A Night of Sharing Culture

Over the weekend I attended one of my fellow classmates, Karina Ribeiro Teixeira, birthday celebration. Karina is a first-year international student from Brazil in the MHRM program and we also work together in the Graduate Program Office together. She and her husband were gracious enough to host us at their home and share some traditional Brazilian food, drinks, and music with us.

Karina set up a beautiful spread for us to share our meal, take home key-chains included! To start off the evening we were introduced to one of Brazil's national cocktails called Caipirinha, which is made out of cachacha, sugar, and lime. You can also incorporate fruits like pineapple (Karina's favorite) to add additional flavor.

Next up was dinner! There was Feijoada, a stew of beans and pork, served with rice. We also had Farofa, toasted cornflour mixture, topped with collard greens. If I wasn't full enough at that point, for dessert there was a Spanish Flan and my favorite Brigadeiro. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without learning to sing Happy Birthday in Portuguese.

At the end of the day, there is nothing better than sharing a meal with friends. Thank you for your hospitality and Feliz Aniversario Karina!