da manhã batata

The morning potato. I share office space with two men working in the Dept of Infrastructure Development, in a dark back corner of the building. They are both very sweet and both very eager to learn new English words each day. They also have been teaching me a little Portuguese. Our communication is mostly with hand charades and a few laughs, but we get along very well. Each morning as I make my cup of coffee they offer to share their breakfast or mid-morning snack. After two weeks of trying to explain no bread (and a couple days when I was just starving and ate it anyway!) I think I got it across that I am allergic. They shook their heads in agreement and then asked about “batatas” or potato? Yes, I eat potatoes. So this morning the assistant comes in with a bag full of bread and one potato for me. :-) It’s a cold cooked sweet potato and I’m becoming rather fond of it as a mid-morning snack. He even cuts it up in bite size pieces for me! Ok, so that’s a bit spoiled. But what can I say? To decline would be rude. :-)