| a chunk for sao paulo 10.17.02 |
| In exactly two months, my bags will be packed and I will be boarding a plane at 11 p.m. to fly out of this big city, this foreign land, and then touching ground back in the good ol' U.S. of A. Man, it makes me sad just to think about it. In past entries, I think I have mentioned leaving my heart in Sacramento and then most recently, in San Francisco. What is it about me that gets sentimental everywhere I go? But I guess there is enough of my heart to go around because surely enough, when I leave, there will be a piece of my heart left in S�o Paulo. The sad part about leaving a place is that you never know if you will be back. Even those with the best intentions to return can never commit 100% to the idea of returning. Already, people here are telling me that I need to come here for my honeymoon. Yeah right. Or they tell me now that I have learned Portuguese, I can't leave. I wish I could say that I will definitely be back in the future to visit, but you just never know. So, just like the groovy Beastie Boys in one of their songs, this entry will be going out to SAO PAULO!! (actually their song listed a whole bunch of other cities, including "Sactown and the whole Bay Area!") So what is it about SP that has so quickly captured my heart in three months? A snapshot of the city shows miles and miles of tall buildings and streets full of buses and cars and pollution. Not really pretty. But there is just something amazing about looking out your bedroom window and seeing all those buildings stretching out before you. Then there is the warmth of the Brazilians. They love to touch people, to reach out and hold your hand or touch your arm when they are conversing with you. They love to socialize. This past weekend on our trip to the beach, traffic was at a standstill. Back at home, everyone would have stayed in their cars, in their own little worlds of music, conversations and cell phones. But here, people got out of their cars, conversed with other drivers, walked up and down the road. It amazed me but it just characterized the nature of Brazilians. At the gym, as a newbie, the instructors introduce themselves to you, other classmates talk to you and help you. I just wish there was a way that you could experience the everyday life here...the sights, the sounds, the smells, the flavors. On the streets, buses roar past you without caring if there is danger in nicking you with their mirrors. Cars and pedestrians battle for their right of way, each not really watching out for one another. Food stands are set up on many street corners with plastic stools for people to hang out and eat pasteis (thin fried pockets with meet, chicken, or cheese in them). The other day I tried an ice cream pastel (a new phenomenon to the locals) where an ice cream bar was placed in the raw sheet of dough and then fried! The result, a fried pocket smeared with chocolate inside and a chunk of still-cold ice cream. YUM! The roads and sidewalks are in bad conditions...uprooted, broken, full of potholes, cracks. You have to choose your path carefully when walking down the street as to not twist your ankle. The women parade around in tight, revealing clothes and the men openly gawk at them but do not take it any further. The women ignore them and just pull their pants down even lower to show off their navel...fat, skinny, pregnant...you let it all hang out. It's all about how much skin you can show and how tightly your clothes can wrap around your body. At the beach, it's about dental floss and speedos. But that's the norm. That's what these people grew up with. Okay maybe I'm not really painting SP to be such an attractive city but there is something special about it. I think being here for awhile now and experiencing so much here has added to that mysterious spell that has been cast. It still would not be my city of choice to reside in, but I know now, that for the rest of my life, among the millions of people walking the streets, a piece of my heart will be left here. In the same way, I will take a part of SP back to the States with me and hopefully somehow, I can share that with everyone back at home. |
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