Carnaval no Rio de Janeiro

So I made it back in one piece from the world's biggest five day party: Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. My first word to describe the experience: overwhelming, my second word: mind-blowing, my third word: exhausting. Where do I start? There is so much.

So what is Carnaval? It is a five day festival before the beginning of lent that starts on Friday and ends mid-day on Ash Wednesday. The word Carnaval comes from the Roman Catholic word carnelevare which literally means to remove meat. Traditionally Catholics and some Christians abstained from eating meat during lent as a form of fasting. Carnaval, therefore, marks the beginning of this period. Okay so there is your classic Wikipedia info to give you a little background.

So what is Carnaval in Rio? It is five days of drunk free-for-all with all the Cerveja (beer), cigarettes and piss in the streets you want. Okay its more than that but at first glance in the eyes of a 21 year old girl who has barely been in Brazil a month, this was my first impression. The only religious aspect of it is the occasional glance up at the famous Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue that stands above the whole city and is visible from the streets down below. I couldn't help but almost feel guilty as I participated in the Carnaval mayhem with this statute hovering over us. I am not religious but I can't imagine what could be going through Christ's head as he observed: "Really guys this is how you prepare for the time set aside to reflect on me?" Because after all that is part of what lent is about, to contemplate the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ. But I digress, back to the inebriated chaos!        

Carnaval in Rio and in all of Brazil is famous for what are called Blocos, block parties. But don't get too ahead of yourself. This is no neighborhood barbecue. Furthermore, there is no one way to describe a bloco. They vary depending on the region in Brazil. In Rio, and the Southeast of Brazil in general, the blocos are filled with pure Samba music. Different Samba schools have their bands play on the top of big moving trucks and the school members dance throughout the city. People gather to follow the truck to dance and move along with the music. You have blocos of all sizes that go on all day. Some start at six in the morning others at four in the afternoon, so people just bounce (or should I say wobble/crawl) around from one bloco to the next. And everyone has some sort of costume on. Nothing too dramatic because granted its 95 degrees out in the hot sun, but yes some sort of costume. My friends and I were Flintstone characters, gypsies, princesses, etc. Every ten feet or so you have a little cart with a big blue umbrella sticking up over the crowd where you can find a wonderful selection of Antartica Beer (Brazilian equivalent to a Bud Light), Water and Red Bull. I would say the beer consumption for the average bystander was a beer every 10-15 minutes. An incredible rate really. That is about 5-6 beers an hour starting as early as six in the morning and going until 10 at night for five days in a row. Is your liver quivering? From time to time a cart would pass by with Caipirinha popsicles. These were really a treat, especially for people like me who do not enjoy drinking beer.

Anyways the cart vendors are what fascinated me the most. Most of them most likely live up in the favelas (city slums) and came down to the flat, developed part of the city to make their years earnings selling beer and water to Carnaval goers. The whole dynamic shows how separated the society is in Rio and all of Brazil and really most developing countries. There was one cart vendor that caught my attention as I stood amongst the free-for-all : A young mother with her two daughters about 11 and 13 years old. I first saw the youngest daughter walking through the crowd carrying the big, empy Styrofoam cooler over her shoulders towards her mom. Someone accidentally bumped her and the corner of the cooler poked her in the eye. Between the sweat drops and the bump the poor thing could not open her eye. Finally making her way through the mass of people with one eye closed she set the heavy cooler down and started rubbing her eye. Her older sister, anxious to refill the empty cooler, started pestering her to start helping, but the little girl could not stop rubbing her eye. The two of them started arguing and it reminded me of how I would bicker with my little sisters over some toy when we were younger. However, these girls were not fighting over some materialistic desire but rather over bucking up to the pain in order to make ends meet for the rest of the year. The argument ended with the youngest girl sitting on the curb next to her mom's cart with her head in her hands. I stood and watched as she sat there invisible to the mass of people standing around her. I wanted to sit down next to her and give her a hug or get her an ice pack. I looked over at her mom as she passed out one beer after the next. From her cart looking up a the hill there was a favela, looming over the boulevard in all its despair.

