Even though this trip was not
perfect, it was definitely an amazing and unforgettable experience. Upon
arrival in Sao Paulo, I felt excitement, along with a little inhibition; I
asked myself; how was this going to work? How was I going to learn to navigate
around this huge city? How was the food going to taste and would I like
it? How was I going to manage learning
this complicated language? On the bus to the Comfort Inn, my inquisitive mind
was quieted by the sight of the amazing and unique graffiti on the sides of the
buildings. I felt a small pang of jealousy that our buildings in the United
States weren’t covered with such splendid colors. Our graffiti in the US was
generic, plain, made up of ugly puffy letters that formed insignificant
nonsense words. These were different;
colorful interpretations of faces and animals, robots and creatures. The
graffiti told me this trip would be interesting.
Upon arrival at the hotel, I was
tired but excited. I was paired with Libby who would only tolerate talk of Africa,
but all that filled my head were questions and newly formed opinions about this
vast city. I went to my room, and I noted the modesty of it, space was
conserved, the lights required one to be present to be turned on. I liked the
light-card device. I thought it was clever.
I remember
the meal that night at the restaurant with the wooden stove. I really loved the
food, especially the one dish with chicken and okra. I thought it was cool how
similar it was to my cultural food.
What really
stuck out for me was our first cultural lesson. The professor taught us about
many common Brazilian customs. One, for example, was how it was common for
Brazilians to be friendly, and to ignore the rules about personal space. I
later found out this was very true, and I got used to it very quickly. I found
many Brazilians who were just naturally friendly, or who would say hi even if I
was not familiar with them.
When it came to the classroom and the activities regarding
alternative energy, it was interesting to hear my classmates talk. I was so
impressed by, and even jealous at times (lolz) of their technical and economic
knowledge. I liked hearing their input in class. Dr. P’s boundless energy was a
plus as well. I have taken many courses
on sustainability before, so it was nice to be able to contribute some
viewpoints to the conversations in class.
The Bosch
plant was really different for me. It was really cool to see cars being
calibrated to be able to run on diesel fuel. Upon coming to Brazil, I really
underestimated the importance of diesel fuel. I honestly think this is
something the US should consider fully transitioning to. I also think it was
very cool to see that, like France, Brazilians do not value large SUVs and
pick- up trucks. The majority of the cars I saw were cute and tiny. I feel this
kind of modesty is really useful, as well as economical. I LOVED the different Fiat models I saw. They were too cute. Most of them I had never
seen before because they only sell the ugly ones in the US.
My favorite
visit had to be the hydroelectric plant, even though I am strongly, strongly
opposed to hydroelectric plants because I believe they will inevitably cause
droughts by depleting valuable water tables under the soil. People do not
realize that, like fossil fuels, soil is a limited resource as well. I loved the hydroelectric plant because of
the scenery, and also because of the awesome cave that the second one was
located in! That was too cool. I had no
idea that the water was so well –contained in different pipes, I thought it
would be openly flowing for some reason. I also thought the giant turbines were
fascinating.
Out of all
the museums, my favorite had to be the Pinacoteca. I adore art, so this museum
had me in my element. I especially was surprised by the amount of racially
charged art pieces. I learned a lot about the opinions at the time from these
pieces. That would never be allowed in a
US museum. I was really surprised by the exhibit symbolizing the founding of
Brazil with the golden egg and the clay figures. Although this exhibit was
confusing for some, I found it ironically comforting that the artist had
recognized the raw brutality and dehumanizing nature of slavery and thought it
important enough to display it publicly and educate others on this dismal part
of Brazil’s history.
I also
loved the Latin American museum. It was really cool to see symbols from not
only Brazilian culture, but other Latin American cultures. Looking at all of
the pieces, it was very easy to see the large part that color and beauty plays
in Latin American culture.
I almost
immediately noticed the amount diversity in Sao Paulo alone. It is amazing how
many different types of people there were. This is proof of how interesting and
complicated Brazil’s history is.
Living in
the hostel was definitely an experience. I did not like being cold, but living
so close to so many people in the hostel was definitely fun in many ways. I
actually miss it now. I loved the many movie nights, and chilling in the
kitchen. I definitely loved cooking
meals and eating with everyone in the program. The art of “vulturing” was
definitely perfected by most of us when we didn’t feel like cooking or going
out for food. Many people in our program were definitely talented in cooking.
Watching them cook was like watching Food Network.
My one huge
regret is that I didn’t dance more. I loved going to the Samba club, but I
realized too late how large SP’s trained dance scene was. There was a dance
studio on every block. I was so surprised and overwhelmed by all the different
styles- Samba Garrafia, Axe, Zouk, Furro, Afro Brazilian. I also regret that we did not have the
opportunity to do any type of community service. This I will just have to come
back for. I also have to see the Amazon
at some point, as well as Iguazu Falls.
I definitely want to see Salvador, Bahia--home of Carnaval, and of
course, Rio de Janeiro.
I was
intrigued by the favelas. I thought it was so interesting that most of the
people probably lived without sewage systems.
I also did not understand why middle class Paulistas had no problem
protesting for bus fares, but seemed to look past the fact that part of the
population lived without many modern day necessities. This is something I wish to
further explore. I was really happy we
passed by the favelas on our way to the different sites. I was just so curious
as to how people live in that small of a space.
I
definitely loved the pizza rodezios and the churrhascaria. They love their
meat. I got tired of empadas and pao de queijo, and pasteis, though. I miss all
of the juice places. I fell in love with having fresh juice 3 -4 times a day.
The trip to
Ubatuba and Paraty was really cool. I think Ubatuba was my favorite beach. The
water was warm and lovely. I also thought the historical tour in Paraty was
informative and interesting. I loved how
in Paraty at night, all of the bars and restaurants had live bossa nova music.
The lunch
at Terraço Italia was really memorable. It made my Birthday really special to
spend it with all of the people to whom I had become so close to over the last
month. I will definitely never forget that. The panoramic view was
priceless as well.
Overall, I
ran into a few problems, (mostly with staying warm and healthy, which always
happens), but I had fun. I found another place I want to return to, and another
culture to which I now feel a special connection.
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| Sao Paulo in the morning |
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| Fountains in Ibirapuera Park |
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