some of the most disgusting things I have ever seen here. But those are stories for another day.

What I really wanted to tell you about here was the food... or more exactly the guy who served us in a restaurant! but I need to fill in a few gaps first.

Worst restaurant in Cachoeiras goes to... shit, I can't remember the name, but it I think it was called Restaurante Cachoeiras Palace (sorry to you if it isn't). It is a part of a big hotel there and was quoted as the only real restaurant in the whole town by the locals.

I have eaten better meat both in quality and cooking ability from McDonalds.

Right, why I started writing this now...
My favourite restaurant so far in Brazil is Art Gourmet (Art Gourmet Rod. RJ 116, Km 44 / 784 Tel:(21) 2649-2811). It was less than a five minute walk from our pousada, and the food was really good... I even enjoyed the farofa! and between 5 of us eating we still only paid a total of about R$70 which in english money is about £20. (did I mention that we all had fillet steak?)

But I still haven't got to my point... but I am finally here. Not just really great food but also there was the best waiter I have seen in the world!

I mean if I said the best waiter in Brazil I would not be saying much. Most waiters here really don't even give half a shit whether you enjoy your meal or not, much like England.

Salomão was different though... Salomão knew how to do his job, and how to do it well. I'm not just talking about bringing out 12 plates in one go. He was polite and friendly

Visit Salomão at Art Gourmet in Cachoeiras de Macacu, it is worth it even if you don't see the pretty waterfalls!

(* I have added more pictures now this blogging thing actually worked... so far I have had to rewrite everything twice... Grr.)

The Farofa Diaries

Well, you may be wondering what the hell

"The Farofa Diaries"

is/are (as it is only one diary starting now, but
potentially more in the future) all about.

So I guess I should begin by explaining what farofa actually is.

Children
enjoying
farofa

Wikipedia tells us:

Farofa is a dish of wildly varying flavors consumed in South America, most especially in Brazil. It can be found commercially produced and packaged in most South American markets but is often prepared at home based on family recipes. The key ingredient of all Farofas is either toasted manioc (also known as mandioca, macaxeira, macaxera, cassava, yucca, or tapioca) flour or maize flour (farinha de milho) . Most recipes will also contain varying amounts of salt, smoked meat, and spices. The consistency of the mixture also ranges from large grains the size of cracked bulgur wheat or couscous, down to a table-salt-sized powder. Most farofas have a very smoky and slightly salty taste, by and large used to accentuate the taste of meat, particularly barbecued meat, and the hearty stews.
In Brazil, where farofa is particularly popular, typical recipes call for raw manioc flour to be toasted with butter, salt, and bacon, until golden brown. Also in Brazil, farofa is also used to stuff poultry and other dishes, usually containing raisin, nuts and/or finely chopped sweet fruit like apple and banana. Brazilians will also use the word farofa to mean Streusel.
Farofa is served alongside the main course and can either be sprinkled on by individual diners to their taste before eating, or eaten as an accompaniment in its own right, as rice is often consumed.

What Wikipedia fails to mention is the uncanny resemblance of farofa to
sand! It is the same colour, same consistency and the same flavour as sand, yet it is a Brazilian staple.

First time I tried it I actually thought that the Brazilians were crazy (more on this at a later date). When I actually was convinced that it was in fact food I decided to give it a go... I am still convinced it is sand!

Sand

I have given it lots of tries and have actually managed to sample an acceptable version! In the main, farofa is salty, gritty and generally not very nice.
But as I mentioned before, it is a Brazilian staple, which can get a bit frustrating after a while... In fact the typical Brazilian diet consists of arroz, feijão, farofa e carne (rice, beans, farofa and meat) and is pretty much what you will expect to see at every meal. (I'll tell you more about feijoada another day)

For anyone who happens to be reading this and wondering why I am getting a bit uppity about all of this, it is because I am currently residing in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (Brasil in Brasil, Brazil everywhere else), with my Brazilian girlfriend... "Not a bad thing" you may be thinking, and you would be correct, but the diet here is so dull!

Well, anyway, I guess I should also mention I am currently about half way (in time) through an around the world trip...

Meat and two veg.

Are we that dull at home? Do we just do the same? Probably as a stereotypical nation the answer is yes. In England I guess we have a habit of eating potato in some form with most meals, in fact here in Brazil a jacket potato is called Batata Inglesa

But the exciting thing is I have now found out where I can find good fresh ingredients to help expand Suzi(my girlfriend)'s palette and keep my taste buds from going on strike! It seems to be working at the moment.

I have to cook myself (no I don't sit in cauldrons!) which means I now cook every night. It also means I have to visit several different supermarkets to actually get the ingredients I need so usually shopping takes me about an hour... or more. but then I do like to procrastinate a lot!

Ok, so you now know what farofa is (although you will never understand truly until you try it), back to what you that first thought...

So...

What the hell is/are "The Farofa Diaries"?


Is it a Diary?
Is it a cookery book?
Is it the ramblings of a strange man finding his way through this world?

I don't really know yet, but it is my aim to give a little insight into other lands through my experiences, in a place I now call my home...

a place known as the World

Things to talk about at a later date...
Rodizio
Churrasco
Feijoada
Cachoeiras
Praia
Tangas
Sungas
Nudity
Biquini Cavadão
Seu Jorge
Ana Carolina
Ronaldo/Ronaldinho