pictures from ibitinga...

We spent xmas in Ibitinga, a small town in the state of São Paulo, about 5 hours from the city. It's the "embroidery capital of Brazil", where Ana's mom is from. Ana lived here for a while too.

Some travel shots:







Some shots from outside of town. We ate dinner at a small bar by the river, roasted chicken and fresh fish. Then we had a few beers, you get a big 25oz beer for R$2.50, which is about US$1.25.








Some shots from around Ibitinga. The town was pleasant, and hot!! Ana thinks Ibitinga is "hicksville" but I was enjoying the peace and quiet.







We spent xmas eve at Ana's uncle's house, along with 5 cousins and their families. (Her mom is in the states right now.) It was a lot of people, but it didn't feel crowded because the house is big and open. We had a late, big dinner, had the official xmas celebration at midnight (kinda like new year's), the kids opened presents, and we left pretty soon afterwards (bellies full and eyes sleepy). We got together on xmas day for lunch and hanging out.



Everyone was really welcoming; those that could speak some English tried (and I tried to speak and follow along when I could). Between the cousins, wives/husbands, and kids, I was overwhelmed from meeting so many people. I was a little weirded out when I got there, but everyone was so nice it wasn't hard to feel comfortable.



This is Jose Guilherme Bersano, Ana's uncle, the head of the house. Everyone calls him "zay". I liked him a lot. He's a big guy as you can see, and he's pretty intimidating. He likes to grab firmly you by the arm and move you where he wants. On xmas eve, after I ate way too much for dinner (ham, pork ribs, turkey, chicken, potato salad, farofel, and rice), he ordered me to eat dessert...immediately. Pointing at the cake: "You...must...have some...now." Me: "Um, mais tarde, por favor?" Him: "No, now!"


He spoke English fairly well, though he started hesitantly - he told me he learned English 50 years ago in school and hadn't used it since. He was very welcoming and was grabbing people all night saying "you! talk to him in english!" haha.




We're back in São Paulo now. We leave for Rio on Thursday...everyone here has told me I'm going to have a blast, so my hopes are high!

more pictures

Here are some more pictures; I haven´t gone out a lot due to sickness, but I´m feeling a lot better now! You can buy antibiotics here without a prescription, how handy.

This is a traditional dish from Bahia, which a northeastern state of Brazil. It's called moqueca, and it's a yummy seafood dish. It came with rice, pirão (a squash puree), and farofa, which is this crumbly stuff. It came with some really spicy sauce that we put on top, yum!

I'm shy about my Portuguese, but I tried to ask the waitress where the bathroom was and she looked at Ana like "wtf is he trying to say?" Sigh.





Me drinking a caipirrinha. It has sugar, cachasa liquor, and basically whatever type of fruit you want (lime is the traditional).












Ana and Utama, one of her best friends in Brazil. She's a lot of fun. Interestingly, the way they count drinks here is by the number of coasters you have on the table. At the end of the night, you'll have a pile of coasters; they count them up and give you the check. People come up with lots of ways to hide or dispose of the coasters.

Ana and me with her friends Celisa and Andre. Ana and Celisa have been friends since 8th grade. Her and Andre are getting married on the 6th - we're going to the wedding!
This is outside of a resturant, a churrascaria rodízio, they have one in Boston, where it's all-you-can-eat, and the waiters come around the tables with big sticks of meat. Very yummy, though I was feeling pretty sick at this time.

Andre was kidnapped a year ago, he was held for nearly a month. He wants to live in the States now, no wonder!


Ana in front of a mango tree. We couldn't reach any.



















São Paulo.













Some quick pics I took today from the car.





































The facade for a well-respected university/TV station/radio station on Paulista, one of the main avenues of São Paulo.

Mom, there is a famous marathon that starts here called São Silvestre. Maybe you can run it one day!







I got a haircut today from one of Ana's friends, a hairdresser. I like it!

















Ana's friend, doing her eyebrows. She wanted me to document her pain.














That's all for today! We're leaving for the countryside tomorrow, so I might not have internet access until we get back (Tuesday). Then we leave for Rio on Thursday!!

have a merry christmas, happy holidays!!
dan

it never fails...

I´m a little sick today. Funny, it seems whenever I have a long flight breathing recycled air around 200 strangers, I get sick. Ah well. It´s not too bad right now, and I´m going to take it easy over the next couple days.

It was rainy today, so we didn´t venture far. Ana drove me around a bit, and showed me the "American Bars" near her house. (Prostitution clubs.)

This is Chloe, Ana´s dog in Brazil. She and I are good friends. She knows more Portuguese than I do.


later,
dan

Day One

Well, I´m here! I was pretty exhausted from the flight, so we didn´t do too much today. I did go get a "burger" and milkshake at the "Fifties" restaurant (I know, I´m really taking in the culture!), where Ana ran into a friend of hers from school. She didn´t speak english, and I´m still shy about speaking portuguese. We spent the rest of the day inside, chilling out...it`s hot here! I´d guess 85 degrees or more. No A/C either, boo. I´m watching lots of TV with subtitles on and Ana and I are trying to speak only portuguese when we can...she has to be very patient with me, but I´m getting better every day!



We´re going to hang out in São Paulo for a few days, then go out to the countryside (a town called Ibitinga) to visit with some of her extended family over xmas. From there, we hope to go to Rio for new years, if we ever get our act together and make hotel reservations.

Wow, Ana just showed me it´s 2am here. She wants to open her xmas presents, but she can´t till xmas! :-p

Not many pictures today - I´ll make sure to take more soon.

Boa noite, amigos!
//dan

ps. These keyboards suck, all the keys in the wrong place!
pps. Ana is offended that I said her keyboard sucks apparently, but I´m only guessing from the tone of her incomprehsible native tongue. :-)
Me and my "burger" (very good, filet mignon!) Note the little Brazilian flags. I´m not sure if they did that just for me or not.























I wasn´t outside for long...more interesting pictures soon. In the meantime, enjoy the gal adjusting her bra. :-P