Dillo - The Other White Meat

I know. It just keeps coming up.

On Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to explore Austin's coolest store. If you find yourself in the capital city, do yourself a favor and set aside about 5 hours to peruse Austin Gift Company.

Over the years, I have been able to find the perfect gifts for people near & dear to me in this wonderland of Willie, wacky and way cool. There's a little bit of everything, and something for everyone. Guaranteed. I only wish I'd have had my camera with me, to show you all of the amazing art.

Note to comic book fans: There are phenomenal sketched fan art coasters that you should check out. I'll be back for some of the Batman, X-men & Wonder Woman pieces.

Sans camera, I asked a buddy to get a snapshot of this awesomeness.

Photo credit: Johnny Bonez

I recently spoke with a Texas gentleman who shared some of the old stories. He told me that people used to eat armadillos here, too. I had no idea!

Armadillos or Tattoos

By the title, you might think I'm deciding on a hobby... or whittling down some strange list of New Year's Resolutions...

Not quite.

For anyone unfamiliar with the creature that is the official mascot for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, you might be surprised to learn that it is an armadillo, or tatu (pronounced: "tattoo"), as it is known in Portuguese.

Up until now, most people didn't associate Brazil with armadillos — parrots or jaguars, sure. Amazon river dolphins and stinkbirds, maybe. I don't recall seeing an armadillo in the movie Rio, either.

This energetic mascot needed a campaign all his own, I guess.

"Fuleco," (pronounced: "fool-ay-koh") is a colorful, playful rendition of a Brazilian three-banded armadillo that is one of the two species of armadillo that can roll into a ball. What better mascot for soccer?

As a Texan, I must say that Fuleco is one of the two cutest renditions of an armadillo that I've seen.

When I first moved to central Brazil, I was surprised to hear that Texas didn't have the market cornered on these armored creatures. A fellow Texan was even more surprised when he learned that some armadillos are actually eaten in certain regions of the country.

That came with a disclaimer:

"...but [they] don't eat the ones that eat dead people, though."

Whew! That's a relief!

I suppose?

You know, that statement sounds like a line straight out of a Scooby Doo episode. Perhaps it's the Mystery Meat factor.

Mystery Meat is best experienced vicariously, in my opinion. (Especially if it's the kind that can give you, say, leprosy.)

Tourists need not worry that the kebab, or espetinho (pronounced: "eh-speh-cheen-yo") stand on the corner will be serving mascot, since the hunting and consumption of this creature is discouraged due to its endangered status. (That, and it's hard to come by in the big city. Kidding!)

Appropriately, Fuleco's very name reminds us to be eco-minded. On a related note, in Goiânia there is a slang term pronounced like the English word "echo" that is used in place of "ew, gross."

Wacky Haiku Wednesdays

Oh, and by wacky, I mean code-switching.

I know... I'm breaking all the rules.

I can't help it.

I'm coming into my own, or coming right along in Portuguese, I guess. One of the things that I missed most when I was learning to speak Portuguese, is that I couldn't joke around or play on words (you know by now that I love a good pun), and conversations felt so empty to me. I felt like my personality couldn't come through.

The more Portuguese I've learned, I feel that I've been able to reclaim a little fun in my day-to-day interactions with people. I love that I'm able to joke around more, and do my favorite thing of all: play around with the meanings and sounds of words.

It didn't work right off the bat, of course. At first, people thought that the crazy foreign chick was reeeally missing the mark in vocabulary. Heh-heh... Now they know that I'm just one of those dorky people who do that kinda thing.

from the book Jest in Pun by Bil Keane
Image by Mark Anderson of Andertoons

At least, now that I'm pretty well understood, it's more obvious when I am making a joke ...or trying to. Then again, as I may have mentioned before, jokes don't always translate culture to culture. But hey, those closest to me have always said that I pun-ish myself too hard in this area.

A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself.

~ Doug Larson

A lurking pun is the worst pun, one the offender has been waiting to spring on you.

