Cha de bebe / Baby Shower

Our friends from the university recently threw us a surprise baby shower for our soon-to-be Brazilian-American. Here, it's called a "cha de bebe," or "baby tea" -- tea isn't usually served, but there were lots of delicious treats. It was a co-ed event (though all the guys stayed on one side of the room while I opened gifts), as Geoff and I know pretty much all the same people from school. Not only was it incredibly thoughtful and very sweet, many of the gifts have portuguese writing on them -- we'll keep them always!

Festa Junina

Our most recent culture experience was the annual Festa Junina. This celebration is a big deal here; here's the gist (I think): Festa Junina has religious roots from Portugal, but now is more about dressing up for a big party with traditional food, drinks, music and dancing. And the theme is rural life. So everyone wears mismatched plaid, with pigtails, straw hats, freckles, blackened out teeth, i.e., country bumpkins. (I asked if this was politically incorrect and was assured no one from the agricultural community would be offended.)

Eri's school had a huge Festa Junina, which was a lot of fun. Here are the highlights:

Looking the part and wearing it well. (It was the cutest ugly dress I could find.)

Eri's friend Teo. Pretty good facial hair for a 2-year-old.

Playing with the gang.

Each class performed a little dance.

Then it was a free-for-all. Dancin' queen.

Fishing for prizes like she was raised on a farm.