Now, the reason I say "poor buddy" is because Stuart has quite a story. Stuart came to Brazil the same as the rest of the Study Abroad TnCis group... excited and ready to see the beautiful beaches and lively culture of Brazil. He didn't realize, however, how MUCH of the culture he would actually be experiencing.
The very first week of our trip, Stuart was one of the students who got robbed at gun point. Now you would think, how unlucky for ALL the students... however poor Stuart was the only one who not only had $150 reis stolen from him, but his camera was taken as well. Since that was at the beginning of the trip, after the incident every time we saw a picture perfect sun set or landscape, poor Stuart would say "WOW I have to take a picture..... waaaaait."
However people get robbed all the time, both when traveling and at home. The story that sets poor Stuart apart from any other unlucky person is one that is so unfortunate that anyone would feel nothing but pure remorse for his poor soul after they heard it.
Here is his story...
Everyone knows that one thing Brazil is famous for are Brazilian nuts, and the best nut here is the Cashew. At every market you can smell from miles away the heavenly scent of the Brazilian Cashew nut stand. The smell draws you right to the piles of Cashew mounds. Some are plain and taste both salty and buttery at the same time, and some are sugar coated in caramel sugar and taste sweet like candy, and they serve all these flavors of cashews warm.. so it only leaves you craving more.
So Dasha, Stuart, and some other people from our group were walking down the streets of Fortaleza when Dasha gave into the mouthwatering smell of the Cashew stands and bought a bag. She couldn't wait until she got home so she held the bag in one arm and started popping them into her mouth with the other.
Now something you have to know about Stuart is that he likes to do everything he is not suppose to do. He will be the one to sit on the moving conveyor belt when everyone is trying to get their luggage, kick sand on you when you are trying to lay out, and he is NOT shy to eating things off the floor or other weird places.
So when Stuart saw that Dasha had dropped one of her cashews on her arm, he grabbed her arm and licked off the cashew in a matter of seconds. All of a sudden the group noticed both Dasha and Stuart stopped walking and were looking at one another with wide eyes and shocked looks frozen on both their faces.
Apparently bird poop looks a lot like Cashew nuts.
Poor Stuart had yet another bad experience in Brazil, and accidentally eating bird poop has to top even the worse experiences. However even though bad luck seems to find him in every city, Stuart has been a good sport about everything and therefore has still had an amazing trip. I can just imagine what the Brazilians who witnessed this cashew incident thought of Stuart. I'm sure his legend will live on forever in the city of Foraleza. Years from today parents will tell their children stories of the poor American named Stuart. They might even make up a song for him to sing to brighten their days.
If he ever did have a song for his legend, it would be this...
(to the tune of yankee doodle)
Stuart the Americano
Thought he ate a cashew
When his face turned to a frown
He realized it was bird poo
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