last week in São Paulo (next stop: Rio)

Tuesday was fun. After class, I went to visit the São Paulo office of Bain & Company, for which I will start working in Atlanta in September. I was given a tour of the entire office by someone in the recruiting department and had the opportunity to speak with a few different employees, including an American that had been transferred there. I was surprised to hear as much English being spoken in the office as Portuguese, and I was excited when they told me that I already speak enough Portuguese to possibly do a transfer to that office one day. That night I met up with Rachel, a fellow southerner who studied at my school the past week, and we explored the nearby Shopping Bourbon (a mall). There we found a Portuguese-English dictionary for her, saw clothes and other items that were twice the price that they would be in the U.S. (thanks to some ridiculous import taxes), and had a good dinner at an Italian restaurant.   

Wednesday was my last day of school, since Thursday and Friday were holidays. In addition to helping console my somewhat distraught teachers, I went with two of them Poliana and Bartira, to a pasteleria for lunch to celebrate my last day with a delicious meal, including a heavenly white chocolate pastel for dessert. I left school early to take a taxi to the Policia Federal to register as I had been instructed to do by the Brazilian Consulate in Atlanta when I got my student visa. After I stood in line for over two hours amid total chaos, the lady told me that I did not need to register unless I plan on reentering the country, which I do not. So that afternoon was not ideal. It was unclear why the consulate told me I had to go in the first place. I was not pleased.

Thursday was Dia de Corpus Christi, a religious holiday here, so most everything was closed. I went with my family to the Clube do Palmeiras, a sports club to which my host parents belong that has one of the major soccer teams from São Paulo. It was kind of like their version of a country club or Lifetime Gym (though much older), complete with numerous pools, playgrounds, gyms, etc., not to mention an enormous soccer stadium. We walked around the club and got a hardy lunch there.  Thursday evening, I went with my host parents to the apartment of their son, his wife, and their new baby, Alice. Again, I was just another member of the family along with baby Alice’s aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents that were there visiting.

Friday, my host parents took me to the city center to the Rua 25 de Março, which is home to the busiest shopping area I have ever seen with 1400 stores in the general area. Around there we visited an incredibly large market with all of the meats, fruits, and other food products you could possibly imagine. Friday night was my despedida (goodbye party) with teachers and students from the school at the same pizzeria we went to a couple of weeks ago. It was a good way to say finish things up in São Paulo.

just an idea of the madness of 25 de Março

Saturday, I had a three hour adventure via public transportation to the bus station and back so that I could buy my ticket to Rio de Janeiro. Apparently foreigners are not able to buy bus tickets online. I spent Saturday packing and preparing for the next part of my journey and enjoying my last dinner with Gati and Cidinha. Then I went out for a beer with Bartira to a really cool bohemian bairro called Vila Madalena, which reminded me a lot of the Virginia Highland area in Atlanta.  Tomorrow morning I’m off to Rio.