A Walking I Will Gp - Goiania Brazil

Yesterday afternoon I found myself with a little down time so I headed out the door and went for a little walk.  Ok - it was a longer walk over 2 hours and according to fit bit over 6000 steps and definitely longer then I first intended.  About five blocks from home I began taking note of some of the things I spotted and decided to share my observations. As I walked along I noticed a wall which has been constructed in the past six months or less.  It is like other walls along the road creating a boarder between the sidewalk and personal property.  What I paid a little more attention to on this day was the tagging which was scribbled across the newly painted structure.  The culprits sure did not waste any time before they streaked their black lines across the tan wall.  Yes, Goiania is full of graffiti and most of my friends here are not happy about it.   I have noticed this before and in other Brazilian cities but on my walk today I pay a little closer attention to it.  I notice that some of the graffiti in the city is quite artistic and then there is some which has no artistic value like the one in the first photo.   On almost every block there is some sort of graffiti to grab the passerby's attention. I meander a little further and come to a park with a community center or gym located in the center.  We have driven by this building before and I have always wanted to take a closer look.  It is covered with graffiti but this almost looks as if it has a purpose with some actual art being involved.  As I walk up to the structure to take a closer look I think of the murals they are painting under the bridges and underpasses along the beltline bike trails in Atlanta.  There is not a lot of difference between what we call art and graffiti.   I will continue to scour the city walls of Goiania for more art among the graffiti and share it from time to time. In the meantime enjoy this short video with graffiti from Goiania. I figure this is better then having all the pictures listed below.  Let me know what you think...

A special apology to all my Brazilian friends who would rather not have me show what they consider the ugly side of Brazil but it is truly life in Brazil.  I remember a day when cities in the United States were plagued with this vandalism, not sure how they got rid of it but hopefully Brazil will follow suite and it will get better. At least the non artistic part of it.

Landing in Goiania - Winter 2016 (July)

So it has been a while since I posted anything and I hope this catapults me back into spending at least a little bit of time blogging.  I have some pieces to finish, some videos to edit and more thoughts to share.  In the meantime enjoy this video of my landing flying Azul Airlines into Goiania Brazil.

Scenic Sunday June 2015 - Goiania Brazil

I apologize as it has been a while since I last blogged but as usual life has gotten in the way. I found myself in downtown Goiania and realized it has been a while so I decided to do a little film of downtown Goiania for you to see.  Hope you enjoy.. I will try and do more filming around the city and share.

Scenic Sunday

Scenic Sunday - Quadrilha - Festival of June

Well,  I know it is July but I finally got the video together of the different Quadrilha's  I attended this year.. hope you enjoy.. Click on the photos or the link below to watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ObgjbbLK7s

A Walking I will go...

Yesterday afternoon I found myself with a little down time so I headed out the door and went for a little walk.  Ok - it was a longer walk then I first intended but about five blocks from home I began taking note of some of the things I spotted and decided to share my observations.
As I walked along I noticed a wall which has been constructed in the past six months or less.  It is like other walls along the road creating a boarder between the sidewalk and personal property.  What I paid a little more attention to on this day was the tagging which was scribbled across the newly painted structure.  The culprits sure did not waste any time before they

streaked their black lines across the tan wall.  Yes, Goiania is full of graffiti and most of my friends here are not happy about it.   I have noticed this before and in other Brazilian cities but on my walk today I pay a little closer attention to it.  I notice that some of the graffiti in the city is quite artistic and then there is some which are not like the one in the first photo.   On almost every block there is some sort of graffiti to grab the passerby's attention.
I meander a little further and come to a park with a community center or gym located in the center.  We have driven by this building before and I have always wanted to take a closer look.  It is covered with graffiti but this almost looks as if it has a purpose with some actual art being involved.  As I walk up to the structure to take a closer look I think of the murals they are painting under the bridges and underpasses along the beltline bike trails in Atlanta.  There is not a lot of difference between what we call art and graffiti.   I will continue to scour the city walls of Goiania for more art among the graffiti and share it from time to time.
In the meantime enjoy this short video with graffiti from Goiania. I figure this is better then having all the pictures listed below.  Let me know what you think...   Goiania Graffiti

A special apology to all my Brazilian friends who would rather not have me show what they consider the ugly side of Brazil but it is truly life in Brazil.  I remember a day when cities in the United States were plagued with this vandalism, not sure how they got rid of it but hopefully Brazil will follow suite and it will get better. At least the non artistic part of it.     

