Palm Trees
(no explanation needed here!)
In the Store
Often we see American brands of products, but because they are imported, they are of course much more expensive. These boxes of Krusteaz muffins cost about 9 American dollars here. We have yet to find a jar of peanut butter...
Preferential Lines
Something I love about this culture is the inherent respect for senior citizens, pregnant women, parents of young kids, and the disabled. Often these people will be called to the front of a line, or grocery stores like this one will have lines specifically for these people. People give up their seats on the bus automatically, and are in general very helpful in any situation. I have just begun to experience this as I am in my sixth month of pregnancy and am definitely "showing."
Food
One word: SALGADOS. "Salgados" literally means "salted." These delicious treats come in all shapes and sizes, can be deep fried or baked, and are delightfully reminiscent of fair food. Okay, so maybe we don't EAT these every day, but we certainly see them as we pass the dozens of cafes and restaurants during daily walks. The salgados below are a take on the popular "coxinha" (pronounced co-SHEEN-ya), which is usually filled with chicken and much larger. These beauties are mini coxinhas filled with none other than NUTELLA. Yes, deep fried balls of nutella... they were as good as they sound!
Meat
Peter goes to this butcher several times a week. He is recognized and greeted by name, as are most regular customers. You can get any cut of meat, and can watch it being cut in the back of the store. The best part, however, is a grill at the front of the store where you can buy "espeto" - fresh, delicious grilled chunks of meat on a stick.
Cobblestone Streets
I'm not sure if "cobblestone" is the correct term - the sidewalks here are more like stone mosaics. There are many different designs and most of the city is paved like this. Beautiful!
In the Home
Okay, most people see a shower head (we hope) every day. This one, though, is a little different from what I'm used to. Commonly referred to as a "widow maker," these shower heads have an electric element inside the head that heats the water... or something like that. I've been warned that if I want to change the temperature (there are 5 settings on ours), to turn the water all the way OFF before I change it. I don't know what will happen if I don't, but there's no way I'm going to find out. It's the only hot/warm water we have in our house, but it works very nicely!
School
Interclass - the place where Peter and I daily labour over verb conjugations and pronunciation. There's always strong hot coffee and biscoitos (cookies) in the break room and lots of opportunities to learn and practice Portuguese!
Flip Flops
Every day, we wear these. Here, they are well-made, extremely affordable (especially for their quality), and SO FUN!! It's hard not to start a collection! You can get any style, colour, or character on your sandals, and I love it! I walk miles every week in my flip flops.
Flowering Trees
These pictures don't really do them justice. I've seen trees covered in blossoms of red, white, yellow, purple, pink, or orange. It's like spring year-round.
