This is my idea of a typical conversation for me in Portuguese. I wrote this piece about a week ago. Note that all the spoken words would actually be in Portuguese, but I translated most into English so the English readers could understand.

Me: How’s it going?
Brazilian: It’s going good. I am…
Me (thinking): He appears to be telling a story. Try to look interested and pay attention. Oh, I recognized that verb: caiu. What does that mean? What tense is it? Just nod a little and work on an expression that can mean either “I’ll help you build that house tomorrow” or “I can’t believe your dog did that!” or “I didn’t know chameleons could die from changing color too much! Yeah, that expression was good. Maybe I should tilt my eyebrow a little more next time. Maintain eye contact with the other person but don’t act like you’re staring. Look away, maybe take a drink of your water. Nice. You’re getting the hang of this. Uh-oh, I think he just ended a sentence. I have to say something.
Me: Interesting.
Brazilian: Interesting indeed! And also…
Me (thinking): Okay, I guess that worked. I’ll have to come up with something better for next time. I should probably say stuff more often. How ‘bout this:
Me: mhum (accompanied by a head nod).
Brazilian continues talking
Me (thinking): What do people normally do during conversation? I guess they usually change their position every so-often. Maybe I’ll lean forward a little and stroke my beard as if what I’m hearing is very profound. Yeah, that works pretty well. Oh-no, I think he stopped talking again. Time for me to speak. What do I know how to say?
Me: Very good.
Brazilian. Very good? No, it’s horrible! It’s…
Me (thinking): Crap! I tried to say “very good” half sarcastically but I guess that didn’t work out.
(Brazilian puts hand on my shoulder.)
Me (thinking): What’s this? What’s going on? …Oh yeah, I remember, it’s a cultural thing. Everybody does that, so don’t freak out.
Brazilian: …what do you think…?
Me (thinking): No!!! He just asked me a question. Time to revert to my default answer.
Me: I don’t know. (accompanied by a slight chuckle)
Me (thinking): Whew. That was close. Hey, check out that lizard on the wall. No, Joel, maintain focus. Look at this guy as if he were your long-lost brother. Put your hand on his shoulder. Open your eyes wide, raise your eyebrows, tilt your head, open your mouth as if you’re going to say something.. …Wow, this is exhausting trying to pretend to know what’s going on.
Brazilian: ...Well, I need to go. Bye!
Me (thinking): Sweet, I’ve made it through the conversation. I know what to say now:
Me: Bye!
Brazilian: Você fala Português muito bem.
Me (thinking): Você = you, fala = speak, Português = Portuguese, muito bem = very well. Hey, he just complimented me!
Me: Thanks.
Brazilian: You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later!
Me: Later!
Me (thinking): And who says I can’t speak Portuguese?!

These last three days I have been involved with helping the building and use of a biodigester in a small community about 45 minutes from Monteiro. A biodigester operates by capturing the methane produced by bacteria present in manure for use in cooking or heating. Basically, it's a big tank. In one side goes the crap, and out another side comes gas. While there's nothing really new about this technology (people have been using manure as fuel for fires for centuries), it has only recently been explored as an alternative energy source.

Most people in Brazil have gas stoves. The cost of the propane tanks necessary for these stoves can be around $400 per year. For families with very limited income, this cost can be a significant burden.

Thus, MCC has decided to build one biodigester in each of 10 communities around Monteiro. It is hoped that if they are successful, more families in each community will want a biodigester.

A biodigester in Balanca, a small community near Monteiro. Serafim, owner of the house, and Orlando, Brazilian MCC worker. Manure and water enter the biodigester through the mixing tank on the right. When the pressure in the tank increases, the blue tank rises on the white pipe. Gas for cooking can be extracted through the brown pipe.

My task yesterday was to deliver "materials" to this biodigester in Balanca. And for a biodigester "materials" means manure. Since we wanted to get a large amount of crap, we went to the local slaughterhouse to see if they would give us some of their manure. (An entire blog post could be written about going to the slaughterhouse, but this post is nasty enough already.)
They gave us four large containers of excrement and we headed off for Balanca.

