My two months in Brazil

Ahh, Brazil with its hot weather, sandy beaches and plenty of beer.

I was lucky enough to live with a local family here in Sao Paulo, and it was a pretty great experience.
The lifestyle is definitely something that I enjoyed.
The sun, the barbeques (even if am vegetarian) the abundance of beer, the great Sartanejo music and fantastic company, they truly do know how to party here.

Of course the language, Portuguese was a slight problem for me. I tried my best to cram as much Portuguese as possible in the last couple of months before coming here ( Thanks Duolingo)
Yet it's quite a different thing when it comes to actually speaking it.
I struggled in the beginning, but I found that quite a few people had some English knowledge, and those who didn't, appreciated my efforts to string a sentence together.

The food, was..amazing.
Even as a vegetarian, with some limits, I was able to enjoy quite a lot.
Such as Pao de Queijo, a type of cheese bread, Farofa, a type of flour made from cassava which you sprinkle over your food, and the amazing Acai.
A type of Acai berry sorbet that can be enjoyed with various toppings like, condensed milk, ground peanuts and fresh fruit. It truly was the most perfect thing on a hot day by the beach.

Then there is the beer...my favourite.
Many good brands to choose from, such as Brahma, Skol and Bohemia.
Light and crisp in flavour, which is a nice change from the more heavier, Irish beers I was used to.

Oh and Guarana, my absolute favourite soda I have ever tried, no joke.

I found the people here to be a very friendly and the open type.
While they have their own worries in mind with the current political situation and all, they still remain a happy bunch.
The family bonds here are strong, and I found that to be fantastic, and as something to strive for.

I especially liked the older generation, I found them to be so energetic and hardworking but never failed to have a beer or two during the evening.

The beach was definitely something, I visited the Santos beach for a couple of days for the New Years, and it had been my first time visiting a truly tropical beach.
I loved it, the palm trees, the blue sea, the hustle and bustle of it all.
Hundreds of people sitting under their huge sun umbrellas firing up some grilled meat and sipping on beer and coconut water. I was amazed by the amount of time they spent there on the beach, it seemed like the perfect life.

I did find some things to be slightly pricey, like clothes, technology and transport. But if you are from Europe, I would say that they are of a similar range. So if you are coming here with an idea in your mind that everything will be dirt cheap...sorry to break it to you, but it won't.

Regardless of that, my overall experience was a big thumbs up!!

I think more people should pay this beautiful country a visit, it definitely has a lot to offer, in all types of aspects.
If you are a party goer, an explorer, an expat or simply just want to laze on the beach all day ( I certainly did) Then this is the place for you!