Update

Look at how well we did!!!! All for free as well, amazing!!!

Complete!

Opening Game

The World Cup is finally here! I woke up to car's horns beeping, and real excitement on the streets. 

Will they be able to add 2014?

Rusty  the night before the match, enjoying the flags!

We bought tickets to a bar to watch as wanted seats (oh man, when did we get so old?!). All dressed in our football shirts....there was just a sea of yellow! The atmosphere was really good.....how it changed when Brazil scored the own goal though.....it just went so silent. People were so upset and there were tears! Brazil brought it back, so all was ok and there were huge celebrations at the end...for about ten minutes! After the game, the place just emptied! There was no hanging around to celebrate. Very different to what happens after matches elsewhere. 

End of term

Did it!!!! Cannot believe that I made it. Resilience!!

Ayesha and I popped out at lunch for a little treat....we were oh so classy at the garage shop with our straws hahaha

Speech day the following day was hilarious in its ridiculousness. I think it was good that we had to sit with our classes, else we would have been crying with laughter at its absolute farce and BS! (Excuse my French, but I challenge anyone to have been there and not use that!) We went for lunch and champers afterwards to celebrate as the cowboy ranch is now part of our past!

Check out the wooden stand!

Fabio joined the school after carnival and has been a great addition! As his three closest work friends are leaving, he made us each a mobile phone stand as a parting gift. So sweet, but so random. He let me choose first, so I chose the one that actually holds the phone (hahahaha) poor Emma and Luke thought theirs was a joke gift and had to backtrack really quickly!

It was very sad saying good bye to friends and the kids, especially the Brazilian ones. But this is part of international living.... lots of hellos coming up :)

Yakoi Kusama

A friend told us about Yakoi Kusama's Infinity Obsession exhibition that created crazy multiple hours of queues in NY....but was pretty quiet in SP and definitely worth a look. Hmm....it made Emma and I giggle quite a bit...obsessions with narcissism and all things phallic....but some of it was really good, and it made a fun start to an evening. We are desperately trying to make the most of all thins SP!

What I will miss…..

As my time in Brazil comes to an end, I am trying to appreciate just how developed it is, and what an amazing year it has been, despite its many challenges. It is so easy to be romantic and rose tinted about places at the end…. however, some of the images of Sao Paulo and Brazil make it easy to see that in many ways it is sadly very similar to Africa in terms of development and equality. This year has been one of the toughest, and I am impressed by my resilience to stick it out, yet Brazil, in time has proven itself to be an awesome place, and I will miss it a lot. I am pleased I came. That is a sentence I don't think I could have written up to even a couple of months ago!

So, aside from friends (and drinking wine in cinemas!), how has Sao Paulo made me sad to say farewell…..

Food: Now generally this is a bit of a push factor as I am not a huge fan! Looking forward to a break from salt! But there are certain things that are delicious and sadly not available outside of Brazil. Acai is of course number one! The steaks and brigadeiros complete the list!

Travel: It has been so easy to get around and see the country and I am amazed by how much we have done in a year. South America is all so well connected and I am excited about exploring further in the coming weeks. It has been awesome to achieve and experience things I never thought I would. Rio Carnival and the Amazon were both mind blowing, but in very different ways.

People: Being able to blend in, and not being an obvious foreigner (until I speak!) is a great bonus. Friends of course, but as I keep realizing, sadly this is one of the costs of living around the world….friends then are all over the place, but there are plenty of gorgeous ones waiting for me in the UK, as well as lovely family.

Craziness: There is always something happening. The art scene, beaches, festivals, sights….it is a country rich in diversity and has just so much to see and do. There is also so much that simply doesn't make sense and although baffling, it is so funny and random, and charming in its own way! 

Cinema

We've been meaning to go to the cinema…well, all year! As Maleficent is finally out, Emma, Ana and I decided a girly treat was needed, and so went to the VIP cinema here. Huge comfy chairs, waitress service and wine…..amazing!! Aww Sao Paulo….you shouldn't be so charming in the final few days….

Looking ao cool with our 3D glasses!

If you can't beat them…..

Emma and I were given a sticker manual…..we have been so busy during break times. Fortunately our classes think it is awesome and are being very helpful! We are determined to do it without spending a penny…..and only a couple more days in school for free stickers….hmmm…...

Addictive!!!

Basketball

Sadly, rugby is not popular here in Brazil….but you have to go with what is available…..Rusty somehow in his random genius managed to get us all free tickets to the national semi finals in Basketball. I've never watched a game before, and so was quite unsure of the rules, but with a lot of watching and chatting we managed to get a rough idea! The qames had such a high tempo, and changed so quickly. Acai was served which I thought was the best thing ever! I do love Brazil!

Brasilia

As part of my Geography A-level we studied Brasilia. I have been so intrigued by it since then, despite everyone in Brazil saying it is super boring and not worth going to! A friend, Michal, moved there a few months ago so Emma and I finally had an excuse to go visit. We arrived Friday night and went for a drive around the city (avoiding the word cup protests!) which was totally different to any other Brazilian one we've visited! Cool architecture, modern, no favelas..... We sadly did not manage to see the aeroplane shape from the air, but Felipe tried to explain the rules of the sections and would say when driving us about, we are in the wing part now, or this is the cockpit! So interesting! It was so nice to be warm again, as SP has got so chilly! 

The cathedral

Parliament building

Felipe, Michal and Emma

Brasilia was very unique. Everything is in sections, so we would drive around and see nothing but pharmacies, or mechanics in some parts. They even have a police section, and a hospital one! Hilarious! Surely not the best though to have certain services all together in one area and not around the city....

Michal had planned a camping trip a couple of hours away in Pirenopolis where there are lots of waterfalls. It was a gorgeous drive over. Brasilia really is in the middle of nowhere so was great to be out of the city quickly and easily. We camped on a private reserve next to a river. I still have no idea how to put up (or down) a tent!

Michal thought the red tent was a four man tent....hmmm.....they had to sleep in the car!

We barbecued and chilled out. It was such a fantastic weekend!

Jose and Natasha

Emma still has her Bahia ribbons....

Just as we were leaving, this was spotted :)

Toucan number 3!

As we were driving home, some amazing colours in the sky caught my eye.....it was three yellow and blue macaws! They were so beautiful! They were so long, and flew so elegantly. We were all so excited to see them! I am so happy to finally have got to see them in the wild here. Other interesting spots....a man riding a cow! Hahahaha