Day in the Life

Today is Friday and I thought I would just talk to you about a typical day in the life of Mike in Belo Horizonte.  This is because when you live somewhere, you normally get into a routine at some point.  Am I right?

So first, I woke up pretty darn early this morning.  In the rare case someone is trying to stalk me around the city, I'm not gonna mention the exact time, but let's just say it was in the single digits.  Mike does not function at this time of day, especially when he stays up until 1am the night before binge-watching Brazilian Youtube channels.

After begrudgingly preparing myself, I decided to drink some water and pick up this snack I had in my pantry to eat on the way to work.  I hadn't opened it, but by the title "Bananada" and the shape, I assumed it was some sort of banana bread.  I opened it as I crossed the first avenue and took a bite - nope.. it was not.  Apparently bananada is some interesting Brazilian sweet made from Banana pulp.  It wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.  Here's a picture:

Tell me it doesn't look like banana bread!  Anyways, I finished the bananada (please try saying that word 10 times fast) and then I passed by the place I usually eat at in the morning.   At this place, in case you were wondering, I usually get suco de açaí (açaí juice) and pão de queijo (Brazilian cheesebread).  Everyone who works there knows me.  As soon as they see me, they start throwing around the bread and blending the juice.  They were probably perplexed I didn't stop by today, oh well.

If you wanted to know what THAT looks like, I just happened to take a picture one morning of that meal.  Here it is below:

Pão de Queijo, the bread you see up there, is what Belo Horizonte is known for.  You can find it anywhere for only about 50 cents and its reportedly the best in Brazil.  I will talk more about this and probably more about açai in another post but here's just a glimpse for you right now.  This is because they are cultural staples in Brazil and deserve a lot more than just a small paragraph in this one blog post! 

Bonus: the place I go to also blends in banana when they make the açai juice!  It's amazing guys.

Back to the story..
I showed up to work a few minutes late, ran to my desk, and low and behold - there was only one other person in the office.  This is normal due to the fact that punctuality is a bit more relaxed in Brazil.  Usually everyone gets in at some time within the first 20 minutes of their shift.  Not too far off from life in Italy but I'm not complaining!

Then of course, I sat down at my desk, turned on my computer, and got to work.

I need to be honest.  I don't know what it is, but having a computer, a desk, and a personal telephone make me feel so much more adult-like and independent than I actually am.  Does anyone else feel this way?

If you remember the purpose of my job, it involves working within the International Relations department to encourage the spread of English within the city and increase internationalization.  One of the ways we do this is by organizing training classes for English teachers within the city limits.  Prior to this week, I had to call 200 some-odd public schools to reach their English teachers (of Brazilian origin) to try and convince them to enlist in this program.

At first, I need to admit, I was scared.  Talking in-person is one thing in a foreign language but talking on the phone is usually a lot more daunting, especially given the fact you can't see the other person and usually it's harder to understand what they are saying.  After the first 5 phone calls though, I quickly got the hang of it and I all but mastered my pitch.  There were many times; however, when nobody would answer or I would not be able to get ahold of the teacher I was trying to reach.  There were also times in which people would hear my accent on the phone and try to guess what European country I was from.

Now I'm basically keeping up with the teachers who subscribed to the program and making sure they are coming to the classes and are keeping up with what they need to do on their part.  However, this is not my only project.  I'll tell you what else I'm doing soon in another post.

Oh and by the way, in the many hours I'm at the office, usually coffee gets passed around, traditional Brazilian cookies, water, and tea.  It's a pretty nice environment I must admit. Additionally, my co-workers are the coolest people ever.  We're essentially a big family and I'm the adopted foreign child - if you can imagine that.

After work today I set off on a new mission, the dentist.  I've been having issues with my teeth so I decided to schedule an appointment with a sister of a friend of a friend.  Yeah, referrals are pretty interesting here.  We talked via Whatsapp and she seemed cool, so I decided I was going to give this appointment a try.

I set off deep into the center of the city to find my dentist.  I usually forget I'm in a giant metropolis, but when you go to the neighborhood "Centro" (the center/downtown as its name suggests), you realize again that there are actually 2 million people living in this tropical concrete jungle.

