Hamburgers

If you've been reading my blog it should be no surprise that I think about food all the time. I love to cook and I love to eat. One of the things I really like to cook, and eat are hamburgers. They are good anyway they come from the basic burger to the super fancy. My trip to Brazil this year I really got to thinking about what makes a great hamburger. In the United States a burger is good when it's made out of great meat, greasy, and you need to keep it in you hand after the first bite to keep it from falling apart. But without a doubt the star of the US hamburger is the meat.

The Brazilian hamburger is a little different and there is no lack of availability. There is a hamburger stand or a mobile hamburger and hotdog truck on about every corner. I hit one of them up at least once a week in order to develop my profound theory you are about to have the pleasure of discovering.

The first thing I noticed is the difference in the meat. I am not sure if it is domestic beef or if it is imported from Argentina or some other beef country. Every place I ate a hamburger in Brazil the patties they used came out of a box and they were thin preformed, and frozen. In the grocery stores the butcher will fresh grind your hamburger to order and it is more lean than the common ground beef we are used to in the United States. Where the burgers shine in Brazil are in the toppings arena. My favorite was the “x-tudo” (pronounced sheese-toodoo) which means a hamburger with everything. You have to remember that everything down there is different than everything up here. The x-tudo is usually made up of the following things: one patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, ham, a fried egg, corn, and potato strings. I have also seen patties of chicken that are part of this list or not. It is so good, but I feel it could be better.

To make the perfect burger I would combine the hand formed, fresh, and greasier American style meat with the wonderful toppings of the Brazilian burger. The perfect burger. I will be experimenting with this combination and maybe there is a hamburger stand in my future or some kind of street food cart.My idea is to offer hamburgers and hot dogs (that is another subject) from around the world. I will be fostering cultural understanding one burger at a time. I will have the horrible task of traveling around the world seeking out the local burger and dog. Someone has to do it and I am willing to take that bullet for all of you. It will be called, “Burgers From Around the World” or “Burger World” or “World Burger.” You get the jest. I'm going to need to be testing recipes and learning what the people want. Anyone want to help?

Brasil

As I am counting down the minutes until I leave for the airport to head back the the States I am reflecting on the things that make Brasil special for me. The things large and small, good and bad that make this country my home away from home. It has been raining for two days straight and I think that is where I will start this list:

The climate, rain, heat, and humidity in the summer or the winter, pastel, guaraná soft drinks, x-tudo, café do Brasil, pizza, pasta, Chinese food all done the Brazilian way, the way people dress, eat, talk, personal space, ice cream, coconut water directly out of the coconut, music, dancing, forró, samba, MPB, axé, smiling, what is funny and what is not, poverty, wealth, the way Brazilians pronounce my name, public transportation, the language, the culture, hot dogs & hamburgers with all of the toppings that come on them, the sweets, TV variety shows, soap operas, brigadiero, the beer and the way people drink and eat, beans and rice with everything, lunch is the biggest and most important meal, the women, becoming part of the family, snack bars, drinking beer in the line at the grocery store, drinking beer in the street, churrasco, North American influence, the beach, the bikini, sexuality, beach food, drinking cold beer on a hot beach, organized chaos, dressing up to go to the mall, the mall culture, costume parties in November, political corruption, friendly chats in Portuguese about the differences between the US and Brasil when they find out I am not from here, self-service, the passion for futebol or soccer as we know it, and there is always a way...

By no means is this an exhaustive list. Those of you that have places that resonate within your soul will know what I am talking about. The things that make an experience abroad magical are for me and those that have ventured out of their protective bubble and challenged themselves to discover a larger world. I have been trying to provide a little superficial experience for those of you who are afraid or can't get out. If you want to learn more about my experiences, drop me a line and I would love to chat one on one. Until next time where the post will come from the good ol' US of A!

