The sixth annual Brazilian-American Friendship lunch turned the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School culinary arts dining room into an international cafe Friday afternoon.
Every seat at the three long tables in the culinary arts dining room was taken during lunch on Tuesday, as students and teachers sat down for the fifth annual Brazilian American Friendship Lunch.
Cord Bailey stood in the doorway of the regional high school culinary arts dining room, aviator shades on, arms crossed. Tantalizing smells of chicken and bacon floated into the hallway. Inside the dining room the annual Brazilian American Friends lunch was taking place. Only 42 lucky students were granted access.
Seating arrangements at school lunch tables often seem right out of the movies. Students have their designated tables, their designated tablemates; it may seem peculiar to outsiders but it is a constant in the students’ day. Just as some adults feel off when they don’t have their cup of coffee in the morning, students feel off if they’re not sitting in their regular desk in a classroom or with their regular group for lunch.
Can you guess the two biggest countries in the Western Hemisphere that were born around the same time, colonized by Europeans, share a history of slavery and indigenous people, and are both democracies? Here’s a hint: the largest community abroad of one of these countries lives here in New England.
Brazil and the United States may have more in common than you thought.