I would have taken a picture for you, but I generally do not feel safe taking out my phone in this part of the city.

Anyways, I eventually found the place, took the raggedy elevator up a few floors, and walked into the office.  I was half-petrified considering I had never gotten a dentist appointment in a foreign country, let alone a foreign country which generally has stereotypes associated with being "developing."

Soon enough after sitting down in the fancy air-conditioned office, a young and smiling dentist lured me into her chamber and began to work on my teeth.  It was a general cleaning, if you wanted to know.  I was still terrified to some degree.  Yes, It was painful at first, but she kept cracking jokes to make the time go by. "Oh wow it must suck, you just met me and I'm already putting you through pain!"  I noticed she didn't have an accent from Belo Horizonte and I asked her where she was from.  She then told me proudly she hailed from Recife and we began to talk nonstop (well, when her dental tools were not in my mouth) about how amazing it is there and how I'm so excited to return.

At the end, she gave me a prescription, tons of advice, and hugged me because "this is how we do it in Recife."   This was probably one of the best dentist appointments I've ever had in my life, and I only ended up paying $23.  Can we think about that for a second?  She then told me to shoot her a text on Whatsapp if I had any questions about what to do.

For anyone who does not know Recife, it is a large coastal city in Northeast Brazil.  This region is known for its hospitable, friendly, and warm people as well as its beach culture.  I went there in May to visit a friend and the culture reminded me so much of home that I cannot even describe it.

I promptly sped home on foot.  However, I was only going home to get ready to go back out.  My friend Daiane, at the place I teach English, teaches me Portuguese a few times a week.  I quickly got ready and ran back across the city to do some studying with her.  We talked about accents in Portuguese and I studied the history of Samba.  Learning about the Portuguese language also involves learning about Brazilian culture!  On a side one,  Daiane is one of the coolest people I know here in Brazil (I hope she's reading this).  She's extremely skilled at explaining any problems I have in Portuguese and she's been an amazing friend to me this past month, so I thought I'd give her a quick shoutout!

This is one of the only pics I have of you Daiane!  I hope you don't mind.

Afterwards, I ran back home again to get ready to get dinner with my friend Taís who works with me at my other job.  We usually head to this vegan place called "Las Chicas" in the "Maletta."  The Maletta is this old building which has tons of restaurants and bars people tend to flock to every day. They call it a "city" within Belo Horizonte. During the day, there are also tons of old used book stores and you can buy used books at great prices.


This escalator below can be found within the Maletta building.  It is the oldest escalator in Belo Horizonte according to Taís.  It worked a few decades ago, but now it's basically a monument.

Once we got upstairs, our waitress, who at this point knows us by name, sat us outside and we quickly knew what we were going to order.  Keeping up with the ritual, we decided to get vegan burgers.  They were pretty amazing I must admit. The first time I got them, I got everything all over my face - but this time Taís was the messy one and I did not let her hear the end of it!

This place has a wide variety of vegan food that anyone would enjoy. I'll post another picture of something I ordered another day just to show you all.  This is a picture of feijoada, a typical dish in Brazil which is filled with beans, rice, vegetables, and meat.  However, this one is vegan!  Don't even ask what it is made of, I have no idea.

After stuffing our faces with vegan food, we decided to find dessert.  You can usually find men and women carrying around traditional brigadeiros and other chocolate treats, ready to sell for a cheap price.  Unfortunately, we did not find any of these people tonight.

Instead, we ended up walking a few kilometers across the city and dancing the night away at a typical Brazilian balada to Funk music.  Funk music is unique to Brazil, I'll talk more about it and show you some of the songs we listen to in another post.

I hope you all enjoyed hearing about my typical day and I look forward to seeing you again for my next post!

My love-hate relationship with Portuguese

Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with learning and speaking foreign languages, so this post was going to come at some point or another.

To be honest, one of my top reasons for choosing this co-op and moving to Brazil was the fact that I would only be speaking Portuguese for six months.  I've always secretly had this dream in which I would be living in a foreign country where everything would be in a foreign language.  (Some people legitimately think I'm crazy because of this).  Yup, that finally came true this year.  Plus I mean, Portuguese is probably one of the most beautiful languages out there.

