Sao Paulo

Interesting facts...



- Sao Paulo is known to have more cars with bullet proof windows than any other city in the world.

- Restaurants in Sao Paulo are surprisingly expensive.

- Despite being the third largest city in the world, the majority of people I encountered did not speak any English.

- Sao Paulo is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.

- Frosted Flakes taste even better than normal after not eating them a long time (or any cereal for that matter).

- It is common in Brazilian weddings for the bride to be fashionably late (like 30 minutes).

- It is impossible to fall asleep standing up. Your knees will buckle and make you fall into the person in front of you.

i have always wanted to see a toucan...

dois meses

This past week it has decided to rain in Lins for the first time since June. Which is quite a relief for the town since the weather has been approaching 100 degrees (keep in mind the seasons are opposite here, so winter just ended), and the rain made everything cool off a bit.





Perfect weather for a trip to the circus. Twice a year the circus comes to Lins, meaning a tent is set up in the middle of town and hundreds of white plastic chairs are placed inside. The circus consists of clowns, acrobats and motorcyclists, but no animals due to a recent law forbidding the use of animals in the circus. I can vaguely recall going to the circus with my parents when I was a young child, and from the little I remember, I can tell you that the circus in Lins was very different. The safety equipment seemed a bit wobbly and unsafe, so most of the time rather than being enthralled by the skill and agility of the acrobats, I was instead praying that they wouldn't die. All in all, it was definitely a unique experience...


Today my class of thirteen and fourteen year olds was learning about riddles. At the end of the class I asked each student to try and remember a riddle or to create a riddle of their own. The students tried to stump me as they told me their riddles. After going around the classroom, it was time for the last student to say her riddle. "What is usually soft, but hard when it touches a women's hand?"

I thought for a moment, and began to blush.



You can imagine my relief when she told me the answer was nail polish.

It is only been two months and I already am thinking of the things I am going to miss when I leave Brazil. One of those things is the ability to speak candidly about people without them understanding a word. When I don't understand what someone is saying I have become used to turning to Rachel and making a statement such as "I have no idea what he is saying, but I am just going to nod my head." At the gym I can blatantly point out the size of a Brazilian girl's bumbum as she is standing just inches away. In the clothing store when the salesperson refuses to stop following behind me, I can tell her bluntly with a smile on my face that following me is not making me any more likely to purchase an item of clothing in her store. It is a liberating feeling to be able to release my innermost thoughts without a moment's hesitation. I just hope that it is not becoming a habit...

A series of firsts

My first time...

Witnessing a construction worker without any safety support climb up into a tree, to cut it down

Feeling strange when I ate a meal without a side of rice and beans (this might be a problem when I return to the US)

Having four mosquito bites on my left knee cap (and about thirty more on various parts of my body)

Seeing three lizards during a fifteen minute walk

Not having a cell phone for two months (and planning to continue for three more)

Being asked if I wore shorts in the winter (the temperature gets up to 100 degrees here in the winter)

Being stopped and asked for my MSN messenger name as I walked down the street (MSN messenger is the most popular computer communication tool in Brazil)

Living across the street from an elementary school with an animal farm (don't ask me how I forgot to mention this in former posts)

Being scared by a young boy sitting up in a tree

Learning what an "adverbial" was ten minutes before I had to teach a lesson about them

Eating a Brazilian hot dog, which actually consists of two hot dogs boiled and placed between a hamburger bun, served with lettuce, onions, crispy fried potatoes, ketchup and mayonaise. Brazilians don't understand how Americans eat hot dogs so plain, and I don't understand why they have never attempted to put the hot dog on a grill.

Yesterday my student brought me a cup of exotic Brazilian fruit that I had never tried (the name slips my mind at the moment), since we were discussing fruit the previous day in class. I took out a piece of the fruit and proceeded to put the entire thing in my mouth and spit out the center, hiding my expression once I realized the fruit was in fact disgusting. The class then began to chuckle. "What?" I asked, confused as to what I had done. "Teacher," my student explained, "You eat inside, not outside!"

não o seu típico americano...

All my life I have classified others around me as "strange." Recently I have come to the realization that in actuality the things that appear strange to me are in fact normal, and that I am the one that deserves to be described by the not so popular adjective.

