Reflections from MHIRT Students

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pastels and Sugar Cane Juice

Pasteis and Sugar Cane Juice! Its everywhere here in Brazil. You can find the delectable duo at the shopping markets on the weekends or you can find them at your local lanchonete (cafeteria) station. A pastel is a delicious deep fried bread pouch pastry and is typically served with a side of "caldo de cana" or sugar cane juice.

Pastel filled with ham and cheese

I have found that for many Brazilians, pastels serve as a quick convenient lunch with almost anything you like. Pastel fillings can include various items such as ham, beef, chicken, tomatoes, onions, and of course cheese. What I have discovered is that pastels have been apart of Brazilian culture for almost a century. Many food historians believe that the origin of the pastels can be traced back to the early 20th century wave of Japanese immigration to Brazil. As newly-arrived immigrants from Japan began to leave the coffee plantations and move into the cities of southern Brazil one of the ways to succeed there was to open a restaurant. Anti-Japanese sentiments were strong at that time, and Japanese cuisine was unknown, so most of these restaurateurs opened Chinese restaurants. One always-popular item in such restaurants was the deep-fried spring roll, and it is from these small rolls that the pastel supposedly developed. Pastels come into all types of shapes; they can round, rectangular, or oval. Whatever shape you want your pastel to come in, Brazil has it! I wonder if McDonald's apple pies have any history with the pastels of Brazil. Hmmm.....!

The makings of caldo de cana (sugar cane juice)

As I enjoyed my pastel, I was able to witness the makings of caldo de cana. It was very interesting. For the life of me, I could not figure out how it was possible to create a liquid sugar drink from a cane of sugar which resembled a simplistic wooden stick to me. Anyways, if you ever get a chance to come to Brazil, I strongly suggest you grab a pastel, bursting at the seams, along with some caldo de cana. It is a such wonderful yet simple lunch meal.

X-tudo: More is More aqui no Brasil.

Here in Brasil, if you stop into a lachonete, a small restaurant serving burgers and snacks, you can get a X-Ovo(egg), a X-Linguica(sausage), or even a X-Frango (chicken). These sandwiches may be my favorite example of “cultural innovation” I have encountered in Brazil, or the uptake of ideas from other places articulated in a very, very, unique fashion. When I arrived in Brazil last year, I was puzzled by the X-… that made up the entire menus of restaurants. Until one day I pointed at one that had contents I knew I would enjoy and the waitress said, “Um Cheese-ovo”, to which I was completely stunned as to why she said the English word cheese instead of queijo. Well, posing this question to a friend last year I learned that the letter X, in Portuguese is pronounced “sheez”. Brazilians exposed to American films saw and heard many sheez-burgers being consumed by the povo Americano. Through their lusophone ear, the Brazilian people associated a hamburger and cheese, with the letter X.

Here comes the brazilliance of it all, the X just marks the start. When you order a X-frango, you get a cheeseburger with the standard ham, cheese and lettuce with the additional chicken you ordered. The same goes for any of the other toppings, including egg, cheese, steak or sausage. As a long time meat fan, I looooove (from a distance) the X-tudo aka the Ode to Protein the most. Tudo means everything, and this sandwich humbly consists of your standard hamburger, ham and cheese, chicken, sausage, egg and steak. I say humbly, because the short title and ubiquitous presence on street side menus misrepresents the fact that these 6 different proteins hail from no less than 3 different animals. This kind of gustatory assault would be the next challenge on Man v. Food in the U.S., but it is just another lunch in Brasil. Not to say we don’t have our own consumption practices that would appall even the most adventurous Brazilians (Doritos Locos Tacos, I'm looking at you). Still, my American aversion to mixing meats was offended by this odd mix, but now I embrace and appreciate this flagrant dish. The X-tudo is an allegory for the production of culture and Brasilianismo, where ideas are taken up and transformed and performed in their own cultural vocabulary. In a country where more really is more, the sheez-tudo reflects a very brazillian expression of contact with a very tasty aspect of American culture.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

"Blessed are the flexible for the shall not break"

“Blessed are the flexible for they shall not break” a saying that all of us in Uganda have come to personally identify with.Trying to make our way to Sipi Falls this weekend proved to be harder than we thought it would be. Before we got far into our journey we encountered a huge mud hole that a matatu (taxi van), truck and boda (taxi motorcycle) were already stuck in. Through the help of a stranger who was willing to drive our car across the hole we were able to continue onward to Sipi Falls.

Mechanics trying to figure out what was wrong with the car.

Having the car break down, waiting for it to be fixed for 6+ hours, and the mechanics not knowing exactly what was wrong with it summarized the following day.While waiting for the car to be fixed it started raining, then the whole town lost electricity. Looking at one another, we couldn't believe that all of this had to happen in one day. Exhausted, hungry and frustrated we set out to find a place to stay for the night. Loaded with our backpacks we each got on a boda (taxi motorcycle) and headed back to the hotel where we had stayed the night before. A hot shower and food was all that we wanted. Upon our arrival at the hotel we discovered they were no rooms available. Not only had we risked our lives riding on a boda in the rain through pot hole filled roads we now didnt have a place to stay. Utterly hopeless, all was not lost because we were able to find rooms at another hotel close by. Trying as this day was, we were still very fortunate to have the means to get around this beautiful country and like all of us realized "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not break!"

Muzungus at Mount Elgon

Our mini-vacation at Mt. Elgon was heavenly. We were in the clouds both physically and mentally, staying in bamboo bungalows overlooking a valley at Sipi Fall #1. We ate well, with a two-course lunch and four-crouse dinner. The food was catered to tourists but I can't say our group complained about that. We had more veggies in those two days than we’ve had in the last month combined. Without electricity, nighttime was aglow with kerosene lanterns and a communal campfire. We got know some of the staff around the campfire and learned a little about their tribe, the Sabieny. Because of the high elevation we did not sleep under mosquito nets, and our skin appreciated a much-needed break from bug spray. Some of us had our first warm/hot showers since our arrival in Pallisa. On Tuesday we climbed 14km of the mountain with our guide, Julius, to see the three Sipi Waterfalls. At two of them we were able to stand in the mist created when the water hit the pool at its bottom. It was a refreshing and emotional experience for many of us. Some even commented that they felt cleaner in this water than normally after taking a shower. We also went on a coffee tour where we were able to see the entire process behind local coffee production. We finished the day with a walk to a peak of Mt. Elgon where we watched the sunset. Although this trip revitalized our group in ways words can’t explain, we sadly recognize that many Ugandans will probably never get the chance to visit this magical part of their country.