Mari, Ruy, Lucy and I are staying in a border town on the frontera between Uruguay and Brazil. We arrived yesterday to spend 5 days and 4 nights here to celebrate Carnaval - Brazilian style. Ruy and Lucy come to visit family every year, as did their parents before them. This tradition has been going on for quite a while and the ties were sewn long ago.
We arrived yesterday in the early evening. We unpacked, relaxed and said our hellos and chatted. And then as evening rolled around they threw a big welcome party with family members visiting to say hi and meat on the grill. We drank beer and scotch all night, and I had to overcome not only my spanish barrier with Mari and her parents, but now I have to overcome the portuguese barrier that these Brazilians are speaking.
Portuguese is a strange language, it sounds like a mixture of German and Spanish to me. And sometimes it sounds so foreign it could be Croatian, or some other language I have never heard but wouldnt understand. Yet then, I am listening to the conversation and fully understand everything thats being said. Its funny how it alternates back and forth.
We are here visiting a man named Beto, but there are also two others that live in the house as well - Plinio and Diva. Diva cooks the most amazing food. No joke, the food I ate last night for dinner and the food I had today for lunch was the best tasting, scrumptious meals I have eaten in the last 6 months. Totally and utterly amazing. I left to walk around the city today and returned to the fabulously prepared lunch, and vowed that I can no longer waste my time traveling through Brazil any more. I have work to do, and it involves me sitting in the kitchen taking notes on how to prepare a tiny portion of the food I have been eating. From the stories I have heard, everyone knows about the quality of her cooking - so when there is a party thrown in this house the guest count doubles and there are uninvited guest arrivals. From what I have tasted so far, I can see why.
We are heading out soon to partake in the Carnaval festivities and watch the parade. Cheers.
T
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