Festa Junina

Festa Junina

So this month I celebrated Festa Junina which typically celebrated at the beginning of Brazilian Winter, the festival is traditionally to the eves of the Catholic solemnities of Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Peter. However as I was quick to learn that Brazilians use this holiday to dress up like Hillbillies with the Men wearing straw hats and checkered shirts and the girls with Pig tails, a bright coloured checkered dresses, with bright coloured over-done make-up, freckles and painted gaped teeth. Generally Brazilian country music is played and traditional food is eaten such as Corn on the cob. I thought this was considerably an odd tradition given that Brazilians don’t particularly celebrate Halloween, but have these celebrations yearly.  

For my first experience for Festa Junina, I was invited to a small gathering at a local friend’s house, His house was a beautiful old style house but most impressive of all was his “Garden”. However the word Garden seems inappropriate because his parents land was the size of a huge field. The land consisted of many fruit trees and raised beds for growing vegetables. The fruit trees impressed me the most as they felt very tropical with Banana, Orange, Lemon and even Coffee bean trees. The land also had an outdoor sheltered seating area with a Stove and a fridge and seating area (basically a teenagers dream) which overlooked a swimming pool. I was pretty envious of his house and it’s beyond what most people could afford in England. The sky also looked amazing with no clouds and barely any light pollution.

After arriving not knowing what to expect another local friend brought spare outfits which we changed into and dressed in the appropriate attire for the festival. The overall vibe kind of reminded me of the feast of fools seen in the Disney movie “The Hunchback of Note dame”. When the rest of the friends arrived they brought plenty of sweets (aka fudge and peanut butter brittle) Beer, Meat (for everyone but me since I’m vegetarian) and the traditional Corn on a Cob. Friends also made some homemade mulled wine on the stove.  One thing I have noticed about being in Brazil is that they really know how to celebrate properly! Overall it was a fun night taking lots of pictures of our ridiculous attire and generally having fun. One thing that should be noted is that Brazilians cannot handle the cold! , In England I am known to be someone who complains about being cold constantly with suffering with poor circulation, yet here Brazilians think I’m crazy for being out in a dress with no jacket or tights and only with a tiny bit chilly. People here was wearing Russian style hats and thick coats to stay warm, yet the weather was similar to a British summers evening where all you would really need was a light Jacket.  Being around people was nice even though there’s a serious language barrier they all make me feel welcome in particular my friend Marina and her fiancé João, who speak fluent English.

Here is me in my traditional costume eating some corn on a cob :P

Apart from Festa Junina since my last blog entry, I haven’t done much.  Though I have finally completed fieldwork and have been working solidly on my report since. I’ve enjoyed working on my report though even the statistics! Feels so good to be able to focus on something,  I am however worried I may finish it too quickly and be for the final weeks with nothing to do. With my housemate moved to another accommodation, I am getting used to being on my own which honestly feels strange for me as I’ve always had someone around. I think it should also be noted that sad moments come and go but are coming few and far between. Though I am still processing everything, I think I’m slowly coming to terms with it all. Only 8 more weeks until I am home and I’m beginning to see the light at the end, and it’s this which is powering me through one day to the next!  I guess my final thought on this blog entry is remember a Serpent’s are known to try and portray the idealism's of a Saint’s.   

“I owe you nothing. And you are nothing to me. Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love.”

Moulin Rouge "You did not break me, I'm still fighting for peace. Well I've got a thick skin and an elastic heart, but your blade-it might be to sharp. I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard, yeah, I may snap and I move fast but you wont see be fall apart 'Cause I've got an elastic heart " - Elastic Heart by Sia