Switching Rooms and Eating Food

Today was defined by truly amazing food. Well, every day seems to be. Maneco's aunt, Rosi (pronounced HO-zee) has made macaxeira, cuscuz, eggs, and so many other amazing meals for me in the last few days. Everyone has been so sweet to the man that can barely communicate beyond simple words and hand gestures.

Tonight, however, I went with Maneco, Gafo, and Laís to eat acarajé. Gafo is visiting from Porto Alegre in the far south of Brazil, but both of the others raved about this Northeastern typical food. First we stopped at a small shop on a corner not far away and ate coxinha. I can honestly say I'm in love with them. You can follow the link yourself, but to best describe it they are balls of shredded chicken about the size of a golf ball mixed with a mild melted cheese, then breaded in the best dough in the world and fried. I think I could have eaten 50 of them. And at 50 centavos ($0.30) each they're the best deal I could imagine. We tried coxinha with chicken and with shrimp. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

After our quick meal at Big Bola, we drove to a street vendor selling acarajé. I watched as the man took a fried bun and put inside things I didn't recognize. I know there was a bean paste, shrimp in sauce, and a chopped vegetable mixture like pico de gallo. We drove to Maneco's and ate there. I recognized a pepper sauce and the shrimp taste. So good. The vendor even gave us an extra one for free, which we gave to his aunt, Rosi.

Terrace -- My room is the first from the left.

I've also switched apartments. I'm still in the same building, but on the main floor. The room was bigger with easier access and the same price each month, so I figured it would fit my friends' visits a little easier. I'll post a photo at the bottom here, and my room in the first door you see. Numero 5. I have closet space, a bed in the main room, a bathroom, and a small kitchen with a stove (no oven), and small refrigerator.