~ Harry Mahtar

Another result of being more fluent in Portuguese, is that now there is no rhyme nor reason as to how a conversation may play out at home with my husband. Sometimes we start a conversation in [pick a language: Portuguese or English], and finish in the other. Sometimes he responds in Portuguese while I reply in English. Then we do the every other sentence thing... or the most interesting: 95% of the sentence in one language, while emphasizing a few key words in the other. That is code-switching.

This is pretty normal for anyone who lives or grows up in a bilingual atmosphere, and is commonly seen in my home state of Texas, in varying degrees. It is most noticeable in "The Valley," or southernmost part of the state.

It is also something that is generally frowned upon by foreign language teachers. However, I want my family back home to learn a little Portuguese, as well as share in the newfound fun that I'm having with both languages. Hence, Wacky Haiku Wednesday was born.

Image via Microsoft Office Clip Art home page

I'll write a pretty bad haiku using a bit of English & Portuguese, and give you the definitions & pronunciations of the Portuguese words you didn't know before.

Here goes...

Ainda não sei...
I haven't tried this before.
New way to learn, hein?

"Ainda não sei." = "I still don't know."

• Ainda [pronounced: "I-yeen-duh"] means still.


• não [pronounced: (nasally) "now/oh"] means no, not, don't.


• sei [pronounced: "say"] means I know.

"Hein" = "Huh" or "Eh"

• hein [pronounced: "hey-n" or "ay-n"]

These Boots Are Made For Gawkin'

So much for those people who say that Goiânia is a boot-scootin' cowboy capital...

This morning I went downtown to sign some papers with my husband. It was great to be out & about in this cooler weather. It's one of my favorite times of the year!

On the tail end of fall, we are almost upon the "coldest" time of the year. The lows are in the mid 50's and 60's, and the daily highs are in the 80's. Hey, that's cold to me these days, and I'm not ashamed to say it. It took me too long to get acclimated! I've earned every one of these goose bumps.

Winter will be here in June. The first third of the winter is pretty cold, although the last two months are the hottest of the year. June, the coldest month in Goiânia, gives us a brief taste of comfort before July, August, and September arrive with an oppressive heat.

We actually had an early set of cold fronts this year, starting the first week of May. Something that is a bit different for those of us from the northern hemisphere is that cold fronts come from the South.

Back in Texas, our cold fronts come from the North, and as such, are called "Northers." Hmmm... Does that make our cold fronts here in Goiás, "Southerns?"

"Sulistas?"

With the cool weather, I decided to wear my cute boots since I can never wear them any other time of the year, as it is either too hot or too wet.

You would've thought that I had a small animal strapped to my head — or one on each foot.

I was oblivious, at first, but finally noticed person after person looking at me. I wondered why. Do I really look that different? People usually assume that I'm from Southern Brazil, so I'm able to fly under the radar, more often than not.

What was the deal?

When we were leaving, I found out. My husband asked me if I'd seen the "hundred different people looking at my boots."

Me: "Was that it?"

My man: "Uh, yeah! Do you see anyone else in boots around here?"

Me: "I haven't noticed... It's the cool season — it's 68 degrees! I would expect to see some, that's for sure."

I suddenly recalled that every single time I ever saw a chick wearing boots here, it was at night.

Me: "Wait! Do people in Goiânia only wear boots at night?"

My Man: "Uh, yeah!"

Me: "That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Well, at least I can claim that I'm bringing some international culture to the region."

Him, mumbling: "...and at least the Rodeo's in town." (It really is.)

When I got home I called my friend, D, to see what the deal is. She's one of those style mavens. I asked her if it's really true that chicks only wear boots at night in Goiânia. She said, "Unfortunately... yes, that's the way it is here."

She told me that she'd met a girl on a flight back from São Paulo last month, and they had discussed this very thing. She said that the ladies wear boots regularly in São Paulo, whereas here in Goiânia it's a fashion faux pas to do so if the sun is shining.

Men typically only wear boots if they are in the ranching or construction industries, but unlike women, they are not bound by the rising or setting of the sun. Styles vary according to their practical use.

I still maintain that this is one of the more bizarre things I've heard here.

...and why on earth didn't I know this? I've been here for almost 6 years. I have no excuse, but I do have Exhibit A of what not to do in broad daylight, in Goiânia.

