OK Go is at it again

This is fun.

Spending the day at the Homeless World Cup

Luiz and I spent the day volunteering at the Homeless World Cup competition/celebration in Copacabana. Talk about spirit! The mostly young people involved in the competition were inspiring and bursting with enthusiasm and excitement.

Imagine having next to nothing in your home country (Haiti, South Africa, United States, Slovenia, England, Argentina, Ghana, Costa Rica – and on and on – there are about 60 countries represented) and now being in Rio de Janeiro putting on brand new soccer shoes donated by Nike, getting pumped to show your stuff. There are men’s teams and women’s teams. All the teams were smiling.

Luiz and I worked security at the entrance to the “Players Only” hospitality area. We struck up a few friendships and got to see all of the athletes. Luiz showed so much enthusiasm for the Palestinian team that one of the players gave him a beautiful shall made of kafia scarf cloth. Score!

These photos are from the Parade of Nations and the games. The Homeless World Cup continues through the week and we plan to return as often as possible to volunteer. If you have the itch, c’mon down. The games area is on the far east end of Copacabana Beach at the border with Leme. More volunteers would be helpful (and with a volunteer credential you get free reign of the place – with plenty of time to watch some matches.)

The official web site is being kept up to date. Check there for the schedule of who is playing whom and other information.

The strawberry pie that wasn't

It’s been a cold and rainy weekend. The kind of days you spend indoors, maybe cooking. Luiz believes if I am going to cook I should plan on cooking a dessert as well.

It’s strawberry season. Here’s a quick and easy (and fool-proof – or so I thought) recipe for a fresh “light” strawberry custard pie. The ingredients are readily available at any grocery store.

Crust:

2 packages of banana and cinnamon cookies (or any Nilla Wafer substitute of your choice) – you will not use all the cookies. It will probably take a little more than one package to get the 1 ¾ cups of finely ground cookie meal that you need.
2 Tbl. sugar (or Splenda)
¼ cup walnuts (almonds or Brazil nuts work fine)
4 – 6 Tbl. melted butter

Custard:

2 pkgs. Vanilla Pudding mix (“Light” if you like)
1 liter of whole milk

Topping:

1 – 2 pints of ripe fresh strawberries

Procedure:

Pre-heat your oven to about 400 degrees F.

You want to crumble the cookies and walnuts and then work them in a food processor until finely ground. If you don’t have a food processor, just place them in a bag and roll over them with a rolling pin to crumble them into a fine meal. Or – just whack ‘em with a wooden spoon until you get the desired texture. Remove any large bits. Add sugar and mix well.

Melt the butter and work it into the cookie meal with a fork until evenly distributed. The meal should now be moist. Do not hesitate to add more butter if the meal is too dry, but do not overdo the butter and get a darkened, wet, oily mush.

Press the meal evenly into a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. Bake the crust in the pre-heated oven for about 9 – 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn the edges. Let cool.

Prepare the pudding mix as directed. Luiz likes to add a couple packets of Splenda to make it a bit sweeter (if you are not diabetic you could add sugar). Your call. When the pudding is done, put it in the fridge to cool down a bit before you transfer it into your prepared crust.

When everything is cooled down, remove any skin that may have formed on top of the cooled pudding and pour the pudding into the crust and place the pie into the fridge to chill. It will take several hours.

In the mean time, clean the strawberries and slice them once through the middle lengthwise making cute triangles of half strawberries. Chill. (Some people – read: Luiz – will want to sprinkle some sugar or Splenda over the strawberries to push their sweetness/flavor. Go for it.)

When the pie is chilled, arrange the strawberries in a circular pattern beginning at the center and working outward, overlapping the previous circle as you go.

Keep chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!

But wait – I have a confession to make. The pudding does not set up well enough to be sliced into firm pie pieces with structural integrity. It is a mushy mess. It tastes GREAT, the flavor combination is perfect, but it does not pass as pie.

