Churrascos and New People

In the last two days, I've been fortunate enough to be invited to two churrascos, or Brazilian Barbecues, and meet a huge amount of new people. One was held at the home of my host family, in their beautiful pool area, and one at their church's community house. Both of these events gave me a great opportunity to dive right into Brazilian culture, from eating habits to greetings and other customs. For example, at a churrasco, food is served in small portions, yet relatively constantly, for a very long time. The churrasco at the De Pieri's lasted from noon until almost 1 a.m.!

The food is certainly different. I had chicken hearts, steak, sausage, and bacon-wrapped chicken for meat, mandioca (cassava) with garlic sauce, and all kinds of juices I had never heard of. I also had the chance to eat raw mango, and of course, more pao de quijo. There is definitely a certain novelty for everyone meeting an exchange student for the first time, as everyone was very interested to know all about me. Everything from my favorite music and movies to past relationships, they wanted to know just what makes the new American kid tick! At the church churrasco, I met several new people and won a bottle of wine at the raffle, which I promptly gave to the De Pieri's. Everyone seems very impressed with my Portuguese, even though I can barely understand the conversations going on around me. However, I think I might be beginning to get that "ear" for Portuguese.

And tomorrow I start school. Yikes.