Where should we eat Wednesday? Goiania

When some friends asked us to join them for Japanese food in Goiania  I wondered what we would find.  Would it be Brazilianized Japanese?  But how would that be?  Intrigued we decided to join them one evening.

Down a regular residential street lies a home that has been transformed into a quaint Japanese Restaurant called Himitsu.  We may have missed it if it had not been for the parking attendant and the few cars parked outside the front gate.  Well,  our friend who had eaten there before was along with us so I could be exaggerating a little.



As we walked through the door into what used to be the front yard.  I was please by our surroundings as the waterfall feature added great atmosphere and it looked as if we were in store for an upscale dining experience. For me I prefer upscale when eating sushi, it just makes me more comfortable. The wait staff were dressed with Japanese headgear and led us to the back air conditioned room where we were seated at a table draped in black linen.   I notice a couple of spots on the linen but the rest of the place looks nice so I decide to ignore this minor detail for now.

Overall the wait staff was attentive and the menu is on an iPad which makes ordering sushi easy.  After they showed us how to place our order using the iPad the waiters go about their business of attending to the other guests.  We simply order what we want and soon they bring it from the kitchen.  Our friend who had ate here before suggests that we order the Japanesa festival for adults so we follow her suggestion.  The costs seems a little on the high end but we are in Brazil and if I convert it to dollars it really is not that bad for sushi.


Soon our first wave of food, a plate of bite size  morsels arrives. Cheese filled egg roles, flavored broccoli, fried shrimp,  just to name a few of the items on the plate.  This is followed by a beautiful plate of sushi which comes automatically with the Japanesa festival.   All the tastes are wonderful as we share the platter and afterwards order a couple more things.  The service is excellent and the only glitch for us was we did not understand how the ordering worked.  If you get the Japonesa festival you can order many more items from the menu without any additional cost.  Had we known this we would have ate a little bit more but then again maybe it was good we didn't know it.

The food was so good, we ended up going there as second time and enjoyed the experience as much as the first visit.  Definitely a nice place to eat if you are looking for sushi in Goiania.

Himitsu Culinaria Japonesa e Contemporanea
Rua Dublim N 122 Jd Europa
62 3251-3597

Website: http://www.himitsurestaurante.com.br/

Continuing Education??? part 2

OK,  so a quick review on the last post and if you have not read it yet,  I suggest you do so before continuing with this read.  *click here*  I was invited to tag along with some students and faculty from the agronomy department of a couple of community colleges in northeast Iowa who are visiting Goiania.  I of course said yes and had a wonderful day as we toured the Federal University of Brazil's Ag department and a rice research center here in Goiania before we explored the the central market and a little of the city.  At the end of the day they invited me to join them for dinner and a "foteball" game and that is where we left of on the last post.

Since the time was short in between our arrival and departure at the hotel, I decided to hang out  instead of heading home.  One of the college professors (Dan) and I decided to take a quick walk to kill the hour so we headed south on the Avenida Republica Do Libano with it enormous palm trees down the middle.  The sun was hot but fortunately there is a lot of shade on our journey today.  Dan is a horticulturalist and since I used to work with plants for an interior plantscape company,  we talked quite a bit about plants and flowers.  We are both amazed at the plants that grow here that we use for indoor plants back in the USA.  It is amazing to see just how large they get here in their natural habitat.  Trees like ficus, lyrata, and rubber plants just to name a few.  And the flowers,  yes the flowers,  the kind that grow wild here like orchids and ginger or the many varieties we have never seen below.  I think he was impressed with how much I knew about plant material and I truly enjoyed talking with someone who appreciated it on a different level.  Our walk takes us to the Parque Aim Tamandare a few blocks away.  The group had gone to the sun moon fair here a couple nights ago so we talked about that a bit and just how different the square was during the day.  I point out a few of the well known places that line the park.  When we get to the far side of the park he asks about all the guys laying in wait with buckets and rags.  I explain they are waiting for the next  dirty car to pull in for a true hand car wash. Goiania provides water to these entrepreneurs who set up shop to make money.  This is a service provided in several parks throughout the city.  It is a nice afternoon and there are so many trees and flowers to show, but time runs out and soon we head back to the hotel.