Here is my proposed solution: Use individual dessert cups/bowls. Put the crust mixture into the bottom of the cup/bowl. Top with the pudding. Then top with the strawberries. Eat with a spoon like a parfait.

If any reader has a suggestion for how to firm up the package pudding mix (like with eggs or with gelatin) please do share the key. I would prefer to serve this as a pie.

It was my intention to submit this to Danielle’s Cooking in Brazil blog but since it was such a flop I’m just running it here. Stay tuned Danielle, I have a Brazil-friendly recipe for Toll House chocolate chip cookies I will share soon.

Homeless World Cup Opening Ceremonies - Volunteers Needed

Have you been to an Olympic Games opening ceremony?  I've never been to the "official" games but I've attened two of the Gay Games ceremonies and it brought tears of pride and hope to my eyes.  Very powerful stuff.

Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. at Forte Leme will be the Parade of Nations followed by the Homeless World Cup Opening Ceremonies.  Then the games begin!  The format is a quick 14 minute game [8 players on the field], so stopping to watch for a while is pretty easy.

Better yet - VOLUNTEER to help make it the best event possible.  Word is they still could use some help.  Contact: Catriona Kay 8034-2279 or email her at catriona@homelessworldcup.org   Serious calls and emails only, her plate is really full right now.  For more information about the event visit their website: Homeless World Cup. Or just show up with a good additude and I'm sure you will be put to work.  Volunteers are needed all week.

The current President and Co-founder of the Homeless World Cup is keeping a personal blog of his experiences at the games.  Check it out here.

Helping out in the Rocinha favela

I recently went to visit Zezinho in the Rocinha community in Rio.  Zezinho runs a so-called Favela Tour operation through which he introduces visitors to his neighborhood, as well as maintains a website and blog about his activities (check ‘em out).  After a little on-line discussion I asked for some face time to discuss an idea I have brewing.  Zezinho was gracious enough to invite me to his home and to show me around his neighborhood.  The weather was rainy, but the energy exuded from Zezinho’s pride in his community literally seemed to lift the clouds.

Rocinha is the largest poor community (favela) in Rio with more than 300,000 residents and 6,000 businesses.  Families live in small houses built one atop the other and so close together access is limited to narrow pathways and staircases.  There is just one road that loops up into, across and then back down out of the neighborhood.  It is a busy street lined with shops, restaurants, beauty salons and all manner of home construction stores.  Recently free wireless internet service has been installed throughout the community.

Rocinha is, for all intents and purposes, a Rio city government-free zone.  It was the residents who developed the sewer system the services the neighborhood.  The electricity that runs to about 80% of the houses is brought in by a private company.  The neighborhood association plays the role of government.  They have organized a cooperative van transportation service (there are now a couple busses that loop through the neighborhood as well).  The association collects a nominal “tax” from neighborhood businesses (really nominal: R$5 – R$30 per month) that is pooled to pay for collective needs and emergency situations for residents.  Rio police do not patrol the neighborhood.

While Rocinha is known to outsiders as a place where drug trafficking is prominent and is generally understood to be a dangerous place, Zezinho reports a strikingly different experience.  Rocinha has been his home for most of his 39 years.  While showing me around his neighborhood children called out to him with a thumbs up sign and numerous neighbors stopped to talk.  His experience is one of pride in a self sufficient, if poor, community that takes care of itself.  The drug trade is present, as are the men and boys with guns that come with the territory, but they were no where to be seen while I made my visit.  Zezinho describes the impact of the drug lords to be as much a (ironic) positive influence toward community peace and harmony as an occasional danger.

Strictly enforced, the rules put down by the drug trafficants of Rocinha are: no theft, no rape, no violence, and no drawing unwanted attention to our community.  Break those rules and you face the drug lords.  Rio’s police are nowhere to be found.

