Campo Grande!

So last week we had a "feriadão" at PUC, as in a big feriado because we had not one, not two but 5 feriados (days off from school)! First we had Thursday and Friday off because of Holy Week, then on Monday it was a Brazilian national holiday honoring Tiradentes and then Wednesday was a local Rio holiday for Sao Jorge. Since PUC figured no one would show up to school on a day sandwiched in between two holidays, we got Tuesday off too. Woohoo! I took advantage of what was basically another spring break (Remember, I also had a week off for carnaval...) to finally visit an old friend Hevellin I had been meaning to reconnect with since I came to Brazil. Hevellin was my very first Portuguese teacher at Mar e Floresta and I had not seen her since the summer of 2008 when I first attended Mar e Floresta as a camper speaking zero Portuguese.

Back in the day 6 years ago....Hevellin is the one in front in the gray dress.

The plane tickets to Campo Grande were a bit pricey because of the feriados, but I am SO glad that I went to visit Hevellin anyway. She and her husband Fabiano were the warmest, most generous hosts and Campo Grande was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I had a trip full of great conversation, lots of (grass-fed!) meat, and Brazilian country music! Yeah you read that right, Brazilian country! Since I am a huge country music fan, I had always been extremely curious to visit the city because it is there that the vast majority of sertanejo singers (including Michel Telo and Luan Santana) come from. Visiting the epicenter of sertanejo music was on my bucket list because the music is a combination of two of my obsessions: Portuguese and country music---what's not to love?!

Me, Hevellin's co-worker Natalia who was my age and took me out for a night on the town, and the singer who had just performed at Valley Pub, the city's best Sertanejo club! Notice the western theme and cow head in the background.

But what I loved most about Campo Grande was how tranquil it was compared to Rio and Sao Paulo and other Brazilian cities I've visited. I felt like I was back in the U.S. somewhere in the Central Valley at times: it was so clean, there was barely any traffic anywhere, the McDonald's had the old-fashioned bright yellow M soaring into the sky you can see along any American highway, there were absolutely no favelas, and there was even a Wal-mart! I didn't go in though...Fabiano told me that the Wal-mart is like the ones in the U.S., messy, cheap and with equally cheap-looking customers :-/...

A picture I took at sunset on my first day in Campo Grande. I am not used to sitting in a car in Rio, so that combined with the suburban landscape and the reminder of American culture from the obnoxious Mickey D's arches made me feel nostalgic for the U.S....

Campo Grande is a very non-touristy city, but there were still cute phonebooths and trashcans in the form of animals all around that were fun to take pictures of! 

For all the similarities I found between Campo Grande and the states, the city surprised me too! I had no idea but it turns out the second largest Japanese colony in Brazil after Sao Paulo is in Campo Grande, and the japanese influence was so strong here that the local specialty is actually a japanese inspired dish called soba. Hevellin and Fabiano took me to dinner one night at the Campo Grande feira a kind of huge covered marketplace and foodcourt with more than 40 restaurants/food booths that all served pretty much the same food: lots of japanese food and grilled meats. The meat here is also abundant and delicious--all grass fed and supposedly the best in Brazil since most Brazilian meat comes from the region. But since I wanted to try something unique to Campo Grande I tried soba, which Hevellin said is the local comfort food that everyone eats for any occasion and that is especially tasty after a long night out. Soba reminded me of pho because it is essentially noodles and meat chunks in a meaty broth, but the soba noodles were thicker and less translucent (more like chow mein noodles in American Chinese cooking). Also the soba comes with very thinly sliced omelet and green onion on top. It comes in two options: beef or pork, and the waiter brings tiny cups of crushed ginger that you can feel free to top off your bowl of soba with, along with a generous sprinkling of soy sauce and hot sauce if that's what floats your boat. I'm a huge fan of all three of those condiments so I was a happy camper!

So what you see on top is actually sliced egg omelet, green onions, and pork chunks. The noodles and broth are hidden underneath! Notice the tiny cup of crushed ginger too, emptied onto my bowl of soba after this picture was taken :)

Another great thing about Campo Grande is its proximity to the Pantanal, which is a UNESCO human patrimony site, rich in biodiversity and home to some of the biggest wetlands in the world. On the day before Easter sunday Hevellin and Fabiano woke me up at the crack of dawn at 4:45 and we drove into the Pantanal for about three hours, stopping for breakfast along the way to eat chipas (a cornmeal based cheese bread usually served in the shape of a horseshoe) then going to a farm to see some birds and capybaras before stopping at another farm for lunch. The Pantanal impressed me with its vastness and lack of people! I guess this time of year it is usually wetter and thus has more wildlife but since it was a dry year there were not as many animals out. I still saw lots of colorful birds, capybaras, alligators, and even a toad that was on the toilet seat in the women's bathroom at the last farm!

The first hotel farm we visited was all built on raised platforms and bridges for the periods when the wetlands fill with water and the water level rises.

I didn't get to see a leopard...:( but at least I saw a gator!

My last day in Campo Grande Hevellin and Fabiano spoiled me one last time treating me to several souvenirs after we had breakfast together at the Mercadao Municipal, or their version of a popular market that has every kind of food and trinket and is especially popular on Sundays. Among the goodies I got to bring home to Rio was Terere, or the ubiquitious drink that is culturally important in this region of Brazil and in Paraguay. Similar to the gaucho drink of mate, it is made with crushed yerba mate leaves but instead of using hot water you pour iced water over the leaves then drink it with a special straw that has a strainer built in on the bottom so that you don't swallow any of the leaves. It tastes like a strong iced green tea, and I especially enjoyed it when we were in the Pantanal (Hevellin's cousin brought some and had me try it) because it was so hot that day and the tea is very refreshing.

A vendor at the municipal market selling terere leaves in bulk in different flavors. The jugs at the top can be filled with water and ice to drink terere on the go!

Me and my wonderful hosts dropping me off at the airport on Easter Sunday! I felt like a spoiled child the whole week, I did not want to go back to Rio haha!

All of the booty I got to take home! Terere leaves with special cup (made out of a bullhorn) and straw. Pantanal pepper hotsauce, chocolate bonbons, doce de leite caramels wrapped up in corn husks and put into a cute garland, earrings, and a brazil bag!

What an amazing trip, I miss Campo Grande already! I really do fall in love with places too easily...anyway, thanks for reading everyone.

Next week I'm going to *drumroll*......the Amazon! I cannot wait! Stay tuned....

Beijos,

Marie