I decided that I wanted to study abroad because I wanted to gain exposure to a new culture, try to learn a new language, gain exposure to one of the fastest growing developing nations in the world, Brazil, and live in a Metropolitan city for the first time in my life. Check, check, check, check, and check. Living in São Paulo and travelling to other parts of South America has been an amazing experience and I only wish I had more time (and money) to appreciate more of it. But you may be wondering what I learned, what I liked, and what I didn't like. So, while I do make an effort to give my blog posts a positive tone, I will be completely honest with many of my opinions of living and studying in São Paulo.
I realized after writing this first part that I have too much to include in one blog post, so I've decided to spread my final thoughts over multiple blog entries, starting with Comida (Food)
If there is one thing I learned about food in Sao Paulo, is that people here like cheese, meat, bread, and more cheese. No question, the first food item I saw in Brazil is Pao de Quejo, or in english, Cheese Bread. In these small bread balls it is almost impossible to tell where the cheese ends and where the bread begins. You can pretty much buy it at any lunchonette or small cafe which are dispersed throughout São Paulo. A popular local chain is called Case do Pao de Quejo, where you can get all kinds of cheese breads and cappuchinos. Another popular items are empañadas, which are basically fried dough with meats and cheeses in the middle. No question, Brazilians love their fried breads and carne, but other common dishes are rice and beans, which in many ways reminds me of living in Louisiana.
One thing that is very common here is to go to buffets for lunch. Unlike all you can eat buffets, at these buffets you weigh your food at the end and you pay for what you load on your plate, a considerably healthier approach to buffets in my opinion. The food usually starts with some light salad fixings, followed by pastas, rice, beans, and side dishes, and then there are usually a few different kinds of meats such as salmon, beef, and chicken, or frango as I've become familiar with it. Most lunchonettes serve very similar menu items, but I've noticed that the quality can range quite a bit.
Now, two things that I definitely have in common with Brazilians is an appreciation for coffee and chocolate. Like europeans, Brazilians tend to drink strong espresso shots, and they have something here called a Brigadeiro; it's like a very sweet chocolate truffle. I like a more bitter dark chocolate, but I won't say no if someone offers me a brigadeiro.
Unfortunately, as someone that doesn't eat red meat and doesn't like friend foods, I found food in the south of Brazil greasy, heavy, and kind of bland; in fact, in many ways it reminded me of living in the south. In addition, many of the lunchonettes, cafes, and even street vendors offer the exact same, or virtually identical, undifferentiated products. I consider myself someone that appreciates food and is willing to try new things, but aside from going to the Jardins and dropping bank for a really expensive meal, I found a lot of the food here kind of bland, with not much diversity in flavors or spices. Now, I have some theories on why this might be, which I'll get to in a post later.
On the other hand, I have heard that food is much more diverse in the northern areas of Brazil such as Salvador, but I haven't had to opportunity to try it and am mostly drawing my opinions from experiences in Sao Pualo. However, if you're someone that loves fried food, meats and especially cheeses, then you might love Sao Paulo and southern Brazil cuisine!
