weekend in São Paulo

8-9-10

I left this past Saturday to go have my first experience in the famous São Paulo….no expectations, and ready to take in as much as I could in just a little over 24 hours. I visited my friend Mônica, who I met in Breckenridge this winter. She’s super sweet, and as I found out, so is her family. : ) They spoiled me this weekend and took me around to see many landmarks around the city.

Mônica, me and her sister Pati

My first stop was actually with Roberto’s family at a very famous ‘club’ (club-ay) right in the center of the city as I awaited Mônica’s pick up. So, these club’s are essentially huge sport-leisure-rec centers that only those than can afford it spend most of their time. Schools in Brasil don’t have sports teams, so this is where a kid would join a team, be sponsored for a specific sport or just take classes for fun. I guess during the week, it’s empty and a haven for kids to run around with their friends after school. On the weekend’s it’s like an amusement park filled with people in bikinis and speedos, waterpolo games, kids playing in the parks, and people eating at the many restaurants. A few weeks ago, Phelps’ world record was out swam by a Brasilian swimmer that actually trained here. By the way, this guy is a national hero for having done that. Success is highly revered in this culture. I think I’ve seen this guy on every newspaper headline and magazine cover since it happened.

'o clube'

To tell you a little about the city: São Paulo’s population is well over 30 million people, and one of the fastest growing metropolitan cities in the world. I believe it’s more of a city of commerce than tourism, like Rio de Janeiro. The poor and the rich neighborhoods are intermixed throughout the city with no real dividing lines.

And the 'favelas', or slums, of the city actually sit up on the hills, while the government regulated homes are in the valleys. These favelas are created by people finding a spot and building a squarelot 'home' made of wood if they're poor and brick if they have a little extra to spare. Sewage, trash and water systems don't exist in these little unregulated neighborhoods and are actually home to gangs that are constantly creating problems in the city. As they sit up high on the hills, they actually shoot across from one side to the other during gang wars, which has unfortunately caused a number of innocent deaths of people in the middle. They call these deaths balas perdidas I think, which means lost bullets.

The city has a lot to offer, of course, outside of its flaws. : ) As I learned, it is very diverse and and is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. They say that it is less Americanized, thus has preserved more the Japanese culture than Tokyo itself. Over 1.5 million Japanese people live there. Mônica’s family is Japanese, and although they are a couple generations away from their relatives that still live in Japan, I think I’d say I had more of a Japanese experience than a Brasilian one! We frequented Japan town, had sushi both days and wandered the street fairs around the major locales in the city. I can say that I was the only non-Japanese person that I spoke to this weekend. Haha.

I met a bunch of Mônica’s friends from high school Saturday night and had a chance to go meet her parents at a barzinho (little bar) for some choppe (beer) and some apérativos (appetizers). One of them was made with raw cow meat, which I found out after. : / Sunday we went to the Sushi Company for all you can eat sushi, which was awesome. I had a batido (pronounced batchido) of caiparinha made with kiwi…which was super strong.

For such a short trip, it’s incredible how much I saw and did. Oh and I spoke Portuguese most of the trip too. What patience they have huh? I’m really glad I met her family and really liked all of them. I hope that I’ll get a chance to see them again before I leave…or perhaps switch roles and show them a good Mexican-American experience. ; )

my lovely hosts : ) - missing the dad! -