Finally Some Pictures


Here are just a few pictures of my school.

The Main Entrance

The stain glass wall you see upon entering the main building

The entrance to the Museum of Brasilian Art housed inside the school

The doorway

The courtyard

And here is the view from my window.

And just because I think it's funny... here is the closest restaurant to my apartment

More to come soon :)

Bom Carnaval 

Basically the entire country of Brasil shuts down for the week of Carnaval.  Carnaval technically starts the Friday before ash Wednesday, and continues until that Tuesday.  There are parades all throughout Brasil but the most famous and most extravagant are in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Sao Paulo.  Sao Paulo and Bahia's parades are held on the Friday and Saturday evening, with the award show and final ceremony on Sunday, while Rio's parade usually starts on the Sunday and ends on Tuesday.

Most business' are closed from Saturday until Wednesday and open again on Thursday.

Usually when people greet each other in Brasil we use the expression "Tudo Bem" and when we leave each other we say "Tchau".  During Carnaval, either of these expressions can be replaced with "Bom Carnaval".  Needless to say I heard this expression more times last week than I have ever heard any other expression in my lifetime.

For my Carnaval, I decided to stay in Sao Paulo because traveling is not only a little dangerous during Carnaval, but alsoextremely expensive.

I tried to get tickets to the Sao Paulo Sombodromo (the gigantic arena where the parade is held), but thanks to my appointment with the federal police, I wasn't able to get a ticket before the ticket offices closed.

At first I was pretty bummed, but then I talked to my roommates and none of them have ever even been to Sombodromo and they usually just watch all of the parades on TV with family and friends.  They said that more tourists go to Sombodromo than Brasilians, and that the bloco we went to was how they have always celebrated Carnaval, so this made me feel a little better (a little like a Brasilian actually).

All schools are closed during Carnaval, so I enjoyed the week off by watching the parades on TV, spending time with my roommates and wandering around Sao Paulo.

I spent the majority of one day just figuring out the subway. 

Spent one day wandering around Avenida Paulista looking at parks, shops and landmarks.

I also explored Rua Vinte Cinco de Marco, the largest outdoor shopping venue in all of South America.

(Pictures of all these places will be coming soon)

After last week I feel like I know my way around Sao Paulo a little better, and I found many places that I would like to go back to and spend more time.  While I had a good time, I am looking forward to getting back into school so I can learn some Portuguese and get even more comfortable here.

Journey to the Federal Police/ Satan's Lair 

Okay, so when you come to Brasil for an extended amount of time, you have to register your passport and visa with the federal police in order to be here legally.  Also, this has to be done within 30 days of your arrival into Brasil.  This week is Carnaval, which means most businesses are closed from Saturday (2/18) to Wednesday (2/22), so for people like me who arrived during this busy time, it's important to get to the federal police either before or right after Carnaval to deal with registration.  

My school made an appointment for me to go last Friday(2/17) morning, and of course, they didn't tell met his until Wednesday afternoon when they handed me a checklist of things to take care of.

Step 1: make an appointment - - Check

Step 2: pay federal taxes... 200 reais worth!! - - Check (not very happy about this)

Step 3: make copies of every used page in your passport, your visa application, both immigration forms and ID - - Check

Step 4: get all copies listed above notarized - - Check

Step 5: get to the Federal Police building which resides in Lapa, two towns away from Sao Paulo - - Check (I know this doesn't seem difficult, but considering I have only taken the metro/onibus once... It was a bit challenging)

Step 6: turn in your papers to the police and wait, wait, wait, wait - - (2 hours later) Check

Step 7: Fingerprints... here's where it gets fun

So, when it was finally my turn to be fingerprinted, I sat down and we started with my right hand.  

Side Note: I wear my high school ring on my right ring finger, however, my high school right is just a simple silver band.  Here is Brasil, when you are engaged, you wear the ring on your right ring finger, and after you are married, you put a new ring on your left ring finger and take the old one off.  

So of course, not knowing this, I sit down, give the guy my right hand and he looks at my paperwork and notices that under "marital status" I have checked single. He tells me that I need to change this to "married" if I will be married sometime while I am in Brasil and then start all over with this process.  Well, of course I can only understand every fourth word he says, so Im confused and worried and somehow, 10 frustrating minutes later, while speaking Portuglish (my new word for Portuguese and English combined), we figure out that my ring is not an engagement ring and my paperwork is just fine.

Here's the best part: The man who helped us with our language barrier was also getting his fingerprints done and he was from Iran.  After the whole debacle, the Brazilian man who was doing my fingerprints says, "Voce Americana? Ele e do Iran." (Translation: You're American? He is from Iran.) and then makes a bomb noise and gesture with his hands and starts laughing....

In Conclusion: 

Taxes = R$200

Copies = R$5

Notarizing = R$15

Metro/Onibus toll = R$6 roundtrip

Getting registration over with and (hopefully) never going back = Priceless  :)

O Bloco e A Bateria

This Sunday I went to a "bloco" with my roommate Ana.  When she invited me to the bloco she explained it to be a kind of BBQ/block party where the neighborhood gets together and invites friends and family over for a pre-carnaval celebration.  Turns out, block parties to Brazilians are quite different than what I remember taking part in as a kid.

At a bloco, friends and family from one neighborhood come together to eat, drink and samba.  The day started out normal as we headed to the metro to meet up with a group of Ana's friends.  We took the metro to a meeting spot about 30 minutes away from where I live.  At the meeting spot you buy a t-shirt and a hat (both cost about R$10, or about $7 USD).  This t-shirt/hat are your "ticket" to the bloco and allow you a complimentary ride on the metro to the neighborhood where the bloco is taking place as well as unlimited cerveja (beer).

