Today was my primeira sexta-feira em Uberlandia. (“primeira sexta-feira em Uberlandia” translates to “1st Friday in Uberlandia”.) The day started pretty much the same way as the prior 3 days. We were picked up at the hoteis (hotel) at 8:45AM BST by Alene, 1 of 2 university interns who is assisting us during our assignment. (Lumia is the other intern.) Alene adeptly navigated through the early morning rush hour traffic (which is pretty tame by Tampa standards), and we arrived at the Ipe Institute around 9AM. When we arrived, a large group of students were already assembled in Ipe’s front patio and were being taught by Guilherme’. Everyone in the group was listening intently to Guilherme’s educational messages. Once his talk was complete, the students proceeded on to Ipe’s hands-on displays & exhibits, in the main courtyard, which extends the entire length of Ipe’s main building.
For the rest of the morning and through early afternoon, Hajira & I continued
to conduct more interviews. At the
beginning of the week, twelve Ipe staff members required an interview. By week’s end, there were only 3 more to
go.
Since this was our fifth lunch time at Ipe,
it required – what else – a trip to a 5th different restaurant! At this restaurant, you pay a flat fee and
eat as much as you want (or can). There
were a wide variety of fresh / cooked vegetables, meats, and greens to choose
from. This was a traditional fogoes (stoves)
eatery. In the back of the restaurant,
there were 2 huge stoves which held massive pots containing beans, vegetables,
and meat main dishes. Several large logs
were continually burned to keep the large pots hot.
The afternoon was fairly quiet because Toni
and his staff busily prepared for a large contingent of guests. Earlier in the week, Toni, Ipe’s president,
extended an offer to the entire CSC Team, as well as supporters of Ipe, to come
to the Ipe Institute to see his facility, enjoy the beautiful cerrado night,
and partake in some local bebidas (drinks) known as sucos and caipirinhas. There were 3 types of sucos (fresh fruit
drinks) served during the event: pineapple juice blended with crushed mint, fresh passion fruit, and
fresh strawberry juice. (Sucos are a staple at every Brazilian meal.) Caipirinhas (pronounced kie-purr-REEN-yah) are made from lime & cachaca (a Brazilian
cane brandy). Typically, they are only
lightly sweetened. This national drink of Brazil tastes a bit like a mojito without the mint.
A local Brazilian guitarist & singer
(know as Djavan) played for about 2 hours.
His sound captured the spirit and feeling of Brazil. What a splendid way to end the week!
Tapas Brasileiras número dois
=>
Caipirinha (pronounced kie-purr-REEN-yah) roughly
translates to "country bumpkin". It is made with cachaça, an
intensely sweet Brazillian style of rum made from
sugarcane juice. The Caipirinha is the national drink of Brazil, where
it originated.
#ibmcsc brazil
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