Stories Inspired by Life in Rural Brazil
Stories with humor, finding the light in the little things in life.
Another re-run of an older post while I’m away studying in Belo Horizonte. The true irony to this post is that after writing this and then surviving a year of driving in Brazil I returned to the United States and got into my first fender-bender in over a decade. Sigh. Should I take it as an …
I’ve recently joined an elite club: the sellers at the Saturday feira (market). After a few weeks, I have a few observations. It’s a secret society. The first rule of Feira Club is that you do not talk about Feira Club. Membership is as simple as having a bench or a cloth laid out to sell …
Who knew I would miss it? Who knew that Brazil wouldn’t have it? They have all the other ingredients: the jellies, the sliced bread, the raw peanuts, but… no peanut butter. That quintessential slice of Americana, the PB& J sandwich, I miss it. So does my husband. So much so that on my last return …
I put on this “transparent” band-aid today and was amused that on my pasty-white skin it wasn’t transparent at all! I guess in Brazil the “flesh”-toned band-aids are of a different shade. Which makes sense. Even when I’m very tanned from lots of time outside working on the farm, I’m still whiter than most people …
A friend passed along this fun parody of the Gangnam Style video. Thought I’d share it. For those that don’t read Portuguese, here’s my attempt at the lyrics: Vu pra Cametá Cametá Vu pra Cametá Tava numa roça com um trampo meia sola Passava muita fome E até pedia esmola Foi quando a minha sogra …
This photo is one of those “lost in translation” moments that made me chuckle. Judging by the name, there is no nutrition in these banana candies. Not quite sure if that’s what the marketing team meant to imply.
The dogs´reputation preceeds them. Every time we set up a delivery in this small town–from the influential female owner of three businesses in town to the burly, rugged stonemasons–they all say the same thing: “You’ve still got those dogs, right? They terrify me. You´re going to tie them up before we come?” Yes, we intimidate …
Yesterday our cousin told us this story: It was a church event and we had bought some fireworks to celebrate. We set them up outside the church and everyone lined up outside to watch. Unfortunately the fireworks flopped over as they were going off and started shooting into the crowd! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! People scattered; the …
I am back home in Brazil and the spring rains have come. The air is deep and damp, and the humidity fills your lungs and greases your skin. I like it. It reminds me of summers at home in Maine. Funny how that happens here; this place is familiar even though the packaging is different. …
