From a Brazilian to Brazilians

I forgot how these things are so nice..... I have my housekeeper every week, I can buy a medicine without prescriptian, I can go to restaurantes a lot of times (well, every day)... I can have my nails and hair done...... whether...92oF *Ü* Brazil, my Brazil!!!!

Como é bom, ir fazer as unhas, ir ao cabelereiro, ir na farmácia comprar um remédio sem receita (que felicidade nesse momento), ter a minha querida Helena vindo toda semana arrumar a minha casa e passar as nossas roupas... passear no shopping com um montão de opcões pra comprar, pra ver, comprar frutas doces, deliciosas, nos reunir com os nossos queridos amigos, amigos verdadeiros, comprar o pãozinho francês, comer no restaurante por quilo todo dia, ir na churrascaria, ir em restaurantes diversos, com cozinha brasileira, internacional.... calor, como tinha esquecido que isso era bom de mais... que delícia!!!!! Brasil, meu Brasil brasileiro!!!!

My first painting

2009 First Post

A lot of things can change our life. A special one changed ours, and it was not the crisis. I really believe that a big thing happen to change the way where we were going, just to show us that the chosen path was not the best one. No matter how big it is, we can support everything!!!!

We are back in Brazil, and I was thinking about to close this blog and open a new one, but I haven´t decided yet what to do....

Now we are living in the south of Brazil, in a amazing place called Curitiba where we can have a good life, with a good wheather (not so hot), good food, good entertainment, good shopping, good restaurants and the most important thing good friends and closer to our relatives. A place where it is not so dangerous like the most big cities in Brazil.
We did't have time to visit all places that we used to go, but let´s give time to time...

From now on I ´ll post some pictures from Curitiba, not our hometown, but the city which we love, that I could say, our hometown.

Christmas' fair

Last Saturday we went to a Christmas' fair, close to Eskilstuna. The trip should be done in 30 minutes and we did it in 1 hour.... so lost we were.
I bought this thing to put between the pan and the cover.... Sorry, I don't know the word even in Portuguese.....

It is a moose, typical animal from Sweden.

Isn't it so cute... graceful!!! I love to find something different!!!!

We also bought some cockies.... Take a look!!

Favelas in Rio de Janeiro

Being a Brazilian I have to say: I'm ashame about another foreign had died in Rio de Janeiro, but like a Brazilian, I think I have sufficient knowledge about this subject, and I can say with all words.

If you don't know where are you going in Rio, be careful, specially if you don't have a local resident with you. Don't trust anybody and take the right cab. Even being a Brazilian I think 10 times before going there.
Rio de Janeiro is a wonderful city but drugs' problems and bad polititians are making the city hell.

I'm really angry when I read in international magazines about foreign people visiting the favelas. Well, if you would like to visit or if you've already visited it, you are contributing with all of these. When people visit there, anything wrong happens, of course but, you pay, you give money to this, you are supporting... I can't understand why people like to see this kind of situation!!!! Go to many other beautiful places in Rio, to Iguazu Falls, to Curitiba and the north/northeast of Brazil, but favelas????? Come on !!! Is Funk nice? Are you sure? Sometimes here in Sweden, I hear this kind of music, and to me it is disgusting, specially if you understand what they are saying in the "lyrics".

There are good people living in favelas and the only reason they live there is because they don't have another alternative in life, so poor they are.

I've been living in Sweden for almost 2 years. What WE love here is the physical feeling, mental perception about peace, security, although anybody is not completely safe anywhere nowadays. Well, we have to include the respect for each other (what unfortunately I don't see it too much in Brazil).

I'm napkins addict....

I simply love all of them and I always buy a new one, I can't resist!!!! And you, what kind of addiction do you have?

Did you know the gender of your baby ?

We have to Swedes friends that had babies this week. Weeks ago I asked them if it was a boy or a girl and they didn't know.

So my Brazilian friends, you can survive 9 months without knowing the gender of your baby. But I ask myself: If we have the technology for doing that, why don't we do it? If you know the answer, please tell me, because my friends didn't convinced me with their explanations.

If you ask a pregnant woman in Brazil if she will have a boy or a girl, she will know the answer maybe in the forth month.

I'm not judging what is better, just saying, different cultures.

Take your shoes off, please!

Like oriental costumes, Swedes take their shoes off when arrive home.

That is funny! When we have some Brazilian guests and those who don't know about this Swedish habit, get into panic... might you image why.... hole in the socks .... Funny, but only if you are in the other side looking to their faces... After that, you say don't worry if you have a small or a big hole in your socks, nobody cares and this is the way that works here... Some of them hesitate to do, and then you need to encorage saying, It's because we don't have anybody to help us with the house, like in Brazil, where we have our (blessed) housekeepers, so please make my life easier! After that, they can't say no....

What I learned with Swedes: when you visit someone, try to use black socks... they won't be shame if anything is wrong with the floor.

Brazilian Rice

When our friends come to visit us and try the Brazilian rice, they immediately love it! The difference is because we spice the rice. As our Swedish teacher asked me how to prepare the Brazilian rice, I would like to share the recept with you.
Easy, no secrets.

¤ 1/4 onion sliced
¤ If you want you can use a small clove of garlic (sliced or squashed)
¤ Salt
¤ For 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water
¤ Olive Oil

¤¤ Fry the onion (and the garlic) in olive oil until they get soft
¤¤ Include the rice and the salt
¤¤ Fry for 15 seconds mixing the rice
¤¤ Include the water and cover the pan
¤¤ Cook in a lower fire mixing 1 or 2 times until it be - almost - dry. Leave it for 15 minutes before to serve up a meal.

Enjoy it!

Making an appointment to wash clothes

That's how it's works here in Sweden. I don't know if in your country is the same, but in Brazil buildings don't have a communitarian laudry.
Here, they are usually in the basement, and every laundry has a papper or a padlock that you set the chosen free day.

I have my own laudry inside my bathroom, what makes my life easier. It is more commom to have your own laundry if you live in a house.