Exhibit A

Allergies Abroad

It's thrilling to travel to new places, try new foods, and experience other cultures. Where the food is concerned, it can either be an exhilarating experience or excruciating, depending on your personal taste...

sense of adventure...

...and allergies.

One aspect of going to another country that should be taken into consideration is that you've had X number of years to figure out if you have any allergies in your native environment, and if so, how severe they may be.

Of course, several of my 30-something friends back home are only now discovering allergies like wheat and gluten, so I guess you never really know. Just consider that as a part of the adventure when traveling.

Oooh! Perhaps this leafy thing will close my throat.

Bets?

I honestly didn't have too many allergies back home in Texas. Mold has always been my nemesis, but as far as food went there were only three things that I was sensitive to, and two of those were man-made "flavors" (liquid smoke & "raspberry" flavoring) so it wasn't too hard to avoid them. I thought that I could eat pretty much anything. I was, by all accounts, immune to the dreaded, seasonal "Cedar Fever" (that everyone else seemed to suffer from) in Central Texas.

When I moved to Brazil, my whole world was turned upside down. (Wonderland, or o país das maravilhas, will do that to you.) I was perpetually ill for the first 9 months. After the 6-month mark, I determined to track down the culprits, and discovered that I am allergic to blooming (no, I'm not using an Aussie expletive) Mango trees, and a family of peppers that is used in almost every dish in this state (which also happens to be quite tasty).

What?!

I come from the land of peppers.

I bleed Chipotle sauce.

I'm that person that orders jalapeño slices on my Whataburger, and jalapeños on the side when I get a pizza, so that I can stack up a bunch on each slice. (Mmmm... Yummy!) I like my Phở [pronounced: "fuh," and said with a hint of a question mark] with a good blast of Sriracha sauce, and take my salsa hot or medium, not mild.

What I've learned is that in Texas, we mainly eat the Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens families of peppers. Here in Goiás, the most common families of peppers are the Capsicum chinense and the Capsicum baccatum. It truly is a shame that I cannot partake.

Interestingly enough, the Capsicum chinense family includes one that I ate back home with no problem. The Habanero is one (which any Texan is familiar with) of many varieties of this family. As is my lot in life, in this particular region, it is actually hard to find a Habanero. C'est la vie!

Habanero closeup by Ryan Bushby (HighInBC on wikipedia)

The most common peppers, or pimentas [pronounced: "Pih-men-tuh," and not to be confused with Pimentos] in this region are the following:

1. The "Pimenta-de-Cheiro" [directly translates to, "The Pepper That Smells," and is pronounced: "jee Shay-rdoh"] is, hands down, the most popular Capsicum chinense pepper in this region. It looks similar to a banana pepper, has a very strong smell and flavor, but no heat to speak of.




Pimenta-de-cheiro
photo found amid a great collection of Brazilian sights on Flickr

2. The "Pimenta-de-Bode" ["The Goat Pepper"] is another pepper in the C. chinense family that not only has a strong smell and flavor, but adds a little kick to the cuisine. I haven't been able to find out why exactly the Pimenta-de-Bode [pronounced: "jee Boh-jee"] is referring to a goat.
   
   Think that would be an easy one, huh? Is it from the shape of the pepper? Does it, at any point in its stages of growth, resemble two little horns? Do goats like to eat these particular peppers? Does one need the digestive system of a goat to survive the experience? Will it 'put hair on your 'chin'? If I ever find out, you'll be the first to know.




Pimenta-de-Bode
by Adilson Lopes Garcia
via Flickr

3. The "Pimenta-Chora-Menino" [pronounced: "Shore-rduh Meh-nee-no," and roughly translates to, "The 'Cry, Boy, Cry' Pepper" or "The 'Makes-All-The-Boys-Cry' Pepper" ...There's no direct translation.) is hot — but it's sneaky. The heat from this little pepper of the C. chinense family ambushes you only after you've committed to ingesting it.



