I would have probably appreciated today being a federal holiday a little more if it weren’t my 371st day “off” in a row. Not that anyone’s counting. I did still appreciate not having more to do than hang out by the lake, especially with the ridiculously gorgeous weather we are having lately. I’m pretty sure I could make appreciating Lac Léman my full-time job if I could find anyone hiring with that job description, and I might go ahead and keep up the trend of posting a picture of it with every blog entry. It’s literally a block away from my apartment, so I can and do go down to sit by the lake at the slightest whim to read or take pictures or just look at it. I can already tell it’s going to be one of the things I’ll miss the most (if/)when I leave.
Anyway, today is called “Monday of Federal Fasting” (le lundi du jeûne fédéral) and no one I’ve asked could explain what it means other than the day off. I had overestimated my ability to squeeze meals out of what’s left on my refrigerator shelf, and it was close to being a Monday of fasting of another kind, but luckily one grocery store was open, as was the hamburger stand by the lake. I'd been good about cooking cheap things at home, so I splurged on a $6 hamburger (which makes it one of the cheapest prepared food you can find around here). It was pretty tasty, but I couldn't help thinking of the kind of hamburger $6 would buy you at MegaLanches, the best hamburger joint in the town I lived in in Brazil (I think that would have been the one with 3 beef patties, 3 servings of ham, 3 eggs, 3 slices of cheese, potato crisps, lettuce, tomato, and catupiri). Grocery store prices here (meat and imports excepted) are reasonable and comparable to the US, but eating out is not in my budget. One thing I feel this place is sorely missing is cheap street food - burek, acaraje, empanadas, that sort of thing.
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