Stories Inspired by Life in Rural Brazil
Describing the world around me–from the big picture all the way down to our little local news.
All the littles at the farm are excitedly chasing flying insects around the yard. Anesio (age 4) is the most excited of them all: “TANAJURA, Tía! Achei uma TANAJURA!” The rains have come. The adults sigh a breath of relief as the fields start to green again. Women sweep cupim wings out of house every …
Have you ever flown internationally? Something strange happens when you pack two hundred people together in a confined space for nine to twelve hours. We lose all sense of propriety; really, it takes a strong individual to stand on formality past the second hour. First shoes come off, before you know it we’re telling deepest …
Green Eggs and Ham may be a thing of fiction, but purple eggs? For reals. Not even dyed. My brother-in-law cares for the cows and is often wandering home with some discovered wonder–a stash of passionfruits, an orange the size of a grapefruit, and, why, oh why I didn’t take a photo of the 1.5m (dead) …
I got home the other evening and said to myself, “My, that’s new. I’ve never seen green leaves on that plant. Waittaminute….” Well played, my little friend, well played.
It’s orange season! Around here almost everyone has an orange tree in their back yard, or knows someone who does. We all sit around snacking on oranges until we can’t stand it anymore. Most of these trees are juice oranges and they don’t peel easily. Thus, the correct way to eat a Brazilian orange is to slice off …
Here in our rural hideaway we’re pretty removed from all the World Cup preparations. The shops are all selling yellow and green t-shirts, hats, and vuvuvelas and everyone is staking out their favorite place in front of a big-screen TV, of course. Mr. Crônicas is lining up a back-up plan for when the satellite dish decides to …
My husband and his construction crew are proving themselves to be excellent cooks. Although most of their recipes seem to demand large amounts of meat and the world’s largest pressure cooker. This week’s menu selection was vaca atolada. I did a little, hidden dance of joy over behind the sacks of plaster because it was on …
Ok, so we had a baby over here! That’s my rock-solid excuse for not blogging for most of December and January: lost in baby-land. (For those that are curious, it’s a girl, 3,78 kilos/8 lbs. 5 oz., healthy, and adorable–see right) Relatives and friends have arrived in droves to coo over the new little one. …
I’ve made a fun group of friends that I see every Saturday: the market wheelbarrow boys. I don’t fool myself–offering free cake samples is an excellent way to make friends. These little guys get paid to haul the vendor’s goods in and the customers’ groceries home. You often see them pushing piles of groceries or …
