Heat and refreshment

One of the downsides of hopping around from month to month is having to plan for multiple climates at once. I was hopeful that after the end of summer in Sao Paulo, temperatures would cool enough that some of the clothes I brought with me for March in Ann Arbor/Philly would work. Temperatures were estimated in the 60s-70s which I felt would be fine since March was unseasonably warm this year. But... I still may have been too optimistic. To me it doesn't seem like summer has ended here at all! Temps have been in the upper 80s to 90s. Given that I wear pants to the hospital daily and it's also a tropical climate (read: super humid), it makes perfect sense to me that people take multiple showers a day here. It does feel nice to get clean at least twice a day. Even if you're not really doing much, a hot and humid day here can make you feel grimy really quickly. In a way, the tropical weather and hustle of the city reminds me of Taiwan.

I cannot complain, though. It's been beautifully sunny which has allowed for some nice exploration during days off. I walked over to Praça Benedito Calixto today which is a tiny rectangle (doesn't even count as a square, really) that houses a lively weekend craft and antique fair. 

crafts and antiques for sale

I found the toy collections most amusing - things and cartoon characters from my own childhood were in some of these booths, and there was even a box that said "Harry Potter memorabilia." But mostly there were a lot of "antiques" that weren't that interesting and a couple of impressive craft booths. I was about to turn back when I found the best part of the fair, hidden in a tiny area - the food booths! :) 

One thing I've discovered quickly is that food here sort of falls into a few general categories. We have tons of fruit and fresh juices (my favorite), carbs + more carbs, and meat. Within the carbs and meat categories there's an overlapping fried foods section that is quite large also. For any given meal, you can pretty much expect to have two types of carbs and some meat. 

A Brazilian fast food item which I had to try today was a pastel, basically like a large dumpling/ravioli filled with whatever you like, and then fried in a vat of oil. I stopped by a booth where they were making them fresh to order, and couldn't help but try a little. 

Just made pastels go for a swim in oil... 

... and end up fried and tasty in no time.

A snack... or lunch.

With all the heat, I've been trying to keep cool with refreshing drinks. I've been drinking some Guarana which is a fruity soda as common as Coke. I haven't delved into local beers or caipirinhas yet, but here you can find tons of juice bars that will whip up fresh juices for you in multiple different combinations. I've been pretty much trying to have a new one every day. Today's juice - acerola with strawberry and orange. Acerola is a kind of cherry I'm not sure we get in the US, but it's so good in these juices! 

So refreshing! Gosh I love fruit.