List-o-Mania: Best-o-Brasil

I love lists. I made a list of people I had to buy presents for, I have a list of my 30some New Years resolutions, I just put a list of all the environmental friendly/vegan stores I want to visit in New York. In order to do homage to my love of lists I think my next few posts will be list based.

What have I loved MOST about Brasil????

-That I was the first vegan that most of my family had EVER met and they were very inquisitive and supportive. AND that last night my vegan Mandioca/Orange bundt cake and vegan brownies were a HIT. The brownies more so....but the poor mandioca couldn´t really compete with gooey yummy chocolate/peanut "butter" concotion(paçoca isn´t peanut butter but there is no other comparable food item). I actually prefered the mandioca but I´ve also made these brownies a good 6 or 7 times so their novelty has worn off. I´ve had many requests for the recipe. Winning people over to the cause one vegan brownie at a time.


- That I saw my grandmother every week. That yesterday I woke up worked out with my parents, ate lunch with family, visited my cousin and her beautiful two month old son, and then went to a christmas party with about 20 family members. I LOVE family. The hardest part about leaving Brasil is leaving them.
- That for the first time in my life I feel Brasilian. Not 100% and I don´t feel any less American. I just feel a connection to the place I was born and where all my maternal family resides. (I´ll be posting a list of all the ways I think I am/am not Brasilian).
- That I took português classes, improved my language skills, and met some incredible people.
- That I was able to find something in common with my biological father and find a place where I am 100% comfortable with him - cooking vegan food in the kitchen.
- That my parents and brother are here right now. I have my ups and downs with my brother but he is really just such an amazing, funny, skinny (lucky him) person. And my parents....well....I just about think they could walk on water.
- That living here, learning português, getting to know my family has been a dream I´ve had for a long time and I was almost ready to relinquish that dream (I mean, I am 28 1/2 - old, old, old). There is something about making this dream come true that has completed something within me.
- That I met some amazing, resilient, loving kids during my time volunteering. That I worked with generous, tireless adults that give and give somemore. I did very little for them and received so much in return.

- That my cousin Sylvinha and her girlfriend Vanessa are friends AND family. Getting to know them has been such a pleasure. Syl is HILARIOUS and Vanessa is so supportive and sweet.
- That I didn´t have to work.
- That I worked out 2 hours per day (and only lost 1 kilo - you can´t even imagine how much I eat here).
- That I got to eat paçoca daily. Daily. sometimes hourly.