Portuguese is the main language spoken in Brazil. Just like in the U.S., people in different parts of Brazil speak with different accents and use different slang. In Amargosa, there are some people learning English as well. There is also a large deaf community here, so many people communicate using sign language, which in Brazil is called 'Libras'.
The currency here is called 'Reais', which is pronounced: "heh-ICE". One U.S. dollar is equal to about 5 Reais, so whenever I buy something, I divide the price by 5 to know how many U.S. dollars I am spending. For example, if something costs 100 Reais, I divide 100 by 5, and I know that I am spending 20 U.S. dollars.
A bottle of water usually costs around 2 Reais. If we divide that by 5, it comes out to around 40 cents. I have found that I am drinking a lot more water here because it is extremely hot outside!
The best meal that I had this week was a pastel, which is a crispy, fried pastry pocket filled with either savory or sweet ingredients. The one that I ate was enormous, filled with cheese and corn. Pastel is a very popular street food here, and it is delicious.