Anyway – I met with Zezinho because I want to create an opportunity for people to make a real contribution to the daily needs of the residents of Rocinha.  I went to investigate what social programs are active in the community and with whom we can partner to leverage their impact.  Zezinho and I had some pretty awesome conversations about the possibilities.  After my next visit with Zezinho and with the director of one community arts program in particular I will post about how we can all get involved through the easy option of making a financial contribution to help sustain some vibrant, organic community activities that are keeping the kids of Rocinha out of trouble (and reminding them that people care).

Stay tuned.

[Once again I offer a very heartfelt thanks to Zezinho for his hospitality, contageous hope and enthusiasm.  Check out his business and blog.  Together I expect we can make an impact.]

Things Brazil has taught me

Here are a few things I’ve learned while living in Brazil and which I think my friends back in the States might be interested to see.

- Lunch hours at work last an hour and people leave the office to lunch with their friends.

- Cars, all cars, cars made by Ford and GM included, run on gas, alcohol or natural gas. SUVs can run on alcohol.

- When the DVD player or coffee maker breaks, chances are they can be repaired. No need to grow the land fills and buy anew.

- Simple but true: 2 liter soda bottles can be made with about half the plastic and still function just fine.

- Workers can take a month vacation (paid) and the company does not grind to a halt.

- Knowing your neighbors improves your sense of belonging in your neighborhood, and improves your security in unforeseen times.

- Chances are you can live on less. Less stress, less cash, less runaround, less stuff, less worry…

- When a village raises a child that child is well adjusted, responsible and safe.

- Gas prices that actually reflect the true cost of the fuel really do cause people to consider carefully before getting in the car, i.e. lower consumption.

- Government subsidized pharmaceuticals for chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes, AIDS) lower health care costs in the long run.

Moving to Brazil has been a learning experience, for sure. But it has not been all about what we left behind (good peanut butter, hot water on tap, actual customer service, etc.). Much of the difference has been enlightening.

Fellow expats – what have you learned?

Visiting São Lourenço

Luiz and his mother have a soft spot their heart for the mountain town of São Lourenço. Back when Luiz was just a tiny boy and his biological father was still alive, their family spent several weeks every summer in this quiet town. Truth be told, the town was famous for its fancy hotels and casinos (not to mention the city park featuring several natural mineral springs) and Luiz’s father loved to gamble.

Luiz’s days were spent playing in the park and his nights were filled with little boy antics on the streets. Oh the stories! He went year after year throughout his childhood. São Lourenço has imprinted on both Luiz and his mother. It remains a favorite getaway destination.

Casinos have long been outlawed in Brazil, but the fine old hotels and beautiful park still attract tourists throughout the year. We went (this time around, my third visit to this destination) as part of a packaged excursion put together by a social club Zozó belongs to. Luiz and I were the youngsters in the group. It was a good price and the group stayed in Zozó’s favorite hotel.

Now a town of about 43,000 people, São Lourenço is located in the south of Minas Gerais about 3,000 feet up in the mountains. These days the main attraction is the park with its many water fountains from which mineral water of varying types flow 24/7. People come to drink the water said to have medicinal qualities. There is also a huge spa which provides various hydro-therapies as well as the regular facial and massage treatments. It’s quite nice.

The huge 80 year old park is beautiful and very well maintained. It is lush, manicured and provides a quiet getaway for residents and visitors alike.

Zozó is a regular at the Guanabara Hotel. The staff behind the registration desk light up when she walks through the door. They swarm her and assist with her every need. It is a sight. She sits in the same area of the dining room so as to maintain a relationship with the same waiter who knows her preferences at each meal.

The hotel diaria (daily cost) includes top quality breakfast, lunch and dinners as well as full access to the hotel’s water park, swimming pools (indoors and outside), saunas and Jacuzzis. The pool area includes towel service, a bar and snack counter. It’s quite the joint.

While Luiz and his mother showed off their favorite spots, walking down memory lane sharing stories with others on the excursion, I was content to sit by the pool and read. Naturally we went to the park, but the town is a bit sleepy for my taste, especially the third time around.