Samsung Global Blogger

Samsung is taking a few bloggers from all over the world to cover the Olympics in London this year. When I first submitted my video I must admit I wasn't very hopeful, I did it "just because", you know? Well, turns out the judges chose me to be one of the 20 finalists in my country and I have just submitted my challenge video, which will determine whether I'll win a spot to be their blogger or not.

It's "just" a contest, but it is kind of a big deal. I mean, it's a trip to London. With tickets to the Olympics. And a Samsung smartphone ;)
It's "just" a contest, but I've already lost a couple of nights sleep on this account, editing videos and getting feedback from friends - which by the way, helped me A LOT. From the first draft to the final official video there were SIX versions of the video, each of them adding something different, a little more color and spice.

I'm not overly confident for this because all 20 of us have great videos, but I am very happy with the result I got from mine. The challenge was to make a 30 second video about a sporting event in the area where I live. Instead of taking the obvious pick talking about any given sport, I took a chance and talked about a TV show on MTV Brazil - and that can go for or against my odds.

In this video I talk to a very sweet person who also happens to be a celebrity here in Brazil (won "Best Instrumentalist" award from MTV and Multishow for the past 3 years) and an awesome "athlete" for MTV's show.

Below is the "bloopers" video.

Also don't forget to go to Samsung Global Blogger's page and vote for me :)
Thank u!
<3

The star curse

I remember being a kid and thinking "there's one thing I'll NEVER eat!" whenever I saw a starfruit. I don't know, they just looked so weird... and the skin looked like some sort of larvae... so a fruit that looks like a star-shaped larvae should not be trusted!

Until one day I tried carambola juice. Just one of those powder, artificially flavored juices, you know? It was so sweet and citric and aromatic... but I still wasn't convinced. It wasn't until I was around 27 years old that I tried my first bite of carambola, more commonly known as starfruit. 

carambola

It was love at first bite.
Ever since, whenever I get the chance I like to buy some and eat - I always eat by myself since my husband seems to have the same kind of prejudice I used to.
The past couple of months I had been consuming a bit more of it and as a connected citizen of the year 2012, I always took pictures of it. Then a friend from facebook sent me a message:

"Dear Elize,
I hate to kill the mood, but I should warn you - eating too much starfruit can be bad for your health. Apparently, the fruit has a toxin that is bad for your kidneys (my dad is a doctor and he corroborated  this fact). I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I too love it and feel bad for not being able to eat it very often!"

Heartbroken! Obviously, the first thing I did was google it, and sure enough... here's what I found on wikipedia:

Carambola contains oxalic acid, which can be harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure, kidney stones, or those under kidney dialysis treatment. Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, and mental confusion. Fatal outcomes have been documented in some patients.

So it pains me to say, but if you - just like me - are a starfruit lover and have a certain propensity to kidney problems... stay away from carambola. I don't intend to totally cut it off, but cut back for sure. One way I really enjoy eating my carambola is by cutting three to five slices of it and serving with flan - it's tasty and cuts off the excessive sweet of the flan, and goes really well with the caramel topping. Besides, it's a very cute ornament to the dish. Hope you try it and like it!

flan and starfruit :)