Saturday, July 4th began quite differently for me than it had before. Unlike last year, this year I was not spending Independence Day on the National Mall with my family watching the 4th of July fireworks and the Capitol Fourth concert. Instead, the day began with my host dad, João, picking me up from the Bee W. Hostel. As we were driving home all I could think was: “Where in the world am I?” It was only my third day in Brazil and everything was just so overwhelming.
After driving for about twenty minutes, we pulled up to an apartment building next to Allianz Parque, the stadium where the Palmeiras soccer team -one of the four professional soccer teams in São Paulo- plays. As soon as I walked in, my host mom, Marilene, greeted me with a big hug and a big kiss, “Oi querida! Tudo bem? Seja bem-vinda a nossa casa e por favor fique à vontade!(Hi darling! How are you? Welcome to our home. Please make yourself at home!)” Not far behind her was DJ, their pet dog, who also greeted me with affection.
As I was starving, I quickly dropped my bags off in my room and the three of us sat down to eat a delicious lunch: passion fruit juice with escondidinho, a shepherd’s pie-like dish from Northeast Brazil which is made with carne-de-sol (dried meat) and is covered with a yuca purée and quiejo coalho (a type of white, firm cheese produced in Northeastern Brazil). Needless to say I devoured everything on my plate and even helped myself to seconds.
The apartment where my host parents live is located on the second floor and has three bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen, and two bathrooms, one which is more an emergency bathroom with a toilet rather than a full bathroom –this is very common in apartments throughout Latin America.
Although I only live with my host parents and DJ, Marilene’s mom, Vó Josefa (Grandma Josefa) and João’s mom, Vó Maria (Grandma Maria) often come over to take care of the house and of Rafaela, my host parents’ five-year old granddaughter. Rafaela’s parents, Fernando (one of Marilene’s two grown sons) and his wife, Noelle, often come to visit as well.
The next day I woke up late and was awakened by the sound of my host mom making tapioca –a crepe-like flatbread made from cassava flour- for breakfast. Since my host mom’s mother – Vó Josefa- is from the Northeastern state of Bahia where tapioca is originally from, my host mom makes tapioca quite often.
To make tapioca, you put the white, cassava flour in a pan on low heat and spread out as if you were making a pancake. You leave the flour there for two minutes or until the flour starts to congeal into a sort of pancake. The tapioca does not brown too much and if you leave it on the stove for too long it might actually get burned. Afterwards, you flip the tapioca over and fill it with the filling of your choice –be it salty or sweet. Once you put the filling in, you fold the tapioca in half and let it cook and seal for a minute or two. Violá! You have yourself a tasty, glutten-free breakfast or snack. On that particularly my host mom filled the tapioca with cheese and turkey ham but the next day when Vó Josefa came over, she made me tapioca Bahian-style: with condensed milk and shredded coconut. It was absolutely delicious but the combination of the condensed milk and the coconut left me in a sugar comatose.
Well that’s all for now galera (y’all). Até a próxima! (Until next time!)