It´s about 85 degrees F right now, an average temperature since I have been here. It´s near the end of summer here, the opposite from where I come from. Also it has rained quite a bit, the rainy season is during the summer here, and when it rains..... it really rains! It poors! and there´s thunder and lightning, and its all very dramatic, the water rushing through the streets. I find it quite enjoyable however, in Washington it rains all the time and I get tired of it, but here its the middle of summer, and when its almost 90, the start of rain can be a relief! Also before it starts to rain there is often rainbows, Ive seen a quite a few so far.
So someone out there asked me to describe the food here. Here in Brazil the biggest meal of the day is lunch. There is four "meals" of the day, breakfast, which is usually light, a piece of toast and a cup of coffee (and you add quite a bit of sugar and sweetener to the coffee), or some fruit. Then you have lunch, usually it will include some form of rice, some kind of beans and meat. Also lunch is usually eaten at home with the family, school gets out at around 1:00, and then sometimes there are classes after lunch. Next is an afternoon meal, not usually too big, some bread, cheese and meat, or some pão de queijo (cheese bread, literally a roll filled with warm melted cheese). Then there is dinner. Often eaten fairly late, on week days at around 8:00, and on the weekends as late as 10:30!
Ive eaten quite a bit of bread and cheese and meat, that´s what Ive noticed the most. at school during the breaks you can get something to eat, your three choices are bread with either cheese, meat, or chese and meat. There are all different kinds of meats cooked in all kinds of ways. Also there is quite a bit of Italian food, at least in Sorocaba because there´s a lot of Italian decendents. Another thing Ive noticed is that people eat way more sweet things, almost every day there is desert after lunch. The coffee is taken with lots of sugar, and there´s just sweets all over the place, and its normal. What Ive missed the most in terms of food is the green foods, salade and vegetables. When there is salad it usually consists of letuce, and tomatoes, maybe one other thing, but not usually. What Ive been enjoying the most is the meat, there are so many different ways they have it, my favorite at the moment is calebresa, covering a pizza, or filling a roll, the salty meat is delicious. Also the fruits here are great, I havnt gotten to try any strange fruit yet, but the mango, watermellon, and papaya are all so much fresher and sweeter than at home. The people here think its funny that I like to eat more "natural" food, but they have no idea how natural I actually eat at home!