I don't know why this image stuck with me so much. It was mostly confusing being there during Carnaval, a time that represents Brazil's famous happy-go-lucky mentality, but still seeing so much misery within the cracks of the city. Last year I wrote a research paper on the street children of Latin America for my Latin American Politics class. I wrote a lot about Brazil because, although better now, it is infamous for its issue regarding homeless children. Mostly because of  the Candelária Church massacre in 1993 when Brazilian police men killed 8 street kids in Rio de Janeiro. So being there and seeing all this socio-economic turmoil that I read about in books and worked so hard to put into words for my final paper, was, well, very difficult to internalize. You go to college and learn so much about the world and all the issues and hardships that people face to then get graded on your knowledge about it. Then you have this grade and its like okay sweet. But you really don't know anything until you see it right there in front of you. And there it was over and over again from the little girl sitting on the curb rubbing her eye, to the group of street kids waiting on the corner to rob a lost tourist, to the two men smoking crack on Copacabana beach after a long day in the hot sun.

But don't be fooled. There is a reason why the New York Times just put Rio as the number one tourist destination for the upcoming years. It is a spectacular city filled with so much character, spunk, and not to mention loads of history. I loved walking along Ipanema beach humming the famed Bossa Nova song, "Girl from Ipanema", by Antônio Carlos Jobim and listening to live, late night Samba music outside old Carioca bars on the tranquil side streets as the day's festivities came to an end. I was also lucky enough to go to the world renowned Sambódromo, an all night parade featuring the best samba schools with meticulous costumes and extraordinary floats (youtube videos to follow). And of course, being a good tourist, I took the train up to the top of the small mountain where the Cristo Redentor statue stands to look out over the entire city of Rio de Janeiro. As cliché as it sounds, the view is absolutely breathtaking.

So what is my advice to you? Rio? Yes. 100% you gotta go. Buy one of those special underwear fanny packs that you put under your pants though. Thats a necessity. I want to go back so if anyone wants a travel partner, you got me. Rio during Carnaval? For me, probably would not do it again. Is it something that everyone should experience? I don't think so. If you are into 5 day parties with beer showers and pee in between your toes than yes, by all means go for it. But really, Rio has so much to offer outside of Carnaval so why not just skip the chaotic madness and go during a calmer period.

I am going to post pictures, videos and all that good stuff but am still getting them organized. So stay tuned for those coming up next! I am off to the beach with my roommate and her friends for the weekend. Stay warm, or cool depending on the hemisphere. Beijos para todos!

A quick update

Oi Gente!

Big news: I got an internship here in São Paulo at Deutsche Bank! About four months ago the Brazilian Government passed a new law that allows exchange students to have internships while studying abroad  here. It makes perfect sense. At the FAAP (my university) I will have only night classes from 7-10 making it so I have the whole day open to have an internship. Its great! The whole thing happened very quickly. A friend here put me in touch with people at Deutsche Bank, I sent them my resumé and they asked me to come in and interview. So then yesterday I got myself to the building (after chasing down my bus like a crazy person so I wouldn't be late) and had three different interviews. I don't think I have ever had such shaky hands or thought I was going to pass out while sitting down. After my third interview I got a tour of the building and then was sent on my way. Once I got home, I had an email waiting for me from the guys at the Bank saying congratulations on getting the internship! So there you have it! The first step into my career. You have to start somewhere. And hey, the Germans are really holding things (as in Europe) together right now so working at their bank is a good bet. Anyways I will be working in the electronic trading division for the Latin American region. Here is the Wikipedia link for electronic trading, don't worry I had to look it up too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_trading

I really do not know much more than that at this point. I feel like the biggest deer in the headlights. I do know that I am going to be speaking ALOT of Spanish since more of the clients are Spanish speakers. But then there in the Deutsche Bank office everything is in Portuguese. I will keep you all updated as much as I can. To be honest, I think there is a lot of confidentiality stuff that I am going to have to sign making it so I can't talk about things. I really have no idea. But everything I can share I will!

As for other updates: I spent a marvelous weekend visiting my Brazilian friend Maria and her family in their city Piracicaba, a small city located in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Maria and I met in Barcelona and had so many adventures together including going to Morocco for a week and then Italy. We hadn't seen each other in three years so it was very special to be able to be together again after so long. And this time we were speaking Portuguese! It was great. And of course her family could not of been more hospitable and kind. There really is nothing quite like the Latin American hospitality that you find down here. They treat you as if you are part of the family the second you walk into the door. And what comes with wonderful hospitableness? DELICIOUS home style Brazilian cooking. A new thing that I tried and loved and am actually craving right now as I write this: costelinha de porco, pork ribs. What did you think it was going to be something other than meat? Of course not. Let me tell you people, these are delicious, and I have never tasted anything like them. Erase all images of messy barbecued ribs that you get at Ruby Tuesday's out of your mind right now. Now imagine a big cast iron pot with sizzling oil and garlic, then think of a little pig and what its rib cage probably looks like. Now think of all those little ribs cut up into cubes and dropped into the cast iron pot. The meat is crispy on the outside but oh so tender on the inside. Its possible I ate the whole left side of the pig. Just saying. A delicious new experience.

