Americana

We made several visits to Americana, a city about 45 minutes from Piracicaba. Both occasions were fun-filled, tasty dinner parties with our friends.

There's loads of cool history surrounding this city, like the fact that it was partially founded by refugees from the American Civil War - that's a long way to go! Fittingly, slavery was still legal in nearby Santa Barbara and the Brazilian country as a whole which is why Confederates fled here. (see the link above) In present day Americana, there is a cemetery where only Americans are buried - weird!

On our first visit last Friday, we went to Beppo, a hoppin' indoor/outdoor restaurant where we tried some new drinks and foods, like escondidinho, a cheesy mashed potatoes with the Brazilian equivalent of corned beef. It was amazing! I finally found a beer that both Lauren and I love - Brahma black. It was pretty sweet, and looked like a flowing milkshake waterfall in the glass. Similar to Guinness, but you don't feel like you've just imbibed a loaf of bread.

On our second visit we went to Mr. Little Joseph's (english translation, pictures to come later!) and sat outside to enjoy classical Brazilian country music. The duo was called Guaira guaiba, two guys playing guitars and singing some old-school Brazilian favorites. Even though we knew none of the words, it was really cool music and our friends translated. Our new friend Maycon even passed them a napkin with a request a "song for the gringos" and they happily obliged and pointed us out to the whole place!

After we had tried lots of tasty appetizers and heard many songs, the Brazilian cowboys made the rounds and visited the patrons. They were really friendly when they came to our table, and explained that one of their ancestors had fled Alabama during the Civil War to come to Brazil. We just said "Hey we're from Chicago!" Even 5000 miles apart, we are connected through history - crazy.

At this particular restaurant, for every drink you order, they give you a coupon that you can redeem on another visit for a free drink - so we asked them to autograph our coupon. They discussed, went back to the stage, and returned with one of their cds. Now we have an autographed copy and some Brazilian country tunes to reminisce upon during the drive back!

?????????

Can you guess what this is a picture of?

Post your guesses in the comment section!

.....the answer coming soon :)

Tastes of Brazil

You all know I love to cook....and EAT! Well I haven't done any cooking here but I have done plenty of eating :) Let me share a few of my favorite tastes of Brazil.

(I have made a feeble attempt at including pronunciations - not the proper dictionary way, just my own version of sounding it out.)

FOOD

Feijoada (fey-jo-AH-dah) Mmmmm! My favorite Brazilian dish. It is a black bean and pork meat meal, that is kind of like a stew and served with white rice. We are told its roots stem from the slave era. During that time African slaves would be given the leftover pork products from the 'Big House' - which would be the undesirable parts like pig ears, pig hooves, and pig tails. Together with black beans they created a delicacy that is a staple in Brazil today. Although after talking to the locals here they do not prefer the 'complete' version (hooves, ears, and tails) but the 'light' version with pork sausage, pork ribs, and pork tenderloin. It is served steaming hot over a bed of white rice - yum yum my mouth is watering just describing it!
Picanha (pee-CAHN-ya) THE BEST STEAK EVER! Well first let me describe a churrascaria (shoe-hoss-ka-REE-uh) - vegetarians can skip to the next section. Churrascaria is an all you can eat steak buffet. There are 15 different cuts of beef that are brought to your table as you dine on giant skewers, I'll do another post on churrascarias, they deserve their own page :) But anyway picanha is the best cut of beef in my opinion and it is coveted by Brazilians - they save the most room for the picanha.
Fried polenta - (po-LEN-ta) similar to french fries but gigantic and made from corn

Sun-dried tomatoes - I've eaten these on lots of sandwiches and as a pate. The tomatoes are very juicy and tasty.

Brigadeiro (brig-a-DARE-o) This is a homemade treat that is similar to fudge covered in chocolate sprinkles. I was shown how to prepare this so hopefully you will be able to try some soon!

Creme de papaya com cassis - John's favorite dessert - vanilla bean ice cream blended with fresh, juicy papaya fruit with a sweet liqueur drizzled on top.

DRINK

Aqua com gas - carbonated mineral water. With a squeeze of fresh lime its a cool and refreshing treat. Whenever you order water they will ask com gas o sem gas (with or without gas)
Caldo de cana (cowl-doe day cun-uh) Sugarcane juice. Sugar cane is the chief crop in Southern Brazil. We have seen lots of it planted in the farmland along the interstate. I had some of the juice from a stand on the side of the road. They use a machine to grind the tall stalks of sugar cane into a liquid that is a juice. Everyone we have talked to about it tells us they like it, but it makes them SLEEPY! I thought a sugar buzz made you hyper?! I was also told it helps nursing moms with their milk supply.

