Class yesterday was Brazilian culture, and the biggest takeaways are that "yes" means nothing in Brazil (they're unable to say "no") and that they, as a culture, are regularly walking the line between bending the rules and corrupt. Keep in mind, too, that this was a native Brazilian teaching the class. She also talked about race in a way that made me wonder if it was how they taught race issues to our parents? She was reading quotes that everyone knew their place and didn't really argue with it. Its hard to put into writing, so don't take it too far out of context, but it was a bizarre discussion.
Yesterday afternoon we went on a bus tour of the city, which really opened our eyes to some of the nicer neighborhoods within Sao Paulo. We got some of the history of downtown Sao Paulo, which had the largest concentration of Nazi's outside of Germany, although the sided with the Allies in WWII. You can find subtle symbols of this throughout downtown's architecture. We also visited the Market, which is a huge old train station renovated to house hundreds of food stands. It was a foodie's paradise and simply amazing...any fruit, spice, meat, fish, etc that you could ever want.
After the Market, we headed to Vila Madalena, a neighborhood which the guide compared to SOHO in New York. It was bar after restaurant after bar and looked like a very cool neighborhood. Most of the places were in converted houses so it had a very low key, bohemiam feel.
From Vila Madalena, it was off to Jardines, Sao Paulo's Rodeo Drive. It was a beautiful area with trendy stores and restaurants, beautiful people, and nothing that I could afford. We ended up having sushi at a Japanese restaurant in the area. It was an awesome dinner, and a great conclusion to a busy day.
Up next, a soccer game on Wednesday (?) and perhaps a trip to Rio this weekend. Somehow in there I get to write a final exam paper and study for exams?!?! Sounds like a great time! I hope you are all doing well. Talk to you later!!! -Kevin
No comments:
Post a Comment