At the bloco, friends and family enjoy food, cerveja and each others company as the bateria prepares to play.  A bateria is the percussion portion of a Brazilian band (also called Escola de Samba around Carnaval time, literally meaning Samba School).  

THEN, the bateria begins to play.  

The bateria that I was with consisted of about 25 different drums, 10-15 tambourine players, two acoustic guitar players and a leader.  As the bateria plays they walk down the block while the friends and family dance samba all the way down the street.  It takes about 30 minutes just to walk this one block because the bateria stops between songs to chant or sing.

This was like nothing I have ever seen before.  Everyone in the neighborhood sings and dances to the music, and people come from other neighborhoods to watch the bateria play.  The music was beautiful, and the girls who can really dance samba (unlike us gringas) are amazing to watch.  This was my first real cultural celebration in Brasil, and it was only a "practice" for Carnaval.  

Since the music is playing so loudly and people are dancing, it is not required to speak Portuguese to fit in... so for the first time here in Brasil, I finally fit in. :)

I came home with a hat, a shirt and an amazing cultural experience.

Eu Sou Sam... And other findings

So, at this point, I still can't speak Portuguese, which means I can't understand any conversations going on around me, but I have learned quite a few other things.

1. Eu Sou Sam.  Yes, I watched I am Sam in Portuguese (the voice-overs were hilarious)

2. It rains in Sao Paulo pretty much everyday of summer, so always have an umbrella

3. When it rains, tons of men come out onto the streets to sell umbrellas to gringas like me who don't have one

4. Everything is made with either meat, cheese, bread or all three

5.  Salad or "salada" just means plain lettuce (alface) and tomato (tomate).  Its more like what you put on a burger than a salad.

6. You can order juice (suco) either with water (com agua) or with milk (com leite).
7.  The internet sights like google and yahoo are automatically changed to Portuguese when I type them in, which makes it really hard to navigate, but I'm hoping I can figure out a way to search google in English soon.

8.  Don't flush the toilet paper.... yup.

My school is beautiful, and is the home of the Museum of Brazilian Art, and the class that I am enrolled in seems really great.  It's a small program, maybe about 30-40 participants in all, and there are only two other Americans but I haven't had a chance to actually meet them yet.

The professors and coordinators seem very nice and are willing to help with most anything that we need.

School doesn't start until Monday for me, and I think this is the most I have ever wanted school to start in my life.  It's difficult not being able to speak Portuguese, so I really want to start learning right away.

Other than that, I don't have much else for you, but Carnaval is next week and all schools are closed so I'm sure I will have some pictures and stories by then.

Departures, Air time and Arrivals

Yesterday morning around 9:15am I was hearing the words "Now boarding Group B, flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles".  

By this morning I was hearing "Agora comecamos nossa descendencia em Sao Paulo, Brazil" (And yes I had to translate that using my phone).

Here's how the flying went...

Arrived at the SFO with my parents, obtained my boarding passes and said our goodbyes

SFO - LAX: Nothing special, a quick 50 minute flight on American Airlines

LAX - Lima, Peru: The minute I got to the terminal I realized that English was no longer the most popular language, it was Spanish.  All announcements were said in Spanish first and then translated into English.  I sat next to a sweet little Japanese lady who barely spoke any english, but gave me some yummy Japanese candies.  By the way, international flights are awesome, they feed you every three hours and they have movies!! (Obviously I have never flown anything but Southwest before).

In Lima: When you deplane in Lima, a little shuttle comes to pick you up and you actually walk down giant make-shift steps straight from the airplane and the shuttle drives you back to the airport.  It was only an hour layover so I stayed near my gate and met my first Brazilian friend, Uyara.  She lives about three hours south of Sao Paulo and was coming back from Miami where she was visiting her sister and parents.

Lima, Peru - Sao Paulo, Brazil: This time I was seated next to a Peruvian man named David.  He was very friendly and has traveled to Sao Paulo many times so her gave me a lot of restaurant and entertainment recommendations.  On this flight I was given immigration papers (of course they were written in Spanish), and David was very helpful in translating the questions so i could fill my papers out. 

Arrive in Sao Paulo: I was immediately rushed to customs and stood in line for about 40 minutes before getting to the immigration desk.  Once my papers were stamped I found my way to the main lobby where my taxi driver from FAAP was waiting for me.

Two Things:

1. Driving in Brazil is terrifying.

2.  Almost no one speaks English.

I am living in an apartment with four other girls, and I am sharing a room with one of them.  The two roommates I have met thus far are very nice and speak a little English.  There is definitely a language barrier and it's hard to sit and not be able to understand a single word that anyone is saying but hopefully once classes start it will help me practice.  Now its time to rest and cure my jet lag before orientation tomorrow.

In Conclusion: Day 1: successful yet overwhelming. 

What is Wanderlust?

As I begin to prepare for my five month journey in Brazil, I have to ask myself, what exactly is it that drives me to go?  Why would I leave my wonderful family, irreplaceable friends and amazing boyfriend to spend five months in a country where I know no one?  

Immediate response: Because I'm crazy.

Response after a moment of thought: Infinite Wanderlust. 

So what exactly is Wanderlust you ask?

So here it goes...

I will begin my journey in beautiful Brazil and see where the world takes me from there.  While much of my time will be spent seeing the sights and experiencing the cultures of the surrounding countries, I will also be learning the Portuguese language and finding time to expand my yoga practice in the spectacular surroundings of South America.  So join me on my voyage as I dive into the physical, emotional and spiritual universe that awaits me.

In the face of a challenge, may I find character,

In the face of pain, may I find true strength,

In the absence of those I love, may I still feel loved 

In the journey, may I find existence,

Not all who wander are lost.