Caipirinha (k-eye-pear-EEEN-ya) Ingredients are lime, cachaca, and ice. Cachaca is liquor made from fermented sugarcane. Like a mojito, a pestle is used to bruise the lime and release the juices, but tastes more like sour margarita mix. Delicious!

Abacaxi com hortela - pineapple juice blended with mint. All of the juice here is spectacular but this is my favorite.

As you can see we have enjoyed some tasty treats! We can't wait to try to make them at home!

Oh yeah, I'm at work.

So we're over a week into our trip, and I haven't mentioned a thing about work...don't worry, I've been doing plenty of it!

To avoid diving into boring technical details or confidential specifics on my project, basically I'm here to make sure all the electrical stuff I designed for some Caterpillar equipment is going together well, and functioning correctly. Thankfully, things are going very smoothly! Our project ran ahead of schedule, which is very rare and it's a big credit to all the hard work ethic of the team down here at CBL (Cat Brazil).

I'm excited about that for sure, but the real highlight of the trip has been the growing depth and number of relationships with people at CBL. I have emailed & phone conferenced with a good dozen or more of the engineers and folks here, and it's great to finally put names + faces together. And it seems like every new face in the shop or the hallways is smiling and giving a big thumbs up. Probably has something to do with the fact that I'm a tall, pale white guy wandering around speaking bad Portuguese, so they want to make me feel at home!

But I do generally get the impression that folks here are happy to have a good job, and enjoy working with each other and value relationships a lot. It's really refreshing. Lots of handshakes, back slapping, story-telling and laughing to start each day - not the "get to your desk and put your nose to the keyboard" mentality that myself and a lot of my peers are used to.

And then there's lunchtime...it's AMAZING!!! It's like the Sacred Hour. First off, the food in the cafeteria is ridiculously good, I'm definitely going to be sad to pack my own lunch back in Champaign or get Soggy Pizza from the Decatur cafe.

Yesterday I had salmon. Yes, salmon - not sardines or crusty cod, this was the real deal. And there's fresh fruit - pineapple 3 times last week, papaya, mmm...and so many other foods that I don't remember the names of.

Then there's the after-food ritual: lots of folks opt for taking a lap with friends around the pretty trees and walkways just outside the plant entrance, which are the least-blue collar entryway I've ever seen. At Decatur, imagine lots of revolving doors with Jail-cell bars and beeping sensors as you swipe your badge. Here at CBL, you swipe your badge and walk into a mini-amazon walking path that just happens to be next to your parking lot. SO COOL.

Then there's the free coffee - all day. Of course, it's so strong that I can only handle about 1/2 cup in the morning and a sip in the afternoon, but they add fresh sugar and it's amazing. I'll never drink Folgers again.

So there's a lot to enjoy about working at CBL for 2 weeks - the nice weather, hospitable new friends and coworkers, project going well. But I think what I'm absorbing the most is just overall positivity. Everyone is working hard and has a pretty fair amount of stress, but people help each other out and are genuinely thankful just to have an opportunity in life. There's not a ton of back-stabbing or politicking (at least not directly in front of my face), but I'm sure it exists. It's just refreshing to get a perspective from another culture that doesn't seem to have taken prosperity for granted.

So much rain!

Lately the whole state of Sao Paulo is experiencing record rainfalls. Sometimes they are kinda like Florida storms - it downpours for 30-45 minutes, then nothing. Wait a few hours, and repeat.

But yesterday and today were different, REALLY pouring all day and most of this morning. I haven't notice it much while at work, since I'm holed up in the office or out in the shop, but it has been hampering Lauren's schemes for the Perfect Tan :-)

So today we ventured out with my coworker Francisco (aka Chico - don't ask, names here are weird). He gave us a car-tour of rain-soaked Piracicaba. We saw lots of old houses, family owned specialty shops and restaurants, and hilly neighborhoods. It's no wonder people here are in good shape and have strong legs.

Anyhow, Chico meanders his little SUV across a bridge over the Piracicaba river (which means "Where the fish stop"), takes a few turns through some neighborhoods, and parks under some trees. He says, "I show you a better spot to see the river from," and hands us umbrellas as we climb out of the car and follow him down some slippery steps to the edge. Must I say that no one was canoeing today?

Happy Hour

Complete this analogy.

Happy hour is to the United States as
Happy HOURS is to ____________.

Yep, you guessed it, Brazil!

They completed the first two motor graders so it was time to CELEBRATE! We went to happy hour, which incidentally is from 6-10. All you can eat appetizers and drinks for four hours.