Southern Hemisphere Thanksgiving

When I planned my trip to Brazil this year I realized that I would be in the Southern Hemisphere for Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is a truly American holiday I knew my turkey dinner smothered in gravy would have to wait until next year. To my surprise I started working at the American School of Belo Horizonte (EABH) and all of a sudden that turkey dinner was like a light at the end of a tunnel. EABH is an international K – 12 school that follows American educational values as well as the American school calender. The language of instruction is English and both Brazilian and American holidays are observed. I am not sure when these kids go to school! Because of this fact EABH celebrates Thanksgiving for the parents and their children. I was told it would be a “traditional Thanksgiving meal.” The food at the school cafeteria is much better than what I remember when I was a kid eating frozen pizza for lunch at school. I was still suspicious. This is Brazil after all and Brazilians like to eat bean and rice with everything including pasta and potatoes. Imagine ordering a big hunk of lasagna and right next to it is a big pile of white rice. What would this “Thanksgiving” meal be like and what would their take be on one of my favorite times of the year to eat until I have to unbutton my pants? I found out on last Wednesday.

I arrived to a packed house with overwhelmed parents and excited children stuffing themselves. I tried not to look at what they were eating so I could be surprised when I got my food. I got in the line and anxiously waited to see what I was going to eat for this most sacred of American holidays. After 5 minutes in line and some small talk I finally arrived at the food. The first thing on the menu were ovos de codorna or quail eggs. What? You heard me right, hard boiled quail eggs and a cheese plate for starters. I passed. I am a turkey, stuffing, and gravy kind of guy. I was holding out hope. I arrived at the hot food to be greeted by what else but rice! I had a feeling they would not be able to make a meal without it. I passed again. Immediately after the rice I said hello to what I know as a thanksgiving meal: turkey, mashed potatoes, glorious gravy, candied carrots and my favorite...stuffing. I loaded my plate without trying to seem like too much of a pig and am American and I found a seat.

I started with the carrots because I wasn't sure what they were. They were sweet, crisp, and cooked just right. Next on the hit list were the mashed potatoes and they did not disappoint. There were thick, creamy, and rich and combined with the gravy they received two thumbs up from me. The turkey was a little dry but with the gravy or a little mashed potatoes it was good and scratched my itch for turkey. I saved the best for last and my experience with the rest of the meal gave me hope for the stuffing. Sadly, I was disappointed. It tasted like white bread with some liquid, of unknown origin, haphazardly poured over it with some green crunchy things that resembled lettuce. It didn't seem to be baked and there was no trace of sage. Your standard Stove Top Stuffing would have been better than what they attempted here.

Not to end on a sour note, I have to say that my overall impression of the meal: it was delicious and I have never sweated so much eating a Thanksgiving meal in my life! It was great to see people from all over the world enjoying something that is uniquely American other than Coca-Cola, Starbucks, or Michael Jackson. Thanksgiving is about bringing people together, slowing down, and remembering the importance of each other. At the EABH Thanksgiving Open House it was hot, there were people from all over the world speaking different languages, but I saw Thanksgiving in action.

You Say Churrasco, I Say Barbecue

Normally I like to come up with these posts in advance. Write it. Let it sit for a few days and then make them beautiful. Well, today I have decided to part from tradition and write something after I have been out drinking after I was already up until 2:30 am the night before...out drinking. I am convinced the beer helps my Portuguese. I am going to write this one time and I am not going to read it over to proof-read or anything like that. The main reason is because I am tired and I am going to a costume party tomorrow.

So as many of you know I am returning to the good ol' US of A in December. I came down here with a little money and big dreams. I didn't want to come back to the USA for a while. Brazil is a society based in the relationship. You have to get to know people before they make you one of their own. I needed to do this. I needed to build these relationships, these friendships that will get me to my dream. I am not sure what my dream is but I know that I am going to keep moving forward and focusing on the present and I know that dream will show itself.

For example. Tonight I called up a new friend who I am going to go to the party with tomorrow and asked him if he wanted to do with me to buy my ticket for the party. He said yes. We went to Diamond Mall and I got my ticket for $15 reais. There was also a futbol game on and I was one of the local teams here. We decided to go somewhere to watch the game. We ended up in a typical barzinho that served great churrasco that my friend knew of. I was planning on one beer. Rubem, my friend, doesn't drink and he was driving, with my meal that we shared...of course.

Rubem loves to speak English and speaks it as ofter as he can. The table behind heard us speaking English and made a smart ass, been drinking for a while comment that had something to do with us speaking English. He tried to say this in English. I turned around and asked if he spoke English in English and then I said in Portuguese: "I understood, yourGo English is perfect!" His wife and he began laughing embarrassedly. They couldn't believe that I could speak Porutuguese. After some small talk and the game ended, tied, my friend and I moved to the couples table behind us and proceeded to have conversations about all kind of things...in Portuguese.

