It's been a funny old couple of months since my last post here. Exams have terrifyingly come and gone, results have been published, and much celebratory wine has been consumed to mark the end of a proverbial era. It's a very strange feeling having finished University completely now, and moving back home after about 3 solid years of living in my own place is also a little odd. I keep getting the urge to pick up a problem sheet and start performing some calculations, but I'm sure that will soon pass!
After packing and unpacking, its now time for me to prepare for my travels, which begin tomorrow. In a moment of madness I decided to buy The Rough Guide to Brazil, despite the fact that it (and most other guides to Brazil) tend to concentrate their efforts on describing Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Nevertheless, it has been an interesting read, particularly because the highlights of the Bahia region include: Capoeira, Salvador's nightlife, Candomble, and the local cuisine. This has all made me very excited, but the cuisine especially, so let me explain why. Salvador was where the Portuguese first landed back in the 1500s, and for 300 years was the most important port and city in the South Atlantic. As I've mentioned before, it was Brazil's main slave port, and as a result the population of Salvador and surrounding areas in the north of the country is predominately black (compared with the German and Italian roots of people in the south). Thus, African influences in music, cuisine and religion are everywhere in the city, juxtaposed with the stark colonial architecture and heavily adorned Catholic churches. So, while sitting among very European-style buildings, I will be dining on vatapa (bright yellow porridge of palm oil, coconut, shrimp and garlic), deep fried bean cake, and quindim (small cake of coconut flavoured with vanilla). As a snack, I might approach a street vendor and purchase fried bananas dusted with icing sugar, or fried sticks of sweet batter covered with sugar and cinnamon!!! My mother's concerns that I would be under-fed are, I believe, entirely unfounded!
As you can imagine, I am quite excited about the trip now and about beginning my lessons and immersing myself in a totally different culture. I will of course send you postcards and keep you updated on my adventures via this blog. Let me know how you are doing too, and what exciting things you are up to this summer. Expect my next post some time early next week!
Oh yes, and for anyone who's interested, the school I'm going to has its own website: http://www.portuguese-in-brazil.eu/eng/
After packing and unpacking, its now time for me to prepare for my travels, which begin tomorrow. In a moment of madness I decided to buy The Rough Guide to Brazil, despite the fact that it (and most other guides to Brazil) tend to concentrate their efforts on describing Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Nevertheless, it has been an interesting read, particularly because the highlights of the Bahia region include: Capoeira, Salvador's nightlife, Candomble, and the local cuisine. This has all made me very excited, but the cuisine especially, so let me explain why. Salvador was where the Portuguese first landed back in the 1500s, and for 300 years was the most important port and city in the South Atlantic. As I've mentioned before, it was Brazil's main slave port, and as a result the population of Salvador and surrounding areas in the north of the country is predominately black (compared with the German and Italian roots of people in the south). Thus, African influences in music, cuisine and religion are everywhere in the city, juxtaposed with the stark colonial architecture and heavily adorned Catholic churches. So, while sitting among very European-style buildings, I will be dining on vatapa (bright yellow porridge of palm oil, coconut, shrimp and garlic), deep fried bean cake, and quindim (small cake of coconut flavoured with vanilla). As a snack, I might approach a street vendor and purchase fried bananas dusted with icing sugar, or fried sticks of sweet batter covered with sugar and cinnamon!!! My mother's concerns that I would be under-fed are, I believe, entirely unfounded!
As you can imagine, I am quite excited about the trip now and about beginning my lessons and immersing myself in a totally different culture. I will of course send you postcards and keep you updated on my adventures via this blog. Let me know how you are doing too, and what exciting things you are up to this summer. Expect my next post some time early next week!
Oh yes, and for anyone who's interested, the school I'm going to has its own website: http://www.portuguese-in-brazil.eu/eng/