To start off, I've never studied Portuguese formally.  I kind of picked it up by befriending a bunch of Brazilians and already knowing how to speak Italian and Spanish.  If you want to see me speaking Portuguese, here's a video I made 2 weeks after moving here (I'm currently on my 5th week though! So hopefully I'm making less errors):

Given the fact I'm living in a Portuguese-speaking country (the word in English for this is apparently a "Lusophone" country.  Fun fact)  I need to speak the language constantly.  I need to speak it to get food, make friends, work, date (as if I date at all) - and pretty much anything else.  I would say it's a big chunk of the experience I am having here and if you are moving to a foreign country where they do speak a language that is not your native tongue, it will be an important part of your life.  

If you go to Northeastern University and are considering working for my employer in the city government for your co-op, just know that you DO NOT need to speak fluent Portuguese when you start this job.  A lot of the staff I work with do speak English and they can find tasks for you to do which require you to speak English as you learn more Portuguese.  I just told them at the beginning that I only wanted to speak Portuguese and proceeded from there. 

Now I'll go into some of my Portuguese struggles.

The First Few Days

My first few days here in Brazil were not super easy in regards to the language, especially considering the fact I had to find housing, get a phone, and all of that fun stuff entirely on my own.  I generally had my phone dictionary at my disposal at all times to look up words I did not know.. and I stuttered a lot.. and I said random stuff in Italian.  There were honestly a few times where I ordered a sandwich at Subway and they thought I wanted fish in my sandwich and they had to throw it out.  I thought I said I was vegetarian, but I guess that didn't come across correctly.  It was also hard to make friends given my limited Portuguese abilities, but over time that got easier.  

Tip: To make friends, I usually just say I'm from Hawaii. 

A lot of people tend to use gestures and sounds to get their point across when they don't know a specific word in a sentence.  I've seen it in movies and all but I would probably get super self-conscious about embarrassing myself.  I just tended to say the word in Italian or Spanish but throw in a Brazilian accent.  It worked 50% of the time!  

False Friends

False friends are the most irritating bane of my existence in Portuguese but it makes life hilarious sometimes.  These are words which sound like words in other languages but really mean something else.

Experimentar -  Last week I went to the store to buy my weekly stock-up of Pesto and the lady behind the counter asked if I wanted to "experimentar."  Experimentar is the Portuguese verb "to try."  It does not mean "to experiment."  I was half-asleep ordering the thing so I completely mixed it up and told her "No thanks, I just want the Pesto."  As soon as I ordered, I realized how dumb I sounded and silently chuckled to myself.  A random lady next to me in line though proceeded to start speaking English to explain to me the difference so I awkwardly told her I was Italian and didn't speak English.  Yeah, I do that sometimes.  Is that bad?

Palestra - Palestra is the Italian word for "gym."  My first week here everyone kept talking about meeting at "palestra" everyday and how much they thought their "palestras" were so interesting.  I was genuinely confused and slightly amused by the idea that every seemed to work out so much.  Nope, that wasn't the case.  "Palestra" in Portuguese means "Lecture."  It took me a little while to find this out but afterwards, I couldn't help but laugh.

Academia - When I moved into my apartment, my landlord was telling me about how there was an "academia" nearby.  I didn't really understand why it mattered if there was an "academy" near me so I kind of nodded and told her "Oh cool."  As time and time went on, more and more people kept talking about this "academy."  Apparently "Academia" does not mean "Academy."  Academia means "gym" in Portuguese.  I don't know what crazy person thought of this word but it confused me so much when I first arrived here.

Filme - I really dislike this word in Portuguese.  I'm already sure by the spelling you can tell it means "film" or "movie" in Portuguese, but the pronunciation when people speak always confuses me (the "l" is pronounced more like a "u.")  For example, one friend recently asked me if I had ever seen any "filmes" recently.  The word "filme" is pronounced scarily similar to the Italian word "fiume" which means "river."  I genuinely thought my friend was trying to introduce me into a philosophical discussion on water features, but really he was just asking about a movie.