I am posting some pictures here below that I took of my mini trip. Sorry none of the piglet chops.

 Here is the picture of an old Sugar factory in Piracicaba on the Piracicaba River

 Pedestrian bridge to go across the river

 Adorable little port on the river. I felt like I was in Storyland. I love all the different colors

 Cool pots

 This is a famous dessert/snack here: Acaí. Its a brazilian fruit that they than make into a really yummy sorbet almost. You get it with all sorts of toppings like granola, banana and strawberries. You can't actually see the acaí because of all the toppings but it is a dark purple and tastes somewhat similar to blueberries. It is delicious.

 Where we ate the Acaí

 For dinner we went to Maria's Parents friend's house and has an unbelievable seafood meal. Here they are cooking the seafood in the cast iron pots over a wood fire. Its all so civilized.

 The wood fire warms the surface so the food cooks.

 Finished product: Peixada. You got fish, shrimp, squid. Amazing. God this is painful. The other stew to the left is a fish head stew. Super scrumptious especially with the rice. Again, I had never met these people in my life but they treated me like I was family. It was a lovely evening.

 Here we are out at a Samba Rock bar. It is great here all the bars have live music. From left Me, Bruna (Maria's friend), Ana (Maria's sister), and Maria

Here Maria and I are three years later after Barcelona!


Thats all folks. Tomorrow I take off to Rio de Janeiro for Brazilian Carnaval. It is basically the biggest five day party that happens in the world. I am going with my other Brazilian friend who I met in Barcelona, Inaê. She and a bunch of her friends rented an apartment in Rio and invited me to come along. I am VERY excited to say the least. So look forward to updates from that at the end of next week! It is going to be wild!

Tchau Gente! Beijos!

Cooking class 1/30

Oi Pessoal!

So yesterday as the cultural component we had a cooking class! In addition to making the typical dishes such as feijoada, carne moída com batatas and arroz com cachaça (pictures below) we learned how to make Caipirinhas! Yes we got to make Brazilian cocktails at 12:00 in the afternoon while at school what of it? I am in the Souther Hemisphere remember, where things are just a bit more relaxed. Especially when your professors are two caipirinhas in! Anyways below is a link to the video of me making my first ever caipirinha. Key work: making. To say the least, I have had others made for me. Necessary ingredients:

• Half a Brazilian lemon (you might be able to find them in the specialty produce section back there in the US) 
• 1 shot of Cachaça (Brazilian alcohol that is the main ingredient in the caipirinha. You can also substitute in vodka but then you are getting away from the traditional beverage) 
• 3-4 small spoonfuls of sugar
• Ice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNlLthosdQ&feature=youtu.be

Yes I know the hair net is very flattering, it was required.

Here are some other pictures of the things we cooked along with the people that helped!

 Carne moída com batatas. Lots of garlic, onions, tomato sauce, meat, potatoes, salt. All stable ingrediens in Brazilian cuisine. Delicious.

 Feijoada. Probably the most famous Brazilian dish. Main ingredients: Beans (Feijão), garlic, onion, salt, beef, lingüiça, bacon, pork... yeah being a vegitarian is just not really an option. Feijoada takes a long time to make because you have to first soak the beans overnight and then cook the dish for about three hours the next day.  Also, after you eat it, all you want to do is go to bed because it is very heavy. Therefore, typically Brazilians eat it for lunch on Saturdays since they don't have to work afterwards. After indulging in this delicacy at 3 in the afternoon lets just say I could not eat anything for the rest of the day. That being said, it was VERY yummy.

 Salad! I was impressed this was included on the menu because like Argentines, Brazilians don't think about vegetables much. Meat, potatoes and rice are what make up a balanced diet here. Needless to say, we made a delectable salad with fresh lettuce, arugula, chives, tomatoes and mango.

 This was my first plate. I went back to seconds, obviously. And then thirds, naturally.

 Here is the gorgeous kitchen we got to cook in that looks out over São Paulo.

 View from kitchen.

 Us exchange students in our cooking atire! From left to right Rodolfo from Mexico, Me, Lily and Steve from France.

 Ingredients.