Pimenta-Chora-Menino
source

4. The Pimenta Biquinho [pronounced: "bee-keen-yo"] aka Pimenta de Bico (or "Beaker," as I like to call it) is another pepper in the C. chinense family that has become quite popular here. There are two types: one that has no heat, whatsoever, and another that can be a little spicy. It is actually from another region in the Americas, but was bred to flourish in this soil, which it has. These "beak peppers" are the new rage in Brazilian culinary circles.




Pimenta-Biquinho
source

5. The "Pimenta-de-Cumari" [pronounced: "Coo-mah-rdee"] is a small, bright, yellow pepper of the Capsicum baccatum family that has a very strong smell, as well as a bit of a kick to it. The word Cumari comes from the native Tupí language, and means "pleasurable taste."




Pimenta-de-Cumari
source

6. The "Pimenta-Dedo-de-Moça" [pronounced: "Deh-doh jee Mose-uh" and translates to, "The Lady's Finger"] is another pepper from the C. baccatum family that is about 4-5 inches long, and more mild than most, with a delicious flavor. They are most often seen preserved, but are used under the name calabresa when dried. This is not to be confused with the "Crushed Red Pepper" flakes that are known as "calabresa" in Europe and the United States, according to Portuguese page of wikipedia on C. baccatum peppers.




Pimenta-Dedo-de-Moça
by Mats Pettersson via Imageshack

Unfortunately for me, the "Americana alérgica," (allergic American woman) I'm allergic to the first five, and they are a part of everyday cuisine here in Goiás. They are added to almost everything! People in this region add these peppers to most dishes, including white rice. The most popular version of rice incorporates pimenta-de-cheiro with garlic.

Snack bars, or lanchonetes, usually have an assortment of snacks (all chock-full of pimenta-de-cheiro) that I now know I cannot eat, aside from a pizza slice or "misto" (grilled sandwich made with a slice of cheese, ham, and possibly a slice of tomato).

There have been some restaurants that actually refused to serve a dish without pimenta-de-cheiro because it is their signature style. In this case, I have a granola bar on standby, and only order a drink. It's been quite an adjustment. To compound the issue, allergies are seen a bit differently here, than back in The States. More on that soon!

If you are one of the fortunate ones who isn't allergic to these peppers, you'll be on a hot, spicy, and/or flavorful cloud nine. If not, bring an extra granola bar. Saúde! (Cheers!)

Stick an EpiPen in me — I'm done.

Being A Tomboy in Brazil

We all know that people come from different backgrounds. Our individual viewpoint is formed by several factors that include upbringing (which can determine our sense morals and cultural identity)... socioeconomic factors (which can affect our education options and range of potential experiences)... and our unique temperament (which is a filter on how we see the world). All help to shape who we are - and how we will live & relate in this life.

As I’ve mentioned before, I write from an American viewpoint - specifically that of a female... Austinite... Texan and tomboy. I measure things in feet and inches, judge weight by pounds and ounces, and relate distance in miles. For these reasons, I have thoughtfully placed a conversion widget for your convenience at the bottom of the page.
I write from my handful of experiences thus far. I am a jack of all trades, and master of none. I have a certain array of skill sets that, while valued back home in Texas... are not only useless, but regarded with disdain in the culture in which I now live. This is due to my individual choices in life, and while I’m okay with that, it occasionally accentuates the homesickness I feel.

At a young age I determined to ‘never need a man,’ and spent my time investing in a nice assortment of tools and know-how. Here I was forced to retire my tools, keep my know-how on the DL, and learn what it means to be "a lady.”

In this region of Brazil social functions are usually divided into two sides: the men and the women. The men talk about business, cars, fishing and sports, while the women tend to discuss certain novelas and/or fashion related topics. If they have kids, the women will discuss the finer points of whichever theme they are considering for their child's upcoming birthday bash. Needless to say, I tend to gravitate towards the conversations of the males, as the go-to topics for females bore me stiff.

Although I am now aware of some of cultural protocols that enable me to fly under the radar, I still get made for someone who’s not from around here, due to certain personal preferences. Some things we can change, some things we choose not to. Some things we have absolutely no control over: like how a culture may see a woman that doesn't conform to the accepted padrão [standard, model].


