Leaving on a Jet Plane

The first thing I've learned about moving to Brasil is that you have to "go with the flow." You can't plan everything no matter how loud your mother is yelling at you in French because you have no clue what your're doing. This became evident to me when I found out my entry visa wasn't ready a few days before my departure. Although I had filled out the necessary documents several months ago, Brasilian bureaucracy had ensured that the visa had all but been processed. I found myself in somewhat of a tight spot and freaked out. Freaking out only ruined my day though, and in the end it all worked out. From that moment on I realized that when in Brasil, you just have to hope for the best and see where things take you.

My first day in Sao Paulo was...well...informative. Within minutes of arriving at the Sao Paulo airport I realized that I can read Portuguese relatively well (esp when there are pictures next to the text), but when it comes to verbal communication - I am really lost. For example, when I got into a cab at the airport to head downtown, my cab driver drove about 500m, told me something in Portuguese, got out of his car, took my bags out of the trunk and left... I am currently looking into Portuguese lessons

Later that day, I was also somewhat disoriented. A woman from the SWAP program equivilent in Brasil met up with me at my hotel. She was very nice and took me out for dinner. Unfortunately she was from out of town and knew less about Sao Paulo than I did. She was even more paranoid about the city's crime situation and would call or text message home every hour to let her family know she was still alive! Needless to say, I was pretty alarmed.

My second day was much better. I met up with some of my dad's friends in the city, who I am currently staying with in their amazing condo that overlooks the city centre. They have a little boy who is really adorable and since he hasn't learned to speak yet, we communicate quite well. The family has been more than welcoming and has even invited me to join them at the beach this weekend. So far I'm having a great time in Sao Paulo and can't wait to see what these next few days bring.

3 things I love about Sao Paulo
- The street corners: every corner has a restaurant, cafe, salon, shop...etc. People are always out in the street and the neighbourhoods are full of life
- Ibirapuera park: It's like central park but much busier. On Sundays you can drink coconut juice and watch people do capoiera
- The people: Paulistas are very friendly and they come from everywhere...I'd say Sao Paulo is even more diverse than Toronto. The family I'm staying with has origins from Germany and China, which makes me feel pretty much at home.

1 thing I hate about Sao Paulo
- Every house, condo and apartment building is gated with barbed wire.