I'm alive and kicking

Dear family, dear friends,
dear trainees, dear AIESECers all over the world,

Today it has been more then 2 months ago I write to my blog, I feel bad for not keeping you up to date about my life in Brasil. My dad has a saying that goes: no news is good news. In this case this can be applied to me!
I'm really enjoying my experience in Brasil, professionally and personally. A new year, new and good intentions... for what it is worth, since 2011 started more then 2 months ago. I think it is time for me to share my good intentions with you.


 Numero 1, as a friend recently invited me to become part of a facebook group called "Dagen Zonder Vlees" (Days without meat), I decided 2011 will become the first year of my decreased impact on our lovely planet, called Earth. By lowering my meat consumption I'll hopefully reduce my ecological footprint, preserving earth for future generations. Thank you Romy for pushing me!





You can find more information on the following sites:
For english - http://myecology110venetia.wordpress.com/
For dutch - http://dagenzondervlees.be/

Numero 2, do more sports because there's a truth in the latin saying: "Mens sana in corpore sano".According to some people it might be to late to achieve the "Mens sana" but at least I can try to achieve a healthy body. So, the plan is to go to the company gym twice per week and to go swimming twice a week. The swimming is no problem, but I have to pick up going to the gym again.

So, I can become a healthy man again (as the example of Da Vinci)

Numero 3, I want to spend more time on my blog. It would be a great achievement for my self to keep you updated once a day but I'm realistic and prefer to set the goal to once a week! However during the next weeks you can expect more stories about Christmas, New Year, holiday at the beach, carnaval in Rio (yes, I went to carnaval in Rio! yihaa!) and many many more things.

Thank you for reading my blog, because you are my motivation! See you again, soon!

Pieter - the mens insana in futuro corpore sano

12 horas de Churrasco

What we call BBQ in Europe is called Churrasco in Brasil. This is one of the most famous ways of eating meat and by far the most preferred one. I’ll give you a quick overview of the Churrasco dictionary that I’ve learned so far. 

Churrasco = general word for the BBQ

Churrasqueira = the equipment, this is the BBQ, the grill, the spears for the linguiça,…  Most houses have one of these and some appartments have one on the top floor. Usually this inclues a small bar and a freezer for the beers. These are usually under a roof because in Curitiba, it can rain very heavily for a short (or long) period during the summer time. 

Churrasqueria = a BBQ restaurant. This is very nice, you pay one price to get in and they keep on coming back with whatever meet you want.  Waiters serve the meat at your table and you can choose which piece you prefer: well done or a point.

Linguiça = a kind of sausage, only used on the BBQ. The key to success is to pinch them with a fork halfway the grilling time otherwise the juice can`t get out.

Costela

Costela (ribs) = It is the same part of the meet that we know as “ribbekes” (but they’re better than those from “Den Amadeus”). The meat is grilled in its entirety for 4 – 6 hours high above the fire. The size of the ribs is much much bigger then in Beligum and it’s wrapped in plastic so the juice can’t escape and the meat doesn’t dry out.

Picanha = filet steak or according to google translator = “runderlende” one of the finest pieces of meat.  Alcool = not to drink but to light the fire, it`s much more fun than using these white or beige cubes to light the fire JMayonaise = it`s not the sauce we know but cooked potatoes, with eggs, vegetables (not too many) and the mayonnaise (= like “kouw patatten” in Belgium). This is the only side dish to Churrasco, so no cucumber, no salad, no other vegetables. Just meat, mayonnaise and drinks.

Cachaca - lime - beer

Brigadeiro

Brigadeiros = this is the best and most famous Brasilian dessert. It is made of butter, condensated milk and chocolate (that’s why I love it). They are put in the freezer and then rolled into small balls. Sometimes people put extra chocolat on the outside. My host family was so nice to let me organize a churrasco for my friends on the top of the building. The roof has a churrasco, a fridge and everything we need to enjoy the party. My mum loves to cook so she helped preparing mayonnaise and brigadeiros. It was a very nice evening and the first one of many…

See you all on January 29th for the next festival of flavours =>12 horas de Pizzasco…

Pieter

Thank you for attending - it was amazing !