The Brazilian Way of Life Part 1

This morning I got up and and it was raining. That was no surprise. We are in the middle of our rainy season and it had been raining all night. Yesterday afternoon while the sun was out, Marilze (my old lady), hung out clothes to dry on the line. We didn't get home til after midnight and by then it had already been raining several hours.

So all of these clothes ended up hanging out all night in the pouring rain. You might wonder why, especially if were to turn slightly to the right and see this:

Our brand new Brastemp electric dryer that my parents gave us for Christmas. It's not a Whirlpool from Allen & Bean but it's the best Brazil has to offer. Why is it sitting there not being used? Because it uses too much electricity. Marilze says she will only use it when necessary.


While we grew up in a land and time of cheap energy, my wife grew up with hyperinflation. There were several years where the inflation rate was 100,000% a year. That would mean that prices doubled every two or three days. There were wage increases but they were monthly and didn't keep up with rising prices.


Just to show you how pervasive this way of thinking is, I don't know anyone who has a dryer except us. Of course that's not a question I normally ask people but I've never seen one in somebody else's house and I always see their unmentionables hanging on their clotheslines. Because dryers use too much electricity.


Maybe one day I can get her to splurge and do a load a two. I keep telling her she should live a little. She does put the towels in the dryer. After 11 years drying on the clothesline, they were all stiff as a board but now they're soft as can be. I guess that's her version the good life.

Brazilian Home Cooking

One of the best things about living in Brazil is the food and last night, Miriam Soares, my business partner's wife, invited us over for some homemade caldo de feijão or bean stew.

Now I know that doesn't sound nearly as appetizing as white beans and cornbread from Wendall Smith's but let me tell you, this is some good eating. Miriam is from the centro-oeste or midwest region of Brazil where they are known for their cooking. And she is an excellent cook.

Miriam loaded her caldo down with linguiça (sliced sausages) and pork ribs and let it cook for several hours. She served it with chopped green onions, grated cheese, fresh bread and ample amounts of hot sauce.

It´s the morning after now and my digestive system is telling me that I am too old to eat like that at 11:00 PM. It was worth it. And I´ll probably do it again.