I have realized that to the majority of people I meet in the small town of Lins, I will be the only American they ever encounter. Their view of Americans will be solely from the movies, music and their encounter with me. Unfortunately, I am far from the typical American.



Last week Rachel and I were at the house of some of our new friends. Four guys in their early twenties who befriended us since they are trying to learn English (well actually one doesn't speak English at all, but he is really good at playing the guitar). Anyway, they speak English to us and we try our best to speak Portuguese to them. After a bit of hanging out, I realized that one by one each boy would disappear for 5-10 minutes and then return, with their hair wet and in a change of clothes.




"Did you just shower?" I asked, a little confused as to why they would not have showered before we got there or after we left.

"Yeah," he replied, "I usually shower four to five times a day."

"Four or five times A DAY?" I repeated, shocked, and dreading the question that was about to come next. "Yeah, how many times do you shower a day?"

"A day or every two days?" I laughingly responded.

"What?! You don't shower everyday!" he didn't seem to believe it.



"Not always," I replied, silently cursing myself for not being able to lie. "Usually, five times a week," I told him.

"Do all Americans not shower everyday?" he curiously asked.

"Well, most do," I admitted, "but not everyone."

Saturday afternoon Rachel and I went with our friend Valeria to a town called Marila which is about an hour away from Lins and also the location of the nearest shopping mall. When we arrived we went shopping for about twenty minutes before discovering that the main purpose of the trip was actually to eat McDonalds. Apparently eating McDonalds is a special treat for the people of Lins. A treat worth driving an hour away for. Valeria insisted that Rachel and I get something to eat, despite the fact that we weren't hungry and were eagerly anticipating getting home to eat our usual rice, bean and meat dinner.

"But the Mc is the Mc!" Valeria exclaimed flabbergasted at the fact that we were turning down McDonalds. "But we have eaten at McDonalds so many times before," we explained, "we would prefer Brazilian food." Not to mention, the prices of meals were ridiculous. About 16 reais (9 dollars) for a meal with a burger, french fries and a drink.

"Do all Americans not eat McDonalds?" she asked. It didn't make sense to her.

Sunday night Rachel and I went to dinner with two of our recently made friends -- Brazilian girls in their early twenties. During dinner they asked us what perfume we wore. Rachel and I looked at each other and laughed.

"Perfume? Um, I have never worn perfume," I replied, "just deodorant."

They looked at us with an expression of confusion. "Do Americans not wear perfume?!" they asked.

"Well, some do," we replied, "just not us."

"And you don't wear makeup?" Rafaela said as she thoroughly examined my face.

"No, not typically, sometimes a bit of eyeliner if it's a special occasion," I humbly replied. "And I don't wear high heels," I added since I knew that question was bound to come next.

If only she knew that I didn't even have my ears pierced...

On the weekends when I play soccer, I am constantly asked if all Americans play soccer. When I turn down opportunities to go shopping, I am asked whether all Americans don't like to shop. When I turn on the air conditioning in the classroom, I am asked if all Americans like to be cold. My favorite books, songs and movies are viewed as the favorite books, songs and movies of Americans. I try to explain that some of my traits do not fall under the American stereotype, but they don't seem to understand...

E para resumir tudo...

"A man needs to TRAVEL. By his own means, not by stories, images, books or TV. By his own, with his eyes and feet, to understand what he is. To some day plant his own trees and give them some value. To know the cold to enjoy the heat. To feel the distance and lack of shelter to be well under his own ceiling. A man needs to TRAVEL to places he doesn't know to break this arrogance that makes us see the world as we imagine it, and not simply as it is or may be."

Amyr Klink



One of my Brazilian friends sent this quote to me after reading my blog. He thought I would like it and he was correct. It is translated into English, so it might not be an exact quote, but you get the gist...

Some things I have learned during my weekend adventure-

Blonde hair and a bright yellow cardigan sweater is not the appropriate attire for a Brazilian heavy metal concert.

- Toucans are both beautiful and surprisingly unafraid of humans.

A walk through the rainforest is much more surreal when it is actually raining.

Brazilian pizza buffets are among the best creations I have ever seen. However, what is even better is sweet pizza covered in chocolate.

Seeing a full rainbow is almost as amazing as the guy in the Youtube video makes it out to be.