After 3 or 4 more beers we had talked about the American School of Belo Horizonte, business, importing, exporting, marrige, and then some. Bottom line: this guy was helping me to think of ideas on how I can stay in Brazil and I am sending him my resume next week in Portuguese and in English. Who knows what will come of it, but I am making the connections that I need to be making. I am becoming one of them. I don't think this would have happened if I had not been able to speak Portuguese. Thanks Cris!

Good luck! I am going to bed...

Yeah Baby, You'd Dig It The Most

Remember the first scene after the credits from that 1994 classic, Pulp Fiction? Jules and Vincent riding in a car and talking about Vincent's recent trip to Amsterdam while they are on their way to do some gangster shit, at 7 am. In this weeks post I decided to educate you on Brazil using the first scene of this stellar movie. I have rewritten the dialogue of Jules and Vincent as if Vincent has just returned from Brazil. I hope you enjoy it and I hope Quentin Tarantino doesn't get mad.

Vincent: Yeah baby, you'd dig it the most. But you know what the funniest thing about Brazil is?

Jules: What?

Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit down there that we got here, but it's just – it's just there it's a little different.

Jules: Example?

Vincent: All right. Well, you can buy a beer at the bus-stop. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a tall-boy can of beer. And you can drink that beer on the bus. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Brazil?

Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

Vincent: Nah, man, they speak Portuguese down there, they wouldn't know what the fuck you were saying if you said Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

Jules: What do they call it?

Vincent: They call it a “Quaterão com Queijo.”

Jules: “Quaterão com Queijo.”

Vincent: That's right.

Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?

Vincent: A Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they say, “Bigie Mackie.”

Jules: “Bigie Mackie.” [laughs] What do they call a Whopper?

Vincent: I don't know, I didn't see a Burger King. You know what they put on their pizza in Brazil?

Jules: What?

Vincent: Catchup and mayonnaise.

Jules: Awww, yuck!

Vincent: I seen em' do it man, they fuckin' drown it in that shit. What about hotdogs?

Jules: They don't use mustard and relish an' shit?

Vincent: Nope

Jules: I'm scared to ask.

Vincent: Mozzarella cheese, potato straws, corn, and get this, raisins!

Jules: Raisins?!

Vincent: Yep...they put them right on top of everything else.

Jules: Those ain't little differences.

Vincent: You know what the best thing about Brazil is?

Jules: What?

Vincent: I ain't never seen a Starbucks.

Jules: Huh...No baby...YOU dig it the most...

Take All You Can Eat and Eat All You Take

I am saddened when I'm at an all you-can-eat of Chinese, Indian, or the Golden Corral or wherever an American can eat until their eyes pop out of their heads for one low price. The reason for this emotion is the grazing of the overweight and obese. I know what you are thinking: “Why are you singling out the fat people, you are there to?” You are right to ask this question and my response is as follows: I am not obese or overweight, I exercise six days a week, I don't smoke, drink excessively, and I eat well 90% of the time. I don't think I can say the same thing about my fellow gluttons.

And of course, Brazil has given me an idea on how we can firm up the flabby United States. Two words: Self-Serve. What is self-serve you ask? Well, I'm going to tell you. Typically this is only a lunchtime thing, as lunch is the most important meal of the day for Brazilians. Many of the self-serve restaurants change to bars serving food designed to be shared with everyone in your party. Most self-serves I have seen offer some variation on a basic theme. A hungry person can choose from several salads, fruit, pasta, pizza, roasted meat, chicken, regional food, meats taken off the grill and put onto your plate, and of course beans and rice. A person can eat whatever and as much as they want but there is a catch. You pay for what you put on your plate and eventually put in your mouth. Each time through the line your plate gets weighed and they mark the price right there on your ticket. I think if we hit the all-you-can eat crowd in the U.S. in the pocket book we could take a bite out of the obesity problem in the U.S.

I love to eat and I love the food at self-serves. I could easily spend $100 on lunch, but the way it is set up I limit what I eat. After lunch I feel satisfied but I don't feel ruined for the rest of the day like I do after a session at the 8 Lucky Buffet. A self-serve model in the U.S. would also help with the problem of wasted food and save money. It would put a price tag on everything on your plate. There would be no more trying a half-plate of pickled duck bills to find out that you don't like them after one bite. It would be like putting a five dollar bill on your plate and it getting scraped into the garbage disposal with the egg  foo young that you that you were too full to eat. The only things I see life on plates at a self-serve in Brazil are bones from a drumstick or ribs that have picked clean.

