Becky and I were at the county fair last weekend. A warm Saturday afternoon with our daughter and her family – what could be better? Midwest Americana. Our granddaughters tested some of the carnival rides and all of us rode the Ferris wheel to high above the midway. There was even a trained sea lion show – what else would you expect in Saint Joseph County, Michigan? And, of course, the 4H kids with their displays of rabbits, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows.
We dined on corndogs and Polish sausages with sauerkraut, but declined the deep-fried delicacies – elephant ears, funnel cakes, cookie dough, cheesecake, Oreos, and Twinkies.
In a week we head off on a long-anticipated trip to Brazil where, among other things, we will spend time with good friends we have known for many years. We can hardly wait. We test as intermediate Portuguese speakers and will be able not only to make our way through airports, but enjoy good, even deep, conversation with our friends. We will talk about life and faith and tell stories as we catch up with one another.
I am not sure we will be able to talk about the deep-fried Twinkies at the county fair. Google Translate says we could say “Twinkies fritos.” But how might we explain this American phenomenon? Continue reading