It was here that we met Jeff. A shop guy who had his first child a little over a year ago. He, like most Brazilians is a smiley, friendly guy, with a hearty laugh.

Although, he was pretty quiet when John and I first sat down. We sat outside the restaurant in the warm breeze listening to the live music, just taking it in. John and I were commenting on the music and Jeff seemed to light up.

"What music do you like?" he asked us in slow English.
Andrew the other American with us told him he liked Rock and Roll....and from there Jeff didn't stop talking.

He told us that he has listened to English 'Rock and Roll' music since he was a kid. Apparently they get lots of it on the radio here. He said he could sing entire songs, but not what know what the words meant, so four years ago he decided to learn English so he could understand the music.

I asked him what he liked to listen to, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, ACDC, oh yeah and the Beatles. He told us The Beatles started his love affair with music.

The Beatles?! I travel to another hemisphere and I'm still hearing about the Beatles? Can I not escape them anywhere? Ugh! I hate to admit it, but I guess my Dad has been right.... he always told me one day I would understand.......

Then everyone starts cheering and dancing, holding up a glass as the band begins the next song. What is going on I wonder? Amidst the ruckus Jeff leans over and says,

"This is our Freebird."

I can only smile, amazed by the power of music and the connection we just made through it.

Basquetebol (bash-ke-te-BOL)

On Wednesday we played basketball. I was so excited! It has been a long time since I had played though, very long! But I guess part of it is like riding a bike, your body just remembers most things.

Carlos, the motor grader product manager in Brazil, took us to the Cat Club. The Cat Club is a huge outdoor park that has swimming pools, water slides, clay tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball courts, workout facilities, pavilions for gatherings, areas with nice BBQ grills, and walking paths, all nestled in the beautiful green rolling hills outside of the city near the plant.

Carlos explained that all Cat employees have access to it along with their families. They have lots of events, balls (the dancing kind), parties, etc. He told us it is very important for them to rest and relax when they are not working and that the company here really values that.

The grounds were beautiful. They were well groomed with flowering hibiscus all through out the park. There were lots of 7UP trees as I like to call them. I first saw them in Florida. They are a small round green tree with clusters of bright yellow flowers. Get it? Lemon-lime? 7UP? It makes sense in my head!

You could tell they really take pride in making and keeping it nice. It seemed to almost be like a sanctuary to them.

It was here that we got our game on. Or at least tried to. :)

We played a 3 on 3 half court game Americans v. Brazilians. Their courts are bigger here - the dimensions are somewhat different. We got smoked. Although we had a pretty good run at the end. Then a few more guys showed up. Big tall sweaty ones without shirts....I sat the next game out. Without me the teams were even in number :)

As I watched them run up and down the court, cheering, groaning, laughing, passing, shooting, playing together, I thought about how sports can be a great equalizer. You may not all have the same spoken language, but the language of the game is the same.

Santa Clara

Monday night we enjoyed a dinner at Santa Clara, just a block away from the hotel, with all of John's Decatur coworkers that are in Brazil for the build. Dining out in Brazil is a whole evening affair. It is so leisurely and relaxing. Its all about enjoying the company and the food and drink. There is no haste in ordering, rush in eating, or push to get you supped and back out the door. Eating out here is at least a three hour affair.

Santa Clara is known for its French-Italian cuisine and delicious wine. We dined in a stone room with tall cathedral like ceilings, the walls were shelved from top to bottom with bottle upon bottle of vinho (wine). Oh yeah, and did I mention they are known for their steak?? I was in heaven!

I ordered #52-steak covered in mustard sauce. I'm usually a minimalist when it comes to steak because I really like to enjoy the flavors of the meat, but this sauce was just the right amount of tangy and complimented the steak well.

Not only was the food delicious, but the company was excellent. Like I said before, all of these people work at Cat in Decatur, but not all were from Decatur. There was Mazin, originally from Sudan, Suman, originally from India, Lynda, originally from Mexico, Ademir, originally from Brazil, and a couple of us who really were from the good ol' US of A. We joked that we were a United Nations of sorts.

I was fascinated to hear different bits of each person's story. Small windows into parts of their cultures. We talked about weddings, family expectations, rites of passage, taxes, government, food, anything that came to mind.

It was a very engaging conversation. It made me feel both very proud of my country and origins and very curious and inquisitive about others in ways I have never experienced before.

I was disappointed when I realized our once full glasses had been emptied, not to be refilled this evening, but perhaps on another night.