I composed this post in a self-serve after some fresh fruit and some different salads. The damage...$2.25 and I ate exactly what I wanted and didn't feel the need to stuff myself.

A Day at the Movies

There has been a lot of rain in Belo Horizonte recently so I decided to go see a movie this afternoon. I have been to quite a few movies in Brazil and I was fairly confident I could handle the process of getting my ticket and of course a “mini kit” which consists of a 300ml (a little smaller than a can of soda) soda with a small popcorn. I didn't see any butter for the popcorn and I got a Kuat (guaraná soft drink). The package was out of proportion because the popcorn was big but the soda was too small. Now that I think about it, there is probably about the same amount of soda in 300ml fountain drink in Brazil as in the U.S. ,MEGA-SMALL, because they don't usually fill the cup to the top with ice down here before adding the soda. I have noticed that a lot of bars and restaurants will serve your Coke with a couple cubes of ice and a lime wedge.

The thing that threw me was the plastic bag the concession stand girl put my popcorn in after placing it in the usual cardboard popcorn box. I had never seen anything like that in the U.S. or in Brazil. The bag was not covered by advertising and there was nothing special about it. Just a standard grocery store plastic bag. I thought that since the theater was located at the mall that the use of the bag for your concessions was to help out when your hands are loaded with shopping bags. Well, all the movie theaters I have seen in Brazil have been in malls and none of them used this junk food bag. Maybe it was a way to prevent dropped kernels of popcorn from missing your mouth and landing on the floor or seat. I don't know about this one because my shirt, seat, and the floor around me was full of popcorn after I left. If there is an explanation I think it has to rest with the clean-up. A nice, neat place to put your empty cups and containers of popcorn and candy when you're done and the bag gets carried out and placed in the trash can. That is what you do with bags, carry them with you. No one likes to leave a bag behind. It feels like you left something in the theater. And even if you leave it where you sat or on the floor it is going to be easier for the person doing the cleaning to pick up after your slob-ass.

As the movie let out I took my bag with me and dropped in the waiting trash can just like I think it was intended and headed out through the food court. I needed a few minutes to realize I was still in Brazil and get my mind going in Portuguese again. Like most movies in Brazil, this one was in English with Portuguese subtitles and I think that got me out of my rhythm. The food court had live music and the song the guy was playing at the time was a Seal song and he was singing in English burdened with a heavy accent of someone who really doesn't speak the language but learned the lyrics like a parrot learns to say "Polly wants a cracker." I decided to go to the coffee/snack bar to have a beer and read the newspaper I had bought that day for $.15, U.S. This would allow me to get my wits about me and I felt like a beer. Up walked a girl with style of top that is very popular in Brazil. It consists of a piece of material draped over one shoulder, hanging off the other, fastened in the back somehow, and with a sports bra type thing under it. In these tops most of the woman's back is exposed along with the neckline, and at least one shoulder...a lot of skin! I do have to say I like them but I can imagine how long it takes to get that thing on the right way. On the front of this particular shirt this particular girl was wearing where the words in silver, “U.S. Marines” above what appeared to be an Army logo. It made me smile as I finished my last drink of beer and all I could think of as I walked away was, does she have any clue as to what a U.S. Marine is and Semper Fi!

One Month and Going Strong

I have been here for a few days short of a month and as John Lee Hooker once said, “I'm hitting that groovy spot.” I am over the fear of someone talking to me on the street and me not understanding a word they are saying. Now, I welcome the opportunity to speak and learn more of the day to day Portuguese weather it be on the bus, in the plaza near my place, or with the crazy...I mean eccentric woman I rent a room from.

I think the culture shock this time was especially hard because of the pressure I put on myself. My last two trips to Brazil were vacation on the beach doing nothing; a break from classes at the University of Colorado. I actually saw them as part of my program at CU since the Federal Student Loan Program was funding these expeditions. I wanted to get my degree and therefore I knew I was coming back for 15 more credit hours to get me closer to becoming college educated. My goals in Brazil were to improve my Portuguese, have experiences that would stick with me for the rest of my life, and have some fun along the way. At the end of my three months in Salvador last year Portuguese finally started clicking for me, I have memories and friends that will last, and I managed to have some fun.

