São Paulo

A sprawling forest of buildings.
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(5.21.06) It is my last day in São Paulo and so far I'd say I've done a good amount of things, but it's such a huge and monsterous city I feel I've missed a lot. On my first day here my friend Debora showed me around the city and took me to a nice coffee shop. Brasilians love their café but they often take it black and strong (espresso). In the afternoon I met her friend that I was staying with, Joana, and met their friend Diogo. They took me to Terraço Italia which is 162 metres high and it has a breathtaking view of the city. São Paulo is a monsterous forest of thousands and thousands of buildings as far as the eye can see. It´s the third largest city in the world with 18 million people. We sat in the lounge and had some drinks and snacks. Then we watched the sun go down.

Rua Augusta, where the cyber cafe is.
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In the evening we took a nap and then went out to this great sandwich place nearby. But, the time was 11:30 pm and the place was packed! Brasilians often start eating their dinner at that time. Places in São Paulo don't shut down oftentimes. The cafe was also a market with cheese and meats and gourmet foods. I guess people do their shopping around the clock. I had a great hamburger (burgers and hot dogs are popular in Sampa) with a fried egg on it, tomato and cheese. Unusual I suppose but very tasty.

I've met lots of wonderful and amazing people that make the experience so great.

After that I met up with my friend Maria Clara whom I met online while back in the States. She took me to this place my guidebook recommended called Teta. It's a jazz bar. We had some drinks and met this guy named Bruce who has a Scottish background. He heard us speaking English and joined in. In Brasil it's not at all unusual for strangers to begin speaking to one another. Everyone is extremely open and friendly. I sometimes feel Americans are so cold and impersonal. We stayed at the place till about 4:30 am! Again, the place was crowded at that time.

The next day we didn't do much other than eat at Rockets, the Brasilian Johnny Rockets. In the evening we went to see O Codigo Da Vinci, which was excellent. I fell asleep early that night, and the next day Debora took me to a place called Zoo Safari where you drive through this zoo and the animals come right up to the car and you can feed them. Lots of fun! We then went to this nice outdoor flea market where they had lots of things for sale and good food. In the evening my friend Maria Clara took me to this festival called Virada Cultural, which is 24 hours of free cultural entertainment. We went to the exact center of the city to hear a concert and afterwards we went to this palce called Chicohamburger with her friends. I met this nice girl named Maira who speaks broken English. We were trying to learn a bit from each other which was difficult but interesting. All Maria Clara's friends were so nice. They of course, as many Brasilians were, asking me about my country and the political situation. It seems Brasilians love the US and favor it but they don't agree with how it's being run. After that we went back to Teta where we met our friend Bruce again.

The next day, my final day we went to a great place for lunch called Consulado Mineiro with some friends which was right near the flea market from the day previous. Bruce met up with us after and we stopped by a big electronic store. Electronics here cost more than double what they do in the States. Tomorrow I leave early in the morning for Porto Alegre. I can't believe I have two weeks left here and four more cities to go!

A note on the violence: I think the news makes the situation seem worse than it is. My friends that live here agree. I've seen no problems at all except for a lot extra police presence. The police stay together and stand with their hand on their gun, often drawn just in case. But neither do I nor other people feel unsafe. I've met lots of wonderful and amazing people that make the experience so great.

(5.16.06) I'm not in São Paulo yet and I'm worried. There has been major violence in the state the past few days. Gangs have killed police, thrown grenades at police stations, and torched 65 buses in a rebellion against the relocation of hundreds of gang members to different prisons. 200 people (mainly prison guards) were taken hostage. In the city, universities were closed, the domestic airport shut down temporarily, streets blockaded, and shops closed. Only four civilians were killed due to their proximity to police, but most were police and criminals. My friends said they and others were afraid to go out. They said this was the worst uprising in Brazilian history.

Thankfully, the violence ended and the hostages released after four days, just two days before I leave. My parents are obviously concerned as am I. I looked into the possibilities of changing my itinerary and flying into another city where other friends live, but after speaking with people that live in São Paulo I may stay with my current plan since the attacks are over with. I phoned the US Consulate in São Paulo today and they said they think it everything should be fine for my arrival Thursday morning since everything is going back to normal. My final decision will me made once in Miami on Wednesday night. From there I can change my ticket if need be. Keep me in your prayers. I wouldn't go to São Paulo if the people that lived there felt it was unsafe for me to go. Caution just needs to be taken as with travel to any large city (São Paulo is the third largest city in the world with 18 million people). The US State Department has not put out any travel warnings for US citizens.