Mike, Keith and Christina were also along, so they got to help unload the manure from the truck. Here we are pouring the first container into the mixing tank:

After Orlando got splashed with foul-smelling manure, we decided it was better to shovel the manure into buckets and take these buckets to the mixing tank. Christina got involved just long enough to have her picture taken. Mike enjoyed shoveling manure a lot more than she did.

So after we loaded up the mixing tank with sufficient manure and an equal amount of water, we had to mix these two together so that the mixture could flow into the biodigester. Here's Serafim stirring the manure with a paddle.

So this was definitely not a job for germaphobes. It smelled like a cattle farm, and at times Serafim had to put his entire arm in the water-manure mixture to release the plug in the drain. But at the end of the day, we had sufficiently filled the biodigester, and we actually could hear (and smell) gas being produced. It was so gratifying to see Serafim and his wife Luzanetti smile when they saw that gas was being produced.

I think I may be helping out with other biodigesters. I'm actually excited about the possibilities of this technology. I hope I may be able to find some ways to improve the design for this technology. And I may help transport more "materials," but sometimes you have to get dirty to appreciate being clean.

Finally, I am in Monteiro. I arrived here last night and had a Brazilian barbecue with the MCCers here. It was great to hang out with them, eat some great food, and attempt to speak Portuguese.

I didn't really get to see the city until this morning, but I love what I saw today. The streets here are quite wide by Brazilian standards (and probably by American standards as well). The city is also really clean and safe. I haven't figured out how to describe the terrain here, but it is beautiful. It's as if God took a little bit of American southwest, a little bit of the Badlands of South Dakota, and a little bit of the tropics, put them in a large can, and played Yahtzee with the contents. When he finished playing, he left the pieces where they were, and the land around Monteiro was formed.

I'm currently living at an MCC office/guesthouse in Monteiro with two other MCC workers. It's actually working out really great right now. We eat breakfast and supper together and do lunch on our own. It gives me an opportunity to be both independent and to live with others. I think I'll probably move in with a family in a month or so, but we'll see. I'm finding that any plans made in Brazil will be altered.

This morning I got to visit a subterranean dam outside Monteiro. So a subterranean dam is: a dam underneath the earth. Okay, that's really not helpful, but that's about all I know right now. The dam prevents underground water from flowing through a valley during the dry season. Using concrete, earth, and an enormous plastic tarp, people construct these dams to sequester water in one area. The advantage of this operation is that it allows many more plants to be grown than otherwise. I think I may play a role in the construction of more of these dams in the future, but I'm not sure what that will be.

And here's a picture of a random iguana we ran into today while checking out the dam:

This last weekend was filled with all kinds of excitement, from a beautiful beach at Porto de Galinhas to an attempted robbery in downtown Recife.

Last Saturday Mike, Erika, Andrea and I went two hours south of Recife to a beach at Porto de Galinhas. This beach is known for its natural pools created in the reefs when the tides go down. Soon after we arrived, we got on a small boat (see Exhibit A) and headed out to the natural pools. There were hundreds of small fish swimming around in the water. Mike and I swam a little with them and got to look at them under water (see Exhibit B ). It was fantastic.

Erika also enjoyed the beach, where she found a little hermit crab that she made friends with (Exhibit C). We spent the rest of the day at the beach swimming a bit in the ocean, throwing the frisbee around, and basically relaxing under an umbrella at the beach. The ocean's bright blue color provided a perfect backdrop the day.

Exhibit A: Boats used to take visitors to the natural pools.

Exhibit B: Mike and I swimming with the fish.

Exhibit C: Erika and her friend.

But this weekend wasn't all fun and games. This past Sunday I was walking with Andrea and Solange (cook at the MCC office) in downtown Recife when we started to cross one of Recife's many bridges. I saw another bridge that looked beautiful lit up by the streetlamps. I quickly snapped a picture and Solange told me to protect my camera, so I stuffed into my pocket and held tight to my backpack. Not more than 10 seconds later, we encountered 3 or 4 ten-year-olds. One of them tried to stop me from walking, but I simply walked around him. Another one attempted to grab my backpack and run. When I felt him pull, I said the first thing that came to mind, which was "Não Senhor!" (Senhor is a term reserved for elders; I'm not sure why I said it). I also looked back at him and gave him the meanest glare I could muster. I was really angry. The boys left without further incident, but I was still mad.