Now I am all grown up. What I mean by that is in December of 2008, I finally graduated from the University of Colorado, go Buffs, with a B.S. in marketing with a focus on international business. As you know, last December was the beginings of the worst recession the world has seen since the Great Depression. Thanks Tater! Undaunted, I moved to Denver and continued my job search that began in earnest in August 2008, when I returned from Brazil. I searched my soul down there and realized I was ready for the rat race and I wanted to work. Six months sitting on the couch recovering from brain surgery seems to have something to do with this attitude of mine. As far as job searching goes I did everything you're supposed to do and then some. When there are hiring freezes and top ad agencies putting people like me out on the street, there is no hope for someone like me. January came and passed...nothing. February blew by and didn't have a job for me. I had no social life, no money, my parents were helping me out. As February was dying so was my moral and I needed a change. Demoralized, I woke up one day and realized I had no other choice but to go home. My parents were thinking the same thing.

At first I felt like a defeated loser. The more I realized that I was one of the growing number of people going through the same turmoil, I started to feel better and to look at this change of events as an opportunity. I also thought about the support they gave me through my surgeries. I wouldn't be here if it were not for Mom, Dad, and my brother who I like to call P.Milton. They got me through the hardest chapter of my life, so I had no doubts that they would help this economic shitstorm  seem like a warm summer shower.

I arrived in Indiana and the job scene was worse than it was in Colorado, but and least I had entered friendly lines. In April of this year I found a job cutting grass for $8.50 an hour! My degree was really working for me. I also spent a month in Phoenix working with a friend getting his recently purchased rental properties ready to rent. I ate with mom and dad, saved every penny, and ate at White Castle only two times per month. That discipline got me to Brazil.

I have never shied away from challenges and since my first trip out of the country alone, I thought, “Could I live abroad?” When I arrived in Indiana I immediately began a course to become certified in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). I felt this was something that would help me answer this question as well as act as a stepping stone into something more. Or, maybe I would love teaching and make it my life long pursuit. Since my surgeries I have tried to live in the present while maintaining a rough outline of the future. As I grow older the outline becomes shorter and more simple. It is coming down to the basics and it starts with love. I could check out at anytime and I don't want to be focused so far ahead and on things that aren't realistic that I miss out on the journey. I believe that life is a journey not a destination.

I am in Brazil right now and enjoying the ride and letting the driver take me wherever he wants. I have this idea of turning this experience into a life here but I have to see what is going to happen. I don't have anything pulling me back to the U.S. right now, but there is the problem of funds. I am not independently wealthy and without some money coming my way I will have to go back home. I am looking for work here as an English teacher and finding some. I am learning as I go and as much as the process of finding a job in Brazil resembles the job search at home the more I realize differences. For example, I have a very small network to draw from, a culture and customs different than my own to deal with, and there's the language thing. I am told everyday how good my Portuguese is, but it is still nerve racking to walk into an English school and have to get my point across in a foreign language; especially when I am nervous and I don't know anyone. I have not visited one school in Belo Horizonte where the receptionist speaks English! I find that Funny. It is a tough but it keeps me sharp. I don't know the limits that exist here so I am able to step outside the situations that stop me in my tracks at home and just do what I have to do. The feeling I get is exhilarating and I thrive on it.

I am also enjoying the things that make Brazil, Brazil like: arguing about the local football (soccer) teams while one person is telling me I should be a Curzeiro fan and the other person saying I should be an Atlético fan, the lanchonetes (snack bars) that are everywhere, the wandering vendors on the street, the coffee, and the desserts. It is organized chaos. I am on my own a lot of the time and it gets lonely and boring, but remember, I am doing what makes me happy and I knew this was going to be the case before I landed here. I learn something new about Brazilian culture, Portuguese, and myself everyday. It is exciting, scary, and fun all at the same time and those are the things that make a memorable experience for me. I would like to tell you that it is all roses down here but there are things that irritate me. I am human and from the United States so I have expectations about service and manners that get my hackles up. When I feel this happening I stop, think of where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going, and then I feel a sensation of victory and a smile comes across my face.

Next week: My run to the top of Belo Horizonte.