I arrived at IEB around noon. I made my way to the archives and the young woman at the desk looked up and asked, "Are you James?" This was a good sign. Within fifteen minutes I was sitting at a microfilm machine reading the correspondence I came here to research. Over the course of the next three hours I read / skimmed over all the correspondence between João Guimarães Rosa and Harriet de Onís. Since these letters are unpublished, the archive does not allow copies without the authorization of the three heirs—Guimarães Rosa's wife and two daughters. Even then, the archive only allows you to copy 10% of the total sub-collection. Having said that, they did not tell me that it is not permitted to copy the letters by hand. Therefore, I took note of the various sections I wanted to cite or paraphrase. From 3:30 - 4:45 I was able to get through the first five or six letters, which leaves me twenty more. If everything goes well, I should be able to finish up tomorrow. In that case, I may not need to go back Monday morning.
At this moment, the quindin, a coconut custard, is cooling. Luciene's friend came over and showed us how to make it and since she's here she decided to make a chocolate cake for us. Who is this amazing woman?
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