Day #5: Trying New Foods

2/16/12

Today was like Thanksgiving all over again.  Our little group went to the Mercado Municipal in Sao Paulo.  It’s like a huge marketplace or flea-market that has food stalls from all over.  Everything about this place was huge.  First, we all tried a huge grape looking fruit called jabuticaba.  It tasted sweet just like a grape but it was super-sized (a picture is on the right).  Samii shoved the who thing in her mouth at once and exclaimed,”blerrr lerrr ohhhh!” I think she was trying to say that it was too large to chew or something.  Either way we got some strange looks and swiftly moved on to the next stall.  It was a crowded, loud, and Anna was forced to slow down her rapid power walking so we wouldn’t lose her in the crowd.  One thing that really caught my eye was the beautiful stain glass windows that pictured agricultural scenes, indicating that it’s a marketplace. I also couldn’t take my eyes off of the mortadella sandwich that Ryan ordered.  It was like twice the size of my head! Stacked high with bologna and provolone cheese, this sandwich is famous for its size.  We visited so many stalls and tried so many new and exotic foods, a peanut butter and green bean sandwich is looking pretty normal right now.  So, that was my favorite part of the day, but we also toured around a little and looked into some Sao Paulo history.  Now it’s time to go to bed and digest everything that I’ve learned and ate so far.