brazilian beer

the past two days have been quite a daze. yesterday was a downer; both luis and i were sick and tired of washing bottles. this did not make a very good combination. but things turned up and we both felt better. plus, there was the most amazing sunset last night. the sky was gold, orange, pink, red, purple and grey. streaked across these colors were clouds of silver and pewter. we could hear monkeys calling from the forest and joao perdo was playing with us on the porch. we also watched the movie 'hook'dubbed over in portuguese- it was even more amazing than in english.

i still cannot quite comprehend the amount of insects that exist here. i have seen at least 100 different types, or that is what it seems like. insects were responsible for my sickness. i was attacked by a mosquito in the night and woke up with a swolen, zombie, monster eye. it was not a good start to the day.

today, we did more of the same. im sure you can guess what that was. it was fine, our spirits were high and we listened to brazilian roque and american pop while we scrubbed away in the sun. im getting quite a good tan already! the highlight of the day was having my first taste of brazilian beer! it was quite good, a pilsner- it really didnt taste like much. luis, ricardo and i sat at the kitchen table drinking two bottles of beer and discussing development in latin american and terra preta.

terra preta is a phenomena which occurs in the amazon of brazil, it is pockets of very fertile dark earth in an area which has thin nutirent poor soil. it is believed, in academic circles, that terra preta was developed by the ancient amazonians and may be the first example of agriculture in the western hemisphere. a really great book that explores terra preta, the development and preconcieved notions of the new world is '1491' by charles mann.

i was suprised to discover that brasil is 8th in the world for consumption of orgnaic products! the united states did not even crack the top ten. one thing that has really impressed me about brasil is how local the consuption is based. it seems that every product that we use and consume in this house was produced in brasil, and usually in rio grande do sul. everything, from the soaps, tools, coke and milk. this not only supports the national economy of brasil but also the local economies of rio grande do sul- they might even know the person whose cow produced the milk or cheese they are eating!

one more thing about brazilian products... the amazing and ever comfortable brazilian sandal, havianas. i have decided that these are the work boot of brazil. seriously, sandals are worn for almost every occasion. to work in the grocery stores, while stroling with the family, while building a house and operating a table saw. who would have thought? i do a double take when i see someone wearing actual shoes. i have visions of construction workers in sao paulo walking on beams 100s of feet in the air wearing hard hats and havianas.

i hope that all is well in the states! this evening luis and i watched a speach given by barak obama in baltimore. it was good, obama is an excellent orator. we thought it wa shilarious at the end when he said (we think) 'lets get out of here...'i don't blame him it looked freaking cold. were are very excited to watch the inaguration and ricardo and loiva keep asking us about it. its funny, they get one english news channel: fox.

i miss my family and friends very much but am so excited to see what the next 2 months hold for me here in brazil. until next time, i remain your faithful forgien correspondent.

the brazilian work boot