I’m Still Here + Brazilian Fruit

Hey all!  It has been SO long!  I am so sorry to leave you all hanging.  We finally got internet here in our apartment.  It is this whole long process of needing to apply and get a residency number before you can even sign up for internet services.  But now that we finally have it I am so excited to start blogging again and to catch up on all of the blogs I have been missing out on reading!

We are slowly and surely getting settled in Sao Paulo.  I’ve met many Americans and some Australians and Canadians as well.  Being part of an expat community is great because everyone sort of sticks together.  I’m sure we will meet some Brazilians too but it will probably take longer.

One thing that has been really frustrating recently is the fact that my good DSLR camera was stolen!!!  I can’t believe it!  We flew here with 14 pieces of luggage and since we went via Sydney, we had to transfer in Santiago, Chile.  Our luggage was checked all the way through but when we arrived in Sao Paulo, we were unhappy to find that five of our pieces of luggage were missing.  No problem because the bags were delivered to us the next day!  Unfortunately my camera was in a bag that was originally missing and it looks like someone decided to steal it.  Luckily my father came to the rescue and got me a brand new camera so I can capture my life here for you all.  He’s the best! 🙂

We are also STILL waiting for our boxes from UPS.  Brazil has a crazy customs system and they basically try to extort money from you when you bring stuff in to the country (no joke, Cuisinart and Kitchenaid are so ridiculously expensive here!) because you can buy stuff way cheaper outside of the country and they want you to spend the money here in Brazil.  So you often get taxed based on the value of the item and they won’t release your stuff until you pay them.  It really seems like extortion to me but that is just how things are here.  Hopefully we will not have any problems and our stuff will get here soon because I am so missing all of my things!

But complaints aside, we are having a great time here in Brazil!  We’ve spent a ton of time relaxing by the pool and I take Cooper for a walk everyday.  There are some great parks close by that are fun to walk around but they get super crowded on the weekends!

Oh and I’ve been exploring the local produce!  I have some extremely cool fruit to show you today.  I made a huge, delicious fruit salad with some of the exotic fruits I found at the market.

Granadilha

This is basically a kind of passionfruit.  I’m used to passionfruit with a purple outer skin but this one has a beautiful orange color.  It has a sweet and tart flavor.

Atemoia

The atemoia or atemyoa is a hybrid between two fruits: sugar apple and cherimoya–neither of which I have ever had but the atemoia is delicious!  The seeds are hard and black and are actually toxic (good thing I googled that!).  It tastes sweet and slightly tart.  The flesh can just be scooped out and eaten!

Pitaya Vermelha

This is also called a dragon fruit in English.  It has such a unique and beautifully colored outer skin.  The seeds kind of resemble sesame seeds.  It has a nice sweet flavor.

Mangosteen

The mangosteen is only grown in Asia and South America.  It is sweet and tangy and has a beautiful purple outer skin.  It reminds me a little bit of a lychee.

The other fruits are mango and a nectarine.  You just cannot get mango in the US like you can here.  It is so sweet and delicious here.  The mangoes in the US are always hard and not very flavorful.

Readers, tell me what you have been up to lately!  Have you ever tried any of the above fruits?  Have you ever been able to find a great mango?