The last weekend

Well, now that my presentation is finished I can focus on much more important things- namely talking about my last weekend here in Brazil. It was a big weekend, and I’ve lots to talk about, so here it goes.

The weekend started on friday night by going to the photo exhibition that Vanessa had pictures in. Then we celebrated Juliana’s successful completion of her qualification exam with some tasty sushi and tempura made by some friends. I of course ate more than I should have (big surprise). Then we watched a movie.

On saturday we did something I’ve been looking forward to for weeks: we went to a municipal market where there were stalls of foods and other goodies. This is how I ended up with and entire suitcase filled with food. I am not kidding. I have 2 Kg of peanuts. 2 kg! Am I crazy? Yes. But these peanuts are really, really good. If you are nice to me I might give you some. I also managed to acquire cachaça (the national liquor), doce de leite (two kinds), banana candies and hot peppers. I’m actually a little worried that all this food is going to put my bags over the weight limit, even though I left plenty of room for expansion when I came.

After the municipal market it was on to a birthday celebration with some very tasty feijoada, pork and black bean stew (a national specialty). Then we went to the Feira do Livros to browse the books. Finally, we got milkshakes (pinapple!) and managed catch a bus, dodging the big thunderstorm that hit around 5pm.

Saturday evening, I (sigh) had to work on my presentation for Monday, but managed to enjoy more sushi (made by Vanessa and Juliana this time) and the company of some good friends. Tired yet (believe me, I was)?

The reason I worked on my presentation Saturday is that I had big plans for Sunday. I was watching the Confederation Cup final with some Brazilian friends at bar. Not just any bar, it's called Agua Doce - a Cachaçareia. Its a big place and they had a projection screen to watch the match. In case you live under a rock, the match was the USA vs. Brazil, following the USA’s dramatic win over Spain in the Semis. In case that rock you live under is on a different planet, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: football (the game we know as soccer) is kinda a big deal here in Brazil (I think it may come before God and country). I’d say there were at least a hundred people in the bar- of which I was (I think) the only one cheering for the US. So I cheered very quietly, with tiny arm gestures- I have no death wish. By the end of the first half, my friends were threatening to disown me, as the US was up by 2 goals. Alas, that didn’t last through the rest of the game, and I was very sad to see the US lose. I won’t torture myself or you with anymore details except to say that our goalie was bloody amazing! The result of all of this football watching in Brazil is that I think I may have caught a bit of the football fever... be careful or I might spread it to you.

I now interrupt my weekend recap to say a few words about the way Brazilian women dress. Now, I am by no means an expert of fashion, and even if I were my expertise would be wasted in my current line of work (poor graduate student). But I’ve got to say, they have drape-y (that’s a technical term), sexy shirts down to an art form. I saw a plethora of bias cut soft knit fabrics in many colors and patterns gracefully adorning the upper halves of Brasileiras throughout the bar. I can’t say that I’m surprise by this, but it did have me feeling a bit frumpy in my pink Ann Taylor polo shirt. Now back to the update (its nearly done, for those of of you still actually reading).

After the disappointing loss (and more food), Vanessa and some photographer friends picked me up and we went to the final free concert at the Feira do Livros. This is where I really wish I had had my camera. We were at the very front of the crowd and I could have gotten some really cool pictures. The music was really good, however my eardrums may never recover. I don't think I've ever stood that close to gigantic speakers. After the concert we piled back in the car, picked up some pizza and headed home to eat a late dinner.Thats it! Pretty much the whole weekend- and now I need another weekend to recover, but I wouldn't have miss a bit of it. This may well be my last post from Brazil. I leave tomorrow and am not sure if I'll have internet access then.

So for now, Tchau, Ate mais!