As I mentioned before, on the way to/from work there is a little bar called Bar Do Guimas; which I often refer to as my Portuguese class because one of the owners, a young man named Luciano, will sit with me and we will teach each other our languages.  I will stop by 3 or 4 times a week to have a “class” and a beer.                                Luciano – my Portuguese teacher/bartender.

One day when I arrived, Luciano came to me apologetically and told me the waitress broke my glass.  I was kind of baffled but gradually realized, they had been giving me a special glass that was only to be used by me.  So, I decided to replace it with a glass representing Texas (the Greatest Country on Earth).  I looked on line and found the perfect one.  Actually 4 of a set.  See below.

I presented it to them and now when I stop for my “class”, it looks like this:Ya know, Life is good.

During lunch, my buddy Ricardo and I will go to one of the half dozen restaurants within a 5 minute walk.  There was one specific that I liked, which looks like an ugly brown barn called Garoa Paulistan and sits across the street from the University.  It was run by a father and son and after 25 years in business, it closed a few weeks ago.  Most sad.  I had always intended to take pictures of the antiques placed haphazardly on the walls and in the rafters overhead, but I always thought, Some other day.

There were two things that made this ugly brown barn one of my favorites.  One, the son loved to make hot sauce.  As I told you before, the Brazilians do not care for spicy food, but there are some that appreciate it, and his son was one.  I still have one more jar left which was made with ginger.

The second thing about this place, was every other Friday the son made jambalaya.  I am not an expert on Cajun food, but his jambalaya was incredible.  So much, that since I will no longer have his, I have decided to try my hand at it.  It was there that I first experienced and fell in love with the little pimentas biquinho which he used in the savory dish.  Here is a picture of them I found on the Internet.In the “Amazing People I Meet” category, there is a young lady at the Consulate in Porto Alegre.  She is the secretary for the Security Officer and her name is Alice, which the Brazilians pronounce Alicee.  (long E at the end)I mention this pretty lady, even though she didn’t want her picture taken at the time because she is was very pregnant.  Earlier this week, she gave birth to an beautiful little girl they named Olivia.

People come and go, yet Life continues.  That is the way it is supposed to be.  We pass on and new generations fill the void, and we hope we leave them more to work with than we had.

Kick butt and don’t let any adventure slip from you.   D.