Hello Readers,

I had a wonderful last evening. We finished our tours early and I was able to get some rest. Yesterday was Tais' birthday and her parents, sister and brother-in-law, along with Renato's parents came over for pizza, wine and cake. It came just in time for me. I was really missing home and my family yesterday and was a little down, so being around a family was very good for me. It was big fun. Tais and Renato's moms adopted me while I'm in Brazil and they were so sweet. I have posted a picture of them. Tais' sister Aline is a sweetheart! She loved my hair and even went on the internet to show me pictures of two Brazilian singers with naturals, Vinessa DiMatti and another woman I can't remember. She kept saying, 'You are so beautiful!" This coming from a Brazilian woman who was very beautiful herself. Wow! Her brother-in-law is so funny and a big jokester. They are both economists and speak English extremely well. However, I tried to speak a lot of Portuguese to improve my skill and they were so patient. Tais is having a big party on Saturday so I'm looking forward to that.

I have also posted some pix of the amazing food that they have here. I have discovered that Brazilians eat a lot, but they eat whole foods and very little processed or fast food. They also ALWAYS have dessert. I had cake for breakfast yesterday. But the amounts are small and the food is so fresh that you don't need to eat a lot. I have pictured a typical Brazilian Breakfast, which is lots of fresh fruit (papaya, pineapple, melons, caqui, bananas), thinly sliced meat( turkey, ham or morto deli, a type of salami) and cheese. It is accompanied by fresh juice (pineapple, orange, mango, papaya) and cafezhino, which is a shot of coffee. Those of you who know me know that I do not like or drink coffee. Well, I am converted now. I have not had a coke, diet or otherwise, in a week, but a couple of shots of cafezhino does the same things without all the bad stuff in sodas. I also have pictured the machine that is used to make cafezhino (ca-fay-zin'-yo). You will see also pictured a caqui (ka-ki'), which looks like a tomato, but tastes so sweet. It is my favorite fruit in Brazil! Their fruits are so amazing. We think we know what mango tastes like, but it's ten times that here. Tais' mom made brigadera for her birthday, which are the chocolate balls pictured above. A little piece of heaven! I will continue to post about the food and culture.

We have a free morning, so it's off to the pool and then, who knows. But you know I'll keep you posted!

Ate' logo!