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Venâncio Aires
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Venâncio Aires - The schools are beginning their winter break this week (for you Americans, it's currently winter in Brazil), which for me means I will have a little more free time in the next three weeks. I plan on doing more exploring of South Brazil now that I can plan longer trips.
Today I spent some time in Venâncio Aires (it's only a 45 minutes drive from Santa Cruz do Sul.) ... The birthplace / leading producer of Chimarrão. Chimarrão is huge in RGDS (Rio Grande do Sul). Chimarrão is a kind of tea, but its culturally so much more than that. It's actually really good, but more than that, the social aspect of the drink it what makes it so wonderfully interesting. It connects the people of RGDS. Chimarrão, by design (the mugs, the metal straw, the mix) is a form of sharing with one another. It's like passing the peace pipe, only the pipe is a special type of mug called a "cuia" and Chimarrão is non-toxic, tasty, and safe as green tea. Actually it's good for you. Too complex to explain, just see the link and pictures.
I now have my very own "cuia" (a gift from the participants of the language school in Venâncio Aires). I'm looking forward to breaking it in on a special occasion.
Venâncio Aires is also the #1 grower of tobacco, although Santa Cruz do Sul is the #1 producer/seller.
Going to Venâncio, I took the bus for the first time in Brazil. Simple pleasures ... what a way to travel; really, I'm being serious. It was like riding on a 747 airplane only more room and more comfortable; which is important because in the next few months, buses will be my primarily means of travel around the country. I also got to try out my "bus Portuguese". I gave myself a A-. The minus was because I didn't know if the guy asking for a tip in the bus terminal bathroom was for real or not. I couldn't understand his Portuguese at all. I gave him a R$1.50.
A couple of weeks ago I had come up with this idea of situational Portuguese. Once a week I and my teacher pick a specific important subject related to my travels. Then we focus on the language needed so that I can learn as quickly as possible the communication pieces I will need in the near future. Examples would be 'Bus' communication or 'Restaurant' communication. We would spend a few hours a week going over scripts of all possible conversation points so I can learn vocabulary and communication specific to the topic. Cool, huh! We probably spend 25% of our time on this. The rest of the time is good ole language torture (ahem ... I mean learning).
So, hehe, back to Venâncio Aires (which I sometimes mistakenly called Buenos Aires because it was a little hard to remember how pronounce properly.)
I was there to visit the schools and talk (meet and greet) with the teachers and the students in English about myself, my travels, and my opinions, views and incites into America culture. Yes, I'm an unofficial ambassador in Brazil, in fact that's what I've been doing ever since I got here; exchanging culture, incites and opinions. In retrospect I'm probably getting the better deal because I get to nail down similarities and differences with so many different people and perspectives. I'm learning so much from the reactions and questions of everyone I'm communicating with. Everyone is learning a little from me, but I'm learning a lot from a lot of different people. For the most part it's pure pleasure, but I must admit that there are moments.
Sometimes it saddens me a little when I hear of a Brazilian having an uncertain or not having the best view of America. A view that quickly becomes obvious is something that has developed in the last 8 years. I've talked with over a few hundred people in the last 5 weeks about many things, so I feel that I can speak on this. People are genuinely pleased to meet me, to share and see America in a better light; pleased that the America they see on America TV may not be the only America. Trust me, a lot of what Brazil sees of America they see from "American TV" of which they get in here Brazil. There is no propaganda. They see what we see and sometimes, as you know, it doesn't always look good. Everyone wants to have a good opinion of things. What has become apparent to me (and sometimes I will share this opinion; and state that it is only my opinion) is that we really do seem to have 2 Americas and I personally feel that one of them seriously has got to change.
Everyone here has shown me nothing but love, appreciation, and kindness, so much so I've grown to love this place. And maybe because of this, I sometimes like to remind and/or share with people that about half of America does not or may not share my personal viewpoints and beliefs. That if they (a Brazilian) are in America and meets someone who does share some of my views, beliefs and way of thinking about things, then you've found a friend; and if they don't then they probably didn't vote the same way I did.
PS - Brazilians know a lot more about what's going on in America than most Americans would think. A hell of a lot more than the average American knows about Brazil. They get some of our TV, remember. They see what we see and form their own opinions.
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