 Bag of meat. Think of filling up an entire shopping bag. That was about the size.

 Our caipirinha professor!

 The finished product

 The pretty table with the boys cooking in the background.

 Brazilian lemons used in the caipirinhas.

 Rice made with Cachaça!

 Steve helping our professor make the Feijoada.

Saúde!

Guarujá

Spontaneous. That is what this weekend was. Spur-of-the-moment. After spending Thursday night out dancing at a live Samba concert, and Friday walking around the beautiful Jardins neighborhood down to Ibirapuera park in São Paulo, my friends Elsa, Natalia and I decided we would like to spend the rest of the weekend on the Paulistan coast at the beach. Thanks to modern technology, within 20 minutes of deciding this we were able to book a room at a quaint Pousada (Brazilian version of a bed and breakfast) in Guarujá, a beach city located about 1 1/2 hours from SP. Everything was all set for us to leave early the next morning on the bus until we checked the weather: 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms. I was in denial about the prediction because for me beach towns are always going to be sunny and picturesque no matter what weather.com says. Well unfortunately, our warm sunny wishes were not enough to keep the rain away from Guarujá. And boy did it rain. BUT, we had an absolute blast. Here in Brazil they have an expression, "Chuva de verão"** which means summer rain. People say it as a way to say "Oh well, now lets move on". So needless to say, that was our mentality this weekend.

**Please watch your pronunciation on this people. "Chuva", is pronounced as Shoova, "de" as gee and "verão" as verOWW, get that nasal thing going on the OW part. Now say it all at once. Don't be embarrassed. Dad, I can only imagine how you are pronouncing these words right now.  Sometimes, to make my accent sound better I plug my nose to give me more of a nasal tone overall. It works. Until people look at you like you're crazy.

Upon arriving at our Pousada, after a winding bus trip along the edges of Brazil's plush, green, mountain sides, we were met by a plump, beaming Brazilian lady, Silvia, who immediately took us in as her own kin. Her daughter, who we also met, had just done an abroad program in Romania so Silvia knew what it was like to have a daughter traveling around in a foreign country. As soon as we got settled, Silvia offered to drive us along the coast to show us the different beaches and the center of town. The three of us, Silvia, along with her son and daughter piled in to the two-door, four-person car. It was raining hard at this point making it difficult to see out the foggy windows so instead, Elsa, Natalia and I used the car ride to practice our portuguese with Silvia and her family. Silvia told us how this summer had not been like the other summers because of all the rain. Guraujá is normally a quick getaway for the city folk but because of all the bad weather, less people were making the trip. Her daughter told us about how difficult it was to get used to the food in Romania. She could not warm up to things like raw fish for breakfast with her morning coffee. 

After making our way down the cost to the center of the city, Silvia brought us to a traditional Churrasquería where you pay by the kilo. This restaurant style is huge in Brazil and makes a lot of sense. Instead of paying $20 for a defrosted entree with one piece of meat, a small side of steamed vegetables and a baked potato like we do in the U.S., why not pay the same price for 6 pieces of meat, seafood stew, paella, a mountain of salad, grilled vegetables  steamed vegetables,  rice, beans and a fresh squeezed Maracujá juice. Okay so I went a little overboard. But you would of too. Two steps from the door is a buffet line with every thing an average human being could want. And this is no greasy Asian Buffet with mystery meat and soggy green beans. Oh no. You can tell right away how fresh the food is simply by looking at the endless salad bar with every type of lettuce you can thing of, sliced tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled quail eggs, cucumber, shredded carrot, pickled asparagus, corn, marinated red peppers, cornichons, sliced mango halves, papaya, cabbage. I could go on. In the next section you are bombarded with ensaldada rusa, tabouli, white rice, feijões (beans), roasted potatoes, grilled stuffed eggplant, sauteed garlic spinach, etc. And incase your plate wasn't heavy enough, here comes all the seafood. Fried fish, whole grilled fish filets, tomato seafood stew, seafood chowder in a pumpkin, grilled shrimp, calamari, seafood paella. Are your mouths watering? Well just wait. As you make your way to the end of the buffet line you are then at the beginning of yet another buffet, but this time of meat. So what do you prefer? Cheek, tongue, intestine? What about a baby goat? Yes, these were just some of the myriad options that awaited me as I stood there. Behind the plates of meat were burly, Brazilian men slaving away infront of the hot Churrasquería (Brazilian grill) in order to ensure that every cut was fresh and salted to perfection. 