Everyone loads onto the bus for the evenings activities with first stop being dinner.  After a short ride we pull into a McDonalds parking lot.  This is a little bit of a let down for me as I thought the plan was to eat at Flamboyant Mall and if you know me you know how little I like McDonalds.  But I am a guest this evening and we are probably saving time by eating here. The leaders of the group head to the mall next door to purchase tickets for a future days activity.  They leave Maria (another new Brazilian friend) and myself to help the students get their dinner ordered.  Well,  Maria started helping them out as they all formed a single line at one of the cashiers. When the last customer in the other line ordered I decided to break away and help one of

the students order  but a McDonalds employee tried to herd us back into line until I explained to her I spoke a little Portuguese.  She let us continue to the cashier with no line and soon I was assisting more students with their orders.  It was really easy enough as many of the items are in English like chicken bacon or bacon cheese.  The students only needed help if they didn't want something like tomatoes or onions on their sandwich.  Thanks to my experience ordering at Subway close to home,  I had all the sandwich terms down pat.  They also welcomed my help in dealing with the Brazilian money exchange.   After everyone was finished I ordered my big mac and sat down to eat with the Maria and Dan.
The stadium is only a few blocks away and soon the bus arrives and we all exit.  It is a fairly cool evening and by this time it is pretty dark.  The other foteball game I attended was an afternoon game so I am curious about this experience.  Several of the students purchase jerseys for the local Goias team and then we head into the stadium and find our seats.  The group sits on the family friendly side which will be an interesting difference as well.   The seats in the stadium begin to fill until about 1/3 are full.   The crowd on the other side begin their usual jumping and chanting.  Tonight Goias is playing Anapolis in a regular season game.

As we sit waiting for the game to start I realize I know little about this team getting my support for the second time so I must find out a little about them.  This team Goias, of Emerald and white is one of the largest foteball clubs in west-central Brazil.  It was formed in 1943 and has a long history with the city of Goiania.  Its accomplishments include taking first place in series B in 1999 and 2014 as well as 23 state and 3 regional championships over the years.   They play most of their home games in a smaller stadium which accommodates around 10,000 fans but tonight like the previous game I went to watch them play is at Estadio Serra Dourada Stadium which can seat five times the number of fans.  (thanks wiki)

Well this brings us back to this evening and the game is played in front of a fairly small crowd. The rowdy section across the way is still loud and don't stop jumping around for at least the first half.  I have to admit I find myself wishing I was over there with them as it was such a different experience.  You feel the passion of Brazilian foteball.  For tonight I will have to be satisfied with the excitement generated as Goias is awarded a penalty kick and scores a goal.  Pretty cool as this is my first experience of Goias scoring and it is followed by two more goals in the second half as Goias wins 3 to 0.  The clock winds down and the referee signals the end of the game.  It is time to head back to the bus and say goodnight for the evening.  As we travel back to the hotel where my ride home awaits I am invited to join the group the rest of the week.  We will have to see how that all plays out.

LINK TO FIRST FOTEBALL SCORE!! 

Scenic Sunday - Parque Areião

Goiania is filled with so many parks and green spaces for its residences to enjoy.  I have read that it is the second "greenest" city in the world although I have not been able to find official proof of this claim. 

