First Brazilian Christmas

Our first Christmas in Brazil was a sweaty one. We missed friends and family, but not the cold. Here are some pictures of Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day. Our friends Drew, Seher, Cody and baby-in-utero were visiting from Colorado. 

Brazilians have many of the same Christmas traditions as Americans, such as turkey or ham for dinner, stressing out about presents, and decorating excessively, including with snowmen, though most have never seen real snow.  

Eri dancing in her newly opened, Christmas Eve zebra jammies. 

Treats for Santa. Looks like she snuck a few herself.

No mistletoe here that we know of, so
we made due with Brazil's finest artificial pine.

Desperately trying to free Strawberry Shortcake
and her friends (gift from Santa Claus / Papi Noel)
from their packaging on Christmas morning.
This process went on for several minutes ... 

... and on and on.

Sure doesn't feel like December. We're definitely not complaining though.

Cody and Drew building a Christmas fortress. 

Digging for treasure.

Seher and Cody, who was trying to even out tans lines.
He was actually in the majority at this beach.

More Tidbits

Food: Brazilian kids love American kid food, even off the floor. Parents send an afternoon snack to preschool for their child, and apparently when Eri drops a Goldfish cracker, the other kids scramble and practically dog pile on top of it. Eri says there is one particularly aggressive offender, who I won't name. OK, it's Davi.
People often ask us if we eat bacon and eggs for breakfast. This seriously comes up a lot. Brazilians also find it strange to eat eggs in the morning.
Peanut butter is another frequent topic of conversation. I gave a Brazilian friend a jar of peanut butter from the states. Having never tasted it before, he asked what he should do with it. I said make a sandwich. He asked if he should put catupiry (a popular Brazilian cheese) on it. After gagging a little (catupiry is thick, white, creamy, and comes in a bag), I suggested pairing peanut butter with jelly. He nearly vomited.

Being American: I was chatting with friends (in Portuguese) before pilates, and a young girl was in the lobby waiting for her mom. Staring at me. Her mom's instructor explained, "Brye is from the United States and that's why she sounds like that." The girl looked at me, star-struck, and asked, "You're ... American?"
To others, we are less novel.
I was at the farm-direct market by our apartment, and after I made my purchase, the fish man turned his back to me and, thinking I had left, mocked my accent. I said, "Hey, I'm still here. I've only lived in Brazil for a few months and I'm still learning. If you want, we can speak in English." Super red-faced, he muttered something about another customer who also sounds like me. Yep, that's my husband. I've been back several times and chat with my new friend, who most recently asked me for tips for his upcoming trip to Miami.

Not really blending: We have our Subaru here from the states and have been issued special license plates, indicating diplomatic status, which are blue instead of white -- very unusual in southern Brazil. This is the equivalent of flying an American flag from the car. We are gawked at every where we drive and asked about them constantly. Awkward.

Portuguese: We're definitely getting better and our comprehension is good. Probably the biggest obstacle right now is pronunciation to weaken the accent a little. It's very frustrating to not be understood, especially for simple things. For example, in between classes at the university, I stop at a snack bar on campus and order the same thing. Every time. And still homeboy at the counter responds with "huh," forcing me to repeat myself and point. (Seriously, you don't remember the American chick week after week asking for a chicken empanada without cheese (see catupiry definition above) and orange juice? Argh.) Meanwhile, Eri is doing well. Her preference is still to speak in English, but she references conversations that were in Portuguese and also repeats things in English that were first said in Portuguese. She sings constantly, almost completely in Portuguese. Adorable.

Gu and Gee

Meet Gustavo "Gu," 3, and Guilherme, "Gee," 7, our upstairs neighbors and the two cutest boys in Brazil. 

It's all "Gu and Gee" all the time with Eri. They're pretty much celebrities around here, so we're giving them a blog post. We can't take credit for the nicknames, only the excessive usage of them. 

Here are some of the trio's good times:

Riding around the apartment complex in the bike trailer. Gu likes to
encourage Geoff on the inclines with, "Mais rapido, tio (guy/dude), mais rapido."

Racing on the futebol field at the apartment complex.

Eri and Gee at the apartment pool. He can't believe
her full-coverage swimsuit. So american.

Gu and Geoff: super safe, super cool.

Gee's first step toward manhood: no more training wheels.

A ham at lunch.

1 of 3: Peru

We haven't finished unpacking from our two-week trip to Peru, and we already want to go back.

The wedding of Geoff's younger brother Matt, who lives in Cusco, and meeting his wife Edith and their baby Joaquin, was the primary purpose of our visit, though we've always wanted to visit Machu Picchu. Geoff's parents and his older brother Mark were there as well -- we partied it up Peruvian style for the wedding festivities (see "Peruvian Wedding & Events" post); toured the city; and visited nearby ruins, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu (see "Machu Picchu" post).

Food: Delicious. Very delicious. After we got back and I went to pilates, my instructor patted my stomach and asked how my trip was. Ok. Dude. Sou americana. Your brutal honesty will make me cry. Anyway, the Peruvian culinary scene is really diverse ranging from trout ceviche to Indian food. Typical dishes are aji de galina (a chicken sauce over rice; our very favorite), cuy (guinea pig) and alpaca (alpaca). I didn't try the latter two because the mouth and claws of guinea pigs resemble those of rats. As for alpacha, we don't eat red meat, so another no-go. Peru boasts thousands of varieties of corn, and our favorite dish was little corn cakes topped with shrimp, chicken or fish. Our two favorite drinks: pisco sours, of course, and chicha morrada, which is a non-alcoholic juice made from purple corn.