Silvia and her family joined us for lunch. She made sure to get extra pieces of meat so that we were sure to try them. Before leaving she gave us her phone number so that if we had any problems or needed a ride, she would be there. 

The only downside to this pay-by-the-kilo method is that you know exactly how many kilos (note plural) you are about to eat. When you then convert it into pounds you sit there flabbergasted at your spotless plate feeling satisfied, and appalled? Impressed? Confused? It is really a bag of mixed emotions. Needless to say it was a delicious first experience accompanied by wonderful new friends. 

Elsa, Natalia and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the beach. The rain had let up at this point and even though it was still gray and cloudy the warm summer air lingered making walking around very pleasant. Around seven, although still full from our gluttonous lunches, we caught a whiff of something delicious being carried across the sand. As soon as our gaze was able to locate the smell we saw a man coming out of his beach stand carrying a mountainous plate of fried seafood to his customers. Without acknowledging the fact that none of us had more than an inch of room in our stomachs for more food, we sat down immediately in the plastic beach chairs and called the man over. Practically drooling, we told him we wanted exactly what he had just brought out to the other table. Twenty minutes later, caipirinhas in hand, there we were sitting on the beach with the biggest plate of fresh, crisp, fried fish, shrimp and calamare. Now, before you get all caught up on the fact that this was technically fried food, remember, it is no McDonalds or Long John Silvers. Instead, it was all breaded, battered and fried to perfection by this magical man in his little beach hut.  

I really do apologize for not having pictures of these gastronomic experiences. However, part of being a Foodie is actually forgetting that anything else in the world exists when delicious food is placed in front of you. The thought of stopping to take a picture before taking that first bite, well, it really does not even cross our minds. So for now you will just have to rely on the images my words create, or google it. That being said, I do want you to experience these things with me so I will try to remember in the future to take a quick snap shot before digging in. 

Sunday in Guarujá was spent on the beach drinking fresh coconut water along with a few more caipirinhas, eating mouthwatering fried seafood with each bite being yummier than the last, playing soccer with new friends, dancing, and swimming in the warm ocean water. As the three of us plopped down in our seats on the bus back to São Paulo that night, I could not help but beam at all the fun we just had in the past 48 hours. This really is what being abroad is all about: meeting new people, trying new things, going with the flow, and at the end of the day being so happy you did it all.

Here are a few pictures that I did manage to take on the trip! Thanks for reading!

  Fresh squeezed Maracujá juice! YUM

 Pictures of our Pousada. I compared it to a Bed and Breakfast, but like I said before it just has that Latin American flavor that us westerners never got the memo about. Take note of the hammocks! 

 Stairs going up to our room

 Elsa and Natalia eating our delicious breakfast of fresh papaya slices, yogurt, Brazilian coffee, and toast at our Pousada.

  View of the pool. We had a great late night swim here on Saturday. Silvia let us take a dip even though the pool technically closes at 10. She waited up for us, of course.

 This was my favorite part of the Pousada. I plan to have this exact thing in my backyard one day. Silvia really does have great style.

This is a Churrasquería so you have an idea. The little square is where you put the fire to cook the meat.

 Another view of the pool showing off more of Silvia's great decorative skills.

 Natalia, Elsa and I on Sunday after eating our scrumptious lunch on the beach.

 Elsa being a beach model. The huts in the background are where we ate.

New friends we met on the beach! Take note of stage in the background. A radio station was giving free dance classes all morning and all afternoon to who ever wanted them. It was probably one of the most fun things I have ever done. It felt like a flash mob. And i swear having 50 people dancing all together on the beach keeps away the rain. 

 View of the beach courtesy of Elsa.

 Me drinking my first coconut water (coco gelado) on the beach. One of the most refreshing things in the world.

First Pics

 Picture taken from the balcony of my friend's apartment in the Jardins neighborhood.

 The entrance to the FAAP (my university).

 Picture taken from the soccer museum looking out into São Paulo. On the right you have the Higienópolis neighborhood and on the left you have Pacaembu.

 View from my apartment window! I love those three colored buildings

 Picture taken from across the street of the FAAP. I tried to get the whole building but it is really big.

A furry Paulista named Doggie.

First Impressions

So here I am. São Paulo. I have been planning to come here since my freshmen year in college after I spent my gap year in Barcelona, Spain. Its funny when you think about doing something for so long and then once you do it its like... hmm... okay, here I am, now what? Sometimes I try to look out the window from my apartment and pretend I am in New York City or Barcelona but the truth is São Paulo has that Southern Hemisphere flavor that westerners just never seemed to capture. There is just not quite the same hustle and bustle cloud that lingers over everyone like you see back home.