I was actually surprised at how mad I got. I didn't really have anything of exceptional value in my backpack, but I was angry that they had disrespected me like they had. As a pacifist, I talk about responding to violence using peace, but in the heat of the moment, emotions could easily get the best of a person. I'm not saying I was going to hit anyone, but I definitely felt a level of rage I've rarely experienced.

I later learned that the boys asked for a dollar, but we said we didn't have any. Also, sometimes groups of kids like these will have a gun or a sharp piece of glass and threaten to harm you. When my host family learned the story, they didn't really react as I expected. But then I realized that they didn't get anything and no one was harmed. Almost everyone here has a story of being robbed at one point or another. Recife is known for having one of the highest levels of crime in the country.

So I'm doing pretty well right now. I've let my anger over the whole incident pass, but I'm a little more cautious about walking around with money or valuables in my pockets.

I have just one more class of Portuguese today and then next Monday I'll be going to Monteiro where I'll begin my actual work. I'm excited to finally see the city that I've talked about for 6 months.

I've already briefly mentioned some of the foods and drinks I've had in Brazil, but here I want to focus on the culinary delites of Brazil.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll start with a picture. This picture is actually from my first meal of rice and beans here, but it typifies the type of meals I've been eating.

Typical Brazilian lunch meal. Clockwise from top: rice and black beans, farofa, pan-fried chicken, and salad. Fruit juice is the drink.

Todo dia eu como arroz e feijao. Mas quando eu nao como arroz e feijao, eu como feijao e arroz. (Every day I eat rice and beans. But when I don't eat rice and beans, I eat beans and rice.) Rice and beans form the backbone for every dinner (noon) meal here. I've been keeping track of the number of times I've been served a meal with rice and beans and it comes to 31 meals with rice and beans in 36 days. And it isn't just that my host family that eats rice and beans this much. As far as I can tell, everyone here eats rice and beans (of some sort) every day. My parents asked me what meal Americans eat all the time, and I can't think of anything. What do you think?

Next on the plate above is a flour/corn meal mixture called farofa. I haven't had it much, but it is often put on top of rice and beans. The chicken is one of many meats that is served here. They often put the meat in with the rice and beans. They might cook sausage or beef with the beans. They also have meats called charque and carne do sol here, which I think come from beef, but sometimes it's better not to know.

The drink for most meals is either a refrigeratante (a pop) or a fruit juice. There are basically only two pops here: Coke and guarana. Guarana is a fruit found in the Amazon, and the berries produce a juice used in the pop. It has a color like ginger ale, and the taste is delicious. The fruit juices here also are very good, however I've had my share of bad ones as well. The bad: suco natural, which contains spinach, apple, carrot, and other random things. It's supposed to be good for you. It better be, because there's no other reason to drink that stuff. Another healthy drink which is a little odd is an avocado milk shake. It's okay, but I'd prefer banana milk shakes. And then there are good juices: graviola, orange, lemon, line, and acerola just to name a few.

So that rounds out the foods and drinks in the picture, but a few more comments about eating could be helpful. My typical breakfast and supper consist of a piece of fluffy white bread with a hard crust and often a creamy spread called requeijao. The biggest meal of the day is always at lunch. Some people say that if they have beans for lunch, they aren't hungry for the rest of the day. But in my host family I will often have a fourth meal around 9:30 or 10. They'll break out a pizza, some pasta, or hamburgers. I'm not sure how much they are doing this just to appease me or if it's something they do anyway. Pizza is also quite different here, without nearly as much tomato sauce as American pizzas have. They will also put interesting foods on pizza such as peas, corn, hard-boiled eggs, or green beans.

In other news MCC had it's annual retreat this last weekend at a hotel resort about 30 minutes from Recife. It was really great to get to know some of the other MCCers more and relax at the resort. ...More to come later.