 This weeks Scenic Sunday is a little video taken at one of the many parks - Parque Areião - Enjoy

or click on this link to watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZpwdJoeqQw

Everyday life in Brazil - The dinner party

 Since I have been in Goiania many of my friends here have asked when I was going cook for them.  I am used to hosting dinner parties but I am not sure I have what I need to prepare what I want to serve here in Brazil.   And then again,  what would I serve? I thought long and hard as it would have to be something from scratch and not that I wouldn't cook from scratch in the US if I invited friends over.  After 2 1/2 years,  I finally decided to set the date for Sunday and invited a hand full of friends over.   

The grocery store ...  - So it is the Friday before and a menu of american lasagna, salad, and peach crisp with ice cream is set. Lasagna because it can be prepared ahead and since there is no extra room in the kitchen for friends to sit around and talk while I cook it seemed appropriate and "american" lasagna because Brazilians make their lasagna quite different then I do.  Off to get the ingredients needed - fresh tomatoes, oregano,  basil,  carrots, and garlic.  All products I have seen here in the grocery store previously but this time I am looking for fresh.   I find most of the ingredients easily and head to the herb section where we find something that smells like basil but surely does not look like what I would call basil.  After asking around and

talking to three grocery store workers we get confirmation that this strange looking leafed green is indeed basil so I grab a bunch and put it in the cart.  I soon find all the other ingredients for the sauce, however I am a little disappointed that there is no fresh oregano to be found today.  I guess I will have to make do with dried, a small detour to my wishes.  I decide the dried oregano will be fine as I plan on making the sauce tonight and let it set a couple of days. 

Now on to the meat for the sauce.  I always make lasagna with some ground beef and Italian sausage mixed so we head to the meat counter where they grind some beef for us but they don't have Italian sausage and at this grocery store they don't grind pork either (a possible substitute as I am not sure I will be able to find Italian sausage).  We will have to make a quick trip to one of the little butcher shops on the way home.  I finish collecting all the ingredients for the main course but at this point cannot find brown sugar so I hold off on the other ingredients for the dessert.  I have not seen brown sugar in stores and Luiz thinks we may be able to find it at the fair on Sunday. I'm just not sure it is the same "brown sugar" needed to make crisp.  I may have to rethink my menu and change the crisp to something else.  Peach crisp is so southern and apple crisp so northern U.S.A, it just seems like the perfect ending to the meal and it would be ashamed if I cannot figure out how to make it work.
We stop by a casa de carne (house of meat) but they don't have the Italian sausage I want either so I will have to make do with ground pork. It is getting dark so we head home so I can get started on preparing the sauce.  After I get the skin off the tomatoes,  I realize how late it is and since no Italian sausage could be found I decide to prepare the tomatoes, dice the onions,  mince the garlic and grade the carrots so it is all ready to put together in the morning to make the sauce.  I do a quick internet search for Italian sausage which comes up with several options but they require ingredients we do not have.  Maybe we can go find them tomorrow so I finish my prepping with grading the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and head to bed.    

 Saturday comes and I take a moment shortly after the sunrises to continue my internet search for Italian sausage and find a recipe that looks easy enough.  I just need fennel, paprika and some red wine vinegar which hopefully we will be able to find. My cooking gets put on hold as as we have plans to spend the afternoon eating feijoada with some friends at the chacra (shakra - small farm), one of my favorite Saturday afternoon activities.  On the way home we stop at three markets to look for brown sugar and the ingredients needed for Italian sausage.  At the specialty store, our third stop, they have all kinds of herbs and we find the paprika quickly but I forgot to translate fennel from English and we are not able to figure it out.   After looking around a bit and getting frustrated, I realize all I need to do is call a friend and have them translate on the internet.  Erva Doce/Sweet herb - it ended up being right in front of us,  how easy was that and we save ourselves a trip to another grocery store.  I find the rest of the ingredients for the Italian Sausage but still no brown sugar.  After the third strike I make the decision to do something else or maybe have no dessert at all.  I am glad we exhausted this quest but it is time to move on.   

