I know you are thinking, “Lori, those things were there all along, you just didn’t see them.” Perhaps for some of them this is true, but I assure you for others it was seriously like magic. In fact, other expats I’ve talked with in other parts of Brazil have similar supermarket experiences.
Things are there one day, they go back the next week and they are gone with no sign of them even existing in the first place. No space on the shelf, no price tag remaining. Then other things randomly appear out of nowhere. It’s both frustrating and entertaining.
Since engaging in this culture was important to me, I tried not to let my lack of finding things bother me too much. But as some posts will reflect, I did have my bad days. While I’d gladly substitute one of the amazing croissants from Açukapé or pão francês with butter for my standard oatmeal, the healthy part of my brain was telling me I still needed that whole grain oatmeal on occasion.On a similar note, check out what we found at Pão de Açucar in Curitiba:
Cranberry juice! Seriously. We couldn’t believe it.
Produced in São Paulo, although we suspect the pulp is probably imported and the juice made there.
I love cranberry juice and I miss it dearly. I must say, though, if someone said I could give up cranberry juice forever and still have all the great juices of Brazil while back in the US. Well, that would be tempting. I do love the juices here. Who wouldn’t? They are amazing. I could use a little less sugar in most, but amazing nonetheless. However, there is still a special place in my heart for that astringent, tart cranberry flavor.
Did we buy it? For R$14.19 (8 USD) for a liter? Are you kidding me?! No way! I miss things, but my budget-minded personality prevails in most situations. I mean, I’ve gone without it for most of two years. I can last a little longer.
6 comments:
When are you going to move?
Don't forget to let a "good bye Brazil" post on your last day here! :)
LOL! I have been looking for that everywhere but not for $14USD! Did you by any chance see if there was a Portuguese name for Cranberry?
brasil - The first week of Oct. No worries. There will be lots of good bye Brazil posts. :)
Miranda - I haven't seen it here in Maringa, only Curitiba. No translation as far as I know. There are two hard to find fruits from what I've found - blueberries and cranberries. I've read they are experimenting with growing blueberries in the south. I've seen them a few times in the supermarket. Sometimes by blueberry sometimes mirtilo. Cranberries on the other hand can't, or aren't being, grown here. At least this is what I've read searching around the web for info.
I have seen the cranberry juice in our Extra as well but regular and light versions, for the same high price. NOT worth getting, but nice to know it is there if I want to splurge.
I have shared the joy of suddenly finding something...and the annoyance when the Betty Crocker cake mix/chevre style goat cheese/cranberry juice is magically gone on my next supermarket trip!
Cranberry juice here is available in only a few stores, and one of the main supermarket chains gets the Safeway brand (although it's recently been bought out by Walmart, so I'm not sure if that will change). It's around US$4, which is fine once in a while, but at a different store I once saw another brand for double the price - no thanks! Cranberries are actually grown in the south of Chile, but practically all of them are exported to the US and Canada. They're not a common product, so much so that people use the same word as for blueberry (arandano).
corinne - It is probably a matter of time before it gets to Maringa. I know what you mean. I seem some things and think, no way. I'd never spend that. Then I start thinking, well, okay, if I get desperate. Ha!
Emily - Now $4 I could probably handle. I might have gotten it just to see if the flavor was the same. Interesting that they are being grown and exported there. I had no idea.
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