This Sunday, Sean and I participated in the Rotary Club's bike ride for breast cancer held in Ilhéus. The event consisted of a few hundred people riding around the city on a predetermined route to raise money and awareness of cancer in the community. The ride was supposed to start at seven in the morning but due to the fact that it was down pouring and also because we live in Bahia (where everything happens about an hour or more after it's supposed to) we started riding at about 9:30. I borrowed a bike from another professor and Sean borrowed one from a neighboring student. Brazil is still pretty new to events like this and even though I thought everything was a bit chaotic, most people exclaimed that the morning was "an incredible success" or that it was "the most impressively organized event they'd ever seen" etc.
We had a lot of fun, however, and met some new people along with seeing some more of the city and getting some exercise. The event definitely attracted quite a bit of attention especially because a truck with giant loud speakers traveled at the head of the pack and announced at ear-splittingly loud levels who we were and what we were riding for to the tune of American 80s soft rock.
After the ride ended, we were invited to a churrasco (naturally) at another professor's house. Sean and I readily accepted and spent the rest of Sunday afternoon drinking, talking and stuffing ourselves with grilled meat. This churrasco was particularly interesting to me because all of the people in attendance were from the south of Brazil - a region which names its inhabitants "Gaúchos." There were several new traditions including drinking chimarrão (an herbal mate-like hot tea), grilling the meat a different way and with new seasonings, new and different accompaniments (mayonnaise salad, bean salad and roasted garlic bread) and trying their traditional dessert: roasted pineapple covered in cinnamon. I also noticed that everyone popped the grilled chicken hearts into their mouths as if they were candy while Sean and I were a bit more wary.
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| Hope you like chicken hearts! |
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| Trying the "chimarrão" drink |
After watching a soccer game and having a few more beers, we were one our way home and already hoping that we would receive another invitation for a churrasco the next weekend. Brazil is most certainly not the best place to be a vegetarian.
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| Side dishes at the churrasco: salads, rice, and lasagna |
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