What I've Learned

Belem gets better each day. I am learning all sorts of things here: portuguese verbs, deforestation issues in the Amazon, Belem's gems, laundry washing by hand, toilet paper protocol, and not to swim with barnacles.

Lesson 1: TP Protocol
Now in the US, toilet paper is ripped off the roll, used, and tossed in the toilet. In Brazil, toilet paper is ripped off the roll, used, and tossed in the trash. Such a subtle, but oh-so-important difference. Now, I haven't seen any signs explaining this protocol, so after the janitors at Imazon got fed up with the American clogging the toilet, my professor sent me this email:

Courtney, you'll find this funny but the janitors at Imazon asked me to tell you that you should not dispose the toilet paper into the toilet but into the trash bin that is located next to the toilet. In Brazil, toilets have a slightly different design and might get clogged when toilet papers are disposed. I prefer the American system... no further comments :)-

But even though I have been to other countries where this TP Protocol is applied, it has been difficult to reprogram my brain and the hand reflex. So I have had to go on a couple toilet paper fishing expeditions. The first time I forgot I was lucky and ended up fishing my toilet paper out with yellow plastic gloves that I found with the janitorial stuff. However, about three hours later I made the same fatal flaw, but this time no janitorial yellow gloves were at my disposal. So what is a girl to do? I found a dust pan and started fishing my toilet paper out of the toilet and finished the job up with a toilet seat cover that very nicely extracted the soggy mess from the toilet. Yikes, how stupid can I be to make such a mistake twice!!! How is that for a morning - fishing out used toilet paper from the toilet with my hands! Ok, so that was one lesson learned and I am very happy to report no more toilet paper fishing expeditions have been required.

Lesson 2: Thank Your Washer and Dryer
"Your clothes really get dry in a machine," asked my friend Elise (a researcher from Imazon) during a English conversation class at Imazon on "Life in California." The look on her face was priceless: perplexed to the max. Everyone else in the room wore the same expression. I really like the clothes line drying method becuase it is so pretty and really dolls up the yards and balconies of all the houses here, not to mention it is a huge energy saver.

So I urge you to thank your washer and dryer: two hours and your clothes are good to go. In my house here it more like a week and you are good to go. Now, allow me to explain the one week phenomenon. The clothes get hand washed (either by Thias or myself), hung on the line in the backyard, dryed in the hot July sun (the hottest month in Belem I might add), and then go into a mysterious bag that I have only ever glimpsed at hiding in a back corner of a bedroom to wait for another maid (who comes once a week) to iron the clothes.

Brazilians are absolutely obsessed with ironing, as I have discovered the hard way. My clothes disappear while they wait to be ironed. But it is not only my clothes. My sheets, my pillow cases, absolutely everything gets ironed! And to a wrinkled American like myself this is a very strange concept. I guess the nicely ironed clothes compliment the fantastic high heels that Brazilian women wear 24/7. I really don't blend in: no ironed clothes (because I snag them off the line now before they can disappear into the ironing bag), no high heels, blond hair.

Lesson 3: Belem's Gems...
Look and you will see there are amazing things to do in this city. On the banks of Rio [River] Guamá sits a gorgeous nature reserve and one of my favorite places in Belem. White herons, scarlet ibises, and vibrant blue butterflies fly throughout Mangal das Garças in an environment that mirrors the natural Amazon ecosystems: a small igarapé creek feeds a larger lagoon that eventually empties into a gorgeous mangrove forest. To get a birds eye view of the grounds my friend Hugo and I took an elevator ride to the top of a 45 meter tower. There is also an aviary to view over 20 different species of local birds, "a butterfly world" with hundreds of gorgeous butterflies, and a small little museum telling the history of Amazonian navigation. And then after, we went to a really cool restaurant that sits in the middle of the preserve and ate amazing local cuisine!

