Food: Brazilian kids love American kid food, even off the floor. Parents send an afternoon snack to preschool for their child, and apparently when Eri drops a Goldfish cracker, the other kids scramble and practically dog pile on top of it. Eri says there is one particularly aggressive offender, who I won't name. OK, it's Davi.
People often ask us if we eat bacon and eggs for breakfast. This seriously comes up a lot. Brazilians also find it strange to eat eggs in the morning.
Peanut butter is another frequent topic of conversation. I gave a Brazilian friend a jar of peanut butter from the states. Having never tasted it before, he asked what he should do with it. I said make a sandwich. He asked if he should put catupiry (a popular Brazilian cheese) on it. After gagging a little (catupiry is thick, white, creamy, and comes in a bag), I suggested pairing peanut butter with jelly. He nearly vomited.
Being American: I was chatting with friends (in Portuguese) before pilates, and a young girl was in the lobby waiting for her mom. Staring at me. Her mom's instructor explained, "Brye is from the United States and that's why she sounds like that." The girl looked at me, star-struck, and asked, "You're ... American?"
To others, we are less novel.
I was at the farm-direct market by our apartment, and after I made my purchase, the fish man turned his back to me and, thinking I had left, mocked my accent. I said, "Hey, I'm still here. I've only lived in Brazil for a few months and I'm still learning. If you want, we can speak in English." Super red-faced, he muttered something about another customer who also sounds like me. Yep, that's my husband. I've been back several times and chat with my new friend, who most recently asked me for tips for his upcoming trip to Miami.
Not really blending: We have our Subaru here from the states and have been issued special license plates, indicating diplomatic status, which are blue instead of white -- very unusual in southern Brazil. This is the equivalent of flying an American flag from the car. We are gawked at every where we drive and asked about them constantly. Awkward.
Portuguese: We're definitely getting better and our comprehension is good. Probably the biggest obstacle right now is pronunciation to weaken the accent a little. It's very frustrating to not be understood, especially for simple things. For example, in between classes at the university, I stop at a snack bar on campus and order the same thing. Every time. And still homeboy at the counter responds with "huh," forcing me to repeat myself and point. (Seriously, you don't remember the American chick week after week asking for a chicken empanada without cheese (see catupiry definition above) and orange juice? Argh.) Meanwhile, Eri is doing well. Her preference is still to speak in English, but she references conversations that were in Portuguese and also repeats things in English that were first said in Portuguese. She sings constantly, almost completely in Portuguese. Adorable.
