Yawning cavernously and still rubbing the sleep from our eyes, we arose at about 7:30 AM today. The sky was a pale blue from our windowsill, and the streets weren't particularly quiet, having the constant sound of industrious cars sweeping past us, and the occasional, irritable honking. Yesterday, the man at the front desk had told us that breakfast was included in the package. I shuddered, thinking about all of the various options of ham and beef a mere vegetarian would be soon condemned to have.However, upon claiming my respective tray, I was surprised to find a loan loaf of puffy bread on my platter. On the front counter were two wide,colorful, and inviting, bowls, each holding either ripe gala apples which were speckled with green and yellow, or small, firm Brazilian bananas.
I took one of each along with my bread, and eagerly began sampling the food. I slowly and tentatively split open the slightly warm surface of the bread, to find that the inside was light, and airy, and a pleasant cream color. The apple was crunchy, and sweet, and juicy, and ever so slightly tart. As for the bananas, I ate two or three because of their texture, and taste, and just for the energy. They were about one half the size of the large, startlingly yellow bananas typically found in American grocery stores. In fact, they were of the same yellow, having a pleasantly tart, yet sweet flavor. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my first breakfast in Rio de Janiero.
A short,stout, elderly woman, with a beryl bandanna wrapped around her head, was t
I believe one of the most challenging parts of going to a foreign county, is not knowing the language. When a kindly individual offers to shatter the awkward and growing silence by speaking to you in their native tongue, all one can do is smile and nod dumbly back.
The extent of my vast ignorance of the Portuguese tongue lies in five simple phrases:
Bom dia- Good morning
Obrigado- Thank you
Sim- Yes
Não- No
Tchau- Goodbye
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