Upon getting home in the early evening I begin the final preparations for the lasagna.  The Italian sausage come out good and is added along with the ground beef to the tomato sauce filled with the onions, garlic, oregano, basil, carrots, salt and pepper.  It is set to simmer a while as I prepare the noodles.  Since I am not sure how great our little portable oven is,  I decide to fully cook the noodles so the lasagna just needs to fully heat through tomorrow. 
Layer after layer the pan of lasagna comes together and soon it is finished and ready for the fridge and by this time I am ready for sleep as well.  OH, I did look up a substitute for brown sugar and found it is 1 American cup sugar to 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses.    As I lay my head on my pillow I hope we can find all the ingredients for the crisp at the market in the morning.  
Sunday morning is here and we head off for salad greens and the ingredients for the dessert at the street fair.  Peaches, (check) apples (check), molasses (check), sugar (check) oatmeal (check) and the rest we have at home. YEAH we will have dessert!  Since Brazilians love rice with lasagna we decide to add that to the menu and stop at another market for bread, rice, and ice cream.  Finished with our shopping we head back home to finalize the preparations. I peal and slice the peaches and apples mixing in a little flower and sugar.  The fruits are spread on the bottom of the baking dish and dry ingredients are mixed in a large bowl.  I cut in the butter and molasses in and layer the crisp on top of the fruit.  It is ready to bake.  All that is left is the final tidying of the house and waiting for our first guests to arrive.   

The house is soon filled with conversation in Portuguese (another great study lab for me) and laughter by friends.  I am told by a couple of my friends that they can tell I have been working on my Portuguese which is encouraging.  The lasagna goes in the oven,  Caesar dressing and Parmesan cheese are added to the salad greens, and our friend Marcos volunteers to make the rice.  (yeah - not my strong point in cooking but afterwards I realized I should have watched and learned how to cook rice from an expert).  Soon, all is ready and everyone begins to eat.  They love the Caesar salad as I brought a bottle of the dressing with me when I came.  The local Caesar dressing is quite different then that in the US so an excellent start to the meal.  Then on to the lasagna which receives high praise.  I think the most common comment is that it is sweet.  Brazilian 

lasagna like other Brazilian food is quite salty.  With the carrots, basil and oregano in the right formula,  the sauce becomes more on the sweet side. We all enjoy the food and soon it is time for dessert.  The apply peach crisp is removed from the oven and served warm with a touch of vanilla ice cream.  The pan is soon empty and cleaning up is all that is left.  I have to say,  although there were a few twists and turns, the meal turned out wonderful an I am glad I could share it with my friends.  I enjoyed cooking for them in this country where I have to rely on my street smarts to get what I want. 

 Message me if you are interested in the recipes for dave's lasagna or apple/peach crisp I be happy to share.  

Parque Zoologico de Goiania

Goiania is a city with a population of over three million people.  There are plenty of things to do and over the past year or two we have driven by the Parque Zoologico de Goiania (a large park in the wealthy Setor Oeste neighborhood) in anticipation of it reopening.  In 2008 the major attraction to the park - its zoo - was closed for renovations and in May of this year those renovation were complete.  Visitors were once again welcome to explore and enjoy the over one thousand animals which call the park home.
A little history before we purchase our tickets and begin to explore.  The park was created in 1946 and like I stated above contains over one thousand animals representing approximately one hundred and ninety three species.   Within the boundaries of the park lie four lakes - Lake of Roses - Monkey Lake - Lake of the Birds and Swan Lake.  These lakes are supported by five streams which find their sources within the park's boundaries.  It has been a place to gather and enjoy nature right in the heart of the city since it was built.  Enough with the history lesson let's see what the park has to offer. (thanks wikipedia)
It is once again a wonderful blue sky filled day and since we have been waiting for the park to open, we decide it is time to go take a look.  Parking is a little bit of an issue with the area designated for the parks visitors is really too small to support the crowds and as you can imagine the overflow streams into the surrounding neighborhood.  We drive around a while and find a spot on the side which is opposite the zoo.  It is nice out so an enjoyable walk in through the tree filled outer park is a great way to begin our journey.  As we near the front entrance,  the sidewalk is lined with vendors
 selling waters, sodas and little toys for boys and girls.  The closer we get to the front gate the more people there are gathered together waiting to enter.  However, there is no line and we immediately purchase our R$2,00 ticket (wow quite cheap for Brazil), hand it to the gatekeeper and enter the park .
Right away animal life grabs our attention as three hippos are eating their mid afternoon snack.   The pen seems a little small for the three XXL animals and it is probably a rarity that they are out of the pond which lies in the middle, but then again it is snack time.  We linger to watch a while and  soon it is time to move on to the wild pigs and iguana next door.