Language: Unlike our visit to Chile, we, more or less, were able to communicate successfully in Portuguese. I'm not sure if this is because our Portuguese has improved, Peruvians are used to Brazilian tourists, or Peruvian Spanish is more conducive to understanding Portuguese. Interesting, older people had the most difficulty understanding us. One man told me my Spanish pronunciation was all wrong and I told him that's because I was speaking Portuguese. Most everyone speaks a little English, too.

Culture: We were able to experience a lot of "firsts" -- something we really value, and seek out, in our travels. What makes Cusco such a wonderful place to visit is its culture. Seeing people lead llamas around town, watching the women weave sweaters and learning about the incredible Inca history was so unique to anywhere else we've been.

People: The people in the Cusco region are genuinely eager to share their culture with tourists, though they want tourists dollars, too. It was nice to leave the city for the Sacred Valley to escape all the "buy, buy, buy." We knew we were being charged tourist prices when we weren't with our Peruvian in-laws, but didn't mind because we're tourists and the up-charge was usually about 30 cents. We did have to be careful, though, about not being taken advantage of, which is not unique to Cusco.

Shopping: There's lots to buy in Cusco, and thanks to all her generous family (especially Aunt Edith), Eri walked away with one or more of everything. Quite literally. Sweater, dress, hats, pants, shirts, doll, stuffed llama, purse, musical instruments and jewelry. She wore it well. One night out, I thought she looked just like a little Peruvian girl. Uncle Matt said she looked like a _____(explicative) tourist.

Pictures: Prepare for an onslaught.

Rough start at the airport in Lima at midnight. 

The next flight out to Cusco was 6 hours later.

First on the agenda: avoid skin cancer.

Eri chose this lovely pink hat herself,  which did the trick nicely.

Day 1: Guided walking tour of the city

 with Greg, Margy and Mark.

Day 2: Visiting the ruins just outside Cusco.

We weren't sure if this was a baby llama, lamb or alpaca, 

but either way it was sooo cute.

Plaza de Armas, the heart of downtown Cusco.

The Plaza de Armas at night.

Baby Joaquin being soothed by Uncle Geoff

and his nearly three years of experience.

Eri wanted to pet these alpacas until

we got closer. "Mama, they need a bath."

Geoff and his girls.

Grandpa Greg and Grandma Margy.

Eri and her buddy.

Eri feeding a llama.

It's not just America that markets everything.

There seemed to be a parade at least once a day in Cusco. 

Peruvian pancakes.

Eri and I went horseback riding through the Sacred Valley, 

which is about an hour outside Cusco.

We rode to Moray, which are Incan ruins in the Sacred Valley. 

The circular depression was used for farming;

each circle has exactly a one-degree difference in temperature 

and crops were planted accordingly.

Awe, mom. 

Peruvian women spinning yarn.

What? Just cruisin' the Sacred Valley in artisanal pants.

Eri loved her horse, Twinkie (not his real name)

and our guide (we couldn't understand her name either).

We were able to see a lot of small towns and the countryside on

our horseback trip. This pack of little pigs was especially exciting 

for Eri, who asked if a wolf had blown their houses down.

Rural Peru.

Eri noticed these boys wear a different color uniform than her 

and told me that they go to a different school than she does.

I would've thought the donkey would've been the give-away. 

Wow.

Meanwhile, Geoff's view: the Apurimac River.

He kayaked a 20-mile stretch, about 35 miles

south of Cusco.

Geoff and his Peruvian buddy, Noel, on the Apurimac.

They kayaked alongside a group of 20 rafters.

Home again. Geez, what's in there? I guess the

one, sometimes two, of everything from Cusco.

3 of 3: Machu Picchu

After Matt and Edith's wedding, we left Cusco for two days for the town of Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Picchu. 

Called "City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Saying it was impressive is an understatement. 

Machu Picchu is thought to have been home to about 600 Incas during the 15th century. The city was abandoned by the Incas after 100 years or so and was an overgrown jungle until 1911.

                                                                Day 1 Machu Picchu:

                                                                Geoff, Brye and Eri

At the train station. Machu Picchu is on a mountain
ridge in the Urubamba Valley, which is about
50 miles northwest of Cusco, where the Andes
and the rainforest meet. 

Eri was so excited to go for a ride on Thomas the Train.

The three-hour train ride from Cusco was a lot of fun and another
good way to see more of the area. The train was comfortable and entertaining with dancing and a fashion show.

The food was really good, too.

Are we there yet? Nope, gotta take a bus, too.

It's a 20 minute bus ride from the town
of Aguas Calientes to Machu Pichu.

Entering the city with our guide.

Standing in front of Waynapicchu, which Geoff and
his brother Mark hiked the following day.

Day 2 Waynapicchu:

Geoff and Mark

                                                               Day 2 Machu Picchu:
                    Geoff, Brye and Eri with Greg, Margy, Mark, Matt, Edith and Baby Joaquin