Puxe - Oh you're gonna love this one.  This word is pronounced "Push-ee."  A normal person would think that it means "push," right?  I mean, it's plastered on basically all of the doors here in Brazil.  No.  "Puxe" actually means "Pull."  You don't even want to know how many times I have tried pushing the pull doors and people thought I was a mental case.

Pasta - One of my good friends is helping me learn Portuguese here and she gave me a bunch of sheets to help me with the grammar.  She then advised me to put them in my pasta.  I thought she was making an offensive reference to my Italian heritage, but then in reality, "Pasta" is the Portuguese word for "Folder."  Oh wait, that makes sense now.

Tchau - This is the Portuguese word for "bye."  In Italian, however, we have the word "ciao" (pronounced the same) which means "hello" as well as "goodbye."  The other day at work, I was calling a school to speak with a director and instead of saying "Alô" I said "Tchau."  So essentially, when she picked up, I told her "goodbye."  My co-workers didn't let that one go.

Grammar

When you learn another Romance language after you already know a few, there are some benefits and setbacks.  Benefits generally refer to the fact that many of these languages share a lot of grammatical rules.  The setbacks are that there are some rules that are not the same and it confuses you a lot.

Ser vs. Estar  - On paper, I know the difference.  It's literally the same exact thing in Spanish: "Ser" is permanent and "Estar" is not permanent (both mean "to be").  However, ever since I went back to Italy for the majority of 2015 (Where "Essere" is used for everything and "Stare" rarely ever), I've gotten into the habit of using the wrong verb at the wrong time when speaking.  It's irritating but I'm slowly overcoming this.

Future Subjunctive - What in the world is the future subjunctive you ask?  It's something that I'm convinced only exists in Portuguese.  You generally use it for verbs that come after words such as "se" (if) and "quando" (when)  in sentences addressing the future.  Like for example, if you want to say "I'll call you when I get back home," you would say:

Vou te ligar quando eu voltar pra casa.  

Voltar is the verb "To Return."  It looks like it's being used in its infinitive, right?  No.  Actually, this is the "future subjunctive" and it's conjugation changes depending on the number and person.  There are also a ton of irregular verbs in this conjugation as well.  There are also other cases in which you would use this tense but I really don't want to dedicate anymore time to this already confusing grammatical aspect.

Other Struggles

Accent - I really do not appreciate my accent in Portuguese at all.  A lot of people here seem to think it's amusing though.  Half the people I talk to tell me I usually have a more American accent when I speak, the other half tell me I have a more Italian accent.  Then a lot of people tell me I have both.  I want a Brazilian accent though, seriously.  I have legitimately told my friends to help me with my accent and to help me with pronouncing words to sound more "Brazilian."   I'm still waiting for the day where someone thinks I am a native Brazilian.. still hasn't happened yet.  When it does though, you will know. 

Listening - There are some people who tell me that they cannot speak or write a language but they understand everything when people speak.  I don't understand these people.  For me, listening comprehension is probably the most difficult part of a language.  At the moment I generally understand 95% of things people say to me - if there is no background noise and they speak at a normal volume.  A lot of times when people speak in low voices or there is a lot of background noise or echo, I don't catch everything they say.   In addition, if someone speaks with an accent that's not from Belo Horizonte or Recife, it's generally a lot harder for me to understand.  With some people I understand anything and everything they say.  With other people, I need to constantly ask them to repeat.  (I don't know if it's just me, but the gateman at my apartment's accent is absolutely impossible to understand).  It's extremely irritating but it's getting better with time I suppose.  

Speaking other Romance Languages - Ever since I moved to Brazil, my Spanish, Italian, and French have been completely out of service.  I called my cousin in Sicily today to talk about my life and I eventually gave up trying to speak and ended up texting him because every other word that came to my head was in Portuguese and I had to think longer about how to respond.  Anyone who speaks more than one Romance language probably knows this struggle too.  It's not that you "forget" the other languages, but at least when I'm here in Brazil, Portuguese comes to my head a heck of a lot quicker since I speak it everyday.. and then if you try to speak a very similar language.. it just doesn't work.  

