It’s the little things, right? After 5 long months I am finally licensed to research by the university in Belém, but now I need to wait for . . . guess what? . . . national approval . . . !
Meanwhile, in Portel, following a hot, stinky, coffee-less 16-hour river journey courtesy of Bom Jesus navigation services . . .
Maria Júlia takes inventory.
I’m living with the super-deluxe family who generously hosted me in the past. There’ve been changes since 2010. Maria Júlia, a dona de casa, has added polpas de frutas (fruit pulp) to her farinha business. She is part of a group called Agricultura Familiar, in which local farmers and food producers sell organic Amazonian fruits.
The silver machine in the front is the açaí processor. The one behind it is for fruit.
Lucky for me I’ve gotten to sample numerous native fruit in the form of juice – cupuaçu, burití, goiaba (guava), taperabá, murucí. MJ makes something called pupunha, for which she cuts fresh corn from the cob, purees it, and poaches it in a plastic packet until it forms a little dumpling. It’s delicious – super sweet with no ingredients other than the corn and a little salt.
This fruit tastes a little like a pineapple met a banana and they cross-bred. The dried seeds taste like chocolate.
Açaí is expensive right now, so I’ve only had it a few times, but looking forward to it in June, July, August. Today – my favorite breakfast yet – castanha (fresh Brazil nuts)!
Other highlights include free translation services – sitting at my “desk,” entering data, asking the 6-year-old hanging out with me what “sopinha” is. For a few days I had to recharge my computer in MJ’s fruit factory because that’s the only place I could find an outlet that fits my (coincidentally, Brazilian) adaptor. The family dog is named “Brad Pitt.” Yesterday, I finally understood that “BOH-bee ee-spohn-JEE-uh” is actually Sponge Bob Square Pants. It’s about time.
Now, if I could only get to work . . .
Life with Its Teeth Out 