Maiden Voyage

So I’m back in Brasil. This is the maiden voyage of my first ever blog. I’m little nervous, I’m not gonna lie. I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to impress and provide a glowing account to life down here given how much I’ve been hyping this trip up over the past several months. But we’ll see how it goes. All comments and (constructive) criticism are welcome. To add a little fun to the blog I'm adding in each post a PWOD (Portuguese word of the day) that I learn as I go along.

Today’s PWOD: lombada = speedbump. (lots of them in São Paulo)

I got here on Saturday and all is well so far. A 2 hour flight from Newark to Atlanta (thanks again, Adam, for the ride to EWR) and then 9 hours and change from Atlanta to São Paulo. Random funny story of the trip thus far is that Antawn Jamison was on my flight from Atlanta to São Paulo. Really random, especially that I was connecting through Atlanta as opposed to DC. I caught him out of the corner of my eye walking slightly behind me as I was leaving the terminal bookstore. When I got to my gate he sat down at the gate across the aisle for the flight leaving for Newark – which seemingly made more sense. But come boarding time he lined up with 250 Brazilians and myself and sat in the first seat of first class. As far as I could tell no one really recognized him which tempted me to say something to him, but in the end I didn’t want to blow up his spot and I just let him be.

ANYWAY, Brasil is great so far. No crazy arrival stories this time around unlike last year which included (for those who remember) canceled flights, long bus rides to my final destination, and sleeping in a co-passenger's house with 7 cats who I met earlier that night. No, none of that. The only hiccup was a 2 hour delay in Atlanta which was compensated by the eerily quick and empty passage thru customs upon arrival in Brasil.

I’m staying with my friend Gleidi who I met amongst my travels last year, until I find a place of my own. She and her family have been wonderfully accomodating in taking me in, helping me run my intial errands, and smoothing out the transition until I get set-up here. Only down side is that she lives near the edge of the city and it’s a long bus ride every morning from her apartment to my school in downtown São Paulo. Straight from the airport we went to a churrascaria – the famous all you can eat Brazilian steakhouses. To answer the much asked question – yes, it is exactly the same in Brazil as the ones in the US…only the ones here are five times as good, a third the price, and they make fresh caipirinhas for you right at your table.

Speaking of price, the country is just as beautiful and largely the same as when I was here last year, the only drastic difference being the exchange rate. Brazil is a noticeably more expensive country for Americans now than a year ago. Since my previous trip, the dollar has dropped close to 20% in value against the real. It used to hover just below 2 reais per $1. As of this morning it’s about 1.57 reais per $1. So it’s making me think twice before making that additional purchase or ordering that extra drink. Come on greenback help me out!!

My Portuguese is a little rusty. I’m still shaking off the cobwebs and grinding out from the back of my head the language skills that I know are there. Whatever gains I make in the next few days will inevitably be set back when my family and I go to Argentina on Saturday. Yeah, no sooner to I get to settle in than I pick up for another trip. My parents and sisters arrived in Rio de Janeiro last Friday and were enjoying the samba, sand, and soccer of Rio while I was getting settled in São Paulo. They are due to arrive in SP today and then we go to Iguaçu for a few days and Buenos Aires for 5 days. Olé!

This is my first week of classes so amidst imminent travels, classes, and apartment hunting, things are a bit hectic. Things should settle down when I get back from Buenos Aires. I can’t wait to go, but at the same time I’m looking forward to finding my own place closer to downtown, falling into a comfortable routine, and getting to know São Paulo. OK, that’s it for now. I’ll try to throw another post up sometime during my trip next week from Argentina.