It's not like I am leading a one-woman revolution... I just don't have the strength to pretend to be something I'm not. I don’t blowout my hair – I wear it naturally, which means wavy. I avoid high heels at all costs. I don't do lace or bows. (Not only is it nearly impossible to find clothing for a grown tomboy in the city that I now call home - there isn't even a true translation for it). I can count the number of times I've worn a skirt in the past 5 years on one hand (well, 3 fingers). I prefer watching a sports event to watching a novela (or discussing one). I’d prefer to take an arrow to the knee, than to have to go to the salon.



I’d also rather go hang out on some campsite along a river than to stay back in town “with the women”… Do I like being the only woman in camp? No way. (That’s usually seen as volunteering to be the cook – which normally turns out to be a huge disappointment for someone else.) Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a female friend that can hang.

The fact that my husband accepts me & loves me for who I am is a blessing – with an ata on top. There have been more than a few times that he chose to bring me on an otherwise all-guys fishing trip, to the surprise and chagrin of his friends, rather than leaving me to suffocate in our urban high-rise. I honestly try to not to rock the boat, so to speak, but chauvinism is no friend of mine. I miss the inclusive social structure of the U.S. We mingle. We work & play together - at least, back in central Texas.

As a young adult I typically worked in fields that were predominantly all male. I have worked for various companies where I've been the only female outside of the office, but I was seen as a liaison rather than a liability. My friends and family back home never thought twice about it. The fact that I could change a flat or hang a ceiling fan was a running joke at the weekly ladies' Bible studies, but they never looked down on me or shied away from me.

(Thanks to Zach Montoya for Mechanic Girl!)

Here... I just don't bring it up (it's one of those DL-things). However, every now and then something might accidentally slip out that makes someone look at me for a minute as they ponder on what exactly I just said. ("Watch it! That plug is not grounded!" or "Wow! Feel the horsepower in this thing?!") ...but it's usually attributed to the fact that maybe I don't speak Portuguese too well. ("She can't have meant that!" or "That crazy Americana is babbling again...")

Truthfully, I have made some changes voluntarily, just to minimize the overwhelming effect the local Brazilian females can have on a man (and each other - just ask the local hairdresser). Goiânia is infamous for the ratio of 6 females to every 1 male, and boasts the most attractive Brasileiras (oozing their femininity) in the country. I can't confirm or deny this, as I haven't been all over the entire country, but from what I’ve seen it has inspired me to be a tad more feminine. (More on that later...)



Just as I’ve not yet made it to every area in Brazil, neither have I been to every area in my home country. I've been to 11 of the 48 continental states, and on almost every side of my home state, with the exception of West Texas. I hear the speed limit is awesome there.

That said, what I write is simply observations based on my point of view. I remember as a 5-year-old kid, the world looked amazing when seen through a prism… I’d walk around for days on end looking through that thing, no matter how many near misses I had with a wall or flight of steps. These days, I call it as I see it sans prisms, in accordance with the Laughter Is The Best Policy ...uh, policy.

I try to keep in mind that most females, even those back in my home country and state, probably won't share my affinity for old cars, the smell of the grease-oil-gasoline mix that comes from a long day in the garage – even if it’s only observing & admiring the work of someone mechanically inclined, the intoxicating smell of freshly cut grass from weed eating and mowing the yard, or the buzz that one gets after a successful home improvement project comes to fruition.


The thing is, I wasn't as much of a rare breed back home, as I am a potential sideshow freak here (were I really able to get to do what I love). Living in a 100% concrete high-rise helps to keep me in check, as there is simply less to do, but hopefully we will move into a house by the end of the year, so that I can get back to my roots (literally). I told my husband that I will take care of the yard. Since all of the houses have a high wall surrounding the property, no one has to be the wiser. ;)

(Unless otherwise noted, all images found on Google.)

Attention Texans: Leave the Longhorns at Home

Ah, culture...

Sometimes we take for granted that what is celebrated in our culture might not be reviled in another. You might be wondering if you missed something. How could that have anything to do with Longhorns? I know...

That's how I felt when I arrived with all of my Longhorn apparel that reminded me of my home state. Longhorns are just cool, right? We can do the Longhorn hand gesture that could possibly double for "rock on." They look fierce on the front of a Cadillac... or SUV. Who wouldn't appreciate Longhorns?