Room Service

The first full day here, I slept through the continental breakfast. Which, by the way, is nothing like continental breakfast in the US. Here they have hot foods like eggs, sausage, breads, and pastries. Delicious tropical fruit abounds and it is perfectly ripe. There are lots of juices to choose from (I'll tell you more about the juice later.) Along with milk and coffee; cereal and granola.

Since I slept through breakfast by lunchtime I was pretty hungry. John and I did not get a chance to go to the grocery store, and I didn't feel comfortable venturing out on my own in search of food, especially without any Reias (that's Brazilian money.)

Naturally, room service seemed like a good idea. There was a menu in our room that listed all the food and beverages in Portuguese and English. They were numbered from 1-57, so in theory you could just say the number....in theory.

So I picked out a chicken sandwich and a pizza that had calabrese sausage (very popular and yummy here), cheese, tomatoes, and olives. I picked up the phone and dialed room service.

At first I wasn't sure it was ringing. The rings sounded more like a busy tone, but I decided to wait and see. Eventually someone picked up and started realing off in Portuguese.

I didn't catch a word. All I could say was English? Ingles? The voice on the other end spat out something that I thought sounded like un momento.

Un momento....ok I'll wait.

A short time later a new voice sounded from the other end, "Can I help you?"

Whew! This won't be so bad. So I read her the numbers to my order 11, 35, 44. She asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I told her agua con gas - I could manage that much in Portuguese. She thanked me and hung up the phone. So I began to wait.

And wait....
............And wait

Then there was a jarring noise about 45 minutes later - then again - 'Uhhh maybe that's my phone ringing,' I thought. So I picked it up and managed, "Hello?"

Lots of Portuguese from the other end. Lots. And more. I tried my - English? Ingles? bit again. More Portuguese. Then she hung up.

Welp, I had no clue what that was about. I was hoping she went to get someone who knew English. Maybe.

15 minutes later the phone rang again.

"Hello?" I asked. Still Portuguese. the only thing I had left was to try some Spanish and hope it was close.

"No entiendo, no entiendo." I don't understand.

She seemed to understand...She spoke in broken English. She wanted me to repeat my order. Slowly I read the numbers to her again. At this point my stomach was groaning with hunger and I just wanted them to bring something. Anything. Then I think she asked if a small pizza was ok.

Yes. Small is great. Something, anything.

I hung up the phone for a third time and waited....I was ready to start gnawing on my arm

and waited....
..............and waited.....

Then about 45 minutes later another jarring noise. A new jarring noise. It didn't repeat itself. Does this place have a doorbell I wondered? I was expecting a knock. I opened the door and in walked my food.

I signed some paper that looked like a bill and managed an, "Abrigada." (Thank you)

"Abrigada." she smiled back.

I sat down and scarfed on my hard earned feast.

Our Room

We made it through customs and found our taxi drivers. They were the two guys standing next to each other holding Caterpillar signs. One for John and me and one for his coworkers.

The car was very comfortable, but the drive was long. It took about 2 hours to arrive at our hotel. Along the way we noticed there were no SUVs, the lanes were narrow, and motorcycles could fit through any space, no matter how small it was.

We eventually arrived to New Life Hotel - yep that's the name - not much Brazilian flair to it. It looks pretty new and thankfully the concierge spoke English and Portuguese.

Our room is more like an apartment. There is a living room area with a couch and table that opens up to the 'kitchen.' The kitchen consists of a sink and mini fridge. Unfortunately there isn't any microwave or stove. Then there is a nice bathroom and a bedroom. It very cozy yet efficient.

In order to operate any of the electricity you have to slide your room key card into the holder by the door. If your key is not in the slot, there is no power or air conditioning.

I guess that is their way of conserving energy. Thankfully one of John's coworkers let us in on this small detail after he spent his first night here in the dark heat.

Interesting Conversation

We exited the plane and began the wearisome weave through the international customs line. It felt like we were at Great America. You know what its like. You keep winding back and forth seeing the same people every few minutes as the line bends back upon itself for the millionth time. You think, 'There's the guy with the weird red shirt, oh, and the girl with really cute shoes. I wonder where she got those' As you pass people at first, there may be a small smile, or friendly nod. But as time wears on most people are avoiding eye contact, as meaningless the small talk amongst strangers who share a language as run its course, and everyone has tired of waiting.

It was in one such line that John and I overheard an interesting conversation. Let me paint the scene for you. Five guys in their 20s. All different heights, and builds. All varying shades of skin color. Some with facial hair or glasses, some without. One common thread: they all look like they are rap stars carrying electronic switchboards, and other equipment I didn't know the first thing about.

