São Paulo- Rio de Janeiro RECAP - Jan 24-Feb 12

My first encounters in Brasil were with my brother david in 2008. I’ll never forget those first days, after crossing the border from Montevideo, Uruguay to Porto Alegre, we awoke to an entirely different world. For 10 months we had traveled latin america like seasoned veterans, barganing prices and chatting up locals. Suddenly we found ourselves in a foreign land, one where ordering a beer at a bar proved to be as complicated as paying for it. As the weeks passed and we began to grasp the complex ’ slang’ that is Portuguese in brasil, we quickly fell in love with the culture, the food, the beaches and its people. This blog find me back in Brasil, a year and a half later. Only this time I’m here with a purpose. I will be living in Sao Paulo, working with a progressive environmental NGO called Akatu. They have brought me on board because they are starting a pilot program to directly engage youth at the Univ level. The pilot program will seek to work with the most prestigious universities, and capacitate future CEO’s in environmental awareness practices before they even become CEOs. That way when they are eventually hired as high ranking managers they will hopefully put these environmentally responsible methods into practice….
I digress….Let me take you back to day one….

When you are walking off the plane, through the tunnel and you look out the window and all you see are palm trees you know you’re in the right place.
My first deep breathe of that humid tropical air reminded me of arriving in San Pedro Sula Honduras and how much I feel like I belong here. There is something to be said about that gut feeling when you are somewhere new and feel assured that it is exactly where you are supposed to be. I feel that way every time I land in Honduras.
I promptly recovered my lone bag and headed for the public bus stop (didn’t even entertain the idea of a taxi, even with 6 months worth of luggage with me). The public bus took me to the Tatuape metro stop where I was supposed to get myself to the Brigadeiro stop to be met by a friend David and I met while we were dominating Buenos Aires. Claudinha picked me up and swooped me to her family’s home, about 35 min outside the city. Her mother had lunch on the table and before I knew it I was laughing and telling stories over a plate of presunto lasagna. We talked politics, obama, lula, hugo chavez and american history. We spent hours on the computer finding legit apartments to rent and Claudinha made most of the calls because I said I had vergonha and still too nervous to test my rusty Portuguese.

Day 2 -
Took the bus to Consolaçao and got off at Avenida Paulista where I took the train to Jabaquara metro stop, right next to the Rodoviaria bus station. Remember to investigate Rio tickets for carnaval and take note of ALL prices as you interact with the city. The first thing I ALWAYS do is make sure I know what costs what. If the price of a kilo of tomatoes rose within the past week I want to know about it…And I will damn sure find out because its all I talk about with old ladies. They love talking about the skyrocketing price of vegetables and frijoles.
The only apt I checked out today was in Bairro ABC near the zoologico, far far away from downtown where I‘ll be working.. I answered a random add in the paper.
Michel, who was car jacked outside his univ last year, shot, and paralyzed from the waste down, lives with his mom in a beautiful cozy home. He picked me up at Metro stop Saude with his enormous rotweiler, Morpheos in tow. We hung out at his house, talked music, women and travel…. I ran out to buy a beer and we sat on his porch and watched as the daily tropical thunderstorms waterfalls through his recently (poorly) renovated roof. What a powerful story though. At 2 am he was hanging out with friends eating hotdogs when a thief tried to take his FIAT and shot him in the ribs, the bullet lodged right against his spinal column and left him for dead. Two surgeries later and countless hours of physical therapy and he can now barely move his knees. His life is now restricted to a wheelchair. Movies, Video games and music are most of his daily activities. I cant imagine such a thing happening. His mom walked me to the bus stop and as we spoke as she waited with me. I could tell how fresh and present her pain still was, I could tell she still wanted to cry every time she spoke about it. Michel spoke of his condition frankly and openly. His mom told me about the months after the shooting and how Michel just wanted to give up so many times.
The only pain that comes close to Michels is probably that of his mom, watching her 27 year old, withered and frail, struggle to wheel himself around…. It should be noted that Sao Paulo is a city of roughly 18 million people. This means that on any given day …anything can happen.