Scratching a mosquito bite until it bleeds is the best way to eliminate the itchiness. Second to covering it with duct or electrical tape. Unfortunately this also results in scabs that make you look like you have broken out in hives.



When Brazilians are frustrated they always make the same noise, that sounds something like, "Aye yaye" and is typically followed by a deep sigh.

Brazilian women truly do have a voluptuous butt. I have been using the "bumbum" machine at the gym in an attempt to make mine look the same. No results yet.

Olá Paraguai...

After spending the morning trekking over 9 km, since we were unable to scrounge up enough money for the bus (see post below), we made it to "The Three Frontiers," or the border between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. It was worth the two hour walk (the map was deceiving) to be able to look across the river and see the Argentina and Paraguay flag waving in the breeze.

Earlier in the day, Luiz had asked us if we would meet him at 3pm for a "surprise."

Before I continue, I will give you a brief background on Luiz. Luiz is the owner of the hostel. He is a 46 year old Chilean man with long dark hair, straight white teeth, some scruff and bright green eyes. He would consider his height of 5'7" to be tall when compared with South American men, but measuring in at 5'7" myself, I beg to differ. He is proud of his appearance as well as the "1000 or so" women he has slept with ranging from the age of 72 to a mere 18. He is currently dating a 21 year old girl from Prague, but proudly confirms that in the two months they have been dating, he has only been with two other women. Nevertheless, he is friendly, well traveled and speaks at least five different languages. Luiz took a liking to Rachel and I, or perhaps just to our blonde hair.

So, when he invited Rachel and I on a surprise trip, we were a bit hesitant, but our curiosity managed to override our sense of fear and we agreed to go along. Both of us trusting by nature, we packed our cameras and passports and departed in a taxi cab, unsure of where we were headed.

About fifteen minutes later, the taxi dropped us off in a place that seemed different than anywhere I had ever been before. Luiz informed us that we were in Paraguay. He quickly crossed the street as Rachel and I followed and he whispered to us, "Be careful of police. This is illegal." Apparently we had just illegally crossed the border...

Oddly enough, despite still being so close to the border, Paraguay is completely different than Brazil and the things that happened in the next few hours seem somewhat surreal. We boarded a bus decorated with multicolored fringes and fur patterns. The steering wheel and pedals were connected in such a way that made me feel as if constructing a bus were a simple task that even I could undertake in a matter of days. The driver, seated in what appeared to be a beach chair, collected our 20,000 guarani and we took off with my back foot still hanging out the door. The Paraguay children stared at Rachel and I, and my eyes stayed glued to the window as we toured Paraguay, a country that seems to have abundant natural resources but confusion as to what to do with them.

We departed the bus and casually strolled through a small neighborhood which appeared to have more soccer nets made from sticks than actual inhabitants. As Luiz attempted to teach us Guarani, the native language of Paraguay, I couldn't help but stare at the lady washing her clothes in the stream, the pigs and hens roaming the streets, the trees blooming with bright colored flowers and fruit. Luiz picked up a small yellow fruit from the grass and took a bite. He then instructed Rachel and I to do the same. Reluctantly I took a bite of the dirty fruit, amazed at how delicious it was (I ended up having about twenty more which seemed like a good idea at the time, but not later that night). Luiz guided us down a long dirt road that led to a waterfall. But not a tiny waterfall as you might be imagining, but rather one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen.

As the sun began to set, we made our way to a small house where we stopped to meet some of Luiz's friends, and switched over to communicating in Spanish. Sadly, I think the small amount of Portuguese I have learned has just made it more confusing for me to attempt to speak Spanish again. By nightfall, Luiz decided it was time to head back. On the bus Luiz informed us that once we got off we would have to stop speaking English and walk across the border past the national police that would be there patrolling it. If we were caught without a stamp, the punishment would be possible jail time and a huge fine. Rachel and I conspicuously tucked our blonde hair under our jackets, put our hoods up and our heads down as we quickened our pace and walked as casually as possible past the police and safely back into Brazil.

From this adventure I have learned that sometimes putting just a little trust in a complete stranger can turn into an unforgettable experience.

So I guess I can say that I visited Paraguay, but unfortunately I don't have the stamp to prove it...