Apparently a good portion of Central, South and the southernmost North American countries. Hmm... What kind of crazy talk is that? Why were people giving me dirty looks and/or snickering whenever I stepped outside of my home showing UT Longhorn spirit?

Okay, here's my true confession that my brother-in-law refuses to accept to this day: I'm not, in actuality, exclusively a Longhorn fan. There, I said it. I also root for A&M, the Rice Owls (btw: that was a cute trick with the whole designing the UT Tower to look like an owl, from any angle, thing) and pretty much any other Texas college or University... I'm true to Texas, in general - not only to the University of Texas.

Living in Austin, UT paraphernalia was just much easier to come by. Plus, Longhorns can be seen pretty much anywhere. Any big company on a large plot of land has at least 3 Longhorns munching grass on the front property, so that they can fall into a more forgiving tax bracket. Longhorns are inherently a part of Texas culture.

This is what I had in mind when making purchases of things that would remind me of home, before I made the big jump. This is also something that my husband conveniently forgot to mention before we arrived here, with my arsenal of Longhorn-themed home comforts. (I'm so glad that I didn't spring for any of the Longhorn throws or pillows...)

I know that the UT Longhorn fans are waiting for the punchline. Well, it's not funny - that's for sure. Apparently HORNS ("Chifres") are a big, shameful deal in this culture. It took me awhile to get my head around it, but it is said here that if someone cheats on you, then you'll "grow horns" or "get the horns," etc. Ex: "O marido dela é um chifrudo." ["Her husband has huge horns (is a cuckold)."] I know. Didn't make sense to me, either...

See this link for more UT attire.

I tried asking around to determine if there was any logic to this - to make sense of, and to try to determine the origin of this idiom. No one seemed to know. Some hypothesized that it was a reference to bovine mating behavior, but that still didn't explain how it entered the city-folk lingo. There was more to it than that.

After some research, I discovered that it went back to the Spanish King Felipe III. It is of legal origin. When the King of Portugal died and left no successor in 1578, the Spanish King Felipe II (known as Filipe I of Portugal) seized the opportunity to claim the throne in Lisbon for himself.  For a period of 60 years (1580 to 1640) Spain and Portugal were united under his royal family's rule (which is why this particular cultural phenomenon is also seen throughout Central, South & southernmost North America in the other countries colonized by the Spanish).

In 1603, the Ordenações Filipinas, or Filipine Code, was published at the request of King Felipe III of Spain (known as Filipe II of Portugal). The Filipine Code stated explicitly that the "offended" husband who caught his wife in adultery (so long as the offender was not a "Noble") should kill his enemy. If it was indeed your prerogative to kill, as the wronged man of the house, you must wear a hat-like thing decorated with two horns for the public to recognize you as a man whose marriage [manhood] was not "honored" (so that they would not try to prevent you from taking just measure). 

Perhaps Filipe II had a fascination with the Nordic Bronze Age? It is interesting that when the offending party was a Noble, the cuckolded husband could do nothing. You know, I'm glad that our modern definition of "noble," is something that must be linked to morals.

So this is why the stigma of "horns" is correlated to someone cheating on someone ...to this day!

chifrudo
De chifre + udo.
[of horns] + augmentative (pejorative)

Adjetivo masculino

[Masculine Adjective]

1. que tem chifres [that which has horns]
   Ex: bode chifrudo [a horned goat]
2. (Popular) diz se daquele que é traído pela esposa ou namorada
   [slang term for whoever is cheated on by their wife or girlfriend]

Substantivo masculino
[Masculine Noun]

1. o que tem chifres [that which has horns]
2. (Popular) homem que é traído pela esposa ou namorada
   [slang term for a man who is cheated on by their wife or girlfriend]

(hat found at Hats For All Occasions)

Unfortunately, now I'm relegated to wearing my UT Longhorn logo-only earrings, flip-flops & T-shirts when I am going to be around other Americans. Otherwise, people think I am demented. I can occasionally get away with wearing a T-shirt that includes the word "Texas" or the word "Longhorns" written out, in addition to the horns, (so people know it's probably nothing to do with Brazilian stigmas...) but that doesn't stop the snickering because they think the estrangeira, or foreign woman, doesn't know what it signifies here. I just pretend I don't.

image found here.