Another gem is a well- kept secret that most locals don't know even about. It is a park called Parque Ambiental de Utinga. This natural area sits right on the edge of the city of Belem and is a huge area dedicated to preserving two lakes and the surrounding rain forest in pristine condition so that the city can have fresh drinking water. (And just as a side note: the city's electricity comes from a hydropower plant located several hundred kilometers away -- hydropower is a very controversial subject here in Brazil with issues similar to those of Hetch-hetchy in Yosemite National Park, CA). After Amintas (a friend from Imazon) and I got clearance from the military, who protect this park using huge guns, we were able to drive on the dirt roads and explore the area. What a gorgeous park with trees towering into the bright blue sky, cicadas buzzing loudly, and many bird singing contests. We even spotted a troop of monkeys. It was amazing!

And then for a little fun, Estacao das Docas is a great place to sit back and relax by the bay. It was an old shipping yard that was recently converted into a chique, happening locale. There are about five restaurants here and a platform that moves back and forth above the restaurant tables for live bands to play music well into the night.

Lesson 4: Learning vocabulary is essential
"Voce sabe pato?" For the non-Portuguese speaking crowd, which clearly includes myself, this line translates as, "Do you know what pato is?" My answer this past Saturday, as the family was preparing for my host brother's 17th birthday party, was no. However, right after I said no, my host-mother pulled out the pato, a freshly killed translucent skinned duck with little black feather bits still attached. The pato still had a long neck, but the head had been crudely hacked off the same way a logger cuts down a big tree -- a series of imprecise saw cuts.

Now one does not want to eat little feather bits in their duck, so every single remnant of feather stubble had to be removed using the same type of tweezers that I use to pluck my eyebrows. While this process was occurring I was diligently shredding a huge pot of chicken outside in the backyard on the table. (If you have never hand shredded chicken you have missed out on a possibly life's most tedious task). I thought shredding chicken guaranteed me minimal contact with the dead pato, but I was mistaken and soon my host mother slams a huge cutting board right next to me and proceeds to butcher the duck. It can only be described as CSI autopsy meets AP Bio rat dissection. And being so close, I was privileged to the opportunity of learning what a duck heart, liver (the most savory part of the duck I hear), and intestines look like. I am not squeamish at all, but I must admit to have been thoroughly disgusted with the idea of having to eat a sad little duck - maybe I will go vegetarian upon arrival to the US. I know people eat duck, cow, fish, chicken in the US, but somehow it is much more real here in Brazil. I go into the freezer and a fish the length of my entire arm is staring at me with her porcelain glass eyes. This is much different than going to Safeway or Wegmans (or whatever grocery store meets your fancy) and ordering a fillet of fish - no eyes, scales, fins, etc. Now the duck butchering activity was not all blood and guts and actually afforded me a great bonding experience with my host-mother and of course I learned new vocabulary and will never ever forgot the word "pato."

Lesson 5: Everyone needs a manicure and pedicure
I look down at my hands and I have to laugh, every finger has a cute, little flower on it looking all bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Thais loves painting my nails and doing my makeup. At first I was really scared to go out in public with pink flowers dancing around on my nails and then I started checking out other women's hand and was astonished - everyone has the most intricately painted finger nails.

Lesson 6: Don't swim with barnacles
This past weekend I went to Salinas, an awesome beach town a few hours east of Belem, with a friend, Rhalime and her family. The beaches here are really different: everyone drives their cars out onto the beaches and just sets up shop. It is so funny and crazy. The sand is so hard, which allows the cars to drive effortlessly over the beautiful white sand. Truely a bizarre and unique sight. We had a great time, despite ending up in the hospital with legs, feet, and hands sliced and diced from being thrown by the waves onto barnacle-covered rocks. There were about seven of us that got trapped in the water by the waves and a very strong current, however Rhalime and I were the ones that got banged up the most. So for now we both have super attractive cuts on our legs and walk with a limp because our feet are swollen. We put a natural tree oil from the Amazon on our legs and feet and it seems to be helping, but it smells absolutely horrible. I think we are on the mend!