Feijoada até o final!

That is, feijoada until the end (of me!). I just returned from eating my first feijoada meal. Feijoada, for those of you who have not yet had the pleasure, is a dish of black beans with as many kinds of fatty meat product you can possibly fit in the pot with the beans. Pontes (Pedro´s father) was thinking of my health, perhaps, and prepared a `light` version, with only two kinds of sausage and large chunks of bacon. Yum! So, after watching the tail end of the preparation, I served myself what I thought was a normal-size bowl of it, topped with farofa (manioc flour), a mixture of chopped tomato, onions, lime juice, and bean broth, and pieces of sliced oranges (the lime and oranges cut the heaviness of the dish). About halfway into enjoying it, I was full. I mean full. But I sat there until I finished it, and felt like an overblown feijoada balloon while I sat at the table with the Pontes family conversing, joking, and listening to stories that the grandmother and great-aunt were telling. So now I know that feijoada is deceptive. It was a lovely afternoon, but I don´t think I will eat for a few days!
Tomorrow I go to UNICAMP (University of Campinas) Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, to meet the professors and students that I will be working with.