Any other Texas-themed gifts are welcomed with open arms.

The Good-Lookin' Capital City of Goiás

*This is a reprint of an article originally posted on my personal blog this past January. It is updated with additional pics & information.*


I thought i'd tell you a little about the capital city of Goiânia, Goiás. It shares many similarities with the capital city that i hail from: Austin, Texas.

Capitol in Austin, Texas at Night by Eric Hunt

• Both are considered "small" for a capital city, although Goiânia is 13th-largest city in the country; and Austin is the 14th most populous city in the United States.
• Both have a great live music scene.
• Both are very safe cities in which to live. Goiânia is considered a safer city compared to most other state capitals within Brazil. The average yearly murder rate within the metro area stands at just under 450 persons per year according to the Goiás State Police. Austin is consistently ranked among the three safest cities per capita of any size in many categories. Its annual murder rate is fewer than five people per 100,000 residents.
• Both are mistakenly thought of as Cowboy Capitals, where everyone owns a horse, wears boots and a ten-gallon hat.
• Both are beautifully manicured, with more parks than other capital cities. Goiânia has the largest green area per inhabitant in Brazil, and is adding additional green areas under the newly-elected city & state government parties. Austin has 18,994.45 acres of land containing 251 parks, 15 preserves (sanctuaries for native plants, native animals and unique natural features), and 40 greenways (parkland on creeks and canyons).
• Both are cities that have fluctuating residency, whether it be seasonal and/or temporary.

Austin, Texas Skyline along The Colorado River

Austin is a "College Town," (voted America's #1 College Town by the Travel Channel in 2006) which is quite evident during the summer months free of traffic and general congestion. Goiânia is very much the same, not only in the summer, but every 3-or-4-day holiday weekend. The city just empties: there is zero traffic - almost nobody on the streets, parking is available anywhere, and some stores simply do not open.

In Goiânia, a good portion of the population is from somewhere else - another similarity with Austin. Meeting a native"Goianiense" (person from Goiânia) on the streets of Goiânia is about as common as meeting a native Austinite in Austin. Most of the seasonal residents which make up the workforce are from the "interior" (country) small towns in Goiás, and go to see their families & hometowns, every opportunity they get. It is a little surreal to stay here in Goiânia during the holidays. It feels like a ghost town.

This is such a noisy city Monday through Saturday, 24 hours a day; so when everyone makes the big exodus it's weird - refreshing & calm, but weird. We go from this:

pic found here



...to this:

pic found here

Just like that.


People are always surprised that we don't "viajar" (travel) every holiday. This is another aspect to the paradise city of Goiânia. Jet setting appears to be a way of life for the middle & upper class. What i've been told, is that the upper class majority here in Goiânia are people that choose to live in a city where their money will go further; rather than live in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, where the cost of living is much higher. This is most noticeable in the disproportionate number of high-end luxury sports cars & SUVs running the city streets.

For the 2010-2011 State of the World's Cities report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Goiânia remained as the most economically unequal city of Latin America, with a Gini index above 60; while Brazil as a whole, has reached an all time low inequality index in the past five years. Apparently, Goiânia isn't following the national trend. However, Goiânia prides itself in being the sole metropolis in Brazil to have grown into a city with few homeless, and a noted absence of "favelas" (squatter settlements made from scrap materials) such as in Rio.

Viaduto Latif Sebba photo credit: Prefeitura de Goiânia

The fact that there are many people from the "interior" (country) has caused other Brazilians who are from larger, more international cities like Brasília, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, to remark that although Goiânia is a modern metropolis it still has a "small town mentality." People used to say the same about Austin - until they realized what a gem it is.

Parque Vaca Brava by Ian Nascimento

Overall, i have enjoyed living here. It has been a learning experience, a roller coaster ride and occasionally: a refreshing walk in the park. I hope that in the end i'll have not only earned an "E for Effort" with my peers and newfound friends here, but a "nota dez" (100%) in acquainting those back home with my new one.