Oh Brazil, what's there not to love? I want to utilize my time here and immerse myself within Brazil's beautiful culture. For me, the best way to embrace a culture is to dance, eat, and drink. Coincidentally, these are my three favorite things to do. :) I have a feeling that I'm really going to enjoy myself here...
Forro
...coming soon...
Forro
...coming soon...
Fortal
Before I found out I got the
internship in Brazil, I was already making plans for my trip to Toronto's
famous Caribana weekend. I had gone the last two previous years with my friends
and I was a little disappointed when I realized I'd be missing it this year.
However, Fortaleza did not let me down. Although I won't be here for Brazil's
Carnaval (February), Amber and I arrived in time to experience Fortal,
Fortaleza's off season Carnaval.
Despite finding out only two days
before, our helpful friends, Brisa and Babi, helped us get prepared. In order
to get into the parade, everyone must wear the proper abadas (festival shirts),
which has the sponsor's logo on it. Although everyone has to wear the same
outfit to the parade, it's encouraged to customize the shirts. I'm happy a
brought a needle and thread because the rest of the day was spent cutting,
knotting, sewing, and ripping these shirts apart to put them somewhat back
together. At the parade, we notice that many people had had their shirts
professionally tailored or used a sewing machine. I think we did a good job
with what we had to work with.
So the parade, where to
start...For any female foreigner planning on going to the parade, learn these
words "Sai pra la, nao quero um beijo!" (Go away, I don't want a
kiss). You might be wondering why, but Fortal has a lot of people kissing
strangers. Of course for the locals it's all in good fun, however if you're
uncomfortable and not used to this type of celebration, just memorize
those words.
Other than that, it was a great
night. The crowd danced while following the truck that had the band playing
ontop. There's are many youtube video's on Fortal depicting this crazy party. I
hope to come back and do it again but here are some pictures posted on their
website:
Acai
Acai, pronounced [asayi], is fruit found mainly in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. I first heard about this tropical berry during my first year of university. A friend of mine, who was changing their eating habits for the better, had been taking shots of acai juice on a daily basis. He claimed that he felt better and had more energy because of this super fruit. In Canada, anything with Acai is expensive, while in Brazil, this fruit is in abundance.
In Fortaleza, there are juice bars set up on every corner offering a variety of tropical fruit smoothies {who needs Starbucks when you can have juice bars}. There isn't a week that goes by that Amber and I don’t have an acai smoothie topped with granola. They are perfect for those early mornings when we don't have time to make breakfast or after a late night out celebrating with friends. Although I would love to smuggle some back to Canada, I don’t want to risk being arrested at airport. I guess you’ll just have to come visit me in Fortaleza to try some acai, see you soon. :)
Lambada
So why "lost in the world of lambada"? From as far back as I can remember, Lambada by Kaoma is a song that my mama used to play when I was younger. Back then, I disliked her taste in music but there were exceptions and Lambada was one of them.
I didn't know what lambada meant or that the song was in Portuguese and from Brazil. I didn't even know there was a specific dance for it but I simply loved the song and I loved dancing to it. (Of course I did eventually find out more about lambada as I got older) This is most likely my earliest exposure to Brazilian music, hence the reason I chose to include lambada to my blog title.
Here is my first, and certainly not my last, attempt at doing the "forbidden dance" at the hostel I had been staying at. A special thanks to our dance partners who took the time to help me fulfill my dream of learning to properly dance the lambada. What I love most about this video are:
- the images on the bathroom stalls
- Amber NOT doing the lambada at 2:02 & her partner's reaction
- my the lack of proper footwork, just swaying the hips
Caipirinha
After travelling for 24hrs, all I wanted to do was relax. What better way to relax then to sip on Brazil's national cocktail, caipirinha.
 |
My first time having caipirinha. Ignore the exhausted look on my face.
|
The best way I can describe this delicious drink is sugared lime. It has a nice sour kick to it but the sugar sweetens the deal. It's made with cachaça, which is fermented sugarcane juice (did I mention I love eating sugarcane). Depending on where you go, they use sugar crystals or liquid sweetener. I personally prefer it with the sugar crystals. There are many variations of caipirinha (just google it and you'll see) but the basic ingredients you'll need are: lime, ice, sugar and cachaça.
Saúde (Cheers)
No comments:
Post a Comment