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.