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.