Teaser Post

I hope you find this post sufficiently cryptic.

The blog isn't dead... merely hibernating... while I get my ducks in a row, my eyes (un)crossed, and my tease dotted — or something to that effect.

It is, after all, important to have as many backlinks to your site, as possible, in the "dot-com age." I have dubbed that action a Tease Dotted.

Rejoining e-civilization, I know I owe you an explanation. I present my duct-taped babies.

I hope that by now, my "brace" of little duckies has started its way up to a certain Texas port, though they could still very well be sitting on the Brazilian shore. It's a triathlon, of sorts, that anyone who has moved internationally is familiar with: they are all taped, numbered, weighed, and fit to [hopefully] complete the different legs of the journey.

In my duckies' case, they had an 9-story hustle to the moving truck, and (an alleged) one-day drive to São Paulo. Eventually, they will cross oceans and arrive in Houston, at which point they will be checked in ...and sent on their 3-hour journey by land to their resting/nesting place here with me.

How did I get here?

Well, that is as much of a long & winding tale, as it is a bobbing & weaving sort of thing, and will more than fill in the rest of the gaps, thus far, in this blog.

I have almost 7 years' worth of When in —ão (pronounced like the word "own") tips to pass on, and just in time for the World Cup & Olympics.

I won't leave you hanging.

Attune to Prunes

Remember the 5 things you might think of when you hear the word Brazil? Now you can add another aspect: prunes.

I'm not sure why prunes are so reviled in American culture, or so revered in Brazilian culture. Perhaps if prunes had the marketing that the California Raisins did, it would be a different story in the U.S. today.

Coming from a place where a good portion of people aren't even aware that prunes are dried plums - to somewhere that has prune yogurt, ice cream and cake has been a real adjustment. Pretty much anything that we have in the U.S. that would be available in cinnamon flavor, is available in Brazil in prune flavor. Prune-flavored gum would not shock me. I don't know if it exists, but I’m sure it is only a matter of time.

Prunes are added to otherwise normal food here, too... I'm talking chicken dishes, pizza... I may have even chanced upon prunes in lasagna once. I can't talk about it, though. It pushed me over the edge.

The "olho-de-sogra" or "mother-in-law's eye" is a popular treat at Brazilian parties. It is made with prunes and coconut filling, garnished with a clove. It truly looks like a plate of eyes staring at you. The symbolism of your mother-in-law... watching you... from every angle... is both horrifying and hilarious. Oh, and it's a bunch of prunes. More prunes...

Don't get me wrong: I think prunes (by themselves) are a healthy dried fruit snack, not just for old people or toddlers as seen by the American culture, and not to be used in place of salt or sugar as it seems to be, in the Brazilian culture. They have their place, and I’m hoping it is found between the two extremes of American and Brazilian cultures...

Anyone from anywhere else have a good example of a happy medium? I'd love to hear it.

All images found on Google