Brazil Part 2

Let me introduce you to "Tiago" and "Isabelly." These are the kids names in Portuguese. How cute! Penelope's name remains the same in English and Portuguese. 

This post will cover the city of Ribeirão Preto, the food we sampled, and some activities we did.

Ribeirão Preto

Seeing where my parents reside was delightful! My mom asked me what surprised me most about Ribeirão Preto. My response: "it's so pretty!" There is a beautiful skyline with blue skies and farmland. It's really green. Apparently my sister Jessica said the same thing after visiting! 

My parents live in the heart of the city. You can hear traffic and city noise in their apartment. They live on the 9th floor. Their location is prime. Their parking situation is iffy at best. They have 2 cars and have to maneuver them at impossible angles to fit them in the parking garage. The city is so walkable which I fell in love with. They can walk to the mission office, the grocery store, etc. Ribeirão was quaint. The employees at the local shops know my parents. There is a town square that has a fountain and once when we were walking by someone was dressed as Michael Jackson dancing and lip syncing. I thought it was hysterical. There is pretty graffiti around (and some that is not so pretty or intentional). Driving in the city is an experience. There are motorcyclists galore, pedestrians cross whenever they feel like it, red lights don't mean anything, and you can make a lane whenever because painted lines on the road don't matter. And people say UT has crazy drivers...

The city is poor and the streets are full of liter. It was devastating to see so many favelas (shacks, shanties or slums). It was eye-opening and made me feel bad for wanting more (like a finished basement). Ribeirão Preto has about 700,000 residents. My kids giggled and used the term "paralelepipedo" as much as possible. You say it "poly lily pee pee doo." No wonder they like it. It's full of potty words. It means cobblestone. I guess in Ribeirão Preto they are required to preserve the cobblestone streets. This means you're in for some bumpy rides. The sidewalks aren't flat either. Something else that was interesting is that the sidewalks of the city are hosed/sprayed off each morning.

Food

As per usual, the trip revolved around meals. Call me a foodie. Comparing pizza in Brazil to pizza in UT is like comparing apples and oranges. Not the same. That didn't stop us from trying though. We had and enjoyed Pizza Hut and Dominos. We also got to try Brazilian food. When we stayed in the hotel at the falls, there was a huge buffet breakfast full of items I've never tasted. Here are some of the other foods and places we tried:

• Toca do Esquilo (Squirrel Buffet): This was authentic Brazilian food. The meats were so tender and mouth-watering. The rice and beans were terrific too. I ate my money's worth here. The chicken and pot-roast can't be beat. You should have seen how much roast Izzy ate.

• Salgados Bitencourt: A member in my parent's ward owns several of these snack shops. He treated us like we were family and gave us lunch on the house. Lunch included pastels (rectangles) full of cheese and meat. Some were also shaped as tear drops and called coxinahs. This food is unlike food you find in the states and it's apparently the best around. It wasn't my favorite, but I was grateful for the the experience. Pastels are popular there and can be purchased almost everywhere.

• Acai de Barra: We frequented this place. The acai is the best in town. We ran into some missionaries there on p-day. There were several acai flavors but strawberry and banana were our favorites. We went at least 3x. The toppings were plentiful and fresh. The chocolate covered peanut butter treats are a must. (pacoqui)  Here is Penny eyeing the acai. She couldn't get enough.

• Vitaminas: Think milkshake full of fruit. What's not to love? The name helps you feel like you're eating something healthy too. Penny approved and got the cutest milk mustache.  Another place right by the mission office sells vitaminas in a bag and of course we got those too.

• Coconut Water: A must try but not very good in my opinion. Everyone agreed except James who slurped down the remainder.

• Sugar Cane Drink: We wanted to experience this since sugar cane is growing rampantly. The drink was over the top sugary. Whew! Talk about a sugar rush. We did not finish one cup of it between all of us.

• "Eden": Asian place next door to my parent's apartment. It's a vegetarian restaurant and so flavorful and light. We got the food to go and brought it back for Andrew who was working.

• Pão e Cia (Bread and Company): There are bakeries on every corner it seems like selling dry cakes. Leave it to my mom to find the best one. My parents get Pao de Queijo at the bakery for the missionaries. It's extra delicious hot. We also tried their doughnuts, sandwiches, and fluffy bread for roast beef sandwiches.