The biggest guy, all bundled up in a huge black winter coat complete with hood, starts complaining about how hot he is (it was about 80 degrees and rainy aka humid when we landed.) He goes on to say that if he knew it was going to be this hot he would have left his coat in Chicago or not brought it at all from California. He said to his buddy, "Man I'm not gonna need this at all, am I?"

His friend said, "Man, straight up, it's pretty warm. It's summer here, but it cools off at night, you never know you might need it."

To which the first guy replied, "Its summer?! If I would have known that I wouldn't have brought my winter coat. I know its summer in like Australia. Aren't there some countries where it is summer all the time?"

Another guy from the group spoke up at this point and said, with complete seriousness and without any judgment in his tone at all, "Well there is this line called the Equator and it's always warm there. The farther north or south you get depending on the way the earth is tilted it gets colder. Since it is winter in The States it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere."

"Straight up?" asked the guy in the winter coat. After his friend nodded, he sighed a pensive look coming over his face.

Maybe his friend should have made sure to tell him the line was imaginary....

The Flight

Our boarding was delayed a bit, but we eventually made our way to our window seats on the 767. There, sitting in my seat, was a young man around 14 years old. We figured out that he was supposed to sit one row up. He was such a polite nice young man. He told me his name was Francisco and he was flying alone when I asked. He was our first Brazilian buddy!

This was the first flight I have been on that had the small TV screen on the back of the seat in front of you. That way everyone has their own. You can scroll through 3 modes radio, tv/movie, and a map.

The first 2 are self explanatory. The map was a Google earth image that showed our planned route from Chicago to Sao Paulo. It zoomed in and out and it scrolled through the altitude in feet and meters, the speed of the plane, the speed of headwinds and tailwinds, and the time remaining until landing.

I really liked it! As a nurse it reminded me of the monitors we have in patient rooms. The families watch them like hawks, not always knowing what they mean, and not really able to do anything about the numbers if they change.

As a passenger it was the same, I watched the numbers, even though couldn't do anything about them, but enjoyed it/was comforted by it all the same.

Anyway, I was EXHAUSTED! After studying, working, packing, cleaning, and not sleeping enough I was ready to nap. So I did! I slept for about the first 5 hours with my comfy new pillow. I don't think John was as fortunate. My legs were just short enough to be comfortable, I know he was pretty restless and couldn't get comfy enough to sleep for any long period of time.

When I woke up, I watched a couple movies: "My One and Only" and a cool documentary with guitarists Jimmy Page, Edge, and Jack White called "It Might Get Loud".

Finally, we ate a small, plastic wrapped, astronaut style "breakfast," and descended through the huge, fluffy, white clouds to landing strip. The clouds really were BREATHTAKING. I haven't experienced a more beautiful landing in terms of sky scenery. I felt like Mr. Fredricksen and Russell from UP! It was cool!

Overall it was a smooth flight and better than I anticipated. But I think its safe to say we were both glad to be on the ground with a chance to stretch our legs.

Departure

On Saturday we left John's Grandpa's 90th Birthday Party early so we could head to O'Hare to catch our 10 hour flight to Brazil. We made it through the airport after a few small glitches and found our departure gate. At this point we were both exhausted and hungry! So we grabbed some food and purchased some neck pillows (you know the kind shaped like a horseshoe) from a nearby vendor. (Thanks for the idea Amy! They were a lifesaver.)

When we arrived at the gate I met a couple of John's coworkers. Which I imagine is always interesting for spouses. But even more so for me because John has nicknames for most of them. Usually when he comes home from work and we download our days, in lieu of real names he uses the nicknames.

His coworkers graciously informed us that you have to check in at the desk so they can verify all of your information. John handed the gentleman his passport and visa at which point he informed John that his visa had expired 3 days ago, and that he was ineligible to fly.

HUH!?!I started to feel the panic rise up from my stomach.

John began to ask questions and the man explained to him that the Visa must be used within 3 months of issue. His was issued on November 19th. So he counted for us. November-1, December-2, January-3.

It was explained to him that November to December was 1, December to January 2, and January to February 3 months. So we really had until February 19th. This was later verified by another woman at the counter.

After demonstratively counting on his fingers multiple times with us, then the other woman, with us again he said something to the effect of, "Oh, so your Visa is valid, its a good thing because if you get off the plane and its not, they send you right back no questions asked. Right back!"

We walked back to our seats annoyed, I marveled at the fact that not only was this his specific job (verifying Visas) , but he had already checked in dozens of people already sitting down in front of us.

So we sat down passports in hand, luggage in tow, and chatted more with John's coworkers as we awaited the boarding of our flight.