Day 3

1-29-2010
Spent today sleeping and responding to OYE necessities. We got some really amazing support this past new years. Before I’m still staying at the Soares house and they tell me to get my dancing shoes on…because we’ree going to a samba school…Escola de Samba.
First we went to Mr Juarez bar. An huge upscale bar and rest with soccer jerseys framed throughout. Mr Jurarez was recently kidnapped and released before anyone paid the ransom…Word on the street is that the cops were getting close to discovering his kidnappers and they got scared…Yes, one week in and I already know what the word on the street is. El Progreso taught me that. …..Mr Juarez is a fat old man who owns many bars… Claudio Soares, my temporary dad does the books for many bars and is good friends with him. We went to his most popular bar and I after a few minutes I felt like I was in a scene from the movie Goodfellas. The top floor was private for family. Shaking hands, hugging and kissing everyone. You can tell they are from the old school because if they like you they give you a little slap on the face. Free food and drinks. Looked like a big family affair, everyone knew each other except for me of course…I was the gringo friend with the Soares family. In like flin. They made me try evey cachaca they had, honey dew flavored, Beija Flor (hummingbird) among many… Later we split and went to the Vila Madalena samba school. 5 real entrada. We drank and danced until her friends Vanesa and Diana got there. I love the intensity of samba.. The bateria is what really gets me going. When those guys are pounding away on their drums there is no room in your brain for any wandering thoughts. You are totally in the moment. Having a half naked women shake her hips from here to San Antonio while everyone drips from sweat and laughter doesn’t hurt either. ..got me really excited for carnaval in Rio.
I hope that works out. Don’t know where I’ll stay or how I’m going to pull it off but it must happen. Shoot…It’s only one week away…..
I got home late, after a midnight stop at Habibs fastfood and ended up talking with Claudio about nuclear proliferation. How dangerous the radical mentality and instability of the middle east is for the rest of the world and how I think the US is creating a new generation of terrorists by our presence in the mid east. Countries with thousands of years of history are now being told what to do by a country 400 years old?? Nao da.. Realistically, I don’t see it happening.
I ate Habibs coxinhas (similar to Persian fast food) and talked shit with Senhor Claudio till 2 am.

Staying with claudinha has been a great introduction to Brasil they are all so cultured and smart and have taught me much about Sao Paulo.
Buenas noches.
sleep

Feb 3 2010

Apartment hunting was short and sweet. Saw three places and settled for the most local and least cramped, which isn’t saying much since I now rent a bed in a 2 bedroom apt with 6 people living in it. I’m near the Barrafunda metro and my new job is only about a 30 minute bus ride away, which is practically nothing in Sao Paulo terms. The rain here has reached biblical proportions. Every single day for the last 40 days and counting…fierce violent rains come and goe throughout the day, sometimes for hours at a time. It basically means each day ends at about 5 pm when there is a 100% chance of rain, so you better be near shelter and on high ground to avoid the massive flash floods. I think even Noah and his Ark would be intimidated.

Sao Paulo is an amazing city. It really is the NY of South America. Or maybe NY is the Sao Paulo of the US. The definition of a melting pot, there is always an art exhibit, live concert, street performance, samba school or block party right around every corner. In my first week I went to a samba school party with a group of Claudinhas friends from Cotias (suburb of inner SP) then went to the SP futebol classic between Corinthians and Palmeiras (to the surprise of everyone I tell because of all the violence between the two ‘ torcidas’ ).

I’m not living in my new apt and my roomates are starting to open up to the fact that a gringo now lives among them. In Brasil a gringo is basically ANYONE who is not from Brasil. They even call argentinians gringos…Imagine that.
Last night I went to a rock and roll club near my new apt, entry was R25!! but Fabi, my new roommate, is a rocker herself and got us in VIP where every single person was drenched in tattoos. Leti, Claudiha and I danced the night away. To my delight the DJ shifted from Brasilian rock to old school Elvis Presly and james brown. I was amazed to see such a young generation in SP singing a james brown song word for word. Of course we were top of the food chain as we led the entire club in a sing along way above from VIP.
Tonight is Fabis birthday so shes got us on a guest list for this new place that just opened called Hot Hot.
This Friday I am off to Rio to stay at Danielas house for carnaval. Don’t know what to expect, but at least I have a place to lay my head.
I don’t start work until the 22nd of Feb so until then I have been trying to get to know my roomates, roaming the city and my local neighborhood so I know how to get around. The other day I was lost for half an hour and finally realized I had been a block away from my apt the entire time.
This city is massive.

The next week is kind of a blur. Carnaval will do that to you..
I will post a recap soonest… Please excuse the randomness…