• Hard Rock Cafe: We had the place to ourselves right when it opened at 5:00pm. The big meal in Brazil is lunch. Hard Rock is attached to the local professional soccer field. Unfortunately they weren't playing while we were in town but what a view! We got some wiggles out as we waited for the food. And let me just say our burgers get 5 stars. It was Andrew's first time eating at Hard Rock Cafe and it won't be his last.

• Moreno's Sorventeria's Popsicle Place: My thoughtful Dad discovered they have peanut popsicles here. He knew Andrew and I would love them. He was right! There were little flecks of peanut in the popsicle and instead of a stick, the popsicle is on a straw. At the end, you get one final zing of peanut butter flavor to wash it down. After we tried one, my dad went back and bought us a popsicle for everyday we were there. Super nice! Funny story: after buying us the popsicles, my Dad saw the owner of the popsicle shop the next day while we were on a walk. The owner called my dad in and told my dad he paid for the popsicles using counterfeit money. What! It was only $10 and my dad gave him new, legitimate money but what in the world! We took the counterfeit bill home as a souvenir. Only in Brazil... 

Activities

• Frozen: We weren't sure exactly what to expect going into this. Last time my parent's attempted to go to this theater, they went to a Metallica concert by mistake instead of the symphony like they wanted. Let's just say they didn't stay. My mom saw that Frozen was coming to the theater and immediately got us tickets. The play was in Portuguese but we wondered if the songs would be in English. They were not. I thought my kids would moan and groan and not enjoy the production. They know the story well enough that it didn't matter. Izzy especially was glued. By the end of the song "Let it Go," my kids were singing "Livre Sou" along with everyone. We left Penelope with a babysitter, Giovana and Penny did great!  

• Zoo: I'm sorry Hogle Zoo, but the zoo in Ribeirão put you to shame. For starters, the zoo there is free! How amazing! We loved it so much we went twice! The zoo is super shaded and jungle-like. The animals there are unlike ones I've seen in other zoos. The kids got to feed monkeys!! (Note Isabelle's face pictured below.)  My mom completed her goal to feed a monkey and she was giddy. James finally got to see a capybara in person. After getting lots of pictures and videos from Nana, James chose to do an animal report on capybaras in kindergarten. The birds! James could have spent all day talking to the bird that talked back. We need to look into getting him a parrot. The bird even laughed!  I saw a humungous and weird looking anteater. Everything in Brazil is a little more easy-going and it showed at the zoo. Some animals were wandering around outside of their cages (like peacocks) and we got to interact with them much more than we're used to. What an experience!

capybaras

• Pool: My parent's apartment has a pool. I guess it was the coldest it has been since my parent's have lived in Ribeirão while we were there. I would not use the word cold to describe the temperature and chuckled when I saw people wearing sweaters and even boots. For a few days, it was in the high 70's but the rest of the time the temperature was in the 80's. The weather was lovely. That being said, the pool was shaded because it's surrounded by high rise buildings. The water was icy-cold but that didn't stop us from going 3x. We learned there is a 45 minute window each day where the sun shines on the pool and we utilized that precious time. Penny is a fish! She flaps her arms and kicks her legs with glee in the water. James was doing all sorts of tricks with the inflatable basketball hoop and even managed to do a flip and make a hoop. I wish I could put a video on my blog.

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• Local library: You know me and libraries. How cool to live in a place where having an outdoor section of the library is a possibility. Also, I was asked what I read while traveling. I listened to "Divine Rivals" which was great. I also listened to the audiobook "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals." I wasn't a huge fan but that could be related to the fact that I was listening to it on an 11 hour flight. A thriller would have been a better choice.

I'm still just in awe that this trip happened. It truly was an unforgettable vacation. I'm so grateful we had the chance to go and spend quality time with my parents. Obrigado (thank you) Dad and Mom. I had lots of practice using the word Obrigado since it was one of the few I knew. I sometimes felt like a deer in the headlights when people spoke to me in Portuguese and would forget to respond. Later in the trip I started speaking back in English so people knew I wasn't trying to be unkind. I should have thought to respond in English in the São Paulo airport before I had to have a full-body pat down. My next post will cover shopping, Penelope growing up, home even on another continent, and mission life. I hope to be able to squeeze that all into one final Brazil post. For now, tchau, tchau!