I got here exactly one week and two days ago after spending three weeks with my family in Argentina and Uruguay. We had a really special time together and even though I was sad to say goodbye to them until July, I was ready to start this Brazilian adventure. So what was the first thing that stuck out to me on my drive into the city from the airport besides the infinite skyscrapers? Prostitutes. Tons. And every kind too: Women, men, transvestites, cross dressers. Some were clothed, some were half or basically naked. Any combination of sexuality/atire you can think of, I guarantee you, the streets of São Paulo have it. I was blown away. Sure, through my travels I have seen them scattered here and there. But never to the extent that I have here. From my apartment window, at night, I see them waiting in groups of three or four on the street corners. Cars stop by, the prostitutes come and go. And I don't live in the ghetto either. No sir. In fact, my address, Rua Marques de Itu, 181, is in the most expensive and historic neighborhood São Paulo has: Higienópolis. But anyways, enough about the prostitutes and on to more administrative matters.

I live here in an apartment with a Brazilian girl Dominique and a Swiss exchange student Josephine. Domi, 25, studied fashion at the FAAP University (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado), where I will be studying, as well and Jo, 23, studied law. They are both super nice girls and the three of us get along really well.

Thus far my typical day consists of my intensive Portuguese class at the FAAP from 1:30-5:30 Monday through Friday. Wednesday is a cultural class where all the different Portuguese classes come together to do some kind of activity pertaining to Brazilian culture. Yesterday we went to the Futebol (soccer) museum located inside a soccer stadium. It was built in 2009 so it is super modern with virtual soccer fields, soccer balls and cleats dating back to the turn of the century and endless archives of goals scored by famous soccer players from all around the world. Soccer here is a religion. And I don't mean a casual religion where maybe you go to church ever now and again. This is a Southern Christian Baptist, Evangelical, Right Wing kind of religion. Our tour guide, Bruno, was not only a Futebol encyclopedia, but had so much passion when telling us about the Brazilian soccer culture. Instead of listing off dates and names he told us about all the times he cried after this guy scored this goal and after this team won this championship. Besides being entertaining, the whole experience was super interesting. I could go on and on but we have other things to cover.

Like I said I am currently taking my Portuguese classes at the FAAP and then starting after Carnival (mid February) I will begin taking regular university courses mostly to do with International Economics and International Relations. However, word on the street is that the FAAP is super famous for their fashion program so I am going to be adventurous and take one or maybe even two fashion courses. Who knows maybe ill be discovered.

As far as speaking the language goes I am impressed with how much I can already say and understand. Knowing Spanish really gives you a leg up when learning Portuguese. That being said I am still speaking what people here call Portuñol, a combination of Spanish and Portuguese (Portuguese and Español). The good news is I hardly ever speak English. I have made friends with a lot of Spanish Speakers from Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela so needless to say we speak a lot of Spanish.

To be honest I was a little naive to the fact that São Paulo is the 3rd largest city in the world. It is HUGE. Immense. Gigantic. And also, very difficult to figure out. NYC has its perfect grid system that makes getting around pretty doable. São Paulo is filled with winding streets that end or change names. Some areas are okay to walk in and some are a death wish. It will all take time. Little by little I will get my bearings. Also, another little fun fact to leave you with before I sign out: São Paulo is the city that has the most personal helicopters. Instead of cars (or maybe in addition to) people have a helicopter, that they use to get around the city. Bad traffic? Just take your helicopter! Probably per day, I see 10-12 of them. Absolutely crazy. They have shopping malls here that you can only go to BY HELICOPTER.  As I am writing this, what is flying over me? A helicopter.

So there it is folks: my first official blog entry. I could go on writing forever describing every one of my senses experiences thus far in this big metropolis but you have probably procrastinated enough by reading this and now should really get back to work :) So stay tuned. I will be updating the blog at least every week if not more. I will also be posting videos of me or something cool, pictures, articles?, all that good stuff. If you have a question about something shoot me an email or comment on this. Can you comment? I am new to this whole blog experience.

Ps: I know I have not written anything about food which, as you all know, is weird because I am what you would call a Foodie. I live and dream food. I plan to give a food update next. But I just need some more material. Student budget here folks.

I wanted to leave you all with some pictures but am having some technological difficulties. So stay tuned for pictures.

Até logo!