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Well anyways, there's my small rant about Portuguese and all.  Hope you enjoyed it.  If it ever happens, you will see a post when someone thinks I am a native Brazilian.  Probably not anytime soon, but I'm determined!   Let me know if you have any similar struggles with languages or any comments!

Is Brazil Dangerous?

One of the main differences between Brazil and the United States/Western Europe I would say is safety.  I am not exactly saying that Brazil is more dangerous, but I'm saying that the concept of safety is well - different here.

Let me start off by saying that a lot of people in my family and in my friend group think I'm absolutely crazy for going to Brazil because of safety concerns.  Brazil is in South America, yes.  Brazil has a ton of cities that are featured on lists as some of the most dangerous in the world, yes.  Is it  "oh-so-dangerous nobody can possibly live here?"  No.  Over 200 million people live here and "go through the motions" just like anywhere else, every day. You just need to adapt, like any new place.

Adapting for me wasn't the easiest thing.  I've always lived in relatively safe places.  Back when I lived in Hawai'i, I would go for midnight runs when I felt like it - and there was no sense of danger at all.  In Rome and in Boston, I could walk through the main parts of the city at 3am - alone - and nothing would ever happen to me.  

Then there is Brazil.  

Let's backtrack a little.  My first time here in Brazil in May was to Recife (in the Northeast) when I came for two weeks.  When I first arrived, I didn't know what to expect.  However, it was a good thing I had my friend Ricardo to help me out.

                         

                         Here's me casually drinking coconut water on Avenida Boa Viagem in Recife!

I was told to always keep my phone in pocket while walking on the street.

In my first few days when I stayed at a hotel, I was told never to leave my money anywhere in the hotel and to keep it on me at all times. 

When I kept my money on me, I would place most of it in my sock.  However, I would always keep a small amount in my pocket for the odd chance in which someone would rob me and ask for some money  (Which has still not happened)

Rule: If someone tries to rob you in Brazil, you give them what they want.  It's not like other places in the world where you can laugh and ignore them, or fight them. They will attack you and they might even have a gun.

I still, to this day, only speak Portuguese in public and never English or Italian.  I always dress to match the way everyone else in the city is.

You don't walk in some areas during the day and never walk alone at night, especially on the beach if you're in a coastal city. 

You never leave anything unattended.  If you come back, it will be gone.

If you are driving, there are some places where instead of stopping at a stop sign, you keep going.    

I actually got a belt with a small pocket that goes under your clothes and keeps valuables hidden out of sight.  You can get it at most currency exchanges here in Brazil for free when you transfer money over.  When Ricardo and I went to the beach, I wore it as well and kept my money inside.  Yup, that was normal.  When we went to get lunch at a nearby restaurant after, they accepted the soaking wet cash. 

Brazil may sound a little scary if I paint it that way.  Not to mention the homocide rates you see online among certain groups in poorer areas skewing the statistics of the general populace. You might even be wondering why I am here.  But really, you get used to it.  Sure, you may give up some of your liberties (No late night beach walks and Pokemon Go, sorry.)  but in the end, it becomes just like anywhere else.  You just need to get used to how people live here and blend in.  You learn what areas are safe, when they are safe, and what you can get away with.  

If you blend in and don't draw attention to yourself, typically nobody will bother you.  Actually, you might even find it pretty safe.  If you walk around wearing a diamond necklace and a Nikon around your neck, sorry but you are asking to get robbed. I've been here over a month and nothing has happened to me *knocking on wood.*  But seriously, it's not that big of a deal.  Many people I know have lived here their entire lives and nothing has ever happened to them.  

Just to reiterate it one more time: the ones who get targeted are usually the ones who dress extremely out-of-place, don't know where they are going, speak English obnoxiously, and display wealth plainly for all to see.  Wealth disparity in Brazil is very large and people who don't earn much aren't too happy when they see you showing off what you have.   Just blend in and walk like you know what you are doing.

Yes, you may be white and blonde like me.  But hey newsflash: Brazilians are some of the most diverse people out there.  It may be weird to imagine, but some Brazilians are just as white or even whiter than me.  Mostly anyone can pass for Brazilian really.

