Downtown

Amazing walking tour today. Great to see some cool sights and have a good wander! Bit of an overcast day sadly. The architecture is very varied. There are some beautiful buildings next to some seriously ugly ones, and the graffiti isn't always pretty!

Can't resist the graffiti shots

Skyscrapers!

Theatre

Cathedral

Mini Christ the Redeemer

Central part of Sao Paulo

First skyscraper built in Sao Paulo

Based on the Empire State Building

Typical skyline

Tallest building in Brazil!

Love the mansion built on top

Rock n Roll Gallery

Most famous crossroads in Sao Paulo

Food

Ahhh....one of my favourite topics!

Brazilian food....well of course there is steak! We have had a few, and they are lush. We are saving a famous steak house for our pay day treat...two weeks to go! Last weekend we had feijoada. Man, I wish I liked beans. And also pork. I am glad we went, though I am not a huge fan. Tongue, ears, tail and feet feature pretty heavily. The naive lil cohort of Brits that we are, went up at the end to get the orange segments as a dessert, not realizing that they are part of it. You live and learn!

My colleague and I have developed an obsession with Pao de queijo: cheesey bread. It is so delicious, and sold everywhere, yet not particualrly good for the waistline! After coming from Kenya, where shopping sucked, it is amazing to find shops everywhere, as well as places like McDonalds and Starbucks walking distance from home, and next door to school (dangerous, though I haven't been yet). I don't think there will be much that I will miss from home (or even Kenya haha) food wise, though we can't seem to turn my oven on and eating out or just eating pao de queijo may not be so appealing in 6 months!

One of the teachers in work is adamant that it is law here to serve rice and beans in every school. It does appear on our daily school menu, as well as other carbs and proteins.....I actively avoid the beans! We have started going to local lil restaurants in our neighborhood as they are amazingly cheap and pretty yummy. What surprises us all though is that you order a complete meal, and yet out comes two more accompaniments.....rice and beans. It is an insane amount of food! I have learnt how to say, no beans, in Portuguese! You always learn the essentials first!

Introduction to Samba

Last week we went out to listen to and watch some samba. Carnival is still months away, but the rehearsals have begun, and we are now all desperate for it! I have been so excited about Carnival since deciding on coming, but now that I am here I am realizing just what a HUGE event it is for the Brazilians. They absolutely love it. We have a mini carnival in school....and this year have to make floats too, oh man!

Some Brazilian friends took us to watch the choosing of the Samba song for a Sao Paulo group's carnival. They will play the song repeatedly for 90 minutes during their parade.....wow.

The band rehearse

The music was amazing! The drumming is so exciting, and the rhythm just gets into you! Sadly, we didn't see many cool costumes, but their time will come. An interesting thing about the Brazilians is that they love being photographed. It's not like in some cultures when you must ask to take photos, they will actively pose. There was so much ceremony involved, even in just a rehearsal. Lots of people paraded through and kissed the flag. Bring on carnival!

Have no idea who or why, but they are so cute!

Grafitti

Today we explored the grafitti zone of the city. I have been keen to go here for weeks, and it didn't disappoint!

Enjoy some pictures! I think it makes the city look really gritty and edgy!

I love the big lips on this one

Oral hygiene Brazilian style

At a staff meeting last week when we were discussing the routines of the day, the head told us that after lunch the Brazilian children would all want to brush their teeth. Sure enough they do, and I have spotted my TA a few times with her toothbrush in hand. It seems to pay off though, they do all have very good teeth! I thought that was that, but the Brazilians take it further...at a bar on Friday night we did have a good giggle at a discovery in the bathrooms! There was mouthwash in a soap dispenser type container with little plastic cups next to it. I have now seen this a few times and am actually a new convert, it is awesome! No excuses for bad breath here!

First impressions of Sao Paulo

So, the trunk returned in true last minute fashion and frantic packing over, the journey began. I think that I have cried enough over the last few months to not cry for a while so surprisingly the goodbyes came and went and on my way I went. Finding lots of lush sweet treats helped too! I was doing well until on day 2 I found a cute card from my niece. She didn’t even have to draw a picture of me crying to make me shed a tear! The last few days have been so busy there hasn’t been much chance to think which has actually been a good thing. 

Sao Paulo…..first impressions? Hmmm: tall! It really is so built up. There are skyscrapers everywhere. The highways are huge, and the people very friendly. I need to learn Portuguese desperately. But for now, instead of irritation, there are lots of giggles. Buying a sim card was hilarious for all of us involved. I am very appreciative of their patience! I had a lil wander today and saw a lot of cool graffiti.

Excuse the over exposure

This one made me smile

I definitely know that I am not in Africa, but am yet to really feel like I’m really in South America. I am sure it will soon come. Brazilian beer and steak definitely live up to their reputation. I am not at all disappointed, nor tempted to go back to my veggie ways!

I keep being told about how bad the traffic and driving is. I am yet to experience either, though compared  to Nairobi, it better be horrific for all the talk it receives! Beautiful Brazilians is something else I sadly haven’t been bombarded with! A lot of topless men though which was a bit surprising, and loads of dogs! 

My apartment is nice and in a lovely area. I live on the 13^th floor, in an 18 storey building. The views are cool, though we do live on a flight path……I am hoping I will get used to it! Still, I do prefer hearing traffic and planes to cockerels and barking dogs which was the bane of my life sometimes in Nairobi! Thank goodness for ear plugs. The apartment is modern and nicely done. I have started buying frames and things to personalize it, and it is feeling more like mine. 5 other teachers live in the building which is fab. We are all on different floors (I am the highest which I love, as was hoping to be up high) but we see each other a lot which is cool. We have spent rather a lot of time by the pool which is lush.

View from my apartment

Night shot

The school is impressive. It is not yet totally finished, and I think we will all need to be patient over the next few weeks, but it looks great. It is all so modern and swanky. The old campus (2 years old is old here!) has its playground on the roof! It is so random but this is city living in Sao Paulo! 

Today we went for a walk in the park near us. It is beautiful and really big. I was amazed by all we saw. It was a real cross section of Brazilian recreation. Some of the highlights had to be a dog on a skateboard and tight rope walkers! I am so surprised to see so many tattoos too-nearly everyone seems to have one or several!

Over the last few days I have been thinking about what to call this blog, but I have come to the conclusion that for now, I am not ready to end African Adventures. I am hoping to return, maybe it won’t happen, a lot can change, but for now, Sao Paulo and my South American adventures, will stay here!