Portugues Basico: Food

Well January turned out to be a jam-packed month and I'm right on track on the cultural adaptation scale Peace Corps loves so much (and is definitely relevant to Intercultural Communication, miss you UMBC!)

http://my.ilstu.edu/~jrbaldw/372/Adaptation_files/image019.jpg

I am recovering from a bout of homesickness. Classes ended so I'm now an official "beginner level" Portuguese speaker but now it's all up to me to continue to study and practice on my own (that would be the helplessness feeling on #3 on the scale). Papa Witt turned 61 on February 1st and I couldn't be there :(
Dad, you're the best, love you so much and can't wait to see you again!

My awesome teacher Ana Katy

To celebrate our last day of class we went to a Brazilian buffet called A Miniera where we could try different types of dishes (mostly beef), desserts, and Cachaça, the sugar cane liquor used in caipirinhas

http://www.visiteitaborai.com.br/fotos/g/20100304044050.jpg

Everything was delicious, I especially enjoyed the grilled churrasco (beef pieces) and grilled cheese (a chunk of white cheese grilled in the beef drippings....yes, it was heaven)

yummy desserts: dulce de leite, flan, coco gelatin and my new favorite, Romeo e Julieta (white cheese and guayaba marmalade, the Brazilian cheesecake if you will)

A mix of everything, mostly beef or bean dishes, dried meat and cheese casserole, and of course pork rinds and mini  pastels!

Pastels are by far my favorite Brazilin food, a deep-fried pastry filled with different cheeses, meats, and occasionally vegetables. I had a pizza one today and it had fresh oregano, tomatoes, mozzarella and provolone cheese in it, these are usualyy R$ 3.50-5, so around $2 each

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I've also tried Brazilian street hot dogs, which was CRAZY! The hot dog completa comes with may, ketchup, mustard, nacho cheddar cheese, catupiri cheese (amazing tasty white cheese), sween corn, mashed potatoes, and crunchy hashbrown bits along with the bun and all-beef dog. I got mine without the mayo or ketchup and was delicious but super heavy...and there was no hot sauce :(

that is ALL cheese on top :)

Most of the pizza here is amazing as well, all brick-oven baked and not much wait time. Everything comes with green olives. I'm trying to run between rainy spells that tend to happen EVERY day in Sao Paulo. I will be heading to Rio for Carnaval with Sofia (who I've had a great time staying with) for a week and will be sure to take more pictures!

Hope y'all are hungry now......