OK,  I am not going to go pen by pen and share with you what animals we see but I will share some photos and say that the zoo was filled with visitors on this particular day.  The animals were all your typical suspects found in zoos across the world.  Like the other zoos their living quarters seem to be a little small, but only the tiger seemed stressed by it as he/she paced the edge of the cage.  Some of the different habitats are breathtaking among the tall buildings of the neighborhood around. Besides the bear who seemed to be injured and the missing giraffe who recently died,  the animals seeme happy and healthy.
Of course the zoo has a large collection of unique birds including several species of macaws.  They have taken this bird watching one step further with the recently completed addition of a large netted bird cage filled with vegetation and several birds.   Guests are guided through this area by zoo employees and educated on the habits and characteristics of the birds found within.  Of course the toucano is one of the birds found here along with peacocks, and macaws.  They only give these guided tours at certain times of the day and we are fortunate to be here at the right time so we

proceed to stand in line.  Through the hanging chains we sneak as not to disturb the birds on the other side.  We walk around the small loop inside enjoying the colorful beauty of these magnificent birds.   Our guide shares some of the birds habits and what my brain is not translating,  Luiz attempts to translate for me.  As we exit the large bird cage  arriving just outside the netting we are treated to a full display by one of the peacocks.  Almost as to thank us for visiting.

Next we stroll through the museum which is filled with information about the wildlife of Brazil along with the stuffed remains of a large crocodile which called the zoo home for years along with other local animals.  After this the only thing left is to walk around Monkey Lake and watch the monkeys play on their island habitats in the middle of the lake.  These little critters are surely entertaining and we find a nice shaded place to sit and watch for a while.  It has been a enjoyable afternoon and little did I know,  my favorite part of it was still left to come.   After a few minutes or resting it is time to continue our journey around the lake towards the car.  As we walked along,  there is a large squawking noise coming from the middle of the lake.  We notice a pair of ducks eating monkey food on one of the islands.  Soon one of the black monkeys runs towards the fowl as he waives his arms up in the air.   The birds respond with a loud squawk, hiss, and jab of their beaks in his direction.  We stop to watch and soon it seems as if they are playing a game of tag.  The monkey flies around the island, waiving his arms, and dashing towards the pair.  They
respond with a quick little chase and some loud noise.  Most of the time the monkey runs away, grabs a tree and swings around the island before his inevitable return.  Once and  a while the monkey seems to win and the ducks retreat to the water where they are safe only to return to the island once again.  Seemingly egged on by the monkey who appears at the waterfront near the ducks.  I begin to wonder what is so specific about this island for the birds.  There are others and they have food on them as well.  Maybe they have built a nest here or are thinking it would be a good place to call home.  We stand and watch this back and forth for over a half an hour.  Several times I find it hilarious enough to let out a chuckle and actually just have a great time watching the battle of Monkey Island.  The birds finally swim away so we move towards the gates.  As we get to
the entrance the hippos are now submerged in the pond and behind us we hear the squawking of the ducks again and turn around.  We can see the pair have returned to stake their claim on the island but it is time for us to leave and enjoy the rest of our day outside the zoo walls.

You knew there would be a photo of a Toucan!