The other truth is that I honestly fell in love with both Recife and Fortaleza.  I thought they were a couple of the most amazing cities I have ever had the privilege of traveling to.  The culture hit close to home with my Southern Italian roots (I'll elaborate on that another time) and the people were among the friendliest I have ever met.   Once you get past the difference in safety and learn to live like the locals, you really are able to appreciate the cities for what they are.  

That's my friend Ricardo,  the one who gave me all of these tips when I first arrived, if you haven't already seen him.  This is just a picture of us hanging out by a canal in Recife, the "Brazilian Venice" on my first week ever in Brazil.

That brings us to now.

The city I am living in now, Belo Horizonte, is probably one of the safest in Brazil.  In the day, most areas are not dangerous at all.  You can walk around with your phone (sparingly, while still paying attention to what's around you) and most people will not do anything.   In fact, you're usually pretty safe walking until about 9pm (Although after dark, you leave your phone in your pocket). Despite of all this, you still need to keep looking around you at all times.  It is still Brazil and there is still crime.  If ever in doubt, just take an Uber to wherever you're heading.  

Before I end, remember how I said there is a difference in the concept of safety when comparing Brazil to the United States and Europe?  Here's what I meant.

Brazilians worry more about safety on a small-scale.  When you're here, you worry more about someone robbing you on the street than you do of a large-scale terrorist attack.  In fact, I'm pretty sure nobody here even thinks twice about groups such as ISIS.  Terrorists are known for striking the United States, Western Europe, along with some parts of Asia and Africa, why would they come to Brazil?  Especially to a city like Belo Horizonte which they've probably never even heard of?

In the United States and in Europe, I would say it's more common to have a fear of terrorism.  When I was living in Rome and in Boston, I generally felt as if I was always living in a potential terrorist target area.  However, I never necessarily felt in danger on the small-scale while walking on the street.  

So is Brazil dangerous?  Yes and no.  If you know how to act, you should be just fine.

Olympic Games and Tropeiro

Since I am in Brazil, a lot of my friends from Italy, the United States, and elsewhere have constantly been pestering me about the Olympics.

Did you go?

What do Brazilians think of the Olympics?  

Is it as amazing as everyone says it is?

 I'm going to try to resolve the most common doubts here.  

Yes, I went!  

But no, I did not go to Rio de Janeiro.  Although Brazil has constructed many new stadiums specifically for the Olympic games in Rio, a lot of stadiums which had already been built for other reasons (such as the 2014 World Cup) are being utilized in the Olympics.  Many of these stadiums are even in other cities such as Salvador, São Paulo, Manaus, and Belo Horizonte (where I am living).  

So long story short, I stayed in Belo Horizonte for the Olympics.  They were hosting a match at the historic Mineirão Stadium for the men's soccer quarter finals and I decided to go with a friend from work.  

Why didn't you go to Rio?  

To be completely honest, I cannot think of one person I know here that actually went to Rio for the Olympics.  The main reason for this is, that compared to Belo Horizonte, Rio has a lot more crime.  There is a lot of worry now since this crime is likely to be elevated with the large influx of tourists as well as the movement of police force from certain heavily-policed areas of Rio (such as the favelas) and into the vicinity of the Olympic Games.  Long story short, most people here (including myself) are waiting until after the Olympics to book our tickets to Rio.   

So how was the game?

It was amazing.  The match I specifically went to was between South Korea and Honduras.  Most people in the stadium were notably cheering for Honduras considering it was, at least, within Latin America.  As far as South Korea went, there was a group of about 20 or 30 Koreans on one side of the stadium and the jumbo screen kept panning back and forth to them to see their reaction.  However, I would say the majority of people in the stadium were Brazilians, and they wore Brazilian jerseys and carried Brazilian flags.  Although Brazil did not specifically play in this match, they played immediately after against Colombia.  

Here's a shot of me awkwardly standing in front of the new fountain they installed outside of the stadium for the Olympics.

Oh and here's a picture of my friend Taís and I

Lastly, in this photo I'm representing Brazil since they also were playing that night.  I didn't necessarily own a Brazilian flag so I asked a random guy if I could borrow his and he enthusiastically agreed.  So enthusiastically in fact, that he invited me to take photos with him and his family as well.  He told me he'd send them to me... still waiting.  But he was a legend regardless.

Oh and also I have a couple of videos I took on my phone.  Here is a quick one after Honduras scored a goal (the only goal in the game).

Here is just a video overlooking the stadium from where we were sitting.  Fun fact, we were originally sitting in this location but when Taís spotted a couple of empty seats in the first row, we moved all of the way up.  Essentially, we paid $60 each for front row seats at an Olympic match.  Crazy right?

What kind of food did you guys have?

Another great question.  So in the stadium they offered popcorn, "salty snacks,"  unspecified sandwiches, pizza, and tropeiro.  I wanted popcorn but they apparently had ran out, so I settled with some cheese pizza.

Tropeiro?

Ok so Tropeiro is a traditional dish in the state I am living in, Minas Gerais.  It is notably popular in the city but also extremely popular when Mineiros (people living in Minas Gerais) go to watch a game at Mineirão.  Although I normally would have loved eating a traditional dish, the fact that I physically cannot eat meat makes it a bit more difficult.  Taís ordered one however!  I forgot to snap a shot, so instead I'll show you a pic off the internet so at least you know what it looks like.

Pic: Easy Brazilian Recipes

Tropeiro is typically made with a combination of beans, bacon, cassava flour, and eggs.  There are slight variations which might involve throwing in some onion, scallions, parsley, or pork rind - but generally the base ingredients remain the same.  

Legend has it that tropeiro originated via cattlemen in the colonial times, after which the dish is named.  They would transport goods between cities while feasting on tropeiro.

Although I cannot enjoy the original tropeiro, I saw a place that has a vegetarian variation so I'll be sure to go there and let you know how it is!

Olympics in General

On a final note, I'd like to touch upon the idea of the "Olympics" itself within Brazil.  As you can tell, the Olympics have been a huge controversy given the state of Brazil today between phenomena such as the political and economic crises.  Instead of money going towards the direct benefit of the population, money has gone to these games, which are temporary sources of entertainment.  In fact, many people within Brazil on a recent poll voted that Brazil is now worse off with the Olympics than it would have been without.   Although the Olympics have received much more support from the government of Brazil than by the people of Brazil, many Brazilians have eventually come forth saying that Brazil was in a much different state back in 2009 when it accepted the bid and Brazilians might as well enjoy the games while they are here.  But again, there still are many protests in Rio from Brazilians who still do not support the Olympics.  I could honestly write pages about the complex relationship between Brazil and the Olympics, but I think it's better if I just give you a general gist.

That's all for today! Hope you were interested to hear about my experience at the Olympics.  

What is America?

Happy Monday everyone!  So today I wanted to write about a quick cultural note that I have been coming back to on and on again since arriving here in Brazil.

If any of you have been to Latin America for an extended period of time, I guarantee you think of the word "America" differently than when you left home.

To most people living in the United States and Europe, "America" is a shortcut term used to refer to the United States itself.  "Americans" are therefore people who live in the United States by this definition.

Let's just say, the second I looked at my Brazilian visa and saw my nationality was listed as "North American," I knew the concept of "America" was different here.

Once in a while you will hear people refer to people in the United States as "Americans," but only when stating that they inhabit part of the American continent.  When talking specifically, Brazilians refer to us as "North Americans."  I noticed this every single time I said I was "Americano" but then I was corrected by Brazilians who said I was in fact "Norte-Americano."  This also occurred when I made comments about Americans or American culture, and this would be followed by "But wait, we're Americans too! Brazil is part of America!"

Part of this stems back to schooling.  In the United States and Europe, we are generally taught that there are seven continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica and Australia.  In Latin America, North and South America are generally grouped together to form the continent of America.  Anyone from this continent is considered, well, "American."  I have legitimately tried explaining the seven-continent model to one of my roommates and he could not wrap his head around it.  It's simply a cultural difference that is engrained into us when we are young.

Here is a visual representation of the map most Brazilians tend to learn in school.  Notice how North and South America are combined.  This was the first result that popped up on Google Images when I searched "Continentes do Mundo"  ("Continents of the World" in Portuguese).

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Given that, when you say "America," most people here in Brazil see it as a region and not a specific country.  Actually, it can be considered pretty offensive and imperialist to refer to the United States itself as America and its residents as the only true "Americans."  This gives the impression that the United States is the only country within the Americas which really matters.

Since previously I had only lived in places where the terms "America" and "United States" were synonymous, this cultural habit I have picked up in Brazil has really made me more conscious about this cultural faux-pas which I never really knew existed. In addition, it has taught me that children in schools within different countries may have very difficult perspectives on the "truths" we consider to be true in the United States (such as the existence of seven continents).

Needless to say, when someone asks me what country I am from - I say the United States.  It's more appropriate, more widely-accepted, and I don't need to jump through all of the cultural hula hoops that come into play when I say I'm "American."

If you go to Brazil or anywhere else in Latin America, I highly suggest you do the same.

Olá

Hello everyone, or "Olá" as we say it here in Brazil.  My name is Mike Kalmeta and I am an International Affairs student at Northeastern University back in Boston.  I'm going to use this post as a quick introduction as to who I am and what exactly I am doing.

Oh and here's a picture I took of the city by the way:

Wait so what are you doing in Brazil?

Well I guess being an International Affairs major is extra great because it lets me co-op essentially anywhere on the globe, as the title suggests.  But anyways, good question.

So my co-op is a bit non-conventional since I am doing two jobs.  One of my jobs is in the Department for International Affairs for the City of Belo Horizonte.  I am currently working with others in the department to develop this program called "Improve Your English."  Essentially what we do is encourage the spread of English throughout the city of Belo Horizonte to improve the "internationalization" of the city which will in-turn aid industry, tourism, and the education system.  It does sound pretty vague when put that way, but trust me there are so many things going on behind the curtain.  A small glimpse of into my life in the department consists of organizing the training of English teachers in the city, creating exchange partnerships between Belo Horizonte and cities in English-speaking countries, and going to schools across the city to engrain children with the importance of learning languages and the benefits it will have for their future.  That's just a small part of what I do, mind you.  Oh, and it's all in Portuguese.

I also teach English and North American culture at the Cultural Institute Brazil-United States (ICBEU) here in Belo Horizonte.  During the week I hold conversation classes with English learners from all different levels, with specific topics, and help them learn more about life in the English-speaking world (United States specifically).  At the same time, my good friend who I work with is tutoring me in Portuguese (since I never received instruction on the language prior).

Wait, so why Brazil?

I've always been interested in Brazil.  Being an Italian-American, I feel as if Brazilians share a lot culturally with Italians.  Not only that, but I have been interested to learn about the food, the beautiful Portuguese language, all of the amazing cities from Rio up to Fortaleza, and of course the people.  No matter where in the world I find myself, I find Brazilians to be some of the warmest people I meet.  Plus, to be honest, I wanted to go somewhere with warm weather.  I thrive better in hot places, you know.

Where is Belo Horizonte?

Yes most people who know basic facts about Brazil do not know what or where Belo Horizonte is.  So, Belo Horizonte is the capital city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, right above Rio de Janeiro.  Here's a picture with it marked on a map.

(Photo: worldeasyguides.com)

Belo Horizonte is the fourth largest city in Brazil with over 2.1 Million inhabitants.  Yes it is landlocked, but there is still plenty to do here!  We're super close to both Brasilia and Rio.

What's this Blog for?

Well I hope to shed some light on what life is like as a co-op student in Brazil and also encourage anyone interested to apply to co-ops within this beautiful country.  I am going to show you all what my everyday life consists of as well as all of the amazing sights, food, people, cultural insights, and you name it.  I feel like this is extra important considering the state of Brazil today amidst the political and economic crisis, the Olympic Games, the Zika scare, and so on.  I hope you guys enjoy my posts and if you have ANY specific questions, leave a comment and I'll try to answer it!